PERSEVERE AND PROSPER.

The floors of the principal rooms upstairs,
the doors, and the stairs, and their balus-
trades, were of polished black oak. The
rooms were rather inconveniently arranged,
one within another. There were large lobbies
as big as rooms, and rooms no bigger than
closets; and there were closets in all sorts
of unexpected places, and “passages that
led to nothing.” Nearly all the doors
were gothic shaped, that is, made in a
pointed arch, and handsomely carved on
both sides.

The thing that astonished Arthur the
most, after going up the broad oak staircase,
was to see that every room that they passed
went up two steps or down two steps. He
wondered very much that the floor was not
all on a level. As he followed Susan and
chatted with her and Fanny about the
journey, he did not observe half the novel-.
ties about him. At last Susan lead them
up three steps into a very pretty bed-
room.

“This is Aunt Sophy’s room,” said Fanny,

94