Circumstances are only the keys that unlock for us the secret of
ourselves; and I learned very early that though there is much to
enjoy in this beautiful outside world, there is much more to
love, to believe in, and to seek, in the invisible world out of
which it all grows. What has best revealed our true selves to
ourselves must be most helpful to others, and one can willingly
sacrifice some natural reserves to such an end. Besides, if we
tell our own story at all, we naturally wish to tell the truest
part of it.
Work, study, and worship were interblended in our life. The
church was really the home-centre to many, perhaps to most of us;
and it was one of the mill regulations that everybody should go
to church somewhere. There must have been an earnest group of
ministers at Lowell, since nearly all the girls attended public
worship from choice.
Our minister joined us in our social gatherings, often inviting
us to his own house, visiting us at our work, accompanying us on
our picnics down the river-bank,--a walk of a mile or so took us
into charmingly picturesque scenery, and we always walked,--
suggesting books for our reading, and assisting us in our
studies.
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