James Matthew Barrie

Quality Street James Matthew Barrie

The scene is the blue and white room in the house of the Misses Susan and Phoebe Throssel in Quality Street; and inthis little country town there is a satisfaction about living in Quality Street which even religion cannot give. Throughthe bowed window at the back we have a glimpse of the street. It is pleasantly broad and grass-grown, and is linked tothe outer world by one demure shop, whose door rings a bell every time it opens and shuts. Thus by merely peeping, every one in Quality Street can know at once who has been buying a Whimsy cake, and usually why. This bell is themost familiar sound of Quality Street. Now and again ladies pass in their pattens, a maid perhaps protecting themwith an umbrella, for flakes of snow are falling discreetly. Gentlemen in the street are an event; but, see, just as weraise the curtain, there goes the recruiting sergeant to remind us that we are in the period of the Napoleonic wars. If hewere to look in at the window of the blue and white room all the ladies there assembled would draw themselves up; theyknow him for a rude fellow who smiles at the approach of maiden ladies and continues to smile after they have passed. However, he lowers his head to-day so that they shall not see him, his present design being converse with the MissesThrossel's maid. The room is one seldom profaned by the foot of man, and everything in it is white or blue. Miss Phoebe is not present, but here are Miss Susan, Miss Willoughby and her sister Miss Fanny, and Miss Henrietta Turnbull. Miss Susanand Miss Willoughby, alas, already wear caps; but all the four are dear ladies, so refined that we ought not to bediscussing them without a more formal introduction. There seems no sufficient reason why we should choose MissPhoebe as our heroine rather than any one of the others, except, perhaps, that we like her name best. But we gave herthe name, so we must support our choice and say that she is slightly the nicest, unless, indeed, Miss Susan is nicer. Miss Fanny is reading aloud from a library book while the others sew or knit. They are making garments for ourbrave soldiers now far away fighting the Corsican Ogr