er fancy was still engaged with the strange things she had seen a
short time before during her examination of the house.

This examination began with the kitchen, which had a range of modern
make, while an electric wire ran along the ceiling and into the maids'
room. These two improvements had only recently been made, and Effi was
pleased when Innstetten told her about them. Next they went from the
kitchen back into the hall and from there out into the court, the
first half of which was little more than a narrow passage-way running
along between the two side wings of the house. In these wings were to
be found all the other rooms set apart for house-keeping purposes. In
the right the maids' room, the manservant's room, and the mangling
room; to the left the coachman's quarters, situated between the stable
and the carriage shed and occupied by the Kruse family. Over this room
was the chicken house, while a trap door in the roof of the stable
furnished ingress and egress for the pigeons. Effi had inspected all
these parts of the house with a great deal of interest, but this
interest was exceeded by far when, upon returning from the court to
the front of the house, she followed Innstetten's leading and climbed
the stairway to the upper story. The stairs were askew, ramshackly,
and dark; but the hall, to which they led, almost gave one a cheerful
sensation, because it had a great deal of light and a good view of the
surrounding landscape. In one direction it looked out over the roofs
of the outskirts of the city and the "Plantation," toward a Dutch
windmill standing high up on a dune; in the other it looked out upon
the Kessine, which here, just above its mouth, was rather broad and
stately. It was a striking view and Effi did not hesitate to give
lively expression to her pleasure. "Yes, very beautiful, very
picturesque," answered Innstetten, without going more into detail, and
then opened a double door to the right, with leaves hanging somewhat
askew, which led into the so-called social room. This room ran clear
across the whole story. Both front and back windows were open and the
oft-mentioned curtains swung back and forth in the strong draft. From
the middle of one side wall projected an open fireplace with a large
stone mantlepiece, while on the opposite wall there hung a few tin
candlesticks, each with two candle sockets, just like those downstairs
in the hall, except that everything looked dingy and neglected. Effi
was