She was ready to sell the farm, to give up everything for the boys, provided they would promise to care in the future for her and their sisters.

More utter self-abnegation and more cheerful and devoted self-sacrifice have rarely been exhibited, and it was all done with a simplicity which commands our reverence.

It was more than should have been asked, and a boy less accustomed than Daniel Webster to the devotion of others, even with the incentive of brotherly love, might have shrunk from making the request.

The promise of future support was easily made, but the hard pinch of immediate sacrifice had to be borne at once.

The devoted family gave themselves up to the struggle to secure an education for the two boys, and for years they did battle with debt and the pressure of poverty.