situation, not
forgetting to impress strongly the necessity which every Christian has of
being ever ready to obey that awful summons, which may be expected at any
hour, and from which there is no appeal; but she concluded by an assurance
that in a few days the present disorder would be completely removed, in
case she guarded her own temper from impetuosity, and observed the regimen
prescribed to her.

When Matilda's fears on this most important point were subsided, she
adverted to her face, but it was only to inquire whether it was likely to
be well before her mother came, she being naturally and properly desirous
of saving her dear parent from any pain which could arise from her
appearance; and when her fears on this head were likewise relieved, she
became more composed in her spirits, and more anxious than ever to prove,
by future good conduct, her sense of contrition for the past, and
resolution for the future; and although she was most thankful for the
sympathy of her friends, she never sought it by useless complainings, or
aggravated her sufferings in order to win their pity or elicit their
praise; and by her perseverance and patience, a cure was obtained much
sooner than could have been expected from the nature of the accident.

Zebby regularly amended, as she perceived the great object of her anxiety
amend also; and the sense she entertained of her late danger, the gratitude
she felt for the kindness she had been treated with, and, above all, the
self-denial to which she perceived her young lady accustomed herself, in
order to recover, induced her henceforward to become temperate in her use
of food, and tractable as to the means necessary for preserving her health,
and to perceive her duty with regard to the commands given by her young
lady, to whom she was now more truly attached than ever: for the attachment
of improved minds goes far beyond that of ignorance.

CHAPTER X.

When Matilda was fully recovered from the pain of her accident, her good
friends had the satisfaction to perceive that the most salutary effects had
arisen from the disposition with which she had borne it. She had become
sensible how much we must all be indebted to our fellow-creatures, in any
privation of health and ease, and this had taught her to be humble and
thankful to all who contributed to her comfort; and from necessarily
suppressing both her appetite and her temper, she had gained a command of
both, which she had been a