drawing-room-like than the six heavy second-hand mahogany ones, with the
hair-cloth seats, on which she had set her heart. Mrs Gaff would not
at first agree to take the cane chairs, observing truly that they "was
too slim," but she was shaken in her mind when the shopman said they
were quite the thing for a lady's boudoir.

She immediately demanded to know what a "boodwar" was. The shopman told
her that it was an elegant apartment in which young ladies were wont to
sit and read poetry, and think of their absent lovers.

On hearing this she retired into a corner of the shop, taking refuge
behind a chest of drawers, and held a long whispered conversation with
Tottie, after which she came forth and asked the shopman if married
ladies ever used boodwars where they might sit and think of their absent
husbands.

The shopman smiled, and said he had no doubt they did--indeed, he was
sure of it; for, said he, there was a certain apartment in his own house
in which his own wife was wont to sit up at night, when he chanced to be
absent, and think of _him_.

The uncandid man did not add that in the same apartment he was in the
habit of being taken pretty sharply to task as to what had kept him out
so late; but, after all, what had Mrs Gaff to do with that? The result
was that the six cane chairs were ordered by Mrs Gaff, who remarked
that she never read "poitry," but that that wouldn't matter much.
Thenceforth she styled the cottage at Cove the Boodwar.

It is worthy of remark that Mrs Gaff, being a heavy woman, went through
the bottom of the first of the cane chairs she sat down on after they
were placed in the boudoir, and that her fisher-friends, being all more
or less heavy, went successively through the bottoms of all the rest
until none were left, and they were finally replaced by the six heavy
mahogany chairs, with the hair seats, which ever afterwards stood every
test to which they were subjected, that of Haco Barepoles' weight
included.

But the chief ornament of the cottage was a magnificent old mahogany
four-poster, which was so large that it took up at least a third of the
apartment, and so solidly dark and heavy that visitors were invariably,
on their first entrance, impressed with the belief that a hearse had
been set up in a corner of the boudoir. The posts of this bed were
richly carved, and the top of each was ornamented with an imposing ball.
The whole was tastefully draped with red damask so dark with