Page:The Cottagers of Glenburnie - Hamilton (1808).djvu/67

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49

them over as a task, that Christian principles were rooted in my heart.

What could I do for her in return? If I could have laid down my life, it would have been too little; and if, in any instance, I proved of service, or of comfort to her, I consider it a happiness for which I am most truly thankful.

Her situation at Hill Castle, was indeed a thorny one. She was there encompassed with many evils; and, in one instance, beset with snares, which it required no common prudence to escape. But her prudence was never put to sleep, as in other young people it often is, by vanity; and, with all the meekness and gentleness of a saint, she had all the wisdom and the firmness of a noble and enlightened mind. My lady and Jackson were the only persons that ever saw Miss Osburne without loving her. But my lady, though she sometimes took fancies to particular people, which lasted for a little while, ne-

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