206 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



knowledge these Miss Lumleys have acquired ; 

 and yesterday, when we were out walking, my 

 aunt expressed this surprise to Mrs. Lumley. 



"Next to the great principles of religion and 

 morality," she replied, "we endeavoured from 

 their infancy to give them habits of exactness, 

 which we have always found lead not only to 

 regularity and economy of time, but become 

 great preservatives of truth. On such a founda- 

 tion it was not difficult to engraft the love of 

 knowledge ; and literature was always made 

 an indulgence, not a task. After affectionately 

 helping me in our many coarse and laborious 

 works, they first sympathised in the pleasure 

 they perceived I felt, when I had time to read a 

 few pages of some interesting history or poem ; 

 and, from sympathy, they soon began to taste 

 the pleasure themselves." 



They continued the conversation till dinner- 

 time, and both seemed equally pleased at finding 

 how exactly they agreed in their sentiments on 

 education. In the evening, after some music, 

 my aunt, who had been particularly gratified 

 with the piety that appeared in every thing that 

 had dropped from Mrs. Lumley, but who knew 

 that very good people sometimes differed in opi- 

 nion on trifling matters, said to her, "I should 

 be inclined to play some lively tunes, and set 

 our young people to dance; but I am not sure 

 whether you approve of dancing, arid in such a 



