"I have a white silk, and a black silk," replied Helen, with some exultation in her own mind, for they were her first silk dresses.
"Both perfectly useless here!" snapped the matron.
"A riding-habit."
"Stark, staring madness! There's not a horse between this and Calcutta—unless a clothes-horse! What else?"
"A cashmere and plush costume."
"You may just send it back to England, or throw it away."
Helen paused aghast.
"Well, well—go on, go on—that's not all, surely?"
"I have some pretty cottons and muslins, and a tennis-dress."
"Come, that's better; and when are your boxes to be opened?"