Home Life 



next time and overcome the defects. He was generally in 

 better health and happier when some constructional work 

 was in hand. He built three houses, ''The Dell " at Grays, 

 " Nutwood Cottage " at Godalming, and the " Old Orchard " 

 at Broadstone. The last he actually built himself, employ- 

 ing the men and buying all the materials, with the assistance 

 of a young clerk of works ; but though the enterprise was a 

 source of great pleasure, it was a constant worry. He also 

 designed and built a concrete garden wall, with which he 

 was very pleased, though it cost considerably more than he 

 anticipated. He had not been at Parkstone long before 

 he set about the planning of '' alterations " with his usual 

 enthusiasm. We were both away from home at this time, and 

 consequently ha<i many letters from him, of which one 

 is given as a specimen. His various interests are nearly 

 always referred to in these letters, and in not a few 

 of them his high spirits show themselves in bursts of 

 exuberance which were very characteristic whenever a new 

 scheme was afoot. The springs of eternal youth were for ever 

 bubbling up afresh, so that to us he never grew old. One of 

 us remembers how, when he must have been about 80, some- 

 one said, '* What a wonderful old man your father is ! " This 

 was quite a shock, for to us he was not old. The letter re- 

 ferred to above is the following : 



To Me. W. G. W^allace 



Parkstone, Dorset. February 1, 1891. 



My dear Will, — Another week has passed away into 

 eternity, another month has opened its eyes on the world, 

 and still the illustrious Charles [bricklayer] potters about, 

 still the carpenter plies the creaking saw and the stunning 

 hammer, still the plumber plumbs and the bellhanger rattles, 

 still the cisterns overflow and the unfinished drains send 

 forth odorous fumes, still the rains descend and all around 



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