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have heard tales, from admittedly wholly untrustworthy sources, of pranks played by the Banning boys. Occasional reptiles would be found in the boots of some innocent, causing suspicious minds to conjecture that the boys had a hand in the mischief. I doubt the accounts; if the boys had hoped to startle their victims they would have adopted some other method, since lizards in boots were too common in those less settled days.


But, on the other hand, mischief is important enough to be commemorated by youngsters, and a stuffed horned toad does occupy a place of honor in the boys' room. Other touches bespeaking high spirits abound here, as well, from fishing rods to the bugle which cornet-player Hancock would have been able to play with skill. The room's Eastlake furniture is handsome befitting a young Banning. And much of the room illuminates a boy's love of adventure, from the General's steamer trunk to the room's ordinary-seeming foot warmer, fueled by heated bricks or stones and had originally been used as ballast in ships calling from far-off lands.



The Finest House on the Harbor | A Threshhold is Crossed | An Office of Some Importance | A Haven for Polite Company | The Family Converges | Feasts of Good Cheer | Delicious Devices | Bower For Blessed Babes | Slumber's Sanctum | Girl's Room | Boy's Room | Intimate Enclave | Lessons to Live By | A Coachman's Treasures | Pleasance of a Shady Glen