^(5l l<3iC~>] f5irr 
Tbs CIfWw®- 
f7TH5i i<a:<^sj |5i Jf ° £ 
I’se satisfied all de company whar’s cornin’ 
dis day, is done here.” 
Beside the range, set in its special chim¬ 
ney, there was a huge open fireplace, with 
two cranes and a wide hearth of flat 
stones, where pots and ovens, kettles great 
and small, bubbled or simmered, each add¬ 
ing its quota of Christmas smells. All ate 
standing — even the Major, though Tex, 
relenting, set a chair for him. Nancy 
snatched a few mouthfuls — the rest 
showed appetites truly Homeric. Full fed, 
they drank to Christmas and Liza, in gob¬ 
lets of clear cider, just beginning to 
sparkle. They left the portly ham a 
scraggy wreck, the sausage dish almost 
empty, made away with the whole stack of 
fried pies, and the most part of the bread, 
but scorned the scorched cake, and even 
the potato custards supplementing it. 
Looking after them as they trooped away, 
Tex said with a chuckle, “Dee’s er savin' 
up dey sweet-toofs ’ginst termorrer ! I don’ 
blame ’urn — not one lil bit.” 
"The joy of firewood — to the poverty- 
stricken who burn coal!” Mary March 
cried, looking at the sticks piled chin-high 
all the length of the piazza running down 
the double ell. She walked slowly along 
the pile, snuffing its sylvan fragrances, and 
smiling. “Hickory first and most! Sassa¬ 
fras, oak, elm, ash, even cherry!” she 
cried. “Major, how dare you? Uncle Sam 
will be after you — destroying forests as 
you do.” 
“He can’t—when two acres are planted 
for every one cleared,” Wyeth interrupted 
before the Major could speak. That 
gentleman also sniffed the wood-smells 
gratefully. “We couldn’t well live with¬ 
out our open fires,” he said. “Still — there’s 
lot of comfort in a good hot-water system, 
as we’ve proved this five years past. You 
know, Mary, I’m firmly convinced that 
when plumbing becomes as much a com¬ 
monplace in the country as in the cities, 
we will be a heap nearer the millennium?” 
"Sure of it,” Mary answered, running 
her hand in the chip-bin. Firewood was 
chopped after the old fashion, not sawn. 
And the resultant chips filled a space three 
yards square, quite as high as one’s head. 
Liza claimed them, and was stingy, even 
jealous over them—they made hot coals so 
quickly, withal helped a sluggish fire. 
“Lazy niggers,” said she, “a-plenty to split 
kindlin’ fer de great house 1 Leave her 
chips alone—De want nare one ter 
spa’ar.” 
Back-logs, for Christmas and New 
Year, lay majestically apart, close to the 
back entrance. Cut from sound green 
white oak, close-grained and solid, five 
feet long, two feet through, it was man’s 
work to handle them. The bigger of them 
was the immediate problem — Christmas 
demanded the biggest and finest of every¬ 
thing. The Major was for sending it in 
on a hand-barrow—he had objected to 
anybody’s lifting it, even Young Jolm, aged 
fifty, plantation foreman. Young John 
had stubbornly shouldered it, and walked 
with it from the wood pile, outside the 
THE NEW YORK & PORTO RICO S. S. CO. 
General Offices, 11 Broadway, N. Y. 
NEW YORK & CUBA MAIL S.S. CO. (Ward Line) 
General Offices, Pier 14, East River, N. Y. 
CLYDE STEAMSHIP CO. 
General Offices, Pier 36, North River, N. Y. 
MALLORY STEAMSHIP CO. 
General Offices, Pier 36, North River, N. Y. 
DISTRICT PASSENGER OFFICES 
BOSTON-192 Washington St. CHICAGO 444 Com’l Nat’l Bank Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA-701 Chestnut St. NIW YORK-290 Broadway WASHINGTON-1306 F St., N. W. 
The Ideal Way to 
FLORIDA 
T HE ideal way to 
Florida and the 
Sunny South is by sea. 
You are sure to enjoy 
the swift, bracing trip 
down the Coast, made 
doubly attractive by 
the staunch steamers 
and luxurious service 
of the Clyde and 
Mallory Lines. Newest, finest vessels in coastwise service. Staterooms 
twin beds and private bath ; also without bath but with private toilet en 
Four sailings weekly from New York direct to Jacksonville without change, calling at 
Charleston, S. C,, with direct rail connections to all leading southern resorts. Weekly 
sailings to Key West, Tampa, St. Petersburg and Mobile. Also express service to 
Galveston, the Atlantic City of the Southwest, with connections to Pacific Coast points. 
Circle tour tickets at attractive rates, going one way by steamer and one way by rail. 
Special Winter Cruises and Trips to the 
Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico and Porto Rico 
Write us and we will help you plan your trip and send you beautifully illustrated free 
copy “Travel” Number, AGW1 STEAMSHIP NEWS. A letter now will mean better 
accommodations for the journey. Address any one of the following : 
Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Lines 
-Letter Days of Samuel Pepys 
Introduction by H. B. WHEATLEY 
Edited by EDWARD FRANK ALLEN 
The best characteristic passages from the celebrated diary, arranged 
under topical headings, for those who have not the time to read the 
complete work. The most amusing and astonishing self-revelations in 
literature, combined with an accurate picture of 17th Century London. 
Colored frontispiece and other illustrations in black and white. 
“The present editor has cleverly chosen many of the most readable entries.” 
—The Independent. 
“If you lack a Pepys, Friendly Reader, this ‘Red-Letter’ edition will do. Yes, decid¬ 
edly, it will do .”—Denver News. 
$1.50 net; postage 10 cents 
McBRIDE, NAST & CO., Publishers , New York 
In writing to advertisers please mention House & Garden. 
(411 ) 
