We wished to end
our days close to the land, and we hoped to prove that this could be
done with both grace and profit. I had no desire to lose touch with the
city, and there was no necessity for doing so. Four Oaks is less than an
hour from the heart of town. I could leave it, spend two or three hours
in town, and be back in time for luncheon without special effort; and
Polly would think nothing of a shopping trip and friends home with her
to dinner. The people of Exeter were nearly all city people who were so
fortunate as not to be slaves to long hours. They were rich by work or
by inheritance, and they gracefully accepted the _otium cum dignitate_
which this condition permitted. Social life was at its best in Exeter,
and many of its people were old acquaintances of ours. A noted country
club spread its broad acres within two miles of our door, and I had been
favorably posted for membership. It did not look as though we should be
thrust entirely upon our own resources in the country; but at the worst
we had resources within our own walls and fences that would fend off all
but the most violent attacks of ennui.
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