Strona 31 z 483

Elizabeth had caught the scarlet fever; her illness was severe,

and she was in the greatest danger. During her illness many

arguments had been urged to persuade my mother to refrain from

attending upon her. She had at first yielded to our entreaties,

but when she heard that the life of her favourite was menaced,

she could no longer control her anxiety. She attended her

sickbed; her watchful attentions triumphed over the malignity of

the distemper-Elizabeth was saved, but the consequences of this

imprudence were fatal to her preserver. On the third day my

mother sickened; her fever was accompanied by the most alarming

symptoms, and the looks of her medical attendants prognosticated

the worst event. On her deathbed the fortitude and benignity of

this best of women did not desert her. She joined the hands of

Elizabeth and myself. "My children," she said, "my firmest hopes

of future happiness were placed on the prospect of your union.