Susanna Wesley's Epworth Memoirs - part 12 Developing Daughters
Now aged 26, my eldest daughter, Emmy, had often taken my place, acting as a mother to us all, and I had the very highest admiration for her in the way she had so unselfishly given of her time. In spite of this she had kept up her studies and developed a strong independence.
She had a wonderful memory and quite a talent for writing verse, but not quite as good as Hetty in the latter. She was often the steadying force through domestic troubles and gave sound advice to her sisters. She warned Hetty and Sukey about seeking the favours the wrong sort of men but they went their own way in this matter. Hetty, in particular, brooked no interference in regard to her courtships.
I was always somewhat worried about Sukey as she was a bit wayward and silly in her thinking and I could foresee a time when her gullibility would cause problems. She had a facetious leaning and could be annoyingly flippant. Certainly one of her faults was her vanity, and especially in her vain regard of her appearance.
Molly lived with her affliction with great patience and composure. She had such a lovely nature and had a beautiful, tender face. She exuded affection and was a favourite with us all. She took the rather careless and thoughtless joking of John and Charles without complaining. She was very much an outdoor lass and loved nothing more than to be in the farmyard with her chickens and ducks or in the glebe cutting the flax. She had real talent for raising excellent crops and was the equal of many a farming man. More than one once we were thankful to Molly for keeping food on the table for us.
Hetty was a most handsome young woman and had an enviable mass of flowing red hair. Her exquisite complexion and graceful carriage drew many an admiring glance. Numerous local fellows tried to gain her liking, and a good many of them were far from characters we regarded fit for her. Samuel had carefully nurtured Hetty's ability in the classics. He even considered she was the equal of her brothers and could have emulated them had she able to enjoy the benefits of higher education.
Without a doubt Hetty was the most outspoken of our lively septet and there were many arguments about her consorts. My husband always stepped in to prevent the development of any relationship which was not to his liking, and at times, Hetty's counter attacks were quite shocking. Her attitude worried me and what was to become of her caused me no small concern. It was as if there was some hidden threat lying inside her, and I prayed about this and left her in God's hands. Anne looked more than her sixteen years and demonstrated a pleasing manner and disposition at all times and we believed that she would one day make some fortunate gentleman very happy indeed. She made a great fuss of Patty and Kezzy and delighted in playing mother to both of them.
Patty was the sober sides of the family with an altogether too serious a temperament for one so young, and my husband often told me so. Patty was a glutton for learning and would steal any spare moment of my time to seek after more and more knowledge. She loved to have long discussions on all kinds of subjects.
Our youngest, Kezzy, could read at a younger age than any of her brothers and sisters and yet her general progress was slower. She did improve once the basics had been mastered. She had a wonderful handwriting script and had a natural interest in tidiness in her manner and dress. I was worried about her health problems for she ailed a great deal and was never at all robust and lively like her sisters. I constantly prayed that God would bless her with a more durable strength.
Next week in Part 13 - Frustrating Times
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Weather for Epworth
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
