But I
though it necessary to discipline myself by reading such pieces,
and my first attempt at prose composition, "On Friendship," was
stiffly modeled after a certain "Didactick Essay" in that same
English Reader.
My sister, however, cared more to watch the natural development
of our minds than to make us follow the direction of hers. She
was really our teacher, although she never assumed that position.
Certainly I learned more from her about my own capabilities, and
how I might put them to use, than I could have done at any school
we knew of, had it been possible for me to attend one.
I think she was determined that we should not be mentally
defrauded by the circumstances which had made it necessary for us
to begin so early to win our daily bread. This remark applies
especially to me, as my older sisters (only two or three of them
had come to Lowell) soon drifted away from us into their own new
homes or occupations, and she and I were left together amid the
whir of spindles and wheels.
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