Hazleby and her eldest daughter continued for
some time to expatiate upon the beauty and good qualities of Fido, as
well as those of all his kith and kin. He was not, however, very
cordially welcomed by anyone at the Vicarage; for Mr. Woodbourne
greatly disliked little dogs in the house, his wife dreaded them much
among her children, and there were symptoms of a deadly feud between
him and Elizabeth's only pet, the great black cat, Meg Merrilies.
But still his birth, parentage, and education, were safe subjects of
conversation; and all were sorry when Mrs. Hazleby had exhausted
them, and began to remark how thin Elizabeth looked--to tell a story
of a boy who had died of a fever, some said of neglect, at the school
where Horace was--to hint at the possibility of Rupert's having been
lost on the Scottish mountains, blown up on the railroad, or sunk in
a steam-vessel--to declare that girls were always spoiled by being
long absent from home, and to dilate on the advantages of cheap
churches.
She had nearly all the conversation to herself, the continual sound
of her voice being only varied by Harriet's notes and comments, given
in a pert shrill, high key, and by a few syllables in answer from
Lady Merton and Mrs.
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