he became a woman
she married Frederic, the oldest son, thus keeping the place of a
daughter in the house. But I am telling you the truth, which, you know,
is often stranger than fiction, and often sadder also. In stories, good
people are generally rewarded with uninterrupted prosperity, just as
some very judicious parents give their children plum-cake and sweetmeats
when they say their lessons well and do not scratch each others' eyes
out. But it is not so in the real world: the all-wise Father above, acts
on other principles. He knows that his children require evil, as well as
good, and that the best soil will become dry, hard, and sterile, if the
sun always shines upon it;--therefore it is that He sends dark, heavy
clouds and gloomy days. Unwise and unthankful as we are, we grievously
complain; but the showers still descend, and when we least expect it,
behold the beautiful sun! All nature is again gay and joyous: the birds
sing cheerily, the flowers raise up their dripping heads, new blossoms
are put forth, and, to use the language of Scripture, the little hills
skip like rams, the valleys shout, they also sing, and all the trees of
the field do clap their hands. My heroine is still under the cloud of
adversity, sharing in the fate of her protectors, and lightening their
trials by her ready hand and most affectionate heart. Two years after
she entered Mr. Norton's home, her benefactor was taken ill, and
lingered for some months before he was transferred to that better
mansion which is provided for each one of the faithful. Sad was the
desolation caused by his death. I will not speak of the sorrow of the
widow and of the orphans--you can all imagine that--but, in addition,
they were deprived of their home, and cast out upon the world. After
the bills were paid--the physician's, the apothecary's, and the
undertaker's, in addition to those necessarily contracted for the
household while the father was earning nothing, Mrs. Norton found that
not a penny was left her. Selling what she could, she removed to
Philadelphia, where she had resided in her youth, thinking that she
could easily obtain employment for her needle, and so support her young
family, while they shared the advantages of our excellent system of
public schools. But she found herself friendless and unknown in the
great city, with many competitors for a very little sewing; and she came
to the conclusion that it is the very poorest way by which a woman can
supp