now, day by day. You will be
prosperous one day, and then she will share your prosperity, you know."

"We will hope so," said Jane. "Will you thank Mr Rathbone, Sir, for
us, or shall I write myself?"

"No occasion at all, my dear, I am obliged to write to him to-morrow on
business. Good-bye to you."

About a week after this, as the young people were busily employed, as
usual, before tea, Jane mending stockings, Isabella translating French,
Harriet learning geography, and Alfred frowning over his Latin grammar,
Hannah brought in a large box, which had just arrived from London by the
carrier, carriage paid. It must be a mistake, Jane thought; but no, it
was not a mistake, the direction was plain and full: "Miss Forsyth,
Number 21, South Bridge Street, Exeter." The stockings and books were
thrown aside, and the whole family adjourned to the kitchen, to open the
wonderful box. After the removal of several sheets of paper, a letter
appeared at the top, addressed to Jane. She hastily opened it, and read
as follows:

"My dear young Friend,--

"You must allow me thus to address you, though you have never seen me,
and probably have never heard of me. My husband's old friendship with
your father is, however, a sufficient ground for the establishment of
an intercourse between us, which may be advantageous to you, and I am
sure will be very pleasant to us. We owe too much to your excellent
father, not to desire to be of use, if possible, to his children. I
cannot tell you now, but if we ever meet, you shall know how deep is
the debt of gratitude due to the friend who incurred difficulty and
hazard for the sake of our interests, and who, for many weeks and
months, was subjected to anxiety and fatigue on our account, when we
were in India, not aware of our obligations to him, and therefore
unable to express or to testify our gratitude. That friend was your
father. You must accept our good offices, my dear young friend, and
tell us how we can be useful to you. Mr Barker tells us that our
assistance will be more acceptable hereafter than at present.
Remember, then, if you please, that we expect to be applied to
whenever you can give us the pleasure of serving you, or any of your
family. In the mean time, we hope that the contents of this box will
be useful to you, and that its arrival will afford as much pleasure to
your young brother and sisters, as I remember experiencing i