24 MY VINEYARD. 



the foundation logs began to decay, and a new house had 

 to be built, that dearly loved home-room was copied as 

 closely as possible; but its peculiar air of comfort and 

 homeliness, which we so much loved, could not be imitated 

 in the more costly and pretentious structure. I have often 

 wondered why the original owner of the place and builder 

 of the house, could have left it. He must have been a 

 man of taste, having an appreciation of the beauties 

 which surrounded him. I learned that necessity did not 

 require his removal. He was doubtless governed, as 

 thousands of others are in similar cases, by the hope of 

 bettering his fortune in some more promising locality fur- 

 ther west. 



THE BARN. 



The structure used by my predecessors for the protec- 

 tion of their stock, was no longer of any value for that 

 purpose. To put up a substantial building with the^ means 

 I had at hand, was altogether out of the question. The 

 only alternative was to adopt the plan quite common in 

 many of the newer portions of the AVest, of putting up a 

 hovel. The location of the old one I did not like, being 

 in too convenient proximity to the house. A new site 

 was therefore chosen towards the east side of the farm, 

 where the land sloped for a little way quite abruptly, and 

 has since afforded me a basement stable to a large and 



