TH E

ADO PTED DAU GHTER ,

44 STAI IZ I Z

F OR

Y O U N G P ER S O N S .

BY M I S S S A N D H A M,
Aut hor qf Th e Tun a st er s
,
”
Wz ll z am S e lw y n ,
”
and many
ot he r App rov ed Wo rk s .

You t ook me u p a. te n d e r flow er. ”

S E C O N D E D I TI ON .

LON DON
I
P R N TE D F O R J H A R R I S AN D S O N ,
P A UL"C H UR C H
.

S T. YA R D .
 B YL
A IS ,
‘

s LI N f O LN s
’
s
‘

Q UEEN wnxz
'
r, -IN N - Frn n .
 P R EF A C E .

T HE fo ll o w i ng t ale i s i n te n d e d t o
sh e w w h at p e o p l e ou
g h t t o b e , r ath e r

t h an Wh at th e y a re ; a st h e re are fe w ,

p s
seos
si n
g M rs Me r i d i th s fo rt u ne
.
’

w h o h av e an i n c li n a t i o n t o d i s os
p e

of i t i n th e man n e r S h e i sr e p r e s
e nt e d

t o hav e d o n e . I n d e e d t he , c h arac t e rs
h e re i nt ro d uc e d a re t oo n e ar
p e rfe c

ti on t o b e me t w i th i n re al l i fe y e t
,

the Au th o r h op e s th a t he r y o u ng

re ad e r s w i ll r e c e i v e ins
t r u c ti o n , a s
w e l l asa mu s
e me n t i n p e ru s
, i ng i t .
iv P R EFAC E .

S om e of t h e i n c i d e n t s m a y h av e

b e e n b e fo re i n t r o d u c e d i n w or ks of
the s
am e k i n d ; th o u gh s
h e i s n ot

of l a iar i sm or b o rro w i n g
a w are
p g ,

fr o m o th e r a u t h o rs ,
an d a ss
h e h as
e n d e av o u e d r e s
t o p o u r t r ay t h o s mal le r

d eli n e at i o n so f c h arac t e r w h i ch o ft e n

s pe
e ca a
g e n e ra l o b e v e r, sr s
h e h o pe s

m any of t h e i d e asw i ll b e fou n d to b e

ne w ; an d t h at th e p r e s
ent w o rk w ill
n ot s
leso n th e fav o u r w h i c h h e r fo r
me r p u bli cat i o n s h ass
o ab u n d an tl
y
me t w i th ; a nd w h i ch S h e h old s i n

g r at e fu l e s
t i mat i o n .
 THE

AD O PTED D AU G HTER .

C H A PTER I .

You t ook m e up a t e n d er fl ow er.

M R S M E R I D I TH was the heiress of two

.

con siderable estates o n e o f which was in

,

S us sex, on which sh e was born and where, ,

at the commencement of this history She ,

came to reside : her earliest and happiest

days of childhood had been spent in the
'

village adj oining, where She w asnu rsed by

a respectable farmer swi fe ha v in g had the
’

misfortun e to lo se he r m other, who died i n

B
2 T HE A DOP T ED D A U G H T E R .

bringing her into the world V arious so r .

row s and the lo sso f an a ffectionate h u s

,

band very early i n life made Mrs Meri

,
.

d ith prefer the quie t scenes o f the coun

try to the glitter of dissipation or the ,

more uni form am u semen ts of a provincial

town ; and on entering R osewood the ,

name of her estate S h e hoped to lose the

,

remembra n ce o f her di stre sse s which had ,

hitherto heavily opp re ssed her in endea ,

v ou ri n g to alleviate those o f her tenants

and t h e neighbouring poor H er father .

,

M r Woodville was a great fox hunter

.
,
-
,

and on the death o f his W i fe which he did ,

n o t feel s o keenly as might be expected

from the amiable character She posse s se d ,

earne stly entreated MrsCampbell who was

.
,

t h e wife of h i s favo u rite tenant to take ,

charge o f the helpless in fant H e could .

h ave wished she h ad been a boy as She ,

was h i sonly child yet sa i d he

”
, She ,

must be taken care of thoug h a fem ale

, , ,

an d I will not injure the fortu ne to which

 TH E A DO P T E D D AU G H T E R . 3

s
h e wi l l be entitled
; and by and by when ,

sh e i s old enough I s hall be gl ad to se e

,

her at the h e ad of my table ; but while

sh e was a baby b e thou g ht if he entr u s t
,

ed her to a caref ul n urse such aS h e was ,

'

sure Mrs Campbell would be it was all

.
,

that could be required o f him Nor w as .

he desirous of having he r in hi sown house ,

but perfectly sati sfied that sh e should be

re m oved to the farm whe re he could se e,

her as often as he wi shed H e frequently .

called on h i s return from the chace and ,

repe ated h is thanks to M rs Campbell for .

her kind attention to h i s child earnestly ,

requesting her not t o want any thing which

his house a fforded ; but Mr and Mrs . .

Campbell were above want and po sses sed ,

every comfort which their moderate wishe s

required so that except t he allotte d st i
, ,

p end which M r Woodville engaged to p ay

.
,

sh e sought n o other recompence and s el ,

d o m went to R osewood but when its owner ,

w as con fi ned b accident o r illn es s and

y ,

B 2
4 T HE A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R .

wished h i s daughter to be brou ght t o

him .

S he continued with the farmer and his

wife till n early S i x years O ld regarding ,

them as parent s and loving them equally

,

wi th her father who, as She advanced in

,

childhood grew mor e attached to her

, ,

and pleased with her winning ways, he

,

never came t o the farm without som e new

toy or sweetmeat, o r sugar plums, the
,
-

servants at home being ordered t o hav e

something nice always in readi ness for him
t o take to their young mis t ress T hese re .

p e at e d presents insured him a welcome

from h i s daughter n or did he su s pect that
,

he w as buying that love which she freely

'

bestowed on h e r m ammy Campbell for s o ,

s h e styled her a ffectionate nurse T he lit .

tle girl w h o was her fos ter sister always

s hared in these favours , and another pa rt
w a s put by fO r the boys till their return

from s chool and whom sh e looked upon

,

as her brothers .
 TH E A DO P T E D D AU G HT E R .
’

I t was the eldest of these boys who n o w

occup ie d the farm on which Mrs Meridith .

had spent her infan t day s h is father and

mother were both dead and he had taken ,

a long lease of it j ust be fore t h a t lady

cam e into possession Of the e state Mr . .

W oodville had been dea d some years but ,

Mrs Meridith had not vi sited R osewood

.

since that event n or after her m arriage

,

till now being depriv ed o f her husband

, ,

w ith whom sh e had lived on her other

e state i n Lincoln shire She turned her ,

thoughts to R o sewood where sh e hoped ,

to forget her grie f and if any of the com

,

p anion sof her childhood were livin g sh e ,

could by adding to their com fort s increase ,

her own H ere S h e found not the farmer

.

Campbell sh e had formerly called her fa

ther but h i sson whom sh e once loved as
, ,

a brother her good O ld nurse had died a

fe w year sbe fore, and her foster sister also,
bu t the la t ter had le ft a child which the ,

present Mr and Mrs Campbell brought

. .

B 3
6 TH E A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R .

up as their ow n T here were but t w o .

house sO f any size in the village O f D own

ash excep t the parsonage which was o c
, ,

c asion ally occupied by the vicar a Single ,

m an w h o lost the pleasure he might have

,

found i n as sisti n g those whom h e professed

t o take t h e care o f in drinking and vi s it
,

ing t h e neighbouring towns as often as ,

h is situation would allow : the otherswere

occupied by farmer Campbell and farmer
Ward who divided the arable land O f Mrs
, .

’
Meridith s estate between them, and the
cottages of their labourers formed what
was called the street N O sooner w asMrs . .

Mer i dith settled at R osewood than sh e ,

felt the tie s O f a ffection renewed which

had bound her to it i n in fanc y and She ,

felt the truth o f the following observa

tion .

M ean w h ile re t u rn i n
g to o ur nati v e h earth ,
H o w kee n th e pl easu re t h at ou r
g f r e i re pay s
,

"
Vh en d ri n k i n g ev er
y g al e f m ki d
ro n red e art h ,

th s rf s
-

Asre d ol e n t O f y o u ’
hi g d
e re n ay s
,
 THE A DO P T E D D A U G HT E R . 7

Fancy th e w on d e rsof h e r art p

d i s lay s
,

An d O bj ect s
’
m ourn d ,
’
o e r each w e in ab e n ce

S h ed d i n g th e ri ch n es
sof h er fiy
ar ray s;
B i d se s
c orn d ,
’ ’
en th e li ttl e h ed ge- ro w t h at w e

R ise m el low li gh t, by s t i n t ad om d
’
in a o me ne w .

and s h e de t ermined to seek for happiness

once more within i ts p recincts Often .

”
asI have been disappointed i n the search ,

said sh e ,
and severely as I have felt i ts
loss, let me at least endeavour to u se those
b le s si n g sy e t left m e for the good O f others :
f

and is wealth alone the only bles sing left

”
me P continued sh e assh e walked pen ,

s i v e ly up and down the avenue which l ed

to her house Alas I have now no re
.

l at i o n s who m I can share it with no one ,

whom I can call an intimate friend "My

for tune would make many p rofes s to be
such , but I have p roved the fallac y of such
friend s hip and know on what ground t hey
, .

are formed I will se e k i h e Cam pbells if

.

t hey are like their parents t hey will n o t ,

be parasite s fo r they were Ch uten t with

,
8 TH E ADOPT ED D AU GHTER .

little and tho ught the bread they ate t h e

,

sweeter for being p rocured by the ir ow n

'

”
industry . With these sentiments sh e
called at the farm withi n a fe w weeks
,

a fter her arrival at R osewood and found ,

M r an d Mrs Campbell sensible of her con

. .

descension though not servilely so T hey

,
.

were both well informed and p aid h e r t h e

,

re sp ec t which w asdue to her as the o w ner

o f their farm ; n o r were they a s hamed to
acknowledge her their superior, not only
fro m her po s se ssing more m oney but from,

the di fference the di stinctions o f society

h ad m ade between them S he found the
.

farm er s itti n g with two children o n his

knee and h i swife with an in fan t on her s,
,

in the very place where the late M rsC am p .

bell used to si t and to whom sh e had O ften

,

ran with the sweet things her father

brought her while a child under her care .

T he shelve s the chairs and oaken tables

, ,

were the same aswhen she lived there ex ,

ce pt that s ev eral books were added to t h e

 THE ADO P T E D D AUG HT E R . 9

sim ple library h e r foster parents possessed .

O n e n tering the roo m quite unexpectedly,

'

she w asnot at first recollected as t h e lad y

th ey had seen at church t h e S unday b e
for e her fac e was p articularly exp ressive ,

but it was marked with m elancholy ; and

her voice fal t ered as sh e apologized for her
abruptness no r could She refrain from
tears on O bserving the extreme likene ss of
the farmer to h isgood O ld mo ther, whose
features she perfec tly recollec t ed I t is
.

Mrs Meridith l said he on seeing her

.
”
,

advance farther into their large stone

kitchen ; and setting the children on t heir
feet who were lo st in as t onishment at the
,

appearance of a stranger h e j ump ed Up

,

and haste ned t o O ffer her a chair Mrs .

-
.

Campbell also rose and remarking the

,

agitation of her countenance imagined,

tha t something had alarm ed her and she ,

h ad fled t o their house for Shelter :

Wi ll you take any thi ng, Ma am P said
”
’
10 T HE ADOPT ED D AUG HTE R .

s
h e, I a m sure you are very much fright
ened .

N no replied Mrs Meridith

O, , bu t
.
,

the recollection O f O ld time sand O ld friend s

were at the moment almost too m u ch for
me ; t h ese walls and that face are n o
strangers t o me do y ou not recollect
—

me Mr Campbell " continued she hold

, .
”
,

ing ou t her hand to hi m With a c ou n t e .

nance expressive of plea sure yet with the ,

utmost resp ect he took her O ffered hand

,
.

” ’
Certainly Ma am I do, he replied,
, ,

and es t eem my self obliged that y o u

'

”
s ho uld still remember m e .

Ala s" said She with a sigh

” “
the ,

lo ssO f so many later friend shas m ade m e

wi sh to se e those of an earlier date n o t
.

that I did n o t O ften think o f those I le ft at

the farm and only wi sh there were n ow
,

more O f the m for m e to meet Y our d e a r .

mother I know i s dead ; but my sister

An n a where is s
, he " Ah l that little girl —
 T H E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . ll

puts me in mi nd O f her and o f a stil l —

”
dearer tie added sh e with a Sigh hal f
, ,

suppre ssed while her eyes were suffu sed

,

with tears .

It i sher child ,Madam re turned Mr , .

Campbell ; I lost my si s ter when she

w asborn and s , h e i sours n ow
”
P oor little thing said M rs Meridith
, .
,

dra wing t h e child towards her your ,

mother dead also "May y ou find in the

p resent Mrs Campbel l as k ind a nurse as
.

I did in the former and you will not know

,
”
your lo ss But your b rother c ontinued
.
,

she ,
i sb e li v ing
“
Y e s Madam and h as taken a farm
, ,

about fourteen mile s fro m hence and is ,

”
m arried .

My poor Anna repeated Mrs Meri .

dith, h o w sorry I am tha t you are not

her e " s h e was the only o n e I ever called
sister Mr Campbell who did sh e marry
, .

A young m an from the neigh bo uring

t own Madam but he was far from a kind
,
 12 TH E A D O P T E D D AU G H TE R .

husband to her : sh e li v ed with him but

little more than a twelve month and I fear ,

i t has tened her death for she was so b e

,

loved by her ow n family that sh e fel t his ,

unkindness doubly keen T hi s little on e . ~

is now three years O ld on her death b e d -

s h e begged us to take i t and i t sunnatural

,

fa t her has never i n qui red for it since ;

‘
'

nor have we heard O f him excep t that he ,

'

was gone as a soldier o r a sai lo r an d per ,

”
hap s ere this is dead in battle .

T he li t tle girl looked hard at him as b e

rela t ed t his tale , seeming not to under ,

st and O f Who m he spoke, bu t as if wishi ng

to be certain i t was not her self S h e took ,

him by the hand with an in q uiring look ,

”
You are my father a nt y ou P
’
saying, ,

Yes ,
my dear and
, always will be a fa

t her t o you, he replied with an e tfe c ,

“
t i o n at e kiss. But give me leave Ma ,
”
dam added he
, ,
t o i n t ro d u oe my wi fe
_

”
to y ou who stil l stood contemplating the
,

fea tures of the la d y and b u s

,
h i n g t h e baby in
 TH E A DOPTED D AUG HTER . 13

her arms who seem ed disposed t o c ry at

,

a scene so new to her

'

D id I not kn ow her when a child " ,

a sked MrsMeredith. .

I believe not madam ; her name was

,

D allw y n and her father the owner o f the

,

farm my brother occupies .

I can only say that I shall be happy

,

t o know more O f her returned their kind

,

visitor and to se e h e r O ften T hirty years

,
.

have not obliterated the kindness O f you r

fa m ily from my m emory and I cannot fo r ,

s
’

g e t that to your mother care I owe my

p re servation in childhood Neither have I .

forgo t your own e fforts to pleas e m e w h e n

'

I used t o call y ou m y bro t her William ;

’

you were always kind .

And you were so to m e Madam re , ,

tu rned M r Campbell wi t h a smile

.
, that
shel f ( po inti ng to t h e place where She
used to deposit the sweet things s he re
s erved for her br otherso n their return fro m
school ) Often rem ind sm e of you .
14 TH E A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R .

M rs Meridith s miled also

. . Ah th ose
”
were happy day s said sh e ; ,
w ou ld I
'

could forget many that has inte rvened

Madam , I am sorry any O f your days
”
s hould have been les shap py repl i ed the ,

farmer ,
but let us h O pe tha t there are
”
y e t happier one s in store .

M rsMeridith felt that the soothing voice

.

o f friendship though fro m so humble an

,

individual was a cordial to her heart , and

,

s h e th anked him for exp ressing it I .

”
wish , said she to forget all disti nctions
,

o f rank between us for I ha v e found very ,

little to reco mp en se m e fo r the trouble

these have gi ven and for the fii tu re I hop e
you and your w ife will look o n m e as your ‘

”
friend and treat m e as such
,
.

”
Y our friendship Madam , re tu rned,

Mr Campbell
. I should be u ngra t e fu l
,

n o t to p rize a n d I hop e I shall do nothing

,

to forfeit it ; but though y ou are so kind

asto forget the distinction there is be t ween

u s I trust we never shall

, Conside r u s .
,
 THE ADOPTED D A U G HT E R . I5

Madam , as the most faith ful O f your se r

v ant s a,
n d from o u r k n owled ge o f each

other in ou r younger day s believe me the ,

”
most attached o f your tenants .

Mrs Meridith a fter walking o v e r the

.
,

garden and vi si ting the barn in wh i ch, ,

when a child, sh e u s e d to p l ay with Anna

and her brother s fixed a day for Mr and

,
.

Mrs Campbell to dine with her ; and r e

.

t ired with a Sighing heart yet not unmixed ,

with pleasure at havi n g found a friend .

“ ” “
P erhap s said sh e to her sel f
, in ,

these humble acquaintance I m ay find more

real pleasure and greater gratitude than
,

in more refined society : had h i s mother

been alive I should have been happy to
,

ha v e m ade her com fortable but at least I

will do good to her sons I know perh ap s .

better than I did how to be sto w what is

u seful and money I ha v e in plen t y M ay
,
.

”
I be enabled to make a righ t u s e Of it .

S he re t urned home more at ease t h an

s h e had felt for som e time and resolved to ,

C 2
16 T HE A D O P T E D D A U G H T E R .

exert her sel f for the p eople O f the v i llage .

”
But it shall be by employi ng them ,

thought She and sh e immediately planned

,

several alterations in her gardens and plea

s u re grounds and ordered her servant s to
,
-

employ all the O ld men and boys who were

at that t ime ou t of work abou t t hem .
 T HE A DO PTED DAUGHTER . 17

C HAPTER II .

MR S ME R I D I TH also visited the cott ages

.

o f the poor, and from every o n e s h e heard

something O f the goodness o f Mr and Mrs . .

Campbell . H is father and m o ther were

kind to us, said on e o f the O ld women ,
and S O i s he and his wi fe also : she l ets .

n othing be wasted m her dairy, o r her

pantry, and i s always kind to u swhen we

go there, and gives us something t o eat
and d rink , and O ften some vic t u als to bring
”
home W ith us .

M rs Merid ith enq u ired if there was

.

any school in the village, and o n be ing

directed to the O ld dame s ho u se w h o i n
’
,

stru c ted all the li t tle on es m their A B C ,

sh e determ ined not t o dep rive her O f her
0 3
 THE A DO PT ED DAUG H T E R .

employment but endeavoured t o fi n d o u t

,

a younger w oman who could under t ake

the education of larger children and teach
,

them pla i n needle work & c T he bigger

-

boy sus
, .

ed to walk to a neighbouring vil

l age t o school and as she found t h e m an
,

h a d a large family and bore an excellent

,

character, she d id n ot set up any other in

opposition to him , but engaged to pay him
fo r those boy s W ho s e parents could not
a ffo rd it H er servants were ordered n o t
.

to turn any O f the poor p eople away with

ou t relieving their wants ; and in a ve ry

fe w months the inhabitan t s O f Do w n as h

fel t the benefit O f having such a kind
p atroness living a t R o sewo od, as their
houses were better furnished, themselve s
an d children better clo t hed , and all thei r

beds p rovided with blankets .

When the day cam e for M r and Mrs

. . .

Campbell to pay t heir promi sed vi sit at

the great house, unuse d as they bo th were
to visiting i t app eared in anticip at ion a
,
 TH E ADO PTED DAUGHTER . 19

formidable thing notwithstanding t h e af

,

fabili ty and condescen s ion o f M rs Meri .

dith which they had so amply e x p e ri

,

e n c e d in her vi s
it t o them but they d read
ed the long train o f servants and saucy
”
footmen they should have to pass through ,

having hea rd that such were always m ore

r e ad y t o notice any thing awkward than

their owner s: but they were agreeably su r

p rized t o find no such men at R o sewood .

M rs Meridith s hou sehold con sisted O f no

.
’

more servants than were absolutely n e c e s

sary and o n e footman an d a black servant
,

were all they saw H er table and Side

.

b Oard were neatly s p read without any

,

app earance of o s tentation ; and by th e great

respect with which sh e trea t ed her gues ts,
s h e taught her servants t o do t h e sa me
. .

Aft er dinner Mrs Meridith le d them to

, .

the garden and pleasure ground an d c on -

,

s u l t e d Mr
. Campbe ll on the imp r ov ements
sh e in t end ed ; and by eve ry action endea
v o u re d to shew tha t s h e a ffec t e d no s u pe
20 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

over them Mrs Campbell soo n

r i ori t y . .

lo st the restraint her being a stranger had

occasioned and Mrs Meridith found her
, .

a sen sible well in formed wom an From

,
-
.

this ti me sh e gre w more attached t o t he

family and had frequent opportunitie s
,

O f Ob s erving Mr Campbell po ssessed a

.

soli d understanding with the strictest

,

p rinciple s O f morality and rectitude : S h e

grew very fond of their children and at ,

length p roposed adopting the little Anna ,

then about four year s O ld for her o w n , .

I Should have bee n hap py t o have Shewn

her m other every ki n dn ess, said She ,

“
but Since that i s ou t of my p ower let ,

me trans fer my a ffections to her child .

Alas "I onc e had children O f my own but ,

P rovidence h as s ee n fit to deprive m e of
them ; thi s l i ttle one will soo t he m any a
lonely hour, and if She possesse s the
disp osition of h e r family, will n ot be n u
worthy O f my regard I have an ample .

”
fortune and no near re la t ion .
 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 21

Mr C ampbel l heard thi s p roposal with

.

silent r es p ec t and many thank s and on ,

her repeating that sh e had long thought

of i t he begged to consul t his wi fe o n
,

the subj ect .

Their conversa t ion was not such as

many O f my readers m ay suppose ; the
farmer recollected s h e was the ch i ld of his
only sister whom his mother had brought
,

up i n the plainest and m os t industrious

“ ”
habi t s , and I had intended said he
, ,
“
to follow her plan in regard to t hi sse
cond Anna ; we have only on e girl p f ou r
o w n , and I am ble s sed w ith health and
strength, and a flouri shing farm , an d did
n o t fear we should ever find her an i n
”
c umbrance to us .

”
M rs Campbell declared the same and
.
,

that sh e loved her equally with her ow n

children ; but yet ”
said sh e
,
“
M rs
, .

Meridith will n o t take he r away from

D o w n as h s h e al w av sintend s living here
,
'

and seems at t ached to the place and w e ,

22 THE ADOPT E D DAUG HT ER .

know Anna can learn no e v il O f her Will .

it be acting right therefore to deprive , ,

Mrs Meridith O f the amusemen t Anna

.

Will be or Anna O f the advan tages Mrs

,
'

Meridith s fortune can O btain fo r her "

’

We se e riches has not made that lady

proud o r dissipated and with such an ex ,

ample , may we n o t hope Anna will escape

the e ffects w h ich wealth and idlen ess t oo
com monly p roduce " ”

If her father should ever i nqui re for

her said M r Campbell he can not be
“

.
, ,

displea sed at finding her so situat e d

though I Should fear was he t o know it, it ,

would temp t him to seek her ou t in hope s ,

O f being benefited by Mr Meridith s k i nd

’
.

”
nes st o h e r .

Mrs Campbell O bserved that his long

.
,

absence fro m the place an d the report of ,

h i sgoing abroad m ade it very unlikely he

,

should yet be alive and as he was pe r ,

fe c t ly indifferent to her fate before he knew

that they should take t h e charge of her i t ,
 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G H TER . 23

wa svery unlikely he Should think of he r

now T he fear o f O ffending Mrs Meridith
. .

Went a great way in gaining their consent ,

an d it was agreed the O ffer Should be ac

ce pte d but not before old Molly who had

, ,
’
lived in the house when Anna s mother
was born had been consulted, and p re
,
'

vailed on to give a w i lli n g a ffirm ati v e to

the arrangement .

S he will never be happ ier in any great

” “
house than here ; said She and asfo r ,

money what s the use of having more

,
’

than is necessary " S ure sure a farm , ,

house i s the happ ie st place i n the world ;

always busy and somethin g to look for
,

ward to from every e mployment which

wil l be useful t o ourselves and others I
, .

should n ever wish to see ou r little Anna

’
any other than a farmer s wi fe such as ,

her dear grandmother was, not but what

Mrs Meridi t h is a very g ood lady : a very
.

good lady indeed : but riches won t ma k e

’
 T HE A D O P T ED D A U G H T E R .

people hap py that s plain to be seen in

,
’

”
he r HO W dull She looks sometim e s1
T hat p roceeds fro m the many m i s
”
fortunes she h as m et with dear Molly, ,

said Mr C ampbell 5 and a farm hou se is

.
‘ -

n ot exempt from t h e los s O f f amily and

friends though our s thank sbe to P rovi

,
’

dence has been so highly favour ed

,
.

“
If then we are liable to l ose any O f ou r
”
children by death S aid Molly
,
the r e ,

seems the less occa sion to g i v e on e aw ay

but y ou kn ow s bes t ; I would not be the
’
child s hindrance ; yet I should not like
her to be taken a great way O ff as poo r ,

Mrs Me 1 i d i t h was herself

.
”
.

“
There i s no fear o f that Molly re , ,

sum ed her mas t er, for M rs M e i i d it h .

seems inclined to p re fer R osewood as h e r

home to any o t her place .

H eaven be p r ai sed for t hat re turned ,

Molly for sure she h as done a p o w e r of

,

good since sh e lived th ere and if little ,

 TH E A DO PTED DA U G HT E R . 25

Ann a IS to go no farther I can see her as,

O ften asI like for M rs Meridith has asked

, .

me t o come O ften and O ften ; and told m e

ne v er to take the children out fo r a walk
without calling there ; and l at t e rly som e , .

how or other I never have for let m e go

, ,

which way I would, the boy s always con

t ri v e d to c ome hom e round by R osewood ,

and l i ttle Anna would peep and pry about

through the p al ing and the he d ge s, to see
,

if s h e could find M rs Meridith or the

.
,

black man or woman and I u sed to th in k -

to schl d her fo r it b ut some h ow or other

,
”
I al w ays forgot it .

Mo ll y had now began t alking and it was ,

som e tim e be fore sh e stopp ed ; for t houg h

t here were but few subj ects She could talk

u pO n sh e always found enough to say

upon them ; and She d i d n ot leave O ff till
She w as p erfectly sati sfied Anna should
’
be Mrs Meridi t h s child so that while
.
,

sh e li v ed s ee her as often as s
h e could s he
wished .
 TH E A D O P TE D D A U GH T E R .

T he next tim e therefore that Mrs , ,

.

