A Brick House with a Past 



interest me; but it pleases my fancy, 

 now and then, to set up for my own 

 mental stimulation some presiding ge- 

 nius as watching ever over old houses 

 that have once been the stage of hu- 

 man weal or woe. 



You will listen now in vain for 

 the voices of the children playing in 

 the garden. They have disappeared. 

 That is all we know about them. The 

 kettle sings no more its song of cheer 

 and comfort in what was once the 

 kitchen. And, by the way, does any- 

 one know of any note within the whole 

 range of domestic economy so sug- 

 gestive of real creature comfort as the 

 busy babble of the vapor as it finds its 

 sputtering vent through dancing lid 

 or steaming spout? We do not hear 

 it often enough in these latter days 

 for the best interest of the family 

 circle. Homes have been broken up, 

 I have no doubt, that might have been 

 held together had husband and wife 

 been more familiar with the story old, 



[25] 



