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    she spoke so smartly that I felt quite afraid for the young man . However , I suppose he understood these things better than I did , for he seemed no ways daunted , and instead of obeying her , he only pressed her the closer , and swore that her cruelty would break his heart ; whereupon she told him that his heart was not so easily broken , and that if she were fool enough to listen to his nonsense , he would more likely break hers . Upon this he asked her how she could have so bad an opinion of him ; and then , by her answer , I first

    learnt that this was the same young man that had brought the laundress ' s daughter into trouble ; and remembering the indignation Ann had expressed on that occasion I was quite astonished that she should have admitted him into the house , much more trusted herself alone in his company . But on referring to my journal , I found that it was not the footman she blamed , but the young woman : having remarked , when my mistress offered the girl the half-crown , " that it was a sin to encourage such creturs . "

    The footman declared that he had been cruelly calumniated in that affair ; assuring Ann that he was the last man in the world to say anything unhandsome of any young woman ; but he was certain that if she knew all the circumstances of the case , she would see where the blame lay , &c . &c . Ann shook her head , but I suppose she thought there was some truth in what he said ; for she did not tell him to keep his hands to himself any more that evening . A few days afterwards she told Sarah that she was going to spend the day in the country with some friends . She went away about ten o ' clock , and did not return till midnight . I rather think the footman had been with her ; for after this period I observed several symptoms of increased intimacy ; indeed , I was not without suspicions that she had been away to be married .

    At the expiration of the month , my master and mistress returned , and matters went on for some time as before , till , one night , Mrs . JoddrelFs candle happening to go out as she was preparing for bed , she went down to the kitchen to light it again , supposing the servants were asleep ; but when she reached the kitchen stairs , she was surprised at hearing the voice of a man . Alarmed at so unexpected a circumstance , she ran up again softly , and , waking my master , begged him to put on his clothes and accompany her

    to the kitchen , that they might ascertain who it was ; and who should it be but the footman tete-a-tete with Ann . My master and mistress were both very angry , and they ordered him out of the house , telling Ann they had a great mind to send her with him ; and that they certainly should do so if they ever found her again in the same situation . She looked very frightened and very angry ; as for the footman , he slunk away like a dog caught thieving , and came no more .

    A few weeks after this , I heard Mrs . Joddrell remark to her husband , at breakfast , that she was afraid there was something wrong about Ann . My master said she was not so civil as she used to be , and he supposed their prohibition of the footman ' s visits had put her out of temper . " Perhaps , " lie added , " it would be better to part with her . " " I hope she is married , " rejoined my mistress ; " for I really think she is in the family way . "

    " Then , the sooner we get rid of her the better , " replied my master . " You had better give her warning immediately . " So , in the afternoon , Ann was called up , and warning given , without any reason being assigned ; but she desired to know the reason , and hoped Mrs . Joddrell had nothing to say against her character . My mistress said she hoped there was no cause to say anything ; and added , looking significantly at her figure , that she supposed she was married . Ann coloured up at this insinuation , and seemed to feel herself as much affronted as if my mistress had said just the contrary . She answered that " perhaps she was married ; and if she were not , she should be soon . " ' The sooner the better , Ann , I am afraid , " said my mistress . " However , you know your own affairs best . All I have to say is , that we must part . "

    Ann tossed her head , and said she was quite ready , and would go directly if Mrs . Joddrell pleased ; but my mistress answering there was no hurry , and the end of the month would do , she left the room and went below to the back kitchen ; and there , having shut the door , she sat down in a corner , and , throwing her apron over her head , she fell a crying , sobbing as if her very heart would break ; and there she remained till master knocked at the street door , and she was obliged to go up stairs and lay the cloth for dinner . From this time , although it was plain to me that Ann was exceedingly unhappy , I saw she took all the pains in the world to conceal it from my mistress . Indeed , she became very pert , and answered her in a strange ,

    insolent , off-hand sort of manner whenever she spoke to her ; but my mistress did not appear to observe it ; or , rather , perhaps , seeing how miserable the girl was—for , in spite of her flighty manner , her red eyes and hollow cheeks betrayed her wretchedness—she forbore to reprove her . However , it so happened that , one day , the dinner being dished before the cloth was laid , Mr . Joddrell took the affair into his own hands , and became very angry ; for ho was always exceedingly particular about his meals . He spoke very sharply to Ann about her neglect , and , being once roused , he did not mince his

    words , but said some very cutting things to her with respect to her present situation . Now , Ann had a high spirit , and was very passionate ; and , as the subject was a very sore one to her , especially when Mr . Joddrell declared his conviction that the fellow had no more intention of marrying her than he had himself , and that in all probability he would never have anything more to say to her , she could no longer restrain her resentment ; but , overstepping at once all bounds of truth and discretion , and urged by her wounded feelings to give stab for stab , she poured forth a volley of significant hints and

