Her
spinning-wheel and knitting-needles were rarely idle in those times of
trial. A woman of proper discernment and good judgment, it is scarcely
necessary to say that she disapproved of extravagance of every kind; and
when the necessities of her country demanded the sacrifice of every
thing not an absolute necessity, she was found foremost in setting an
example of plainness of dress.
Lafayette, with his aids-de-camp, paid her a visit of congratulation on
the occasion of Washington's successful passage of the Delaware, and
found her dressed for their reception in a plain printed gown, with her
knitting--probably a stocking for some needy soldier--lying on a table
near her. Did the noble Frenchman and his companions deem their
reception to have been less cordial than they would have thought it had
she arrayed herself in costly satin and lace, and received them in idle
state? Lafayette's own testimony of his appreciation of her remarkable
worth answers for itself.
At a good old age she died, and her country still reveres her memory.
MRS. WESLEY.
Taylor, the historian, gives Mrs. Wesley quite a prominent position in
his account of the work accomplished by her sons, and gives the
following reason for doing so: "The mother of the Wesleys was the mother
of Methodism." One who was so intimately connected with the leaders of
the Reformation of the eighteenth century deserves a prominent position
among the eminent women of modern history.
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