He went into the library as it was called, but in reality it was the room used by everybody except upon ceremonial occasions.

It was a big room; half of it held a billiard table, the other half had writing-tables, lounges, comfortable chairs and a table for bridge.

The carpet was laid over a parquet floor so that young people, when they stayed there, rolled it up and danced.

There were windows upon two sides of the room.

Here a row of them looked down the slope of the lawn to the cedar-trees and the river, the other, a great bay which opened to the ground, gave a view of a corner of the high churchyard wall and of a meadow and a thatched cottage beyond.