Page:The Cottagers of Glenburnie - Hamilton (1808).djvu/421

 will imagine on entering it, that you have immediately succeeded to a company who have been regaling themselves with rum-punch and tobacco; but you need not scruple to occupy the room on that account, as I assure you the smell is perennial, and has been so carefully preserved in its original purity, that you will find it at all seasons of the year the same. The floor is completely covered with carpet, but what that carpet covers can only be conjectured, the nails with which it is fastened to the floor having never been removed: and this circumstance, together with the black dust which lies in heaps round the edges, and works up through the thinner parts of the fabric, has led many to suppose that a manufactory of charcoal is carried on below! The tables you will find still more worthy your attention. On those that have been much in use, you will observe many curious figures traced in ale, &c. bearing a striking resemblance to the Lichen Geographicus, well known to botanists. The chairs you will probably find it advisable to dust before sitting down, and this will be done with great alacrity by the sturdy lass, who, barelegged, and with untied nightcap, and scanty bedgown, will, soon after your arrival, hurry into the room with a