Alfred Dudley, Or, the Australian Settlers (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1830 edition. Excerpt: ... 12 chapter ii. How sweetly the voice of affection can heal, All the wounds that the spirit is destined to feel But who can assuage the dark woes of the heart, When the fiat of destiny calls us to part? Mr. and Mrs. Dudley did not long find themselves excluded from society in their new residence: their interesting story soon became known in the little circle which surrounded them; their independent manner of meeting reverses excited sympathy and respect; and they, in a short time, found that the pleasures of the society, and even the friendship of the well-educated and refined, courted their acceptance in their retirement. Mrs. Dudley was careful in the education of her little girls. Emma, with consideration far beyond her years, sought, by her docility and diligence, to lighten as much as possible the labours of her mother. She was a fine, healthy girl, of eleven years old, and was a source of nothing but pleasure to all around her. Mary was likewise an amiable child; but her delicate frame and constant attacks of illness caused her to be an object of extreme solicitude to her anxious parents. Little Caroline was still the plaything of the house, and Emma claimed her as her future pupil. Much as their situation was changed, Mr. Dudley would have been happy in his novel way of life, had he not been anxious for the future fate of his wife and children; and he felt that he ought speedily to determine on some plan by which he might secure to them a permanent independence. He was unconversant with mercantile pursuits, which also require capital and connexion for a prosperous issue; he was too old to qualify himself for any of the professions; and felt himself incapable of every thing except that pursuit which had been his amusement all his...