Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE CUMBERERS. CHAPTER I.—THE MISSES PERKINS. years ago, while staying at the sea-side, my parents renewed their acquaintance with some ladies, whom we will call the Misses Perkins. They were the daughters of a clergyman deceased, and had a slender competence, on which they not only kept up a creditable appearance, but were charitable and useful. It happened that, shortly before returning home, my parents remarked, in presence of these ladies, that they had intended to leave me behind for a time, because my health was delicate, but that some change of plan prevented the family with whom I was to have been domesticated from receiving me. Hereupon significant looks passed between the sisters, and the next day a note arrived, which set forth, that though the Misses Perkins were not in the habit of receiving boarders—far from it,—yet on this occasion they should be happy to step out of their usual path, and accommodate the daughter of their old friend. Accordingly, I was sent to their house, and the ladies—that is, some of them—took care that I should derive all the benefit that care and kindness could secure to me. The Misses Perkins covenanted to provide me with sea air, and, besides that, they provided me with many speculations on human life; on the Providence which throws certain characters together; the changes they are intended to work on one another ; the place each is fitted to fill in this world; the reason why some ,are privileged to be almost always helpers, while others are suffered to be uniformly hinderers; and the cause why some, as it seems, are compelled to exert themselves so much, while others, it is evident, are determined to do so little. But did the Misses Perkins intend to teach me all this? Certainly not; they were by no means metaphys...