and her lean body quite out of proportion to her long legs. Her
face had a singular expression, the little lively and cunning eyes
could hardly peep forth from beneath the bony vault of her forehead and
the broad, flattened nose, the chin was peaked, and the cheeks were
sunken. Thus this unfortunate being was a remarkable foil to her
sister Elizabeth. Their aunt, when she heard the total ruin of the
family, had interfered and assisted them as far as her limited means
permitted. Thus the younger daughter was saved and continued healthy,
since the father's sister had taken the children upon the death of
their parents, for the purpose of educating them. The physical care of
Ernestine came too late, but her mind was cultivated, and her talents
were awakened. She showed herself intelligent, learned with ease, and
retained what she had once acquired, evidently surpassing her sister in
wit and presence of mind. Being fond of reading philosophical works,
she exercised her judgment and showed so much acuteness, that she often
startled even men by her bold and abrupt opinions; not being united to
her own sex by beauty and grace, she not unfrequently exercised a more
than masculine power. But what almost seemed to border on the
marvellous was her great talent for music. Never had I heard the piano
forte played in such a perfect manner; every difficulty vanished before
her, and she only laughed when difficult passages were mentioned to
her. No doubt the extraordinary span of her hand and fingers assisted
her in excelling all that can be done by an ordinary hand. Being also
well versed in the art of composition, she composed with ease long
pieces of music which we often executed to her delight.

"Could not such a being be happy independent of others? Certainly, if
she had resigned herself to her lot, if she could have forgotten she
was a woman. Unfortunately for her, all men forgot it who approached
her, but she could never raise herself beyond the limit so as to belong
to the other sex, or to none.

"This singular being attracted me in a peculiar manner, both by her
excellencies and her repulsiveness. When they performed and I sang her
compositions, there beamed in moments of excitement from her small
eyes, a wonderful, poetic spirit, liked a veiled angel humbled in the
dust, with benign yet terrifying splendour. This frequently made me
forget that she was the sister of my Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth had before refused