Ramsay, as he waited a few seconds, looked up at the house, which was
large and with a noble front to the wide street in face of it, not, as
usual with most of the others, divided in the centre by a canal running
the whole length of it. The door was opened, and led into a large paved
yard, the sides of which were lined with evergreens in large tubs,
painted of the same bright green colour; adjoining to the yard was a
small garden enclosed with high walls, which was laid out with great
precision, and in small beds full of tulips, ranunculuses, and other
bulbs now just appearing above the ground. The sailors waited outside
while the old gray-headed servitor who had opened the gate, ushered
Ramsay through the court to a second door which led into the house. The
hall into which he entered was paved with marble, and the staircase bold
and handsome which led to the first floor, but on each side of the hall
there were wooden partitions and half-glass doors, through which Ramsay
could see that the rest of the basement was appropriated to warehouses,
and that in the warehouse at the back of the building there were people
busily employed hoisting out merchandise from the vessels in the canal,
the water of which adjoined the very walls.
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