There were hens and chickens on the steps and running in and out of the open door, and from a near sty the grunt of many pigs reached her ears.

A pale, earthy-skinned peasant, scantily clad in dusty canvas, grinned sadly and kissed the hem of her skirt, calling her 'Excellency' and beginning at once to beg for reduction of rent.

A field-worn woman, filthy and dishevelled, drove back half a dozen nearly naked children whose little legs were crusted with dry mud, and whose faces had not been washed for a long time.
And within, there was no furniture.

In the rooms upstairs were stores of grain and potatoes, and red peppers and grapes hanging on strings.

The cracked mirrors, built into the gilded stucco, were coated with heavy unctuous dust, and the fine old painted tiles on the floor were loose and broken in places.