21

rather amusing than otherwise. [?] we reached our Cottage
we found that the Carpenters had not yet left it & that it was quite
unfinished, not a door was hung, the windows were not put in,
nor the partitions down stairs put up. The house was almost
inacceptible, the wood & undergrowth was so thick, for we had
not permitted a bush to be cut away, the kitchen was not
yet begun, so that there was not a fire place within half
a mile of us. Here we were in a situation we made &
wild, as if we had settled in the western woods. — I was taken
up stairs, a matress spread on the floor, from which the shavings
were removed, & I lay down, with my little [?Sue, ?love], not 3 weeks old.
The activity of Susan & the Nurse soon got the upper part of
the house in order, the cold provisions we had brought from the
City were spread & we ate made a hearty dinner. [?]
[entire line ??]
tea kettle was to be boiled, my good husband [word struck through] very
ingeneously removed that difficulty & went to work & built
a chimney which served us for three weeks. He chose two
trees, about 4 feet apart, these served as the jams, a row of
sticks reached from one to the other, he then built [?]
against these sticks & trees & afterwards laid a large hearth
of branches - on each side of this fire place he put forked sticks
across which others were laid a pole, on which we hung our
pots & kettles - when it rained we made a kind
of roof of green boughs & thus for three weeks
we never were without fire not withstanding several
heavy showers - Nothing could have had a more pictur-
esque effect than this fire. When of an evening
to bright flames shed their light on to surround
ing woods, which just discovered the black girl
sitting on the ground & singing as she watched
the kettle. — In about a month the house
& kitchen was inclosed & the silence & solitude
which succeeded the departure of the workmen
was the more enjoyed from the contrast. — Here in
the midst of woods, in a house just finished, suff-
ciently to afford us a shelter from sun & rain, settl-
ed from all society, I passed 4 happy months - The
novelty of the situation, made up to me for all its
inconventiences -