clubs--selfish creatures! You can laugh and sing, and tell stories,
and never think of the clock; never think there's such a person as a
wife belonging to you. It's nothing to you that a poor woman's
sitting up, and telling the minutes, and seeing all sorts of things
in the fire--and sometimes thinking something dreadful has happened
to you--more fool she to care a straw about you!--This is all
nothing. Oh no; when a woman's once married she's a slave--worse
than a slave--and must bear it all!

"And what you men can find to talk about I can't think! Instead of a
man sitting every night at home with his wife, and going to bed at a
Christian hour,--going to a club, to meet a set of people who don't
care a button for him--it's monstrous! What do you say?

"YOU ONLY GO ONCE A WEEK?

"That's nothing at all to do with it: you might as well go every
night; and I daresay you will soon. But if you do, you may get in as
you can: _I_ won't sit up for you, I can tell you.

"My health's being destroyed night after night, and--oh, don't say
it's only once a week; I tell you that's nothing to do with it--if
you had any eyes, you would see how ill I am; but you've no eyes for
anybody belonging to you: oh no! your eyes are for people out of
doors. It's very well for you to call me a foolish, aggravating
woman! I should like to see the woman who'd sit up for you as I do.

"YOU DIDN'T WANT ME TO SIT UP?

"Yes, yes; that's your thanks--that's your gratitude: I'm to ruin my