of being sagacious and prudent by myself, and of seeing my darling under restraint; so, I bought a pretty pair of ear-rings for her, and a collar for Jip, and went home one day to make myself agreeable.
Dora was delighted with the little presents, and kissed me joyfully; but, there was a shadow between us, however slight, and I had made up my mind that it should not be there. If there must be such a shadow anywhere, I would keep it for the future in my own breast.
I sat down by my wife on the sofa, and put the ear-rings in her ears; and then I told her that I feared we had not been quite as good company lately, as we used to be, and that the fault was mine. Which I sincerely felt, and which indeed it was.
"The truth is, Dora, my life," I said; "I have been trying to be wise."
"And to make me wise too," said Dora, timidly. "Haven't you, Doady?"
I nodded assent to the pretty inquiry of the raised eyebrows, and kissed the parted lips.
"It's of not a bit of use," said Dora, shaking her head, until the earrings rang again. "You know what a little thing I am, and what I wanted you to call me from the first. If you can't do so, I am afraid you'll never like me. Are you sure you don't think, sometimes, it would have been better to have—"
"Done what, my dear?" For she made no effort to proceed.
"Nothing!" said Dora.
"Nothing?" I repeated.
She put her arms round my neck, and laughed, and called herself by her favorite name of a goose, and hid her face on my shoulder in such a profusion of curls that it was quite a task to clear them away and see it.
"Don't I think it would have been better to have done nothing, than to have tried to form my little wife's mind?" said I, laughing at myself. "Is that the question? Yes, indeed, I do."
"Is that what you have been trying?" cried Dora. "Oh what a shocking boy!"
"But I shall never try any more," said I. "For I love her clearly as she is."
"Without a story—really?" inquired Dora, creeping closer to me.
"Why should I seek to change," said I, "what has been so precious to me for so long! You never can show better than as your own natural self, my sweet Dora; and we'll try no conceited experiments, but go back to our old way, and be happy."
"And be happy!" returned Dora. "Yes! All day! And you won't mind things going a tiny morsel wrong, sometimes?"
"No, no," said I. "We must do the best we can."
"And you won't tell me, any more, that we make other people bad," coaxed Dora; "will you? Because you know it's so dreadfully cross."
"No no," said I.
"It's better for me to be stupid than uncomfortable, isn't it?" said Dora.
"Better to be naturally Dora than anything else in the world."
"In the world! Ah Doady, it's a large place!"
She shook her head, turned her delighted bright eyes up to mine, kissed
