The Woman's kingdom Author:Dinah Maria Mulock Craik Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IIL " L'homme propose, et Dieu dispose," is a saying so trite as to be not worth saying at all were not its awful solemnity, in mercy as often as in r... more »etribution, forced upon us by every day's history; more especially in those sort of histories of which this is openly one — love-stories. How many brimming cups slip from the lip, according to the old proverb! how many more, which worldly or cruel hands have tried to dash aside, are nevertheless taken and guided by far diviner and safer hands, and made into a draught of life all the sweeter for delay! And in lesser instances than these, what a curious path Fate oftentimes seems to make for mortal feet, leading them exactly whither they have resolved not to go, and shutting up against them those ways which seemed so clear and plain! For some days Fate appeared to be doing nothing as regarded these four young persons but sitting invisibly at-their mutual threshold with her hands crossed, and weaving no web whatever for their entanglement. They went out and came in — but their going and coming chanced to be at different hours; they never caught sight of one another. Edna, moved by her kindly heart, every morning made a few civil inquiries of Mrs. Williams after the invalid; but Letty, seeing that no interesting episode was likely to occur, ceased to care at all about the newcomers. Indeed, as she was now rapidly getting well, blooming into more than her ordinary beauty in the rejuvenescence that sometimes takes place after a severe illness, how could she be expected to trouble herself about a sick young man in a Bath chair, and a stout brother who was wholly absorbed in taking care of him ? Except for Edna, and her occasional inquiries and remarks concerning them, Letty would almost have forgotten their existence. But F...« less