Meridith called and made the same p ro

,

p osal it was readily agreed to and little

, ,

Anna was called in from h e r play with the

boys and the great m ast i fi dog who was
'

letting them all ride up on his back O n .

being asked i f sh e would l ike to live with

M rs Meridith "s
. h e replied “
i f William ,
”
and John g o too John w as but a fe w
.

months O lder than her self and William ,

nearly seven yearsO ld .

“
T hey shall come and se e you every
day said Mrs Meridith
,
. .

“
And father and mother going too
asked the artless child “
and O ld Molly , ,

and G rowler which was the name o f the

,

dog .

“
M r Campbell smil ed and S aid
. she is ,

encro aching on your goodness already ,

Madam and woul d bring all my fam ily

,
”
with her .

T hey shall come and se e u s very

 TH E A DOPTED DAUGHT ER .
27

oft en replied Mrs Meredith anxiousto

,
.
,

se e the child accede t o her p roposal with

o u t regret but y ou Shall be my little

,
”
girl.

“
And mother s too "retu rned t h e child
’

looking toward sMrs C am p b ell who m sh e

.
,

had alway sconsidered her parent .

Ye s my dear
, replied M rs Mer i dith
,
.
,

b u t won t you c all m e mother "

’ ”

You a re good M rs Meridith li sp ed

.
,

the child ; and I do love you dearly but ,

”
I a m my m other s ow n little girl
’
.

“
S O then you won t be my little girl
’

also i ”
said M rs Meridith .
“
nor won t ’

come an d live with m e an d Bell a an d , ,

S yphax l the nam e of the black man and

”

woman O f whom Anna w asve ry fond

,
.

Ye s I will I will and walk in the

, , ,

garden and play on the green her little

,

eye s Sparkling w ith plea sure and Wil ,

.

liam and John p lay t oo ; but then I slee p

”
at home and Molly put me to bed P
Y e s when you are here
,
replied Mrs , .

D 2
28 THE A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

Meridith ,
and whe n y ou sleep at R ose
”
wood, Bella shall put y ou to bed .

“
And Wi lliam and John too "asked s
”
he .

Ye s , when they sleep there sh e Shall

”
put them to bed like w ise , rep lied h e r
kind friend, fearfu l O f hearing her flatly
re fuse t o leave them and not choosing to
urge her suit any farther that day, sh e
invited the whole family ( not forgettin g
Molly and the youngest child who was to
be O f the p arty) to dine with her o n th e
next Nothing could be happier t han th e
.

childr en were the whole of that day ; and

M rs Meridith afraid of Anna s expressing
.
,
’

any di slike t o remaining with her at night ,

would hav e wi shed W illiam and John to

sleep there, al so ; but Mr Campbell ad
.

vised her otherways asit m ight make h e r

,
”
expect it another tim e and I , said he
, ,
h
may hg v e as much trouble to make my
boy s willing to return home as you ap ,
”
p rehend having to make her stay Be fore .

it was th e ir bed time he took Anna into

-
,
 TH E A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R . 29

the garden and told her sh e was go ing

,

to stay all n ight with Mrs Meridith and .

from leading her to im agin e it w asa very

great favour though it could not be su p
,

po sed She could at present comp rehend the

e xtent O f the kindnes s intended her h e ,

made her very well sati sfied with the change .

Molly then t ook the boys and the little

girl ho me and Bella put her new charge
,

t o bed whom knowing her mistress s i n

’

, ,
ten t ion toward s her S h e w asparticularly
,

anxious t o please lest her dear lady should

,

be vext at finding her otherwi se Th e .

novelty of the room and her new a ttend ,

ant with the p retty littl e bed which ha d

,

been prepared for her all t ook Anna s ,

’

attention and She drop t asleep without

,

inquiring for h e r brothers : but it w as

not so with them and old Molly w h o,
, ,
'

while undressing t h e m t alke d O f nothing

,

but little Anna and h e r not c o m i ng h om e

,
’

any more .
30 TH E A DO PT E D D A U GH T E R .

C HAPTE R II I .

IN a short tim e Anna was quite reconciled

to h e r Situation and no longer thought
,

any place her home but R o se w ood ; and

Mrs Meridith a fter the indulgenc e of a
.
,

few week s holiday s began the plan O f edu

’

cation sh e had p roposed for her ow n chil

dren had sh e no t been dep rived O f them
, .

But though sh e wi shed Anna should know

every thing necessary to adorn the station
in life she intended h e r to fill sh e was ,

equally anxious that s h e Should not p ride

her self upon it T he little girl had al
.

ready learn t her le t ters and could sp ell

,

a fe w words and for the first two or three

,

years o f her being Mrs Meridith s ch il d

.
’

t hat lady w asher only instru c tres s Ann a .

 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 31

was allowed to take a great deal of ex e r

Ci s
,e and her cou sins were not more exp er t
in running driving the hoop and such
, ,

amu sement sthan herself All the O ld men .

who worked in the gardens rej oic ed at

'

her good fortune ; they remembered her

mother and had O ften pitied her fate
,
.

”
Now said they
, we wish sh e could
,

se e h O W well her child i sp rovided fOr : s

he
deserved a better husband fo r t h e re was
'

not a prettier nor a more industrio us

, ,

clean neat girl i n all the parish ; an d S O

,
”
kind hearted
-
.

Ah replied another, I remem ber

“

whe n sh e w asbut a little thing ho w She ,

came to se e my poor Nancy that was ill ,

and cried over her and brought her e v ery

,

thing which She thought She could eat '

and whe n sh e died ”
— here the poor O ld
m an wiped a tear fro m h i s eye and could
sa no m ore I n s
hort Anna w asca ress
e d
y .

by all the inhabitants O f the village n ot

32 THE A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R
only on her mother s acco unt but on Mrs
’

,
.

Meridi th s also , who w aspl ea sed at every

’

”
attention p aid her adop ted daughter .

Wh o then can wonder that ou r young

heroine should begin to thin k hersel f of
more consequence than s h e really w as"
and tha t her little head was nearly turned
with th e notice which w as always taken
of her " And here it would be well if many
children, who find themselves O bj ects O f
attention to their fri ends would con sider
,

that it is n ot for any think extraord i nary

in themselve s o r any particular m erit, or
talents which they p ossess ; bu t for the
sake of their p aren ts or be cau se O f some
,

misfo r t u ne p erhap s, whi ch i sattached t o

,

them those w h o are good and benevolent

,

are inclined to notice t hem how foolish

then to g row p rou d of themselves on such
an account " they ough t t o be obliged to the
k ind frie nds who t hu s favour them and ,

e ndeavour to repay their kindne s s by a t

 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 33

tention ; but it i s a proo f of their foll y to

value themselve s on W hat arise s from
others and not from them selves
, .

M rs Meridith had new clothes of every

.

kind made for An na ; and though s he

drest rem arkably plain hersel f and Anna ,

had never been used t o se e any other the ,

exchanging her coloured frock sfor more

white o n e s g rat i fi e d her vanity and s
‘
he
,

C ould no t help shewing them to her cousin s

when they came to visit her .

I wish Mamma would give y ou a new

”
suit of clo t he s said sh e to William h ow
,
“
,

well y ou would look i f you h ad more -

”
button s .

Nonsense repli e d William who h ad

, ,

imbibed all his father s notions ;

’
What
fo r"these clothes keep me warm and ,

they are whole in every p art ; and should

I be happier i f I had more button son m y
coat " I don t think you are more S O in
’
-

that whi t e frock than i n a coloured on e ;

34 T HE A DO P T ED D A U G H T E R .

s
’

you d on tnj oy a game

e of play o well for ,
”
fear y ou should tear it .

I don t con s
’
ider th a t returned Anna ; ,

I have plenty more i n the drawer ; and

Bella h asnothing to d o but to mend it for ,

me and M rs M er idith woul d n ot be

, .

angry .

Well but still said William

, ,
I am
sure y ou coul d play as well in the coloured
ones you u sed to wear and eat and drink ,

as well and sleep as well when you wen t

to bed so that I don t se e any d i fference
,
’

”
in them .

Mrs Meridith overheard t hi s conversa

.

tion as sh e w as walking i n the garden ,

and si ghed le st She should not find her

rot é é e who was now about seven yea rs
p g ,

O ld ,
all sh e wi shed her S he t ook no no .

tice O f what sh e h ad heard, b u t t h e next

time Anna tore he r fi ock which w asn o t ,

lo n g after sh e called her in and desired

, ,

her t o m e nd it .
 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT ER . 35

B e lla will do that replied Anna with

,

a thoughtles sair she doe sit so well that

, ,

you won t see where the ré n t w as

’ ”
.

But B e l la h as something el se to do ,

rep lied Mrs Meridith . cannot you do it

,

s "
your el " You tore it
f .

Anna looked at her friend asi f doubt ,

ing sh e had heard her plainly Bella a L .

w a smends my thing s
y sai d s
h e
, .

Mrs Meridith sm iled but it w asaeco m

.
,
”
p an i e d by a sigh one would think said ,

She, that thi s little gi rl had bee n bred

in India where she had slave sat her com
,

mand rather than in a far m house for the

,
-
,

first four year so f her li fe : I mu st alter

my p l an with her sh e will exp ec t t oo much
,

and be disap pointed — as I shall be , ,

t hought s h e and another sigh escaped h e r

,
.

Anna watched her countenance and saw ,

sorrow expressed in it and her ow n i a ,

s t an t ly bore traces of the same .

“
What i s the ma t ter dear Mamma " ,

s aid sh e ,
are you sorry t h at l have torn
36 TH E A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R .

my frock if Bella i s busy n ow , sh e can

”
mend it another time o r i f you wi sh it, ,

continued s he I w i ll try i f I can do i t

,

mysel f but I never

,
did darn sh e w ould ,

have added when Mrs Meridith thus ad .

dressed her .

It isn o t that I am sorry for the frock ,

my dear but that y ou appear S O l ittle se n

,

sible o f the trouble you give whe n y ou are ,

so repeatedly tearing your clothes : i f you

con sidered other syou would be sorry B e lla

should be forced to work fo r you her eye s
are n ot good and sh e i sgetting O ld ; and
,

because S h e i skind and would do any th i ng

for you y ou see m disposed to give h e r what
,
”
trouble you can without any apology .

”
I will mend it my s elf said Anna , ,

with a face reddening with Shame and n o ,

lit tle anger asshe thought Mrs Meridith

, .

h ad n ever spoken S O unkin dly t o he r be

‘

fore .

”
- You s h all try at it
~
said that lady ;
,

a n d it may be y o u will then find o u t the

 TE E A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R . 37

t rouble it is t o other p eople y ou are now

‘

seven years old , an d had you continued

with Mrs Campbell woul d most li kely
.
,

have been better able to do i t than you are

T h e tear ss
’
now . tood in Anna s eye , and s

for the first time s h e almost wished h e rs

e lf

again there but sh e took ou t a needle and

thread from her work bag and began the -
,

task sh e w asqui t e unaccustom ed to Al .

re ady the rent appeared ten times larger than

i t did befor e; s h e looked at it each way,
and began to think her Mamma w asright ‘

in saying sh e w ould now know the t rouble

of it but still her pride p revailed, an d
s h e would not own She could n ot d o it .

A fter holding it som e time in her hand ,

s he s ai d,
may I go an d ask B ella to b e ,

"
‘

gin i t for me, Mamma it is impossible I

should know how to do tha t, bu t i f it w as
.

”
once b egan I could go on w i th it .

I have t old y ou B e lla is v ery b t1s

.
y ,

re t urned Mrs Meridith

. .

Will y ou begin it for me then , Mam

‘
38 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G H T ER .

ma " said the little girl in a more hum

”

bled to n e an d after sh e had pulled it

,

backwards and forwards and l ooked a t ,

it again and again .

“
Y e s; and do it too thought Mrs .

Meridith w h o c ould scarcely bear to se e

,

her so di stressed ; and ki sstho se frown s

from your face i f I dared ; but your natur e
would n ot bear it ”
S he therefore onl y
.

de sired her t o bring it to her and bega n ,

the darning which sh e r etu rned int o

,

Ann a s hand ; well knowing that she could

’

never finish it fo r it to be worn an y more

but the frock was of l i t t le v alu e in Mrs ~
.

Meridith s O pinio n i f Anna m ight be

’

taught a le sson of hu mility b y it S he .

con t inued her ow n work, and Anna set a

fe w s t itches , but very di ffere nt from the
p attern set her and often did she turn her
,

eyes to the w i n d ow h O pi n g t o se e e i t h e r
‘

her uncle or cousins c oming u p the lawn ,

which she hoped woul d put an end to the -

wo rk
 TU E A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R “

. 39

H ow do you get o u with it " asked

'

Mrs Meridith “
have y ou done half " ” “

,
.

”
“
s i h y cott on i s s
'

No ,
aid nna ,
o
”
trouble some .

Mrs Meri dith again took it in her hand

’

.
,

and saying that would not do sh e cut ou t ,

all that Anna had d one and then p utting ,

it once more in a proper way sh e m ade ,

h er s i t do w n by her sayin g s h e feared

, ,

her eyes were direct e d more to the win

“

dow than her work Anna could s . carcely

suppress her tears ; yet once more made
the attempt to finish the work and w as as ,

u nsucce s sfu l asb efore though M rs Meri ,

.

dith directed her each time where to put

her needle .

“
Are you convinced now said s he ,

o f the trouble you g ive Bel la every time

you tear your clothe s" ”

“
Y e s dear Mam ma
, replied Ann a ,

bursting into tear s and hiding her face in

,

her lap , and I am very sorry for i t .

”

That i s enough my dear child pro , ,

 THE A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R .

m is
e me
'

tha t y ou will be more careful and ,

mor e thankfu l to t hose who do any thi ng

”
for you .

I will indeed
,
replied Anna ven t ur
, ,

i ng to rai s e her eyes and longing to be

,

reconciled to her kind friend who s oon ,

ga v e he r the consolatory ki ss and then ,

onc e more addressing her sh e said : ,

I should regret my ever t aking you to

be my child my dear Anna i f I spoilt you ;
, ,

I would wish you to know that I o nce h ad

children of my ow n whom I did n o t lov e
,

better than I do y ou ; but I t ook you t o

b e my child because I lost them and b e
, ,

cau se your grandmother w asa kind nur se

to m e when I w asa baby and I knew your ,

mother when sh e was a little girl but ,

more because y ou were u nfortunate an d ,

had lo st your parent s though they were ,

well supplied to you by your uncle and

”
aunt . Ann a sm ingled feelingso f regret
’

con fu sion and gratitude would n ot permit

, ,

her to speak, but she looked with the

 THE A D O P T ED D A UG H T E R . 41

most expressive e arnestnes s at her friend ,

w h o thu scontinued
“
I am n ow your mother and wish to
m ake you happy but it mu st be by adding
,

to the happ i nes sof other s n o t taking from

,
”
it . Anna s tears now flowed afresh ; and
’

s
’
h e threw her arms round Mrs Meridith s .

neck .

O h I h O pe I shall be a good girl an d

deserve your kindne ss said s
, ,

“
he,
i nd e e d
I have nothing to be p roud of but I have ,

given Bella a great deal o f trouble and ,

you , my dear Mamma and thought n othing

,
”
o f it ; p r ay forgive me .

Mrs Meri d ith r e as sure d her o f her

.
-

forgivenes s a n d only hoped the foregoing

,

scene might b e impre ssed o n her m emory

‘

and p revent her thinking so highly o f her

sel f another time ; and sh e then p ropo se d
their walking to t h e farm tog eth e r .
 C H A PT ER IV .

W H E N Anna returned with her kin d

friend t o R osewoo d sh e sought
, Bell a
in order to tell her that sh e was sorry that
sh e had hitherto given h e r so much trou

ble and found her busily employed at

,

needle work and two or three little gi r ls

-
,

o f the village with her to whom s ,

h e w as
di stributing several articles o f clothing .

T his fo r th e present p revented An n a s

, ,
’

speaking of what she cam e t o say and sh e ,

only asked “
,
what sh e w as about " and
”

why these little girl swere there .

T hey were n o t u nknown to her and sh e ,

h ad formerly played with the m be fore s he

 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R . 43

left the farm but now they saw her white

frock and yellow shoe s and remembered,

s
’
h e was taken to be Mrs Meri dith s d au g h
.

t e r they each m ade her a curtesy

,

O h don t cur te sy to me
,
’
said An na ,

fu l l o f what had passed in the morning ;

I am only a little girl like your s el v e s and ,

if it h ad not been for a good uncle and

a u nt and M rs Meridi th s kindne ss I
,
.
’
,

should have b een a great deal wor se off

than you for I had no father or m other t o
,
”
take care o f me .

“
O h Mi ssAnna don t talk so said
,
’
,

Bella ; every b ody love s you and would ,

”
be glad to take care o f you .

But I would wi sh h e r not only t o talk

”
so but t o think s
,
o al so said Mrs Meri
,
.

d ith who ju s
,
t then entered the room and ,

h ad heard Anna sp eaking i f it will keep

,

her mind ful n o t to give more troubl e than

s h e c an help ; and I should be s orry sh e
should forget that the se l ittle gir l have
,
s
as much right to her kindnes sass h e h as
 THE A D O P T E D D A UG H T E R .

to mine, when sh e h as it in her power

to show them any “

“
I will Mamma I will re p lied Anna
, , , ,

for they are all m y O ld play fellows and ,

I used to love them v ery much

”
.

Mrs Meridith then inquired into the

.

work Be lla was doing and Anna found

,

s h e w asgoing to clothe them al s o and sh e ,

heard her give directions for more thing s

t o be made and tell the children to sen d
,

another family o u t of the village to her .

As soon as they were gone sh e bur st

into tears and said
,
O h M am m a, I might
, ,

have been on e o f these little girl s and ,

you would have been good to me asyou

are to them But how much m ore kind
.

to take m e as your own And why was it

me " why no t on e o f them "they are bet
ter little girls than I have been and would ,

never have gi v en you so much trouble ;

bu t m y dear Bella I am a sha m ed o f i t
y o u shall neve r have to mend my frock s
a syou ha v e done
”
.
 TH E A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R . 45

never co mplained O f it my dear

I , ,

returned Bella who did not kno w what

,
'

had pa s sed .

But you will have more time t o assis t

the p oor children in the village O bserved
”
,

M rs Meridith
. w h o are all obl i ged t o
,

d o something towards s upporting them

s elves alread y and therefore your worki ng
,

for them will be more useful tha n for

”
Anna .

T he li t tle girl agreed to all her M am ma

said , and sh e sat down to dinner with her
with very d ifferent idea s than the day
before .

Assoon as s h e saw Willia m an d John

coming up the lawn whom Mrs Meridith ,
.

had asked to tea sh e asked her leave to,

g o and meet them ; and as they walked

’

slowly round the garden together sh e ,

t old them all about the torn frock which

“
she had vainly endeavoured to m end Yo u .

”
told me said sh e to William
, that thes e ,

fine clo the s did no t make m e ha ppi er a ,

46 THE A D OP T ED D AU G H T E R .

little while ago and I have found i t out

,

n ow ; but however I will never tear .

another i f I c an help it ; at lea st I shal l -

k now what trouble i t must be to Bella to

”
m end it .

T he a fternoon passed rapidly away and ,

when sh e went to bed Anna felt more ,

grate ful for the happy hom e p rovided for

h e r th an s
, h e h ad ever done before S he .

frequently reverted to her form er state, i n

conversation with Mrs Meridith and her
.
,

uncle and aunt while the latter always

,

endeavoured to imp rin t on her m ind t h e

sens e O f her O bligation to her kind bene
fac t re s
, s by w ho se name sh e w asnow uni
v e rs all kno w n though that which really
y ,

belonged to her was E astwood for so her ,

p arents w ere called .

In the course o f a fe w years M rs Meri .

dith e v idently grew hap pier while accord

,

ing to her own maxim sh e added to the

h appines s o f other s; s h e su ffered no o n e
t o w an t work who were capable o f it an d ,
 THE A D O P T E D D A UG HT E R . 47

e regularly supplied those who were o ld

ill in the village with every com fort
y needed Blanket swere sent to every
.

e,and each year her hou se w asopen

a whole week at Chri stma s A ple n t i .

fu l meal w as provided every day but ,

n othing sup erfluous ; and her barrel s O f

home brewed ale were tapped that all
-
,

might have their allotted portion In .

short from her extensive fortune and her

,

earnest en d ea vour to make the se p oo r p eo

ple hap py, there was not a family in D own
as h who had not at lea s t one of their
’

children apprenticed to som e u se fu l tr ade ’

,

while the othersworked in the field s nor

was the re a child in the village who had
not lea rned to write and read ; and whil e
Mrs Meridith w asthus careful fo r D own
“

as h and i t s inhabitants s h e was not u n

,

mind ful of the poor on t h e e st at e sh e had

'

le ft in L i n c oln shi re : b u t gave order st o he r

,

agen t there that they should be provided

with what w as necessary fo r them ; and
48 TH E A D O P T ED D A U G H T E R .

often sen t S yphax her confidential servan t,

,

to s e e that i t w asdone .

Mr and M rs Campbell continued to

. .

receive m any marks of her favour and as

‘

their family inc reased sh e added to her ,

liberali ty ; nor did sh e forget the other

brother and his family b u t on his fir st vi sit
,

t o the farm a fter her s ettling at R o sewood,

recognized him as o n e o f h e r early friend s
with h e r usual kindnes s S he al so sent .

hand some present sto h i swi fe and children ;

and was al w ays endeavouring to fin d ou t
where she could be materially useful t o
both o f them At lengt h "
. the farm which .

t h e younger Mr Camp bell rented w as to

.

be sold ; and unle ss he became the pu r

chaser he exp ected t o be turned out O n .

hearing thi s, Mrs Meridith advanced the

.

money for hi m and at t h e sam e time p re

,
i

sented a d e ed of gi ft to t he elder brother ,

o f the farm which he rented o f her T his .

p erhaps would have been carrying her

generosi t y t oo far had sh e n ot po s
, sessed
 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 49

so ample a fort une wi th n o near relation

,

t o inherit it a fter her death and t ho s e sh e ,

had were all in a state of a ffl ue nce S he .

t here fore gratified hersel f by thu sO bliging

two worthy families and convincing them

,

that the kindne ss of their mother to h e r in

i n fan c y was n o t forgotten All who heard .

of these acts of kindne ss rej oiced t h a t ,

they were shewn to men s o de serv ing o f

them excep t the other farmer in the vil
,

lage whose name was Ward : he could

,

n o t see what the Campbells had done to

merit such a recompen se nor b ear tha t ,

t h ey should be the owne rs of their farms

while he only rented h i s At m arket or .
,

wherever they met his envy w asapparent

,

and yet he could attach no blame to

either of the brothers since they were ,

both ignorant of her intention and would ,

h ave declined her O fl e r ha d s

‘

h e made it
t o them be fore the p urchase w as neces

sa ry
. As it w as E dward Campbell i nsi ste d
,

o n p aying her what money he had laid up

F
50 THE A D OP T E D D A UG H T E R .

against the time he e x pe c t e d t h e farm

would be sold ; an d to satis fy h i sscruples
Mrs Meridith accepted it ; and also the
.

same su m fi om h is elder brother which ,

s h e imm ediately and unknown to them

, ,

placed in the fund sin t h e name sof their

respective children But yet farmer Ward .

w ass till hard to credit that they had paid

a ny p urchase money : he had fo r some
time viewed the notice Mrs Meridith took .

o f the family with a j ealous eye and much

'

h ad been said by h iswi fe and daughter so f

the increa sed consequence of farmer Ca mp
bell and his family since the lady of the ,

manor had done so much for them .

T h l S la st event did not take place t i ll

a fter Anna had been ten years with her
,

k i nd patrones s whom sh e w asn ow accus

,

t o me d to look on as m ore than a mother ,

though often the c ircu m stance of the torn

frock was reverted to by her uncle and ,

he reminded her that it w asthe human ity

O f Mrs Meridith and not from a n y claim
.
,
 TH E A D OP TE D D A U G H T E R . 51

s
h e had to her kind ne s
‘
s , which had placed
her in the situation sh e w as .

As sh e was now arrived at the age o f

fourteen the best masters the count ry af
,

forded for mu sic French and drawing

, ,

at tended her ; and these said her atten ,

tive uncle f you ought to be as siduous in

‘
,
.

le arning t hat you may be able to amuse

,

Mrs Meridith asher age increas

. e s but
Anna sattention to the se accomplishment s
’

did n o t p revent her from paying the same

t o mo re dome s tic concern s .

It may be said M rs Merid ith

”
,
you .
,

may never wi sh to play or sing a fter your , ,

ma sters have left you but y ou will always

have a fam i ly to attend to .

As mu s ic w aswha t Anna was p artien

l arly de sirou s of imp rovement in and as ,

s he ha d a very good voice her kind friend ,

did not discourage her endeavours to ad

”
v ance in it ; but remember said sh e , ,
“
that to add to the happiness of O ther s ,

F .
2
 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G HT E R .

you must do something more than sing t o

them — A song or a concerto on the piano
.
,

will not satis fy the calls O f hunger or st ill ,

the pains O f sickne ss and the p oo r in the

village will not thank you for si t tin g whol e
hour s at your instrument, if it leads you
t o n eglect them ; an d may you reco llect

my dear t hat on e chief reason why I

, ,

adopted y ou for my daughter was that y ou

,

should supply my place to the p oor of

D ow n as h when I am n o longer here t o
,

assis t them ”
Anna always heard h e r with
.

t ears upon this subj ec t, and faithfully pro

m ise d t o regard her inj unctions .

At this time sh e oft en walked among t he

vi llagers and l istened t o their wants or ,

rather their ac coun t of how they h ad bee n

relieved ; and t h e prais es of good Mrs .

Meridith : and when the purcha se O f the

farm s were made she m et with vario us
,

congr atulation s .

I am sure both your uncles were de

 TH E A DO P T E D D AU G H T E R . 53

serv ing it said o n e of their labourers

Of ,
”
,

a t who s e house she called to know why h i s

d aughter w as not at s chool the week b e
fore ; they are a sgood ma ster st o work
fo r as can be found in all the country and ,

w e be al l heartily glad that the farm sare

their O wn .

Mrs Meridith replied Anna

.
, has ,

given u s all reason t o rej oice that she

c ame to l ive here ; what h assh e n o t done
for me
Ah dear Mis s returned the man
, , ,

now you s p e a ks o f that your poor dear ,

mother was de ser ving of it

It i sall for he r sake answered Anna , ,

but did y ou know her P

Ab and your father t oo Miss if he
, , ,

deserved to be called so who could leave ,

”
ou ashe did
y .

Anna sighed I wonder where he i s

.
,

said sh e n o t expect i ng t he old man could

,

in form her .

“
Why some d o say that he went for a
F 3
54 TH E A DO P T E D DA U G H T ER .

“
sailor returned he
,
but I did hear a ,

little whil e ago that some one see d a man

’

tha t had seen h i m ab out a twelvemonth

”
before .

