Opposite to them a few shelves were filled with simple crockery and cooking utensils, and these also shone spotlessly.

There was a pair of knee boots in one corner with a patch partly sewn on to one of them, and the harness in another showed traces of careful repair.

A bookcase hung above them, and its somewhat tattered contents indicated that the man who had chosen and evidently handled them frequently, possessed tastes any one who did not know that country would scarcely have expected to find in a prairie farmer.

A table and one or two rude chairs made by their owner's hands completed the furniture, but while all hinted at poverty, it also suggested neatness, industry and care, for the room bore the impress of its occupier's individuality as rooms not infrequently do.
It was not difficult to see that he was frugal, though possibly from necessity rather than taste, not sparing of effort, and had a keen eye for utility, and if that suggested the question why with such capacities he had not attained to greater comfort the answer was simple.

Winston had no money, and the seasons had fought against him.
He had done his uttermost with the means at his disposal, and now he knew he was beaten.
A doleful wind moaned about the lonely building, and set the roof shingles rattling overhead.