As my mamma had feared, so the event proved; for I quickly adopted my cousins’ selfish ideas, and gave the young lady notice that they were my own plaything’s, and she must not amuse herself with them any longer than I permitted her.  Then presently I took occasion to begin a little quarrel with her, and said, “I have got a mamma now, miss Frederica, as well as you, and I will go and tell her, and she will not let you play with my doll any longer than I please, because it is my own doll.”  And I very well remember I imitated as nearly as I could, the haughty tone in which my cousins used to speak to me.

“Oh, fie!  Emily,” said my mamma; “can you be the little girl, who used to be so distressed because your cousins would not let you play with their dolls?  Do you not see you are doing the very same unkind thing to your play-fellow, that they did to you?” Then I saw as plain as could be what a naughty girl I was, and I promised not to do so any more.

A lady was sitting with mamma, and mamma said, “I believe I must pardon you this once, but I hope never to see such a thing again.  This lady is miss Frederica’s mamma, and I am quite ashamed that she should be witness to your inhospitality to her daughter, particularly as she was so kind to come on purpose to invite you to a share in her own private box at the theatre this evening.  Her carriage is waiting at the door to take us, but how can we accept of the invitation after what has happened?” The lady begged it might all be forgotten; and mamma consented that I should go, and she said, “But I hope, my dear Emily, when you are sitting in the play-house, you will remember that pleasures are far more delightful when they are shared among numbers.  If the whole theatre were your own, and you were sitting by yourself to see the performance, how dull it would seem, to what you will find it, with so many happy faces around us, all amused with the same thing!” I hardly knew what my mamma meant, for I had never seen a play; but when I got there, after the curtain drew up, I looked up towards the galleries, and down into the pit, and into all the boxes, and then I knew what a pretty sight it was to see a number of happy faces.  I was very well convinced, that it would not have been half so cheerful if the theatre had been my own, to have sat there by myself.  From that time, whenever I felt inclined to be selfish, I used to remember the theatre, where the mamma of the young lady I had been so rude to, gave me a seat in her own box.  There is nothing in the world so charming as going to a play.  All the way there I was as dull and as silent as I used to be in ——­shire, because I was so sorry mamma had been displeased with me.  Just as the coach stopped, miss Frederica said, “Will you be friends with me, Emily?” and I replied, “Yes, if you please, Frederica;” and we went hand in hand together into the house.  I did not speak any more till we entered the box, but after that I was as lively as if nothing at all had happened.