276 THE FAT OF THE LAND 



a site for it at once in the grove to the east of 

 the house and about 150 yards away, and set 

 the carpenter at work. The shop proved to 

 be a feature of the place, and soon became 

 a favorite resort for old and young for five 

 o'clock teas and small gossiping parties. The 

 house was a shingled cottage, sixteen by thirty- 

 two, divided into two rooms. The first room, 

 sixteen by twenty, was the company room, 

 but it contained a work bench as well as the 

 dainty trappings of a girl's lounging room. In 

 the centre of the wall that separated the rooms 

 was a huge brick chimney, with a fireplace in 

 the front room and a forge bed in the rear room, 

 w r hich was the forge proper. 



I suppose I must charge the $460 which this 

 outfit cost to the farm account and pay yearly 

 interest on it, for it is a fixture ; but I protest 

 that it is not essential to the construction of a 

 factory farm, and it may be omitted by those 

 who have no daughter Jane. 



There were other things hinging on Jane's 

 home-staying which made me think that, from the 

 standpoint of economy, I had made a mistake 

 in not sending her back to Farmington. It was 

 not long before the dog proposition was sprung 

 upon me ; insidiously at first, until I had half 

 committed myself, and then with such force and 

 sweep as to take me off my prudent feet. My 

 own faithful terrier, which had dogged my heels 

 for three years, seemed a member of the family, 



