initial commit of ebook 39079HEADmain

34 files changed, 38626 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/39079-8.txt b/39079-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5acd4bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11783 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Noble Deeds of American Women, Edited by J.
+(Jesse) Clement
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Noble Deeds of American Women
+       With Biographical Sketches of Some of the More Prominent
+
+
+Editor: J. (Jesse) Clement
+
+Release Date: March 8, 2012  [eBook #39079]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NOBLE DEEDS OF AMERICAN WOMEN***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Julia Neufeld, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 39079-h.htm or 39079-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39079/39079-h/39079-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39079/39079-h.zip)
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+      Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals.
+
+      The carat character (^) in Eng^d indicates that the following
+      letter ("d") is superscripted.
+
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: Eng^d by J.C. Buttre.
+
+    MARTHA WASHINGTON.
+
+    FROM STUART'S PICTURE]
+
+SIXTEENTH THOUSAND.
+
+NOBLE DEEDS OF AMERICAN WOMEN;
+
+With Biographical Sketches of Some of the More Prominent.
+
+Edited by
+
+J. CLEMENT.,
+
+With an introduction by Mrs. L. H. Sigourney.
+
+
+   Such examples should be set before them as patterns for their daily
+   imitation.
+
+   LOCKE
+
+New Edition Revised.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+New York:
+Miller, Orton & Co.,
+25 PARK ROW.
+1857.
+
+Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by
+Geo. H. Derby & Co.,
+In the Clerk's Office of the Northern District of New York.
+
+
+
+
+Editor's Preface.
+
+
+This work was suggested by one of a similar character, entitled "Noble
+Deeds of Woman," an English work, which contains but three references to
+American Women, two of which are of but very little importance. Only one
+article is the same in both works, and that is the letter written by
+Mrs. Sigourney to the women of Greece, in 1828, in behalf of the ladies
+of Hartford.
+
+This failure to do justice to American women, may have been an
+oversight; be that as it may, a work of the kind here presented, seemed
+to be needed, and we regret that its preparation had not been assigned
+to an abler pen. Multitudes of works have been consulted, and such
+anecdotes gleaned as it is thought will have a salutary influence on
+the mind and heart. Should the records of female courage and virtue
+herein presented to the daughters of the land, encourage, even in the
+slightest degree, a laudable spirit of emulation, our humble labors will
+not have been put forth in vain.
+
+Facts are more sublime than fictions; and American women have actually
+performed all the good, and grand, and glorious deeds which the honest
+and judicious novelist dares ascribe to the female sex; hence we have
+found no occasion, in striving to make this work interesting, to deviate
+from the path of historical truth.
+
+The sources whence our materials have been derived, are largely
+indicated in the body of the work. Possibly, however, we may have
+failed, in some instances, to indicate our indebtedness to historians
+and biographers where such reference was justly demanded; suffice it to
+say, therefore, once for all, that, although something like two hundred
+of these pages are in our own language, we deserve but little credit for
+originality, and would prefer to be regarded as an unpretending
+compiler, rather than as an aspirant to the title of author.
+
+                                                            J. C.
+
+     NOTE TO THE REVISED EDITION.
+
+     The fact that eight thousand copies of this work have been
+     published in less than a year after its appearance, indicates a
+     degree of popularity which was not anticipated. In this edition we
+     have thrown out a few pages of the old matter, and substituted, in
+     most instances, fresher anecdotes; and this revision, with the
+     illustrations which the liberal-minded publishers have added, will,
+     it is hoped, render the work still more acceptable.
+
+                                                            J. C.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                             PAGE.
+
+  INTRODUCTION                                 13
+
+  Mother of Washington                         25
+
+  Wife of Washington                           33
+
+  Wife of John Adams                           39
+
+  Ann H. Judson                                52
+
+  A Christian Woman in the Hour of Danger      66
+
+  Humanity of Hartford Ladies                  69
+
+  Mother Bailey                                73
+
+  Elizabeth Heard                              76
+
+  Ladies of Philadelphia in 1780               78
+
+  Wife of President Reed                       80
+
+  Completion of Bunker Hill Monument           85
+
+  Lydia Darrah                                 89
+
+  Widow Storey                                 93
+
+  Mrs. Hendee                                  95
+
+  Patriotic Women of Old Middlesex             97
+
+  The Cacique's Noble Daughter                 99
+
+  Humane Spirit of a Forest Maid              104
+
+  Hannah Dustin                               108
+
+  The Heroines of Bryant's Station            111
+
+  Mrs. Daviess                                114
+
+  A Kentucky Amazon                           118
+
+  Heroism at Innis Settlement                 120
+
+  Bold Exploit at Tampico                     124
+
+  Dicey Langston                              125
+
+  Rebecca Motte                               129
+
+  Another Sacrifice for Freedom               132
+
+  A Patriotic Donation                        133
+
+  The Little Black-eyed Rebel                 134
+
+  The Benevolent Quakeress                    136
+
+  A Pioneer in Sunday Schools                 140
+
+  The Women of Wyoming                        142
+
+  Mary Gould                                  143
+
+  The Mother of President Polk                145
+
+  Trials of a Patriot                         146
+
+  Intrepidity of Mrs. Israel                  164
+
+  Incident in Missionary Life                 166
+
+  A Kind-hearted Chippewa                     169
+
+  Humanity of a Cherokee                      170
+
+  Self-sacrificing Spirit of the Missionary   171
+
+  Daring Exploit of Two Rebels                176
+
+  Elizabeth Martin                            178
+
+  The Mother's Effectual Petition             180
+
+  Noteworthy Integrity                        182
+
+  A Faithful Mother                           184
+
+  Mrs. Spaulding                              186
+
+  Wife of Colonel Thomas                      188
+
+  Exemplary Piety                             190
+
+  Adventure of a Patriotic Girl               192
+
+  Mrs. Caldwell and the Tories                195
+
+  Mother of Randolph                          198
+
+  Cornelia Beekman                            199
+
+  Mother of West                              202
+
+  Heroic Endurance                            204
+
+  Maternal Heroism                            211
+
+  A Modern Dorcas                             213
+
+  Sarah Hoffman                               218
+
+  Heroism of Schoharie Women                  221
+
+  A Sterling Patriot                          223
+
+  Heroic Conduct at Monmouth                  237
+
+  Courage of a Country Girl                   239
+
+  The Ledyards at Fort Griswold               241
+
+  Seneca Heroines                             244
+
+  Martha Bratton                              246
+
+  A Poor Woman's Offering                     250
+
+  Mother of Jackson                           251
+
+  Heroine of Fort Henry                       253
+
+  A Benevolent Widow                          256
+
+  Anne Fitzhugh                               258
+
+  Esther Gaston                               261
+
+  Remarkable Presence of Mind                 263
+
+  Wife of Governor Griswold                   265
+
+  Bold Exploit of a Young Girl                266
+
+  Susanna Wright                              268
+
+  Patriotism of 1770                          270
+
+  Mrs. Spalding                               272
+
+  Mrs. Dillard                                275
+
+  Phoebe Phillips                             277
+
+  Example of a Poor Widow                     279
+
+  Elizabeth Estaugh                           284
+
+  Kate Moore,                                 297
+
+  Captivity of Mrs. Rowlandson                299
+
+  Mrs. Bozarth                                303
+
+  Heroine of Steel Creek                      305
+
+  Benevolence of a Colored Woman              308
+
+  Rebecca Edwards                             309
+
+  The Beautiful Rebel                         311
+
+  Harriet B. Stewart                          313
+
+  A Kind and Benevolent Woman                 316
+
+  Noble Example of Pioneers                   320
+
+  Mrs. Slocumb                                323
+
+  Wife of Captain Richardson                  330
+
+  Striking Instance of Patience               331
+
+  Susannah Elliott                            336
+
+  Anna Elliott                                338
+
+  Patriotic Stratagem                         340
+
+  Influence of a Faithful Teacher             341
+
+  Wife of Thomas Heyward                      343
+
+  Noble Decision                              345
+
+  A Tennessee Heroine                         346
+
+  Mrs. M'Kay                                  352
+
+  Heroic Conduct of a Daughter                354
+
+  Heroic Decision                             356
+
+  Daughter of Aaron Burr                      358
+
+  Female Intrepidity                          361
+
+  Wife of Richard Shubrick                    362
+
+  Retort of Mrs. Ashe                         365
+
+  Wife of a Drunkard                          366
+
+  Mother of Dr. Dwight                        370
+
+  Happy Results of Maternal Fidelity          373
+
+  Mrs. Scott                                  375
+
+  Success of Boldness                         378
+
+  Mary Knight                                 380
+
+  Wife of William Gray                        381
+
+  Mrs. Huntington                             383
+
+  Mrs. Biddle                                 385
+
+  Kindness of Convicts                        387
+
+  Margaret Prior                              388
+
+  Noble Acts of Kindness                      395
+
+  Wife of Dr. Ramsay                          398
+
+  Margaret Schuyler                           400
+
+  Noble Treatment of Enemies                  402
+
+  Humanity Rewarded                           403
+
+  Margaret Winthrop                           404
+
+  A Pioneer Settler's Adventure               408
+
+  Mrs. McKenny                                410
+
+  The Fisherman's Heroic Wife                 416
+
+  Mrs. James K. Polk                          418
+
+  Widow Jenkins                               421
+
+  Faithful Little Girl                        423
+
+  Hospitality of California Women             424
+
+  Sarah Lanman Smith                          425
+
+  Brother saved by his Sister                 429
+
+  Mrs. Borden                                 431
+
+  Margaret Corbin                             432
+
+  Mrs. Channing                               433
+
+  Commendable Courage                         434
+
+  Heroine of Shell's Bush                     435
+
+  Father Taylor's Widowed Friend              437
+
+  Revolutionary Mother                        440
+
+  Successful Daring                           443
+
+  Worthy Example of Forgiveness               444
+
+  Crookshanks saved by a Female               445
+
+  Patriotic Artist                            446
+
+  Mohawk Women                                448
+
+  Female in the Revolutionary Army            450
+
+  Elizabeth Brant                             459
+
+  Brief Anecdotes                             465
+
+  Miss D. L. Dix                              474
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+The advantages of Biography are obvious and great. To the weight of
+precept, it adds the force and efficacy of example. It presents correct
+and beautiful models, and awakens the impulse to imitate what we admire.
+Other sciences strengthen the intellect, this influences and amends the
+heart. Other subjects interest the imagination, this modifies conduct
+and character. By the recorded actions of the great and good, we
+regulate our own course, and steer, star-guided, over life's trackless
+ocean.
+
+In remote ages, the department of Female Biography was almost a void.
+Here and there on the pages of the Sacred Volume, a lineament, or a
+form, is sketched with graphic power, either as a warning, or bright
+with the hues of heaven. Yet uninspired history, though she continued to
+utter "her dark sayings upon the harp," was wont to relapse into silence
+at the name of woman. Classic antiquity scarcely presents aught that
+might be cited as a sustained example. In the annals of ancient Greece,
+the wife of one of its philosophers has obtained a place, but only
+through the varied trials, by which she contributed to perfect his
+patience. Rome but slightly lifts the household veil from the mother of
+the Gracchi, as she exultingly exhibits her heart's jewels. Cleopatra,
+with her royal barge, casts a dazzling gleam over the Cydnus, but her
+fame is like the poison of the reptile that destroyed her. Boadicea
+rushes for a moment in her rude chariot over the battle field, but the
+fasces and the chains of Rome close the scene.
+
+Modern Paganism disclosed a still deeper abyss of degradation for woman.
+The aboriginal lord of the American forests lays the burden on the
+shoulder of his weaker companion, and stalks on in unbowed majesty, with
+his quiver and his tomahawk. Beneath the sultry skies of Africa, she
+crouches to drink the poison water before her judges, having no better
+test of her innocence than the deliverer, Death. In India, we see her
+plunging into the Ganges her female infants, that they may escape her
+lot of misery, or wrapped in the flames of the burning pile, turn into
+ashes with the corpse of her husband. Under the sway of the Moslem, her
+highest condition is a life-long incarceration, her best treatment, that
+of a gilded toy--a soulless slave. Throughout the whole heathen world,
+woman may be characterized, as Humanity, in Central Asia has been, by an
+elegant French writer, as "always remaining anonymous,--indifferent to
+herself,--not believing in her liberty, having none,--and leaving no
+trace of her passage upon earth."
+
+Christianity has changed the scene. Wherever her pure and pitying spirit
+prevails, the sway of brute force is softened, and the "weaker vessel"
+upheld. Bearing in her hand the blessed Gospel, "a light to lighten the
+Gentiles, and the glory of the people Israel," she adds to the
+literature of the world a new volume, the History of Woman. She spreads
+a page, for which the long, slow ages had neither looked, nor
+inquired,--neither waited for, nor imagined, the page of female
+biography.
+
+So liberal have been our own immediate times in supplying fitting
+materials, that an extensive and valuable library might readily be
+selected in this department alone. Since knowledge has shed her baptism
+upon the head of woman, her legitimate sphere of duty has become
+extended, and enriched by incident. We see her not only brought forward
+as a teacher, but entering unrebuked the fields of science and
+literature; we see her amid the hardships of colonial life, displaying a
+martyr's courage, or ascending the deck of the mission ship to take her
+part in "perils among the heathen."
+
+The venerable moralist of Barley Wood, who so perseveringly encouraged
+her sex to reflect, to discriminate, to choose the good and refuse the
+evil, who, after attaining the age of sixty years, presented them with
+eleven new and instructive volumes, has not long laid down her pen, for
+the rest and reward of the righteous. That high souled apostle of
+erring, suffering humanity, to whose dauntless benevolence crowned heads
+did honor, whose melodious voice I almost fancy that I again hear, as in
+the plain garb of her order, she stood as a tutelary being among the
+convicts at Newgate,--she has but recently arisen to that congenial
+society of the just made perfect, who rejoice over "one sinner that
+repenteth."
+
+And the harp of that tuneful one, so recently exchanged for a purer
+harmony, still breathes upon our hearts the echoes of her varied lay, as
+when touched by her hand it warbled--
+
+  "Fame hath a voice, whose thrilling tone
+    Can bid the life pulse beat,
+  As when a trumpet's note hath blown,
+    Warning the hosts to meet;
+  But ah! let mine, a woman's breast,
+  With words of home-born love be bless'd."
+
+She, too, who sleeps beneath the hopia-tree in Burmah, whose courage and
+constancy no hero has transcended, how rapidly has she been followed in
+the same self denying path, by others who "counted not their lives dear
+unto them," if they might bear to the perishing heathen the name and
+love of a Redeemer.
+
+And one still lives, the wonderful Scandinavian maiden, whose melody now
+holds our own land in enchantment, and who exhibits, on a scale hitherto
+unknown in the world's history, rare endowments, boundless liberality,
+and deep humility; God's grace held in subservience to the good of her
+fellow creatures. Through the power of song, which, as the compeer of
+the nightingale, she possesses, and with a singular freedom from vanity
+and selfishness, she charms and elevates, while with the harvest of her
+toils she feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, comforts the desolate,
+aids the hallowed temple to uplift its spire, and the school to spread
+its brooding wing over the children of future generations.
+
+  One there lives, who doth inherit
+  Angel gifts with angel spirit,
+  Bidding streams of gladness flow
+  Through the realms of want and woe,
+  'Mid lone age and misery's lot,
+  Kindling pleasures long forgot,
+  Seeking minds oppress'd with night,
+  And on darkness shedding light;
+  She the seraph's speech doth know,
+  She hath learn'd their deeds below
+  So, when o'er this misty strand,
+  She shall clasp their waiting hand,
+  They will fold her to their breast,
+  More a sister than a guest.
+
+If all true greatness should be estimated by its tendencies, and by the
+good it performs, it is peculiarly desirable that woman's claims to
+distinction should be thus judged and awarded. In this young western
+world, especially in New England, her agency has been admitted, and her
+capacity tested, of mingling a healthful leaven with the elements of a
+nation's character. Here, her presence has been acknowledged, and her
+aid faithfully rendered, from the beginning. There is a beautiful
+tradition, that the first foot which pressed the snow clad rock of
+Plymouth was that of Mary Chilton, a fair young maiden, and that the
+last survivor of those heroic pioneers was Mary Allerton, who lived to
+see the planting of twelve out of the thirteen colonies, which formed
+the nucleus of these United States.
+
+In the May Flower, eighteen wives accompanied their husbands to a waste
+land and uninhabited, save by the wily and vengeful savage. On the
+unfloored hut, she who had been nurtured amid the rich carpets and
+curtains of the mother land, rocked her new born babe, and complained
+not. She, who in the home of her youth had arranged the gorgeous shades
+of embroidery, or, perchance, had compounded the rich venison pasty as
+her share in the housekeeping, now pounded the coarse Indian corn for
+her children's bread, and bade them ask God's blessing, ere they took
+their scanty portion. When the snows sifted through their miserable
+roof-trees upon her little ones, she gathered them closer to her bosom;
+she taught them the Bible, and the catechism, and the holy hymn, though
+the war-whoop of the Indian rang through the wild. Amid the untold
+hardships of colonial life, she infused new strength into her husband by
+her firmness, and solaced his weary hours by her love. She was to him,
+
+  "An undergoing spirit, to bear up
+  Against whate'er ensued."
+
+During the struggle of our Revolution, the privations sustained, and the
+efforts made by women, were neither few nor of short duration. Many of
+them are delineated in the present volume, and in other interesting ones
+of the same class, which have found favor with the public.
+
+Yet innumerable instances of faithful toil, and patient endurance, must
+have been covered with oblivion. In how many a lone home, whence the
+father was long sundered by a soldier's destiny, did the Mother labor to
+perform to their little ones both his duties and her own, having no
+witness of the extent of her heavy burdens, and sleepless anxieties,
+save the Hearer of Prayer.
+
+A good and hoary headed man, who had passed the limits of fourscore,
+once said to me, "my father was in the army during the whole eight years
+of the Revolutionary war, at first as a common soldier, afterwards as an
+officer. My mother had the sole charge of us, four little ones. Our
+house was a poor one, and far from neighbors. I have a keen remembrance
+of the terrible cold of some of these winters. The snow lay so deep and
+long, that it was difficult to cut or draw fuel from the woods, and to
+get our corn to mill, when we had any. My mother was the possessor of a
+coffee mill. In that she ground wheat, and made coarse bread, which we
+ate, and were thankful. It was not always that we could be allowed as
+much, even of this, as our keen appetites craved. Many is the time that
+we have gone to bed, with only a drink of water for our supper, in
+which a little molasses had been mingled. We patiently received it, for
+we knew our mother did as well for us as she could, and hoped to have
+something better in the morning. She was never heard to repine; and
+young as we were, we tried to make her loving spirit and heavenly trust,
+our example.
+
+"When my father was permitted to come home, his stay was short, and he
+had not much to leave us, for the pay of those who achieved our
+liberties was slight, and irregularly rendered. Yet when he went, my
+mother ever bade him farewell with a cheerful face, and not to be
+anxious about his children, for she would watch over them night and day,
+and God would take care of the families of those who went forth to
+defend the righteous cause of their country. Sometimes we wondered that
+she did not mention the cold weather, or our short meals, or her hard
+work, that we little ones might be clothed, and fed, and taught. But she
+would not weaken his hands, or sadden his heart, for she said a
+soldier's lot was harder than all. We saw that she never complained, but
+always kept in her heart a sweet hope, like a well of living water.
+Every night ere we slept, and every morning when we arose, we lifted our
+little hands for God's blessing on our absent father, and our endangered
+country."
+
+How deeply the prayers from such solitary homes, and faithful hearts,
+were mingled with the infant liberties of our dear native land, we may
+not know until we enter where we see no more "through a glass darkly,
+but face to face."
+
+Incidents repeatedly occurred during this contest of eight years,
+between the feeble colonies and the strong motherland, of a courage
+that ancient Sparta would have applauded.
+
+In a thinly settled part of Virginia, the quiet of the Sabbath eve was
+once broken by the loud, hurried roll of the drum. Volunteers were
+invoked to go forth and prevent the British troops, under the pitiless
+Tarleton, from forcing their way through an important mountain pass. In
+an old fort resided a family, all of whose elder sons were absent with
+our army, which at the North opposed the foe. The father lay enfeebled
+and sick. Around his bedside the Mother called their three sons, of the
+ages of thirteen, fifteen, and seventeen.
+
+"Go forth, children," said she, "to the defence of your native clime.
