An old eight-day clock, of solemn and sedatedemeanour, ticked gravely in one corner; and a silver watch, of equalantiquity, dangled from one of the many hooks which ornamented thedresser.
At its conclusion, the little man took a pinch of snuff from anoblong silver box, and was apparently on the point of renewing theconversation, when one of the plump gentlemen, who in addition to abenevolent countenance, possessed a pair of spectacles, and a pair ofblack gaiters, interfered--'The fact of the matter is,' said the benevolent gentleman, 'that myfriend here (pointing to the other plump gentleman) will give you half aguinea, if you'll answer one or two--Now, my dear sir--my dear Sir,' said the little man, 'pray, allowme--my dear Sir, the very first principle to be observed in these cases,is this: if you place the matter in the hands of a professional man,you must in no way interfere in the progress of the business; you mustrepose implicit confidence in him.
( Dickens The Pickwick papers ) 'It IS matter of wonder, though, that anyone of Mr. Nathaniel Pipkin'sretiring disposition, nervous temperament, and most particularlydiminutive income, should from this day forth, have dared to aspire tothe hand and heart of the only daughter of the fiery old Lobbs--of oldLobbs, the great saddler, who could have bought up the whole villageat one stroke of his pen, and never felt the outlay--old Lobbs, who waswell known to have heaps of money, invested in the bank at the nearestmarket town--who was reported to have countless and inexhaustibletreasures hoarded up in the little iron safe with the big keyhole, overthe chimney-piece in the back parlour--and who, it was well known,on festive occasions garnished his board with a real silver teapot,cream-ewer, and sugar-basin, which he was wont, in the pride of hisheart, to boast should be his daughter's property when she found a manto her mind.
There were thereal solid silver teapot, cream-ewer, and sugar-basin, on the table, andreal silver spoons to stir the tea with, and real china cups to drink itout of, and plates of the same, to hold the cakes and toast in.
For the raiment round thehead was drawn close as a veil; and the head itself was bowed over aqueer-looking musical instrument made of silver or steel, and shapedlike a deformed or crooked violin.
(Chesterton The secret of father Brown ) "Hush!" said the lady in her voice of silver that still had in itsomething of steel.
(Chesterton The secret of father Brown ) The light also clothed for an instant, in the same silver splendour, atleast one human figure that stood up as motionless as one of the towers.
For that instant of illumination the goldencurls and ivory mask-and silver ornament made his figure gleam likethat of a man in armour; the next instant his figure was a dark and evenblack silhouette against the sickly grey of the rainy evening sky.