Chapter II: Part 2

Not content with reading stories, Frances was always telling or writing them. On the afternoons at school when the girls were allowed to talk quietly over their crocheting and fancy work, Frances would tell stories in low tones to the group of girls near her. They were delighted with her tales and continually begged her to tell more.

At home she often wrote stories on slates or in old account books. For fear of being teased she rarely showed the stories to anyone except her mother. Mrs. Hodgson always had an encouraging word for her little daughter’s tales and verses. This gave Frances an added incentive to continue writing.

Just at the close of the Civil War a great change came into the life of the little storywriter. Mrs. Hodgson decided to leave England and move to America. The family fortunes were impaired, and an uncle had promised to find work for the boys in the United States.

Romantic Frances was delighted with the change. Her first American home was in a tiny settlement in the forests of Tennessee. Everything was so new and strange that she seemed actually to be living in a story. The next home on the top of a hill, with mountains in the distance, was even better. How she loved the bright sunshine, the flowers, the birds, and her bower, a cozy retreat in the woods!

The boys had not as yet been able to add very much to the family fortunes. Frances and her sisters did not mind worn-out frocks and scanty meals, but they were troubled to see their dear little mother so worried. The girls decided that something had to be done immediately.

“How wonderful it would be,” thought Frances, “if an editor would buy one of my stories!”

She was only fifteen years old, and she did not know how to send a story to an editor. She had read in a magazine that contributors must write very clearly on foolscap paper, and enclose stamps.

Not having sufficient money with which to buy stamps and paper, Frances and her sisters earned the money by selling wild grapes.

At last the story was sent, but it was done secretly, for Frances was afraid that her brothers would tease her. What a happy day it was when, on its second trip, the story, together with another, brought a check for thirty-five dollars! She had found a way to help.

Frances Hodgson went on writing and selling her stories. Soon her books became famous. When she married Dr. S. M. Burnett, she was able to help him complete his education by her writing. Their son, Vivian, is also a writer. He has been a journalist and is the author of several books.

Mrs. Burnett has written many novels for grown people as well as stories that children love. _Little Lord Fauntleroy_, the tale of a lovable little American boy who won the heart of his crusty old English grandfather, is the best known of her books for children. Among her other well-known books are _Editha’s Burglar_, _Sara Crewe_, _The Cozy Lion_, _The Secret Garden_, and _Land of the Blue Flower_.

Mrs. Burnett does not preach in her delightful stories for children. One can, however, easily see in her stories the lessons in thoughtfulness and courtesy she had learned from her mother. Frances Hodgson Burnett’s great gift of imagination, together with her desire to write, enabled her to give us stories that have brought pleasure to many people.

Katharine Bement Davis—

The Girl Who Has Helped To Straighten Twisted Lives

The villain had received his just deserts, but he, or rather she, was smiling with satisfaction. Her play, for Katharine was the author as well as a principal actor, had been a great success. Nobody had forgotten a line, and, in addition, the scenery had added a realistic setting. Who would ever have dreamed that the deep forest and bold cliffs were only boughs cut from the shrubbery, and boxes covered with mother’s old gray shawl?

The back parlor of the Davis home was crowded with a friendly audience of girls and boys and a few mothers and fathers. This attendance was very gratifying to Katharine, for it assured her that the receipts would be large. With them she intended to provide a bountiful Thanksgiving dinner for a good woman who was having difficulty in supporting her crippled grandson.

Little did this merry eleven-year-old girl think that the work of helping others, begun in such a small way that night, was the work that she was to choose for her own later on. When she grew up she became a sociologist. This is simply a long word for a person who thinks, studies, plans, and works to help people lead happier, healthier, and better lives.

Katharine Bement Davis was born in Buffalo, New York, January 15, 1860. Within a short time the family moved to Dunkirk, New York. In the happy childhood days spent in this town on Lake Erie, there was no hint of the sorrow of life which Katharine was to cheer in later years.

Besides four younger sisters and brothers for playmates, Kitty, as she was called, had no end of school chums. They were always welcome at her home, for the Davis house was a sort of center of good times for the neighborhood. In the winter the children acted plays in the house; in the summer time they played Indian in the backyard, or built houses of kindling wood.

Kitty was usually chief builder, because she loved to watch something grow under her hands. Making things was always such a joy to her that years later, when she had charge of the Bedford Reformatory, she taught her girls how to do all sorts of useful tasks. They even laid the concrete walks between the buildings.

This little Lake Erie girl had as great an appetite for finding out how other people did things as for doing them herself. Once when a friend of the family took her for a drive, she inquired the name and use of every part of the carriage. By the time they reached home, her companion felt as if he had been put through a severe examination; but Katharine knew all about the carriage. This habit of going to the very bottom of things was to be of great use to a woman who was to have hard problems to settle in her public life.

Kitty Davis was very fond of reading. Her sisters and brothers often found her deeply absorbed in a book. Some of Scott’s and Dickens’ novels were among the book friends that she made at eleven and twelve years of age.