+Go, each and all of you. I spare not my youngest, my fair-haired boy,
+the light of my declining years.
+
+"Go forth, my sons. Repel the foot of the invader, or see my face no
+more."
+
+It has been recorded in the annals of other climes, as well as our own,
+that Woman, under the pressure of unusual circumstances, has revealed
+unwonted and unexpected energies. It is fitting that she should prove
+herself equal to every emergency, nor shrink from any duty that dangers
+or reverses may impose.
+
+Still, her best happiness and true glory are doubtless found in her own
+peculiar sphere. Rescued, as she has been, from long darkness, by the
+precepts of the religion of Jesus, brought forth into the broad sunlight
+of knowledge and responsibility, she is naturally anxious to know how to
+discharge her debt to the age, and to her own land. Her patriotism is,
+to labor in the sanctuary of home, and in every allotted department of
+education, to form and train a race that shall bless their country, and
+serve their God.
+
+There has been sometimes claimed for her, under the name of "_rights_,"
+a wider participation in the pursuits, exposures, and honors
+appertaining to men. Were these somewhat indefinite claims conceded,
+would the change promote her welfare? Would she be a gainer by any added
+power or sounding title, which should require the sacrifice of that
+delicacy which is the life-blood of her sex?
+
+Would it be better for man to have no exercise for those energies, which
+the state of a gentle, trustful being calls forth; those protecting
+energies which reveal his peculiar strength, and liken him to a god-like
+nature? Would it add either to her attractions or his happiness, to
+confront her in the arena of political strife, or enable her to bear her
+part in fierce collision with the bold and unprincipled? Might it not
+endanger or obliterate that enthusiasm of love, which she so much
+prizes, to meet the tutelary spirit of his home delights, on the steep
+unsheltered heights of ambition, as a competitor or a rival?
+
+Would it be as well for the rising generation, who are given into the
+arms of Woman for their earliest guidance, that the ardor of her nature
+should be drawn into different and contradictory channels? When a
+traveler in those lands where she goes forth to manual toil in the
+fields, I have mourned to see her neglected little ones, deprived of
+maternal care, unsoftened by the blandishments of its tenderness,
+growing up like animals, groveling, unimpressible, unconscientious.
+Whatever detaches her thoughts or divides her heart from home duties and
+affections, is especially a loss to the young plants that depend on her
+nurture and supervision.
+
+If, therefore, the proposed change should profit neither man, woman, nor
+the rising race, how can it benefit the world at large? Is it not the
+province of true wisdom to select such measures as promote the greatest
+good of the greatest number?
+
+A moralist has well said, that "in contentions for power, both the
+philosophy and poetry of life are dropped and trodden down." A still
+heavier loss would accrue to domestic happiness, and the interests of
+well balanced society, should the innate delicacy and prerogative of
+woman, _as woman_, be sacrificed or transmuted.
+
+"I have given her as a help-meet," said the Voice that cannot err, when
+it spake unto Adam "in the cool of the day," amid the trees of Paradise.
+Not as a slave, a clog, a toy, a wrestler, a prize-fighter, a ruler. No.
+A _helper_, such as was meet for man to desire, and for her to become.
+
+If the unerring Creator has assigned different spheres of action to the
+sexes, it is to be presumed that some adaptation exists to their
+respective sphere, that there is work enough in each to employ them, and
+that the faithful performance of that work will be for the welfare of
+both. If He hath constituted one as the priestess of the "inner temple,"
+committing to her charge its veiled shrine and sacred harmonies, why
+should she covet to rage amid the warfare at its gates, or to ride on
+the whirlwind that may rock its turrets? Rushing, uncalled, to the
+strife, or the tumult, or the conflict, will there not linger in her
+heart the upbraiding question, "with whom didst thou leave thy few sheep
+in the wilderness?" Why need she be again tempted by pride, or
+curiosity, or glozing words, to forfeit her own Eden?
+
+The true nobility of Woman is to keep her own sphere, and adorn it, not
+as the comet, daunting and perplexing other systems, but like the star,
+which is the first to light the day and the last to leave it. If she win
+not the laurel of the conqueror and the blood-shedder, her noble deeds
+may leave "footprints on the sands of time," and her good works, "such
+as become those that profess godliness," find record in the Book of
+Life.
+
+Sisters, are not our rights sufficiently comprehensive, the sanctuary of
+home, the throne of the heart, the moulding of the whole mass of mind,
+in its first formation? Have we not power enough in all realms of sorrow
+and suffering, over all forms of want and ignorance, amid all ministries
+of love, from the cradle-dream to the sealing of the sepulchre?
+
+Let us be content and faithful, aye, more,--grateful and joyful,--making
+this brief life a hymn of praise, until admitted to that choir which
+knows no discord, and where melody is eternal.
+
+                                            L. HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY.
+
+HARTFORD, CONN.
+
+  [Illustration: Woman with plaque "Noble Deeds"]
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON
+
+
+As the "mother" of our nation's "chief," it seems appropriate that Mary
+Washington should stand at the head of American females whose deeds are
+herein recorded. Her life was one unbroken series of praiseworthy
+actions--a drama of many scenes, none blood-chilling, none tragic, but
+all noble, all inspiring, and many even magnanimous. She was uniformly
+so gentle, so amiable, so dignified, that it is difficult to fix the eye
+on any one act more strikingly grand than the rest. Stretching the eye
+along a series of mountain peaks, all, seemingly, of the same height, a
+solitary one cannot be singled out and called more sublime than the
+others.
+
+It is impossible to contemplate any one trait of her character without
+admiration. In republican simplicity, as her life will show, she was a
+model; and her piety was of such an exalted nature that the daughters of
+the land might make it their study. Though proud of her son, as we may
+suppose she must have been, she was sensible enough not to be betrayed
+into weakness and folly on that account. The honors that clustered
+around her name as associated with his, only humbled her and made her
+apparently more devout. She never forgot that she was a Christian
+mother, and that her son, herself, and, in perilous times especially,
+her country, needed her prayers. She was wholly destitute of
+aristocratic feelings, which are degrading to human beings; and never
+believed that sounding titles and high honors could confer lasting
+distinctions, without moral worth. The greatness which Byron, with so
+much justness and beauty, ascribes to Washington, was one portion of the
+inestimable riches which the son inherited from the mother:
+
+  "Where may the weary eye repose,
+    When gazing on the great,
+  Where neither guilty glory glows,
+    Nor despicable state?
+  Yes, one--the first--the last--the best--
+  The Cincinnatus of the West,
+    Whom envy dared not hate--
+  Bequeathed the name of Washington,
+  To make men blush there was but one."
+
+Moulding, as she did, to a large extent, the character of the great
+Hero, Statesman and Sage of the Western World; instilling into his young
+heart the virtues that warmed her own, and fitting him to become the man
+of unbending integrity and heroic courage, and the father of a great and
+expanding republic, she may well claim the veneration, not of the lovers
+of freedom merely, but of all who can appreciate moral beauty and
+thereby estimate the true wealth of woman's heart. A few data and
+incidents of such a person's life should be treasured in every American
+mind.
+
+The maiden name of Mrs. Washington was Mary Bell. She was born in the
+Colony of Virginia, which is fertile in great names, towards the close
+of the year 1706. She became the second wife of Mr. Augustine
+Washington, a planter of the "Old Dominion," on the sixth of March,
+1730. He was at that time a resident of Westmoreland county. There, two
+years after this union, George, their oldest child, was born. While the
+"father of his country" was an infant, the parents removed to Stafford
+county, on the Rappahannock river, opposite Fredericksburg.
+
+Mrs. Washington had five more children, and lost the youngest in its
+infancy. Soon after this affliction, she was visited, in 1743, with a
+greater--the death of her husband. Thus, at the age of thirty-seven,
+Mrs. Washington became a widow, with five small children. Fortunately,
+her husband left a valuable property for their maintenance. It was
+mostly in land, and each son inherited a plantation. The one daughter
+was also suitably provided for. "It was thus," writes Mr. Sparks, "that
+Augustine Washington, although suddenly cut off in the vigor of manhood,
+left all his children in a state of comparative independence. Confiding
+in the prudence of the mother, he directed that the proceeds of all the
+property of her children should be at her disposal, till they should
+respectively come of age."
+
+The same writer adds that, "this weighty charge of five young children,
+the eldest of whom was eleven years old, the superintendence of their
+education, and the management of complicated affairs, demanded no common
+share of resolution, resource of mind, and strength of character. In
+these important duties Mrs. Washington acquitted herself with fidelity
+to her trust, and with entire success. Her good sense, assiduity,
+tenderness and vigilance, overcame every obstacle; and, as the richest
+reward of a mother's solicitude and toil, she had the happiness of
+seeing all her children come forward with a fair promise into life,
+filling the sphere allotted to them in a manner equally honorable to
+themselves, and to the parent who had been the only guide of their
+principles, conduct and habits. She lived to witness the noble career of
+her eldest son, till, by his own rare merits, he was raised to the head
+of a nation, and applauded and revered by the whole world."
+
+Two years after the death of his father, George Washington obtained a
+midshipman's warrant, and had not his mother opposed the plan, he would
+have entered the naval service, been removed from her influence, acted
+a different part on the theatre of life, and possibly changed the
+subsequent aspect of American affairs.
+
+Just before Washington's departure to the north, to assume the command
+of the American army, he persuaded his mother to leave her country
+residence, and assisted in effecting her removal to Fredericksburg.
+There she took up a permanent abode, and there died of a lingering and
+painful disease, a cancer in the breast, on the twenty-fifth of August,
+1789.
+
+A few of the many lovely traits of Mrs. Washington's character, are
+happily exhibited in two or three incidents in her long, but not
+remarkably eventful life.
+
+She who looked to God in hours of darkness for light, in her country's
+peril, for Divine succor, was equally as ready to acknowledge the hand
+and to see the smiles of the "God of battles" in the victories that
+crowned our arms; hence, when she was informed of the surrender of
+Cornwallis, her heart instantly filled with gratitude, and raising her
+hands, with reverence and pious fervor, she exclaimed: "Thank God! war
+will now be ended, and peace, independence and happiness bless our
+country!"
+
+When she received the news of her son's successful passage of the
+Delaware--December 7th, 1776--with much self-possession she expressed
+her joy that the prospects of the country were brightening; but when she
+came to those portions of the dispatches which were panegyrical of her
+son, she modestly and coolly observed to the bearers of the good
+tidings, that "George appeared to have deserved well of his country for
+such signal services. But, my good sirs," she added, "here is too much
+flattery!--Still, _George will not forget the lessons I have taught
+him_--he will not forget _himself_, though he is the subject of so much
+praise."
+
+In like manner, when, on the return of the combined armies from
+Yorktown, Washington visited her at Fredericksburg, she inquired after
+his health and talked long and with much warmth of feeling of the scenes
+of former years, of early and mutual friends, of all, in short, that the
+past hallows; but to the theme of the ransomed millions of the land, the
+theme that for three quarters of a century has, in all lands, prompted
+the highest flights of eloquence, and awakened the noblest strains of
+song, to the deathless fame of her son, she made not the slightest
+allusion.
+
+In the fall of 1784, just before returning to his native land, General
+Lafayette went to Fredericksburg, "to pay his parting respects" to Mrs.
+Washington. "Conducted by one of her grandsons, he approached the house,
+when the young gentleman observed: 'There, sir, is my grandmother!'
+Lafayette beheld--working in the garden, clad in domestic-made clothes,
+and her gray head covered with a plain straw hat--the mother of 'his
+hero, his friend and a country's preserver!' The lady saluted him
+kindly, observing: 'Ah, Marquis! you see an old woman; but come, I can
+make you welcome to my poor dwelling without the parade of changing my
+dress.'" During the interview, Lafayette, referring to her son, could
+not withhold his encomiums, which drew from the mother this beautifully
+simple remark: "I am not surprised at what George has done, for he was
+always a good boy."
+
+The remains of Mrs. Washington were interred at Fredericksburg. On the
+seventh of May, 1833, the corner-stone of a monument to her memory was
+laid under the direction of a Committee who represented the citizens of
+Virginia. General Jackson, then President of the United States, very
+appropriately took the leading and most honorable part in the ceremony.
+With the following extracts from the closing part of his chaste and
+elegant Address, our humble sketch may fittingly close:
+
+"In tracing the few recollections which can be gathered, of her
+principles and conduct, it is impossible to avoid the conviction, that
+these were closely interwoven with the destiny of her son. The great
+points of his character are before the world. He who runs may read them
+in his whole career, as a citizen, a soldier, a magistrate. He possessed
+unerring judgment, if that term can be applied to human nature; great
+probity of purpose, high moral principles, perfect self-possession,
+untiring application, and an inquiring mind, seeking information from
+every quarter, and arriving at its conclusions with a full knowledge of
+the subject; and he added to these an inflexibility of resolution, which
+nothing could change but a conviction of error. Look back at the life
+and conduct of his mother, and at her domestic government, as they have
+this day been delineated by the Chairman of the Monumental Committee,
+and as they were known to her contemporaries, and have been described
+by them, and they will be found admirably adapted to form and develop,
+the elements of such a character. The power of greatness was there; but
+had it not been guided and directed by maternal solicitude and judgment,
+its possessor, instead of presenting to the world examples of virtue,
+patriotism and wisdom, which will be precious in all succeeding ages,
+might have added to the number of those master-spirits, whose fame rests
+upon the faculties they have abused, and the injuries they have
+committed....
+
+"Fellow citizens, at your request, and in your name, I now deposit this
+plate in the spot destined for it; and when the American pilgrim shall,
+in after ages, come up to this high and holy place, and lay his hand
+upon this sacred column, may he recall the virtues of her who sleeps
+beneath, and depart with his affections purified, and his piety
+strengthened, while he invokes blessings upon the Mother of
+Washington."
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF WASHINGTON.
+
+  A woman's noblest station is retreat:
+  Her fairest virtues fly from public sight;
+  Domestic worth--that shuns too strong a light.
+
+                                     LORD LYTTLETON.
+
+  The drying up a single tear has more
+  Of honest fame than shedding seas of gore.
+
+                                              BYRON.
+
+
+Woman may possess an equal share of the elements of greatness with man,
+but she has not an equal opportunity to display them in such a manner as
+to call forth the admiration and applause of the world. She was not made
+to pour the tide of eloquence in the Senate chamber, or lead on to
+victory the brave and heroic spirits of the land. Her course leads
+mainly through the quiet valley of domestic retirement, where the stream
+can rarely leap from dizzy heights with a thundering plunge, whose
+echoes shall go booming on to fill the ear of coming generations: her
+movements and influence are more like those of springs, which, flowing
+noiselessly and unseen, are widely scattered, and every where diffuse
+incalculable blessings.
+
+The wife of Washington could not be the hero of a seven-years' war, or
+the chief magistrate of a republic; but, as the companion of such a man,
+she could shine, in her own proper sphere, with a lustre as mild, as
+steady, as serene, as his. And thus she did. Prompt to obey the calls of
+duty, when the voice of humanity beckoned her to the camp, she hastened
+away, at the sacrifice of ease and comfort, to relieve the wants of the
+suffering; and when forced to leave her "paradise" at Mount Vernon, to
+preside, as the matron of the nation, at the President's house, she did
+it with a dignity and propriety perhaps never equalled, certainly never
+excelled. But let us not anticipate.
+
+Martha Dandridge was born in New Kent county, Virginia, in May, 1732.
+She was endowed with good sense, a strong mind, sound ideas of feminine
+proprieties, and correct views of woman's practical duties: and these
+had to answer measurably as a substitute for the discipline of female
+seminaries, which were rare in the "Old Dominion," and in the Colonies
+generally, in her younger days. The advantages to be derived from
+domestic instruction, she enjoyed, and those only. They, however, were
+cut off at the age of seventeen, by her union in marriage with Colonel
+Daniel P. Custis, a gentleman of many excellent parts. They settled on
+his plantation in her native county. Beautiful, lovely in disposition,
+and fascinating in manners, the young wife was warmly admired by her
+neighbors and all with whom she came in contact; and her residence,
+known as the "_White House_," was the centre of strong attractions, and
+the scene of much genuine or--which is the same thing--_Virginian_,
+hospitality. Colonel Custis became the father of three children, and
+then died. Previous to this solemn event, however, the White House had
+been veiled in weeds for the loss of his oldest child.
+
+With two small children, a son and daughter, Mrs. Custis early found
+herself a widow, with the disposition and management of all pecuniary
+interests left by her confiding husband, at her control. As sole
+executrix, it is said that she "managed the extensive landed and
+pecuniary concerns of the estate with surprising ability, making loans
+on mortgages, of money, and through her stewards and agents, conducting
+the sales or exportation of the crops to the best possible advantage."
+
+But from the cares of an extensive estate she was shortly relieved. On
+the sixth of January, 1759, she gave her hand, with upwards of a hundred
+thousand dollars, to Colonel George Washington, another planter of her
+native Colony. At the same time, she relinquished into his hands the
+guardianship of her children--the son six, and the daughter four years
+old--together with the care of their property. From the White House,
+Mrs. Washington now removed to Mount Vernon, which remained her home
+till her death, and became the final resting place of her remains.
+
+In her new home, as in the White House, she superintended the affairs of
+the household, exercising continual control over all culinary matters;
+carefully educating her offspring, and aiming to rear them up for
+usefulness. These duties she discharged with the utmost assiduity and
+faithfulness, in spite of the many social obligations which a woman in
+her position must necessarily encounter.[1] Nor did the demands of
+courtesy and of her family debar her from habitual and systematic
+charities, dispensed in her neighborhood, or from those most important
+of all daily duties, the calls of the "closet." In the language of Miss
+Conkling, in her Memoir: "It is recorded of this devout Christian, that
+never during her life, whether in prosperity or in adversity, did she
+omit that daily self-communion and self-examination, and those private
+devotional exercises, which would best prepare her for the self-control
+and self-denial by which she was, for more than half a century, so
+eminently distinguished. It was her habit to retire to her own apartment
+every morning after breakfast, there to devote an hour to solitary
+prayer and meditation."
+
+  [1] We have the authority of Mr. Sparks for asserting that while
+  Washington's pursuits were those of a retired planter, he seldom passed
+  a day when at home without the company of friends or strangers,
+  frequently persons of great celebrity, and demanding much attention from
+  the lady of the house.
+
+In 1770, she lost a child of many prayers, of bright hopes, and of much
+promise, her blooming daughter. She looked upon this affliction as a
+visitation from Him who doeth all things well, and bore it with becoming
+resignation, which the Christian only is prepared to do.
+
+During the Revolution, Mrs. Washington was accustomed to pass the
+winters with her husband at the head quarters of the army and the
+summers at Mount Vernon; and it was in the camp that she shone with the
+lustre of the true woman. "She was at Valley Forge in that dreadful
+winter of 1777-8, her presence and submission to privation strengthening
+the fortitude of those who might have complained, and giving hope and
+confidence to the desponding. She soothed the distresses of many
+sufferers, seeking out the poor and afflicted with benevolent kindness,
+extending relief wherever it was in her power, and with graceful
+deportment presiding in the Chief's humble dwelling."[2]
+
+  [2] Mrs. Washington, in writing to Mrs. Warren, says, "The General's
+  apartment is very small; he has had a log cabin built to dine in, which
+  has made our quarters more tolerable than at first."
+
+In 1781, she lost her last surviving child, John Custis, aged twenty
+seven. Her widowed daughter-in-law and the four children, she took to
+her own home, and thenceforward they were the objects of her untiring
+solicitude.
+
+The life of Mrs. Washington, after her husband took the Presidential
+chair, was marked by no striking incidents, and affords scanty material
+of the nature marked out for this work. During the eight years that he
+was Chief Magistrate, she presided in his mansion with the same
+unaffected ease, equanimity and dignified simplicity that had marked her
+previous course in more retired circles. Visitors were received on all
+days _except the Sabbath_, and, irrespective of rank, shared in her
+courtesies and hospitalities. A portion of each summer, at that period,
+was passed in the quiet and seclusion of Mount Vernon, she rarely, if
+ever, accompanying her husband on his tours through the land. She
+expressed regret when he was chosen President, because she preferred
+"to grow old" with him "in solitude and tranquillity;" hence it is not
+surprising that she found a luxury in retiring for a season from the
+scenes of public life, and in attending to the education of her
+grand-children and to other self-imposed tasks and important duties, in
+the performance of which she could bless her friends and honor God.
