we entered a central hallway , very spacious , though nothing on the order of a french chateau , mind you , but with much fancy plaster-work , and a fine chandelier all ablaze with pure wax candles , and a door open at the far end to the rear porch , beyond which i could just make out the edge of a cliff where the lanterns hung from the tree branches as they did from those in the front garden , and very slowly i realized that the roar i heard was not wind but the gentle sound of the sea .