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 The Sylvester Hassell Collection 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 
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 GIVEN BY HIS CHILDREN 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
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A LIBRARY FOR MY COUNTRYMEN. 
 
 A series of iustructive works adapted to the youthful mind, of 
 a character associated with the annals of our country, has long 
 been wanted. This library is intended to comprise sketches 
 of the Lives, Adventures and Discoveries of the early founders 
 of America ; also the lives of distinguished men connected 
 with American history of more modern date : it is likewise 
 intended to include some approved works of English authors, 
 re-edited with additions and explanatory notes. The whole 
 charge of the Library is confided to the hands of the popular 
 author of " Uiwle Philip's" " Whale Fishery" "Lost Green- 
 land" 6{C. cf-c. 
 
 The following commence the Series : 
 
 I. 
 
 Tlie Life and Adventures of Henry Hudson; 
 
 By the author of " Uncle Philip's," " Virginia," &c. 
 II. 
 
 Adventures of Captain John Smith ; 
 
 Founder of Virginia. By the author of " Henry Hudson," &c. 
 ill. 
 
 I) awnings of Genius; 
 
 By Anne Pratt, author of " FJowers and their Associations," &c. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Life and Adventures of Herman Cortes ; 
 
 By the author of the " Adventures of Captain John Smith," &c. 
 
 Just Published, 
 THE CROFTON BOYS; 
 
 A Tale for Youth. By Harriet Martineau, author of " The Peasant 
 and the Prince," "Norway and the Norwegians," &c. 
 This truly interesting and instructive work forms the sixteenth volume of the 
 popular series of " Tales for the People and their Children." 
 
 THE OLD OAK TREE; 
 
 A most interesting- little volume of practical instruction for youth ; 
 illustrated with nearly fifty plates. 
 
 "This volume comprises a feries of twelve familiar disccurses or conversations 
 which took place on as many Sabbath afiernoons, a pious old blind man being tbechief 
 speaker. It is by tlie author of ' John Hardy,' ' The Footman,' &c, and is published 
 under the direction of the Society for the promotion of Christian Knowledge. The 
 precepts conveyed are altogether unexceptionable, and the whole volume is well calcu- 
 lated to prove attractive with children.— Sat:_Chron\ch.' lt 
 

 TALES 
 
 THE PEOPLE AND THEIR CHILDREN. 
 
 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 BY MRS. SANDHAM. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://archive.org/details/twinsisterstalefOOsand 
 
THE 
 
 TWIN SISTERS; 
 
 A TALE FOR YOUTH. 
 
 BY MRS. SANDHAM. 
 
 O Sacred Solitude ! divine retreat ! 
 Choice of the prudent, wisdom of the great ! 
 By thy pure stream, or in thy waving shade, 
 We court fair Wisdom, that celestial maid !" 
 
 FROM THE TWENTIETH LONDON EDITION. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 
 
 200 Broadway. 
 
 MDCCCXLII. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The following work is intended to display the 
 benefits of devotion, which are illustrated in the 
 lives of two very young persons, whose pursuits 
 were not the vanities of the world, but the true 
 and lasting pleasures of religion, and time well 
 spent. 
 
 There are few, even of those who do not 
 study to live by its rules, that are not willing to 
 acknowledge the efficacy of religion in the hour 
 of death, or on a bed of sickness ; though they 
 are inclined to put off all thoughts of it till that 
 awful period. But in this short history will be 
 seen, (and the truth of the illustration may be 
 perceived by general observation,) that if the 
 duties of a Christian profession are not attended 
 to in our lives, its support and consolations in 
 those trying scenes cannot be felt either by the 
 dying or their surviving friends. 
 1* 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 This important truth has, no doubt, been often 
 enforced on many of my young readers, and in a 
 way more large and comprehensive than in this 
 simple tale : yet, as, after having observed a 
 charming view of nature reflected in a mirror, 
 where each object, though lessened to our sight, 
 is distinctly seen, and bears its due proportion 
 to the whole, we are still inclined to survey the 
 scene itself, and perhaps with more accurate 
 attention than before ; it is hoped that this feeble 
 attempt to exemplify the satisfaction arising from 
 a religious life will not therefore be altogether 
 useless or unentertaining. 
 
THE 
 
 TWIN SISTERS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " Fancy and pride seek things at vast expense, 
 Which relish not the reason nor the sense." 
 
 Young. 
 
 When nearly five years old, Ellen and Anna 
 Stanley, twin sisters, were left to the care of an 
 aunt — not owing to the death of their parents, but 
 to their removal from England to the East Indies, 
 being allured by the hope of obtaining some of 
 those riches which have too often drawn the in- 
 habitants of this island thither, and made them 
 abandon their children to the care of less af- 
 fectionate guardians than these little girls found 
 in Mrs. Irvin. It might have been supposed 
 that, having only these two children, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Stanley could not have admitted a thought of a 
 separation from them, and that while they could 
 have promised themselves the satisfaction of leav- 
 ing them a handsome fortune, they would have 
 endeavored, by attending to their education, to 
 instruct them in the proper use of it ; but such was 
 not the conduct of those votaries of dissipation. 
 They had lived among those whose riches seemed 
 
8 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 the only means of procuring happiness ; and while 
 Mr. Stanley daily saw his wealthy neighbors en- 
 joying new amusements, he had not the wisdom 
 to reflect, that none of their pursuits could afford 
 them lasting pleasure ; or why would they be so 
 often changed for others ? He thought that variety 
 is the chief source of happiness, which, in a think- 
 ing mind, will cause a doubt of its reality. Both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stanley were fond of society, and 
 lived much beyond their income, in endeavoring 
 to keep what is called the best company. While 
 this was the case, it cannot be imagined that they 
 could behold with much pleasure those children 
 whom they were confessedly injuring, in what 
 they deemed the most essential requisite of life — 
 their fortune, and to obtain an increase of which 
 they afterward parted from them for so long a 
 time. 
 
 It was just before this separation that Mrs. Ir- 
 vin, the sister of Mrs. Stanley, after having re- 
 fused many former invitations, came to town. She 
 had lived for several years in the country, with a 
 husband whom she much valued and esteemed, 
 and whose death she had mourned the last two 
 years. Having no family of her own, and bless- 
 ed with an ample fortune, she followed his ex- 
 ample in considering the neighboring poor as her 
 peculiar charge : nor did she find so much grati- 
 fication in any pleasure the world could afford 
 her, as in contributing to their welfare. Such 
 sentiments as these, frequently expressed in her 
 letters to her sister, excited her surprise, espe- 
 cially after Mr. Irvin's death, when she expected 
 she would declare herself tired of the uniform life 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 9 
 
 she had led with him, and be impatient to return 
 to society. " While he lived," she would say, 
 " she did not so much wonder at her sister's wish 
 to avoid the world, as he was so strange and un- 
 accountable a man, that he could make no figure 
 in it ; but that for two years after his death she 
 should remain in solitude, was a circumstance 
 that she could not account for." 
 
 The truth was, nothing but the wish of seeing 
 the children of her sister could have induced 
 Mrs. Irvin once more to visit London ; but 
 when she considered, that they were now old 
 enough to be instructed in many things, and yet 
 found no mention made of them in any of their 
 mother's letters, and that the general answer to 
 all her inquiries was, that they were " very well," 
 while every other part was filled with accounts 
 of balls, routs, and dining parties, in which she 
 was continually engaged, she thought it her duty to 
 endeavor, by every means in her power, to promote 
 their education. 
 
 On her arrival in Portman-square, where Mr. 
 and Mrs. Stanley then resided, she was struck 
 with the alteration she perceived in the latter, 
 whose dress and manners were in the extremity 
 of the fashion ; and highly painted as she was, 
 she could scarcely discover any traces of the sis- 
 ter she had twelve years before parted from with 
 so much regret. At that time Mrs. Stanley was 
 between eighteen and nineteen, and lived with 
 this her only sister, who was several years older 
 than herself, and had then been married some time 
 to Mr. Irvin. While under their roof, she re- 
 ceived an invitation to town for the first time in 
 
10 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 her life ; and, new as all its pleasures were to her, 
 she earnestly entreated her sister's consent to ac- 
 cept of it. Mr. and Mrs. Irvin were then her 
 only guardians, as their father had died soon after 
 the marriage of his eldest daughter. Unable to 
 refuse her request, they parted from her with visi- 
 ble reluctance, yet unwilling to express their dis- 
 approbation ; while she, though attached to her 
 sister from childhood, could not now feel regret at 
 leaving her, to taste of enjoyments she had long 
 eagerly wished for, and to enter on a scene of life 
 in which she had been taught to expect their daily 
 increase. Full of pleasing anticipations, she came 
 to London ; and, by the mistaken kindness of her 
 friends, was immediately plunged into all its 
 gayeties. t At one-and-twenty, she married Mr. 
 Stanley, with whom she continued the same 
 round of dissipation, unconcerned at what her sis- 
 ter, whom she had formerly thought her best ad- 
 viser, might think of her, and to whose remon- 
 strances she paid but little attention. The 
 embarrassment of their affairs would now and 
 then cause a sigh of regret in Mrs. Stanley, till 
 the fear of reflection made her enter still deeper 
 into the pursuits of fashionable life ; so that when 
 Mrs. Irvin again met her sister, she found her a 
 complete fine lady, insensible to any affection 
 which terminated not in self; negligent of her 
 children ; and, under the mask of happiness, con- 
 cealing the uneasiness which, notwithstanding all 
 her endeavors to avoid, would often arise in her 
 mind, when conscience, whose voice will and 
 must be heard by all, whispered to her that she 
 was wrong. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 11 
 
 As Mrs. Irvin came in her own carriage, she 
 was two days on the road, and reached the house 
 of her sister before their usual dinner-hour. She 
 was received by Mrs. Stanley without the emotions 
 my readers would suppose so long an absence 
 would create ; and the plain and simple dress her 
 sister wore, attracted her attention much more 
 than the affectionate manner in which she ad- 
 dressed her. 
 
 After answering the inquiries that Mrs. Stanley 
 thought it civil to make, Mrs. Irvin expressed a 
 wish to be introduced to the children. — " Would 
 you see them directly ?" said Mrs. Stanley, with 
 indifference ; " I doubt whether they are dressed 
 or not ;" and ringing the bell, she ordered the 
 servant to tell Martin to bring the young ladies to 
 her. This was a summons so new to them, that 
 it was with difficulty they could be persuaded to 
 enter the room ; where, they were told, " a lady 
 that was come to stay with their mamma wanted 
 to see them." 
 
 At length two sweet little girls made their ap- 
 pearance at the parlor door, attended by an elderly 
 servant, on whom they seemed to depend for direc- 
 tion and support. The countenance and the dress 
 of each were nearly alike ; and Mrs. Irvin looked 
 at them with pleasure, though she could ill con- 
 ceal her feelings of regret when she perceived 
 that they seemed equally fearful of approaching 
 their mother and herself, to whom they were 
 quite unknown. 
 
 It is, as I have told you in my letters," said 
 Mrs. Stanley, with an air of unconcern, " that 
 nobody but their maids are allowed to come 
 
12 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 near them. Martin, do you lead them to their 
 aunt." 
 
 Martin obeyed her order ; and Mrs. Irvin rose 
 to meet the little strangers.' " My dears," said 
 she, " I am your aunt ; won't you let me kiss 
 you ?" And she took a hand of each. — " They 
 are sweet children," said she to her sister ; " which 
 is Ellen 1 and which is Anna, my namesake ?" 
 
 " Upon my word," said Mrs. Stanley, " you al- 
 most puzzle me." 
 
 " I am Ellen," said the little blushing girl, who 
 still retained her hand in that of her aunt, while 
 her sister had withdrawn hers, and was endeavoring 
 to hide her face in Martin's gown : " I am Ellen 
 Stanley," said she, as she received an affectionate 
 kiss from her delighted aunt. 
 
 " This, then, is Anna," said she, drawing the 
 other child toward her : " come, my little name- 
 sake, you must let me kiss you likewise :" and 
 she took the trembling child on her lap. Ellen 
 approached also, and while she held the hand of 
 her sister, they both appeared to receive pleasure 
 from the caresses of their new friend. 
 
 " You are highly honored," said Mrs. Stanley, 
 not a little chagrined at the preference the 
 children had given. " I dare say I could not get 
 either of them to sit on my knee : — will you come 
 to me, Ellen?" added she, stretching out her 
 hand. The little girl looked at Martin with sur- 
 prise ; and reading in her looks what she ought 
 to do, she walked toward her mother with a mix- 
 ture of fear and diffidence, that made her still 
 more interesting. Mrs. Stanley received her 
 complacently, and kissed her cheek with an ap- 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 13 
 
 pearance of more affection than she had ever 
 shown before. Ellen was delighted with this un- 
 expected mark of favor from her mother, and look- 
 ed toward her sister, as if she wished it could be 
 bestowed on her also. For this purpose Mrs. Irvin 
 put her off her lap ; and no sooner did she find 
 herself at liberty, than she returned to Martin, 
 who, taking her hand, seemed to direct her to ap- 
 proach her mother, that she might also receive 
 the long-withheld token of her regard. 
 
 " What ! must I kiss you also f" said Mrs. 
 Stanley, not displeased at her coming toward her : 
 " come along, then : why, child, do you look so 
 frightened ?" observing the tears in her eyes ; 
 " do you think that I shall eat you ?*' 
 
 Anna had no sooner received the kiss so 
 strangely offered, than she again returned to Mar- 
 tin, looking toward the door, as if wishing for 
 their dismissal. 
 
 " You may take them away, Martin," said their 
 mother : " I can see they are impatient to be 
 gone ; they are never happy out of their nursery ; 
 I never saw such shy children in my life." 
 
 " Good by, my dear children," said Mrs. Ir- 
 vin : " I hope we shall soon be better acquainted." 
 
 As she once more kissed the glowing faces of 
 the little girls, her voice and manners were so 
 much kinder than what they had been used to, 
 that they already began to feel a pleasure in her 
 company, and seemed less inclined to leave the 
 room, till Mrs. Stanley again repeated her com- 
 mands. They made their courtesies and retired, 
 pleased with the notice their aunt had taken of 
 them. 
 
 2 
 
14 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 As soon as they were gone, Mrs. Stanley wished 
 to talk on some other subject ; and, instead of in- 
 quiring her sister's opinion respecting them, she 
 began to give her an account of the numerous ac- 
 quaintances she could introduce her to : but Mrs. 
 Irvin paid very little attention to the long list of 
 names she ran over, and repeated the pleasure 
 she felt in seeing the children. " They are much 
 more sociable than I expected," said she, " con- 
 fined as they are to the nursery : do you often 
 visit them there V 
 
 " I did," replied Mrs. Stanley (with a counte- 
 nance expressive of some confusion at the ques- 
 tion), " before Martin had the care of them, as 
 often as my numerous engagements would allow ; 
 but now she takes so much care of them, that my 
 attendance is not necessary. She dresses them 
 properly enough, and makes them very well be- 
 haved. Their shyness, I believe, never will be 
 gotten over ; and there is no pleasure in going to 
 see them, when it appears to give them such un- 
 easiness." 
 
 " Perhaps that might be removed, if they were 
 more accustomed to your company," said Mrs. 
 Irvin, much hurt at the indifference which her 
 sister expressed. The ladies now separated to 
 dress for dinner ; at which time Mrs. Irvin was 
 introduced to Mr. Stanley, who welcomed her to 
 his house with great politeness, in that softened 
 manner which is too often adopted to conceal con- 
 tempt and dislike. Such in his heart did Mr. 
 Stanley feel for his guest, though he had after- 
 ward reason to acknowledge himself under infi- 
 nite obligations to her, for relieving him when 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 15 
 
 most distressed ; for, on the very next day, he 
 found that the situation of his affairs could no lon- 
 ger be concealed ; and with the utmost indifference 
 he told his wife, that, " unless she could obtain 
 assistance from her sister, they were utterly 
 ruined." For any one to live beyond their in- 
 come is now become so fashionable a folly (not 
 to call it by a harsher name), that neither Mr. nor 
 Mrs. Stanley dreaded the imputation of it ; but 
 when, on a closer examination of their affairs, it 
 was discovered that not even the whole of their 
 property would pay the numerous debts they had 
 contracted, then it was that the friendship of Mrs. 
 Irvin appeared in its true light ; she prevailed on 
 the friends of her late husband to procure for Mr. 
 Stanley an advantageous post in the East Indies, 
 and offered to educate the children at her own 
 expense. 
 
 " Can you indeed be so generous ?" said Mr. 
 Stanley, struck with the sincerity of her profes- 
 sions. " How have I been deceived by those 
 who call themselves my friends ! No one would 
 interest himself about me when I solicited his 
 assistance : each excused himself from troubling 
 his acquaintance on my account ; but you, to 
 whom I am so little known, you have indeed been 
 my best friend !" 
 
 " Since you allow me that title," said Mrs. Ir- 
 vin, " w r ill you suffer me, in one other instance, to 
 prove how much I wish to deserve it ? You ac- 
 knowledge that your present distress is occasion- 
 ed by your having lived in too expensive a style : 
 I forbear to censure ; but now that you are enter- 
 ing on another scene of life, allow me to hope that 
 
16 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 you will gain wisdom from experience ; your sit- 
 uation will be changed, your former associates 
 forgotten : let me advise you, then, to be careful 
 with whom you again become acquainted, lest 
 you should a second time be led into error. But 
 I ought to beg your pardon for offering my advice ; 
 a sensible man will judge for himself whether 
 what I have said is wrong." 
 
 Then turning to her sister, the tears started in 
 her eyes on perceiving the wounded feelings of 
 her mind strongly portrayed in her countenance. 
 Pride, shame, envy, with some degree of grateful 
 affection, alternately appeared there ; while Mrs. 
 Irvin thus addressed her : — " My dearest sister, I 
 wish I could persuade you to seek that happiness 
 which proceeds from a higher source than the 
 vain applause of this world ; be assured the 
 knowledge of ourselves is the truest wisdom ; and 
 now that I am to act the part of a mother to your 
 children, it shall be my sincere endeavor to in- 
 struct them in it." With much emotion she con- 
 tinued : — " It is probable that in this world we 
 may never meet again ; but, by the remembrance 
 of former years, and by the strong attachment 
 which once subsisted between us, let me beg you 
 my beloved sister, seriously to consider for what 
 end you are living ; and may your reflections be 
 such as to produce the most lasting happiness ! 
 Should I die before your return, the children shall 
 be taken care of, and I trust you will not find 
 them injured by my instruction. Believe me," 
 added she, with increased affection, " the eternal 
 happiness both of them and yourself is among the 
 first wishes of my heart." 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 17 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Stanley were affected by 
 this solemn address : they no longer looked on 
 the manner and appearance of Mrs. Irvin as sub- 
 jects of derision, but endeavored to express their 
 thanks, while she hurried out of the room to con- 
 ceal her emotion. They could not deny the truth 
 of what she had said respecting their former pur- 
 suits, and at that moment felt resolved to follow 
 her advice in their future conduct. 
 
 Perhaps, young as my readers may be, they 
 have themselves formed good resolutions in the 
 hour of reflection, which not long after have been 
 forgotten : they may know by experience how 
 hard it is to conquer bad habits, and therefore will 
 not wonder if they hear that Mr. and Mrs. Stan- 
 ley did not long retain their good intentions. But 
 as it is the history of their children that I mean 
 to relate, I shall at present pass over the conduct 
 of their parents, and in the next chapter introduce 
 my young heroines more to notice. 
 2* 
 
18 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 " Gay hope is theirs, by fancy fed, 
 Least pleasing when possess'd ; 
 The tear forgot as soon as shed, 
 The sunshine of the breast." 
 
 Gray. 
 
 To execute the generous plan she had under- 
 taken, and not to discontinue her charitable con- 
 tributions to the poor in her neighborhood, Mrs. 
 Irvin thought it necessary to lay down her car- 
 riage, and in everything she could to lessen her 
 expenses ; and this she thought no sacrifice, but 
 rather rejoiced that by so doing she would still 
 contribute to the welfare of others. 
 
 After staying a fortnight in town, and seeing 
 everything settled to the advantage of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Stanley, as far as their present circumstan- 
 ces would allow, she took an affectionate leave of 
 them ; and with the two children and Martin, 
 whom she had engaged to continue as their nurse, 
 set off in a hired chaise to her own house. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stanley parted from their children 
 with less regret than Mrs. Irvin liked to see ; but 
 their minds were much more occupied with the 
 voyage they were soon to enter upon. The child- 
 ren felt only pleasure at the thought of their re- 
 moval, particularly when they knew that Martin 
 was to accompany them. They shed no tears at 
 taking leave of their parents ; but when they were 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 19 
 
 told it would be a great while before they saw 
 them again, their countenances altered, and Ellen 
 ventured to ask, " how long it would be ?" She 
 was answered, that " it was uncertain." — " But 
 you won't forget us, mamma !" said she, with art- 
 less simplicity : " Anna and I shall remember 
 you, as Martin says we should, every time we 
 say our prayers." 
 
 To hide the blush of contrition which spread 
 itself over her face, Mrs. Stanley stooped forward 
 to kiss them with more than usual affection ; tell- 
 ing them, " they were very good girls, and that 
 she should often think of them." 
 
 The carriage was at the door, and Mr. Stan- 
 ley saw them lifted into it with the utmost indif- 
 ference. Their mother stood at the window ; 
 and as she kissed her hand to them on their 
 driving off, she felt an emotion quite new to her. 
 When she considered the distance which would 
 in a short time separate her from her children, 
 and the sister she once so dearly loved, she 
 thought she could have wept ; but in the hurry 
 and bustle of the house, and the visits of a few 
 friends, who came to discover whether the report 
 of their leaving England was true or not, that 
 they might have it in their power to communicate 
 it to others, the sensibility so new to her was 
 soon worn off, and self again became the chief 
 object of her attention. 
 
 The children were delighted with their jour- 
 ney ; and in expressing the admiration of all they 
 saw, even their fear of strangers was soon forgot- 
 ten, and they talked without restraint. 
 
 " Do tell me the name of the place we are 
 
20 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 going to, Martin," said Anna, "for I have for- 
 gotten it already." 
 
 "Milwood," said Mrs. Irvin : "but I don't 
 know how you will like it ; there are no houses 
 to be seen, no carriages, and no people walking 
 about, as there are in London ; the country is 
 very dull." 
 
 " Oh, I am sure we shall like it," said Ellen, 
 with great eagerness ; " for we have seen nothing 
 but houses and carriages, and such things, all our 
 lives. Martin says the country is full of fields 
 and trees ; and that we shall see cows, and horses, 
 and sheep, and lambs. Oh, how I wish to be 
 among them !" 
 
 Mrs. Irvin smiled at her earnestness. " But," 
 said she, " do you think you will have nothing to 
 do in the country except running about? You 
 know that you are coming to my house to learn a 
 great many things, and you must sit within a 
 great part of every day, and work, and read, and 
 learn lessons." 
 
 " Oh, we have been always used to that," re- 
 plied Ellen, very good-humoredly ; " Martin used 
 to make us do so at home : this pocket-handker- 
 chief I hemmed all myself ; and Anna can work 
 much better than I can." 
 
 "No, sister," interrupted Anna, "indeed I 
 can't ; and you know you can read and spell too 
 better than I can." 
 
 " I am pleased to see such an affection between 
 these children," said Mrs. Irvin, addressing her- 
 self to Martin, who praised them both as very 
 good young ladies ; " you have been very atten- 
 tive to them." 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 21 
 
 Martin answered very modestly, that, " She 
 thought it her duty to teach them as well as she 
 could ; but I know very little myself, ma'am," 
 added she. 
 
 " I believe," said Mrs. Irvin, " you know more 
 than many who might have been their more ac- 
 complished instructers ; for I think you have 
 taught them their duty to God, and to love each 
 other." 
 
 " I have endeavored to do so ma'am," answer- 
 ed Martin ; " for I thought, if they never learned 
 anything else, a knowledge of their duty would 
 make them feel less hurt at it," 
 
 Mrs. Irvin was much pleased with this obser- 
 vation ; it seemed above the sentiments of a com- 
 mon servant, and she asked her from whom she 
 had learned them. 
 
 " I had the advantage of very religious parents, 
 ma'am," said Martin ; " and they always taught 
 me, that to know the way to Heaven was far 
 preferable to all the accomplishments of this life." 
 
 Mrs. Irvin perfectly agreed with her, and re- 
 joiced to find she had so worthy an addition to 
 her family. 
 
 When they stopped at the inn at which they 
 were to dine, the children thought they were at 
 the end of their journey. " And is this my aunt's 
 house ?" said Ellen ; "I am glad we are here." 
 Mrs. Irvin explained their mistake, and told them 
 they had still a great way to go after dinner. 
 This meal was the best they had ever tasted ; 
 everything was good ; and when they were again 
 seated in the chaise, they repeatedly declared 
 that " this was the happiest day of their lives." 
 
22 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 Thus they continued to chatter, till toward the 
 evening they began to grow tired, and at length 
 each fell asleep in the arms of their companions : 
 nor did they awake when the carriage stopped at 
 Mrs. Irvin's door. A bed had been prepared for 
 them, and Martin had little else to do than to put 
 them into it. The exercise they had taken that 
 day had been so much more than they had been 
 accustomed to, that not even their curiosity to see 
 their aunt's house could rouse them sufficiently to 
 make any inquiries respecting it. 
 
 They slept all night, and it was not till some 
 time after their usual hour that their eyes were 
 opened the next morning ; but when Martin had 
 made them sensible that they were indeed at Mil- 
 wood, she could not dress them quick enough ; 
 and though told that breakfast was waiting for 
 them, the prospect from their chamber window 
 so attracted their attention, that they could scarce- 
 ly be persuaded to leave it. It was the largest 
 and prettiest garden they had ever seen. — " And 
 is it really my aunt's ?" asked Anna ; " and may 
 we walk in it whenever we like ? I am sure 
 there is not such a pretty place all over London. 
 Oh, how happy we shall be !" Again they were 
 told that breakfast was ready, and their aunt wait- 
 ing. " What !" said Ellen, " will my aunt let us 
 breakfast with her ? How good ! we never break- 
 fasted with mamma." 
 
 Martin, as she conducted them down stairs, 
 was full of her instructions respecting their be- 
 havior at the breakfast-table : — " Remember," said 
 she, " what I have told you, and don't eat too 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 23 
 
 fast, nor spill your tea ; and be very attentive to 
 all your aunt says to you." 
 
 They entered the parlor, and found their aunt 
 as kind as ever. She kissed them both, bidding 
 them welcome to Milwood ; but their attention 
 seemed entirely engrossed by Mrs. Irvin's favor- 
 ite dog, who was endeavoring by every way in 
 his power to show his joy at the return of his 
 mistress ; he walked round and round her chair, 
 wagged his tail, and kept jumping up into her lap. 
 
 " What is the matter with the dog V° said Ellen, 
 half afraid ; " I don't like him, aunt !" 
 
 " Don't you ?" replied Mrs. Irvin : " now I do, 
 for he does that to show his gratitude and love 
 for me ; he cannot speak as you and I can, and 
 this is his way of telling me that he is glad to 
 see me. Poor Clio !" added she, patting him on 
 the head, " lie down, my dog ;" and he instantly 
 obeyed her order. " You see," continued she, 
 " there is no reason to be afraid of him ; if you 
 are kind to him, he will soon be as fond of you." 
 
 " I don't think I should like, though," returned 
 Ellen, fearfully, " for him to run round me so ; 
 suppose he should bite me ?" 
 
 " Oh, that is talking foolishly," said her aunt ; 
 " look, he does not bite me" (putting her hand to 
 his mouth, which he licked with great affection). 
 
 " I like the dog better now, aunt," said Ellen, 
 after she had finished her breakfast, and saw him 
 still lying very quietly at his mistress's feet ; and, 
 at her desire, she ventured to stroke him on the 
 back. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin then took her nieces into the garden, 
 where thev were delighted even beyond their ex- 
 
24 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 pectation. They were, like the dog, at a loss 
 how to express their pleasure ; they ran upon the 
 grass and jumped for joy. 
 
 "Oh, what a sweet place!" said they ; "we 
 could not have thought it was half so pretty." — 
 "And what beautiful flowers!" exclaimed Anna, 
 observing the blossoms on the apple and cherry 
 trees ; " did you ever see anything like it, sister ! 
 flowers to grow upon such large trees !" 
 
 " Those," said Mrs. Irvin, enjoying their plea- 
 sure, " will all be fruit in a few months ; where 
 you see flowers now, there will be apples and 
 cherries ; and when they are ripe you shall eat 
 some of them." 
 
 " Dear ! dear !" said Ellen, " how many there 
 will be ! I am so fond of apples," added she, 
 " and in London we hardly ever had one. My 
 dear aunt, how much obliged we are to you !" 
 
 Mrs. Irvin then led them to a little summer- 
 house, surrounded by shrubs ; where, in the very 
 warm weather, she told them, " they should sit 
 and work with her." 
 
 They again expressed their joy ; and on their 
 return to the house, ran to tell Martin all the plea- 
 sures they were to expect. With their aunt's 
 permission they led Martin likewise round the 
 garden, repeating all the time what she had told 
 them respecting the apples and cherries they 
 were soon to see on the trees which they so much 
 admired. 
 
 " My dear Martin," said Anna, as she jumped 
 into her arms, " I am so happy, I don't know what 
 to do with myself; I hope you are so too; but 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 25 
 
 you don't seem half so much pleased as we are. 
 I am afraid you are sorry to leave London." 
 
 " Not at all, my dear,'' said the affectionate ser- 
 vant ; "lam very much pleased to be here ; but 
 you must not expect such an old woman as I am 
 to skip about as you do." 
 
 When she led them again into the parlor, she 
 feared they would be quite troublesome to their 
 aunt, unused as she had been to children. " The 
 young ladies are like birds let out of a cage, mad- 
 am," said she : "I am afraid they will make too 
 much noise for you." 
 
 Mrs. Irvin very good-humoredly made every 
 allowance for them ; and giving them leave to go 
 all over the house, and return to her when they 
 liked, she said, " we must let them recover their 
 senses a little before we think of bringing them 
 into any order ; in a very few days their pleasure 
 will be more rational." 
 
 " How good my aunt is !" said Ellen, as she 
 went up stairs with Martin ; " I am sure we would 
 not do anything to disturb her." 
 
 When left to herself, Mrs. Irvin sat down to 
 consider in what way she should best fulfil her 
 promise respecting them ; and she determined to 
 have no masters till she had herself instructed 
 them in every branch of their education as far as 
 was in her power. She next examined the ac- 
 count of house-keeping in her absence, and her 
 weekly provisions for the neighboring poor who 
 were old and sick ; and was rejoiced to find that, 
 with the retrenchments she had already made, she 
 need not lessen any of these charitable expenses, 
 3 
 
26 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 to fulfil her benevolent intentions toward her 
 nieces. 
 
