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"I was the mirror in which they beheld thee, and the object in which, with submission to Heaven, all their wishes

centred, and mine were in accordance with theirs, for I knew their worth;

and as I was mistress of their hearts, so was I also of their

possessions Through h

my hands passed the accounts and returns of as sown and reaped; the

oil-mills, the wine-presses, the count of the flocks and herds, the

beehives, all in short that a rich farmer like my father has or can have,

I had under my care, and I acted as steward and mistress with an

assiduity on my part and satisfaction on theirs that I cannot well

describe to you The leisure hours left to iven the

requisite orders to the head-shepherds, overseers, and other labourers, I

passed in such e girls, those that the needle, e

wheel usually afford, and if to refresh my mind I quitted the soht me that music soothes the troubled mind and