XVIII 

 AN ISLAND HOME 



In the midst of Long Island Sound, a mile or 

 more from the Connecticut shore, stands a sandy 

 bowlder-strewn island and a house or two of no 

 particular consequence not far away. A light- 

 house for years has stood on one point. Other- 

 wise the island has been little developed, having 

 principally been the abode of a wide-spread growth 

 of ailanthus, the suckers of which have overrun 

 almost everything. No one apparently knows 

 whence the ailanthus came, but it has taken full 

 possession with the exception of a few isolated 

 outlying patches of bayberry bushes and wild 

 vines. 



The last owner conceived the idea of making 

 himself a home on this barren island with its 

 pure air and tide-swept shores. Sailing and 

 boating he could easily command, and the house, 

 barns, garden, lawns, and boat landings he pro- 

 posed to create in a somewhat leisurely way that 

 would fit it gradually to his needs and secure 

 for him the greatest enjoyment of the natural 

 beauties of the place. 



The house designed for him is simple and 

 fitted to the spot. It is of no special type of 

 architecture unless it be that of a Norman farm 



[74] 



