We may imagine a time when， in the infancy of the human race，some enterprising mortal crept into a hollow in a rock for shelter. Every child begins the world again， to some extent， and loves to stay outdoors， even in wet and cold.  It plays house， as well as horse， having an instinct for it.  Who does not remember the interest with which， when young， he looked at shelving rocks， or any approach to a cave？  It was the natural yearning of that portion，any portion of our most primitive ancestor which still survived in us.  From the cave we have advanced to roofs of palm leaves， of bark and boughs， of linen woven and stretched， of grass and straw， of boards and shingles， of stones and tiles.  At last， we know not what it is to live in the open air， and our lives are domestic in more senses than we think.  From the hearth the field is a great distance.  It would be well， perhaps， if we were to spend more of our days and nights without any obstruction between us and the celestial bodies， if the poet did not speak so much from under a roof， or the saint dwell there so long.  Birds do not sing in caves，nor do doves cherish their innocence in dovecots.

　　However， if one designs to construct a dwelling-house， it behooves him to exercise a little Yankee shrewdness， lest after all he find himself in a workhouse， a labyrinth without a clue， a museum， an almshouse， a prison， or a splendid mausoleum instead. Consider first how slight a shelter is absolutely necessary.  I have seen Penobscot Indians， in this town， living in tents of thin cotton cloth， while the snow was nearly a foot deep around them， and I thought that they would be glad to have it deeper to keep out the wind.  Formerly， when how to get my living honestly， with freedom left for my proper pursuits， was a question which vexed me even more than it does now， for unfortunately I am become somewhat callous， I used to see a large box by the railroad， six feet long by three wide， in which the laborers locked up their tools at night； and it suggested to me that every man who was hard pushed might get such a one for a dollar， and， having bored a few auger holes in it， to admit the air at least， get into it when it rained and at night， and hook down the lid， and so have freedom in his love， and in his soul be free.  This did not appear the worst， nor by any means a despicable alternative.  You could sit up as late as you pleased，and， whenever you got up， go abroad without any landlord or house-lord dogging you for rent.  Many a man is harassed to death to pay the rent of a larger and more luxurious box who would not have frozen to death in such a box as this.  I am far from jesting. Economy is a subject which admits of being treated with levity， but it cannot so be disposed of.  A comfortable house for a rude and hardy race， that lived mostly out of doors， was once made here almost entirely of such materials as Nature furnished ready to their hands.  Gookin， who was superintendent of the Indians subject to the Massachusetts Colony， writing in 1674， says， "The best of their houses are covered very neatly， tight and warm， with barks of trees，slipped from their bodies at those seasons when the sap is up， and made into great flakes， with pressure of weighty timber， when they are green……  The meaner sort are covered with mats which they make of a kind of bulrush， and are also indifferently tight and warm， but not so good as the former……  Some I have seen， sixty or a hundred feet long and thirty feet broad……  I have often lodged in their wigwams， and found them as warm as the best English houses."  He adds that they were commonly carpeted and lined within with well-wrought embroidered mats， and were furnished with various utensils.  The Indians had advanced so far as to regulate the effect of the wind by a mat suspended over the hole in the roof and moved by a string.  Such a lodge was in the first instance constructed in a day or two at most， and taken down and put up in a few hours； and every family owned one， or its apartment in one.

　　我們可以想象那個時候，人類還在嬰孩期，有些進取心很強的人爬進巖穴去找蔭蔽。

　　每個嬰孩都在一定程度上再次重復了這部世界史，他們愛戶外，不管雨天和冷天。他們玩房屋的游戲，騎竹馬，出于本能。誰不回憶到自己小時候窺望一個洞穴，或走近一個洞穴時的興奮心情？我們最原始時代的祖先的天性還遺留在我們的體內。從洞穴，我們進步到上覆棕櫚樹葉樹皮樹枝，編織拉挺的亞麻的屋頂，又進步到青草和稻草屋頂，木板和蓋板屋頂，石頭和磚瓦屋頂。最后我們就不知道什么是露天的生活了，我們的室內生活比我們自己所想的還要室內化得多。爐火之離開田地可有很大的距離。如果在我們度過白晝和黑夜時，有更多時候是和天體中間沒有東西隔開著的，如果詩人并不是在屋脊下面說話說得那么多，如果圣人也不在房屋內住得那么長久的話，也許事情就好了。

　　鳥雀不會在洞內唱歌，白鴿不會在棚子里撫愛它們的真純。

　　然而，如果有人要打圖樣造一所住宅，他應該像我們新英格蘭人那樣的稍為精明一點才好，免得將來他會發現他自己是在一座工場中，或在一座沒有出路的迷宮中，或在一所博物院中，或在一所救貧院中，或在一個監獄中，或在一座華麗的陵墓中。先想一想，蔭蔽并不見得是絕對必需的。我看見過潘諾勃斯各特河上的印第安人，就在這鎮上，他們住在薄棉布的營帳中，四周的積雪約一英尺厚，我想要是雪積得更厚，可以替他們擋風的話，他們一定更高興。如何使我老實地生活并得到自由來從事我的正當追求，從前這一個問題比現在更使我煩惱，因為我幸虧變得相當麻木了。我常常看到，在鐵路旁邊，一只大木箱六英尺長三英尺寬，工人們把他們的工具鎖在其中過夜，我就想到，每一個覺得日子艱難的人可以花一元錢買這樣一只箱子，鉆幾個洞孔，至少可以放進空氣，下雨時和晚上就可以住進去，把箱蓋合上，這樣他的靈魂便自由了，他可以自由自在地愛他所愛的了。看來這并不很壞，也決不是個可以鄙視的辦法。你可以隨心所欲，長夜坐而不寐；起身出外時，也不會有什么大房東二房東攔住你要房租。多少人因為要付一只更大而更宏麗的箱子的租金，就煩惱到老死；而他是不會凍死在這樣的一只小箱子里的。我一點兒也不是說笑話。經濟學這一門科學，曾經受到各種各樣的輕視，但它是不可以等閑視之的。那些粗壯結實，在露天過大部分生活的人，曾經在這里蓋過一所舒服的房屋，取用的幾乎全部是大自然的現成材料。馬薩諸塞州墾區的印第安人的總管戈金，曾在一六七四年這樣寫道：“他們的最好的尖屋用樹皮蓋頂，干凈清爽，緊密而溫暖，這些樹皮都是在干燥的季節中，從樹身上掉下來的，趁樹皮還蒼翠的時候，用相當重的木材壓成巨片。……較蹩腳的尖屋也用燈心草編成的席子蓋頂，也很緊密而溫暖，只是沒有前者那么精美……我所看到的，有的是六十英尺，或一百英尺長，三十英尺寬。……

　　我常常住在他們的尖屋中，發現它跟最好的英國式屋子一樣溫暖。“他接著還說，室內通常是把嵌花的席子鋪在地上和掛在墻壁上的，各種器皿一應俱全。而且印第安人已經進步到能夠在屋頂上開洞，放上一張席子，用繩子來開關，控制了通風設施。首先要注意的是，這樣的尖屋最多一面天就可以蓋起來，只要幾個小時就可以拆掉，并且重新搭好，每一家人家都有一座這樣的房子，或者占有這樣的尖屋中的一個小間。

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