"Her love of children was one of her most prominent
characteristics. The pleasure she enjoyed in their society
was fully counterpoised by that she imparted. To them she was
never lofty, nor reserved, nor mystical; for no one had ever
a more perfect faculty for entering into their sports, their
feelings, their enjoyments. She could narrate almost any
story in language level to their capacities, and in a manner
calculated to bring out their hearty and often boisterously
expressed delight. She possessed marvellous powers of
observation and imitation or mimicry; and, had she been
attracted to the stage, would have been the first actress
America has produced, whether in tragedy or comedy. Her
faculty of mimicking was not needed to commend her to the
hearts of children, but it had its effect in increasing the
fascinations of her genial nature and heartfelt joy in their
society. To amuse and instruct them was an achievement for
which she would readily forego any personal object; and her
intuitive perception of the toys, games, stories, rhymes,
&c., best adapted to arrest and enchain their attention, was
unsurpassed.
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