The hour of repose arrived. The Keeper and his daughter retired to their
apartments, which were "decored" more properly than could have been
anticipated. In making the necessary arrangements, Mysie had indeed
enjoyed the assistance of a gossip who had arrived from the village upon
an exploratory expedition, but had been arrested by Caleb, and impressed
into the domestic drudgery of the evening; so that, instead of returning
home to describe the dress and person of the grand young lady, she found
herself compelled to be active in the domestic economy of Wolf's Crag.
According to the custom of the time, the Master of Ravenswood attended
the Lord Keeper to his apartment, followed by Caleb, who placed on the
table, with all the ceremonials due to torches of wax, two rudely-framed
tallow-candles, such as in those days were only used by the peasantry,
hooped in paltry clasps of wire, which served for candlesticks. He then
disappeared, and presently entered with two earthen flagons (the china,
he said, had been little used since my lady's time), one filled with
canary wine, the other with brandy.
Pages:
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286