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The atloomy There were none of those charms of modern creation which now ht and joyous There was not a billiard table in the house There was no conservatory nearer than the large old-fashioned greenhouse, which stood away by the kitchen garden and which seeardener The papers on the walls were dark and sombre The mirrors were sy The s did not open on to the terrace The furniture was hardly ancient, but yet antiquated and uncohout the estate, there was sufficient evidence of wealth; and there certainly was no evidence of parsimony; but at Scroope Manor money seee There was a butler, and a housekeeper, and various footes, and ardeners, and a coachrooms All these lived well under the old Earl, and knew the value of their privileges There was ht live for ever at Scroope Manor,--if only sufficiently submissive to Mrs Bunce the housekeeper There was certainly no parsi of the household was confined to the servants' departer, and perhaps also to the inreatly increased by the absence of any garden or lawn near the house Immediately in front of the ravel terraces, one above another; and below these the deer would come and browse To the left of the house, at nearly a quarter of a arden indeed,--flower-gardens, and kitchen-gardens, and orchards; all ugly, and old-fashioned, but producing excellent crops in their kind But they were away, and were not seen Oat floere occasionally brought into the house,--but the place was never filled with flowers as country houses are filled with them now-a-days No doubt had Lady Scroope wished for e village, stood a good deal out of the world Within the last year or two a railway has been opened, with a Scroope Road Station, not above three miles from the place; but in the old lord's time it was eleven miles from its nearest station, at Dorchester, hich it had communication once a day by an o would take him there; and very few people had business with Scroope Now and then a commercial traveller would visit the place with but faint hopes as to trade A post-office inspector once in twelve months would call upon plethoric old Mrs Applejohn, who kept the small shop for stationery, and was known as the postmistress The two sons of the vicar, Mr Greenmarsh, would pass backwards and forwards between their father's vicarage and Marlbro' school And occasionally the men and women of Scroope would make a journey to their county town But the Earl was told that old Mrs Brock of the Scroope Arms could not keep the omnibus on the road unless he would subscribe to aid it Of course he subscribed If he had been told by his steward to subscribe to keep the cap on Mrs Brock's head, he would have done so Twelve pounds a year his Lordship paid towards the omnibus, and Scroope was not absolutely dissevered from the world