 The next day, Mrs. Irvin took the little girls to 
 visit the schools which she had established in 
 the village. This was quite a new thing to them, 
 to see so many children all employed, and they 
 told their aunt they should like to work so like- 
 wise. Mrs. Irvin answered, that she should ex- 
 pect them to be equally industrious when they 
 began school with her at home : " And now," 
 said she, " I am going to introduce you to an old 
 friend of your mamma's, Mr. Herbert, who knew 
 her when she was a very little girl." 
 
 This was the clergyman of the parish, who had 
 been the friend of Mr. Irvin's father, and contin- 
 ued the same regard to his children. He was a 
 very worthy man ; and, on being told that the 
 two little girls he now saw were the daughters of 
 his once favorite Ellen, he received them with 
 great affection. At first they were afraid of ap- 
 proaching a stranger ; but his kindness insensi- 
 bly removed their fears, and they soon became 
 very sociable. He asked many questions re- 
 specting their mother, which Mrs. Irvin was dis- 
 tressed to answer ; for though she was accustom- 
 ed to speak openly to him, she did not like before 
 the children to express the least disapprobation 
 of their parents' conduct. 
 
 On their return, they called at several houses 
 of the poor inhabitants of the village ; and the 
 little girls were struck with the appearance of 
 poverty which they exhibited. They had never 
 seen any of their fellow-creatures living in such 
 misery, and it seemed to make a deep impression 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 27 
 
 on their minds. " What is the reason, aunt," 
 said Ellen, as she walked thoughtfully by her 
 side — " Avhat is the reason that these poor people 
 have hardly any clothes to wear, while some have 
 so many ? Let me give some of my frocks to those 
 poor little girls I have seen ; I am sure I have 
 a great many more than I want." — " And so have 
 I too," said Anna ; " do let us give them away." 
 
 " You are very good, my dears," said Mrs. Ir- 
 vin, " for wishing to relieve these poor people ; 
 but at present it is not in your power. Did you not 
 observe what very coarse things they had on ? 
 very different from what you wear : and if you 
 were to give them your muslin frocks, they would 
 be of no use to them ; some time hence, I hope 
 you will be able to buy what will suit them bet- 
 ter. Perhaps, if you wore colored frocks, they 
 might do to give away." 
 
 " Oh, let us have some, then," said they, both 
 together ; " do, pray, aunt, buy us some, and then 
 we shall have something to give them, and they 
 will thank us, as they did you when you promis- 
 ed to send them some broth." 
 
 " And is this your only motive for wishing to 
 have something to give away — that you may be 
 thanked for it ?" said Mrs. Irvin ; " this is a very 
 poor reason indeed," continued she, " and not what 
 I expected from you. I praised you too soon, I am 
 afraid : your charitable expressions arose more 
 from pride than good-nature." Perceiving them 
 still silent, she continued ; " but even then your 
 colored frocks would not be your own, to do as 
 you liked with : if I give you them to wear, it is 
 my money which must buy others in their stead ; 
 
28 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 and if I buy you clothes to give away, it will be 
 my money, and not yours, which paid for them, 
 and therefore it would be my gift rather than 
 yours ; yet not mine either," added she, " for can- 
 not you tell from whom all our good things 
 come V 
 
 " Martin says they come from God," said 
 Ellen. 
 
 " Martin is very right," replied Mrs. Irvin : 
 " for they certainly are all sent from Him ; and 
 do you know why He sends them to us in such 
 abundance ?" 
 
 " That we may do good with them, I believe," 
 answered Ellen. 
 
 " Very true," returned her aunt : " and there- 
 fore you see that it is neither you nor I who are 
 to be thanked for what we give away, but God, 
 who is the first giver of it, and has commanded 
 us to make this use of it. Do you understand 
 what I mean ?" 
 
 " Yes, ma'am," said Ellen, blushing. 
 
 " Then you will remember," said Mrs. Irvin, 
 as they entered the garden-gate, " that you have 
 as much reason to be thankful for having it in your 
 power to relieve others, and for the inclination to 
 do so, as they have who receive any benefit 
 through your hands : and it is to God you should 
 direct their thanks, as well as your own. You 
 should also pray to Him, that you may never grow 
 proud of what He enables you to do. And now 
 let me kiss both my dear children, for it is to both 
 I speak ; and then you may play in the garden 
 till dinner-time." 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " To thee, first Father, ceaseless praise ascend ! 
 And, in the general hymn, u>y grateful voice 
 Be duly heard." Milton. 
 
 The next day was Sunday. Mrs. Irvin always 
 rejoiced at the return of the Sabbath : but she 
 was grieved to hear the children say that they 
 had never been to church, and knew not how to 
 answer all their various questions, so as to im- 
 press upon their minds a proper sense of the duty 
 they were to perform there. " You have been 
 used to say your prayers," said she ; " and I dare 
 say you have also been taught that, when God 
 made the world, he appointed one day in seven 
 to be kept holy in remembrance of it, and which 
 we should devote to his service ; for this purpose 
 we go to church, where we say our prayers with 
 the clergyman, and all the people who meet to- 
 gether ; there also we hear the Word of God, and 
 have it explained to us ; and those who love God 
 are always very sorry when they cannot attend 
 at his house." 
 
 " But who is the clergyman ?" asked Ellen, 
 " he will be very angry if we don't mind what he 
 says." 
 
 " You saw him yesterday," answered Mrs. Ir- 
 vin — " Mr. Herbert. But you should remember 
 it is to God you are praying, and it is his Word 
 which Mr. Herbert reads and explains to us ; and 
 3* 
 
30 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 therefore it is God we should be fearful of offend- 
 ing : because He not only sees all you do, but 
 also knows everything you think of; and if, while 
 you are kneeling down, and pretending to say 
 your prayers, you are thinking of something else, 
 Mr. Herbert may think you very good girls, while 
 God will be justly displeased with you : for which 
 reason, if you do not promise to behave very at- 
 tentively, I do not think I can take you : for it 
 would be an offence to God." 
 
 " Oh, we will, indeed we will, my dear aunt !" 
 said they both in one voice : "if you will but 
 take us, we will be very good, and remember all 
 you say." 
 
 They then went to Martin, impatient to be 
 dressed, telling her that they were going to 
 church. Martin congratulated them on it, and 
 added her strict injunction that they were to be 
 very attentive. 
 
 When the bell rang, Mrs. Irvin called her young 
 companions, and taking each by the hand, she led 
 them to the road, where they met the children of 
 the Sunday-school coming from the village. " Are 
 all those little boys and girls going to church 
 too ?" said Anna ; " and these men and women 
 that are coming the other way 1 Dear ! dear ! 
 how many people we shall see !" 
 
 " You will not forget," said Mrs. Irvin, " that 
 God is greater than all these people, and that it 
 is of Him we must think : you are not going to 
 church to look about you, but to learn your duty." 
 
 She spoke rather gravely, as she wished to im- 
 press them with a serious sense of the service 
 they were going to perform ; and it had the de- 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 31 
 
 sired effect : for when they entered the church, 
 the little girls forbore to notice aloud anything 
 they saw ; and though all was so new to them, 
 they entered the seat, and sat quietly till the ser- 
 vice began, when they were very attentive, and 
 joined in every prayer they knew. All the time 
 of the sermon they kept their eye on Mr. Her- 
 bert, and afterward repeated to their aunt some 
 things he said, calculated to strike their minds. 
 
 " I like going to church very much," said Ellen, 
 " and hope I shall soon read well enough to carry 
 a book, as you do, aunt ; then I shall know better 
 what Mr. Herbert is saying." 
 
 " I am very glad to hear you say so, my dear 
 child," replied Mrs. Irvin ; " for it is certainly a 
 very great privilege to be allowed to join in prayer 
 with the best of God's servants, and a still greater 
 one to speak to God himself. When you con- 
 sider," added she, "how many poor creatures 
 there are in the world who know not the God 
 who made them — and some in this Christian 
 land, as it is called, may, I am afraid, be found — 
 you ought to be doubly thankful that you are so 
 early taught the blessings you enjoy, and to pray 
 for them, that they also may know them." 
 
 Before their dinner-hour they visited the Sun- 
 day-school with their aunt, and heard some of the 
 girls read, and repeat the Catechism. Here also 
 they saw Mr. Herbert, who constantly attended 
 both the boys' and girls' school every Sunday. 
 He commended the children for their good be- 
 havior at church, and as he walked home with 
 Mrs. Irvin, it gave her pleasure to observe the 
 attention which both her nieces paid to what he 
 
32 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 said on having seen them at church, and what 
 ought to be their sentiments on going there for 
 the first time. In the afternoon they all met at 
 church again ; and when they came home, Mrs. 
 Irvin read to them such a part of the New Testa- 
 ment as she thought most likely to interest them, 
 and explained the instructions it contained. She 
 afterward gave them Dr. Watts's first Catechism 
 for Children, which they were to learn so as to 
 answer the questions the next Sunday. After 
 tea, they went for a walk ; during which she re- 
 peated to them two or three hymns of that excel- 
 lent author, so deservedly a favorite with all 
 children ; and with these they were so delighted, 
 that they begged they might also learn them ; and 
 while Martin was putting them to bed that even- 
 ing, they were full of the goodness of their aunt, 
 and telling her what she had promised to teach 
 them. 
 
 The next morning, Mrs. Irvin began upon the 
 plan she had formed for their education. She 
 told them that, at their age, most children in their 
 station knew a great deal more than they did, and 
 therefore it was necessary for them to exert all 
 their diligence to learn whatever she desired. In 
 the first place, she expected them to rise at seven 
 every morning, (an hour earlier than they had 
 been accustomed to,) and be at their lessons be- 
 fore eight, which were such as they could very 
 easily learn in half an hour : when they were 
 perfect in them, they were to come to breakfast ; 
 after which, they might play in the garden, or 
 walk with Martin, with whom she often sent them 
 on some charitable errand to the poor in the vil- 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 33 
 
 lage, till ten o'clock ; at which time they were to 
 return to her, and repeat the lessons they had 
 learned before breakfast, and to employ the rest 
 of the morning in reading, writing, and working, 
 according to her direction. Mrs. Irvin was very 
 fond of music, and was herself a proficient in it. 
 and some part of every day she employed in teach- 
 ing them the notes. She also read to them, and 
 accustomed them to answer the questions which 
 arose from what they heard. 
 
 Before they left their aunt, to be dressed for 
 dinner, they a second time repeated their lessons, 
 which were short and adapted to their capacities ; 
 and by this method these first instructions were 
 imprinted on their memories. Neither did Mrs. 
 Irvin forget the more important lessons of religion, 
 while teaching them things belonging to this 
 world only. The Catechisms she had given them 
 were daily repeated ; and when perfect in them, 
 she put into their hands the excellent one of our 
 church. With so strict an attention, in a very 
 little time they began to know something of the 
 different things in which it was necessary that 
 they should be instructed. In the familiar les- 
 sons of Mrs. Trimmer and Mrs. Barbauld, those 
 good friends of youth, was given them a general 
 idea of the works of God ; and, with the kind at- 
 tention of their excellent instructress, who im- 
 proved every advantage which books could afford, 
 their minds expanded, and they found the pleasure 
 there is in receiving instruction. 
 
 Great was the happiness of Mrs. Irvin, while 
 these dear children seemed to answer all her 
 love, and while her most pleasing expectations 
 
34 THE TWIN - SISTERS. 
 
 concerning them were not disappointed. They 
 were every day more endeared to their aunt ; nor 
 were they less attached to her, who thus early 
 taught them to look with prayer to the Almighty 
 for assistance in all their endeavors ; and in every- 
 thing they learned, they were also taught to as- 
 cribe to Him the praise, who had thus blessed 
 their endeavors to become wise and good. 
 
 In this way the children went on for several 
 months, improving every day ; when, as they 
 were one morning returning from their walk into 
 the village, whither their aunt had sent them with 
 Martin to distribute some of her usual benefac- 
 tions, they passed by a neat cottage, with whose 
 inhabitant they were not so well acquainted as 
 with many others, though they had often admired 
 the flowers which grew in the little garden be- 
 fore it, and had heard their aunt say she was a 
 very good old woman who lived in it. As they 
 knew she had no children, they were now sur- 
 prised to see a little girl sitting near the door, and 
 talking to another who was gathering flowers at 
 a little distance. 
 
 " How sweet the garden smells !" said she ; " I 
 am sure there must be a great many flowers in it, 
 and I wish I could see them ! O Betsy, I am 
 so glad to be here, you can't think : will you lead 
 me down to the lilach-tree ? I should like to sit 
 there, as I did yesterday." 
 
 "To be sure I will," answered the other ; and 
 running to her, she took her by the hand, and, at 
 the same time carrying the chair on which she 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 35 
 
 sat, she led her down the path to the side of the 
 road. 
 
 " Who can these little girls be ?" said Ellen ; 
 " I never saw them before." 
 
 " Hush !" said Martin : "lam afraid that poor 
 child is blind ; if so, how much I pity her !" 
 
 As they were concealed in the hedge behind 
 which they stood, the children did not observe 
 them, but continued their conversation : — " You 
 will not mind being left alone for a little while ?" 
 said Betsy, very affectionately, to her sister ; " for 
 you know I must go in and help mother ; but per- 
 haps Dame Hunt will come to you ; shall I ask 
 her ?" 
 
 " No, no," said the little girl ; " I dare say she 
 is busy about something or another ; I only am 
 idle. Oh, how I wish I could do something!" 
 added she with a sigh ; " but I cannot see." 
 
 " Poor thing !" said Ellen, in a low voice ; 
 " she is blind then : what can we do for her ? 
 Let us speak to her" (drawing nearer to the place 
 where she sat) ; but Martin, who had more 
 thought, whispered to them, " that, as she was 
 now alone, it might frighten her to be addressed 
 by strangers :" and they gave up the idea. " But 
 we will tell my aunt," said Anna ; "I am sure 
 she will come and see her." 
 
 At this moment the church clock struck ten, 
 and they hurried home to be in time for their les- 
 sons. They were eager also to communicate to 
 their aunt what they had seen; nor could the 
 business of the morning be attended to, till she 
 had promised to go to the cottage in the afternoon, 
 and take them with her. 
 
36 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 The moment they had dined they were impatient 
 to set out on their expedition, but were prevented 
 by the rain. Poor Ellen could not help complain- 
 ing very bitterly of the weather : — " Is it not too 
 bad ?" said she ; " I should not have minded it, if 
 we had been only going for a walk ; but for the 
 sake of the poor little girl I wanted to go ; is it 
 not hard, aunt," continued she, " that we are pre- 
 vented ? for, I am sure you would have given her 
 something ; and now she will not have it." 
 
 " You forget," said Mrs. Irvin, very coolly, 
 " that it may not rain to-morrow ; and that what 
 I have to give her will be quite as acceptable 
 then as now : besides, as she does not know of 
 our intention, it can be no disappointment to her." 
 
 Still Ellen could not help repeatedly wishing 
 it would not rain ; and when her aunt asked her 
 to read, as they could not get out, it was with 
 great unwillingness she obeyed. Her sister in- 
 vited her to come and play with her ; but she con- 
 tinued to sit in the window, lamenting the weather, 
 till Mrs. Irvin again spoke to her. 
 
 " I cannot help it," said Ellen ; " I wish it 
 would not rain." 
 
 " You behave very ill," replied Mrs. Irvin ; " do 
 you not know who sends the rain, and for what 
 purpose ? It will be of much greater benefit than 
 jmr visit to the cottage. Perhaps you may ima- 
 gine that you are showing great good-nature to 
 the little girl you wish to see ; but remember it is 
 still more your duty to submit to the will of God 
 in everything, and that, even in such a trifle as 
 this appears to be, He is as attentive to your con 
 duct as in more material trials." 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 37 
 
 Ellen did not feel what was said, but went out 
 of the room to seek her sister, who again pressed 
 her to come and play : — " Never mind the weath- 
 er," said she; "you know we may go to-mor- 
 row." 
 
 But without attending to her advice, Ellen con- 
 tinued her murmurs. " I do not see my aunt has 
 any reason to be angry with me," said she ; " I 
 am sure it is not for myself I wished to go : there 
 is not so much pleasure in going to the cottage, 
 as in walking any other way ; it must be for the 
 sake of the little girl." 
 
 " But why should you be sorry, if we cannot 
 go ?" asked Anna : " my aunt will take us to- 
 morrow." 
 
 With this thought, Ellen began in some mea- 
 sure to recover her good humor ; yet, before the 
 conclusion of the evening, she met with another 
 trial of her patience, which, as her mind was so 
 ill prepared for it, she bore still worse than the 
 present. Martin had promised to make her doll 
 a new bonnet, and on this day it was to have 
 been finished ; but the idea of visiting the cottage 
 had so occupied Ellen's mind all the day, that it 
 had not once entered her head, till now, being 
 persuaded by her sister to join her in play, when 
 she came to dress her doll, she recollected the 
 bonnet was wanting, and ran with eagerness to 
 inquire of Martin if it was made. Unfortunately, 
 she found her quite differently employed ; in- 
 stead of working for her doll, she was busily en- 
 gaged in making some clothes for a poor child in 
 the village. 
 
 " I hope you will not be angry with me, Miss," 
 4 
 
38 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 said she, " but indeed I have not had time even 
 to begin it ; for when I promised you should have 
 it to-day, I did not know I should have this shirt 
 and frock to make ; your aunt gave them to me 
 the other day, and the poor boy has nothing to 
 wear till they are done." 
 
 " Well, I declare, I never knew anything like 
 it !" said Ellen ; " I can't have anything I wish 
 to-day : I am sure it would not have taken up 
 much of your time to have made my doll's bon- 
 net ! you know you promised it me, and I must 
 say I think it very hard." 
 
 " Oh ! Miss Ellen, don't say so," replied Mar- 
 tin ; "I am sure you cannot think it of as much 
 consequence as clothes for this poor boy : I will 
 make it as soon as ever I have finished for him." 
 
 " But I want it now," said Ellen, violently 
 angry ; " and you ought to have made it ; and I 
 know very well you never will — you never in- 
 tend to do it ; you will always have some excuse 
 or other." 
 
 In this way she was talking, when she heard 
 her aunt's voice behind her : — " What is the mat- 
 ter ?" said Mrs. Irvin, observing Ellen's angry 
 countenance : " you were speaking in a very im- 
 proper tone, and I see by your looks you have 
 behaved ill." 
 
 Ellen was silent, and ashamed of being seen 
 by her aunt in so ill a humor : she was going out 
 of the room, but Mrs. Irvin commanded her to 
 stay, and again asked Martin to explain the cause 
 of her behavior. At first she did not like to 
 speak ; but upon Mrs. Irvin's insisting on know- 
 ing, she owned that Miss Ellen had been very 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. d9 
 
 angry with, her, because she had not made her 
 doll a bonnet at the time appointed, instead of 
 finishing the clothes for the poor boy, who so 
 much wanted them. 
 
 Ellen held down her head ; when her aunt ex- 
 pressed great sorrow on hearing this account ; 
 and taking her niece by the hand, she led her to 
 the parlor, where in the most affectionate manner 
 she endeavored to convince her of the impropriety 
 of her conduct. " My dear child," said she, 
 " you can no longer imagine that your impatience 
 to visit the cottage this afternoon proceeded from 
 good-nature or benevolence ; it was because your 
 curiosity was raised, and you wished to know 
 who were the little girls you had seen there : but 
 if it had proceeded from a charitable wish, is it 
 not evident that, so far from being angry with 
 Martin for not having made a bonnet for your doll, 
 you would have been pleased she had not spent 
 her time upon such a trifle, when she was so 
 much better employed ! Every day that this poor 
 boy has to wait for his clothes, he cannot go to 
 school, neither can he go out to work ; so that 
 you see it is not like our visit to the cottage, a 
 matter of indifference whether it is one day soon- 
 er or later ; and yet you could have wished him 
 to have waited still longer, that you might have 
 had a trifling plaything. Are you not sorry for 
 this ?" added she, observing the tears stealing- 
 down the face of the softened Ellen. 
 
 " Yes, indeed I am," said Ellen, as well as 
 her sobs would allow her to speak ; " I am in- 
 deed ; I will never be so cross again. But are 
 hot you displeased with me, my dear aunt ?" added 
 
40 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 she, greatly distressed ; " what shall I do if 
 you are 1 I never offended you before ; but I 
 know I deserve your anger." 
 
 " No, my dear," said Mrs. Irvin, tenderly em- 
 bracing her ; " if you are sorry for your fault, I 
 can no longer be angry with you : you did not 
 see things in this light before ; but let what I 
 have now said convince you of the necessity 
 there is of always examining the motives from 
 which we act. You are but young at present, 
 and may not always understand what I mean ; 
 but as you grow older, you are likely to be often 
 deceived in this manner ; while you think you 
 are showing a very good disposition, it is only 
 some vain or trifling passion you wish to grat- 
 ify : as, in the instance of this afternoon, you may 
 be sure it was only curiosity that influenced you, 
 or you would not have been so angry when a 
 work of charity interfered with your pleasure." 
 
 Ellen readily acknowledged her mistake ; and 
 the tenderness of her aunt was so clearly seen in 
 the mildness of her reproofs, that by this man- 
 ner she gained more ascendency over the minds 
 of her nieces than if she had severely punished 
 them for every fault. It was indeed by the cords 
 of affection that she bound them to herself : and 
 by thus reasoning with them on their general con- 
 duct, she laid the foundation of their future hap- 
 piness, by teaching them to bring all their actions 
 to this unerring test : whether the motive, as well 
 as the action itself, was such as would be ap^ 
 proved by God. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " When heaven-born Charity 
 Expands the heart, and prompts the liberal hand 
 To sooth distress." Bowdler. 
 
 The next morning Mrs. Irvin proposed going 
 into the village, and calling at Dame Hunt's in 
 her way home. Ellen felt conscious of not de- 
 serving to go with her ; but her fears were soon 
 removed by her aunt's telling her, as well as her 
 sister, to get ready to accompany her. 
 
 After they had visited the school, and called on 
 two or three old and sick people, they went to 
 the cottage, where, instead of the children they 
 had seen the day before, a woman of very decent 
 appearance, but looking very ill, was walking in 
 the garden ; and as they approached the house, 
 she opened the gate that led to it. Mrs. Irvin 
 asked if Dame Hunt was within, and was follow- 
 ed by the stranger up the walk, who appeared to 
 have scarcely strength to answer her questions. 
 
 " I am afraid you are not well," said Mrs. Ir- 
 vin, very kindly : " have you been long ill ?" 
 
 " Some time, ma'am," answered she — " trouble 
 has brought me to this ill state of health." 
 
 At this moment the old woman came to the 
 door, and without regarding the company, she 
 cried out, " Oh, Mrs. Forbes, make haste and 
 come in ; I do believe your child is almost dead !" 
 
 " What do you mean ?" said the poor woman, 
 4* 
 
42 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 exerting all her strength to reach the house : " not 
 my poor Mary, I hope ?" 
 
 " No, my dear mother," cried a voice from 
 within ; " pray don't be frightened ; indeed I am 
 not much hurt." 
 
 Mrs. Irvin was now within the door, where she 
 saw the poor little girl her nieces had mentioned, 
 lying on the floor, with her face and neck cover- 
 ed with blood. 
 
 " Oh, what is the matter V said the affrighted 
 mother ; " how did this happen ? my dear Mary, 
 what shall I do for you ?" and weakened by ill- 
 ness and alarm, she burst into tears. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin hardly knew which to assist first ; 
 but with her usual composure, she desired the old 
 woman to get some water for Mrs. Forbes, while 
 she raised the poor child from the ground ; who, 
 on hearing her mother's sobs, was still more dis- 
 tressed, and attempting to move, she said, " My 
 dear mother, where are you ? I am not hurt, in- 
 deed I am not ; pray don't cry so ; — let me come 
 to you," added she, stretching out her arms ; 
 " where are you ? and who is here beside you ?" 
 
 " Here are none but friends," said Mrs. Irvin, 
 kindly taking her hand and leading her towa.rd 
 her mother ; " 3vOur mother is only frightened ; 
 but you must set her a better example ; and when 
 we have washed your face, and put something 
 over this slight wound in your forehead, you will 
 be quite well again." 
 
 The poor woman now began to recover herself, 
 and rose to help her child. " How good you are, 
 ma'am !" said she ; " I am sure you take too much 
 trouble about us : but indeed I was so frightened 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 43 
 
 at first, that even now I am fit for nothing ; my 
 dear child, I can do nothing for you :" and on ob- 
 serving the deep cut in her forehead, she again 
 burst into tears. " You are needlessly alarmed," 
 said Mrs. Irvin, as she wiped the little girl's face ; 
 " it is but a very small wound ; but Dame Hunt 
 was very unguarded to alarm you as she did." 
 
 " Why, my dear heart alive, ma'am," said the 
 old woman, " if you had but seen the poor child ; 
 she did not say a word, but there she lay all as if 
 she was dead, and the blood gushing out so ! I 
 only went up stairs to fetch something I wanted, 
 and she was sitting very quietly, and out of the 
 way of everything ; but when I came back, there 
 was she lying upon the floor, all over blood, and 
 the two iron candlesticks upon her." 
 
 " How came you there, my dear ?" said Mrs. 
 Irvin ; " you should not have moved without any- 
 body in the room." 
 
 " My sister Betsy is gone out, ma'am," an- 
 swered the little girl ; " and I thought that I 
 would try and cut some paper, for I very often 
 employ myself in that manner ; and as I knew 
 mother was in the garden, and Betsy had told me 
 that the scissors and paper were upon the shelf, 
 I thought I would get up and feel along it till I 
 found what I wanted ; but I did not know that 
 the candlesticks were there, and I believe I pushed 
 them down, and that frightened me so that I fell 
 down myself, and they cut my face a little. When 
 Dame Hunt came in, I could not speak directly ; 
 but I little thought she would call my dear mother, 
 and frighten her." 
 
 ' I am much better now, my dear," said Mrs. 
 
44 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 Forbes, advancing to her, and wishing to take the 
 trouble from Mrs. Irvin, who was still washing 
 the forehead of the child. Ellen and Anna had 
 stood all the time in silent affright, not knowing 
 what to do ; but still they wished to assist the 
 poor little girl ; and when she was again seated, 
 they each went, and taking her hand, inquired 
 how she felt herself. 
 
 " These are two little girls that came with me," 
 said Mrs. Irvin ; " they wished to help you if 
 they could." 
 
 The little stranger seemed much pleased with 
 their attention, and answered all their inquiries 
 with great civility. Mrs. Irvin now asked how 
 long they had been in the neighborhood, and 
 what had brought them there ! And from Mrs. 
 Forbes's account she learned that she had expe- 
 rienced great troubles, particularly after the death 
 of her husband, who died just as he had entered 
 on a very good business at Rochester, in which 
 his own endeavors and the kindness of his friends 
 seemed to promise him success, till his ill state 
 of health damped all their comforts. They had 
 married very young ; and their parents dying soon 
 after, they were much distressed, till, by the ad- 
 vice of their friends, they took to the business 
 above mentioned. Soon after they were married, 
 they had these two children, the youngest of whom 
 had been blind from two years old. When her 
 husband died, Mrs. Forbes thought it too great an 
 undertaking to continue the business, particularly 
 as she feared her own health began to decline ; 
 and therefore, as soon as she could, she disposed 
 of the stock, of which, as they had begun trade 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 45 
 
 in confined circumstances, the first expenses were 
 not entirely paid off; and when all came to be 
 settled, she found she had little else to depend on 
 for the support of herself and children but her 
 own industry. She then commenced mantua- 
 making, and took in plain work ; but with her ut- 
 most exertions she found it very difficult to gain 
 a livelihood. One poor child could do nothing to 
 assist her, and nearly all the time of the other 
 was occupied in attending on her sister. In ad- 
 dition to all this, the poor widow found her health 
 daily declining ; her work failed her, and she was 
 often in want of absolute necessaries, till at length 
 a charitable friend offered to pay for having medi- 
 cal advice : her complaint was declared consump- 
 tive, and nothing but a change of air was likely 
 to remove it. She was much alarmed on hearing 
 this ; and the dread of leaving her children so 
 young and helpless, made here extremely anxious 
 to follow this advice. The same kind friend who 
 at first procured the attendance of a physician for 
 her, now offered to do all in her power to assist 
 her in the expenses of her removal ; and as Dame 
 Hunt was a relation of her husband whom she 
 had often visited in his lifetime, she thought of 
 coming to her cottage, where, she flattered her- 
 self, she should soon regain her health, and be 
 able to do something which should prevent her 
 being burdensome to the poor old woman ; and 
 she immediately wrote her a letter, describing 
 her situation, and begging to be admitted into her 
 house for a short time. On receiving this letter, 
 no selfish idea entered the mind of Dame Hunt ; 
 such as, it was likely this poor woman would die, 
 
46 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 and then the children would be left to her care : 
 she had studied her Bible, and there she learned, 
 that, " He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth 
 unto the Lord ;" and that, " whatsoever he doeth, 
 it shall be recompensed upon him." 
 
 " These people are poorer than I," said she to 
 herself; " and surely it is my duty to help them 
 all I can." She therefore sent for the schoolmas- 
 ter to come and write her a letter, that she might 
 send to Mrs. Forbes, " and tell her to come as 
 soon as ever she liked." Though blunt in her 
 manners, Dame Hunt had a feeling heart ; and 
 when she saw the miserable appearance of this 
 dejected family, still more so from a long and 
 fatiguing journey, with little or no accommodation 
 on the road, she could not refrain from tears. 
 They stopped at the door of the cottage about 
 seven o'clock in the evening, in a little cart which 
 had been hired by the friend already spoken of to 
 convey them thither ; and when she saw their 
 helpless appearance, she exclaimed with pity, 
 " Poor creatures, how ill they look ! come in, and 
 welcome ; — sure, sure, I never thought to see you 
 so ! but ' the Lord taketh up, and casteth down.' 
 How well I remember when Tom Forbes, as we 
 used to call him, came down here the last time ! 
 why, he looked like a gentleman ; but now he is 
 gone, and my poor old Gaffer is dead also. But 
 do not fear, my good woman," added she, observ- 
 ing Mrs. Forbes shed tears at the mention of her 
 husband ; " all is for the best ; and, upon my 
 word, I be glad to see you ; and, as I told you in 
 my letter, you shall be welcome to stay as long 
 as you like. I have got victuals enow for you 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 47 
 
 and myself too, God be thanked for it !" Such 
 was the reception this good old woman gave her 
 distressed kinswoman ; and on hearing the recital 
 of their misfortunes, which Mrs. Forbes now gave 
 to Mrs. Irvin, she renewed her promises of assist- 
 ance as far as she was able, and again repeated 
 her hearty declarations of welcome. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin soon after took her leave, and put- 
 ting half a crown into Mrs. Forbes's hand, pro- 
 mised to call again very soon. As they walked 
 home, she was anxious to consider in what way 
 she could be most serviceable to this family ; and 
 first, the poor woman herself seemed most to 
 want her assistance, whose health, she hoped, by 
 strengthening food and good nursing, might be re- 
 covered. Ellen and Anna could think or talk of 
 nothing else. " Oh, how bad it must be to be 
 blind !" said Anna ; " what should we do, sister, 
 if either of us were so V 1 
 
 " I cannot think," answered Ellen : " and then 
 the poor woman so ill too ! — I did not like Dame 
 Hunt at first, for calling out and frightening her 
 so ; but afterward I did, — she seems such a good 
 old woman." 
 
