Employment Idleness produces Misery The Cultivation of the Fancy raises us above the Vulgar, extends our Happiness and leads to Virtue

¹[One afternoon,] Mrs Mason gave the children leave to amuse themselves; but a kind of listlessness hung over them, ²[and at a loss what to do,] they seemed fatigued with doing ³[nothing. They] eat cakes though they had just dined, and did many foolish things ⁴[merely because they were idle]. Their friend ⁵[seeing] that they were irresolute, / and could not fix on any employment, ⁶[requested Caroline to assist her to make some clothes, that a poor woman was in want of], and while we are at work, she added, Mary will read us an entertaining tale, which I will point out.