lation to her afflicted father. We were amazed at the exertions she made, and the fatigue she endured; for, with nerves so weak, a constitution so delicate, and sensibility so exquisite, we trembled lest she should sink with anxiety and fatigue. Until it ceased to be necessary, she performed not only the duty of a nurse, but acted as superintendent of the household." When her mother became convalescent, Lucretia continued her attentions to domestic affairs. "She did not so much yield to her ruling passion as to look into a book, or take up a pen (says her mother) lest she should again become so absorbed in them as to neglect to perform those little offices which a feeble, affectionate mother had a right to claim at her hands." As was to be expected from the intimate union of soul and body, when her mind was starved, it became dejected and her body weak; and, in spite of her filial efforts, her mother. detected tears on her cheeks, was alarmed by her excessive paleness, and expressed her apprehensions that she was ill. "No, mamma," she replied, "not ill, only out of spirits." Her mother then remarked that of late she never read or wrote. She burst into tears, a full explanation followed, and the generous mother succeeded in convincing her child that she had been misguided in the course she had adopted; that the strongest wish of her heart was to advance her in her literary career, and for this she would make every exertion in her power; at the same time she very judiciously advised her to intersperse her literary pursuits with those domestic occupations so essential to prepare every woman in our land for a housewife, her probable destiny.