 " Indeed she is," replied Mrs. Irvin ; " I wish 
 we had all the same dispositions. To be sure, 
 she wanted discretion in saying so abruptly that 
 the child was dead, and alarming the poor mother : 
 but perhaps there are some who would think she 
 showed a greater want of it, when she took three- 
 people into her house in the circumstances these 
 are in ; but I like her much the better for it, and 
 shall always respect her for such hearty benevo- 
 lence ! for though she talks of what she has as 
 
48 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 being enough for all, I know it is not what many- 
 people, even in her situation, would think sufficient 
 for one person to live comfortably on. Do you not 
 now see," continued Mrs. Irvin, addressing Ellen, 
 " that our going this morning is much better than 
 last night 1 for now we are able to assist the little 
 girls in more ways than by giving them money ; 
 and in all probability^ the poor woman would have 
 been still more frightened, if she had not so soon 
 been assured that there was no reason for Dame 
 Hunt's alarm." 
 
 Ellen acknowledged the truth of her observa- 
 tion, and again asked pardon for her impatience. 
 
 " I have entirely forgotten that," said her good 
 aunt, " and I only mention it that you may learn 
 from this instance that we are very improper 
 judges of what we call fortunate or unfortu- 
 nate, in such unavoidable circumstances ; and 
 even the future life of the poor woman whom we 
 have seen to-day may prove the truth of what 1 
 say : her misfortunes may, in the end, produce 
 good to her." 
 
 It was in this manner Mrs. Irvin made every 
 incident productive of instruction to her nieces ; 
 and they were soon taught to consider even the 
 most trifling events as under the direction of 
 Providence, and that it is according to our con- 
 duct under them whether they may be styled good 
 or evil. 
 
 Not all the attention of Mrs. Irvin could re- 
 store health to the poor invalid ; but by frequently 
 conversing with her, she taught her to resign her- 
 self and children to the will of God, and from 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 49 
 
 the assurances of Scripture, to feel a comfortable 
 hope that those who trust in the Almighty shall 
 never be forsaken. 
 
 As it seemed to be the wish of the anxious 
 mother, Mrs. Irvin promised that the eldest girl 
 should be admitted into her school in the village, 
 the next vacancy ; and also told her that every 
 endeavor should be used to gain admission for 
 the second into a school in London for blind 
 children, where she would be instructed to do 
 something toward her own support. Dame Hunt 
 declared that, while she lived, they neither of them 
 would want a home ; " And never you fear," said 
 the good old woman, " but what God will raise 
 up friends for your children a deal better than I 
 am, should it please him to take me out of this 
 world : ' He is the father of the fatherless.' " 
 
 Mrs. Forbes felt as a mother at the thoughts 
 of parting from her children ; but she blessed 
 God for having brought her to this place, and 
 giving her an opportunity of seeing the instru- 
 ments by which He would graciously provide for 
 them : — " Had I died at Rochester," said she, 
 " what uncertainty should I have left them in ! 
 And for myself, also, I have reason to be truly 
 thankful : by these good friends I am instructed 
 in the way of everlasting life ; and I need not now 
 fear to die, since the door of heaven is opened 
 unto me by a merciful Savior." 
 
 Not many days after this, the poor woman 
 died, having spent nearly six months at Milwood, 
 and experienced great kindness both from Mrs. 
 Irvin and Mr. Herbert, who frequently visited 
 her, and from whom she had the satisfaction of 
 5 
 
50 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 hearing that her unfortunate child would be ad- 
 mitted into the school above mentioned, and that 
 Mrs. Irvin had determined to send her up to town 
 with Martin, with whom she was now well ac- 
 quainted, having spent a great deal of time with 
 her during her mother's illness. 
 
 This poor little girl would often say, " I wish 
 I could help my dear mother : I wish I could see 
 her ; but I shall in heaven : there we shall never 
 be parted, and I shall open my eyes, and see 
 much better things than are to be seen in this 
 world !" 
 
 On hearing of her mother's death, she for a 
 while seemed much affected ; but on Martin's en- 
 deavoring to give her comfort, by reminding her 
 of the superior happiness she was now enjoying, 
 she exclaimed, " Oh, I will pray to God to make 
 me a good girl, that I may go to that delightful 
 place where my dear mother is gone. If I am 
 good, I may go there — may not I ?" asked she 
 with earnestness. 
 
 " Yes, my dear," returned Martin : " the same 
 Savior who died for the pardon of her sins, died 
 also for yours ; and for his sake God will re- 
 ceive you into heaven, as well as all who trust in 
 him." 
 
 When the time came for her admittance into 
 the school above mentioned, Mary Forbes was 
 between ten and eleven, and her sister thirteen : 
 they had never been separated before, and it was 
 now a great grief to them ; but as Mrs. Irvin 
 thought it right, they both endeavored to conceal 
 their regret : yet, when the day came, Mary had 
 need of all her fortitude to bear the parting : what 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 51 
 
 she had lately heard had taught her the necessity 
 of resignation to support the evils of this life, and 
 she earnestly prayed that in this trial she might 
 possess it. " Do not cry, my dear Betsy," said 
 she ; " I shall do all in my power to learn what- 
 ever is taught me as quick as ever I can ; and 
 then I shall come home and be able to do some- 
 thing for you, and to help Dame Hunt, who has 
 been so good to us : you know God is always 
 with us, and I hope He will assist my endeavors." 
 
 Betsy could scarcely speak for tears ; but she 
 tried to imitate her sister, and in the most earnest 
 expressions she begged her not to forget her, or 
 anything that had been said to her since she came 
 to Milwood ; they parted several times, and still 
 returned to kiss each other again, till poor Ellen 
 and Anna could not help expressing a wish that 
 their aunt would let them both stay there : " We 
 can work for Mary," said they ; " and Martin 
 can teach her a great many things." But Mrs. 
 Irvin soon convinced them of the impropriety of 
 their request : " You know," said she, " that it is 
 but for a short time she is going ; and would you 
 wish to deprive her of the only opportunity she 
 has of ever learning to support herself? Think 
 how much worse it would be were we to die be- 
 fore her, and she to be left destitute ; she would 
 have reason to blame us for this false feeling." 
 
 This reasoning seemed equally to affect all 
 who heard it ; and Mary, loosening her hand from 
 her sister's, as she gave it a last affectionate kiss, 
 turning to Martin, said with great firmness, " I 
 am ready to go, and I ought to be happy to go ; the 
 coach will wait for us :" for they were to walk 9. 
 
52 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 few miles to meet the London stage, in which 
 places had been taken for them from the neigh- 
 boring town. " Good-by, my dear sister ; God 
 bless you all — all !" said she, as she hurried along 
 the passage ; and when out of the house, she re- 
 peated her prayer, that God would bless all whom 
 she had left in it ; " And I thank Him," said she, 
 emphatically, " for all their kindness to me and 
 mine !" 
 
 Martin was to stay in town that week, or per- 
 haps longer, with some friends whom she wished 
 to see there ; so that before her return Mary 
 would be settled and acquainted with the school, 
 and she hoped to be able to send such an account 
 of her situation as would make her sister com- 
 fortable. She was also to be introduced to some 
 acquaintance of Mrs. Irvin's, who promised her 
 often to go and see her there. On being fre- 
 quently reminded of this, Betsy grew more recon- 
 ciled to their separation : and when Martin re- 
 turned, and related the kindness with which she 
 had been received by Mrs. Irvin's friends, she re- 
 joiced that her wishes respecting her sister had 
 not been complied with ; she went constantly to 
 school, and though older than many of the chil- 
 dren, was not ashamed to begin with the least ; 
 and, by a strict attention, she soon made great 
 improvement. Dame Hunt was very fond of her, 
 and as she grew more infirm, declared that "she 
 should not know what to do without her;" while, 
 by every way in her power, Betsy endeavored to 
 show her gratitude to this her first friend, who 
 had behaved with such kindness to herself and 
 sister when they were poor and helpless strangers. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 53 
 
 Nothing more material happened to our young 
 heroines during the first foui or five years of their 
 stay with Mrs. Irvin ; they passed their time in 
 a uniform course of improvement ; and when their 
 kind instructress had herself thoroughly grounded 
 them in the various branches of their education, 
 she spared no expense to procure them the best 
 masters the country afforded : nor were they 
 taught the accomplishments their rank in life 
 seemed to require with the idea that they were 
 tO make a figure in the world, but that, in what- 
 ever circumstances they might in future be placed, 
 they should be capable of adding either to the 
 improvement or amusement of others. With all 
 this, the strictest attention was paid to their reli- 
 gious improvement, the superior importance of 
 which they were taught, both by the precept and 
 example of their aunt. Nothing was allowed to 
 interfere with their duty to God ; on the contrary, 
 their various employments were often interrupted 
 by works of piety and charity. " These," said 
 Mrs. Irvin, " will fit you for more lasting enjoy- 
 ment ! they are necessary to a happy eternity, 
 and are certainly more worthy our attention than 
 those fleeting accomplishments which can be of 
 service to you only in this life, and probably but 
 for a small portion of it ; for a thousand things 
 may prevent your improvement of them ; while 
 good works will remain hereafter, and your re- 
 ward will be, though not for them, yet in propor- 
 tion to them." 
 
 Mrs. Stanley wrote once or twice to her sister 
 during this period, expressing herself much 
 obliged by her attention to her children, and 
 5* 
 
54 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 pleased with the account she heard of their im- 
 provement, but with great coolness toward them- 
 selves. She gave a long account of the splendor 
 of the East ; the balls and entertainments she was 
 continually engaged in : but as to the time of their 
 return, she said she could not get Mr. Stanley to 
 fix any ; but whenever they revisited England, 
 she hoped it would be in a style far superior to 
 any of their former acquaintance. 
 
 After two years' absence from her friends, 
 Mary Forbes returned to them, much benefited 
 by the charitable instructions she had received ; 
 she was now enabled to do many things which 
 before she was incapable of, and, when fully em- 
 ployed, could earn several shillings a week. How 
 often did she thank Mrs. Irvin for putting her in 
 the way of learning to provide for herself, and 
 bless the Institution which was thus alleviating 
 the misfortune of other poor children ! Betsy 
 was delighted to see her ; and after her return 
 went no more to school, but devoted her whole 
 time to the care of her sister, and of Dame Hunt, 
 who was now very much enfeebled. Ellen and 
 Anna used frequently to visit them, and while 
 Betsy was otherwise engaged, would read to the 
 old woman and Mary such books as reconciled 
 them to their lots in this life, and encouraged them, 
 through the merits of a Redeemer, to look for a 
 glorious inheritance hereafter. Nor were their 
 attentions confined to this family alone ; every 
 poor person in the parish had reason to bless God 
 for them, and was daily offering up prayers to 
 Him for their happiness and long continuance 
 anions them. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 55 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 " The spring-time of our years 
 Is soon dishonor'd, and defiled in most 
 By budding ills that ask a prudent hand 
 To check them." Cowper. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin observed that though, from being 
 constantly in her society, the impatience and ir- 
 ritability of Ellen's temper were much suppressed, 
 they were far from being subdued ; and now that she 
 had for so long a time given her nieces an oppor- 
 tunity of observing the advantages resulting from 
 the plan of education she had pursued, she was 
 desirous they should also see the difference of 
 the more general mode ; and that, from their own 
 experience, they should form their judgment of 
 each. 
 
 For this reason she proposed sending an invi- 
 tation to the daughters of some former friends of 
 their parents, a Mr. and Mrs. Arnold ; with whom 
 Mrs. Stanley had been staying at the time of her 
 marriage. Mrs. Arnold had also, in her younger 
 days, been intimate with Mrs. Irvin ; and though 
 it was seldom they had met since that time, an 
 appearance of friendship was still kept up between 
 them. 
 
 Though Mrs. Arnold was gay and dissipated, 
 she thought it necessary to give her children what 
 is called a good education ; and the two eldest, 
 at the time Ellen and Anna came to their aunt's, 
 
56 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 had been to a very capital school nearly a twelve- 
 month. It was these young ladies Mrs. Irvin 
 wished to introduce to her nieces, particularly as 
 the parents of each were connected, Mr. Stanley 
 being a distant relation of Mrs. Arnold ; and the 
 letters which Mrs. Irvin now and then received 
 from her abounded with solicitous inquiries re- 
 specting the children of her friend. 
 
 Ellen and Anna were too happy in the society 
 of each other, and found too many ways of occu- 
 pying their time, to wish much for the company 
 of others : yet the thought of becoming acquaint- 
 ed with some young people in the same rank of 
 life as themselves pleased them in idea, and they 
 were anxious to hear if the invitation their aunt 
 had sent would be accepted ; but no sooner did 
 the letter arrive, which brought the thanks of Mrs. 
 Arnold, and her promise, that, as the midsummer 
 holydays were approaching, her daughters should, 
 immediately on their commencement, visit Mrs. 
 Irvin, than they felt more uneasiness than pleasure 
 in the expectation of their arrival. — " What shall 
 we do ?" said Anna ; " how are we to entertain 
 them ? they are both older than we are ; and my 
 aunt says they have been to school for so many 
 years, that I dare say they know a great deal 
 more than we do." 
 
 " I don't know that," said Ellen ; " for I have 
 heard Mr. Herbert say, that it is not at schools 
 young folks learn the most : for my part, I am 
 determined not to be afraid of them : I shall say, 
 that I know both music and drawing very well." 
 
 " Stop, my dear," said Mrs. Irvin, interrupting 
 her : "let not a wish to exalt yourself in their 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 57 
 
 opinion put you upon telling untruths ; it is not 
 likely that you should either play or draw so well 
 as these young ladies, who have had the best 
 masters for so long a time ; assure yourself that 
 they will soon discover what you can as well 
 as what you cannot do : children more ignorant 
 than yourselves have hitherto been your com- 
 panions ; and there is nothing unpleasant in the 
 idea, since you have endeavored, as far as you 
 are capable, to improve them ; but now you are 
 to be introduced into very different society, yet 
 remember, that ' high and low, rich and poor, are 
 all alike in the sight of God ;' and let not their 
 opinion, which in this respect may be very oppo- 
 site to yours, make you act otherwise than you 
 have done. Though your manners may not be so 
 fashionable as theirs, be uniformly good-natured, 
 and let us show them the politeness of a Chris- 
 tian, rather than that of the gay world." 
 
 In less than a fortnight, the young visiters ar- 
 rived, in their father's chariot, attended by a foot- 
 man on horseback. Ellen and Anna, when they 
 saw the carriage approach, looked at each other 
 with apprehension ; they knew not whether to 
 run to the door to welcome their guests, or fly up 
 stairs to hide themselves. 
 
 " When Mary Forbes came home," said Anna, 
 " we were not at a loss how to receive her ; we 
 were glad to see her." 
 
 " So you will be to see these young ladies, 
 I hope," said their aunt : " come with me, and 
 meet them in the hall." 
 
 " Yes, we will," said Ellen, resuming her boast- 
 
58 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 ed courage ; " what have we to be afraid of? — 
 the manners of the outside are of very little con- 
 sequence." 
 
 As she spoke this the Miss Arnolds entered 
 the house. They were genteel-looking girls, and 
 without that forwardness of manners too often 
 seen in those young ones of the present age, who, 
 by being introduced so early into the world, lose 
 the simplicity and engaging diffidence of youth, 
 which once was looked upon as the presage of 
 advancing Avorth. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin received them with affection, as she 
 considered they were the children of her earliest 
 friend ; and she introduced them to her nieces, 
 by whom they were conducted to the parlor, 
 where she again expressed herself happy to see 
 them : and Ellen and Anna, by every attention in 
 their power, endeavored to lessen the awkward- 
 ness which they could not help suspecting even 
 ladies so used to the world must feel, on being 
 introduced to entire strangers. 
 
 The usual civilities passed between them ; and 
 it was not long before all parties seemed acquaint- 
 ed with each other. The evening was far ad- 
 vanced, and the Miss Arnolds having been so 
 long a journey that day, made it an excuse for re- 
 tiring early to rest. 
 
 The sisters rose the next morning at their usual 
 time ; but though they allowed a later hour to 
 their visiters, they were surprised to find they far 
 exceeded it. Mrs. Irvin thought it necessary to 
 wait breakfast for them ; and Ellen and Anna had 
 read and repeated most of their lessons, before 
 the Miss Arnolds appeared. 
 
THfi TWIN SISTERS. 59 
 
 After breakfast their aunt thought it best to 
 leave them entirely alone ; and with a look of en- 
 couragement to her nieces, who fearfully saw her 
 depart, she left the room. Ellen then asked Miss 
 Arnold, if she would favor them by sitting down 
 to the piano ? — This request was readily complied 
 with ; and the eldest Miss Arnold played a very 
 difficult piece with great execution. Her sister 
 next took her seat ; and afterward Ellen and 
 Anna : the former had very early shown a taste 
 for music ; and her visiter was surprised, if not a 
 little mortified, to find her performance far sur- 
 passed the idea she had formed of what could be 
 learned from a country master. 
 
 Charlotte (which was the name of the second 
 Miss Arnold) paid little attention to Ellen's play- 
 ing, but seemed more anxious to enter into con- 
 versation with Anna, in whom she thought she 
 had discovered a strong likeness to one of her 
 school-fellows : — " How old are you ?" inquired 
 she ; " for I declare you are just like Miss B**, 
 and exactly her size also ; are you younger than 
 your sister ?" continued she. 
 
 " We are between fourteen and fifteen," an- 
 swered Anna : " do not you know that my sister 
 and myself are of the same age ?" 
 
 " You are twins, then ?" replied Charlotte ; " I 
 had forgotten it ; how pleasant that must be, for 
 you must know I hate an elder sister vastly ! in 
 general they are so commanding ; but I suppose 
 you love each other better than other sisters ?" 
 
 Anna smiled. — " I don't know," said she ; " we 
 shall see, perhaps, while you are here ; at pres- 
 
60 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 ent, we have not known any sisters who do not 
 love each other." 
 
 " Ah, you allude to what I have said," replied 
 her companion ; " but, to tell you the truth, you 
 may expect to see my sister and me quarrel ten 
 times a day ; — at least, if you were at school 
 with us I am sure you would ; for there, being the 
 eldest, she has some little authority over me, and 
 I assure you she exercises it very severely." 
 
 Anna knew not what answer to make, and en- 
 deavored to change the conversation by asking 
 the age of her new acquaintance. 
 
 " I am almost fifteen," returned Charlotte ; 
 " and my sister is more than sixteen : I hope, there- 
 fore, she will soon leave school : then, Augusta, 
 one younger than myself, will come ; and it will be 
 my turn to have power over her, and I shall make 
 her know what I have felt under Harriet." 
 
 Anna was quite startled. " Surely," said she, 
 " that will be very cruel ! I should think, if I 
 had experienced want of kindness in my sister, 
 I should be more anxious to show it to another." 
 
 " Oh, no, you would not," replied the unfeeling 
 girl : " if you were at school, you would soon 
 learn a different opinion : it is very pretty to talk 
 as you do, and we often meet with such fine sen- 
 timents in our lessons ; but no one thinks of put- 
 ting them in practice." 
 
 During this conversation, the other ladies had 
 gone up stairs ; and Charlotte proposed following 
 them. Anna attended her in silence. 
 
 " Is this what is learned at boarding-schools V 
 thought she ; " then we have nothing to regret ; — 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 61 
 
 if we had been there, perhaps I should have hated 
 my sister." 
 
 Ellen and Anna smiled on each other as they 
 observed the various ornaments their visiters had 
 brought ; while they evidently enjoyed the sur- 
 prise expressed by them, on seeing so many 
 things which to them appeared useless and un- 
 necessary. 
 
 " Look at this muslin frock," said Miss Arnold : 
 "it is what I wore at our last public day, and 
 quite a fashionable make ; for the mantua-maker 
 assured me she had made but one before, and that 
 was for Lady Charlotte A***. I wore this wreath 
 of roses round my head ; — don't you think them 
 pretty ?" 
 
 " Very pretty," answered Ellen ; " but I am 
 sorry you brought them here, as I fear you will 
 not have an opportunity of wearing them ; and 
 their being so closely packed seems to have in- 
 jured them already." 
 
 " Oh, that is of no consequence," replied the 
 other ; " 1 should not take them to school the next 
 half year ; the ladies would think it very odd 
 to see the same things come back again : I 
 knew this was a very retired situation, and there- 
 fore brought them, as I thought they would be 
 new here." 
 
 " Quite new, indeed !" answered Ellen, with a 
 smile ; " such a dress as this would excite the 
 astonishment of all the people in the village ; I 
 really wish you had not brought things half so 
 smart." 
 
 " My dear child," said Harriet, " would you 
 not have us dress according to our rank in life ? 
 6 
 
62 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 Our situation demands it of us ; and to regard 
 our appearance is what our governess always in- 
 culcates." 
 
 " You must excuse my ignorance," said Ellen, 
 with unconcern ; " I did not know that dress was 
 so absolutely necessary to denote our rank or 
 situation in life ; but I am sure it is not so here ; 
 for every one respects my good aunt, though I 
 never saw her but in the plainest dress." 
 
 " Your aunt," returned Harriet, " is out of the 
 world ; but we are just entered into it. I hope she 
 does not mean to regulate your apparel by her own. 
 When you come to London, (as, when Mr. and 
 Mrs. Stanley return from abroad, I suppose you 
 will,) I assure you, you will find many things ne- 
 cessary in regard to dress, of which at present 
 you have no idea ; and your good aunt, in her 
 plain suit, would have little regard paid to her in 
 the large circle of the fashionable world." 
 
 " It must be a very strange world," answered 
 Ellen, rather indignantly, while the color rose in 
 her cheeks at hearing her aunt so spoken of, " that 
 would not regard and respect her also ; and I 
 should not wish to belong to it." 
 
 Mrs. Irvin now very opportunely entered the 
 room, and put an end to their conversation. 
 
 When the business of unpacking was over, they 
 returned to the parlor ; and thinking it too warm 
 to walk, Mrs. Irvin begged to hear Miss Arnold 
 sing the last new song : and thus, with the help 
 of the piano, the time passed away till dinner was 
 announced. 
 
 In the evening, their amiable hostess proposed 
 a walk to the village, the rural and retired situa- 
 
THE 'TWIN SISTERS. 63 
 
 tion of which seemed highly pleasing to her vis- 
 iters. It was a lovely evening, and no view could 
 be more beautiful than that which presented itself 
 on their leaving Mrs. Irvin's garden : the trees 
 were in full leaf, and, tinged with the setting sun, 
 they immediately attracted the notice of the 
 strangers. 
 
 " We cannot see such trees as these in the 
 Squares of London," said Harriet : " I must ac- 
 knowledge, that a walk in the country like this, 
 is far preferable to the slow and uniform pace 
 with which we are obliged to follow our gover- 
 ness, one behind another, round the garden of the 
 Square, or up and down the measured path of the 
 Park." 
 
 In the course of their walk, they called on one 
 or two of the poor people who were unwell ; and, 
 on their return, they again had recourse to the 
 music, which very agreeably passed away the 
 evening. 
 
 " There are very few ladies among us," said 
 Miss Arnold to Ellen. " who play as you do ; you 
 certainly have quite a genius for music : you can 
 sing also, I dare say ? and I should like to hear 
 you." 
 
 Ellen was going to answer, when her aunt pre- 
 vented her, by saying, " You will soon have an op- 
 portunity, my dear, of hearing us all sing : for we 
 have an old-fashioned custom in this house of 
 family prayer ; and we generally sing a hymn be- 
 fore we pray." 
 
 Harriet smiled. " I thought that it was only 
 at schools that prayers were read to us ; our 
 governess does that every morning and evening : 
 
64 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 — I shall think myself with her again : — but we 
 never sing hymns," continued she ; " it is so 
 Methodistical." 
 
 Mrs. Irvin now smiled in her turn, and answer- 
 ed, " That was an appellation she was not afraid 
 of; and," said she, "this is a method productive 
 of so much pleasure that I should be sorry to 
 give it up : in former times, it was thought a 
 great help to devotion ; and I believe it is still re- 
 tained in many families from that motive." 
 
 Such reasoning was quite unintelligible to Miss 
 Arnold ; but she was prevented answering by 
 the entrance of the servants ; and while Ellen 
 played the Evening Hymn, accompanying it with 
 her voice, the whole family joined in the solemn 
 strain : nor could these young ladies help a silent 
 acknowledgment, that they had never before felt 
 so devoutly inclined, as when, at the conclusion, 
 each knelt down, and Mrs. Irvin read a prayer 
 with great solemnity ; that, for the time, they 
 wished they could experience the same when 
 joining in the prayers at school ; but there it was 
 performed in so indolent a manner, and so much 
 of form appeared to be introduced in the midst of 
 very contrary pursuits, that little else but their 
 length was thought of during the time of reading 
 them. 
 
 The serious surprise which appeared in their 
 countenances attracted the notice of Mrs. Irvin, 
 who, after the servants had left the room, inquir- 
 ed at what time their governess read prayers ? 
 " Oh, just before bed-time, ma'am," answered 
 Charlotte, " after we have supped, and are all got 
 to play or quarrelling together, (for I think we do 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 65 
 
 one as much as the other,) she enters the room, 
 and breaks up all our parties by calling us to 
 prayers, which I can't say we much attend to. 
 We go to bed, unless sometimes, when the rules 
 are not so strictly attended to, we are allowed to 
 finish our game of play before the bed-bell is 
 rung." 
 
 Mrs. Irvin commended her for thinking such a 
 way of performing our devotions was not quite 
 right ; and after supper they chatted together for 
 about an hour, during which time our heroines 
 found still more reason to rejoice at not having 
 been to school. They were astonished at the 
 tricks and sly ways, as their visiters termed many 
 of the anecdotes they told them, which to Ellen 
 and Anna appeared little less than cheating and de- 
 ceiving each other ; while the Miss iVrnolds were 
 much entertained at the surprise they expressed, 
 and considered it as a degree of ignorance exci- 
 ting mirth rather than congratulation. 
 
 The next morning the Miss Arnolds were 
 busily employed in work ; each was netting a 
 purse for her parents, which she meant to carry 
 them on her return : these our heroines were so 
 pleased with, that they immediately determined 
 to do the same for their father and mother — " We 
 are to write to them by the next ship," said Anna, 
 " and my aunt says I shall send the drawing I 
 am now about, if I finish it as well as I have be- 
 gun ; but I think I can do the purse likewise, if 
 you will give me some instruction." 
 
 This was readily promised, and Mrs. Irvin 
 willingly agreed to the proposal, provided it did 
 not prevent her attention to the drawing ; which 
 6* 
 
66 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 she particularly wished to send them, as it was 
 from nature, and represented a part of the village 
 of Milwood, which was very picturesque. They 
 were now eager to lose no time before they began 
 their purses ; and their aunt allowed the servant 
 to go that afternoon to the neighboring town to 
 procure the materials : so ready was she always 
 to grant them what was not improper. 
 
 The next day the work was begun, and the 
 whole morning was engaged in perfecting them- 
 selves in it ; till Mrs. Irvin began to fear they 
 would not allow time enough to their visiters' 
 amusement, who already, by their listlessness, 
 began to show they should not be sorry when the 
 time they were to stay was expired. They thought 
 the situation of Milwood uncommonly dull ; nor 
 is it to be wondered at, when the very different 
 education they had received, from that which its 
 inhabitants were blessed with, is considered ; 
 they could not conceive the pleasure of calling at 
 so many houses of the poor, because the idea of 
 doing them any good, or relieving their wants, 
 never entered their heads ; and when they heard 
 Ellen say, that according to their aunt's instruc- 
 tions, she considered the good things she enjoyed 
 as only given her for this purpose, they were as- 
 tonished at her reasoning. " Besides," continued 
 Ellen, " we enjoy our own share so much more, 
 when we can reflect that we have relieved others 
 with part of it." 
 
 " Your aunt tells you so, I suppose ?" said 
 Harriet, with a sneer. 
 
 " Yes," said Ellen, endeavoring to repress her 
 anger ; " and from very good authority too." 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 67 
 
 " Our own experience likewise," said Anna, 
 taking up the conversation, " tells us the same ; it 
 certainly must give us pleasure to think that by 
 us God chooses to assist the poor." 
 
 " But you ought to have thousands," continued 
 Harriet, " to help all you know ; and they are 
 still distressed when you have done all you can." 
 
 " Very true," said Ellen ; " and still will be : 
 but they would be more so without any help ; 
 every little we give is acceptable to them, and, if 
 given with a view of performing our duty 1,0 God, 
 is of service likewise to ourselves." 
 
 " You talk so very religiously," said Harriet, 
 " that I don't know what to make of you ; but I 
 must say, I pity you." 
 
 " I am sorry," said Ellen, " you should be so 
 mistaken in regard to us : have you ever seen my 
 sister or me unhappy ?" 
 
 " No, not absolutely unhappy ; but you never 
 have what our young ladies call pleasure ; I dare 
 say you never went to a ball or a play in your 
 life : we have public days once a month, and a 
 dancing-school ball every year ; and then we have 
 so many smart people come to see us dance, and 
 we gain such praise, and our master is so much 
 obliged to us ! Then it is so much pleasure to 
 think of our dresses, for two or three months be- 
 fore the ball : the mantua-makers are all so busy, 
 you can have no idea ; and we try to outdo each 
 other in the money we spend — for mamma always 
 says we should spare no expense. And then, at 
 other times, we perform plays ; and we have 
 spectators at them too; and we are always sure 
 to be admired for one thing or another." 
 
