michelangelo painting

set aside for that purpose. The ordinary sitting-room and bedrooms I
left much as they were: for I knew Diana and Mary would derive more
pleasure from seeing again the old homely tables, and chairs, and
beds, than from the spectacle of the smartest innovations. Still
some novelty was necessary, to give to their return the piquancy
with which I wished it to be invested. Dark handsome new carpets and
curtains, an arrangement of some carefully selected antique
ornaments in porcelain and bronze, new coverings, and mirrors, and
dressing-cases, for the toilet-tables, answered the end: they looked
fresh without being glaring. A spare parlour and bedroom I refurnished
entirely, with old mahogany and crimson upholstery: I laid canvas on
the passage, and carpets on the stairs. When all was finished, I
thought Moor House as complete a model of bright modest snugness
within, as it was, at this season, a specimen of wintry waste and
desert dreariness without.
The eventful Thursday at length came. They were expected about
dark, and ere dusk fires were lit upstairs and below; the kitchen
was in perfect trim; Hannah and I were dressed, and all was in
readiness.