FOREWORD HI 



Egyptian Sphinx, hails most serenely the dawn- 

 ing light of each new day. By a freak, or a 

 well-digested plan — I never knew which — of 

 the original architect, the mansion had "seven 

 gables," and in our modernizing it six more 

 were added; thirteen in all, a most interesting 

 and bewitching number. Wiseacres and the 

 superstitious shake their heads ominously and 

 heave a sigh and look for calamities, but it all 

 pleases us, for we are severely rid of them. 

 Yet what stories they told while the repairs 

 were going on — stories of signs in heaven and 

 black cats on earth and moon tricks, laughable 

 and pitiable, but the old house seems to enjoy 

 it all because it arrests attention! 



The town of S., a shiretown, and on the old 

 stage-coach line from Boston to New York and 

 about midway, has grown into a large and 

 vigorous city and grown away from us, at- 

 tracted by the great Trunk line. The river, for 

 so it has always been called, in early times had 

 but a single factory; now it has a score of mam- 

 moth mills and a greatly improved water power, 

 while their aggregate demand and output of 

 material make a most busy thoroughfare of 

 the wide avenue in front, and noisy as well, if 

 one has the leisure to note it. So, as good for- 

 tune would have it, we are midway between the 



