FOR a few months I remained peaceably at home, in the quietenjoyment of liberty and rest, and genuine friendship, from all ofwhich I had fasted so long; and in the earnest prosecution of mystudies, to recover what I had lost during my stay at WellwoodHouse, and to lay in new stores for future use. My father's healthwas still very infirm, but not materially worse than when I lastsaw him; and I was glad I had it in my power to cheer him by myreturn, and to amuse him with singing his favourite songs.

No one triumphed over my failure, or said I had better have takenhis or her advice, and quietly stayed at home. All were glad tohave me back again, and lavished more kindness than ever upon me,to make up for the sufferings I had undergone; but not one wouldtouch a shilling of what I had so cheerfully earned and socarefully saved, in the hope of sharing it with them. By dint ofpinching here, and scraping there, our debts were already nearlypaid. Mary had had good success with her drawings; but our fatherhad insisted upon HER likewise keeping all the produce of herindustry to herself. All we could spare from the supply of ourhumble wardrobe and our little casual expenses, he directed us toput into the savings'-bank; saying, we knew not how soon we mightbe dependent on that alone for support: for he felt he had notlong to be with us, and what would become of our mother and us whenhe was gone, God only knew!

Dear papa! if he had troubled himself less about the afflictionsthat threatened us in case of his death, I am convinced thatdreaded event would not have taken place so soon. My mother wouldnever suffer him to ponder on the subject if she could help it.

'Oh, Richard!' exclaimed she, on one occasion, 'if you would butdismiss such gloomy subjects from your mind, you would live as longas any of us; at least you would live to see the girls married, andyourself a happy grandfather, with a canty old dame for yourcompanion.'

My mother laughed, and so did my father: but his laugh soonperished in a dreary sigh.

'THEY married - poor penniless things!' said he; 'who will takethem I wonder!'

'Why, nobody shall that isn't thankful for them. Wasn't Ipenniless when you took me? and you PRETENDED, at least, to bevastly pleased with your acquisition. But it's no matter whetherthey get married or not: we can devise a thousand honest ways ofmaking a livelihood. And I wonder, Richard, you can think ofbothering your head about our POVERTY in case of your death; as ifTHAT would be anything compared with the calamity of losing you -an affliction that you well know would swallow up all others, andwhich you ought to do your utmost to preserve us from: and thereis nothing like a cheerful mind for keeping the body in health.'

'I know, Alice, it is wrong to keep repining as I do, but I cannothelp it: you must bear with me.'

'I WON'T bear with you, if I can alter you,' replied my mother:but the harshness of her words was undone by the earnest affectionof her tone and pleasant smile, that made my father smile again,less sadly and less transiently than was his wont.

'Mamma,' said I, as soon as I could find an opportunity of speakingwith her alone, 'my money is but little, and cannot last long; if Icould increase it, it would lessen papa's anxiety, on one subjectat least. I cannot draw like Mary, and so the best thing I coulddo would be to look out for another situation.'

'And so you would actually try again, Agnes?'

'Decidedly, I would.'

'Why, my dear, I should have thought you had had enough of it.'

'I know,' said I, 'everybody is not like Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield -'

'Some are worse,' interrupted my mother.

'But not many, I think,' replied I, 'and I'm sure all children arenot like theirs; for I and Mary were not: we always did as you bidus, didn't we?'

'Generally: but then, I did not spoil you; and you were notperfect angels after all: Mary had a fund of quiet obstinacy, andyou were somewhat faulty in regard to temper; but you were verygood children on the whole.'

'I know I was sulky sometimes, and I should have been glad to seethese children sulky sometimes too; for then I could haveunderstood them: but they never were, for they COULD not beoffended, nor hurt, nor ashamed: they could not be unhappy in anyway, except when they were in a passion.'

'Well, if they COULD not, it was not their fault: you cannotexpect stone to be as pliable as clay.'

'No, but still it is very unpleasant to live with suchunimpressible, incomprehensible creatures. You cannot love them;and if you could, your love would be utterly thrown away: theycould neither return it, nor value, nor understand it. But,however, even if I should stumble on such a family again, which isquite unlikely, I have all this experience to begin with, and Ishould manage better another time; and the end and aim of thispreamble is, let me try again.'

'Well, my girl, you are not easily discouraged, I see: I am gladof that. But, let me tell you, you are a good deal paler andthinner than when you first left home; and we cannot have youundermining your health to hoard up money either for yourself orothers.'

'Mary tells me I am changed too; and I don't much wonder at it, forI was in a constant state of agitation and anxiety all day long:but next time I am determined to take things coolly.'

