Page:The perverse widow by Sir Richard Steele and The Widow by Washington Irving (1909).djvu/37

 THE WIDOW state. This is singular, too, for she seems of a most soft and susceptible heart; is always talking of love and connubial felicity; and is a great stickler for old-fashioned gallantry, devoted attentions, and eternal constancy on the part of the gentlemen. She lives, however, after her own taste. Her house I am told, must have been built and furnished about the time of Sir Charles Grandison: everything about it is somewhat formal and stately, but has been softened down into a degree of voluptuousness characteristic of an old lady very tender-hearted and romantic, and that loves her ease. The cushions of the great arm-chairs and wide sofas almost bury you when you sit down on them. Flowers of the most rare and delicate kind are placed about the rooms and on little japanned stands; and sweet-bags lie about the tables and mantelpieces. The house is full of pet dogs, Angola cats, and singing birds, who are as carefully waited upon as she is herself. 27