49/92 Behind the counter stood two men--Mr.Braithwaite and his clerk, Mr.Winterbottom. Mr.Braithwaite was large, somewhat of the stern patriarch in appearance, having a rather thin white beard. He was usually muffled in an enormous silk neckerchief, and right up to the hot summer a huge fire burned in the open grate. Sometimes in winter the air scorched the throats of the people, coming in from the freshness. |