alamity.' Here the Squire wants to know
'whether sorrow gets more superfine as it goes upward in life.'
'Certainly--yes, Sir--by all means,' responds the clerk; 'at least, a
finer texture. The mourning of poor people is very coarse, very; quite
different from that of persons of quality. Canvass to crape, Sir.' The
lady next asks if he has a variety of half-mourning; to which he replies:
'O, infinite--the largest stock in town; full, and half, and quarter, and
half-quarter mourning, shaded off from a _grief prononce_ to the slightest
_nuance_ of regret.' The lady is directed to another counter, and
introduced to 'the gent. who superintends the Intermediate Sorrow
Department;' who inquires: 'You wish to inspect some half-mourning, Madam?
the second stage of distress? As such Ma'am, allow me to recommend this
satin--intended for grief when it has subsided; alleviated, you see,
Ma'am, from a dead black to a dull lead color. It's a Parisian novelty,
Ma'am, called 'Settled Grief,' and is very much worn by ladies of a
certain age, who do not intend to embrace Hymen a second time.' ('Old
women, mayhap, about seventy,' mutters the Squire.) 'Exactly so, Sir; or
thereabout. Not but what some ladies, Ma'am, set in for sorrow much
earlier; indeed, in the prime of life; and for such cases it is a very
durable wear; but praps it's too _lugubre_: now here's another--not
exactly black, but shot with a warmish tint, to suit a woe moderated by
time. The French call it a 'Gleam of Comfort.' We've sold several pieces
of it; it's very attractive; we consider it the happiest pattern of the
season.' 'Yes,' once more interposes the Squire; 'some people are very
happy in it no doubt.' 'No doubt, Sir. There's a charm in melancholy, Sir.
I'm fond of the pensive myself. Praps, Madam, you would prefer something
still more in the transition state, as we call it, from grave to gay. In
that case, I would recommend this lavender Ducape, with only just a
souvenir of sorrow in it; the slightest tinge of mourning, to distinguish
it from the garb of pleasure. But possibly you desire to see an
appropriate style of costume for the juvenile branches, when sorrow their
young days has shaded? Of course, a milder degree of mourning than for
adults. Black would be precocious. This, Ma'am, for instance--a dark
pattern on gray; an interesting dress, Ma'am, for a little girl, just
initiated in the vale of tears; only eighteen-pence a yard Ma'am, and
warranted to wash.'