66 Constructing the Country Dwelling 



other sources, and small though beautiful home 

 decorations of every conceivable sort. The little 

 seven-year-old boy has a small assortment of curios 

 collected from the hills and streams, while the girls 

 have a small display of their childish needlework, 

 their dolls, and some of their best school drawings. 

 How suggestive and how helpful it would be if this 

 little den could be displayed before the eyes of all the 

 humble cottagers throughout the rural districts ! 



Yes, the hogs may live out-of-doors and the horses 

 get along very well indeed with a temporary barn 

 thatched with straw, but the places of the boys and 

 girls must be looked after and that in the interest 

 of making them happy, of filling their lives with 

 every good, clean sentiment, and of preparing them 

 for that large sphere of usefulness which may mark 

 their future. If the house be larger than the one 

 we have described, then provide accordingly for 

 the children. Give them a good room of their own. 

 Put their ornaments and playthings in it. If there 

 be space, provide a library containing a few suitable 

 volumes. And after this thoughtful provision has 

 been made, see to it carefully that their schedule for 

 work, schooling, and the other duties allows for ample 

 time and opportunity for their enjoyment of the 

 apartment set aside for them. In years to come, 

 that sweet poetic sentiment running back to the home 

 of one's childhood will be given greater strength and 

 beauty because of the fact that this thing just urged 



