[4][5] On account of an extremely delicate organization and sensibility, Lee was carefully shielded from all rough contact with the world, not even being allowed to enter school until she was ten years of age.

About this time, she began to develop also great aptitude for the acquisition of languages, but her health gave way under the pressure of close application, and she was obliged to pursue a less systematic and rigorous course within the quiet precincts of her own home.

[5][4] At the age of twenty, Lee became a contributor to The Rose Bud, a periodical edited by Mrs. Gilman, and gradually growing into marked favor with the public.

[4][7] Her first volume, entitled Social Evenings, or Historical Tales for Youth, was published in 1840 by the Massachusetts Board of Education School Library Association, and proved to be one of the most attractive in the collection.

[5] The Poetical Remains of the late Mary Elizabeth Lee, with a Biographical Memoir by S. Gilman, D. D., was published after her death in 1851 (Charleston).

[3] She published many poetical translations from the French, German and Italian, besides original poems, chiefly in the balled style, founded on Southern traditions.