a straight passage-way, into which the stairs descended, and on which
opened the doors of three rooms. It was covered with a deeply-worn strip
of oil-cloth, the pattern being quite undistinguishable in the middle,
and at the entrances of the doors and foot of the stairs, but appearing
with tolerable clearness for a distance of several inches out along the
walls. A high wainscoting ran along the sides; at the front door stood
an old-fashioned hat-tree, with no hats upon it; for the professor had
a way of wearing his hat into the house, and only taking it off when he
was seated at his study-table.

The gabled porch was wide and roomy, but had seen its best days, and was
rather out of repair. The board flooring creaked as you stepped upon it,
and the seams of the roof admitted small rills of water when it rained
hard, which, falling on the old brown mat, hastened its decay not a
little. A large, arched window opened on either side, so that one
standing in the porch could be seen from the upper and lower front
windows of the house. The outer woodwork and roof of the porch were
covered by a woodbine, trimmed, however, so as to leave the openings
clear. A few rickety steps, at the sides and between the cracks of
which sprouted tall blades of grass, led down to the path which
terminated in the gate. This path was distinguished by an incongruous
pavement of white limestone slabs, which were always kept carefully
clean. The gate was a rattle-boned affair, hanging feebly between two
grandfatherly old posts, which hypocritically tried to maintain an air
of solidity, though perfectly aware that they were wellnigh rotted away
at the base. The action of this gate was assisted--or more correctly
encumbered--by the contrivance of a sliding ball and chain, creating a
most dismal clatter and flap as often as it was opened. The white-washed
picket fence, scaled and patched by the weather, kept the posts in
excellent countenance; and inclosed a moderate grass-plot, adorned with