68
DRESSING
TO
PLEA as
ous’s
HUSBAND.
find a second Mrs. Carlton without the Mrs., and
ask her assistance in emerging from old bache-
lorhood. As our two friends were silting together
that evening after the departure of their guest,
Mr. Carlton observed:
“«T don't know when I have seen you look so well, my dear.”
Bella glanced up with a mischievous smile as she inquired: “Do you not think my dress is becoming?”
- Anything that you wear must be becoming,”
replied her husband, in # conciliatory tone; “but I muat confess I think a plainer style ‘would become you better. Really, dear, if you could only know how much prettier you would look without that vast expanse of crinoline, I am sure you would give it up instantly.”
“Why, my dear husband, you can have no conception of what a fright I should be, if I were to act upon your suggestion! You would be thankful to have me return to my present style.”
“Before others wore hoops, had the idea been suggested to you, you would have exclaimed in horror that they would transform you to 8 fright; so you see it is only fashion which influences you, and if you would be true to nature, and not seek to alter your figure by artificial means, you cannot tell how much you would be improved. And then, my dear, that thin dress, it is very pretty certainly in itself, but of how little use! I could not help thinking, when you tore it on the bramble bush as we passed through the garden, how much more convenient s thicker and plainer one would have been; I saw Mrs. L—— the other day, dressed in a neat calico, and you cannot tell how much I admired her appearance; and then too, if ladies would only wear their dresses shorter, say perhaps 8 foot from the ground, you have no idea what an improvement it would be.”
“Not if the lady happens to own a mammoth foot, which would thereby become decidedly conspicuous,” observed Bella, dryly.
‘That I think would be slight,” replied her husband, “compared with the really slovenly appearance which s dress trailing in the dust and mud has.”
Henry Carlton had always entertained a sort of an ideal theory of how he would like to see a woman dressed; he had never collected his notions together and put them in array before bis mind’s eye and surveyed them as a whole; but he had his views of each part of a lady's attire separately, and it appeared to him, that would his wife only conform to his ideas on this subject, it would not only enhance her beauty, ut add to the perfection of her character. ells was forming her plans for future action, nd so sho listened patiently to his harangue. leased with what appeared to him so attentive n auditor, Mr. Carlton continued:
““T seo, Bella, that you are beginning to per- eive the truthfulness of what I say. Ag to your air, nature gave you that for an ornament, and n itself it is such, but you spoil it by bestowing o much labor on it; were you to brush it ntirely off of your face and twist it into a imple knot, I think it would be much more ecoming.’”’
“What do you think of my sleeves?” asked Sella, smiling, ‘‘do you not admire them?”
“I cannot say that I do,” replied her bus- and, ‘I think a closely fitting sleeve, fastened t the wrist, would be much neater.”
“How is it you are so particular about your wn clothes if you dislike to see ladies take ains with theirs?”
- You quite misunderstand me, my dear wife,
do like to see Indies take pains with their ress; it should be made to fit nicely, otherwise t will not be neat. My cloth is fine I kaow, nd so I ke to see a lady's dress good end fine f its kind; but you know that fashion, with us, eldom alters materially, while with you it is onstantly changing; what we wear is generally lain, substantial, and necessary, while your ex wear a thousand little fussy, fixy things, ntended merely for ornament. Look at our iats, for instance! there is some sense in them, or they shado our faces, while yours retreat nodestly to the back of your heads, affording rou no shelter whatever; now if they could be yrought far enough over your faces to protect you from the sun it would be worth while.”
Bella had listened to all this with an expres- ion of edified gravity which was truly ludicrous, ind Henry, pleased at having so attentive a istener, had unconsciously overdrawn his ideas o such an extent that had his opinions, aa xpressed to Bella, been written down and panded to him, he could scarcely have recog- lized them as bis own. Anxious to avail him- elf of the advantage he had evidently gained, 18 continued :
“T know your own good sense must tell you hat I am right; now you will dress sensibly, rill you not?”
“Oh! yea,” replied Bella, ‘you shall soon see ne dressed in such a way that even you cannot sossibly find any fault with it.”
“Thank you,” said Henry, earnestly; snd he yegan to picture to himself how his wife would ook in the character of sweet simplicity.
