434 THE MANSE AND ITS INiMATES. 



It was a proud day for Ruth Watson when she was installed in 

 her new dig-nity, for dignity she thought it. She had been taught 

 to look forward to becoming a governess as an object of ambition, 

 the attainment of which required and merited every exertion of in- 

 dustry and sacrifice of ease and self-indulgence which she could 

 make; and to consider the conduct of her parents, in rendering' her 

 qualified for the task, as the perfection of wisdom and the extreme 

 of generosity. 



She was about to become useful and independent, and she entered 

 upon her new duties with all the ardour of youth, the alacrity of 

 good-will, and the earnestness of sincerity. She had three natural 

 qualifications, of the inestimable value of which she was then totally 

 unconscious, for at that period she did not reason much — good tem- 

 per, good spirits, and good health. At a later period, when habits 

 of reflection led her to trace from its commencement the progress of 

 her career as a governess, reason showed her their importance, and 

 religion taught her, in humility, where to oiFer her gratitude. 



she was, besides, well disposed to respect in others, and to cultivate 

 in herself, good sense and good principles. She identified herself with 

 her principal and the interests of the establishment, and was not only 

 desirous o^ doing every thing that was expected from her, but was 

 anxious to do it well; so that notwithstanding her inexperience being 

 often troublesome and embarrassing to her, during the first six 

 months, it was seldom so twice upon the same subject, for her desire 

 of improvement was infinitely greater than her self-love ; so that 

 even when, as would occasionally happen, a reproof was conveyed to 

 her in an ungracious manner, or some instance of deficiency or ig- 

 norance unfeelingly noticed or unnecessarily exposed, the mortify- 

 ing feeling of humiliation was more than counterbalanced by the 

 sense of knowledge gained and a fault corrected. 



Ruth's conduct met with that reward which plain, straight-forward 

 honesty, a conscientious dischai'ge of duty, and personal respectability 

 will ordinarily procure. Her employer was not a person of extended 

 views, or much power of observation or reflection, but she was a fair- 

 dealing, well-meaning woman, who knew that Ruth had well per- 

 formed her duties, and that she herself had been a gainer in conse- 

 quence. Nor was she offended when, at the end of eighteen months, 

 conscious that she had now earned a right to a better situation, her 

 young assistant quitted her, having been surprised that she had not 

 done so six months before. She did not make Ruth any present in 

 addition to her scanty salary, but she gave her, what was better, a 

 very handsome written testinronial to her abilities and good conduct, 

 stating, that during twenty-five years she had never had so useful and 

 valuable an assistant, that she parted from her with extreme regret, 

 and that it was only from the nature of her establishment and her 

 own consequent inability to affbrd more that she did not endeavour to 

 secure a continuance of services she estimated so highly, by the in- 

 ducement of a remuneration more adequate to her merits. And 

 having expressed her readiness to answer any further enquiries into 

 particulars, either by letter or personally, concluded by wishing Miss 

 Watson every success in her progress through life. 



