354 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



He was a practical man, and observing that some 

 of the bits of ponderous old furniture would look well 

 among his newer but less picturesque "pieces," he 

 offered to buy whatever Miss Ingath felt inclined to 

 part with. She was delighted with the offer, for she 

 had much dreaded the dispersion of her " household 

 gods," a fate which had appeared inevitable, since Mrs. 

 Nicolson had said that only a part of the furniture 

 could be admitted to the Manse. 



Ingath was quite thankful to think that the 

 tottering bureaus, tables, and chairs would remain in 

 their old haunts instead of being kicked about the 

 Manse by the irreverent young Nicolsons : so it was 

 arranged that Mr. Nemo was to keep the furniture. 



This gave an excuse for a great many interviews 

 between the couple, and it was surprising how much 

 the spinster lady and the woman-hating hermit found 

 to talk about, and how agreeable to each other they 

 made themselves in a short space of time. 



So much civility on the part of Mr. Nemo, of 

 course, had its weight with the lady, and she brought 

 all her powers of self-command to her aid, determined 

 to go through with the task to which she had set herself 

 and rid him of her and her " rubbish." 



Each day Miss Ingath cleared out a box, and 

 burned with holy care the greater part of the relics 

 which had been of such value in the sight of eyes long 

 since closed for ever. And as the work proceeded she 

 found her feelings grow less tender. She even learned 

 to smile over some things, and be impatient over 



