re sought in
knowledge a couch whereon to rest a searching and restless spirit; or a
terrace for a wandering and variable mind to walk up and down, with a
fair prospect; or a tower of state for a proud mind to raise itself
upon; or a fort or commanding ground for strife and contention; or a
shop for profit or sale--and not a rich storehouse for the glory of the
Creator, and the relief of men's estate."--ADVANCEMEMT OF LEARNING, Book
I.

From the new novel, "Rose Douglass."

A FAMILY OF OLD MAIDS.

Such a family of old maids! The youngest mistress was forty, and the two
servants were somewhat older. They had each their pets too, except I
think the eldest, who was the clearest-headed of the family. The
servants had the same Christian name, which was rather perplexing, as
neither would consent to be called by her surname. How their mistresses
managed to distinguish them I do not recollect; but the country people
settled it easily amongst themselves by early naming them according to
their different heights, "lang Jenny," and "little Jenny." They were
characters in their way as well as their mistresses. They had served
them for upwards of twenty years, and knew every secret of the family,
being as regularly consulted as any of the members of it. They regulated
the expenses too, much as they liked, which was in a very frugal,
economical manner. The two Jennies had not much relished their removal
to the country, and still often sighed with regret for the gossipings
they once enjoyed in the Castlegate of Lanark. But they could not bear
to part from the family; so they now boomed at their wheels or mended
the household linen in the damp dull kitchen of Burnside, instead of
performing the same work in their old cosy, comfortable one in the burgh
town, and tried to indemnify themselves for their privations by
establishing a kind of patronizing familiarity with various of the
cottagers' wives.

Miss Jess and Miss Jean were the names of the younger ladies. There was
that species of resemblance among all the sisters, both mental and
personal, which is often to be observed in members of the same family.
Menie, the eldest sister, was, however, much superior to the others in
force of character, but her mind had not been cultivated by reading.
Jess, the second, was a large coarse-looking woman, with a masculine
voice, and tastes decidedly so. An excellent wright or smith she would
have made, if unfortunately she had not been