G8 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 Ellen could not help pitying such ideas of hap- 
 piness ; but she only replied by saying, " She 
 could not envy them either their balls or plays. 
 As for the latter," said she, " I should never think 
 of being a performer ; and to dance a minuet be- 
 fore so many people must be very distressing." 
 
 " I dare say it would be to you," answered 
 Harriet, " who have seen so little of the world ; 
 but we are so used to it, that we think it not worth 
 while to dance when no one sees us. But now 
 we talk of dancing, let us have a reel and a min- 
 uet or two this evening : I suppose you have 
 learned — that is, as well as you can in the coun- 
 try." 
 
 This she proposed, as thinking it would be an 
 amusement to observe their awkward steps ; but 
 Ellen, who did not consider it as any disgrace if 
 she did not dance in the style of Madame Hillis- 
 berg or Parisot, readily agreed to it, saying, " We 
 have a master who attends us once a week ; but 
 it is now the holydays, which is the reason he has 
 not been here since your arrival ; but we shall 
 like a little dance this evening, if agreeable to 
 you. Anna and I often play to each other, while 
 we practise our steps ; but you must not expect, 
 to find us great proficients," continued she ; " for 
 my aunt is not so anxious for our improvement in 
 dancing, as in music and drawing, which, as we 
 live so much alone, are amusements much better 
 calculated for us." 
 
 In the evening it rained, so as to prevent their 
 walking ; but this they did not regret, as their 
 dance was not interrupted, which, though with so 
 small a number (as one of them was always at the 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 69 
 
 instrument), they kept up for some time ; and 
 both the Miss Arnolds, contrary to their expecta- 
 tions, were surprised to find they could enjoy 
 dancing with only Mrs. Irvin for their spectator, 
 who looked on with pleasure ; while Ellen and 
 Anna were equally gratified, whether dancing to 
 their guests or playing to them. 
 
 The young visiters, after having spent one week 
 at Milwood, began to be tired of the uniformity of 
 the scene ; and, though Mrs. Irvin and her nieces 
 had given up the greatest part of their time to 
 their amusement, they could not but find it dull ; 
 and Charlotte, who had at first shown an inclina- 
 tion for the friendship of Anna, by making her the 
 confidant of her sister's humor, by many hints of 
 the unpleasantness of her situation, endeavored to 
 draw from her an acknowledgment that she was 
 also tired of it. And one morning, when they 
 were quite alone, she thought proper to make the 
 trial, which she began in the following words : — 
 
 " I cannot think what you will do, my dear An- 
 na, when we are gone : I shall often think of you 
 with pity, buried here, as you are." 
 
 Anna. " I thank you for your compassion; but 
 pray don't make yourself very unhappy on my ac- 
 count : I assure you, Ellen and 1 never want 
 amusement when we are alone." 
 
 Charlotte. " Why, what can you find to do ? 
 Day after day to go on in the same dull round — 
 it would be very tiresome to me." 
 
 Anna. " But don't you go on the same round at 
 school ? Day after day, I suppose you learn your 
 
70 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 lessons, and repeat them, practise your music and 
 dancing : — is not this always the same ?" 
 
 Charlotte. " Very true ; but then we have 
 variety, and so many young ones all employed 
 in the same way : besides, we have the holy- 
 days to look forward to, while you have none." 
 
 Anna. " Every day is a holyday to us ; at least 
 every Sunday is ; for then we have no lessons to 
 learn, no masters attend us, and we have time to 
 do as we like." 
 
 Charlotte. " Not as you like ; for I dare say 
 your aunt makes you read sermons to her all day 
 long." 
 
 Anna. " We read such books as we like, and 
 that are instructive as well as entertaining. Pray, 
 what do you read on Sundays ?" 
 
 Charlotte. " Oh, for my part, I never read any ! 
 Those books that my governess says are fit for 
 Sunday reading are, in my opinion, so very dull, 
 that I seldom look into them." 
 
 Anna. " What ! do you never read the Bible ? 
 you don't know that there are prettier stories to 
 be found in it than in most other books." 
 
 Charlotte. " Sometimes we are told to read 
 Mrs. Trimmer's History of it ; but I think if we 
 go to church and hear it read there, that is quite 
 enough : besides, it is so common to read the Bi- 
 ble, I think it is only fit for poor people." 
 
 Anna. " This is a very odd notion ; I should 
 think, and indeed I am sure of it, that the instruc- 
 tions contained in the Bible are equally intended 
 for the rich as for the poor : I cannot say but that 
 I pity you now, for you do not seem to know your 
 duty, nor where you are to learn it," 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 71 
 
 Charlotte. " Well, dear me ! don't speak so 
 angrily ; you forget that we very often go out on 
 a Sunday ; and then, you know, there can be no 
 time for reading." 
 
 Anna. " Ah ! that is one of the rules that my 
 aunt dislikes in schools : — that Sunday, which is 
 generally thought the only time that can be spar- 
 ed from accomplishments, is so often spent in 
 visiting ! Indeed, you must excuse me, my dear 
 Charlotte, if I again say I pity you." 
 
 Charlotte. " Well, tell me, then, where these 
 pretty stories are to be met with in the Bible ; 
 and when I. have time I'll read them, if I spend a 
 Sunday at school." 
 
 Anna. " I'll write them down for you, and then 
 you cannot forget them :" and taking out a pocket- 
 book, she copied from a list that had formerly 
 been given herself the following memoranda : — 
 " From the 37th and 39th chapters of Genesis to 
 the 45th, or to the end of that book, the history 
 of Joseph is continued. The 17th and 18th chap- 
 ters of the first book of Kings. — The latter," 
 said she, " will show you how the Almighty 
 showed himself the true God, when the people of 
 Israel had gone and served Baal. — And from the 
 4th to the 8th chapter of the second book of 
 Kings, you will find many interesting acts of the 
 prophet Elisha : and indeed, all through those 
 books are very entertaining, and I think the more 
 you read them, the more you will like them. The 
 book of Esther is pretty also." 
 
 Charlotte. (Interrupting her.) " These • are 
 quite enough, I thank you. I am sure I shall not 
 
72 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 have time to read more than these ; and when I 
 want something to do, I will look them over." 
 
 Anna. (Very seriously.) " I hardly know 
 whether I have done right in giving you this 
 list ; you speak in such a careless way of read- 
 ing in that book which I have been taught to look 
 into with reverence, and to consider it an indul- 
 gence to be allowed to read in it. When we con- 
 sider for what end it was written, surely it re- 
 quires the utmost attention ; — especially the New 
 Testament ; for there we are to learn what will 
 make us acceptable in the sight of God." 
 
 Charlotte. " Dear me ! you think so seriously 
 of everything ! But while we are under the care 
 of others, you know it is of very little conse- 
 quence to us ; they are accountable for our ac- 
 tions, and we are not our own mistresses." 
 
 Anna. " Why do you say it is of little conse- 
 quence to us ? Don't you know that, at the last 
 day, we shall have to give an account of our ac- 
 tions, individually ; and that even our secret 
 thoughts are regarded by God, and will be brought 
 irito judgment?" 
 
 Charlotte. " I would not have such notions as 
 these for ever so much ! I am sure they would 
 make me miserable ! I think the best way is to 
 try to please everybody as much as we can ; and 
 not to show our dislike of any one, but to behave 
 civilly to all." 
 
 Anna. " This is certainly right ; but not with- 
 out something more ; for let me just put this case 
 to you : — As we are to live in this world but a 
 very little while, and for ever in the next, is it 
 not more our interest to please God, with whom, 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 73 
 
 if we act as we ought, we shall then be, than it is 
 to gain the favor of men, with whom we are to 
 stay so short a time ? This life is not to be com- 
 pared to Eternity ; and it depends not on our fel- 
 low-creatures, but on the favor of God, whether 
 we are to be happy or miserable there." 
 
 Charlotte. (Thoughtfully.) " That is true : but 
 if we behave well to our fellow-creatures, God is 
 pleased — is not He ?" 
 
 Anna. " Certainly ; but then it depends on the 
 motive ; if we are kind to men out of love to God, 
 and because He has commanded it, God is pleas- 
 ed ; but not if our views extend only to ourselves, 
 that people should think or speak well of us — 
 and not if we think that, if our actions are pleas- 
 ing, it does not signify what our thoughts are." 
 
 Charlotte had never heard so much of religion 
 explained before. The only encouragement which 
 had been holden out to her as a motive for good 
 behavior, was the approbation of men ; and though 
 the far superior one which seemed to influence 
 Anna's conduct was quite new to her, her heart 
 secretly acknowledged its justice, and she deter- 
 mined to think more on the subject when alone, 
 or at least to read what her friend had recom- 
 mended with greater attention than she at first 
 proposed. 
 
 7 
 
74 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " Sweet Patience came, by Fortitude sustain'd ; 
 The tear of meekness trembled in her eye ; 
 But, cheer'd by Hope, no longer she complain'd ; 
 And, taught "by Faith, she placed each wish on high." 
 
 The following week, the Miss Arnolds left 
 Milwood ; and Ellen and Anna were impatient to 
 return to their former occupations. That very 
 evening they called at Dame Hunt's cottage, 
 whose inhabitants they had not seen for some 
 days. — They found Mary Forbes, the poor blind 
 girl, quite happy at having been taught a new 
 sort of work. "It is weaving straw, ma'am." 
 said she, " for the carters' hats : — it is very 
 coarse ; but I am in hopes I shall make out very 
 well at it." 
 
 Her good friends encouraged her in her un- 
 dertaking, and then asked for her sister. 
 
 P Oh ! that is another thing that makes me very 
 happy, ladies," answered the contented girl ; " for 
 she is gone out to work ; and Dame Hunt and I 
 make out so well together, you cannot think ; I 
 know all about the house, and Betsy leaves every- 
 thing in order, so that I can get what I want 
 without troubling our poor old dame, who grows 
 very infirm." 
 
 Mrs. Irvin asked where Betsy was gone, and 
 found, that as she had, in her mother's life-time, 
 learned a little of mantua-making, she had farther 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 75 
 
 improved herself in it, and that several of the 
 farmers' wives in the neighborhood employed her 
 by the day in that way. 
 
 " How good God is to us," continued Mary, 
 " in enabling us to live so comfortably ! When 
 my mother died, I little thought that we should 
 have been half so happy as we are ; and it is a 
 comfort to us both that now we can repay Dame 
 Hunt for all her kindness to us, when we were 
 in so much distress ; for she says, she should not 
 know what to do without us, and often blesses 
 God for having brought us to her in her old age ; 
 and I am sure we have reason to bless Him too," 
 added the grateful girl. 
 
 When Mrs. Irvin talked of returning home, 
 Anna offered to stay and read to her young friend. 
 " Thank you, Miss," said she, " that will be a 
 treat indeed ; for it is in not having somebody to 
 read to me, that I miss Betsy more than anything ; 
 as, when she comes home in the evening, she 
 has always something or other to do of needle- 
 work for Dame Hunt or myself; she says she 
 will have us look tidy, and that no one shall say 
 she works for others and not for us." 
 
 As Ellen walked home with her aunt, she could 
 not help congratulating herself on the departure of 
 their visiters. " How much happier is my life," 
 said she, " than that which the Miss Arnolds 
 describe ! I cannot help rejoicing they are gone, 
 as I am sure our employments gave them no 
 pleasure." 
 
 " They are much to be pitied," said Mrs Irvin, 
 " who know no other pursuit than what they call 
 
76 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 pleasure ; and still more so, as they appear to 
 wish for no other." 
 
 I hope my young readers are all ready to ac- 
 knowledge a life of active benevolence must be a 
 happy one ; to relieve the poor, comfort the af- 
 flicted, and to instruct the ignorant, they cannot 
 doubt must be grateful to a serious and well-dis- 
 posed mind ; but then perhaps they would wish 
 to add a few of what the world calls pleasures to 
 these more sublime gratifications : and though, at 
 the same time, they are ready to allow that the 
 amusements they are desirous to partake of do 
 not always afford the promised pleasure, yet are 
 they more and more eagerly pursued, till at last 
 all others are given up, even those their judgment 
 once approved : I mean those acts of beneficence 
 which are calculated to make us happy at the 
 time, and afford us many pleasing reflections in 
 their retrospection. Pursuits so contrary to each 
 other can never be enjoyed together ; one or the 
 other will be given up : and weak and frail as our 
 nature is, it is much to be feared that that which 
 attracts the attention of the largest part of this 
 world's inhabitants will also engage ours, par- 
 ticularly as it promises pleasure without any 
 trouble or self-denial ; while those of a more en- 
 larged kind are not without their difficulties, and 
 require a perseverance above the efforts of our 
 own resolution to continue in them, contrary to 
 the opinion of many others, who would draw us 
 after them into the gulf of false happiness. But 
 let us attend to the end of Anna's life, which will 
 soon come to a conclusion ; and then we shall 
 see whether she had any reason to regret that 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 77 
 
 she had never tasted of the amusements of the 
 world. 
 
 It was not long before she fell into an ill state 
 of health ; and though unwilling to complain, her 
 looks were sufficient to acquaint all who saw her 
 that she was far from well : instead of the ap- 
 pearance of health which once glowed on her 
 cheek, she was pale and evidently much thinner ; 
 and an alarming cough too plainly foretold an ap- 
 proaching consumption. Mrs. Irvin was alarmed, 
 as well as Ellen, on observing her countenance ; 
 though the invalid said all she could to remove 
 their fears, and often feigned herself better, when 
 she saw their uneasiness. A physician was sent 
 for, who immediately recommended Bristol as the 
 only chance of her recovery ; and Mrs. Irvin de- 
 termined to remove her there as soon as she could 
 possibly leave home. Ellen was anxious to try 
 what she fondly hoped would restore her sister ; 
 and fearful of losing her, she felt her affection 
 daily increase. All her favorite occupations were 
 unattended to ; and while she dreaded the con- 
 tinuance of her sister's illness, she could think of 
 no one else ; — the poor were neglected : neither 
 could she bear the thought of going to the school, 
 where her aunt had forbidden her sister to ac- 
 company her, lest she should be too much fatigued. 
 
 Though equally concerned for the cause, Mrs. 
 Irvin was grieved to see Ellen's sorrow ; and 
 though at first unwilling to notice it, she found 
 herself obliged to speak seriously upon the sub- 
 ject. Going one evening into Ellen's room, she 
 found her just risen from her knees, her face 
 bathed in tears. — " You have been praying for 
 7* 
 
78 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 greater resignation to the Divine will, my dear," 
 said she ; " I have unwillingly observed that you 
 have lately discovered a great want of it, or a 
 weakness of mind which it is our duty to endeavor 
 to overcome." 
 
 " Ah, how can I, my dear aunt ?" replied Ellen, 
 her tears increasing — " how can I see my dear 
 and only sister so ill, and not feel the utmost 
 grief?" 
 
 " I acknowledge, my love, that this is a severe 
 trial for you," said Mrs. Irvin, sitting down by 
 her, and affectionately taking her hand ; " but re- 
 member, my Ellen, it comes from God ! it is he 
 who gave her unto us, and if it is His will to re- 
 move her — " 
 
 " You think she will die, then !" cried Ellen, 
 interrupting her aunt ; " Good God, support me !" 
 continued she, clasping her hands with unaffected 
 sorrow. 
 
 " That, my dear," said her aunt, while she 
 kissed her wet cheek, " is a proper prayer, and 
 God will hear and answer it : compose yourself, 
 my child. She may not be in the danger our 
 fears suggest ; next week we shall go to Bristol, 
 and she may recover : but if it should please God 
 that it should be otherwise, will you be so selfish 
 as to regret her admission into Eternal Happi- 
 ness 1 Remember, your situation in life may 
 not — nay, it cannot be expected to be what it has 
 hitherto been : trials and temptations will arise, 
 which, if it should be the will of the Almighty to 
 take her to himself, Anna will escape. This has 
 been the first affliction you have known," contin- 
 ued Mrs. Irvin, pleased to see Ellen more com- 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 79 
 
 posed, " and I am happy in seeing you apply to 
 the only sure source of comfort under it." 
 
 " Anna will be happy," said Ellen : " but does 
 my aunt think I grieve at that ?" 
 
 " No, my dear, I think far otherwise ; I know 
 what you feel ; for I have myself felt what I once 
 thought the severest affliction : — when I dreaded 
 the loss of your dear and now blessed uncle, I 
 thought I should never know happiness more : 
 but as he had always been my instructer, so then 
 he taught me where to look for support : and 
 when I saw so good a man dying in the blessed 
 prospect of a glorious Immortality, through the 
 merits and intercession of a merciful Savior, I 
 checked my tears, and only wished to live so as, 
 in God's good time, I might follow him, rejoicing 
 in the same heavenly hope. But I am departing 
 from my subject : to talk of the death of so good 
 a man, raises feelings in my mind which I- cannot 
 describe ; yet they are far from being those of 
 sorrow : and may such, my Ellen, be yours when 
 time shall be no more with your sister ! — she has 
 the same kind Savior on whom to rest her confi- 
 dence ; and, blessed be God ! He is not un- 
 known, or unacknowledged by either of you !" 
 
 " Next to the Almighty, my dear aunt, it is to 
 you we are indebted for so inestimable a know- 
 ledge," replied Ellen, with animation, a gleam of 
 pleasure breaking through her tears : " how highly 
 have we been favored !" 
 
 " And is not this recollection sufficient to sup- 
 press every murmur," said Mrs. Irvin — " that we 
 know in whom we have believed ? Oh, it is a 
 consolation which will brighten even the parting 
 
80 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 hour with those we love, when we see them leave 
 this world, their hopes fixed on a firm foundation, 
 and recollect their lives have been an evidence 
 of those hopes — that, though possessed of many- 
 frailties, there is no unrepented sin to darken that 
 bright horizon which will soon open to their view, 
 never, never more to know a cloud !" 
 
 " It is enough, my dear aunt," said Ellen, wiping 
 her eyes, " it is enough ! Anna Avill know this 
 happiness, and I shall feel it too : I will rejoice 
 in the reflection that she is for ever happy ; and 
 pray that I may so live as, when the time of my 
 departure comes, I may share it with her. Anna 
 is fit to die, and I will no longer mourn." 
 
 " These are precious testimonies, my dear," 
 said Mrs. Irvin ; " but do not be discouraged if 
 desponding thoughts should again return ; — we 
 are weak and mortal creatures, nor can we always 
 bear alike the evils of this life. Though at times, 
 we feel strength in the grace of God ; yet at 
 others, we sink under our burden : but as we 
 have found relief in prayer, so may we at all times 
 apply to the same source of comfort. We will 
 just look in upon our dear charge," added she, 
 " and then we will have family prayers." 
 
 Anna's eyes were closed ; but by the difficulty 
 with which she breathed, they feared her sleep 
 was uneasy : her looks were wan, and Ellen 
 again felt a tear tremble in her eye, when she re- 
 flected that perhaps in a very short time she 
 might see her still paler, and when those short- 
 fetched breathings might no more be heard : — 
 " She will then be dead," thought Ellen ; " by, 
 her soul will be with God !" 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 81 
 
 Mr. Herbert often called on them, and Anna 
 was always pleased with his visits ; they looked 
 on him in the place of a father, and both the sis- 
 ters felt themselves comforted and strengthened 
 by his conversation, which was well adapted to 
 their situation. Before, when he called on them, 
 he used to talk on various subjects ; — the books 
 they had read, and the remarks they had made, 
 were all discussed by this good man, who thus 
 endeavored to amuse and instruct their minds ; 
 but now, religion, and its consolations, were their 
 only topic. The covenant of mercy, which God 
 has made with men in sending His only Son to 
 die for their redemption ; the full atonement which 
 He has made by His death for the sins of the 
 whole world ; and the strength He has promised, 
 and imparts to all his faithful followers who are 
 striving to do His will, were subjects heard with 
 pleasure. In short, all he said was to prepare 
 his young friends for the severe trial which was 
 awaiting them ; nor did they shrink from the con- 
 templation of the gloomy valley of death, when 
 taught by their excellent instructer to look upon 
 it as a passage to eternal life ; — they rejoiced in 
 the prospect, and gratefully acknowledged a Sa- 
 vior who had graciously given to them, as well as 
 to all His followers, a title to so glorious an in- 
 heritance. 
 
 Perhaps it may be thought that such a subject 
 was quite improper for one in Anna's state, and that 
 her mind should have been diverted from it ; but, 
 far from raising melancholy ideas, it elevated her 
 hopes, and she would often beg of Mr. Herbert 
 to prolong the conversation, till she felt herself 
 
82 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 exalted above the pains her mortal state occa- 
 sioned. 
 
 The whole village was anxious for Anna's re- 
 covery ; and on the morning on which the ladies 
 commenced their journey, the door was crowded 
 with people, who came to offer their good wishes 
 for the recovery of the dear invalid : but Anna 
 could only return her thanks by an expressive 
 look ; and when seated in the carriage, she seem- 
 ed lost in thought, and to forget that her aunt and 
 sister were feeling witnesses of her emotion. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin had hired a coach to take them all 
 the way, and Anna had one side entirely to 
 herself; where, supported by pillows, she bore 
 the fatigue of her journey better than her anx- 
 ious friends expected. Martin also accompa- 
 nied them ; and it was with a heavy heart she 
 silently drew a comparison between the time she 
 was last in a carriage with her dear young ladies 
 and the present. 
 
 It was nearly dark when they arrived at the 
 lodging which had been taken for them at Clif- 
 ton ; and after taking a little refreshment, Anna 
 was assisted to bed : Martin slept in the same 
 room ; and the adjoining apartment Mrs. Irvin 
 chose for Ellen and herself, where they once 
 more offered up their prayers to God for the re- 
 covery of this beloved object of their care. 
 
 While here, they made no acquaintance, nor 
 did they find Anna so much benefited by the 
 change as they had fondly hoped they should. 
 After six weeks' stay she became anxious to re- 
 turn home ; and her affectionate aunt, though she 
 would have wished to have tried the efficacy of 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 83 
 
 the waters, and the salubrious air of Clifton, a 
 little longer, did not receive encouragement from 
 the physician to hope it would be of any material 
 service : she therefore complied with her request ; 
 and they returned to Milwood, with that kind of 
 melancholy pleasure it is difficult to describe, and 
 distressing to feel. They felt pleased to return 
 to their place of residence, and where they had 
 always found happiness in imparting it to those 
 about them, who, with genuine expression of joy, 
 welcomed their arrival ; while their regret at 
 Anna's continued ill health appeared in the coun- 
 tenances of all who saw her. 
 
 The next morning they were visited by Mr. 
 Herbert, and he was. received by all with un- 
 feigned pleasure. "You see me returned, Sir," 
 said Anna, " not in better health than when I 
 went ; but I do not feel any regret, as I have not 
 forgotten the encouraging hopes you have former- 
 ly given me : my aunt and sister, however, I fear, 
 are not so resigned ; I observed last night they 
 were less cheerful than I was on coming home 
 again. I feel I am soon to leave this world ; but 
 w r ill you, sir, convince them of my superior hap- 
 piness, — that is, if you do not think me presump- 
 tuous in expecting it ?" 
 
 Mr. Herbert assured her he thought her hopes 
 were well founded, and promised to use all the 
 means in his power to reconcile her surviving 
 friends to the change she seemed so well prepar- 
 ed for. 
 
 Ellen's spirits were a little revived on seeing 
 her sister so cheerful ; and she acknowledged the 
 goodness of God in ordaining the decline of Anna 
 
84 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 to be so very gradual. — " I shall be enabled to bear 
 with composure the stroke which separates us," 
 said she, " whenever it comes ; and I too plainly 
 see it cannot long be withholden : she every day 
 grows weaker, yet her strength of mind increases : 
 Oh, may mine be also strengthened !" 
 
 For some weeks their situation appeared the 
 same, though Anna gradually grew worse, and 
 was soon confined to her apartment. Here Mr. 
 Herbert frequently visited her ; and though she 
 could not talk as usual to him, she received both 
 pleasure and comfort from his conversation with 
 her aunt, and the prayers he read to her. 
 
 Though it was now more than a twelve-month 
 since the Miss Arnolds were at Milwood, Anna 
 had not forgotten them. — " I fear," said she to her 
 sister, " that Charlotte has not once thought of 
 me since we parted ; but you, Ellen, may see her 
 again ; will you tell her that, in my last illness, I 
 thought often of her, and would have written, had 
 it been possible ? And let her know also," added 
 she, " that in my latest hour I felt more forcibly 
 than ever, that all other happiness than that I 
 mentioned to her is but visionary, and that reli- 
 gion, and a knowledge of the Scriptures, are alone 
 capable of giving comfort at the hour of death." 
 
 " There is a Wisdom from above, my dear," 
 said Mrs. Irvin, (who was in the room at the 
 time.) " which we are encouraged to pray for ; 
 and it is this you would have your sister recom- 
 mend to Charlotte Arnold, as well as every other 
 friend she may have any influence over ?" 
 
 " Yes, my dear aunt," returned the dying girl ; 
 " you have expressed my meaning much better 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 85 
 
 than myself: but I thank God," said she, lifting 
 her eyes to heaven, " I am not ignorant of it. — 
 There is one thing more," said she, hesitatingly, 
 " that I would say to my dear aunt ; — but not now, 
 I am not strong enough ; in the afternoon, or to- 
 morrow — if I live so long." 
 
 Mrs. Irvin, seeing her extremely weakened 
 by speaking so much, advised her to wait till the 
 time she mentioned ; and then begging her to try 
 to get some sleep, she went with Ellen for a little 
 air in the garden. 
 
 Their whole conversation was respecting Anna. 
 " What a sister shall I lose !" said Ellen ; " I 
 seem as if, till now, I never knew her value !" 
 
 Mrs. Irvin checked the complaint that appeared 
 arising. " With her last breath," said she, " she 
 seems desirous to do good ; and shall we regret 
 that she is so soon to receive her reward ?" 
 
 " Oh, no," said Ellen, gratefully resigned to the 
 will of Heaven ; " I will pray that I may spend 
 the remainder of my life in the same earnest en- 
 deavor !" 
 
 When they returned from their walk, on hear- 
 ing from Martin that the object of their attention 
 was now asleep, they went not into her room, 
 but continued below with Mr. Herbert, who, ac- 
 cording to his daily custom, had called to know 
 how the invalid then was. 
 
 Betsy Forbes was a constant inquirer in the 
 kitchen, though she did not always see the fami- 
 ly ; till, this afternoon, Ellen had her into the 
 parlor, and by the resignation she herself showed, 
 prepared her soon to hear of the death of her 
 benefactress. — " My poor sister Mary," said the 
 8 
 
86 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 grateful girl, " how will she bear this ? she is 
 always talking of Miss Anna's goodness in com- 
 ing to read to her." 
 
 " My good girl," said Ellen, (endeavoring to 
 check the tear that would flow,) " you must not 
 talk so ; I have need of fortitude to support the 
 loss which is ordained me : if Mary misses her, 
 what must I do ? Think of this, my dear, and 
 console your sister, and tell her, I will supply the 
 place of mine to her." 
 
 Betsy wept, as Ellen was speaking, at the re- 
 collection of her mother's death. — " Oh, my dear 
 Miss," said she, artlessly, " if I could but give 
 you all the comfort you were so good as to give 
 me when my poor mother died, how gladly would 
 I do it ! — but God can give it to you ; and 1 pray 
 that he will. What is your loss will be Miss 
 Anna's gain." 
 
 While Ellen was thus engaged with Betsy 
 Forbes, Mrs. Irvin had visited Anna's room, and 
 finding her again awake, told Martin she would 
 herself sit with her till the evening. 
 
 " This is very good of you, my dear aunt," 
 said Anna : " I have had a very comfortable sleep, 
 and think I shall now be able to tell you the only 
 thing that remains upon my mind." 
 
 " What is it, my love ?" said her affectionate 
 aunt ; " speak, my Anna, to me, who love you as 
 a mother." • 
 
 " Ah, it is a mother I should speak of!" said 
 she : " it is for those who remain I am anxious : 
 though it sometimes appears as if I had never 
 seen my parents, yet I feel I love them still ; will 
 you tell them so ? and do you think," added she, 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 87 
 
 speaking still lower, " that they will regret my 
 death ?" 
 
 " They would have reason to rejoice, my 
 dear," replied her aunt, " did they know how 
 well you are prepared for it." 
 
 " Tell them, my dear aunt, how happy I die ! 
 and that my earnest prayer has always been, that 
 we may meet in Heaven. I should have wished, 
 if it had pleased my heavenly Father, to have 
 lived to see them return : but I am content — I 
 hope I am — I pray to be made so ; and may I 
 not, my dear aunt, hope everything in regard to 
 them — I that have experienced such proofs of 
 God's mercy ? Let them know," continued she, 
 " that I died praying for blessings on them, and 
 trusting in my Redeemer for them, and for my- 
 self, full of humble hope, through his merits, to 
 meet them in the courts above ! Will you tell 
 them all this, my dear aunt 1 Don't let them for- 
 get they had a daughter Anna. — And now, what 
 shall I say to you, my best aunt, mother, friend 1 
 for all these have you been to me ! I would ex- 
 press my grateful sense of all the kind instructions 
 you have given me, and which I now feel the 
 true force and comfort of ; — but it is impossible ; 
 I would thank you next to God, and thank Him 
 for giving me such a kind instructress." 
 
 " Say no more, my dearest love," said Mrs. Ir- 
 vin, much affected ; " I am sufficiently comforted 
 in seeing you so sensible of the blessings you 
 have enjoyed." 
 
 At this moment Ellen entered the room, her 
 face wet with the tears her conversation with 
 Betsy Forbes had occasioned. " You have not 
 
88 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 been weeping for me, my dear sister V asked An- 
 na, with concern. 
 
 " They are tears of sorrow mixed with joy," 
 replied Ellen, kissing her pallid cheek : " I re- 
 joice in your happiness !" — " May it be yours !" 
 said Anna, faintly returning her embrace : " It is 
 but a short time before I shall have the joy of 
 meeting you in Heaven !" 
 
 Mrs. Irvin, fearing this lengthened conversa- 
 tion would too much agitate both her nieces, now 
 took a book and offered to read a prayer : it was 
 every way adapted to the dying bed, and conclud- 
 ed with a petition for their surviving friends. 
 
 " My father and mother !" said Anna, softly ; 
 and lifting her eyes to Heaven, she continued 
 some minutes silent, after her aunt had closed the 
 book. 
 
 Martin sat up with Anna that night ; and in 
 the morning her account was such as gave no 
 hope of her continuance in this world till the 
 next day. Her aunt and sister perceived a sen- 
 sible alteration ; but still she appeared composed 
 and happy. " Remember me to the good Mr. Her- 
 bert," said she faintly, " and to all our poor neigh- 
 bors, especially the Forbes's ; tell them I have 
 prayed for them all. — I can scarcely see you, my 
 dear Ellen ; but this is your hand," added she, 
 pressing it to her lips : — " Farewell, my dear, my 
 only sister ! — may we meet in Heaven !" 
 
