The whole experience was hideous, yet he understood quite
well that these people were not making sport of him. All this was
only a part of their foreign customs. They were gentlefolk, reared
to a different code from his--that was all--and, since he had
elected to come among them, he could only suffer and be strong.
In time he became sufficiently inured to the situation to take in
the details of the room, which were truly markable. To begin with,
the parlor walls entirely lacked the sort of decoration to which
he was used; the furniture, costly and rare in itself, was
arranged stiffly in a square about the room, the precise
geometrical centre being occupied by a great urn of impressive
ugliness. A richly carved mahogany "what-not" against one wall was
laden with sea-shells and other curios. At various points about
the room were many statuettes, vases, and figures, of every
conceivable size and shape--some of bisque, others of common
pottery, a few of exquisite marble--all standing upon the floor. A
tremendous French chandelier of sparkling crystal cascaded
downward from an American ceiling of pressed metal; at regular
intervals around the wall were panels painted to resemble marble.
Crouched upon a rug in one corner was a life-size figure of what
seemed to be a tiger, perfectly colored and made of porcelain.
Pages:
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378