16 THE FAT OF THE LAND 



the next 250, and then continued nearly level for 

 a mile or more. We saw what Jane Austen calls 

 "a happy fall of land," with a southern ex- 

 posure, which included about two-thirds of the 

 southeast forty, and high land beyond for the 

 balance of this forty and the forty lying north 

 of it. There was an irregular fringe of forest 

 trees on this southern slope, especially well de- 

 fined along the eastern border. I saw that Polly 

 was pleased with the view. 



" We must enter the home lot from this level 

 at the foot of the hill," said she, "wind grace- 

 fully through the timber, and come out near 

 those four large trees on the very highest ground. 

 That will be effective and easily managed, and 

 will give me a chance at landscape gardening, 

 which I am just aching to try." 



All right," said I, " you shall have a free 

 hand. Let's drive around the boundaries of our 

 land and behold its magnitude before we make 

 other plans." 



We drove westward, my eyes intent upon the 

 fields, the fences, the crops, and everything that 

 pertained to the place. I had waited so many 

 years for the sense of ownership of land that 

 I could hardly realize that this was not another 

 dream from which I would soon be awakened 

 by something real. I noticed that the land was 

 fairly smooth except where it was broken by 

 half-rotted stumps or out-cropping boulders, that 

 the corn looked well and the oats fair, but 



