No More Learning

Emily was taught needle-work; for
Mrs. Sydney knew'that in woman's life,
without this useful and pleasant resource,
many hours must pass in idleness. She
? had known mothers who considered it al-
most as derogatory to their daughters to
use a needle; and daughters who boasted
of their incapacity to work, as if an igno-
rance of such common-place knowledge
indicated a superiority of understanding;
but examine the occupations of their
day, and though music, drawing, and
reading, may fill up a portion of it, still a
large part will be vacant; the fingers
may be usefully employed while the
mind is active; plans may be formed5
and reflections made, which may bene-
ficially tend to the regulation of our con-
duct, while some little work progressively
advances; and in this double occupation
of mind and body, we, in some degree, re-
semble the industrious and ingenious Chi-
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? 144 ROSE AND EMILY; OR,
nese, whose hands, feet, and mouth, t
will each be usefully engaged at the same
moment.
In making little articles of wearing ap-
parel for the children of their poor neigh-
bours, Emily found an amusement which
at first she did not believe possible to be
derived from such an employment. Rose
was generally the instigator and promoter
of these plans of industry and charity;
for, always active, she was usually the
first who discovered the most necessitous
objects. Emily was seldom tardy in aiding
the benevolent wishes of her friend, whose
busy mind and sympathising heart found
for them both constant occupation. Some-
times Emily would w ish the work finish-
ed,and then Hose would redouble her own
exertions, and remind her friend of the
happiness they should dispense when
they carried the frock or cap to the
mother of the child for whom it was in-
tended; sometimes slie would sing;
sometimes relate a story, and thus
t Vide Lord Macartney's Embassy to China.
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? SKETCHES OF YotiTft. * 145
beguile the time when she perceived it
was beginning to grow tedious. The
completion of the work always brought
its reward $ they carried it to the cottage,
received the thanks of the mother, and
witnessed the happy smiles of the child,
as they arrayed it in its new clothes.
The advantages of neatness, Mrs. Syd-
ney not only inculcated by precept, but,
in her own person, set her children and
Emily the fairest example. "It not only
renders us more pleasing to society,"
she would say, "but greatly contributes
to our health. I would not have you,
my dear girls, shrink, with hydrophobial
horror, from cold water; or be satisfied
in the morning with just dipping the cor-
ner of a towel in a bason, and wiping
your hands and face. The glow that
succeeds to the plentiful use of this de-
lightful element, will amply repay you
'for the first chilling sensation which it
may occasion. I have known many per-
sons, who, from indolence, indulge in.
the most offensive habits of dirtiness;
and, as an excuse, will urge that they
H
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? 146 ROSE AND EMILY; OR,
cannot spare the time to make themselves
clean; while, possibly, they waste a larger
portion of it in pinning a ribbon, and ad-
justing a flower or feather, than any one
would employ in the habitual customs of ?
neatness. I know not a more disagreeable
companion than one whose hair,teeth, and
nails betray marks of negligence; water
is liberally dispensed by the bountiful
Author of the Universe; articles and im-
plements of cleanliness are easily pro-
cured, and there are few people, (except
among the very poor and laborious) who
cannot be neat, if they desire to be so:
for my own part, I scarcely ever found
a palliation, in any one for the neglect
of this duty, and I turn disgusted from
the finest talents, if the possessor of
them be deformed by dirt. Neatness
is recommended to us as a minor virtue;
it is even placed next to godliness, in-
ferring from the purity of the body,
that of the soul. The Mahometans
make it a part of their religion; and a
Mussulman, who was one day pursued
by a succession of misfortunes, in
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? SKETCHES OP YOUTHi
147
endeavouring to account for them, at last
recollected that he had left his house in
the morning without having performed
his customary ablutions. "
About the end of the summer, the
health of poor Mrs. Bloomfield, the good
farmer's wife, began to decline. As a
wife and mother she had been most ex-
emplary; as a neighbour, Mrs. Sydney
had experienced from her benefits and
kindnesses; and she observed with deep
concern the hopelessness of her situation.