Little Katharine Davis liked to create with her mind as well as with her hands. When she was eleven years old, she had thought out tunes for a number of hymns. She enjoyed her music lessons, especially the part which showed her how music is made. The grown-up Katharine Davis realized that music helps people to forget their troubles and to think better thoughts. For this reason, she made sure that her girls at the reformatory should not only hear good music but should sing it themselves in their own glee club.

In the Davis family lived Grandmother Bement, a woman who had always had a hand in any new movement to make the world better. Katharine and the other children loved to hear her tell about the escape of slaves by means of the underground railroad, the fight against drink, and the struggle for rights for women. It was not strange that the granddaughter of such a woman should have a desire to be of service to the world.

The years flew on until Katharine Davis was ready for college. Business reverses had come to Mr. Davis, and he told his daughter that he could not pay her expenses.

“Never mind,” answered Katharine, “I will earn them myself.”

She kept her word. Studying by herself while she was teaching science in the Dunkirk High School, Katharine Davis completed two years of college work. She then entered Vassar College as a junior. She successfully passed the many special examinations that it was necessary for her to take. Upon the completion of two years’ work at college Katharine Davis was graduated with honors.

For a number of years, Miss Davis spent her time, first, in teaching; then, in settlement work; and later, in further study. After three years of graduate work, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with honors, was conferred upon her by the University of Chicago. Thus she was ably prepared to enter the field of social service.

When it was announced that a new reformatory for women was to be opened at Bedford, New York, Dr. Davis was immediately interested. She thought that there she might be able to carry out her ideas for helping girls who had not had a pleasant home and wise parents like her own.

Dr. Davis received the appointment as superintendent of this reformatory, and set about getting acquainted with her girls. She believed that many of these lives that had been started in the wrong way might turn out happily, if some one took the trouble to study them.

Dr. Davis endeavored really to know the girls at Bedford. She was vitally interested in their welfare and did everything that she could to help them. She spent many successful years as superintendent of this reformatory.

Dr. Davis’ ability to grasp a situation and meet it was clearly demonstrated at the time of the Messina earthquake. She was in Sicily when the disaster occurred, and immediately set about to aid the sufferers. Her work of rehabilitating the earthquake victims was so important that it won for her a Red Cross Medal, presented by President Taft.

When Dr. Davis took charge of all the prisons in the city of New York, as Commissioner of Correction, she had another opportunity for continuing her wonderful work. Katharine Bement Davis has served on a number of commissions formed for the purpose of social betterment. Many persons who desire to learn the best ways of working for humanity go to her for advice. Because of the little girl who carried into later life her joy of working and her habit of investigating things, many twisted lives have been straightened.

Grace Hoadley Dodge—

The Girl Who Worked For Working Girls

A group of prominent men and women were sitting in the drawing room of a beautiful home in New York City, talking earnestly. Close by them sat a young girl, the eldest daughter of the house. She shyly added only an occasional word to the conversation, but she gave very careful attention to everything that her elders said.

One member of this group was Dwight L. Moody, the famous preacher. The girl listened to him with particular interest, and was deeply impressed by all he had to say.

There were often such gatherings in this home. No matter with what subject the conversation started, sooner or later came the question of how to help men and women lead the best kind of lives. It was not strange, then, that one day this young girl went to her mother and said, “I have found out what there is for me to do. I am going to help people.”

That is exactly what Grace Dodge did. She helped people. Perhaps you will be surprised to learn that she helped each one of you girls and boys.

Every girl who has learned in a cooking class how to bake a wholesome loaf of bread; every boy who brings home from school a well-finished footstool for his mother, has Grace Dodge to thank. Every one of your older sisters who enjoys a swim or a game of basketball at the Y. W. C. A. has her to thank too. Of course, there are others to thank as well, for every good work needs many helpers.

When Grace Dodge was young, girls and boys in the public schools were not taught how to work with their hands; and girls who were earning their own living had no pleasant clubs. Grace Dodge believed strongly in these things, and worked so earnestly all her life for them that other people became interested too, and gladly cooperated with her in her beloved work.

Grace Hoadley Dodge was born in New York City, May 21, 1855. The Dodge family divided their time between their city home and their beautiful country house at Riverdale on the banks of the Hudson. Here Grace had many a fine gallop through the country with her brothers. Aside from these lively rides, which she greatly enjoyed, she lived quietly.

Even as a child, Grace thought very little about her own pleasure or herself. She liked to talk with the workmen who kept the beautiful lawns and gardens in order, and to make friends with their children. Although there were nurses and governesses in the family, the younger sisters and brothers always preferred to go to sister Grace when they wanted to be comforted; and they did not go in vain.

When Grace went shopping in the city with her mother, she used to think that it was very hard for girls to have to stand behind the counter all day. “I am ashamed to have so much while these girls have so little,” she would many times say to herself, wondering what she could do about it.

