390 PHCEBE ELLIOT. 



a word from him in reply ; and he seemed to take 

 a pleasure in witnessing her paroxysms of fury. 

 When, however, he could speak to Phoebe alone, 

 he said all in his power to comfort her, and let no 

 opportunity slip of lightening the irksome tasks 

 imposed upon her. Poor Elliot, confined as he 

 was to his chair with gout, was a constant witness 

 of these scenes, without having the power of re- 

 dressing them. He saw the misery which his be- 

 loved daughter was undergoing, and the change 

 which it had occasioned in her health. For his 

 sake, Phoebe suffered in silence, but she suffered 

 greatly, and all her thoughts turned on the possi- 

 bility of extricating herself from her present mi- 

 serable life. 



It is not to be supposed that Phoebe had not 

 many admirers amongst her rustic neighbours, but 

 they had all failed in their attempts to gain her re- 

 gard. The consequence was, that the discarded 

 lovers railed at her pride, and loudly prophesied 

 its downfall. There was, however, one exception. 



During the time of Elliot's gradual decrease of 

 prosperity, there had come to settle in the village 

 a man possessed of some wealth, a reputation of 

 more, and a stock of cunning which exceeded 

 both. He was a master builder, about forty years 

 of age, with a countenance far from prepossessing, 

 an extreme awkwardness of manner and clumsi- 



