MY FARM OF EDGEWOOD 



over the tools, bethinking me how I would 

 swing the broad axe, or put the saws to sharp 

 service; for in bargaining for the farm, I had 

 also bargained for the implements of which 

 there might be immediate need. 



Directly upon the roadway, before the 

 house, rose a high wall, supporting the little 

 terrace that formed the front yard; the ter- 

 race was a wilderness of roses, syringas, and 

 undipped box. The entrance way was by a 

 flight of stone steps which led through the 

 middle of the terrace, and of the wall; while 

 over the steps hung the remnants of an an- 

 cient archway, which had once supported a 

 gilded lantern; and I was told with an air 

 of due reverence, that this gilded spangle of 

 the town life, was a memento of the hospi- 

 talities of a certain warm-blooded West In- 

 dian, who in gone-by years had lighted up 

 the country home with cheery festivities. I 

 would have cherished the lantern if it had 

 not long before disappeared; and the steps 

 that may have once thronged under it, must 

 be all of them heavy with years now, if they 

 have not rested from their weary beat alto- 

 gether. Both wall and terrace are now gone, 

 and a gentle swell of green turf is in their 

 place, skirted by a hedge and low rustic pal- 



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