All the time she could spare from her own
family, she devoted to the sufferer, who,
perfectly conscious of her danger* fre-
quently conversed upon the subject with
calmness and submission. Resigned to
the will of Heaven as it affected herself,
her only solicitude was for Phoebe, who,
being the youngest of her children, was,
possibly, the object of her greatest ten-
derness: she had also been a delicate
child, so that affection had been height-
ened by anxiety. She was now nearly
twelve years old; her sisters were married
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? 148 HOSE AND EMILY J OR,
and had families; to them she would be
an incumbrance; she was too young to
keep her fathers house, too young to be
left without a guide, and too young to go
into service. As the good woman ex-
pressed her maternal solicitude for this
last-born treasure, Mrs. Sydney tenderly
took her hand, and endeavoured to relieve
her anxiety by the assurance that she
would be the protector of her child, till
she was old enough to take the manage-
ment of her father's house. Tears of
gratitude filled her eyes; she pressed the
hand of Mrs. Sydney, and silently re-
. turned thanks to Heaven for his mercy
and goodness in sending her such a com-
forter. "My dear Mrs. Bloomfield,"
said Mrs. Sydney, observing her labour-
ing to speak, "what do I not owe you!
in my hour of sorrow did I not receive
succour from your hand, and shelter
under your roof? and now that Providence
has placed it in my power, shall I not
seek to return these benefits? "Whilst I live,
and she is happy with me, Phcebe shall
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? SKETCHES OF^TOUTH. 1 49
find a home with me, unless her father
should wish her, when at a proper age,
to return to him. v Both parents grate-
fully accepted this benevolent promise;
and it was but too soon claimed: poor
Mrs. Bloomfield in a few days afterwards
breathed her last, and Phcebe became
the humble protegee at the parsonage.
Could any thing have mitigated the
unfeigned sorrow of the child for the loss
of her parent, it would have been the
tender attentions she received from Mrs.
Sydney and Isabel, and in being a re-
sident in the same house with her darling
Rose, whom she had loved from infancy
better than she loved any one, except her
parents. Artless, obliging', industrious,
and affectionate, she was ever ready to
obey the slightest wishof her benefactress;
her look was a command; her word was
a law; and except when now and then a
tear would arise as she remembered her
mother, she thought herself the happiest
girl in the world in being permitted to
live with Mrs. Sydney and her daughters.
H3
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? 150 ROSE AND EMILY } OR,
Change of season alone produced
change of pleasure or occupation to this
sequestered family. A few visitors some-
times made them a passing call; and oc-
casionally, a relation or friend remained
? with them for a few days; but to themselves
principally, did they turn for their a-
musements; and in themselves they found
all their sweetest and surest sources of
happiness.
The village, lying in a direct road to a
place of fashionable resort, possessed a
cheerfulness inthesummer months, which
in the winter it entirely lost. The gay
equipages of the travellers excited a tran-
sient look of admiration, and then were
thought of no more; sometimes a weary
or sentimental tourist would stop at the
little inn that offered its "good accommo-
dation," and wander . for a few days
amongst those wild and romantic scenes
of nature, before he joined the gay and
fashionable crowd at Matlock: here
he found subjeots for his pencil, and
excitements for his fancy. . A glimpse of
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? SKETCHES OF YOUTH. 151
the inhabitants of the parsonage might
produce a transient emotion of curiosity;
but in, a scene where all is strange and
new, we seldom pause to make personal
comments or observations.
. Faithfully attached to each other, hap.
py in their own little society, Mrs. Sydney
and her daughters, Emily and thaeue
found that union of heart which renders
every relative or social tie firm and en-
dearing. Mr. Blandford had left England,
and in his tour frequently wrote to his
daughter and Mrs. Sydney, conjuring the
latter to be the 'guardian of his Emily
till . his return, however distant might
be that period. ? ? ':
The understanding of Emily was more
solid than shewy: she did not receive in-
struction quickly, but she retained all
that was imparted; she reflected and ex-
amined, and even doubted before she de-
termined. Distant, unless noticed; silent,
unless addressed; chitting, unless warmed
by kindness, her affections, like her ideas,
H4
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? 152 ROSE AND. EMILY; OR,
were slow in forming; but when formed,
they were fixed. Rose^on the contrary, the
child of whim, the votary of fancy, instant-
ly received and comprehended whatever
was imparted:. but her thoughts, rapid as
theraysof light,quickly chased each other
away, which rendered her memory less
retentive. than Emily's; and frequently
when her explanations have assisted her
