] (Caroline, I'll refer you all to the on-line mourning class I teach, it'll answer all the questions you never knew you needed to ask! )

] First rule of mourning: unless you are following the rule for court-ordered mourning of a death in the Royal family, there are no hard and fast rules. The Georgian/Regency period IS NOT the Victorian era, full of etiquette books and strict rules.

] *Generally* speaking, the closer the degree of relation, the longer the period of mourning. That said, if you didn't actually get along with the person who had died, you wouldn't go to the bother of formal, extended mourning.

] Re the death of Mrs. Elliot, Mr. Elliot is wearing a black suit of mourning, probably with a black crape armband. His coachman is wearing mourning as well, which is why Miss Elliot does not immediately recognize him; she doesn't seem the usual coloured livery suit. (Men don't wear mourning ribbons except at the funeral itself, when they wear weepers: a knot of white satin ribbons attached to the shoulder of their suit. Yes, white, not black. Mourning for men takes the form of a black suit, black cravat for full mourning, and crape hatbands and/or armbands.)

] Re Miss Bates and the projected death of Mr. Woodhouse: Since she is not a blood relative of Mr. Woodhouse (at least I don't think so...!), she would not put on mourning at all upon the occasion of his death. As a woman she would not be attending the funeral and interment, so she would not wear black for that either. An example of black ribbons sufficing for mourning would be Miss Elliot wearing black ribbons to her bonnet as a slight token of mourning some time after the death of her estranged cousin's wife. But her black ribbons are more of an affectation than anything. Only someone as socially avid as Miss Elliot would have bothered to even acknowledge Mrs. Elliot's death for more than a week or so, particularly since they were not close.

] The sequence of mourning didn't vary: full mourning of black head to toe, including gloves, shoes, and underdress, changing to half mourning in a mixture of gray, white and black. The key to recognizing it in the fashion plates: look at the gloves. Full mourning requires black gloves, half mourning has grey or white gloves.

] Hoping this is of assistance,

] Louisa
] Mistress of the Garderobe