Page:Over the river, and other poems.djvu/22

16 she "used to write poetry on her slate, and rub it out quickly if it was likely to be read." This shyness about exposing her lines to the eyes of others, characterized her through life. Her facility in making rhymes was soon found out by her schoolmates, who used to coax her to make poetry for them. And in this way much was extorted from her in after years, for particular occasions, and sometimes for the press.

Something of her peculiarities may be learned from the following extract of a letter written by a respected Baptist minister, the pastor of her parents, the Rev. Andrew Dunn:—