ust observe
that this unfortunate husband thought always of his vixen as that gentle
and delicate woman she had lately been. So that whenever his vixen's
conduct went beyond that which he expected in his wife he was, as it
were, cut to the quick, and no kind of agony could be greater to him
than to see her thus forget herself. On this account it may indeed be
regretted that Mrs. Tebrick had been so exactly well-bred, and in
particular that her table manners had always been scrupulous. Had she
been in the habit, like a continental princess I have dined with, of
taking her leg of chicken by the drumstick and gnawing the flesh, it had
been far better for him now. But as her manners had been perfect, so the
lapse of them was proportionately painful to him. Thus in this instance
he stood as it were in silent agony till she had finished her hideous
crunching of the chicken bones and had devoured every scrap. Then he
spoke to her gently, taking her on to his knee, stroking her fur and fed
her with a few grapes, saying to her:

"Silvia, Silvia, is it so hard for you? Try and remember the past, my
darling, and by living with me we will quite forget that you are no
longer a woman. Surely this affliction will pass soon, as suddenly as
it came, and it will all seem to us like an evil dream."

Yet though she appeared perfectly sensible of his words and gave him
sorrowful and penitent looks like her old self, that same afternoon, on
taking her out, he had all the difficulty in the world to keep her from
going near the ducks.

There came to him then a thought that was very disagreeable to him,
namely, that he dare not trust his wife alone with any bird or she would
kill it. And this was the more shocking to him to think of since it
meant that he durst not trust her as much as a dog even. For we may
trust dogs who are familiars, with all the household pets; nay more, we
can put them upon trust with anything and know they will not touch it,
not even if they be starving. But things were come to such a pass with
his vixen that he dared not in his heart trust her at all. Yet she was
still in many ways so much more woman than fox that he could talk to her
on any subject and she would understand him, better far than the
oriental women who are kept in subjection can ever understand their
masters unless they converse on the most trifling household topics.

Thus she understood excellently well the importance and duties of
religion. She woul