sisters to go for three months to Manchester
into a wholesale house, to learn as much as
they could of the plain sewing and cutting
out of household linen. The person in
question made up all sorts of household linen,
sheets, pillow-cases, shirts, and other things;
in fact, a great variety of articles. Through
an old acquaintance he got them introduced
there, avowedly to prepare them for
housekeeping. It was a sensible step, and answered
well. At spring, to cut short opposition from
his own relatives, which began to show itself,
for these things did not fail to be talked of,
James Cheshire got a license, and proceeding
to Manchester, was then and there married,
and came home with his wife and sister.

The talk and gossip which this wedding
made all round the country, was no little;
but the parties themselves were well satisfied
with their mutual choice, and were happy.
As the spring advanced, the duties of the
household grew upon Mrs. Cheshire. She
had to learn the art of cheese-making, butter-
making, of all that relates to poultry, calves,
and household management. But in these
matters she had the aid of an old servant
who had done all this for Mr. Cheshire, since
he began farming. She took a great liking to
her mistress, and showed her with hearty
good-will how everything was done; and as
Jane took a deep interest in it, she rapidly
made herself mistress of the management of
the house, as well as of the house itself.
She did not disdain, herself, to take a hand at
the churn, that she might be familiar with
the whole process of butter-making, and all
the signs by which the process is conducted
to a successful issue. It was soon seen that
no farmer's wife could produce a firmer,
fresher, sweeter pound of butter. It was
neither swelted by too hasty churning, nor
spoiled, as is too often the case, by the
buttermilk or by water being left in it, for want of
well kneading and pressing. It was deliciously
sweet, because the cream was carefully
put in the cleanest vessels and well attended
to. Mrs. Cheshire, too, might daily be seen
kneeling by the side of the cheese-pan,
separating the curd, taking off the whey, filling
the cheese-vat with the curd, and putting the
cheese herself into press. Her cheese-chamber
displayed as fine a set of well-salted, well-
coloured, well-turned and regular cheeses as
ever issued from that or any other
farmhouse.

James Cheshire was proud of his wife;
and Jane herself found a most excellent helper
in Nancy. Nancy took particularly to
housekeeping; saw that all the rooms were
exquisitely clean; that everything was in nice
repair; that not only the master and mistress,
but the servants had their food prepared
in a wholesome and attractive manner. The
eggs she stored up; and as fruit came into
season, had it collected for market, and for a
judicious household use. She made the tea
and coffee morning and evening, and did
everything but preside at the table. There
was not a farm-house for twenty miles round
that wore an air of so much brightness and
evident good management as that of James
Cheshire. For Nancy, from the first moment
of their acquaintance, he had conceived a
most profound respect. In all cases that
required counsel, though he consulted freely
with his wife, he would never decide till they
had had Nancy's opinion and sanction.

And James Cheshire prospered. But,
spite of this, he did not escape the persecution
from his relations that Nancy had foreseen.
On all hands he found coldness. None
of them called on him. They felt scandalised
at his evening himself, as they called it, to a
mill-girl. He was taunted when they met at
market, with having been caught with a
pretty face; and told that they thought he
had had more sense than to marry a dressed
doll with a witch by her side.

At first James Cheshire replied with a
careless waggery, 'The pretty face makes
capital butter, though, eh? The dressed doll
turns out a tolerable dairy, eh? Better,'
added James, 'than a good many can, that I
know, who have neither pretty faces, nor
have much taste in dressing to crack of.'

The allusion to Nancy s dwarfish plainness
was what peculiarly provoked James Cheshire.
He might have laughed at the criticisms on
his wife, though the envious neighbours'
wives did say that it was the old servant and
not Mrs. Cheshire who produced such fine
butter and cheese; for wherever she appeared,
spite of envy and detraction, her lovely person
and quiet good sense, and the growing rumour
of her good management, did not fail to
produce a due impression. And James had
prepared to laugh it off: but it would not do.
He found himself getting every now and then
angry and unsettled by it. A coarse jest on
Nancy at any time threw him into a desperate
fit of indignation. The more the superior
merit of his wife was known, the more seemed
to increase the envy and venom of some of
his relatives. He saw, too, that it had an
effect on his wife. She was often sad, and
sometimes in tears.

One day when this occurred, James Cheshire
said, as they sat at tea, 'I've made up my
mind. Peace in this life is a jewel. Better
is a dinner of herbs with peace, than a stalled
ox with strife. Well now, I'm determined
to have peace. Peace and luv,' said he,
looking affectionately at his wife and Nancy,
'peace and luv, by God's blessing, have
settled down on this house; but there are
stings here and stings there, when we go out
of doors. We must not only have peace and
luv in the house, but peace all round it. So
I've made up my mind. I'm for America!'

'For America!' exclaimed Jane. 'Surely
you cannot be in earnest.'

'I never was more in earnest in my life,'
said James Cheshire. It is true I do very
well on this farm here, though it's a cowdish