[ IP ] - Interior of Petworth House , J.M.W . Turner , 1837

The house, when I had first found it, was long since unoccupied by its illustrious owners. Floral wallpaper hung peeled off the walls, the furniture was infested with all types of beetles and moths, and the plastered ceiling had fallen down. Of what worth remained in such a landmark it was hard to say -- there were better men for the job of appraising, I was here to simply clean. 
 
 But before I could set about my assigned task a strange and wholly unexpected series of events were set in motion. As I circumnavigated the damp oval staircase which looked prone to collapse, a small man of no more than five feet poked his head up at me from behind a banister. The man wore his hair long and graying, and its curling strands were smeared across his forehead in a manner not becoming of somebody gainfully employed. His face was similarly gray in complexion and his long beak of a nose curved sharp to his right at the bridge, covering the wrinkles which speckled his cheeks. The man and I shared a brief silence as we stared back at one another, it was hard to say who had been more surprised by the counter's imposition on the other's affairs yet I certainly felt uneasy being alone in such a noteworthy house with an unidentified man. However my fears were soon remedied without note. The apparition, as sudden as his entrance, made his departure. I rubbed my eyes, had they deceived me? I did not ponder this for long and made haste to complete my duties.
