Archway

They stepped through an archway.

When last I saw that little stream, / A form of light there stood, / That seemed like a precious gem, / Beneath that archway rude: / And as I gazed with love and awe / Upon that sylph-like thing, / Methought that airy form must be / The fairy of the spring.

The soffit of the archway is ornamented with deeply recessed coffers, and a relief in the centre represents the apotheosis of Titus.

Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind.