forever; but let anything give
them a shake or a jar, and the long-striving but hindered affinities come
all at once into play and finish the work of a year in five minutes.

We were all a good deal excited by the anticipation of this visit. The
Capitalist, who for the most part keeps entirely to himself, seemed to
take an interest in it and joined the group in the parlor who were making
arrangements as to the details of the eventful expedition, which was very
soon to take place. The Young Girl was full of enthusiasm; she is one of
those young persons, I think, who are impressible, and of necessity
depressible when their nervous systems are overtasked, but elastic,
recovering easily from mental worries and fatigues, and only wanting a
little change of their conditions to get back their bloom and
cheerfulness. I could not help being pleased to see how much of the
child was left in her, after all the drudgery she had been through. What
is there that youth will not endure and triumph over? Here she was; her
story for the week was done in good season; she had got rid of her
villain by a new and original catastrophe; she had received a sum of
money for an extra string of verses,--painfully small, it is true, but it
would buy her a certain ribbon she wanted for the great excursion; and
now her eyes sparkled so that I forgot how tired and hollow they
sometimes looked when she had been sitting up half the night over her
endless manuscript.

The morning of the day we had looked forward to--promised as good an
evening as we could wish. The Capitalist, whose courteous and bland
demeanor would never have suggested the thought that he was a robber and
an enemy of his race, who was to be trampled underfoot by the beneficent
regenerators of the social order as preliminary to the universal reign of
peace on earth and good-will to men, astonished us all with a proposal to
escort the three ladies and procure a carriage for their conveyance. The
Lady thanked him in a very cordial way, but said she thought nothing of
the walk. The Landlady looked disappointed at this answer. For her part
she was on her legs all day and should be glad enough to ride, if so be
he was going to have a carriage at any rate. It would be a sight
pleasanter than to trudge afoot, but she would n't have him go to the
expense on her account. Don't mention it, madam,--r--said the
Capitalist, in a generous glow of enthusiasm. As for the Young Girl, she
did