midnight
There is a slight reserve about her , '' he added , `` which may be difficult to penetrate , but if I mistake not , she is much in need of a friend , and I think she will not long resist the voice of kindness . '' Accordingly , the next time she called , Mr. Wharton , in his kind and sympathising manner , led her to speak of her own peculiar circumstances ; and at length drew from her this much of her history : She was the daughter of a plain New England farmer ; had had a good common school education ; and was expected to devote the rest of her life to the making of butter and cheese , and to the other occupations carried on in a farmer 's family . Everything that she could do to aid her father and mother she was willing and ready to perform , but she sighed for knowledge ; she had learned enough to wish to know more , and she felt that there was that in her , which properly cultivated , might fit her for something higher than the making of butter and cheese . Thus , when the day 's labor was ended , and the old people , as was their custom , had retired early to rest , their dutiful daughter , her work for the day well done , sought with delight her little chamber , and her beloved books , in whose companionship she passed the hours always till midnight , and sometimes till she was startled by the `` Cock 's shrill clarion , '' and reminded that body and mind alike needed repose . In her studies , and in the choice of her reading , she was guided by her pastor ; and a better guide , or one more willing to extend a helping hand to the seeker for knowledge she could not have found . With such a teacher , and with such an eager desire for improvement , she could not fail to progress rapidly . On the death of her parents , both of whom she followed to the grave in the course of one year , the kind pastor took her to his own home ; but not being willing to be even for a time a burden to him , she immediately opened a small school in a village near them .