+
+After the death of her illustrious companion, which occurred in
+December, 1799, she remained at Mount Vernon; where she spent seventeen
+months mourning her loss; receiving the visits of the great from all
+parts of our land, and from various parts of the earth; attending, as
+heretofore, to her domestic concerns; perfecting in the Christian
+graces, and ripening for the joys of a holier state of being. On the
+twenty-second of May, 1801, she who, while on earth, could be placed in
+no station which she did not dignify and honor, was welcomed to the
+glories of another world.
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF JOHN ADAMS.
+
+  The mother in her office holds the key
+  Of the soul; and she it is who stamps the coin
+  Of character, and makes the being who would be a savage,
+  But for her gentle cares, a Christian man.
+
+                                            OLD PLAY.
+
+  ----O we will walk this world,
+  Yoked in all exercise of noble aim.
+
+                                            TENNYSON.
+
+
+Abigail Smith was a daughter of the Rev. William Smith, a Congregational
+minister of Weymouth, Massachusetts, where she was born on the eleventh
+of November, 1744, O. S. "It was fashionable to ridicule female
+learning," in her day; and she says of herself in one of her letters, "I
+was never sent to any school." She adds, "I was always sick. Female
+education, in the best families, went no further than writing and
+arithmetic." But notwithstanding her educational disadvantages, she read
+and studied in private, and kept up a brisk correspondence with
+relatives, and by these means expanded and fed her mind, and cultivated
+an easy and graceful style of writing.
+
+On the twenty-fifth of October, 1764, Miss Smith became the wife of John
+Adams, a lawyer of Braintree.[3]
+
+  [3] The part of the town in which he lived was afterwards called Quincy
+  in honor of Mrs. Adams's maternal grandfather.
+
+Her grandson, Charles Francis Adams, to whose Memoir of her we are
+indebted for these statistics, says, that "the ten years immediately
+following, present little that is worth recording."
+
+Prior to 1778, Mr. and Mrs. Adams had been separated at sundry times, in
+all, more than three years, which was a severe trial to her fortitude.
+The strength of her conjugal affection may be gathered from an extract
+from one of her letters: "I very well remember," she writes, "when the
+eastern circuits of the courts, which lasted a month, were thought an
+age, and an absence of three months, intolerable; but we are carried
+from step to step, and from one degree to another, to endure that which
+at first we think impossible." Thus she was schooled for separation from
+her husband, when, in 1778, he went to France as a joint commissioner.
+While he was absent from his country on that occasion, faithful to the
+calls of duty, she remained at home, and managed, as she had done
+before, the affairs of the household and farm. And _there_ let the
+reader look at her and see a picture of a true mother of the Revolution.
+"She is a farmer cultivating the land, and discussing the weather and
+crops; a merchant reporting prices-current and the rates of exchange,
+and directing the making up of invoices; a politician, speculating upon
+the probabilities of peace or war; and a mother, writing the most
+exalted sentiments to her son."
+
+What nobler deed could the mother, thus situated, do with her son, John
+Quincy Adams, in a foreign land, than to write to him in a tone like
+that of the extracts which follow, and which are taken from letters
+dated 1778-80:
+
+"'Tis almost four months since you left your native land, and embarked
+upon the mighty waters, in quest of a foreign country. Although I have
+not particularly written to you since, yet you may be assured you have
+constantly been upon my heart and mind.
+
+"It is a very difficult task, my dear son, for a tender parent to bring
+her mind to part with a child of your years going to a distant land; nor
+could I have acquiesced in such a separation under any other care than
+that of the most excellent parent and guardian who accompanied you. You
+have arrived at years capable of improving under the advantages you will
+be likely to have, if you do but properly attend to them. They are
+talents put into your hands, of which an account will be required of you
+hereafter; and being possessed of one, two, or four, see to it that you
+double your numbers.
+
+"The most amiable and most useful disposition in a young mind is
+diffidence of itself; and this should lead you to seek advice and
+instruction from him, who is your natural guardian, and will always
+counsel and direct you in the best manner, both for your present and
+future happiness. You are in possession of a natural good understanding,
+and of spirits unbroken by adversity and untamed with care. Improve your
+understanding by acquiring useful knowledge and virtue, such as will
+render you an ornament to society, an honor to your country, and a
+blessing to your parents. Great learning and superior abilities, should
+you ever possess them, will be of little value and small estimation,
+unless virtue, honor, truth, and integrity are added to them. Adhere to
+those religious sentiments and principles which were early instilled
+into your mind, and remember that you are accountable to your Maker for
+all your words and actions.
+
+"Let me enjoin it upon you to attend constantly and steadfastly to the
+precepts and instructions of your father, as you value the happiness of
+your mother and your own welfare. His care and attention to you render
+many things unnecessary for me to write, which I might otherwise do; but
+the inadvertency and heedlessness of youth require line upon line and
+precept upon precept, and, when enforced by the joint efforts of both
+parents, will, I hope, have a due influence upon your conduct; for, dear
+as you are to me, I would much rather you should have found your grave
+in the ocean you have crossed, or that any untimely death crop you in
+your infant years, than see you an immoral, profligate, or graceless
+child.
+
+"You have entered early in life upon the great theatre of the world,
+which is full of temptations and vice of every kind. You are not wholly
+unacquainted with history, in which you have read of crimes which your
+inexperienced mind could scarcely believe credible. You have been taught
+to think of them with horror, and to view vice as
+
+    'a monster of so frightful mien,
+  That, to be hated, needs but to be seen.'
+
+"Yet you must keep a strict guard upon yourself, or the odious monster
+will soon lose its terror by becoming familiar to you. The modern
+history of our own times, furnishes as black a list of crimes, as can be
+paralleled in ancient times, even if we go back to Nero, Caligula, or
+Cæsar Borgia. Young as you are, the cruel war into which we have been
+compelled by the haughty tyrant of Britain and the bloody emissaries of
+his vengeance, may stamp upon your mind this certain truth, that the
+welfare and prosperity of all countries, communities, and, I may add,
+individuals, depend upon their morals. That nation to which we were once
+united, as it has departed from justice, eluded and subverted the wise
+laws which formerly governed it, and suffered the worst of crimes to go
+unpunished, has lost its valor, wisdom and humanity, and, from being the
+dread and terror of Europe, has sunk into derision and infamy....
+
+"Some author, that I have met with, compares a judicious traveler to a
+river, that increases its stream the further it flows from its source;
+or to certain springs, which, running through rich veins of minerals,
+improve their qualities as they pass along. It will be expected of you,
+my son, that, as you are favored with superior advantages under the
+instructive eye of a tender parent, your improvement should bear some
+proportion to your advantages. Nothing is wanting with you but
+attention, diligence, and steady application. Nature has not been
+deficient.
+
+"These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the
+still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great
+characters are formed. Would Cicero have shone so distinguished an
+orator if he had not been roused, kindled, and inflamed by the tyranny
+of Catiline, Verres, and Mark Anthony? The habits of a vigorous mind are
+formed in contending with difficulties. All history will convince you of
+this, and that wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not
+the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great
+virtues. When a mind is raised and animated by scenes that engage the
+heart, then those qualities, which would otherwise lie dormant, wake
+into life and form the character of the hero and the statesman. War,
+tyranny, and desolation are the scourges of the Almighty, and ought no
+doubt to be deprecated. Yet it is your lot, my son, to be an eye witness
+of these calamities in your own native land, and, at the same time, to
+owe your existence among a people who have made a glorious defence of
+their invaded liberties, and who, aided by a generous and powerful ally,
+with the blessing of Heaven, will transmit this inheritance to ages yet
+unborn.
+
+"Nor ought it to be one of the least of your incitements towards
+exerting every power and faculty of your mind, that you have a parent
+who has taken so large and active a share in this contest, and
+discharged the trust reposed in him with so much satisfaction as to be
+honored with the important embassy which at present calls him abroad.
+
+"The strict and inviolable regard you have ever paid to truth, gives me
+pleasing hopes that you will not swerve from her dictates, but add
+justice, fortitude, and every manly virtue which can adorn a good
+citizen, do honor to your country, and render your parents supremely
+happy, particularly your ever affectionate mother.
+
+... "The only sure and permanent foundation of virtue is religion. Let
+this important truth be engraven upon your heart. And also, that the
+foundation of religion is the belief of the one only God, and a just
+sense of his attributes, as a being infinitely wise, just, and good, to
+whom you owe the highest reverence, gratitude, and adoration; who
+superintends and governs all nature, even to clothing the lilies of the
+field, and hearing the young ravens when they cry; but more particularly
+regards man, whom he created after his own image, and breathed into him
+an immortal spirit, capable of a happiness beyond the grave; for the
+attainment of which he is bound to the performance of certain duties,
+which all tend to the happiness and welfare of society, and are
+comprised in one short sentence, expressive of universal benevolence,
+'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'...
+
+"Justice, humanity, and benevolence, are the duties you owe to society
+in general. To your country the same duties are incumbent upon you, with
+the additional obligation of sacrificing ease, pleasure, wealth, and
+life itself for its defence and security. To your parents you owe love,
+reverence, and obedience to all just and equitable commands. To
+yourself,--here, indeed, is a wide field to expatiate upon. To become
+what you ought to be, and what a fond mother wishes to see you, attend
+to some precepts and instructions from the pen of one, who can have no
+motive but your welfare and happiness, and who wishes in this way to
+supply to you the personal watchfulness and care, which a separation
+from you deprived you of at a period of life, when habits are easiest
+acquired and fixed; and though the advice may not be new, yet suffer it
+to obtain a place in your memory, for occasions may offer, and perhaps
+some concurring circumstances unite, to give it weight and force.
+
+"Suffer me to recommend to you one of the most useful lessons of life,
+the knowledge and study of yourself. There you run the greatest hazard
+of being deceived. Self-love and partiality cast a mist before the eyes,
+and there is no knowledge so hard to be acquired, nor of more benefit
+when once thoroughly understood. Ungoverned passions have aptly been
+compared to the boisterous ocean, which is known to produce the most
+terrible effects. 'Passions are the elements of life,' but elements
+which are subject to the control of reason. Whoever will candidly
+examine themselves, will find some degree of passion, peevishness, or
+obstinacy in their natural tempers. You will seldom find these
+disagreeable ingredients all united in one; but the uncontrolled
+indulgence of either is sufficient to render the possessor unhappy in
+himself, and disagreeable to all who are so unhappy as to be witnesses
+of it, or suffer from its effects.
+
+"You, my dear son, are formed with a constitution feelingly alive; your
+passions are strong and impetuous; and, though I have sometimes seen
+them hurry you into excesses, yet with pleasure I have observed a
+frankness and generosity accompany your efforts to govern and subdue
+them. Few persons are so subject to passion, but that they can command
+themselves, when they have a motive sufficiently strong; and those who
+are most apt to transgress will restrain themselves through respect and
+reverence to superiors, and even, where they wish to recommend
+themselves, to their equals. The due government of the passions, has
+been considered in all ages as a most valuable acquisition. Hence an
+inspired writer observes, 'He that is slow to anger is better than the
+mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.' This
+passion, coöperating with power, and unrestrained by reason, has
+produced the subversion of cities, the desolation of countries, the
+massacre of nations, and filled the world with injustice and oppression.
+Behold your own country, your native land, suffering from the effects of
+lawless power and malignant passions, and learn betimes, from your own
+observation and experience, to govern and control yourself. Having once
+obtained this self-government, you will find a foundation laid for
+happiness to yourself and usefulness to mankind. 'Virtue alone is
+happiness below;' and consists in cultivating and improving every good
+inclination, and in checking and subduing every propensity to evil. I
+have been particular upon the passion of anger, as it is generally the
+most predominant passion at your age, the soonest excited, and the least
+pains are taken to subdue it;
+
+  ----'what composes man, can man destroy.'"
+
+With such a mother to counsel him, one is led to ask, how could John
+Quincy Adams _help_ becoming a noble-minded and great man? Who wonders
+that, with good natural endowments and his excellent privileges, coupled
+with maternal training, he fitted himself to fill the highest office in
+the gift of a free people?
+
+In June, 1784, Mrs. Adams sailed for London to join her husband, who was
+then our Minister at the Court of St. James. While absent, she visited
+France and Netherlands; resided for a time in the former country; and
+returned with her knowledge of human nature, of men, manners, &c.,
+enlarged; disgusted with the splendor and sophistications of royalty,
+and well prepared to appreciate the republican simplicity and frankness
+of which she was herself a model. While Mr. Adams was Vice-President and
+President, she never laid aside her singleness of heart, and that
+sincerity and unaffected dignity which had won for her many friends
+before her elevation, and which, in spite of national animosity,
+conquered the prejudices and gained the hearts of the aristocracy of
+Great Britain. But her crowning virtue was her Christian humility, which
+is beautifully exemplified in a letter which she wrote to Mr. Adams, on
+the 8th of February, 1797, "the day on which the votes for President
+were counted, and Mr. Adams, as Vice-President, was required by law to
+announce himself the President elect for the ensuing term:"
+
+  "'The sun is dressed in brightest beams,
+  To give thy honors to the day.'
+
+"And may it prove an auspicious prelude to each ensuing season. You
+have this day to declare yourself head of a nation. 'And now, O Lord, my
+God, thou hast made thy servant ruler over the people. Give unto him an
+understanding heart, that he may know how to go out and come in before
+this great people; that he may discern between good and bad. For who is
+able to judge this thy so great a people?' were the words of a royal
+sovereign; and not less applicable to him who is invested with the chief
+magistracy of a nation, though he wear not a crown, nor the robes of
+royalty.
+
+"My thoughts and my meditations are with you, though personally absent;
+and my petitions to Heaven are, that 'the things which make for peace
+may not be hidden from your eyes.' My feelings are not those of pride or
+ostentation, upon the occasion. They are solemnized by a sense of the
+obligations, the important trusts, and numerous duties connected with
+it. That you may be enabled to discharge them with honor to yourself,
+with justice and impartiality to your country, and with satisfaction to
+this great people, shall be the daily prayer of your
+
+                                                          "A. A."
+
+From her husband's retirement from the Presidency, in 1801, to the close
+of her life, in 1818, Mrs. Adams remained constantly at Quincy.
+Cheerful, contented, and happy, she devoted her last years, in that
+rural seclusion, to the reciprocities of friendship and love, to offices
+of kindness and charity, and, in short, to all those duties which tend
+to ripen the Christian for an exchange of worlds.
+
+But it would be doing injustice to her character and leaving one of her
+noblest deeds unrecorded, to close without mentioning the influence for
+good which she exerted over Mr. Adams, and her part in the work of
+making him what he was. That he was sensible of the benignant influence
+of wives, may be gathered from the following letter which was addressed
+to Mrs. Adams from Philadelphia, on the eleventh of August, 1777:
+
+"I think I have some times observed to you in conversation, that upon
+examining the biography of illustrious men, you will generally find some
+female about them, in the relation of mother, or wife, or sister, to
+whose instigation a great part of their merit is to be ascribed. You
+will find a curious example of this in the case of Aspasia, the wife of
+Pericles. She was a woman of the greatest beauty, and the first genius.
+She taught him, it is said, his refined maxims of policy, his lofty
+imperial eloquence, nay, even composed the speeches on which so great a
+share of his reputation was founded.
+
+"I wish some of our great men had such wives. By the account in your
+last letter, it seems the women in Boston begin to think themselves able
+to serve their country. What a pity it is that our generals in the
+northern districts had not Aspasias to their wives.
+
+"I believe the two Howes have not very great women to their wives. If
+they had, we should suffer more from their exertions than we do. This is
+our good fortune. A smart wife would have put Howe in possession of
+Philadelphia a long time ago."
+
+While Mr. Adams was wishing that some of our great men had such wives as
+Aspasia, he had such a wife, was himself such a man, and owed half his
+greatness to _his_ Aspasia. The exalted patriotism and the cheerful
+piety infused into the letters she addressed to him during the long
+night of political uncertainty that hung over these Colonies,
+strengthened his courage, fired his nobler feelings, nerved his higher
+purposes and, doubtless, greatly contributed to make him the right hand
+man of Washington.
+
+The diligent and faithful Andromaches, the gifted and patriotic
+_Aspasias_ of the Revolution, did their portion of the great work
+silently and unseen. Secretly they urged their husbands and sons to the
+battle-field, secretly spoke to them by letter in the camp or
+convention, and secretly prayed for wisdom to guide our statesmen and
+victory to crown our arms. Thus privately acting, how little of their
+labor or their worth is known. How few of their names are treasured in
+our annals. With rare exceptions, like the builders of the pyramids,
+their initials are lost. Then, while we have the name and the noble
+example of Mrs. Adams, with a few of her patriotic compeers, let us
+pledge our unswerving devotion to Freedom over the _unknown_ names of
+the wives and mothers who secretly assisted in nerving the arm that
+broke the sceptre of British dominion on these shores, and gave the
+eagle of Liberty a safe and abiding home on our mountain tops.
+
+
+
+
+ANN H. JUDSON.
+
+  God has a bright example made of thee,
+  To show that womankind may be
+  Above that sex which her superior seems.
+
+                                       COWLEY.
+
+
+About the commencement of the present century, a new field was opened
+for the display of Christian heroism. The despairing wail of the pagan
+millions of the East, had reached the ears of a few of the most devoted
+people of God on these Western shores, and the question arisen, Who
+shall lead the way to heathen realms, who among us first encounter the
+perils of an attempt to plant the standard of the Cross beside the
+pagodas of Buddhism? He who would then go forth, must leave his native
+land with the parting benediction of but few friends; must be
+accompanied with few and faint prayers; must make his own path through
+the tiger-haunted jungles, and face alone the untried dangers of a
+dubious assault on the strong-holds of pagan superstition. But,
+notwithstanding the discouragements inwoven with the contemplation of
+the undertaking, and the great peril that must attend its completion, it
+was magnanimous and sublime, and there were hearts in the land
+philanthropic enough to embark in it and brave enough to face its
+terrors without fainting.
+
+Among the foremost Americans who offered their services in this work,
+were the Rev. Adoniram Judson and his wife. They embarked from Salem,
+Massachusetts, for Calcutta, with Samuel Newell and lady, on the
+nineteenth of February, 1812: and five days afterwards Messrs. Hall and
+Nott, with their wives, and Mr. Rice, sailed from Philadelphia for the
+same place. The names of these pioneer missionaries are sacred to the
+memory of all living Christians, and, being embodied in the history of
+the grandest enterprise of the age, are to be handed down to all future
+generations.
+
+While all the female portion of this little band, exhibited many
+excellent traits of character, and worked well while their day lasted,
+no other one endured so many and so great hardships and trials,
+encountered such fearful perils, and had such an opportunity to test the
+strength of the higher virtues, as Mrs. Judson.
+
+Ann Hasseltine was born at Bradford, in Essex county, Massachusetts, on
+the twenty-second day of December, 1789. She was an active and
+enthusiastic child; of a gay disposition, yet thoughtful at times; and
+before she was seventeen, gave religion that attention which its
+importance demands.
+
+She became acquainted with Mr. Judson in 1810. He was then a student in
+the Andover Theological Seminary, preparing for the work of foreign
+missions. A mutual and strong attachment sprang up, and they were
+married in February, 1812, two weeks before their embarkation for India.
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Judson first halted at Serampore. There, soon after their
+arrival, they were immersed by an English missionary, having changed
+their views of the ordinance of baptism on the long voyage across the
+Atlantic and Indian oceans. From that place they were soon driven by the
+Directors and Agents of the British East India Company, who were at that
+time opposed to the introduction of the Christian religion into those
+parts. They sailed from Madras for Rangoon, on the twenty-second of
+June, 1813, and settled at the latter place.
+
+From the commencement of missionary toil, Mrs. Judson had many
+inconveniences to encounter, but they were met with patience and served
+to strengthen that energy which, it will be seen, was afterwards so much
+needed and so strikingly displayed. Four or five years after settling at
+Rangoon, Mr. Judson went to Chittagong, in a neighboring province, to
+secure help, some Arracanese converts being there, who spoke the Burman
+language. He expected to return within three months. "At the expiration
+of this period, however, when his return was daily expected, a vessel
+from Chittagong arrived at Rangoon, bringing the distressing
+intelligence that neither he nor the vessel in which he had embarked had
+been heard of at that port. Similar tidings were also contained in
+letters which Mrs. Judson received from Bengal.
