adies in the Abbey Close. Looked at from a
distance these might be supposed to stand level, but, on nearer approach,
a difference was discernible. The banker and the ladies, although they
visited the lawyer, were a shade beyond him. Then came the brewer. The
days had not arrived when brewing--at least, on the large scale--is
considered to be more respectable than a learned profession, and Mrs.
Colston, notwithstanding her wealth, was incessantly forced by the
lawyer's wife to confess subordination. The brewer kept three or four
horses for pleasure, and the lawyer kept only one; but "Colston's Entire"
was on a dozen boards in the town, and he supplied private families and
sent in bills. The position of Mrs. Butcher was perhaps the most
curious. She visited the rector, banker, lawyer, and brewer, and was
always well received, for she was clever, smart, young, and well behaved.
She had established her position solely by her wits. She did not spend a
quarter as much as Mrs. Colston, but she always looked better. She was
well shaped, to begin with, and the fit of her garments was perfect. Not
a wrinkle was to be seen in gown, gloves, or shoes. Mrs. Colston's
fashion was that imposed on her by the dressmaker, but Ms. Butcher always
had a style peculiarly her own. She knew the secret that a woman's
attractiveness, so far as it is a matter of clothes, depends far more
upon the manner in which they are made and worn than upon costliness. It
was always thought that she ruled her husband and had just a spice of
contempt for him. She gained thereby in Eastthorpe, at least with the
men, for her superiority to him gave her an air which was slightly
detached, free, and fascinating. She always drove when she went out with
him, and it was really a sight worth seeing she bolt upright with her
hands well down, her pretty figure showing to the best advantage the neat
turn-out--for she was very particular on this point and understood horses
thoroughly--and Butcher, leaning back, submissive but satisfied. She had
made friends with the women too. She was much too shrewd to incur their
hostility by openly courting the admiration of their husbands. She knew
they did admire her, and that was enough. She was most deferential to
Mrs. Colston, so much so that the brewer's wife openly expressed the
opinion that she was evidently well bred, and wondered how Butcher
managed to secure her. Furthermore she was useful, for her opinion, w