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    Agnes Grey
    Agnes Grey
    Agnes Grey
    Ebook237 pages2 hours

    Agnes Grey

    By Anne Brontë

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    A novel that addresses the precarious position of a governess, and how it affected a young woman in that position: some critics, in fact, feel that Agnes Grey deserves the reputation of a 'governess novel' far more than Jane Eyre, as it is decidedly more realistic and down-to-earth in its depiction of the life of a governess.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStart Classics
    Release dateApr 11, 2014
    ISBN9781609776480
    Author

    Anne Brontë

    English novelist and poet Anne Brontë was the youngest, and least recognized, member of the Brontë literary family. She wrote a volume of poetry with her sisters, Charlotte and Emily, before publishing two novels under the name Acton Bell. Brontë achieved modest success with her first novel, Agnes Grey, which was based on her time working as a governess, but her second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was a triumph, selling out in just six weeks. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is also considered one of the first feminist novels, with depictions of alcoholism and immorality that were profoundly disturbing in the 19th century. Brontë died of tuberculosis in 1849 at the age of 29. Collectively, the Brontë sisters’ novels are considered literary standards that continue to influence modern writers.

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    Reviews for Agnes Grey

    3.5/5

    1,143 ratings76 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Anne is very under appreciated.I like her more realistic style.The book is told in the first person by Agnes. As a governess Agnes is given no real authority to punish her charges. So of course they feel free to disrespect her.
    • 4/5
      As a novel that follows the plight of a young woman forced into the position of a governess to make ends meet, Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey has of course often been compared with her sister's more famous novel Jane Eyre. And as a love story, it has also been compared with the novels of Jane Austen. It even reminded me a little of the cautionary morality tales that had been popular up to that time, such as Defoe's Moll Flanders.Personally, I enjoyed it more than Pride and Prejudice, but not as much as Jane Eyre. It just doesn't have the same scope and depth. That said, it is a nice little novel, and interesting, and sometimes very funny. Well worth reading.
    • 5/5
      Okay, don't throw things at me... Anne is my favorite Bronte. There is something more human about her compared to the the masochistic Charlotte and the transcendent Emily. I loved this book, but it has been awhile since I read it.
    • 4/5
      Like her sisters, Anne Bronte is a truly talented writer. While one sister leans more toward romanticism, the other toward morbidity, Anne is in the middle with realism. Her characters portray the nature of humanity in all their flaws and strengths.A heart-warming tale of Agnes who, wanting to help her family's financial situation, becomes a governess. The first family is a nightmare, children are ill-mannered and the parents put all the blame on her for their lack of discipline.Luckily, her second situation was easier, though far from perfect. Through it all she manages to make it through, despite making no head way in morality with her pupils, and even finds Mr. Weston, the man who captures her heart.
    • 4/5
      It can be discussed how great a classic this is. Certainly not anything like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Maybe even just a classic because, well, she's the third sister….and yet, here I've read it again - and enjoyed it even more this second time. Based on Anne's own experiences as an underpaid and unappreciated governess - we follow the naive and timid Agnes Grey as she's starting a new life as a governess. Her gentle and meek nature are certainly worthy of praise, but not the best weapons to tame two wild unruling children - she is simply run over by the double trouble. Then she moves on to another post - to take care of two conceited teenage girls.Not is all gloom. There's people to meet in the local church - the new priest, Mr. Weston is one of them - and he seems to have perception enough to see Agnes' good character and noble heart.Agnes is one of those girls who go through life unnoticed (maybe like Anne Brontë herself?) - she's willing to suffer and be ignored and bullied - above and beyond duty - long after we mere mortals have run away. She's "downstairs" and "upstairs" keep reminding her of that fact.I believe Anne must have enjoyed getting this story out of her system so to speak. Like a therapeutic thing - giving expression to all the unfair treatment she herself suffered.
    • 3/5
      Anne is my favourite Brontë sister, and 'Agnes Grey' is my favourite work of hers. It's not groundbreaking, or particularly exciting, but it is a lovely glimpse into the world of the governess - and has a happy ending to boot.
    • 4/5
      This story, based on Anne's life to some extent, was unexpectedly easy to read. Yes, she does use broad, sweeping, stereotypical generalizations of the classes (rich = ignorant, cruel, gossipy, dumb; poor = kind, loving, forgiving, morally superior), and no, it's certainly not the most inventive of plots, but it's still an enjoyable read. We follow Anne on her first two (and only) governess jobs, both with children so terrible they were infuriating, and then she meets a nice man, suffers a family loss - oh how will the story end? It doesn't matter that things aren't clever and fast-paced - what's a pleasure here is just going along for a ride on Miss Grey's shoulders.
    • 3/5
