Immediately behind them,
on the steps of the baronial halls, were ranged his retainers, led
by the chief cook and bottle-washer, and head crumb-remover. On
either side were two companies of laundry-maids, preceded by the
chief crimper and fluter, supporting a long Ancestral Line, on
which depended the family linen, and under which the youthful lord
of the manor passed into the halls of his fathers. Twenty-four
scullions carried the massive gold and silver plate of the family
on their shoulders, and deposited it at the feet of their master.
The spoons were then solemnly counted by the steward, and the
perfect ceremony ended.
Lothaw sighed. He sought out the gorgeously gilded "Taj," or
sacred mausoleum erected to his grandfather in the second story
front room, and wept over the man he did not know. He wandered
alone in his magnificent park, and then, throwing himself on a
grassy bank, pondered on the Great First Cause, and the necessity
of religion. "I will send Mary Ann a handsome present," said
Lothaw, thoughtfully.
CHAPTER VII.
"Each of these pearls, my Lord, is worth fifty thousand guineas,"
said Mr. Amethyst, the fashionable jeweler, as he lightly lifted a
large shovelful from a convenient bin behind his counter.
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