He
averred that he required his old hunting-suits for accidents; his summer
jackets and vests, though faded, were the coolest in the world; his
worm-eaten but warm _roquelaure_ was admirable for riding about the
fields, etc. In vain mamma represented the economy of cutting up some
for the boys, and giving others to the servants; he would not consent,
nor part with articles in which he said he felt at home. Often did mamma
remonstrate against the dressing-room's looking like a haberdasher's
shop; often did she take down a coat, hold it up to the light, and show
him perforations that would have honored New Orleans or Waterloo; often,
while Chloe was flogging the pantaloons, which ungallantly kicked in
return, did she declare that it was a sin and a shame for her master to
have such things in the house; still the anti-cherubic shapes
accumulated on the nails and hooks, and were even considered as of
sufficient importance to be preserved from the fire at the burning of
Roseland.
Our little circle about this time was animated by a visit from a
peddler. As soon as he was perceived crossing the lawn with a large
basket on his arm, and a bundle slung across a stick on his shoulder, a
stir commenced in the house.
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