With a courteous gesture he invited them in, but stopping to lock
one gate before leading them through the other, Mrs. Scoville had
time to observe that since her last visit with its accompanying
inroad of the populace, the two openings which at this point gave
access to the walk between the fences had been closed up with
boards so rude and dingy that they must have come from some old
lumber pile in attic or cellar.
The judge detected her looking at them.
"I have cut off my nightly promenade," said he. "With youth in the
house, more cheerful habits must prevail. To-morrow I shall have
my lawn cut, and if I must walk after sundown I will walk there."
The two women exchanged glances. Perhaps their gloomy
anticipations were not going to be realised.
But once within the house, the judge showed embarrassment. He was
conscious of its unfitness for their fastidious taste and yet he
had not known how to improve matters. In his best days he had
concerned himself very little with household affairs, and for the
last few years he had not given a thought to anything outside his
own rooms. Bela had done all--and Bela was pre-eminently a cook,
not a general house-servant. How would these women regard the
disorder and the dust?
"I have few comforts to offer," said he, opening a door at his
right and then hastily closing it again. "This part of the house
is, as you see, completely dismantled and not--very clean. But you
shall have carte blanche to arrange to your liking one of these
rooms for your sitting-room and parlour.
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