The servant, Martha, who was a stranger to her, but
who had a comfortable friendly face, she thought, led her into a room at
the back of the cottage, with a broad window opening on to a lawn, beyond
which Clarissa saw the blue mill-stream. It was not a bad room at all:
countrified-looking and old-fashioned, with a low ceiling and wainscoted
walls. Miss Level recognised the ponderous old furniture from the
breakfast-room at Arden--high-backed mahogany chairs of the early Georgian
era, with broad cushioned seats covered with faded needlework; a curious
old oval dining-table, capable of accommodating about six; and some slim
Chippendale coffee-tables and cheffoniers, upon which there were a few
chipped treasures of old Battersea and Bow china. The walls were half-lined
with her father's books--rare old books in handsome bindings. His
easy-chair, a most luxurious one, stood in a sheltered corner of the
hearth, with a crimson silk banner-screen hanging from the mantelpiece
beside it, and a tiny table close at hand, on which there were a noble
silver-mounted meerschaum, and a curious old china jar for tobacco. The
oval table was neatly laid for breakfast, and a handsome brown setter lay
basking in the light of the fire. Altogether, the apartment had a very
comfortable and home-like look.
"The tea's made, miss," said the servant; "and I've a savoury omelette
ready to set upon the table.
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