$8 LIBERTY AND A LIVING. 



is hinted at by the presence of some whales' 

 vertebrae, in the shape of seats sprinkled around 

 the grounds. The orchard, which is at the 

 back of the lot, does not count for much except 

 in the matter of pears, which are wonderfully 

 successful in our part of the world. 



Such a house as this, finished in the roughest 

 shape, but beautified by loving hands, and liter- 

 ally strewn with bits of color in the shape of a 

 rug here, a gigantic Japanese fan there, a palm- 

 tree in this corner, and no end of pottery of the 

 most flamboyant type, has a character which no 

 amount of expensive commonplace work can 

 give. Its glory is the size of its chief room. 

 There is scarcely a private house within miles 

 which boasts a room of that size, and with 

 all its roughness, size produces a good 

 effect. In its present shape, with the five 

 small bedrooms upstairs finished in the very 

 cheapest manner, the total cost of the house 

 has been under $1,600. Counting the cost of 

 some of the ornamental woodwork, which I 

 have done myself as a matter of personal pride, 

 perhaps the whole building might cost to du- 

 plicate $1,700. Yet the kitchen has all the 

 conveniences of a city house. The range gives 



