“Can’t find wood!”
“No, sir,” replied the man, tapping as far as he could reach from right to left; “nothing to nail to, sir. But there never is no wood in these new-built houses.”
“Confound your new houses!” exclaimed I.
“Well, it is very provoking, my dear!” exclaimed my wife.
“I suppose that their new houses are not built for pictures any more than for balls,” replied I; and I sighed. “What must be done?”
“I think, sir, if you were to order brass rods to be fixed from one corner to the other, we might find means to fasten them,” observed the carpenter; “but there’s no wood, that’s certain.”
“What the devil is the house built of then?” exclaimed I.
“All lath and plaster, sir,” replied the man, tapping right and left.
At a heavy expense I procured the rods, and at last the pictures were hung up.
The next annoyance that we had was a very bad smell, which we found to proceed from the drains; and the bricklayers were sent for. All the drains were choked, it appeared, from their being so very narrow; and after having up the whole basement, at the expense of 40 pounds, that nuisance was abated.