HOW THE AUTHOR WAS LED TO 



" I was born in the country, where I have passed 

 two-thirds of my life-time. I feel myself constantly 

 recalled to it, both by the charm of early habits, by 

 natural sensibilities, and also, undoubtedly, by the dear 

 memories of my father, who bred me among its shades, 

 and was the object of my life's worship. 



" Owing to my mother's illness, I was nursed for a 

 considerable period by some honest peasants, who loved 

 me as their own child. I was, in truth, their daughter; 

 and my brothers, struck by my rustic ways, called me 

 the Shepherdess. 



" My father resided at no great distance from the 

 town, in a very pleasant mansion, which he had pur- 

 chased, built, and surrounded by plantations, in the 

 hope that the charms of the spot might console his 

 young wife for the sublime American nature she had 

 recently quitted. The house, well exposed on the east 

 and south, saw the morning sun rise on a vine-clad 

 slope, and turn, before its meridian heats, towards the 



