GRAVEL-BANKS AND QUAGMIRES.

MY DEAR ARCHITECT: I'm all right on the gravel question. You don't catch me
building in anybody's quagmire. There's plenty of rheumatism and fever 'n' ague lying
around loose without digging for 'em, and then building a house over the hole to keep 'em
in. I don't want to say anything against any man's building-lots, but how in the light of
common-sense a man can, with his eyes open, build his shanty on some of the streets in
your enterprising city, is too much for my understanding. If they would first put in good
big sewers, running slick and clean to the river, and underdrain the whole premises, 't
wouldn't be quite so bad. But I don't want them, anyway; give me the high land and the
dry land. I'm not particular about founding on a rock, either; that was well enough in old
times when they didn't want cellars, but let me have a good bed of sand or gravel. Cellar
may not be quite so cool, but all we need is to go down a little deeper, while, as for
health, I'd rather be ten feet under ground in such a spot than occupy the "second-story
front," in some places I could mention.
Your foundation is all right in theory, and if I was going to put up a steam chimney, a
government building, or anything else that must be done in the best way, regardless of
expense, I should go for it. For cheap, common work, 't isn't worth while to be over-nice
or over-wise. I tell you, there is danger of knowing too much about some things.
According to your notion, a man couldn't do better than to stick the ground full of
tenpenny nails to start with, and I should think a thousand-legged worm would be about


the most substantial animal that treads the globe.
As to planting my house, when I've bought the lot, I'll ask you to take a look at it. I
have a fancy for some sort of a sidehill, so I can get into my house, from one side at least,
without going up stairs out of doors, and still have the first floor airy and dry.
Yours,
JOHN.