48 THE POCKET AND THE STUD. 



at the door, and the cheek from which the tint of 

 nature is fast receding, tell a tale that, if long 

 unheeded, ends in the necessary sojourn in another 

 climate — sad prelude to the tomb of loveliness 

 and probable worth. 



On the other hand, the sturdy wife of the 

 labourer, while she pursues her daily occupations, 

 within doors and without, has little perhaps to 

 boast of as to absolute and general comfort. She 

 has health and bodily activity — knows no real 

 suffering; but the effect of exposure to the ele- 

 ments without, and her usual occupations within, 

 produce a coarseness of frame and general appear- 

 ance at variance with feminine beauty, thouo-h 

 conducive to health and strength. 



The heated, unnatural, and vitiated air of most 

 of our London stables, though they may not show 

 their effects in the appearance of the horse, or 

 seem to affect his vigour, when required merely for 

 a park drive, would tell tales if the same horse was 

 called on for severe and long-continued labour. 

 Here the effect of his debilitated constitution would 

 soon tell something was wrong, and probably in- 

 'flammation of the lungs would quite satisfy us of 

 the fact. 



On the contrary, the stable where proper warmth 

 is wanting, and where currents of cold air are fre- 

 quently permitted to enter, though not perhaps 

 so comfortless as to cause suffering to the horse, 