“
You don t s s
’
a
y o returned Anna , ,

with eagerne ss half afraid yet anxious t o

,

hear more : “
Who w as it, and where
w a sh e
’
Why I don t kn ow for the truth of it ,
”
M iss said he
, nor whereabouts i t was
,

he see d h i m but I thinks it was so m e

’

where beyond se a ; but i t w as at farmer

’
Ward s m y daughter heard it and the rea ,

so n Ma am s
’ ’ ’

,
h e h e m t been to school this
,

week i s sh e h asbeen there while their

, , ,

girl w asgone home to see her mother .

’
At farmer Ward s replied Anna, I
though t they would have had some of their
”
o w n labourer sdaughter s
’
.

And so should I Mis s but som ehow , ,

N an c v Ward h as taken a great fancy to

my g i rl so I let her g o as twa s but fo r
, ,
’

a l ittle while ; b u t I hop es to get her i nto

 TH E AD O P T E D D AU G H T E R . 55

ss s
’

y ou r aunt s Mi, when h e

,
wants a gi rl ,

an d i f
y o u would be s
o good as to speak
for her it would be doing a great kindne ss
s h e i svery ha ndy and know show to do
,

a great many things But here she comes .

,

and N ancy Ward with her I declare ”

,
.

Anna looked ou t and saw them com ing

toward s the little wicket s
h e there fore,

would n ot leave the house till they e n

t e re d it ; and as i t was at farm er Ward s
’

that something had been heard o f her fa

ther, sh e thought sh e might hear more
o f it from Nancy whom though s ,
h e had
,

not seen for some month s yet as children ,

they were Often together ; but sh e w as

not aware of the di fference M rs Meri .

d i t h slate kindne s sto her uncles had made

’

in he r behaviour, aswell as in that of

‘

her fa ther .

“
Ho w d o you do Nancy P s aid sh e
,
I ,

hope you are well "You are much grown

”
s ince I saw you .
56 TH E A D O P T E D D A UG H T E R .

And so are y ou Mi ss rep li ed Nancy , , ,

with a saucy air ;

‘

and all your fam ily I

think the farmer Campbell s are quite
,
—

gentlemen now and Mi ss Meridith or , ,

Mi ss Cam pbell or Mi ss E ast w ood or , ,

whatever name I m ay call you by i squi te ,

”
a fine lady .

“
N o t m e re s o than I w asa fe w years
”
ago when y ou did not account me so
, ,

an swered Anna with rather a haughty air ;

,

but it w asi mm ediately humbled when the

insolen t girl proceeded according to the ,

O ld p roverb se t a beggar o n horseback

, .

”
A beggar l returned A n na .

Ye s s aid Nancy
,
your father w as ,

o n e o r i so n e n o w
,
and it would be a good
thing for him if he could come in for some
”
o f Mrs Meridith sbounty
’
. .

"
I believe replied Anna with some
, ,

sp irit that if he needed and de served it

, ,

h e would not have long to wait for it ; but

can y ou tell me where he is
 TH E A DO P T ED D A U G H T E R . 57

O dear no Mis s I have no acquaint

, ,

ance w i th hi m nor do I wi sh it : I only

,

think that if he knew how generous M rs .

Meridith is to all who belong to y ou he ,

would soon be here to get a little ou t of

”
her .

Fye , N a n cy fye I am ashamed of

, ,

y ou, said the O ld man “

if you can t tal k ’

better than tha t you should hold your

,

t o n gu e ; you may be asham ed O f yoursel f;

can any on e help the faul ts O f their

”
p arentsP '

“
It is the fir st time though t Anna
, ,

t hat I have su ffered fo r the faults of mine ;

till now every body pitied m e for having

”
such a fat he r .

Oh re t u rned t h e girl de t ermined ,

n o w to vent her spleen ass h e had began ,

the poor little Anna E astwood or Camp ,

bell ass h e was called is s o proud s

,
ince sh e
h asbecome Mrs Meridith s daugh t er that
’
.
,

she ought to be told of what s h e w as; s he

”
was only t aken ou t of charity at first .
 THE A D O P T E D D A UG H T E R ;
”
I know it replied Anna with a d ig n i
, ,

fi e d air and I am obliged t o M rs Meri .

dith for giving m e such an edu cation a has s

n o t di s
‘

graced that charity If I am p roud

.
,

I am s orry for it for I well know I have

,

nothing to be p roud of but I hop e I s hall

n ever be in s en sible to the kindn ess of M rs .

M e ri d i t h o r my uncle and aunt s; and as

,

for what that lady has done fo r t h em it w as ,

because their mother w asher fi rst friend ;

they wanted not her assi st ance though ,

they know how to val u e her friend ship

and conde scension in notici n g me as sh e
has done and there are other people who
rej oice at it fo r my mother ssake ’
.

T ha t we all do Mi ss said the old

”
, ,

man ; and asfor you r be ing p roud, no

one thinks you so any m ore than M rs
, .

Meridith herself ; and it is a rare thing t o

se e ladies like her with so little and re ,

member fo rm er kindnesses and friend sas

‘

sh e does . I am sure Old Mrs Campbell .

 T HE A DO P T E D D A UG H T E R . 59

e to her, and sh e h asr e

sa good nur s
w a
”
warded her family for it .

”
I think s o indeed replied the envious
, ,

girl ,
when sh e h asgiven them both farm s
”
fo r it .

You are mi s ta ken there said Ann a , ,

.v e rv mildly fo r the honest encomium sO f

,

the poor m an had ca lmed her anger My .

uncles had not laboured so lo n g nor my ,

gr andfather be fore them not to be able t o ,

purcha se the farms y ou mention and Mrs .

Meridith only gave the p re ference to any

”
oth er buyer .

My father could buy a farm as well as

”
them I fancy replied Nancy, with a to ss
, ,

o f the head .

“
I dare say he could returned Anna ,

but you d o not imagine M rs Meridith .

o ld ha v e s old that in which my u ncle

lived a w ay fro m him if it w asi n h i spower
, ,

t o purc h a s e it any more than sh e would sell

,

y our fa t her s to another per son if h e wished

’

”
t o have it Nancy Ward now loo ked hal f
.
60 THE D P T E D D AU G H T E R
A O .

ashamed and Anna turning from her said

, ,

so m ething t o the othe r girl ( who had s t ood

by in evident di stre ssduring thi sconversa
tion ) about her coming to scho ol the nex t
week and then bidding the old man far e
,

well sh e ha sten ed hom e ruminating on

,

what sh e had heard and particu larly on

,

that wh ich concerned her father .

 C H A PTE R V .

WH EN Anna rela t ed what had passe d at i

the O ld man s cottage to Mrs Meridith

’
.
,
“
t hat lady said ,I am glad you answered
her as you d id for t o retur n an ger for
,

a n ger i snev e r of any u se ; and if sh e i n

tended to morti fy y ou , sh e will find she h as
”
l ost her aim.

”
N O , replied Anna with a dej ec t ed
,

air ; for sh e hasmortified me greatly by ,

telling m e my father w asa beggar ; sure he

was n o t s o low as that o r my moth e r would
,
”
n o t have married him P

H e profes s e d t o be a gentleman said ,

Mrs Meridith,
. as your uncle has told
me and that h e w as by no means anu n
,

e ducate d man ; and h i smanners wer e v e r

y
G
 62 TH E A D O P T ED D AU G HT E R .

prepo sse ssing but he w aslittle known in

,

thi s neigh bourhood t i ll you r mother mar

ried him
And where could sh e m eet with him " ”

a sked Anna I thought sh e knew nobody

,

ou t o f thi sv i llage
”
.

But little o f the world said Mrs , .

“
Meridith , or s h e would n o t have been
taken with h i s speci ou s app earance ; but
when about eighteen sh e went t o return a
,

visit sh e had recei ved from a young fri e nd

at t he next town and there sh e first kne w
,

h i m ; he ap prehended her to have more

money than sh e really had I suppo se and , ,

sh e was hand s ome and agreeable and

, ,

p erhap sat that tim e he did feel att ached to

h e r it w asevident s h e w a splea s ed with
h i m a n d he gained her regard by follow
,

ing her home and m aking propo sal sto her

father who did n o t altogether app ro v e o f
.

i t ; so your uncle say s but he saw her a t,

t ac h m e n t and there fore co m p

’

, lied ; a s
m al l
hou se w as take n for them in the vill age,
 TH E A DO P T E D D A UG H T E R . 63

and I believe he w asto have part o f your

grand father s farm who p romised to assi st
’

and in struct bim in cultivating it ; but he

'

soon d iscovered him sel f unwort hy o f s o

good a wi fe ; and at length sh e di ed ; and

”
you kno w the re st .

My poor mother said Anna h ow

, ,

happy should I h ave been b ad y ou lived to

h ave a fforded you so me com fort "But I am
ungrate ful to y ou my dear m amma in n o t
, ,

saying I am h appy n ow ; and y ou have

have had your sorrow sal so ; oh "may I b e
a com fo rt to you
T rue indeed my Anna
, ,
returned ,

M rs Meridith
.
“
I have had my sorrow s
, ,

and deeply have I felt the ml ”

Anna had never heard more than that

her kind bene factres s and friend had lo st
an a ffectionate hu s band and three chil ,

dren ; and sh e forbore now, ason former

occ asion s to ask by wh at circum stance s
,

yet her looks stron gly indicated her d esire

o f hearing a more particular account of

G 2
64 THE A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R .

them and M rs Meridi th readi n g her .

,

wishes in her countenance told her that ,

the n ext evening her uncle and aunt were

with them sh e would endeavour t o relate
,

t he m i f she found the re c olle c t ihn n o t t oo

,

p ainful .

“
In the mean time said s he I am
, ,

thinking O f farmer Ward it is clear th a t

he and his fam ily are j ea lous of my attach
m ent to your uncle and aunt but they do ,

not consider that gratitude and an early ,

acquaintance h ascau sed me to notice them

more than others ; besides there i s such
an up right integrity in your uncle so free ,

fro m any O f the fulsom e flattery I have met

w ith and so much una ffected intelligence ,
,

that h iscomp any is agreeable to m e and

you r aun t s likewi se who i s a sensible
’

, ,

well infor med wo man an d our sentimen t s

-
,

agree : sh e knowswhat the world is from

theory I from experience ; and I scruple
,

not to say I fi nd the m both pleas ant com

,

panion s But i t i snot likely farmer Ward

.
 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R . 65

and h i s wi fe would be so ; they were I

know very di fferently brought up and ,

though very hone st industriou s people , ,

would de spise any other conv er sation than

that which related to their farm and i t s
occupation s; but I do not ridicule them
for thi s I thought they were happy and s
, a

t is t they were so till E nvy

fi e d ; at lea s ,
”
reare d her snaky head .

“ ”
Well indeed ,
said Anna interrup t
, ,

i n g her m ay E nvy be thu srepre sented

,

s urrounded by sn ake s for sh e i sextending,

her malice to every one sh e can reach and ,

in stigating all in her power to do the sam e .

It i s Medusa on e of the three G or

,

gon s who se hair Minerva changed into

,

s nake s fo r polluting h e r t e mple who i s ,

thu s repre sented said M rs Meridith ;

,
”
.

but there i s in o n e o f the poet sa v e ry

striking p ictu re o f E nvy, de scribing her
aseating her ow n bowels ; i f I am not mis
'

taken it i s in S pen ser sFairy Q ueen, we

,
’

will look thi s e v ening : but to return to

'
66 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R .

farmer Ward I tell y ou what I mean to

,

do resp ecting him because I h O pe here

,

after ( if you find no ill e ffec t ari sing from

”
it) you will d o the same .

O h mamma l could I but hope to do

,
”
as you have do ne i
No flattery my dear Anna said M rs
, ,
.

Meridith sm iling, what I have done may

,

be done by any o n e who h asthe mean sin

thei r p ower so amply as I have ; and i f
your mean s are le ssened your sphere o f,

action will be so likewi se I thought that

.

I shewed n o dis t inction between the two

farmer s excep t that I considered o n e as
,

my friend but I e n deavoured to be impar

tial in what w asdone for them astena nt s
though I have sold o n e farm and not the
o ther yet if farmer Ward wishes to buy
,

h i sfarm he shall have i t on the s

, ame term s
as your uncle had

A t thi smoment Anna would have said ,

is n ot thi s rewar d ing farmer Wood fo r

”
his male volence to my uncle and me P had
 TH E . A DO P T E D D A U G H T ER . 67

sh e not recollected that in every t hing Mrs .

Meridith knew best : but the change i n

her countenance w asn o t unnoticed by her
“
kind friend who said
, i t i s better to
,

stop the mouth o f e n v v by act sof kind

ne ss than by returning their resentment ;
,

I should rather say to endeavour to do it

, ,

for though our intention m ay be good ,

their animosity may p revent i t shaving the

de sired e ffect .

Mrs Meridith there fore t ook the fir st

.
, ,

opportunity O f a sking farmer Ward when ,

he came to p ay h i srent i f he would like ,

t o purcha s e his farm

”
O h Madam ‘ s
aid he ( malice still
perceivable in the exp re ssio n though the ,

kindne ss of her man ners had seem ed to

s often h i s)
, I have not so much money
asmy neighbour Campbell ; I am not able
”
to purcha se it .

I believe your land is O f the same value

as h i s returned Mrs Meridith
,
”
and
.
,

y o u have both ma d e it more valuable by

68 TH E A DO P T ED D A U G H T E R .

your care an d c u ltivation ; you have t here ,

fore a better right to enj oy t h e advantages

,

o f it than any o t h e rs
”
f

Are y ou determined then Madam to , ,

”
s ell my farm al so P a sked Ward with ap
prehen sion o n h is countenance Cer .

”
t ai n ly not unl e ss y ou are the purchas
, er ,

s aid M rsM e ri d i t h T hi sunexpected kind

. .

ne ss altered the behaviour o f the farmer ;

he made her a low bow and th anked her ,

wit h great cordiality .

”
I am in no hurry to sell it continued ,

M rs Meridith
. and will readily p romi se
,

you shall have t h e fir st o ffer of i t w hen I

do ; an d y ou shall ha v e it on the same
'

'

”
term sthat farmer Campbell had h i s .

I o w n I should like to be the ma ster

”
o f a farm as w ell as h e m a am said the ’

, ,

m an who s , e heart w asn ow q uite opened

by he r genero sity : but I mu st con sult
my wife and other friends about i t ; per
hap s you would n o t refu se to take the
”
m oney by in stalments .
 THE A D O P T E D D AU G HT E R . 69

In any way most convenient to you ,

”
farmer Ward s
h e replied, wi t h her ao
,

customed kin d nes s for I ha ve that o pi

,

n ion of your indu stry and hone sty asnot ,

to fear your paying me ; and I shall have

my estate bordered by two as flourishing
farms as any in the c ountry while farmer
“

Campbell and yoursel f are the owners of

t hem , for I know you sp are no p ain s to

make them s o
”
.

Well I declare I did not think you

,
”
wo u ld ha ve been s o kind to m e m a am ,
’
,

re turned the farm e r ; I have certainly

’
done you wrong but I ll speak the truth
I beg your pardon but I th ought all your
,

favors we re re s erved for my neighbour

Campbell, and that in a very fe w years he
would have my farm as w ell as his own ,

n d I should be t ur ned o u t to make room

a
”
for him .

I am sorry y ou should think so re ,

turned Mrs Meridith

. you are con v m c e d
,

n ow,
I hope that there w asn o rea son for
,
70 THE AD O P T E D D A U G H T ER .

it ; I have alway s looked upon you and

'

him as t e n an t s too good for m e to wish

,
”
to lo se eithe r .

Well thi s come sof evil surmi sin g

, ,

s aid the farm er con scious of h i sill con

“

duct to Campbell when they m e t at m ar

ket and other place s:
, I am ashamed o f
it that I be d ear d e ar h ow unha ppy
'

-
, , ,

have I m ade m y s e l f about it and so m e ,

other people too I am a fraid madam , ,

l ooking at M rs Meridith to discover

'

.
,

whether farmer Campbell had mentioned

his behaviour to her but he read nothing ,

in h e r countenance which indicated it ;

and indeed h e had not thought i t worth
while to relate it though he w ashurt that
,

her kin d n e ssto him should p roduce an e f ,

fe c t in o n e who had fo r m any year sbee n

h i sfriend and neighbour Another evil .

surm ise re sumed Ward a fter a sho rt si

, ,
’
lence I ll be bound Cam pbell ha n t
.
’

’ ’

said a word about it I ll go home ma am , ,

and tell m y wi fe h o w much I ha v e been

‘
 THE A D O PT E D D AU G H T ER . 71

mi sta ken ; and I beg s you r pardon fo r

thinking asI have done ; some future t i me
we may talk about the pu rcha se ; and
ray madam a c cept my h e a rt y t h an k s fo r
‘

p , ,
”
you r kin dne ss .

O h don t mention that fa rmer re

,
’

, ,

t urn ed s he it i sno more than your due

, ,

you ha v e alway s taken good care o f m y

l and .

“
I will madam for the fu ture said
, , ,

he , whether I can rai se money enough

t o buy it or not ; but I am a s hamed to say
it, but truth will come ou t I did n o t i n ,

tend to take any more pain swith it ; for I

thought Ca m pbell would soo n have it all .

O h farmer I hope vou wil l ne v er give

, ,
”
way to such ill grounded su spicions again ,

returned Mrs Meridith . depend upon i t ,

I would act with the sam e fairne ssto you

”
asto him and seeing the poor man quite
,

c onfused with a se n s e of his error sh e O f ,

fe re d him h e r hand a n d begged him t o ,

believe her asm u ch a friend to his interest

72 THE A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R .

s to Campbel l s ; only I have known hi m

’
a

a longer time, said she , and hismother

”
was mi n e,when I had lost my ow n .

T he farmer appeared qu ite m elted by

her conde scension, and n ot being able to
say another word, he gave her hand a
hear ty shake and hurri e d ou t of the hou se
,

t o tell his wife h ow he had been m is t aken

in what he though t was Mrs Mer i dith s .

’

intention .
 C H A PTER VI .

A B O U T thi s time poor O ld Molly who ,

had bee n a faithful servant first to their ,

father and mother and then to the p resent

,

farme r C a mpbell and his wi fe began to ,

lo se her strength and sh e w asn ot allowed

,

t o do any thing in the domestic a ffair s but

'

nurse the little oneswhen she liked an d ,

'

rock the c radle But he r afi e c t i on for Anna

.

w asno t decreas ed by absence and when

sh e could no lo nger ge t t o R o s ewo o d t o
se e her ,
Mrs Meridith w as anxiou s that
.

Anna should p ay her a daily visi t Mrs . .

Campbell had n ow fo ur more children and ,

it was Molly s pride and p le asure to have

’

asm any O f them about her as s h e could

H
 74 TH E A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R .

bu t Miss Anna and some of Ed w ard C am p

,

h e ll schildren mu s
’
t be there also to make ,

her as happy asany old woman of her age

could be In visiting her and o n e or
.
,

other poor p erson in the neighbourhood ,

part of every day was spent by Anna and

Bella would often accom pany her who , ,

when sh e saw O ld Molly surrounded by the

grandchildren of her former mi stre sswould ,

sigh and say it w asj u st so in their coun

,

try and they were ashap py and united

, ,

till the cruel white men came amongst

them .

Wh e n I was a girl , said sh e though ,

they do c all us savages, my father w asgood

m an he did love h i swi fe, and h i sfather ,

and h i smother and his children w e did

,

all live in on e home w e work and the Old ,

did look at u s , and t ell us what to do ; we

'

did no harm t o anybody T hen came cruel .

war my father and all the m en went ou t

'

t o figh t oh shocking, shocking day 3 I

cry n ow to t hink of it "

,

then cam e c r uel ,

 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R . 75

clasping her feeble hands together be ,

thank ful my d e ar d e ar children that you

, , ,
”
are born in E ngland .

N Os la v es here said Bella bu t there

, ,

be very many b ad peo ple E nglish p eople ,

too but n ot a ll bad ne 1ther are all black

,

p eopl e good I cou ld t ell a great deal but

.
—

you are happy, happy people that live and

die in this peace ful village : I lived in
p eaceful village once when I w asa girl ; I
was happy then S O I am now I am Old
,
'

m y d é ar mi s tress very very kind to m e ; I

.

s hall die quiet here no more wars no ,

more wicked white m en ; all good here

but I think of what i spast and that makes ,

me c ry I never saw father o r mother

.
, ,

or brothers , o r si s ters after I once taken

,

a w ay
All the children shed tears at her recital,
an d Molly folded them to her heart in u n

H 2
76 TH E A DO P T E D D A UG H T ER .

feigned j that this

oy could never be thei r

ca se Anna and t h e elder boy s each ex

.

tended their hand to Bella an d their conn ,

t e n an ce smore than their words told the m

h ow much they pitied he r ; the young er

ones wep t because the others did ; and
M r Cam pbell w hen he entered the room
.

w ass urprized to fi n d so sorrowful a p arty .

” “
O h father
,
said John
,
Bella h as
,

be en telling us how sh e w as taken fro m

h e r father and m o t her, t o be a slave w as
”
n o t that cruel P

Indeed it w as my dear sai d he ;

, ,

but they tell us n ow that t h e S lav e Trad e

i saboli s hed or at least put u nder such re
,

s t ricti on s, that it i s less cru e l than b e

fo re.

But why can t they hi re the n e g roe s

’

,
”
ass ervants are hired here P asked Anna ;
”
w ould not that be as well P
”
Ah my dear
, re p lied her u nc l e
, ,

men either as a bo dy or indivi dual ly s

, el ,

dom do any thing well : bu t it i ss ai d t h e

 TH E A DO P T E D D AU G H T E R .
P
17

ne groes are o f such a di spo sition that no

‘

”
thing but bondage will d o for them .

0,
m aster their own conduct make s
,

the m S o exclaimed Bel la ;

”
,
they treat
u s ill at the first and t h en t hink we mu st
‘

not seek revenge o r even to escap e fro m ,

their cruelty ; bu t i f they good to us we ,

good to them we don t come to them 5 we ’

wan t to keep out o f their way, but they

”

com e fo r u s and buy u swhether we will

,
”
or n o t
.

“
It i s a bad subj ec t my good Be lla , ,

returned the farmer nor can I j u sti fy ,

many of my countrymen in the ir treat

”
ment o f y o u 3 but some are good .

”
Y e s some are good
,
said sh e but ,

i t w as my lot to fall in t o very bad hand s

'

”
at first .

What did they do to you my poo r ,

Bella " a sked J c h n his hear t h e at i n g with

”
,

co mpa ssion .

O h they beat me and starved me and

, , ,

w or s e than that they killed my child 5 o r

,

H3
78 THE A DO P T E D D AU G H T E R .

t hey wou ld not let m e see it afte r i t w as

n ine m onths old b u t m ade m e work ha rd
,

h a rd work i
”
H ere tears seemed to chok e
her utte rance and the children lo ok e d at
,

e ach o ther an d their fathe r i n s i lent d is

,

t re s s.

”
Ge t s omethi ng to revive poo r Bella,
s aid he t o Molly whose weeping eyes b ore
,

tes t imo ny that her feelingswere not b i an n

e d by age ; an d do n ot begi n this subj ect
”
any m ore my dear child ren c ont inue d
, ,

he , y ou s
e e how it dist resses poor Bella ,

and it only opens to your knowl e dge c r i m e s

which I h O p e y ou will neve r have the in
c l i n at i on to commit . If as the S c riptu re s
,

declare these p eople are su ffering for t h e

,

sin s of their forefathers an d their sta t e of

,

slavery has been foretold so m any thousan d

years we mu s
, t acknowledge all G od s de ’

crees are j ust though the crimes of thos e

,

w h o enslav e and ill treat them will mos

- t
”
as s uredly be pun ished .
 T am A D
. O P T E D D AU G HT E R . 79

Bella w asno w a little revi ved and Anna ,

p ropo s
e d their returning home .

T hank y ou , g ood S ir for your kind

,
”
ness to a p oor negro woman said Bella ,

my mi st ress will tell you al l but m e talk

,

no more abou t it it t e ars my he ar t to o

,
”
much .

Molly b e gged he r to say n o more and ,

the children after ki ssing her promised

, ,

n ever t o ask her any more question son s o

d istressing a subj ec t .

In a fe w d ay safter thi sp oor Molly died ,

as s h e w as sitt ing in her arm chair ; an d

-

her yo ung companions supposed her to be

asle ep, t il l their mo t her came in and p er
c e i v e d h e r al t e red countenance S he w as
.

lai d o n "the be d , an d the t w o elde st children

sen t t o tell Anna that Molly w asvery ill .

Bell a and s h e came down imm ediately and ,

every thing w asdone to resto re the pulse

o f li fe : but it had c e as e d to beat and Mr , .

and Mrs Campbell rejoiced that th ei r fai th

.

fu l s e rvant had not su ffered more at t h e

80 TH E A DO P T ED D AU G H T E R .

clo se o f li fe . S he had lived in their family

from the age of fifteen to seventy fi v e and
'

-
,

de served by her strong attach ment t o i t

, ,

every attention which they paid her ; and

"
never did a ma ster mistres s and servant
, ,

agree so well asMolly and both the Mr

, .

and Mrs Campbells if h ad done All the

. .

children greatly lamented her loss an d ,

with Mrs.M e ri d i th spermi ssion, An na B e l

’

la and S yphax attended her funeral M r

, , .

and M rs Campbell being the chief mourn

.

e rs . S uch i sa village funeral, where the

p arade o f o stentation i s not known ; but
th e simpl e honours which are p aid to honest
integri t y come from the heart E very one .

had a sigh and a good word fo r poor Molly ,

asthey returned from the a ffecti ng scene

rendered still more so by the unfeign e d

g rief of the children, a n d the grateful tes

t i m on y her ma s ter and m istress gave of

her fidelity and attachment All the p eo .

ple w ere p leased that they were not above

attending her funeral themselve s and th at
-
 THE A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R . 81

Mrs Meridith should let Mis

. sAnna ( w h o
w as h e r child n ow ) follo w was anothe r ,

proo f of her conde scension But Mrs Me . .

r i d i t h kne w what was due to merit th ough ,

in humble li fe and rej oiced that she had

,

esc a ped from a world where such an ao ,

k n ow le d g m e n t o f it would have b e en
tho u ght ridiculou s o r at l east superfluou s
,
.

Anna had seen Be lla so distres sed at re

verting to her former day s, and had felt so
much herself at hearing the rec ital that ,

s h e fear e d to ask S yphax if he had known

‘

similar trouble s; but on e day as he was ,

a ssisting her in planting a piece of t h e gar

den, he looked u p an d with a dej ected air
,

sa id
Ah Miss thi s is a deal be tter than
, ,

lanting sugar ca n es with t h e whip over

p
-
,
”
in v he ad an d irons on my feet
,
.

Iron son your fe et l said s

”
h e shud d er ,

w asthat "
”
ing, po o r S yphax why ,

All the slave swear them in the We st

I ndies Miss I come fro m there
,
.
82 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R .

D id y ou know B ella t h ere " asked ,

r

Anna .

No Miss sh e came away before I did

,

come there : sh e got good mistre ss before

”
me .

An d where did you kno w Mrs Meri .

