 | Life and sayings of Mrs. Partington and others
of the family |  |
DON'T CUT IT, MISS.
“Don't you think my dress much too long?” asked
Seraphina, the youngest of the seven, of old Roger.
“Don't cut it, miss, even if it is. I beg of you as a
friend not to cut it,” said the old man seriously.
“Why not?” inquired she, timidly.
“Because, miss, I remember a difficulty of my own
once, under like circumstances, which was a source of
much shame to me. Overtaken by a severe shower far
from home, I was terribly drenched, and a new pair of
sheepskin inexpressibles that I wore, tied close at the
knee, as was the fashion then, received the dripping
streams from my body, and, distended like a bad case of
the dropsy, fell below my calves; like your dress, they
were too long, and I cut them off at the knee. But the
warm sun came out, the sheepskin contracted; inch by
inch I felt it creeping up my legs; and, by the time I
got home, you may be sure I was a sight to behold.
Don't cut it, miss, unless you feel perfectly sure it will
not shrink more.”
There was a smile at the old gentleman's delicacy in
the matter, but there could be no fear of danger, and
they did n't see how the cases were parallel at all.
| Life and sayings of Mrs. Partington and others
of the family | |