Litchfield enquirer., 1873-09-11
Why was it called the Shore House. !

Why was It called the ShOf6 House, 4
 wonders Ton say, Kate. it's not So very close to the sea. 2 -..., Mrs. Kew answered that she had heard that the family lived at first a few miles
 farther inland. and one of the sons kept
 the old house, so they called it that to
 distinguish them.
 'sThat must have been coeval with the Newport mill, !" said Kate, eff this place
 is as old as mamma says. Do you live in Deephaven too?" sesss s4sv ''Tve been here the better part of my life. I was born mp among the hills in Vermont, and shall always be real mp country woman if live here a hundred years more. The sea does mt come nat
 ural to me, though there is n't happier
 woman than I, long shore. It kind of worries me. When was first married
 he had schooner and went to the banks,
 end once he was off on a whaling voyage, and hope may never come to SO long three years as those were again, though was up to mother's Before knew him he had been most everywhere. When he came home that time from whaling, he found I'd taken it so to heart that he said he'd never go of again, and he even sold his schooner. that is, his part, and now he keeps Deephayen Light. and we've lived there seventeen years come January. There is n't great pay, but then nobody tries to get it away from us."
 Do you really live in the ight-house2 I remember how used to beg to be talk en out there when was child, and how l used to watch for the light at night, said Kate, enthusiastically. 4
 So began friendship which we both still treasure, for Mrs. Kew was one of the most delightful things which happened to us in that delightful summer, and she used to do so much for our pleasure and was so good to us. The day before we were to come away, sshe"-we never spoke of Mir. Kew to each other from the first day by any other name-cam0 with his boat, and we rowed out the three miles to the lighthouse for the last time to say good by, very sorry girls indeed. Mrs. Kew saids with tears in her eyes, that she loved us as if we were her own children. and if any misfortunes should ever come to us.-which she asked the good Lord might never be,-there would always be home and a warm heart for us if she were alive. She begged us not to forget her. Her affection touched us very much, though it seemed odd tothink of her offer ing home to Kate Lancaster, who seems the most fortunate of girls. Mrs. Kew was so different from other people and so Dickens-y sometimes. Her compari- sons were most striking and amusing, and her comments upon the books she read for she was great reader-were very shrewd and always to the point. Kate and often agreed, after our many inter- views with her, that we had very few ac- quaintances half so entertaining. She was never out of temper, even when the oil was being rgot in" across her kitchen floor. And was such wise woman! This stage-ride, which we expected to find tire some, we enjoyed very much, and were glad to think, when the coach stopped, and ''he" rushed to meet her with the happiest face, that we had one friend in Deephaven at all events. sfssar
 liked the house from the very first. It was sunset when we reached 1t. Bridget and Maggie's presence made 1t seem fa- miliar at once, and group of Dockums gave us hearty welcome. There was a delicious supper ready for the hungry girls, and Maggie had been unpacking for us; and the housekeeping began in most pleasant fashion. The sea air was very welcome after the dusty day, and we walked down to the beach in the evening.
 I do not know that the Brandon House IS really very remarkable, but I never have been in one that interested me in the same way. Kate used to recount to select audiences at school some of her ex- periences with her Aunt Katherine, and it was pOpularly believed that she once carried down some indestructible picture book when they were first in fashion, and the old lady pasted them for her to hem round the edges at the rate of two aday. It may have been fabulous. It was impOs- sible to imagine any children in the old place; everything was for grown people, even the stair-railing was too high to slide down on. The chairs looked as if they had been put at the furnishing of the house in their places, and there they meant to remain. The carpets were par tcularly interesting, and remember Kate's pointing out to me one day a great square figure in one, and telling me she used to keep house there with her dolls for lack of better play house, and if one of them chanced to fall outside the bound ary stripe, it was immediately put to bed with cold. It is house with great pos abilities; it might easily be made very charming. There are four very large rooms on the lower floor, and six above, a wide hall in each story, and fascinat- ing garret over the whole, where were many mysterious old chests and boxes, in one of which we found Kate's grand mothers loye-letters; and you. may be sure the ssvista of rummages' Mir. Lan- caster mentioned was explored to it's very end. The rooms all have elaborate cor an archway dividing it, and pannelling of all sorts, and a great door at each end, through which the hlacs in front and the old pensioner plum-tress in the garden are seen exchanging bows and gestures. Coming from the Lancasters' high city house, it did not seem as if we had to go up stairs at all there, for every step of the stairway was so broad and low, and you come halfway to square landing with an old straight-b backed chair in each far ther corner; and between them large, round-topped window, with cushioned seat, looking out on the garden and the village, the hills far inland, and the sum- set beyond all Then you turn and go up few more steps to the upper hall, where we used to stay great deal. There were more old chairs and pair of rema rkable sofas, on which we used to deposit the treasures collected in our wanderings. The wide window which looks ont on the ilacs and theses was a favorite seat of ours Facing each other on either side of it are two old secretaries, and one of them Ee ascertained to be the hiding-place of se- cret drawers, in which may be found val uable records deposited by ourselves one very rainy day when we first explored it. We wrote, between us, tragic ssjournal' on some yellow old letter-paper we found in the desk part. We put 1t in the most hidden drawer by itself, and Aatter our selves that it will be regarded with great interest some time or other. a srs2-s
 The west parlor was our favorite room down stairs. It had great fireplace framed in tiles which ingeniously and in | structively represented the careers of the good and the bed man; the starting place of each being very singular cradle in the centre at the top. The last two of the series were very high art: Q great rcofin stands in the foreground of each, and the virtuous man is being led of by two disagreeable e-looking angels, while the wicked 0no ia h0ekauiUo from an ir-