take hold of an enterprise already started with any degree of enthusiasm.
When the news of Amelia's successful undertaking reached her she was more dissatisfied than ever. That she, a girl of no culture, no advantages, no friends, and apparently below the average of people in point of talent, should have so far outdone her, who had all these advantages, made her own life seem very insignificant. Neither was she lacking in experience, the deepest source of inspiration, for few of her age had passed through a sterner discipline. She felt no prompting to such a mission, but the boldness and independence of the step commanded her warmest admiration.
Amelia possessed an advantage in not having any position to sacrifice, but on the contrary, a reputation to gain in the course she was pursuing. If in the eyes of the would she was stepping out of her sphere, no one could deny an amount of energy and ability which surprised them all, and won a certain kind of respect. Being of too gentle a nature to exhibit those prominent traits of decision and self-will which are apt to be conspicuous in those who contend successfully with opposition, she could be accused of nothing unfeminine in manner or speech, and the deep religious feeling pervading all her actions only added to the prevailing sentiment of the higher religious nature attributed to woman. There was no longer a lack of animation, a new life coursed through her veins and radiated every feature. Friends gathered around her, not only from among those she had risen to save, but from all classes.
