When I was twelve I had a little beaver hat of it, and all the girls in school were wild over it. The price was dreadful. When I got home and tried on the hat again in my room I was assailed by qualms. It hadn't seemed so at the milliner's but here in my little white room it did. When mother saw the hat and the tag she just looked at me.
Mother is some expert at looking.
Your allowance is based on the principle of a reasonable amount for each thing you need. If you pay too much for one thing you must cut off somewhere else and that is not satisfactory. But if you think you did right, Rilla, I have no more to say. Being interrupted didn't improve my temper, so I went on, colder and calmer and deadlier than ever, just as if mother had not spoken. However, I promise you that I will not get another hat for three years or for the duration of the war, if it lasts longer than that.