The resemblance was not much nearer than that of Polonius's cloud to a whale, or an owzel; it was sufficient, however, to set the Antiquary's brains to work.``A mitre, my dear sir,'' continued he, as he led the way through a labyrinth of inconvenient and dark passages, and accompanied his disquisition with certain necessary cautions to his guest--``A mitre, my dear sir, will suit our abbot as well as a bishop--he was a mitred abbot, and at the very top of the roll--take care of these three steps--Iknow Mac-Cribb denies this, but it is as certain as that he took away my Antigonus, no leave asked--you'll see the name of the Abbot of Trotcosey, _Abbas Trottocosiensis,_ at the head of the rolls of parliament in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries--there is very little light here, and these cursed womankind always leave their tubs in the passage--now take, care of the corner--ascend twelve steps, and ye are safe!''
Mr.Oldbuck had by this time attained the top of the winding stair which led to his own apartment, and opening a door, and pushing aside a piece of tapestry with which it was covered, his first exclamation was, ``What are you about here, you sluts?''
A dirty barefooted chambermaid threw down her duster, detected in the heinous fact of arranging the _sanctum sanctorum,_and fled out of an opposite door from the face of her incensed master.A genteel-looking young woman, who was superintending the operation, stood her ground, but with some timidity.
``Indeed, uncle, your room was not fit to be seen, and I just came to see that Jenny laid everything down where she took it up.''
``And how dare you, or Jenny either, presume to meddle with my private matters?'' (Mr.Oldbuck hated _puttting to rights_ as much as Dr.Orkborne, or any other professed student.)``Go, sew your sampler, you monkey, and do not let me find you here again, as you value your ears.--I assure you, Mr.
Lovel, that the last inroad of these pretended friends to cleanliness was almost as fatal to my collection as Hudibras's visit to that of Sidrophel; and I have ever since missed My copperplate, with almanacks Engraved upon't and other knacks My moon-dial, with Napier's bones, And several constellation Stones;My flea, my morpeon, and punaise, I purchased for my proper ease.
And so forth, as old Butler has it.''
The young lady, after courtesying to Lovel, had taken the opportunity to make her escape during this enumeration of losses.``You'll be poisoned here with the volumes of dust they have raised,'' continued the Antiquary; ``but I assure you the dust was very ancient, peaceful, quiet dust, about an hour ago, and would have remained so for a hundred years, had not these gipsies disturbed it, as they do everything else in the world.''
It was indeed some time before Lovel could, through the thick atmosphere, perceive in what sort of den his friend had constructed his retreat.It was a lofty room of middling size, obscurely lighted by high narrow latticed windows.One end was entirely occupied by book-shelves, greatly too limited in space for the number of volumes placed upon them, which were, therefore, drawn up in ranks of two or three files deep, while numberless others littered the floor and the tables, amid a chaos of maps, engraving, scraps of parchment, bundles of papers, pieces of old armour, swords, dirks, helmets, and Highland targets.Behind Mr.Oldbuck's seat (which was an ancient leathern-covered easy-chair, worn smooth by constant use) was a huge oaken cabinet, decorated at each corner with Dutch cherubs, having their little duck-wings displayed, and great jolter-headed visages placed between them.The top of this cabinet was covered with busts, and Roman lamps and pater<ae>, intermingled with one or two bronze figures.The walls of the apartment were partly clothed with grim old tapestry, representing the memorable story of Sir Gawaine's wedding, in which full justice was done to the ugliness of the Lothely Lady;although, to judge from his own looks, the gentle knight had less reason to be disgusted with the match on account of disparity of outward favour, than the romancer has given us to understand.The rest of the room was panelled, or wainscotted, with black oak, against which hung two or three portraits in armour, being characters in Scottish history, favourites of Mr.
Oldbuck, and as many in tie-wigs and laced coats, staring representatives of his own ancestors.A large old-fashioned oaken table was covered with a profusion of papers, parchments, books, and nondescript trinkets and gewgaws, which seemed to have little to recommend them, besides rust and the antiquity which it indicates.In the midst of this wreck of ancient books and utensils, with a gravity equal to Marius among the ruins of Carthage, sat a large black cat, which, to a superstitious eye, might have presented the _genius loci,_ the tutelar demon of the apartment.The floor, as well as the table and chairs, was overflowed by the same _mare magnum_ of miscellaneous trumpery, where it would have been as impossible to find any individual article wanted, as to put it to any use when discovered.
