ing supplanted in her
brother's affections, as she could not have helped feeling she would be.

Miss Robertson herself, the young lady in question, was not little and
dark, with a talent for keeping every one right and sacrificing herself
on all hands; neither was she tall and fair and handsome, with manners
petulant and somewhat haughty; but she had one quality which is rather
coming into fashion among heroines--namely, pliable affections.

How happy could she be with either, were t' other dear charmer away!

When visiting at The Birns she could be exceedingly happy with Dr.
Brunton: she had a great admiration for him, and having heard him spoken
of as a rising man, and a series of clever papers which he had
contributed to a medical journal having got unqualified praise, she was
disposed to appreciate him, being one of the many people who can always
appreciate what has been appreciated. Very likely, Dr. Brunton might
have secured her and her fortune--which was not a trifle, and would have
been a large addition to his income--if he had tried to do so, but he
did not try: her attractions, personal and otherwise, did not strike him
at all. It might have been well if they had: at least it is
possible--one can't tell. She made a good wife in an ordinary way to the
man who got her, and a good wife in an ordinary way is a blessing. A
man's mind is not always agape for company, but his mouth is for a good
dinner; a book or a newspaper will be company to him, but he wants the
comfort that comes only through his wife; and if she gets burdened with
the mystery of the universe or stretches her thoughts toward matters too
high for her, or even if she takes an interest in politics, she is apt
to lose sight of the hundred and one things that make up the every-day
comfort that ought to pervade a house like the atmosphere. Perhaps this
is the reason that good wives in an ordinary way are so thickly sown,
for which let us be truly thankful. But, though Miss Robertson had not
by any means embarked the whole of her affections in one venture, she
would not have objected to making some impression on her host, and if
she had, it is possible, as has been said, that it might have been well
for him.

As the doctor went in at his gate one day he found a gypsy-looking woman
at the front door selling, or endeavoring to sell, baskets to Miss
Robertson; but that young lady had the good sense never to buy what she
did not need, and also she ha