Ladies’ Edinburgh Magazine > Volume 4

Mens Rights. 561
tightly hy tlie hand. He hriyhtens up rather at the sight of Mr.
Fahst, but his passive vulanclioly returns as soon as he sees his
vjifc.
Mr. P. Well, my dear John, how are you ? Minnie says
you have not been very well.
Mrs. T. No, indeed he has not. I tell him he should take
more exercise, and next week he is going to take the children
down to Brighton for a week of sea-bathing.
Mr. T. I'm truly glad to see you, Peter. Minnie is such
an active woman now that I have nothing left to do. I
made this lace on my dressing-gown myself, and I've trimmed
baby's pelisse, too, with it. Should you like to see baby ?
Mr. Fahst looks very much sliocked, and seems to think if
his sister is mad, her husband is worse. Nurse enters with
baby, and hands it to Mrs. Tredemdovm, %oho holds it for a few
moments till it begins to cry, and then says :
Here, John, take the child, I'm never comfortable when
I have it; I'm so afraid of its head rolling off, and in these
long clothes one hardly knows which end to take hold of.
Well, good-bye, take care of each other. I'll be back to five-
o'clock tea.'
Exit Mrs. Tredemdown, buttoning her jacket as she goes, and
taking dovjn her bonnet from the stand at the door. The two
7nen look at each other. Mr. Fahst begins to laugh, but poor
Mr. Tredemdown says sadly, as he sinks into an easy-chair :
It's no laughing matter, I can assure you, Peter. Ever
since Mrs. Tredemdown has had her vote, she has been
insufferable. The poor boys, too, feel the change in their
mother and sisters deeply, but there is no help for it. She
goes to about half a dozen meetings daily, comes home about
five, has a cup of tea with me and the boys, and then gene¬
rally dines at her club with some of her alarming friends, or
goes to a scientific lecture. {Sighs.)
Mr. F. But how can you stand it ? You should stop all
this nonsense; why, it must be your own fault, for when
Minnie married you, she was as gentle and attractive a girl
as one could wish to see.
Mr. T. Oh ! I don't think it was the fault of the women at
the beginning. Some insane men put it into tlie heads of
some insaner women, and the mischief has been spreading
ever since. It makes me quite sad to see Hubert and Fred
' sitting in the drawing-room till they are married,' as the
saying is. And in town the poor things get but little
amusement, for the girls are all too busy to take them any¬
where. You remember Emily, my eldest girl,—what a nice
No. 48.—December 1878. 2 N