Leicestershire, on June 20th, 1743. She was the eldest child and only
daughter of John Aikin, D.D., and Jane, his wife, daughter of the Rev.
John Jennings, of Kibworth, and descended by her mother from the
ancient family of Wingate, of Harlington, in Bedfordshire.

That quickness of apprehension by which she was eminently distinguished,
manifested itself from early infancy. Her mother writes thus respecting
her in a letter which is still preserved: "I once, indeed, knew a
little girl who was as eager to learn as her instructors could be to
teach her; and who, at two years old, could read sentences and little
stories in her wise book, roundly, without spelling, and, in half a year
more, could read as well as most women; but I never knew such another,
and, I believe, never shall."

Her education was entirely domestic, and principally conducted by her
excellent mother, a lady whose manners were polished by the early
introduction to good company which her family connections had procured
her; whilst her mind had been cultivated, and her principles formed,
partly by the instructions of religious and enlightened parents, and
partly by the society of the Rev. Dr. Doddridge, who was for some
years domesticated under the parental roof.

In the middle of the last century, a strong prejudice still existed in
England against imparting to females any degree of classical learning;
and the father of Miss Aikin, proud as he justly was of her uncommon
capacity, long refused to gratify her earnest desire of being
initiated in this kind of knowledge. At length, however, she in some
degree overcame his scruples; and, with his assistance, she enabled
herself to read the Latin authors with pleasure and advantage; nor did
she rest satisfied without gaining some acquaintance with the Greek.

The obscure village of Kibworth was unable to afford her a suitable
companion of her own sex: her brother, the late Dr. Aikin, was more
than three years her junior; and as her father was, at this period,
the master of a school for boys, it might have been apprehended that
conformity of pursuits, as well as age, would tend too nearly to
assimilate her with the youth of the ruder sex, by whom she was
surrounded. But the vigilance of her mother effectually obviated this
danger, by instilling into her a double portion of bashfulness and
maidenly reserve; and she was accustomed to ascribe an uneasy sense of
constraint in mixed society, which she could never