”
dith first P
In the E ast Indies Mi ss ; I asham ed
-
,

to say how I became acquainted ; sh e be

”
too good to me i f sh e h asnot told all .

I never heard her say more than that

Bella and you were both servants sh e
brought with her from the E ast Indies , ”
-

said Anna .

S O sh e did Miss and thank her for i t

, ,

a thousand time s for we had no friend s

,
’
there poor Bella torn from all her s long
ago and I never had any but poor slaves
,

like mysel f I was born a slave but I did

.
,

n o t feel the whip o r the irons and the

, ,

c ruel ratings the les s fo r that ; but I have

been a sad sad man Mi ss continued he
, , ,

as k me no m ore and i f my good lady ,

 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G HT E R . 83

ever tell y o u , d o not hate me for it, as sh e

h as forgiven m e : I kne w no better then ,
”
but good deal of good h ascom e of it to me .

Anna w as too mindful of her kind p ro

t e c t re s ss maxim
’

,
the way to be happy
ourselve s is to add to the happine ss o f
”
other s not to take fi om it to press for
, ,
-

any farther explanation from S yphax when ,

s he s aw he wi shed n ot to give it ; an d sh e
looked forward to MrsMe ri d i t h sp romised
.
’

recital with increased anxiety .

I am a fraid S yphax h asbeen the cau se I

o f some o f her sorrow s said sh e t o her

,

sel f
. H o w wrong of him to di s tress so
kind a friend and W hat h as sh e gone
through O h " i f I cannot add to her hap .

i nes s I s
hall never be hap py my self
p , .

With thi sview sh e w asstill more atten

t ive to the instructions her kind friend was
continually giving her and tho se of the,

di fferent master s p rovided for her Ac .

cu stomed to be Mrs Meridith s constant

.
’

co mp anion ; to read to h e r and hear her ,

84 TH E A DOP T E D D AU G H T E R .

re marks on what sh e read as well as to ,

expre ss her own and have her judgment

,

informed and se t right when she h ad

form e d a wrong opi n ion it was not ex ,

t rao rd i n ary th at her under s tanding w as

beyond her ye ar s; and when little more
than fourteen her manner sand sentiments
,

wer e tho se of a woman double that age ,

and i n man y r espects her idea s and know

l edg e was far m ore correc t H er conver.

sation also w as of great use to William

, ,

a n d John sh e either lent to them or gave

them an account of wh atev e r book ssh e
read and t hi sencouraged in them a ta ste
,

for li t erature i t i s p robable they would

n o t have i ndu l ged b u t that they might
,

conve rse more freely with her .

M rs Ca m pbell had now seven c hildren ;

.

fou r b oy sand three girls T he in fan t whic h

.

s h e had i n h e r ar m s when Mrs Meridith

. .

fir st visited them was grown a fine girl o f

t e n years old , and her s isters were one
eigh t and the o th er six ; the tw o you n g est
,
 .
THE ADO P T E D D AU G H T E R . 85

w ere boys but none of these had that af

,

fac ti on for An na asW i lliam and John , who

s t il l t h ou ght of her as a s ister Anna .

would have instr ucted th e girl s in every

th i ng she knew had not h e r uncle and
,

aunt preve n ted her .

It is no t necessary said Mr C am p , u

be ll
, t hat ou r dau gh ters should learn
singi ng and music and Frenc h o r any
, , ,

a ccomplis h ment ; though for Mrs Meri .

d i th s child as s h e h as been ple ased to

’

m ak e y ou it i s O ur sare far mer s d au g h

, .
’ ’

ters, and I h O pe never to se e instilled in t o ‘

t hei r min d s a de sire to b e otherways

which m l g h t be the ca se w e re they to know
a lit tle , of what y ou I hope know enough t o
j us tly apprec i a t e i tsv alue ; and w hich is
n ot wort h anything , un le s s i t enable sy ou t
amu s e Mrs Meri d i th and to p ass through
.
,

the world with more credit to her as her ,

adop t e d daugh t er than you could h ave

,

done h ad y ou been ill bred and illi terate

,
- .

But let my child ren n ever have an idea of

86 TH E A D O P T ED D AU G H T E R .

learning accompli shm en t s for they ca n ,

'

never be u se fu l t o them E very thing

f
.

which can m ake them sensible com panions

they shall know as far as books and my
, ,

ideas of education will permit ; and should

you continue to l ive here asyour kind p a
t ron e s
sh asdone I hop e y ou will n ot find
‘

them unworthy of your friend ship or less ,

agreeable comp anions than Mrs Meridith .

,

h as condescended to s ay she h as found

”
their mother .

Anna could n ot but allow the justice o f

his remark ; and while sh e saw how little
he thought of those acquirements which ,

most young l adies are p roud of po ssess

ing sh e impercep tibly learnt h ow far sh e
,

ought t o value them in herse lf S he could .

not say her cousins were the hap pier for

n ot knowing them since s h e had not found
,

them cau se s of unhapp ine ss in hersel f :

the idea of a ffording M rsM e ri d i t h amu se
.

ment or adding t o her plea sure gave a ze st

, ,

to her attainme nt s ; but thi s w asa motive

 TH E A D O P T E D D AU G H T ER . 87

her cousin scould not have since their fa

,

ther and mother did not de sire it

‘

”
“
I will not say then thought sh e
, ,

that they cannot b e happy withou t them ,

but it is all best asit i s it is right I should

endeavour to attain them and that they ,

should n ot : thu sshall we be each fi t t ed

for our sep ara te sta t ions .
 C H A PT ER V II.

T HE n ext time t hat Mr ane sC am p

. .

bell came t o dine w ith their kind friend ,

sh e recollected the p romise she had given

Anna of relating what had passed during
her stay from R osewood .

”
I think it b u t right t o rela t e it said
,

she,
lest from what has at various times
e scaped m e you may ha v e formed a wrong
idea and think that I was n ot so happy
,

in the married sta t e, as my regard for

’
Mr Meridi th s memory would o t herwi se
.

evince .

You remember Mr Cam pbell when

,
.
,

I le ft your house I was n o t more than six

,

years old hap py in having lived with you,

 T HE A DOP T E D D A U G H T E R . 89

an d wi shing for no o ther home I loved .

my father for he was very good to me but

, ,

I had rather see him at your house than

h i s own fo r the re I had no o n e to play
,

with m e o r b e my companion When I

,
.

dined with him which y ou know was not

,

very O fte n it w as generally a fter he had

,

been fatigued with a long ride in the morn

ing ; and when he had loaded my plate
wi t h every thing h e called nice and what ,

he thought I shoul d like, and allowed me

as much fruit a fter dinner as I could eat ,

and gave m e one or tw o glasses of wine t o

hel p my di gestion ( and trul y I needed
something fo r that purpose as I never rose ,

from t h e table without a violent he ad ach ) -

,

he would drink himself five or six times

that quanti t y and then fall asleep ; and I
,

w as ready to follow his example : for n ot

daring to O p en the door lest I should awake

,

him I had no other amu sement than creep

,

ing t o the window and there with my

, ,

eyes ha lf shut and my head and stomach

,

I 3
90 THE A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R .

v iolently oppressed, from the q ua nti ty I

h a d eaten I used to watch the co ming of
,

cho dy to fe t ch m e home ; and glad I

w as to wake the next morni n g free fro m

the head ach and without t he expec tation

-
,

o f goi ng agai n t o my father s

’
.

Y ou know h ow di fferently the days

p asse d a t the fa rm where I ate ,no more

tha n w a snecessary fo r m e and I m et with ,
'

attention from all the servant s and la

bo u re rs be cau s
,
e I w asthe S q u i re sd au g h ’

ter ; and excep t t he time your good m other

,

took to teach m e my letters and to spell a

little with the u se O f a needle and thread ,
,

I w as allowed to play the rest o f the day

with Anna who m I lo ved as a si ster ;
,

and whe n you an d E dward Were at hom e ,

you alw aysj oined o u r p arty T hus wer e
:

. .

my youngest day s spe nt and o ften have I ,

looked back t o t hem in far di fferen t scene s;

At length a si ster of my father s w h o ’

had married S ir R obert Meridith and h ad ,

n o child o f her own proposed my l iving w i th

,
 TH E A D O P T ED DA UG H T E R . 91

t he m, say in g that I should be qu ite arustic

i f I re m a i ne d any longer at R ose w ood ;
an d with some reluc ta nc e asI have b een
,

t ol d, m y father consen t ed My aunt w as

:

pi nc h old er than her husb an d , and he paid

:

"
he) bu t l it tl e attentio n ; h Er fortu ne had
li ce n hi s chief inducement to ma rry and ,

ef thi she made ample use thou gh what ,

’

Wass ett led o n her sel f he could not t ouch .

S he w asproud an d haughty and co nti nu ,

ally repro v ed m e fo r talking s o much o f

the farm and your family who m sh e said

, , ,
”
I ought to forget entirely ; but this I
thought I n ever could d o .

I rem ained a twelvemon th with h e r ,

at th ei r house in L eicester shire during ,

which ti me my father came t w ic e to s ee

me and being told b y my aunt that I w as

already much imp ro ve d; an d only w anted
education to make me What I ought t o b e ,

as h i sdaught er and the heire s s O f Ros e

wood he a ffec t e d to be sati s

,
fied ,an d t old
’

her he left my ed uc ation en tire ly to h e r

‘

.
92 TH E A DO P T E D D AU G H T E R .

Y e t, s
aid he, I think m y dear l ittle
Mar i a don t look so bri sk and lively as
’

when sh e was at the farm ”

I took thi s
.

opportunity O f inquiring for t h e fri e n d sI

h ad left there bu t he could n o t tell me half
I W i shed to know as h o w Anna was and
, ,

whether sh e went to school and if E d w ard ,

and y ou were grown ; he said you were ,

all w ell and grown very much but as fo r

, ,

any thing el se he h ad not inquired I sent .

you all many kind remembrance s and ,

would have added some of my playthings

for Anna but as he travelled o n horseback
, ,

neither himsel f or his servant could be i n

cumbered with them .

A fter thi s ti m e my aunt went to L on

d on and took me with her My uncle had
,
.

been there for many months ; and h i s b e

haviour t o my aun t after our arrival w as
still less attentive than in the country H e .

h ad h i sac quaintance and s h e hers a fe w

,

old ladies like hersel f with who m sh e

,

for m
.

ed card par t ies, and spen t her eve n

 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R . 93

lu gs ; while I w assent to what w ascalled

a very good school and learnt every thing
,

that w astaught in it ; and when I say this ,

my dea r friend s p e rhaps you will not i ma

,

gi ne i t w asmu ch m ore than w asgood I .

learn t fro m the ma sters Wh o a t tended tho se

accomplishments which are regularly ln
t rod u ce d in t o schools ; fro m the govern ess ,

all tha t feig ned politeness which teaches

,

us to appear glad to see a p erso n when we

are n ot so ; to tell the m they look well ,

when their appearance is j ust the con

t rary t o acknowledge obligations whe re I

fe l t non e and even t o tell untruths rather

t han be uncivil o r s ,
a
y what would mak e

m y hearers think I wanted politenes s I .

learnt from the rest of the ladies an d some ,

o f the te acher s h ow t o deceive ou r go v er

,

nes s ,
an d to make her think we had learnt
ou r le s sons whe n w e h ad not ; an d the s e
i ns truc ti on s l am s
,
orry t o say came ver y
,

eas y t o me though th os
,
ter s
e f ro m my m as
‘
94 TH E A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R .

Ye t I often wished mysel f at the farm

again, or at R o sewood where I had nobody ,

I de sired to deceive and scarcely knew ,

what deceit w as; but it w as not required

there, while here i t was in daily requisi
tion : for I had al w ays some fault o f my
school fellows if not of my ow n to hide ;
, ,

and though from them I l earnt to laugh at

my aunt s fi n i ca l way s asthey used to call
’

them I w asobliged to put on all the cour

,

te sy and feign e d politene ss my govern es s

taught me whenever sh e came to se e m e
,
.

My father could never be brought to

vi sit m e in London for he said he hated
,

the smoke of it and would by no means

,

put him sel f in sight of a ladie s boarding ’

school who would lau gh at the manner s

,

o f a fox hunter; and teach his daughter to

-

desp ise him But when in the summer v a

.

ca t ion sI accompanied my aunt into Le i

ces t e rs it u sfor a day or
h i re he would vi s
,

two and w as evidently ple ased when my

,

aunt told him I w aswonderfully im pro v ed ,

 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R . 95

an d knew as much as any young lady o f

'

my age .
‘
Well well I am n o j udg e
, , ,
’

said he, but I hop e sh e will make a good

woman, and not di sgrace her mother s ’

memory Ah "sh e w as a woman Lady

.
,

Meridith, which i s not to be met with in

’
these days .

‘
But have you forgot your old friends ,

the C ampbells said he to m e .

‘
N O indeed pap a
, , I replied their
,
’

kindness rushing on my mind and I hop e ,

I n ever shall and my inquiri eswere re

newed a fter them and their family with ,

ou t d i ssimulation .

H e told m e tha t your father and mo

I

ther were grown very old and that you ,

and E dward were nice boys with every ,

p romise of making as good men as your

fa ther was From my pocket allowance
.

I was enabled to sen d my good O ld nurse

som e t Ok e n of my remembrance as my ,

fa ther said he would not wish me to forget

either her or her children .
96 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R .

T hey will b e Iw r tenantsby and bye ,

’

s aid he to my aun t and then what sor t

,

h e make if s
of fi gu re will s h e h asforgotte n
them
I w as then about eleven years old ,

an d I remai ned at this s chool t ill I w as

fifteen My father died asy ou know v ery
.
, ,

su d de nly and I was not appriz e d O f h i s

,

illness till he w asno longer i n thi sworld

I was then thirteen and w as at first v ery
,

much hurt as h i s strong attach m ent to

,

m e though singular ly expressed had n e

, ,

ver su ffered him to see a fault in any thing

I said or did and I w assure to meet with
ind ulgence from him whenever I needed ,

it
. H e appeared t o have bee n doubly kind
t o m e a ft er I had lost him b u t the new ,

mourning I now appeared in and th e ,

i ncreas ed con s equence I gained i n the

sc hool an d with my aunt on being the
, ,

heires so f R osewood and C oo m b da le both ,

m y fat her s es t ates made m e soon forget

’

it ; and in t w o years after w ards I le ft the

 TH E ADO P T E D D AUG HT ER . 97

sch oo l highly accomp li shed as my au nt s

’

flatteri ng frie nds tol d her ( in my hear ing ) ,

bot h in m in d and p erson ; and my v anity

led me to th ink they to ld her true though ,

from t he m any lessons I h ad taken o f d i s

simulatio n I ought t o have k n own the
,

value of their comme nd ations .

I w as now to be i ntroduced to the

w orld but who w as t o introduce me w as
,

the quest ion My aunt w as too old and

.
,

de voted t o t he card t able and her li ttle

,
-

cot erie to atten d me to balls routs and

, ,
, ,

d inn er par ties S ir R obert had n o w give n

.

u
p e ven th e ap pe ar ance o f civility to his
w i fe and liv ed in a di s
,
t ant county wit h ,

another woman but there was the widow

of a brother of S i r Egbert s whom I had
’

occasio n ally v isi te d with my aunt whose ,

ci rcle of acqu ai ntance w asmuch larg er ,

and very d ifferen t from hers My aun t .

w ent round t o about a d ozen ho uses whil e ,

Mrs Meridith visi t ed all who liv ed at the

.

we st end O f t h e tow n and w asin ti mate

,

"
 THE A D O P T E D D A UG H T E R .

wi t h but a v ery few : to her therefore I

was con signed t o se e the world w h i ch i n , ,
l

the meaning they attach to it is to da nce ,

at several ball s dine at di fferent hou se s

, ,

yet mostly m eet the sam e comp any ; an d

be able to sp eak of the merits and demerit s
of the princip al p erformers at both thea

tres and at the O pera house ; yet in thi s

,

I was to b e care fu l not to deviate from the

general opinion le st I should be called
,

singular and positi v ely t o k n ow nothing

,
.

A fe w n ob le m e n s ladies or their t itled

’

daughters , might ven t ure to differ i n their

'

likes an d d isl i k e s; b u t s
u ch an avowal
would not do for m e, who was only a
com moner .

M r Campbell smiled at these di stino

.

tion s and began t o hop e the recital of

,

their friend would not cost her all the

angui sh he had app rehended since sh e ,
“

could so cheerfully speak of her intro

duction to them .

A nna laughed and said ,

“
I hope I
 TH E A DOPT ED D A U G H T ER . 99

shall ne v er be introduced to the world,

fo r I s hould m ake a terrible fi g ure i n it
I ha v e never been t o boarding school -
,

o u kno w Mamma
y ,

T rue , my dear returned Mrs Meri

, .

dith but the le ssons you allude to are

,

ea sily lea rnt without going there I found .

them daily practi sed in the society I was

in and yet M rs Meridith w aswhat w as
, .

called an amiable w oman and fo r so young , ,

a widow remarkably strict in her conduc t

, .

S he had on e son whom I had not yet

,

seen ashe was then at college but a fter

,

I w as so much at h i s mother s ( for t h e

.

evening parties to which I con stantly ac

companied her were so much later than
my aunt s that she allowed m e to take
’
,

U p my re s idence the re when we were in

town ) he c ame hom e at the vacations
, ,

an d I w as introd u ced to him ; and thi s

Mr Meridith you wi ll readily suppose
.
, ,

was afterward s my husband But as m y .

marri age will lead m e into far different

"2
 l OO D AUG H T ER
‘

r an A D orr nn
‘

sc e ne s I sh all ; i f you ple ase d efe r t hem

, ,

till s om e other ev eni ng You must be as

‘

ti i e d o f he ari ng asI a m o f rel ati ng those

‘ ‘

circumstances which ho w ever ne w th ey ,

-

may be to y ou are old and s tal e t o in e ;,

and I ams ick of w ha t is called a kn owledge

”
( i f th e wo rld .

And so dear Mad am sho uld I

, re , ,

plied Mr Ca mp bell ; bu t I ca rmot hel p

’

a ckn ow le dging that we have too muc h of

it i n ou r little village though i n a h um
'
'

bler way H um an n ature i s the same

.

eve ry where and a deceitful heart t h e

,

charac t eri stic which the word o f G od h as

given to man ; we n eed not th erefore go , ,

to London or the great World to fi nd i t

, ,

ou t ,
u nless o u r eye s are sh ut to what i s
g o i ng o n W ithin our sel ves ”
.

S uppe r was the n ordered an d Mr , .

C ampb ell With gre at ple asure t ol d M rs .

M eridith the al teratio n h e r last conver

s ati on Wi th farm er Ward had m ad e i n h i s
'

co nduct t ow a rd s hi mself .
 THE A D O P T E D D A U G HT ER . 10 1

H e h as told me all said he, and ,

with that inge n uousnes s which I fear i s

,

not to be met with in the circle syou have

de scribed to u s acknowledged himself
,
”
wrong .

“
In that respect said Mrs Meridith
,
.
,

p eople belonging to le ss polished society

hav e the advantage for they are n o t
,

a shamed t o o w n themsel v es mi staken when “

th ey really feel they are W hile more

”
polite one s never will .
 C HAPTE R V III .

T n n next
’
a fter noon the Ca mpb ells a gain
j oin ed Mrs Me ri d i t h sfi re si de, and afte r
’ '

-
.

tea sh e be gan what sh e called t h e seco nd

'

p art o f her a dventure s .

After running the round o f p olite li fe .

which I told you o f last n ight fo r three ,

year s I w as m arried at eighteen to Mr

,
.

Meridith the nephew of my uncl e and

, ,

the o sten sible heir to h i stitle and estate ;

but the fortu ne belonging to it was known
to be so reduced by my u ncle sexpenses ’

that the addition of min e w as con sidered

as a desirable thing both by my uncl e
,

and aunt and Mr Meridith sm other As

, .
’
.

for hi mself, 1 have reaso n to think h e

would have p re ferred me to any other
 TH E A D O P T E D D A UG HT ER . 10 3

Woman , had I not been the heire s

s o f
Rose w oo d and C oo m b d alc ; but as he ex
p e c t e d the Baron tcy i t w as very con
e ,

v e n i e n t he should ha v e a better fO 1 tune to

en able hi m to support it than w oul d b e ,

l eft hi m with t he title w e were married

'

but a twelvemonth be fore hism other died ;

and my aunt lady Me ridith soon after ;
, ,

an d my uncle S ir R obert m arried again

, ,

and asit w asnot u nlik ely h e w ou ld now

'

have a son all th ought sO f the title were

,

g i ven up , ’
I may sa
y without reg r et by ,

eith er O f u s M y uncle had taken n o notice

.

O f u sfor some time ; and though he w as

ap po inted j oint trustee fo r me with a ,

friend O f my father s he le ft ever y thi ng

’

in h i s hand s By my father s wi l l I w as
.
’

not to be put into p o ssession of t h e estates

till I was twenty fi v e ; n Or was I allo w ed
-

s u ffi cient for u sto live on i n the s tyl e we

.

had bee n accustomed to particularl y as

“

my hu sband s fortune w as small and from

’

the hope O f hi s
,

p o sse ssing the estate O f h is

10 4 THE A D O P T E D D A UG H T E R .

u ncle his mother had not proposed his

,

following any p rofes s ion H i s father had

.

property both in the E a st and West Indie s

,

-
,

but since h i s death the remittances had

been entirely su sp ended ; and Mrs Meri .

dith not caring t o encumber herself with

any litigation resp ecting it had not pur ,

s ued her in qu i r i e s into the caus e My .

hu sband now proposed going over to J a

maica where the West India e state lay
,
-
,

and to claim it for hi msel f as he h ad su f

"

fi c e n t documents to a s certain it ashis p ro

p erty I had on e child at that time an d
.
,

was large with another but I determ ined ,

to accom pany him and having settled

,

every thing ne ces sary in E ngland we em ,

bark ed ; intending to be absent not mo re

than three years ; and to return pre v iou s
to my co ming O f ag e I had o n e m aid who
.

attended m e, and an O ld servant who had ,

l ived W 1th the late Mrs Meridith deter .

,

mined to follow the fortune sO f h i smaster .

From this time my sorrows began ;

 TH E A D O P TE D D A U G HT ER . 10 5

my fir st child then abou t fi fte en mont hs

,

old died O n t h e vo yage an d I Was s o ill

‘

, ,

my sel f; Hom sea s ickn es

'
s that I fe ared I
-
,
'

should not live to s e e the i s la nd w e wer e

h eu n d to ; and earne s tly ( lid I wi sh my
h usband h ad never t hought o f it H ow .

ever we arri v ed there w ith the remain sOf

my de ar l i t tle b oy who m I h ad no sooner,

se en laid in th e g round than I w astake n ,

ill and a pr ematu re b ir th was the co n se

,
~

q u e h ce ; but the chil d which wa s anot her ,

b oy liv ed an
,
d I lov e d it with ten tim es
,

mo re affectio n fro m h aving lo st i t sbrother

, ,

and i tsbei ng born in a S tra n ge count ry

'
'

I w astoo weak to nurse i t my sel f and a ,

black wom an waspro v ided to suckle it .

D uri ng this ti me my husband who he ,

h aved to me with t h e fond es

‘
t attentio n
‘

fou nd Ou t th e e s tate he was in s earch of

’ '

and w as pu t in pos s ession o f it with out

much trouble w e li v ed 111 a hou se wh i c h
w asS ituated o n it ; m
.

y little boy gr ew ,

a n d I be gan t o r ec over m y heal t h an d

106 T H E A D O P T ED D A U G HT E R .

spirits, and to think that, str ange as the

people w e re arou n d me, I could live here
'

hap p ily enough till the time arrived for

ou r re t urn t o E ng l and .

Mr Meridith every day brought m e

.

ac count s of the flouri shing state of the

plantation and the number of h i sslave s;
,

but though thi swas the case we did not,

appear to receive much emolument from

it The overseer he employed told him
.

there w e re great drawback s and that it

,

w as nece s s ary to use a stricter discipli ne

to w ards the negroe s o n thei r having
chan ged their m aster I mu st say I did
.
‘

not like h i sreasoning or his m anner and

, ,

could not be persuaded but that he w as

imposing on my hu sband to whom I men
,

t i on e d my su spicion s; but he thought the m

groundles s and declared h is intention O f
,

leaving him in charge O f the e state wh i le ,

he went t o look a ft er that in the E as t

Indie s and which he had been taught to
,

believe was still more considerable I .

 T HE A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 10 7

gave up my O pinion to h i s and O ffered to ,

accomp any him thither At fir st he ré .

fu sed but I could not bear to be left with

,

my c hild in the care o f Jackson the man ,

I thought so ill O f ; and there fore taking

with us the black woman who was n early ,

as m u ch at t ac h ed to my child as mysel f
’

with the E nglish servants we brought over

w ith u s we once more embarked o n a
'

stormy se a H aving doubled the Cape of

.

G ood H e pe we arrived at Madras afte r a

,

v oyage O f nearly four month s during ,

which time we were i n two violent gales

O f wind .

“
My husband having introduced him
sel f and me to so me o f ou r countrymen ,

settled me there and I remained with m y

, .

two female attendants and the man se r ,

-

v ant I mentioned before while b e p ro ,

c e e d ed to Bengal to identify his propert y ;

which he understood by som e writi n g sin

,

his pos se ssion was in that province and

, ,

bordering o n the river G ange s T hose of .

105 T HE A D O P T ED D A U G H T E R .

my ow n s
ex an d with w
co u n t n
yh om
,
I
b ecame acqu ainted endeavoured to make ,

m y time pa s s as agreea b ly as they cou ld

i n h i s ab s en ge ; but I d ec li n e d goi ng i nt o
any c omp any ; my little boy and the p ros ,

p e et of ano ther child eng ro ssed al l my ,

e t t e nti o n and many anxious hour sI p as

,
se d
for the fa te o f their father w h o w asah
.
,

s ent four month s during which ti me I

,

heard fro m him as frequently as I could

expec t but he d i d not recove r h i sproperty
,

here so ea si ly as in Jamaic a While he .

w a s away the black wom an who nurs ed

,

my little boy died and her place was sup

,

p lied by Bella ; sh e w as recom mended to

m e by a lady who had lately purchased
h e r, a nd O ffe red to giv e her up to m e o n
the sam e t erms Bella had seen m any
.

h ard s hip s but he r atte ntion to p oo r S u s

, ee

( t h e wom an I l ost ) while sh e was ill ma d e

m e like her and she s, oo n gain ed my go od
opin ion an d al so my affec tion .

Mr Mer idith returned a fe w weeks

.
 THE A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R . 109

before I presented him with a daughter ,

whom I was enabled to nurse mysel f and ,

I had now t w o children on e born in the ,

W est and the other i n the E a st Indies ;

,
-

I pres sed them both to my bosom an d ,

longed for the time when I should return

t o E ngland and live W l t h them and
,

their father, either at R osewood or Coomb

”
dale.