+
+"While the missionaries were in this state of fearful suspense, an
+incident occurred which was well calculated to increase the perplexity
+and dismay in which they were plunged. Mr. Hough,[4] who had continued
+quietly studying the language, at the mission house, was suddenly
+summoned to appear immediately at the court house, and it was rumored
+among the affrighted domestics and neighbors who followed the officers
+that came for Mr. Hough, that the king had issued a decree for the
+banishment of all the foreign teachers. It was late in the afternoon
+when he made his appearance before the despotic tribunal that was
+charged with the execution of the imperial decree, and he was merely
+required to give security for his appearance the following morning;
+when, as the unfeeling magistrates declared, 'if he did not tell all the
+truth relative to his situation in the country, they would write with
+his heart's blood.' Mr. Hough was detained from day to day on the most
+flimsy pretences, himself unable to speak the language, and with no one
+near him who would attempt to explain his situation or vindicate his
+objects and his conduct. The viceroy whom Mr. and Mrs. Judson had known,
+had recently been recalled to Ava, and he who now held the reins of the
+government was a stranger, and, as his family were not with him, Mrs.
+Judson, according to the etiquette of the court, could not be admitted
+to his presence. The order which had led to the arrest was found to
+relate to some Portuguese priests whom the king had banished, and Mr.
+Hough was at first summoned to give assurance that he was not one of the
+number, and then detained by the officers in order to extort money for
+his ransom. He was at length released by order of the viceroy, to whom
+Mrs. Judson boldly carried the cause and presented a petition which she
+had caused her teacher to draw up for the purpose.
+
+  [4] Mr. Hough was a printer in the employment of the Baptist Board.
+                                                              AUTHOR.
+
+
+"The anxiety occasioned by this arrest and its train of petty
+annoyances, and still more by the protracted and mysterious absence of
+Mr. Judson, was at this time greatly increased by rumors which reached
+Rangoon, of an impending war between the English and the Burman
+governments. There were but few English vessels lying in the river, and
+the English traders who were in the country were closing their business
+and preparing to hasten away, at any new indications of hostilities that
+should be presented. The condition of the missionaries was rendered
+still more distressing by the ravages of the cholera, which now, for the
+first time made its appearance in Burmah, and was sending its terrors
+throughout the empire. The poor people of Rangoon fell in hundreds
+before its frightful progress. The dismal death-drum continually gave
+forth its warning sound as new names were added to the melancholy list
+of victims to the desolating malady. In these gloomy circumstances, they
+saw ship after ship leave the river, bearing away all the foreigners who
+were in the province, until at length the only one remaining was on the
+eve of sailing. Harassed with doubts concerning the uncertain fate of
+Mr. Judson, and surrounded with perils, they saw before them what
+appeared the last opportunity of leaving the country, before the
+threatened hostilities should begin, and they should be exposed to all
+the merciless cruelties of barbarian-warfare.
+
+"Mr. and Mrs. Hough decided to go on board and escape to Bengal, while
+escape was still in their power, and they urged Mrs. Judson to accompany
+them. She at length reluctantly yielded to their advice, and with a
+heart burdened with sorrows she embarked with her companions, on the
+fifth of July, in the only ship that remained to carry them from the
+country. The ship, however, was delayed for several days in the river,
+and was likely to be subjected to still further detention. Mrs. Judson,
+who had gone on board rather in obedience to the entreaties of her
+associates, and the dictates of prudence, than from the suggestions of
+that truer instinct which often serves to guide the noblest natures in
+great emergencies, now decided to leave the ship and return alone to the
+mission house, there to await either the return of her husband, or the
+confirmation of her worst fears respecting his fate. It was a noble
+exhibition of heroic courage, and gave assurance of all the
+distinguished qualities which, at a later period and amid dangers still
+more appalling, shone with unfailing brightness around the character of
+this remarkable woman. The event justified her determination; and,
+within a week after her decision was taken, Mr. Judson arrived at
+Rangoon, having been driven from place to place by contrary winds, and
+having entirely failed of the object for which he undertook the
+voyage."[5]
+
+  [5] Gammell's History of American Baptist Missions.
+
+In the summer of 1820, Mrs. Judson's health had become so far undermined
+by the deleterious influences of the climate, that it was deemed
+necessary that she should go to Calcutta for medical advice, better
+physicians being located there than in Rangoon. She was so feeble that
+her husband was obliged to accompany her. She was soon removed to
+Serampore, where were eminently skillful physicians and a purer
+atmosphere. Her health so improved in six months that she returned with
+her husband to Rangoon. The malady which had afflicted her was the
+chronic liver complaint. It was not entirely removed at Serampore, and a
+few months after her return, it began to distress her more than ever. It
+was now thought that nothing but a visit to her native land could save
+her. Accordingly, on the twenty-first of August, 1821, she started for
+Calcutta, where, after some delay, she found a ship bound to England, by
+which route she returned, reaching New York on the twenty-fifth of
+September, 1822.
+
+She remained in this country nine months. During that short period,
+aside from paying a visit to her relations, she attended the Triennial
+Convention at Washington, held in May, 1823; visited the larger cities
+North and South; attended numerous meetings of female associations; and
+prepared a history of the Burman mission which was so ably written that
+even the London Quarterly Review, and, if we mistake not, other English
+periodicals of high critical character, noticed it in commendatory
+terms.
+
+The following extracts from letters written to Dr. Wayland while in this
+country, show the interest she took in the affairs of Burmah while
+absent from that land of her adoption. Under date of "Baltimore, January
+twenty-second, 1823," she says, "I want the Baptists throughout the
+United States to feel, that Burmah _must be converted_ through their
+instrumentality. They must do more than they have ever yet done. They
+must _pray_ more, they must _give_ more, and make greater efforts to
+prevent the Missionary flame from becoming extinct. Every Christian in
+the United States should feel as deeply impressed with the importance of
+making continual efforts for the salvation of the heathen, as though
+their conversion depended solely on himself. Every individual Christian
+should feel himself guilty if he has not done and does not continue to
+do _all_ in his power for the spread of the gospel and the enlightening
+of the heathen world. But I need not write thus to you. You see, you
+feel the misery of the heathen world. Try to awaken Christians around
+you. Preach frequently on the subject of Missions. I have remarked it to
+be the case, when a minister feels _much_ engaged for the heathen, his
+people generally partake of his spirit."
+
+Writing from Washington in the following March, she says, "I long to be
+in Rangoon, and am anxiously hoping to get away in the spring. Do make
+inquiries relative to the sailing of ships from Boston and Salem. I must
+not miss one good opportunity."
+
+With her health much improved though not fully restored, she sailed for
+her Burman home on the twenty-second of June, 1823, and reached Rangoon
+on the fifth of the following December. She found the work of the
+mission prospering. The next year, however, a war broke out between the
+Burman government and the English in Bengal, and, not only suspended the
+operations of the missionaries, but jeopardised their lives. They were
+supposed to be spies employed by the English government. Mr. and Mrs.
+Judson, with Dr. Price, another of the missionaries, were at that time
+at Ava, where the imperial government of the Burman Empire had just been
+removed.
+
+"It was on the eighth of June, 1824, that a company of Burmans, headed
+by an officer, and attended by a 'spotted-faced son of the prison,' came
+to the mission house, and, in the presence of Mrs. Judson seized her
+husband and Dr. Price, and after binding them tight with cords, drove
+them away to the court house. From this place they were hurried, by
+order of the king, without examination, to a loathsome dungeon, known as
+'the death prison,' where along with the other foreigners they were
+confined, each loaded with three pairs of fetters and fastened to a long
+pole, so as to be incapable of moving. Meanwhile, Mrs. Judson was shut
+up in her house, deprived of her furniture and of most of her articles
+of property, and watched for several days by an unfeeling guard, to
+whose rapacious extortions and brutal annoyances she was constantly
+exposed, without being able to make any exertion for the liberation of
+the prisoners, or the mitigation of their cruel sentence. She however,
+at length succeeded in addressing a petition to the governor of the
+city, who had the prisoners in charge. By a present of one hundred
+dollars to his subordinate officer, their condition was somewhat
+meliorated, and by the unwearied perseverance of Mrs. Judson, and her
+affecting appeals to the sympathies of the governor, he was induced to
+grant her occasional permission to go to the prison, and at length to
+build for herself a bamboo shed in the prison yard, where she took up
+her abode, in order that she might prepare food for the prisoners, and
+otherwise minister to their necessities.
+
+"At the end of nine months they were suddenly removed from Ava to
+Amarapura, and thence to a wretched place several miles beyond, called
+Oung-pen-la, where it was arranged that they should be put to death in
+presence of the pakah-woon, as a kind of sacrifice in honor of his
+taking command of a new army of fifty thousand men about to march
+against the English. This sanguinary chief had been raised from a low
+condition to the rank of woongyee; but in the height of his power, just
+as he was about to march at the head of the army he had mustered, he
+fell into disgrace, was charged with treason, and executed, at an hour's
+notice, with the unqualified approbation of all classes of people at
+Ava. His timely execution saved the missionaries from the fate which
+hung over them, and they were left uncared for in the miserable cells of
+Oung-pen-la, till the near approach of the English to the capitol
+induced the king to send for Mr. Judson, to accompany the embassy that
+was about to start for the English camp, for the purpose of averting the
+destruction that now threatened the Golden City.
+
+"During this period of a year and a half Mrs. Judson followed them from
+prison to prison, beneath the darkness of night and the burning sun of
+noon-day, bearing in her arms her infant daughter,--the child of sorrow
+and misfortune, who was born after the imprisonment of its
+father,--procuring for them food which Burman policy never supplies to
+prisoners, and perpetually interceding for them with their successive
+keepers, with the governor of the city, with the kinsmen of the monarch,
+and the members of the royal household. More than once the queen's
+brother gave orders that they should be privately put to death; but such
+was the influence which Mrs. Judson possessed over the mind of the
+governor, that he evaded the order each time it was given, and assured
+her that for her sake he would not execute her husband, even though he
+was obliged to execute all the others. And when at last they were to be
+taken from his jurisdiction and driven to the horrid prison-house of
+Oung-pen-la, at the command of the pakah-woon, the old man humanely
+summoned Mrs. Judson from the prison where he had permitted her to go
+and sit with her husband, in order that she might be spared the pangs
+of a separation which he had not the power to prevent. Her own pen has
+traced, in lines that will never be forgotten by those who read them,
+the affecting history of the dismal days and nights of her husband's
+captivity. We follow her alike with admiration and the deepest sympathy
+as she takes her solitary way from Ava, at first in a boat upon the
+river, and then in a Burman cart, in search of the unknown place to
+which the prisoners have been carried. At length, overcome with fatigue,
+with exposure, and the bitter pangs of hope deferred, we see her in a
+comfortless cabin, prostrate with disease and brought to the very gates
+of death,--while her infant is carried about the village by its father
+in the hours of his occasional liberation, to be nourished by such
+Burman mothers as might have compassion on its helpless necessities.
+
+"Such is a single scene from this melancholy record of missionary
+suffering. History has not recorded; poetry itself has seldom portrayed,
+a more affecting exhibition of Christian fortitude, of female heroism,
+and all the noble and generous qualities which constitute the dignity
+and glory of woman. In the midst of sickness and danger, and every
+calamity which can crush the human heart, she presented a character
+equal to the sternest trial, and an address and fertility of resources
+which gave her an ascendency over the minds of her most cruel enemies,
+and alone saved the missionaries and their fellow captives from the
+terrible doom which constantly awaited them. Day after day and amid the
+lonely hours of night was she employed in conciliating the favor of
+their keepers, and in devising plans for their release, or the
+alleviation of their captivity. Sometimes, she confesses, her thoughts
+would wander for a brief interval to America and the beloved friends of
+her better days; 'but for nearly a year and a half, so entirely
+engrossed was every thought with present scenes and sufferings, that she
+seldom reflected on a single occurrence of her former life, or
+recollected that she had a friend in existence out of Ava.'"[6]
+
+  [6] Gammell.
+
+When peace was declared between the two powers, by the terms of
+negotiation, the European prisoners were all released; and thus closed
+the long and brutal incarceration of the missionaries. Mr. and Mrs.
+Judson immediately departed for Rangoon. They soon removed to Amherst, a
+new town on the Salwen or Martaban river. After having established a
+mission there, Mr. Judson had occasion to visit Ava. He started on the
+fifth of July, 1826, leaving his wife and infant daughter in the care of
+kind friends. He was detained at the Capital longer than he had
+anticipated; and before he returned he received the painful intelligence
+that his wife was dead. "A remittent fever had settled on her
+constitution, already enfeebled by suffering and disease, and she died
+on the twenty-fourth of October, 1826, amid the universal sorrow, alike
+of the English residents at Amherst and of the native Christians who
+had gathered around her at her new home. Her infant daughter died a few
+weeks afterwards, and side by side they were laid to rest, under a large
+hopia tree a few rods from the house where she had resided. Two marble
+stones, procured by the contributions of several female friends in her
+native land, are the humble memorial that marks the spot where sleeps
+one whose "name will be remembered in the churches of Burmah, in future
+times, when the pagodas of Gaudama shall have fallen; when the spires of
+Christian temples shall gleam along the waters of the Irrawaddy and the
+Salwen: and when the 'Golden City' shall have lifted up her gates to let
+the King of Glory in."
+
+
+
+
+A CHRISTIAN WOMAN IN THE HOUR OF DANGER.
+
+  O rainbow of the battle-storm!
+    Methinks thou'rt gleaming on my sight;
+  I see thy fair and fragile form
+    Amid the thick cloud of the fight.
+
+                                 SARA J. CLARKE.
+
+  One grain of incense with devotion offered,
+  Is beyond all perfumes or Sabæan spices.
+
+                                      MASSINGER.
+
+
+The following incident, we are informed by Mrs. Ellet, was communicated
+to a minister--Rev. J. H. Saye--by two officers in the Revolutionary
+war. One of them was in the skirmish referred to; the other lived near
+the scene of action; hence, it may be relied on as authentic. The name
+of the heroine is unknown, which is greatly to be regretted:
+
+"Early in the war, the inhabitants on the frontier of Burke county,
+North Carolina, being apprehensive of an attack by the Indians, it was
+determined to seek protection in a fort in a more densely populated
+neighborhood in an interior settlement. A party of soldiers was sent to
+protect them on their retreat. The families assembled, the line of
+march was taken towards their place of destination, and they proceeded
+some miles unmolested--the soldiers marching in a hollow square, with
+the refugee families in the centre. The Indians who had watched these
+movements, had laid a plan for their destruction. The road to be
+traveled lay through a dense forest in the fork of a river, where the
+Indians concealed themselves, and waited till the travelers were in the
+desired spot. Suddenly the war-whoop sounded in front, and on either
+side; a large body of painted warriors rushed in, filling the gap by
+which the whites had entered, and an appalling crash of fire-arms
+followed. The soldiers, however, were prepared; such as chanced to be
+near the trees darted behind them, and began to ply the deadly rifle;
+the others prostrated themselves upon the earth, among the tall grass,
+and crawled to trees. The families screened themselves as best they
+could. The onset was long and fiercely urged; ever and anon amid the din
+and smoke, the warriors would rush, tomahawk in hand, towards the
+centre; but they were repulsed by the cool intrepidity of the back-woods
+riflemen. Still they fought on, determined on the destruction of the
+victims who offered such desperate resistance. All at once an appalling
+sound greeted the ears of the women and children in the centre; it was a
+cry from their defenders--a cry for powder! 'Our powder is giving out,'
+they exclaimed. 'Have you any? Bring us some, or we can fight no
+longer!' A woman of the party had a good supply. She spread her apron on
+the ground, poured her powder into it, and going round, from soldier to
+soldier, as they stood behind the trees, bade each who needed powder put
+down his hat, and poured a quantity upon it. Thus she went round the
+line of defence, till her whole stock, and all she could obtain from
+others, was distributed. At last the savages gave way, and, pressed by
+their foes, were driven off the ground. The victorious whites returned
+to those for whose safety they had ventured into the wilderness.
+Inquiries were made as to who had been killed, and one running up,
+cried, 'Where is the woman that gave us the powder? I want to see her!'
+'Yes!--yes!--let us see her!' responded another and another; 'without
+her we should have been all lost!' The soldiers ran about among the
+women and children, looking for her and making inquiries. Directly came
+in others from the pursuit, one of whom observing the commotion, asked
+the cause, and was told. 'You are looking in the wrong place,' he
+replied. 'Is she killed? Ah, we were afraid of that!' exclaimed many
+voices. 'Not when I saw her,' answered the soldier. 'When the Indians
+ran off, she was on _her knees in prayer_ at the root of yonder tree,
+and there I left her.' There was a simultaneous rush to the tree--and
+there, to their great joy, they found the woman safe, and still on her
+knees in prayer. Thinking not of herself, she received their applause
+without manifesting any other feeling than gratitude to Heaven for their
+great deliverance."
+
+
+
+
+HUMANITY OF HARTFORD LADIES.
+
+  As the rivers farthest flowing,
+    In the highest hills have birth;
+  As the banyan broadest growing,
+    Oftenest bows its head to earth,
+  So the noblest minds press onward,
+    Channels far of good to trace;
+  So the largest hearts bend downward,
+    Circling all the human race.
+
+                             MRS. HALE.
+
+
+The sympathies of a free people are always aroused when a nation is
+struggling for freedom. Hence the war between the Turks and Greeks not
+only called forth the eloquence of American orators, but the mothers and
+daughters of the land, reminded of the long struggle of their husbands
+and fathers for liberty, were alive to the interests, and prayed much
+for the ransom of the latter people. Nor was this all; the sufferings to
+which the war reduced the Greeks, so much moved the hearts of females
+that, in one instance at least, they made a demonstration of their
+sympathy worthy of record. The ladies of Hartford, Connecticut, sent out
+a ship to the women of Greece, containing money, and articles of wearing
+apparel, wrought by themselves expressly for an offering to suffering
+humanity. Mrs. Sigourney, the Secretary of the Ladies' Committee, wrote
+the following letter to accompany the contribution:
+
+"_United States of America, March 12th, 1828._
+    _The Ladies of Hartford, in Connecticut, to the
+    Ladies of Greece._
+
+"SISTERS AND FRIENDS,--From the years of childhood your native clime has
+been the theme of our admiration: together with our brothers and our
+husbands, we early learned to love the country of Homer, of Aristides,
+of Solon, and of Socrates. That enthusiasm which the glory of ancient
+Greece enkindled in our bosoms, has preserved a fervent friendship for
+her descendants: we have beheld with deep sympathy the horrors of
+Turkish domination, and the struggles so long and nobly sustained by
+them for existence and for liberty.
+
+"The communications of Dr. Howe, since his return from your land, have
+made us more intimately acquainted with your personal sufferings. He has
+presented many of you to us in his vivid descriptions, as seeking refuge
+in caves, and, under the branches of olive trees, listening for the
+footsteps of the destroyer, and mourning over your dearest ones slain in
+battle.
+
+"Sisters and friends, our hearts bleed for you. Deprived of your
+protectors by the fortune of war, and continually in fear of evils worse
+than death, our prayers are with you, in all your wanderings, your wants
+and your griefs. In this vessel (which may God send in safety to your
+shores!) you will receive a portion of that bounty wherewith He hath
+blessed us. The poor among us have given according to their ability, and
+our little children have cheerfully aided, that some of you and your
+children might have bread to eat and raiment to put on. Could you but
+behold the faces of our little ones brighten, and their eyes sparkle
+with joy, while they give up their holidays, that they might work with
+their needles for Greece; could you see those females who earn a
+subsistence by labor, gladly casting their mite into our treasury, and
+taking hours from their repose that an additional garment might be
+furnished for you; could you witness the active spirit that pervades all
+classes of our community, it would cheer for a moment the darkness and
+misery of your lot.
+
+"We are the inhabitants of a part of one of the smallest of the United
+States, and our donations must therefore, of necessity, be more limited
+than those from the larger and more wealthy cities; yet such as we have,
+we give in the name of our dear Saviour, with our blessings and our
+prayers.
+
+"We know the value of sympathy--how it arms the heart to endure--how it
+plucks the sting from sorrow--therefore we have written these few lines
+to assure you, that in the remoter parts of our country, as well as in
+her high places, you are remembered with pity and with affection.
+
+"Sisters and friends, we extend across the ocean our hands to you in the
+fellowship of Christ. We pray that His Cross and the banner of your
+land may rise together over the Crescent and the Minaret--that your sons
+may hail the freedom of ancient Greece restored, and build again the
+waste places which the oppressor hath trodden down; and that you,
+admitted once more to the felicities of home, may gather from past
+perils and adversities a brighter wreath for the kingdom of Heaven.
