The House With Sixty Closets: A Christmas Story for Young Folks and Old Children
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B.
THE HOUSE THAT THE JUDGE BUILT.
ONCE upon a time there lived a good Judge in an old New England town.People said the reason that he was so good was because his father was aminister. But he may have gotten his goodness from his mother. I don'tknow. Or he may have had it from his uncle who took him into his familyand sent him to college. For the minister was poor, and like many of hisbrethren he had a big family; so his brother who was a rich lawyer and astatesman helped his nephew get his education.
Now, this son of a minister and nephew of a great man studied law andbecame a Judge. He was liked by every one who knew him. People felt thathe was an honest, noble man who had mastered all the law books, andshowed more common sense than any other person in the State. So theymade him Judge. This man who started poor and had to make his own way inthe world earned a great deal of money. People came to him from allparts of the country, and sought his advice. They put into his hands themost important law cases. Only sometimes he would not have anything todo with the cases that he was asked to manage because he thought themwrong.
As years went by he saved his money, and the time came when he was readyto build a house. The Judge had become the most honored and the bestknown man in the State. He had many friends among the great people ofthe land. He enjoyed company, and was a famous host. So it seemed wellto him and his wife that they build a house which should be large enoughto hold their friends, and fine enough to satisfy the taste of thesociety in which they moved.
The Judge was not moved by pride or a wish to make a show. He wished todo the right thing. Everybody said that he ought to have the largest andthe finest house in town. He was not only a lawyer and rich, but he wasdeacon in the church and the leading man in society. He was likewise agreat scholar; and many people said that he was the most eloquentspeaker of his State. Such a person must live in a generous way. So theJudge built this house.
Now, when it came to drawing plans the wife had a good deal to say aboutit; for the house was to be her home just as much as his; and he alwaystried to do what he knew was for the pleasure of his wife. "I think,"said she when they began to talk about building, "that it should have agreat many closets." Had you been a friend of Mrs. "Judge" you wouldhave seen why she said this. She was not only a woman who liked to haveall her friends come to visit her, but she was also very liberal andkind. She was always doing some nice thing for people, and always givingpresents.
She was able to do this because she had the things to give away. I knowmen and women who would make a great many presents if they had the moneyto buy them--at least they say that they would. Such people like to tellhow they would act if they had all the money that some neighbor hassaved. They are great on giving away things that do not belong to them.
Now, the Judge's wife was the best giver in town; and she gave to herfriends, and the poor, and everybody that was in need, all sorts ofthings. But in order to do this she must buy the gifts that shescattered so freely; and when she bought things she wanted a place tokeep them until the time came for her to give them away. This was whyshe spoke to the Judge about the closets.
"Well, my dear," said the Judge (he was always kind and polite), "youmay have just as many closets as you wish." So she began her plans ofthe house by drawing the closets. I don't know exactly how she managedto arrange it on paper. Very likely she said to herself, "I shall wantthirty closets." And then she would divide the number into four partsand say, "Let me see, I suppose that four will be enough for thecellar. Then I shall need ten on the first floor, and twelve on thesecond floor, and six in the attic. That makes--why, that makesthirty-two. Dear me! I wonder if that will be enough?" And as she thinksover the various uses to which she will put her closets, and the manythings she will store in them, she says, on the next day, "Well, Ibelieve that I must have five or six more closets." So she starts herdrawing by marking down thirty-eight closets. After she has settled itthat the main floor shall have thirteen of them, she puts upon the papersome dots showing the size of each little room; then she draws the otherrooms about them, and so she gets one story arranged.
But no sooner does she begin the plans for the next floor, than shethinks of one or two more closets which she needs for the first, and sogoes back to her work of yesterday, and does it all over again, makingseveral changes. And so very likely the weeks are spent in making paperclosets, and drawing the halls and parlors and bedrooms and other roomsabout them, until she puts her plans by the side of the Judge's plans;then they get an architect; and then she asks for four more closets,which makes forty-four.
After a time the men begin to build; and she sends for the builder, andtells him of course that she finds she will certainly need five moreclosets,--one in the cellar, two on the first story, and three on thesecond. He is a pleasant man; and the changes are made. But ere thehouse is half built other needs appear, and Mrs. "Judge" insists uponthree new closets, which make fifty-two. And without doubt on the veryweek that the carpenters leave the handsome mansion, she asks them forseveral changes and three closets more. And will you believe it, theymove into the new house, get nicely settled, and everything running ingood order, when the generous housewife finds that the carpenter mustcome, for she still wishes five new closets, which added to the othersmake sixty. And so you have the house with sixty closets. It seems tome that I have made it clear how there came to be so many of thesecurious rooms and spaces in the Judge's house. At least you know allthat I know about it; and I do not believe that ever another house wasbuilt in such a way.
