There were at least a dozen Zorns, as many
Whistlers and Camerons.
O'Dowd, observing the glance of appreciation that Barnes sent about
the room, said: "All of thim are in the very rarest state. He has one
of the finest collections in America. Ye'll want your boots cleaned
and polished, and your face needs scrubbing, if ye don't mind my
saying so," he went on, critically surveying the visitor's person.
"Come up to my room and make yourself tidy. My own man will dust you
off and furbish you up in no time at all."
They passed into another room at the left and approached a wide
stairway, the lower step of which was flush with the baseboard on the
wall. Not so much as an inch of the stairway protruded into the room,
and yet Barnes, whose artistic sense should have been offended, was
curiously pleased with the arrangement and effect. He made a mental
note of this deliberate violation of the holy rules of construction,
and decided that one day he would try it out for himself.
The room itself was obviously a continuation of the larger one beyond,
a sort of annex, as it were. The same scheme in decoration and
furnishings was observed, except here the walls were adorned with
small paintings in oil, heavily framed.
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