atmosphere of wise freedom and mild restraint, of mental culture, of open-air joys and observation of Nature these happy children were reared. The father's studious habits and quiet heroism, the charm of the gentle mother, the sister's kindling example, and the country homes in which Louisa's childhood and most of her after years were past, had no small influence in moulding her character.
Louisa was a bright, pretty child, "with rosy cheeks and shining curls," as she unconsciously paints herself in one of her poems; cheerful and active in her quiet way, though by temperament rather silent and reserved, chiefly from extreme shyness. She was always known as an emphatically "good" child, docile, obedient, and never "in a scrape." Her early tastes were for outdoor play, runs in the garden, and the observation and petting of all creatures that came in her way; indoors, for helping her mother—at whose side she was constantly to be found—and a good deal of miscellaneous reading.
Her sister Emily's passion for study was not in her; her temperament made her averse to hard work of any kind, but she seemed to
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