      There are half a dozen recordings of 'Agnes Grey' and I sampled all prior to purchase; the American reader just wasn't going to sound right - but neither did any of others particularly, ranging from old maid, albeit Agnes does come across as such, to just too conventionally middle class, even though she is. So I plumbed for the most popular. A reading is necessarily a performance and thoroughly inhibits, I suspect, any possible further reading of the text, if like me you've not read the book initially. Thus inevitably Agnes comes across in this performance as priggish and judgmental, the younger daughter of a clergyman, who becomes a governesses as she feels that this would enhance her experience of life and that she'd greatly enjoy putting her skills to a practical end. Alas the world that she enters - the gentry, are dissolute, often idle, rude and snobbish and treat Agnes little better than a servant - which is what she is.She holds to her principles largely based on Christian values and her own class prejudices and ultimately her virtue and long suffering is rewarded. 'Tis but a short tale of love and toil and illness, unhappiness and great meanness of spirit, though I did enjoy some of the arch sentence construction, and a genuinely informative novel of country life in mid 19th Century England. By the end of the book I'd accommodated to Virginia Leishman's reading style, but wondered how a younger less knowing narrator might have tipped the story at different and more sympathetic angle.
    • 2/5
      Somewhere in the middle of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Agnes Grey lacks character development and plot.
    • 4/5
      Not as good as "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall", but still worth reading.A classic Cinderella's, the gentle and patient governess turned into the princess by the love of a Parson.
    • 3/5
      Fodder for all romance novelists who followed the Brontes, how many ways can you tell the story of a mousy, governess beset on all sides by poverty, the winds of fate and wicked souls who try, if not her virtue, at least her patience? Yet she victoriously outlasts them all through her basic goodness to win the heart and hand of the right man in the end. Anne Bronte's heroine may be a bit boring, but her wonderfully descriptive passages lift Agnes Grey above the ordinary. Her intense attention to detail and personality are extremely well done, particularly regarding some of the nasty little psychopathic charges Miss Grey had to take in hand and their equally repulsive parents.
    • 3/5
      The Nanny Diaries of the 19th Century.
    • 4/5
      The book reads much like her sister's books although the subject manner may be less universal. It deals with the British class system and how it leaves many, particularly governesses in an isolated condition.
    • 4/5
      First lines:~ All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut ~ Agnes Grey follows the life of a young woman who sets out to work to financially help her Victorian minister father who is unable to support his family due to ill health.I enjoyed the book which chronicles Agnes' two jobs as governess to other people's children. She describes very competently, the challenges that are faced when raising children in the parents absence, unable to properly discipline them, and forced to tolerate abuse or risk losing the job. This had me thinking that we have not progressed very far since 1847 when this book was published. I am currently reading 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett and she details similar issues in her book written in 2011 but set in the early to mid 1960's, 120 years after Anne Bronte wrote 'Agnes Grey'.I loved Bronte's sense of humour throughout the book. She had me really chuckling. If there is one criticism it is that everything wraps up so nicely at the end. Our heroine is married and has her own children and everything is picture perfect. But, I guess that this happy ending is the Victorian Style; well written and very enjoyable
    • 4/5
      I had to read an ANNE Bronte book after the movie 'Devotion' only describes Charlotte and Emily as geniuses. Why not Anne, too? This could not stand! I had been meaning to read this one for a while anyway. If I were deprived of Charlotte's and Emily's writing, Anne's writing would be all the more appreciated. The story or writing here might not be on the level of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, but I will take what I can get of the Brontes! I know I couldn't write like Anne anyway! Anne seems to overuse the comma here, which is the most irritating this book could be for me. I love the story of Agnes Grey and her perseverance with her job as governess to various children and teens and her perseverance with the disappointments of life overall. The Brontes sure had a handle on the story of the governess. I especially love the appreciation Agnes has for the ocean and her walks (my favorite part!), as I know Anne herself died at the ocean. Now I know how much Anne herself appreciated the ocean and that gives me comfort and reason enough to read the book alone.
    • 3/5
      Agnes is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Grey, a pastor and his wife, who begins a career as a governess in order to supplement the family's income. She goes through many trials with first a family of young children and then with a family of two older girls, who while she is there, one has her coming out and is eventually married.Agnes then helps her mother open a small school after the death of her father. It is here where she is reacquainted with Mr. Weston who she, of course, marries after a while. (She met Mr. Weston at her second position.)This book was a good portrayal of the conditions of the working governess and the folly of mothers and daughters looking for a good match . It was a bit slow in places, but overall really good.
    • 4/5
      Not nearly as remarkable as her sisters' novels, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, but still Agnes Grey was a good read. I liked that it was quick unlike many of the classics that can be hard to get through.
    • 5/5
      Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

