I) Of the Domestic Economy of Bracegirdle's Bed and Breakfast
Mr. Bracegirdle, a stout and portly old hobbit, owned and ran one of the Shire's best inns. It was not near the Green Dragon's at all, nor was it located in Hardbottle, for Mr. Bracegirdle had broken with of his brothers and moved away from Hardbottle. Its name was Bracegirdle's Bed and Breakfast.
The whole enterprise was managed by the indiminishable Mrs. Bracegirdle, and it was at the bottom of a hill, and was a very large house, not a hobbit-hole at all, but a comfortable inn with stone walls and a thatch roof. The house was large and what we would call L-shaped, and next it to was a sizable barn.
Mrs. Bracegirdle was a no-nonsense, stiff sort of woman, very frugal and very good at business. She was tall for her hobbit, and had large hands and a large nose. Mr. Bracegirdle was a pleasant, amiable fellow who loved good food and good company. He mingled, eating and drinking with the guests and kept them in good spirits.
The house, the courtyard, and the beautiful grounds were very homely and well-kept, for Mr. and Mrs. Bracegirdle had seven daughters and then two young sons. The seven girls were well-grown, and together with Mrs. Bracegirdle kept a very tight ship indeed. There was not a domestic disturbance that ruffle Mrs. Bracegirdle, for they were all dealt with, with such ease and competence that could only have been dealt with by a veteran commander of a domestic battalion.
Donnamira Bracegirdle was the eldest. She was chief housekeeper, doing all the scrubbing and washing and laundry and cleaning. She had a homely, plain face and a pleasant manner about her.
Dimple was only two years younger than her sister, and was short, round and portly like her father. She was the cook of the family, and it is mostly due to her success in cookery that the Bracegirdle Bed and Breakfast become very, very popular indeed.
Daisy came next, and, because she was young, attractive and lively, found herself quite popular with the guests. She waited tables, served meals and did a lot of ironing . She loved animals, and was in charge of caring for the milk goat as well as the inn's dog, Dido. She was fair, and of a fine figure - and Mrs. Bracegirdle boasted that she was the finest dairy-maid in the country. Then came the little triplets, Lily, Laura and Linda, who were bright, sprightly and playful, but useful, for they did whatever was asked of them promptly and with no complaint.
If you were a guest at the Bracegirdle's you might have one of their cosy rooms. There would be a plaited rug on the floor, print or lace curtains, a cheerful quilt and a warm bed (a sweet mattress of straw) that smelt of lavender and field clovers. In winter, there would be a fire roaring in the hearth, and three candles lit for your especial comfort. In spring, from your window you could look out at the lush gardens (maintained by Mr. Bracegirdle, who though was an untidy gardener did make everything grow very well).
You probably would have had dinner downstairs, cooked by Dimple and served by Daisy (under the watchful eye of Mrs. Bracegirdle), had a couple of beers with Mr. Bracegirdle, and retired to your room.
Throughout the night, the sound of the crickets and the stirring of the wind would lure you into pleasant slumber, and then in the morning one of the little laddies, Minto or Mungo, would call you to breakfast, a scrumptious affair usually consisting eggs poached fried or boiled, hashed potatoes, bacon, toast with marmalade, butter or currant jam, tomatoes, and baked beans, washed down with creamy goats milk or tea.
Upstairs, Donnamira and one of the triplets would shake out your bed, dust your room, empty the chamber pot and give it a good airing. Before you went on your way, you would settle your accounts with Mrs. Bracegirdle, who counted everything thoroughly before she sent you on your way.
On any fine day at the Bracegirdle's the laundry would be done. Donnamira and one of the triplets would scrub and wring the sheets and hang them up, then Daisy would take them in, iron them the next day and do the mending. The rooms were given a good scrub down once in spring and once in autumn, but would be swept every day by the little ones.
A great deal of firewood would be needed of course, so Minty and Mungo would haul and chop them, when they weren't sent on errands.
Dimple would do the baking twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, during the afternoons. On Mondays and Fridays she went to the market, and on all the other days she cooked for all seven meals. During the summer she made preserves and sold them by the wagon to guests. And if that wasn't enough, she was running a catering enterprise of her own, for Dimple was rather like Mrs. Bracegirdle and kept a great hoard of gold coins, earned of hard work.
Not that Donnamira or Daisy weren't enterprising - Donnamira was very good at needlework, and her quilts, rugs, knitted shawls and crocheted doilies were an exhibition of their own. Daisy collected tips, and kept a few goats of her own, selling milk and cheese. The triplets would spend their free time scouring the country-side for herbs to sell to Mrs. Bracegirdle's sister, Mrs. Honoria Proudfeet, a widow, who lived nearby had a spacious still-room where she was constantly needing herbs of this or that sort, herbs that her tired old feet wouldn't let her forage for herself. She tended sick hobbits, injured hobbits, hobbit mothers, sickly hobbit babies, and any ailment of any kind. Her greatest regret was, that her husband had died in a wagon accident and that she never had any children to pass the herbal lore on to.
Mrs. Bracegirdle was very proud of her children. They were industrious and accomplished, and worked almost as hard as she did, and she did worked very hard, for nary a day did past when she wasn't sniffing out some thieving guests, mending, working stains of the bed-linen, soothing injured hobbit guests who had, in fits of revelry, danced and fallen off the dining tables, and so forth. She was laying up a good store of money for each of them, besides the wages they each collected. Nothing pleased her more in life for than for her children to be happy and well-off. Life was very, very, busy for Mrs. Bracegirdle and she was completely unprepared for the unsettling events that would unfold in the near future.