Nothing could be simpler than his method of managing this estate.

He never spent a penny on upkeep or repairs.

On a vacancy he accepted any tenant who chose to apply.

He collected his rents weekly and in person, and if the rent were not forthcoming he promptly distrained upon the furniture.
By this process Mr.Hucks kept his Counting House replete, and even crowded, with chattels, some of which are reckoned among the necessaries of life, while others--such as an accordion, a rain-gauge, and a case of stuffed humming-birds--rank rather with its superfluities.

Of others again you wondered how on earth they had been taken in Mr.Hucks's drag-net.