1
/
of
1
OGB
OUT OF THE FASHION
OUT OF THE FASHION
Regular price
$1.99 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$1.99 USD
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Quantity
Couldn't load pickup availability
Scanned, proofed and corrected from the original edition for your reading pleasure. (Worth every penny!)
***
An excerpt from the beginning of:
CHAPTER I.
THERE is an old-fashioned square in a very central part of Bayswater, which, for some reason, is no longer considered a desirable place of residence by the fashionable world. It is difficult to account for the unpopularity of Rosemary Gardens, for the place combines many distinct advantages. Its situation can scarcely be surpassed; it is on high ground; its soil is gravel; its aspect bright; it is within a few minutes' walk of Kensington Gardens. Omnibuses pass its select and peaceful gates, and the Metropolitan Railway is within a stone's throw from its houses.
The place is as central and convenient as a place can be; it has also another advantage: it is quiet. Close to the war and traffic of the great city, in one of the houses in Rosemary Gardens you may lie down and sleep without being disturbed by a sound. The houses themselves are large, well-planned, and convenient; the house-rents also are very moderate. Still the place is not popular. Many of these palatial houses stand empty; almost all bear marks of seediness and decay.
No. 80 Rosemary Gardens was, perhaps, the sole exception to the universal rule. Three or four years before this story opens it had been redecorated and lightened. White paint was substituted for dark; windows were opened in unexpected corners; delicate papers graced the walls; and flowers filled the wide, spacious balconies.
Then a family arrived, and took possession of the restored mansion. This family consisted of a father and four girls. The girls were all young, but not too young, for the youngest even had stepped out of her childhood, and, when the family took possession of No. 80, was over fourteen years of age. The eldest girl was twenty. They were pleasant girls to look at, and their names were agreeable to say. Margaret was the name of the eldest; Kitty came next; then Betty; then Sibyl. Ross was the surname of the family. The girls were educated according to the fashion of their times. They were up-to-date girls, without being fast. They were learned, without being in any sense of the word bluestockings. They were all four of them merry, unaffected creatures, and the house had a gay time when they came into it.
Margaret was twenty at this time, and she was very glad to take the lead, and to give her sisters a good time. The girls had been motherless since Sibyl was a baby. Since then they had been under the care of many tutors and guardians. Two of them had finished their education in Germany. One had studied art in one of the best studios in Paris. Sibyl, who was by many considered the cleverest of the family, had lived with an aunt, and received her education at the nearest high school.
But now they all met in London, and Margaret found herself the mistress of a mansion.
"You shall all do exactly as you please, girls," said their father. "Only Margaret shall be head. That is the only restriction I put upon you three younger ones. Margaret must housekeep, and in times of perplexity hers must be the casting vote."
"Who minds that?" said Kitty, her dark eyes flashing. "Who could object to being guided by this dear, gentle old Meg of ours?"
The little conversation was taking place at the breakfast table; and Kitty, who was boisterous in her movements, upset a cup and saucer, and spilt its contents over the board, in her efforts to stretch across to Margaret to embrace her.
***
An excerpt from the beginning of:
CHAPTER I.
THERE is an old-fashioned square in a very central part of Bayswater, which, for some reason, is no longer considered a desirable place of residence by the fashionable world. It is difficult to account for the unpopularity of Rosemary Gardens, for the place combines many distinct advantages. Its situation can scarcely be surpassed; it is on high ground; its soil is gravel; its aspect bright; it is within a few minutes' walk of Kensington Gardens. Omnibuses pass its select and peaceful gates, and the Metropolitan Railway is within a stone's throw from its houses.
The place is as central and convenient as a place can be; it has also another advantage: it is quiet. Close to the war and traffic of the great city, in one of the houses in Rosemary Gardens you may lie down and sleep without being disturbed by a sound. The houses themselves are large, well-planned, and convenient; the house-rents also are very moderate. Still the place is not popular. Many of these palatial houses stand empty; almost all bear marks of seediness and decay.
No. 80 Rosemary Gardens was, perhaps, the sole exception to the universal rule. Three or four years before this story opens it had been redecorated and lightened. White paint was substituted for dark; windows were opened in unexpected corners; delicate papers graced the walls; and flowers filled the wide, spacious balconies.
Then a family arrived, and took possession of the restored mansion. This family consisted of a father and four girls. The girls were all young, but not too young, for the youngest even had stepped out of her childhood, and, when the family took possession of No. 80, was over fourteen years of age. The eldest girl was twenty. They were pleasant girls to look at, and their names were agreeable to say. Margaret was the name of the eldest; Kitty came next; then Betty; then Sibyl. Ross was the surname of the family. The girls were educated according to the fashion of their times. They were up-to-date girls, without being fast. They were learned, without being in any sense of the word bluestockings. They were all four of them merry, unaffected creatures, and the house had a gay time when they came into it.
Margaret was twenty at this time, and she was very glad to take the lead, and to give her sisters a good time. The girls had been motherless since Sibyl was a baby. Since then they had been under the care of many tutors and guardians. Two of them had finished their education in Germany. One had studied art in one of the best studios in Paris. Sibyl, who was by many considered the cleverest of the family, had lived with an aunt, and received her education at the nearest high school.
But now they all met in London, and Margaret found herself the mistress of a mansion.
"You shall all do exactly as you please, girls," said their father. "Only Margaret shall be head. That is the only restriction I put upon you three younger ones. Margaret must housekeep, and in times of perplexity hers must be the casting vote."
"Who minds that?" said Kitty, her dark eyes flashing. "Who could object to being guided by this dear, gentle old Meg of ours?"
The little conversation was taking place at the breakfast table; and Kitty, who was boisterous in her movements, upset a cup and saucer, and spilt its contents over the board, in her efforts to stretch across to Margaret to embrace her.
Share
