Project Gutenberg's A Question of Marriage, by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

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Title: A Question of Marriage

Author: Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

Release Date: June 20, 2010 [EBook #32920]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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A Question of Marriage, by Mrs George de Horne Vaizey.

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A QUESTION OF MARRIAGE, BY MRS GEORGE DE HORNE VAIZEY.

CHAPTER ONE.

THE BAN.

The grey London sunlight shone on the face of the patient as she sat
facing the long window of the consulting-room, on the finely cut
features, sensitive lips, and clear, dilated eyes. The doctor sat in
the shadow, leaning back in his chair, tapping softly with his fingers
upon the desk.

"And you must not be afraid," he said, following a vigorous
cross-questioning with his skilled advice. "That is the most important
lesson which you have to learn. Banish fear. Live it down; if
necessary, crowd it out. Don't allow yourself time to think and grow
morbid. I tell you frankly that the chances are quite good that you may
entirely _escape_ this curse of your family, but you must understand
that the power is in your own hands to increase or diminish those
chances. Anxiety, depression, loneliness--these will be your worst
enemies. You say that you have sufficient means; that makes things
easier all round. Cultivate interests; cultivate friends. Search for
congenial occupation, and when you have found it--work! Work hard; hard
enough to make rest grateful when the day is over, and sleep
sound--_not_ hard enough to feel worn out. Avoid fatigue as carefully
as you would idleness. Take a good holiday twice a year, and as many
little breaks as possible. Be a hard task-mistress of your mind, but of
your body a careful, even an indulgent, guardian. The two continually
act and react on each other. A diseased mind imagines illness where
there is none; a diseased body taints and demoralises the mind. Look
after both.