I believe, however, that after they had been married some twenty years,
Christina had somewhat fallen from her original perfection as regards
money. She had got gradually in arrear during many successive quarters,
till she had contracted a chronic loan a sort of domestic national debt,
amounting to between seven and eight pounds. Theobald at length felt
that a remonstrance had become imperative, and took advantage of his
silver wedding day to inform Christina that her indebtedness was
cancelled, and at the same time to beg that she would endeavour
henceforth to equalise her expenditure and her income. She burst into
tears of love and gratitude, assured him that he was the best and most
generous of men, and never during the remainder of her married life was
she a single shilling behind hand.
Christina hated change of all sorts no less cordially than her husband.
She and Theobald had nearly everything in this world that they could wish
for; why, then, should people desire to introduce all sorts of changes of
which no one could foresee the end? Religion, she was deeply convinced,
had long since attained its final development, nor could it enter into
the heart of reasonable man to conceive any faith more perfect than was
inculcated by the Church of England.
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