h children of their fortunes to make themselves too
free, or play with their servants; but if they were little kings and
queens, still they ought to speak kind and civil to everyone. Indeed our
king and queen would scorn to behave like the children of this family,
and if--" She was going on, but they stopped her, saying, "If you say
another word, we will push you out of the room this moment, you
rude, bold, insolent woman; you ought to be ashamed of speaking so
disrespectfully of your betters; but we will tell our mamma, that we
will, and she won't suffer you to allow your tongue such liberties."
"If," replied Molly, "I have offended you, I am sorry for it, and beg
your pardon, ladies; I am sure I had no wish to do so; and you should
remember that you both insisted upon my telling you what I had been
saying." "So we did," said they, "but you had no business to say it all;
and I promise you my mamma shall know it."

'In this manner they went on for some time; but, to make short of my
story, they represented the matter in such a manner to their mother,
that she dismissed Molly from her service, with a strict charge never to
visit the house again. "For," said Mrs. Speedgo, "no servant who behaves
as you have done, shall ever enter my doors again, or eat another
mouthful in my house." Molly had no desire so suddenly to quit her
place; but as her conscience perfectly acquitted her of any wilful
crime, after receiving her wages, respectfully wishing all the family
their health, and taking a friendly leave of her fellow-servants, she
left the house, and soon engaged herself as dairy-maid in a farmer's
family, about three miles off; in which place she behaved so extremely
well, and so much to the satisfaction of her master and mistress, that,
after she had lived there a little more than two years, with their
entire approbation, she was married to their eldest son, a sober, worthy
young man, to whom his father gave a fortune not much less than three
thousand pounds, with which he bought and stocked a very pretty farm in
Somersetshire, where they lived as happy as virtue and affluence could
make them. By industry and care they prospered beyond their utmost
expectations, and, by their prudence and good behaviour, gained the
esteem and love of all who knew them.

'To their servants (for they soon acquired riches enough to keep three
or four, I mean household ones, besides the number that were employed in
the farming business) they