workmanship were lying scattered about; great flower vases, shattered,
and green with the mould and moss of years, were covered with weak and
flowerless creepers.

The house is a two-story one with windows on every side, or rather
openings which had been windows at some former period. The dangling
remains of a heavy porch hung over the doorway, ready to fall and
crush the first careless intruder, while the massive oak doors stood
wide open as if to invite the victim within. The cornice was dropping
to pieces, and the woodwork had only the appearance of solidity--it
needed but the pressure of a hand to crumble into dust. The walls were
yet perfect, for they had been built of irregular sized stones, laid
up in cement, and so had outlasted the more perishable parts of this
costly structure. Inside the great doors was a wide hall of about
twenty feet, and its floors of hard wood had stood the test of time
remarkably. On one side of the hall was a room the whole depth of the
house; the ceiling was lofty, but the plaster had long since fallen
and become mere powder. It was empty; patches of mould had fastened
upon the walls, and a damp decaying odor pervaded the air; insects and
loathsome reptiles crept over the floor. On the opposite side of the
hall were two apartments, but not enough of either remained to divine
what had been their uses. In a small back room there yet was to be
seen a great open fire-place capacious enough to roll in a good-sized
tree; a swinging crane was bolted to the corner of the chimney,
supporting hanging hooks, blackened by soot; it had doubtless been the
kitchen. Having fully explored the lower part, I proceeded to the
upper story. As I mounted the stairs, they groaned under the unusual
weight, but were still strong enough to enable me to complete the task
I had undertaken. The upper floor was divided into four large
chambers. Three of them were given up to decay, and desolation peered