It was not until much later that I found out
that Mrs. Morton never disputed her husband's will, even in trifles;
that he ordered the plan of her life as well as his own; that her
passionate love for her children was restrained in order that her wifely
and social duties should be carried out; that she was so perfectly
obedient to him, not from fear, but from an excess of womanly devotion,
that she seldom even contested an opinion. My fate was very nearly
sealed at that moment, but a hasty impulse prompted me to speak. Looking
Mr. Morton full in the face, I said, a little piteously, "Do not dismiss
me because of my youth, for that is a fault that time will mend. Want of
experience is a greater obstacle, but it will only make me more careful
to observe every direction and carry out every wish. If you consent to
try me, I am sure neither you nor Mrs. Morton will repent it."
He looked at me very keenly again as I spoke; indeed, his eyes seemed to
search me through and through, and then his whole manner changed.
I have been told that Nature had been kind to me in one respect by
endowing me with a pleasant voice. I believe that I was freer from
vanity than most girls of my age, but I was glad in my inmost heart to
know that no tone of mine would ever jar upon a human ear, but I was
more than glad now when I saw Mr.
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