After some further discussion, my mother promised once more toassist me, provided I would wait and be patient; and I left her tobroach the matter to my father, when and how she deemed it mostadvisable: never doubting her ability to obtain his consent.Meantime, I searched, with great interest, the advertising columnsof the newspapers, and wrote answers to every 'Wanted a Governess'that appeared at all eligible; but all my letters, as well as thereplies, when I got any, were dutifully shown to my mother; andshe, to my chagrin, made me reject the situations one afteranother: these were low people, these were too exacting in theirdemands, and these too niggardly in their remuneration.

'Your talents are not such as every poor clergyman's daughterpossesses, Agnes,' she would say, 'and you must not throw themaway. Remember, you promised to be patient: there is no need ofhurry: you have plenty of time before you, and may have manychances yet.'

At length, she advised me to put an advertisement, myself, in thepaper, stating my qualifications, &c.

'Music, singing, drawing, French, Latin, and German,' said she,'are no mean assemblage: many will be glad to have so much in oneinstructor; and this time, you shall try your fortune in a somewhathigher family in that of some genuine, thoroughbred gentleman; forsuch are far more likely to treat you with proper respect andconsideration than those purse-proud tradespeople and arrogantupstarts. I have known several among the higher ranks who treatedtheir governesses quite as one of the family; though some, I allow,are as insolent and exacting as any one else can be: for there arebad and good in all classes.'

The advertisement was quickly written and despatched. Of the twoparties who answered it, but one would consent to give me fiftypounds, the sum my mother bade me name as the salary I shouldrequire; and here, I hesitated about engaging myself, as I fearedthe children would be too old, and their parents would require someone more showy, or more experienced, if not more accomplished thanI. But my mother dissuaded me from declining it on that account:I should do vastly well, she said, if I would only throw aside mydiffidence, and acquire a little more confidence in myself. I wasjust to give a plain, true statement of my acquirements andqualifications, and name what stipulations I chose to make, andthen await the result. The only stipulation I ventured to propose,was that I might be allowed two months' holidays during the year tovisit my friends, at Midsummer and Christmas. The unknown lady, inher reply, made no objection to this, and stated that, as to myacquirements, she had no doubt I should be able to givesatisfaction; but in the engagement of governesses she consideredthose things as but subordinate points; as being situated in theneighbourhood of O-, she could get masters to supply anydeficiencies in that respect: but, in her opinion, next tounimpeachable morality, a mild and cheerful temper and obligingdisposition were the most essential requisities.

My mother did not relish this at all, and now made many objectionsto my accepting the situation; in which my sister warmly supportedher: but, unwilling to be balked again, I overruled them all; and,having first obtained the consent of my father (who had, a shorttime previously, been apprised of these transactions), I wrote amost obliging epistle to my unknown correspondent, and, finally,the bargain was concluded.

It was decreed that on the last day of January I was to enter uponmy new office as governess in the family of Mr. Murray, of HortonLodge, near O-, about seventy miles from our village: a formidabledistance to me, as I had never been above twenty miles from home inall the course of my twenty years' sojourn on earth; and as,moreover, every individual in that family and in the neighbourhoodwas utterly unknown to myself and all my acquaintances. But thisrendered it only the more piquant to me. I had now, in somemeasure, got rid of the MAUVAISE HONTE that had formerly oppressedme so much; there was a pleasing excitement in the idea of enteringthese unknown regions, and making my way alone among its strangeinhabitants. I now flattered myself I was going to see somethingin the world: Mr. Murray's residence was near a large town, andnot in a manufacturing district, where the people had nothing to dobut to make money; his rank from what I could gather, appeared tobe higher than that of Mr. Bloomfield; and, doubtless, he was oneof those genuine thorough-bred gentry my mother spoke of, who wouldtreat his governess with due consideration as a respectable well-educated lady, the instructor and guide of his children, and not amere upper servant. Then, my pupils being older, would be morerational, more teachable, and less troublesome than the last; theywould be less confined to the schoolroom, and not require thatconstant labour and incessant watching; and, finally, brightvisions mingled with my hopes, with which the care of children andthe mere duties of a governess had little or nothing to do. Thus,the reader will see that I had no claim to be regarded as a martyrto filial piety, going forth to sacrifice peace and liberty for thesole purpose of laying up stores for the comfort and support of myparents: though certainly the comfort of my father, and the futuresupport of my mother, had a large share in my calculations; andfifty pounds appeared to me no ordinary sum. I must have decentclothes becoming my station; I must, it seemed, put out my washing,and also pay for my four annual journeys between Horton Lodge andhome; but with strict attention to economy, surely twenty pounds,or little more, would cover those expenses, and then there would bethirty for the bank, or little less: what a valuable addition toour stock! Oh, I must struggle to keep this situation, whatever itmight be! both for my own honour among my friends and for the solidservices I might render them by my continuance there.