'
'Anne shall come to my room--if Aunt Anne will let her, that is to
say,' said Elizabeth; 'I wonder I never thought of that before, it
will counteract some of the horrors of the Hazlebys. I shall have
the comfort of talking things over with the only person who knows
what to feel. Yes, I will go and speak to Mamma, and shew her that
it is the only way of lodging the world conveniently. Oh, how happy
we shall be!'
As soon as Elizabeth had finished winding her skein, she hastened to
Mrs. Woodbourne, and found no great difficulty in gaining her consent
to the plan; and she then sat down to write to Miss Merton to inform
her of the change of day, and invite her to share her room.
Elizabeth Woodbourne and Anne Merton were first cousins, and nearly
of the same age. They had spent much of their time together in their
childhood, and their early attachment to each other, strengthening as
they grew older, was now becoming something more than girlish
affection. Anne was an only daughter; and Elizabeth, though the
eldest of a large family, had not hitherto found any of her sisters
able to enter into her feelings as fully as her cousin; and perhaps
there was no one who had so just an appreciation of Elizabeth's
character as Anne; who, though hers was of a very different order,
had perhaps more influence over her mind than anyone excepting Mr.
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