midday
Concession , however , was made to the sense of brightness and beauty , for on each side of the path leading up to the door ran a row of Michaelmas daisies , rather battered by the fortnight of rain which had preceded this day of still warm sun , but struggling bravely to shake off the effect of the adverse conditions under which they had laboured . The kitchen itself was extremely clean and orderly . Its flagged floor was still damp and brown in patches from the washing it had received two hours before ; but the draught between open window and open door was fast drying it . Down the centre of the room was a deal table without a cloth , on which were laid some half-dozen places , each marked with a knife and fork and spoon and a thick glass , ready for the serving of the midday meal . On the white-washed walls hung two photographs of family groups , in one of which appeared the father and mother and three little children , in the other the same personages some ten years later , and a lithograph of the Blessed Virgin . On each side of the table was a deal bench , at the head and foot two wooden armchairs . A dresser stood against the wall , on the floor by the oven was a frayed rug , and most important of all , to Michael 's mind , was a big stewpot that stood on the top of the oven .