 She then continued silent for some time, while 
 Ellen sat by her bed : her eyes were fixed upon 
 her and upon her aunt by turns. — " This weak 
 breath of mine," said she, putting her hand on her 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 89 
 
 heart, " is just expiring ! — Thank God, I leave the 
 world in peace !" 
 
 Martin approached the bed ; Anna knew her, 
 and in faltering accents thanked her for all her 
 care, from infancy till now. 
 
 " Farewell, all my friends !" said she ; and 
 casting a languishing, dying look on all around 
 her, she closed her eyes ; and it was by her faint 
 breathings only that they still perceived that she 
 had life remaining. 
 
 All was silent ! no tears were shed ; and though 
 this was the hour Ellen had so much dreaded, 
 she was enabled to contemplate her sister's dying 
 countenance with calm composure ; till, with a 
 gentle sigh, she expired, peaceful as the tender 
 infant sinks to rest on the breast of its mother ! 
 
 Her much-loved friends continued silently 
 standing round the bed ; and as they marked the 
 livid hue of death gradually possessing her pale 
 and emaciated features — " She is now an im- 
 mortal spirit !" said Mrs. Irvin ; " let us give God 
 thanks for the blessed death of one so young, yet 
 so resigned, and pray that our latter end may be 
 like hers !" 
 
 Struck by her words and example, Ellen and 
 Martin sunk on their knees ; when this excellent 
 woman read a prayer suited to their situation, 
 and in which they fervently joined. After this 
 act of devotion, Ellen and her aunt kissed the 
 cheek of the departed saint and left the room. 
 
 Such was the life and death of Anna Stanley, 
 
 who, at the early age of sixteen, had attained 
 
 such a knowledge of her God and Savior as alone 
 
 can render a death-bed happy : and may it be the 
 
 8* 
 
90 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 wish of all my readers to follow her example as 
 far as may be in their power ! The circumstan- 
 ces of her life were favorable to piety ; but even 
 in situations most opposite to hers, time for reflec- 
 tion and devotion may be found. If some of the 
 frivolous employments of life were given up, 
 what a store of comfort might be discovered for 
 a dying hour ! and if death were more often made 
 the subject of contemplation, it would, on its ar- 
 rival, be much less the object of terror. Instead 
 of thinking what it closes to us of this world, let 
 us reflect on the eternal scenes it opens to our 
 view, and ask our hearts what we ourselves have 
 to expect from it ? If we have fixed our hopes 
 on a right foundation, we may then look forward 
 to our approaching end, as something more than 
 a release from worldly cares ; but without a true 
 knowledge of Religion, have we not reason to 
 fear it will be but the prelude to much greater and 
 everlasting sorrows 1 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 91 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " Father of Heaven ! 
 
 Eternal King ! Disposer great and good 
 Of life and death, of happiness and wo ! 
 Teach me, whate'er may be my portion here, 
 To prove myself thy servant ! May conceit, 
 Self-love, and pride, be strangers in my heart V 1 
 
 The moment Mr. Herbert heard of the death 
 of his young friend, he came to offer consolation 
 to the survivors ; but he found them, as he wished, 
 composed and resigned to their loss. The whole 
 village was grieved at her death ; and on the day 
 of her funeral, the church-yard was crowded with 
 its inhabitants, who each repeated the good she 
 had done. One recollected her kindness to her, 
 when all her family were ill ; another talked of 
 the clothes she had made for her children ; and a 
 third mentioned a book which she had given her, 
 and which now appeared of double value ; and 
 the poor woman shed tears, while she declared, 
 " she would never part with it, but keep it for her 
 sake." 
 
 Mr. Herbert spent that day with Mrs. Irvin and 
 Ellen, who now appeared to feel the loss of her 
 sister more than she thought ; but she was care- 
 ful of falling into the error she so earnestly pray- 
 ed to be kept from ; and though, when she went 
 into the room in which she had been used to see 
 one so much loved, she could not help a secret 
 
92 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 regret arising, she would immediately condemn it 
 as selfish sorrow, and recollecting her sister's 
 happiness, endeavor to employ her mind in such 
 pursuits as would encourage her to hope for a 
 participation of it. But Ellen was soon to expe- 
 rience a change of situation, which nothing but 
 the excellent principles she had imbibed could 
 have prevented from causing an alteration of sen- 
 timent also, which, in an hour of serious reflec- 
 tion, she would have had reason to regret. Yet 
 I hope to show my readers, that though her mode 
 of living was altered, her heart retained the same 
 desire of approving herself to God, as when, in 
 the quiet village of Milwood, she had no tempta- 
 tion, from opposite example, to do otherwise. 
 
 Early in the spring of the following year, El- 
 len's father and mother arrived in England, after 
 an absence of nearly twelve years. Mr. Stanley 
 had considerably enlarged his fortune, and he de- 
 termined to spend it in such a manner as should 
 convince the world he had not lost that taste for 
 high life which had obliged him to go so far to 
 procure the means of continuing in it. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin trembled for her dear charge, when 
 she heard her parents' intention of returning 
 home, and of which she was informed but a few 
 months previous to their coining. Mrs. Stanley's 
 letter was short, but it spoke of the style of liv- 
 ing they meant to adopt, and expressed a pleasure 
 in the thought of introducing her daughters to the 
 world. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin was sitting, with her sister's letter 
 in her hand, contemplating the future destiny of 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 93 
 
 her niece, for whom she felt an increased attach- 
 ment, and who was now become her beloved com- 
 panion, assistant, and friend, as well as the dearest 
 object of her care ; when Ellen, who had visited the 
 school that morning, entered the room. She saw 
 her aunt's anxious countenance, and earnestly- 
 asked the cause. Mrs. Irvin could scarcely re- 
 frain from tears. " Oh, my dear Ellen," said she, 
 " I am going to lose you ! — a letter from your 
 mother — " 
 
 Ellen's affectionate heart immediately took the 
 alarm : — " Are they returning ?" she eagerly in- 
 quired. 
 
 It would be difficult to describe her feelings 
 on receiving Mrs. Irvin's answer. Fear and hope 
 prevailed ; though the latter was far less predom- 
 inant, particularly when she saw the grief her 
 aunt could not conceal. 
 
 There are times when even the strongest minds 
 feel it difficult to support an unexpected stroke. 
 This may convince us, that in ourselves we are 
 ever weak and frail creatures. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin drew Ellen to her arms, and with 
 tears in her eyes said, " How, my child, shall I 
 part with you, who have been my companion for 
 so many years ?" 
 
 Ellen's heart overflowed at these words ; and 
 at that moment a sensibility, perhaps too much 
 indulged, seemed to prevail in each. 
 
 " And will be still," said she : " what pleasure 
 shall I know away from you ? I know nothing 
 of my parents : you are my more than mother, 
 my dearest aunt ; you have always treated me as 
 your child, and I cannot leave you ; it is my duty 
 
94 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 to stay with you ; affection, gratitude, everything 
 commands it ; here, I have occupations which are 
 serviceable ; my parents do not want my compa- 
 ny or my assistance." 
 
 She was going on in this strain, so consonant 
 with her present feelings, and laying out for her- 
 self a line of duty contrary to that which her 
 cooler judgment would have allowed to be right, 
 when Mrs. Irvin, whose returning reason seemed 
 to awaken her as from a dream, with one word, 
 or rather look, broke the delusion. 
 
 Ellen had ever been accustomed to watch her 
 aunt's countenance, and there to read her opinion. 
 " I have been wrong," said she, humbly. 
 
 " We have both been wrong, my dear," replied 
 Mrs. Irvin ; " our natural feelings too nearly over- 
 came us : alas ! how often do they lead us into 
 error ! Your duty is to comply with the wishes 
 of your parents, and in this respect to obey their 
 commands ; mine, is to submit to the disposal of 
 Providence at all times, and in all things." 
 
 " And mine too," continued Ellen ; " God will, 
 I hope, enable us to do so : but, oh, my dear aunt, 
 what a change shall I experience !" 
 
 " You have looked to the right source of hope 
 and assistance in it," said Mrs. Irvin. 
 
 The letter was now read by Ellen, whose heart 
 beat at the expressions her mother used when 
 speaking of their future life, though not with 
 pleasing expectations of its gayeties. She w T as 
 well convinced that happiness, if at all in this 
 life, was to be found in the service of our Crea- 
 tor, and in the daily discharge of domestic duty 
 rather than in the splendid w r alks of dissipation. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 95 
 
 Mr. Herbert was soon informed of the impor- 
 tant event which awaited our heroine : and, like 
 her aunt, he trembled for her, and felt regret at 
 losing her society. He advised her not to depend 
 too much on her present sincere determination to 
 avoid every appearance of evil. " We are safest," 
 said he, " when we fear for ourselves ; for then 
 we are led to pray for greater strength than our 
 own, and we are careful of our hearts, lest we 
 forget on what ground we stand. You have been 
 used," continued he, " to think every moment of 
 your time precious ; you will not, therefore, if 
 you can help it, suffer any to be misused ; and 
 though it may not always be in your power to 
 employ it as you could wish, there are hours 
 which you may undoubtedly take to yourself : for 
 instance, you have been accustomed to early ris- 
 ing, but the fashionable ladies, I am told, spend 
 half the morning in bed : — you certainly may call 
 this time your own, and thanks to your aunt, you 
 know how to employ it." 
 
 " But on Sundays," said Ellen, " what shall I 
 do then ? Here I spend them as I ought ; but 
 in town, I dare say, I shall not go to church at 
 all." 
 
 " I hope you will, my dear," said this excellent 
 friend : "if you gain the affection of your parents, 
 though they may not often go themselves, I dare 
 say they will not refuse your having a servant to 
 attend you there : and most likely you will have 
 an apartment of your own to which you may re- 
 tire ; and there, at least, you may continue those 
 religious exercises to which you have been accus- 
 tomed." 
 
96 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 " What comfort you give me, my dear sir !" 
 said Ellen : " it will be a pleasure indeed, if I 
 can in any measure pursue the plan I have been 
 used to." 
 
 " But the places of fashionable amusement," 
 said Mrs. Irvin,-*-" the balls, the plays, and the 
 opera ; must my Ellen attend all these ? How 
 will her own apartment appear to her after 
 these !" 
 
 " These are snares," replied Mr. Herbert, " to 
 those who have only a superficial knowledge of 
 religion and its sublime enjoyments. They may, 
 to our young adventurer, have the charm of nov- 
 elty, and perhaps for a while attract her attention ; 
 but, in the hour of reflection, Ellen will see the 
 vanity and folly, not to say worse, of these things ; 
 and her own experience will convince her that 
 our report concerning them is true. We shall 
 often write," continued he, with a smile, " and ask 
 her if she does not find it so ?" 
 
 " And will you write to me yourself, sir ?" said 
 Ellen, delighted with this hint : " how proud shall 
 I be to hear from you ! and my aunt has prom- 
 ised to write every week. I think I shall be hap- 
 py," added she ; " I do not now seem to fear my 
 removal so much as I did : in a little time I shall 
 anticipate only good from it." 
 
 " Remember, my dear," returned Mr. Herbert, 
 " that good and evil are blended in this life : nev- 
 er expect one without the other ; and forget not 
 to apply to your Heavenly Father for support in 
 both. It is not in the time of adversity alone that 
 we want his assistance ; our greatest danger is 
 in prosperity." 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 97 
 
 Ellen thanked him for his caution. " How 
 often shall I need your friendly counsel," said she, 
 " when I have left this place !" 
 
 " I will give you one more motive for persever- 
 ing in the path of duty," resumed he, " and that 
 the most powerful : — Remember in what society 
 you hope your dear departed sister is, — she whom 
 you best loved on earth : and that, at her death, 
 your only consolation was the thought of her hap- 
 piness ; and your earnest prayer was, that you 
 might so follow her example as hereafter to share 
 it with her ! She is taken from the trials you 
 will probably have to encounter : but the same 
 Wisdom which saw fit to take her, will guide you 
 through them. Remember your highest hopes, 
 my dear child," continued he, with great serious- 
 ness, " and let not the vain pleasures of the 
 world draw you from their only sure foundation 
 — Faith in Christ, and obedience to his com- 
 mands." 
 
 Ellen's tears bore witness to the attention she 
 paid to this solemn address ; and though she was 
 too much affected to make any answer, as soon 
 as Mr. Herbert had left the house she retired to 
 her room, and on her knees implored the direc- 
 tion of the Almighty, and that Divine assistance 
 he had so impressively encouraged her to ask. 
 
 The succeeding weeks passed quickly away in 
 the eyes of Ellen ; and it was soon known through- 
 out the village that she was going to leave. All 
 its inhabitants expressed their regret when the 
 unwelcome news was confirmed by herself; but 
 she promised never to forget her old friends, and 
 9 
 
98 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 hoped that she should at least spend a part of ev- 
 ery summer with them. 
 
 In a short time, the account of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Stanley's arrival in England reached Milwood, 
 and Ellen knew not whether to smile or sigh, as 
 she read in the papers of the large retinue they 
 had brought with them, and that they had taken 
 up their residence at Mr. Arnold's till their own 
 house in Grosvenor-square was ready for their re- 
 ception. 
 
 The next day brought a letter from Mrs. Stan- 
 ley to her sister, expressing her regret for the 
 death of Anna, of which Mrs. Arnold had inform- 
 ed her, and hoping that, in the course of the next 
 fortnight, she should have an opportunity of thank- 
 ing her in person for the kind and affectionate 
 care she had taken of her children ; when she 
 should, with Mr. Stanley, visit Milwood, for the 
 purpose of receiving their remaining daughter 
 from her hands ; at which time they hoped their 
 own house would be ready to receive them on 
 their return. 
 
 All this Mrs. Irvin had expected to hear ; and 
 she communicated the intelligence to Ellen with 
 composure, which the affectionate girl tried to im- 
 itate. She proposed writing to her parents, to 
 welcome their arrival ; and, after many letters be- 
 gun, none of which she thought respectful enough, 
 one was concluded and sent to the post-office. 
 
 The next week she could not help expecting 
 an answer, though her aunt endeavored to make 
 her think that the various occupations of her 
 mother, and the many friends she would have to 
 congratulate on her return, together with the pros- 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 99 
 
 pect of their early meeting, would prevent her 
 writing ; and she was obliged to satisfy herself 
 with these conjectures, as no answer arrived, and 
 the fortnight was now elapsed in which they had 
 appointed to come. Ellen employed herself ev- 
 ery day in forming plans for her future conduct. 
 She selected those books she had learned most 
 from, and had greatest pleasure in perusing, to 
 take with her : and her music was examined 
 again and again, not only to take what she her- 
 self approved, but what she thought her father 
 and mother would like to hear her play. She 
 visited every house in the village, repeating her 
 promise of remembering them when she was far 
 away ; and with Mary Forbes she spent a little 
 time almost every evening, in endeavoring to rec- 
 oncile her to her loss. 
 
 At length a servant of Mr. Stanley arrived, as 
 the harbinger of their approach ; and when Mar- 
 tin came in to deliver the letter he had brought, 
 she was nearly as much agitated as her young 
 mistress. — " You cannot think what a fine livery 
 he has, Miss !" said she, hardly knowing what 
 she spoke : " Would you like to see him ? if you 
 go to the window on the stairs, you may, as he 
 comes from the stables ; for John is gone there 
 with him, to put his horse in." 
 
 Ellen was going to reply, when Mrs. Irvin, 
 having read the letter, gave it to her. " They 
 will be here to-night," said she ; and speaking to 
 Martin, she ordered her to see that the best apart- 
 ment was ready for their reception, and that ano- 
 
100 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 ther bed was made up for Miss Arnold, whom 
 they were to bring with them. 
 
 Martin left the room ; and Ellen, with a trem- 
 bling voice, said, " They will be here in two or 
 three hours, I dare say." 
 
 " Yes, my dear, 1 ' replied Mrs. Irvin, " and you 
 will, I hope, compose yourself, and behave as 
 you ought. You see," continued she, " your 
 mother makes an apology for not answering your 
 letter, and has brought Miss Arnold with her ; 
 thinking, as an old acquaintance, you would be 
 glad to see her." 
 
 " I want to see nobody," said Ellen ; " I think 
 I never was so frightened in my life !" and she 
 burst into tears. Mrs. Irvin felt for her ; but she 
 was not sorry to see this effect of her agitation, 
 as she hoped it would relieve and calm her mind. 
 Nor was she disappointed : in a few moments 
 she dried her eyes. " I will not fear," said she : 
 " why should 1 1 — In three hours, do you think 
 they will be here ?" added she, as she walked to 
 the window, and then to the glass. It was al- 
 most the first time in her life that she had looked 
 into it with any anxiety. " I wonder how my 
 parents would like to see me dressed ?" said she ; 
 " I should not like to appear very awkward in 
 their eyes ; but I know nothing of the fashion." 
 
 Mrs. Irvin advised her not to indulge these 
 thoughts, but rather to sit down to her instrument, 
 and endeavor to cheer her spirits by music. After 
 playing a little while she accompanied her aunt 
 to the apartments prepared for their guests, and 
 then retiring to her own, she once more implored 
 the protection and assistance of the Almighty, till, 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 101 
 
 with a heart quite strengthened, she returned to 
 her aunt, who rejoiced to see her brightened 
 countenance ; and they sat reanimating each other, 
 till they heard the sound of the carriage approach- 
 ing the outer gate. Ellen's color changed, as she 
 saw her father's servant with her aunt's running 
 to conduct them to the door. 
 
 " It will soon be over," said she to herself; " in 
 one minute I shall see my parents !" 
 
 Mrs. Irvin went to meet them in the hall : but 
 Ellen was unable to follow ; she almost fainted 
 when she heard the voice of her mother as she 
 entered the house ; and had not Miss Arnold, 
 who was curious to witness her feelings, come in 
 to her, while Mrs. Irvin conducted Mr. and Mrs. 
 Stanley to another parlor, she could not have re- 
 covered herself. 
 
 The appearance of Miss Arnold seemed to en- 
 courage her, and she returned her cold salute 
 with real affection. " This is very good of you," 
 said she ; " but where is my mother 1 I thought 
 I heard her voice." 
 
 " Come with me, my dear," said this now wel- 
 come guest ; " I will introduce you ; she is im- 
 patient to see you !" 
 
 Ellen attempted to move, and again panted for 
 breath. " I am so frightened !" said she. 
 
 " I can imagine your feelings," returned Miss 
 Arnold : " but indeed there is no cause of fear ; 
 you will soon find your mother all you wish." 
 
 " Ah !" thought Ellen, " if I could !" as she was 
 hurried across the hall by her young friend, who, 
 opening the door of the room in which Mrs. Stan- 
 ley was, said, " I have brought Ellen, ma'am ; 
 9* 
 
102 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 she was so much alarmed and agitated, or she 
 would have come before." 
 
 The trembling girl lifted up her eyes as she 
 entered behind her conductress, and felt her 
 courage revive on seeing her aunt's placid coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin turned to the lady who sat next her, 
 and whose eyes were fixed on Ellen ; " Here, 
 my dear sister, is your daughter," said she, " and 
 mine also ; for you must allow me to call her so, 
 I love her as such :" and putting Ellen's hand in 
 that of Mrs. Stanley, she added, " let me share 
 her love with you." 
 
 " At present," said Mrs. Stanley, " you have 
 the largest claim to all : but I hope," added she, 
 drawing her agitated child toward her, " I shall 
 in future obtain it likewise." 
 
 " O my dear mother !" said Ellen, sinking on 
 her knees before her, " that I may deserve yours !" 
 — was all she could say. 
 
 Mrs. Stanley seemed affected, and raising her 
 from the posture she was in, kissed her with 
 emotion. 
 
 Mr. Stanley now entered; and observing Ellen 
 seated by her mother, he said, " Is this our daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. Irvin ? Upon my honor, her appearance 
 makes my absence from England seem long in- 
 deed ! why, she is quite a young woman !" and 
 as Ellen rose to approach him, he met her with 
 all the politeness of a man of fashion, though not 
 with the affection of a father ; and taking her 
 hand he put it to his lips, and led her again to 
 her seat. 
 
 Ellen was astonished. " Is this the way all 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 103 
 
 fathers meet their children ?" thought she : " sure- 
 ly mine takes me for some one else ;" and she 
 looked at her aunt to speak for her. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin felt hurt, and said, " Ellen receives 
 you but coolly, Mr. Stanley : but her actions at 
 present ill accord with her heart ; it is there she 
 wishes to show you all the duty of a child." 
 
 " I am not sure," returned Mr. Stanley, " that 
 I shall wish to receive it : to have such a great 
 girl calling me father, would make me appear 
 quite old ; on the contrary, I assure you, your 
 sister and myself are returned very young : the 
 years we have spent abroad, we do not mean to 
 reckon in our lives." 
 
 Again Ellen was surprised, as her father once 
 more approached her, and added, " Therefore, my 
 dear child, you should have been but six or eight 
 years old, and then, perhaps, I might have owned 
 you ; but as it is, I believe you must be only 
 my younger sister. Mrs. Stanley, what say you 
 to this arrangement ?" 
 
 " A very good plan," answered she ; " for, upon 
 my word, now I think of it, I should be ashamed 
 of my age, were I to introduce her as my 
 daughter." 
 
 11 Whatever I may be in the eyes of the world, 
 my dear madam," answered Ellen, gathering cour- 
 age, " I hope neither you nor my dear father will 
 deny me the affection I may claim as your child : 
 it shall be my endeavor to deserve it ; — and in- 
 deed," added she, observing them smile, " I am 
 not so very old, though I am tall ; consider how 
 I have been educated." 
 
 "Very true," returned Mr. Stanley, who ap- 
 
104 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 peared pleased with what she had said , " I can 
 see you have not been brought very forward, and 
 therefore I believe I may venture to salute you 
 as my daughter — at least for the present." And 
 with these words he kissed her cheek, and again 
 led her to her seat. 
 
 Though Mr. Stanley's manner was not such 
 as Mrs. Irvin could entirely approve, yet she was 
 pleased to observe that he seemed satisfied with 
 the appearance of Ellen, and was remarkably at- 
 tentive to her all the evening. 
 
 On entering the other parlor where tea and 
 coffee had been ordered, Miss Arnold, who had 
 been a silent spectator to the above scene, ex- 
 pressed great pleasure at beholding the instru- 
 ment, « her old friend," as she termed it ; and 
 promised Mr. and Mrs. Stanley much satisfaction 
 on hearing their daughter perform on it. 
 
 After tea, Ellen played some of her best pie- 
 ces ; and both father and mother were agreeably 
 surprised to find their expectations had not been 
 too highly raised. 
 
 The evening passed off better than Mrs. Irvin 
 supposed ; and before they separated for the night, 
 Ellen attended her mother to her apartment, and 
 begged to introduce Martin to her. 
 
 Mrs. Stanley received this faithful servant of 
 her children with some appearance of satisfac- 
 tion ; and now for the first time thought of poor 
 Anna, whom she had left with Ellen under her 
 care. 
 
 Martin could have talked for ever of her late 
 charge ; but Mrs. Stanley expressed herself fa- 
 tigued with her journey, and they soon left her. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 105 
 
 When they went to bed, Miss Arnold desired 
 Ellen would come with her into her room, where, 
 with many expressions of regard, she asked her, 
 " If she was not delighted with the thought of re- 
 turning to town with them. — Don't you vrish to 
 know when Mr. and Mrs. Stanley talk of going ?" 
 said she ; " they will not stay more than one day ; 
 they said so on their journey : and indeed I was 
 sure this stupid place would not suit them ; — for- 
 give me, my dear, but now you are going from it, 
 I may say so ; — we shall soon show you what 
 life is." 
 
 Ellen sighed, and said, " Only one day will 
 they stay 1 I hoped at least a week." 
 
 " Why, you are to go with us, you know," an- 
 swered Miss Arnold ; " and to London ! only 
 think of that." 
 
 " I wish I could with more pleasure than I 
 do," answered Ellen ; " but this place has much 
 greater charms for me ; — my sentiments are not 
 changed since the summer you were here," added 
 she, with a smile ; " you know then I did not 
 wish to leave it ; and now to go from my aunt 
 seems worse than ever !" 
 
 Her gay companion in vain endeavored to make 
 her think otherwise ; and Ellen was glad to wish 
 her good night, and retire to her own room, where 
 she found her aunt waiting to have a little con- 
 versation with her before she retired to rest. 
 
 Ellen told her what she had heard, and her 
 aunt confirmed her fears by saying, Mr. Stanley 
 had mentioned the time of their return ; but at 
 the same moment she would have removed them, 
 Ellen looked as if she wished to ask, what was 
 
106 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 her opinion of the reception she had met with ; 
 and Mrs. Irvin tried to raise her hopes from it. 
 — " You had no right to expect very warm affec- 
 tion in your parents," said she, " separated at 
 such an early age from them ; but from your 
 father I hope you will meet with encouragement, 
 and from your mother increased regard : I joy- 
 fully observed your father's look of approbation 
 while you were playing, and presage great things 
 from it ; he will not long think you too tall and 
 too old to be his daughter, but will be proud to 
 call you so." 
 
 Thus did this affectionate aunt endeavor to 
 raise the spirits of her dejected niece, and after 
 commending her to the care of Providence, left 
 her to herself. 
 
 The next morning they spent some hours to- 
 gether before their visiters arose, and at Ellen's 
 earnest entreaty she promised that, if Mr. and 
 Mrs. Stanley asked her, she would accompany 
 them to town, and see her comfortably settled in 
 her father's house. 
 
 This grant, so unexpectedly gained, quite ex- 
 hilarated Ellen's spirits ; and she met her parents 
 at breakfast with a cheerful air of unrestraint, 
 and was able to talk of their future plans with 
 pleasure. 
 
 In the course of the day Mrs. Stanley men- 
 tioned that the succeeding one was fixed for 
 their return : but if Mrs. Irvin would allow them 
 the favor of her company, they would prolong 
 their stay till the following morning. Ellen could 
 not help repeating their supplication ; " Do, my 
 dear aunt," said she, " pray do." 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 107 
 
 " What are you so pathetically imploring, my 
 dear ?" said her father, who had not been attend- 
 ing to their conversation. 
 
 The request for Mrs. Irvin's company was 
 again repeated, and he joined in the entreaty ; 
 " For Ellen's sake, I know you will," said he. 
 
 This was a plea Mrs. Irvin was not inclined to 
 refuse ; and coming from him also, it acted with 
 its full force : she gave her consent, and the 
 whole party expressed their pleasure. As for 
 Ellen, she was delighted : it was what till now 
 she had not thought of asking ; and, after having 
 feared that the next day she must have been 
 entirely separated from her aunt, it appeared 
 as a reprieve from all that was terrible ! She 
 chatted with Miss Arnold, sang her most lively 
 airs, and her parents had no reason to complain 
 that she was too serious. 
 
 After dinner, Mrs. Stanley brought into the 
 room several handsome presents, the produce of 
 the Indies, of which she begged her sister's ac- 
 
 ' BO 
 
 ceptance : nor was Martin forgotten in the dis- 
 tribution. 
 
 As it was a very fine evening, Ellen persuaded 
 her parents and Miss Arnold to take a little walk ; 
 and though she did not lead them into the village, 
 several of the poor people, on hearing of their 
 approach, gathered together in the road to see 
 Miss Ellen's " fine company," as they were called. 
 
 On their return to the house, they found Mr. 
 Herbert, who had been for some days absent 
 from Milwood, and, on his coming home, hasten- 
 ed to hear if his young friend had yet left it. Mrs. 
 Irvin made him promise to stay the remainder of 
 
108 THE TWIN SISTERS 
 
 the evening ; and on her sister's entrance, intro- 
 duced this worthy man, as one of their first 
 friends. Mrs. Stanley received him with a cold 
 civility ; and, while she recollected his kindness 
 to her in her early youth, endeavored to express 
 a pleasure she did not feel at again seeing him. 
 
 This evening and the next day passed off but 
 heavily to the London party ; while Ellen, early 
 in the morning, walked to the village, to bid adieu 
 to all her humble friends ; and leaving them with 
 tears in her eyes, she repeated her former pro- 
 mises of remembrance. 
 
 Martin, that day, had full employment in put- 
 ting up Ellen's and her aunt's clothes, with all 
 that Ellen had desired might be sent after her ; 
 and she thought of the next morning with less 
 apprehension than she could have imagined. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 109 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " Still, as through life's perplexing maze I stray, 
 Be thou the guiding star to mark my way ! 
 Conduct the steps of my unguarded youth, 
 And point their motions to the paths of Truth." 
 
 E. Carter. 
 
 About nine o'clock the next morning, the 
 whole party were in Mr. Stanley's travelling 
 coach, and arrived in London before the close 
 of the evening. 
 
 Ellen was astonished at the magnificence of 
 the streets through which they passed. The 
 carriage stopped at a large house in Grosvenor- 
 square ; when they alighted, and were shown 
 into a very handsome drawing-room, where they 
 found the other Miss Arnold waiting their arrival. 
 She welcomed Mrs. Irvin and Ellen with great 
 cordiality, and particularly congratulated the latter 
 on her emancipation from the country. 
 
 This evening all was hurry and confusion ; 
 and Mrs. Irvin was glad to retire early with her 
 niece. 
 
 When they were alone, each seemed uncom- 
 fortable, though both were unwilling to assign the 
 cause of their uneasiness, and the fatigue of their 
 journey served as an excuse for their silence. 
 
 The next morning the bustle in the house was 
 still greater. Mr. Stanley found many things 
 10 
 
110 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 which he had ordered for his own accommodation 
 not done : this put him out of humor, and the ser- 
 vants were flying for the workmen to come and 
 receive his orders. His lady was all the morn- 
 ing in her dressing-room, directing her maid how 
 she should ornament her table and glass, and see- 
 ing her clothes laid smooth in her wardrobe. 
 
 Ellen also had her things brought to her apart- 
 ment ; but she felt no inclination to arrange them. 
 
 " It will be an amusement to me some time 
 hence," said she ; and her mind reverted to the 
 day her aunt would leave her, though she feared 
 to trust her voice to mention it ; and the inter- 
 vening time from breakfast to dinner Mrs. Irvin 
 spent with her, in endeavoring to read and recall 
 some of those antidotes to anxiety which they 
 had formerly found efficacious : nor were they 
 now unsuccessful. 
 
