I found that all the people, unless ill, took their meals at the
farmhouse dining room. A little quaintness of dress, some picturesque
costumes--such as the blue tunics with black belts of leather, that the
men wore; the full beards, that were not common then as now; the broad
hats and graceful, flowing hair of the young ladies; the varied style
of garments of the students and the boarders--all interested me.
The long, low dining room had rows of tables, some six in number,
seating on an average fourteen persons each. White painted benches
supplied the place of chairs. The tables were neatly set in white ware;
white mugs served for both cups and drinking glasses. There were white
linen table cloths, and everything was scrupulously neat.
At the farther end of the room sat Mr. Ripley. The garments of the
husbandman and farmer had all been laid aside, and, neatly dressed, he
was smiling and laughing, his gleaming eyes seeming to reflect their
brilliancy on the golden bows of his spectacles. At his right sat his
wife, and near by his sister, who poured the morning libation of tea or
coffee. Most of the pupils were at this table. Mrs. Ripley, tall,
graceful and slim, was, like her husband, near-sighted, but only on
occasions would she raise a gold-bowed eye-glass to look at some
distant object or person.
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