"It is to mark out exactly the line where the cellar is to be. See, this is the front of the house; and I have measured twenty feet. Your mother wishes the room to be eighteen feet wide; and it is necessary to allow one foot each side for the thickness of the walls, the plastering, etc."
"But, papa, here is another stick only a little way off. Wont mamma's room be larger than this?"
"Yes, it extends back into what is called the main building. Don't you remember in Mr. Rand's plan how this room projects, or comes out, beyond the rest?"
"Oh, yes, papa; I understand now, and right here where I stand, the piazza will be. Wont it be very pretty?"
"I think so; but we must thank mamma for the plan. It was her taste suggested it to the architect."
"Mr. Taylor says mamma is the most wonderful woman he ever saw," replied the boy earnestly.
"Mr. Taylor is a wise man," said papa. "I entirely agree with him."
"Oh, see how hard the oxen are pulling! Wont that wood break their necks?"
"That is a yoke, and they are used to it. They are dragging stones for the cellar."