uld endeavour to
find out reasons for opinions, or hints for the future guidance of their
talents.

I call particular attention to the following letter of Charlotte's, dated
July 10th, 1846. To whom it was written, matters not; but the wholesome
sense of duty in it--the sense of the supremacy of that duty which God,
in placing us in families, has laid out for us, seems to deserve especial
regard in these days.

"I see you are in a dilemma, and one of a peculiar and difficult
nature. Two paths lie before you; you conscientiously wish to choose
the right one, even though it be the most steep, strait, and rugged;
but you do not know which is the right one; you cannot decide whether
duty and religion command you to go out into the cold and friendless
world, and there to earn your living by governess drudgery, or whether
they enjoin your continued stay with your aged mother, neglecting,
_for the present_, every prospect of independency for yourself, and
putting up with daily inconvenience, sometimes even with privations. I
can well imagine, that it is next to impossible for you to decide for
yourself in this matter, so I will decide it for you. At least, I
will tell you what is my earnest conviction on the subject; I will
show you candidly how the question strikes me. The right path is that
which necessitates the greatest sacrifice of self-interest--which
implies the greatest good to others; and this path, steadily followed,
will lead, I believe, in time, to prosperity and to happiness, though
it may seem, at the outset, to tend quite in a contrary direction.
Your mother is both old and infirm; old and infirm people have but few
sources of happiness--fewer almost than the comparatively young and
healthy can conceive; to deprive them of one of these is cruel. If
your mother is more composed when you are with her, stay with her. If
she would be unhappy in case you left her, stay with her. It will not
apparently, as far as short-sighted humanity can see, be for your
advantage to remain at ---, nor will you be praised and admired for
remaining at home to comfort your mother; yet, probably, your own
conscience will approve, and if it does, stay with her. I recommend
you to do what I am trying to do myself."

The remainder of this letter is only interesting to the reader as it
conveys a peremptory disclaimer of the report that the writer wa