marriage with her cousin; and, liking him better than any one in the
world, except her uncle (who was at this time at sea), she went off
one morning and was married to him, her only bridesmaid being the
housemaid at her aunt's. The consequence was that Frank and his wife
went into lodgings, and Mrs Wilson refused to see them, and turned
away Norah, the warm-hearted housemaid, whom they accordingly took
into their service. When Captain Wilson returned from his voyage he
was very cordial with the young couple, and spent many an evening at
their lodgings, smoking his pipe and sipping his grog; but he told
them, for quietness' sake, he could not ask them to his own house; for
his wife was bitter against them. They were not, however, very unhappy
about this.

The seed of future unhappiness lay rather in Frank's vehement,
passionate disposition, which led him to resent his wife's shyness and
want of demonstrativeness as failures in conjugal duty. He was already
tormenting himself, and her too in a slighter degree, by apprehensions
and imaginations of what might befall her during his approaching
absence at sea. At last, he went to his father and urged him to
insist upon Alice's being once more received under his roof; the more
especially as there was now a prospect of her confinement while her
husband was away on his voyage. Captain Wilson was, as he himself
expressed it, 'breaking up', and unwilling to undergo the excitement
of a scene; yet he felt that what his son said was true. So he went to
his wife. And before Frank set sail, he had the comfort of seeing his
wife installed in her old little garret in his father's house. To have
placed her in the one best spare room was a step beyond Mrs Wilson's
powers of submission or generosity. The worst part about it, however,
was that the faithful Norah had to be dismissed. Her place as
housemaid had been filled up; and, even if it had not, she had
forfeited Mrs Wilson's good opinion for ever. She comforted her young
master and mistress by pleasant prophecies of the time when they would
have a household of their own; of which, whatever service she might
be in meanwhile, she should be sure to form a part. Almost the last
action Frank did, before setting sail, was going with Alice to see
Norah once more at her mother's house; and then he went away.

Alice's father-in-law grew more and more feeble as winter advanced.
She was of great use to her stepmother in nursing and amusing him;