    wicked insinuations , bidding Mr . Joddrell look nearer home before he went out of his way to abuse other people ; and averring that , if she had done wrong , she was , at all events , no worse than her betters . My master defied and abused her , and , whilst his passion rose with hers , hers kept pace with his ; the more he defied and contradicted , the more she asserted ; till she actually descended to such asseverations , details , and particulars as it was not easy for any man to hear unmoved . He tried to disguise it and keep the high hand ; but I saw the impression she was making on his feelings . The flush that passion had brought into his cheeks became mingled with a livid white ; his features were drawn , his lip q uivered , his mouth became distorted , and his whole figure sunk from the firm and confident bearing it had exhibited at the beginning of the fray into the relaxation

    of fear and depression . At length he bade Ann leave the room and the house directly ; and she went ; but she left her sting behind her . She had sown the bitter herbs which were to grow to a rank harvest ; and , like Satan , she grafted her own woe upon the hearts of others .

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    PALLIATIVES . ( From the German of Lenau . ) " Over that ancient story grass has grown ; Myself , I scarce recal my own transgression j Yet , when , at twilight hour , I stray alone , At times I feel as I could make confession . But , turning from the Past , as all-unknown . I harbour in the Present ! Such oppression Of futile sad remorse by me be flown ! Why summon bootless woes to Memory ' s session ? "When Death , that scythesman stern , thy frame destroyeth ,

    He ' 11 lop the grass , too , which thine actions covers , And that forgotten deed shall cling about thee ! Back to the Past ! Not vainly Care employeth Labour and pain to pierce where Darkness hovers : Till Sin is slain within , it cannot die without thee !

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    MIND YOUR P'S AND QS . Alderman Sidney addressedthe House , in the Jew debate , " amidst continued laughter , caused by the honourable alderman ' s omission of the letter h from every word in which he should have pronounced it , and the introduction of an h in every word in which it should not be pronounced . " Nor can we doubt that had he spoken the concentrated essence of Solon , Socrates , Cicero , and " Mr . Pitt , " the House would have turned an adder ' s ear to all that wisdom , and only caught the damning sound of misplaced h ' s . Yet the worthy alderman might bring illustrious examples to bear him out . " What is there , " he might say , " in this letter , ' Whispered in Heaven and muttered in Hell / that it should not be used as capriciously as other consonants ? I say ' ouse , * orse , ' orrid , tis true : what then ? Je le veuce , moi ! Do not the Italians and Spaniards all discard the letter ? Am I to be more fastidious than Dante , Petrarch , or Calderon ? Do not the Staffordshire gentry discard the cacophonous consonant ? What they can do without committing suicide , may I not do without' convulsing the House ? ' " To be sure his argument would be damaged by his employing the 7 i in a somewhat superfluous manner ; but , after all , what is a little superfluity ? A grace the more ! Emphatic Italians—especially in singing—often use the aspirate which their language discards ; and we observe that it is usually with a view to emphasis that cockneys throw in the aspirate . The effect is sometimes awkward , as in this case : —A friend went to buy a tuning-fork , otherwise called a pitch-fork ; behind the counter stood a white-cravatted , very solemn gentleman , who , supposing that the fork required was the A fork , said , " A pitch-fork , yes , sir ; do you wish a Hay-fork ? " Or in this : —A lady , promenading with her admirer , declared her wish to turn , that they might have the hair on their backs ! A gentleman holding an official position , and entertaining the Sidney caprice , told a friend that he was " going into the country to make a little ' ay . " " Could you not at the same time , " asked his friend , " make a little li ? " Mr . Sidney may plead that his peculiarity is most ancient ; and may cite Catullus , who notes the same trait in his friend Arrius—an ancestor of Alderman Sidney—of whom he says : — CAommoda diet-bat , aiquando enrnmoda Vellet J ) iccrc , ot / thiBidias Arrius insidias . " FA . turn mirirt « 0 sporabatse essc locuMim Ciiin , quantum poterat , dixcrat / tin&idiad . " " lie made convenience o / jonvenient—With aspiration hideous—And all tin ; force of mighty lung's he lent To brand dunions / tinsidiou . s . ' * But , surely , a grave senate-house might heed less sucli trifles of manner , and look seriously at the matter . We know that a " false quantity * ' will damage a man ' reputation more lastingly than any amount of false reasoning ; indeed , it is somewhat pleasant to note how indulgent the House is of bad grammar and worse logic , yet how pitiless towards bad prosody ! a consequence of our educational system which makes Latin verses the acme of accomplishment . Be careful in your prosody , and all sins will be forgiven ; the national palaver insists upon your quantities being correct ; it does not insist on correctness of grammar , nor on accuracy of logic ; those may come if they please , but pronunciation in every form is a vital matter !

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    Aco . 3 , 1850 . ] & % t & «» & !> *? 453

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 3, 1850, page 453, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1849/page/21/