; but at
last, borne down by a tide of agony, she leaned her head on her hands;
the tears streamed through her fingers, and her whole frame shook with
convulsive sobs.

Her brother wept with her; nor dared he again to touch the point so
solemnly guarded. The next day Augusta parted from her children, hoping
something from feelings that, possibly, might be stirred by their
absence in the bosom of their father.

It was about a week after this that Augusta one evening presented
herself at the door of a rich Mr. L., whose princely mansion was one of
the ornaments of the city of A. It was not till she reached the
sumptuous drawing room that she recognized in Mr. L. one whom she and
her husband had frequently met in the gay circles of their early life.
Altered as she was, Mr. L. did not recognize her, but compassionately
handed her a chair, and requested her to wait the return of his lady,
who was out; and then turning, he resumed his conversation with another
gentleman.

"Now, Dallas," said he, "you are altogether excessive and intemperate in
this matter. Society is not to be reformed by every man directing his
efforts towards his neighbor, but by every man taking care of himself.
It is you and I, my dear sir, who must begin with ourselves, and every
other man must do the same; and then society will be effectually
reformed. Now this modern way, by which every man considers it his duty
to attend to the spiritual matters of his next-door neighbor, is taking
the business at the wrong end altogether. It makes a vast deal of
appearance, but it does very little good."

"But suppose your neighbor feels no disposition to attend to his own
improvement--what then?"

"Why, then it is his own concern, and not mine. What my Maker requires
is, that I do _my_ duty, and not fret about my neighbor's."

"But, my friend, that is the very question. What is the duty your Maker
requires? Does it not include some regard to your neighbor, some care
and thought for his interest and improvement?"

"Well, well, I do that by setting a good example. I do not mean by
example what you do--that is, that I am to stop drinking wine because it
may lead him to drink brandy, any more than that I must stop eating
because he may eat too much and become a dyspeptic--but that I am to use
my wine, and every thing else, temperately and decently, and thus set
him a good example."

The conversation was here interrupted by the return of Mrs. L. It
recalled, i