She repeated a verse of Isaiah, which she said had inspired them, and which I have forgotten.

Whether the lines were recollected or invented, the tale proves such habits of sedentary, monotonous solitude of thought as would have shaken a feebler mind." Of course, the state of health thus described came on gradually, and is not to be taken as a picture of her condition in 1836.

Yet even then there is a despondency in some of her expressions, that too sadly reminds one of some of Cowper's letters.

And it is remarkable how deeply his poems impressed her.

His words, his verses, came more frequently to her memory, I imagine, than those of any other poet.
"Mary" says: "Cowper's poem, 'The Castaway,' was known to them all, and they all at times appreciated, or almost appropriated it.