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52 have induced an uninitiated person to believe that people really died to oblige others to wear bombasin; Mrs. Arundel went back to her ordinary avocations—small savings and domestic inspections. To her the putting out of an extra candle, or detecting an unfortunate housemaid letting a sweetheart into the kitchen, were positive enjoyments. Intended by nature for a housekeeper, it was her misfortune, not her fault, that she was the mistress. She was one of those who, having no internal, are entirely thrown upon external resources: they must be amused and employed by the eye or the ear, and that in a small way. She never read—news was her only idea of conversation. As she often observed, "she had no notion of talking about what neither concerned herself nor her neighbours." Without being vulgar in her manners—that, early and accustomed habits forbade—she was vulgar in her mind. She had always some small, mean motive to ascribe to every action, and invariably judged the worst and took the most unfavourable view of whatever debateable subject came before her. Like most silly people, she was selfish; and the constant fear of being overreached, sometimes gave a degree of shrewdness to her apprehensions.