She would do what she
could to make the poor man comfortable while his wife was at work; and
if he had any sense at all, and knew what was to his advantage, he would
be very careful not to interfere with her duties.
The next morning the couple appeared, and the lady was ensconced in the
anteroom to my study, which I had fitted up for the use of my secretary,
where, through the open window in front of her, she could see her
husband, seated in a rocking-chair, under a wide-spreading apple-tree.
By his side was a table, on which lay the morning paper and some books
which my grandmother had sent out to him. For a time she gave him also
her society, but, as she subsequently informed me, she did not find him
responsive, and soon concluded that he would be happier if left to his
reflections and the literature with which she had provided him.
As an amanuensis I found my new assistant everything that could be
desired. She wrote rapidly and correctly, never asked me to repeat,
showed no nervousness at the delays in my dictation, and was ready to
write the instant I was ready to speak. She was quick and intelligent in
looking up synonyms, and appeared perfectly at home in the dictionary.
But in spite of these admirable qualifications, I did not find myself,
that morning, in a condition favorable to my best literary work.
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