t a wife should obey her husband; she openly declared that the
ancient law which compelled the woman to subserve to the man, was but a
concoction of man himself, that the Bible itself never contained such an
absurd command, but that the translators, who she triumphantly affirmed
were men, had placed that law in the scripture, merely to suit their own
selfish ends. She also affirmed that she would stake her life upon the
issue that she would not find, even if she should search the scriptures
through, such an absurd command. And she was right. _She_ would not find
it.

In the immediate neighborhood of Almvik, Mr. H---- was reverenced as a
wealthy nobleman, and a man of power. He wished to be considered a
hospitable man, and frequently rejoiced his neighbors with invitations
to visit his beautiful estate. To him strangers were godsends. He
entertained them to the best of his ability, invited the neighbors to
see them, and although his little soirees were very pleasant, still, as
the guests were drawn from all classes of society, many amusing scenes
were enacted, in all of which, Mistress Ulrica Eugenia performed a
prominent and independent part.

Although Mrs. Ulrica had liberated herself from all obedience to her
legal master, and had in fact assumed the reins of government herself,
she nevertheless possessed some, if not a great deal of affection for
the rosy cheeks and sleepy eyes of her husband, and at the same time she
kept a watchful eye upon those whom she suspected of partaking with her
in this sentiment. Not only was Mrs. H---- occasionally aggravated by
the pangs of jealousy, but she was also tormented by the thought that
her husband entirely confided in her own fidelity, thus at once cutting
off the possibility of a love quarrel and a reconciliation.

Upon the evening when we first made the personal acquaintance of the
inmates of Almvik, Mr. H---- and his wife were riding out in their gig;
for in the morning they rode in a light hunting wagon, and at noon they
used the large family coach.

Mr. H----, immediately before starting forth on the ride had received a
severe lecture from his spouse, because he indulged in an afternoon's
nap, instead of devising means for the amusement of the family, that
is, of the worthy dame herself, and their only treasure, the little
Eugene Ulrich, and Mr. H----, we say, never felt inclined for sprightly
conversation after such a lecture.

He well knew that he would be obliged