Of course , it must be all right . Marilla knew best and Marilla was bringing her up . Probably some wise , inscrutable motive was to be served thereby . But surely it would do no harm to let the child have one pretty dress -- something like Diana Barry always wore . Matthew decided that he would give her one ; that surely could not be objected to as an unwarranted putting in of his oar . Christmas was only a fortnight off . A nice new dress would be the very thing for a present . Matthew , with a sigh of satisfaction , put away his pipe and went to bed , while Marilla opened all the doors and aired the house . The very next evening Matthew betook himself to Carmody to buy the dress , determined to get the worst over and have done with it . It would be , he felt assured , no trifling ordeal . There were some things Matthew could buy and prove himself no mean bargainer ; but he knew he would be at the mercy of shopkeepers when it came to buying a girl 's dress . After much cogitation Matthew resolved to go to Samuel Lawson 's store instead of William Blair 's . To be sure , the Cuthberts always had gone to William Blair 's ; it was almost as much a matter of conscience with them as to attend the Presbyterian church and vote Conservative . But William Blair 's two daughters frequently waited on customers there and Matthew held them in absolute dread . He could contrive to deal with them when he knew exactly what he wanted and could point it out ; but in such a matter as this , requiring explanation and consultation , Matthew felt that he must be sure of a man behind the counter . So he would go to Lawson 's , where Samuel or his son would wait on him . Alas ! Matthew did not know that Samuel , in the recent expansion of his business , had set up a lady clerk also ; she was a niece of his wife 's and a very dashing young person indeed , with a huge , drooping pompadour , big , rolling brown eyes , and a most extensive and bewildering smile . She was dressed with exceeding smartness and wore several bangle bracelets that glittered and rattled and tinkled with every movement of her hands . Matthew was covered with confusion at finding her there at all ; and those bangles completely wrecked his wits at one fell swoop .
`` What can I do XXXXX you this evening .
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