...
"It was evident that Mr. Emerson was not at ease, for he declared that
good manners were more than beauty of face, and good expression better
than good features. He mentioned that Sir Philip Sydney was not
handsome, though the boast of English society; and he spoke of the
astonishing beauty of the Duchess of Hamilton, to see whom hundreds
collected when she took a ride. I think in these cases there is
something besides beauty; there was rank in that of the Duchess, in the
case of Sydney there was no need of beauty at all.
"Dec. 16, 1855. All along this year I have felt that it was a hard
year--the hardest of my life. And I have kept enumerating to myself my
many trials; to-day it suddenly occurred to me that my blessings were
much more numerous. If mother's illness was a sore affliction, her
recovery is a great blessing; and even the illness itself has its bright
side, for we have joyed in showing her how much we prize her continued
life. If I have lost some friends by death, I have not lost all. If I
have worked harder than I felt that I could bear, how much better is
that than not to have as much work as I wanted to do. I have earned more
money than in any preceding year; I have studied less, but have observed
more, than I did last year. I have saved more money than ever before,
hoping for Europe in 1856." ...
Miss Mitchell from her earliest childhood had had a great desire to
travel in Europe.
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