The Widow Barnaby. Vol. 2 (of 3)Trollope, Frances Milton
General
The Widow Barnaby. Vol. 2 (of 3)
Trollope, Frances Milton
England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Social classes -- England -- Fiction; Widows -- Fiction
The following day being Sunday was one of great importance to strangers
about to be initiated into the society of the place; and Mrs. Barnaby
had fondly flattered herself that Mrs. Peters, or at least the young
ladies, would upon such an occasion have extended their patronage, both
to help them to a seat, and to tell them "who was who." But in this she
was disappointed: in fact, a compact had been entered into between Mrs.
Peters and her son and daughters, by which it was agreed that, on
condition of her permitting them to join her party at the balls, she
was always to be allowed to go to church in peace. This was so
reasonable that even the petted Mary submitted to it without a murmur;
and the consequence was that Mrs. Barnaby found herself left to her own
devices as to the manner in which she should make the most of the
Sabbath-day.
Fortunately for the tranquillity of Mrs. Peters, the landlady of the
lodgings, on being questioned, gave it as her opinion that the chapel at
the Hot Wells, which was within a very pleasant walk, would be more
likely to offer accommodation to strangers than the parish church, that
being always crowded by the resident families; so to the chapel at the
Hot Wells Mrs. Barnaby resolved to go, and the tea-urn was ordered half
an hour earlier than usual, that time enough might be allowed to "get
ready."
"Now do make the best of yourself, Agnes, to-day, will you? I am sure
those men are not Bristol people.... So different they looked--didn't
they?--from all the rest. Of course, you will put on your best crape
bonnet, and one of my nicest broad-hemmed white crape collars ... there
is one I have quite clean ... I have no doubt in the world we shall see
them."
Having finished her breakfast, and reiterated these orders, Mrs. Barnaby
turned her attention to her own toilet, and a most elaborate one it was,
taking so long a time as to leave scarcely sufficient for the walk; but
proving at length so perfectly satisfactory as to make her indifferent
to that, or almost any other _contretems_.
On this occasion she came forth in a new dress of light grey
gros-de-Naples, with a gay bonnet of _paille de riz_, decorated with
poppy blossoms both within and without, a "lady-like" profusion of her
own embroidery on cuffs, collar, and pocket-handkerchief, her well-oiled
ringlets half hiding her large, coarse, handsome face, her eyes set off
by a suffusion of carmine, and her whole person redolent of musk.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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