Think of her speaking thus of the kind mother who had cared for her from infancy. True, Nattie was but a child, and could not be expected to have the wisdom and discretion of maturer years; but she was more thoughtless, wayward and selfish than many children are, and than any children ought to be; because self and pride, unduly indulged, bring trouble and calamity to all who thus surrender themselves to the sway of passions which should be kept under the control of reason.
Nattie Nesmith was a girl of rather more than average natural abilities. Her parents were well to do in the world. She had one brother and one sister married, and a little sister at home, several years younger than herself.
The lines of family government were not very steadily held in the home of the Nesmiths. This was unfortunate, and the bad effects were most visible in Nattie's case. She was her father's favorite, and knew it quite too well. Her ready perceptions and lively humor acted on him as a
