ABSTRACT
A large portion of Upton Castle had remained uninhabited. Sir Philip made various jocular allusions to the size of the family which might find accommodation in the great deserted rooms of the west wing, and these allusions were, for some recondite reason, considered exceedingly amusing. In fact, the west wing had become a sort of standing joke among the people of Upton, who generally made one last a long time, and took care that it should not be of a subtle or impersonal character; that might cause an epidemic of headaches. A pleasantry which required one to think was as bad, in the eyes of the Upton circle, as a play that made demands on one’s pocket-handkerchief.
