“Poor woman! I will comfort him as well as I can, but I do not undertake to be good to her children. She had better not leave any.”

The sun was warm upon the garden wall while I sat with my sister reading Mr. Crabbe’s new preface, where a marriage was hinted at with such casual indifference that it struck me as almost ridiculous. My heart felt a sharp pang for the poor woman, yet my mind remained fixed on the practicalities of family life. I resolved then to offer only what kindness could be given without entanglement, for some burdens are too heavy for a single pair of hands to bear.