Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1859-05-27


continued aa0nnr
81 see, Bella, that you are beginning to per-
ceiyo the truthiuness ofwhat say. Asto your
hair, nature gave you that for an ornament,
and in itself It is such, but YOU spoil IL by
bostowing so much labor upon it; word you
to brush it entirely Oft your face and twist II
into simple knot, think it would be much
more becoming
"What do you think Of my sleeves :" asked
I Bella, smiling "Do YOU not admire them -
81 cannot say that do replied her hus-
band 81 think closely-ftting. fastened at
tho wrist, would be much noater"
"How is 1t you are so particular about
/ your own clothes, if you dislike to see ladies
take pains with theirs -
"You quite misunderstood mo my dear
wife. | do like to see ladies take pains with
their dress; it should be made to fit nicely,
otherwise it will not be neat Ny cloth is
fine, | know, and so like to see lady's
dress good and fine Of It's kind but you know
that fashion with us seldom alters materially,
while with you it is constantly changing
what we wear is generally plain substantial,
and necessary, while your sex wear thous-
and little fussy. hxy things, intended merely
for ornament. Look at our hats, for instance /;
there is some sense in them; for they shade
our faces, while yours retreat to the back of
your heads, afording you no shelter what
ever; now, if they could be brought far
enough over your faces to protect you from
the sun, it would be worth while"
Bella listened to all this with an express
sion of edited gravity which was truly ludi-
crous; and Henry, pleased at having so atten-
tive listener, had unconsciously overdrawn
his ideas to such an extent, that had his opin-
ions. as expressed to Bella, been written
down and handed to him, he could scarcely
recognized them as his own Anxious to
avail himself of the advantage he had evi-
IDENTIFY gained, he continued:
81 know that your own good sense must
tell you that | am right. Now, you must
dress sensibly, will you not;'
"Oh, yes, replied Bella, "you shall soon
sec me dressed in such way that even you
cannot possibly find any fault with it."
Thank you said Henry, earnestly; and
he began to picture to himself how his wife
would look in the character Of sweet simple
ity.
Several days passed away, and still Mr..
Carlton could see no change in his wife's style
of dress but then he reflected that it must
take some time to get the new suit ready, and
he resolved to be patient: he little knew,
poor man, how much more he would need to
be a second Job, when his wishes were being
/ executed, than now.
One afternoon, Mr.. Carlton entered the
drawing-room. accompanied by an old friend,
F Of whose coming he had previously informed
his wife Henry felt pleased with the admi-
ration which he saw his wife's charms inva-
riably called forth, and it was with feeling
: of innocent pride that he FASTENED now to
present her. He began:
Mr.. Landon, will make you acquainted
, with my-good heavens, Bella what is the
matter :"
: Our hero had come from the glaring sun
into partially y-darkened room, and for a mo-
ment he had not noticed the curiosity that
| presented itself in the person of his wife but,
as she arose to receive her visitor, the oddity
OF her attire broke upon him with overpower-
ing effect. Her hair was put plainly behind
her ears, and twisted in simple knot behind,
, presenting the appearance Of having been
, glued to her head to keep it from running
, away she was perfectly innocent of anything
. Of the nature of crinoine, and her calico dress
hung almost perpendicularly down from her
waist, and finished at about a foot from the
ground, thus displaying in full view pair of
heavy morocco boots which squeaked loud
enough to set nervous person crazy every
time she moved her dress was very high in
the neck, and terminated in a scrupulously
white linen collar; her sleeves were long and
tight, and fastened at the wrist. No orna-
ment of any description was visible about
her; indeed, to Judge from her appearance,
any one might have imagined that she had
laid wager to get up the plainest style of
dress that could be contrived. Handsome as
Bella usually was, even her husband, when
she was dressed in this style, was obliged to
admit that she was moderately plain he
could think of nothing, while looking at her,
but a mammoth edition of some little wooden
images of Noah's wife and daughters, toys
with which he had played in his childhood,
and which, il always seemed to him. had been
dressed in the greatest haste in whatever hap
pened to come to hand, and sent into the ark,
lest the flood should overtake them. At the
first glance he had, as we have seen, been
thrown off his guard, but he soon saw that
her dress had been prepared after his own
plan, somewhat exaggerated.
Mr.. Landon was startled by the unexpected
vision, but he was too much Of gentleman
to betray his surprise; he saw instantly that
something very singular was going on, and
he felt much puzzled to understand 1t. lie
was interested, however, and resolved to
watch proceedings, and let the story develop
itself.
Bella was the only one of the three who
was at all self-possessed. Upon being intro
duced to the stranger, she bowed with her
usual grace, and Immediately entered into a
/ conversation with him, with an ease which,
under the circumstances. was truly astonish-
ing Henry colored, fdgeted in his chair,
? and showed himself the most uneasy Of NOR
tails. He had been particularly anxious that
his wife should appear to the best advantage
before Mr.. Landon, aud now the disappoint-
mcnt was bitter one, and yet he could not
complain; ladies' dress had been his pct
theme ever since his boyhood, and here it
/ was lie could not help owning to himself
that his wife had taken the best means Of
proving to him his folly. a. rn0.r
At length he proposed walk around the
grounds Bella quietly drew forth huge
T straw bonnet, with a plain ribbon passed once
across it, and, with the most demdrc look in
/ the world, placed it on her head, thus almost
/ hiding from view her face this, Henry
thought, was not much of loss, under tho
present arrangements. Noticing that Mr.
Landon, who now began to take the idea,