[Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush by William Makepeace Thackeray]@TWC D-Link bookMemoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush CHAPTER I 7/18
They had a six-roomed house (not counting kitching and sculry), and now twelve daughters in all; whizz .-- 4 Miss Buckmasters: Miss Betsy, Miss Dosy, Miss Biddy, and Miss Winny; 1 Miss Shum, Mary by name, Shum's daughter, and seven others, who shall be nameless.
Mrs.Shum was a fat, red-haired woman, at least a foot taller than S.; who was but a yard and a half high, pale-faced, red-nosed, knock-kneed, bald-headed, his nose and shut-frill all brown with snuff. Before the house was a little garden, where the washin of the famly was all ways hanging.
There was so many of 'em that it was obliged to be done by relays.
There was six rails and a stocking on each, and four small goosbry bushes, always covered with some bit of linning or other. The hall was a regular puddle: wet dabs of dishclouts flapped in your face; soapy smoking bits of flanning went nigh to choke you; and while you were looking up to prevent hanging yourself with the ropes which were strung across and about, slap came the hedge of a pail against your shins, till one was like to be drove mad with hagony.
The great slattnly doddling girls was always on the stairs, poking about with nasty flower-pots, a-cooking something, or sprawling in the window-seats with greasy curl-papers, reading greasy novels.
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