affection which you were conscious of not deserving.' This, thought I, would furnish an admirable lesson for some of my married friends. 6 In the evening, I ventured to inquire into the nature of Jane's offence, to which Mrs. Clifford replied: She brought me a tale of her little brother's faults, (a practice which I never allow,) and that too, with a degree of exaggeration and an air of triumph, which convinced me she exulted in his fall.' Surely that is not all,' cried I, for I remember that the same little girl, a few days since, broke an expensive decanter, on which she was only mildly reproved; and reminded that the same sum which must be expended to replace it would have purchased a blanket for the poor family whose habitation she had lately visited." 'It is my aim,' resumed the mother, in punishing my children, to be guided by the nature of their faults; instead of measuring the penalty by the inconvenience which their misconduct occasions me. In the present instance, Jane's first fault was caused by carelessness, and the other by nothing less than a lurking principle of malice in the heart.' 'I acknowledge that you are right, my dear madam,' I replied, "but there is something so different in your plan to any thing I have yet witnessed, that you must forgive the remark.' Not long after this, I requested Mrs. Clifford's permission to take Jane with me to see a friend, who had a large family of daughters. This request, after some hesitation, was complied with, and my young companion returned home in the evening highly amused by all that she had heard and seen. The next morning, as we sat at breakfast, Jane very seriously inquired, 'Mamma, what does the word genteel mean?' 'You must consult your friend, the dictionary, Jane, so soon as we have breakfasted,' replied the mother. 'I have, Mamma; but I thought that could not give the right meaning, for it only says, 'polite, elegant;' and I think genteel must mean something more than that.' 'No, Jane, it does not mean any thing more; but tell me, what makes you think it does?' Jane blushed, hesitated, and at last said, 'Why, Mamma, the ladies I went to see yesterday, seemed so anxious about gentility, and one of them said, she should like to know you, because she heard you were genteel,' and not because you were good,— so I thought it must mean something more.' Mrs. Clifford smiled, and neither B my friend nor I could forbear laughing at the artless satire which Jane passed on my genteel acquaintances. Nor did she mistake the standard by which they estimated things. Gentility or fashion, is indeed the idol to which the good sense and better feelings of this family are taught to bow in humble adoration. Our mirth, however, rather discomposed poor Jane, who could not comprehend the cause; until her mother resumed the subject: Gentility, my dear little girl, consists in a certain refinement of manners, and an elegance of appearance, which distinguish well bred persons, from those of low and vulgar habits. It is to be cultivated with care, as a pleasing medium through which our good offices to others are conveyed with additional grace and ease; but as every body may be good, and those only who possess the advantages of education can be genteel, we must never value persons for their polished manners alone; as there are those, distinguished by their superior elegance, who are nevertheless very worthless characters; and on the other hand, some who are untaught and vulgar, are still good and virtuous. THE SABBATH. CHAPTER III. Wearied, dispirited, and near the close Dr. Collyer. THE next day was Sunday,-it was observed in the house of my friends as a season of sacred repose, on which the whole household cheerfully rested from the labors and cares of the week. Yet were not the hallowed hours curtailed by indolent slumber, consumed in inactivity, or devoted to the pursuits of worldly pleasure. 'It is a day,' said Mrs. Clifford to one of her little girls, on which we have more important business to transact than on any day of the week beside. For the Sabbath 18 expressly allotted us, to acquaint ourselves with God, and be at peace.' The morning and afternoon were passed in an attendance on public worship: the evening Mr. Clifford usually devoted to the religious instruction of his children and servants. But on the present occasion he was induced to differ from his general plan in order to visit an aged female who had once resided in their neighborhood, but was now removed to the house of her daughter, a short distance from town, and where she was apparently dying. On this excursion I offered to accompany my friend, and the proposal was readily accepted; but I own I was not a little surprised to find that his eldest daughter Emma, a sweet girl about fifteen years old, was to be the companion of this mournful visit. Quitting the city, Mr. Clifford led us by a retired path, till we reached the village where the sick woman resided. We approached by a narrow green lane, which obscured the prospect on either side, and seemed to invite to serious and unrestrained conversation. I think,' said I, 'that you informed me the person we are going to visit, once lived in your neighborhood?" 'She did so, and I doubt not but that Emma still remembers her standing at the open door, with folded arms and idle gaze, as we passed her house on Sunday.' And I remember too,' said Emma, 'that we seldom passed by, without hearing the sound of angry voices within.' 'Your account of this woman surprises me,' I exclaimed; 'surely, my dear Clifford, she is unworthy |