I charm thy life, from the weapons of strife,
From stone and from wood, from fire and from flood,
From the serpent's tooth, and the beasts of blood,
From sickness I charm thee, and time shall not harm thee, etc., etc.

I listened, intent, fascinated, forgot to ask why he was there instead
of in his bed, forgot that it was midnight instead of mid-day. It was
not till on bidding me good night he added, "I hope you will have a
better night than I shall," that it occurred to me that he must be
suffering. The next day I learned from his wife that when unable to
sleep on account of his racking cough, he often left his bed at night,
the cough being more endurable when in a sitting posture. I never saw
Dr. Payson after that visit, nor for several years any of the family,
except Louisa, who spent a year with us while attending school in
Boston to fit herself as a teacher to aid in the support of her younger
brothers and sister. When I was next with them, Louisa was already at
the head of a school in which her young sister was the brightest pupil,
and to the profits of which she laid no personal claim, all going
untouched into the family purse. Several young girls, Louisa's pupils,
had been received as boarders in the family, and occasionally a
clergyman was added to the number. It was during this visit that I first
learned to appreciate Mrs. Payson. Now that she stood alone at the head
of the household, either her fine qualities were in bolder relief, or I
being older, was better able to estimate them. The singular vivacity of
her intellect made her a delightful companion. Then her youth had been
passed in the literary circles of New Haven and Andover, and she had
much to tell of distinguished people known to me only by reputation. I
admired her firm yet gentle rule, so skilfully adapted to the varying
natures under her charge; her conscientious study of that homely virtue
economy, so distasteful to one of her naturally lavish temper, always