Page:Lady Anne Granard 3.pdf/214

212 awe, not that I was always proud and stern, certainly not: 'honey catches more flies than vinegar,' and occasions arose then, as now, when a few soft words assuaged an angry creditor, or an offended neighbour, but my system was that of being proud and unapproachable, and you see how it answers, they have never forgotten me, never ceased to honour me; and now I deign to appear amongst them again by my representatives, every one flocks to my standard, every one regards my notice as a distinction; having taught him in past days to shrink from my hauteur, he now exults in my smile, and is proud to be one of my train. My mode of government, too, had the greatest of all advantages, it subsists to the end of life; you know, Helen, nobody loves old women, but many people fear them; I have mentioned this before, but it cannot be repeated too often." Helen remembered, also, that her heart, both then and now, denied the assertion, but, wishing the subject to go by, she ventured to say:— "The butcher is very angry, and says he shall send an execution into the house; surely he will not kill the poor creatures under this roof?" "If he kills a simpler mutton than you, I shall wonder—he said an execution?" "Yes, mamma. Pray, mamma, what is it?"