With Illustrations,

BY E.C. GARDNER,

Author of "Homes and How to Make Them." "Home Interiors,"
"Common Sense in Church Building," etc.

SPRINGFIELD, MASS.:
W.F. ADAMS COMPANY,
1896.
1882,
By Our Continent Publishing Co.
All rights reserved.
E.C. GARDNER, 1895.
Printed and Bound by
CLARK W. BRYAN COMPANY,
Springfield, Mass.

CONTENTS.

Page
[CHAPTER I.]
A Wise Father And A Glad Son-in-law		7
[CHAPTER II.]
Moral Suasion For Malarial Marshes		20
[CHAPTER III.]
A First Visit And Sage Advice		32
[CHAPTER IV.]
Many Fires Make Small Dividends		48
[CHAPTER V.]
When The Floods Beat And The Rains Descend		63
[CHAPTER VI.]
The Wisdom Of Jill In The Kitchen		78
[CHAPTER VII.]
Be Honest And Keep Warm		90
[CHAPTER VIII.]
Truth, Poetry And Roofs		103
[CHAPTER IX.]
Professional Etiquette—Blinds And Bessie		115
[CHAPTER X.]
More Questions Of Fire And Water		128
[CHAPTER XI.]
What Shall We Stand Upon?		140
[CHAPTER XII.]
From Mathematics To Ancient Bric-a-Brac		151
[CHAPTER XIII.]
Economy, Cleanliness, And Health		166
[CHAPTER XIV.]
Safe Flues And More Light		177
[CHAPTER XV.]
A Dangerous Rival		189
[CHAPTER XVI.]
A New Way Of Getting Up Stairs And A New Missionary Field		203
[CHAPTER XVII.]
The Right Side Of Paint, A Protest And A Promise		221
[CHAPTER XVIII.]
The House Finished And The Home Begun		233
[CHAPTER XIX.]
Ten Years After		250
[CHAPTER XX.]
A Double Conclusion		258

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

From Drawings by the Author.

Page
1. ["Cousin George's Exterior"]11
2. [Cousin George's First Floor]14
3. [Cousin George's Second Floor]15
4. ["Warmth Is Beauty"]21
5. [A Hidden Foe]23
6. [A Buried Gridiron]24
7. [The Protecting "Cut-off"]25
8. [A "Cross-Section" Prophecy]28
9. [Heat From All Sides]30
10. [Aunt Melville's Ambition]33
11. [No Place For The Bed]36
12. [Enlarged By Destruction]37
13. [A Slight Addition]39
14. [Ground Floor Of Aunt Melville's Ambition]42
15. [First Floor Of Aunt Melville's Ambition]43
16. [A Secure Outlook]49
17. [Mined And Countermined]52
18. [A Dormer Of Burned Clay]55
19. [The Topmost Peak]59
20. [Will's Masterpiece]65
21. [The First Floor Of Will's Masterpiece]73
22. [The Second Floor Of Will's Masterpiece]75
23. [The Outside Of Ted's House]79
24. [Jill's Kitchen In Black And White]83
25. [The First Floor Of Ted's House]88
26. [The Poor But Modest Attorney's Cottage]91
27. [A Double Team]94
28. [Warmth Under The Window]96
29. [Steam Pipes Beside The Fireplace]97
30. [The Attorney's Floor Plan]101
31. [No Concealment Or Disguise]105
32. [With A Mullion And Without]110
33. [Jack's Architectural Phrenology]112
34. [The Hat Makes The Man]113
35. [The Contribution Of Bessie's Father]117
36. [The First Floor Of The Contribution]123
37. [A Gargoyle]130
38. [A Choice Of Gutters]131
39. ["A Simple Recess"]133
40. [In The Middle Rank]135
41. [The Worth Of A Cosy Cottage]137
42. [A Promise Of Social Success]141
43. [A Reasonable Hope]143
44. [Floors As They Are: Floors As They Might Be]145
45. [Bricks And Boulders On Granite Underpinning]149
46. [Not Brilliant, But Impressive]153
47. [Wooden Richness]155
48. [No Waste Of Wood]156
49. [First Floor Of The Promise]158
50. [Second Floor Of The Promise]159
51. [No Place For Secret Foes]167
52. [Safe And Saving Flues]179-80
53. [A Picture In Glass Over The Fireplace]181
54. [Glass Of Many Colors, Shapes And Sizes]183
55. [Shelves In The Middle, Cupboards Above And Below]185
56. ["The Oaks"]191
57. [Outside Barriers]195
58. [Inside Barriers]196
59. [Common Ugliness—Simple Grace]197
60. [First Floor Plan Of "The Oaks"]201
61. [Looking Toward Sunset]205
62. [Near The Turning-Point]207
63. [A Choice Of Balusters]209
64. [The Big Fireplace In The Keeping-Room]211
65. [One Way To Begin]213
66. [A Broadside Of An Easy Ascent]215
67. [A Dividing Screen At The Foot Of The Stairs]219
68. [Bits Of Cornices]223
69. [Mouldings Fair To See, But Hard To Keep Clean]225
70. [Fragments Of Architraves]227
71. [A Choice Of Wainscots]229
72. [Wood Panels For Walls And Ceilings,
With Irregularities In Leather, Paint And Paper]		231
73. [The House That Jill Built]235
74. [The First Floor Of The House That Jill Built]239
75. [The Second Floor Of The House That Jill Built]241
76. [The East End Of Jill's Dining-Room]243
77. [A Castle In Spain]263
Also Initials, Tail-Pieces, etc.

INDEX OF SUBJECTS.

Page
Building Sites[16]
Bricks[46], [53], [58]
Blinds[116]
Chimneys[179]
Contract Work[233]
Competitive Plans[237]
Doors[194]
Fireproof Construction[54]
False Chimney-Piece[98]
Fireplaces[134]
Floors[140]
Fashion[224]
Gutters[129]
Heating[97], [132]
Height Of Rooms[138]
Hard Wood[197]
Interior Finish[221]
Kitchen Arrangements[81], [125]
Plumbing[166], [177]
Pantries[186], [189]
Paint[223]
Roofs[69], [113]
Stairs[38], [214]
Stained Glass[38], [183]
Terra Cotta[61]
Under-Draining[24]
Ventilating Flues[178]
Windows[110], [183]
Wooden Buildings[51]

PREFACE