The
kitchen was large for the size of the house. Besides the door they had
entered by there were two others, both closed. The walls were panelled
from floor to ceiling with wood darkened by age. Several of the panels
were doors of cupboards that projected slightly from the wall, and
shelves had been sunk in flush with it, and placed angle-wise in the
corners. The shelves were covered with old china. There was a row of
brass candlesticks of good design on the high mantelpiece, and more
china stood behind them. On a panel above the mantelpiece a curious
design of dogs and horses in a wood had been carved with much patience
and some skill. The furniture of the place was an old oak table
standing in the window--the window itself had a deep sill, on which
was arranged a row of flower-pots, from which a faint perfume came at
intervals--a long narrow oak chest, carved and polished, with the
date, 1700, on the side of it, a settle, and a dresser covered with
the ordinary crockery used by poor people. The brick floor was
_rudded_ and sanded, the hearthstone was yellow, and the part under
the grate was white.
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