On that
day, therefore, he walked freely along the cliffs, and was admitted to
the dwelling. He had unconsciously based his idea of its contents upon
his recollections of the squalid abode of Marie Torode, where human
skulls, skeletons, bones of birds and beasts, dried skins, and other
ghastly objects had been so grouped as to add to the superstitious
feeling inspired by the repulsive appearance of the crone herself. His
astonishment was therefore proportionate when he saw what to his eyes
appeared exceptional luxury. A wooden partition divided the room on the
lower story into two chambers of unequal size: the larger, in which he
stood, was the common dwelling apartment, the other was given over to
Hilda. The upper story, approached by a ladder and also by an external
staircase, was sacred to Judith; Tita occupied some outbuildings. The
sitting-room was hung with rich stuffs of warm and glowing colours; here
and there fitful rays of the sun flickered upon gold brocade and
Oriental embroidery; rugs and mats, which must have been offered for
sale in the bazaars of Egypt and Morocco, were littered about in strange
contrast with the bracken-strewed floor.
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