Her father was a merchant, just
commencing the foundations of what would, in
time, have been a large estate; and as both Miss
Emmerson and her sister were possessed of genteel
independencies, and the aunt had long declared her
intention of remaining single, the fortune of Julia, if
not brilliant, was thought rather large than
otherwise. Miss Emmerson had been educated
immediately after the war of the revolution, and at
a time when the intellect of the women of this
country by no means received that attention it is
thought necessary to bestow on the minds of the
future mothers of our families at the present hour;
and when, indeed, the country itself required too
much of the care of her rulers and patriots to admit
of the consideration of lesser objects. With the
best of hearts and affections devoted to the
welfare of her niece, Miss Emmerson had early
discovered her own incompetency to the labour of
fitting Julia for the world in which she was to live,
and shrunk with timid modesty from the arduous
task of preparing herself, by application and study,
for this sacred duty. The fashions of the day were
rapidly running into the attainment of
accomplishments among the young of her own sex,
and the piano forte was already sending forth its
sonorous harmony from one end of the Union to the
other, while the glittering usefulness of the
tambour-frame was discarded for the pallet and
brush.
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