ith
the aid of this he manages to build a very tidy cottage, in the face of
the statement made by architects and builders that a good cottage cannot
be erected under L120. Their dwellings do not, indeed, compete with the
neat, prim, and business-like work of the professional builder; but
still they are roomy and substantial cottages. The secret of cheapness
lies in the fact that they work themselves at the erection, and do not
entrust some one else with a contract. Moreover, they make shifts and
put up with drawbacks as no business-man could possibly do. The
materials they purchase are cheap and of second-class condition, but
good enough to hold together and to last some time. Their rude beams and
rafters would not satisfy the eye of a landed proprietor, but they hold
up the roof-tree equally well. Every pound they spend goes its full
length, and not a penny is wasted. After a while a substantial-looking
cottage rises up, whitewashed and thatched. It has an upper storey with
two rooms, and two, at least, downstairs, with the inevitable lean-to or
shed, without which no labourer's cottage is complete. This is more like
a house, the residence of a man, than that of the poorer squatter. The
floor is composed of flag-stones, in this case always carefully washed
and holystoned. There are the same chairs and deal table as in the
poorer cottage, but there are many more domestic utensils, and the
chimney-piece is ornamented with more crockery figures. A few coarse
prints hang against the walls. Some of these old prints are great
curiosities in their way--hardly valuable enough for a collection, but
very amusing. A favourite set of prints is the ride of Dick Turpin to
York on Black Bess, representing every scene in that famous gallop. The
upstair rooms are better furnished, and the beds often really good.

Some of these cottages in summer-time really approach something of that
Arcadian beauty which is supposed to prevail in the country. Everything,
of course, depends upon the character of the inmates. The dull tint of
the thatch is relieved here and there by great patches of sillgreen,
which is religiously preserved as a good herb, though the exact ailments
for which it is "good" are often forgotten. One end of the cottage is
often completely hidden with ivy, and woodbine grows in thickest
profusion over the porch. Near the door there are almost always a few
cabbage-rose trees, and under the windows grow wall-flowers and
hollyho