+
+                                             "LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY,
+                            "_Secretary of the Greek Committee of
+                                          Hartford, Connecticut._"
+
+
+
+
+"MOTHER BAILEY."
+
+  No braver dames had Sparta,
+  No nobler matrons Rome.
+
+                       W. D. GALLAGHER.
+
+
+Anna Warner was born in Groton, Connecticut, on the eleventh of October,
+1758, and married Captain Elijah Bailey of the same town, in 1774. He
+participated in the hardships and dangers, and she in the trials of the
+struggle for Independence. He is dead; she is still living.[7]
+
+  [7] We are informed by the Postmaster of Groton, in a letter dated the
+  tenth of December, 1850, that Mrs. B. is still living, and that her mind
+  is somewhat impaired. She is now in her ninety-third year.
+
+She was a witness of the terrible massacre at Fort Griswold, in Groton,
+on the sixth of September; and the following morning she hurried off to
+the scene of carnage, a distance of three miles, to search for an uncle
+who was among the brave defenders. She found him among the fatally
+wounded: at his request that he might see his wife and child before he
+died, she ran home, caught and saddled a horse for the feeble mother,
+and taking the child in her arms, carried it the whole distance, that it
+might receive the kisses and benediction of its dying father!
+
+In the month of July, 1813 a blockading fleet appeared off the harbor of
+New London; and on the thirteenth, demonstrations were noticed of an
+intention to attack the place. Intense excitement now prevailed not only
+in New London, but in all the adjacent towns. Fort Griswold was once
+more occupied; small cannon--all to be had--were planted, and every
+preparation possible was made for a vigorous defence. The greatest
+deficiency was in flannel for cartridges; and in the emergency a
+messenger was dispatched to the village to consult with Mrs. Bailey on
+the most expeditious method of obtaining a supply. She promptly offered
+to see that each family was visited, and the wants of the soldiery made
+known. This was done, and each individual in the neighborhood cheerfully
+presented her and her co-laborers whatever of the desired articles could
+be spared, some in garments and some in the raw material. When these
+were delivered to the messenger, and there was still found a deficiency,
+she slyly slipped an under garment from her own person and charged him
+to give _that_ to the British. As the enemy did not deem it expedient to
+make an attack, it is difficult to tell what aid that garment rendered;
+nor does it matter: its patriotic surrender showed the noble spirit
+which has always actuated "mother Bailey," and was an appropriation for
+her country which never caused her a blush.[8]
+
+  [8] The editor of the Democratic Review, to whom we are indebted for a
+  portion of these facts, visited the heroine of Groton in the fall of
+  1846, in the number of his periodical for the January following spoke of
+  her as a remarkable woman, physically, as well as mentally and
+  patriotically. She was then eighty-eight years old, yet as agile as a
+  girl of eighteen, and neither sight nor hearing had began to fail. "Such
+  then," he adds, "is Mother Bailey. Had she lived in the palmy days of
+  ancient Roman glory, no matron of the mighty empire would have been more
+  highly honored." In the same article Mrs. B. is spoken of as the
+  Postmistress of Groton, an office, which the present Postmaster assures
+  us, she never held.
+
+  Since the above was originally stereotyped, Mrs. Bailey has died. Her
+  demise occurred in the winter of 1850-1.
+
+
+
+
+ELIZABETH HEARD.
+
+  Kindness has resistless charms.
+
+                                          ROCHESTER.
+
+  Why should'st thou faint? Heaven smiles above,
+  Though storm and vapor intervene.
+
+                                       PARK BENJAMIN.
+
+
+Mrs. Elizabeth Heard, "a widow of good estate, a mother of many children
+and a daughter of Mr. Hull, a revered minister formerly living at
+Pisquataqua," was among the sufferers from captivity by the Indians in
+the latter part of the seventeenth century. She was taken at the
+destruction of Major Waldron's garrison in Dover, New Hampshire, about
+1689. She was permitted to escape on account of a favor which she had
+shown a young Indian thirteen years before--she having secreted him in
+her house on the "calamitous day," in 1676, when four hundred savages
+were surprised in Dover.[9]
+
+  [9] Drake's Indian Captivities.
+
+Having been suffered to escape, writes the Rev. John Pike, minister at
+Dover, to Dr. Cotton Mather, "she soon after safely arrived at Captain
+Gerish's garrison, where she found a refuge from the storm. Here she
+also had the satisfaction to understand that her own garrison, though
+one of the first that was assaulted, had been bravely defended and
+successfully maintained against the enemy. This gentlewoman's garrison
+was on the most extreme frontier of the province, and more obnoxious
+than any other, and therefore incapable of being relieved. Nevertheless,
+by her presence and courage it held out all the war, even for ten years
+together; and the persons in it have enjoyed very eminent preservations.
+It would have been deserted if she had accepted offers that were made
+her by her friends to abandon it and retire to Portsmouth among them,
+which would have been a damage to the town and land."
+
+
+
+
+THE LADIES OF PHILADELPHIA IN 1780.
+
+  I have not shut mine ears to their demands,
+  Nor posted off their suits with slow delays.
+
+                                          SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+During the long war which resulted in the Independence of the American
+Colonies, the women all over the land were warmly interested in the
+condition of the soldiers, and prompt to relieve their wants when
+suffering. There was, at times, a sad deficiency of wearing apparel; and
+many are the instances in which a noble sacrifice of ease and a liberal
+expenditure of time and strength, were made by the ladies that this
+comfort might be restored to the self-sacrificing soldiers.
+
+In 1780, the ladies of Philadelphia city and county, learning that the
+soldiers were in great need of clothing, sold their jewelry and
+converted _other_ trinkets into something more serviceable; collected by
+solicitation large sums of money; purchased the raw material, plied the
+needle "with all diligence;" and in a short time the aggregate amount of
+their contributions was $7,500.[10]
+
+  [10] This sum was raised in and immediately around Philadelphia. The
+  efforts of the ladies were not, however, limited to their own
+  neighborhood. They addressed circulars to the adjoining counties and
+  states, and the response of New Jersey and Maryland was truly generous.
+
+The number of shirts made by the ladies of Philadelphia during that
+patriotic movement, was twenty-two hundred! These were cut out at the
+house of Mrs. Sarah Bache, daughter of Dr. Franklin. This lady writing
+to a Mrs. Meredith, of Trenton, New Jersey, at that time, says, "I am
+happy to have it in my power to tell you that the sums given by the good
+women of Philadelphia for the benefit of the army, have been much
+greater than could be expected, and given with so much cheerfulness and
+so many blessings, that it was rather a pleasing than a painful task to
+call for them. I write to claim you as a Philadelphian, and shall think
+myself honored in your donation."
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF PRESIDENT REED.[11]
+
+                                  Mightier far
+  Than strength of nerve or sinew, or the sway
+  Of magic potent over sun and star,
+  Is love, though oft to agony distrest,
+  And though his favorite seat be feeble woman's breast.
+
+                                              WORDSWORTH.
+
+  Undaunted by the tempest, wild and chill,
+  That pours its restless and disastrous roll,
+  O'er all that blooms below.
+
+                                         SANDS' YAMOYDEN.
+
+
+Prominent among the ladies of Philadelphia who, in the summer and fall
+of 1780, were active in assisting the sufferers in the American army,
+was Esther Reed, the wife of President Reed. She stood at the head of
+the Association till her death, which occurred on the eighteenth of
+September of that year. She was succeeded by Mrs. Sarah Bache, Mrs.
+Francis, Mrs. Clarkson, Mrs. Blair and Mrs. Hillegas, who were
+constituted an Executive Committee.
+
+  [11] The facts embodied in this notice of Mrs. Reed, are mainly obtained
+  from the Life and Correspondence of President Reed. _Vide_ volume II.,
+  chapter XII.
+
+The maiden name of Mrs. Reed was De Berdt. She was born in London on the
+twenty-second of October, 1746. There, about the year 1763, she became
+acquainted with Mr. Joseph Reed, of New Jersey, then a student at the
+Temple. She had fond parents and lived in affluence, but from these she
+at length turned, and, being married in May, 1770, "followed the lover
+of her youth to these wild Colonies." Philadelphia became the home of
+the happy couple. The wife of an American, she imbibed the sentiments
+and manifested the spirit of an American, and to the day of her death
+showed herself worthy to be the wife of an American soldier. "During
+five years of war, more than half the time her family was broken up, and
+for a long period the young wife, with her little children and an aged
+mother, was driven to seek a distant and precarious refuge." Her husband
+was an Adjutant-General, and was in the camp much of the time, till he
+was chosen President--or, as we now say, Governor--of Pennsylvania, in
+1778. Her letters written to him, breathe a patriotic and submissive
+spirit, and a cheerful trust in that "presiding Power" from whom all
+solace is derived in seasons of danger, disappointment and affliction.
+
+She was placed at the head of the voluntary association of Philadelphia
+ladies at its formation in May, and as early as the twentieth of the
+following month, it will be seen, by an extract from a letter written by
+Mr. Reed to General Washington, the business of the society was
+progressing admirably: "The ladies have caught the happy contagion, and
+in a few days Mrs. Reed will have the honor of writing to you on the
+subject. It is expected she will have a sum equal to £100,000, to be
+laid out according to your Excellency's direction, in such a way as may
+be thought most honorable and gratifying to the brave old soldiers who
+have borne so great a share of the burden of this war. I thought it best
+to mention it in this way to your Excellency for your consideration, as
+it may tend to forward the benevolent scheme of the donors with
+dispatch. I must observe that the ladies have excepted such articles of
+necessity, as clothing, which the states are bound to provide."
+
+The following letter, written the next month, explains itself:
+
+                                      "ESTHER REED TO WASHINGTON.
+                                          "Philadelphia, July 4th, 1780.
+
+"SIR,--The subscription set on foot by the ladies of this city for the
+use of the soldiery, is so far completed as to induce me to transmit to
+your Excellency an account of the money I have received, and which,
+although it has answered our expectations, does not equal our wishes,
+but I am persuaded will be received as a proof of our zeal for the great
+cause of America, and our esteem and gratitude for those who so bravely
+defend it.
+
+"The amount of the subscription is 200,580 dollars, and £625 6_s._ 8_d._
+in specie, which makes in the whole, in paper money, 300,634 dollars.
+
+"The ladies are anxious for the soldiers to receive the benefit of it,
+and wait your directions how it can best be disposed of. We expect some
+considerable addition from the country, and have also wrote to the other
+States in hopes the ladies there will adopt similar plans, to render it
+more general and beneficial.
+
+"With the utmost pleasure I offer any further attention and care in my
+power to complete the execution of the design, and shall be happy to
+accomplish it agreeable to the intention of the donors and your wishes
+on the subject.
+
+"The ladies of my family join me in their respectful compliments and
+sincerest prayer for your health, safety, and success.
+
+             "I have the honor to be,
+                       "With the highest respect,
+                               "Your obedient humble servant,
+                                                        "E. REED."
+
+During the months of July and August, though in feeble health, Mrs. Reed
+held frequent correspondence with General Washington on the best mode of
+administering relief to the destitute soldiers. Her desire to make
+herself useful may be inferred from the tone of a letter addressed to
+her husband from the banks of the Schuylkill, on the twenty-second of
+August. Among other things, she says, "I received this morning a letter
+from the General, and he still continues his opinion that the money in
+my hands should be laid out in linen; he says, no supplies he has at
+present or has a prospect of are any way adequate to the wants of the
+army. His letter is, I think, a little formal, as if he was hurt by our
+asking his opinion a second time, and our not following his directions,
+after desiring him to give them. The letter is very complaisant, and I
+shall now endeavor to get the shirts made as soon as possible. _This is
+another circumstance to urge my return to town, as I can do little
+towards it here._"
+
+The responsible and onerous duties of Mrs. Reed during the summer of
+1780, were no doubt injurious to her already poor health, and hastened
+the approach of death. Early in September she was laid upon a bed of
+fatal illness, and before the month had closed, as before mentioned, she
+was in the "mysterious realm." The Council and Assembly adjourned to pay
+their last respect to her exalted virtues. Her remains were deposited in
+the Presbyterian burying-ground in Arch Street, and the following
+epitaph was inscribed on her tomb:
+
+    "In memory of ESTHER, the beloved wife of Joseph Reed,
+        President of this State, who departed this life
+    On the 18th of September, A. D. 1780, aged 34 years.
+    Reader! If the possession of those virtues of the heart
+  Which make life valuable, or those personal endowments which
+  Command esteem and love, may claim respectful and affectionate
+        Remembrance, venerate the ashes here entombed.
+        If to have the cup of temporal blessings dashed
+  In the period and station of life in which temporal blessings
+  May be best enjoyed, demands our sorrow, drop a tear, and
+    Think how slender is that thread on which the joys
+                  And hopes of life depend."
+
+
+
+
+COMPLETION OF BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.
+
+  The tardy pile, slow rising there,
+  With tongueless eloquence shall tell
+  Of them who for their country fell.
+
+                                 SPRAGUE.
+
+                  Ladies, you deserve
+  To have a temple built _you_.
+
+                              SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+The Bunker Hill Monument Association was incorporated in June, 1823.
+Nothing further was done that year. At the second annual meeting, which
+was held on the seventeenth of June, efficient plans were devised to
+carry forward the enterprise; and at the end of another year, just half
+a century after the battle, the corner stone was laid. General Lafayette
+was then on a visit to the United States, and was appropriately chosen
+to take a leading part in this interesting ceremony. The monument did
+not get fairly under way till the spring of 1827. This apparent
+tardiness was owing to the circumstance that the material was to be
+brought from a granite quarry in Quincy, and a rail road--the first in
+the United States--had to be built from the quarry to the wharf in
+Quincy to convey the stone.
+
+In 1828, the funds were exhausted, and the work was not resumed till
+1834. Within a year the work was again suspended for the same cause.
+Nothing further was done, and but little said, till 1839, when it was
+announced that two gentlemen--Amos Lawrence, Esq., of Boston, and Judah
+Truro, Esq., of New Orleans--would give ten thousand each, provided a
+sum sufficient to complete the monument could be raised. This liberal
+offer caused some momentary stimulation; but no proposal immediately
+made was deemed expedient.
+
+The affairs of the Association now wore, as they had done once or twice
+before, a gloomy aspect. In the annual report, made on the seventeenth
+of June, 1840, doubts were expressed whether the present generation
+would see the monument completed. The same discouraging remark was made
+soon after, in one of the sewing circles of Boston, when, instead of
+depressing the spirits, it raised the ambition and quickened the
+thoughts of the ladies, and several of them proposed to get up a Fair.
+It was a happy suggestion; was forthwith sanctioned by the board of
+directors; prompted the issuing of a circular by a sub-committee of the
+same; raised the stentorian voice of a free and patriotic press, and met
+with immediate favor all over the land.
+
+The ladies had moved in the matter--_had taken the work into their own
+hands_--and all doubts in regard to its speedy completion seemed to
+vanish. The Fair was announced to be held in Quincy Hall, Boston, to
+commence on the fifth of September, 1840 Every female in the land was
+invited to contribute some article of her own hands' production, to the
+exhibition. The patriotic spirit of the _mothers_ of the Revolution was
+now warm in the hearts of their _daughters_, and ten thousand hands,
+engaged in the work of preparation, were "plying the needle with
+exquisite art."
+
+The ladies were to have the complete management of the Fair; and, all
+things in readiness, it commenced. The product of so much industry and
+ingenuity, dispensed at the hands of the ladies, presented a scene to
+the thousands who gathered around the numerous well-stored tables, that
+is described by a writer--doubtless an eye-witness--as "brilliant and
+inspiring."[12]
+
+  [12] Frothingham's Siege of Boston.
+
+The Fair continued till the fifteenth of the month. Its success was
+chronicled from day to day in a journal called "The Monument," printed
+in the Hall. It was the grandest movement of the kind ever made in the
+country; was conducted throughout in the most admirable manner, and
+wound up in triumph. Its net proceeds were $30,035 50. To this sum and
+the $20,000 pledged by the two gentlemen before mentioned, was soon
+added enough, from other sources, to make the fund $55,153 27; and the
+work went on to its completion.[13] Thus, at length, a "duty had been
+performed;" this imperishable offering to Freedom, "which had its
+commencement in manly patriotism," was "crowned by garlands of grace and
+beauty."
+
+  [13] The last stone was raised on the morning of the twenty-third of
+  July, 1842; the government of the Association and a multitude of other
+  people were present on the occasion. Just before this act took place, a
+  cannon was raised to the apex and discharged--a morning salute to call
+  the people together to engage in the matins of Freedom. Edward Carnes,
+  Jr., of Charlestown, accompanied the stone in its ascent, waving the
+  American flag as he went up, and the Charlestown Artillery were
+  meanwhile firing salutes to announce to the surrounding country the
+  interesting event.
+
+
+
+
+LYDIA DARRAH.
+
+  The brave man is not he who feels no fear,
+  For that were stupid and irrational;
+  But he whose noble soul its fear subdues,
+  And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from.
+
+                                     JOANNA BAILLIE.
+
+
+We find the following anecdote of the amiable and heroic Quakeress,
+Lydia Darrah, in the first number of the American Quarterly Review:
+
+When the British army held possession of Philadelphia, General Howe's
+head quarters were in Second street, the fourth door below Spruce, in a
+house which was before occupied by General Cadwalader. Directly
+opposite, resided William and Lydia Darrah, members of the Society of
+Friends. A superior officer of the British army, believed to be the
+Adjutant General, fixed upon one of their chambers, a back room, for
+private conference; and two of them frequently met there, with fire and
+candles, in close consultation. About the second of December, the
+Adjutant General told Lydia that they would be in the room at seven
+o'clock, and remain late; and that they wished the family to retire
+early to bed; adding, that when they were going away, they would call
+her to let them out, and extinguish their fire and candles. She
+accordingly sent all the family to bed; but, as the officer had been so
+particular, her curiosity was excited. She took off her shoes, and put
+her ear to the key-hole of the conclave. She overheard an order read for
+all the British troops to march out, late in the evening of the fourth,
+and attack General Washington's army, then encamped at White Marsh. On
+hearing this, she returned to her chamber and laid herself down. Soon
+after, the officers knocked at her door, but she rose only at the third
+summons, having feigned to be asleep. Her mind was so much agitated
+that, from this moment, she could neither eat nor sleep; supposing it to
+be in her power to save the lives of thousands of her countrymen; but
+not knowing how she was to convey the necessary information to General
+Washington, nor daring to confide it even to her husband. The time left,
+was, however, short; she quickly determined to make her way, as soon as
+possible, to the American outposts. She informed her family, that, as
+they were in want of flour, she would go to Frankfort for some; her
+husband insisted that she should take with her the servant maid; but, to
+his surprise, she positively refused. She got access to General Howe,
+and solicited--what he readily granted,--a pass through the British
+troops on the lines. Leaving her bag at the mill, she hastened towards
+the American lines, and encountered on her way an American, Lieutenant
+Colonel Craig, of the light horse, who, with some of his men, was on the
+look-out for information. He knew her, and inquired whither she was
+going. She answered, in quest of her son, an officer in the American
+army; and prayed the Colonel to alight and walk with her. He did so,
+ordering his troops to keep in sight. To him she disclosed her momentous
+secret, after having obtained from him the most solemn promise never to
+betray her individually, since her life might be at stake, with the
+British. He conducted her to a house near at hand, directed a female in
+it to give her something to eat, and he speeded for head quarters, where
+he brought General Washington acquainted with what he had heard.
+Washington made, of course, all preparation for baffling the meditated
+surprise. Lydia returned home with her flour; sat up alone to watch the
+movement of the British troops; heard their footsteps; but when they
+returned, in a few days after, did not dare to ask a question, though
+solicitous to learn the event. The next evening, the Adjutant General
+came in, and requested her to walk up to his room, as he wished to put
+some questions. She followed him in terror; and when he locked the door,
+and begged her, with an air of mystery to be seated, she was sure that
+she was either suspected, or had been betrayed. He inquired earnestly
+whether any of her family were up the last night he and the other
+officer met:--she told him that they all retired at eight o'clock. He
+observed--"I know _you_ were asleep, for I knocked at your chamber door
+three times before you heard me;--I am entirely at a loss to imagine who
+gave General Washington information of our intended attack, unless the
+walls of the house could speak. When we arrived near White Marsh, we
+found all their cannon mounted, and the troops prepared to receive us;
+and we have marched back like a parcel of fools."
