With that regal indolent air she had
So confident of her charm.

Owen Meredith.

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.

Shakespeare.


Amongst the divers domestic complications into which short-sighted man is
prone to fall there is none which has been more conclusively proved to be
an utter and egregious failure than that family arrangement which, for
lack of a better name, I will call a "composite household."

No one could have spoken upon this subject with greater warmth of
feeling, nor out of the depths of a more painful experience, than
could the Rev. Eustace Daintree, sometime vicar of the parish of
Sutton-in-the-Wold.

Mr. Daintree's family circle consisted of himself, his mother, his wife,
and his wife's sister, and I should like to know how a man could expect
to lead a life of peace and tranquillity with such a combination of
inharmonious feminine elements!

There were two children also, who were a fruitful source of discord and
disunion. It is certain that, had he chosen to do so, the Rev. Eustace
might have made many heart-rending and harrowing revelations concerning
the private life and customs of the inhabitants of his vicarage. It is
equally certain, however, that he would not have chosen to do so, for he