y
round and fat, with black twinkling eyes and a somewhat dark complexion,
a smile constantly playing on her mouth. Her sisters, as I have
remarked, reminded me very strongly of their brother. They all made a
great deal of me, and still more of the Little Lady. Having no
servants, they did everything themselves, and were busily occupied from
morning till night, each having her own department. Miss Anna Maria was
cook, and I used to think that perhaps that made her so fat and dark. I
took great delight in helping her, and soon learned to peel the
potatoes, and wash the cabbages, and stone the raisins for plum
puddings. Indeed, knowing well that occupation is useful, not only for
small boys but for big ones, she set me to work immediately. Not only
did they work indoors but out of doors also, and kept the garden in
perfect order, trimming the hedges and mowing and digging. Besides
this, they found time to read to their old mother, as well as to
themselves; and from the way they talked of books and things, I have no
doubt were very well informed, though I was no judge in those days. In
the parish in which they had all been born they were looked up to with
the greatest affection. They had done much to civilise the people and
to keep them from falling back into a state of barbarism, or, I may say,
heathenism, for the vicar of the parish was a hunting parson who was
seen once a week in the church, where he hurried over the service, and
read a sermon which lasted some twelve or fifteen minutes; the shorter
the better, however, considering its quality. His horse used to be led
up and down by a groom during the time, and as soon as his work was over
he remounted and rode off again, not to be seen till the following week
unless one of his parishioners died, and he could get no one else to
perform the funeral service. He seemed to think that the Misses Schank
had a prescriptive right to labour in the parish; but he was excessively
indignant when on one or two occasions a dissenting minister came to
preach in a barn; and he declared that, should so irregular a proceeding
be repeated, he would proceed against him as far as the law would allow.
My kind friends' father had had three or four successors. The one I
speak of, I think, was the fourth, and, I hope, an exception to the
general rule.

"It will not do for us to complain," observed the mild Miss Martha, "but
I do wish that our vicar more resembled a shepherd who ca