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58 -BIOGRAPHY.
or played billiards with my father, we had liberty’to oc-
cupy ourselves as we pleased. All this time Fredrika was
busy writing both prose and verse, which she often read to
me. This was to her a pleasure and a pastime, and helped
her to forget and escape many heavy hours.
Little did she suspect then that she was laboring to ac-
complish what one day was to gain for her the desired
renown.
Many of the beautiful poems, of which some have al-
ready appeared in print, and others will be found in the
present work, were composed during this time, and bear
the stamp thereof.
This desire, this thirst after fame, had in later years
greatly subsided. Now and then, however, it revived
again; but in a journal, in which Fredrika occasionally
noted down her thoughts, impressions, and inspirations,
we find the following sensible and true observations : —
22d November, 1822.—“ Practice is the nurse of vir-
tue. Virtue is a child which decays and dies before it
reaches maturity, if we neglect to feed it every day and to
cultivate its strength. If we rarely find an opportunity for
great deeds and sacrifices, still we have every day an op-
portunity of practicing patience, submission, self- denial,
and many simple virtues, which often are the most diffi-
cult to practice for certain minds, because these virtues
are in themselves so quiet and unobserved.”
24th November. — “ Why burns within thee the desire to
become famous and renowned? When thou art laid low
in thy cold grave, dost thou then hear thy name mentioned
on earth?”
27th November.—“ Life is a journey! Let this thought
penetrate thee: that all the daily petty annoyances which
meet thee on thy road are as nothing when compared with
the beautiful goal that lies before thee.”
28th November. —“ Father, thy will be’ done, and not
mine! It is an inexpressible happiness to be able to pray
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