Traversing the long and matted gallery, I descended the slippery steps of oak; then I gained the hall: I halted there a minute; I looked at some pictures on the walls (one, I remember, represented a grim man in a cuirass, and one a lady with powdered hair and a pearl necklace), at a bronze lamp pendent from the ceiling, at a great clock whose case was of oak curiously carved, and ebon black with time and rubbing.
Atravesé la larga y solemne galería, descendí los inseguros peldaños de roble y llegué al vestíbulo. Me detuve un momento a contemplar las pinturas de los muros, una de las cuales representaba un torvo caballero con coraza, y otra una señora con el cabello empolvado y un collar de perlas.