Joseph Wilmot, or, The Memoirs of a Man-Servant — page 398: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

en —_——__——_— _— —_—-. Ws Z 7, , Wy pid 4 [qe eae es Ws prs es Yea | am / Why y) LOY OD; DW; 7 : a ), WAG) ji ih These apartments, be it recollected, were on the ground-floor, and looked upon the garden to which I have just alluded. The windows had Venetian shutters, which were always closed at night-time. The dining and breakfast rooms, the parlours, the library, the billiard and smoking rooms, were a'l on the ground-floor likewise: those drawing- rooms which were habitually used, and the state- saloons for grand festal gccasions, as well as other parlours and retiring-rooms, were on the first floor ; and the higher storeys of this range of building of which I am speaking, contained the bed-chambers of the upper domestics, including those who were specially attached to the persons of the Duke and Duchess. The reader must be careful to bear the above particulars in mind, as they will be necessary for the proper understanding of events to be here- after related. I soon found that my duties.and avocations were trivial enough; and I should have concluded that the ee de Paulin had taken me into his service 9. JOSEPIE WILMOT;} OR, THE MEMOIRS OF A MAN-SERVANT. RR ee ee pe ee ee eee ee ee 385 ——— + —— it . i) d N \ Muy “Ly Myf * ed | 4 vtid UMM lf / MUU Ahait CU entirely through charitable motives,—were it not that I found there were numerous dependants of the household whose situations seemed to be almost as much sinecures as my own; and it was therefore evident that for the sake of show and ostentation a train of dependants was kept numerically exceed- ing the actual requirements of the ducal household. I had plenty of time at my own disposal: I could ‘absent myself for hours if I thought fit to do so; and though I rendered these opportunities available to make myself well acquainted with Paris, I nevertheless devoted far more of my leisure to the study of the French language,—so that in a few weeks’ time my progress exceeded my most san- guine expectations. 3 The Duchess appeared to be very fond of com- pany: there was scarcely an evening that she did not either go out to parties, or receive guests at home. ‘The Duke accompanied her but seldom to entertainments elsewhere: but he usually made it , a point of appearing at her own receptions. On comicbooks:com