he gave her with his autograph a little volume entitled, "Hours for
Heaven; a small but choice selection of prayers, from eminent Divines of
the Church of England," which long continued to be one of her books of
devotion.

[13] See the touching memorial of her, "Light on the Dark River,"
prepared by her early friend, Mrs. Lawrence.




CHAPTER II.

THE NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.

1840-1841.

I.

A Memorable Experience. Letters to her Cousin. Goes to Richmond as a
Teacher. Mr. Persico's School. Letters.


Miss Payson was now in her twenty-first year, a period which she always
looked back to as a turning-point in her spiritual history. The domestic
influences that encompassed her childhood, her early associations, and
the books of devotion which she read, all conspired to imbue her with an
earnest sense of divine things, and while yet a young girl, as we
have seen, she publicly devoted herself to the service of her God and
Saviour. For several years her piety, if marked by no special features,