Page:Letters of Life.djvu/102

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LETTERS OF LIFE.

apartments displayed that exquisite taste, and liberal patronage of the fine arts, that ever distinguished the master of the mansion. There I first enjoyed the luxury of studying fine pictures; and in this abode, and also in that of his mother, revelled in the delights of a large and select library. In which of those volumes was it that I found that magnificent sentence of Milton, which, if I brought nothing else away, were wealth sufficient, and which is worthy of being remembered till we can read no more?

"The end of reading, and of education, is to repair the ruin of our first parents by regaining to know God aright, and out of that knowledge to love Him, to imitate Him, to grow like Him."

The other edifice which I mentioned as having been erected by Colonel Wadsworth, was for his daughter, a lady of fair and sweetly expressive countenance and commanding presence, and who, in many noble traits of character, was said to bear resemblance to him. Her husband, General Nathaniel Terry, stood high in the legal profession, possessed fine talents, a finished education, and was in manners a perfect gentleman of the old school. Surrounded by a large family of uncommonly beautiful and promising children, these three households formed a delightful circle, often meeting in social festivals, and comprising a remarkable range and variety of age, accomplishments, and wisdom.

The kindness received from all was to me a source