Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: u– CHAPTER IV. At about half-past six on the evening of that ever memorable day when I crossed the narrow brook between womanhood and childhood fleet, my father’s voice came sounding up the crooked oak staircase to my virgin chamber. Nell, Nell, the carriage is waiting! I was standing dressed, with all my worldly goods scattered higgledy-piggledy about me, making derisive faces at my own image in the glass, and wondering to myself whether any one in England was the owner of such obnoxious locks as mine; wondering likewise, whether it would be wrong to smash the mirror which told me such disagreeable truths. I’m coming, pa, responded I, still making passes at the pale, rose-filleted head I saw there. Ugh, you fright! There’s pa calling again. Where are my gloves? Oh, Heavens, where can they have gone to? Yes, pa, this very minute! What a potato face! It can’t be helped. I must go. Thus ejaculating, I darted down stairs. My father looked at me as I stood before him with an expression more doubtful than admiring. I don’t know much about such things, Nell, he began, dubiously;
but is not your gown rather ? what d'ye call it? I do not know how to express myself; is not it rather scant and shabby?
It is rather skimping, I’m afraid, pa, and I did let down two inches, and put in a new breadth too, but tarletane is so dear now-a-days. A look of mortified vexation clouded his kind old face as I spoke. I wish I’d known this before, he began; but I interrupted him. Please do not trouble about it, I said, hastily; ten to one not a soul will know what I have on, or whether I have anything on at all! The cloud did not disperse; it deepened. I like you to look as well as other people. I don’t want people to say that I’m too poor to dress my gir…