The Landlord at Lion's Head — CompleteHowells, William Dean
General
The Landlord at Lion's Head — Complete
Howells, William Dean
Artists -- Fiction; Massachusetts -- Fiction
“Well, I some wish you did. I sh'd like to know how Jeff's improvements
struck you. Of course, I can't judge of 'em so well, but I guess he's
made a pootty sightly thing of it. He told me he'd had one of the
leadin' Boston architects to plan the thing out for him, and I tell you
he's got something nice. 'Tain't so big as old Lion's Head, and Jeff
wants to cater to a different style of custom, anyway. The buildin's
longer'n what she is deep, and she spreads in front so's to give as many
rooms a view of the mountain as she can. Know what 'runnaysonce' is?
Well, that's the style Jeff said it was; it's all pillars and pilasters;
and you ride up to the office through a double row of colyums, under a
kind of a portico. It's all painted like them old Colonial houses down
on Brattle Street, buff and white. Well, it made me think of one of them
old pagan temples. He's got her shoved along to the south'ard, and he's
widened out a piece of level for her to stand on, so 't that piece o'
wood up the hill there is just behind her, and I tell you she looks
nice, backin' up ag'inst the trees. I tell you, Jeff's got a head on
him! I wish you could see that dinin'-room o' his: all white colyums,
and frontin' on the view. Why, that devil's got a regular little
theatyre back o' the dinin'-room for the young folks to act ammyture
plays in, and the shows that come along, and he's got a dance-hall
besides; the parlors ain't much--folks like to set in the office; and
a good many of the rooms are done off into soots, and got their own
parlors. I tell you, it's swell, as they say. You can order what you
please for breakfast, but for lunch and dinner you got to take what Jeff
gives you; but he treats you well. He's a Durgin, when it comes to that.
Served in cou'ses, and dinner at seven o'clock. I don't know where he
got his money for 't all, but I guess he put in his insurance fust, and
then he put a mortgage on the buildin'; be as much as owned it; said
he'd had a splendid season last year, and if he done as well for a
copule of seasons more he'd have the whole prop'ty free o' debt.”
Westover could see that the prosperity of the unjust man had corrupted
the imagination and confounded the conscience of this simple witness,
and he asked, in the hope of giving his praises pause: “What has he done
about the old family burying-ground in the orchard?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account