THE MODERN COTTAGE 167 



would darken into night until it was time for the 

 dustman to come and close the eyes of weary- 

 children who had to be off early to school next day. 



As we look round at the massive oak beams, 

 possibly used originally in the structure of an 

 Elizabethan ship and then finding more complete 

 rest in forming the really beautiful decoration of 

 this plain whitewashed room, the place seems 

 peopled again with past generations of healthy, 

 happy, simple-hearted country folk — the ones 

 whom we have need of now for our English country- 

 side. 



These old cottages, built with solidity and 

 thoroughness by local work-people who belonged 

 to the village and took an almost personal interest 

 in each handiwork of theirs, are so different from 

 the cheap, thinly-built and badly-designed dwellings 

 that are run up quickly in modern days and often 

 placed in rows forming such displeasing features 

 in the midst of beautiful scenery. " A dreadful 

 draught runs right through the house, when we 

 open our front door," said a poor woman to me, 

 not long ago. We agreed that it was incon- 

 siderate of the architect to place the door so that 

 it faced the prevailing wind and to omit a pro- 

 jecting porch or small vestibule that would have 

 helped to lessen the rush of air as it came directly 

 into the living-room. In olden days they were 

 not fastidious enough about the number of bed- 

 rooms or their height of ceiling, but other practical 

 details that gave cupboard space and dry walls 

 they studied more than we do. 



The quaint cottage that we^are now considering 



