lectual activity of Margaret. She was not taught to read till she was four years old; but so rapid was her progress after that period, under her mother's instructions, that at six she read not only well, but elegantly, and was wont to solace her mother's hours of protracted illness, by reading to her the works of Thomson, Campbell, Cowper, Milton, Byron, Scott, &c., in which she took enthusiastic delight, and in discriminating their beauties and defects, she showed wonderful taste and intelligence. The Scriptures were her daily study; not hurried over as a task, but she would spend an hour or two in commenting with her mother upon the chapter she had read.

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."Her religious impressions," says her mother, "seemed to be interwoven with her existence. the very first exercise of reason, she evinced strong devotional feelings, and, although she loved play, she would at any time prefer seating herself beside me, and, with every faculty absorbed in the subject, listen while I attempted to recount the wonders of Providence, and point out the wisdom and benevolence of God, as manifested in the works of creation."

About the age of six years, she began to exhibit a talent for rhyming. One of her earliest pieces, if not remarkable for poetical merit, is worthy of transcription, from the incident which gave occasion to its composition; it also exhibits in a striking manner that conscientiousness for which her sister was so distinguished, and a power of self-examination of rare existence in one so young.

Her mother reproved her for some trifling act of disobedience upon which she attempted to justify her

self, and for this aggravation of the fault was banished to her chamber until she should become sensible of her error. Two hours elapsed, and she continued obstinate; vindicating herself, and accusing her mother of injustice. Mrs. D. reasoned with her, exhorting her to pray to God to assist her in gaining that meekness and humility which had characterized our Savior, and reminding her of the example he had set of obedience to parents. An hour or two afterwards, Margaret came running in, threw her arms around her mother's neck, and, sobbing, put into her hands these verses:

"Forgiven by my Savior dear

For all the wrongs I've done,

What other wish could I have here?
Alas! there yet is one.

I know my God has pardoned me;

I know he loves me still;

I wish I may forgiven be
By her I've used so ill.

Good resolutions I have made,
And thought I loved my Lord;

But, ah! I trusted in myself,

And broke my foolish word.

But give me strength, O Lord, to trust
For help alone in thee;

Thou know'st my inmost feelings best;
O, teach me to obey."

She took little pleasure in the common sports of children; her amusements were almost entirely intellectual. If she played with a doll, or a kitten, she invested it with some historical or dramatic character,

and whether Mary, queen of Scots, or Elizabeth, the character was always well sustained.

In her seventh year, her health became visibly delicate, and she was taken to Saratoga springs and to New York, from which excursions, she derived much physical advantage, and great intellectual pleasure; but she returned to her native village with feelings of admiration and enthusiasm for its natural beauties, heightened by contrast. As her health began again to fail in the autumn, and the vicinity to the lake seemed unfavorable to the health of Mrs. Davidson, the family went to Canada to pass the winter with the eldest daughter.

Margaret grew stronger, but her mother derived no benefit from the change, and for eighteen months remained a helpless invalid, during which time her little daughter was her constant companion and attendant. "Her tender solicitude," says Mrs. D., " endeared her to me beyond any other earthly thing. Although under the roof of a beloved and affectionate daughter, and having constantly with me an experienced and judicious nurse, yet the soft and gentle voice of my little darling was more than medicine to my worn-out frame. If her delicate hand smoothed my pillow, it was soft to my aching temples, and her sweet smile would cheer me in the lowest depths of despondency. She would draw for me read to me - and often, when writing at her little table, would surprise me by some tribute of love, which never failed to operate as a cordial to my heart. At a time when my life was depaired of, she wrote the following verses while sitting at my bed:

'I'll to thy arms in rapture fly,

And wipe the tear that dims thine eye;
Thy pleasure will be my delight,
Till thy pure spirit takes its flight.

When left alone, when thou art gone,
Yet still I will not feel alone;

Thy spirit still will hover near,

And guard thy orphan daughter here.'

Margaret continued to increase in strength until January, 1833, when she was attacked by scarlet fever, under which she lingered many weeks. In the month of May, she had, however, so far recovered as to accompany her mother, now convalescent, on a visit to New York. Here she was the delight of the relatives with whom she resided, and the suggester of many new sources of amusement to her youthful companions. One of her projects was to get up a dramatic entertainment, for which she was to write the play. Indeed, she directed the whole arrangements, although she had never but once been to a theatre, and that on her former visit to New York. The preparations occupied several days, and, being nearly completed, Margaret was called upon to produce the play. "0," she replied, "I have not written it yet." "How is this? Do you make the dresses first, and then write the play to suit them?" "O," replied she, "the writing of the play is the easiest part of the preparation; it will be ready before the dresses." In two days she produced her drama; "which," says Mr. Irving," is a curious specimen of the prompt talent of this most ingenious child, and by no means more incongruous in

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its incidents than many current dramas by veteran and experienced playwrights."

Though it was the study of her relatives to make her residence in New York as agreeable to her as possible, the heart of Margaret yearned for her home: her feelings are expressed in the following lines:

"I would fly from the city, would fly from its care,
To my own native plants and my flowerets so fair;
To the cool grassy shade and the rivulet bright,
Which reflects the pale moon on its bosom of light.
Again would I view the old mansion so dear,
Where I sported a babe, without sorrow or fear;
I would leave this great city, so brilliant and gay,
For a peep at my home on this fine summer day.

I have friends whom I love, and would leave with regret,
But the love of my home, O, 'tis tenderer yet!
There a sister reposes unconscious in death;

'Twas there she first drew, and there yielded, her breath: A father I love is away from me now —

O, could I but print a sweet kiss on his brow,

Or smooth the gray locks, to my fond heart so dear,
How quickly would vanish each trace of a tear !
Attentive I listen to pleasure's gay call,

But my own darling home, it is dearer than all."

In the autumn the travellers turned their faces homewards, but it was not to the home of Margaret's tender longings. The wintry winds of Lake Champlain were deemed too severe for the invalids, and the family took up its residence at Ballston. Margaret's feelings upon this disappointment are thus recorded:

"MY NATIVE LAKE.

"Thy verdant banks, thy lucid stream,
Lit by the sun's resplendent beam,