Foul Play: A Novel
Book Description
Mr. Wardlaw sdining-room in Russell Square. It was very large, had sickly green walls, picked out witli aldermen, full length ;heavy maroon curtains ;mahogany chairs ;a turkey carpet an inch thick :and was lighted with wax candles only. In the centre, bristling and gleaming with silver and glass, was a round table, at which fourteen could have dined comfortably; and at opposite sides of this table...
MoreMr. Wardlaw sdining-room in Russell Square. It was very large, had sickly green walls, picked out witli aldermen, full length ;heavy maroon curtains ;mahogany chairs ;a turkey carpet an inch thick :and was lighted with wax candles only. In the centre, bristling and gleaming with silver and glass, was a round table, at which fourteen could have dined comfortably; and at opposite sides of this table sat two gentlemen, who looked as neat, grave, precise, and unromantic, as the place; Merchant Wardlaw and his son. Wardlaw senior was an elderly man, tall, thin, iron-gray, with a round head, a short, thick neck, a good, brown eye, a square jowl that betokened resolution, and a complexion so sallow as to be almost cadaverous. Hard as iron :but a certain stiff dignity and respectability sat ujwn him, and became him. Arthur Wardlaw resembled his father in figure, but his mother in face. He had, and has, hay-colored hair, a forehead singularly white and delicate, pale blue eyes, largish ears, finely chiselled features, the under lip much shorter than the upper; his chin oval,and pretty, but somewhat receding ;his complexion beautiful. In short, what nineteen people out of twenty would call a handsome young man, and think they had described him. Both theW ardlaws were in ftill dress, according to the invariable custom of the house ;and sat in a dead silence, that seemed natural to the great, sober room. This, however, was not for want of a topic ;on the contrary, they had a matter of great importance to discuss, and in fact this was why they dined tete-a-tete: but their tongues were tied for the present; in the first place, there stood in the middle of the table an epergne, the size of a Putney laurel-tree ;neither Wardlaw could well see the other, without ci aning out his neck like a rifleman from behind his tree ;and then there were three live suppressors of confiden
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)
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