He
swears the house is an excellent house; that it is tight and
weather-proof, and not to be shaken by tempests; that it has
stood for several hundred years, and therefore is not likely to
tumble down now; that as to its being inconvenient, his family is
accustomed to the inconveniences and would not be comfortable
without them; that as to its unwieldy size and irregular
construction, these result from its being the growth of centuries
and being improved by the wisdom of every generation; that an old
family, like his, requires a large house to dwell in; new,
upstart families may live in modern cottages and snug boxes; but
an old English family should inhabit an old English manor-house.
If you point out any part of the building as superfluous, he
insists that it is material to the strength or decoration of the
rest and the harmony of the whole, and swears that the parts are
so built into each other that if you pull down one, you run the
risk of having the whole about your ears.
The secret of the matter is, that John has a great disposition to
protect and patronize. He thinks it indispensable to the dignity
of an ancient and honorable family to be bounteous in its
appointments and to be eaten up by dependents; and so, partly
from pride and partly from kind-heartedness, he makes it a rule
always to give shelter and maintenance to his superannuated
servants.
Pages:
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484