Page:The Mysterious Warning - Parsons (1796, volume 3).djvu/251

 dreadful state in which my charming friend continued for six days.

"At the expiration of that period, Heaven heard the prayers of this worthy father, and restored her to reason. It was near a fortnight before she could leave her bed; and then how affecting was the figure she presented! A delicate skin thrown over a skeleton, a look of dignified sorrow, that wounded every eye, and a struggle for that composure so necessary to her father's peace, which now seemed the only object she had in view. So shadowy was her frame, that we almost feared to breathe, lest it should dissolve into air; and when she spoke, so faint, so sweet was her voice, that it penetrated to the very soul.

"Judge what a father must feel; for I see you are affected. Not to dwell, therefore, on a situation so painful, the fortitude she sought to acquire, and her consideration for her father, which still rendered life valuable to a duteous mind like her's, uniting with youth and a good constitution, restored her