Mrs Meridith sighed w hen sh e came

.

t o thi s p art of her tale and a responsive ,

sigh was uttered by all her auditors ; who

were too i mpatient to hear the rest O f
her eventful story to interrup t the silenc e
,

which for a m om ent o r two prevailed and

s h e continued .

A fter I was su fii c i e n t ly recovered for

him t o leave m e Mr M e ri d it h again went
, .

ti p the country in hope s O f bringing with

,

him o n his return a true e stimate o f his

, ,

property,or an equivalent for it in specie .

Myself and children waited his arrival fo r

another four months and when he ca m , e
 1 10 THE A D o PT E D D A U G HT E R .

back it was wi thout any hope of r ecover

,

ing t h e estate for which he had had so

m uch fruitless tro uble A ve ry small p ar t
.

o f i t could be a s certained to be h is; and

for thi she w asconten t t o receive a trifling
su m compared to what he expected But .

the negroe s who were employed on the

land concluded that he must ha v e received
much more and wh e n he had q uitted the
,

place t o return home they followed hi m, ,

and after m urdering ou r O ld E nglish se r

v an t , who h ad thi s tim e gone with his
m aster, they robbed him o f all he h ad in
h i s p ossession S yphax was on e of these
.

negroes w ho m he had purch ased but a

,

fe w weeks be fore and bro u ght away with

,

him having been pl e a sed with his app ear

,

anc e ; and though he was evidently con

n e c t e d with those who followed them and ,

knew their in t entio n it was to his in t er

,

ference that hi smaste r owed h i slife : for,

though he had been h i s property b u t a
little while his kindness insensibly gain ed
,
 THE ADo P TE n D A UG HTE R . Il l

his a ffection ; an d w h e n t he attack was

,
~

m ade S yphax j oined tho se on his master s

,
’

side T he negroe sp revailed in gaining h i s

.

p roperty but the eloquence O f S ypha x

,

saved his li fe and his contrition ,and faith

fu l atta chmen t ever a fter w ards m ade Mr ,
.

Meridith an d m e highly value h i m I w as .

saved the agony o f hearing o f this ren

c ounter be fore my hu sband cam e back ,

or I s hould have suffered greatly As it .

was I w as su ffi ciently ha ppy in having

,

h i m re stored to m e though he came desti

,

tute O f e very thing but the clothe s he

wore a ri d bitterly lament i ng the lo ss o f
,

ou r s ervan t Wi lson who se death was not

,

at first mad e known to me .

O ur late voyage said he has bee n

,
’

,
‘

e ntirely in vain ; fo r I have gi v en up the

'

small part which I could obtain o f the

p roperty I believe to be mine for a su m
, ,

o f money which I have been robbed O f

'

since ; my poor servant w as killed in my

L 2
1 12 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

defence ; and I am re t urned to hear all

my acquaintance blame me for having ,

at temp t ed t o recover what was at such a

’
distance .

S ypha x was i n the room when he sai d

t hi s, an d falling 0 11 h i sknees he exclaim
—
,

ed wi th the mo st affecting earnestness,

,

‘
Wilson be dead S ir ; I will supply his
,

p lace if y ou will le t m e I have been very

bad m an but the negroe s d i d per suade
,

me ; I a sh amed that e v er I agre e to them

but I did not know you a good master till
I lived with you I thought all white men
h ad m e n T hey treat u s ill and we trea t
.
,

t hem ill but y ou never treat m e ill

, Wil .

s o n die for you so will I :

,
I keep your
life as m y ow n and your st oo dear l ady ’

, ,
’

’
turning to me and the children s for my
,

mast er s sake
’
I will be your faithfu l
.

s
’
ervant .

I thanked him and Mr Mer idith pro

,
.

m is e d to consider him as such .

 T H E A D O P T E D D A UG HT E R
'

. 1 13

W t l l ri d i e s
s
'

But will you return to th e e

with me said he ; y ou say you have no

friend sthere .
’

Nor none any where he , ,

very afl e c t i n g ly for b ad men d o not de

'

"
,

serve to be called so I have been v ery .

badly us ed in the West I ndie s but I go -

,

any where with y ou , to t h e i e n d O f the

’
wor ld.

“
H e was then di smi ssed and I would ,

have persuaded my hu sband t o return 1m

m ediately to E ngland : within a twelve
‘

m onth said I and I shall b e o f age and

’

, , ,

R o sewood and C oo mb d ale will be your s ’

.

S urely o n these es t a t e swe can live com

i

fo rt ab ly 0 let us go , and think no m ore

'

o f p roperty in the Indie s ,when We hav e

so much at h ome H e seemed a ffe c ted .
’

by my earnestness but m ad e it appear so ,

very nece ss a ry that we should once more

visit J am aic a, and leave ou r p roperty there
in pr oper hands, to send u sthe re m it tance s;
L 3
1 14 '

TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

tha r
t I ag re e d to accomp a ny him thither
again secretly hop ing that a few month s
,

m ore would land u sin E ngland ”

.

M rs Meridith n o w found her self fa

. .

t ig u e d and begged to po stpone the re

,

m ai n d e r O f he r s t ory ti l l t h e next evening .

T he worst i sstill to com e said sh e ”

, ,

and I do n ot find mysel f equal to the

recital ; and her friend swere too atten
ti v e to her fee l in g st o urge her to continue
i t Anna rela t e d what had pa ssed be t ween
.

S yphax and herself in the garden .

And his dist re ss l est you should reveal

”
h is s to ry, Mamma said sh e
, is n ow
,

a ccou nted for ; but he need not have been ~

afraid, for I think it doe shim credi t rather

”
than dishonour .

U ndoubtedly said M r Campbell

, .
,

for though he h ad consen t ed to th e plan

th e n egroes had p roposed, h i attachmen t s
t o h is m as t e r g ot the be t t er of his s u b mis

sion to th e m .
 TH E A DOPT ED DA UGHT ER . 1 15

T he re st O f the evening soon pa ssed

away an d Mrs Meridith w as m ore tha n
, .

usually silent ; sh e appeared m elancholy ,

and as i f the di stresse s sh e had still to

relate lay heavy at her heart .
 C HA P TER I " .

T HE whole party were true to their a p

p ointment the followi n g evening, and Mrs .

Meridith re sumed her story .

O n ou r second arrival at Jamaica M r .

Meridith had every reason to believe my

op inion O f J ack son ( the man i n whose
care he had l eft h i sproperty and the over
,

seer t o the plantation ) w as right for he ,

w ashardly willing to let u s r e enter ou r

-

o w n house ; and S yphax , who soon gained

intelligence among the slaves of his rapa

c i ou s
nes,s and cruel conduc t t owards them
informed his m aster, though not without
great fear O f the consequence Th e very
.

idea O f having part O f ou r p rop erty in o u r

fellow creature s was to m e always d i s
 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 1 17

t ressing ; and I now p ro posed selling the

e state while we were o n the spot and dis ,

charging Jackson without any re co m m e n

da tion S yphax and Bella who al so came
.
,

with us from Madras, eagerly seconded

m y p ropo s al .

O h S ir you don t know h ow he uses

, ,
’
t hem sa id Bella ;
, I have felt what they
feel.
’
And I too, said S yphax ; at least ’

m assa put som e better white man o v er

,

the m than he i s .
’

O h no said I sell them to some

, ,

humane purchaser ( i f we must en ter into

thi s horrid tra ffi c ) and m ake Jackson s ,
’

character su ffi ciently known to p revent his

being employed again at le ast over the se ,

p oor crea t ures ; and le t u snot live in the

constant ap prehension of what they m u s t
s u ffer t o provide u s rum, and sugar and ,

s weetmeat s when we are not here to see

,
”
h ow they are treated My a rguments p re
vailed, and the planta t io n was s
.

old with
1 18 TH E ADOPTED
‘
DA U G H TER .

the sl aves up on i t except those w h o were

old and disabled to whom we gave their
,

liberty and they were re ceived i nto a

,

charitable asylum for p ersons O f that ( le s

c r i p t i o n and to which Mr Meridith
, p re
.

sented a handsome donation .

Bella and S yphax wep t for j oy w hen

they saw som e O f their poor countrymen
i n thi s place, and were ready t o think all
the white men who m they knew in their
younger days were not Chri stian s; but ‘

now we se e what Chri stians are, said they ’

,
‘
and we will love them dearly Alas " .
’

they h ad seen them before o r men b earing,

that ap p ellation but how deserving eith er

,

were o f the title w e must leave to the

,

Judge of all heart sto determine .

When the es t ate was sold ( and I have

reason to think i t w as di sposed O f t o a
'

com pas sionate man as well ast o great ad

vantage to ours
,

elv es) my husband sati sfied

s
,
’
Jack on s dema nds ; and we were pleased
 TH E A DO P T E D D A UG H T E R . 1 19

to hear him say th at he meant to t rad e ,

with the money he had acquired ( and very

badly I fear) and no longer act asover seer
,

to any o n e .

T here i son e cruel white man les s ,

then said Bella to wh ip my poor coun

,
’

,
’
trymen We were n ow O n the eve O f
.
.

dep arture and my hope s were all alive

,

for E ngland when the yellow fever broke

,

ou t , and Mr Meridith caught the i n fe c

.

tion H e would have insisted on my leav

.

ing him but I would n ot hear O f it I sen t

,

my two childre n with Bella and S yphax

t o a distant p a t of the island fully assured
r ,

t ha t they would take care O f them ; and

w i t h the best ad vice the place afforded my ,

husband at length recovered ; but my poo r

E ngli sh maid died O f it just as sh e w as ,

fondly hopi ng to return t o her native

c oun try .

I have O ften regretted both her and

”
Wilson co ntinued Mrs Meridith after
,
.
,

shedding a t ear to their memo ry : as ou r

120 TH E ADOPTED D AUG HT E R .

having brought the m from t heir h o me

"

though n o t against their inclination m ade ,

m e more desirous O f their returning wit h

us ; but both their li v es were sacrificed to
ou r service ; and I think it but a p oor
amends to their familie s th e being en abled
,

to as si st them who must feel the loss O f a

,

so n and a daughter too keenly for money

,

to recom pen se at least if t hey feel like m e

, .

I t was my anxiety alone and extreme soli

,

c i t u de fo r my hu s
band which p revented
,

my taking the in fection ; and I was n o

sooner assured that there was no farther
danger O f it tha n we re embraced ou r
,
-

children and once more p repared for E ng

,

land Bella and S yphax were n ow ou r

.

constant at t endan t s, and we embarked,

and arrived in ou r o w n country i n le ss
than a mo n th .

“
I had then been O f age abou t fou r
m onth s, and a fter the nece ssary p re li m i
,

naries, was pu t i n to possession of my e s

tates , and the money we brough t with us
 T HE A DO PT ED D AUGHT ER . 12 1

from the West Indies w as v e s -

ted in the
funds and we hoped to li v e hap pily for
,

m any year s but my hu s band sconstitu tion ’

h ad received a s hock from the fever and ,

th e v iolent remedie s which were given

h i m for it which he never recovered and
,

I had the mi sery O f seeing his health daily

growi n g wor se and wor se though e v ery ,

m edicine and change of ai r was repea t edly

tried Hi s uncle and mine S ir R obert
.
,

M eridith was no t dead but his secon d

, ,

lady had brought him only daughters : so

that he w asnow anxio u s for the recovery
o f his neph e w and O ften solicited u st o try
,

a m ilder clim ate T o this I should re ad i

.

ly have consented, but he would not hear

O f it .

‘
I have carried you over th e seas
’
often enough my dear Maria he would
, ,

say n or will I again ri sk your preciou s

,

life for what I have not the mo st di stant

p ro spec t O f O btaining ; my health i s t oo
fa r gone ever to be recovered but for the ,

MT
122 T HE
‘

A D O P T E D D A U G H TE R .

sake of ou r dear children do you tak e ,

care O f But let me p as so v er the

melan choly de tail .

H aving tried the air Of va rio u s places,

without any m aterial benefit we a t last ,
'

settled at C oom b d ale where he linge red

,

out a painf ul exi stence fo r above three ‘

years which all my attention could n o t

,

alleviate and which rendered h i m still

,

dearer to m e as I s ,
aw the fortitude and .

resignation with whi c h he bore his su ffer

ings I became a d O WWV lth two children
.

when only thirty years O ld Need I tell .

you my distress or what I felt when I

,

found he was no more b ut that would —

be i mpo ssible "T he fai thf ul a ffec t ion O f

S yphax and Bella both to him and myself
, ,

I can never forget ; and I now wished to

‘

li ve only for my children ; and, in pur

s u an c e to his injunction to exert mysel f fo r
,

th e ir sake ; but alas " they were t o o soon

taken from me l — B ut
why do I say t oo
soon " did not the Almighty w h o gave ,
 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 123

them , know the p rop er tim e " Oh "that

I could cease to murmur " I lost them
both in the small pox within the ye ar aft er
-

their dear fa t her ; during which Be ll a and

S yphax at te nded them with unremitting
attention ; and had it not been for them ,

I m u s t have bee n swallowe d U p with ex

ces si v e grief .

I looked around, and the world seemed

all a blank t o me ; not on e relation whom
I could love ; when but a fe w month sback
I had an a ffectionate hu s
. band and two ,

children whose ripening years s e emed to

,
”
p romi se m e eve ry comfor t .

T ea rs n ow interrup ted her sp ee ch, and

.

her au d i t ors felt too much t o O ffer a word

.

O f consolation P oor Anna wept aloud and

.
,

t hrowing her arms around her neck s aid ,

i n broken accents , Oh "my dear Mamma,

I can never be to you wh at the se wer e ;
but all my l ife every thing in my p ower
e
—
,

-
sob s and tears p revented her uttering
more .
124 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

I know what you would say my ,

Anna re turned her weeping p atroness

,
.

B u t let m e n ot distre s
s y ou and all my
friends — Alas what does this m elancholy
retrosp ection lead to but so rrow on every
,

side and impious murmurings on mine "

,

Let me dra w my melancholy tale to a con

e lusion H aving seen the las t duties per
.
-

formed to the remains of all I held clear ,

who were buried at C oom bd al e and where , ,

my friend addres sing Mr Campbell, who

, .

could only bow his assent if you survi v e

,

m e I hop e you will see me buried al s

,
o,
I left the place wh ere every thing remind
c d me of my heavy lo s s; and after a visit
to L ondon for a fe w week s t o settle and ,

regulate my a ffairs I determined to see k

,

the place o f my childhood and if among ,

my first friend sI could find any who coul d

i n any mea s ure fill the vacancy made i n
my a ffections for to have no o n e to car e
—

fo r and n o on e to care for u s is dreadful

, , .

I accordingly took my j ourney h ither ;

 TH E A D O P T E D D A U GH T E R
‘
. 125

and have fou nd that quiet retire men t and ,

a sincer e d esire to add to the happine sso f

others will m ake sorrows, even like mine
, ,
”
sup portable .

H ere MrsM eridith ended her narrative

.
,

and the swoln eyes O f h e r auditors gave a

p roo f that they had been attentive to it .

T heir silence a lso was far more eloquent ,

in h e r o pinion than all the pro fes sion s

,

the y could have made E ach looked at .

her with pity and admira t ion ; and Anna

thought sh e could never do enough o r ,

be su ffi ciently attentive to such an excel

lent woman who had encountered so
,
'

m any sorrows and had been s

,
o good

t o her.

S upper was n ow brought m but neithe r ,

Of the p arty could eat any and they tried ,

in v ain to obliterate from M rs Meridith s .

’

mind the recollection of what sh e had re

ha ted ; the retrosp ection O f her m any trial s
had been too much fo r her, an d sh e re
mained absorbed in silent grief After .

M 3
‘
126 TH E A DO P T ED DAUG HT E R .

her uncle and aunt had le ft them on fi n d ,

ing her friend did not retire to re st Ann a ,

asked if sh e should read to her o r woul d ,

’

y o u like a little music mamm a ,

s aid she ,

having heard that was sometimes c ib ea

c i ou sin expelling m elancholy .

Which do you think said MrsMeridith

”
,
.
,

is mo st likely t o sooth grief like mine " ”

R eading mam ma from what I have

, ,
”
heard y ou say , replied Anna ; I am
sorry I m entioned music .

And what book can o ffer m e consol a

tion P said Mrs Meridith, with a dej ected
”
.

air.

I know but Of one m amma and tha t

, ,

i sthe S criptu re s replied Anna S hall I

”
, .

”
read in them P

DO , my child r eplied M rs Meridith

,
.

and there let m e learn that the best O f

m en are n o t exemp t fro m a ffliction ; why
then should I repine at it B u t I am an n u .

”
gratefu l cre ature .

T he next mornin g Anna r ej oic e d t o se e

 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G H T ER . 1927

th e countenance O f her kind friend res

tored to its usual t ran q u illi tv and afte r
breakfa st they walk ed t o the farm as M rs , .

Meridith w asanxious to se e Mr and M rs . .

Campbell a fter her late recital When they .

arrived neither O f them were at home and ,

they were told that one O f the lab ou fe rs ’

wive shad b e e n take n i ll in the night, and

MrsCampbell was gone to V i s 1t her
. .

T hither al so M rs Meridith and Anna

.

bent their steps and m et her j u st com e

,

fro m the hous e her eye s ful l O f tear s

, .

”
What is the m atter mv de ar aunt, ,

“
asked Anna ,
is dame Lewry very ill
S he i sj u st dead returned M rsCamp
”
,
.

bell,
and has left a di stre ssed family i n
deed : her hus band has such bad health ,

that fo r more than half the year he can do

”
no work .

What fam ily has sh e left P asked Mrs .

'

Meridith sh e w as alway s a very civil

”
woman and seemed i n d u st ri ou sl
,

S he was , rep lied M rs Cam pbell

”
.
,
 1928 TH E ADOPTED D AUGHTER .

which will make her lo ss more severely

felt s h e has left six children and mo s t of ,
”
them t o o y ou n g t o do any thing .

Mrs Meridith entered the cotta ge w here

.
,

the poor m an sat surro u nded by his chil

dren with looks of the deepe st sorro w
,
.

“ ”
H ere is a case worse than mine thought ,

M rs Meridith
. poverty and ill health I
never knew S he did not attemp t to O ffe r
.

any co m fort to the m an at that time but ,

putting some money into his hand sh e p ro ,

m is e d to call again .

H e would have thanked her but his ,

countenance see med to say t hiswill not ,

restore my wi fe to m e and then looking

at h i schildren, he repeated with tears i f ,

it had been m e instead O f her she could

, ,

have done something — I shall never get ,

”
over thi sstroke .

T he Almighty i sable to sup port bot h

you and them ret u rned Mrs Meridith
, .

”
do not de spair and her eyes expres sed
,

th e feeling of her heart .

 T HE A D O P TE D D A U G HT E R . 129

O n th eir return to the farm Mrs Camp ,

.

bell ever ready to a ssist the di stressed

, ,

s aid she intended taking the elde st girl ,

then about ten yearsold into her family ,

and lest h er father should feel the want O f

her at home ( she being the only o n e who
could be O f an y u se in the house ) Anna ,

p roposed their sending an O ld woman in

the village whose hom e was no t very c o m
,

for tab le at her son si n law

’
‘
wit h who m - -
,

she then lived to take care O f Le w ry s ’

’

family T his arrangement was n ot put i n

.
-

execution till a fter the funeral and they

~

had consulted the p oor man upon it who

readily acc eded to any thing they m e n
t i on e d
, and was very thankful that his
girl sh ou l d g e t into so good a place as
'

farmer Campbell s
’
.

T he Old woman to whom Mrs Meridith

, .

allowed a weekly stipend re adily under ,

took the care O f the younger children who ,

w ere chiefly girl s s aying I knew their

, ,

poor mo t her well and a k ind nei g hbou r

,
130 THE ADOPTED DAUG HT ER .

s
h e always w a sto m e
and he too , I shall
be happy t o do him some good and I ll
’
-
,

take asmuch care O f h i schi ldren asif they

”
were my ow n .

Mrs Meridith and Anna frequently cal

.

led at the cottage and the smiling fac e

,

O f on e O f the little girl s then about six

,

year sO ld always attracted their attention ;

,

and M rs Meridith asked her daughter if

.

sh e would like to have her to R osewood ,

an d instruct her in what w as necessary to

make her a servant t o herself .

N othing would ple ase me more, m am

”
m a returned Anna,
, an d , under your

guidance and wi th Bella to teach her what

,

I do n o t know I h O p e I should not s poil

,

her and Bella will be quite deligh ted,

”
for she is already very fond O f her
'

But your attention t o your lit t le fav ou

rite mu st not withdraw your a ffection from
”
me my dear Anna
, said Mrs Meridith
, . .

“
O h "m y dear mamma how can y ou ,

think she will " replied the a ffectionate

”
 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 13 1

girl ; can I ever love h er asI do y ou who ,

”
have done so much o r mef P

Nor i ssh e to be made ou r companion ,

continued Mrs Meridith

.
, only when we
chu se to be amused by her but sh e shall
alway s be with Bella and S yphax and
’

never in the kitchen i f they can help it ;

and though from her coming so young we
must expect her to treat us with familia
rity , i f we gain her confidence and e steem ,

and teach her rightly to ap preciate her

ow n character , we need not be a fraid O f
d isrespect I should wi sh a servant to be
.

well acquainted with me and to belie v e

,

that I wo u ld n ot betray the tru st sh e re

po sed i n me ; and it is de sirable thi scon
fi dence s hould be mutua l though I am
,

sorry to say there are but fe w servant sin

whom it c an be placed ; yet I think the ,

manner I intend little Betsy to be b rought

U
p,
would be the mo st p robable way to
O btain such an o n e T im e will sh e w whe
.

”
t h e r I am right or not .
 C HA PTER "
.

T HE next week little Betsy was brough t

to R o sewood by Anna with equal delight
,

on both s ide s .

I am going to b e Mi ss Meridith s li t tle

’

”
maid said the delighted child ;
, and I
s
’
hall have all n e w clothes But don t let
.

”
the li t tle one s ( meaning her brothers and
s isters still younger than her sel f) c ry after
’

me dame : I must go to wait on Mi ssMeri

,

dith you know sh e has been so good to all

,
”
O f u s T hi sw assaid with such an air of
.

i m poi t an c e t hat the whole p arty laughed

‘

a t her while little Betty walked O ff quite

,

sati sfied as they did not O p pos

,
e h e r going .

”
N ow y ou must b e very good ,
said
Anna ,
and mind what Bella say sto you .
 THE A D O P T E D D A UG HT ER . 133

And what y ou say to me Mis s said , ,

the child jumping alo n g

,
fo r I a m t o be ,

your servan t and I w ill wait up on you by

,

night and by day .

“
O h you mu
, st not promi se too much at
p re sent returned Anna
, you are but a ,
”
very lit tle girl .

But I shall g r ow replied sh e and , ,

then I shall learn , and I shall be able to

work soon and make all your clothe s see
’

,
”
i f I do n t now
’
.
,

All I exp ec t O f you at prese nt said ,

“
Anna smiling at her childi shne sss is
, ,

that you will be a good girl and m ind ,

what Bella says and be very q u iet in t h e,

”
house .

“
Ye s I w as quiet when my p oor mo
,

ther w as ill and so I be when father is

,

h ad,
returned the child , and so I will
when you are ill .

And at all time s re plied A nna or , ,

’
M rs Meridith won t like it and th en pe r
~
.
i
,
1 34 TH E ADO PT ED DAUGHTER .

haps she may tell me to turn y o u away and ,

I shall alwaysdo as sh e de sire sm e

,
O I will be asstill asa mou se cried ,

little B et sey putting her finger on her

,

lip s I would not be turned a w ay for e v er

.

so much and then sh e began a long sto ry

-

how o n e O f their neighbour s girls w as ’

turned away from her p lace , beca u se sh e

was not a good servant and another girl ,

turned ou t O f the school so I know it is

,
”
a very bad thi ng to b e turned away said ,

s he
,
and I will try to keep my place n ow
”
I have got on e .

T he simplicity O f the child and her rus ,

t i c i t y O f m anner s amu s , ed M rs Me ridith .

and Anna fo r some week s but there w as

about her a conceit and high opinion O f
,

her self which kep t them from extolling

,

her simpl e attemp ts to please too much ,

though they gave ample credit fo r d om g

t h e b es t , as sh e called it .

Bella was bu sy the first m onth in maki ng

 TH E A DO PTED DA U GHTER . 135

her an entire n e w set O f clothe s which ,

were plain and n eat and suited to the ,

station M rs Meridith intended her to fill

. .

When Bell a went to visit her father s ’

cottage it was some time before Betty could

be per suaded t o accomp any her le st sh e ,

should be le ft behind o r the little on e s ,

should cry a fter her but o n being ass u red

that sh e should return again sh e ventured ,

to p ay them a vi sit and found her b rothers

,

and si ster squite reconciled to her absence

and tho ugh they exp re sse d great p lea sure
at seein g her they did not de sire her to
,

remain with the m A nd B ella amused her

.

young mistre ss after her n e w serv an t w as

,

put t o bed with the account sh e had given

,

to her father and the O ld dam e O f her

place and the variety O f things sh e had to
,

do in i t .

From thi s tim e the little girl began to

co n form to their w ay s which were at first ,

so s trange to her while her a ffection for

,

Mrs Meridi t h and her young lady daily i n

.
136 T HE A D OP T E D D A U G H T E R .

c reased and B ella took every opportunity

,

o f reminding her h o w m u c h they dese rved

it.

S ixteen years of Anna s li fe had now ’

p assed a w ay and her u n derstanding and

,

m anner s i mp roved every day William .

Campbell still continued i n the farm and ,

often supp lied the place of his father at the

n eighbouring m arkets but J ohn who ,

was o f Anna s age had for som e time ex

’
,

p re ssed a wi sh for another em ployment ,

and M rs Meridith p rop o sed h isbeing arti

.

cled as a clerk to a lawyer in the neigh

b ou ri n g to w n and who conduc t ed h er
,

a ffair sin the neighbourhood

I look upon your children said she to ,

Mr Campbell
. as my relation s and
, ,

m ea nto assist them asfar as i sin my po w er ,

if you app ro v e of my plan Anna ; an d I ,

w ill go over to L and speak to M r Man .

sell and perhap s fo r the s

, , ake of the young
,

m an we may remain there a fe w month s

, ,

i n w hich time h e will be int roduced to

 .
TH E ADO P T E D D A U G H TE R . 137

tho se fe w acquaintance I have there and ,

I hop e h i sbehaviour will be s uch that for ,

his own sake they will notice h i m a fter we

come away .

Mr Campbell expre ssed h is thank s

. .

”
Would my so n take my advice said h e , ,

he would prefer the happy country li fe

to t h e toil sand puzzles of the law b ut he
i snow O ld enough to know his ow n mind ,

and if he p refersit I will wait o n the ge n

,

t l e m an y ou mention and both John an

,
d
mysel f will thank y ou , m adam, t o sp eak
'

i n h i sfavour John was deligh t ed it was

.

what he alwayswished ; and if M rs Meri .

dith would be so kind he would endeavour

,

not to disgrace her recommendation .

T he n earne ss o f L to D ow n ash al s
o
made it de sirable as h i s father o r brother
,

visited i t every m arke t day and he should

-
,

not feel it a s any separation fro m them .

