Chapter 11
166.
Chapter 10 [11]
Anne’s Impressions of Sunday School
“Well, how do you like them?” said Marilla.
Anne was standing in the gable-room, looking (begin subscript)^(end subscript)(begin superscript)solemnly(end superscript) at three new dresses spread out on the bed. One was of snuffy-coloured gingham which Marilla had been tempted to buy from a peddler the preceding summer because it looked so serviceable; one was of black-and-white checked sateen which she had picked up at a bargain counter in the winter; and one was a stiff print of an ugly blue shade which she had purchased that week at a Carmody store.
She had made them up herself and they were all made
TEXT ANNOTATION
"Chapter 10" should be "Chapter 11."
TEXT ANNOTATION
"looking (begin subscript)^(end subscript)(begin superscript)solemnly(end superscript) at three new dresses spread out on the bed": Each of these dresses carries its own particular disappointment for an imaginative girl. The "snuffy-coloured gingham" would likely be a drab-coloured check design, named for snuff tobacco. A "satine" today would suggest a satin-woven cotton (where multiple weft threads go over each warp thread) to make the fabric appear shiny, but at the time, satine would be a "heavy, all-wool dress fabric" with a vaguely "satiny lustre" (see Scissors and Yardstick: or, All About Dry Goods, 1874). And the "stiff print of an ugly blue shade" would suggest any number of cotton calicos. Blue dyes were cheaply and easily produced, and weren't prone to "travelling" during washing, so they were perfect for children's clothing.