English fiction -- 20th century; Social satire, English
“We do not know any,” said Selia, she was a bit waxy with the vexation
and her shoes had a stone in.
“You know my brother?” asked Mr. Withersq in a honey tone.
“Such folly” snapt Selia, “he isnt the class to know any partys!”
“Ah,” blushed our hero with a smile, “that’s were your wrong, for he
cleans for the best, so there.”
“What of it” she snapt, “once a window-cleaner always a
window-cleaner, and you know well enough that such as him dont go to
partys.”
“This is what of it,” snortled he, for truth to tell he little liked
her scorn. “This is what of it. My brother tells me there’s a
monstrous party tonight at where he cleaned yesterday, with tittled
ladys in galore and knites and what not for the asking, not forgetting
writers and painters and such like.”
“We might try our luck,” said Selia feeling a bit put down, so on they
stept to Soho and egerly ran into H—— Street. When they got there, it
was the house where Mr. Withersquashes brother had cleaned, and there
was a piece of spotted carpet out on the footwark, and you ran up it
to the door. The door was opened and they went in. Selia settled her
hat on the stares, it was one of those kind that slip and sniggle your
hair which is so vexing as it was rather too large, being a real Paris
shapoh left behind by one of her ma’s lodgers.
O what a bozz of merry crowds from above. O what a time for our little
heros, but Selia muttered in her throte: “Such is not for any likes of
us.” Even the galant Mr. Withersquash was half making off, until
slapping the cash in his trouzers pockets with a fine rattel, he
tucked Selia’s elboe in his, and burst into the room. The babbel
ceased, all eyes glowed upon them.
“My name is Withersquash and this young lady is Selia,” he cried very
loud. “My unckel Burt is dead, he has left me a good bit. Is it all
right?”
“Oh how charming,” cried the assembly in shrilly tones and all pressed
forward to stare closer.
They were indeed fine. The ladys in all manners of colours chiefly
oringe and green idly sipped up rich wine from some mugs, many smoked
without a stop, there were arms and backs and fronts all bare, some
frocks with tails to them, and some dames wore trouzer things, very
bright and sloppy, much to Mr. Withersquashes surprise. Several kinds
of men were dotted about, some in evening close, some like soldiers
and many with long locks or pale fat face as though in grief which
were the artists. The walls however were done up very high class in
coloured paints and not at all how you would expect in gentlepeoples
places. Such were the scene and the lights were low.
“And how much did your dead unckle leave?” kindly asked a magnificent
man of foreign stile.
“Oh a few millions,” replied Mr. Withersquash.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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