The young minister, on ceasing to speak, had withdrawn a few steps from the group, and stood with his face partially concealed in the heavy folds of the window-curtain; while the shadow of his figure, which the sunlight cast upon the floor, was tremulous with the vehemence of his appeal. Pearl, that wild flighty little elf, stole softly towards him, and, taking his hand in the grasp of both her own, laid her cheek against it; a caress so tender, and withal so unobtrusive, that her mother, who was looking on, asked herself,-"Is this my Pearl?" Yet she knew that there was love in the child`s heart, although it mostly revealed itself in passion, and hardly twice in her lifetime had been softened by such gentleness as now. The minister,-for, save the long-sought regards of woman, nothing is sweeter than these marks of childish preference, accorded spontaneously by a spiritual instinct, and therefore seeming to imply in us something truly worthy to be loved,-the minister looked round, laid his hand on the child`s head, hesitated an instant, and then kissed her brow. Little Pearl`s unwonted mood of sentiment lasted no longer; she laughed, and went capering down the hall, so airily, that old Mr. Wilson raised a question whether even her tiptoes touched the floor.

     I picked this paragraph for no reason inparticular. It did show, however, what the auther can do. It tells you that Pearl is a stoned hearted little elf. It also shows that no matter how evil she is, she still has the room in her heart to show compassion. You can tell that the auther is skilled in the art of writing, if not from the book in a whole, just this paragraph tells you that she knows how to put a character together. She can also show a sensitive side to a beast in just a moment time.