es Mr. Rand had brought
with him.

First, there was a picture of a pretty cottage with a verandah running
around it. Then came the plan of a barn, very pretty and picturesque;
but Mr. Rand tumbled these over without any ceremony, saying,--

"You must have something better than that;" and presently he came to the
picture of a large house with turrets and towers, which looked very
imposing.

"There it is. That's the plan for you," the gentleman exclaimed, in an
exultant tone.

"What's the cost of that?" asked Mr. Curtis.

"Pshaw! the cost of a building is nothing to you," Mr. Rand answered,
laughing. "The thing to be considered is whether you like it."

"What do you say, Cecilia?"

"It does not look home-like. The ground is high enough without mounting
to the towers to see the prospect. I have an idea in my own mind if I
could explain it to you."

"Try, if you please, Mrs. Curtis."

"I want, first of all," the lady began, "to have the room in which we
shall live, in the most pleasant part of the house. It ought to be
eighteen feet by twenty-five, the front finished with a large
bay-window, and also a window on each side looking out on a piazza. This
room should project from the main house about twelve feet, the space on
each side filled with a piazza. On one side of the main building I would
have a large parlor for state occasions; on the other, the dining-room
and library, and back of the large sitting-room on the other side of the
spacious hall, which occupies the middle of the house, and well lighted
from above, will be the kitchen. Below, in a basement, I would have a
room fitted with tubs, boilers, etc., for a wash-room, and out of it the
laundry. The chambers, well provided with closets, must be for after
consideration."

"A capital plan!" exclaimed the architect. "You have given me a very
good general idea; now if you will particularize or express in detail
what kind of finish suits your taste, I will draw you a plan that I
think you will accept; but wouldn't it be an addition to run up a tower
at one corner? It would be very imposing."

"That is my principal objection. We are intending to settle in this
quiet village. We hope to pass the rest of our lives here. We mean to be
one of the people. If our house is too grand it may not be so easy for
our neighbors to approach us, or for us to gain access to their humble
cottages. Besides, if we are not extravagant, and too far above them,
they will try to