60 Frederick Law Olmsted 



The other had inherited a moderate competence and been 

 brought up to no regular calling. He lived in an unusually 

 fine old village house with an old garden, was given to natural 

 science, had a cabinet, a few works of art and a notable small 

 library. He was shy and absorbed and I took little from him 

 directly, but he was kind and not so careful of his treasures 

 that I could not cautiously use them as playthings and pic- 

 ture books. He introduced me to Isaac Walton. He had no 

 man servant, indeed no servants, his handmaids being of 

 the order then called help, and he was on precisely the terms 

 with them, as it now seems to me, that he might have been 

 with helpful sisters, though they did not sit at table with him. 



A man came from without the household for the heavier 

 work of the place, giving but a small part of his time to it, 

 and there was a boy to do the light chores who received no 

 wages but worked for his board, books and schooling. One 

 of the boys who thus became my playfellow afterwards made 

 his way through college, studied law, and came to be a 

 member of Congress and Governor of a State. 



For the rest my kinsmen and friends were plain, busy, 

 thrifty people, mostly farmers and good citizens. 



If in my rambling habits I did not come home at night, 

 it was supposed that I had strayed to some of these other 

 homes where I would be well taken care of, and little concern 

 was felt at my absence ; but it several times occurred before 

 I was twelve years old that I had been lost in woods and find- 

 ing my way out after sunset had passed the night with 

 strangers and had been encouraged by my father rather than 

 checked in the adventurousness that led me to do so. 



It was my good fortune also at this period to be taken on 

 numerous journeys in company with people neither literary, 

 scientific nor artistic, but more than ordinarily susceptible 

 to beauty of scenery and who with little talking about it, 

 and none for my instruction, plainly shaped their courses and 

 their customs with reference to the enjoyment of it. As a 

 small boy I made four such journeys, each of a thousand 