      Agnes Grey, a novelist in 1847 recounts her experiences as a governess before she became an Author. Agnes was the daughter of a minister whose family was in financial difficulty. She has only a few choices for employment. Agnes experiences the difficulty of caring for spoiled children, and delves into how she feels wealth can corrupt morals. Based on the true life story Anne Brontë when she left home at age of 19. A fantastic read
    • 4/5
      Agnes Grey, the youngest child in her family, grows up sheltered and even when she wants to help, is usually sent out to enjoy herself once her studies are done. The daughter of a vicar with a small living and a mother who has been disinherited, she finally sets off to be a governess when her father finds himself in tight straits and she convinces her parents to let her try. Her first posting is wretched. She is with a middle class family who treats her poorly and where the parents refuse to let her discipline their unruly brood of spoiled children. I have little doubt that there were families like that as they exist today. Her next job isn’t a lot better, other than the pay and the size of the house. Here she is again not allowed to discipline the children (the term teenager had not yet been coined), ranging from 10 years old to nearly ready to “come out.” The boys are willful, but are sent off to boarding school one at a time, the eldest a flagrant flirt, and the younger daughter willful. I’ll say no more so that you can discover these characters for yourself.

      While any romance like those of Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre (no Heathcliff or Rochester), there are some great lines and insights into the lives of governesses and their charges not found in her sisters’ writings. While I think her second novel is better written, there are many good things about this one, particularly once you get to the part, which takes a great deal of the book, where Agnes is in her second job.
    • 4/5
      Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte was originally published in 1847 and feels much like a biography, based as it is on the author’s experiences as a governess working among families of the English gentry. Becoming a governess was at that time pretty much the only way a woman could earn a respectable living. The author does capture the awkwardness of being caught between the classes, she is above the servants, but not on the same level as those she works for. Even bearing in mind her upbringing and the time, I didn’t really like Agnes Grey, finding her rather judgmental and stiff although she did mellow quite a bit by the end of the book.The story tells of the two positions that Miss Grey was in, first with the Bloomfield family and then with the Murray family. The Bloomfield children were absolute horrors and she had no back up from the parents whatsoever. The Murray children were somewhat older and presented Miss Grey with a whole new set of behavioral problems. The eldest daughter was vain and self-centered and the other daughter was given to rough behavior and cursing like a stable boy. Being a governess was a very difficult job as on the one hand you are held responsible for the behavior of your charges but on the other you are meant to be invisible, there, but in the background.Being the daughter of a minister, herself, it came as no surprise that it is the local curate that sees beyond the governess to the woman that she is. Agnes returns his regard, but at the same time her elder charge was using all the men in the neighborhood to practice her wiles one, including the curate, Mr. Weston. Then Agnes gives up her position and returns home when her father dies. She and her mother open a small school but one day, while on a walk she again meets Mr. Weston who now lives in a nearby parsonage. The character of Agnes Grey was that of a very moral and religious young woman and it was very easy to see the parallels between this fictional character and the author herself. And although the book seemed to have an abrupt ending, I thought it was nice that the author wanted her governess to have that happy ending that she herself did not.
    • 4/5
      # 13 of 100 Classics Challenge

