CHAPTER THE FIRST.

I.

In yonder vale,—famed for its genial mould,

Its pastoral beauties, and rare grains of gold,[159]

There, ’neath the shelter of a peasant’s cot,

A pair of rosied cheeks was the fair lot

Of young Jane Hollybrand; who had to toil,

To cook potatoes; cauliflowers to boil;

To scrub and clean the inside[160] oaken floor;