Her woman's instinct assured her that the expression and the words arose
from a heart ignorant of the quality of love, and she regarded nothing
else.
The breakfast-room in which they sat had no feature that could render it
attractive to Caius. Although it was warm weather, the windows were
closely shut and never opened; such was the habit of the family, and
even his influence had not strength to break through a regulation which
to his parents appeared so wise and safe. The meadows outside were
brimful of flowers, but no flower found its way into this orderly room.
The furniture had that desolate sort of gaudiness which one sees in the
wares of cheap shops. Cleanliness and godliness were the most
conspicuous virtues exhibited, for the room was spotless, and the map of
Palestine and a large Bible were prominent objects.
The father and mother were in the habit of eating in the kitchen when
alone, and to the son's taste that room, decorated with shining
utensils, with its door open to earth and sky, was infinitely more
picturesque and cheery; but the mother had a stronger will than her son,
and she had ordained that his rise in the world should be marked by his
eating in the dining-room, where meals were served whenever they had
company. Caius observed also, with a pain to which his heart was
sensitive, that at these meals she treated him to her company manners
also, asking him in a clear, firm voice if he "chose bread" or if he
would "choose a little meat," an expression common in the country as an
elegant manner of pressing food upon visitors.
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