Grace Dodge attended a private school at Farmington, Connecticut. After her school days were over, she began to do the work that had always interested her. One of the reasons that she accomplished so much was that, whenever she saw a need for anything, she set about to fill it. Furthermore, she kept persistently at the work until it was done.

Miss Dodge soon discovered that many of the girls in whom she was interested had to work long hours in factories. She began to find that they did not know much about cooking, or sewing, or taking proper care of their health. It was a great pity, she thought, that these girls, many of whom would soon be having homes of their own, should know so little about the important work of home-making.

Miss Dodge began to gather a group of these girls about her every week, and talked to them. She told them in a friendly, simple way how to choose their clothes, how to keep well and strong, and how to use their money wisely. She told them, too, how to live the right kind of lives and of the help that God would give them. Often she talked to them about the homes that they might make some day.

The girls were eager to tell her about themselves. Each one felt that she could consider Miss Dodge as her personal friend. “The Irene Club,” as this group was named after a beloved member, grew until it had to be divided. Still the girls continued to come. In this way clubs for working girls were started. These clubs have proved to be so successful that they have never stopped growing.

At that time, there were no places where girls who were busy all day could learn home-making. Miss Dodge, therefore, together with several other young women, organized classes for these girls in various household subjects. Miss Dodge and her associates soon discovered that there were very few teachers who had been trained to teach in this particular field. They later found that there was a lack of highly trained teachers in practically all of the departments of teaching.

Miss Dodge began to think that there should be a school to train teachers in the various branches of learning. It was not Grace Dodge’s way to stop merely with thinking. She began to work for this school, and, largely because of her efforts, Teachers College of Columbia University rose on Morningside Heights in New York City.

Every year this college sends out thousands of men and women prepared to teach all the school subjects. The wonderful work that Teachers College is accomplishing is due, in a large measure, to the inspiration and guidance that Grace Dodge gave to the college throughout her life.

In many other ways Grace Dodge carried on her work of helpfulness. She was the first woman to serve on the Board of Education of New York City. Because of her pity for women and children who were unprotected and bewildered in travel, she organized the Travelers’ Aid Society. So firm was her belief in what the Young Women’s Christian Association does for girls that she worked to make it a strong organization. She was the president of its national board for eight years.

Miss Dodge often called herself “a working girl whose wages were paid in advance.” Her money meant to her merely a means for doing good.

Grace Hoadley Dodge was unselfish and determined to fill the need that she saw. Through her efforts, school girls and boys now have many opportunities to use hand and brain together. It was because of her great interest in others that she brought joy into the life of many a wage-earning girl and helped to fit her for her work of home-making.

Alice Cunningham Fletcher—

The Girl Who Befriended The Red Man

Once upon a time there lived a little girl named Alice, who loved to sit upon the shore and listen to the song of the waves. She also liked to climb a high hill and look far off at the blue sky and the green slopes.

At home she had plenty of good books to read, and she loved them too. They told her delightful stories about things that had happened long ago. Sometimes she did not quite understand all that they said, as she read them curled up by the fire, but later, when she wandered in the woods, their meaning became clearer.

It was the same way when she played on the piano at home. The music set her to dreaming, and called forth puzzling thoughts. Outdoors she seemed to understand better what the music had to tell her.

This little girl was Alice Cunningham Fletcher. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1845. As she grew older, the thought came to her that if she felt so happy out in the open, how must the Indians feel who had lived a free out-of-door life for generations.

Gradually she began to think that these people, whom the world called savages, must have learned something about how to live happily. Alice Fletcher resolved that, if ever there came a time when it was possible, she would go to the home of the Indians and try to discover their secrets.

Meanwhile she studied all that books and museums could teach her of the story of the Red Men. At last, there did come a day when she decided to go and live among them. It meant leaving behind her, beloved libraries, fine concerts, beautiful pictures, and even a comfortable bed and easy chair. Miss Fletcher felt, however, that there was something that meant more than comfort to her. It was the doing of a definite piece of work that she believed would be useful to the world.

Therefore, she left the friends with whom she could talk of books, pictures, and music, and went to live among the Dakota and Omaha Indians. From the door of her rude wigwam of buffalo skins, she could watch the little Indian children at play and see the everyday life of the older members of the tribe.

Most people think of the American Indian as a reserved, stern sort of person who never laughs or jokes. What Miss Fletcher saw from her wigwam gave her an entirely different opinion. She saw the Indians enjoy fun, and take a wide-awake interest in everything that went on around them. She decided that the sternness of the Indian was only a kind of mask that he wore before strangers.

Soon the New England woman ceased to be a stranger to her Indian neighbors. The love that they both had for the sky, the wind, the streams, and the forest helped to make them understand one another. It was not long before these children of Nature realized that Miss Fletcher had come to them as a friend; and that she was really interested in them. So they dropped their mask of reserve and let her know them as they really were.

