Colonial Gateways and Fences in New England 
such effective and elaborate examples as 
that of the old Nichols house in Federal 
Street. To give a true idea of this situation 
it is necessary to have the whole layout of 
the garden in mind. The square mansion 
stands perhaps twenty feet from the sidewalk, 
along which, across the front, runs the low 
white fence with simple round pickets. The 
decoration, as usual, centres in the beautiful 
posts crowned with carved urns on either side 
of the central gate. 1 he side gate and the 
rest of the fence beyond the house are in the 
so-called cobweb pattern in one of the most 
intricate forms. Entering here, we follow 
the brick walk between its box borders past 
the side door to the picturesque courtyard, 
where old-time Puritan severity seems for a 
moment to have exchanged its primness for 
Italian playfulness. An arcade runs clear 
across the end of the house and directly 
facing it, across the stone paved court is 
the big old-fashioned stable with its three 
classical pediments and central archway 
leading down to the garden. At one end, 
big square lattices support vines that have 
grown half way up to meet them. On a gable 
is perched an eagle with outspread wings, pos¬ 
sibly a relic brought from a ship by a sea cap¬ 
tain ancestor, and at one side is a lusty old 
pump of the sort that delighted Hawthorne. 
Through the archway one can see the long 
STABLE YARD-NICHOLS HOUSE 
OLD DOORWAY AND CHAIN FENCE-SALEM 
the charm, and in fact the principal mo¬ 
tive, lies in the fences; so absolutely simple 
with those graceful columns and slender 
rails which give at once an air of distinction 
to the plainest of structures. 
The ideal garden in New r England is en¬ 
closed in a high fence, a brick w T all or hedge, 
where the family can enjoy the freedom of 
out-of-door life, or walk 
among the flowers. 1 he fact 
is to be regretted that Ameri¬ 
cans do not live more in their 
parks and gardens. Break¬ 
fast on a vine-covered porch, 
tea on the terrace, a woman 
sewing in the garden are 
sights all too scarce in our 
American civilization, and not 
only would they add to the 
picturesqueness of life but to 
its health and comfort as 
well. 
For some of the most beau¬ 
tiful examples of Colonial 
fences we naturally turn to 
Salem, where scarcely a 
house does not boast of 
some kind, from the most 
simple of picket fences to 
228 
