hands and fingers outstretched, as though never, never in her life
before, had her ears been wounded by such wicked words as those.

"Mr. Furnival, I am ashamed of you," said his wife with gathered
calmness of stern reproach.

Mr. Furnival was very wrong to swear; doubly wrong to swear before
his wife; trebly wrong to swear before a lady visitor; but it must
be confessed that there was provocation. That he was at this present
period of his life behaving badly to his wife must be allowed, but on
this special evening he had intended to behave well. The woman had
sought a ground of quarrel against him, and had driven him on till he
had forgotten himself in his present after-dinner humour. When a man
is maintaining a whole household on his own shoulders, and working
hard to maintain it well, it is not right that he should be brought
to book because he keeps the servants up half an hour later than
usual to wash the tea-things. It is very proper that the idle members
of the establishment should conform to hours, but these hours must
give way to his requirements. In those old days of which we have
spoken so often he might have had his tea at twelve, one, two, or
three without a murmur. Though their staff of servants then was
scanty enough, there was never a difficulty then in supplying any
such want for him. If no other pair of hands could boil the kettle,
there was one pair of hands there which no amount of such work on his
behalf could tire. But now, because he had come in for his tea at
ten o'clock, he was asked if he intended to keep the servants out of
their beds all night!

"Oh laws!" said Miss Biggs, jumping up from her chair as though she
had been electrified.

Mr. Furnival did not think it consistent with his dignity to keep up
any dispute in the presence of Miss Biggs, and therefore sat himself
down in his accustomed chair without further speech. "Would you
wish to have tea now, Mr. Furnival?" asked his wife again, putting
considerable stress upon the word now.

"I don't care about it," said he.

"And I am sure I don't at this late hour," said Miss Biggs. "But so
tired as you are, dear--"

"Never mind me, Martha; as for myself, I shall take nothing now." And
then they all sat without a word for the space of some five minutes.
"If you like to go, Martha," said Mrs. Furnival, "don't mind waiting
for me."

"Oh, very well," and then Miss Biggs took her bedcandle and left the
room. Was it not hard upon her that