But his three si sters were o f a di fferent

O p inion they said he would soon beco me a
N 3
138 THE A DO P T E D D A UG HT E R .

gentleman and forget them and none of ,

the family liked to lo se his society .

Anna w as surpri sed to hear M rs Meri .

dith talk O f spe n d in g a winter at L as sh e

had o fte n heard her rejoice that h e r re si
d ence w asnot nearer to it .

”
I do it said her friend
,
to she w y ou,

something o f society The world i smuch

.

the same e v ery where only as the circle

,

advance s in higher li fe di ssipation and ,

di ssolutene ssof manner stoo o ften increase ;

you have read a great deal O f what this
world i s but it i snecessary you should se e
,

something of it al so as your year s i n

,
,

crease and not gathe r a ll your in forma

,

tion from book s I know the society i n

.

a country town i sn o t con sidered either

v ery agreeable o r i mproving yet there ,

m ay be some families at L — wi t h w hom you

m ay for m a pleasant acquaintance ; and I
wi sh also t o show the neighbourhood tha t I
do indeed look upon y o u asmy daughter .
 THE A DO P T E D D AU G H T E R : 139

It i sfo r my sake then mamma y ou are

, ,

“
going to L returned Anna ; I c an
ha rdly h e ar you should leave R o sewood o n
my accoun t .

I do not expec t to meet with any thing

”
which wil l comp en sate for the change ,

said M rs Meridith ; but a little variety i s

.

nece ssary for y ou and after the seclu sio n

,

I ha v e lately lived in I c ould not bri n g

,

my sel f to venture farther fro m hom e at

p re sent ; neither woul d i t be p rudent fo r
you who mu st be gradually initiated i f
, ,

ever you j o i n the giddy round of gay life ,

”
o r it might be too much for you .

Anna replied that her whole de sire w as

to liv e as sh e hitherto had done and to ,

follow the example o f her kind friend 111

e v ery thing . If i n d e e d my dear m amm a
, ,

you intend me the p rivilege of standing i n

”
your place he reafter ,
said sh e ,
what
ought I t o be and h ow far short shal l I
fall o f y ou r goodne s s" I t w as th at alone
w hich firs t made you thi nk of m e a n d ,
140 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G H T ER .

whatever I am all I have and know I,

owe to your kindne ss O h " continue to .

me your instruction and advice that I may ,

becom e more and more like you .

T he winter was n o w fast advancing but ,

Mrs Meridith would not l eave R o sewood

.

before Chri stmas that sh e m ight enj oy ,

the fe stivity o f the season with her p oor

neighbour s w h o were fe d and clothed as
,

usual O n Chri stmas and New Year sday

.
’

Mr and M rs Campbell and a ll their

. .
,

children dined at R o sewood ; and on the

ev ening o f t wel fth day the three elder -
,

girl swith William and J ohn and a younger ,

brother about nine year so f age were again ,

invited to p artake of a cake It w asAnna s .

’

treat to them and they amused themselves

,

by singing dancing or whatever sh e

, ,

thought most agreeable to her younger

cousin s who never vi sited her excep t at
,

the se time s and on her s and M rs Meri

,
’
.

d i th s birth day which both happened i n

’
-
,

the sum mer months, lest as their father ,

 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G H T ER . 141

s
aid , it should make them di ssat isfied
”
with their situation at home w here they ,

were con stantly engaged in domestic af

fair s The elde st managed the dairy under
.
,

the direction of her mother ; and the

youngest the poultry and the care of the
n eedle work fo r her brothe ls and the
- ’
,

younger childre n chie fly devolved upon,

the second girl who u sed regularly to

,

bring what wanted mending to her mo

ther and a fter receiving her direction ssup
, ,

ply her si sters and the female servan ts with

work Mrs Campbell had two other boy s
. .
,

who supplied the place of William and

J ohn at school and there w asa little boy
, ,

and girl still younger at home .

A fter Christma s John having been i n , ,

t rod u c e d to Mr Mansell and all p re l i m i

.
,

naries settled removed to h i shou se an d

, ,

it w asagreed on that he should board with

that gentleman and in a fe w day safter ,

M rs Meridith and Anna with S yphax and

.
,

B ella and lit t le Betty with the other s

,
ex,
“
.
149 TH E A DOPT ED D AU GHTE R .

vants went into a ready furni shed hou se

,
-

fo r the winte r determined to be s

, ociable
'

with the i n habitants and to be plea sed

,

with al l t h at was intend ed to please them

f
.

T he estate which M rs Meridith po ssessed.

in the nei ghbourhood made her o f c on se

q u e n ce in L and the most re s
pectable
familie s made a p oint o f calling o n her
a fter her arrival ; and when they had been
only o n e week in the town Anna w assu r ,

p rised to find they were engaged every

evening Mrs Meridith att ended the balls
. .

with her whic h were once a fortnight ;

,

and several private dance s were give n

at di fferent houses, w here Anna was
never in want of a partner M rs Meri
‘

. .

d i th sp atronage w as enough to bring her

’

into notice ; and had sh e not a m ind well

stored with an tidotes again st it and the ,

repeated cautions of her kind uncle not to ,

b e im po sed o n by their ad ulation poor ,

Anna would have been in danger o f lo sing

all he r steadine ss of mind and the humble ,
 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 143

op inio n of her sel f which was founded 0 11

propriety .

Con sider my dear ch ild, it i sowing to

,

M rs Meridith sfavour y ou rec ei v e thi sno

.
’

tice, sai d Mr Campbell ; . he r c on s

e

q u e n ce i s such that whom sh e favour s ,

every on e who wi she sto please her think s

it nece ssary to favou r al so ; but let her
withdraw her protection and where would ,

your n o t i c e rsb e then

~

O h "you and my aunt and cousin s

”
would notice me replied she with an air
, ,

of gaiety ; e v en i f M rs Meridith gave .

me up ; unle s sI should do any thing ve ry

disgraceful indeed and even the n y ou
”
would care for m e I know , .

And so would I said John who w as

, ,

p re sent at this conversatio n ; m y c ou si n .

.

Anna would be alway sthe same to me let ,

her nam e he Meridith or E astwood or , ,

”
what it m ay .

Anna returned h i m thanks with earnest

ne ss . It i s only at R osewood an d t h e ,
144 THE ADOPT ED DAUGHTER .

farm said she

, that I expect t o m eet
,

with real friend s and my intercourse with

the world has not alienated my a ffections
from them But my dear uncle you
.
, ,

would n o t have m e quarrel with these p eo

ple becau se they do not no tice me for my
,

o w n sake B e assu re d I p rop erly estim ate

their attentions and o ften sm ile at them
,

all ; but M rs Meridith h asso o ften c an

.

t i o n e d m e agai n st giving any on e rea son to

think I treat the m with contempt that I ,

am care ful to return their ci v ility : and if

we understand each other right it p as se s , ,

l ike current coin for n o more than it is ,

”
wo rth .

“
Well m y dear replied the farmer
, , ,

smiling “
don t let i t i n c r e ase in value
’
.
, ,

and I am sati sfied R emember many p eo .

ple have been fined l ately for valuing

'

”
guineas at m or e than t hey ar e wort h .
 C H A PTE R

J O HN Ca mpbell continued much ple ase d

w ith his situa t ion , an d all his leisur e hou rs

w ere spent wi t h Mrs Meridi t h and Ann a,

.

if they we re at home ; and when t hey wer e

not S yphax and Bella were his comp a
,

n ions . As he was known t o be c ou n t e

n anced by Mrs Meridith, he wo u ld hav e
.

been invited wherever sh e was had n ot,

his father positively forbade it ; and as Mr .

Man s e l s w as a very domestic family, h e

’

w asnot withou t agreeable society i n thei r

house Whenever they dined at M rs Me

. .

r i d i t h s he was of the p arty, and j oined

’

what li tt le co mpany they had at ho me ; and

thi swasal l th e i n t roduc t ion t o t h e worl d
0
146 THE A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

John m et with nor did he wi sh fo r more ,

asthe habits o f indu s try in w hich he w as

brou ght up made him attentive to busine ss;
,

and he was very de sirous o f shewing h i s

father that the m oney advanced for him
would not be thrown away .

Anna becam e acqua i nted with several

young people in the town som e of whom
,

sh e found could be pleasing c ompanion s ,

when the conversation took a di fferent turn

than the amusements of the p receding
evening ; while others could talk o f no
thing else .

T here was only on e family who wer e of

equal consequence i n the neighbourhood
w ith Mrs M eridith but of very di fferent
.
,

sen timents ; and with the se Anna could

n o t conver se as freely aswith the re st o f her
acquaintance Th e story of her birth Mrs
. .

M eridith had not endea v oured to conceal

but i t did not appear to a ffect the behaviour
o f any on e except the Miss H unts who ,
, ,

being dis t antly a llied to nobility could n ot

,
 TH E A DO P T E D D A UG H T E R .

’
bear the idea of a plebeian s daug hter bei ng
o n a footing with them s elves .

H er father w asnobody sai d they to ,

th o se within th eir circle and I have ,

heard that he i seven now a commo n beg

gar and Mrs Meridith schoosing to ado pt
.
’

her for a daughter i sno reason sh e should

,
”
force her u pon all her acquaintance .

S he certainly i s a very romantic w o

m an but m y mam m a say s and I think s o ,
”
too , said the elde st Mi ss H unt, that
as sh e was so fond of the farmer s a n d ,

country people sh e had better have con

,

tinned among them ; and not, after con

fi n 1n g her s el f to their society for ten o r
'

twelve years have come forth again wi th

, ,

an attemp t to introduce on e of t hei r fam ily

into the world who m they say sh e h as
,

ed ucated with all the fine sentiment sand

benevolent idea s which sh e hersel f pos
”
se sse s .

S ome of Anna sfriends now e n deavour

’

e d t o take her part

. by saying she w asvery
,

o 2
148 T HE A D O P T E D D A U G H T E R .

w e ll b red ,
and had a g ood understanding
“

and t ha t she was not at all vain of Mrs .

Meri di t h s favours
’
.

“
I wonder at that, said the young lady,
for mamm a says when she called at Mrs .

Meridith s afte r sh e had taken her, there

’

was nothing talked of but the li t t le A n n a .

’
Mrs Meridith did n ot re t urn mamma s c all
.

for nearly a twelvemon t h afterwards and

refu sed every invitation which mam ma
s en t her ; so much taken up with the edu
c ation of her d arling I suppo se and sh e, ,

h as n ow brough t her forth to astoni s h

”
s ociety .

T hose of Miss H unt s p arty who w i shed ’

t o please her laughed at thi ssally o f wit

, ,

and those of Anna sfriends left t hem to

’

j oin her and Mrs Meridith who were at

.
,

another part of the room .

It was not long before Anna perceived

s ome O f her acquaintance change their
b e h av ou r toward sher for Mis sH unt w as
,

of t oo much con s equence n o t to ha ve her

 TH E A D O P T ED D AU G HT E R . 1 49

o pinion regarded by tho se who exp ec ted

,

more entertainment s at the house o f her

parent s than at Mrs Meridith s; who m
, .
’

they doubted not would soon return to

R ose w ood and there continue the same
,

s ecluded li fe sh e had l a tely lived : so that

Miss H unt s party enlarged while Anna s
’ ’
~

le ssened nor did sh e continue ig n orant of

th e cause O ne o f her young friend s who
.
,

still regarded her as worthy notice took an ,

O pportunity to hint at what Mis sH unt had

said nor did Anna a ffect to misunder stand
her .

“
I kno w said she that I am indebted
, ,

t o Mrs Meridith skindness for e v ery ad

’
.

vantage I posses s and that I have no claim

,
'

to the title O f her daughter ; my birth w as

Obscure, and my father I fear little , ,
,

worthy of that name but my mother de

served a better fate and her family was ,

respected by every o n e though they are i n ,

humble li fe and the more so for not

, ,

wi shing to step ou t o f it My uncle who se .

,

o 3
150 THE A D O P T E D D A UG HT E R .

s
en t imentswould d o honour to the high e st

s t atio n, was a father to me, till Mrs Me ri .

z

d i t h t ook m e un der her care, w hen I was too

y oung t o solicit such favour , o r even t o

t hink of it ; n or have I used any arts to

have it continued b u t t h e sense I have o f
h e r kindnes s ought t o make me grate fu l ;
n or can I think my whole life sp ent in pro

mot in g her hap piness t oo great a re t urn

”
.

Are your p aren t s both dead " as k ed

”

her friend .

“
My m other i s s aid Anna
,
’

, and I
have reaso n to think m y father also as h e ,

has not be en heard of since I w asbo rn

but it would give me great sati sfaction to
kn own he w asbecom e a bet t er man and
t hen, let h is s i t uation be ever so p oor i t ,

wo uld be my p le asure as well as my duty

, ,

t o as sist h im, as far as is in my p ower ”

.

You are cer t ainly an extraordinary

g irl , returned the young lady, bu t
should n ot y ou be ashamed to find h i m a
”
b e ggar i
 TH E A D O P T E D D A UG HT E R . 15 1

N ot unless h is ow n ill conduct h ad

”
m ade him s o replied Anna
,
but if n u
,

a voidable poverty o r ill health

,
had re ,

d u c ed him to that sta t e , he should not be

a beggar long .

Mrs Meridi th would p rev en t t h at,

.

s aid t h e other .

I have no claim upon her as I said ,

before, returned Anna an d her kind

,

nes sto me is no rea son she should exten d

her bene volence to my father ; though sh e
never sees any body in want without re
lieving them But th e education sh e has
.

given me would enable m e to gain a su p

,

port for him ; and i n t his light sh e w ou ld

”
p revent it .

Well I must again say you are an ex

,
”
t raord i n ary girl replied her visitor
, and ,

I like y ou better than ever ; such senti

m en t s as your sdes e rve regard— h ow supe
’

”
rior t o th e vai n boast O f birth and title l

Birth and title without these opinions

”
l ose h alf t heir value in my e stimation ,
'
15 2 THE A D O P T E D D A UG HT E R .

replied Anna, but with the m they re flect

honour on each other ; and do not i magine ,

because I do not po sse ssthem that I d e s ,

p ise those advantages ; these di stinctions i n

society are nece ssary and should very sel ,

dom h e broke through : y e t I am an e x c e p

tion to my o w n rule asI am well aware , ,

through M rs Meridith s kindness I a m

.
’

placed in a very di fferen t situati on from

what I should otherwi se b e
Mrs Meridith s entranc en ow interrup t
.
’

ed the conversation and Anna snew friend,

’

dep arted with an increased O p inion o f her

under standing notwithstanding sh e had
,

heard Miss H unt s ac c mm t o f her birth

’

confirmed .

T he late conversation dwelt much upon

An na s m ind but ( whether from p ride or
’

delicacy sh e could n ot determ i ne ) sh e did

not mention it to Mrs Meridith ; but the .

next time s h e was alone with her uncle ,

sh e rep eated it to him .

Well my dear, I am glad of it, said

,
 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G HT E R . 15 3

he , i t wi ll serve to keep the balance

even ; don t you remember N ancy Ward s
’ ’

remarks on t h e same occasion T hey were

of service to you an d these are only the
same in higher life, and p erhaps in more , ,

refined language D ep end upon it it is a

.
,

good thing to be made to remember ou r

selves some t imes ; and I doubt not though ,

you coul d n ot see you ne eded it and ,

t hought y o u kep t your s

el f in yo u r proper
place such help sas the se were necess ary
,

when vanity had got all her forces about

”
ou
y .

I did not think I w asgrowing vain at

all said A n na thoughtfu lly
, ,
.

N ot when Mr S uch an on e a sked y ou

.
- -

”
to dance replied he
,
and you saw that
,

Mis sH unt had selected him for a p artner

a n d when several other ladie s were solic i
”
tous for the honour o f h i shand .

D ear uncle replied Anna, hal f sm i

”
,

ling and half blushing

,
when did you ,
15 4 TH E A D O P T E D D A UG H T E R .

s
e e thi s P s
urely y ou ’
don t come to the
”
ball s .

“
No indeed , said he, returning her
,

smile but I know such things as the se

,

has it not been the case in my younge r days ,

when at some wake or fair the two rival

, ,

village girls have played the same p art "

O h "believe me the world is all al ike and
, ,

what i s acted at court o r in the higher ,

circles has its counterpart in this country

,

town and a second or third edition is

”
b rought forth in a still humbler set .

Anna smiled, an d said I do not doubt ,

it my dear uncl e ; but tell m e, was my

,

father an illiterate m an P had he at all the

app earance o f a gentleman P and w ashe
”
not hand some P
T hese two last questions would not
” “
have been asked, re turned her uncle if ,

y ou had not been at L but I will reply

t o them aswell as I am able I n the first .

place he was not uneducated he seemed

,
 TH E A D O PTED DA U G HT E R . 15 5

to know many authors and was not unac ,

q u a i n t e d with pu blic and hi s

torical event s
but he was wonderfully conceited : he called
him sel f a gentleman to your p oor mother ,

though we could never hear O f any noble

family he was allied to ; and it was h i s
handsome p erson and smart appearance ,

when in this very to w n she met with him ,

t w en ty years ago that first engaged her

,
”
a ffec t ions .

And what w ash i semployment here "

asked Anna who at this tim e could scarcely
,

h e ar her uncle s playful m anner

’
.

H e told u s said he,

that he w as
,

intende d for an apothecary and had served ,

his time to on e p erhap s asa boy in the

'

s h O p to make up medicines ; but I will

,

not say— but he must be m ore skilled in

that ar t and m ore industrious t han in
, ,

farming , t o have had any s uccess in i t ;

but the truth is he pre ferred idlenes s to
,
”
work of any kind .

And did you never hear him say w h o

156 THE A D OP T E D D A U G HT E R .

were his relations " inqu i red Anna sti ll

”
,

more inqui sitively and anxious t o gain

,

some in t el ligence o f a paren t s t ill unknown

t o her.

N O , rep lied her uncle, he told u s

he w asborn in Yorkshire, and that h ispa
rents were dead ; but once I heard him
m ention a brother w h o w as ashe said in , ,

business in London but I have consulted

,

every directory I could since m eet with,

and could never find his n ame But let u s .

talk no m ore about your father, in all p ro

hability he i s long since dead D on t y ou .
’

wan t t o hear some of ou r village news

you seem t o have forgot all your country
acquaintance aunt and cousin s and all
, , .
’

N O dear u ncle do not s

, ,
ay s o re ,

p lied Anna, how are they all "do they

wish for my return
We be gin to think your absence long ,

r e t ur ned h e, and so does all i n the v il

lage though your aun t and cousin s, agree
’
able t o Mrs Meridith s d es i re are c areful
.
,
 TH E A D O P T E D D A UG H T E R . 15 7

they should not want any comfort sh e

would allow the m if s h e was at home ; an d
,

it is ou r little Mary s busines s t o carry

’

rou nd the weekly money to the ol d and

i nfirm .

Anna said sh e believed they should soon

r eturn asMrs Meridith had n o t renewed
, .

their lodgin gs ; and that lady soon a p

p e are,d and confirmed the pleasing i n t e lli
gen ce, saying; that in the course O f ano
t her fortnight they s hould again be at
R osewood .

T he farmer gladly returned with the

we l com e n ew s and the intervening tim e
,

was spen t by the ladies in t ake leav e visits ,

and giving two o r three routs at home, to

m ake the visiting account even between ,

Mrs.Me ri d i t h and all her acq uaintance .

And t h e n , m y dear Anna said she

”
’

, ,

we will return to ou r ow n com fortable

home ; w here I doub t not we shall se e
, ,

many hap py faces at ou r approach , and all

the be autie s o f the spr ing to excite ou r
P
158 TH E ADOPT ED DA UGHTER .

f
c h e ar u l n e s
s T h e garden swil l be beauti
.

ful in a short time and I doubt not but

,

the O ld men have done their best endea

v ou rs asthey term it to make them
, ,
”
ris
h ing .
 C HA PTER "II .

AT the time ap pointed, Mrs Meridith.

an d family re t urned to R osewood ; every

o n e was pleased at the thought of once

more seeing it T he village bells rang as

.

they entered it ; and all the wo men and

childre n who were n ot at work, or at
,

school, were on the road to welcom e their

kind bene factress hom e .

Ann a shed tears on observing their si m

p l e and hearty e f
f usion so f j y
o and while
M rs Meridith nodded to one and the other
.
,

observ e d how much superior these c on g ra

t u l at i on s were, t o all the expression s O f

form and politeness they had late ly wit

ne s
sed .
160 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

We k now the value of each n ow ,

te

t urned Mrs Meridi th

. and t hese are e u
,

deared to u s fro m being consc ious that

,

we have deserved them , by ou r endeavours

”
to make the poor people happy .

You h av e my dear m amma

,
.
sai d ,

Anna p ressing her hand ; I am o nly an

instrument of your boun ty
And am I any more said Mrs Meri ,
.

dith, “
in the hands o f the Almighty "I
am highly favoured to have such a pl ace
as signed me, and a hear t t o fu lfil, in so me
”
m easure, t h e duties belonging to i t .

T he gardens and pleasure grounds of

Mrs Meridith were her chie f pleasure and
.
,

she sp ared no expen se for labour o r what ,

ever might adorn them O r render the m ,

p roductive ; but no con servatory or hot

house was added to her domains sh e was
conten t with the flowers the natural soil
would p roduce and these were brought to
,

the highest perfection cultivation would

e ffect H er fru it t oo w asof the fi nes t kind
.
 TH E A D OP T E D D A UG HT E R . 16 1

and while sh e could se e e very sort which

the season produce s o n her table sh e ,

wi shed n ot for p ine s o r m elons Almost .

as s oon as they were ou t O f the carriage ,

s h e and Anna attended by Bella S yph ax

, , ,

and little Betty visited her favourite seats

,

and walks and were pleased at finding

,

every thing in the highest order and the ,

violets and p rimro ses ready t o appear at

their feet T he mo st grate ful feelings we re
.

excited in M rs Meridith at the beau t ies

.

around her .

Can I complain thought s he,

who ,

have such a place as t hi s allowed m e, and

the means in my power to m ake so m any
"
p eople h appy the a ffection also of this
amiable girl and her family O h why did
w asa b lan k in society " and
”
1 s a
y mine ~

s he s at down and wept 0 11 the firs t seat s he

m e t with.

Anna and her young attendant had st rol

led farther but Bella p erceiving he r m i s
,

tress i n t e ars h aste n e d towards her

,
'
.

P 3
162 THE ADOPTED DAUGHTER .

Wh y do you weep dear m adam ,

said ”
1
she with the most a ffectionate attention
,
.

S it down dear Bella and I will tell

, ,
’

you said Mrs M eridith wiping her eye s

, .
,

you have witne sse d al l my sorrows, and

m uch O f repining under the m ; but I weep
now fro m a sense o f the blessing sI have
stil l left m e and with shame for my former
,
”
ingratitude .

O h , dea r lady said B ella her eyes

, ,

overflowing ,
and what h av e I been de
livered from " an d wha t dreadfu l things
did I know be fore I cam e to you and yet
my heart sometimes complains because ,

p eople do c all m e black woman ; but y ou

love m e fo r all that, an d I do wi sh t o be
more thank fu l and more u seful to y ou , my
”
d ear mi s tre ss I am n o t too old yet
, .

And w hen you are m y d e ar Bella that

, ,

will n o t alter my a ffec tion for you have I

n ot recei v ed your forme r s erv i ces "an d I
c an neve r forget you r faithfu l at tachmen t
”
to m e .
 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R . 163

I have seen so much of you r goodness ,

”
madam said Bella
,
that I do not doubt
,

i t and so h asS yphax ; we never grie v e to

,

know what will become O f u s i n old age ,

but le st we should forget what you have

”
been to us .

S yphax now brought his mistress the

first opening violet which he had been ,

c arefully looking for among the shru bs

w hic h sheltered them and Mrs Meri d ith ,
.

received it with her accustomed kindne ss

and shaking both her faith ful attend ants
by the hand she told the m she once more
,

welcomed the m to R o sewood with the sin ,

c e re s
t pleasure .

And 1 am sure I a m glad enough we

are got back again said S yphax, ,
”
fo r I
d o not like the t own at all ; the boysd iM
ru n a bout me and whi sper black man
, ,

black man to each other ; not that I d id

,

m ind th at b u t so much company and

, ,

sauc y footmen and chairmen th at I

, ,
 164 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

tho u ght to myself my good lady will be

,

soon tired of this ; and I am glad I w asnot

”
m istaken .

But my m istress knew n othing of the

”
footmen and chairmen returned Bella , ,

O b serving a smile upon her features .

N 0 more s h e did replied S yphax

,

b u t un l e ss their master sand m istre sses

were something like hersel f I am sure sh e
,

could n ot like t he m and if they h ad been ,

I conclude they would n o t have kep t such

a se t O f unruly servan t s ; and, therefore I ,

suppose, my lady did not like those she m e t

there any m ore than I did
,

Mrs Meridith told him ,

.
y o u are right,

good S yphax there was nothing at L to

,

compensate for leaving R osewood at thi s

m of the year
Tu /
”
.

n ow rej oined her kind friend and ,

to the house resolving to,

r part o f t h e ground s after

dinner"
 THE ADOP TED DA U G HT E R . 165

In th e aftern oon , M r and MrsC am pb e ll

. .

c ame t o express their p l easure at M rsM e .

r i d i t h sre t urn and while they sat with

’

her Anna went to see her cousi n s and give

, ,

t hem an accoun t of John H er absence

.

fro m them had made no di fference in her

behaviour ; on the contrary her regard fo r ,

t he m was increased when she contrasted

,

t h e plain simplicity o f their m anner s to ,

tho s e o f the gay ladies with whom she h ad

lately a ssociated .

We shall now have an oppor tunity o f

”
obser vi ng ,said Mrs Meridith to M r
. .

Campbell ,
whe th er Anna really prefer s
my quiet life t o the plea sures of the to w n .

B efore t his visit s h e kne w no other b u t ,

now if she does n o t re c h r to the scene ssh e

has left with a wi sh to return to them & ,

will gain still more of my confide n ce and

esteem ”
. 4
Mr Campbell said he thought she would
.

not ; and he was not mis t aken , for t hough ,

166 TH E ADOPTED DAU GHTE R .

Anna O ften t alked O f the balls and rou ts ,

it was only t o say how far p referable t h e

woods and walks about R osewood were ;
and which were every day i mp rovin g .

T hose of her acquaintanc e in the town ,

who could p roperly estimate her character ,

though sh e was so meanly born, and the

”
beggar sbrat, which was t h e ap pellation
’

sh e was now generally known by a mongst ,

the O pposite party were happy t o accept

,

M rsM e ri d i t h sinvitation t o vi sit them dur

.
’

ing the summer and Anna had often on e

o r t w o young friend s t o s t ay with her

though she could never be p ersuaded to

leave Mrs Meridith t o return their visits
.
,
.

