A Residence of Joseph Bonaparte’s 
title in this country), 
“if you will stand 
them up edgeways.” 
I'hat was as far as 
the negotiations 
went. 
One of the most 
charming things 
about the house at 
Bow Hill is the sat¬ 
isfactory workman¬ 
ship. One is apt to 
listen tolerantly and 
remain unconvinced 
when he hears the 
assertion, so often 
confidently made, 
that the durability of 
modern houses is 
almost a minus 
quantity as compared 
with that of a house 
built—say even fifty 
years ago. But the 
splendid physical 
condition of some old 
houses now starting 
in, hale and hearty, 
on a second century 
makes one wonder 
whether more care 
was not taken with 
ancient architecture, after all. At present there are 
numerous tricks and customs (once firmly adhered 
to by the builder and demanded by the owner—who 
was willing to pay for them) which are now regarded 
as Quixotic. In fact, consideration for future gen¬ 
erations is not a part of the modern philosophy. 
There was a time when every bit of wood that went 
into a building was thoroughly sound and known to 
have been seasoned. Every piece of wood of the 
old Colonial box-cornices was painted on both sides 
before it went into place. But, although this simple 
expedient will make the wood last three or four 
times as long, people 
have neither the time 
nor the money to 
waste on such pre¬ 
caution. As a result, 
you can go around in 
almost any part of 
the country and 
watch ten-year-old 
houses coming to 
pieces. For that rea¬ 
son, the well-groom¬ 
ed, healthy appear¬ 
ance of Bow Hill 
attracts one’s atten¬ 
tion immediately. It 
looks young and 
strong, as if it had 
plenty of reserve 
force. The walls are 
beautiful pieces of 
F le m i s h - b o n d e d 
brickwork; and the 
woodwork, both on 
the interior and the 
exterior, is almost 
perfect. The stair¬ 
way, which is unusu¬ 
ally good, is so more 
on account of its 
splendid execution 
than for any remark¬ 
ably clever or well-studied design. But the result 
of mere painstaking craftsmanship on a simple, 
straightforward — though perhaps unoriginal •— 
scheme is always satisfactory. One cannot have 
a better illustration of this than the pretty little stair 
at Bow Hill. 
Altogether the house is charming. As one catches 
a last glimpse of its stocky chimneys disappearing 
among the pine frees, no matter what his opinion in 
a general way of Bonaparte’s taste may be, he cannot 
but be convinced that the Count was right about 
Bow Hill. 
A PATH AT BOW HILL 
247 
