A great fire blazed and crackled up the chimney.

Without, a roaring wind stripped the autumnal leafage of the garden, and from time to time drenched the windows with volleys of rain.
Tobias Liversedge was a man of substance, but in domestic habits he followed the rule of the unpretentious middle-class.

Breakfast at eight, dinner at one, tea at five, supper at nine--such was the order of the day that he had known in boyhood, and it suited him well enough now that he was at the head of a household.

The fare was simple, but various and abundant; no dishes with foreign names, no drinks more luxurious than sherry and claret.

If he entertained guests, they were people of his own kind, who thought more of the hearty welcome than of what was set before them.