dissimilar to admit
of it; and yet Sophia loved the other, and at the same time feared
her--she was so cold, so distant, so formal, so reserved. Josephine, on
her part, viewed her sister as a mere child--not absolutely as an
inferior, but as one unfitted by nature and disposition to be her
companion and friend. Her treatment of Sophia was therefore marked by an
air and tone of patronizing condescension, rather than by a tender,
sisterly affection.

Mrs. Franklin loved both her daughters, but her preference manifestly
inclined to Josephine, whose tastes were in exact accordance with her
own. Sophia had little or no inclination for the excitement and tumult
of fashionable pleasures; and therefore she was left much to herself,
alone and dependent upon her own resources to beguile her time, while
her mother and sister were abroad in the giddy whirl of patrician
dissipation.

But upon the Sabbath, no family were more regular in their attendance at
church than the Franklins. Punctually every Sunday morning, the mother
and daughter would alight from their splendid carriage opposite St.
Paul's church, and seating themselves in their luxuriously cushioned and
furnished pew, listen to the brilliant eloquence of Dr. Sinclair, with
profound attention. Then, when the pealing organ and the swelling anthem
filled the vast dome with majestic harmony, the superb voice of
Josephine Franklin would soar far above the rolling flood of melody, and
her magnificent charms would become the cynosure of all eyes. Few
noticed the fair young creature at her side, her golden hair parted
simply over her pure brow, and her mild blue eyes cast modestly upon the
page of the hymn-book before her.

Having now introduced Mrs. Lucretia Franklin and her two daughters to
the reader, we shall proceed at once to bring them forward as active
participants in the events of our history.

It was about three o'clock in the afternoon; in a sumptuous chamber of
Franklin House (for by that high-sounding title was the residence of the
wealthy widow known,) two ladies were engaged in the absorbing mysteries
of a singular toilet.

One of these ladies was just issuing from a bath. Although not young,
she was very handsome; and her partially denuded form exhibited all the
matured fullness of a ripened womanhood. This lady was Mrs. Lucretia
Franklin.

Her companion was her daughter Josephine. This beautiful creature was
standing behind her mother; she had just drawn o