He is a most learned and
decorous personage and a truly well-bred Christian, who always
backs the old gentleman in his opinions, winks discreetly at his
little peccadilloes, rebukes the children when refractory, and is
of great use in exhorting the tenants to read their Bibles, say
their prayers, and, above all, to pay their rents punctually and
without grumbling.
The family apartments are in a very antiquated taste, somewhat
heavy and often inconvenient, but full of the solemn magnificence
of former times, fitted up with rich though faded tapestry,
unwieldy furniture, and loads of massy, gorgeous old plate. The
vast fireplaces, ample kitchens, extensive cellars, and sumptuous
banqueting-halls all speak of the roaring hospitality of days of
yore, of which the modern festivity at the manor-house is but a
shadow. There are, however, complete suites of rooms apparently
deserted and time-worn, and towers and turrets that are tottering
to decay, so that in high winds there is danger of their tumbling
about the ears of the household.
John has frequently been advised to have the old edifice
thoroughly overhauled, and to have some of the useless parts
pulled down, and the others strengthened with their materials;
but the old gentleman always grows testy on this subject.
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