Question

the said eliza, john, and georgiana were now clustered round their mama in the drawing-room: she lay reclined on a sofa by the fireside, and with her darlings about her (for the time neither quarrelling nor crying) looked perfectly happy. me, she had dispensed from joining the group; saying, \she regretted to be under the necessity of keeping me at a distance; but that until she heard from bessie, and could discover by her own observation, that i was endeavouring in good earnest to acquire a more sociable and childlike disposition, a more attractive and sprightly manner-something lighter, franker, more natural, as it were-she really must exclude me from privileges intended only for contented, happy, little children.\

as used in the third paragraph, the word dispensed most nearly means:

• distributed.
• administered.
• granted.
• excluded.

Explanation:

The context shows the narrator was not allowed to join the group. "Dispensed from joining" here means being excused or excluded from the activity. Analyzing the options: "distributed" means to spread around, "administered" means to manage or give out, "granted" means to give permission; none fit. "Excluded" matches the idea of being kept out of the group.

Answer:

excluded.