gible and enduring form? No wonder the
rich man builds himself 'a lordly pleasure-house'; it is a kind of
practical poetry which he can understand. Were there only millionaires
enough to go round all architects would be wealthy, for building is a
kind of material art admirably suited to men of material intelligence.

The weeks which followed the acquisition of my two deserted cottages
were the most delightful I have ever spent. First of all, there was
the question of structural alterations to be considered. In my opinion
the living-room of the house is the chief consideration. It should be
a _room to live in_, the focus of the whole life of the household. For
this reason it should be large and airy, covering the whole site of the
house as nearly as possible. One large room is infinitely to be
preferred to two or three small rooms; it is healthier, and much more
cheerful. Space and air are most needed in the room which is most in
use. It is of no consequence that the bedrooms should be small; one's
active hours are not spent in them, and a window left wide open summer
and winter will provide an ample supply of oxygen in the smallest
chamber. What can be more absurd than the arrangement of a modern
London villa? It is usually cut up by partition walls into a number of
small rooms, not more than one of which is in constant use. Pretension
takes the place of comfort. Mrs. Grundy must have a 'drawing-room' or
die! It is a kind of holiest of holies, too beautiful for normal
occupation, full of gimcrack chairs that cannot be sat upon, and
decorative futilities which give it the aspect of a miscellaneous stall
at a 'rummage sale.' Such a room is very well as a _with_drawing-room,
its proper use; but as a room into which no one withdraws it is absurd.
As I expected to keep no company, and needed no room into which to
withdraw, I was able to get rid of this apartment. Moreover, in a very
small house, common sense demanded that every room should be really and
thoroughly used.

Fortunately the fireplaces of my two cottages were against the outer or
gable ends, and not against the partition wall, as is commonly the
case. I had only to remove this partition wall, supporting the ceiling
by a strong beam, and I had a room about twenty-four long by fifteen in
breadth. At the back of this room were two small kitchens, only one of
which was needed. By widening the doorway leading to one of them to
double its breadth, I