"Then there is another thing I was thinking of," said Amy; "the good uses of sorrow: you know it brought the Buckinghams to repentance; and Ellen's father being taken ill, he repented too—I think he had as much need of it as they. I'm glad my father is not cross and severe."
"So am I, heartily. Would you run off, Amy, if he were?" said Cornelia.
"Oh! I hope not! I should think
'How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is,
To have a thankless child.'
I shall not forget that passage, uncle, as long as I live: who wrote it?"
"Shakspeare: and as a general rule you may conclude, when you meet a particularly striking passage, that it is either in Shakspeare or Milton. But it is getting late: will Mary be kind enough to bring the Bible, for it will then be time to say, Good-night to you all!"