      Agnes Grey🍒🍒🍒🍒
      By Anne Bronte
      1847

      Partially influenced by her personal experience as a governess, Anne Bronte takes us into her world of the humble, mistreated and overworked governesses, with horribly undisciplined mean children of the rich.She falls for an impossible man, but eventually finds true love. And happiness.A great classic. My first Anne Bronte and not my last.
    • 4/5
      Of all the reviews on Goodreads, reviews of the Brontes puzzle me most. Wuthering Heights is meant to be a romance, relaxation reading etc... And Anne Bronte, who is now certainly my favorite sister, is always a distant third...
      This novel isn't as good as The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, sure. But it's more lovely, full of gentle irony, moral correction, and the promise that somewhere there is at least one person, who is not a member of your family, who is not a complete dip-shit. Like Austen, but more enraged, which is understandable given the facts of the story.
      I've read people who complain that this novel 'tells' too much rather than 'showing,' but given that it's written in the first person, I hardly see how it could 'show' without being insanely obtuse; imagine someone sitting down at a bar to regale you with a tale, except he treats it like a Henry James novel. No thanks. I've read that this is too moralistic. I wonder if the people who write this are the same ones who complain that other novels don't have any sympathetic characters? Come on people! Can you imagine a novel full of sympathetic characters, and then have those sympathetic characters not be pissed off that other people are terrible? Ugh. Insufferable.
    • 3/5
      This was an enjoyable book to read, but I found the plot to be predictable and the characters seemed stereotyped and flat. The plot is a familiar one. A pastor's family falls into financial troubles and one of the daughters has to go into service as a governess. She works for 2 different families - both of them shallow with spoiled children and of course, they treat Agnes like dirt. She keeps her chin up and endures and since this is a Victorian romance, you can imagine the final outcome. I usually love the Victorian marriage plot stories, but I found Agnes to be too much of a goody two shoes. Unlike some other memorable characters, like Jane Eyre, she lacks spunk and let's people walk all over her. Just add 3 miracles and she could be St. Agnes Grey. Still enjoyable, but not a classic that will stay with me.
    • 3/5
      Agnes Grey, which was published the same year as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, isn't nearly as dramatic as either of her sisters' most famous works. It's a story of a basically good, but naive, young woman. As the youngest child in a loving family, she was pampered by her mother and older sister. She asserts some independence by seeking work as a governess in order to contribute to the family finances. Nothing in her background has prepared her for the situations in which she finds herself. She seems surprised when the families she works for treat her as less than a social equal. The household servants seem to be beneath her notice, and are hardly even mentioned in the novel. Good works provide her with her primary social contacts. In her limited free time, she visits the sick and elderly members of the community, and it is through these visits that she makes an acquaintance who will change her life.Agnes Grey is more overtly religious than either Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, with its frequent references to the Bible and to Christian virtues. Its seems to instruct as much as it entertains. While Agnes doesn't have the passion of a Jane Eyre or the tragedy of a Catherine Earnshaw, she is a gentle soul who deserves a happy ending.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, which can be really nice.The first part of the book read like a babysitter's worst nightmare; I could hardly believe that the kids could be that consistently stubborn. If I hadn't known that the book was based on Anne Bronte's own experiences, I would have said that part of the book was unrealistic.I enjoyed reading about Agnes' next job as a governess more. Although Rosalie was vain and conniving, I didn't mind her as much. I really liked the character of Mr. Weston, and as soon as he was introduced, I hoped that Agnes would fall for him.I liked Agnes as a character as well. It was very easy to imagine myself in her situation making a lot of the same choices, and that always adds an extra bit of interest for me.
    • 4/5
      It is a such a simple story created by the unjustly less popular of the Bronte sisters, Anne Bronte. But simple as they are, the story is very pleasant. Without a complex and dark story, this novel manages to engage me with its words alone.
    • 4/5
      A young woman's story as she starts her life as a governess for a wealthier family. What I love about Bronte books is that they all have a dark edge to them, you can imagine the dreariness and hardship the protagonists live through. Although it sounds slightly ominous, I love it because it shows readers some of the truth of lower or middle class living in England during that period.
    • 3/5
      Interesting social commentary, dull to read in some sections. apparently somewhat autobiographical.
    • 5/5
      Anne is my favorite of the Bronte sisters. Her heroes are neither blind nor brutal, and with The Tenant of Wildfell Hall there is everything one could possibly want from a Victorian Melodrama; midnight escapes, brutality, unrequited longing, perseverance against all odds, unfortunate marriages and as unpleasant and prickly a heroine as one could ever want. I love it.Despite my love for Wildfell Hall, or maybe because of it, I had never read Anne's other novel, Agnes Grey. The dreary synopsis - the wretched and put-upon life of a governess, with its unique social and economic realities - just didn't call to me in the same way as thwarted passion did. I've read it now, and I'm so glad I have. Agnes is a cranky girl, full of self-pity, pride and self-righteousness, but she's not the pill that Wildfell Hall's Helen is, not by a long shot. Agnes grew on me, so that while I was rolling my eyes at her at the beginning of the book, I was rooting for her by the end of it. And there's plenty of unrequited love and disastrous marriages and even a little dog saved, for those who like a bit of drama with their biting social commentary.
    • 3/5
      A short novel by Anne Brontë. Agnes Grey starts working a a governess and tells us of her life. Though it is a nice read, it is not outstanding and quite predictable.I did not find Agnes very likeable. She seems quite arrogant and very self-righteous, very sure of herself. She comments a lot on the families that she's working for, and though I agree that the children are horrible little brats, it also seems like she might have underestimated the job, and overestimated her own abilities.