Miss Fletcher, always a lover of music, became greatly interested in the music of the Indians. She found, however, that it was very difficult to study. An Indian does not sing just to be heard, but to express some feeling. His singing is a kind of prayer. It was only stray bits of such music that she was able to overhear and write down.

Then Miss Fletcher had a severe illness which turned out to be a blessing, in one respect. When her Indian friends discovered that she really wanted to hear their music, they gathered about her bed and sang for her. To please her, they even were willing to sing into a phonograph, which was to them a strange machine. Thus their songs were preserved for all time. Miss Fletcher has written a book entitled _Indian Story and Song from North America_. This book has already suggested themes for a number of American musical compositions.

Presently a chance to prove that she was really a friend of the Indians came to Alice Fletcher. Some greedy white men were trying to get the good land away from the Red Men, giving them poorer land in return. Sometimes the Indians were so enraged with their treatment that they would rise in revolt. The situation kept growing worse and worse. Miss Fletcher realized that it would be no better unless each Indian secured from the government the right to hold a portion of the tribal land for himself.

She set out for Washington to try to persuade Congress that the Indians must hold their land just as the white man holds his. A book which had just appeared, written by Helen Hunt Jackson, called _A Century of Dishonor_, helped a little to make people realize the wrongs done to the Indians. However, the congressmen were much more interested in the affairs of their own people than in the Indians. Miss Fletcher, therefore, had to plead their cause continually until the Indian Land Act was finally passed.

The President asked Miss Fletcher to undertake the difficult task of allotting the tracts of land to the Omaha Indians. He knew that they trusted her and would be content with her judgment. Later she did the same work for other tribes of Indians to the satisfaction of everybody.

The Girl and Boy Scouts and the Campfire Girls have interested Miss Fletcher very much, because she believes that the outdoors can bring health and happiness to girls and boys. She has made a collection of Indian games for these organizations. Also, Miss Fletcher has written books and articles about the Indians. Her writings are a great help to those who are making a special study of the different people of the world.

Alice Cunningham Fletcher gave up luxury and even comfort to learn about the Indians. The work of her mind has been of great value to learned people in their study of races; and the work of her heart will never be forgotten by the simple folk whose wrongs she helped to right.

Louise Homer—

Who Believes That Hard Work Is The Secret of Her Success as a Singer

Louise paid no attention to the calls of the children. What were a few hours’ lost play compared with the treat in store for her! To-night after the regular prayer meeting, a song service was to be held to study hymns. Louise had begged so hard to be allowed to attend that her father had consented, provided that her lessons were thoroughly prepared in the afternoon.

These midweek song services were held at the Minneapolis church of which her father was pastor. There, Louise Beatty sang for the first time outside her own home. Little did this girl realize that her rich, deep voice would later make her famous throughout the world.

Louise Dilworth Beatty was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1872, into a family where playing and singing were as much a part of the daily program as eating or sleeping. Every one of the eight Beatty children loved music. They were always singing in duets, trios, quartets, or choruses.

Gathered around the fire on winter evenings, the family formed an impromptu orchestra. One sister played the piano; a brother, the bones; Mr. Beatty, the flute; and Louise, the future great opera singer, the triangle.

Music had always delighted Louise, in particular. At school, the seven-year-old girl was stirred day after day by the thrilling notes of the music which the teacher played as the pupils marched out for recess.

When Louise was fourteen years old, she made her first appearance in public as a soloist. The church in the little Pennsylvania town where the family was then living was to give the cantata, _Ruth and Naomi_. Mrs. Beatty was rather amused when Louise was asked to take the part of Ruth, for she had never sung alone; but Louise herself was delighted. The rehearsals were a joy.

On the night set for the cantata, just as the singers were assembling, the disturbing news came that the man who was to sing the part of Boaz had missed his train. What was to be done! “I will sing his part too,” offered Louise. She carried the basso-profundo part, in addition to her own, with such success that everyone told her mother that Louise’s voice was wonderful, and that it should be cultivated.

Soon after this Louise began to take singing lessons, but the thought of becoming an opera singer did not occur to her. She kept busy with her high-school work, and later on studied music in Philadelphia. She also sang in a church there.

Then one day Louise Beatty took the most important step in her life. She decided to go to Boston to study music seriously. She felt that she must know more about music itself, if she were to become a real singer. She was advised to study harmony and composition with Sidney Homer, well known as a writer of music. She began her lessons with Mr. Homer, and, in addition, studied singing with William L. Whitney.

In 1895 Louise Beatty and Sidney Homer were married. Mr. Homer believed that his wife’s voice was unusual, and that it was especially suited for opera. He wanted her to go abroad to train herself to be an opera singer. Accordingly, they went to Paris, where Madame Homer studied very hard for two years. She was able to do a tremendous amount of work without injuring her health, because she lived quietly and ate good home food at regular hours.

Then came the reward of the long hours spent in singing with her teachers, in practicing, and in studying languages and dramatics. Madame Homer was ready to sing in opera. In America, she appeared for the first time in San Francisco in the opera _Aida_, and a few weeks later in New York in the same part. She was a success at once.

