It was indeed a beautiful house, scrupulously kept, and very richly
furnished. Rare pictures hung on the walls, and wonderful china stood
on shelves in cabinets; and the tables and chairs and other articles of
furniture were many of them richly inlaid with rare and precious woods.
"I can't see any of these things, you know, Comethup; I can only tell
the shape of them, and I'm a pretty good judge in that way. But all
these things are here because it pleases me to think that I can afford
to buy them, and to delight other people's eyes with them, perhaps even
to make some of 'em a little envious. I was born to have eyes, if ever
any creature was, for I love rich and beautiful things, even pictures.
I've got a man who happens to be honest, and knows a good picture when
he sees one. When you've grown older, and studied hard, you'll know the
value of all these things, Comethup, and you'll be able to describe, in
your own way, all the pictures to me; and that will please us both. Now
come and look at your own rooms."
The two rooms which had been allotted to him seemed, to his delighted
eyes, the most beautiful in the house. They were quite high up, and
quite simply furnished; but the windows of both looked out over the
square, where all the life and bustle that were so fascinating went on;
and each seemed to contain exactly everything that a boy could possibly
need. In the sitting room were pictures of battle scenes, and deeds of
daring generally, choice engravings and etchings for the most part; and
on the tables and on shelves were numbers of books, beautifully bound,
whose very titles, as he glanced at them, gave promise of the delights
to be found within.
Miss Charlotte Carlaw stood perfectly still, with her hand upon his
shoulder, until she heard his astonished gasps; then she chuckled with
satisfaction and marched him through into the bedroom. Here a young man
in a sober brown suit was unpacking his box and carefully arranging its
contents in the wardrobe and in a huge press that stood at one side of
the room. He was a round-faced, good-humoured-looking young man, and
Comethup liked his appearance.
"Ah, is that you, Gwilt?" cried Miss Carlaw. "This is your young
master, Master Willis.--Comethup, Gwilt will attend to you, and do
everything you want--brush your clothes and keep them in order, and
assist you to dress when necessary. He is your special servant, and
will have no other duties. Now tell me; do you like these rooms?"
"I think they're beautiful," said Comethup.
"Well, just look round them, and tell me if you think there's anything
else you would like. What do you think of the pictures? I got a man
specially to choose them, told him they must be bright, and just the
sort of things a boy would like; no sickly love-making, or cottage
interiors, or nonsense of that kind, but just a few with some blood
in 'em--fighting, and chopping up, and highwaymen, and nice little
delicacies of that kind. Like 'em, eh?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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