As we have before said, the orphans were four in number; the two
eldest were boys, and the youngest were girls. Edward, the eldest boy,
was between thirteen and fourteen years old; Humphrey, the second, was
twelve; Alice, eleven; and Edith, eight. As it is the history of these
young persons which we are about to narrate, we shall say little about
them at present, except that for many months they had been under
little or no restraint, and less attended to. Their companions were
Benjamin, the man who remained in the house, and old Jacob Armitage,
who passed all the time he could spare with them. Benjamin was rather
weak in intellect, and was a source of amusement rather than
otherwise. As for the female servants, one was wholly occupied with
her attendance on Miss Judith, who was very exacting, and had a high
notion of her own consequence. The other two had more than sufficient
employment; as, when there is no money to pay with, every thing must
be done at home. That, under such circumstances, the boys became
boisterous and the little girls became romps, is not to be wondered
at: but their having become so was the cause of Miss Judith seldom
admitting them into her room. It is true that they were sent for once
a day, to ascertain if they were in the house, or in existence, but
soon dismissed and left to their own resources.
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