 At dinner they met their friends with placid 
 looks, which only served to increase the chagrin 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, who had just been dis- 
 appointed of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold's company to 
 dinner ; and this was enough to discompose them 
 for the rest of the day. At a loss for amusement 
 in themselves, they had ever been accustomed to 
 look to others for a supply. 
 
 " What shall we do with ourselves all the 
 evening ?" said Mrs. Stanley : " if it were not so 
 warm we would go to the theatre ; and yet I should 
 not like to make my appearance there till I had 
 first received the visits of my acquaintance." 
 
 " Such living as this is dreadful/' interrupted 
 Mr. Stanley, who had been lounging in his chair, 
 inattentive to all around him. " I beg your par- 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. Ill 
 
 don, Mrs. Irvin ; but I cannot think how you have 
 been able to live so much alone." 
 
 " I never could have spent my time so much to 
 my satisfaction," answered she, " without this 
 dear girl, and books, and music : with these, the 
 time never appeared tedious." 
 
 Ellen, at the mention of music, ventured to 
 speak ; observing she had seen an instrument in 
 the other room. " I hope I shall be able to amuse 
 you after tea, my dear father," added she. 
 
 "Oh!" said Mrs. Stanley, " we cannot have 
 music all the day long : besides, one performer is 
 scarcely worth hearing ; you must learn to play 
 in concert, and then perhaps you may amuse us 
 for half an hour." 
 
 This appeared so much like a reproof to Ellen, 
 that she remained silent and hurt ; but Mrs. Irvin, 
 ever wishing to divert her thoughts from this sub- 
 ject, mentioned books to her sister. " Don't you 
 find them an agreeable substitute for company ?" 
 asked she. 
 
 " I don't know," answered Mrs. Stanley ; " I 
 think they are all alike ; and then it is so much 
 trouble to choose which I should like : and when 
 I have read, I find so little amusement from it, 
 that I seldom take a book in my hand. But the 
 newspapers are interesting enough ; I sometimes 
 read them." 
 
 " Ah, the newspapers !" said Mr. Stanley, start- 
 ing up and ringing the bell ; " I never thought of 
 them ; I ordered one to be brought here every 
 day : I wonder if there are any in the house V 
 
 On the servant's appearing, he was answered, 
 " none had been brought ;" which produced 
 
112 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 another storm in his countenance, and the man 
 was despatched to procure one immediately. 
 
 By this time tea was ordered in another room ; 
 after which Ellen was desired to try the instru- 
 ment, as it was a new one, and the maker had 
 promised to change it if not approved of. 
 
 She was delighted with its tones, though sorry 
 to observe it could not remove the gloom of her 
 father or the languor of her mother, who, after 
 the contents of the newspaper had been discussed, 
 were again at a loss for conversation. Somewhat 
 was said in the paper of the contents of a valua- 
 ble library to be sold ; and this reminded Mr. 
 Stanley of having one of his rooms fitted up in 
 this style. 
 
 " If it is the fashion," said Mrs. Stanley, " I 
 suppose we must have one : though I heartily 
 hope, after a few days, when our friends know 
 of our being in town, we shall be so much en- 
 gaged as not to have any time for reading, or any- 
 thing else but dressing and visiting." 
 
 The evening passed off heavily, and the whole 
 party retired early, determined, if possible, not to 
 spend another day in this manner. 
 
 It would be endless to recapitulate all the vis- 
 iters that, in the course of the week, left their 
 cards at the door of Mrs. Stanley ; or of all the 
 mantua-makers, fancy-dressmakers, and milliners, 
 that were employed to modernize poor Ellen, and 
 to make her (in dress, at least) " a little more 
 like other people ;" — this was Mrs. Stanley's kind 
 expression, when she introduced these fantastical 
 fopperies to her daughter's notice, and who was 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 113 
 
 much displeased at her not appearing extremely 
 delighted at being made the object of their atten- 
 tion. 
 
 " Oh, dear ma'am," said one, " Miss Stanley 
 requires very little to make her appearance suit- 
 able to her rank !" 
 
 " 1 think," says another, " there is a great simi- 
 larity between Miss Stanley and Lady Anne For- 
 ester, who is just coming out this spring. I made 
 such a charming robe for her ladyship but last 
 week ! If you like, ma'am, I could, with a few al- 
 terations, make such a one for Miss Stanley : it 
 was very becoming." 
 
 Ellen bore very little part in these consulta- 
 tions ; nor could she appear so much pleased as 
 she wished to be, when she thought herself obliged 
 to her mother for thus endeavoring to improve 
 her ; though she could not help thinking the mo- 
 ney she was thus expending might have been 
 better bestowed. 
 
 The letters that Mrs. Irvin received from Mil- 
 wood seemed to indicate that her presence was 
 wanted there, and she thought she could perceive 
 that neither Mr. nor Mrs. Stanley would regret 
 her leaving them ; yet the imploring looks of 
 Ellen, whenever her departure was mentioned, 
 had hitherto prevented her fixing any time for it ; 
 till, at the end of a full month, she declared she 
 must name the day for her return, and nothing must 
 prevent it. 
 
 Ellen heard her determination with a heavy 
 
 countenance, and once had thoughts of asking to 
 
 go with her ; but the recollection of all her aunt 
 
 had said of her duty to her parents checked these 
 
 10 s * 
 
114 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 suggestions ; and throwing her arms round the 
 neck of this dear and valued friend, she promised 
 not to repine. " But you will write to me ?" said 
 she ; " promise me again and again, my dear 
 aunt, and if you should be ill, or at any time want 
 my assistance, in what I know to be of far more 
 consequence than the vain pursuits I must shortly 
 follow, do not deny me the pleasure of again liv- 
 ing with you at Milwood." 
 
 Mrs. Irvin returned an affectionate answer ; 
 and after having received from Ellen a promise 
 of writing to her every thought of her heart, and 
 from Mr. and Mrs. Stanley many unmeaning 
 speeches of the pleasure her company had afford- 
 ed them, and regret at her departure, she got into 
 a post-chaise without trusting herself to take a 
 particular farewell of her niece, who silently at- 
 tended her with her father to the door ; and when, 
 for the last time, she looked at her aunt, the eyes 
 of each Avere filled with tears, as Mrs. Irvin fondly 
 repeated, " God bless you, my dear, dear Ellen !" 
 
 As soon as the chaise drove from the door, the 
 sorrowing girl flew to her own room, where, with- 
 out perceiving the maid whom her mother had a 
 few days before hired to attend upon her, she 
 threw herself into a chair, and burst into tears. 
 The young woman appeared astonished, and, with 
 great civility, asked if she was unwell, or if she 
 could bring her anything ? 
 
 " Oh no," said Ellen, still weeping ; " I have 
 lost my best friend ! my aunt has gone ! But do 
 not tell mamma how sorry I am : and yet," added 
 she, hesitating, " there is nothing wrong in it ; 
 and if there was, she would not be displeased." 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 115 
 
 "Dear me, no, Miss," said the maid ; " your 
 mamma. I am sure, cannot be angry : it is very 
 natural to cry when we part from friends ; and I 
 dare say the lady that is just gone is more natu- 
 ral to you than your own mother ; for I think 1 
 have heard that you have lived with her ever 
 since you were born, and never saw your mam- 
 ma till now." 
 
 Ellen began to recollect herself, and fearing to 
 speak much on this subject, and to a servants, 
 likewise, slightly answered, " It was true, she 
 had left her parents so early that they were al- 
 most strangers to her when they met ; and hav- 
 ing lived with her aunt for so many years, she 
 could not help feeling a great deal at her depar- 
 ture :" and thanking her for her attention, she 
 dried her eyes, and went to seek her mother. 
 She found her very busily engaged with her own 
 maid in looking for a convenient place to depos- 
 ite more hats and caps which were just brought 
 from the milliner's ; and seeing Ellen, she told 
 her she intended taking her that evening to 
 one of the public gardens, and desired her there- 
 fore to consult her servant (who, she had been 
 assured, possessed great taste in dress) on what 
 she would wear. " Now your aunt is gone," con- 
 tinued she, " 1 suppose you will want something 
 to console you for her loss ; and there you will 
 hear some beautiful music, and see some fine 
 fireworks : are not you pleased with the thought 
 of it ?" said she rather hastily, observing that El- 
 len still looked melancholy. 
 
 " Yes, mamma," replied the frighted girl, " I 
 
116 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 shall like it very much : but shall we not see a 
 great deal of company ?" 
 
 " To be sure we shall," replied Mrs. Stanley, 
 " or I assure you I would not go. But you need 
 not be alarmed ; I can venture to say no one will 
 speak or look at you : go along, child, and con- 
 sider what you shall wear." 
 
 Ellen heartily hoped her mother's prediction 
 would prove true ; and returning to her own room, 
 which she now found empty, she was willing to 
 indulge herself with a little reading : and there- 
 fore determined to delay the important consulta- 
 tion till nearer dinner. 
 
 When she had composed her mind with a fa- 
 vorite author, she rang the bell, and on her ser- 
 vant's attending, she told her what her mother had 
 desired ; and as Ellen was not very particular as 
 to what she should wear, so that it was not what 
 she called " very fine indeed," her choice was 
 soon made, and she went to the dining-room with 
 a determination to be pleased with her mother's 
 proposal, and to anticipate only pleasure from the 
 evening's entertainment. 
 
 Mr. Stanley dined out that day ; but they were 
 to go in Mr. and Mrs. Arnold's party, and several 
 gentlemen with them. 
 
 As Mrs. Stanley had not yet given up the idea 
 of being admired, she was not displeased at hear- 
 ing Ellen had chosen a dress which gave her 
 more the appearance of a child than she really 
 was. 
 
 It was late in the evening before the carriage 
 was ordered ; and Ellen followed her mother into 
 it, with a disposition half afraid and half pleased j 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 117 
 
 and as they drove to the entrance of the gardens, 
 she could not tell what were her expectations. She 
 thought of her aunt's arrival at Milwood, which 
 she supposed was about this time ; but soon the 
 carriage stopped, and she was awakened from her 
 revery, when she saw Mr. Arnold at the door of 
 it, ready to hand her out. — Her mind was all con- 
 fusion, and she was hurried along without know- 
 ing where she was, or whom she followed. 
 
 They soon reached their party, and immediate- 
 ly the Miss Arnolds seized her arm, and began in- 
 quiring if she was not delighted. A box had been 
 procured for them near the orchestra ; and when 
 the music began, Ellen wished for no other amuse- 
 ment. 
 
 Her young companions, who were much more 
 gayly dressed than herself, when they had heard 
 all her observations on the illumination and orna- 
 ments of the place, were very willing to resign 
 her whole attention to the band, while theirs was 
 more agreeably engrossed by the conversation of 
 the gentleman who attended them ; and they si- 
 lently exulted over Ellen, that they received more 
 attention than herself ; while she felt contented 
 to remain unnoticed, if, without interruption, she 
 might attend to what she thought much better 
 worth hearing. 
 
 Mrs. Stanley paid little attention to her daugh- 
 ter ; for, like the Miss Arnolds, she, too, was en- 
 gaged in conversation with a gentleman : and she 
 began to think, if this was going into public, she 
 should not so much mind it : "I can sit very 
 quietly here," thought she, " and be very agree- 
 ably entertained ; and it is amusing enough to see 
 
118 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 the company walking about ; nay, I don't think 
 my aunt would dislike this ; — I wish she was 
 here !" 
 
 But it was not long the rest of the party were 
 inclined to sit ; and Mrs. Arnold proposed walk- 
 ing through the gardens. " Besides, the fireworks 
 are soon to begin," said she ; " and we shall not 
 get a good situation to see them." 
 
 This was not what Ellen wished ; but she stood 
 up with the others, and when no one offered her an 
 arm, she remained distressed and confused. She 
 looked first at her mother, — but her eye was nev- 
 er cast on her ; then at the Miss Arnolds, — but 
 they were laughing very loud at something their 
 companion had said ; and had not their father, 
 with some good nature toward Ellen, reminded 
 them of her, she would have been totally disre- 
 garded. 
 
 The youngest now addressed some conversa- 
 tion to her, and putting her arm within hers, they 
 followed the company through some very pretty 
 walks, with which Ellen expressed herself much 
 pleased. 
 
 Mr. Arnold joined his daughter and Ellen, 
 and conducted them to the spot whence they 
 were to see the fireworks ; with which Ellen 
 was equally astonished and pleased ; and on the 
 whole the evening was more agreeable than she 
 expected. 
 
 As she returned home with her mother, she 
 thanked her for the entertainment she had re- 
 ceived ; but the lateness of the hour, and the con- 
 fusion of the company she had been in, were 
 so new to her, that she felt quite fatigued, and 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 119 
 
 retired to her own apartment as soon as they 
 alighted. 
 
 There her maid attended to undress her ; but 
 Ellen, unable to answer all her inquiries, of how 
 she had been entertained, and what she had seen, 
 soon dismissed her ; and having recommended 
 herself to the Almighty, she got into bed ; but 
 the hurry and bustle she had been so unaccus- 
 tomed to, prevented her sleeping for many hours 
 after she was there. This made her later in the 
 morning ; and she found reason to regret the last 
 night's pleasure, as it prevented her pursuing her 
 usual plan of reading and writing before the break- 
 fast-hour. 
 
 She now received lessons of music and dan- 
 cing from the most eminent masters ; and Mr. 
 Stanley seemed interested in her improvement in 
 these accomplishments. In the former, her native 
 taste soon made her excel ; and as she found her 
 father pleased with her attention to it, she en- 
 deavored to gain more courage as a performer, 
 and it was not long before she conquered the dif- 
 fidence she at first felt when she attempted to 
 sing and play before any company. 
 
 The summer was now far advanced ; and as 
 most of the fashionable world were leaving the 
 town for a few weeks, Mrs. Stanley also wished 
 to visit the country for that time. 
 
 Ellen thought of Mil wood ; but her hopes were 
 soon checked by the mention of Brighton, or 
 Tunbridge Wells, or some other place of gay re- 
 sort : the latter was fixed on, a house taken, and 
 the whole family removed there for a month or 
 six weeks. 
 
120 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 Here Ellen had the unexpected pleasure of 
 meeting with her good friend Mr. Herbert, whose 
 health obliged him to leave the duties of his par- 
 ish for a short time ; and in his society, and read- 
 ing the excellent and affectionate letters she often 
 received from her aunt, she found more pleasure 
 than in all the gay assemblies which she attend- 
 ed with her mother. 
 
 The unaffected simplicity of her manners gain- 
 ed her notice and admiration, which, in those 
 who could engage her in any conversation be- 
 yond the trifling pursuits of the day, was gene- 
 rally increased to esteem. This, with the splen- 
 did appearance of her father's equipage, made her 
 acquaintance more and more sought for ; but hap- 
 pily for Ellen, the excellent instructions she had 
 received were too deeply engraven on her mind, 
 to suffer the compliments that were so often paid 
 her to make any lasting impression ; and though, 
 for a time, she seemed pleased with what she 
 heard, the satisfaction was but transient ; and 
 when retired within herself, " the world shut out," 
 she would blush at the recollection of the unmean- 
 ing discourse she had listened to. 
 
 These were not her feelings while at Milwood, 
 nor at Tunbridge, when she could gain permis- 
 sion to walk out with Mr. Herbert, who often 
 called on her for that purpose ; and then, as it 
 was his invariable custom to search for objects 
 of charity and compassion, on whom he could be- 
 stow, at least, the comfort of commiseration, and 
 oftentimes relieve the wounded mind, bending un- 
 der the weight of misery, which mortal nature, 
 unsupported by religion, would too probably sink 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 121 
 
 under, Ellen's heart rejoiced in the opportunity 
 of relieving their temporal wants, as her father's 
 liberality had put it in her power. 
 
 There was also a very agreeable family, with 
 whom Mr. Herbert became acquainted, and whom 
 the ill health of one of the daughters had brought 
 to this place. 
 
 In her walks with this good man, Ellen had 
 often met and joined them ; though, in the places 
 of public resort, she had seen none of the family 
 except the young men, who there bowed to her 
 at a distance, but, discouraged by the supercilious 
 looks of Mrs. Stanley, had not ventured to address 
 her as an acquaintance. With every part of this 
 family Ellen was much pleased, and she was glad 
 to hear they intended buying a house in the neigh- 
 borhood of Milwood. 
 
 The round of company, and the late hours El- 
 len was now obliged to conform to, soon deprived 
 her of that look of health for which she had for- 
 merly been both admired and envied ; she became 
 pale and dejected, and looked, like all other fash- 
 ionable ladies, when not supplied by the roses of 
 art, quite worn out in the pursuit of pleasure ; but 
 her mother appeared more attached to her, and 
 her father was delighted to observe the admira- 
 tion she generally attracted. 
 
 It was one evening, when she felt herself more 
 than usually unwell, that she begged to be excus- 
 ed from attending the theatre ; and though her 
 mother feared the being so long alone would hurt 
 her spirits, after many entreaties and assurances to 
 the contrary, she complied, and Ellen was left to 
 enjoy the evening as she liked. She only feared 
 11 
 
122 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 it would be too short : and on Mrs. Stanley's re- 
 turn, she was so far from finding her complaining 
 of the tediousness of the time, that she appeared 
 surprised to see her so soon. For one moment, 
 Mrs. Stanley wished to obtain this valuable knowl- 
 edge of thus spending a few hours quite to her- 
 self, without being entirely devoured by the 
 spleen ; but she recollected her health and for- 
 tune were both such as would allow her to partake 
 of every public amusement, and she need not 
 study for solitary ones, since she was determined 
 never to be alone ; yet she congratulated her 
 daughter on being so well able to amuse herself 
 when deprived of every other resource. — " But 
 why had you not sent for a novel ?" said she, on 
 taking up one of the books Ellen had chosen for 
 the evening, and which was on a serious subject ; 
 " would it not have been a better companion than 
 this ?" 
 
 Ellen answered, with great good-humor, " Not 
 in my opinion, my dear mother ; since this book 
 speaks truth, which novels never do." 
 
 Mrs. Stanley remarked, " she had some very 
 odd notions ;" and then proceeded to give her an 
 account of the play, and the company she had 
 seen ; all of which Ellen endeavored to appear 
 interested in. 
 
 The next morning she went with her mother 
 to one of the public libraries, where, at her desire, 
 she had before put her name, with that of Mrs. 
 Stanley, to a raffle. Two or three gentlemen 
 were reading the list of the names of the sub- 
 scribers ; and theirs were repeated among the 
 rest. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 123 
 
 " Who are trie Stanle)'s ?" said one of these 
 fashionable loungers, who either did not know 
 they were in the shop, or pretended to be igno- 
 rant of it. 
 
 Another answered, they were " Rich Nabobs 
 just come from the East." 
 
 " They have one daughter," added another ; 
 (Ellen felt her curiosity excited, and her color 
 rise, as they continued ;) " but I hear she is noth- 
 ing at all, neither handsome nor accomplished, 
 but very awkward." 
 
 " Sure," thought Ellen, " I ought not to be 
 mortified at this ; I dare say it is the truth, though 
 I have lately heard so much to the contrary." 
 
 Her reflections were interrupted by her mo- 
 ther's taking her arm, and walking out of the 
 shop. As she had been speaking to one of the 
 persons in it, she had not heard what had given 
 Ellen this uneasiness, and therefore wondered at 
 her silence. 
 
 As they passed the window, attended by their 
 footman, one of the gentlemen exclaimed, " Ah, 
 that's the Stanley livery !" and a loud laugh en- 
 sued, which still rung in Ellen's ears when far 
 away from the place in which she had heard it. 
 
 " What is the matter with you, child ?" said 
 Mrs. Stanley ; " you seem quite stupid." Ellen 
 knew not whether she should tell her mother the 
 mortification she had received, or not ; when they 
 were joined by another party, and she lost the 
 opportunity ; and as no conversation was partic- 
 ularly addressed to her, she continued to rumi- 
 nate on it, till she was angry with herself at feel- 
 ing it as such. 
 
124 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 " Have I not acknowledged it to be truth ?" 
 said she ; " and why should I be so displeased at 
 it ? Unknown to myself I have contracted a love 
 of admiration ; I already begin to look for praise, 
 and to be hurt if I don't receive it :" and at night 
 she took herself severely to task for allowing it to 
 have this effect. She saw, from this incident, the 
 necessity of increased watchfulness over her own 
 heart, and determined to use a greater strictness 
 and attention to things of more consequence than 
 either her accomplishments or appearance. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 125 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " Retain the sweet simplicity of youth : 
 And all thy virtue dictates, dare to do." 
 
 On their return to town, Mr. Stanley entered 
 into a society of gentlemen, to whom he had been 
 introduced at Timbridge, who were amateurs in 
 music, and he became one likewise — or, at least, 
 so he fancied himself ; for though a very indiffer- 
 ent performer on whatever instrument he attempt- 
 ed, he now expressed quite an enthusiastic fond- 
 ness for it. His house was filled with instru- 
 ments of every kind, and both private and public 
 performers frequented it. 
 
 Ellen's natural love of music made her enter 
 into all her father's proposals of this sort ; and 
 she was soon one of the first performers on the 
 harp and piano at all their private concerts. 
 
 Several ladies, as well as herself, attended, and 
 assisted at these entertainments ; but for a long 
 time Ellen bore the belle, as possessing most taste 
 and the finest voice. 
 
 Mr. Stanley was delighted to hear her praises ; 
 and, in return, he more readily agreed to her de- 
 sire of relieving the poor, when she now and then 
 ventured to mention to him some of those objects 
 which, through the intervention of her maid, were 
 made known to her. 
 
 It was now very much the fashion to make mu- 
 ll* 
 
126 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 sical parties on Sunday evening ; and it was a 
 source of uneasiness to Ellen, lest she should be 
 obliged to attend them. Her inclination never led 
 her that way ; and her parents, on account of not 
 thinking her quite well, would allow her to do as 
 she pleased ; though they rather chose to attrib- 
 ute her refusal to the above cause, than to the 
 serious hints she would sometimes give of the 
 impropriety of such entertainments on so sacred 
 a day. 
 
 It was but once that she was called upon to 
 give a decided preference of duty toward God, 
 rather than her parents, on such an occasion. — 
 Mr. Stanley had made a party at home on that 
 day ; and Ellen (considering that if she once, with 
 a wish of obliging him, so far complied with his 
 desire as to be one of the performers, it would be 
 leading to the same again, from which, after once 
 engaging in it, it would be more difficult to re- 
 cede) summoned all her resolution, and positively 
 refused to join the party. Her request to be ex- 
 cused, produced for some time a violent alterca- 
 tion with both her parents. " What can we say 
 for you ?" said Mrs. Stanley ; " you are not ill to- 
 day ; you went to church in the morning ; and if 
 you are well enough for that, you are able to spend 
 the evening in company." 
 
 " No," said Ellen, " I am not ill ; but my hav- 
 ing been to church, my dear mother, is one reason 
 why I cannot join the party in the evening." 
 
 " What notions are these !" exclaimed Mrs. 
 Stanley ; " indeed you make me quite angry ; 
 what harm do you think will happen to you from 
 hearing a little music on a Sunday evening ?" 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 127 
 
 " It is more than a little, dear mamma," replied 
 Ellen, " and seeing a great deal of company ; but 
 I wish not to dispute with you : I cannot, indeed 
 I cannot, enter into it. Consider how I have 
 been educated ; and my own judgment, as well 
 as the opinion of those to whose care you intrust- 
 ed me in my childhood, are against it ; but above 
 all," added she, with uncommon seriousness, " the 
 commands of God absolutely forbid it." 
 
 Mrs. Stanley was extremely angry, and left the 
 room, saying she was " very impertinent, and 
 only pretended to more goodness than anybody 
 else." 
 
 When they met at dinner, Ellen had to encoun- 
 ter the angry looks of her mother, and the severe 
 displeasure of Mr. Stanley, who had been inform- 
 ed of Ellen's whimsical dislike of joining the par- 
 ty in the evening, " because she thought it very 
 wicked." This was Mrs. Stanley's way of ex- 
 pressing her daughter's just and proper refusal ; 
 and again she had the difficult task of assigning the 
 cause of it. Her reasons for so doing were more 
 offensive to her parents than her refusal ; as, 
 though they liked not to acknowledge it even to 
 themselves, something within told them Ellen 
 might be right ; and if she was so, her steadiness 
 in adhering to it must be commendable. 
 
 They each commanded her to go to her own 
 apartment, and agreed to attribute her absence 
 from the company to a violent headache. 
 
 Ellen passed the evening quite alone ; not so 
 comfortably as she would have done had not this 
 affair happened, but still with such a conscious- 
 ness of having acted right, that she felt, were it 
 
128 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 to do over again, she would not alter her con- 
 duct. 
 
 The next morning she was all attention to her 
 parents ; nothing was said of the past evening, 
 till Mr. Stanley produced some new music he had 
 bespoke the week before, and which was just 
 brought home. Ellen expressed herself with 
 great sincerity extremely obliged to him, and 
 promised to use great diligence in practising and 
 learning it perfectly. 
 
 " Will you ?" said Mr. Stanley, whose good- 
 nature soon made him forget the violent heat his 
 uncontrolled passions often put him in : " there's 
 a good girl ; we'll have it the next musical party, 
 and it sha'nt be on a Sunday." 
 
 " Thank you, my dear father," answered Ellen, 
 whose heart quite melted at this condescension : 
 " I assure you, you shall not have to complain of 
 my want of attention to any wish of yours — that 
 is not inconsistent with a still greater duty," ad- 
 ded she, with hesitation ; and she turned to her 
 mother to exhibit the music books with increased 
 pleasure. " Was it not good of my father, madam," 
 said she, " to order them as soon as they were 
 published, and without saying anything to me ?" 
 
 " I don't know," answered Mrs. Stanley, not 
 quite pleased with this early reconciliation ; " I 
 think your father and you are music-mad. I had 
 rather play at cards at any time ; though last 
 night it was very well, as I find card-playing is 
 forbidden on a Sunday, and I don't wish to do 
 anything improper any more than yourself." 
 
 Ellen saw the temper of her mother, and made 
 no answer ; and the newspaper, which was al- 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS 129 
 
 ways part of the breakfast equipage, supplied the 
 deficiency of farther conversation. 
 
 Among all her young acquaintance, which was 
 very large, Ellen found none particularly suited 
 to her, or that could in any degree supply the 
 place of her beloved sister. In her most serious 
 moments, the recollection of the happiness to 
 which she fondly hoped her lamented Anna was 
 removed, and the affection she still retained for 
 her memory, would make her more earnest in her 
 prayers to be kept from the snares of the world, 
 so as not to forfeit her hopes of hereafter partak- 
 ing it with her. All the good resolutions she had 
 formed when mourning for her death returned with 
 double force ; and when, through the various en- 
 gagements she was obliged to enter into, she 
 found her affections weaned from Heaven and 
 heavenly things, she would bless God for thus 
 recalling them to her mind, and pray for increase 
 of grace to pursue them. 
 
 In compliance with her father's wishes, more 
 of her time was spent at the piano than she thought 
 quite right, and, by her earnest applications, she 
 was soon mistress of the new music he had pre- 
 sented her with ; and as Mr. Stanley was desir- 
 ous that others also should witness her perfection 
 in it, a musical party was invited, in which Ellen 
 was the chief performer, and met with the great- 
 est applause. Her heart was scarcely proof 
 against this, especially when she saw both her 
 father and mother delighted with the encomiums 
 bestowed on her ; and she experienced the truth 
 of an observation made by the wisest of men, that 
 " it is more difficult to bear praise than censure." 
 
130 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 She heard of nothing through the room, or even 
 when she had left it, but the excellence of her 
 performance ; for her maid had heard enough from 
 the servants below (who are generally retailers 
 of their masters' opinion), to be ready also to offer 
 her compliments on this great occasion ; and Ellen 
 was conscious that she took too much pleasure in 
 hearing them. 
 
 The next morning, her senses were a little re- 
 turned ; but still she felt more pleasure in touch-, 
 ing the instrument again, and recollecting the 
 praises she had received, than in anything else. 
 No book pleased her like her music-book : but it 
 was not long she could remain so unlike herself: 
 and a letter from her aunt soon recalled her 
 thoughts to their usual turn. 
 
 It was thus poor Ellen felt the evils of a situa- 
 tion in which many of my young readers might 
 possibly suppose no evil could arise ; but as she 
 advanced in life, she more evidently saw the pride, 
 envy, and detraction which a love of pleasure and 
 admiration insensibly leads to. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 131 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 u Pleasure is deaf, when told of future pain ; 
 And sounds prophetic are too rough to suit 
 Ears long accustomed to the pleasing lute." 
 
 COWPER. 
 
 Mr Stanley's whole attention was now be- 
 come so engrossed with music, that he was sel- 
 dom engaged in any other way : and his wife 
 found cards and dress equally attractive ; they be- 
 came quite a fashionable couple, were hardly ever 
 seen together, and never in public at the same 
 place. While her mornings were fully occupied 
 in fancying ornaments for the evening, his were 
 employed in looking over music, listening to the 
 opinion of those he thought the best judges of 
 whatever came out new, and taking every oppor- 
 tunity of making himself known as a patron of all 
 who wished to bring forward any new piece, or 
 to raise their characters as public performers. 
 
 Ellen, though she was sensible that neither her 
 father's nor mother's pursuit could, in the end, 
 produce the happiness they wished, yet felt una- 
 ble to prevent it, and therefore continued to walk 
 the same round, endeavoring to please both ; and 
 when she found herself gradually rising in the 
 affections of her father, she would indulge a hope 
 that she might hereafter lead him to a higher aim : 
 but of her mother she could form no such pleas- 
 
132 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 ing expectations ; the continual round of company- 
 she was in, and her increased fondness for all- 
 prevailing cards, with which, when Time is 
 decked, 
 
 " He charms a world whom fashion blinds 
 To his true worth, most pleased when idle most : 
 Whose only happy, are their wasted hours." 
 
 CoWPER. 
 
 —gave Ellen scarcely an opportunity of seeing her, 
 much less of conversing with her on any subject, 
 but in their different engagements : for as Ellen's 
 skill in music qualified her both to give and re- 
 ceive amusement in her father's parties, she more 
 frequently went out with him than with her mo- 
 ther. 
 
 This amiable girl had now been nearly two 
 years without seeing her beloved aunt, whose 
 heart yearned to behold her ; and in every letter, 
 though she forbore to express how very earnestly 
 she desired it, there was an inquiry, if she thought 
 her parents could spare her, at least for a few 
 weeks. Ellen was as eager for their permission 
 as her aunt ; and with an anxious bosom she 
 waited their reply. — Her mother said she had no 
 objection ; but Mr. Stanley remarked that the 
 Oratorios would soon commence, and that he had 
 procured tickets for her.' — " Surely," said he, 
 "you will not leave town at such a time !" 
 
