that look to the south does not the sun, in the winter, shine 

 into the porticoes, while in the summer it passes over our 

 heads, and above the roof, and casts a shade ? Ought we not 

 to build the parts towards the south higher, that the sun in 

 winter may not be shut out, and the parts towards the north 

 lower, that the cold winds may not fall violently on them ? 

 To sum up the matter briefly, that would be the most pleas- 

 ant and the most beautiful residence in which the owner, at 

 all seasons, would find the most satisfactory retreat, and de- 

 posit what belongs to him with the greatest safety. " As if 

 they had brought the art of building from ancient Greece, so 

 did our ancestors construct their houses on a southern slope, 

 fronting to the sun, high in front, and low in the rear. We 

 used to hear them called " salt-box houses;" for in every one 

 of these houses there used to be a salt-box, shaped precisely 

 like the house. 



I am not to be reckoned among the oldest persons here to- 

 day, but I have seen many of these New England farm- 

 houses, and comtortable, inviting places they were. There 

 was the long kitchen, with its broad, deep fire-place in which 

 a half-cord of wood could be piled and fired on festive nights. 

 What suppers, what sports there were after a spinning bee, 

 or a quilting bee, or a corn husking ! What Thanksgiving 

 feasts ! What birthday rejoicings, what wedding festivals, 

 those old kitchens witnessed ! The fire on the wide hearths 

 never went out. And all through the winter months, when 

 the crops had been housed in the barns and stored in the cel- 

 lars, joyful among themselves, as Virgil has it, — the farmers 

 enjoyed mutual feasts. 



There was little of what is called rivalry or envy in those 

 elder days among the farmers. There was a general harmony 

 and good neighborhood. The interest of one was the inter- 

 est of all. Did one of them have the misfortune to have his 

 house or his barn burnt, his neighbors would raise and finish 

 a new house or barn for him. What famous women were the 

 wives of the farmers who lived in those houses. How they 

 rose up early and sat up late, and carded wool and flax and 

 spun yarn and knitted stockings and wove cloth ; and they 



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