The next little incident from married life which I mean to give you, will show you the wonderful wit and ingenuity of the sex.  Here the parties had been much longer wedded.  The poor woman had borne much.  The husband thought he had a second Griselda.  The case of his tyranny was pretty well known; indeed, the poor wife too often bore marks, that could not be concealed, of the “purple light” of his love—­his passion.  The gentleman, for such was, I regret to say, his grade of life, invited a number of friends to dine with him, giving directions to his lady that the dinner should be a good one.  Behold the guests assembled—­grace said—­and hear the dialogue:—­Husband—­“My dear, what is that dish before you?” Wife—­“Oh, my dear, it is a favourite dish of yours—­stewed eels.”  Husband—­“Then, my dear, I will trouble you.”  After a pause, during which the husband endeavours in vain to cut through what is before him—­Then—­Husband—­“Why, my dear, what is this—­it is quite hard, I cannot get through it.”  Wife—­“Yes, my dear, it is very hard, and I rather wished you to know how hard—­it is the horse whip you gave me for breakfast this morning.”  I will not add a word to it.  You, Eusebius, will not read a line more; you are in antics of delight—­you cannot keep yourself quiet for joy—­you walk up and down—­you sit—­you rise—­you laugh—­you roar out.  Oh! this is better than the “taming of a shrew.”  And do you think “a brute of a husband” is so easily tamed?  The lion was a gentle beast, and made himself submissive to sweet Una; but the brute of a husband, he is indeed a very hideous and untameable wild-fowl.  Poor, good, loving woman is happily content at some thing far under perfection.  In a lower grade of life, good wife once told me, that she had had an excellent husband, for that he had never kicked her but twice.  On enquiry, I found he died young.—­My dear Eusebius, yours ever, and as ever,

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* * * * *

MARSTON; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF A STATESMAN.

PART V.

  “Have I not in my time heard lions roar? 
  Have I not heard the sea, puft up with wind,
  Rage like an angry boar chafed with sweat? 
  Have I not heard great ordinance in the field,
  And heaven’s artillery thunder in the skies? 
  Have I not in the pitched battle heard
  Loud ’larums, neighing steeds, and trumpets clang?”

          SHAKESPEARE.

I found the Jew in his den as usual, and communicated my object, like a man of business, in as few words as possible, and in that tone which showed that I had made up my mind.  To my surprise, and, I must own, a little to the chagrin of my vanity, he made no opposition to it whatever.  I afterwards ascertained that, on the day before, he had received a proposal of marriage for his daughter from a German millionaire of his own line; and that, as there could be no comparison between a penniless son-in-law, if he came of the blood of all the Paleologi, and one of the tribe of Issachar with his panniers loaded with guineas, the sooner I took my flight the better.