Butthepositionlastreached——thechimney—corner——was，afterall，themostattractivesideoftheparallelogram。Itwaslargeenoughtoadmit，inadditiontoGeoffreyhimself;Geoffrey’swife，herchair，andherwork—table，entirelywithinthelineofthemantel，withoutdangeroreveninconveniencefromtheheatofthefire;andwasspaciousenoughoverheadtoallowoftheinsertionofwoodpolesforthehangingofbacon，whichwerecloakedwithlongshredsofsoot，floatingonthedraughtlikethetatteredbannersonthewallsofancientaisles。
Thesepointswerecommontomostchimneycornersoftheneighbourhood;butonefeaturetherewaswhichmadeGeoffrey’sfiresidenotonlyanobjectofinteresttocasualaristocraticvisitors——towhomeverycottagefiresidewasmoreorlessacuriosity——buttheadmirationoffriendswhowereaccustomedtofireplacesoftheordinaryhamletmodel。Thispeculiaritywasalittlewindowinthechimney—back，almostoverthefire，aroundwhichthesmokecreptcaressinglywhenitlefttheperpendicularcourse。Thewindow—boardwascuriouslystampedwithblackcircles，burntthereonbytheheatedbottomsofdrinking—cups，whichhadrestedthereafterpreviouslystandingonthehotashesofthehearthforthepurposeofwarmingtheircontents，theresultgivingtotheledgethelookofanenvelopewhichhaspassedthroughinnumerablepost—offices。
Fancywasglidingabouttheroompreparingdinner，herheadincliningnowtotheright，nowtotheleft，andsingingthetipsandendsoftunesthatsprangupinhermindlikemushrooms。ThefootstepsofMrs。Daycouldbeheardintheroomoverhead。Fancywentfinallytothedoor。
\"Father！Dinner。\"
Atallsparefigurewasseenadvancingbythewindowwithperiodicalsteps，andthekeeperenteredfromthegarden。Heappearedtobeamanwhowasalwayslookingdown，asiftryingtorecollectsomethinghesaidyesterday。Thesurfaceofhisfacewasfissuredratherthanwrinkled，andoverandunderhiseyeswerefoldswhichseemedasakindofexterioreyelids。Hisnosehadbeenthrownbackwardsbyablowinapoachingfray，sothatwhenthesunwaslowandshininginhisface，peoplecouldseefarintohishead。Therewasinhimaquietgrimness，whichwouldinhismomentsofdispleasurehavebecomesurliness，haditnotbeentemperedbyhonestyofsoul，andwhichwasoftenwrongheadednessbecausenotalliedwithsubtlety。