end of the day, as I sat by the waning
embers, and watched her moving to and fro between me and the fading
autumn fields_]

Of course the old living-room was the best of all. Its length and low
ceiling and the great fireplace would insure that. We had ranged a row
of blue plates, with some of the ancient things from the attic, along
the narrow mantel, and it somehow seemed as if they had been there from
the beginning. The low double windows were opposite the fireplace. We
had our large table there, and between meal-times the Joy liked to
spread her toys on it. She wore her hair cut in the Dutch fashion, and
sometimes at the end of the day, as I sat by the waning embers and
watched her moving to and fro between me and the fading autumn fields, I
had the most precious twilight illusion of having stepped backward at
least a hundred years.

We thought our color scheme good, and I suppose there is really no
better background for old mahogany than dull green. Golden brown is
handsome with it, and certain shades of blue, but there is something
about the green with antique furniture that seems literally to give it a
soul. Never had our possessions shown to such an advantage (no pun
intended, though they did shine) and never, we flattered ourselves, had
the old house been more fittingly appointed. With the pictures and
shades put up, the rugs put down, and the fires lit, it seemed to us
just about perfect. It was a jewel, we thought, and to-day, remembering
it, I think so still.

II

_There is work about making apple-butter_

Perhaps I am making it all sound too easy and comfortable. The past has
a way of submerging its sorrows. With a little effort, however, I can
still recall some of them. Our transition period was not all picnic and
poetry. There were days of stress--hard, nerve-racking days when it
seemed that never in the wide world would things get into shape--as
when, for instance, the new kitchen range arrived and would not go
through any of the kitchen doors; when our grandfather clock had been
found an inch too tall for any of our rooms; when our big fireplace had
poured out smoke until we were blind and asphyxiated. Any one of these
things would be irritating, and coming together, as they did, one
gloomy, chilly morning, they had presented an aspect almost of failure.
Then, being resolute and in good health, we proceeded to correct
matters. We stripped the range for action, took out a sash, and brought
it in