She could not possibly have worn it
even one day.
The dress of Miss Ludington's, for which she exchanged it, had been made
for that lady when considerably stouter than at present, but was with
difficulty enlarged sufficiently for the full figure of the girl. Like
all but the latest of Miss Ludington's dresses, it was of deepest black,
and, strikingly beautiful as Ida had been in white, the funereal hue set
off the delicacy of her complexion, the pure expression of her face, and
the golden lustre of her hair, like fresh revelations.
Paul was left pretty much to himself during the day. A large part of it
was spent by the ladies in an upstairs chamber, which Miss Ludington had
devoted to a collection of mementoes of the successive periods of her
life from infancy.
"Come," she had said to Ida, "I want to introduce you to the rest of the
family. I want to make you acquainted with the other Miss Ludingtons who
have borne the name between your time and mine."
Having been an only child, Miss Ludington's garments, toys, school-books,
and other belongings had not been handed down to younger brothers and
sisters, and eventually to destruction.
Pages:
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123