Masons, and had continued her instructions over the last three years. This had not been done in any preconcerted way, but the lessons had grown by chance. Mrs. Mason the while had looked on with a satisfied eye at an arrangement that was so much to her taste.
'There are no regular lessons you know,' she had said to her husband, when he suggested that some reward for so much work would be expedient. 'Mrs. Green finds it convenient to have the use of my drawing-room, and would never see an instrument from year's end to year's end if she were not allowed to come up here. Depend upon it she gets a great deal more than she gives.'
But after two years' of tuition Mr. Mason had spoken a second time. 'My dear,' he said, 'I cannot allow the girls to accept so great a favour from Mrs. Green without making her some compensation.'
'I don't see that it is at all necessary,' Mrs. Mason had answered; 'but if you think so, we could send her down a hamper of apples,—that is, a basketful.' Now it happened that apples were very plentiful that year, and that the curate and his wife were blessed with as many as they could judiciously consume.
'Apples! nonsense!' said Mr. Mason.
'If you mean money, my dear, I couldn't do it. I wouldn't so offend a lady for all the world.'
'You could buy them something handsome, in the way of furniture. That little room of theirs that they call the drawing-room has nothing in it at all. Get Jones from Leeds to send them some things that will do for them.' And hence, after many inner misgivings, had arisen that purchase of a drawing-room set from Mr. Kantwise,—that set of metallic 'Louey Catorse furniture,' containing three tables, eight chairs, &c. &c., as to which it may be remembered that Mrs. Mason made such an undoubted bargain, getting them for less than cost price. That they had been 'strained,' as Mr. Kantwise himself admitted in discoursing on the subject to Mr. Dockwrath, was not matter of much moment. They would do extremely well for a curate's wife.
And now on this Christmas-day the present was to be made over to the happy lady. Mr. and Mrs. Green were to dine at Groby Park,—leaving their more fortunate children to the fuller festivities of the cottage; and the intention was that before dinner the whole drawing-room set should be made over. It was with grievous pangs of heart that Mrs. Mason looked forward to such an operation. Her own house was plenteously furnished from the kitchens to the attics, but still she would have loved to keep that metallic set of painted trumpery. She knew that the table would not screw on; she knew that the pivot of the music stool was bent; she knew that there was no place in the house in which they could stand; she must have known that in no possible way could they be of use
