III.

THE NEW AVENUE, 148

Bertie's Home.

CHAPTER I.

THE RIDE.

When I was a child I used to glance at the first sentence in a new book
to see whether it looked interesting. If it began, "There was once a
boy, who lived in a fine house," I was encouraged to go on.

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, whi