CHAPTER IV.

"Farewell, my lord! Good wishes, praise, and prayers,
Shall Suffolk ever have of Margaret."
Henry VI.

{William Shakespeare, "1 Henry VI", V.iii.173-174}

THE arrival of letters from Harry, often accompanied by something
pretty or useful, as a souvenir for herself, were the principal
events of the next winter, to Elinor. Several months of the cold
weather were passed, as usual, by Mr. Wyllys and his family, in
Philadelphia; and Miss Agnes thought it time that her niece
should make her appearance in society. But Elinor found less
pleasure, than most girls, in the gay world. She was seldom
appreciated, in mixed company; she was too young, at that time,
and too modest, for her intelligence to be generally known or
cared for; while her personal appearance exposed her to be
entirely overlooked and neglected by strangers; it had indeed
occasionally been the cause of mortifications, more deeply felt
by Miss Agnes, than by Elinor herself. People talk so lightly, in
what is called general society; heartless remarks are uttered
with so much careless indifference on all sides, that it was not
surprising some unkind observations should have reached her ear.
It was not until the season that she had been introduced into a
larger circle, that Elinor became better aware of her
disadvantages in this respect. She had been so tenderly loved and