business, I could set it right inside a
week--or in two days, if Jim were not so far away. It is merely to say
to him, "Your language was unparliamentary. It is not etiquette to
assume that a lady cares for you when you have not asked her to. You
have no right to resent her resenting such unconventional behavior. You
owe her an apology: go and make it like a man, and withdraw the
offensive epithet, term, phrase, clause, or sentence, which ever it
might be." Then I would say to her, "He meant no harm. How do you expect
a member from Wayback to be posted on all the usages of metropolitan
society? You ought not to have come down on him so hard. Let the man say
he is sorry, and forgive him. You were mainly to blame yourself; but
seeing it is you, we'll pass that." Then I would stand over them like
the heavy father in the plays, and say, "You love each other. Take her,
Jim: take him, Clarice. Bless you, my children." That is the way it
ought to be done, and that is the way I would fix it if it concerned
common every-day people like myself, with no pretence to qualities
higher than practicability and common sense--supposing such people could
have got into such a mess, which I own is improbable. A method that
would answer for them is not so easily applied to these superfine
specimens, who have taken such pains to build themselves a private
Purgatory, and keep it going on a limited supply of fuel. They might
resent intrusion on their agreeable demesne, and put up a board with 'No
Trespassing' on it; but then they ought to keep the place fenced in
better: as it is, the smoke and heat spread too much. They might say,
'If we enjoy our misery, what right have the rest of you to interfere?'
Yes, but what right have they to rope in the rest of us, who are not so
addicted to the luxury of grief, and make us miserable too? That's what
it comes to. 'Each man's life is all men's lesson,' and each woman's
too. Now if our high-toned friends had kept this particular part of
their lives in manuscript, and not supplied us with copies, but reserved
it for spelling out in secret at their own leisure, the case would be
different. As it stands, this embroglio is a lesson which I have got by
heart and am tired of: I would like to set it aside and turn to
something more cheerful. Moreover, as the head of a family I have duties
in the matter, for it affects us all. I don't mind so much about Jane:
she thinks this is a XX. romance, which the parties c