Sink or Swim? , Volume I

It was now the middle of June, and Honor Beacham was undergoing the often painful process of "settling down" in her new home. The observation is no new one, that the presence of a mother-in-law, be she the parent of either wife or husband, in the _ménage_ of a newly-married couple is seldom conducive to happiness. Honor, in common with all the world, had heard the aphorism -- heard it without believing it; for why, she had often asked herself, should there of necessity be jealousies and bickerings amongst those who were so near of kin, and whose interests were identically the same? For her part, although a certain nervous shyness, rare amongst her country people, made her a little "foolish," as John called it, when she thought of the possible difficulty of pleasing his mother, yet, on the whole, she had entertained no doubt of her success. The experience of her short life had not accustomed her to failure. As yet, Honor had met with far more smiles than frowns, as she stepped gaily along the flower-strewn path of life. Why, then, was she to entertain misgivings of the future? Why suppose that her untiring efforts to gain love and praise would be likely, in the case of John's obdurate mother, to be met with nothing better than "snubbings" and mortification?

"Well, Honey, and how do you and the old lady get on together? " was John's first question, when, on the evening following their return, and after an absence of many consecutive hours, he found himself alone with his young wife.