ack for
no less a sum than half-a-sovereign.

"And in later years it was just the same with Tom. He could never pass
by a common cookshop, in front of the windows of which was often a crowd
of men, women, and children, looking on with longing eyes, without
getting them inside and giving them a fill to their hearts' content.
When out driving it was no different. He would stop the horse, and have
all the watching hungry ones inside, and the next moment they would be
revelling in the satisfying properties of thick slices of plum-pudding
and roast beef."

The house throughout is most artistic. Mr. Kendal is a painter of great
merit, and he "knows" a picture as soon as he sees it. Pictures are his
hobby; hence there is not a room in the house--even to the
kitchen--which does not find a place for some canvas, etching, or
engraving. The entrance-hall is at once striking, with its quaint
thirteenth century furniture, bronzes, and Venetian ware. There are some
fine engravings of Miss Brunton--who became Countess of Craven--Kemble,
Garrick, Phelps, and Mrs. Siddons. A picture of Mrs. Kendal in "The
Falcon" was done at the express wish of, and paid for by, the late Poet
Laureate. Tennyson said it reminded him of a woman he liked and admired.
In the shadow is a fine bust of Macready, given by the great actor to
the father of Mrs. Kendal; resting against the fireplace on either side
are the two lances used in "The Queen's Shilling," and close by are two
huge masks representing a couple of very hirsute individuals. They came
from California, and represent "The King of the Devils" and "The King of
the Winds."

[Illustration: THE HALL. (_From a Photo, by Elliott & Fry._)]

[Illustration: THE DINING ROOM. (_From a Photo, by Elliott & Fry._)]

The entrance to the dining-room is typical of all the other door
decoration in the house--a carving of cream enamel of beautiful design
and workmanship. The walls of this apartment are terra-cotta, with a
finely carved oak-panelling. It is a little treasure room of canvases,
the gem of which is probably C. Van Hannen's "Mask Shop in Venice"--a
painter of a school which Luke Fildes, R.A., has done so much to
popularize. Macbeth is represented by a couple of delightful efforts,
and there are samples of the skill of Eugene Du Blas, Crofts, John Reid,
Andriotti, Sadler, De Haas, Rivers; a grand landscape by Webb--nearly
all of which are Academy works. The decorative articles are as artistic
as in