The things we do!

The wall
paper was of a small and ancient figuring. In places it hung torn.
The furniture was old mahogany, apparently made in an earlier
generation. An engraving or so hung askew upon the wall, a broken
bust stood on a bracket. The tall tester bed, decorated with a
patchwork silken covering, showed signs of comfort, but was neither
modern nor over neat. The room was not furnished in poverty, but
its spirit, its atmosphere, its feeling, lacked something, a woman
could have told what.
She pushed back the heavy dresser, but the wall was without opening
behind it. She looked for the key to the door, and was glad to
find the lock in order. For the first time now she laid off her
bonnet, unfastened her wrap. With a hand which trembled she made
some sort of attempt at toilet, staring into the mirror at a face
scarcely recognized as her own. The corners of its mouth were
drooping plaintively. A faint blue lay beneath the eyes.
She faced the fact that she must pass the night alone.


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