Elizastillspokelittle:shehadevidentlynotimetotalk。Ineversawabusierpersonthansheseemedtobe;yetitwasdifficulttosaywhatshedid:orrather，todiscoveranyresultofherdiligence。Shehadanalarmtocallherupearly。Iknownothowsheoccupiedherselfbeforebreakfast，butafterthatmealshedividedhertimeintoregularportions，andeachhourhaditsallottedtask。Threetimesadayshestudiedalittlebook，whichIfound，oninspection，wasaCommonPrayerBook。Iaskedheroncewhatwasthegreatattractionofthatvolume，andshesaid，“theRubric。”Threehoursshegavetostitching，withgoldthread，theborderofasquarecrimsoncloth，almostlargeenoughforacarpet。Inanswertomyinquiriesaftertheuseofthisarticle，sheinformedmeitwasacoveringforthealtarofanewchurchlatelyerectednearGateshead。Twohoursshedevotedtoherdiary;twotoworkingbyherselfinthekitchen—garden;andonetotheregulationofheraccounts。Sheseemedtowantnocompany;noconversation。Ibelieveshewashappyinherway:thisroutinesufficedforher;andnothingannoyedhersomuchastheoccurrenceofanyincidentwhichforcedhertovaryitsclockworkregularity。
Shetoldmeoneevening，whenmoredisposedtobecommunicativethanusual，thatJohn’sconduct，andthethreatenedruinofthefamily，hadbeenasourceofprofoundafflictiontoher:butshehadnow，shesaid，settledhermind，andformedherresolution。Herownfortuneshehadtakencaretosecure;andwhenhermotherdied—anditwaswhollyimprobable，shetranquillyremarked，thatsheshouldeitherrecoverorlingerlong—shewouldexecutealong—cherishedproject:seekaretirementwherepunctualhabitswouldbepermanentlysecuredfromdisturbance，andplacesafebarriersbetweenherselfandafrivolousworld。IaskedifGeorgianawouldaccompanyher。
“Ofcoursenot。Georgianaandshehadnothingincommon:theyneverhadhad。Shewouldnotbeburdenedwithhersocietyforanyconsideration。Georgianashouldtakeherowncourse;andshe，Eliza，wouldtakehers。”
Georgiana，whennotunburdeningherhearttome，spentmostofhertimeinlyingonthesofa，frettingaboutthedulnessofthehouse，andwishingoverandoveragainthatherauntGibsonwouldsendheraninvitationuptotown。“Itwouldbesomuchbetter，”shesaid，“ifshecouldonlygetoutofthewayforamonthortwo，tillallwasover。”Ididnotaskwhatshemeantby“allbeingover，”butIsupposeshereferredtotheexpecteddeceaseofhermotherandthegloomysequeloffuneralrites。Elizagenerallytooknomorenoticeofhersister’sindolenceandcomplaintsthanifnosuchmurmuring，loungingobjecthadbeenbeforeher。Oneday，however，assheputawayheraccount—bookandunfoldedherembroidery，shesuddenlytookherupthus—
“Georgiana，amorevainandabsurdanimalthanyouwascertainlyneverallowedtocumbertheearth。Youhadnorighttobeborn，foryoumakenouseoflife。Insteadoflivingfor，in，andwithyourself，asareasonablebeingought，youseekonlytofastenyourfeeblenessonsomeotherperson’sstrength:ifnoonecanbefoundwillingtoburdenherorhimselfwithsuchafat，weak，puffy，uselessthing，youcryoutthatyouareill—treated，neglected，miserable。Then，too，existenceforyoumustbeasceneofcontinualchangeandexcitement，orelsetheworldisadungeon:youmustbeadmired，youmustbecourted，youmustbeflattered—youmusthavemusic，dancing，andsociety—oryoulanguish，youdieaway。Haveyounosensetodeviseasystemwhichwillmakeyouindependentofallefforts，andallwills，butyourown？Takeoneday;shareitintosections;toeachsectionapportionitstask:leavenostrayunemployedquartersofanhour，tenminutes，fiveminutes—includeall;doeachpieceofbusinessinitsturnwithmethod，withrigidregularity。Thedaywillclosealmostbeforeyouareawareithasbegun;andyouareindebtedtonooneforhelpingyoutogetridofonevacantmoment:youhavehadtoseeknoone’scompany，conversation，sympathy，forbearance;youhavelived，inshort，asanindependentbeingoughttodo。Takethisadvice:thefirstandlastIshallofferyou;thenyouwillnotwantmeoranyoneelse，happenwhatmay。Neglectit—goonasheretofore，craving，whining，andidling—andsuffertheresultsofyouridiocy，howeverbadandinsuperabletheymaybe。Itellyouthisplainly;andlisten:forthoughIshallnomorerepeatwhatIamnowabouttosay，Ishallsteadilyactonit。Aftermymother’sdeath，Iwashmyhandsofyou:fromthedayhercoffiniscarriedtothevaultinGatesheadChurch，youandIwillbeasseparateasifwehadneverknowneachother。Youneednotthinkthatbecausewechancedtobebornofthesameparents，Ishallsufferyoutofastenmedownbyeventhefeeblestclaim:Icantellyouthis—ifthewholehumanrace，ourselvesexcepted，weresweptaway，andwetwostoodaloneontheearth，Iwouldleaveyouintheoldworld，andbetakemyselftothenew。”