I looked at him with surprise. "St. John," I said, "I think you are

almost wicked to talk so. I am disposed to be as content as a

queen, and you try to stir me up to restlessness! To what end?"

"To the end of turning to profit the talents which God has committed

to your keeping; and of which He will surely one day demand a strict

account. Jane, I shall watch you closely and anxiously--I warn you

of that. And try to restrain the disproportionate fervour with

which you throw yourself into commonplace home pleasures. Don't

cling so tenaciously to ties of the flesh; save your constancy and

ardour for an adequate cause; forbear to waste them on trite

transient objects. Do you hear, Jane?"

"Yes; just as if you were speaking Greek. I feel I have adequate

cause to be happy, and I WILL be happy. Goodbye!"

Happy at Moor House I was, and hard I worked; and so did Hannah:

she was charmed to see how jovial I could be amidst the bustle of a

house turned topsy-turvy--how I could brush, and dust, and clean,

and cook. And really, after a day or two of confusion worse

confounded, it was delightful by degrees to invoke order from the

chaos ourselves had made. I had previously taken a journey to S- to

purchase some new furniture: my cousins having given me CARTE

BLANCHE TO effect what alterations I pleased, and a sum having been

set aside for that purpose. The ordinary sitting-room and bedrooms

I left much as they were: for I knew Diana and Mary would derive

more pleasure from seeing again the old homely tables, and chairs,

and beds, than from the spectacle of the smartest innovations.

Still some novelty was necessary, to give to their return the

piquancy with which I wished it to be invested. Dark handsome new

carpets and curtains, an arrangement of some carefully selected

antique ornaments in porcelain and bronze, new coverings, and

mirrors, and dressing-cases, for the toilet tables, answered the

end: they looked fresh without being glaring. A spare parlour and

bedroom I refurnished entirely, with old mahogany and crimson

upholstery: I laid canvas on the passage, and carpets on the

stairs. When all was finished, I thought Moor House as complete a

model of bright modest snugness within, as it was, at this season, a

specimen of wintry waste and desert dreariness without.

The eventful Thursday at length came. They were expected about

dark, and ere dusk fires were lit upstairs and below; the kitchen

was in perfect trim; Hannah and I were dressed, and all was in

readiness.




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