Page:The Clergyman's Wife.djvu/195



ONSTANTLY petitioned; invariably imposed upon; mercilessly laughed at; what a life of torment Mr. Stillwell leads! and all through his incapacity to utter that little word "no." He has tried, and given up in helpless despair; a negative always dies unspoken upon his tongue. Possibly that affirmative smile, which perpetually expands his mouth, is the great drawback. How can lips that are always smiling "yes" contract themselves to form "no?" The expression of Mr. Stillwell's countenance reminds us of a picture of Garrick which represents him wooed by Comedy on one side, and tragedy on the other; or of Byron's poetical simile, "a pendulum betwixt a smile and tear;" for Mr. Stillwell ever wears a look of yielding good humor conflicting with suppressed sadness.

His horror of refusing and fear of offending, have totally annihilated his power of discriminating between individuals. Everybody has, or seems to have, an entrance to his heart, his house, his purse. As a natural consequence, everybody makes use of