"Come come, love, tell us now, has Lord Glenmore accepted the appointment of ---- or not?" "Whenever he tells me to say that he has done so, I shall certainly, my dearest papa and mamma, make you the first to be acquainted with the event." "Well, Georgina, I see how it is: you need not say more, for you are already quite diplomatic in your mode of answering. But you are right, my child: whatever confidence your husband reposes in you, you ought to regard it as sacred;" and Lord Melcomb changed the subject like a good and a sensible man, who wishes really that his child should prove a good and faithful wife. "You have given the best earnest any girl can give," he said, "my sweet Georgina, of being an invaluable treasure to your husband, by having first been such to your parents; and the obedience you paid us should now be implicitly transferred to Lord Glenmore. The woman who has not learnt obedience, is likely to be very unhappy: for it is surely one of the first duties in every sphere of a woman's life. You know the lines, that I have so often repeated to you, and I am sure you practise them, my own Georgina, as forming the great golden rule to be observed by a married woman: one who /P "'Never answers till her husband cools; And if she rules him, never shows she rules.' P/ "But when I say obedience, I do not mean that slavish obedience, which in matters of conscience must remain a question for conscience to decide; I mean that system of gentle acquiescence in all the minor motives of life, which can alone render the domestic circle a circle of harmony." Lady Glenmore assured her father she had not forgotten, and never should forget his excellent lessons; and that every thing which he had recommended her to do, she invariably called to mind every night and morning. Lord Melcomb had, during a very busy life, acquitted himself under all circumstances with credit both abroad and at home, and if he had leant to the despotic side of governing in his own house, he had done it with so much gentleness as well as firmness, that no one felt inclined to consider the yoke heavy. His daughter had never even felt it could be so, for she was by nature and inclination a docile gentle being, leaning upon those she loved with implicit confidence for guidance and support. It was at this particular moment more than usually sweet to her to be in the society of her parents, and she promised that if Lord Glenmore were engaged in the evening, she would bring her work, and instead of passing the _then_ dull hours at home, find a sweet solace with them; they were a happy family, united in the bond of the strictest union, and even at a temporary parting felt pain, in proportion as being together gave them pleasure; but it was time for Lady Glenmore, she said, to go home, and they separated.