He didn't want to end up like his grandfather, bitter and intractable, consumed in his hatred like an addict on haze — a poisonous attitude that would possess him all his remaining years.

The welcoming rite — referred to as a wiccaning, a saining, or a paganing — serves a threefold purpose

Elinor then ventured to doubt the propriety of her receiving such a present from a man so little, or at least so lately known to her.

Sherry. […] The looking after the samples in the cellar, such as racking, ulling, etc., has been a portion of my work, […]