“Oh, Mrs. Mann,” said the widow, “what should I do without her?  My only one, my brave, beautiful Clemence!  She is my all of earth, the one being who makes me cling to life and desire it.  God has been good to me in my affliction, and sent me a blessed comforter.”

“I never met but one girl who could at all compare with our Clemence,” said Mrs. Mann.  “I will tell you about her, so that you may see that others, too, have been through the ‘deep waters.’  Lilias May was a genuine heroine.  Her father was a clergyman of limited means, with a large family of children to support.  Lilias was the oldest, and had been educated liberally, the more useful branches not being overlooked, while the accomplishments received their due share of attention.  She was possessed of rare personal beauty, and was the cherished idol of her parents.  When she reached the age of nineteen, her father was suddenly taken away, leaving a helpless family.  Overwhelmed by grief and despair, Mrs. May was utterly incapable of exertion.  It was then that the noble qualities of Lilias came to be known and appreciated.  She took upon herself the management of the entire household, and investigated the affairs of her deceased parent.  Finding that there was absolutely nothing left for their maintenance she looked around for some means of obtaining a livelihood.  Mr. May had been the only son of a wealthy but irascible old gentleman, who never forgave him for marrying the poor girl whom he loved, in preference to the heiress chosen for him by his family.  He took revenge by leaving his immense wealth to his daughter.  Leonora May, an imperious beauty, was totally unlike her brother, and inherited the strong will and haughty pride of her father.  She could never overlook the fault of her handsome, talented brother, of whom she had been extremely proud, burying himself in a country village.  After her own brilliant marriage, all communication ceased between them.  Upon his death, however, she came forward with offensive condescension, offering to adopt Lilias into her family, and, as she was childless, make her the heiress of her vast wealth.  To many this would have been a temptation too great to be resisted; and, to say the least, it was a pleasant picture which was held up alluringly before the young girl.  But she scorned the proposal.  She refused to be raised to a position to which those she loved could not attain, for her aunt had expressly stipulated that, having once accepted her protection, her family should be nothing more to her.  Having thus declined the tempting offer, Lilias began her search for work, in which she was successful beyond her hopes.  A former friend of her father’s, wishing a teacher for his daughters, engaged her services at once.  He also assisted her brother, a youth of seventeen, to secure a place in the counting-room of a friend; and took another, still younger, into his own office.  So that Lilias had the satisfaction of knowing they were all provided for; the church, over which her father had presided, having, meanwhile, presented the widow of their esteemed pastor with the house in which they lived, and a generous sum of money.”