 Thus challenged, Ellen knew not what to an- 
 swer ; not that the considerations her father had 
 mentioned were of sufficient weight to prevent 
 her feeling a little disappointed. Her rapid im- 
 agination had already conducted her to Mil wood ; 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 133 
 
 yet, as she was sensible her aunt would not re- 
 joice in seeing her if it was not with the entire 
 approbation of those she left, she called up all her 
 resolution, and with great good-humor answered, 
 " She was much obliged to her father, and as he 
 was so kind as to wish it, she would defer her 
 visit till the Oratorios were ended." 
 
 She did not then ask when that would be ; but 
 the next time she had the newspapers in her hand, 
 she carefully examined if anything was there said 
 of them, and found they were to continue during 
 the next month. 
 
 Their daughter's so readily deferring the long- 
 wished-for pleasure of seeing her aunt was grati- 
 fying both to Mr. and Mrs. Stanley ; and the lat- 
 ter began to think that now she was a little wean- 
 ed from her " old-fashioned opinions," she might 
 become a little more worthy of her affections : 
 but, alas ! poor woman, her love was all centred 
 in herself; and as at present she found no void in 
 her amusements, nor any difficulty to be overcome, 
 her attention toward Ellen soon wore off, and her 
 favorite pursuit was alone the subject of her 
 thoughts. 
 
 In Mrs. Irvin's answer to the letter Ellen had 
 written to inform her of the delay of her journey 
 to her, she congratulated her on the pleasure it 
 appeared to give her father, and commended her 
 for thus complying with his wishes. — " We must 
 often do this, my dear Ellen," continued she ; 
 " and instead of being hurt at our disappointment, 
 or proud of our self-denial, we should be thankful 
 that such an opportunity is afforded us of showing 
 whether we have really learned that great lesson 
 
134 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 or not." She likewise mentioned the family 
 which Ellen had seen with Mr. Herbert at Tun- 
 bridge, and which were now quite settled in their 
 neighborhood, as not only an agreeable addition 
 to their society, but a blessing to the poor of Mil- 
 wood. 
 
 The recollection of this pleasant and worthy 
 family made Ellen still more anxious for the time's 
 arriving when she should be farther introduced 
 to them ; but she was soon to learn that every 
 pleasure in this life is uncertain, and called to a 
 greater trial of her faith and submission to the 
 will of God than she had ever yet experienced. — 
 This was no other than the sudden death of her 
 mother : for, to those so unprepared to leave this 
 world as was Mrs. Stanley, death, however ex- 
 pected by others, must to themselves be always 
 so. 
 
 The life of dissipation which this unthinking 
 woman so freely entered into, soon led her to the 
 grave ; but while she was able to get out, no per- 
 suasion could induce her to restrain her love of 
 pleasure ; and, though her pale and lifeless looks 
 at first alarmed Ellen, yet as, each evening, she 
 saw her full of spirits, highly rouged, and gayly 
 dressed, ready to attend sometimes two or three 
 parties on a night, and never complaining of fa- 
 tigue, she attributed her apprehensions to igno- 
 rance alone, and concluded that fashionable la- 
 dies were endued with greater strength than she 
 supposed ; — but, in a short time, Mrs. Stanley 
 sunk into a rapid decline, which prevented her at- 
 tending her favorite parties ; though then she 
 could not be without her dearest amusements, and 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 135 
 
 a few select friends were daily invited to form a 
 card-party in her dressing-room. All the morn- 
 ing, she would have the mantua-makers and mil- 
 liners with her : thinking this a good opportunity 
 of consulting them, and ordering new dresses ac- 
 cording to her own improved ideas. 
 
 The compliments these people found it their 
 interest to pay her, flattered her vanity ; as also 
 the readiness with which her little coterie con- 
 tributed to her amusement ; so that the confine- 
 ment she was now obliged to submit to gave her 
 no uneasiness, and she thence drew a favorable 
 conclusion, "that she could not be so fond of dis- 
 sipation, since she remained so quietly at home, 
 and no one heard her express a wish to go out 
 again till the physician gave her leave ;" her in- 
 disposition appeared to Mr. Stanley so slight, that, 
 though Ellen wished to pay every attention to her 
 mother while thus confined, he would not let her 
 forego the pleasure of attending the Oratorios 
 with him. 
 
 To one so fond of music, and so well able to 
 judge of its beauties, as was Ellen, it is unneces- 
 sary to add, these sacred performances must give 
 pleasure, particularly as her mind was attuned to 
 the parts of Scripture which she heard ; and 
 heightened as their glorious beauties were by the 
 powers of music, her rapture would have been 
 almost divine, had not the vacant looks of too ma- 
 ny of the auditors convinced her that she was not 
 yet admitted to the music of the spheres ; since, 
 there, " all hearts exult, and with unwearied en- 
 ergy proclaim their Maker's praise :" here were 
 few to join the emulative choir, and not many 
 
136 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 who listened to their songs, as if they had no in- 
 terest in the blessings they were celebrating, but 
 chiefly praised the strain without attending to its 
 subject. 
 
 As the time for Ellen's visiting her aunt drew 
 near, she perceived with grief that her mother's 
 health did not amend ; and she determined at 
 once to give up this long-thought-of pleasure, 
 rather than leave her in so precarious a state, — 
 particularly as, by the physician's look, when 
 questioned as to her recovery, she feared his 
 opinion was not favorable, and she ventured to 
 hint it to her father ; who, though fashionable in 
 other respects, began now to be alarmed, and to 
 inquire more earnestly if farther advice were ne- 
 cessary. 
 
 It was now Ellen experienced the severe trial 
 of seeing one whom it was her duty to love and 
 respect, drawing near her grave, to all appearance 
 without one serious thought of her approaching 
 end ! 
 
 " Can she," said she to herself, " know that, 
 after this life, an Eternity will. follow ; and yet, be 
 so indifferent as to what it may prove to her ? and 
 that great day of Judgment !" continued this affec- 
 tionate girl, thus anxious for a mother who had 
 seldom bestowed a thought on her — " when all 
 must give an account of their works ! — can she 
 know of this, and yet think only of cards and 
 dress ? Merciful Father ! what can I do for 
 her ?" 
 
 Such were Ellen's reflections, on hearing the 
 physician say he had but little hope of her mo- 
 ther's recovery, and that, though her disorder 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 137 
 
 was a lingering one, it appeared beyond the reach 
 of medicine. 
 
 Mr. Stanley was not willing to believe this fa- 
 tal prognostic. — "They are always for making 
 their patients worse than they really are," said 
 he, on observing Ellen's distress, " that their 
 skill in curing them may appear the greater :" yet 
 he felt some sorrow ; and it was only by driving 
 away the fear that it was not without cause, that 
 he could expel it. 
 
 It was not so with Ellen : she thought of her 
 dear sister's happy death, and shuddered at the 
 comparison her fancy would have drawn ; but she 
 instantly determined to use all her time and en- 
 deavors in preparing one who seemed so little 
 aware of the change awaiting her, for the like 
 exit : but how was she to begin the arduous task 1 
 and when ? — When she found her mother disen- 
 gaged, (which was but seldom,) she would only 
 talk of what would amuse her ; and if Ellen of- 
 fered to read, it was generally refused, or stipu- 
 lated that it should be in a book that was enter- 
 taining ; yet, by her assiduous attention to all 
 her mother's real or imaginary wants, she made 
 herself useful, and her company became desirable 
 to her : for, though there was a seriousness in 
 Ellen's manner which struck her as different from 
 her other friends, Mrs. Stanley was always anx- 
 ious to have her in the room. When free from 
 pain, she would assume an air of gayety, and ask 
 her daughter why she looked so dull ? — " I fear," 
 said she, " you do not like this sick room : I am 
 sorry for it, for you make an excellent nurse. I 
 13* 
 
138 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 feel now," added she, with some emotion, " that it 
 is a comfort to have a daughter." 
 
 This was acknowledging more than Ellen ex- 
 pected ; and she could scarcely conceal the tear 
 which trembled in her eye, while, reflecting much 
 more seriously on her situation than her mother 
 apprehended, she answered, " I am happy to hear 
 you say so, my dear mother : but do you really 
 think I do not like to be with you ? Oh, I should 
 like to spend not only all my time, but eternity 
 with you !" 
 
 " Eternity !" said the vacant-minded woman, 
 "that's a great way off: you have dull ideas, 
 Ellen ; that's the only disadvantage I find in you 
 as a nurse." 
 
 " My sister Anna," answered Ellen, trembling 
 and distressed, " did not think so : when she was 
 ill, she used to say she found nothing dull." 
 
 " That's very odd !" replied Mrs. Stanley ; 
 " for in such retirements as Milwood she could 
 see no company." 
 
 Ellen sighed. " She is in heavenly company 
 now," said she, " and does not, 1 dare say, regret 
 that she saw no more of this world's good." 
 
 " Poor girl ! she saw very little pleasure in- 
 deed !" returned her mother, with perfect indiffer- 
 ence. " But call Naylin, my dear ; I think I 
 could eat a little jelly. Don't you think," added 
 she, as she held a pocket-glass to her face, " I 
 look better to-day ? or else this cap becomes me 
 very much." 
 
 On such a conclusion to a conversation which 
 she hoped would have led to something more se- 
 rious, Ellen could not help feeling pity and re- 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 139 
 
 gret, but forbore expressing either ; and, ringing 
 the bell, she complied with her mother's re- 
 quest. 
 
 The next day, Mrs. Stanley was still better ; 
 and the physicians thought change of air might 
 be of service, though they could by no means 
 flatter her family that the amendment then per- 
 ceived would be lasting. 
 
 Windsor was recommended ; and thither Mrs. 
 Stanley, attended by her maid and Ellen, was 
 removed, by a slow and easy conveyance ; and 
 Mr. Stanley promised to pay them frequent visits. 
 
 She had not been there a fortnight before she 
 fancied herself much worse, and was impatient 
 for the arrival of the physician, who had promis- 
 ed to attend her, as she was at so short a distance 
 from town. 
 
 When Ellen was called to conduct him to her 
 mother, he said he was sorry to hear from the 
 servant that Mrs. Stanley's spirits were depressed. 
 " We must be particularly careful to avoid this," 
 said he, 4 '..as nothing is so likely to be hurtful to 
 her." 
 
 " But, Sir," said the anxious girl, " do you think 
 that, with freedom from care or uneasiness, there 
 is any hope of recovery ?" 
 
 The gentleman hesitated as he pronounced his 
 fear that a very few months would terminate her 
 existence ; though he added, " if the state of her 
 mind were not carefully attended to, it might be 
 greatly shortened ; indeed," continued he, " her 
 life depends upon the composure of her nerves." 
 " But what," said Ellen, with great emotion. 
 " what will it avail her to live three or four 
 
140 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 months longer, if at the last she leaves this world 
 without thought or preparation for another ?" 
 
 " Oh, my dear young lady !" replied this man 
 of science, " you think too seriously of these 
 things : there is little to be done upon a sick-bed ! 
 neither is it my province to prepare people for 
 the other world ; my profession is rather to keep 
 them here : and I again repeat, that without great 
 composure of nerves, nothing is to be expected ; 
 and, above all, everything should be done to pre- 
 vent her fearing her own dissolution." 
 
 Seeing Ellen not disposed to answer, he pro- 
 posed going up stairs, saying, " he should be 
 better able to judge after he had seen his patient." 
 
 On his admittance to Mrs. Stanley she declar- 
 ed herself much better ; though, before, she had 
 fancied her removal had not been of service. 
 She talked to him of her friends in town ; and he, 
 following the plan he had advised, endeavored to 
 amuse her by relating several occurrences of the 
 fashionable world during her absence ; and when 
 he left her, it was with large expressions of un- 
 meaning hope that in a very short time he should 
 find her quite well. 
 
 Ellen followed him out of the room, with some 
 degree of anger at his duplicity, and then asked 
 him if there was any appearance of real amend- 
 ment ? 
 
 " Why, upon my word, madam," said he, " I 
 do not see any great alteration for the better ; but 
 I am happy to observe Mrs. Stanley in such good 
 spirits ; my whole reliance is upon them." And 
 then hastily wishing her a good morning, he re- 
 ceived his fee, and stepped into his chariot ; while 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 141 
 
 Ellen, shocked at his behavior, returned to her 
 mother, who now expressed a wish to have some- 
 thing read which should lull her to sleep ; as, 
 though she found the doctor's conversation very 
 pleasant, she owned it had nearly exhausted 
 her. 
 
 Mr. Stanley had been once to see them during 
 their stay at Windsor ; and next day he paid them 
 a second visit. 
 
 As he dined with Ellen, she asked after their 
 musical friends, and was surprised to hear him 
 say he had not seen any of them since she left 
 home ; " In short," said he, " I begin to be tired 
 of the same thing." 
 
 Ellen thought of what she had heard of the 
 wavering pursuit of pleasure, and sighed to ob- 
 serve it realized in her father ; but when she 
 gathered from his farther conversation that he had 
 entered into a set of high players, she feared this 
 would prove a much more dangerous pursuit than 
 that which he had abandoned. 
 
 On his taking leave of Mrs. Stanley, she press- 
 ed his longer stay ; but he refused, being engaged 
 to a particular party, whom he said he could not 
 disappoint. " Besides," added he, with an air of 
 forced gayety, " they have got a considerable sum 
 of my money in their hands, which I intend this 
 evening to rescue from them." 
 
 Ellen felt more, on hearing this, than her mother, 
 who paid little regard to it. 
 
 Nearly three months passed in this manner : 
 the physicians continued to attend Mrs. Stanley, 
 and to flatter her with hopes of her recovery ; 
 while to Ellen they contradicted all their asser- 
 
142 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 tions ; and she remained in dreadful anxiety, 
 doubting whether she should express her fears to 
 her mother, who appeared to have no fears for 
 herself, and whose conversation was continually 
 of returning to the world and partaking of her 
 former amusements. 
 
 Her father visited them but seldom ; and noth- 
 ing was said of the manner in which he spent his 
 time, till one morning Ellen's fears were again 
 revived by his very distressed countenance, and 
 his appearing unusually grave as he spoke with 
 great displeasure of the party he had been in the 
 night before. 
 
 All thoughts of this were, however, presently 
 driven from her mind by a still more alarming 
 subject. — As they were sitting after dinner, her 
 mother's bell rang violently ! when, knowing the 
 servants never left her, she was much frighten- 
 ed ; and hastening to the room, her fears were 
 still more increased by the maid's exclaiming, her 
 mistress was dead ! 
 
 Ellen ran to the bed, and perceived she had 
 fainted : the common applications had already 
 been used, and no sign of recovery appeared. 
 Her distress was very great : the physician was 
 immediately sent for ; but before his arrival Mrs. 
 Stanley seemed a little to revive. 
 
 Her husband, who had entered the room on the 
 first alarm, seemed to feel her situation : — " What 
 can I do for you, my dear V said he, taking her 
 almost lifeless hand. 
 
 She was not insensible of his kindness, though 
 incapable of returning it. 
 
 " I feel — I feel," said she, struggling for speech, 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 143 
 
 " I must leave this world : — Oh, whither am I 
 going ?" 
 
 No answer was returned to this solemn ques- 
 tion : Ellen's grief was too excessive ; and her 
 father, lost in sorrow and affright, stood gazing on 
 the afflicting scene ; it was what till now he had 
 never witnessed ; and a death-bed is seldom 
 thought of by the gay and dissipated ; yet it is 
 what we must all experience. This Mr. Stanley 
 knew ; but till now, he had never viewed the aw- 
 ful certainty ; and his wife's solicitous inquiry of 
 " Whither am I going ?" seemed to strike upon 
 his heart as necessary also for himself. 
 
 Mrs. Stanley endeavored to say more ; but her 
 voice failed, and her eyes closed, — never more 
 to open, but on eternity ! — 
 
 Her afflicted daughter, falling on her knees, 
 exclaimed, " Gracious Heaven, have mercy on 
 her !" but this petition was unknown to the de- 
 parted mother. Alarm and fear were pictured on 
 her countenance, and it is to be feared she breath- 
 ed her last without any preparation for a future 
 life ; though nature, conscience, all before this 
 solemn moment, must have assured her that this 
 was not to be the end of her existence. 
 
 Oh ye thoughtless votaries of pleasure ! reflect 
 on the end of such a life, and consider whether 
 you can bear the prospect of closing yours like 
 her ! Look back to the happy death of a real 
 Christian, exemplified in that of Anna, and say 
 which is to be preferred ! 
 
 "•Sure 'tis a serious thing, my soul, to die ! 
 
 If there's an hereafter ; 
 
 And that there is, Conscience, uninfluenced, 
 
144 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 And suffer'd to speak out, tells every man ; 
 Then must it be a serious thing to die." — 
 
 Blair. 
 
 — It is so even to those who, having found a shel- 
 ter from the wrath to come, find death disarmed ; 
 but when the eye is about to open on another 
 world, where all things are new and unconsider- 
 ed of, how dreadful must be the summons ! It is 
 only by frequent contemplations on a future state, 
 we come to know the true value of this : and then 
 we learn the insignificancy of all earthly things, un- 
 less seen in the connexion with those of Heaven : 
 it is then we see that our most trifling actions 
 in this world are of consequence : — and yet 
 how many are there who thoughtlessly pursue 
 their own inclinations, neither reflecting on them 
 here, nor considering that they must account for 
 them hereafter. 
 
 But to return to our history. 
 
 As soon as all was over, in regard to this life, 
 with the once gay and admired Mrs. Stanley, her 
 husband left the room : while Ellen remained 
 watching her mother, in trembling hope that she 
 might, as at the first, have only fainted : but the 
 wan paleness of death soon spread itself over that 
 once handsome face, and she was obliged to re- 
 sign the expectation her anxious affection could 
 alone give rise to. 
 
 When she entered the room where her father 
 was, she took his hand, but spoke not ; and he 
 appeared equally unable to address her. They 
 sat in silence — Ellen's heart raised in prayer, till 
 the recollection of her very different feelings on 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 145 
 
 the death of her sister forced a flood of tears from 
 her eyes. 
 
 The attention of her father was awakened by 
 her strong emotion : and he endeavored to con- 
 sole her, as one who knows no higher source of 
 comfort than temporal considerations. 
 
 " Though this event was so unexpected by us," 
 said he, " yet we might have been prepared for 
 it : the physicians gave us little hope of her re- 
 covery ; but everything was done to promote it, 
 and we have nothing to reproach ourselves with : 
 you, especially, my dear Ellen, have been a most 
 attentive daughter." 
 
 Ellen's grief prevented her reply. The time 
 of his own dissolution again rushed upon the 
 mind of Mr. Stanley ; and he expressed a wish 
 that, in his last illness, she might be with him ; 
 he woidd then, he thought, be very solicitous in 
 making those inquiries which, from the education 
 she had received, he judged her better able to 
 answer than himself. 
 
 " Poor woman !" continued he ; " had she known 
 how soon she was to die — !" 
 
 He paused ; and Ellen recovered sufficiently 
 to reply : " Ah, my dear father, it is the very cir- 
 cumstance of not knowing the time of our death, 
 which should make us desirous of being always 
 prepared for it." 
 
 The entrance of a servant put an end to this 
 interesting conversation ; and when they were 
 again alone, he proposed sending for her aunt. 
 " Mrs. Irvin's company might be a comfort to you," 
 said he ; " do you think she would come ?" 
 
 " Oh yes, that she would," exclaimed Ellen, 
 13 
 
146 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 " unless prevented by illness ; which Heaven 
 forbid ! for if I lose her — " 
 
 — " You would not be without a friend, my 
 Ellen," rejoined her father, affectionately : " your 
 kindness to your mother has endeared you to me. 
 and I shall never forget it. But come, write to 
 your aunt, and I will send it off by express : if 
 she get it to-morrow morning, she may be here 
 in the evening." 
 
 This proposal was indeed a comfort to poor 
 Ellen : and having written what her feelings dic- 
 tated on so melancholy an occasion, a man and 
 horse were immediately despatched with the 
 letter. 
 
 In the evening, Mr. Stanley again reverted to the 
 death of his wife. — " Had I known how soon I was 
 to lose the dear woman," said he, " nothing should 
 have tempted me to leave her as I have done ; 
 indeed, I would have taken up my abode here ; — 
 and it would have been better for me," continued 
 he, thoughtfully, " if I had. Ah, Ellen ! you don't 
 know what I have done ! Could you think that 
 I have lost above fifteen thousand pounds at play 
 since you have been at this place ?" 
 
 " No, indeed, my dear father," said she, " know- 
 ing you were not fond of cards ; but I hope it will 
 be the last time you will lose, or ever play for 
 such a considerable sum : if amusement can ever 
 be found in cards, I should think they must cease 
 to afford it when so much is depending on them." 
 
 Mr. Stanley secretly acknowledged this, but he 
 only answered that he could very well afford it, 
 and dropped the subject. 
 
 The next day passed heavily with Ellen. Her 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 147 
 
 father had already expressed impatience to return 
 to town ; but she begged him to stay at least till 
 her aunt was come. — As the evening approached, 
 she anxiously expected her arrival ; and when 
 the servant told her the carriage was at the door, 
 her emotion nearly overcame her. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin was soon in the room, and Ellen 
 threw herself into her arms. — For some moments 
 neither could speak : till Mrs. Irvin, possessing a 
 more than common fortitude, pressed her niece to 
 her heart, and begged her to be composed. — " Oh, 
 my Ellen," said she, " you have not forgotten 
 where our true strength lies ? Look up, my child ; 
 all is in the hand of God." 
 
 These words were as a cordial to the afflicted 
 heart of Ellen ; it was so long since she had 
 heard an expression of this sort, or had spoken 
 to one whose mind was exalted to higher views 
 than what this world affords, and who would ad- 
 mit religion as the truest source of comfort, and 
 had experienced it to be so ; and she felt her 
 heart raised in gratitude to God for having sent 
 her such a friend. 
 
 " Remember, my dear," said Mrs. Irvin, " we 
 are to look upon this world but as a state of trial ; 
 if some pass through it without experiencing af- 
 fliction, it is to be feared it is to their disadvan- 
 tage." She sighed as she spoke, and added, 
 " Afflictions are certainly for our benefit ; and it 
 is in mercy they are sent. But come, my dear," 
 continued she, " where is your father ? he must 
 want a friend more particularly at this time : — 
 Will he see me ?" 
 
148 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 Ellen rang the bell, and sent a servant to in- 
 quire if they might be admitted. 
 
 Again Mr. Stanley felt grief ; (for it would be 
 uncharitable to affirm that it was only the sem- 
 blance of sorrow he expressed to Mrs. Irvin when 
 they met ;) but it was soon removed, and his read- 
 iness to talk on other subjects showed he was not 
 deeply affected. 
 
 When Mrs. Irvin returned to Ellen's room, by 
 her desire she accompanied her to the bed-side 
 of her departed sister. How awful was this 
 scene ! The recollection of her life could not 
 raise their hopes of her happiness, nor would the 
 duty of Christian resignation allow them to re- 
 pine. Tears streamed from the eyes of Ellen, as 
 she viewed, for the last time, the inanimate body 
 of her departed mother ; and had not her affec- 
 tionate aunt, judging of her feelings by her own, 
 hurried her from the apartment, her grief might 
 have arisen to murmur, — perhaps to dispute the 
 ways of Providence, which, nevertheless, are just 
 and merciful to all ; but if His creatures will 
 stifle conscience, drive from their minds every 
 serious reflection, and, neglecting the means of 
 grace, seek only for the ease and pleasures of this 
 life, — is God the cause ? who, by His word, by 
 His ministers, and by His providence, has given 
 to all men, and especially in this Christian land, 
 an opportunity of repentance, and of knowing 
 their need of it 1 Mrs. Irvin had recourse to 
 prayer, and afterward read to her niece several 
 passages of Scripture in which we are required 
 to love God above all things, and to submit to 
 His will in every event of life. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 149 
 
 The exercise of devotion calmed their minds : 
 they retired to rest with humble trust in the Al- 
 mighty, and thankful acknowledgment of His 
 goodness. 
 
 13* 
 
150 THE TWIN STSTERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 " True happiness is of a retired nature, and an enemy to 
 pomp and noise." 
 
 In a few days, the last duties were paid to Mrs. 
 Stanley, and the whole family returned to town. 
 Mrs. Irvin proposed taking Ellen with her to 
 Milwood, as she much feared her late confinement 
 and anxiety respecting her mother had injured 
 her health and spirits ; and to this plan her niece 
 had but one objection, — which was, lest the leav- 
 ing her father entirely without domestic society 
 would induce him to be more in the company he 
 had lately frequented. 
 
 She mentioned these apprehensions to her aunt, 
 who, though she was not without similar fears, 
 continued to press her leaving him for a little 
 while, and endeavored to lead her to hope, that 
 when all worldly pursuits were tried, and satis- 
 faction found in none, he would more readily ac- 
 knowledge the wisdom of theirs, and, from expe- 
 riencing the evil of his errors, be more inclined 
 to quit them. 
 
 On these considerations, Ellen, with a mixture 
 of feeling not to be defined, took leave of her 
 father. He embraced her very affectionately, as- 
 sured her of his continual regard, and that, in the 
 course of the summer, he would come himself to 
 Milwood, and fetch her thence. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 151 
 
 With many prayers for his welfare, Ellen en- 
 tered the carriage which was to convey her, with 
 her beloved aunt, to the scenes of her earliest 
 youth, where her happiest days had been spent, 
 and where she hoped once more to feel the plea- 
 sure of doing good. 
 
 Their conversation during their journey was of 
 the many changes that had taken place at Mil wood 
 in her absence ; several of her poor old friends 
 were dead ; and Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, the family 
 mentioned before, were settled in their neighbor- 
 hood. 
 
 As they approached the place, Ellen's heart 
 beat high with expectation ; she forgot her recent 
 cause for sorrow ; and the thought of soon seeing 
 her dear and good Martin gave way to all others. 
 
 " Mr. Herbert, too, I shall see him ; but not to- 
 night," added she, checking her impatience ; and 
 at that moment looking out of the window, she 
 saw him riding with another gentleman, whom 
 she recollected to be Mr. Campbell. Though he 
 was nearly a stranger to her, she could not re- 
 press her desire of speaking to her old and valued 
 friend ; and as his attention seemed to be drawn 
 toward the carriage, she waved her hand, and 
 was soon recognised by Mr. Herbert, who im- 
 mediately rode to the side of it ; and the joy of 
 again meeting each other appeared equal in both. 
 
 Martin was at the door to receive her mistress ; 
 and her countenance beamed with joy on seeing 
 Ellen with her, who at that moment forgot every 
 other object of attention, and flew to embrace the 
 nurse of her childhood, with the same affection 
 
152 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 as if she had been still an infant, and stood in 
 need of her protection and assistance. 
 
 All the servants now came round her, each de- 
 sirous of her notice ; and she spoke to them with 
 the kindness their former services merited ; 
 though, to use their own expression, " she had 
 been so long in London, and looked so like a fine 
 lady." 
 
 Their arrival was soon announced through all 
 the village ; but the account " that Miss Ellen 
 was come down with their good lady," could 
 scarcely be credited, till several of the inhabitants 
 had been to the door to inquire of the servants if 
 it really were so. 
 
 " And is she as free as ever ?" said they : 
 " God bless her ! To-night, to be sure, we must 
 not think of seeing her ; but to-morrow we hope 
 we shall." 
 
 " Thank God, I am alive to see my dear young 
 lady once more !" said poor old Dame Hunt, when 
 Betsy Forbes, who was one of the first to make 
 the inquiry, told her the welcome news : " and 
 will she talk to us and read to us the same as 
 ever ? Oh, Mary, this is a happy day for you 
 and me !" added the good old woman. 
 
 " Ay, and for all of us !" replied one of a nu- 
 merous flock of girls belonging to the school 
 who had assembled round the door to hear the 
 joyful tidings. " If she does not come among us 
 before, at least we shall see her at church ; for I 
 am sure she will be there. Oh, how I wish Sun- 
 day was come !" 
 
 But they had not so long to wait for their ex- 
 pected pleasure ; as the very next morning Ellen, 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 153 
 
 who was quite as impatient to see them, walked 
 first to Dame Hunt's, and then to the school, con- 
 vincing them all, by her accustomed kindness, 
 that she had not forgotten her promise of remem- 
 bering them in her absence. To all she met, she 
 spoke with the affection of a friend ; while the 
 artless simplicity with which they welcomed her 
 reappearance among them drew tears from her 
 eyes. 
 
 On her return to her aunt, she found Mr. Her- 
 bert with her ; and her first transport of pleasure 
 having now subsided, she could talk with this ex- 
 cellent man, and listen to his improving conver- 
 sation with gratitude and attention. 
 
 He but slightly adverted to the melancholy 
 scene she had lately witnessed ; but on observing 
 the gloomy sorrow which immediately overspread 
 her countenance at the least mention of her 
 mother's death, he endeavored to remove it by 
 every argument in his power, confirmed by the 
 consolations and commands of Scripture. 
 
 The grateful girl shed tears of pity and regret, 
 when she considered how little of these her la- 
 mented mother had known ; and the fear that she 
 had not sufficiently studied the opportunities of 
 impressing them on her mind again assailed her. 
 
 Mr. Herbert tried to comfort her under these 
 doubts ; he made allowances for her which she 
 could not admit for herself ; but his chief argu- 
 ments were drawn from the comforting assurance, 
 that her desire was known to God, and that, 
 through her Redeemer, her services, though im- 
 perfect, would be accepted. 
 
 The entrance of Mrs. Campbell and two of her 
 
154 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 daughters put a stop to this interesting conversa- 
 tion ; and Ellen was obliged to suppress her feel- 
 ings while she attended to the forms of civility, 
 and received the young ladies as her visiters. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin appeared much obliged by her early 
 visit ; and Ellen promised herself great pleasure 
 in forming a sincere friendship with them. 
 
 They talked of the walks they should take to- 
 gether, of the private concerts and reading-parties 
 which they should form, till Ellen's eyes beamed 
 with pleasure at the thought of once more parti- 
 cipating in these innocent enjoyments. 
 
 Mr. Herbert attended these ladies home ; and 
 Mrs. Irvin and Ellen spent the rest of the day 
 quite alone. 
 
 As the latter wandered through the house and 
 lingered in every room which brought to her 
 memory any remembrance of her sister, how did 
 her heart sigh at the recollection ! Yet the re- 
 trospect of the days she had spent since, depriv- 
 ed of that dear friend, was still more distressing. 
 
 " Thus it is," said she, " that experience makes 
 us wise : how happy am I once more to return to 
 such a home ! I am not fit to live in the world ; 
 this is the only place to be happy in." 
 
