PHCEBE ELLIOT. 389 



attracted the notice of the lady of the manor, and 

 had received repeated invitations to the hall, where 

 she met with luxuries, refinements, and company, 

 which gave her a distaste for her homely cottage, 

 and the unpolished manners of the rustics she had 

 hitherto associated with. It was at this time her 

 father met with some severe losses, which placed 

 him on the verge of ruin. In order to extricate 

 himself, he married a woman who had a few hund- 

 red pounds, but who was known to have also the 

 worst possible temper. Here Phoebe's real mis- 

 fortunes began. The unhappy girl was made to 

 do work to which she had been unused, by her 

 merciless step-mother. She was taunted with 

 pride and extravagance, and accused of having 

 caused the ruin of her father. Every hour of the 

 day she was subject to some fresh annoyance or 

 ill-treatment, except when the fat cow-boy placed 

 himself in the way of his enraged mistress, in 

 order to divert her attention from the suffering 

 Phoebe. On these occasions, neither blows or 

 abuse seemed to have any effect upon him. He 

 eyed the virago with a sort of stolid look, puffing 

 out his fat cheeks, and helping himself to the food 

 set before him with the most perfect indifference. 

 Indeed, the discordant sounds of his mistresses 

 voice seemed to fall unheaded on his ear, and this 

 increased her rage to a pitch of ungovernable fury. 

 Nothing, however, that she said or did could draw 

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