On the lower, the Durnmelling side of the fence, were trees, shrubbery, and out-houses--the chimney of one of which, the laundry, gave great offense to Mrs.Wardour, when, as she said, wind and wash came together.

But, although they stood so near, there was no lawful means of communication between the houses except the road; and the mile that implied was seldom indeed passed by any of the unneighborly neighbors.
The father of Lady Margaret would at one time have purchased Thornwick at twice its value; but the present owner could not have bought it at half its worth.

He had of late been losing money heavily--whence, in part, arose that anxiety of Lady Margaret's not to keep Mr.Redmain fretting for his lunch.
The house of Durnmelling, new compared with that of Thornwick, was yet, as I have indicated, old enough to have passed also through vicissitudes, and a large portion of the original structure had for many years been nothing better than a ruin.

Only a portion of one side of its huge square was occupied by the family, and the rest of that side was not habitable.

Lady Margaret, of an ancient stock, had gathered from it only pride, not reverence; therefore, while she valued the old, she neglected it; and what money she and her husband at one time spent upon the house, was devoted to addition and ornamentation, nowise to preservation or restoration.