For many years Louise Homer has delighted American audiences with her beautiful contralto voice. To keep her voice in good condition, and to learn the many parts that she has sung has not been an easy task. Every day during the season she practices and studies. Madame Homer believes that a great name, once made, can only be kept by thorough work.

While Madame Homer has never slighted any part of the work of her profession, neither has she neglected the work of home-making. She has always found time to be an intelligent and affectionate mother to her children and to preside over a real home. Remembering her own happy childhood, she has been determined that her children should have as much love and care and good training as her own mother gave her.

Louise, the eldest daughter, has a good mezzo voice and has sung in recitals, sometimes with her mother. Sidney, the second child, has also inherited musical ability.

Madame Homer and her husband have always been intensely interested in each other’s work. The wife loves to sing the songs her husband composes, and he in turn takes delight in dedicating them to her. Louise Homer possessed a remarkable voice, but her own painstaking and constant work has brought it to perfection.

Harriet Goodhue Hosmer—

The Girl Who Loved Art More Than Ease

Bats, birds, toads, snakes, and beetles filled the room. Some were stuffed and mounted, and the others were either dissected or preserved in alcohol. This room was neither a museum nor a boy’s den. It was owned by a little girl known as “Happy Hatty,” and she, herself, had collected and prepared every one of its strange ornaments.

At the time that Harriet Hosmer was young, dissecting animals was not considered a proper amusement for a girl. The neighbors thought that Harriet would have been much better employed in sewing a fine seam.

Harriet’s father, an eminent physician, had his own ideas about bringing up his little girl. Dr. Hosmer wanted her to live in the fresh air and sunshine so that she would be strong and healthy. The more Harriet ranged the woods in search of specimens, the better her father was pleased.

Dr. Hosmer gave his little girl a boat, so that she could row on the Charles River, which flowed past her home. He had a Venetian gondola made for her, too, with velvet cushions and a silver prow. In fact, he thought that no gift was too rich for his little girl, so long as it would keep her in the open air.

Harriet enjoyed out-of-door life. She grew tall and strong. Her muscles became firm from much rowing. She could walk miles without being tired, and was a fearless rider. Thus, unknowingly, did this little girl, who later became a distinguished sculptor, lay a strong foundation for her life work.

Harriet Goodhue Hosmer was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, on October 9, 1830. Even as a child she liked to play with clay and mold it into shapes. In one corner of the garden there was a clay-pit. Here the little girl used to go, when she grew tired of books, to fashion dogs and horses from the wet clay.

Harriet went to school in Watertown, and later attended a private school at Lenox, Massachusetts. After three years at Lenox, Harriet returned home. She then began to study drawing and modeling in Boston. Often she walked both to and from her lessons, a distance of fourteen miles. By this time, Harriet Hosmer realized that nothing made her happier than to turn formless bits of clay into beautiful objects. She felt that she would like to go still further in her work; she wanted to see some of her ideas take shape in marble.

Harriet knew that a sculptor cannot fashion life-like figures of people or animals without understanding the position and shape of the bony frame under the flesh. The decorations of her museum-like room, all those specimens that she had dissected or mounted as a child, had given her a fair start in the study of anatomy. She also studied this subject with her father. However, she realized that, if she were to be a real sculptor, she must know more about anatomy. She consequently looked about for a school where she might study.

The Boston Medical School would not accept this eager young student because she was a girl, but Harriet Hosmer was not a person to be daunted by one refusal. She was finally admitted to the St. Louis Medical College where she had a very thorough course in anatomy. After she had completed this course, she returned home and began to work seriously in a studio which her father had fitted up for her in his garden.

A beautiful girl representing Hesper, the evening star, was the subject that Harriet Hosmer chose for her first original statue. From a solid block of marble she had a workman knock off the corners. As he was not accustomed to working for sculptors she did not allow him to go within several inches of the part that she was to cut. All the rest of this difficult work she did with her own small hands.

For eight or ten hours a day she chipped away at the block with chisel and a leaden mallet weighing four pounds and a half. Muscles made strong and flexible by much rowing and other exercises enabled her to keep up this hard work day after day. The block of marble was finally turned into the head of a lovely maiden, her hair entwined with poppies and a star on her forehead.

Beautiful as was this head of Hesper, Harriet Hosmer felt that she must study more. She was very desirous of entering the studio of John Gibson, a noted English sculptor who was then residing in Rome. Now Mr. Gibson, hearing that Miss Hosmer was young and rich, feared that she might be easily discouraged before real difficulties. However, as soon as he saw the daguerreotypes of her “Hesper,” the great sculptor said to her father, “Whatever I can teach her, she shall learn.”

At the very beginning of her work with Mr. Gibson, Harriet Hosmer showed him that she was not the sort of girl who gives up easily. The iron rod in a clay copy of the Venus de Milo which she had modeled in order that her teacher might have an idea of her work snapped, and the figure fell to pieces. However, without stopping to complain, she started at once to make another model.

