The books were old-fashioned.

A very handsome spinning-wheel stood near the open window.

There was no litter of newspapers or magazines.
"Before I could begin to piece together these curious discrepancies in the normal condition of things, I saw two men riding up the avenue, where the yew trees, by the way, were loftier and finer in every way than those really existing.

The horsemen were dressed in such strange fashion that, unfortunately, I paid little heed to their faces.

They wore frilled waistcoats, redingotes with huge lapels and turned-back cuffs, three-cornered hats, and gigantic boots.