cost more
than ours will cost, but the money seemed to us foolishly spent."

"Yes," said her husband, "we concluded that the chief plank in the
platform of the architects and builders was 'Millions for display--not
one cent for comfort.'"

"Well, Jack, we have learned one thing on our travels--where _not_ to
look for the plans of our house."

A box of letters from her dear five hundred friends awaited Jill's
return, and a whole afternoon was devoted to them. Each letter
contained some allusion to the new house. At least ten conveyed
underscored advice of the most vital importance, which, if not
followed, would demoralize the servants, distress her husband and
ultimately destroy her domestic peace. Taken at a single dose, the
counsel was confusing, to say the least; but Jill read it faithfully,
laid it away for future reference, and gave the summary to her husband
somewhat as follows:

"It appears, Jack, my dear, to be absolutely indispensable to our
future happiness that the house shall front north, south, east and
west."

"Let's build it on a pivot."

"We must not have large halls to keep warm in cold weather, and we
_must_ have large halls 'for style.' The stories must not be less than
eleven nor more than nine feet high. It must be carpeted throughout and
all the floors must be bare. It must be warmed by steam and hot water
and furnaces and fireplaces and base-burners and coal grates."

"We shan't have to go away from home to get into purgatory, shall we?"

"Hush! The walls of the rooms must be calcimined, painted, frescoed and
papered; they must be dyed in the mortar, finished with leather, with
tiles, with tapestry and with solid wood panels. There must be
blinds--outside blinds, awnings, inside shutters, rolling blinds,
Venetian shades and no blinds at all. There must be wide, low-roofed
piazzas all around the house, so that we can live out of doors in the
summer, and on no account must the sun be excluded from the windows of
the first story by piazza roofs. At least eight patent sanitary
plumbing articles, and as many cooking ranges, are each the only one
safe and fit to be used. The house must be high and low--"

"I'm Jack and you shall be game--"

[Illustration: COUSIN GEORGE'S EXTERIOR.]

"It must be of bricks, wood and stone, separately and in combination;
it must be Queen Anne, Gothic, French, Japanesque and classic American,
and it must be painted all the colors of an autumn landscape."

"W