Harriet Hosmer continued to work steadily with John Gibson. Then one day a message came from her father stating that he had lost his fortune and could no longer send her money. Miss Hosmer sold her fine saddle horse, and took an inexpensive room for herself. Now she was actually to work for her living.

Miss Hosmer became an important figure in the art and literary circles in Rome. She numbered among her friends the Brownings, Hawthorne, the Thackerays, and many other interesting people.

In the years that followed, many a beautiful statue emerged from unshaped marble through the transforming touch of Harriet Hosmer’s hands. Her statue “Puck” shows a merry little elf, sitting cross-legged on a toadstool, his left hand resting upon a lizard, his right, clasping a beetle. Some of her other important statues are “Œnone,” “Beatrice Cenci,” “Sleeping Faun,” and a statue of Thomas H. Benton. “Zenobia in Chains,” which is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is the most famous of all. This is a colossal statue, representing the beautiful Queen of Palmyra taken prisoner by the Roman Emperor Aurelian.

Harriet Goodhue Hosmer so loved to watch beauty grow under her fingers that she was willing to give up the care-free, easy life that she might have had as the child of a rich man. Because she developed her talent through hard, serious work, she won for herself a high place among the sculptors of America.

Julia Ward Howe—

Whose Battle Hymn Sang Itself Into the Hearts of a Nation

In the days when New York was not the big city that it is now, there was a fashionable section called the Bowling Green. The people who lived there often used to see a great yellow coach roll by. Within, three little girls sat stiffly against the bright blue cushions. These children were dressed in blue coats and yellow satin bonnets to match the chariot and its lining. They were the three little Ward children, one of them, Julia, to be known later throughout the land as Julia Ward Howe. She is the author of the famous patriotic hymn which you sing so often at school, the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

Julia Ward, the eldest of the three little girls, was born in New York City, May 27, 1819. Although her father was a rich man and loved his children very dearly, they did not have many of the pleasures which most children to-day enjoy as a matter of course.

The Ward girls had very little chance to romp and play outdoors and get acquainted with the birds and flowers. To be sure, they went to Newport, Rhode Island, in the summer, but poor little Julia had to wear a thick green worsted veil to protect her delicate skin. It was not until she had children of her own that she realized how much she had missed in her youth. She was glad that her children could live close to Nature.

Julia was, however, a happy child in spite of her rather sober life. She was alone much of the time, for her lively brothers were away at school and the two younger sisters played by themselves; but she was never lonely. She read a great deal: Shakespeare, Byron, and as much other poetry as she could find. She enjoyed her music and other lessons.

Julia was particularly fond of study. At first she had lessons at home, but at the age of nine she was sent to a private school nearby. Here this little girl studied a difficult book, Paley’s _Moral Philosophy_, with girls of sixteen and eighteen years of age.

Once, at this time, she heard a class reciting an Italian lesson. The musical sound of the language delighted her, and she listened whenever she had the chance. She secured a grammar, and studied it by herself. Then, one day, she handed the surprised teacher a letter, written correctly in Italian, asking permission to join the class.

Julia loved to make up poetry, and when she was in her thirteenth year, she copied a number of her poems into a brown blank book as a present for her father. One of them was a poem written about her mother, whom she had lost when she was only six years old. Still another was in French; and in the four stanzas there was only one mistake.

The study of languages was always a delight to her. She spoke and wrote French and German very well. Later in life she studied Spanish, and at the age of fifty she did not feel that she was too old to begin the study of Greek.

At twenty-four years of age Julia Ward married Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe. He was a noble-hearted man whom everyone knew as the first person to teach language to a blind deaf mute, namely, Laura Bridgman.

A happy, busy time began for these two people, who believed that life should be lived for others. Dr. Howe was engaged with his work for the blind and for the freeing of the slaves. Mrs. Howe went on with her studies, and wrote poems, plays, and essays. She helped her husband with his antislavery work, and together they edited a newspaper called the _Commonwealth_.

Yet no matter how crowded these days were, there was always a time in the afternoon that was set aside for the children. The mother played and sang to the little folks, and there were merry romps, as the father, wrapped in a big fur coat, played bear and growled fiercely. Both mother and father often read aloud to their children.

When the Civil War broke out, Julia Ward Howe longed to help her country and soon a special way came. One day, she was driving back into Washington with friends, after having witnessed a review of some troops. Their carriage was delayed by the returning soldiers. To pass away the time, Mrs. Howe and her companions began to sing war songs. Among them, they sang,

“John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave.”

“Why do you not write some good words for that stirring tune?” someone asked Mrs. Howe.

“I have often wished to do so!” she answered.

The next morning Mrs. Howe awoke before dawn, and found the words of a song shaping themselves in her mind. As soon as the poem was complete, she rose and, in the early morning light, wrote it down on a sheet of paper. This poem was the famous “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which soon sang itself into the hearts of the nation.

