Mr Kennedy, though he was a most scrupulously¹ attentive² member of Parliament, was a man very punctual to hours and rules in his own house — and liked that his wife should be as punctual as himself. Lady Laura, who in marrying him had firmly resolved that she would do her duty to him in all ways, even though the ways might sometimes be painful — and had been perhaps more punctilious³ in this respect than she might have been had she loved him heartily⁴ — was not perhaps quite so fond of accurate regularity⁵ as her husband; and thus, by this time, certain habits of his had become rather bonds than habits to her. He always had prayers at nine, and breakfasted at a quarter past nine, let the hours on the night before have been as late as they might before the time for rest had come. After breakfast he would open his letters in his study, but he liked her to be with him, and desired to discuss with her every application he got from a constituent⁶. He had his private secretary in a room apart, but he thought that everything should be filtered to his private secretary through his wife. He was very anxious that she herself should superintend the accounts of their own private expenditure⁷, and had taken some trouble to teach her an excellent mode of book-keeping. He had recommended to her a certain course of reading — which was pleasant enough; ladies like to receive such recommendations; but Mr Kennedy, having drawn⁸ out the course, seemed to expect that his wife should read the books he had named, and, worse still, that she should read them in the time he had allocated⁹ for the work. This, I think, was tyranny. Then the Sundays became very wearisome to Lady Laura. Going to church twice, she had learnt, would be a part of her duty; and though in her father’s household attendance at church had never been very strict, she had made up her mind to this cheerfully. But Mr Kennedy expected also that he and she should always dine together on Sundays, that there should be no guests, and that there should be no evening company. After all, the demand was not very severe, but yet she found that it operated injuriously upon her comfort. The Sundays were very wearisome to her, and made her feel that her lord and master was — her lord and master. She made an effort or two to escape, but the efforts were all in vain. He never

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