"By the way, dearest, why is it that you light up all your rooms at night ?" "You have noticed it, then ?" she said.

"It comes also from my father's fears.

He does not like to have one dark corner in the whole house.
He walks about a good deal at night, and inspects everything, from the attics right down to the cellars.

He has large lamps in every room and corridor, even the empty ones, and he orders the servants to light them all at dusk." "I am rather surprised that you manage to keep your servants," I said, laughing.

"The maids in these parts are a superstitious class, and their imaginations are easily excited by anything which they don't understand." "The cook and both housemaids are from London, and are used to our ways.
We pay them on a very high scale to make up for any inconvenience to which they may be put.