Th e phrase “to be noticed” in line 7 implies that the mercers are
(a) solicitous
(b) offi cious
(c) cloying
(d) vigilant
(e) obsequious
passage 1. frances burney, evelina
we are to go this evening to a private ball, given by mrs. stanley, a very fashionable
lady of mrs. mirvan’s acquaintance.
we have been a-shopping as mrs. mirvan calls it, all this morning, to buy silks,
caps, gauzes, and so forth.
th e shops are really very entertaining, especially the mercers; there seem to be
six or seven men belonging to each shop; and every one took care by bowing and
smirking, to be noticed. we were conducted from one to another, and carried from
room to room with so much ceremony, that i was almost afraid to go on.
i thought i should never have chosen a silk: for they produced so many, i knew
not which to fi x upon; and they recommended them all so strongly, that i fancy
they thought i only wanted persuasion to buy every thing they showed me. and,
indeed, they took so much trouble, that i was almost ashamed i could not.
at the milliners, the ladies we met were so much dressed, that i should rather
have imagined they were making visits than purchases. but what most diverted me
was, that we were more frequently served by men than by women; and such men!
so fi nical, so aff ected! they seemed to understand every part of a woman’s dress better
than we do ourselves; and they recommended caps and ribbands with an air of
so much importance, that i wished to ask them how long they had left off wearing
them.
th e dispatch with which they work in these great shops is amazing, for they
have promised me a complete suit of linen against the evening.
i have just had my hair dressed. you can’t think how oddly my head feels; full
of powder and black pins, and a great cushion on the top of it. i believe you would
hardly know me, for my face looks quite diff erent to what it did before my hair was
dressed. when i shall be able to make use of a comb for myself i cannot tell; for my
hair is so much entangled, frizzled they call it, that i fear it will be very diffi cult.
i am half afraid of this ball to-night; for, you know, i have never danced but at
school: however, miss mirvan says there is nothing in it. yet, i wish it was over.
adieu, my dear sir, pray excuse the wretched stuff i write; perhaps i may
improve by being in this town, and then my letters will be less unworthy your reading.
meantime, i am, your dutiful and aff ectionate, though unpolished, evelina