eminine Woes, since the business of the office comes to me. It will be
Mabel next, I suppose, and then this thing must stop, unless we begin
the round afresh. Clarice may naturally want to be comforted once or
twice more; but I hope soon to remove all further occasion for that.
Jane and I have not been like this since we were children.

"There, there. Sister dear, I would knock any man down, and insult any
woman, who said of you what you just said of yourself. You are not an
old maid, and you might be a society leader if you cared for it: plenty
of women are who have more years and less looks and manners and brains
than you. You are as far as possible from a meddler: your fault is that
you keep too much to yourself. I am sure Clarice would be touched and
flattered by your interest in her: I should, if you took a quarter as
much in me. Do you know, I never saw you look so well, or do yourself
such credit--till now--as night before last. My heart said amen to every
word you uttered, even when you were girding at me; for you thought I
deserved it, and in part I did. I will have no more secrets from
you--except such as I have no right to impart. If you will, we shall be
friends now, and work together in this thing. You always seemed to
despise me, Jane; and it is tedious when the affection is all on one
side."

"Yes: you used to have enough of that with Clarice."

She was feeling better now. As I may have said on some previous
occasion, a little judicious management will do great things for a
woman. I must keep this up if I can, and make appropriate responses to
all her remarks. I have been too hard on Jane in the past. After all,
the tie between brother and sister is a peculiar one--few more so; and,
except for the Princess, who is such only by adoption, each of us is all
the other has got in that line. Perhaps I ought to have thought of this
earlier.

"Clarice appreciates my virtues better now, as I hope you will. But I
was going to tell you: I am of one mind and heart with you about this,
dear. I have always meant to see Hartman this fall, of course; but it
was better that the suggestion should come from Mabel, you see."

"You do tangle things up so unnecessarily, Robert. Mabel would have
approved of anything you proposed, as a matter of course."

"Well, my dear, I have no desire to be a dictator in the house, like
some men. You all have interests and rights to be respected, and I want
you to have your say."

"We