James, for I never insult people), and gave him
five minutes for his grievances. He got on pretty fast with them. He
had mentioned the stone floor of his bed-room, a draught in the pantry,
the overbearingness of the butler, the potatoes for the servants' hall
being under-boiled when the cook was out of temper, the inferior
quality of the new plate-powder, the insinuations against his father's
honesty by servants who were upstarts by comparison, his hat having
been spoilt by the rain, and that he never was so miserable in his
life--when the five minutes expired, and I said 'Then, James, you want
to go?' He coloured, and I really think tears stood in his eyes. He
was a good-hearted lad.

"When he began to say that he could never regard any other place as he
looked on this, and that he felt towards his lordship and me as he
could feel towards no other master and mistress, I gave him another
five minutes for what he was pleased with. To do him justice, the list
was quite as long as that of his grievances. No people were like us,
and he had never been so happy in his life. So I said, 'Then, James,
you want to stay?'

"James began a fresh statement, in which his grievances and his
satisfactions came alternately, and I cut this short by saying, 'Well,
James, the difficulty seems to be that you have not made up your mind
what you do want. I have no time to balance matters for you, so you
had better go downstairs and think it well over, and let me know what
you decide.'

"He went accordingly, and when he was driven to think for himself by
being stopped from talking to me, I suppose he was wise enough to
perceive that it is easier to find crosses in one's lot than to feel
quite sure that one could change it for a better. I have no doubt that
he had _not_ got all he might lawfully have wished for, but, different
as our positions were, no more had I, and we both had to do our duty
and make the best of life as we found it. It's a very good thing, dear
child, to get into the habit of saying to oneself, 'One can't have
everything.' I suppose James learned to say it, for he has lived with
me ever since."

At this moment Joseph called to me through the open window which led
into the garden--

"Oh, Selina! I am so sorry; but when I got to the shop I couldn't
remember whether it was a quarter of a yard of ribbon or
three-quarters that you wanted for the doll's hat."

Joseph was always doing stupid things like this. It vexed me ver