attracted towards one another by a mutual antagonism, had settled
between themselves which was to be mistress of him and of his
house.

However, there is little fear (bar accidents) but that my friend
the countess will continue to direct the hereditary vote of the
Earl of -- towards the goal of common sense and public good, guide
his social policy with judgment and kindness, and manage his
estates with prudence and economy for many years to come. She is a
hearty, vigorous lady, of generous proportions, with the blood of
sturdy forebears in her veins, and one who takes the same excellent
good care of herself that she bestows on all others dependent upon
her guidance.

"I remember," said the doctor--we were dining with the doctor in
homely fashion, and our wives had adjourned to the drawing-room to
discuss servants and husbands and other domestic matters with
greater freedom, leaving us to the claret and the twilight--"I
remember when we had the cholera in the village--it must be twenty
years ago now--that woman gave up the London season to stay down
here and take the whole burden of the trouble upon her own
shoulders. I do not feel any call to praise her; she liked the
work, and she was in her element, but it was good work for all
that. She had no fear. She would carry the children in her arms
if time pressed and the little ambulance was not at hand. I have
known her sit all night in a room not twelve feet square, between a
dying man and his dying wife. But the thing never touched her.
Six years ago we had the small-pox, and she went all through that
in just the same way. I don't believe she has ever had a day's
illness in her life. She will be physicking this parish when my