"I fear, then," replied Mrs. Allerton, "that our mourning attire must be mean enough. The situation in which we are left will not allow us to go to any unnecessary expense in that, or in anything else. We had but little to live upon—we could lay by nothing. We have nothing beforehand: we did not—we could not apprehend that this dreadful event was so near. And you know that his salary—that Mr. Allerton's salary—of course, expires with him."
"So I suppose, my dear friend," answered Mrs. Bladen; "but you know you must have mourning; and as the funeral takes place so soon, there will be little enough time to order it and have it made."
"We will borrow dresses to wear at the—to wear on Thursday," said Mrs. Allerton.
"And of whom will you borrow?"
"I do not know. I have not yet thought."
"The Liscom family are in black," observed Isabella; "no doubt they would lend us dresses."
"Oh! none of their things will fit you at all," exclaimed Mrs. Bladen. "None of the Liscoms have the least resemblance to any of you, either in height or figure. You would look perfectly ridiculous in their things."
"Then there are Mrs. Patterson and her daughters," said Helen.
"The Pattersons," replied Mrs. Bladen, "are just going to leave off black; and nothing that they have looks either new or fresh. You know how soon black becomes rusty. You certainly would feel very much mortified if you had to make a shabby appearance at Mr. Allerton's funeral. Besides, nobody now wears borrowed mourning—it can always be detected in a moment. No—with a little exertion—and I repeat that I am willing to do all in my power—there is time enough to provide the whole family with genteel and proper mourning suits. And as you must get them at last, it is certainly much better to have them at first, so as to appear handsomely at the funeral."
"Oh!" exclaimed Mrs. Allerton, sighing, "at such a time, what consequence can we possibly attach to our external appearance? How can we for a moment think of it?"