 " Ah, my dear," replied her aunt, " you must 
 not expect it even here ; there are snares for our 
 happiness in every place ; it is not where we are 
 — not from ourselves, that we must expect protec- 
 tion from them : and as we must look for happi- 
 ness above, so must we look thither for help and 
 assistance also to attain it." 
 
 In a few days, Mrs. Irvin and her niece return- 
 ed the visit of Mrs. and Miss Campbell ; and El- 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 155 
 
 len was highly pleased with the whole family. 
 Large as it was, they were all employed, and all 
 seemed united in a wish to be useful to each 
 other. There were five girls and three little 
 boys, whom the eldest sister was instructing to 
 read ; the younger girls were also under her tui- 
 tion ; and every hour of her time was devoted to 
 their improvement, and fully occupied. 
 
 When Mrs. Irvin and Ellen entered, their 
 morning tasks were just completed, and they 
 went, as usual, to amuse themselves in the gar- 
 den. 
 
 Thither Ellen walked with the elder Miss 
 Campbell, and found the children sitting under a 
 shady tree, all at play together. They seemed 
 so happy, that, though Ellen wished to go and 
 talk to them, she feared disturbing their pleasure, 
 till Miss Campbell led her that way, and intro- 
 duced them to her notice. 
 
 Although they had not been accustomed to con- 
 verse with strangers, there was such kindness in 
 Ellen's manner, that they soon became acquainted 
 with her : and on their returning to the house, all 
 the young ones w r ere of the party. 
 
 The youngest, little Caroline, particularly at- 
 tracted her attention, and Mrs. Irvin proposed 
 taking her home to dinner : — " And then," said 
 she, " we may hope for the company of some 
 of the elder ladies, who will fetch their sister 
 home." 
 
 The face of the innocent child was covered 
 with blushes at the unexpected invitation, and 
 she looked anxiously at her mother for permis- 
 sion ; who, on hearing from her sister that she 
 
156 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 had been very attentive to her lessons that morn- 
 ing, gave her consent ; and the little girl ran to be 
 dressed for her visit. 
 
 When she had kissed all her brothers and sis- 
 ters, she tripped away by the side of Ellen, half 
 pleased, and half afraid to find herself entirely 
 among strangers ; but when she entered Mrs. 
 Irvin's house, the attentive fondness of her new 
 friend soon dissipated her fears. She was not quite 
 five years old ; but her understanding was far above 
 her years, and had already been greatly cultivated. 
 
 After dinner, Ellen played a favorite country 
 dance. — " Shall I dance to you ?" said the delight- 
 ed child ; "I do at home, whenever my sister 
 plays that dance." 
 
 Ellen could not help smiling to see her jump 
 about the room, and gave her great praise for 
 keeping so true to the music. 
 
 " Oh," said Caroline, " if you were to see my 
 sisters Lucy and Fanny, you would say they 
 dance well : but they are older than I am, you 
 know." 
 
 When Ellen asked if they had any master, she 
 did not know what was meant by the question. — 
 " Wliat!" said she, " does a master teach child- 
 ren to dance ? I only know little Master Lambert, 
 and I am sure he cannot dance so well as Lucy 
 or Fanny : — we teach ourselves." 
 
 When asked what her sister taught her, she 
 replied : " The first lesson we learn every morn- 
 ing, is to know God ; for, my sister says, that 
 is the thing of most consequence ; and so I 
 think, because he is so very good to us, you 
 know." 
 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 157 
 
 Ellen thought so too. — " And how are you 
 taught to know him ?" said she. " Oh ! have you 
 never seen Mrs. Trimmer's books ?" replied 
 the child ; " my sister teaches us out of them, 
 and explains them to us, and we learn some 
 every day ; and then we spell, and my sisters 
 write, but I don't ; and we play at cards." 
 
 " Play cards !" said Ellen ; " sure, that is not a 
 lesson you are taught ?" 
 
 " Yes, we are ; and we learn a great deal from 
 them — that is, my brothers and sisters do : but I 
 cannot understand them yet ; so I have only now 
 and then one, — such as, ' London is the capital 
 city of England, and Edinburgh of Scotland.' " 
 
 " Are they Geographical Cards you play with V 
 said Ellen. 
 
 " Yes ; and sometimes Historical Cards : we 
 play with them of an evening, when it is winter, 
 but not in the summer. I can work too," con- 
 tinued she : " and I read a great deal every morn- 
 ing." 
 
 " How much have you read to-day ?" said El- 
 len, smiling. 
 
 " Three pages, at different times ; besides 
 spelling eight words out of a book, and saying 
 my first lesson from Mrs. Trimmer." 
 
 When this little chatterer saw, from the parlor- 
 window, her eldest sister at a distance, coming 
 toward the house, she blushed and said, " Dear 
 me, I hope I have not talked too much ; have I, 
 ma'am ?" addressing Mrs. Irvin ; " for they told me 
 they were afraid I should be troublesome : have I, 
 Miss Stanley ?" 
 
 Mrs. Irvin and Ellen both assured her to the 
 14 
 
158 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 contrary : and she began to talk again. — " How 
 much I shall have to tell my sister before I go to 
 bed ? You don't know how good she is to us," 
 continued she : " every evening she makes us 
 recollect if we have done anything to offend God ; 
 and then, when we say our prayers, she says 
 we may beg to be forgiven for Jesus Christ's 
 sake." 
 
 " You have a very excellent sister indeed," 
 said Ellen, " that will take such pains with you." 
 
 " Oh ! she does take pains indeed," said the 
 charming child : " but here she is," added she ; 
 and leaping into her sister's arms, who just then 
 entered the room, she exclaimed, " Oh, my dear 
 sister ! you don't know how happy I have been ! 
 I hope Lucy and Fanny will come soon, and 
 spend just such another day." 
 
 Though this was rather like asking for an invi- 
 tation for them, it was uttered with such sim- 
 plicity, that her sister could not check her for it ; 
 but returning her embrace, she asked if she had 
 forgotten the caution she had given her ; — " I am 
 afraid you have tired Miss Stanley with your 
 tongue ?" — but when Ellen replied in the nega- 
 tive, Caroline exclaimed, with pleasure, " I am 
 glad of it ; for though Mrs. Irvin and Miss Stan- 
 ley were good enough to tell me I did not talk 
 too much, I was almost afraid I had ; yet, as I 
 never came out on a visit before, I hoped too that 
 they would excuse me." 
 
 The sisters returned early that evening, on 
 Caroline's account, whom Mrs. Irvin kissed at 
 parting ; and desired her to give her love to her 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 159 
 
 other sisters, and say, she hoped to see them 
 soon. 
 
 This invitation seemed to give the little girl as 
 much pleasure as her own ; and as she took leave 
 of Ellen, who walked part of the way with them, 
 she whispered her, " I shall tell Lucy and Fanny 
 what Mrs. Irvin said ; they will be so happy ; and 
 I am sure I am much obliged to you for the plea- 
 sant day I have had. I shall thank God for it, 
 also, in my prayers to-night ; for my sister says 
 we should always do so, when we have been par- 
 ticularly happy ; and I am sure I have." 
 
 Ellen kissed the innocent child ; and telling 
 her she loved her better than ever, she parted 
 from her eldest sister with higher notions of re- 
 spect and esteem, and a still greater desire to be- 
 come more and more intimate with them. 
 
 In a short time these families were seldom 
 apart ; and their frequent meetings were made 
 still more pleasant by the intent of them, which 
 was either to relieve the poor, or improve them- 
 selves by reading to each other what would in 
 struct them in the great duties of the Christian 
 life. They seldom walked without entering into 
 some cottage, where it was their aim to remove 
 the wants of the inmates, comfort their sorrows, 
 and encourage industry. In short, Milwood was 
 noted through the country, as " the happy par- 
 ish !" and there were none of its inhabitants who 
 did not bear witness to the title. 
 
 Ellen had her little favorite often with her, but 
 not till Lucy and Fanny had paid their promised 
 visit ; and if at any time these children were in- 
 attentive to their lessons, it was soon considered 
 
160 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 as their greatest punishment to be refused going 
 to Mrs. Irvin's the next time they were asked. 
 
 The summer passed quickly away ; but Ellen 
 could not lose all anxiety respecting her father : 
 she had often written to him, but received no an- 
 swer except through Miss Arnold, with whom, 
 for his sake, she kept up a correspondence. She 
 assured her that he was well ; and, as he was 
 always engaged, they concluded he must be happy : 
 but Ellen received very little pleasure from this 
 information. 
 
 The winter approached, and Mr. Stanley ap- 
 peared to have forgotten his promise of fetching 
 his daughter from Milwood. The Miss Campbells 
 saw her uneasiness, though they knew not the 
 cause ; and endeavored, by drawing the most 
 favorable picture of the approaching season, to 
 remove it. They talked of their weekly dances 
 for the children, and that a bed would be always 
 prepared for her whenever she liked to join their 
 party : they had music in variety ; and their eldest 
 brother also, who had been hitherto engaged as a 
 private tutor to a young nobleman, was expected 
 to spend the winter with them, when their work- 
 ing parties would be greatly enlivened by his 
 reading to them. 
 
 Ellen rejoiced in their happiness ; and nothing 
 but the hope of being useful to her father could 
 induce her to wish to leave such companions, 
 whom Mrs. Irvin promoted her being with as 
 much as possible ; for, though it sometimes de- 
 prived her of Ellen's company, she hoped the 
 society of these young people would raise her 
 spirits, and enable her to bear with fortitude the 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 161 
 
 trial she feared would soon await her, as, while 
 she encouraged not Ellen's uneasiness, her own 
 apprehensions respecting Mr. Stanley were not of 
 a less serious nature. 
 
 When the winter was quite set in, Ellen could 
 not be so constant a visiter at the Campbells' as 
 formerly ; and one morning, as she was mention- 
 ing to her aunt, as an extraordinary circum- 
 stance, that she had not seen any of the family 
 for three or four days, the eldest Miss Campbell 
 entered the room. 
 
 There was a more than usual seriousness on 
 her countenance ; and Ellen, scarcely knowing 
 what she feared, earnestly inquired the cause. 
 Her friend hesitated ; and at length said, she wish- 
 ed to speak to Mrs. Irvin alone. 
 
 " It is uneasiness about me that gives you un- 
 easiness then : but do not be afraid to speak ; you 
 know I shall be enabled to hear ill news of what- 
 ever sort it may be." 
 
 Observing Miss Campbell's distress increase, 
 she added, " Does it relate to my father ? do tell 
 me !" Her fears gathering strength from sus- 
 pense, she exclaimed, " He is not dead 1 God 
 forbid it !" Her agitation would not allow her to 
 say more ; but she looked with beseeching en- 
 treaty toward Miss Campbell for an answer, who 
 hastened to relieve her terror, by assuring her 
 Mr. Stanley was living ; but she acknowledged, 
 from the account her brother had brought, who 
 had arrived the evening before, it was feared that 
 he was very ill ; and her parents thought they 
 should not act a friendly part toward her, in not 
 informing her of it. 
 
 14* 
 
162 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 " Oh ! let us go to him directly, my dear aunt !" 
 said Ellen, rising from her chair. " You will not 
 refuse ; pray let us go immediately." 
 
 " Compose yourself, my dearest child," replied 
 Mrs. Irvin ; " and be assured I am ready to ac- 
 company you : but remember, while you are so 
 agitated, your company will rather distress than 
 give your father pleasure." 
 
 " I will be composed," said Ellen ; " indeed I 
 will : it was only my first alarm that occasioned 
 all this terror." 
 
 Mrs. Irvin saw, in Miss Campbell's counte- 
 nance, that there was something yet untold ; she 
 therefore bade the agitated girl immediately go 
 and tell Martin to put up their clothes, and to send 
 William to order a carriage at whatever time she 
 herself should choose. Ellen thanked her for 
 this proof of kindness ; and, with her whole 
 thoughts occupied on what might be the state of 
 her father, she left the room to obey her directions, 
 
 Miss Campbell then informed Mrs. Irvin, that 
 her brother had heard Mr. Stanley had greatly 
 lessened his fortune by gaming, and that his ill- 
 ness was occasioned by the anxiety of his mind 
 on that account. 
 
 It being early in the morning, Mrs. Irvin was 
 as desirous as Ellen of hastening their journey ; 
 and hoped, by setting off directly, they should be 
 in town that evening. 
 
 At that moment Mr. Herbert, who had heard 
 still more of Mr. Stanley's situation from the 
 younger Mr. Campbell, came in ; and observing 
 their earnest wish of being there as soon as pos- 
 sible, he kindly offered to accompany them. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. • 163 
 
 This was what Ellen particularly wished ; and 
 as the gentleman who had just arrived, had en- 
 gaged to supply Mr. Herbert's place in the per- 
 formance of his parochial duties, he had nothing 
 to prevent his compliance. 
 
 With such a companion during their journey, 
 our heroine in some measure regained her usual 
 composure ; but she had no sooner entered her 
 father's house, than all her agitation returned. 
 
 She was scarcely out of the chaise, before she 
 asked his man, the only servant they saw, and 
 who seemed surprised at the arrival, " how his 
 master was ?" 
 
 " He is very ill, madam," said he, as he show- 
 ed them into a cold and comfortless apartment ; 
 s " he has not been out of his bed for several days. 
 I do not know how he will like your coming, 
 madam," said he. 
 
 " Tell him I am here," said Ellen, disregard- 
 ing the latter part of his answer. The man 
 seemed distressed, and unwilling to leave the 
 room : " Sure you know me ?" said Ellen, greatly 
 hurried ; "I am his daughter !" 
 
 " Yes, yes, madam ; but I fear he will be great- 
 ly displeased ; he is so very particular. I men- 
 tioned informing you of his illness ; but he said 
 you were the last person he wished to see." 
 
 " What !" replied Ellen, " not wish to see me — 
 his child ! What can I have done to offend him ? 
 But I must and will see him ; tell him I will 
 nurse him — I will do everything for him." 
 
 Her aunt and Mr. Herbert were hurt at her dis- 
 tress ; and, as the man still seemed unwilling to 
 
164 . THE TWIN STSTERS. 
 
 inform his master, the latter suggested her writ- 
 ing a note and sending to him. 
 
 When this .was carried, her aunt could scarcely 
 restrain her from following the servant : and she 
 waited his return with fearful anxiety. 
 
 At length he came, and said his master would 
 see her if she was quite alone ; and Ellen, trem- 
 bling and agitated, ascended the stairs to her fa- 
 ther's room. 
 
 He took no notice of her coming in ; and when 
 she saw his pallid and disturbed countenance, her 
 feelings nearly overcame her. She knelt by his 
 bed-side, and taking his wasted hand, which, 
 though not withdrawn, was not stretched out to 
 receive her, pressed it to her lips, and, with tears 
 in her eyes, thanked him for admitting her. 
 
 Regardless of her affection, he seemed deter- 
 mined to make no answer ; but looking to the ser- 
 vant, he asked for the draught he had been order- 
 ed to take at that time. 
 
 " If I do not think of these things myself," said 
 he, "you never will." 
 
 The man hastened to give it to him ; but Ellen 
 said, " Let me pour it out ; I will give it to my 
 father ; I am come to be his nurse : won't you let 
 me, sir ?" continued she, with a supplicating look, 
 as she offered him the cup. He faintly thanked 
 her, but said, " he did not want a nurse." 
 
 " But you will not deny me the pleasure of at- 
 tending you ?" said she, venturing to touch his 
 cheek with her lips. " My father always wished 
 to give me pleasure." 
 
 The feelings which her gentle voice inspired 
 seemed greatly to oppress him ; and ordering the 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 165 
 
 man to leave the room, he drew her nearer to his 
 embrace, and exclaimed, " Oh ! you are my child ! 
 but Ellen, you know not what a miserable being 
 I am ! I deserve not the name of father : I have 
 ruined you !" 
 
 The big tears which rolled down his pale wan 
 face prevented further utterance ; while he seem- 
 ed astonished at his own emotion, and pushing 
 her away from him, he exclaimed, " Go — get 
 away ! you make a baby of me !" 
 
 " No, my father," replied Ellen, her tears ac- 
 companying his, " I cannot leave you : are the 
 feelings of a parent any disgrace 1 Do but say 
 you love me, and that is all I wish !" 
 
 " How can I do otherwise ?" said he, still more 
 softened : " but when you know all, you cannot, 
 will not think it." 
 
 " I wish not to know anything else at present," 
 returned Ellen, pressing his hand : " if you will 
 let me stay and pay you every attention in my 
 power, it is all I am anxious for. But we will 
 talk no more to-night," continued she — " it may 
 fatigue you ; to-morrow, perhaps, you will see 
 my aunt ; she is come with me." 
 
 " And who is the gentleman Robinson told me 
 of?" inquired her father. 
 
 " Mr. Herbert," replied Ellen ; " that good man 
 would not let us take so long a journey, and so 
 late in the day, without his accompanying us." 
 
 " He is a good man," said Mr. Stanley ; " too 
 good for me to see." 
 
 Ellen made no answer ; but ringing the bell, 
 she inquired who sat up with her father. 
 
166 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 " I do, madam," answered Robinson ; "I am 
 his only attendant." 
 
 " Robinson is very good," said Mr. Stanley ; 
 " but I know not how I shall reward him ;" and 
 desiring Ellen to take care of herself and friends, 
 he expressed a wish to see her early the next 
 morning. 
 
 She left them with a heart overflowing with 
 gratitude to her Heavenly Father, and related to 
 her aunt and Mr. Herbert, with tears of joy, the 
 reception she had gained. But there was still a 
 thoughtful melancholy on the countenance of 
 each, which she could not account for. 
 
 " Has nobody offered you any refreshment 1" 
 said she ; " surely the servants are not so atten- 
 tive as usual ; let me order a fire and supper to 
 be brought in ; you have been sitting in the cold 
 all this time, and I have never thought of it." 
 
 Mr. Herbert then told her they had seen Rob- 
 inson, and that he with one female servant were 
 the only domestics her father then had in the 
 house. 
 
 She was a little startled at this intelligence, 
 and inquired the cause. 
 
 " Robinson tells us, that as his master seldom 
 spent any time at home, he thought them only 
 encumbrances ; and that, about a week before he 
 was taken ill, he discharged all the rest; but 
 this," continued Mr. Herbert, " we must not flat- 
 ter you is the only reason :" and he then, in the 
 gentlest manner, informed her of the report Mr. 
 Campbell had brought to Mil wood, and which 
 the state they found the family in too clearly con- 
 firmed. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 167 
 
 The calm composure with which Ellen heard 
 this confirmation of her fears discovered how 
 well she was prepared for any change of for- 
 tune. Its diminution, or even total loss, seemed 
 nothing to her, if she could retain her father's 
 love, and see him happy ; and her rapid imagi- 
 nation already formed a hundred plans of what 
 she would do to reconcile him to his situa- 
 tion. 
 
 The maid-servant then entered the room, and, 
 with many apologies, offered to conduct them to 
 another parlor, where a fire and a supper were 
 provided for their refreshment ; but the various 
 ideas which crowded Ellen's mind as she passed 
 through these apartments, which she had formerly 
 beheld full of company, and the recollection of 
 those gay and giddy scenes, took from her all 
 inclination to eat, and she sat silently musing on 
 the vicissitudes which, even in her short life, she 
 had experienced. 
 
 Mrs. Irvin had again recourse to anticipated 
 pleasures. — " You found no satisfaction like what, 
 I hope, you will in future enjoy, my dear," said 
 she, " in all the follies of the world." 
 
 " Ah !" said Ellen, sighing, " it is their follies 
 I regret : pleasure or satisfaction I am sure I 
 never felt while I was engaged in them : but I 
 am sorry that so many are mistaken in the path 
 they choose." 
 
 Mr. Herbert feared to pursue this subject ; 
 but after the cloth was removed, by his reli- 
 gious and friendly conversation, he led her mind 
 to rest on the Almighty for assistance and sup- 
 port. 
 
168 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 Before they parted for the night, they joined 
 in prayer ; and, imploring the aid and protection 
 of their Creator, they retired to sleep with grate- 
 ful and composed affections toward God and 
 the world. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 169 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " In prosperity, the bountiful Giver is obscured by the mul- 
 titude of his own gifts; but when the tempest of adversity 
 descends, this cloud is dispersed, and man, desolate and for- 
 lorn, feels the necessities of his nature, his weakness and de- 
 pendance, his hopelessness, and need of Divine aid ; and re- 
 turns repentant to duty, to happiness, and to GOD." 
 
 When Mr. Herbert and Mrs. Irvin were the 
 next morning introduced to Mr. Stanley, he was 
 too polite not to appear obliged by their visit, 
 though it was evident he felt embarrassed in their 
 company. They observed his silence, however, 
 and after the first compliments at meeting were 
 over, soon left the room, under the excuse of fear- 
 ing to fatigue him by too long a stay. 
 
 When again alone with his daughter, she, wil- 
 ling to remove the chagrin which still disturbed 
 his countenance, asked if he had seen the Ar- 
 nolds very lately. " Oh, no ! they would not 
 come to visit a sick man, and one who is poor 
 also ; in short, my dear," said he, with a sigh, 
 " no one but yourself would think it worth their 
 while to come near me : you I knew I had in- 
 jured, and therefore I was unwilling to see you ; 
 but to my friends in town, as they were falsely 
 called, I never did a wrong, but, while in my 
 power, I always contributed to their amusement ; 
 and now they find I can no longer promote this, 
 they are gone to seek another dupe !" 
 15 
 
170 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 This was spoken with such an air of regret 
 and wounded pride, that Ellen was sorry she had 
 led to the subject ; but with a smile of affection 
 she answered : " And you, my dear father, will, 
 I hope, seek other friends ; I know some who 
 will deserve that name, if you will allow them it. 
 — At Milwood we are all friends, and as much 
 so in adversity as in prosperity. I should think 
 the change of air and scene would help your re- 
 covery also," added she : " my aunt means to offer 
 you part of her house, if you will accept it. There 
 it shall be my endeavor to remove every uneasi- 
 ness you may have, and by my earnest attention 
 and sincere affection to add to your future happi- 
 ness." 
 
 Again softened by her tenderness, he pressed 
 her to his bosom. " If anything could give balm 
 to a wounded mind," said he, " it would be such 
 kind regard as yours, my Ellen : but I am not 
 worthy of it." 
 
 Ellen, with increased emotion, assured him all 
 her future life should be employed in convincing 
 him to the contrary : and then, by his desire, went 
 to beg Mr. Herbert's return to him for a short time. 
 
 This request was readily complied with ; and, 
 won by the friendly interest this good man seem- 
 ed to take in all that concerned him, Mr. Stanley 
 laid before him all his pecuniary affairs. His 
 debts of honor appeared considerable in Mr. Her- 
 bert's eyes ; though their whole amount could not 
 be ascertained till farther inquiries were made. 
 Mr. Stanley blamed himself for playing for the 
 very high sums he had lately staked, but he ac- 
 knowledged there were still other debts ; and his 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 171 
 
 new friend encouraged him to look into them 
 without delay. 
 
 The attorney was therefore sent for, and, after 
 many arrangements, all was left to his manage- 
 ment ; and Mr. Stanley listened with complacen- 
 cy to the scheme both Mrs. Irvin and his daugh- 
 ter had proposed, of his returning to Milwood 
 with them, as the society of Mr. Herbert appear- 
 ed every day more agreeable to him. 
 
 His house in town, with all its furniture, was 
 disposed of; and in about a month after Ellen 
 had, with so much anxiety, hastened to a parent 
 whom she feared to find dying, she had the satis- 
 faction of returning with him to the place of all 
 others she most wished, with composed spirits ; 
 and though still unwell, with greater appearance 
 of amended health than, when she first saw him, 
 she could allow herself to hope. 
 
 The change was such as Mr. Stanley had 
 never before experienced ; for when, before, he 
 had left the town, it was only to meet the same 
 company, and the same pursuits, in some fashion- 
 able watering-place : but he was now really in 
 the country, and in the midst of winter ; with no 
 other companions than an old woman and a young 
 girl, both so attached to their own plan of happi- 
 ness (a sketch of which the reader has seen), 
 that they concluded there was none other capable 
 of affording it ; and yet Mr. Stanley did not wish 
 himself away. Here he had time to reflect ; and 
 he was astonished at the recollection of his for- 
 mer life, dependant on so many people for amuse- 
 ment and employment ; for often he had flown to 
 the former, as a means of passing away the hours 
 
172 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 that hung heavily on his hands, but at Milwood 
 he never found a vacant hour. Without his old 
 pursuits, — no tavern or coffee-house to lounge in, 
 where he met with companions like himself, who 
 were drawn together merely for the sake of kill- 
 ing time, — here he met with real attention : El- 
 len, and often Mr. Herbert, left their own employ- 
 ments, to amuse or converse with him. 
 
 Every morning after breakfast, while he was 
 in too weak a state to be much out of the house, 
 Ellen first read to him, then played or sang ; and 
 soon his old taste for music returned, and he be- 
 came again a performer. The books he read 
 tended farther to illustrate those important truths 
 that Mr. Herbert in his conversation inculcated, 
 and in his conduct practised. 
 
 Here, too, Mr. Stanley saw a uniform respect 
 paid to the Sabbath, — that day which, if properly 
 spent, adds grace and happiness to all the rest ; 
 and by the example of those about him, he was 
 led to attend the church, and, like them also, he 
 found comfort in so doing. — He had all his life 
 been seeking after happiness ; but now, when 
 nearly driven to despair, he came desponding, 
 and not expecting, or scarcely wishing, to dis- 
 cover it in the country, he found, in a quiet peace- 
 ful life, dedicated to religion and the good of 
 others, the truest enjoyment ; leaving far behind 
 him the world, and all its visionary plans, he be- 
 came acquainted with a higher source of pleasure, 
 and was imperceptibly led to admit the claims of 
 reason in its favor, which the falsely named gaye- 
 ties he had hitherto pursued would allow him no 
 time to consider. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 173 
 
 The little Campbells often afforded him much 
 entertainment, and not seldom instruction also. 
 Even these children had been taught to see things 
 in a more comprehensive view than he did ; and 
 in all their conclusions, there was a reference to 
 the world to come, as well as to this. 
 
 Mr. Stanley would ask them questions which 
 a false shame often prevented his putting to 
 others ; and their answers, though given in all the 
 simplicity of childhood, were such as often pro- 
 duced serious consideration in his mind. 
 
 The elder Miss Campbell sometimes amused 
 him with her music ; but the little boys and girls 
 were his favorite companions ; and he was so 
 good a friend to them, that they were always hap- 
 py in his company. 
 
 As the spring advanced, Mr. Stanley's health 
 was quite restored ; and Ellen was made still 
 more happy, by observing his inclinations perfect- 
 ly accommodated to his situation. He walked 
 every day, sometimes alone, or with her and Mrs. 
 Irvin ; and afterward took a ride either with Mr. 
 Herbert or Mr. Campbell. There was nothing 
 contradictory in the conversation of those he was 
 now with ; all, from the least even to the great- 
 est, united in their opinions, and their actions 
 agreed with their words. It was this uniformity 
 which led Mr. Stanley seriously to conclude that 
 the truth was on their side : as all were happy 
 and contented, even among the poor, with whom 
 he often conversed, and wherever peace and com- 
 fort seemed to dwell, these sentiments were the 
 source from which they arose. 
 
 The ensuing season was the happiest Ellen 
 15 # 
 
174 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 ever knew ; her father became more and more 
 attached to her, and he delighted to see her con- 
 scientiously following the path of duty, without 
 allowing herself to lessen her exertions in doing 
 good. 
 
 In the course of this year Miss Campbell mar- 
 ried ; and after a few days spent at her father's 
 house, this excellent young woman was removed 
 to a larger sphere of action, as the gentleman to 
 whom she was united possessed a large estate in 
 a distant county. Thither some of her sisters 
 went to visit her every year ; and they always re- 
 turned with some happy account of her goodness. 
 " That she was quite another Mrs. Irvin in the 
 place where she lived," was the character they 
 gave of her ; and the poor in her neighborhood 
 were grateful in their acknowledgments of the 
 kindness she was continually showing them. 
 The greatest grief that Ellen could know, next to 
 the death of her father and aunt, was that of Mr. 
 Herbert ; and she was soon called to this trial, 
 though not till she had seen every good effect she 
 could wish from his society with her father. 
 This worthy man glorified God in his death ; and, 
 thankfully resigning his life into the hands of Him 
 who gave it, and who made it so eminently use- 
 ful, he entered into a happier world, without a 
 sigh for that he left. The whole parish of Mil- 
 wood, to whom he had for so many years been a 
 faithful pastor, mourned his loss ; though their 
 grief was lessened on hearing that the younger 
 Mr. Campbell, whose sentiments and manners 
 were so like his own, was to succeed him as their 
 minister. 
 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 175 
 
 In a short time, Ellen became his wife ; and a 
 house which had been built for some of their 
 friends, who were now prevented from inhabiting 
 it, was fitted up for their reception. 
 
 About this time, also, poor old Dame Hunt died, 
 who had been long confined to her bed, and was 
 supported by the care of Betsy Forbes : and now 
 Ellen took both her and her sister into her family ; 
 the former became her own servant, and Mary, 
 though prevented by her misfortune from being 
 as useful as she wished, was not without employ- 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Stanley and Mrs. Irvin still inhabited the 
 same house, and had the satisfaction of seeing 
 Ellen following the education she had herself re- 
 ceived, in that of her own children, of whom she 
 had a numerous family. 
 
 In a few years this affectionate and best belov- 
 ed aunt was taken from her, to receive a crown 
 of life through the merits of her Savior, whose 
 faithful servant she had so long been. Ellen was 
 with her till the last breath of life was expired ; 
 but the certainty of the happiness promised to all 
 whose sincerity of faith and profession is proved, 
 like this excellent woman's, by a uniform life 
 and conduct, and which she could not doubt she 
 was now enjoying, precluded all unseasonable 
 sorrow. 
 
 On the death of Mrs. Irvin, her faithful Martin 
 once more became a careful and affectionate 
 nurse, and performed that office to the children of 
 her beloved young mistress, with the same ten- 
 der affection she had formerly shown to herself. 
 
 As her aunt had left all her property to the 
 
176 THE TWIN SISTERS. 
 
 younger Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, Ellen again be- 
 came an inhabitant of Milwood Lodge. Mr. 
 Herbert and Mrs. Irvin seemed once more to live 
 in this worthy pair ; and both the parents of these 
 their excellent representatives lived to see them 
 rear 
 
 " A numerous offspring, lovely, like themselves, 
 And good — the grace of all the country round." 
 
 THE END 
 
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