work. She began to understand her line of action. It must be her
effort, in all loving patience and gentleness, to raise her husband's
spirits and rouse his faculties; to make his powers available for the
good of his fellow-creatures, to make him an active and happy man,
and to draw him and his children together. This was truly a task to
make her heart throb high with hope and energy. Strong and brave was
that young heart, and not self-confident--the difficulty made her
only the more hopeful, because she saw it was her duty. She was
secure of her influence with him. If he did exclude her from his
study, he left her supreme elsewhere, and though she would have given
the world that their sovereignty might be a joint one _everywhere_,
still she allowed much for the morbid inveterate habit of dreading
disturbance. When he began by silence and not listening, she could
always rouse him, and give him animation, and he was so much
surprised and pleased whenever she entered into any of his pursuits,
that she had full hope of drawing him out.

One day when the fog, instead of clearing off had turned to violent
rain, Albinia had been out on parish work, and afterwards enlivening
old Mrs. Meadows by dutifully spending an hour with her, while Maria
was nursing a nervous headache--she had been subject to headaches
ever since...an ominous sigh supplied the rest.

But all the effect of Albinia's bright kindness was undone, when the
grandmother learnt that Gilbert was gone to his tutor, and would have
to come home in the rain, and she gave such an account of his
exceeding delicacy, that Albinia became alarmed, and set off at once
that she might consult his father about sending for him.

Her opening of the hall door was answered by Mr. Kendal emerging from