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 her behavior. She conducts herself in society according to rules of her own making, caring little whether or not they are approved by the world. She does not resemble the rest of the young ladies in anything. Her behavior is entirely peculiar, and I do not know what to do to prevent it. If she were nota great lover of music (on the harp she by far excels her teacher, an excellent artist, whom I sent to Italy for training) I could not say that she possesses one feminine quality. She can ride, shoot and fence much more skillfully than she can handle a needle or a brush. She acts less gracefully at a ball than at a hunt. She endures hardships on such expeditions more bravely than a man; she never complains of hunger, fatigue or lack of comfort, and she bravely sits in her saddle when others are drooping with exhaustion. She knows no fear, no danger; bodily pain has not yet caused her to shed a tear. I have often thought that if war should come upon us, she would follow me in disguise to the field, and she would return crowned with laurels.”