In the course o f the next thre e or four

years Mrs Meridith and her usual retinue
,
.

v isi ted the great metropolis, and almost

made the tour of E ngland in order to ,

she w Anna every thing worth noticing in

her native cou ntry and teach her duly to
,

ap preciate the comforts and ad van tag e s

 T HE A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 16 7

which are attached to it as well as i t s ,

numberless beauties and variety of scenery

, .

Willi am C ampbell and sometimes John

, ,

when he could be spared fro m the o ffi ce ,

accompanied them in several o f the se ex

c u rs i on s they vi sited the D ock yards at
'
-

P ortsmouth and the d i ffere n t m an u fac t o

,

r 1e s l n the towns they p assed through as , ,

in whatever Mrs Meridith propo sed i m

.
,

p rovement was blended with amu sement .

L ittle Betty n o w bega n to be a great

girl and could read write and work as
, , ,
’

well asany child of her age ; and sh e p ro

m is e d fair to be what Mrs Meridith wished .

to make her ( after the model of Bella) a ,

fai t h fifl and a ffectionate servant ; but s he

w a snot allowed to forget her father ( whose
health still continued very poorly ) and his ,

family E very p resen t s

. h e received from
the young ladies who visited Anna she ,

c arried the largest part to them and when , ,

at ten years o ld MrsMeridith, wishing to

,
.
168 TH E ADO PT ED DAUGHTER .

reward her dutiful behaviour t o him al ,

lowed her to receive a yearly recomp enc e

fo r her services he had his share of wha t
sh e called her wages H er eldest si ster
.

con tinued in M rs Campbell s family till

.
’

sh e married an d the rest o f th e family

,

were all put i n a w ay to ge t their living .

 ( 169 )

C HA PTE R "II .

W E are now going to relate an event in ,

which our heroine had need o f al l the ex

e r t ion and fortitude whic h the education

s h e h ad rece ived had s o forcibly i neul

c at e d
. H er mother s grave w asal w ays an
’

O bj ect Of attention to her ; and though no

pompous monument adorned the place or ,

flattering eulogy ap peared on the simple

stone which stood at its head ( her name ,

and age with the date o f the year in

‘

which sh e di ed being all that was e n

,

graved there ) Anna regarded it with i n

,

t e re s because it was all she h ad ever

'

,
t

known of her p arent ; and ne v er p assed it

without reflecting on her birth and think,

ing of he r father ; and it was on this ve ry

O
170 T HE A D OP T E D D A U G H T E R .

spot she was destined to meet him whom ,

s h e had s o O ften wished to hear O f and ,

who for twenty years had made no inquiry

after her .

S he was on e autumnal evening walking

through t h e church yard rather later than
-

usual an d alone ; having left Betty who

, ,

had come out with her at her father s t o

,
’

a ssist in preparing her younger sister s ’

c l o the s who was just then going ou t to

,

service for the first time ; it was twilight ,

and sh e stepp ed ou t o f the p ath on per

’
c e i v i n g s omething near her mother s grave ,

which sh e could not distinguish without

app roaching nearer As s h e advanced s
. he
saw a man stoop ing down as i f to read ,

what was written on the stone and which ,

the dimness of the e vening scarcely al

lowed him to se e Hi s whole attention
.

was engrossed and he did n o t hear her

,

footstep .

Anna E astwood, said he daughter

,

o f Wil liam and Mary Campbell -

Ah that
 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 17 1

i s her But is ther e no other n ame "Is

.

there n o t another A n na E astwood "Did I

n ot hasten the death of my child also "
”

Anna heard no mor e, but overcome by

the suddenne ss o f the di s covery uttered a ,

faint s cream and fell senseless on the turf .

T he man started from his reverie and per

c e i v i n g by her white dress where s h e lay ,

at that moment lost to all animation as t h e

dead by which s h e w as surrounded ; he
hastened to her re l i e f an d raising her in, ,

his arms without the l east idea h o w near

,

sh e was al lied t o him H e supported her

.

and himse lf against the tomb sto n e t ill ,

h e r faint brea t hings in form ed h i m s h e re

v iv ed . At this moment a labouring man
p assed along the p ath and E as t wood
called to him .

Come here my friend said he

,
and , ,
”
a ssi st this young lady .

G racious me exclaimed the man, on

percei v ing w h o she w as it is Mi s s Meri ,
~

d ith "
‘

-
H ow did sh e com e here at thi stime
.

Q 2
172 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

of t h e night "Is she very bad continu e d

he on observing her tremble and l ooking
, ,

wildly aro und .

D on t you know me Miss — poor

’

T homas — D on t be frightened n obody

’

,
”
shall hurt you ; did this man attemp t i t 9

O h no replied Anna who had n ow

,
”
, ,

gained he r recollection and scarcely able

,

to re frain from declaring he w as her fa

ther ; but re flecting on M rsMe rid i th su n
.
’

easines sat her s tay she exp re ssed a wish

,

t o go home .

Can you walk Madam " said the

,

stranger, gathe ring fro m her appearance ,

and the m anner i n which the labourer re

garded her, that she was in a sup erior si
t u ati on . Will you allow m e to assis t
you "I am a stranger here o r would ,

o ffer to call som e o n e but p erhaps this

,

m an can procure you a conveyance

“
I shan t leave her alone with a strange r
’

s aid T homas who knows what you m ay

” ”
be P Who indeed l t hought Anna
, ,
 T HE A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 173

wi th a heavy sigh or what y ou have

"
done to her S he a n t used t o be soon ’ ’

frightened Miss Meridith i snone O f your

”
timid hearted young ladies
-
.

”
Indeed I am not returned Anna ;
,
I
am able to walk now and i f you will ac ,

company m e to R osewood I w ill thank ,

you, T hom as .

That " will Miss replied he

, ,
I will ,

see you safe home ; and be glad y ou be a

lit t le more like yourself again .

And will y ou not p ermit me, Madam ,

t o assi s t y ou repeated the stranger I

do not think you can walk without sup
”
p ort.

I would wish I should be obliged

,
-

returned An n a in hurried accents and he r

, ,

agi t ation became again s o great that sh e ,

involuntarily rested on his arm to recover

hersel f .

I fear I have greatly alarm e d y ou ,

said he bu t I am sure it was un i n t e n

,
” ’
t i on ally . I h O pe that s true thought ,

0 . 3
174 THE A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

T homas who stood watching him as nar

,

row ly asthe twiligh t would permit .

H ow far are we fro m this lady shome "

” ’

a sked the stranger .

O h n ot above a quarter of a m ile ,

”
said T homa s if sh e could b u t walk
,
.

”
I can now said An n a
,
and I will ,
”
accep t your o ffer S ir S he then ad
, .

v an c e d ,
leaning on her fa ther sarm her ’
,

heart beating all t h e way with an emotion

not to be expres s e d and T hom as on the
,

other side of her .

N e i ther O f the m spo ke a wo rd till as , ,

they en tered the gate which led to the

house they met S yphax coming out in
,

s e arch o f h i syoung l ad y
O "my dear Mi ss said he ,
“
I am ,

glad y ou are co me ; we have been qui te

”
une asy at your staying so la t e .

T homas was the only o n e who coul d

speak s, o ast o account for i t and h i srela ,

tion was so unconnected and s o fu ll of h i s

,

surpr i se at finding Mi ssMeridith i n the

 TH E A D O P T E D D A UG H T ER . 175

church yard alone with a strange man

-
,

that littl e could be learnt from it except ,

that as he said he was determined not to

leave him with her again o r he would ,

have ran and called s o mebody ; fo r whic h

he was reward e d with some good ale by
S yphax and a handsome p resent fro m Mrs
, .

Meridith .

When they entered the hall where the ,

lamp w as already lighted Anna and her ,

'

conductor fir st saw the faces of eac h other ;

but without that emotion on h isside which
it occ asioned 0 11 her s And i sthi smy fa
’
.

ther sh e was re ady to exclai m ; but

'

checking herself sh e desired S yphax to

,

s he w him into the p arl our ; and begging

h i m to wait till s he s aw hi m again s he ,

ran o r rather flew up stairsinto MrsMe

, .

ri d i t h s apartmen t
’
who w as anxiou sly
,

w aiting her return ; and without giving

her time to say a word sh e threw her ar m s

,

about her neck and , Oh "

Mamm a, I have seen my father " ”
176 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

For a moment M rs Meridith w asappre .

h e n si v e that her s en ses were affected but

'

when sh e saw the tear s which ac c o m p a

n ied her declaration and her pale yet ex , ,

p ressive fa ce sh e could not disbelieve her

,

but begging her to be composed sh e placed ,

her on the sofa and then shutti ng the door

,

O f the r oom sh e seated her sel f by her

,

side and desired to hear more of what had

,

p assed .

T his i s an event s aid sh e which , ,

was not unl ikely t o happen if you r father ,

yet lived but tell me where did you meet "

and are you sure it w ashim " T h e c alm

”

nes s with which Mrs Merid i th spoke ex .

,

tended itsel f i a a little time t o Anna and ,

s h e related what had p a s sed at her mo

th e r s grave with as m uch composure as
’

could be exp ected .

T hen he do es not know you as his

d aughter sai d Mrs Meridith You had .
,

great re solution n o t to di scover y oursel f

’

a n d l am glad o f it i she now below .

 TH E A DO PT E D DA U GHT ER . 177

Ye s
,
replied Anna and what sha ll
,

I do If he m akes any inquiry in the vil

lage he will soon find o u t who I am and
t hen
What then said Mrs Meridith he .
,

may be a re formed man and what you ,

have already witne ssed seem s to promi se

i t ; I will go and talk to him and if b v h is ,

conversation I find him a di fferent m an

fro m what he once w as you may ye t have
,

rea son to rej oic e in your father .

And may n ot I go too asked Anna .

If you can command your feelings t o

h ear t h e account he m ay give O f himself,
”
without discovery, I have no O bjection ,

replied Mrs Meridith

. .

I think I can after what has already

,

”
p assed, said Anna : pray let me go ; I
will no t say a word ; and they descended
to the parlour together .

T he S tranger rose at their entrance ;

while Anna shru nk behind her prot e c
tress Hi sappearance was not un in t erest
.
178 TH E A D O P T E D D AU G HT E R .

ing and thoug h a deep m elancholy sat

,

upon his features it might be seen he had

,

once been hand som e he looked older than

he really w as and h i s clothes and addres s
,

evince d him to be above a c om m on per

s
on .

”
be seated S i r said MrsMeri
P ray , , .

dith ,
I am com e to thank y ou for your
a ssistance to Miss Meridith ; I hop e m y
servan t has n o t neglected to o ffer y ou som e
”
r efre shm ent and sh e rang the bell T he
,
.

S tranger bowed and declined taking any

‘

thing ; and hoped the young lady w asquite

recovered .

Anna slip smoved but her p ale and agi

’

f ated countenance told him she was not .

When S yphax entered he repleni shed the ,

fire and plac ed something to eat and drink

s
,

on the table but till the S tranger re

,
g

fu s ed i t .

Are you quite unknown in the vi llage ,

S ir a sked M rs Meridith. .

A t p re sent Ifam Madam ; but I ex ,

 T HE A D OP T E D D A U G H T E R . 179

p e c t to meet I hav e been acquainted

—

here he hesitated and was again silent ,

.

You will think my question svery i m

p ertinent S ir ,
resumed M rs Meridith
, .
,

i f I do not tell you tha t I take your

”
name to be E astwood .

And i s it possible any o n e can know

me exclaimed the man and covering h i s ,

face with his hand O h do not say you

do for I am truly a shamed of what I have
’
been fi
You the person I took you for
a re ,

replied Mrs Meridith looking a ffection

.
,

ately at Anna whose tears flo w e d a fresh ;

,

yet as much altered perhaps in mind as , ,

”
in p erson .

More, more I hope Madam replied , , ,

he with emotion I am ashamed of what

I have been ; but how could you know me
”
I do not recollect any on e like you .

”
P erhap sn o t replied sh e ; b u t I h av e
,

heard O f y o u from Mr Campbell . .

O h "then you must desp ise and ha t e

180 TH E A DO P T E D D A U G H T E R .

me "said he, again hiding his face But .

indeed I am not what 1 was and can you

tell m e ”
added he
,
who are alive o f
,

that family " Is there any o f my name

among them " and he looked with eager
”

a t tention fo r her answer -

.

“
N one that I know o f replied Mrs , .

M eridith the old farmer and his wife

are both dead ; a n d their eldest son is mar
”
ried and h asa large family
,
.

But are they a ll h i sow n children "”

repeat ed the man with great ea rnestness

has he n ot on e O f m ine " His distres s
”

was so great that M rs Meridith forgetting .

,

the caution sh e had given Anna c ould not ,

help endeavo u ring to relie v e it by reply

N o but have,
I is her — t ha t .

I t w asn ow Anna s turn to support her’

father for he sunk back motionle ss i n the

,
.

chair only u ttering

,
It is impo ssibl e
,

S h e fl e w to w ards him , and bathed his

face with h er tear s whil e she hung Ove r
,
 THE A D O P T E D D A UG H T E R . 18 1

him with inexpre ssible pleasure and emo

tion When a little revived he exclaimed
.
, ,

“
and have you been a mother to her when , ,

through my inhumanity sh e had lost her ,

ow n 2
’
O h what a merciful P rovidence
,

has watched over my child " when I wret ch ,

that I was w astotally unmindful of her "

,

In thi sway he kept soliloquizing while he ,

looked first at one and then the other and ,

then repeated his thank sto the Almighty .

But can my child forgive me " con ”

tinned he very impas sionately

, .

”
D o not ask it my father 1 said Anna
, ,

then first venturing to throw her arms —

around him and calling h i m by that e n

,

dearing nam e ; do not ask i t — I am only ,

thankfu l t hat I am permitted to se e you as

y ou are ; I have n o w no other w i sh but
t o evince my ardent gratitude to Mrs .

Meridith for all her kindne ss to m e ; you

”
must help m e to do it my father ,
.

An d you my child mu s , t instruct m e

,

how said he ; for till very lately I hav e

,

R
 189 THE A D O P T E D D AU G HT E R .

been little used to any thing commendable .

S u ffer me to embrace y ou an d receive a ,

father who though he h asbut little t o ofl e r

, ,

y ou, h as an earne s
t de s ire t o make you all
the recompense in h i spower for his former
”
conduct towards y ou .

Anna could only answe r him with tears

an d while the whole p arty were thu se u

g aged Mr Campbell entered the room

, .
,

h aving heard p art O f Anna s adventure

’

from T homa s ,
who o n h i
,
s retur n home ,

repor t ed it through the v il lage h o w he ,

h ad me t Miss Meridith in the church yard -

almo st as dead as a stone and a strange ,

”
m an with her ; and he hastened up to
know the truth of it .

O n his entrance Anna looked at Mrs

,
.

Meridith t o an n ounc e her father and then ,

at him to ob serve if h e recollected her

,

u ncle : w hich he immediately did an d ,

t u rn ing away h i sface h e u ttered in a low

, ,

voice ,
Ho w richly have I d e s erved thi s
shame "O h , how shall I h e a r i t " M r ”
.
 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 183

Campbell scountenance w asall astoni sh

’

m ent and anxiety .

“
P ardon my intr u sion , Madam s aid he , ,

to Mrs Meridith
. but hea ring Anna w as
,

ill I came to se e i f i t was so ; I did not

,
”
know you had co mpany .

”
A strange r replied Mrs Meridith
,
.
,

evidently much e mbarrassed .

H im w h o w aswith Anna "a sked Mr

”
.

Campbell scarcely knowing what to think

,
.

G ood H ea v en s" " ”

what can b the m atter
e

O h my fath e r
, exclaimed A nna ,

perceiving him almos t sink ing with shame

and confu sion .

Your father " repeated Mr Campbel l

”
.

in amazement can it be him i sit E ast

,
”
wood 9
Oh look not on m e " said the humi
,
”

li at e d man I kno w y ou mu st dete st m e "

,
”

”
Mr C ampbell can forg i v e said Mrs
.
, .

Meridith feeling much at his distre ss

, .

” 3‘
N o t m e not m e ,
replied he I can
, ,
”
not forgive myself .
184 TH E A D O P T E D D A UG H T E R .

T he farmer stood in silent astonishment ,

while Anna took h i shand and with an i m ,

p l o r i n g look said my father is not wha t

,

he was my dear uncle he is sensible of

, ,

his faults can you desire m ore

No my child I am n ot appoin t ed his
, ,

j udge or his punisher ; his crimes have

,

been their own pun i shment I doubt n ot ,

here a sigh o r rather groan fro m the

, ,

poor man witnessed the t ruth of hi st e

,

m ar k
.

L et m e then join your h ands said ,

Anna with emo t ion an d drawing t hem

, ,

towards each other ; my dear uncle you ,

have suppli ed the place of a father to m e,

”
and now my father thanks you .

O n my knees I do said Eas t wood ;

m ay your kindness meet wi t h i t sdue re
ward .

And are you indeed an altered m an " ”

replied Campbell Over co me by his con

,

t ri t i on
,
then to my heart I can recei v e
”
you and let all that i spast be forgot ten .
 ADOPTED D AUG HTER
"

TH E . 185

U nless my future conduct should re

mind y ou O f it ,
”
said E a stwood,
an d
”
then bani sh me fro m you r society for ever
.

T he re st Of the evening w as spent i n

mutual inquirie s an d ~An n a li stened with
,

an agitated mind to the brie f accoun t

father gave o f his former life
.
 C HA PTER "IV .

A F T ERleaving Dow n ash said E ast

,

“
wood ,
I went as was reported to s
, ea , ,

and what passe d there I would willingly

h ide from all my friends su ffice it to say ,

though I always wished to be considered as

a gentleman my manners were so di ffe
,

rent from what p roperly belongs to that

-

characte r that none would admit m e into

,

their comp any ; and I associated with the

lowest of the crew ; sp ending my time as
they did, and oftener d runk than sober But .

'

let me pass over what it p ains me to remem

ber ; I was more than once o r twice nearly
drowned by m y own temerity ; and t w o
o f the ship sin which I was were wreck e d ,
,

from whic h I narrowly escaped w i th my

 T HE A D O P T E D D A U G H T ER . 187

li fe . nearly eighteen years I lived t hi s

For
m iserable life ; discharged from s hip to
s hip on accoun t of my behaviour till at the ,

end of that time I con t rac te d a very sev ere

i llness which brought me a little to my
,

sense s I w asconfined to my b ed with a

.

rheumatic fever nearly t w elve months ;

three of which I was 0 11 board a vessel
which put m e on shore at H ull in Yor k ,

s hire ; and though it was i n this country

that I was bo rn I did not know I had any
,

relation s le ft there fo r I am ashamed to

,

s ay , I had never inquired fo r them

:
On .

my firs t setting ou t in life being taken ,

fro m home very early an d the favourite O f,

m y schoolmaster, who o v errated my abi

li t i e swhe n he recom mended me t o a medi
ca l friend of his to te a ch m e the p rofe s
,

s ion ; I thought myself m uch above t h e

re st of my family ; and on coming to Lon
don with my new m aster I soo n forgot ,

them all But I am dep arting from my

.

story and relating the follies o f m y youth

,
 18 8 TH E A DOPT ED DAUGHTER;
instead O f those O f riper age Alas what .

a retrospection i smine "You Mr Camp ,

.

bell can look back on a well spent life I

,
-

only on in famy " H is silence spoke his

”

di stre ss ; and Mr Camp bell wi shing to

.
,

relie v e it said ,

“
I think I have he ard you mention a
”
bro t her .

“
And it i s to that brother replied ,

E a stwood next t o D i v ine P rovidence

, ,

that I am what I now am When " . fir st

kn ew you I was a shamed o f him and my ,

p ride made m e tell you an untr u th (O h ,

that pride should de scend to such m ean

ne ss in saying that he was in busine ssfor
him sel f ; but at that time he w asonly a
shop man an d not being o f so di ssipated
,

and idle a turn as I w as we never m et ,

during t h e tim e I me ntioned When I was .

put On shore at H ull quite a strange r

, ,

though within a fe w m ile so f my native

place ve ry ill and without t h e u se o f my
, ,

limb s o r any money in my pocket ex

, ,
 T HE A D OP T ED D A UG H T E R . 189

cept a very small overplus Of my p ay ,

which w asleft after discharging the su r

’
geon s bill, who at t ended me on board ; my
"

conduct had n ot been such asto gai n me

any friends in the ship , and but for the
humanity of on e of the common sailors,
who got me a lodging at a small public
hou se I must have perished i n the stree t s
, .

But what I s u ffered w aslittle v e ry little to

,

what I deserved And now I had time to

.

look back and reflect on the past though ,

I would have drowned re fl ection as I had

oft en done before had not the peop l e of t h e
,

house refused t o bring me an y l i qu or I w i s

h .

to shorten my ta l e asmuch as I can and will ,

only say that my brother who had opened

, ,

a shop in H ull and was very p rosperous in

,

business heard my name ; and h i scompa s

,

sion induced him to come and see if it was

his brother, who was formerly ashamed to
call him by that name but poor and ,

wretched asI w as he w asn ot ash amed O f

,

me . H e removed me to h i s ow n house ,
190 T HE A D O P T ED D A U G HT E R .

where both him sel f and his wi fe treated

-

me with the kinde st attention .

”
O h h o w is it
, said h e interrup ting
, ,

h i sn a rrative how i sit that all my life

, ,

through I have met with the kinde st treat

m e nt from tho s e of whom I le ast deserv ed
it P and now agai n I exp erience it what
can I say for myself "
T he be st medical aid was p rocured me ,

and I h ad su fficient ti m e as I said before

, ,

to reflect o n my p ast li fe ; and b i t t e r re

fl e c t ion s t hese were I seem ed now for
.

the fi r st time to recollect that I had a

'

d aughter ; and when s u ffi ciently recover

e d to undertake the j ourney I told my ,

b rother I was determined to find her i f sh e ,

was alive I p re ferred coming in p er son

.

to writing becau s, e I could say nothing

good of mysel f ; but my brother told m e,
that contrary to every appearance i n our
,

younger days my fat h er had pro sp ered in

,

the small farm he rented when I le ft him “

an d had left what li t tle property he died

 TH E A DOP T E D D A U G H T E R . 19 1

po sses sed o f b etween us

, Your sh are .
‘
,

and the intere st due upon it since h i s

death said he
’

,
‘
hall be your s o n your
s ,

return t o Hull and should you be so for

t u n ate ast o find your child alive let me ,

ad vi se you to settle it on her ; and i f my

'

hopes o f your r e formation are realized it ,

may still be in your power to add to it by

an attention to bu sine ss i n whatever line ,

you choo se to enter .

’

I thanked him for h i s generosity

and advice determined not to accept the
,

former unle s
,
s I found my child in a situ
ation that n eeded it .

I only arrived in thi s v illage about si x

hour s back and a sh amed and a fi ai d t o
, ,
'

make any inquiry my first vi sit w asto the

,

grave o f my wi fe thinking that i f my

,

child was al so dead I should se e her name

,

upon t h e same stone ; and then whether I

should have p roceede d to your hou se o r
not I cannot tell but accident th rew my
, ,

child i n my way at t h e very spot I went t o

192 THE A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

look for her, though I had n ot the least

idea of who she was but thought m y ,

appear ance had alarmed h e r as sh e w as ,

p assing by .

Y our words my dear father , said ,

‘
An n a,
.
f
assured me who you were before ,

u saw me ; and it was seeing you indi s

y o

t i n c tly o n that spot which has always been

,

dear to m e and will n ow be m u ch more

,

s o, whi ch led m e nearer to it, that I might

”
discover what it w as .

And now t h e father and daugh t er, an d

indee d the whole p arty rej oiced at their ,

meeting, and the evening was far advanced

before Mr Campbell recollected that h i s
.

wi fe would be anxiou s to hea r who the

stranger w as and hastened home to i a
,

form her A bed was provided for E ast

.

wood i n M rs Me ridith s house and a

.
’

ser v ant sent to the public hou s e fo r the -

things he had brought with him Bella .

and S yphax were informed who he w as ,

and it w assoon spread through the village ,

 TH E A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 193

’
that Miss An n a s father was come and ,

that he was quite a gentleman and seemed ,

”
very sorry for his past behaviour .

Most of the old folks who remembered

his m arriage repaired the next morning
,
’
to Mr Campbell s to know if it was really
.
,

so ; and nothing but h i sdeclaring that he

had forgiven him and hoped tha t he was

,

a re formed man could have p revented

,

their bestowing some invectives on him ,

fo r his conduct to such a nic e young w o
man as p oor Anna Campbell w as and h i s ,

neglect of his daughter : bu t when in about

an hour a fterwards they saw him walk
,

through the village with Anna on his arm

, ,

and O bserved h i s de j ected and melancholy

looks they altered their opinion and
, ,

thought farmer Campbell was right .

It i sa long lane that has no turning ,

said on e old m an he look svery sorrow

fu l and may be a good father yet ; we ha v e
,

”
all s omething to be forgiven .

But will he take Miss Meridith away " ”

194 TH E ADO PT ED DAUGHT ER .

w as the eager inquiry of al l the younge r

one s: What shall we do then " And ”

great was the an x i e t v and con ster n ation in

the village till they kne w what would be
,

th e re sult of thi sstrange occurr ence .

Anna a fter accompanying her father to

the farm le ft him there a nd returned to
, ,

M rs Meridith ; while all her movement s

.

were as minutely watched by the young

villager s as tho se o f the E m peror Alex
,

ander and ou r other illu striou s V i sitor s ,

when they lately honoured E ngland with

their p resence .
 C HA PTE R "V .

WH E N E astwood w a stold by Mr Camp .

bell what were M rs Meridith s intention s

.
’

toward shis child and that sh e had really

,

adop ted her ashe r ow n he scarcely knew ,

whether to lam e n t o r rej oice at it I t is .

true said he
, ,
’
I don t deserve the com
fort o f her society but I had allo w ed m y
,

sel f to hope that i f s

, h e was s pared my ,

latter dayswould have made up to her my

ast cond ct : but Mrs Meridith and y ou
p u .

”
have t h e greatest claim to her added b e ,
,

with a sigh . Yo u have performed a

”
parent spart I only bore the name
’
.

Mr Campbell then related M rs M e ri

. .

d i t h s history an d that Anna s attentio n

’ ’

5 2
196 THE A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R .

see med absolutely nece ssary to make her

“
forget her gri efs . Lo n g may sh e be
”
p reserved to u s continued he
,
but I
,

have o ften heard her say, that at her death

t his adop t ed daughter s hould be the m i s

tress of R osewood ; and O f w hom can sh e

learn the du t ie sof such a situa t ion so well
”
as fro m her presen t instru ctress P
E astwood remained silent and his min d
,

seemed agi t ated w ith a variety of emo t ions .

S etting intere st aside, said he, my

”

du ty and my gratitude would not allow m e,

to take her from such a home : but Mrs .

