88 MY FARM. 



blacksmith s shop ? &quot; &quot; Was it a saw mill ? &quot; and with 

 a loud appreciatory &quot; guffaw &quot; the critics pass by. 



Our country tastes are as yet very ambitious ; 

 homeliness and simplicity are not appetizing enough. 

 But in time we shall ripen into a wholesome seventy, 

 in this matter. I am gratified to perceive that the 

 harshest observers of my poor cottage in the begin* 

 ning, have now come to regard it with a kindly inter 

 est. It mates so fairly with the landscape, it mates 

 so fairly with its purpose ; it is so resolutely unpre 

 tending, and carries such air of permanence and dura 

 bility, that it wins and has won upon the most arrant 

 doubters. 



The country neighbors were inclined to look upon 

 the affair as a piece of stupidity, not comparable with 

 a fine white house, set off by cupola and green blinds. 

 But it was presently observed that cultivated people 

 from the town, in driving past, halted for a better 

 view ; the halts became frequent ; it was intimated 

 that So-and-so, of high repute, absolutely admired the 

 homeliness. Whereupon the country critics under 

 took an inquiry into the causes of their distaste, and 

 queried if their judgment might not have need of 

 revision. Did their opinion spring from a discerning 

 measurement of the real fitness of a country house, 

 or out of a cherished and traditional regard for white 

 q,nd green ? 



