I hear, with regret, that our man of the world—Thoreau, fleeing afar from the beloved woods, will no longer pick the first of the Spring flowers,—Alas! yet I do believe, that his voyage will be prosperous, & that his bark will sweep the foam off many a new coast, & bring home a bushel of diamonds.

  I leave with you a schedule of repairs & improvements, to be made on the Red Lodge before I move into it, & upon the place generally.

  Cellar, sand put in enough to make it dry—under-pinned with stone, pointed inside & out. New cellar stairs to be put.

  Bank to be made round the house, round well, & in woodshed. (This is to [be] sodded after planting.)

  House interior. Kitchen-floor painted, & the woodwork of the kitchen. All the plastering white-washed. Lock to be put on front-door. Glass reset where broken. New sill put to front-door & back-door, & steps if necessary. Leaky place about chimney, caused by pinning tip the house, to be made tight,—A new entry laid at front door.

  Washroom—to be white-washed—& a spout made from sink long enough to carry off dirty water, so as to keep it from running into well.

  Well. To be cleaned out, inner stones reset (as I understand the Captain told you originally)—an outside wall to be built up, high enough to keep out all wash; this outside wall to be filled round. A new pump to be put in & to pump up good, clean, fresh water.

  The Acre to be measured, & fenced around with a new four rail fence. The acre to be less wide than long.

  Privy.—To be moved from where it is now, behind tbc end of the barn, the filth carried off, & hole filled in. The privy to be whitewashed & have a new door, & the floor either renewed or cleaned up.—

  Barn. (not done at once as I understood) New sill, & pinned up, so as to make it dry.