Montgomery was evidently a thrifty and self-
respecting little person--the modest proportions of her dwelling
seemed to indicate that she was of small stature--who took a virtuous
satisfaction in keeping herself tidy, and had resolved that, since
she might not be splendid, she would at least be immaculate. She
received him in a little parlour, which was precisely the parlour he
had expected: a small unspeckled bower, ornamented with a desultory
foliage of tissue-paper, and with clusters of glass drops, amid
which--to carry out the analogy--the temperature of the leafy season
was maintained by means of a cast-iron stove, emitting a dry blue
flame, and smelling strongly of varnish. The walls were embellished
with engravings swathed in pink gauze, and the tables ornamented with
volumes of extracts from the poets, usually bound in black cloth
stamped with florid designs in jaundiced gilt. The Doctor had time
to take cognisance of these details, for Mrs. Montgomery, whose
conduct he pronounced under the circumstances inexcusable, kept him
waiting some ten minutes before she appeared. At last, however, she
rustled in, smoothing down a stiff poplin dress, with a little
frightened flush in a gracefully-rounded cheek.
She was a small, plump, fair woman, with a bright, clear eye, and an
extraordinary air of neatness and briskness. But these qualities
were evidently combined with an unaffected humility, and the Doctor
gave her his esteem as soon as he had looked at her.
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