Page:Magdalen by J S Machar.pdf/70

 Lucy timidly took off her robe, and still more timidly, began to put on that old-fashioned dress

“Don’t be afraid, dear child,” said the old lady, helping her to dress, “it will not tear so easily, for it is good old material This gown has lasted a long while,” she said, as she laced the girl’s waist in the back. “My husband was so fond of it! Ah, he has been lying in God’s earth these twenty-five years!”

She drew a sigh, straightened out the skirt, ruffled the sleeves a little, stepped three steps back, and smiled:

“Just see how becoming it is to you! What a beautiful girl you are! O Lord! At least take a look at yourself!”

She led her to the mirror, and, with folded hands, proudly gazed at her. In the looking-glass appeared the lithe form of a fair maiden; the bell-shaped skirt hung down from her slender waist, while a girdle of black ribbons wound around it. The bodice