el
of the ill-cut white stone chimney-piece, above which was a greenish
mirror, whose edges, bevelled to show the thickness of the glass,
reflected a thread of light the whole length of a gothic frame in
damascened steel-work. The two copper-gilt candelabra which decorated
the corners of the chimney-piece served a double purpose: by taking off
the side-branches, each of which held a socket, the main stem--which
was fastened to a pedestal of bluish marble tipped with copper--made a
candlestick for one candle, which was sufficient for ordinary occasions.
The chairs, antique in shape, were covered with tapestry representing
the fables of La Fontaine; it was necessary, however, to know that
writer well to guess at the subjects, for the faded colors and the
figures, blurred by much darning, were difficult to distinguish.

At the four corners of the hall were closets, or rather buffets,
surmounted by dirty shelves. An old card-table in marquetry, of which
the upper part was a chess-board, stood in the space between the two
windows. Above this table was an oval barometer with a black border
enlivened with gilt bands, on which the flies had so licentiously
disported themselves that the gilding had become problematical. On
the panel opposite to the chimney-piece were two portraits in pastel,
supposed to represent the grandfather of Madame Grandet, old Monsieur
de la Bertelliere, as a lieutenant in the French guard, and the deceased
Madame Gentillet in the guise of a shepherdess. The windows were draped
with curtains of red _gros de Tours_ held back by silken cords with
ecclesiastical tassels. This luxurious decoration, little in keeping
with the habits of Monsieur Grandet, had been, together with the steel
pier-glass, the tapestries, and the buffets, which were of rose-wood,
included in the purchase of the house.

By the window nearest to the door stood a straw chair, whose legs were
raised on castors to lift its occupant, Madame Grandet, to a height from
which she could see the passers-by. A work-table of stained cherry-wood
filled up the embrasure, and the little armchair of Eugenie Grandet
stood beside it. In this spot the lives had flowed peacefully onward for
fifteen years, in a round of constant work from the month of April to
the month of November. On the first day of the latter month they took
their winter station by the chimney. Not until that day did Grandet
permit a fire to be lighted; and on the thirty-first of Marc