I11.] THE SILVER FAIRIES. 117

 

I am not sure but that it was during one of
these evening sittings that the idea came into his
head that there might with advantage be more fur-
niture in the Den. There was a large recess on one
side of the room, into which different boxes, packing-
cases, and various other articles had from time to time
been cast, but which could well have accommodated a
respectable piece of furniture. So thought Simon as
he sat and smoked ; and hence it probably arose that
when he entered the house in which the sale was going
on, and cast his eyes upon the article which forms the
subject of our story, the recess in his little Den rose
before his mind, and he began to think how the one
would fit into the other. Be this as it may, the
result was, as we have seen, that old Simon became
the purchaser of the piece of furniture, which was duly
conveyed to his house, and actually fitted into the
recess, after the boxes had been banished, just as if
it had been made for it.

Old Simon was uncommonly proud of his new
possession. As soon as it had been safely established
in the recess, and those who had brought it were well
out of the house, he placed himself in front of it and
gazed upon it for several minutes with an eye of affec-
tion ; then he proceeded to examine it more carefully
and thoroughly than he had been able to do at the
sale. It was certainly very substantially built, for in
the days when it had been made, people thought more
of strength and durability in their furniture, as well as
in their houses, than has since been the custom.
Perhaps they were more careless of elegance and
classical design than their successors; perhaps ma-