Several narrow and dark chambers in the
turrets--mere pigeon-holes, as we irreverently called what had been
thought good enough for the stately gentlemen of Elizabeth's reign--
were now allotted to bachelor visitors, after having been empty
for a century. All the spare rooms in the body and wings of the
hall were occupied, of course; and the servants who had been
brought down were lodged at the farm and at the keeper's, so great
was the demand for space. At last the unexpected arrival of an
elderly relative, who had been asked months before, but scarcely
expected, caused great commotion. My aunts went about wringing
their hands distractedly. Lady Speldhurst was a personage of some
consequence; she was a distant cousin, and had been for years on
cool terms with us all, on account of some fancied affront or
slight when she had paid her LAST visit, about the time of my
christening. She was seventy years old; she was infirm, rich, and
testy; moreover, she was my godmother, though I had forgotten the
fact; but it seems that though I had formed no expectations of a
legacy in my favor, my aunts had done so for me.
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