en door opened at the east corner of the room. The windows faced
due south. The room therefore was always sunny. The floor-boards were
stained, and covered by two or three cheap rugs. Flowers were at the
windows, a vase of flowers always on the table. The fireplace was
open, for I had removed the ugly modern grate, substituting for it a
low hearth of red brick with iron dogs, on which wood could be burned.
This room, with the adjoining library, was the great feature of my
little house.

The other rooms in the house required no alteration; fresh whitewash
and wall-papers soon transformed them; and although they were small,
they were not devoid of charm. When my scheme of adaptation was
complete I found myself possessed of a house containing one beautiful
living-room, a small library, a kitchen, and four good bedrooms. My
bill for labour, including the mason's work in the removal of the
partition wall, the building of a new window, and the laying of a fresh
hearth; the carpenter's work in fitting my oak, and various minor
repairs, amounted in all to about twelve pounds. The cost of my
furniture, including the oak panelling in the living-room, and all that
was needed for the bedrooms, was about fifty pounds, against which I
had to set thirty-eight pounds, received from the sale of my
superfluous effects in London. If I added to these sums the general
expenses of removal, the carriage and cartage of my goods, and so
forth, which I reckoned at ten pounds, I found that the cost of my
exodus and new tenancy had been as follows:--

L. s. d.
By expenses of removal . . . . . . 10 0 0
By alterations and labour . . . . . 12 0 0
By cost of furniture for living-room
and four bedrooms . . . . . . . . 50 0 0
-----------
L72 0 0
Against which, by sale of goods in
London . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 0 0
-----------
Leaving total outlay of . . . . . . L34 0 0
-----------

I am conscious that to a townsman, accustomed to the wastefulness of
towns, some parts of this account must appear incredible. Take, for
instance, the bill for labour. No one has ever lived in London without
having occasion to complain of the dearness and badness of labour. The
chief object of the town