nce I came home; I
mean all who live here. There are just eight of them, but they fill my
heart so that I should have said, at a guess, there were eighty! Try the
experiment on yourself and tell me how many such friends you have. It is
very curious.

I have just got hold of some leaves of a journal rescued from the flames
by my (future) husband, written at the age of 22, in which I describe
myself as "one great long sunbeam." It recalled the sweet life in Christ
I was then leading, and made me feel that if I had got so far on as a
girl, I ought to be _infinitely_ farther on as a woman. Still, in spite
of all shame and regrets, I had a long list of mercies to recount at the
communion-table to-day. Among other things I feel that I know and love
you better than heretofore, and it is pleasant to love. I must not
forget to answer your little niece's questions. I remember her father's
calling with your sister, but I don't remember any little girl as being
with them, much less "kissing her because she liked the Susy books."
As to writing more about Robbie, I can't do that till I get to heaven,
where he has been ever so many years. Give my love to the wee maiden,
and tell her I should love to kiss her.

No trait in Mrs. Prentiss was more striking than her sympathy with young
people, especially with young girls, and her desire to be religiously
helpful to them. But her interest in them was not confined to the
spiritual life. She delighted to join them in their harmless amusements,
and to take her part in their playful contests, whether of wit or
knowledge. Her friend, Miss Morse, thus recalls this feature of her
character:

In Mrs. Prentiss' life the wise man's saying, _A merry heart doeth good
like a medicine_, was beautifully exemplified. Yet few were thoroughly
acquainted with this phase of her character. Those who knew her
only through her books, or her letters of Christian sympathy and
counsel--many even who came into near and tender personal relations to
her--failed to see the frolicsome side of her nature which made her an
eager participant in the fun of young people--in a merry group of girls
the merriest girl among them. In contests where playful rhymes were to
be composed at command, on a moment's notice, she sharpened the wits of
her companions by her own zest, but in most cases herself bore off the
palm.

She always entered into such contests with an unmistakable desire to
win. I remember one evening in her own