DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.2056#0171
sS the hake's progress.
worthy of preservation. The contents of his ar-
moury are curious, and valuable as the lumbering
furniture of his room: they consist of two swords;
which may be considered as trophies of his youth-
ful prowess, or protectors of his cankered pelf.
The crutch and walking-stick, those unequal sup-
porters of his feeble frame, now lean unheeded
against the wall. His fur cap and great coat seem
to have been winter substitutes for fire; as the
grate in which a withered Sybil is laying wood,
has no marks of even a remaining cinder. The
remnant of candle, in a save-all; the jack taken
' down, as an useless piece of furniture, and, with
the spit, hoisted into a high cupboard, give strong
indications of the manner in which this votary of
Mammon existed, for such a being could scarcely
be said to live. The gaunt appearance of an half-
starved cat, proves not only the rigid abstinence
practised by this wretched slave to his wealth, but
that, in his miserable mansion,
" No mouse e'er hrk'd, no rat e'er sought for food."
The iron-bound chests, the hidden gold falling
from the breaking cornice, and indeed every ar-
ticle that is displayed in this dreary tomb of bu-
ried wealth, give additional marks of a suspicious
and sordid disposition. The picture of a miser
counting his gold; the escutcheons, those gloomy
ornaments of departed wretchedness, with the ar-
morial bearings of wance, three vices hard screwed,
worthy of preservation. The contents of his ar-
moury are curious, and valuable as the lumbering
furniture of his room: they consist of two swords;
which may be considered as trophies of his youth-
ful prowess, or protectors of his cankered pelf.
The crutch and walking-stick, those unequal sup-
porters of his feeble frame, now lean unheeded
against the wall. His fur cap and great coat seem
to have been winter substitutes for fire; as the
grate in which a withered Sybil is laying wood,
has no marks of even a remaining cinder. The
remnant of candle, in a save-all; the jack taken
' down, as an useless piece of furniture, and, with
the spit, hoisted into a high cupboard, give strong
indications of the manner in which this votary of
Mammon existed, for such a being could scarcely
be said to live. The gaunt appearance of an half-
starved cat, proves not only the rigid abstinence
practised by this wretched slave to his wealth, but
that, in his miserable mansion,
" No mouse e'er hrk'd, no rat e'er sought for food."
The iron-bound chests, the hidden gold falling
from the breaking cornice, and indeed every ar-
ticle that is displayed in this dreary tomb of bu-
ried wealth, give additional marks of a suspicious
and sordid disposition. The picture of a miser
counting his gold; the escutcheons, those gloomy
ornaments of departed wretchedness, with the ar-
morial bearings of wance, three vices hard screwed,