He would not take part in Berry's
buffooneries, but talked soberly and rather austerely with Miss
Carver; and to show that he did not feel himself an inferior,
whatever she might think, he was very sarcastic about some of the
city ways and customs they spoke of. There were a good many books
about--novels mostly, but not the kind Statira used to read, and
poems; Miss Carver said she liked to take them up when she was
nervous from her work; and if the weather was bad, and she could not
get out for a walk, a book seemed to do her almost as much good.
Nearly all the pictures about in the room seemed to be Miss Swan's;
in fact, when Lemuel asked about them, and tried to praise them in
such a way as not to show his ignorance, Miss Carver said she did
very little in colour; her lessons were all in black and white. He
would not let her see that he did not know what this was, but he was
ashamed, and he determined to find out; he determined to get a
drawing-book, and learn something about it himself. To his thinking,
the room was pretty harum-scarum. There were shawls hung upon the
walls, and rugs, and pieces of cloth, which sometimes had half-
finished paintings fastened to them; there were paintings standing
round the room on the floor, sometimes right side out, and sometimes
faced to the walls; there were two or three fleeces and fox-pelts
scattered about instead of a carpet; and there were two easels, and
stands with paints all twisted up in lead tubes on them.
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