She punished her children with the dutiful regularity of all Puritan mothers, yet she now regrets every harsh word. What she once believed necessary now seems to her needlessly cruel. She often sees Indian mothers laugh with their children and indulge their childish antics. She knows she ought to righteously condemn them, but the truth is she longs only to imitate them. What harm could come if the English treat their children with kindness and mercy?
