My whole recollection of my mother is of a Christian. In my early childhood, I remember her as being much afflicted. During one of these long periods of sickness, I remember her requesting my father to sing the hymn: "Shrinking from the cold hand of death I soon shall gather up my feet, Shall soon resign this fleeting breath And die,--my father's God to meet." I suppose she felt that her end was approaching. She had taken the book and found the hymn and requested my father to sing it. As soon as he saw the character of the hymn he bowed himself upon the bedside and wept. Though but a child scarcely above infancy, yet the scene is firmly photographed on my memory. I also remember during one of these long periods of sickness, of receiving an impression that I had seen her walking out in the garden. I was so sure that she had been out, that the next day I asked her if she was going out again. She surprisingly asked "Going out again? why when have I been out?" "Why," said I "you were out in the garden yesterday." "No, I was not," she replied. I insisted that she had been out; but she thought I had dreamed it; and that _disgusted me_, when I was so sure I had _seen her and talked with her in the garden_. I carry to this day a distinct recollection of her appearance in the garden on that day. The facts were, as I afterward learned, that she was sitting by the south window in her room overlooking the garden, watching me while I was playing in the garden. I have no explanation to offer. The work of my mother may be divided in at least three parts, viz: In her family, in the neighborhood, and in herself, in enduring afflictions and triumphing over them. As a wife and a mother, she fulfilled her whole duty in the household. She was intelligent, hospitable, and kind; securing for her children the best company within their reach. By extensive reading and careful study, she prepared herself to entertain the young and the old, the rude, and the refined; and by her executive ability she could secure the comfort and pleasure of almost any number of guests. Towards the community she stood as an unofficious and unostentatious missionary and educator. In herself she suffered the will of God, and gave such an example of patience as is rarely met with. I shall try to present a brief sketch of her work in all these spheres and refer the reader for illustrations, to her own writings and letters, and to the contributions of those whose names honor this book. CHAPTER III. WIFE, MOTHER AND WRITER.