friend in making the mysterious clear,
Emily has been ef equal use to Rose, in
recalling to her mind some events of
history, or rules of science which she had
forgotten. The heart of Rose expanded
in kindness to every human being; in
tenderness to the dumb creation; and for
the vegetable^ she felt an enthusiastic
admiration. Her unaffected gaiety, and
artless playfulness Would frequently in-
spire mirth and ease in the manner of the
naturdly reserved Emily, and draw her
into? the circle of innocent pleasures. --
"You sometimes make me laugh against
my will," she w. ould say,/' yet Hove you
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? SKETCHES OF YOUTH. 153
Rose, even for making me laugh. " "I
laugh" Rose would reply, "because I
have nothing to make me sad: dear mam-
ma is well, and smiles upon us as she used
to do; Isabel is happy, and you are hap-
py, and so is our poor Phoebe; but if she
only . were sad, I could not laugh. How
beautiful is our garden Emily! I do not
wonder that Adam and Eve were so un-
happy when they left the garden of Eden;
I am sure I should be very sorry to leave
mine, for the more I am in it the more
I love it. " Emily blushed at the mention
of Adam. and Eve, but after a moment's
reflection, she said, smiling, "Do you
remember Rose, our quarrel about Adam
and Eve? " "My dear Emily I" exclaimed
Rose, "I remember it. now, but. indeed
I had quite forgotten it: pray forgive me
for recalling it to your memory. " "Yes
Rose, I :forgive you now with all my
heart: I am wiser. and better than I was
then, for am I not the child and pupil of
Mrs. Sydney! " Praise, however indirect,
h5
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? 164' ROSE AND EMILY; ORy
'to her mother, always brought a flush of
joy to the cheeks of Rose; she gave
Emily a kiss of gratitude, and then turned
to her flowers. ? < See Emily, I am raising
a plant to place on mamma's flower-stand,
on ber birth-day: I have chosen a balm
ofGilead; it is her emblem, for she is
balm to us. Isabel has a variegated ge-
ranium; she says it is like her life, a
mixture of light and shade; and what
will you have? " "A rose, I think," re-
plied Emily, smiling? and catching a
spark of her friend's fanciful appropria-
tions, "your emblem, arose,hut-not xvith-
out a thorn. " "Not without a thorn!
Emily; do I ever wound you? I would not
for the world, if I knew it. " I. am sure
you would not if you thought of it: but
do you not sometimes speak before you
think? " "I am afraid I do; but tell me
of my thorns or my faults, Emily, for that
will be kind: I love you as my sister, I
lqve you next to Isabel, and would not
4p or say any thing intentionally to hurt*
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? SKETCHES OF YOUTH. 155
or vex either of you. " "Then I wish,
my dear Rose, you would not do or say
any thing to hurt or vex poor Phoebe; did
you not see hel>> cry yesterday when you
laughed at her.
" *'I did not think she
would cry, Emily, or I would not have
laughed; yet who could forbear laughing
a little, when she told me she would give
my mamma a pot of honesty? " "I did not
laugh even a little, or feel inclined to
laugh . " "No* you did not laugh Emily,
but you must have thought it ridiculous. "
** I thought more of what was unkind/*
**0Emily," said Rose, bursting into tears,
"*if you blame me, I am sure I was wrong:
itis almost wicked to be unkind to Phoebe,
poor. Phoebe ! ? who has no mother as I
have. '' At that moment Phoebe appeared,
and Rose ran and kissed her affectionate-
ly: the delighted girl was all smiles afc
this tender greeting, and said, "I have
thought of something for your mamma's
birth-day, Rose, which. 1 hope you will
like: it is thishoneysuckle, and it seems
H6
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? 156 ROSE ANI>. EMILY; OR,
a little to resemble me, for so should I
fall to the ground," added she, sighing:,
unless your good mamma supported me/'
This simple fancy, whiah feeling and
gratitude inspired* was so in unison with.
her own, that Rose. instantly com-
mended her choice, and poor Phoebe
was happy.
Mrs. Bloomfield had brought up her
daughter. to be useful and industrious^,
Mrs. Sydney continued to *do the same y
for however;sheloved and compassionated
the child, she considered that as. she was
born in an humble rank. of life, and pro-
bably destined to . fill . such a ,one, it might
render her discontented to raise her ideasy
or alter her habits, by any artificial; re-
finements, or mistaken indulgences: the
superintendance of their little dairy, the
care of the poultry, and many other do-
mestic employments, were assigned her,.
to which she paid a. scrupulous and un-.
remitting attention. Phoebe's mind and
wishes accorded with her situation: she
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? SKETCHES OF YOUTH. 157
was. taught to read and write, and some-
thing of accounts: more than these she
never aspired to know, and always took
her lower seat, either at work or at table,
cheerful, grateful, and contented; never
soliciting a favour, or presuming upon a
kindness.
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? 158 ROSE AND EMILY J OR,
CHAP. XI.