+
+
+
+
+WIDOW STOREY.[14]
+
+  Stick to your aim; the mongrel's hold will slip,
+  But only crow-bars loose the bull-dog's lip;
+  Small as he looks, the jaw that never yields,
+  Drags down the bellowing monarch of the fields.
+
+                                             HOLMES.
+
+
+The first man who commenced a settlement in the town of Salisbury,
+Vermont, on the Otter creek, was Amos Storey, who, in making an opening
+in the heart of the wilderness on the right of land to which the first
+settler was entitled, was killed by the fall of a tree. His widow, who
+had been left in Connecticut, immediately resolved to push into the
+wilderness, with her ten small children, to take his place and preserve
+and clear up his farm. And this bold resolution she carried out to the
+letter, in spite of every difficulty, hardship and danger which for
+years constantly beset her in her solitary location in the woods. Acre
+after acre of the dense and dark forest melted away before her axe,
+which she handled with the dexterity of the most experienced chopper.
+The logs and bushes were piled and burnt by her own strong and untiring
+hand: crops were raised, by which, with the fruits of her fishing and
+unerring rifle, she supported herself and her hardy brood of children.
+As a place of refuge from the assaults of Indians or dangerous wild
+beasts, she dug out an underground room, into which, through a small
+entrance made to open under an overhanging thicket in the bank of the
+stream, she nightly retreated with her children. And here she continued
+to reside, thus living and thus laboring, unassisted, till, by her own
+hand and the help which her boys soon began to afford her, she cleared
+up a valuable farm and placed herself in independent circumstances in
+life.
+
+  [14] For this anecdote and that of Mrs. Hendee, we are indebted to the
+  Hon. Daniel P. Thompson, of Montpelier, author of "The Green Mountain
+  Boys," "Locke Amsden," &c. In a note to the author, in a letter which
+  contained these anecdotes, he appropriately observes that "the women of
+  the Green Mountains deserve as much credit for their various displays of
+  courage, endurance and patriotism, in the early settlement of their
+  State, as was ever awarded to their sex for similar exhibitions in any
+  part of the world. In the controversy with New York and New Hampshire,
+  which took the form of war in many instances; in the predatory Indian
+  incursions, and in the war of the Revolution, they often displayed a
+  capacity for labor and endurance, a spirit and firmness in the hour of
+  danger, and a resolution and hardihood in defending their families, and
+  their threatened land against all enemies, whether domestic or foreign,
+  that would have done honor to the dames of Sparta."
+
+
+
+
+MRS. HENDEE.
+
+  I am their mother, who shall bar me from them.
+
+                                        SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+On the burning of Royalton, Vermont, by the Indians, in 1776, Mrs.
+Hendee, of that place, exhibited a praiseworthy and heroic character.
+The attack was sudden, and her husband being absent in the Vermont
+regiment, and she being in the field, the Indians seized her children,
+carried them across White river, at that place perhaps an hundred yards
+wide and quite deep for fording, and placed them under the keepers
+having the other persons they had collected, thirty or forty in number,
+in charge. On discovering the fate of her children, Mrs. Hendee
+resolutely dashed into the river, waded through, and fearlessly entering
+the Indian camp, regardless of their tomahawks menacingly flourished
+round her head, boldly demanded the release of her little ones, and
+persevered in her alternate upbraidings and supplications, till her
+request was granted. She then carried her children back through the
+river and landed them in safety on the other bank. But not content with
+what she had done, like a patriot, as she was, she immediately
+returned, begged for the release of the children of others; again was
+rewarded with success, and brought two or three more away; again
+returned and again succeeded, till she had rescued the whole fifteen of
+her neighbors' children who had been thus snatched away from their
+distracted parents. On her last return to the camp of the enemy, the
+Indians were so struck with her conduct that one of them declared that
+so brave a squaw deserved to be carried across the river, and offered to
+take her on his back and carry her over. She, in the same spirit,
+accepted the offer, mounted the back of the gallant savage, was carried
+to the opposite bank, where she collected her rescued troop of children,
+and hastened away to restore them to their over-joyed parents.
+
+
+
+
+PATRIOTIC WOMEN OF OLD MIDDLESEX.
+
+  In the radiant front superior shines
+  That first paternal virtue, public zeal,
+  Who throws o'er all an equal wide survey,
+  And, ever musing on the common weal,
+  Still labors glorious with some great design.
+
+                                         THOMSON.
+
+
+"Old Middlesex" being our native county, with peculiar pleasure and some
+local pride, we record the following anecdote. Should the historical
+ploughshare be driven through the other towns in the county, and the
+towns generally of Massachusetts, it would turn up similar gems in
+abundance, "of purest ray serene." We quote from Butler's History of
+Groton:
+
+"After the departure of Colonel Prescott's regiment of 'minute-men,'
+Mrs. David Wright, of Pepperell, Mrs. Job Shattuck, of Groton, and the
+neighboring women, collected at what is now Jewett's Bridge, over the
+Nashua, between Pepperell and Groton, clothed in their absent husbands'
+apparel, and armed with muskets, pitchforks, and such other weapons as
+they could find; and having elected Mrs. Wright their commander,
+resolutely determined that no foe to freedom, foreign or domestic,
+should pass that bridge. For rumors were rife, that the regulars were
+approaching and frightful stories of slaughter flew rapidly from place
+to place, and from house to house.
+
+"Soon there appeared one[15] on horseback, supposed to be treasonably
+engaged in conveying intelligence to the enemy. By the implicit command
+of Sergeant Wright, he is immediately arrested, unhorsed, searched, and
+the treasonable correspondence found concealed in his boots. He was
+detained prisoner, and sent to Oliver Prescott, Esq., of Groton, and his
+dispatches were sent to the Committee of Safety."
+
+  [15] Captain Leonard Whiting, of Hollis, N. H., a noted tory, who was
+  the bearer of dispatches from Canada to the British in Boston.
+
+
+
+
+THE CACIQUE'S NOBLE DAUGHTER.
+
+  I think of thee, sweet lady, as of one
+    Too pure to mix with others, like some star,
+  Shining in pensive beauty all alone,
+    Kindred with those around, yet brighter far.
+
+                                          MRS. WELBY.
+
+
+In his history of the Conquest of Florida, Mr. Theodore Irving repeats,
+very interestingly, the story of Juan Ortiz who, with three other
+Spaniards, fell into the hands of the Indians by stratagem. The four
+captives were taken to the village of Hirrihigua, the cacique, who
+ordered them to be executed on a day of religious festival. Three were
+shot with arrows; and then "Juan Ortiz, a youth, scarce eighteen years
+of age, of a noble family of Seville, was the fourth victim. As they
+were leading him forth, his extreme youth touched with compassion the
+hearts of the wife and daughters of the cacique, who interceded in his
+favor.
+
+"The cacique listened to their importunities, and granted for the
+present the life of Ortiz;--but a wretched life did he lead. From
+morning until evening he was employed in bringing wood and water, and
+was allowed but little sleep and scanty food. Not a day passed that he
+was not beaten. On festivals he was an object of barbarous amusement to
+the cacique, who would oblige him to run, from sunrise until sunset, in
+the public square of the village, where his companions had met their
+untimely end, Indians being stationed with bows and arrows, to shoot
+him, should he halt one moment. When the day was spent, the unfortunate
+youth lay stretched on the hard floor of the hut, more dead than alive.
+At such times the wife and daughters of the cacique would come to him
+privately with food and clothing, and by their kind treatment his life
+was preserved.
+
+"At length the cacique, determining to put an end to his victim's
+existence, ordered that he should be bound down upon a wooden frame, in
+the form of a huge gridiron, placed in the public square, over a bed of
+live coals, and roasted alive.
+
+"The cries and shrieks of the poor youth reached his female protectors,
+and their entreaties were once more successful with the cacique. They
+unbound Ortiz, dragged him from the fire, and took him to their
+dwelling, where they bathed him with the juice of herbs, and tended him
+with assiduous care. After many days he recovered from his wounds,
+though marked with many a scar.
+
+"His employment was now to guard the cemetery of the village. This was
+in a lonely field in the bosom of a forest. The bodies of the dead were
+deposited in wooden boxes, covered with boards, without any fastening
+except a stone or a log of wood laid upon the top; so that the bodies
+were often carried away by wild beasts.
+
+"In this cemetery was Ortiz stationed, with a bow and arrows, to watch
+day and night, and was told that should a single body be carried away,
+he would be burnt alive. He returned thanks to God for having freed him
+from the dreaded presence of the cacique, hoping to lead a better life
+with the dead than he had done with the living.
+
+"While watching thus one long wearisome night, sleep overpowered him
+towards morning. He was awakened by the falling lid of one of the
+chests, and running to it, found it empty. It had contained the body of
+an infant recently deceased, the child of an Indian of great note.
+
+"Ortiz doubted not some animal had dragged it away, and immediately set
+out in pursuit. After wandering for some time, he heard, at a short
+distance within the woods, a noise like that of a dog gnawing bones.
+Warily drawing near to the spot, he dimly perceived an animal among the
+bushes, and invoking succor from on high, let fly an arrow at it. The
+thick and tangled underwood prevented his seeing the effect of his shot,
+but as the animal did not stir, he flattered himself that it had been
+fatal: with this hope he waited until the day dawned, when he beheld his
+victim, a huge animal of the panther kind, lying dead, the arrow having
+passed through his entrails and cleft his heart.
+
+"Gathering together the mangled remains of the infant, and replacing
+them in the coffin, Ortiz dragged his victim in triumph to the village,
+with the arrow still in his body. The exploit gained him credit with the
+old hunters, and for some time softened even the ferocity of the
+cacique. The resentment of the latter, however, from the wrongs he had
+suffered from white men, was too bitter to be appeased. Some time after,
+his eldest daughter came to Ortiz, and warned him that her father had
+determined to sacrifice him at the next festival, which was just at
+hand, and that the influence of her mother, her sisters, and herself
+would no longer avail him. She wished him, therefore, to take refuge
+with a neighboring cacique named Mucozo, who loved her and sought her in
+marriage, and who, for her sake, would befriend him. 'This very night at
+midnight,' said the kind-hearted maiden, 'at the northern extremity of
+the village you will find a trusty friend who will guide you to a
+bridge, about two leagues hence; on arriving there, you must send him
+back, that he may reach home before the morning dawn, to avoid
+suspicion--for well he knows that this bold act, in daring to assist
+you, may bring down destruction upon us both. Six leagues further on,
+you will come to the village of Mucozo--tell him I have sent you, and
+expect him to befriend you in your extremity--I know he will do it--go,
+and may your God protect you!' Ortiz threw himself at the feet of his
+generous protectress, and poured out his acknowledgments for the
+kindness she had always shown him. The Indian guide was at the place
+appointed, and they left the village without alarming the warlike
+savages. When they came to the bridge, Ortiz sent back the guide, in
+obedience to the injunction of his mistress, and, continuing his flight,
+found himself, by break of day, on the banks of a small stream near the
+village of Mucozo.
+
+"Looking cautiously around, he espied two Indians fishing. As he was
+unacquainted with their language, and could not explain the cause of his
+coming, he was in dread lest they should take him for an enemy and kill
+him. He, therefore, ran to the place where they had deposited their
+weapons and seized upon them. The savages fled to the village without
+heeding his assurances of friendly intention. The inhabitants sallied
+out with bows and arrows, as though they would attack him. Ortiz fixed
+an arrow in his bow, but cried out at the same moment, that he came not
+as an enemy but as an ambassador from a female cacique to their chief.
+Fortunately one present understood him, and interpreted his words. On
+this the Indians unbent their bows, and returning with him to their
+village, presented him to Mucozo. The latter, a youthful chieftain, of a
+graceful form and handsome countenance, received Ortiz kindly for the
+sake of her who had sent him; but, on further acquaintance, became
+attached to him for his own merits, treating him with the affection of a
+brother."
+
+
+
+
+HUMANE SPIRIT OF A FOREST MAID.
+
+                          "Beneath the gloom
+  Of overshadowing forests, sweetly springs
+  The unexpected flower."
+
+
+Some of the noblest attributes of humanity are sometimes exhibited by
+the wild children of the forest. These attributes, in such cases, seem,
+like trees in the remotest wilderness, to have gained, by their
+spontaneous growth, surprising height, symmetry and beauty.
+
+A lovelier character than Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan, king of the
+country where the first white settlement in Virginia was made, is rarely
+found among any people. She was lovely in the broadest as well as
+noblest sense of that word--lovely in features, lovely in disposition,
+lovely in the highest adornments of Christian grace. She was, in 1607,
+"a girl of ten or twelve years of age, who, not only for feature,
+countenance and expression, much exceeded any of the rest of her people,
+but for wit and spirit was the only nonpareil of the country." Such was
+Pocahontas, as described by the first white man, probably, who ever saw
+her, and in whose behalf, at the above date, she displayed the
+tenderness and true grandeur of her nature.
+
+The colonists, writes Mr. Hildreth, in his new History of the United
+States, "were specially instructed to seek for a passage to the South
+Sea; and it was thought that possibly the Chickahoming might lead
+thither. Having ascended as high as he could in his barge, Captain Smith
+followed up the stream in a canoe, with two colonists and two Indians
+for companions; and when the canoe would float no longer, he left the
+two colonists to guard it, and struck inland with a single Indian as a
+guide. Set upon unexpectedly by a large party of natives, who had
+already surprised and killed the two men left to guard the canoe, Smith
+bound his Indian guide to his arm as a buckler, and made a vigorous
+defence, killing three of the assailants; but as he retreated backward,
+he presently sank into a miry swamp, and was taken prisoner. His captors
+would have killed him, but he amused them with a pocket compass. Carried
+in a sort of triumph through several villages, he was taken before
+Powhatan, the same chief whom he had visited in company with Newport. An
+attempt was made to engage his services--at least so Smith understood
+it--in surprising the colonists at Jamestown. Having failed in this,
+after much consultation, it was resolved to put him to death. He was
+dragged to the ground and his head placed upon a stone; Powhatan raised
+a club to dash out his brains"--and now view the highly dramatic scene
+which follows, as pictured by Mrs. Sigourney in a few lines of masterly
+coloring:
+
+    The sentenced captive see--his brow how white!
+  Stretched on the turf, his manly form lies low,
+  The war club poises for its fatal blow,
+    The death-mist swims before his darkened sight;
+  Forth springs the child, in tearful pity bold,
+  Her head on his reclines, her arms his neck enfold,
+
+  "The child! what madness fires her? Hence! Depart!
+    Fly, daughter, fly! before the death-stroke rings;
+  Divide her, warriors! from that English heart."
+    In vain, for with convulsive grasp she clings:
+  She claims a pardon from her frowning sire;
+  Her pleading tones subdue his gathered ire,
+    And so, uplifting high his feathery dart,
+  That doting father gave the child her will,
+  And bade the victim live and be his servant still.
+
+After Smith had been an inmate of Powhatan's wigwam awhile, he was
+permitted to leave the Indians. Sometime after this the savages,
+becoming alarmed by witnessing Smith's wonderful feats, "laid a plan to
+get him into their power under the pretence of wishing an interview with
+him in their territory. But Pocahontas, knowing the desire of the
+warriors, left the wigwam after her father had gone to sleep, and ran
+more than nine miles through the woods to inform her friend Captain
+Smith of the danger that awaited him, either by stratagem or attack."
+
+Subsequently the colony at Jamestown was threatened with famine, when,
+accompanied by a few companions, she was accustomed to go to the fort
+every day or two with baskets of corn, and thus her
+
+  ----"generous hand vouchsafed its tireless aid
+  To guard a nation's germ."
+
+At the age of seventeen or eighteen, Pocahontas married a pious young
+English officer, named Thomas Rolfe, and went with him to England, where
+she was baptized and called Rebecca, and where she soon died. Well may
+it be said of her, in the language of the poet, slightly altered,
+
+  It is not meet such names should moulder in the grave.
+
+
+
+
+HANNAH DUSTIN.
+
+                     Experience teaches us
+  That resolution 's a sole help at need;
+  And this, my lord, our honor teacheth us,
+  That we be bold in every enterprise.
+
+                                   SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+On the fifteenth of March, 1697, a band of Indian prowlers broke into
+the house of Mr. Dustin, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and captured his
+wife, her nurse,[16] and a babe about one week old. The last was killed
+before leaving the town. The other two were marched through the
+wilderness for several days till they came to a halt on an island in the
+Merrimac river about six miles above Concord, New Hampshire. There they
+were placed in a wigwam occupied by two men, three women, seven children
+of theirs, and an English boy who had been captured about a year
+previous at Worcester, Massachusetts. The captives remained there till
+the thirtieth of that month before they planned escape. On that day the
+boy was requested by Mrs. Dustin to ask his master where to strike "to
+kill instantly;" and the savage was simple enough to tell, and also
+instructed him in the art of scalping. "At night," to use the concise
+language of Mr. Bancroft, "while the household slumbers, the captives,
+each with a tomahawk, strike vigorously, and fleetly, and with division
+of labor,--and of the twelve sleepers, ten lie dead; of one squaw the
+wound was not mortal; one child was spared from design. The love of
+glory next asserted its power; and the gun and tomahawk of the murderer
+of her infant, and a bag heaped full of scalps were choicely kept as
+trophies of the heroine.--The streams are the guides which God has set
+for the stranger in the wilderness: in a bark canoe, the three descend
+the Merrimac to the English settlements, astonishing their friends by
+their escape, and filling the land with wonder at their successful
+daring."
+
+  [16] Mrs. Mary Neff.
+
+Mrs. Dustin had the happiness of meeting her husband and seven children,
+who had escaped from the house before the savages entered, and the honor
+of a very handsome present from Colonel Nicholson, governor of Maryland,
+as a reward for her heroism.[17]
+
+  [17] Eleven years after the capture of Mrs. Dustin, a party of French
+  and Indians from Canada made an attack upon the inhabitants of
+  Haverhill, and killed and captured about forty persons. Several women
+  exhibited on the occasion a remarkable degree of sagacity, courage and
+  presence of mind. We condense from Mirick's History of Haverhill.
+
+  Ann Whittaker escaped the tomahawk by hiding in an apple chest under the
+  stairs.--A negro servant, named Hagar, covered a couple of children with
+  tubs in the cellar and then concealed herself behind some meat barrels.
+  The Indians trod on a foot of one of the children and took meat from the
+  barrel behind which Hagar had hidden, without discovering any of
+  them.--The wife of Thomas Hartshorn, took all her children except the
+  babe--which she was afraid would cry--through a trap-door into the
+  cellar. The enemy entered and plundered the house, but did not find the
+  way into the cellar. They took the infant from its bed in the garret and
+  threw it out of the window. Strange to say, though stunned, it lived and
+  grew to rugged manhood.--The wife of Captain Simon Wainwright, after the
+  enemy had killed her husband, let them into the house and treated them
+  kindly. They at length demanded money, when she went out, as she
+  pretended, to get it. They soon ascertained--though too late to find
+  her--that she had fled with all her children but one, who was taken
+  captive.
+
+
+
+
+THE HEROINES OF BRYANT'S STATION.
+
+  The brave example cannot perish
+  Of courage.
+
+                                        HOSMER.
+
+  Nor could the boldest of our youth have dared
+  To pass our outworks.
+
+                                    POPE'S HOMER.
+
+
+At the siege of Bryant's station near Lexington, Kentucky, in August,
+1782, the water in the fort was exhausted; and as the nearest place to
+obtain a supply was a spring several rods off, it would require no small
+risk and, consequently, no common intrepidity to undertake to bring it.
+A body of Indians in plain sight, were trying to entice the soldiers to
+attack them without the walls, while another party was concealed near
+the spring, waiting, it was supposed, to storm one of the gates, should
+the besieged venture out. It was thought probable that the Indians in
+ambush would remain so until they saw indications that the other party
+had succeeded in enticing the soldiers to open engagement.
+
+The position of things was explained to the women, and they were invited
+to each take a bucket and march to the spring in a body. "Some, as was
+natural, had no relish for the undertaking, and asked why the men could
+not bring water as well as themselves, observing that they were not
+bullet-proof, and the Indians made no distinction between male and
+female scalps. To this it was answered, that the women were in the habit
+of bringing water every morning to the fort; and that if the Indians saw
+them engaged as usual, it would induce them to think that their
+ambuscade was undiscovered; and that they would not unmask themselves
+for the sake of firing at a few women, when they hoped, by remaining
+concealed a few moments longer, to obtain complete possession of the
+fort: that if men should go down to the spring, the Indians would
+immediately suspect something was wrong, would despair of succeeding by
+ambuscade, and would instantly rush upon them, follow them into the
+fort, or shoot them down at the spring.
