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In: Children & Young Adult Reading·Novels
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #23683.
The work is a six‑volume instructional story that blends practical lessons on house‑building with the gentle adventures of the Curtis family. It opens with a narrator promising simple, readable text that will teach young readers about the trades needed to erect a home, then immediately introduces Mr. Curtis, his wife Cecilia, and their children Bertie and Winnie as they travel through a picturesque village called Oxford. The carriage scene sets the tone: a hopeful couple scouting a lakeside spot for a country house, a kindly farmer offering hospitality, and the children’s lively curiosity. From this pastoral tableau the narrative moves to the purchase of land, the arrival of an architect, and the detailed discussion of plans, all presented as a continuous lesson in construction and rural life.
Written in a clear, didactic style typical of late‑Victorian juvenile fiction, the prose is earnest and descriptive, with a steady rhythm that mirrors the narrator’s instructional aim. Readers who enjoy gentle moral tales, detailed depictions of country living, and a narrative that doubles as a practical guide to building will find the book appealing. It especially suits younger readers who appreciate stories that combine family warmth with step‑by‑step explanations of everyday trades.
The opening · free to read
Now I wish to make these little books very interesting to my young readers. I want to have the words so simple that they can be read and not skipped over, and at the same time my object is to give you useful information. As you will learn, I am to tell you in these six volumes many things about building a house, and to explain the different kinds of labor or trades which are necessary for such a purpose; but first I shall introduce you to the family of Mr. Curtis, a gentleman who loves children and whom I am sure you will love before the book is finished.
Quite a number of years ago, a carriage drawn by two dapple-gray horses was passing slowly through the main street of a beautiful village, which I shall call Oxford.
There were five persons in it. On the front seat was a gentleman whose keen, sparkling eye and laughing mouth always made people wish to learn more of him. By his side were two children, Herbert and Winifred, or, as they were usually called, Bertie and Winnie.
The back seat was occupied by Mrs. Curtis and her nurse. The lady was just recovering from a long and painful illness, and still looked very pale. She was supported by cushions, and sometimes as the carriage rolled slowly over the smooth gravelled road she fell asleep. But now Mrs. Curtis was wide awake, her eyes gazing through the large glass in the side of the carriage at the beautiful prospect before them.
"Oh, look at that lake!" she exclaimed; "isn't it lovely? See the wooded banks, and that pretty green slope. I've dreamed of a home in just such a spot."
Mr. Curtis stopped the horses, and leaning from the carriage, gazed all about him. It was indeed a lovely view. The village of Oxford was situated in a valley sheltered on three sides by hills; and here in a little cleft between them a small lake lay nestled, almost shut from view by the thick trees which grew down close to the banks.
As the gentleman gazed right and left, his eye at last rested on a slight elevation where the ground was more open, and from which it ran down with a gentle slope to the water. The green here and there was dotted with a fine spreading elm, or a huge oak, which looked as if they might have weathered the storms of a hundred years.
"What are you stopping so long for, papa?" asked Bertie, wondering at his father's unusual silence.
He did not seem to hear the question, for he presently turned to his wife and asked, smiling,--
"Would you like a house on that hill, Cecilia? There, just beyond the cluster of chestnut trees, is the spot I should choose."
"Oh, Lawrence! everything seems so quiet and peaceful in this neat village, a home there would be almost a paradise."
After one more glance at the fresh greensward, where the summer sun was casting such pleasant shadows under the grand old trees, Mr. Curtis spoke to the horses to go on, the road winding round the lake so that except for the trees they could have seen it for half a mile.
Presently he stopped a man at the side of the road, and asked,--
"Is there a tavern in this village?"
"No, sir," was the smiling reply; "there's little need of a tavern here, so far away from the world."
"Is there any place where I could bait my horses and get a dinner for my family?"
"Yes, sir; there's a farm-house a quarter of a mile back, where travellers sometimes stop. If they're not through dinner, they'll give you some and welcome."
"Oh, sir," said Mrs. Curtis, "we couldn't think of intruding unless they would allow us to pay them."
The man walked on, after describing the house, laughing to himself.
The house stood on the main street leading to the city, the villagers finding ready access thereto by a stage-coach running twice a day. Everything about the farm looked neat and thriving. It was almost the only house in the village which exhibited any pretensions to elegance. It had a bow window on the south side, and three Luthern windows in the roof. There was a garden filled with flowers, and at the side a road or avenue leading to the immense barns in the rear.
In answer to Mr. Curtis' knock, a young girl opened the door, and presently called her mother to answer the question whether they could put up there for an hour.
"Walk right in," she answered, cordially; "dinner will be ready in a few minutes. If you'll please, sir, to drive the horses round to the barn, one of our men will take care of them."
Mrs. Curtis was soon resting on a sofa in a cool, pleasant parlor, inhaling the fragrance of the June roses, which came through the open window; the children were running about the farm-yard, almost wild with delight, and nurse was following them, nearly as much pleased as they were.
After dinner, which nurse brought from the table on a tray, Mrs. Curtis enjoyed an hour of refreshing sleep. When she awoke she found the blinds carefully closed to exclude the light; but she could hear the sound of many voices outside, and at last a tiny head, covered with auburn curls, peeped into the room.
"Mamma, see what Winnie dot," exclaimed a happy voice as she saw mamma was awake. "See pooty bird!"
"It's a goslin," said mamma, taking the little yellow, downy ball from her daughter's hand, "a darling little goslin; but it is crying 'peep, peep,' because it wants to be back with its mother. Where are papa and Bertie?"
"Papa done off with man. Dere Bertie," as his voice shouted "Winnie," at the door.
It was almost four o'clock before Mr. Curtis made his appearance, and his wife, who had been chatting with Mrs. Taylor, the farmer's wife, had begun to wonder where he could be.
"You're nice and cool here," he said, laying his hat on the table and wiping the drops of perspiration from his forehead.
"You look very tired, Lawrence," she said, anxiously.
He only laughed.
"Isn't it time to start?" the lady asked.
"The horses will be round directly; but, Cecilia, I want to ask you a question. Were you in earnest when you said you should like to live here in this quiet village?"
She sighed. "Yes, Lawrence, I really meant that I should enjoy a home away from the bustle and confusion of a city; and that lovely lake is exactly what I have always connected with my visions of a country home. But why do you look so eager?"
"Because, my dear, I have ascertained that I can purchase that spot on reasonable terms. In fact, everything is settled on condition that when you have taken a nearer view you like it."
Mrs. Curtis clasped her hands as she exclaimed,--
"Oh, Lawrence! what a kind husband you are!"
"I have ascertained," he went on, smiling, "that the village is so healthy no physician can be supported. There is one church and good schools; though there is no hotel and not one dram-shop. I think we shall like it; and if you say you will try to be contented, I shall conclude the bargain at once and turn farmer."
"Why, Lawrence, what do you know about such business?"
"You forget, my dear, that I was born and brought up in the country."
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