Page:Advice to young ladies on their duties and conduct in life - Arthur - 1849.djvu/42

34 to which this country is subjected, the father lost every dollar he possessed. This misfortune was followed by one still more severe and afflicting; a stroke of the palsy deprived him of all physical power, and shut him up, a permanent invalid, in his chamber.

Soon after the occurrence of these unlooked-for and saddening events, Jane and Edith issued circulars, announcing their intention to commence the millinery and dress-making business, and had them distributed among their old and fashionable acquaintances. The two girls had always been remarked for their exquisite taste in dress: this fact, added to the two others, their reverses, and their practical knowledge of the business they had undertaken, at once brought them as much as their hands could do, and, in a very short time, so filled their rooms with work, that they were obliged to employ from fifteen to twenty assistants. It was not long before their establishment was the largest and most fashionable in the city, because their taste was good, and their skill was equal to their taste. The result need hardly be stated. Neither want nor privation, except such as were imposed by sickness, visited the parent, for whom they had a most tender affection. Their household was not broken up,