+
+"The decision was soon made. A few of the boldest declared their
+readiness to brave the danger, and the younger and more timid rallying
+in the rear of these veterans, they all marched down in a body to the
+spring, within point blank shot of more than five hundred Indian
+warriors! Some of the girls could not help betraying symptoms of terror;
+but the married women, in general, moved with a steadiness and composure
+that completely deceived the Indians. Not a shot was fired. The party
+were permitted to fill their buckets, one after another, without
+interruption; and although their steps became quicker and quicker, on
+their return, and when near the fort, degenerated into a rather
+unmilitary celerity, with some little crowding in passing the gate, yet
+not more than one-fifth of the water was spilled, and the eyes of the
+youngest had not dilated to more than double their ordinary size."[18]
+
+  [18] M'Clung's Sketches of Western Adventure.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. DAVIESS.
+
+               'Tis late before
+  The brave despair.
+
+                                     THOMSON.
+
+
+Samuel Daviess was an early settler at a place called Gilmer's Lick, in
+Lincoln county, Kentucky. In the month of August, 1782, while a few rods
+from his house, he was attacked early one morning by an Indian; and
+attempting to get within doors, he found that his house was already
+occupied by other Indians. Pursued by his foe, he ran into a cornfield
+and lay concealed till the savage gave up the chase and returned to the
+house. He then ran to his brother's station, five miles off, gave the
+alarm, and was soon returning with five stout, well armed men.
+
+  [Illustration: THE INDIAN HORSE THIEF.]
+
+Meanwhile the Indians--four in number--who had entered the house while
+the fifth was in pursuit of Mr. Daviess, routed Mrs. Daviess and the
+children from their beds, and they soon understood that they must take
+up a line of march--they knew not whither. As soon as she was dressed,
+Mrs. Daviess "commenced showing the Indians one article of clothing and
+then another, which pleased them very much; and in that way delayed them
+at the house nearly two hours. In the mean time, the Indian who had
+been in pursuit of her husband returned, with his hands stained with
+poke berries, which he held up, and with some violent gestures and
+waving of his tomahawk, attempted to induce the belief, that the stain
+on his hands was the blood of her husband, and that he had killed him.
+She was enabled at once to discover the deception, and instead of
+producing any alarm on her part, she was satisfied that her husband had
+escaped uninjured.
+
+"After the savages had plundered the house of every thing that they
+could conveniently carry off with them, they started, taking Mrs.
+Daviess and her children--seven in number--as prisoners, along with
+them. Some of the children were too young to travel as fast as the
+Indians wished, and discovering, as she believed, their intention to
+kill such of them as could not conveniently travel, she made the two
+oldest boys carry them on their backs. The Indians, in starting from the
+house, were very careful to leave no signs of the direction they had
+taken, not even permitting the children to break a twig or weed as they
+passed along. They had not gone far before an Indian drew his knife and
+cut off a few inches of Mrs. Daviess' dress, so that she would not be
+interrupted in traveling.
+
+"Mrs. Daviess was a woman of cool, deliberate courage, and accustomed to
+handle the gun, so that she could shoot well, as many of the women were
+in the habit of doing in those days. She had contemplated, as a last
+resort, that if not rescued in the course of the day, when night came on
+and the Indians had fallen asleep, she would deliver herself and
+children by killing as many of the Indians as she could--thinking that
+in a night attack as many of them as remained would most probably run
+off."[19]
+
+  [19] Collins's Historical Sketches of Kentucky.
+
+Mr. Daviess and his comrades reaching the house and finding it empty,
+hastened on in pursuit of the Indians. They had gone but a few miles
+before they overtook the retreating party. Two Indian spies in the rear,
+first discovered the pursuers, and running on, overtook the three
+others, with the prisoners, and knocked down and scalped, though they
+did not kill, the oldest boy. At that moment the pursuers fired at the
+Indians, but missed. The latter were now alarmed and confused, and Mrs.
+Daviess, taking advantage of this circumstance, jumped into a sink hole
+with her infant in her arms; and the Indians fleeing, every child was
+saved.
+
+"Kentucky, in its early days, like most new countries, was occasionally
+troubled by men of abandoned character, who lived by stealing the
+property of others, and, after committing their depredations, retired to
+their hiding places, thereby eluding the operation of the law. One of
+these marauders, a man of desperate character, who had committed
+extensive thefts from Mr. Daviess, as well as from his neighbors, was
+pursued by Daviess and a party whose property he had taken, in order to
+bring him to justice. While the party were in pursuit, the suspected
+individual, not knowing any one was pursuing him, came to the house of
+Daviess, armed with his gun and tomahawk--no person being at home but
+Mrs. Daviess and her children. After he had stepped into the house, Mrs.
+Daviess asked him if he would drink something--and having set a bottle
+of whiskey upon the table, requested him to help himself. The fellow,
+not suspecting any danger, set his gun up by the door, and while
+drinking, Mrs. Daviess picked up his gun, and placing herself in the
+door, had the gun cocked and leveled upon him by the time he turned
+around, and in a peremptory manner ordered him to take a seat, or she
+would shoot him. Struck with terror and alarm, he asked what he had
+done. She told him he had stolen her husband's property and that she
+intended to take care of him herself. In that condition she held him a
+prisoner, until the party of men returned and took him into their
+possession."[20]
+
+  [20] Collins.
+
+
+
+
+A KENTUCKY AMAZON.
+
+  This is true courage.
+
+                   WHITEHEAD'S ROMAN FATHER.
+
+
+During the summer of 1787, writes Mr. McClung, in his Sketches of
+Western Adventure, "The house of Mr. John Merrill, of Nelson county,
+Kentucky, was attacked by the Indians, and defended with singular
+address and good fortune. Merrill was alarmed by the barking of a dog
+about midnight, and upon opening the door in order to ascertain the
+cause of the disturbance, he received the fire of six or seven Indians,
+by which one arm and one thigh were broken. He instantly sank upon the
+floor, and called upon his wife to close the door. This had scarcely
+been done when it was violently assailed by the tomahawks of the enemy,
+and a large breach soon effected. Mrs. Merrill, however, being a perfect
+amazon, both in strength and courage, guarded it with an axe, and
+successively killed or badly wounded four of the enemy as they attempted
+to force their way into the cabin.
+
+"The Indians ascended the roof, and attempted to enter by way of the
+chimney; but here again they were met by the same determined enemy.
+Mrs. Merrill seized the only feather bed which the cabin afforded, and
+hastily ripping it open, poured its contents upon the fire. A furious
+blaze and stifling smoke instantly ascended the chimney, and brought
+down two of the enemy, who lay for a few moments at the mercy of the
+lady. Seizing the axe, she quickly dispatched them, and was instantly
+afterwards summoned to the door, where the only remaining savage now
+appeared, endeavoring to effect an entrance, while Mrs. Merrill was
+engaged at the chimney. He soon received a gash in the cheek, which
+compelled him, with a loud yell, to relinquish his purpose, and return
+hastily to Chillicothe, where, from the report of a prisoner, he gave an
+exaggerated account of the fierceness, strength, and courage of the
+'long knife squaw!'"
+
+
+
+
+HEROISM AT INNIS SETTLEMENT.
+
+  Courage alone can save us.
+
+                            SOUTHEY.
+
+
+The account of the Indians' attack on the Innis settlement, near
+Frankfort, Kentucky, in April, 1792, has been differently related by
+different writers. The most reliable account is doubtless that given by
+the Rev. Abraham Cook, a minister of the Baptist denomination and the
+brother of Jesse and Hosea Cook, whose wives were the heroines of the
+settlement. The attack was made on the twenty-eighth of the month, by
+about one hundred Indians, and at three points almost simultaneously.
+The first onset was upon the Cooks who lived in cabins close together,
+and where was displayed a degree of intrepidity rarely matched.
+
+"The brothers were near their cabins, one engaged in shearing sheep, the
+other looking on. The sharp crack of rifles was the first intimation of
+the proximity of the Indians; and that fire was fatal to the
+brothers--the elder fell dead, and the younger was mortally wounded, but
+enabled to reach the cabin. The two Mrs. Cook, with three children--two
+whites and one black--were instantly collected in the house, and the
+door, a very strong one, made secure. The Indians, unable to enter,
+discharged their rifles at the door, but without injury, as the balls
+did not penetrate through the thick boards of which it was constructed.
+They then attempted to cut it down with their tomahawks, but with no
+better success. While these things occurred without, there was deep
+sorrow, mingled with fearless determination and high resolve within. The
+younger Cook, mortally wounded, immediately the door was barred, sank
+down on the floor, and breathed his last; and the two Mrs. Cook were
+left the sole defenders of the cabin, with the three children. There was
+a rifle in the house, but no balls could be found. In this extremity,
+one of the women got hold of a musket ball, and placing it between her
+teeth, actually bit it into two pieces. With one she instantly loaded
+the rifle. The Indians, failing in their attempts to cut down the door,
+had retired a few paces in front, doubtless to consult upon their future
+operations. One seated himself upon a log, apparently apprehending no
+danger from within. Observing him, Mrs. Cook took aim from a narrow
+aperture and fired, when the Indian gave a loud yell, bounded high in
+the air, and fell dead. This infuriated the savages, who threatened--for
+they could speak English--to burn the house and all the inmates. Several
+speedily climbed to the top of the cabin, and kindled a fire on the
+boards of the roof. The devouring element began to take effect, and
+with less determined and resolute courage within, the certain
+destruction of the cabin and the death of the inmates, must have been
+the consequence. But the self possession and intrepidity of these
+Spartan females were equal to the occasion. One of them instantly
+ascended to the loft, and the other handed her water, with which she
+extinguished the fire. Again and again the roof was fired, and as often
+extinguished. The water failing, the undaunted women called for some
+eggs, which were broken and the contents thrown upon the fire, for a
+time holding the flames at bay. Their next resource was the bloody
+waistcoat of the husband and brother-in-law, who lay dead upon the
+floor. The blood with which this was profusely saturated, checked the
+progress of the flames--but, as they appeared speedily to be gathering
+strength, another, and the last expedient ... proved successful. The
+savage foe yielded, and the fruitful expedients of female courage
+triumphed. One Indian, in bitter disappointment, fired at his unseen
+enemy through the boards, but did not injure her, when the whole
+immediately descended from the roof.
+
+"About the time the attack commenced, a young man named McAndre, escaped
+on horseback, in view of the Indians, who, it was supposed, would give
+the alarm to the older neighboring settlements. As soon as they
+descended from the house top, a few climbed some contiguous trees, and
+instituted a sharp look out. While in the trees, one of them fired a
+second ball into the loft of the cabin, which cut to pieces a bundle of
+yarn hanging near the head of Mrs. Cook, but without doing further
+injury. Soon after, they threw the body of the dead Indian into the
+adjacent creek, and precipitately fled."
+
+
+
+
+BOLD EXPLOIT AT TAMPICO.
+
+  A thousand hearts are great within my bosom;
+  Advance our standards.
+
+                                       SHAKSPEARE.
+
+  Rocks have been shaken from their solid base;
+  But what shall move a dauntless soul?
+
+                                       JOANNA BAILLIE.
+
+
+At the capture of Tampico, which took place on the fourteenth of
+November, 1846, a noteworthy act was performed by a lady, whose
+patriotism and daring should not be forgotten. She not only gave
+Commodore Connor full information in regard to the defence of the place,
+with a plan of the harbor, town and forts, but when the squadron was
+approaching, though opposed by the city council and even menaced, she
+hoisted the American flag and persisted in waving it beneath the very
+eye of the _ayuntamiento_! This intrepid woman was Mrs. Ann Chase, wife
+of the American Consul.
+
+  [Illustration: THE COLONEL AND HIS DAUGHTER.]
+
+
+
+
+DICEY LANGSTON.
+
+  Thou soul of love and bravery!
+
+                                MOORE.
+
+
+Dicey Langston was the daughter of Solomon Langston, of Laurens
+district, South Carolina. She possessed an intrepid spirit, which is
+highly serviceable in times of emergency, and which, as she lived in the
+days of the Revolution, she had more than one opportunity to display.
+Situated in the midst of tories, and being patriotically inquisitive,
+she often learned by accident, or discovered by strategy, the plottings
+so common in those days, against the whigs. Such intelligence she was
+accustomed to communicate to the friends of freedom on the opposite side
+of the Ennoree river.
+
+Learning one time that a band of loyalists--known in those parts as the
+"Bloody scout"--were about to fall upon the "Elder settlement," a place
+where a brother of hers and other friends were residing, she resolved to
+warn them of their danger. To do this she must hazard her own life. But
+off she started, alone, in the darkness of the night; traveled several
+miles through the woods, and over marshes and across creeks, through a
+country where foot-logs and bridges were then unknown; came to the
+Tyger, a rapid and deep stream, into which she plunged and waded till
+the water was up to her neck; she then became bewildered, and zigzagged
+the channel for some time; reached the opposite shore at length--for a
+helping Hand was beneath, a kind Providence guiding her:--hastened on;
+reached the settlement, and her brother and the whole community were
+safe!
+
+She was returning one day from another settlement of whigs--in the
+Spartanburg district, when a company of tories met her and questioned
+her in regard to the neighborhood she had just left; but she refused to
+communicate the desired information. The leader of the band then held a
+pistol to her breast, and threatened to shoot her if she did not make
+the wished for disclosure. "Shoot me if you dare! I will not tell you!"
+was her dauntless reply, as she opened a long handkerchief that covered
+her neck and bosom, thus manifesting a willingness to receive the
+contents of the pistol, if the officer insisted on disclosures or life.
+The dastard, enraged at her defying movement, was in the act of firing,
+at which moment one of the soldiers threw up the hand holding the
+weapon, and the cowerless heart of the girl was permitted to beat on.
+
+The brothers of Dicey were no less patriotic than she; and they having,
+by their active services on the side of freedom, greatly displeased the
+loyalists, these latter were determined to be revenged. A desperate
+band accordingly went to the house of their father, and finding the sons
+absent, they were about to wreak their vengeance on the old man, whom
+they hated for the sons' sake. With this intent one of the party drew a
+pistol; but just as it was aimed at the breast of her aged and infirm
+father, Dicey rushed between the two, and though the ruffian bade her
+get out of his way or receive in her own breast the contents of the
+pistol, she regarded not his threats, but flung her arms around her
+father's neck and declared she would receive the ball first, if the
+weapon must be discharged. Such fearlessness and willingness to offer
+her own life for the sake of her parent, softened the heart of the
+"bloody scout," and Mr. Langston lived to see his noble daughter perform
+other heroic deeds.
+
+One time her brother James, in his absence, sent to the house for a gun
+which he had left in her care, with orders for her to deliver it to no
+one except by his direction. On reaching the house one of the company
+who where directed to call for it, made known their errand, whereupon
+she brought and was about to deliver the weapon. At this moment it
+occurred to her that she had not demanded the countersign agreed on
+between herself and brother. With the gun still in her hand, she looked
+the company sternly in the face, and remarking that they wore a
+suspicious look, called for the countersign. Hereupon one of them, in
+jest, told her she was too tardy in her requirements; that both the gun
+and its holder were in their possession. "Do you think so," she boldly
+asked, as she cocked the disputed weapon and aimed it at the speaker.
+"If the gun is in your possession," she added, "take charge of it!" Her
+appearance indicated that she was in earnest, and the countersign was
+given without further delay. A hearty laugh on the part of the "liberty
+men," ended the ceremony.
+
+
+
+
+REBECCA MOTTE.
+
+  We can make our lives sublime.
+
+                          LONGFELLOW.
+
+
+During the Revolutionary war, while Fort Motte, situated on Congaree
+river, in South Carolina, was in the hands of the British, in order to
+effect its surrender, it became necessary to burn a large mansion
+standing near the centre of the trench. The house was the property of
+Mrs. Motte. Lieut. Colonel Lee communicated to her the contemplated work
+of destruction with painful reluctance, but her smiles, half
+anticipating his proposal, showed, at once, that she was willing to
+sacrifice her property if she could thereby aid in the least degree
+towards the expulsion of the enemy and the salvation of the land. The
+reply she made to the proposal was that she was "gratified with the
+opportunity of contributing to the good of her country, and should view
+the approaching scene with delight!"[21]
+
+  [21] MRS. BREWTON,--since Foster--one of the most amiable and
+  enlightened of the whig ladies, was an inmate of Mrs. Motte's family at
+  the time of the destruction of her house. Meeting with her shortly after
+  the signing of the preliminary articles of peace at Philadelphia, I
+  inquired--"How it had happened, that she, a helpless, unprotected widow,
+  without any charge of improper conduct, had so far incurred the enmity
+  of the British commanders, as to have been arrested without ceremony,
+  and hurried unprepared, into exile." She answered--"That she knew no act
+  of hers which had merited such ungentlemanly and inhuman treatment."
+  Entering, however, into conversation relative to the siege and surrender
+  of Fort Motte, she gave at once a clue to the transaction. While the
+  American forces were at a distance, Major M'Pherson, the commander of
+  the post, suffered Mrs. Motte and her family to remain, and an apartment
+  was allowed for their accommodation. But when the post at Thompson's,
+  but a little removed from him, was attacked and carried, anticipating
+  the fate which awaited him, immediate removal was not only advised, but
+  insisted on. At the moment of departure, Mrs. Brewton seeing a quiver of
+  arrows, which had been presented to Mr. Motte by a favorite African,
+  said to her friend, "I will take these with me, to prevent their
+  destruction by the soldiers." With the quiver in her hands, she was
+  passing the gate, when Major M'Pherson, drawing forth a shaft, and
+  applying the point to his finger, said, "what have you here, Mrs.
+  Brewton?" "For God's sake be careful," she replied "these arrows are
+  poisoned." The ladies immediately passed on to the out-house, which they
+  were now to inhabit. In the siege which directly followed, when the
+  destruction of the house was determined upon, and missiles eagerly
+  sought for by Lieutenant Colonel Lee for conveying the fire to the
+  shingles, these arrows being remembered, were presented by Mrs. Motte,
+  with a wish for the happy accomplishment of the end proposed. It was
+  afterwards known, that the first arrow missed its aim, and fell at the
+  feet of the commander, who taking, it up, with strong expressions of
+  anger, exclaimed, "I thank you, Mrs. Brewton." The second arrow took
+  effect, and set fire to the roof, when the brisk discharge of a six
+  pounder being maintained by Captain Finley, in the direction of the
+  stair-case, every effort to extinguish it proved fruitless, until, from
+  the apprehension of the roof falling in, the garrison were compelled to
+  surrender at discretion. General Greene arriving soon after, paid to
+  Major M'Pherson the tribute of applause due to his excellent defence,
+  declaring, "that such gallantry could not fail to procure for him a high
+  increase of reputation." This compliment, however, does not appear to
+  have soothed the mortified soldier; for, walking immediately up to Mrs.
+  Brewton, he said, "to _you_ madam, I owe this disgrace; it would have
+  been more charitable to have allowed me to perish by poison, than to be
+  thus compelled to surrender my post to the enemy." This speech alone,
+  accounts for the enmity against Mrs. Brewton.--[Knapp's American
+  Anecdotes.
+
+The husband of this noble-hearted widow had so involved himself by
+securities for friends, that after the struggle for Independence was
+over, it was impossible for her to immediately meet all demands against
+the estate. She, however, resolved that they should some day be
+liquidated--that, life and health being continued long enough, all
+obligations of her husband's contracting should be good against herself.
+She purchased a large tract of rice land on credit, and by industry and
+economy was able, in a short time, to pay the old demands, and lived to
+accumulate a handsome property. She reminds us of Solomon's picture of
+the virtuous woman: "She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the
+fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard."... "She looketh well to the
+ways of her household, and eateth not of the bread of idleness."
+
+
+
+
+ANOTHER SACRIFICE FOR FREEDOM.
+
+  A patriot's birth-right thou may'st claim.
+
+                                         SHELLEY.
+
+
+The subject of the following anecdote was a sister of General Woodhull,
+and was born at Brookhaven, Long Island, in December, 1740. Her husband
+was a member of the Provincial Convention which met in May, 1775, and of
+the Convention which was called two years after, to frame the first
+state constitution.
