mean, I wiſh it for her own ſake, that I may have an opportunity of improving her mind, and cultivating a good capacity. As to attendance, I never give much trouble to any fellow-creature; for I chooſe to be independent of caprice and artificial wants, unleſs indeed when I am ſick; then, I thankfully receive the aſſiſtance I would willingly give to others in the ſame ſituation. I believe I have not in the world a more faithful friend than Peggy; and her earneſt deſire to pleaſe me gratifies my benevolence, for I always obſerve with delight the workings of a grateful heart.
I lost a darling child, ſaid Mrs. Maſon, ſmothering a ſigh, in the depth of winter; death had before deprived me of her father, and when I loſt my child, he died again.
The wintery proſpects ſuiting the temper of my ſoul, I have ſat looking at a wide waſte of trackleſs ſnow for hours; and the heavy, ſullen fog, that the feeble rays of the ſun could not pierce, gave me back an image of my mind. I was unhappy, and the ſight of dead nature accorded with my feelings—for all was dead to me.
