was duly established in a comfortable country residence within a mile
and a half of the city, and there commenced the enjoyment of domestic
felicity. I had been married about three months, and had been previously
_in love_ in the most approved romantic way, with all the proprieties of
moonlight walks, serenades, sentimental billets doux, and everlasting
attachment.

After having been allowed, as I said, about three months to get over
this sort of thing, and to prepare for realities, I was located for life
as aforesaid. My family consisted of myself and husband, a female friend
as a visitor, and two brothers of my good man, who were engaged with him
in business.

I pass over the two or three first days, spent in that process of
hammering boxes, breaking crockery, knocking things down and picking
them up again, which is commonly called getting to housekeeping. As
usual, carpets were sewed and stretched, laid down, and taken up to be
sewed over; things were formed, and _re_formed, _trans_formed, and
_con_formed, till at last a settled order began to appear. But now came
up the great point of all. During our confusion we had cooked and eaten
our meals in a very miscellaneous and pastoral manner, eating now from
the top of a barrel and now from a fireboard laid on two chairs, and
drinking, some from teacups, and some from saucers, and some from
tumblers, and some from a pitcher big enough to be drowned in, and
sleeping, some on sofas, and some on straggling beds and mattresses
thrown down here and there wherever there was room. All these pleasant
barbarities were now at an end. The house was in order, the dishes put
up in their places; three regular meals were to be administered in one
day, all in an orderly, civilized form; beds were to be made, rooms
swept and dusted, dishes washed, knives scoured, and all the et cetera
to be attended to. Now for getting "_help_," as Mrs. Trollope says; and
where and how were we to get it? We knew very few persons in the city;
and how were we to accomplish the matter? At length the "house of
employment" was mentioned; and my husband was despatched thither
regularly every day for a week, while I, in the mean time, was very
nearly _despatched_ by the abundance of work at home. At length, one
evening, as I was sitting completely exhausted, thinking of resorting to
the last feminine expedient for supporting life, viz., a good fit of
crying, my husband made his appearance, with a most triump