I hear of carpets, curtains, and pictures in the existing nurseries.
They must be palaces compared with our great bare attic, where
nothing was allowed that could gather dust. One bit of drugget by
the fireside, where stood a round table at which the maids talked
and darned stockings, was all that hid the bare boards; the walls
were as plain as those of a workhouse, and when the London sun did
shine, it glared into my eyes through the great unshaded windows.
There was a deal table for the meals (and very plain meals they
were), and two or three big presses painted white for our clothes,
and one cupboard for our toys. I must say that Gooch was strictly
just, and never permitted little Emily, nor Griff--though he was
very decidedly the favourite,--to bear off my beloved woolly dog to
be stabled in the houses of wooden bricks which the two were
continually constructing for their menagerie of maimed animals.
Griff was deservedly the favourite with every one who was not, like
our parents, conscientiously bent on impartiality. He was so bright
and winning, he had such curly tight-rolled hair with a tinge of
auburn, such merry bold blue eyes, such glowing dimpled cheeks, such
a joyous smile all over his face, and such a ringing laugh; he was
so strong, brave, and sturdy, that he was a boy to be proud of, and
a perfect king in his own way, making every one do as he pleased.
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