Occupations > Frugal housewife

176 HINTS TO PERSONS OF
your husband has not as much moral dignity
and moral courage as I thought he had. He
should he content to see his wife and daugh¬
ters respected for neatness, good taste, and
attractive manners.” “ This all sounds very
well in talk,” replied the lady ; “ but, say
what you will about pleasing and intelligent
girls, nobody will attend to them unless
they dress in the fashion. If my daughters
were to dress in the plain, neat style you
recommend, they would see all their ac¬
quaintance asked to dance more frequently
than themselves, and not a gentleman would
join them in a walk.”
“ I do not believe this in so extensive a
sense as you do. Girls may appear gen¬
teelly, without being extravagant; and
though some fops may know the most ap¬
proved colour for a ribbon, or the newest
arrangement for trimming, I believe gen¬
tlemen of real character merely notice
whether a lady’s dress is generally in good
taste or not. But, granting your statement
to be true, in its widest sense, of what con¬
sequence is it 2 How much will the whole
happiness of your daughter’s life be affected
by her dancing some fifty times less than
her companions, or wasting some few hours
less in the empty conversation of coxcombs 2
A man often admires a style of dress, which
he would not venture to support in a wife.
Extravagance lias prevented many marriages,