Australian Tales - Setis

an opinion of her sense to believe that her malady was induced by any
whims and fancies as her father said it was. I knew when her nervous
attacks were coming on, and I used to contrive to take some little
business trip into the country for a week or so, and to take her with me.
Change, and cheerful companionship were the best remedies for her
complaint, I knew, and after a time she got much better.
“It would take too long, sir, to tell you all the little methods I adopted
in order to mould her to my own mind. I had had plenty of time to think
over that important subject in my lonely bachelorhood, and I used to
reason thus. ‘I take a great deal of pains to break in my hack horse to
casy paces, and to keep him from buck-jumping, bolting, stumbling, or
shying; and I find it necessary to know the dispositions of my servants, in
order to manage them efficiently, and shall I neglect to study the
characteristics of my wife when I get her? Not I, indeed! that shall be my
chief delight.’ That's the way I used to argue to myself, sir, as I lay
rolling about on my bachelor bed on warm nights; and I carried out my
principle when I got married. My wife showed her appreciation of my
kindness by studying all my little whims and oddities, in a way that no
one had done before; and I became under her gentle treatment, as
tractable as a tame lion. Therein lies the grand secret of our life-long
happiness, sir, we carefully studied each other's weak points, and tried to
strengthen them, while we mutually learned to ‘bear and forbear.’ There
was perfect confidence between us, and we rarely had a thought or a
wish concealed. I certainly kept from Nanny for a time, the knowledge of
our pecuniary embarrassment, but I regretted it afterwards, and I always
found my troubles reduced by acquainting her with them.
“I will not say that we never had a ‘tiff,’ as it is called, during our forty
years intercourse, or you may be disposed to doubt me, but I can truly
say, sir, we never ‘let the sun go down on our wrath,’ if there was any
wrath at all in our tiffs. I am rather fidgety at times, sir, as you have
doubtless observed, and I dare say if some women had the management
of me, I should be known as the ‘great bear,’ by all the gossips in the
colony. But dear Nanny can cure my fidgety fits as cleverly as she can
cook a plain dinner. She knows exactly how long to let my ill humours
simmer, or ferment, and when to pass her gentle hand over my brow and
kiss me into good humour. She can tell at a glance if it would be safe for
her to steal up behind me and tickle my ear with a straw, or playfully
take hold of my whiskers and say, ‘Davy, you rogue! what do you mean
by looking so cross? kiss me this minute, sir, and be a good boy!’ Of
course I never could help smiling under such discipline, and before I had
time to recollect my cause of vexation, she would be clinging about my
neck and saying all sorts of funny things to me, which would make any
man laugh if his house were on fire. Sometimes I have gone into my
sanctum to cool down after some vexatious excitement or other, for we