Detained - “A Lesson-A Change”
Rowson writes, "At length Mr. Matthews, drawing out his watch exclaimed, "I protest, it is almost four o'clock." "Indeed!" said Mary, "I am afraid we shall have dinner waiting." The Rector's hour of dining was half past three. "I do not think they will wait," he replied, "I have frequently requested they would not wait for me, for you know I am frequently detained by a sick bed, or an unhappy person whose mind is depressed." The emblematic 'detained' implies that Mr. Matthews is often engrossed in visiting the sick to the degree that he gets late for dinner. He feels that she should see the sick individuals first before departing for dinner.
Criminality - “The Three Orphans”
Rowson explains, “Lady Mary Lumley had lost her mother a few years previous to the commencement of our story. She was an only child and had been indulged to a degree of criminality by this dotingly weak mother, so that she had reached her sixteenth year without having had one idea impressed upon either head or heart that could in the least qualify her for a rational society.” The allegorical criminality denotes the negative repercussions of Mary’s mother’s doting nature. She adores her excessively to the extent that Mary becomes an archetypal spoiled child.
Glow - “Romance, Piety, Sensibility”
Rowson writes, “Miss Blakeney, and Miss Melville had just returned from a walk in which they had been accompanied by their guardian, their hair disordered by the morning breeze and their countenances glowing with health and pleasure.” The metaphoric glowing denotes a healthy radiance which is attributed to walking. They are utterly refreshed after concluding the walk. The refreshed faces underscore the pleasure that is inherent in the walking exercises.
Angels - “A Lesson-A Change”
The old lady informs Lady Mary, “they be your sisters, though they were so good natured and condescending they seemed more like angels than aught else; and it was not more than two hours after they went away before a man came to the door with a cart, and what should be in it, think ye, but that nice, bedsheet and bed, with blankets, and sheets, and coverlet and some clothes for Sally and her baby.” The sisters’ angelic acts are connected to the transformation of the abode. Their donations enable the old woman's family to meet material needs . Accordingly, the sisters' arrival is comparable to a miraculous visit by angels that results in the unqualified transformation of the guests’ living standards.
