England, and to commend religion to the people as a matter of the heart and conscience,—not of forms and ceremonies, but of inward conviction.
Born into such a circle, of course the education of the gifted child Charlotte was carefully attended to, especially in those matters which implant principles and form character. Her literary studies were subject to interruption from her ill health every winter. In the summer months, she rallied, and was able, as childhood merged into youth, to visit friends of the family; and the sweetness of her disposition, accompanied and embellished by the charm of a mind rich in natural gifts, made her very precious to all who knew her.
Early in life her conversation was greatly prized by the limited and select circle who were favoured to enjoy it. Fond of music and poetry, with fine taste, a good memory and active imagination, she must have been a most delightful companion, particularly as she had been surrounded from her earliest years by a home circle whose gifts and attainments made them sought and prized wherever great talents, consecrated by religion to the highest uses, commanded attention or won regard.
If health was denied, yet all the compensations that could be granted in loving companionship and intellectual pursuits were mercifully granted. Still, those only know, to whom the monotony of the sick room is often appointed, how heavy the burden is, and how it presses on those who have to bear
