Carson of Red River by Harold Bindloss — Read

Dinner was over at Netherhall, and Mrs. Carson's party had gone to the drawing-room. Mrs. Carson was conservative and she refused to banish the early-Victorian walnut furniture. She claimed Gibbons carved the noble fireplace, but the plate glass carried across above the big grate did not altogether stop the smoke. Tall brass pillars supported oil lamps; the piano and card-table were lighted by candles in old silver sticks.

Although the furniture was ugly, the spacious room had dignity and Mrs. Carson harmonized. Her mouth was thin and her face was pinched. Sometimes her look was mean, she was frankly parsimonious, and her clothes were not good, but her stamp was the stamp of the proud old school.