I felt the ducal coronet on my brow, flashing fine
flames from diamonds and emeralds. His Grace's diadem put my eyes out
(as it often does, even when not in York House, and we not all in full
dress). The weather was dull and cold, and a glorious fire blazed in
the large grate, fed and tended by a third noiseless apparition, the
Soft, in the shape of a boy, who gently deposited black boulders of
coal without raising any dust, and with a brush delicately invited
away the ashes from the bars and the hearth, and poked as one would
kiss a sleeping babe. The eyes of the Soft did not wander; they were
kept snug beneath their lids with well-trained reverence; and this
genius of the fire always appeared as soon as the glow began to fade,
as if by inspiration. In my large chamber, draped with white muslin
over rose color and drab damask, a superb fire glowed. I must make an
end of this nonsense.
The next day I drove about Bath to get apartments,--the first hour in
vain; and everybody said the city was full, and we should not succeed.
The children cried out to stay in York House, enjoying the luxury. But
again I took a Bath chair, and with Fanny the nurse at my side to talk
for me, and Rosebud to look out for signs of "To Let," we tried again,
and found this modest house; where, such is the simplicity of my
nature, I am ten times as comfortable and at home as at even York
House, with its shaded grandeur. Yet I am very fond of splendor, I
have to confess; and, moreover, our surprise was great when, upon
demanding the account, the Sublime brought on a silver salver charges
actually more moderate than those of many inferior hotels all about
England.
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