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222
A New England Girlhood, Outlined from Memory (Beverly, MA)
·
Lucy Larcom
2
WORDSWORTH
PREFACE
THE
following
sketch
was
written
for
the
young,
at
the
suggestion
of
friends.
My
audience
is
understood
to
be
composed
of
girls
of
all
ages,
and
of
women
who
have
not
forgotten
their
girlhood.
Such
as
have
a
friendly
appreciation
of
girls--and
of
those
who
write
for
them--are
also
welcome
to
listen
to
as
much
of
my
narrative
as
they
choose.
All
others
are
eavesdroppers,
and,
of
course,
have
no
right
to
criticise.
To
many,
the
word
"autobiography"
implies
nothing
but
conceit
and
egotism.
But
these
are
not
necessarily
its
characteristics.
If
an
apple
blossom
or
a
ripe
apple
could
tell
its
own
story,
it
would
be,
still
more
than
its
own,
the
story
of
the
sunshine
that
smiled
upon
it,
of
the
winds
that
whispered
to
it,
of
the
birds
that
sang
around
it,
of
the
storms
that
visited
it,
and
of
the
motherly
tree
that
held
it
and
fed
it
until
its
petals
were
unfolded
and
its
form
developed.
A
complete
autobiography
would
indeed
be
a
picture
of
the
outer
and
inner
universe
photographed
upon
one
little
life's
consciousness.
For
does
not
the
whole
world,
seen
and
unseen
go
to
the
making
up
of
every
human
being?
The
commonest
personal
history
has
its
value
when
it
is
looked
at
as
a
part
of
the
One
Infinite
Life.
Our
life--which
is
the
very
best
thing
we
have--is
ours
only
that
we
may
share
it
with
Our
Father's
family,
at
their
need.
If
we
have
anything,
within
us
worth
giving
away,
to
withhold
it
is
ungenerous;
and
we
cannot
look
honestly
into
ourselves
without
acknowledging
with
humility
our
debt
to
the
lives
around
us
for
whatever
of
power
or
beauty
has
been
poured
into
ours.
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