ample of the Miss Morleys and their mother, who were never idle. Very
little has hitherto been said about them. They were both very nice
girls, without a particle of affectation or nonsense, though they had
lived in barracks for some portion of their lives. Fanny, the eldest,
was fair, with blue eyes, somewhat _retrousse_ nose, and good figure,
and if not decidedly pretty, the expression of her countenance was so
pleasing that no one found fault with any of her features. Emma was
dark, not quite so tall as her sister, but decidedly handsomer, with
hazel eyes and beautifully formed nose and mouth. As yet, perhaps, they
had had no opportunity of giving decided proof of any higher qualities
they may have possessed, but they were both right-minded, religious
girls. Some of the officers pronounced them far too strict, others
considered them haughty, and one or two even ventured to pronounce them
prudish, because they showed no taste for the frivolous amusements in
which the ordinary run of young ladies indulge; not that they objected
to dance, or to join in a pleasant pic-nic; indeed, the few who did find
fault with them complained only of the way in which they did those
things. Ensign Holt, who was not a favourite, whispered that he thought
them very deep, and that time would show whether they were a bit better
than other people. Neither Fanny nor Emma would have cared much for the
opinion of Ensign Holt, even had they been aware of it. He might
possibly have been prejudiced, from the fact that Mrs Morley, though
very kind and motherly to all the young officers, had found it necessary
to encourage him less than the rest. Ensign Holt, and indeed most of
his brother officers, had no conception of the principles which guided
the Misses Morley or their parents. They looked upon their colonel as
not a bad old fellow, though rather slow; but somehow or other he
managed to keep his regiment in very good order, and all the men loved
him, and looked up to him as to a father. It was his custom to read the
Bible every day in his cabin to his wife and daughters; and as there was
no chaplain on board, he acted the part of one for the benefit of his
men. His sermons were delivered in a fine clear voice, and were
certainly not too long for the patience of his hearers; but Ensign Holt
insisted that they were too strict: he did not like that sort of
theology. Lieutenants Dawson and Hickman were inclined to echo Holt's
opinion.