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REMINISCENCES. 



" I write these few pages, as I think in after years, if we 

 live, the impressions now put down will recall more vividly 

 her chief characteristics. From whatever point I look back 

 at her, the main feature in her disposition which at once rises 

 before me, is her buoyant joyousness, tempered by two other 

 characteristics, namely, her sensitiveness, which might easily 

 have been overlooked by a stranger, and her strong affection. 

 Her joyousness and animal spirits radiated from her whole 

 countenance, and rendered every movement elastic and full of 

 life and vigour. It was delightful and cheerful to behold her. 

 Her dear face now rises before me, as she used sometimes to 

 come running downstairs with a stolen pinch of snuff for me 

 her whole form radiant with the pleasure of giving pleasure.^ 

 Even when playing with her cousins, when her joyousness 

 almost passed into boisterousness, a single glance of my eye, 

 not of displeasure (for I thank God I hardly ever cast one on 

 her), but of want of sympathy, would for some minutes alter 

 her whole countenance. 



" The other point in her character, which made her joy- 

 ousness and spirits so delightful, was her strong affection, 

 which was of a most clinging, fondling nature. When quite 

 a baby, this showed itself in never being easy without touch- 

 ing her mother, when in bed with her ; and quite lately she 

 would, when poorly, fondle for any length of time one of her 

 mother's arms. When very unwell, her mother lying down 

 beside her seemed to soothe her in a manner quite different 

 from what it would have done to any of our other children. 

 So, again, she would at almost any time spend half an hour in 

 arranging my hair, ^ making it,' as she called it, * beautiful,' 

 or in smoothing, the poor dear darling, my collar or cuffs — in 

 short, in fondling me. 



" Besides her joyousness thus tempered, she was in her 

 manners remarkably cordial, frank, open, straightforward, 

 natural, and without any shade of reserve. Her whole mind 

 was pure and transparent. One felt one knew her thoroughly 

 and could trust her. I always thought, that come what might, 

 we should have had in our old age at least one loving soul 



