Emily, the Governess; A Tale (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. Maria felt, for sometime, like the lonely widow, but being convinced of the happiness of her departed brother, she considered it selfish in the extreme to wish him to return to this vale of tears: she only felt assiduous to imitate his bright example, that she might, at God's good time, share again his joys. She felt a melancholy pleasure in doing all she thought would please him, could he from those pure realms still behold her. She visited the sick and infirm who had been particularly his pensioners, and endeavoured, by double attention to her parents, to make up for the loss of their son. Three years thus passed away, and Maria had attained her twenty-second year; she was not less beautiful than when a child; but the sweet laugh which then used to animate her features, andgive life to all around, was exchanged for a smile of resignation; and though her eye was not less bright, yet it seemed to have grown more mild. She was now more beloved than admired; more fit to dry the tears of the desolate, or cheer the lonely hours of age, than to fascinate the heart of the lover. Still she had many suitors, and her parents became anxious to see her married; but Maria had never yet met with any one she could love, or who could supply the loss of her brother; she therefore refused their offers, resolving to remain single, rather than give her hand to any one unaccompanied with her heart. But an opportunity soon offered of disposing of both; and though she had once fancied all her love was so buried in her brother's tomb as never to rekindle upon earth, she at length found herself deceived, and, with surprise, felt her heart again warm with an affection similar to that which she had felt towards him, though a less gentle, a less sacred flame, now glowed in her breast. ...