"I never dared
to supplicate for more than that he might ever continue what he was when
I first revered and loved him. Reason and judgment are positive
advantages; fortune and title, accidents which the possessor may convert
into evils. I should have been most thankful, if, during our journey to
the vale of years, he had been always able to act as my counsellor and
guide. His conversation was 'the daily banquet of my nourished mind.' I
hoped ever to feed on the words of wisdom breathed from the lips of
kindness. I know not what important contingencies in my eternal
existence are connected with my present trial; but this I know, if I
sustain it patiently and cheerfully, it must promote much present good.
I did not consider marriage merely as a summer voyage. Before I left the
quiet harbour of singleness I thought of winter and its future storms.
Most happily I did not choose a vessel laden with perishable treasures.
While reason and judgment illuminated his mind, my Evellin was the
delight and ornament of society; yet still his holier hopes, pursued a
good, less transient than the applause of man. If while the faithful
servant labours in his vocation a premature night falls upon him and
suspends his toil, will the just Master who ordains the privation, be
extreme in noting the remissness of infirmity? I once was the happiest
of wives, nor can I now be wretched since I still minister comfort to my
beloved."

Thus, with a mind naturally firm, and still further supported by
principle and undeviating affection through years of trial, Mrs. Evellin
persevered in active duty and enduring fortitude. The anxiety which her
suffering husband excited, and the attentions he required, slowly
undermined a constitution originally delicate, but she made no parade
either of her sorrows or her cares. She courted no compassion, and her
suppressed anguish would have been known only to her Creator, had she
not observed that Evellin, in his wildest aberrations of intellect, felt
her sorrows, and was not only tranquillized but restored to a transient
recollection by the sight of her distress. She bestowed infinite care on
her children, labouring to impart to them a portion of her own cheerful
fortitude and active vigilance. The superintendance of her farm added to
her employments; she had no leisure for unavailing regret; and till
sickness was added to sorrow, her busy days were frequently rewarded by
nights of peaceful slumber. The occupied mi