e, I expected a
very pleasant ride, with a very pleasant gentleman. All was pleasant,
except that we expected every instant that all the ice in the Hudson
would come drifting against us, and shut in scow, stage and all, or
sink us to the bottom, which, in either case, you know, mother, would
not have been quite so agreeable. We had just pushed off from the
shore, I watching the ice with anxious eyes, when, lo! the two leaders
made a tremendous plunge, and tumbled headlong into the river. I felt
the carriage following fast after; the other two horses pulled back
with all their power, but the leaders were dragging them down,
dashing, and plunging, and flouncing, in the water. 'Mr. P., in mercy
let us get out!' said I. But as he did not see the horses, he felt no
alarm. The moment I informed him they were overboard, he opened the
door, and cried, 'Get out and save yourself, if possible; I am old and
stiff, but I will follow you in an instant.' 'Out with the lady! let
the lady out!' shouted several voices at once; 'the other horses are
about to plunge, and then all will be over.' I made a lighter spring
than many a lady does in a cotillon, and jumped upon a cake of ice.
Mr. P. followed, and we stood (I trembling like a leaf) expecting
every moment that the next plunge of the drowning horses would detach
the piece of ice upon which we were standing, and send us adrift; but,
thank Heaven, after working for ten or fifteen minutes, by dint of
ropes, and cutting them away from the other horses, they dragged the
poor creatures out more dead than alive. Mother, don't you think I
displayed some courage? I jumped into the stage again, and shut the
door, while Mr. P. remained outside, watching the movement of affairs.
We at length reached here, and I am alive, as you see, to tell the
story of my woes."

At the spring vacation, Lucretia returned to her loved home; but the
joy of her parents at once more embracing their darling daughter, was
damped by observing that the fell destroyer had set its well-known
mark upon her cheek. Her father called in another physician to consult
with him, and, strange to say, it was decided that she should return
to school in Albany, where she arrived May, 1825, and where her
reception, her accommodations and prospects, seem to have given her
much delight, and where she entered upon her career of study with her
wonted ardor. But her physical strength could not sustain the demands
upon it. She thus write