A second and a third winter succeeded,
and a little robin was frequently seen at
the window petitioning for food, which;
was liberally dispensed: when Rose was
in the garden, it came immediately to
her call; hopped after her from branch
to branch; answered her chirp, and
picked the crumbs from her hand. One
morning she missed her unfortunate fa-
vourite at the accustomed place, and too
soon discovered it in the mouth of her
cat; in vain she attempted its rescue; her
exertions only prolonged. its sufferings.
Puss was hungry, and her prey was too
closely seized to be saved. Rose was
inconsolable; inveighed against the bar-
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? SKETCHES OF YOUTH. 159
barity of the cat, which she would not
allow to enter the parlour; refused her
breakfast, and yielded to an agony of
tears, and an extravagance of grief, that
she had never shewn before. Her mother
expostulated with her upon the impro-
priety of such an excess of sorrow for a
bird, and the unreasonableness* of such
resentment against a cat; reminded her
that birds were, as much as mice, the
natural prey of cats; and thnt in taking
them, they only followed the. impulse
ordained by Providence; but no ar-
guments could assuage her grief for the
bird, or abate her displeasure towards
the cat, which she declared she should
never like again. Exhausted at length,
by the indulgence ot her fetelings, she sat
down at the feet of her mother, and lay-
ing her head on her lap, coirrplained of a.
headache. "I am not surprised at it my
child," said Mrs. Sydney, "and I have
been concerned to observe such un-
restrained expressions of grief, which a
little reflection would have taught you to
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? 160 ROSE AND'EMILY J or,
moderate. You might naturally feel re-
gret for the loss of your favourite, and
horror at the manner of its death: but
there are happily few circumstances in
our lives which can justify such unbound-
ed lamentations as. your's ? have been, and
this you will allow is not one of them.
Such extravagant effusions of grief as you
have yielded to, betray a. weakness of
mind, and a want of self-command,
which, in the course of your life, will
occasion you many hours of misery* To
restrain the excess of our feelings, is as
much a duty we owe to others as to our-
selves: do you think I could Witness your
emotions, or hear the expressions of your
agony; this: morning, without a degree
of agitation? I saw Isabel in tears, which
she endeavoured'to conceal; Emily sat
in silent sorrow, and 'Phoebe could not
eat her breakfast? "--Isabel and Emily
just then entered the room/ and Mrs.
Sydney explaining to them the subject of
her conversation with Rose<<, continued:
"I would most earnestly caution you all,
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? SKETCHES OF YOUTH. 161
my dear girls, against the indulgence of
that morbid sensibility, which yields,
without resistance, to every sudden im-
pression. I do not know a more trou-
blesome or disagreeable companion than
a person who shrieks, faints, or sheds
tears at every trifling terror, (a terror
which some whim of the imagination
generally conjures up,) or some equally
insignificant cause of regret: so far from
exciting interest or sympathy in us, who
witness these symptoms of childish weak-
ness, we are more inclined to feel con-
tempt; and though we may offer relief
or assistance, we cannot bestow pity. By
indulging the excess of our emotions, the
mind loses that strength which should be
its support in times of real affliction; and
is unable to sustain with fortitude the
many trying calamities that m? y assail us
in our pilgrimage through this life. I
will relate a circumstance that occurred
some years ago when I was upon a visit
to a family who imagined that sensibility
possessed a powerful charm over the af- <<
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? 162
ROSE AND EMILY; OR,
fections, and was the only test of what
? they termed "soul;" that it revealed
itself on every trivial occasion, in tears,
screams, hysterics, faintings, and the
most frantic gestures; and their practice
certainly ccorded with this opinion.
"The lady had two daughters. One
morning as we were sitt. ng nt work in a
little parlour that fronted a field, in the
coi ner of which was a deep well, Anna,
the eldest daughter, gave a piercing
shriek; her sister echoed it, and the mo-
ther loudly exclaimed,' What is the mat-
ter V 'Oh! the well is open; she has
fallen in, and sh<< is dead,' they exclaim-
ed. Instantly all became confusion, and
nothing was heard but screams and la-
mentations. I imagined they had seen a
little girl, who was their visitor, fall into
the well, and in equal, though less noisy
agony, I witnessed this scene of affliction.
I sought to sooth the mother, and intreat-
ed the girls to see if any thing could be
done to restore the object of their grief.
* O no, she is dead, she is dead; I saw
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? SKETCI1KS OF YOUTH.
