Page:The Cottagers of Glenburnie - Hamilton (1808).djvu/422

 shovelful of coals as a kindling for your fire. As there will, on this occasion, be an absolute necessity for removing at least part of the immense pile of white ashes with which the grate is filled, and which have remained undisturbed since the room was last in use, I would hint the propriety of keeping at a due distance from the scene of action; but when the bars have been raked, I would recommend it to you not to suffer the farther removal of the ashes, as, if you are any way squeamish, I can assure you they will be of use as a covering to the hearth, especially if your immediate predecessors have been fond of tobacco.

In the article of attendance, you will find this inn to be no less remarkable than in the particulars above described. The waiters are of both sexes, and all are equally ingenious in delay. It is a rule of the house, that your bell shall never be answered twice by the same person; and this is attended with many advantages. It in the first place gives you time to know your own mind, and affords you an opportunity, in repeating your orders to so many different people, of making any additions that may in the interim have occurred. It in the next place, keeps up the character of the house, by making you believe