The House | Page 6

Troupe on the Connecticut river
circuit.
Erasmus' sense of humor is hampered by no sentiment of reverence.
For the last five years he has caused his mother and me much
humiliation by his ribald treatment of the subject that is nearest and
dearest to our hearts. In fact, we have come to be ashamed of speaking
of "the house" in Erasmus' hearing, for that would give the child a
chance to indulge in humor at the expense of a matter which he seems
to regard as visionary as the merest fairy tale. Now Galileo and
Herschel are very different boys; they are making famous progress at
the manual training school. Galileo has already invented a churn of
exceptional merit, and Herschel is so deft at carpentering that I have
determined to let him build the observatory which I am going to have
on the roof of the new house one of these days. Galileo and Herschel
are unusually proper, steady boys. And our daughters--ah! that reminds
me.
Fanny is our oldest girl. She is going on fifteen now. She favors the
Bakers in appearance, but her character is more like her mother's side
of the family. If I do say it myself, Fanny is a beautiful girl. If I could
have my way Fanny would be less given to the social amenities of life,
but the truth is that the dear creature naturally loves gayety and is
bound to have it at all times and under all conditions. Her merry
disposition makes her a favorite with all, and particularly with her
schoolmates.
Now that I think of it, Willie Sears has been to see Fanny every
evening for the last week. I wonder whether Alice has noticed it; I think
I shall have to speak to her about it. Yet the probability is that Alice
will resent the suggestion which my mention of the matter will convey.
Alice has been saying all along that one particular reason why our new

house should be a large one is that there would then be a room where
Fanny could receive her company without being mortified almost to
death by Erasmus' horrid intrusion and still more horrid remarks. At
such times I forgive and adore Erasmus. It seems only yesterday that I
bought her a bisque doll at the World's Fair, a bisque doll with pink
eyes and blue hair, and now--oh, Fanny, are you no longer our little
girl?
Still, we have Josephine, and I am sure she will honor us; for she was
born six years ago under the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus, and
while Mars was at perihelion. Moreover, she is the seventh daughter of
a seventh daughter, and there are those who believe that there is
especial virtue in that. I named her after the French empress, not
because I am a particular admirer of that remarkable but unfortunate
woman's character, but for the reason that upon one occasion she
secured a pension of eight hundred francs for the astronomer LeBanc,
who had already added to the sum of human happiness by locating an
asteroid near the left limb of the sun, and who subsequently discovered
a greenish yellow spot on the outer ring of the planet Saturn. I never
hear my dear little girl's voice or see her sweet face that I do not think
of the planet Saturn; and never in the solemn stillness of night do I
contemplate the scintillating glories of the ringed orb without being
reminded of the fair, innocent babe asleep in her little white iron
bedstead downstairs.
This sentimental association of objects widely separated in space has
served to convince me that there is nothing, either in the heavens above
or in the earth beneath, that has not its use, both profitable and pleasant.

III
WE MAKE OUR BARGAIN KNOWN
The Schmittheimer place has occasioned Alice and me many
heartburnings of envy the last three years. I recall that the first time we
passed it Alice exclaimed: "There, Reuben, is just the place for us!" I

agreed entirely with this proposition. The house stood back a goodly
distance from the street upon a prominence that gave it an extended
survey of the landscape, and afforded an exceptionally noble
opportunity for an unobstructed view of the heavens upon cloudless
nights. Alice particularly admired the lawn, for already she pictured to
herself the pleasing sight of little Josephine and little Erasmus at play in
the cool grass under the umbrageous trees.
And now, having yearned and pined for this particular abiding-place a
many days, it was really ours! Alice told me about it--how she had
comprehended the bargain (for it was indeed a bargain!)--as we
proceeded together to inspect our new home. It seems that that very
morning, worn out with waiting and inflamed