CHAPTER XXXII 465 insisted , too , on my coming the next day to spend the evening at Vale Hall .
I went . I found it a large , handsome residence , showing abundant evidences of wealth in the proprietor . Rosamond was full of glee and pleasure all the time I stayed . Her father was affable ; and when he entered into conversation with me after tea , he expressed in strong terms his approbation of what I had done in Morton school , and said he only feared , from what he saw and heard , I was too good for the place , and would soon quit it for one more suitable .
" Indeed ," cried Rosamond , " she is clever enough to be a governess in a high family , papa ."
I thought I would far rather be where I am than in any high family in the land . Mr . Oliver spoke of Mr . Rivers -- of the Rivers family -- with great respect . He said it was a very old name in that neighbourhood ; that the ancestors of the house were wealthy ; that all Morton had once belonged to them ; that even now he considered the representative of that house might , if he liked , make an alliance with the best . He accounted it a pity that so fine and talented a young man should have formed the design of going out as a missionary ; it was quite throwing a valuable life away . It appeared , then , that her father would throw no obstacle in the way of Rosamond ' s union with St . John . Mr . Oliver evidently regarded the young clergyman ' s good birth , old name , and sacred profession as sufficient compensation for the want of fortune .
It was the 5th of November , and a holiday . My little servant , after helping me to clean my house , was gone , well satisfied with the fee of a penny for her aid . All about me was spotless and bright -- scoured floor , polished grate , and well-rubbed chairs . I had also made myself neat , and had now the afternoon before me to spend as I would .
The translation of a few pages of German occupied an hour ; then I got my palette and pencils , and fell to the more soothing , because easier occupation , of completing Rosamond Oliver ' s miniature . The head was finished already : there was but the background to tint and the drapery to