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24 curiosity of their sex, till the brittle seal of female discretion was demolished. Mela grew pale with terror at this discovery, which would have delighted her if her mother had not been a party to it. But she knew her strict notions of decency and decorum, and consequently was in dread for her new frock. The severe matron was equally astonished and displeased at this unexpected intelligence; and heartily wished that she alone might have been informed of it, fearing their neighbour’s generosity might make an impression on her daughter’s heart, and thus prove fatal to her plans. She prudently resolved to take the most decisive measures at once to destroy every seed of love which might be hidden in the virgin heart of Mela. The new frock, in spite of the tears and intreaties of the lovely possessor, was sent on the following day to be sold, and the price of it, with the money she had gained by the sale of the lint, was packed up, and, under the name of an old debt with the assistance of the Hamburg mercantile messenger returned to Frank, who received the sum as an unexpected blessing,