Meridith mus t not be incumbered with m e

bec ause she h as taken my daughter ; and
yet I should like to witness her goodnes s ,

an d to live where I could have such ex

amples before me as y ou and her O h " .

h ad I n ot forfeited every clai m to your

friend ship, I migh t have been still an i n
habitant of this quiet vi llage and blessed
,

as you are with a wife and family abou t

me .
 THE A D O P T E D D A UG HT E R . 19 7

S pare the se self recriminations my ,

”
d ear brother said Campbell
, they are ,

only painful to your sel f and m e ; i f y ou

think you could like the situation, you
”
might return to the farm you le ft .

O h no "
,
n o t that
”
returned E a stwood
, ,

the remembrance would be too painful

be side s I am too ignorant of farm ing and
, ,

to o O ld to learn my brother likewise has , ,

”
a claim upon me .

An d a ve ry great o n e replied Camp ,

bell ; but I suppo s e h i m to be indi fferen t

where you se ttle so you d o not return to
,

your former habit s What think you o f .

you r fir st pro fes sion " I should imagine

that study and practice would make it easy
”
to y ou .

I have alway sthought o f returning to

that, said E astwoo d whenever bu sine ss
,

w astalked O f and did I know o f any O pe n

,

ing should be glad to accep t it

,
.

If you allow m e to ad v ise y o u re ,

“
s umed Campbell it would be to e nte r
,

5 3
 A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R
'

198 TH E .

in to p artnership with som e on e already

”
e stablished .

T his was certainly the best plan and it ,

was agreed that they would talk farther

on t h e s ubj ect another day ; in the m ean
time M r Campbell was to make inquiries
.
,

and Mrs Meridith w as informed of thei r

.

intention .

’
I t met with her and Anna s concurrence
’

who only hoped a situation might be found

not very distant from them and agreeable ,

t o her wi s he s Mr Cam pbell soon heard

, .

of a medical man i n v e ry good p ractice

v

at L who was desirous o f taking a

partner who was a fe w years younger than
him self .

E astwood readily accep ted the prO posal

the money which he was to ad v anc e w as
agreed o n and t his w asall he would ac cep t
,

fro m h i s brother ( who was m ade ao

q u a i n t e d by letter o f all that had passed ) ,

as his share of their father s prop erty ; ’

intending if he w ass u ccess fu l in hi snew

,
 TH E A D O P T ED DAU G HT E R . 199

u nder taking to repay it h i m as a sm all

, ,

return for his kindness in receiving an d

supporting h i m during his illn ess .

T ill this was se t tled Mrs Meridith s

, .
’

ho u se was his home ; and Anna had frequent

oppor t uni t ies o f observ ing tha t her father
po sse ssed both talents and genius which ,

n o t even the wretched way in which he

h ad s p ent great p art of his li fe could

o bliterate H e had received a liberal edu
.

c ation both from the wi sh of his p arents

,

to give their children that which them

sel v es had felt the want of and the favour
,

o f h i sinstructor who admired his abilitie s

, ,

and hoped that they would have led him

to greater thing sthan his fa t her intended .

But notwiths tanding these advantages

, ,

E astwood had to begin the world when

between forty and fifty years old ; because
he did not prop erly value them at the first .

T he p rai ses h i s abilities obtained gave ,

him a high O pinion of himself but thi s ,

did not keep h i m fro m the mo st odiou s

200 THE A D O P T E D D A UG HT E R .

vice s; he su ffered his inclination to shine

i n company and to appear greater than he
,

really w as till finding that he w asn ot so

highly thought of by others asby himsel f ,

he sunk into the op po site extreme and ,

had it not been for the reflection socca sio n

ed by a severe illness and the sub sequent
,

occu rrence s h e would have remained a

,

di sgrace in stead o f a benefit to society ,

and among the lo w e st and vilest of h isfel

low creatures ins t ead of filling the place
,

for which h i s education had fitted him .

I n the evening before h e le ft R o se

wood to go to his n e w situation M rs , .

Me ridith put an hundred p ound no t e into

An n a shands
’
. I n eed n o t tell you what
to do with it my c hil d said sh e ;
,
”
, I hop e
it will be well bes t owed and we shall the n
,

have the plea sure o f seeing a fello w crea

”
ture re stored to society .

Anna in tremblin g accents thanked her

kind benefactre ss an d h a stened to p resent
,

i t to her fa ther asM rs Me ridith s gi ft

’
. .
 T HE A D O P T E D D AU G HT ER . 20 1

Iwant words to thank her said b e , ,

b u t it is t oo much do y ou think I dare

be trusted with such a sum
I hop e s o my fa t her replied Anna
, , ,
”
and double that had I it to give you
, .

O h my child money is not what I

,
”
wa n t, said he ; do you think I am n ow
enter i ng on business with a view to ob t ain
it " No : but from a wi sh O f employment ,

and of being use fu l t o my fellow crea t ures .

E very thing else is u seless to m e now y ou

are p rovided for ; and oh "my Ann a h ow ,

amply "Wha t a friend have you found in

Mrs Meridith
. May you and I be eve r
grateful to her .

I n the course of the next yea r, Anna ,

w ith her fa t her and their kind fr iend Mrs .

Meridith visited H ull and were introduce d

, ,

t o her uncle whom they found what the

,

former had described an i nd u strious and

,

benevolent man plain in his m anners, but

,

an honour t o the station b e filled : and o n

their re t urn to R osewood Mrs Meridith , .

20 2 TH E A D O P T E D D AU G H T E R .

celebrated Anna s coming o f age with all

’

t h e festivity incident to the occasion .

T he poo r were feast ed, and the bells

we re rung but Anna s heart w asn ot vain
,
’

l y elated by the s cene ; the re c ollection o f

’
her birth and her father s p as t l ife check
, ,

ed her ri sing p ride ; while the calm se date

ness which sat on her uncle s brow and ’

the proprie t y o f the sentimentshe uttered ,

together with her father s humility and ’

earne st de sire to render h i s latter days .

m ore serviceable to m ankind t aught her ,

’
the jus t value of this world s good ; and
fro m M rs Meridith ( whose benevolenc e
.

entered into every plan sh e propo sed, and

every action o f her li fe ) sh e learnt d u ly
,

t o app reciate it ; but as the means of as s i st "

ing other s o r in other words as sh e had

, , ,

o fte n told her when a child the way to ,

be happy ourselves is to add to the happi

”
nes s o f other s not to take from it
,
.

In a fe w yearsshe married a gentleman

who w as a dis t an t rel ation of Mrs Me rl . ,
 THE A D O P T E D D A U G HT E R . 20 3

d i th s
’

,
and whose fortune w asequal to her
o w n ; and that lady and her father had

the plea sure of seeing her fulfil the dutie s

o f a wi fe and mother as t h e education s
, he
had received allowed them to expect .

M rs Meridith lived to an adva n ced age

.
,

and Anna never forgot the attention that

w as due to her and which sh e hoped to
,

receive from her ow n children when sh e

mo st needed it .

H er father neve r enti rely recovered h i s

health ; but h i s charac t er which to him ,

w as far more desirable w as p er fectly r e,

t ri e v e d ; and he died lamented by m any

who exper i e n ced h i s attention and w as ,

plea sed with h i ssociety .

Bella and S yphax both died before M rs .

M eridith w as taken fro m the world ; and

Bet sey continued Anna s servant a fter sh e
’

w asm arri e d .

M r and M rs Campbell li v ed some years

. .

a ft er the m arriage o f their niece and h ad ,

the satis faction of seeing their three elde st

20 4 T HE A DO P T E D D A U G HT E R .

daughters happ ily m arried and settled in ,

the neighbouri ng village s William i n .

h e ri t e d the farm after h i s father s death ,

’

and John became an em inent lawyer ;

while a younger brother w asbrought up
under Mr E astwood s care, and sup plied
.
’

his place at his death .

T HE EN D .

LO N DO N
PR I N T ED BY c ox AN D B AY L SI ,
AT - m x -H
s
’
GRE Q UI EN S T R E ET, LI N C O LN EL D U
.
 h e rso f t h i sl i ttle
T H E P u b lis W o rk ,

d es i r o u so f i t sb e i n g g e ne rally c i rc u
lat e d h a v e r e d u ce d t h e p ri c e fro m
,

Th re e S hillin g s an d S i xp en c e t o Ha lf
a C ro w n a nd t h e h av e li t t le d o u b t
‘

y
-
,

b u t the s
ale Wi ll b e c o me a se x te n s
iv e
a s the T W I N S ri t t e n b y th e I S T ER S ,
w

sam e Au th o r ( a Wo r k t ha t h as re
c e i v e d t h e e nc o mi u m o f Mrs T r i m .

m e r, a nd o t h e r pe rs o n sw h o h av e
p ub

h e d B o o k s for t h e In s
li s t r u c ti on of

Y o u t h) an d of w h i ch i es
,
co
p
h av e b e e n s
o ld — T h e follow i n g B o ok s ,

w r i t t e n b y th e s
a m e Au t h o r m a
y b e ,

h ad o f t h e P u b li sh e rs

IS S
1 TWI N S T ER , o r t h e Ad an t a e sof R eli i on, by
. v g g
h
M issS an d am, 1 3t h e d i t 38 6d . . .

2 . Th e H I ST O RY B R I T A N N I C U S an d hi s S T ER
of IS
O C T AV IA, a Tale fro m t h e R oman Hi s tory ,
pri c e 6 3 .

3 C . H O S R OES an d HERA C LI U S , or t h e V i cisst u d eso fi

a C e nt u ry , w it h 4 En g vi g s p i
ra n , r ce 35 .
 B ooksj u t p ubli c/
s z e d by

4 Th e H
. IST O RY of W I LLI A M L
S E WY N , o r t h e oll F y
o f e arl I n d u lg e n ce it h F a ro n t i s i e c e ,pri c e 43 p
y ,
w .

5 . The T RA V E L S o f S T . P AU L , i n a S eri e so f L e t t e rs
,

w it h a Map, 25 .

The u nd e r me n ti one d l shav e

B oo/ al o s be e n re cent ly

p ubli s
he d , an d may be bad , Wbole sale R e ta il , qf a nd

H a r risan d S S t P a ul sC hu rch-y ard

’
on, C or ne r o
f . .

I S P I
L F R U T of EN T ER R Z E, e x i b i t e d i n t h e Tra e ls h v
gp
o f B e lz o ni i n E y t an d N u bi a, i n t e rs e rse d w ith p
t h e O bs v
e r at i o n s o f a M o t e r t o h e r C il d re n , h h
w it h
24 E n ra i n s; ri ce 6 3 g v g p
lai n , an d 7s 6 d . p . .

c o lo u re d ; by t h e Au t o r of t h e hn di an C ab i n e t I .

2 . TH E OD O R E ,
o r, the C s
ru ad er s, by M r s H ofil an d , .

w it h
24 E n g vi gs p
ra n ,
ri ce 55 . p
lai n , an d 6 S 6d . .

c o lou re d .

3 . L C S h
P O A R S E N E , e x ibi t ed i n t h e V oy a e sof He am g
S ki rk an d B are n z t o t h e N ort e rn R e i o n s,
w ith h g
3 6 En ra i n s , g v g p
ri c e 5 5 lai n , an d 6 s 6 d c o l . p . . .

4 S . C
N E S i n G R EA T B R I T A I N , fo r t h e Am u se me n t
E

an d I n s t ru c t i o n o f l i t t le T arry -at h o m e T rave l -

le rs
,
illu s t rat e d w i t 84 C o h pp pl e r- at e E ngrav
g p
in s ,
r i c e , a l f h
-b o u n d lai n , 5 S p . an d w it h c olo u r

ed p lat e s , 7S .

SC N S i n E UR O E, by t h e s P
ame Au t o r, h an d
‘
5
’

. E E

sam e n u m b e r o f En ra i n s
, ri c e 48 lai n , g v g p . p an d

6 8 colou re d
. .

6 . SC E N E S i n AS I A di t t o , .

7 . SC E N E S i n AF R I C A d i t t o , .

8 . SC E N ES i n AM E R I C A d i t t o , .
 Harrisa nd S o n, S t P a ul sC hu rch-y a rd
.
’
.

9 . T R U E S T O R I E S fro m AN CI EN T H I S T O R Y , c h ro n o
g
l o gi cally arran e d from t h e C re ati o n o f the
W orld t o t h e De at o f C arle m a n e , 2 h h g v ol s .

p ri c e 6 8 .

‘ ’
s S e v e n ty - t w o En g vi gs f
ra n ro m t he ign s o f
De s
Mr B ro oke , are n early re ad y t o illu s
. t rat e t h e
v
S t o ri e si n t h e abo e w o rk, w i c fo r n ea t n e s sof h h
g v g
e n ra i n an d accur acy of d e s ig n , are c on s id e r
e d t o be s p
u e ri o r t o an y w o rk of a s imil ar ki n d
h h
i t ert o o ffere d t o t h e u b li c p .

10 . S
S T O R I E from MOD ER N H I T O R Y are als o pu b S
li sh e d o n t h e S ame lan, i n 3 ols r ce 7S 6 d p v . pi . .

h al f-b o u n d .

ll . H I N T S o n t h e S O UR C E S o f H A PP I N ESS Wri t t e n .

b y a M o t h e r ; Au t h o r of Alw ay s Happy , & c

“ ”
.

& c in 2 . v ol s . p ri c e 1 25 bo ard s
. .

12 . SE L CTTO P O G RA P H Y o f EN G A N D , o r Hi s
E t o ri cal L
an d De s p v
cri t i e De li n ea t i o n so f t h e m o st cu ri ou S
'

W orks of N at u re an d Art i n e ac C o u n t y ; h
calc u lat e d a san agre e ab le C o m an i on t o t h e p
T ou ri s t , o r a C las sB o ok fo r t h e S t u d e n t llu s . I
t rat e d w i t h
n e ar 30 0 V i e w so f an ci e n t C as t le s
,

h
C at e d ral s , N
o b le m e n an d G e n t l e m e n s S e at s
’
,

&c By I N B re w e r, Au t o r o f t h e In t ro d u c
. . .
“
h
an d Wri t e r g
”
t i o n t o t h e B e au t i e s o f En lan d ,
o f t h e De s p
cri t i o n sof m any of t h e o u n t i e sin C
h
t at e labo rat e Wo rk, 2 ols 1 2m o v . .

1 3 Th e E
. S "DA L E H E RD B O Y , a S cot t i h
s Tal e fo r
Y ou t h; by Mrs B lackford . ,
ad o rn e d w it h an

g
e le an t F ron t i p
s i e ce , i n 1 v ol . l Qm o 5 3 . .

1 4 Th e AD V A N T A G E o f ED U C A T I O N , o r Hi s
. S
t o ry o f
t h e W i n gfi e ld F a mi ly , w i t h g
.

an e le an t Fron d s

i e ce , ri ce 25
p p
alf-b ou n d . h .
 B oole: j ust p ublis
hed by

15 . S
Th e ADV EN T UR E of R O B N O N C R US O E, a n ew I S
p v
an d i m ro e d e d i ti o n ; i n t e rs e rs
ed w it R efl e c p h
ti on s , R e ligi o u s an d M oral, an d ad o rn e d w i t h
12 n eat E n ra i n s ,g v g p
ri c e 35 lain , or 45 . p .

c o lo u r e d .

16 . P
Th e C H A T E R of "
I N G S , by Mr olli n s; e x i bi t . C h
i n g t h e mo s p
t im o rt an t E e n t s i n t h e En li s v g h
Hi s t o ry , an d cal cu l at e d t o i m re s s u on t h e p p
Y h
ou t fu l M i nd a re c oll e c ti on o f t h e S u cce s s i on
o f t h e E n gli s M o n arc sh , illu s h
t rat e d by 38 C op

p e r p lat e E n ra i n sg v g
,
i n w i c t h e o st u m h h
e o f C
eac h g
R e i n i sstri ctly at t en d e d t o P ri ce 35 6 d . . .

p lai n , or 5 5 colo u re d
. .

1 7 A V I S I T t o U N EWILLI A i n T O WN ; or, a De s
. CL M
cri pti o n of t h e m o s t r e m arkab le B uildi ng s i n
h
t h e B ri ti s M e t ro o li s
,
illu s p
trat e d w i t 66 Eu h
g v g
ra i n s P ri c e 45
. alf-bd u n d . h .

18 . M
MA R AD U " E MU LT I P LY S ME RR Y ME T H O D of
’

M A "IN G M I N O R MA T HE A T I A N ; or, th e M CI S
p
Mu l ti li cati on Tab le , ill u st rat e d w i t fig a ro h -
pp
p ri at e En ra i ng sg v
,
t o b e h ad e i t e r i n 4 art s,
h p
p ri c e 1 5 e ac ,
. h p
lai n , an d 1 5 6 d coloure d ; o r . .

h g h
alf-b ou n d t o e t e r 45 6d lai n , or 6 5 6 d
. . p . .

col o ure d .

M L
19 DA E T R U E O V E S T A E , n o w firs
.
’
L S
t u bli s e d , as p h
Us s
e fii l L e son s fo r li t t l e M i s
se s an d M as t e rs
,

an d orn am e n t e d w i t 22 Engra i n s ,
h
ri ce 25 6d v g p . .

p
l ai n, o r 35 6 d c ol o ure d , alf-b o u n d , 2d e di t
. . h .

20 Th e
. C A N A RY
BI R D, a T ale for o u t ; by M i s
s Y h
M an t , Au t o r o f m any a ro e d li t t le Works
h pp v
Y
for o u n P e rs g
o n s P ri c e 45 b u n d
q . . .

AL WA Y S H A PP Y " or, An ec d ot e s of F li
e x an d

hi sS i s
t e r S ere na, a Tal e , p ri ce 25 6d . . h alf bo- u nd .
 Harrisand S on, S t P aul sC /
. z u rcb- ard
y
’
.

22 R G H T
. I an d WR O N G , ex hi bi t ed in t h e His t o ry of

Ros
a an d Agne s
h , p
ri ce 2 5 6d . . alf-b ou n d

23 . A "Y t " E N O WL D G ; o Thi gs i C mm E E o r, n n o on

U s S im plye d s h t ly pl i d i an S i s or ex a ne , n a er e
Of Di l g s p i 2 6 d h lf b
a o ue , d r ce 5. . a - ou n .

24 . A V I S I T t t h B A AR i oh i h t O ly are Z ,
n w c no n e
d s i b d t h diff
e cr e t A ti le s S ld t h
e b t e re n r c o e re , u

s
an u e fu l an d appTO pri at e Less on 1 8 d e d u ce d fro m

h
t e m, by n o t i ci n in a eas
”

g
i n m an n e r e e ry pl g v
M anu fac tu re , S ci e n ce, & c t at re s e nt s i t s
e lf, h p .

t rat e d by 32 En ra i n s
illu s , ri ce 35 lai n, g v g p . p
an d 4s colo u re d . .

25 A
. FAM I I A R N A T R A L HI S T O R Y f B i d sB st s
L U o r , ea ,

Fi sh s d I s t s ill st t d by 64 E g
e ,
an n ec ,
u ra e n rav
i gs p i
n , 2 6 d pl i
r ce 3 6d
5. ol d . a n, or 5. . c o u re ,

h alf b d - ou n .

26 . Th S P R I N G B D
e r R u ral S e y i V s;
U ,
o c ne r , n er e
w i t h d sri p t iv N t sf
e c th I st ti e d o e or e n ru c o n an
Am sm t f Y u e g P s s By M ssAppl
en o ou n e r on . i e
ton ; d d itha l g tF
orne ti s
p
w i f m an e e an ro n e ce , ro

a D i g by h slf
raw n g ave d by S t t p i c er e ,
en r co ,
r e

25 bo ard s
. .

S S
27 Th e P LE A UR E o f L FE ; w ri t t e n fo r t h e Us
. e of I
h
h e r C ild re n , by t h e Au t or o f Al w ay sHa y ,
”
h pp
&c h
Wi t an e le an t ronti si ece , ri ce 2 5 6 d
. g F p p . .

h
al f-b ou n d .

28 Th e S ON o f a G EN U , a Tale fo r ou n P e rs
. on s
, I S Y g
by Mrs Hoflan d , ri ce 2 5 6 d. alf-b ou n d p . . h .

29 E
. LL E N t h e T EA C H E R , a Tale fo r o u t , by Y h Mrs .

Hoflan d , l
’
v ol . pi r ce 25 6 d
. alf-b ou n d . h .

30 Th e B LI N D F A R E R an d hi sC HI DR EN , by
. M L Mrs .

Hofland , ri ce 25 6d half-bou nd p . . .
 B ook: j s
t p
u ublis
h e d by Ha rm: a nd S on .

“
s The l e Work: b
ollo w i n
l e la te M rsTri m
it h
f g it t y t .

g
me r , ha vi n be en bef ore the P ubli c f or s ome
y ea r s,

i t isonly n e c e ss y f or th e P u blis h rst o sta t e , th ey

'

ar e

a re N e w E d it i ons, p i nt e d
r on
g ood P ap e r , and a cle ar

1 . MR S . ENG T R I M MER ’
S LI S H H I S T O R Y , b rou gh t
d ow n t o t h e P e ace o f P ari s; w i t h 48 E n gravi ng so n
W o o d ; 2 ol s 9 5 b o u n d
v . . .

2 .
AS It i e nt t ory,
Hi s w it h 40 En g vi gs;
ra n
4s 6 d b ou n d
. . .

3 . t ory,
R o man Hi s w it h 40 En g avi gs;
r n

4S 6d b o u n d
. . .

4 . S cri pt u re t ory, N
Hi s ew Te s
tame n t , w it h
40 E n g vi gs;
ra n 35 bo u nd
. .

5 . t ory , O ld Te s
S cri t u re Hi s p
t ame nt , w it h
24 En gravi n s; 3 5 bo u n d g . .

6 . O ld Te s ta m e nt P ri n t s
, w it cri ti o n s
De s h p
on C opp e r-P l at e s; 2 o ls 3S v
6 d b ou n d
. . . .

7 . N e w Te st am e n t P ri nt s
,
w it De s
cri h pti on s

on Co pp er-P lat e s v
; 2 o ls 5 S 6 d b ou n d . . . .

8 . R o m an Hi st ory P ri n t s w i t h Des
cri p ,

t i on so n C o pp er-Plat e s; 2 vo ls 5 S 6 d b ou n d . . . .

9 . An ti e n t Hi st o ry P ri n t s w i t h De s
cri p ,

t io n so n C o pp e r-Plat e s; 2 vol s 5 5 6 d bo u n d . . . .

10 .
Q UE S T I O N S h e r E ngli s , An t i e n t , R o
to h
m an an d S c ri pt u re Hi s
t ori e s, v
2 o ls b o u nd i n red . .

Pri c e 65 .
 HA RRI S S CABIN ET
’

OF

A M U S E M EN T AN D I N S T R UC T I O N ;

C on sist i n g o f t h e m ost a pp
rov ed N o v ELTI E sfor t h e N u r

s er
y ; ri n te dpin a su e ri or m a n n e r u o n pg oo d P a e r, p p
1 5 6 d e ac h , an d i llu s
. . trat e d w i t h S I "TE E N E n grav i n g s
n eat ly c ol ou re d .

1 . MO T H E R H UBB A RD an d h e r DO G .

2 DA. M E TR O T an d h e r C AT
3 . C O C "RO B I N , a P ai nt e d Toy , for e i t h er G irl or
Boy .

4 Hi s
.t ory of the H O U S E T HA T J A C " B UI LT .

5 . N UR S ER Y N OV E T L I S E , or a N ew Alph ab e t for
h
C ild re n .

6 Hi s t ory o f t h e APP E P I E, w ri t t e n by Z ;
. L an

ph
Al ab e t fo r li t t le M ast e rsan d M i sse s .

7 DA M E DE AR L O V E S DI T T I E S fo r t h e N u rs
’
. e ry o r ,

e m e n t o f I n fan t s
S o ngsfor t h e Am u s .

8 PE T ER PI P E R S P rac t i cal P ri nci p le so f P lai n an d

’
.

P e rfe c t P ron u n ci at i on .

9 . Th e IN PAN T S
’
F R I EN D , or Eas
y R e ad i n g Les
so n s .

10 . P
Th e S N O W DR O , o r P o e t i c Tri fle s fo r L i t t le
Fo lks f r t h e m an n e r o f t h e
, a te Dai s
”
y an d C ow
s
li p
”
.

Th e H O B B Y -H0 R S E, High R o ad t o
'

11 . or the
L e arni n g g vv
b e i n a re i al o f t at h favo u ri t e Alph ab e t ,
”
A w asa n Arche r a n d sh ot a t a F r og .

12 . CR I S
E of
"
LO N D ON , or S ke t c hes of vari ou s
C h arac t e r si n t h e M e t ro p o li s .

13 . Th e C o u rt hip
s M arriag e an d P i c-N i e D i nn e r
, , ,

of C O C " RO B I N an d J E N N Y W R E N .
 Harri ssC abi ne t of Amus
e me nt
’
a nd I m t ruct i on .

1 4 Th e Al abe t o f G O OD Y TWO-S ph HO E S;
le arn Ing w i c s
he s
oo n got ri c h h
”
h .

15 . S ix t e e n W O N D E R F U
Hi st ory of L O LD W O ME N ;
ill u st rat e d w i t asm any En ra i n s h , g v g h
e x ibi ti n t e ir g h
p p
ri n ci al E cc e n t ri ci t i e s .

. P
1 6 S R I N G F O WER , or Eas y L e s
so L
n s fo r ou n S Y g
C il d re n , n o t e x cee din Word sof TWO S y llab le s By
h g .

MrsRi t son . .

1 7 S ir H A RR Y H E RA LD S G raphi cal R e p re s
. en t a
’

t i on o f t h e DI GN I T AR I E S o f En glan d sh e w i ng t h e
fro m t h e "
,

C os t u m e o f di ffe re n t R ank s, IN G t o a
C O MM O N E R w i t h th e R e gali a u s
, e d at th e C oro n at i on .

18 . S
Th e PA T H o f L E A R N I N G , s
t re w ed w it h Fl ow ers ,

or En g h li s G ramm ar i ll u st rat e d .

1 9 T O MM TRI P S SE p
’
. Y MU U M , or 3 . Pee at the Q ua
d ru pe d R ace , P ar t I .

20 . TO MM Y T R IP S MU S U M P rt II ’
E , a .

T O MM T R I P S M U S M P art III
’
21 . Y EU , .

22 . Th P He C h i C ll cti
c
E N Ix , or a o ce o e on o f R id
d lesan d Ch r d s a a e .

23 . Th e C O S T M f DIF ER N T N U I E o F E A T ON 5, i llu S
t rat e d .

24 W O N DE R , d e s
. c ri t i e S p v of ome
s of th e t re
mos
markab le in Art an d N at ure .

25 . Th e M O N T H Y M O N I T O R ; L or S h S t ori es
o rt ,

ad a p t e d t o e e r S eas v y
o n of t h e Y e ar. By M rs R i t .

s
on .

26 . SIM P L E S T O R I S i n Wo E rd so f
O n e S y ll ab le , by
the Au t h o r o f t h e S t ori e sO f O ld Dan i e l .

97 Th e P I C T UR ES OUE PR
. IM R E Fi st S t p
, or r e up

t h e L ad d e r of L earn i n , w i t g h 72 Engravi ngs .