himself: it was
M. Guizot. An intimacy sprang up between them, which ripened into mutual
affection, and before long Mademoiselle de Meulan became his wife.

From that time forward, she shared in all her husband's joys and
sorrows, as well as in many of his labours. Before they became united,
he asked her if she thought she should ever become dismayed at the
vicissitudes of his destiny, which he then saw looming before him. She
replied that he might assure himself that she would always passionately
enjoy his triumphs, but never heave a sigh over his defeats. When M.
Guizot became first minister of Louis Philippe, she wrote to a friend:
"I now see my husband much less than I desire, but still I see him....
If God spares us to each other, I shall always be, in the midst of every
trial and apprehension, the happiest of beings." Little more than six
months after these words were written, the devoted wife was laid in
her grave; and her sorrowing husband was left thenceforth to tread the
journey of life alone.

Burke was especially happy in his union with Miss Nugent, a beautiful,
affectionate, and highminded woman. The agitation and anxiety of his
public life was more than compensated by his domestic happiness, which
seems to have been complete. It was a saying of Burke, thoroughly
illustrative of his character, that "to love the little platoon
we belong to in society is the germ of all public affections." His
description of his wife, in her youth, is probably one of the finest
word-portraits in the language:--

"She is handsome; but it is a beauty not arising from features, from
complexion, or from shape. She has all three in a high degree, but it is
not by these she touches the heart; it is all that sweetness of temper,
benevolence, innocence, and sensibility, which a face can express, that
forms her beauty. She has a face that just raises your attention at
first sight; it grows on you every moment, and you wonder it did no more
than raise your attention at first.

"Her eyes have a mild light, but they awe when she pleases; they
command, like a good man out of office, not by authority, but by virtue.

"Her stature is not tall; she is not made to be the admiration of
everybody, but the happiness of one.

"She has all the firmness that does not exclude delicacy; she has all
the softness that does not imply weakness.

"Her voice is a soft low music--not formed to rule in public assemblies,
but to charm those who can d