te of order
that they can wait until my brother Edward recovers his health in
Sicily, sufficiently to come over, and administer, or execute, or
whatever it may be that will have to be done.'

'He couldn't have a better nurse to bring him round,' Mr Sparkler made
bold to opine.

'For a wonder, I can agree with you,' returned his wife, languidly
turning her eyelids a little in his direction (she held forth, in
general, as if to the drawing-room furniture), 'and can adopt your
words. He couldn't have a better nurse to bring him round. There are
times when my dear child is a little wearing to an active mind; but, as
a nurse, she is Perfection. Best of Amys!'

Mr Sparkler, growing rash on his late success, observed that Edward had
had, biggodd, a long bout of it, my dear girl.

'If Bout, Edmund,' returned Mrs Sparkler, 'is the slang term for
indisposition, he has. If it is not, I am unable to give an opinion
on the barbarous language you address to Edward's sister. That he
contracted Malaria Fever somewhere, either by travelling day and night
to Rome, where, after all, he arrived too late to see poor dear papa
before his death--or under some other unwholesome circumstances--is
indubitable, if that is what you mean. Likewise that his extremely
careless life has made him a very bad subject for it indeed.'

Mr Sparkler considered it a parallel case to that of some of our fellows
in the West Indies with Yellow Jack. Mrs Sparkler closed her eyes again,
and refused to have any consciousness of our fellows of the West Indies,
or of Yellow Jack.

'So, Amy,' she pursued, when she reopened her eyelids, 'will require
to be roused from the effects of many tedious and anxious weeks. And
lastly, she will require to be roused from a low tendency which I know
very well to be at the bottom of her heart. Don't ask me what it is,
Edmund, because I must decline to tell you.'

'I am not going to, my dear,' said Mr Sparkler.

'I shall thus have much improvement to effect in my sweet child,' Mrs
Sparkler continued, 'and cannot have her near me too soon. Amiable and
dear little Twoshoes! As to the settlement of poor papa's affairs, my
interest in that is not very selfish. Papa behaved very generously to me
when I was married, and I have little or nothing to expect. Provided
he had made no will that can come into force, leaving a legacy to Mrs
General, I am contented. Dear papa, dear papa.'

She wept again, but Mrs General was the bes