The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1874-01-08

4
round face and childish treble remind her
OF him.
At this stage she especially affects the
society of her fellow-mourners Two
widows will spend bait the day together
comparing the virtues of their respective
husbands, relating the details of their
married life, md confirming each other in
morbid faocies and resolves. They dwell
upon their utter distaste for the world,
and speak Of
MORE FACiLE SISTERS
with compassionate disdain. ''Nhy,
Laura, I saw Mrs. Thompson in church
this morniur, and she had her dress TRIM
med with silk ruches. and Tom only died
in August" q. Well, my dear" says
Laura, some people cIn DO that sort
of thing" And she looked down with
pride upon the plain black folds which
guard the integrity Of her wee. She is
apt to take Il religious turn. She keeps
cereymen running to and fro. Little
books OF pious consolation abound on her
shelves and she sends them 10 her
friends with her tavorjte passages doubly
scored.
But jhi4 cannot last forever Gradu-
ally the weight OF grief Is lifted from her
heart and the natural buoyaney Of youth
comes back. There Is freshness in the
springtime again, ana sugar is sweet TO
the TASTE And ROW begins the stage in
which Tie young widow Is 50 amusing. Il
is hard, the proverb says, for a woman
to grow Old gracefully. 1t i still harder
for her To come gracefully our Of her wild
owhood The best thing pr her 10 . is
to travel, or % spend Il year somewhere
away from home; away from the people
who have witnessed the people who have
Witnessed the excuses OF her grief. and
who can contrast the present w!ll the
past. But she is apt to st4y al nome,
where every step Of the process OF recoy-
cry can be watched 1t Is "a swift eynva-
lescence, and for any one with cynical
turn, rather ludicrous one.
The first symptom IS interest in dress,
and gradual enlivenmeut Of costume.
One bv one the little feminine adorn-
ments creep IN. She changes the fabric
of her black dress TO a material in which
the outside world may see 10 difference Of
texture, but which, by an immemoral
tradition OF the mourning counter, signi-
fies that she begins to feel better. Trim
ming begins 10 appear, and ]eweLry OF
sombre let, not ineffective against the
white neck and arms. The widows dis
cuss every alteration in conclaye. Ny
dear, what shall we put on after we leave
oil folds? | don't know what comes be-
tween folds ami ruches. | suppose box
plaitings" She imagines thai all the
world notices the change from bombazine
E,s-..
terms at venture). and hardly dares 90
to church in a ruttIed dress; whereas none
but other widows, and perhaps a Jew dow
ayers, pay the slightest attention to these
portents But everything depends on
ones point of view; and there Is some
thing peculiarly
DREADFUL TO THE FEMININE BIND
in hearing it said that Mrs Thompson IS
wearing silk ruches, though Tom only
died in August.
We are inclined to say that never in a
wcman's life, not even during her first
winter out, Is the question OF dress 50
absorbing as in this transition state. For
the information OF masculine readers and
girls who have no friends among the be
stages Of widoWhoOd. We have consult
ed very high authority, and our facts may
be relied upon:
1. The dress Of black bombazine, per-
fectly plain; thick Grape veil; z widows
cap; no jewelry except a jet locket collar,
ETC., Of Grape.
, The veil thrown back over the bon
net; little trimming on dresses; white
collars
B. The cap disappears; a lace veil is
worn instead OF the Grape; more trim
ming.
l. Dressy" mourning of silk, with
feathers in the bonnet.
. Half ourning-purple and pearl
color.
The cap is very important. 1t is I'M
derstood that when it finally disappears
the world has resumed It's charms, and
that young men conversationaliy inclined
viii not be discouraged. Ostrich feathers
and dotted lace wells are extremely gay,
and the wearer may soon be looked for in
purple.
There Is at this time a disposition to
tell young men the story Of her expert
ence. She assumes the airs of an older
sister, and puts her knowledge Of the
world and Of mankind at their service.
Her married life is detailed for their edi-
fcation. aRd she cautions them against
those mistakes ia their choice into which
young men are 50 apt to fail. she look
ed forward to the union with man of
her heart as the entrance into Paradise;
but she found-well, sometimes she was
not wholly understood Still, her mar
ried life was very happy, SO happy that
her present loneliness is hard To bear.
Her consolation now is in the remem-
brance of having done her duty, and in
the help she is able to give to those in
whose happiness she is interested. In
the case of each, it seems, she has stud
led his character. Very few women, she