I know not whether
the house was intended as a permanent family-residence or merely as a
pleasure-place for the summer; but from its extent I should conceive the
former to have been its purpose. Be that as it may, it has perpetuated
an imputation of folly upon the poor man who erected it, which still
keeps his memory disagreeably alive after a hundred years. The house
must have made a splendid appearance for many miles around; and the
glare of the old-fashioned festivities would be visible, doubtless, in
the streets of Salem, when he illuminated his windows to celebrate a
king's birthday, or some other loyal occasion. The barberry-bushes,
clustering within the cellars, offer the harsh acidity of their fruit
to-day, instead of the ripe wines which used to be stored there.
Descending the hill, I entered a green, seldom-trodden lane, which runs
along at a hundred yards or two from its base, and parallel with its
ridge. It was overshadowed by chestnut-trees, and bordered with the
prevalent barberry-bush, and between ran the track,--the beaten path of
the horses' feet, and the even way of either wheel, with green strips
between. It was a very lonely lane, and very pleasant in the warm,
declining sun; and, following it a third of a mile, I came to a place
that was familiar to me when I was a child, as the residence of a
country cousin whom I used to be brought to see.
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