s Beaufort concluded, he rose from his seat and hurriedly left the
room, whilst poor Amy remained panic-struck, and scarcely
comprehending the extent of her wretchedness. Her energies were,
however, aroused, and directed into a fresh channel; when, a few
minutes after her father's departure, a servant placed a note in her
hand, bearing the well-known characters of Herbert Lyddiard, which
she said had been delivered at the door by a meanly-dressed young
man. She almost flew to her chamber to peruse the contents, which,
though written by Herbert, were dictated by his mother. She stated
that her son, having lost his situation in Manchester by the death of
his employer, had been induced to remove to London, with the hope of
obtaining a more lucrative one in that city; but, being disappointed
in his expectations, that they were consequently reduced to the
greatest distress. Her health, she concluded, had suffered so
severely from intense anxiety and privations, that, believing herself
to be dying, she solicited, as a last request, one brief visit from
her beloved young friend.

Amy Beaufort possessed a mind which never sunk under difficulties
whilst there was any active duties to perform, and in less than half
an hour she was in a hackney-coach on her way to Mrs Lyddiard's
residence, bearing with her, besides a few articles of nourishment
for the invalid, a large packet containing some of the early efforts
of her pencil, which she, with prompt thoughtfulness, imagined might
be disposed of, if only for a trifle, to aid her unfortunate friends
in their present exigence. She had a few guineas left from her
father's last gift; but she now shrunk from using them even for so
sacred a purpose. The coach stopped at the door of a large but
mean-looking house in a narrow crowded street, and her inquiry if
Mrs Lyddiard lived there, was answered in the affirmative by a ragged
boy, who asked if he should carry her parcel. Amy followed him, not
without some apprehension, up three flights of dark steep stairs; but
her fears were relieved when, her gentle tap at the door to which her
guide pointed, was answered by the well-known voice of her early
friend.

The meeting was affecting in the extreme; but Amy did not find the
invalid reduced quite so low as her imagination had pictured. Though
a few months only had elapsed since they parted, each had a long tale
of trials to tell, and that Amy had to relate was rendered doubly
distressing by