She embraced my offer with unfeigned
acknowledgment, and I began to put it in practice immediately.
I found her not only an agreeable companion, whose conversation
greatly alleviated my chagrin, but also a careful nurse, who
served me with the utmost fidelity and affection. One day, while I
testified my surprise that a woman of her beauty, good sense, and
education (for she had a large portion of each), could be reduced
to such an infamous and miserable way of life, she answered with
a sigh, "These very advantages were the cause of my undoing." This
remarkable reply inflamed my curiosity to such a degree, that I
begged she would favour me with the particulars of her story, and
she complied in these words.
CHAPTER XXII
The History of Miss Williams
'My father was an eminent merchant in the city who having, in the
course of trade, suffered very considerable losses, retired in
his old age with his wife to a small estate in the country, which
he had purchased with the remains of his fortune. At that time, I
being but eight years of age, was left in town for the convenience
of education, boarded with an aunt, who was a rigid presbyterian,
and confined me so closely to what she called the duties of religion,
that in time I grew weary of her doctrines, and by degrees received
an aversion for the good books, she daily recommended to my perusal.
Pages:
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237