We all thought that
a very scant pattern; yet she generally made a very pretty and genteel
appearance, with the help of occasional presents from friends."
"How could a girl dress for fifty dollars?" said Marianne.
"She could get a white muslin and a white cambric, which, with different
sortings of ribbons, served her for all dress-occasions. A silk, in
those days, took only ten yards in the making, and one dark silk was
considered a reasonable allowance to a lady's wardrobe. Once made, it
stood for something,--always worn carefully, it lasted for years. One or
two calico morning-dresses, and a merino for winter wear, completed the
list. Then, as to collars, capes, cuffs, etc., we all did our own
embroidering, and very pretty things we wore, too. Girls looked as
pretty then as they do now, when four or five hundred dollars a year is
insufficient to clothe them."
"But, mamma, you know our allowance isn't anything like that,--it is
quite a slender one, though not so small as yours was," said Marianne.
"Don't you think the customs of society make a difference? Do you think,
as things are, we could go back and dress for the sum you did?"
"You cannot," said my wife, "without a greater sacrifice of feeling than
I wish to impose on you.
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