The things we do!

One
day a cartload of chairs; the next a waggonful of fenders, fire-irons,
and glass and crockery--a quantity of supplies, in a word, he poured into
the place. There were a yellow curtain in the back drawing-room, and
green curtains in the front. The carpet was an immense bargain, bought
dirt cheap, sir, at a sale in Euston Square. He was against the purchase
of a carpet for the stairs. What was the good of it? What did men want
with stair-carpets? His own apartment contained a wonderful assortment of
lumber. Shelves which he nailed himself, old Indian garments, camphor
trunks. What did he want with gewgaws? anything was good enough for an
old soldier. But the spare bedroom was endowed with all sorts of
splendour: a bed as big as a general's tent, a cheval glass--whereas the
Colonel shaved in a little cracked mirror, which cost him no more than
King Stephen's breeches--and a handsome new carpet; while the boards of
the Colonel's bedchamber were as bare--as bare as old Miss Scragg's
shoulders, which would be so much more comfortable were they covered up.


Pages:
408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432