Page:Side talks with girls (1895).djvu/52

40 and wide-brimmed, somewhat fantastic straw hats. She would be entirely out of place in stuffy woollens or elaborate silks, and yet each one of you knows that this mistake is sometimes made. For the morning she can have the simplest ginghams or lawns, and for the evening a somewhat more elaborate, but still a cotton, costume. She is unwise in imitating her city cousin, who nine times out of ten looks over-dressed when she is in the country. I wish I could make the country girl understand exactly the charm, the restful charm that there is in her simplicity, and I wish I could make her content. I know it is in the heart of every girl to long for pretty gowns, and a much betrimmed silk frock may look very charming to the girl who has not one, while to the unprejudiced observer it seems absolutely out of place.

When the city cousin comes, and the girls who are to have tea with you are all together, don't ask questions about the silly habits of the town, and above all things, if you hear of some silly habit affected by a so-called fashionable woman, don't attempt to imitate her in her folly. Induce your city cousin to tell you about the things worth seeing and hearing about: of the great paintings, of the wonderful naval show, and how our