    Book preview

    Agnes Grey - Anne Brontë

    CHAPTER I

    THE PARSONAGE

    All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity, that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut. Whether this be the case with my history or not, I am hardly competent to judge. I sometimes think it might prove useful to some, and entertaining to others; but the world may judge for itself. Shielded by my own obscurity, and by the lapse of years, and a few fictitious names, I do not fear to venture; and will candidly lay before the public what I would not disclose to the most intimate friend.

    My father was a clergyman of the north of England, who was deservedly respected by all who knew him; and, in his younger days, lived pretty comfortably on the joint income of a small incumbency and a snug little property of his own. My mother, who married him against the wishes of her friends, was a squire's daughter, and a woman of spirit. In vain it was represented to her, that if she became the poor parson's wife, she must relinquish her carriage and her lady's-maid, and all the luxuries and elegancies of affluence; which to her were little less than the necessaries of life. A carriage and a lady's-maid were great conveniences; but, thank heaven, she had feet to carry her, and hands to minister to her own necessities. An elegant house and spacious grounds were not to be despised; but she would rather live in a cottage with Richard Grey than in a palace with any other man in the world.

    Finding arguments of no avail, her father, at length, told the lovers they might marry if they pleased; but, in so doing, his daughter would forfeit every fraction of her fortune. He expected this would cool the ardour of both; but he was mistaken. My father knew too well my mother's superior worth not to be sensible that she was a valuable fortune in herself: and if she would but consent to embellish his humble hearth he should be happy to take her on any terms; while she, on her part, would rather labour with her own hands than be divided from the man she loved, whose happiness it would be her joy to make, and who was already one with her in heart and soul. So her fortune went to swell the purse of a wiser sister, who had married a rich nabob; and she, to the wonder and compassionate regret of all who knew her, went to bury herself in the homely village parsonage among the hills of -. And yet, in spite of all this, and in spite of my mother's high spirit and my father's whims, I believe you might search all England through, and fail to find a happier couple.

    Of six children, my sister Mary and myself were the only two that survived the perils of infancy and early childhood. I, being the younger by five or six years, was always regarded as THE child, and the pet of the family: father, mother, and sister, all combined to spoil me--not by foolish indulgence, to render me fractious and ungovernable, but by ceaseless kindness, to make me too helpless and dependent--too unfit for buffeting with the cares and turmoils of life.

