Her sense of beauty,
not vanity, caused her to make the most of the good physical points
she possessed; therefore, although she grew old early, the same
general features of her appearance were preserved. She was almost too
well known even to strangers, in these later years at the Shoals, to
make it worth while to describe the white hair carefully put up to
preserve the shape of the head, and the small silver crescent which
she wore above her forehead; but her manner had become very quiet and
tender, more and more affectionate to her friends, and appreciative of
all men. One of those who knew her latterly wrote me: "Many of her
letters show her boundless sympathy, her keen appreciation of the best
in those whom she loved, and her wonderful growth in beauty and
roundness of character. And how delightful her enthusiasms were,--as
pure and clear as those of a child! She was utterly unlike any one in
the world, so that few people really understood her. But it seems to
me that her trials softened and mellowed her, until she became like
one of her own beautiful flowers, perfect in her full development;
then in a night the petals fell, and she was gone."
The capabilities which were developed in her by the necessities of the
situation, during her life at the Shoals in winter, were more various
and remarkable than can be fitly told. The glimpses which we get in
her letters of the many occupations show what energy she brought to
bear upon the difficulties of the place.
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