'What a sweet bright little print!' exclaimed the lady agreeable in all respects, looking at the dress of the simply agreeable lady.
'Yes, it is very sweet, but Praskovya Fyodorovna thinks it would have been nicer if the checks had been smaller, and if the spots had been pale blue instead of brown. I sent my sister a piece of material: it was so absolutely fascinating, it's simply beyond all words. Just fancy, narrow, narrow little stripes, beyond anything the human fancy can imagine, and a pale blue ground, and all over the stripes, spots and sprigs, spots and sprigs, spots and sprigs … in fact quite unique! One may really say there has never been anything like it in the world.'
'My dear, that's too gaudy!'
'Oh no, it's not gaudy!'
'Oh, it must be gaudy.'
It must be noted that the lady who was agreeable in all respects was something of a materialist, disposed to doubts and scepticism, and there were a great many things she refused to believe in.
Here the simply agreeable lady protested that it was not at all gaudy, and exclaimed: 'Oh, I congratulate you, flounces are not to be worn.'
'Not worn?'
'Little festoons are coming in instead.'
'Oh, that's not nice—little festoons!'
'Little festoons, it's all festoons: a pelerine made of festoons, festoons on the sleeves, epaulettes of little festoons, festoons below and festoons everywhere.'
