The woman disappeared within the house and remained absent for a few
minutes, during which the men lifted the boxes from the wagon.

By the time they had set down the last one Katie reappeared with her
heavy bunch of keys and beckoned them to follow her.

Ishmael obeyed, by shouldering a small box and entering the house, while
Reuben Gray and Sam took up a heavy one between them and came after.

It was a noble old hall, with its walls hung with family pictures and
rusty arms and trophies of the chase; with doors opening on each side
into spacious apartments; and with a broad staircase ascending from the
center.

The fat old negro housekeeper, waddling along before the men, led them
to the back of the hall, and opened a door on the right, admitting them
into the library of Tanglewood.

Here the men set down the boxes. And when they had brought them all in,
and Sam, under the direction of Gray, had forced off all the tops,
laying the contents bare to view, the latter said:

"Now then, Ishmael, we will leave you to go to work and unpack; but
don't you get so interested in the work as to disremember dinner time at
one o'clock precisely; and be sure you are punctual, because we've got
veal and spinnidge."

"Thank you, Uncle Reuben, I will not keep you waiting," replied the
youth.

Gray and his assistant departed, and Ishmael was left alone with the
wealth of books around him.

CHAPTER XL.

THE LIBRARY.

Round the room are shelves of dainty lore,
And rich old pictures hang upon the walls,
Where the slant light falls on them; and wrought gems,
Medallions, rare mosaics and antiques
From Herculaneum, the niches fill;
And on a table of enamel wrought
With a lost art in Italy, do lie
Prints of fair women and engravings rare.

--_N.P. Willis_.

It was a noble room; four lofty windows--two on each side--admitting
abundance of light and air; at one end was a marble chimney-piece, over
which hung a fine picture of Christ disputing with the doctors in the
temple; on each side of this chimney-piece were glass cases filled with
rare shells, minerals, and other curiosities; all the remaining spaces
along the walls and between the windows were filled up with book-cases;
various writing tables, reading stands, and easy-chairs occupied the
center of the floor.

After a curious glance at this scene, Ishmael went to work at unpacking
the boxes. He found his task much easier than he had expected