My Pretty Sister 



The night before John's ship sailed his 

 mother gave a little dancing party, and 

 Esther went, looking very pretty, in a light 

 thin dress — a French muslin sprigged with 

 rosebuds, Mary said ; and she ought to 

 know, for she spent near upon an hour 

 brushing and doing her sister's hair, and 

 tying her ribbons, and finally wrapping her 

 up in thick shawls. After the dancing 

 party, for which she had but little heart, 

 poor maid, John brought her home, not by 

 the shortest road, but along by the shore ! 

 There, no doubt, they could bid one another 

 a hundred tearful farewells better than at 

 our door. 



Esther went to bed that night, and she 

 never rose from it again ; the chill night air 

 had struck to her luncrs through the thin 



& o 



dress, and she became very ill indeed, con- 

 sumption rapidly developing from inflam- 

 mation of the lungs. They moved her to 

 the sunniest room in the house and she 

 lay all day in her little white bed, turning 

 her head towards the door whenever any- 

 one entered, asking eagerly if any news of 

 John had come yet .-^ Alas! it was sad 

 enough news when at last it came. Mother 

 and Mary did all they could to account for 

 the delay ; a dozen times in the week 

 Mary ran round to John's mother, always 

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