Mrs. Howe’s writings have been numerous. In addition to her books of poetry she also wrote much in behalf of social reforms. She lectured far and wide, and loved to talk to school children. Because she wanted women to learn how to help themselves, she founded, or helped to found, many clubs and organizations for them. She wanted them to have the vote too.

Mrs. Howe’s children have followed in their mother’s footsteps and written books themselves. One of her daughters, Laura E. Richards, has written delightful stories for children. Her book, _Two Noble Lives_, tells very beautifully the life stories of her remarkable mother and father. Maud Howe Elliott and Florence Howe Hall are also the authors of many books. The son, Henry Marion Howe, has written books on scientific subjects.

Our country honors Julia Ward Howe as the author of one of its greatest songs, which will ever continue to stir our patriotism. Because as a girl she made the best use of her talents, she was enabled to fill a long life with great service.

Helen Keller—

The Deaf and Blind Girl Who Found Light and Happiness Through Knowledge

In a beautiful southern garden where birds sang gaily and roses, honeysuckle, and jessamine shed their fragrance, little Helen lay face downward on the ground. She hid her hot cheeks in the cool leaves and grass. The tears flowed fast. Why, why would no one understand what she wanted? Sometimes it seemed as if she could not bear the world of darkness and silence in which she lived. This little girl could not talk like other children. Neither could she see the yellow rose petals, nor hear the songs of the birds.

On June 27, 1880, Helen Keller was born in the little Alabama town of Tuscumbia. For nineteen months she was just like any other happy, healthy baby girl. Then a severe illness took away her sight and hearing, and, because she was unable to hear her baby words, she soon forgot how to talk.

One day when Helen was nearly seven years old, a new doll was put into her arms. Then, in her hand a lady made the letters _d-o-l-l_ in the deaf alphabet. Helen did not know that things had names, but she was amused with this new game and imitated the letters for her mother. Helen’s new friend and teacher was Miss Anne Sullivan. She had come from the Perkins Institution for the Blind, in Boston, to teach this little girl.

When the finger game had been going on for a month, Miss Sullivan spelled the word, _w-a-t-e-r_, into Helen’s hand, letting her feel the water from the pump. A light broke over Helen’s face. For the first time she understood that everything had a name. She touched the pump and the trellis, and asked for their names. In a few hours she had learned thirty new words. That night Helen went to bed very happy, looking forward, for the first time in her life, to another day.

A new, joyous life now began for this little girl whose mind had been in the dark. She soon realized that every word that she would learn would provide her with a new and pleasant thought. Miss Sullivan gave Helen slips of cardboard on which words were printed in raised letters. She never tired of playing the game of arranging these words in sentences.

Down by the river Helen built dams of pebbles and dug lakes and bays and was taught how the world is made. In the woods her teacher put a violet or dogwood blossom in her hand and explained about growing things. She learned to know the crickets and katydids by holding them in her hand. Helen played all these games, not realizing that she was learning lessons.

When Helen was eight years old, Miss Sullivan took her to Boston to the Perkins Institution for the Blind. The child was delighted to find there little girls and boys who could talk to her in the language of the hand. She enjoyed, too, the books in the library printed in raised type, and began to read in earnest. It was at this time that she climbed Bunker Hill Monument, counting every step. She had another lesson in history at Plymouth Rock.

It was difficult, of course, for Helen to talk with people who did not know the deaf alphabet. Miss Sullivan had to spell out the conversation into her hand. When Helen heard of a deaf girl who had been taught to speak, she was determined to learn too.

It was the hardest task that she had undertaken, for she could not hear the sound of her own voice nor see the lips of others. She would feel the position of her teacher’s tongue and lips when making a sound, and then imitate the motions. Constant practice and the great desire to achieve always spurred her efforts. It was slow, tedious work, but Helen persevered.

She _did_ succeed in learning to speak. It was a very happy day when Helen actually spoke to her parents and to her little sister Mildred.

At ten years of age Helen had put her whole heart and will into learning to speak. Six years later, after having studied lip-reading, French and German, and other difficult subjects, she determined to undertake what seemed like another impossibility. She made up her mind to go to college!

Many of the books that she needed were not printed in raised type. She could not hear lectures nor take notes. Such were a few of the difficulties that this young girl had to face. Nevertheless, Helen was not to be discouraged. She entered the Cambridge School for Young Ladies and bravely began her preparation for Radcliffe College.

Miss Sullivan went to Helen’s classes with her and spelled into her hand all that the teachers said. Helen wrote her compositions on the typewriter. She used it, too, in answering successfully the examination questions.

Helen was urged to take special work at college, but she preferred to follow the regular course. Once more this blind and deaf girl conquered all the difficulties, and in 1904 was graduated from Radcliffe College. She had completed the same course as had the young women at Radcliffe College and the young men at Harvard University who could see and hear.

