It was enough for them to hear that I was going to Dublin for there to
be quite a commotion. The one little maid brought in the tea, which Miss
Bride poured out of a china pot into little teacups which were all of
different colours, although of the same design. The tea was fragrant and
strong, with thick cream in it; and when I begged for a little water to
be added the two sisters broke out in protestations. That would be a
real slur on their hospitality, and, seeing how they took it to heart, I
was obliged to set my own liking aside and drink the tea as it was.
There were slices of thin bread and butter and sandwiches and toast
under a silver cover, all of which I could have eaten myself, for I had
an excellent appetite. But I denied myself again, and was rewarded by
hearing Miss Henrietta declare, on her second scrap of bread and butter,
that she had a most indelicate appetite, and she hoped her dear young
friend, meaning me, would not be shocked at her.
I could always spend an hour or two happily in the little low-browed
cottage drawing-room, with even the strong May light coming in greenly,
having been filtered through the new leaves. It was a room that always
pleased my imagination, for it was so full of bits of china and
pictures, of old silver and ivory curios and nicknacks, that you could
spend a day looking at them.
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