w, would never afford her the
shelter of her roof."

Simple as this girl appeared, she knew well how to act her part; and so
won upon the compassion of Mrs. W----, that she was determined, if
possible, to save her from ruin. Finding that Mrs. Lyndsay had failed in
obtaining a servant, she applied to her on Hannah's behalf, and
requested, as a favour, that she would take the forlorn creature with
her to Canada.

Flora at first rejected the proposal in disgust: in spite of Mrs.
W----'s high recommendation, there was something about the woman she did
not like; and much as she was inclined to pity her, she could not
reconcile herself to the idea of making her the companion of her voyage.
She could not convince herself that Hannah was worthy of the sympathy
manifested on her behalf. A certain fawning, servility of manner, led
her to imagine that she was deceitful; and she was reluctant to entail
upon herself the trouble and responsibility which must arise from her
situation, and the scandal it might involve. But her objections were
borne down by Mrs. W----'s earnest entreaties, to save, if possible, a
fellow creature from ruin.

The false notions formed by most persons in England of the state of
society in Canada, made Mrs. W---- reject, as mere bugbears, all Flora's
fears as to the future consequences which might arise from her taking
such a hazardous step. What had she to fear from ill-natured gossip in a
barbarous country, so thinly peopled, that settlers seldom resided
within a day's journey of each other. If the girl was wise enough to
keep her own secret, who would take the trouble to find it out? Children
were a blessing in such a wilderness; and Hannah's child, brought up in
the family, would be very little additional expense and trouble, and
might prove a most attached and grateful servant, forming a lasting tie
of mutual benefit between the mother and her benefactress. The mother
was an excellent worker, and, until this misfortune happened, a good and
faithful girl. She was _weak_, to be sure; but then (what a fatal
mistake) the more easily managed. Mrs. W----was certain that Flora would
find her a perfect treasure.

All this sounded very plausible in theory, and savoured of romance.
Flora found it in the end a dismal reality. She consented to receive the
girl as her servant, who was overjoyed at the change in her prospects;
declaring that she never could do enough for Mrs. Lyndsay, for snatching
her from a li