As Helen Keller grew older, she realized that knowledge, besides giving pleasure, enables one to be of more help in the world. After her graduation she was eager to be of service. Naturally, she thought of the blind first. Miss Keller was made a member of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind and served on several boards for the blind and deaf. She has always urged that the blind be given the kind of education that will fit them to support themselves.

Miss Keller has written many magazine articles and several books. When she was only twelve years old she wrote a short account of her life for the _Youth’s Companion_. Her _The Story of My Life_ was published before her graduation from college.

Instead of being a burden, this blind and deaf girl early became a happy, useful citizen. She has succeeded because she was determined to know more, no matter how much hard work it cost her. Helen Keller says that the worst darkness is ignorance. Her life motto has been: “Knowledge is love and light and vision.”

Maria Mitchell—

The Girl Who Studied the Stars

It was an eventful day in the Mitchell home. The parlor window had been taken out and the telescope mounted in front of it. Twelve-year-old Maria, at her father’s side, counted the seconds while he observed a total eclipse of the sun.

Not every twelve-year-old girl could be trusted to use the chronometer, an instrument which measures the time even more accurately than a watch. Maria, however, had been helping her father in his study of the stars ever since she could count. Before many years this little girl beside the telescope became America’s best-known woman astronomer.

On the little three-cornered island of Nantucket, off the coast of Massachusetts, Maria Mitchell was born, August 1, 1818. With its broad sandy beaches, its wide moors, and ocean breezes, the island was a delightful spot in which to grow up.

The Mitchell home was a pleasant place, filled with the laughter and fun of a large family of children. Due to the mother’s careful planning, the wheels of the household machinery ran very smoothly. No one would have guessed, by seeing the cheerful, comfortable home, how far Mrs. Mitchell had to stretch a tiny income.

Work and play were happily mingled. Little Maria, with her sisters, learned to cook and sew. Maria was always ready to do her share of the household work. If she swept a room, she did it thoroughly. When she arranged the furniture it might not be done artistically, but every piece was straight. She could not bear to have things crooked. This exactness about little things was one of the qualities that made it possible for this girl to become a great astronomer.

There were always good books in the Mitchell home. They were read over and over, and were very carefully handled. One textbook, an algebra, was used by eight children, in succession, each child adding his name inside the cover.

Mr. Mitchell, who was a Quaker, enjoyed quoting to his children from the Bible and from the poets. He was particularly fond of references to his beloved stars. He often said that an astronomer could not fail to believe in God. One of the earliest poems that Maria learned was about the heavens, beginning, “The spacious firmament on high.” She used to like to say it over to herself when, in later years she was frightened or troubled.

The most unusual object in Maria’s home was her father’s telescope. On pleasant evenings it was set up in the back yard. Ever since boyhood Mr. Mitchell had been interested in the stars and had made astronomy his special study. Every clear evening he observed the heavens. Maria was always glad to help him. Soon she took as keen a delight in watching the sky as he.

The chronometers of all the whale ships which sailed into Nantucket were brought to Mr. Mitchell to be “rated,” as it was called. Maria used to help her father with this; and at a very early age learned how to use a measuring instrument called the sextant.

There was no school at this time where Maria Mitchell could be taught astronomy. Even Harvard University had no better telescope than her father’s. Maria, however, had an excellent teacher in him. Many scientists sought out Mr. Mitchell in remote Nantucket, and Maria had the benefit of their conversation.

The years of Maria Mitchell’s girlhood passed quietly but happily. She went to two schools that her father taught, and then to a private school where she did very good work in mathematics. At sixteen years of age she began to teach. She gave up teaching, however, to become librarian of the Nantucket Athenæum, a position that she held for nearly twenty years.

The library was open only afternoons and Saturday evenings. In the afternoons there were few visitors, so Miss Mitchell had plenty of time for reading and study. She went on with her studies in higher mathematics and worked out difficult astronomical problems. Whenever visitors came in and chatted, as they liked to do with this bright, interesting young woman, her book was dropped for knitting. Maria Mitchell never wasted a moment.

Every clear evening was spent on the housetop observing the heavens. No matter how many guests there were in the parlor, Miss Mitchell would slip out and, lantern in hand, mount to the roof where the telescope was now kept.

On October 1, 1847, there was a party at the Mitchell home. Maria, as usual, ran up to the telescope. Presently she hurried back and told her father that she had seen a new comet. Mr. Mitchell was convinced that she was right and he wrote to Harvard University, announcing the discovery. Maria Mitchell received for this discovery a gold medal offered sixteen years before, by the King of Denmark, to the first discoverer of a telescopic comet. This won world-wide distinction for Miss Mitchell.

The next year another great honor came to the Nantucket girl. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was the first woman to be admitted to this important scientific society.

Soon after this Miss Mitchell was asked to put her knowledge of astronomy to use on a work for navigators called the _American Nautical Almanac_. She was to watch the course of the planet Venus, and to make the tables which mariners need to guide them. For nineteen years she kept up this important work.