The case was even more fearful than she supposed while writing this letter.  Upon her describing it to Dr. Buck, who called a few hours later, he exclaimed, “Why, it was malignant small-pox!  You must all be vaccinated instantly and have the bedding and house disinfected.”  This was done; but it was too late.  Her little daughter had the disease, though in a mild form; and one of her brothers, who was passing the autumn with her, had it so severely as barely to escape with his life.  She herself became a nurse to them both, and passed the next two months quarantined within her own walls.  To her husband’s mother she wrote: 

I am not allowed to see anyone—­am very lonesome, and hope Anna will write and tell me every little thing about you all.  The scenes I have lately passed through make me tremble when I think what a fatal malady lurks in every corner of our house.  And speaking after the manner of men, does it not seem almost incredible that this child, watched from her birth like the apple of our eyes, should yet fall into the jaws of this loathsome disease?  I see more and more that parents must leave their children to Providence.

In the early part of this year Mrs. Prentiss wrote Little Susy’s Six Birthdays, the book that has given so much delight to tens of thousands of little children, wherever the English tongue is spoken.  Like most of her books, it was an inspiration and was composed with the utmost rapidity.  She read the different chapters, as they were written, to her husband, child and brother, who all with one voice expressed their admiration.  In about ten days the work was finished.  The manuscript was in a clear, delicate hand and without an erasure.  Upon its publication it was at once recognised as a production of real genius, inimitable in its kind, and neither the popular verdict nor the verdict of the children as to its merits has ever changed.

Mrs. Prentiss, as has been stated already, began to write for the press at an early age.  But from the time of her going to Richmond till 1853—­a period of thirteen years—­her pen was well nigh idle, except in the way of correspondence.  When, therefore, she gave herself again to literary labor, it was with a largely increased fund of knowledge and experience upon which to draw.  These thirteen years had taught her rich lessons, both in literature and in life.  They had been especially fruitful in revealing to her the heart of childhood and quickening her sympathy with its joys and sorrows.  And all these lessons prepared her to write Little Susy’s Six Birthdays and the other Susy books.

The year 1854 was marked by the birth of her fourth child, and by the publication of The Flower of the Family. This work was received with great favor both at home and abroad.  It was soon translated into French under the title, La Fleur de la Famille, and later into German under the title, Die Perle der Familie.  In both languages it received the warmest praise.