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Show 212 My mortal being seemed to grasp the wisdom of the infinite. My mind seemed free to understand the works and words of learned man. And thus I gleaned in verdant fields the golden grains of truthful thought, tiny tempting tastes from worlds on worlds of precious lore enclosed in covers of books.4 Her letters to Nellie, covering quite a number of years after this youngest daughter was a grown woman, then a wife, then a mother of several children, are heavy with sentiment. Each communication seems to be both matriarchal blessing and passionate declaration of maternal love. Was the heavy embroidery of her more rococo writings an expression of the passionate Ellis, of Ellis the poet, Ellis as a product of her time, or of an older woman grown a wee bit garrulous? Were nineteenth century people who were that fervent-even fervid-in their written expression equally passionate in the colloquial speech and behavior? We think not. We are inclined to believe that writing was considered an appropriate outlet at that time for feelings which the circumpsect had to otherwise most carefully hold in check. An occasional comment in Ellis' diary seems to suggest this. Ellis lived when formal writing was elegant and orderly. This is reflected in both diary and autobiography. For the small amount of organized instruction she received, her vocabulary and command of the language are impressive, but not too unlike that of her husband and her sister wife, Maggie, whose educational opportunities had been even better. Early nineteenth century diaries and journals showing varying |
