How charming that was , to be sure ! John quite glowed with pride to hear her say it , and felt what a blessed thing it was to have a superior wife . But , although they had had company from time to time , it never happened to be unexpected , and Meg had never had an opportunity to distinguish herself till now . It always happens so in this vale of tears , there is an inevitability about such things which we can only wonder at , deplore , and bear as we best can . If John had not forgotten all about the jelly , it really would have been unpardonable in him to choose that day , of all the days in the year , to bring a friend home to dinner unexpectedly . Congratulating himself that a handsome repast had been ordered that morning , feeling sure that it would be ready to the minute , and indulging in pleasant anticipations of the charming effect it would produce , when his pretty wife came running out to meet him , he escorted his friend to his mansion , with the irrepressible satisfaction of a young host and husband . It is a world of disappointments , as John discovered when he reached the Dovecote . The front door usually stood hospitably open . Now it was not only shut , but locked , and yesterday 's mud still adorned the steps . The parlor windows were closed and curtained , no picture of the pretty wife sewing on the piazza , in white , with a distracting little bow in her hair , or a bright-eyed hostess , smiling a shy welcome as she greeted her guest . Nothing of the sort , for not a soul appeared but a sanginary-looking boy asleep under the current bushes . `` I 'm afraid something has happened . Step into the garden , Scott , while I look up Mrs. Brooke , '' said John , alarmed at the silence and solitude . Round the house he hurried , led by a pungent smell of burned sugar , and Mr. Scott strolled after him , with a queer look on his face . He paused discreetly at a distance when Brooke disappeared , but he could both see and hear , and being a bachelor , enjoyed the prospect mightily . In the kitchen reigned confusion and despair . One edition of jelly was trickled from pot to pot , another lay upon the floor , and a third was burning gaily on the stove . Lotty , with Teutonic phlegm , was calmly eating bread and currant wine , for the jelly was still in a hopelessly liquid state , while Mrs. Brooke , with her apron over her head , sat sobbing dismally . `` My dearest girl , what is the matter ? '' cried John , rushing in , with awful visions of scalded hands , sudden news of affliction , and secret consternation at the thought of the guest in the garden .
`` Oh , XXXXX , I am so tired and hot and cross and worried !
Brooke Dovecote John Lotty Meg day morning phlegm repast third