noon
In temper she was perfect ; in unselfishness she was excellent . In all those ways of giving aid , which some women possess and some not at all , -- but which , when possessed , go so far to make the comfort of a house , -- she was supreme . If a bedroom were untidy , her eye saw it at once . If a thing had to be done at the stroke of noon , she would remember that other things could not be done at the same time . If a man liked his egg half-boiled , she would bear it in her mind for ever . She would know the proper day for making this marmalade and that preserve ; and she would never lose her good looks for a moment when she was doing these things . With her little dusting-brush at her girdle , no eyes that knew anything would ever take her for aught but a lady .