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The Floating Press - Elizabeth Sandham

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65 pages

English

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This charming story geared for younger readers recounts the series of tragedies, misunderstandings and surprises that led to the adoption of a girl named Anna. Will she be able to overcome her troubled past and find lasting happiness with her new family?

Sujets

Children's

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Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 octobre 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781776592777
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0134€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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THE ADOPTED DAUGHTER
A TALE FOR YOUNG PERSONS
* * *
ELIZABETH SANDHAM

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The Adopted Daughter A Tale for Young Persons First published in 1822 Epub ISBN 978-1-77659-277-7 Also available: PDF ISBN 978-1-77659-278-4 © 2013 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
*
Preface Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X Chapter XI Chapter XII Chapter XIII Chapter XIV Chapter XV
Preface
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The following tale is intended to shew what people ought to be, ratherthan what they are; as there are few, possessing Mrs. Meridith'sfortune, who have an inclination to dispose of it in the manner she isrepresented to have done. Indeed, the characters here introduced are toonear perfection to be met with in real life, yet the Author hopes thather young readers will receive instruction, as well as amusement, inperusing it.
Some of the incidents may have been before introduced in works of thesame kind; though she is not aware of plagiarism, or borrowing fromother authors, and as she has endeavoured to pourtray those smallerdelineations of character which often escape a general observer, shehopes many of the ideas will be found to be new; and that the presentwork will not lesson the favour which her former publications has soabundantly met with; and which she holds in grateful estimation.
Chapter I
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"You took me up a tender flower."
Mrs. Meridith was the heiress of two considerable estates, one of whichwas in Sussex, on which she was born, and where, at the commencementof this history, she came to reside: her earliest and happiest days ofchildhood had been spent in the village adjoining, where she was nursedby a respectable farmer's wife, having had the misfortune to lose hermother, who died in bringing her into the world. Various sorrows,and the loss of an affectionate husband very early in life, made Mrs.Meridith prefer the quiet scenes of the country to the glitter ofdissipation, or the more uniform amusements of a provincial town; andon entering Rosewood, the name of her estate, she hoped to lose theremembrance of her distresses, which had hitherto heavily oppressed her,in endeavouring to alleviate those of her tenants and the neighbouringpoor. Her father, Mr. Woodville, was a great fox-hunter, and on thedeath of his wife, which he did not feel so keenly as might be expectedfrom the amiable character she possessed, earnestly entreated Mrs.Campbell, who was the wife of his favourite tenant, to take charge ofthe helpless infant. He could have wished she had been a boy, as shewas his only child; "yet," said he, "she must be taken care of, thougha female, and I will not injure the fortune to which she will beentitled; and by and by, when she is old enough, I shall be glad to seeher at the head of my table;" but while she was a baby, he thought ifhe entrusted her to a careful nurse, such as he was sure Mrs. Campbellwould be, it was all that could be required of him. Nor was he desirousof having her in his own house, but perfectly satisfied that she shouldbe removed to the farm, where he could see her as often as he wished.He frequently called on his return from the chace, and repeated histhanks to Mrs. Campbell for her kind attention to his child, earnestlyrequesting her not to want any thing which his house afforded; but Mr.and Mrs. Campbell were above want, and possessed every comfort whichtheir moderate wishes required, so that, except the allotted stipendwhich Mr. Woodville engaged to pay, she sought no other recompence, andseldom went to Rosewood, but when its owner was confined by accident orillness, and wished his daughter to be brought to him.
She continued with the farmer and his wife till nearly six years old,regarding them as parents, and loving them equally with her father,who, as she advanced in childhood, grew more attached to her, and,pleased with her winning ways, he never came to the farm without somenew toy, or sweetmeat, or sugar-plums, the servants at home beingordered to have something nice always in readiness for him to take totheir young mistress. These repeated presents insured him a welcomefrom his daughter, nor did he suspect that he was buying that lovewhich she freely bestowed on her mammy Campbell, for so she styled heraffectionate nurse. The little girl who was her foster sister alwaysshared in these favours, and another part was put by for the boys tilltheir return from school, and whom she looked upon as her brothers.