163
her carried in dead. ' 'Perhaps not,' I
said, ' I will go, but for ' pity's sake do
not let your mother see her at present;'
but they all at once rushed out of the
room, saying they must see Fanny; she
was such a nice creature, such a beauty,
such a darling, such a treasure! I fol-
lowed in the hope of being able to miti-
gate the first transports of their grief
when they beheld the child; but judge
of my surprise when, in this dear, inte-
resting, and nice creature, this darling,
this beauty, this treasure, I saw an old
goat, whom they called Fanny! I could
not refrain from laughing heartily. 1 I ,
congratulate you,' I said, ' that it is only
the old goat. ' * Why, what did you sup-
pose it to be? ' said the mother angrily.
'Fanny Seymour certainly. ' * O ho,
thank Cod it is not she. 'Then my
dear madam,' I said, ' dry up your tears
and compose yourself; for though you
may have lost a valuable animal, do not
grieve as if it had been achildor a friend. '
In vain I remonstrated, soothed, or ad-
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? HOSE AND EMILY J 'OK,
vised; the stream of sorrow flowed till
it had exhausted itself, and in the even-
ing they were all nervous from excessive
agitation, and all complained of their ex-
treme sensibility! This kind of silly feel-
ing is humourously described by a mo-
dern poet. A lady, who possessed it to the
most exquisite degree ofrefinement,boasts
of having inspired her husband with the
same, and says--
* To that pitch of perfection I brought the dear man.
That he'd weep o'er the withering leaf (C)f a rose>
And smile at the thorn, though it wounded his nose. *
From such pains and pleasures, may you,
my dearest girls, always be exempt. "
In consequence of her mother's re-
monstrances, Rose was convinced of the
folly of her excessive grief for her bird,
and the unreasonableness of her resent-
ment towards her cat; the subject was
not revived, and she endeavoured to di-
vert her thoughts from dwelling upon it,
by returning to her employments as usual.
Nearly six years had now elapsed since.
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? SKETCHES OF YOUTH. ]6?
Mrs. Sydney's return to the parsonage;
their progress had been smooth, but not
dull; unmarked by any strong incidents
of novelty, but replete with the tender
interests of affection. She cherished in
her heart the images of her husband and
son; but her grief, though deep, was
silent; though unsubdued, it was yet
softened; for she could not endure to
check the returning cheerfulness of Isa-
bel, or cloud the happiness of Hose and
Emily, by the outward Indulgence of re-
grets which, she knew, it was her duty,
both as a mother and a christian, as much
as possible, to conquer. The habit of
self-controul, which she thus constantly
practised, not only gave composure to
her manner, but at length fortified her
mind; and time, " as he rolled his cease-
less course," gently drew from her bo-
som the arrow of affliction.
Emily,inhercorrespondencewithherfa-
ther, expressed that warm affection which
neither absence nor circumstances can
ever diminish in the breast of an amiable
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? 166 HOSE AND EMILY J OK,
child for a parent. Her letters conveyed
the strongest proofs of her improvement;
her language was simple, yet energetic;
correct, yet unstudied; her gratitude
and attachment to Mrs. Sydney and her
daughters, were painted in the glowing
colours of truth and feeling; " and could
shebutseehim,"shewouldfrequent! yadd,
"she should not have a wish ungratified. "
It was Mrs. Sydney's care to instil
into the minds of her children, an early
sense of the duties of religion, and a
thorough knowledge of those great truths
which are revealed to us in the New
Testament, as the b*'sis of our faith, and
of our hopes in Heaven. She had her-
self known what comfort in affliction,
what blessings even in prosperity, result
from an early knowledge of our Creator
and his promises. Religion, like the dew
of Heaven to the drooping plants, re-
freshes the fainting tra\eller; and he
pursues his journey with strength and
cheerfulness. It is the guide of the
young, and the staff of the aged; atrea-
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 14:36 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn2hfl Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? SKETCHES OF YOUTH. 16. 7
sure in the bosom of poverty; and opens
to the wretched a bright prospect of hap-"
piness, when all in this world is involved
"in clouds and darkness/'
It was not from works of modern theo-'
logy, or disquisitional tracts, that she in-
structed them in the principles of their
faith, but she led them to the fountain
of truth itself, the Bible. Thus taught
to know, and to " remember their Creator
in the days of their youth," their belief
was pure and steady; their morality was
grafted on the tree of knowledge, whose
root was charity,andwhose branches were
benevolence; it embraced all human
kind, expanding its arms to protect the
injured, and shelter the afflicted.
Reading was not with them a mere re-
petition of words properly pronounced,
or as a transient amusement; they were
taught to reason, reflect, and comment
upon what they read. In history, which
unfolded to them the events of former
times, they compared past with present
periods; and learnt the vicissitudes and
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 14:36 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn2hfl Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust.