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The &longs;un was &longs;unk beneath the we&longs;tern hills,
his parting beams made the horizon flame
with burni&longs;hed gold, and darted on the topmo&longs;t
branches of the lofty trees of a neighbouring forest.
Autumn had not put off her plea&longs;ing
robe, nor had the gentle zephyr for&longs;ook the
plain to give place to his rude-brother Boreas.
The ground was &longs;trewed with leaves of various
hues; the ripened fruit hung on the bending
trees, and fields of waving golden grain rendered
the &longs;cene delightful.

Marian and Lydia having fini&longs;hed their daily
talk, &longs;et a&longs;ide their wheels with alacrity, and
tying on their &longs;traw bonnets, prepared to enjoy
the beauties of the evening, by rambling over
the adjacent fields and meadows.

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They were innocent and &longs;prightly as the
young &longs;awn that lightly bounds over the verdant
lawn; &longs;miling youth and ro&longs;y health glowed
upon their cheeks, and &longs;parkled in their eyes;
their wi&longs;hes untaught by art or luxury to &longs;tray
beyond the bounds which &longs;imple nature has
marked out, were ea&longs;ily &longs;upplied; they aro&longs;e
each morn with the feathered chori&longs;ters, and
chearfully pur&longs;ued their daily labour; the evening
was their time for mirth. Innocence presided
over all their plea&longs;ures, and meek-eyed
content on downy pinions hovered over their
homely couch, &longs;weetening their quiet slumbers.

Their cottage was &longs;ituated in a plea&longs;ant valley,
on the borders of Wales; it was plain and
rural, it contained every nece&longs;&longs;ary, but no superfluities;
&longs;implicity had decorated it, and the
neatne&longs;s of its furniture rendered it more pleasing
to the ru&longs;tic inhabitants than the mo&longs;t sumptuous
palace.

Here Marian and Lydia, by their chearfulne&longs;s
and indu&longs;try, enlivened the declining hours of
their mother Dorcas.

Beware, &longs;aid the careful mother, beware, my
children, tarry not too long, left the evening
lamps &longs;hould impair your health, and rob your
mother of her only comforts.

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The &longs;i&longs;ters departed, and as they wandered
over the fields, in the innocent gaiety of their
hearts, carroled forth their &longs;ongs in wild, untutored,
but melodious notes.

Sir George Lovemore had arrived a few days
before at Gwinfred-Hall, to vi&longs;it a maiden aunt,
who&longs;e unlimited fortune demanded this mark of
re&longs;pect, for the virtues of her mind, or the
&longs;weetne&longs;s of her manner he was totally unacquainted
with. Mrs. Gwinfred's unaffected piety,
good-humour, and amiable di&longs;po&longs;ition, were
things totally di&longs;regarded by the young libertine,
though the vi&longs;it was profe&longs;&longs;edly made to
her, yet he &longs;pent but a &longs;mall &longs;hare of his time
in her company. He was continually rambling
from one place to another, making vi&longs;its to
tho&longs;e neighbouring gentlemen who&longs;e opinions
and manners mo&longs;t &longs;uited with his own. He
was this evening returning from a vi&longs;it to the
Earl of Landaff, he was &longs;eated in an elegant
phaeton, drawn by four beautiful bays, his servants
were in their be&longs;t travelling liveries, which
were green faced with buff, and &longs;uperbly trimmed
with gold lace, they proceeded &longs;lowly, the
animals &longs;eeming to partake of their ma&longs;ter's indolence.

Marian and Lydia had wandered to the road,
and were ju&longs;t cro&longs;&longs;ing it with an intent to enter

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a &longs;mall wood on the other &longs;ide, when this magnificent
equipage impeded their way. They
had never before &longs;een any thing half &longs;o grand---
they &longs;topped involuntarily to admire it as it
pa&longs;&longs;ed; the wind had blown off Marian's bonnet,
her luxuriant brown hair falling in ringlets
over her face and neck, &longs;erved as a &longs;hade
to heighten but not ob&longs;cure her charms.

Sir George caught a glimp&longs;e of her per&longs;on,
and in her little white jacket, &longs;imple, unadorned,
&longs;he appeared to him like a wood nymph;
her form was delicate, her &longs;tature rather below
the middling &longs;ize. He alighted from his phaeton,
and offering his hand to Marian, &longs;aid he
would a&longs;&longs;i&longs;t her in cro&longs;&longs;ing the road; he &longs;eized
her unreluctant hand, he gazed earne&longs;tly upon
her face, and felt in a moment his heart was
captivated by this ru&longs;tic fa&longs;cinating beauty; the
mode&longs;t inobtru&longs;ive charms of Lydia were unnoticed,
he called her &longs;i&longs;ter by a thou&longs;and divine
appellations, which, as they had never heard
them before, at once excited their wonder and
their fears.

Leave us, good Sir, &longs;aid Lydia, for we mu&longs;t
return home, and &longs;hould our mother &longs;ee you,
&longs;he would be angry with us; be&longs;ides, Sir, we
country maidens are not u&longs;ed to conver&longs;e with
&longs;uch grand folks, and mayhap you will laugh

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at our &longs;implicity. They then dropped their
curt&longs;ies, and wi&longs;hing him a good night, would
have left him, but he &longs;topped Marian, and attempted
rudely to &longs;alute her; &longs;he &longs;hrieked,
&longs;truggled, and at length freeing her&longs;elf from his
hold, caught her &longs;i&longs;ter's hand, and darting acro&longs;s
the field, they were pre&longs;ently out of &longs;ight.

Sir George gazed after them for a moment,
then, a&longs;cending his carriage, determined in his
own mind to attempt the &longs;eduction of Marian,
He made no doubt but &longs;he would again walk
the &longs;ame way, and re&longs;olved every night to ramble
out in hopes of meeting her.

The &longs;i&longs;ters &longs;lackened not their pace till they
arrived within &longs;ight of their mother's cottage.
Dorcas, unea&longs;y at their long &longs;tay, had walked
forth to meet them; their ha&longs;te and confu&longs;ion
alarmed her. Tell me, my children, &longs;aid &longs;he,
why are you thus agitated? Has any thing
frightened you, or has any of the low-bred
clowns in&longs;ulted you? Why would you walk &longs;o
late?

Dear mother, cried Lydia, a gentleman stopped
us, and was &longs;o rude to my &longs;i&longs;ter.

Not very rude, &longs;aid Marian, interrupting her,
he only wanted to ki&longs;s me, and I ran away from
him. But you cannot think what a fine

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gentleman he was, &longs;o hand&longs;ome, and he had &longs;uch
a pretty thing to ride in; dear, dear, how I
&longs;hould like to ride in &longs;uch an one.

I am &longs;urpri&longs;ed, Marian, &longs;aid Dorcas, gravely,
to hear you talk thus; it becomes not a girl
of your humble &longs;tation to &longs;peak in &longs;uch raptures
of the beauty of a gentleman, or the
grandeur of his equipage, much le&longs;s to form
wi&longs;hes to be indulged by riding in it.

Why &longs;urely, dear mother, &longs;aid &longs;he, it is no
harm to wi&longs;h.

It is wrong, my dear child (replied the tender
mother) very wrong to form wi&longs;hes which
we are certain, from the &longs;ituation in which it
has plea&longs;ed Providence to place us, can never
be laudably gratified. You know, Marian, 'tis
impo&longs;&longs;ible you can ever po&longs;&longs;e&longs;s a &longs;plendid equipage.

Oh! dear, &longs;aid Marian, I do not think &longs;o;
mayhap the fine gentleman may be in love with
me; I am &longs;ure he called me by many pretty
names.

Dorcas &longs;hook her head, and &longs;ighed. And
how, &longs;aid &longs;he, looking mournfully at Marian,
how has vanity found entrance in a heart I had
hoped was the &longs;eat of innocence and content.

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Don't be angry with my &longs;i&longs;ter, dear mother,
&longs;aid Lydia, to be &longs;ure the gentleman did talk a
great deal about beauty and godde&longs;&longs;es, but I
dare &longs;ay he meant nothing.

That's nothing but envy, &longs;aid Marian, peevishly,
becau&longs;e he did not &longs;ay any thing to you.
For of what u&longs;e would it be to him to &longs;ay I was
the lovelie&longs;t girl he ever &longs;aw, if he did not
think &longs;o; that would be fibbing for fibbing's
&longs;ake.

Dorcas &longs;miled at her &longs;implicity, while &longs;he regretted
that tho&longs;e &longs;parks of vanity which had
ever lain dormant, had by flattery been blown
into a flame. They entered the cottage, and
&longs;at down to a rural &longs;upper of milk and fruit;
during the repa&longs;t Marian could think nor &longs;peak
of aught be&longs;ide the gentleman.

Lydia was &longs;ilent, and Dorcas now and then
&longs;ighed profoundly, while a tear fell as &longs;he reverted
in her thoughts to occurrences long &longs;ince
pa&longs;t; when they had fini&longs;hed their temperate
meal, &longs;he thus addre&longs;&longs;ed her daughters.

My dear children, &longs;aid &longs;he, you have often
heard me &longs;ay, that you lo&longs;t your father when
you were quite infants: in that I told you
truth; he is lo&longs;t, irreparably lo&longs;t to you and me,
but it was not death that tore him from us. I

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have ever avoided mentioning any of the occurrences
of my pa&longs;t life, le&longs;t it &longs;hould pain your
gentle, affectionate hearts, but I find now the
hour is arrived when the mother's &longs;orrows &longs;hall
&longs;erve as a warning to the daughters, to teach
them to avoid tho&longs;e &longs;hoals and quick&longs;ands on
which were wrecked her happine&longs;s and peace.

Li&longs;ten attentively, and while you weep over
my misfortunes, let the errors which brought
them on me &longs;ink deep in your hearts; remember
they were the cau&longs;e of your mother's ruin,
and &longs;hun them through the cour&longs;e of your own
lives as you would any poi&longs;onous or obnoxious
reptile.

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