then I cannot see why you should not wear your
grandmother's wedding veil," she had exclaimed --
and again Rose had given in.

Poor old Anna! It was a day of days for her -- far
more a day of days than had been the marriage of
her own daughter. Yet Louisa Bauer's wedding had
been a great festival. And the old woman remembered
what pains Mrs. Otway had taken to make that
marriage of five years ago, as far as was possible in
such a very English place as Witanbury, a German
bridal. In those days they had none of them guessed
what an unsatisfactory fellow George Pollit was going
to turn out; and Louisa had gone to her new home
with quite a German trousseau -- that is, with what
would have appeared to English eyes stacks of under-
clothing, each article beautifully embroidered with a
monogram and lavishly trimmed with fine crochet;
each set tied up with a washing band or _Waschebander,_
a strip of canvas elaborately embroidered in
cross-stitch.

It seemed strangely sad and unnatural that Anna's
gracious young lady should have no trousseau at all!
But that doubtless would come afterwards, and she,
Anna, felt sure that she would be allowed to have
a hand in choosing it. This thought was full of consolation,
as was also her secret supposition that the
future trousseau would be paid for by the bridegroom.

There was certainly cause for satisfaction in that
thought, for Anna had become conscious of late that
her dear mistress felt anxious about money. Prices
were going up, but thanks to her, Anna's, zealous
care, the housekeeping bills at the Trellis House were
still kept wonderfully low. It was unfortunate that

[[264]]

p263 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p264w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p265

v?