    Mary and I were brought up in the strictest seclusion. My mother, being at once highly accomplished, well informed, and fond of employment, took the whole charge of our education on herself, with the exception of Latin--which my father undertook to teach us--so that we never even went to school; and, as there was no society in the neighbourhood, our only intercourse with the world consisted in a stately tea-party, now and then, with the principal farmers and tradespeople of the vicinity (just to avoid being stigmatized as too proud to consort with our neighbours), and an annual visit to our paternal grandfather's; where himself, our kind grandmamma, a maiden aunt, and two or three elderly ladies and gentlemen, were the only persons we ever saw. Sometimes our mother would amuse us with stories and anecdotes of her younger days, which, while they entertained us amazingly, frequently awoke--in ME, at least--a secret wish to see a little more of the world.

    I thought she must have been very happy: but she never seemed to regret past times. My father, however, whose temper was neither tranquil nor cheerful by nature, often unduly vexed himself with thinking of the sacrifices his dear wife had made for him; and troubled his head with revolving endless schemes for the augmentation of his little fortune, for her sake and ours. In vain my mother assured him she was quite satisfied; and if he would but lay by a little for the children, we should all have plenty, both for time present and to come: but saving was not my father's forte. He would not run in debt (at least, my mother took good care he should not), but while he had money he must spend it: he liked to see his house comfortable, and his wife and daughters well clothed, and well attended; and besides, he was charitably disposed, and liked to give to the poor, according to his means: or, as some might think, beyond them.

    At length, however, a kind friend suggested to him a means of doubling his private property at one stroke; and further increasing it, hereafter, to an untold amount. This friend was a merchant, a man of enterprising spirit and undoubted talent, who was somewhat straitened in his mercantile pursuits for want of capital; but generously proposed to give my father a fair share of his profits, if he would only entrust him with what he could spare; and he thought he might safely promise that whatever sum the latter chose to put into his hands, it should bring him in cent. per cent. The small patrimony was speedily sold, and the whole of its price was deposited in the hands of the friendly merchant; who as promptly proceeded to ship his cargo, and prepare for his voyage.

    My father was delighted, so were we all, with our brightening prospects. For the present, it is true, we were reduced to the narrow income of the curacy; but my father seemed to think there was no necessity for scrupulously restricting our expenditure to that; so, with a standing bill at Mr. Jackson's, another at Smith's, and a third at Hobson's, we got along even more comfortably than before: though my mother affirmed we had better keep within bounds, for our prospects of wealth were but precarious, after all; and if my father would only trust everything to her management, he should never feel himself stinted: but he, for once, was incorrigible.

    What happy hours Mary and I have passed while sitting at our work by the fire, or wandering on the heath-clad hills, or idling under the weeping birch (the only considerable tree in the garden), talking of future happiness to ourselves and our parents, of what we would do, and see, and possess; with no firmer foundation for our goodly superstructure than the riches that were expected to flow in upon us from the success of the worthy merchant's speculations. Our father was nearly as bad as ourselves; only that he affected not to be so much in earnest: expressing his bright hopes and sanguine expectations in jests and playful sallies, that always struck me as being exceedingly witty and pleasant. Our mother laughed with delight to see him so hopeful and happy: but still she feared he was setting his heart too much upon the matter; and once I heard her whisper as she left the room, 'God grant he be not disappointed! I know not how he would bear it.'

    Disappointed he was; and bitterly, too. It came like a thunder- clap on us all, that the vessel which contained our fortune had been wrecked, and gone to the bottom with all its stores, together with several of the crew, and the unfortunate merchant himself. I was grieved for him; I was grieved for the overthrow of all our air-built castles: but, with the elasticity of youth, I soon recovered the shook.

    Though riches had charms, poverty had no terrors for an inexperienced girl like me. Indeed, to say the truth, there was something exhilarating in the idea of being driven to straits, and thrown upon our own resources. I only wished papa, mamma, and Mary were all of the same mind as myself; and then, instead of lamenting past calamities we might all cheerfully set to work to remedy them; and the greater the difficulties, the harder our present privations, the greater should be our cheerfulness to endure the latter, and our vigour to contend against the former.

