Willie's Nest in the Ruins. 127
was no occasion to roughen these walls by clearing
away the old mortar from between the stones, the
weather having done that quite sufficiently, and all
the preparation they wanted for the first thin coat
was to be well washed down, it took them a good
many days, working all their time, to lay on the
orthodox three coats of plaster. Mr Spelman had
wisely boarded the ceiling, so that they had not to
plaster that.

Meantime he was preparing a door and window
frames in the shop. The room had probably been
one of the prior’s, for it was much too large and
lofty for a mere cell, and had two windows, But
these were fortunately small, not like the splendid
ones in the chapel and refectory, else they would
have been hard to fill with glass.

“T’m afraid you'll be starved with cold, Willie,”
said his father one day, after watching the boys at
work for a few minutes. “There’s no fireplace.”

“Oh! that doesn’t signify,” answered Willie.
“Look how thick the walls are! and I shall have
plenty of blankets on my bed. Besides, we can
easily put a little stove in, if it’s wanted.”

But when the windows were fitted and fixed, Mr
Macmichael saw to his dismay that they were
not made to open. They had not even a pane
on hinges.

“This ll never do, Willie,” he said. ‘This is
far worse than no chimney.”