manner will probably call forth,--and I will repay you.

I am not fatigued with solitude, yet I have not relished my
solitary dinner. A husband is a convenient part of the furniture of
a house, unless he be a clumsy fixture. I wish you, from my soul,
to be riveted in my heart; but I do not desire to have you always
at my elbow, although at this moment I should not care if you were.
Yours truly and tenderly,

MARY.

Fanny forgets not the mug.

Miss Pinkerton seems content. I was amused by a letter she wrote
home. She has more in her than comes out of her mouth. My dinner is
ready, and it is washing-day. I am putting everything in order for
your return. Adieu!

Once during this trip the peaceful intercourse between husband and wife
was interrupted. Godwin might philosophize to his heart's content about
the advantages of separation, but Mary could not be so sure of them.
Absence in Imlay's case had not in the end brought about very good
results; and as the days went by, Godwin's letters, at least so it seemed
to her, became more descriptive and statistical, and less tender and
affectionate. Interest in Dr. Parr and the Wedgwoods and the country
through which he was travelling overshadowed for the time being matters
of mere sentiment. With the memory of another correspondence from which
love had gradually disappeared, still fresh, she felt this change
bitterly, and reproached Godwin for it in very plain language:--

June 19, Monday, _almost 12 o'clock_.

One of the pleasures you tell me that you promised yourself from
your journey was the effect your absence might produce on me.
Certainly at first my affection was increased, or rather was more
alive. But now it is just the contrary. Your later letters might
have been addressed to anybody, and will serve to remind you where
you have been, though they resemble nothing less than mementos of
affection.

I wrote to you to Dr. Parr's; you take no notice of my letter.
Previous to your departure, I requested you not to torment me by
leaving the day of your return undecided. But whatever tenderness
you took away with you seems to have evaporated on the journey, and
new objects and the homage of vulgar minds restored you to your icy
philosophy.

You tell me that your journey could not take less than three days,
therefore, as you w