But I must tell you how the house was divided. A plan of each story willbe the best means of fixing this in the mind; and then you can turn backto it whenever you lose your way in the house, and wish to get what arecalled "your bearings." We must begin at the bottom and work toward thetop. The cellar was really three cellars,--a big one, a fair-sized one,and the wine cellar. There was a small closet in this deep, dark placewhere they kept certain kinds of liquor. The main cellar was dividedlengthwise through the middle, and there were two closets for provisionson each side.
The main floor had twenty-seven closets. For my own part, I think thatwoman is a remarkable person who can invent and arrange such a numberof little nooks and rooms. But if this is a mark of genius, what shallwe say when it comes to keeping track of all the closets and theircontents? Why, I should be obliged to carry a plan of the whole housewith me, and every few minutes I should pull it out and study it. TheJudge's wife was a most wonderful woman. She built her closets, and thenshe filled them, and then she remembered all about them and theircontents. Here is the plan of the first floor. A hall through themiddle. On the left as you enter is the library. There was one closetconnected with this room, and a door opened into it from the northeastcorner. Back of the library was the dining-room. It had three closetsconnected with it; doors leading to them from three corners of the room.To the left of the dining-room you passed into a side entry. Three doorsopened into three large closets. The kitchen adjoined the dining-room.There was one closet in it, and two closets out of it to the right, andthese two latter had one closet and two closets respectively.
On the right of the hall was the parlor. It had one closet. A largewindow reaching to the floor gave entrance to this room near thenortheast corner. Back of the parlor was a long, dark closet which madea passage-way from the hall to the schoolroom. Back of this closet was afirst-floor chamber with three closets. The third of these closetsopened into the chamber from the north. It was formerly Mrs. "Judge's"store-room. Another large closet was connected with it, and these twolarge closets contained two small closets. To the east of this chamberwas the schoolroom (formerly the Judge's library). This room had twoclosets in it, and two closets out of it. The room to the north of theschoolroom was the annex to the Judge's library, and it held his booksbequeathed to the minister. It also held two closets. And now my firststory is ended.
The short hall on the second floor opens at the rear into a long, narrowhall. There are five chambers in this par
t of the house. The front roomon the right as you look toward the street is the "Study," and it hastwo closets, one on each side of the big chimney. The two chambers backand to the left as you face the chimney are without a single closet; butthe lack is made up when you pass to the other side of the house. Thefront chamber has two closets, one on each side of the chimney. As youpass into the one on the right (you face the chimney, remember) a dooropens to the right and leads you into another large closet with a windowin it. Going across this closet to the right another door opens into abig, dark closet; turning to the street and stepping back three pacesyou open a door into another closet; passing into this one (there is asmall window in it) you open a door into the linen closet. Withdrawingfrom this series of small rooms, you get into the Betsey-Bartram room,and there you find on the south side two doors leading into two largeclosets. North of this room is another bedroom. One closet lies in thesoutheast corner, and one opens to you from the west side of the room.The thirteenth closet on this floor is at the end of the back hall, andthe fourteenth is by the side of the chimney in the room above thedown-stairs chamber. The attic was one big room with five closetsscattered around the chimneys. They hung hams in the larger one. It wasa fine place to smoke meat. There was always a greasy, smothered flavorto the air in that place.
Now, if you have kept track of the closets you will see that we numberonly fifty-one. There had been three neat, retired little closets underthe stairs in the first-floor hall. When the hall was enlarged thesepoor things were taken out. It was on this occasion that Samuel said:"See how rich we are; for we have closets to burn." And still there aresix closets missing. Well, the closet with the skeleton in it is amystery, and I do not like to speak of it. Three closets were found oneday carefully tucked away in a corner of the attic. The other twomissing ones have simply grown up and become big rooms with windows inthem. They put on a good deal of style, and look down upon the otherclosets.
What a lovely time the Judge's wife had in furnishing her new home. Ihave been reading the bills, yellow-stained and time-worn. She had ataste for handsome things. As the house was a colonial building, thegrandest in that part of the country, she tried to get furniture thatmatched.
There were mahogany chairs and tables, sofas and bedsteads, cabinetsand stands. She paid $155 in gold for her gilt-framed looking-glass,which stood between the front windows in the parlor, and $125 for herGrecian sofa with cushions. There were twelve fancy-chairs and twoarm-chairs. Her rocker cost $25. Then she had another little work-table,for which they paid $20.75.
Her parlor carpet was made in England. The Judge had it made to order;so you may believe it was uncommonly fine. The curtains were yellowdamask, lined with chintz. During the summer these curtains were storedaway on long shelves in one of the closets, and lace curtains hung intheir places.
Every large room in the house had a fireplace, and the supply ofandirons was enormous. Some of them cost $19 and $20. Then there werevenetian blinds in the parlor; and on the centre table stood an astralbronzed lamp worth $18, and on the mantle, high silver candlesticks. Aplated pair cost them $18, and the snuffers and tray $8 more. Therewere the best Brussels carpets, the most fashionable china and silver,the richest linen for the table,--a vast amount of things needed to makea house pleasant and comfortable.