    Mary did not lament, but she brooded continually over the misfortune, and sank into a state of dejection from which no effort of mine could rouse her. I could not possibly bring her to regard the matter on its bright side as I did: and indeed I was so fearful of being charged with childish frivolity, or stupid insensibility, that I carefully kept most of my bright ideas and cheering notions to myself; well knowing they could not be appreciated.

    My mother thought only of consoling my father, and paying our debts and retrenching our expenditure by every available means; but my father was completely overwhelmed by the calamity: health, strength, and spirits sank beneath the blow, and he never wholly recovered them. In vain my mother strove to cheer him, by appealing to his piety, to his courage, to his affection for herself and us. That very affection was his greatest torment: it was for our sakes he had so ardently longed to increase his fortune--it was our interest that had lent such brightness to his hopes, and that imparted such bitterness to his present distress. He now tormented himself with remorse at having neglected my mother's advice; which would at least have saved him from the additional burden of debt--he vainly reproached himself for having brought her from the dignity, the ease, the luxury of her former station to toil with him through the cares and toils of poverty. It was gall and wormwood to his soul to see that splendid, highly- accomplished woman, once so courted and admired, transformed into an active managing housewife, with hands and head continually occupied with household labours and household economy. The very willingness with which she performed these duties, the cheerfulness with which she bore her reverses, and the kindness which withheld her from imputing the smallest blame to him, were all perverted by this ingenious self-tormentor into further aggravations of his sufferings. And thus the mind preyed upon the body, and disordered the system of the nerves, and they in turn increased the troubles of the mind, till by action and reaction his health was seriously impaired; and not one of us could convince him that the aspect of our affairs was not half so gloomy, so utterly hopeless, as his morbid imagination represented it to be.

    The useful pony phaeton was sold, together with the stout, well-fed pony--the old favourite that we had fully determined should end its days in peace, and never pass from our hands; the little coach- house and stable were let; the servant boy, and the more efficient (being the more expensive) of the two maid-servants, were dismissed. Our clothes were mended, turned, and darned to the utmost verge of decency; our food, always plain, was now simplified to an unprecedented degree--except my father's favourite dishes; our coals and candles were painfully economized--the pair of candles reduced to one, and that most sparingly used; the coals carefully husbanded in the half-empty grate: especially when my father was out on his parish duties, or confined to bed through illness--then we sat with our feet on the fender, scraping the perishing embers together from time to time, and occasionally adding a slight scattering of the dust and fragments of coal, just to keep them alive. As for our carpets, they in time were worn threadbare, and patched and darned even to a greater extent than our garments. To save the expense of a gardener, Mary and I undertook to keep the garden in order; and all the cooking and household work that could not easily be managed by one servant- girl, was done by my mother and sister, with a little occasional help from me: only a little, because, though a woman in my own estimation, I was still a child in theirs; and my mother, like most active, managing women, was not gifted with very active daughters: for this reason--that being so clever and diligent herself, she was never tempted to trust her affairs to a deputy, but, on the contrary, was willing to act and think for others as well as for number one; and whatever was the business in hand, she was apt to think that no one could do it so well as herself: so that whenever I offered to assist her, I received such an answer as--'No, love, you cannot indeed--there's nothing here you can do. Go and help your sister, or get her to take a walk with you--tell her she must not sit so much, and stay so constantly in the house as she does-- she may well look thin and dejected.'

    'Mary, mamma says I'm to help you; or get you to take a walk with me; she says you may well look thin and dejected, if you sit so constantly in the house.'

    'Help me you cannot, Agnes; and I cannot go out with YOU--I have far too much to do.'

    'Then let me help you.'

    'You cannot, indeed, dear child. Go and practise your music, or play with the kitten.'

    There was always plenty of sewing on hand; but I had not been taught to cut out a single garment, and except plain hemming and seaming, there was little I could do, even in that line; for they both asserted that it was far easier to do the work themselves than to prepare it for me: and besides, they liked better to see me prosecuting my studies, or amusing myself--it was time enough for me to sit bending over my work, like a grave matron, when my favourite little pussy was become a steady old cat. Under such circumstances, although I was not many degrees more useful than the kitten, my idleness was not entirely without excuse.

