been used to look up to him from infancy, as the model of manly excellence, and they drew knowledge and virtue from the same fountain; in the mind of that respected parent whom they equally loved and revered. ------- CHAP. XVII. The house and rural economy of the Flats—Birds and insects. I HAVE already sketched a general outline of that pleasant home to which the colonel was now about to bring his beloved. Before I resume my narrative, I shall indulge myself in a still more minute account of the premises, the mode of living, &c., which will afford a more distinct idea of the country; all the wealthy and informed people of the settlement living on a smaller scale, pretty much in the same manner. Be it known, however, that the house I had so much delight in recollecting, had no pretension to grandeur, and very little to elegance. It was a large brick house, of two, or rather three stories, (for there were excellent attics,) besides a sunk story, finished with the most exact neatness. The lower floor had two spacious rooms, with large, light closets: on the first there were three rooms, and in the upper one four. Through the middle of the house was a very wide passage, with opposite front and back doors, which in summer, admitted a stream of air, peculiarly grateful to the languid senses. It was furnished with chairs and pictures, like a summer parlour. Here the family usually sat in hot weather, when there were no ceremonious strangers.