There was not an inch of
garden ground left about the house, nor a tree that produced
fruit of any kind; nor did he raise a truss of hay, or a bushel
of oats for his horses, nor had he a single cow to afford milk
for his tea; far less did he ever dream of feeding his own
mutton, pigs, and poultry: every article of housekeeping, even
the most inconsiderable, was brought from the next market town,
at the distance of five miles, and thither they sent a courier
every morning to fetch hot rolls for breakfast. In short, Baynard
fairly owned that he spent double his income, and that in a few
years he should be obliged to sell his estate for the payment of
his creditors. He said that his wife had such delicate nerves,
and such imbecility of spirit, that she could neither bear
remonstrance, be it ever so gentle, nor practise any scheme of
retrenchment, even if she perceived the necessity of such a
measure. He had therefore ceased struggling against the stream,
and endeavoured to reconcile himself to ruin, by reflecting that
his child at least would inherit his mother's fortune, which was
secured to him by the contract of marriage.
The detail which he gave me of his affairs, filled me at once
with grief and indignation.
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