f eternity, yet it is so often followed by unhappiness, and by a reward
in kind, that no thinking mind can doubt the moral government of God.
And it appears to me that of all the commandments, that one which says
'Honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee,' is the
one taken under the especial protection of Providence. I have ever
noticed that dutiful children are honored by the world, and honored in
their own family circle, and that, on the other hand, it is ill with the
rebellious and unthankful."

"Then there is another thing I was thinking of," said Amy; "the good
uses of sorrow: you know it brought the Buckinghams to repentance; and
Ellen's father being taken ill, he repented too--I think he had as much
need of it as they. I'm glad my father is not cross and severe."

"So am I, heartily. Would you run off, Amy, if he were?" said Cornelia.

"Oh! I hope not! I should think

'How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is,
To have a thankless child.'

I shall not forget that passage, uncle, as long as I live: who wrote
it?"

"Shakspeare: and as a general rule you may conclude, when you meet a
particularly striking passage, that it is either in Shakspeare or
Milton. But it is getting late: will Mary be kind enough to bring the
Bible, for it will then be time to say, Good-night to you all!"

CHAPTER IV.

PROVERBS.--TWENTY QUESTIONS.--THE SPECTRE OF ALCANTRA, OR THE CONDE'S
DAUGHTERS, A TALE OF SPAIN.

Brightly and joyfully did the sun arise after the storm, like a prisoner
released from dungeon and chains, again to look upon the faces of those
he loved; and all nature put on a holiday garb to greet him. Every tree
and bush was sparkling, as if with rapture. If a magician of superhuman
power had waved his wand over the earth, it could not have been more
changed. Long icicles were suspended from the fences and the overhanging
roofs, and even the sheds looked brilliant and beautiful in their icy
covering; but the trees! what words can describe them? The pines
bristled themselves up like stiff warriors arrayed in steel, their armor
making a clanking sound when the cold winds whistled by; and the
sycamores, with their little dependent balls, looked like Christmas
trees hung with bon-bons and confectionery for good children. Every
stray leaf that had resisted the storms of winter, every seed-vessel
upon the shrubs, shone with beauty; the ground was one glittering sheet,
like a