The mother seems to have
been slower in perceiving this than she would have been had it not been
for her own state of confinement; she noticed it at length, and said,
"Lucretia, it is a long time since you have written any thing." The girl
then burst into tears, and replied, "O mother, I have given that up long
ago." "But why?" said her mother. After much emotion, she answered,
"I am convinced from what my friends have said, and from what I see,
that I have done wrong in pursuing the course I have. I well know the
circumstances of the family are such, that it requires the united
efforts of every member to sustain it; and since my eldest sister is now
gone, it becomes my duty to do every thing in my power to lighten the
cares of my parents." On this occasion, Mrs. Davidson acted with equal
discretion and tenderness; she advised her to take a middle course,
neither to forsake her favourite pursuits, nor devote herself to them,
but use them in that wholesome alternation with the every day business
of the world, which is alike salutary for the body and the mind. She
therefore occasionally resumed her pen, and seemed comparatively happy.
How the encouragement which she received operated may be seen in some
lines, not otherwise worthy of preservation than for the purpose of
showing how the promises of reward affect a mind like hers.
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