    Through all our troubles, I never but once heard my mother complain of our want of money. As summer was coming on she observed to Mary and me, 'What a desirable thing it would be for your papa to spend a few weeks at a watering-place. I am convinced the sea-air and the change of scene would be of incalculable service to him. But then, you see, there's no money,' she added, with a sigh. We both wished exceedingly that the thing might be done, and lamented greatly that it could not. 'Well, well!' said she, 'it's no use complaining. Possibly something might be done to further the project after all. Mary, you are a beautiful drawer. What do you say to doing a few more pictures in your best style, and getting them framed, with the water-coloured drawings you have already done, and trying to dispose of them to some liberal picture-dealer, who has the sense to discern their merits?'

    'Mamma, I should be delighted if you think they COULD be sold; and for anything worth while.'

    'It's worth while trying, however, my dear: do you procure the drawings, and I'll endeavour to find a purchaser.'

    'I wish I could do something,' said I.

    'You, Agnes! well, who knows? You draw pretty well, too: if you choose some simple piece for your subject, I daresay you will be able to produce something we shall all be proud to exhibit.'

    'But I have another scheme in my head, mamma, and have had long, only I did not like to mention it.'

    'Indeed! pray tell us what it is.'

    'I should like to be a governess.'

    My mother uttered an exclamation of surprise, and laughed. My sister dropped her work in astonishment, exclaiming, 'YOU a governess, Agnes! What can you be dreaming of?'

    'Well! I don't see anything so VERY extraordinary in it. I do not pretend to be able to instruct great girls; but surely I could teach little ones: and I should like it so much: I am so fond of children. Do let me, mamma!'

    'But, my love, you have not learned to take care of YOURSELF yet: and young children require more judgment and experience to manage than elder ones.'

    'But, mamma, I am above eighteen, and quite able to take care of myself, and others too. You do not know half the wisdom and prudence I possess, because I have never been tried.'

    'Only think,' said Mary, 'what would you do in a house full of strangers, without me or mamma to speak and act for you--with a parcel of children, besides yourself, to attend to; and no one to look to for advice? You would not even know what clothes to put on.'

    'You think, because I always do as you bid me, I have no judgment of my own: but only try me--that is all I ask--and you shall see what I can do.'

    At that moment my father entered and the subject of our discussion was explained to him.

    'What, my little Agnes a governess!' cried he, and, in spite of his dejection, he laughed at the idea.

    'Yes, papa, don't YOU say anything against it: I should like it so much; and I am sure I could manage delightfully.'

    'But, my darling, we could not spare you.' And a tear glistened in his eye as he added--'No, no! afflicted as we are, surely we are not brought to that pass yet.'

    'Oh, no!' said my mother. 'There is no necessity whatever for such a step; it is merely a whim of her own. So you must hold your tongue, you naughty girl; for, though you are so ready to leave us, you know very well we cannot part with YOU.'

    I was silenced for that day, and for many succeeding ones; but still I did not wholly relinquish my darling scheme. Mary got her drawing materials, and steadily set to work. I got mine too; but while I drew, I thought of other things. How delightful it would be to be a governess! To go out into the world; to enter upon a new life; to act for myself; to exercise my unused faculties; to try my unknown powers; to earn my own maintenance, and something to comfort and help my father, mother, and sister, besides exonerating them from the provision of my food and clothing; to show papa what his little Agnes could do; to convince mamma and Mary that I was not quite the helpless, thoughtless being they supposed. And then, how charming to be entrusted with the care and education of children! Whatever others said, I felt I was fully competent to the task: the clear remembrance of my own thoughts in early childhood would be a surer guide than the instructions of the most mature adviser. I had but to turn from my little pupils to myself at their age, and I should know, at once, how to win their confidence and affections: how to waken the contrition of the erring; how to embolden the timid and console the afflicted; how to make Virtue practicable, Instruction desirable, and Religion lovely and comprehensible.

    - Delightful task! To teach the young idea how to shoot!

    To train the tender plants, and watch their buds unfolding day by day!

    Influenced by so many inducements, I determined still to persevere; though the fear of displeasing my mother, or distressing my father's feelings, prevented me from resuming the subject for several days. At length, again, I mentioned it to my mother in private; and, with some difficulty, got her to promise to assist me with her endeavours. My father's reluctant

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