In the river valleys, then, these incoming Saxons would establish themselves on some firm and not too marshy bit of land. There they would build the houses of their villages. And the houses, at first, were built in this manner: they would either leave four tree stems, as they cleared the woodland, or else would drive four poles into the ground, to form the corners of the projected house, which we will call [Illustration: ABCD]. Then they would bring together and fasten together, at their tops, the trunks or poles A and B and the poles C and D, so that they came like this [Illustration: house shape]. Thus they got the shape of the house. You may note that this is somewhat the shape of that Gothic arch, which became so important in later building. The house, at first, was divided into two rooms, at most, in one of which the men lived and in the other the women. The builders threw a roofing pole across, from the top of one of the arches--that is to say, from the point at which the poles A and B were fastened together, to the top of the other arch, where C and D were fastened together. This made the "roof tree." Then they put struts, or strengthening pieces of wood, across from one pole to the other, about at the height where the poles began to bend most sharply so as to come together. The usual distance from each of the poles, as between A and B, and also between C and D, where they entered the ground, was 16 feet. Thus they had the frame of the house constructed. Then they would apply slighter rods of timber to the sides, in the kind of weaving way in which you {101} must have seen those hurdles made which are used very generally in England for penning sheep. It is what is called wattle work--the rods going in and out, under and over each other. Then they would plaster up the crevices with clay, "daubing" it, as it is called, so that the whole work is called "wattle and daub." That is how their houses were made, or somehow like that. I will not affirm that it was just in the order that I have mentioned that each of the processes was performed, but it is tolerably sure that it was somewhat thus that those Saxons and most of the German tribes made their houses. [Illustration: AN ANGLO-SAXON MANSION.] As a rule the houses were thatched, but sometimes tiled with roofing tiles, after the fashion of the villas that the Romans had built. The floor might also be tiled. In the houses of the wealthier people the walls were often hung with tapestry, woven and worked by the Anglo-Saxon ladies, who were skilful in spinning and in needlework. These tapestries were hung from hooks, {102} tenter-hooks, from which we have our proverb of "being on tenter-hooks." They served to exclude the draught, as well as for adornment, for probably the "wattle and daub" was not always wind proof.