It was the eldest of these boys who now occupied the farm on which Mrs.Meridith had spent her infant days; his father and mother were bothdead, and he had taken a long lease of it just before that lady cameinto possession of the estate. Mr. Woodville had been dead some years,but Mrs. Meridith had not visited Rosewood since that event, nor afterher marriage till now, being deprived of her husband, with whom shehad lived on her other estate in Lincolnshire, she turned her thoughtsto Rosewood, where she hoped to forget her grief, and if any of thecompanions of her childhood were living, she could by adding to theircomforts, increase her own. Here she found not the farmer Campbell shehad formerly called her father, but his son, whom she once loved as abrother; her good old nurse had died a few years before, and her fostersister also, but the latter had left a child, which the present Mr.and Mrs. Campbell brought up as their own. There were but two housesof any size in the village of Downash, except the parsonage, which wasoccasionally occupied by the vicar, a single man, who lost the pleasurehe might have found in assisting those whom he professed to take thecare of, in drinking and visiting the neighbouring towns, as often ashis situation would allow: the others were occupied by farmer Campbelland farmer Ward, who divided the arable land of Mrs. Meridith's estatebetween them, and the cottages of their labourers formed what was calledthe street. No sooner was Mrs. Meridith settled at Rosewood, than shefelt the ties of affection renewed which had bound her to it in infancy,and she felt the truth of the following observation—
"Meanwhile returning to our native hearth, "How keen the pleasure that our grief repays, "When drinking every gale from kindred earth, "As redolent of youth's refreshing days, "Fancy the wonders of her art displays, "And o'er each object we in absence mourn'd, "Shedding the richness of her fairy rays; "Bids e'en the little hedge-row that we scorn'd, "Rise in a mellow light, by some new tint adorn'd." Local Attachment.
and she determined to seek for happiness once more within its precincts."Often as I have been disappointed in the search," said she, "andseverely as I have felt its loss, let me at least endeavour to use thoseblessings yet left me for the good of others: and is wealth alone theonly blessing left me?" continued she, as she walked pensively up anddown the avenue which led to her house. "Alas! I have now no relationswhom I can share it with, no one whom I can call an intimate friend!My fortune would make many profess to be such, but I have proved thefallacy of such friendship, and know on what ground they are formed. Iwill seek the Campbells: if they are like their parents, they will notbe parasites, for they were content with little, and thought the breadthey ate the sweeter for being procured by their own industry." Withthese sentiments she called at the farm, within a few weeks after herarrival at Rosewood, and found Mr. and Mrs. Campbell sensible of hercondescension, though not servilely so. They were both well informed,and paid her the respect which was due to her as the owner of theirfarm; nor were they ashamed to acknowledge her their superior, not onlyfrom her possessing more money, but from the difference the distinctionsof society had made between them. She found the farmer sitting with twochildren on his knee, and his wife with an infant on hers, in the veryplace where the late Mrs. Campbell used to sit, and to whom she hadoften ran with the sweet things her father brought her while a childunder her care. The shelves, the chairs, and oaken tables were the sameas when she lived there, except that several books were added to thesimple library her foster parents possessed. On entering the room quiteunexpectedly, she was not at first recollected as the lady they had seenat church the Sunday before; her face was particularly expressive, butit was marked with melancholy; and her voice faltered as she apologizedfor her abruptness; nor could she refrain from tears on observing theextreme likeness of the farmer to his good old mother, whose featuresshe perfectly recollected. "It is Mrs. Meridith!" said he, on seeing heradvance farther into their large stone kitchen; and setting the childrenon their feet, who were lost in astonishment at the appearance of astranger, he jumped up and hastened to offer her a chair. Mrs. Campbellalso rose, and remarking the agitation of her countenance, imagined thatsomething had alarmed her, and she had fled to their house for shelter.
"Will you take any thing, Ma'am?" said she, "I am sure you are verymuch frightened."
"No, no," replied Mrs. Meridith, "but the recollection of old timesand old friends were at the moment almost too much for me; thesewalls and that face are no strangers to me:—do you not recollect me,Mr. Campbell?" continued she, holding out her hand to him. With acountenance exp