Annie Howard was one of my earliest and dearest friends, and thinking
that, perhaps, her history might be interesting to some who may chance
to peruse these pages, I have endeavored, although but imperfectly, to
give a brief sketch of her life.

She was the only child of wealthy and highly respectable parents.
Possessed of refined and cultivated minds, they were anxious that
their daughter should be educated in all the more solid branches,
which would render her a useful member of society, as well as the
lighter graces and accomplishments which, too often, in the present
day, supercede the cultivation of the mind. Endowed with a brilliant
intellect, she excelled in whatever she attempted, and the fond
anticipations of her friends were more than realized. The acquirement
of literature was to her a source of exquisite delight. Her thirsty
soul drank at the fountain of knowledge, with as much avidity as the
weary traveller slakes his thirst at the fountain of cool waters, that
bubbles up in the midst of the sandy desert. Her inquiring mind was
never weary of exploring the deep mysteries of science or poring over
the pages of ancient lore. Music, painting and poetry seemed to form
the etherial essence of her mind. She played with exquisite skill and
taste, and sang with surpassing sweetness and melody.

Her brilliant powers of mind, the beauty of her person, her graceful,
winning manners, the sweetness of her disposition, and the unaffected
goodness of her heart, rendered her a universal favorite in the circle
in which she moved.

Yet, was she ever modest and unassuming. She was far from that
vain haughtiness that is the common characteristic of narrow and
superficial minds, and which, too often, displays itself in persons of
cultivated intellect, where there is not a corresponding goodness
of heart. It seemed to be her aim to render those with whom she
associated, pleased with themselves rather than to impress upon them
a sense of her own superiority. This trait in her character had in it
nothing allied to sycophancy, which quickly disgusts persons of sense
and refinement; neither did it originate merely in the desire to
please, but had its source in an inherent principle of her nature,
which prompted her to seek to promote the happiness of others.

She possessed an intuitive knowledge of human nature, which, together
with her extreme delicacy, with regard to the feelings of others,
formed the keystone which unlocked