Page:Emma Roberts Memoir of L. E. L.pdf/9

Rh which was wont to tinge her views of life, appearing only in the melancholy tone of her song, L. E. L. a bright, blithe being, affectionate and glad, taking pleasure in all that pleased her associates, delighted them by her talents, and attached them by her amiability. The loss of her father while she was still a very young girl, proved her earliest domestic affliction; and heavily it fell upon her. Mr. Landon had been a kind and most indulgent parent, and his daughter mourned his loss long and deeply. The affectionate tribute which she paid to his memory, in some very touching verses published in her poem of the Troubadour, may be cited as a faithful record of her filial piety towards one whose death was a severe misfortune.

L. E. L. from this period devoted herself to a life of literature; finding, under every circumstance, so much delight in the outpouring of her thoughts and feelings, as fully to compensate for the trials, great as they are, which every author, however distinguished and successful, must encounter. The necessity of fulfilling engagements to the day—of writing against time, often under the infliction of indisposition or mental anxiety, form some of the numerous drawbacks which those who cannot command literary leisure experience; 12