The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1877-12-21
A STORY OF ADALL DRESS.

Fifty dollars, Nettie not one cent
more, Mrs. Locke said, decidedly.
" Fifty dollars % Nettie echoed, dis
ontentedly. Oh dear! how tar Will
ltty dollars go? Dress, shoes, flowers,
,loyes-that last packet Aunt Nell sent
ne IL exhausted, that Is. all the evening
ints, and I'll have to buy pair. Let
ne count up gloves, three dollars ana
lalt shoes, l can buy pair for i've
iollars-cheap, but they'll have to dc
can manage with ten dollars worth OF
French flowers if / use them with dis
;retiOn. OF course Phil will send me all
The natural flowers IN need. That leaves
-hlrty~one dollars and q half for my dress, /
not counting the dressmaker's bill, OF |
course; Nine. Perot will wait. Do you
think | can make it do, mamma %
GU will have to make II do, Nettle. !
Your father says he can't possibly give /
you any more. You know ne has had |
heavy losses in two or three directions, |
owing to the recent failures"
It's 80 provoking Just now, too,
when l especially want to make a g"od
appearance at this party. I'm sure
can't see why the banks couldn nave
waited little longer before breaking up
IN this horrid way. If they had only
waited till next week, l shouldn't have
cared so much" Nettie said, poutlngly.
They didn't break simply to vex you,
Nettie, rest assured of that; so forgive
them the misfortune" her mother re-
turned, h + laughingly AND be con-
tent, my dear, that it is ne worse. Think
how many girls there are who cannot
have warm and comfortable clothing,
even, much less fifty dollars to expend
on ball fineries."
{" | don't believe such people exist ex-
cept in novels. don't know any glri
who hasn't comfortable and elegant
clothes. Why, even our servants dress
with a certain style. Their clothes are
not only comfortable, but really hand
some. of good material, and as fashion
ably made az any ones, and all my
friends dress elegantly. Nellie will spend
three or four hundred dollars for her new
ball dress: Clara will spend quite as
much then Maud Campbell is 10 have
q magnificent set of new Jewels, and her
dress-I went with her to madame's TO
have 1t feted Yesterday, and ats grand.
| can't begin to describe its mAgnificence
in the way of laces and flowers. One
single spray cost forty-seven dollars; and
fifty. one beggarly fifty, for my entire
dress, shoes, gloves, flowers and every
thing Oh DEAR oh dearW
q" You have a dozen dresses, Nettie,
that are plenty good enough to wear"
50 Your ideas of good enough and
mine are very different. l haven't a
thing fit to be seen.
Your apricot silk"
"Is entirely Pasee."
Your violet ?"
80 Never was becoming. Blondes of my
style are horrid in violet"
g Your Nile green?'
ooh, don't mention it, please, nam
ma every blonde | know has worn green
green. green, till am sick at the sight
of it."
is a color blondes don't often indulge In
1t is certainly becoming, and undeniably
an elegant dress. You can take off The
white uDDique founces and remodel witt
my black Chantilly, trim it with white
and red roses, and you have dress fl
Tor an empress"
Too imperial, mamma dear. It's en-
tirelv too early in the season to appear IL
such brilliant dress"
Then weSr your blue gros grain. i
il a beautiful dress, Nettie, and certainly
can't be objected to on the score Of no
being becoming"
&" Yes It is becoming" Nettie said
costing A conscious glance toward III,
mirror; but the truth il, mamma,
want a new dress. ia be mortified (,
death to wear one Of my evening dresse
of last season.
When l vas a girl, Nettie, one sill
dress for occasions Of ceremony, and (
quiet muslin with pink or blue ribbons
were considered very nice outfit.
remember the night your father fell il
love with me ] were a white muslin
with scarlet roses in my hair, and he say
it is the loYeliessdr a girl can wear
Namma, dear, time
q 4 s. 81 . -,a,ss.Iisa and
Eheroine of a move
u such commonplace
clay as Nettie Locke requires q CLOS
of satin and glimmer of pearls if she
expects to reign queen rose of the rose
bud garden of girls Id wait q long
time for Phil TO fall in love with me
dressed such a guy" Nettie said with s
laugh and blush
Well, my dear, here Is your allow
ance make yourself as gay as possible
with it." Mrs. Lscke returned, laughing
". eff you win permit me to make 8
suggestion, however, | think the blue
grOs grain and your white lace overdres.
will be much bsndsomer than a new
cheap silk"
81 don't intend to buy cheap silk
mamma; I'm going to have trailing
silk illusion, trimmed with pink azalea,
the frailest, loyehest tnings-exactiy
ike the real ones. Illusion Will be much
prettier than silk or satin at this time o.
the year, and diaphanous dresses are sc
becoming 1t will be an improvement
on your quiet muslin and scarlet rose
mamma, Nettie cried, gayly, asshe open
ed her pretty purse and pushed the crum-
pied notes in.
4 Well, Nettie," her father asked at
dinner, did your money go as far as you
expected? / can give you five dollars
more to help you out, if it didn't stretch
as far as it should have done"
Il haven't ordered my dress yet, papa;
Pve been 50 busy looking over the styles
all the afternoon, Pn take the extra
five dollars, though, if you please can
make good use of it,
$50 can l if you dent really need it, -
her father returned, smilingly. Here,
little Essie, is your share" he said, drop
ping a crisp new note in his younger
daughters lap. al don't know what l
shall do when Essie gets old enough TO
go to parties, unless Fortunatus should
die and leave me his purse. It's lucky ]
have no more girls to dissipate pay sub
going to balls and Essie
inviting her young lady friends to opera
matinees and luncheon parties -
eff you. please, papa, haven't invited
them vet, and I'd like to do something
else with the money; may 1 ?" little
Essie said, looking Up from the paper she
WAS reading.
What do you want to do with it?'
Lend it to me-" Nettie cried, laugh
ingly; it will be a charity"
is that what you want to do with it?'
her father asked. "Pd rather you'd de-
vote it to your original intention"
" No, sir" she said, blushingly; " l
want to give it away. | want to sent it
-. Oh, papa, I've been reading in this
paper about that terrible factory fire, and
Of all those poor people who lost not only
the places where they worked, but their
homes and furniture too, by the fire.
This paper says they are starvirg-men,
andf ,hildren, even little Soabies,
papa-and they need food and clothes
and everything. And don't you think l
ought to give this money to them in
stead OF spending 1t? We don't have to
90 to the matinee, but they must have
= ,TV 20 - 1 E,,1