AN AGREEABLE TENANCY. 195 



remedy against the visit of the fox. On taking up 

 my residence at Teffont I found that my extraordi- 

 nary landlord had stolen all his own trout from the 

 little lake on the lawn since I had paid the place a 

 visit and agreed to become the tenant, and had ab- 

 stracted from every room in the house more or less 

 furniture. Not liaving in the first instance received 

 an inventory, it was difficult for ]ne to name each 

 article that he had taken, and yet I could take on 

 myself to swear to a considerable abstraction. IMy 

 observation having been backed by the report of my 

 keeper, that he had seen several articles of furniture 

 removed, and that my landlord had been busy about 

 the lake, I charged him with the fact as to the fur- 

 niture, and insisted on the things he had taken away 

 being restored. The fish could not be replaced ; but 

 a considerable quantity of the furniture Avas put back 

 again. Teffont manor-house was the best " humbug " 

 I ever saw : its appearance outside, with its lawn 

 and flower-garden and little lake, overgrown as the 

 house was, with ivy, roses, and jessamine, up to the 

 very chimney-tops, was very pretty ; but everything 

 had been sacrificed to external appearance. There 

 was only one bed-room that was comfortable ; the 

 dining-room opened into the conservatory ; and the 

 drawing-room was so situated that you had to stand 

 on a chair to look out of the window. The dining- 

 room ought to have been the drawing-room, but it 

 could not be made into one, on account of the situ- 

 ation of the kitchen. It was a curious house : my 

 study or morning-room was on the lawn, the window 

 opening to the ground ; I had to ascend a consider- 

 able staircase to the dining-room, though that also 

 opened on the lawn; there was then a tower, up 



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