+
+While Judge William Smith was in the Provincial Congress, his lady was
+met, at a place called Middle Island, by Major Benjamin Tallmadge, who
+was then on his march across Long Island. He told her he was on his way
+to her house to capture the force then possessing Fort St. George, and
+that he might be obliged to burn or otherwise destroy her dwelling-house
+and other buildings in accomplishing this object. Ready to make any
+sacrifice for the good of her bleeding country, she promptly assured the
+Major that the buildings were at his disposal, to destroy or not, as
+efforts to dislodge the enemy might require.
+
+
+
+
+A PATRIOTIC DONATION.
+
+  Large charity doth never soil,
+  But only whitens soft white hands.--LOWELL.
+
+
+When General Greene was retreating through the Carolinas, after the
+battle of the Cowpens, and while at Salisbury, North Carolina, he put up
+at a hotel, the landlady of which was Mrs. Elizabeth Steele. A
+detachment of Americans had just had a skirmish with the British under
+Cornwallis at the Catawba ford, and were defeated and dispersed; and
+when the wounded were brought to the hotel, the General no doubt felt
+somewhat discouraged, for the fate of the south and perhaps of the
+country seemed to hang on the result of this memorable retreat. Added to
+his other troubles was that of being penniless; and Mrs. Steele,
+learning this fact by accident, and ready to do any thing in her power
+to further the cause of freedom, took him aside and drew from under her
+apron two bags of specie. Presenting them to him she generously said,
+"Take these, for you will want them, and I can do without them."[22]
+
+  [22] Never did relief come at a more propitious moment; nor would it be
+  straining conjecture to suppose that he resumed his journey with his
+  spirits cheered and brightened by this touching proof of woman's
+  devotion to the cause of her country. [Greene's Life of Nathaniel
+  Greene.
+
+
+
+
+"THE LITTLE BLACK-EYED REBEL."
+
+              Some there are
+  By their good deeds exalted
+
+                         WORDSWORTH.
+
+
+Mary Redmond, the daughter of a patriot of Philadelphia of some local
+distinction, had many relatives who were loyalists. These were
+accustomed to call her "the little black-eyed rebel," so ready was she
+to assist women whose husbands were fighting for freedom, in procuring
+intelligence. "The dispatches were usually sent from their friends by a
+boy who carried them stitched in the back of his coat. He came into the
+city bringing provisions to market. One morning when there was some
+reason to fear he was suspected, and his movements were watched by the
+enemy, Mary undertook to get the papers from him in safety. She went, as
+usual, to the market, and in a pretended game of romps, threw her shawl
+over the boy's head and secured the prize. She hastened with the papers
+to her anxious friends, who read them by stealth, after the windows had
+been carefully closed."
+
+When the whig women in her neighborhood heard of Burgoyne's surrender,
+and were exulting in secret, the cunning little "rebel," prudently
+refraining from any open demonstration of joy, "put her head up the
+chimney and gave a shout for Gates!"
+
+
+
+
+A BENEVOLENT QUAKERESS.[23]
+
+  How few, like thee, inquire the wretched out,
+  And court the offices of soft humanity!
+
+                                           ROWE.
+
+
+Charity Rodman was born in Newport, Rhode Island, in the year 1765. Her
+father was a sea-captain, and died at Honduras while she was in infancy.
+She married Thomas Rotch, of Nantucket, Massachusetts, on the sixth of
+June, 1790. Soon afterwards the Rotch family removed to New Bedford,
+where they have since distinguished themselves by their energy and
+uprightness of character, and their success in the mercantile business,
+being extensively engaged in the whale-fishery. Of some of them, as
+traffickers, it may be said, as it was of the merchants of Tyre in the
+days of her glory: "they are among the honorable of the earth."
+
+  [23] Some of the facts embodied in this article were gathered by the
+  author while on a visit to Massillon, Ohio, in the summer of 1847, and
+  were communicated to the public at that time through the columns of the
+  Western Literary Messenger; others were lately and very obligingly
+  furnished by Dr. William Bowen, of that place.
+
+About the year 1801, Mrs. Rotch removed with her husband to Hartford,
+Connecticut, where she remained till 1811. She then, in a feeble state
+of health, and for its improvement, accompanied her husband on a journey
+through Ohio, and other parts of the West. The mildness of the winter
+was favorable to her constitution, and, restored to comfortable health,
+she returned to Hartford in the early part of the next summer. The
+following November she removed to Kendol, in Stark county, Ohio, near
+the site of the present village of Massillon.
+
+There the mind of Mrs. Rotch, coöperating with the long-cherished wishes
+of her heart, originated and matured plans for the establishment of a
+"school for orphan and destitute children." Having traveled much, she
+had made extensive observations; and with an eye always open to the
+condition and wants of human kind, she early and often felt the force of
+a remark once made to her by an English friend: "That there were a great
+many children _wasted_ in this country"--a painful truth, but no less
+applicable to Great Britain than to the United States.
+
+Her husband died in 1823, and bequeathed to her, during life, his large
+and entire estate. His personal property was left in her hands to be
+disposed of as her philanthropic heart might dictate. This formed the
+basis of the school-fund which she left, and which, four or five years
+after her death, which occurred on the sixth of August, 1824, amounted
+to twenty thousand dollars. The interest of this sum has since purchased
+a farm of one hundred and eighty-five acres, one and a half miles from
+the village of Massillon, and erected, at a cost of five thousand
+dollars, a large brick edifice for educational and dwelling purposes,
+which has been open seven years and which sustains forty pupils. The
+real and personal estate of the institution, is now estimated at
+thirty-five thousand dollars.
+
+A class of ten pupils enter annually and remain four years. The school
+is established on the manual labor plan; and the boys are thoroughly
+instructed in the art of husbandry, and the girls in culinary duties and
+the manufacture of their own wearing apparel. Children enter between the
+ages of ten and fourteen, hence the youngest leave as advanced in life
+as their fifteenth year, a period when their habits of industry and
+their moral principles usually become too well established to be easily
+changed.
+
+This school, founded by the benevolence of a single individual--a
+devout, yet modest and quiet member of the Society of Friends--is
+destined to become a source of inestimable blessings. Every half
+century, five hundred otherwise neglected plants in the garden of
+humanity, will there be pruned and nurtured, and strengthened for the
+storms of life; and many of them will doubtless be fitted to bear fruit
+here to the glory of God, and be finally transplanted to bloom in
+eternal youth in the gardens above.
+
+The offspring of Christian philanthropy, the school will stand as a
+lasting memorial of woman's worth. The highest ambition of its founder
+was to be a blessing to those who should come after her; and it may be
+said that while she did not live in vain, neither did she die in vain.
+Her death threw a legacy into the lap of orphanage, the benignant
+influence of which will long be felt.
+
+The grave of Mrs. Rotch is overlooked by the monument of her
+munificence, but no marble nor enduring object marks the spot. Virtues
+like hers neither crave nor need _chiseled_ words of praise; they are
+engraved on the hearts of the succored, to be remembered while those
+hearts continue to beat; and the feet of befriended children will keep a
+path open to the grave of their foster-mother, for ages.
+
+
+
+
+A PIONEER IN SUNDAY SCHOOLS.[24]
+
+  --Doubtless unto thee is given
+  A life that bears immortal fruit
+  In such great offices as suit
+  The full-grown energies of heaven.
+
+                           TENNYSON'S IN MEMORIAM.
+
+
+The Ohio Company, which was organized in Boston in the year 1787, built
+a stockade fort during the next two years, at Marietta, and named it
+_Campus Martius_. The year it was completed, the Rev. Daniel Storey, a
+preacher at Worcester, Massachusetts, was sent out as a chaplain. He
+acted as an evangelist till 1797, when he became the pastor of a
+Congregational church which he had been instrumental in collecting in
+Marietta and the adjoining towns, and which was organized the preceding
+year. He held that relation till the spring of 1804. Probably he was the
+first Protestant minister whose voice was heard in the vast wilderness
+lying to the north-west of the Ohio river.
+
+  [24] The facts contained in this article we find in a series of papers,
+  by S. P. Hildreth, Esq., published in "The American Pioneer," in 1842.
+
+In the garrison at Marietta was witnessed the formation and successful
+operation of one of the first Sunday schools in the United States. Its
+originator, superintendent and sole teacher, was Mrs. Andrew Lake, an
+estimable lady from New York. Every Sabbath, after "Parson Storey" had
+finished his public services, she collected as many of the children at
+her house as would attend, and heard them recite verses from the
+Scriptures, and taught them the Westminster catechism. Simple in her
+manner of teaching and affable and kind in her disposition, she was able
+to interest her pupils--usually about twenty in number--and to win their
+affections to herself, to the school, and, subsequently, in some
+instances, to the Saviour. A few, at least, of the little children that
+used to sit on rude benches, low stools and the tops of meal bags, and
+listen to her sacred instructions and earnest admonitions, have
+doubtless ere this became pupils, with her, in the "school of Christ"
+above.
+
+
+
+
+THE WOMEN OF WYOMING.
+
+  The guardians of the land.
+
+                           HOLMES.
+
+
+Justice and gratitude, writes Miner,[25] "demand a tribute to the
+praiseworthy spirit of the wives and daughters of Wyoming. While their
+husbands and fathers were on public duty, they cheerfully assumed a
+large portion of the labor which females could do. They assisted to
+plant, made hay, husked and garnered the corn. As the settlement was
+mainly dependent on its own resources for powder, Mr. Hollenback caused
+to be brought up the river a pounder; and the women took up their
+floors, dug out the earth, put it in casks, and run water through
+it,--as ashes are bleached:--then took ashes, in another cask, and made
+ley--mixed the water from the earth with weak ley, boiled it, set it to
+cool, and the saltpetre rose to the top. Charcoal and sulphur were then
+used, and powder was produced for the public defence."
+
+  [25] History of Wyoming, page 212.
+
+
+
+
+MARY GOULD.
+
+  Far rung the groves and gleamed the midnight grass,
+  With flambeau, javelin and naked arm;
+  As warriors wheeled their culverins of brass,
+  Sprung from the woods a bold athletic mass,
+  Whom virtue fires and liberty combines.
+
+                                            CAMPBELL.
+
+  Such is the power of mighty love.
+
+                                              DRYDEN.
+
+
+Early in the evening of the third day of July, 1778--the date of the
+memorable Wyoming massacre--Mrs. Mary Gould, wife of James Gould, with
+the other females remaining in the village of Wyoming, sought safety in
+the fort. In the haste and confusion attending this act, she left a boy
+of hers about four years old, behind. Obeying the instincts of a mother,
+and turning a deaf ear to the admonitions of friends, she started off on
+a perilous search for the missing one. It was dark; she was alone, and
+the foe was lurking around; but the agonies of death could not exceed
+her agonies of suspense; so she hastened on. She traversed the fields
+which, but a few hours before,
+
+  "Were trampled by the hurrying crowd;"
+
+where
+
+  "--fiery hearts and armed hands
+  Encountered in the battle cloud,"
+
+and where unarmed hands were now resting on cold and motionless hearts.
+After a search of between one and two hours, she found her child on the
+bank of the river, sporting with a little band of playmates. Clasping
+the jewel in her arms, she hurried back and reached the fort in safety.
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF PRESIDENT POLK.
+
+  Holy as heaven a mother's tender love!
+  The love of many prayers, and many tears,
+  Which changes not with dim, declining years.
+
+                                          MRS. NORTON.
+
+
+The late President Folk's mother, who died at Columbia, Tennessee, in
+the winter of 1851-2, was a member of the Presbyterian church, a highly
+exemplary Christian, and a faithful mother. The lessons which she taught
+her son in youth, were not forgotten when he had arrived at manhood, and
+risen to the highest office in the gift of a free and sovereign people.
+A single anecdote will show the abiding recollection and influence of
+her teachings.
+
+A gentleman, who once visited Mr. Polk at the White House, remarked to
+him that his respect for the Sabbath was highly gratifying to the
+religious sentiment of the country; whereupon he made the following
+reply: "I was taught by a pious mother to fear God, and keep his
+commandments, and I trust that no cares of a government of my own, will
+ever tempt me to forget what I owe to the government of God."
+
+
+
+
+TRIALS OF A PATRIOT.
+
+  Press on! if fortune play thee false
+  To-day, to-morrow she 'll be true.
+
+                              PARK BENJAMIN.
+
+
+During the latter part of the Revolution, Thomas McCalla lived in
+Chester district, South Carolina. He removed thither from Pennsylvania,
+with his young wife, in 1778. He was a whole-hearted whig; served in the
+American army before moving to the south, and again enlisted soon after
+reaching his new home. He was in all the engagements attending Sumter's
+operations against the enemy, till the seventeenth of August, 1780,
+when, by permission, he went to visit his family. A short time
+afterwards he again joined the fighting men, but was almost immediately
+taken prisoner, sent to Camden, thrown into jail and threatened daily
+with hanging. The persevering and heroic endeavors of his affectionate
+and patriotic wife, to obtain his release, are detailed in the following
+interesting manner by the author of the Women of the Revolution:
+
+While this brave man was languishing in prison, expecting death from day
+to day, his wife remained in the most unhappy state of suspense. For
+about a month she was unable to obtain any tidings of him. The rumor of
+Sumter's surprise, and that of Steel, came to her ears; she visited the
+places where those disasters had occurred, and sought for some trace of
+him, but without success. She inquired, in an agony of anxiety, of the
+women who had been to Charlotte for the purpose of carrying clothes or
+provisions to their husbands, brothers, or fathers, not knowing but that
+he had gone thither with the soldiers; but none could give her the least
+information. Imagination may depict the harrowing scenes that must have
+passed, when females returning to their homes and children after
+carrying aid to the soldiers, were met by such inquiries from those who
+were uncertain as to the fate of their kindred. To these hapless
+sufferers no consolation availed, and too often was their suspense
+terminated by more afflicting certainty.
+
+In the midst of Mrs. McCalla's distress, and before she had gained any
+information, she was called to another claim on her anxiety; her
+children took the small-pox. John was very ill for nine days with the
+disease, and his mother thought every day would be his last. During this
+terrible season of alarm, while her mind was distracted by cares, she
+had to depend altogether upon herself, for she saw but one among her
+neighbors. All the families in the vicinity were visited with the
+disease, and to many it proved fatal. As soon as her child was so far
+recovered as to be considered out of danger, Mrs. McCalla made
+preparations to go to Camden. She felt convinced that it was her duty to
+do so, for she clung to the hope that she might there learn something
+of her husband, or even find him among the prisoners.
+
+With her to resolve was to act, and having set her house in order, she
+was in the saddle long before day, taking the old Charleston road
+leading down on the west side of the Catawba river. The mountain gap on
+Wateree creek was passed ere the sun rose, and by two o'clock she had
+crossed the river, passing the guard there stationed, and entered
+Camden. Pressing on with fearless determination, she passed the guard,
+and desiring to be conducted to the presence of Lord Rawdon, was
+escorted by Major Doyle to the head-quarters of that commander. His
+Lordship then occupied a large, ancient looking house on the east side
+of the main street. The old site of the town is now in part deserted,
+and that building left standing alone some four hundred yards from any
+other, as if the memories associated with it had rendered the
+neighborhood undesirable. It was here that haughty and luxurious
+nobleman fixed his temporary residence, "sitting as a monarch," while so
+many true-hearted unfortunates, whose fate hung on his will, were
+languishing out their lives in prison, or atoning for their patriotism
+on the scaffold.
+
+Into the presence of this august personage Mrs. McCalla was conducted by
+the British major. Her impression at first sight was favorable; he was a
+fine looking young man, with a countenance not unprepossessing, which we
+may suppose was eagerly searched for the traces of human sympathy by one
+who felt that all her hopes depended on him. His aspect gave her some
+encouragement, and being desired to explain the object of her visit, she
+pleaded her cause with the eloquence of nature and feeling; making known
+the distressed situation of her family at home, the fearful anxiety of
+mind she had suffered on account of the prolonged absence of her husband
+and her ignorance of his fate, and her children's urgent need of his
+care and protection. From Major Doyle she had at length learned that he
+was held a prisoner by his lordship's orders. She had come, therefore,
+to entreat mercy for him; to pray that he might be released and
+permitted to go home with her. This appeal to compassion she made with
+all the address in her power, nor was the untaught language of distress
+wanting in power to excite pity in any feeling heart.
+
+Lord Rawdon heard her to the end. His reply was characteristic. "I would
+rather hang such ---- rebels than eat my breakfast." This insulting
+speech was addressed to his suppliant while her eyes were fixed on him
+in the agony of her entreaty, and the tears were streaming down her
+cheeks. His words dried up the fountain at once, and the spirit of the
+American matron was roused. "Would you?" was her answer, while she
+turned on him a look of the deepest scorn. A moment after, with a
+struggle to control her feelings, for she well knew how much depended on
+that--she said, "I crave of your lordship permission to see my husband."
+
+The haughty chief felt the look of scorn his cruel language had called
+up in her face, for his own conscience bore testimony against him, but
+pride forbade his yielding to the dictates of better feeling. "You
+should consider, madam," he answered, "in whose presence you now stand.
+Your husband is a rebel----"
+
+Mrs. McCalla was about to reply--but her companion, the Major, gave her
+a look warning her to be silent, and in truth the words that sprang to
+her lips would have ill pleased the Briton. Doyle now interposed, and
+requested his lordship to step aside with him for a moment. They left
+the apartment, and shortly afterwards returned. Rawdon then said to his
+visitor, with a stately coldness that precluded all hope of softening
+his determination: "Major Doyle, madam, has my permission to let you go
+into the prison. You may continue in the prison _ten minutes only_.
+Major, you have my orders." So saying, he bowed politely both to her and
+the officer, as intimating that the business was ended, and they were
+dismissed. They accordingly quitted the room.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The sight of the prison-pen almost overcame the fortitude of the
+resolute wife. An enclosure like that constructed for animals, guarded
+by soldiers, was the habitation of the unfortunate prisoners, who sate
+within on the bare earth, many of them suffering with the prevalent
+distemper, and stretched helpless on the ground, with no shelter from
+the burning sun of September. "Is it possible," cried the matron,
+turning to Doyle, "that you shut up men in this manner, as you would a
+parcel of hogs!" She was then admitted into the jail, and welcome indeed
+was the sight of her familiar face to McCalla. The time allotted for the
+interview was too short to be wasted in condolement or complaint; she
+told him she must depart in a few minutes, informed him of the state of
+his family--inquired carefully what were his wants, and promised speedy
+relief. When the ten minutes had expired, she again shook hands with
+him, assuring him she would shortly return with clothes for his use, and
+what provisions she could bring, then turning walked away with a firm
+step, stopping to shake hands with young John Adair and the other
+captives with whom she was acquainted. The word of encouragement was not
+wanting, and as she bade the prisoners adieu, she said: "Have no fear;
+the women are doing their part of the service." "I admire your spirit,
+madam," Doyle observed to her, "but must request you to be a little more
+cautious."
+
+Mrs. McCalla was furnished by the Major with a pass, which she showed to
+the officer on duty as she passed the guard on her return, and to the
+officer at the ferry. She rode with all speed, and was at home before
+midnight; having had less than twenty-four hours for the accomplishment
+of her whole enterprise; in that time riding one hundred miles, crossing
+the river twice, and passing the guard four times--visiting her husband,
+and having the interview with Lord Rawdon, in which probably for the
+first time in his life he felt uneasiness from a woman's rebuke. It
+convinced him that even in the breast of woman a spirit of independence
+might dwell, which no oppression could subdue, and before which brute
+force must quail, as something of superior nature. How must the
+unexpected outbreaking of this spirit, from time to time, have dismayed
+those who imagined it was crushed forever throughout the conquered
+province!
+
+It is proper to say that Mrs. McCalla met with kinder treatment from the
+other British officers to whom she had occasion to apply at this time,
+for they were favorably impressed by the courage and strength of
+affection evinced by her. Even the soldiers, as she passed them, paid
+her marks of respect. The tories alone showed no sympathy nor pity for
+her trials; it being constantly observed that there was deeper hostility
+towards the whigs on the part of their countrymen of different politics,
+than those of English birth.
+
+Mrs. McCalla began her work immediately after her arrival at home;
+making new clothes, altering and mending others, and preparing
+provisions. Her preparations being completed, she again set out for
+Camden. This time she had the company of one of her neighbors, Mrs. Mary
+Nixon. Each of the women drove before her a pack-horse, laden with the
+articles provided for the use of their suffering friends. They were
+again admitted to the presence of Lord Rawdon to petition for leave to
+visit the prisoners, but nothing particular occurred at the interview.
+His lordship treated the matron who had offended him with much
+haughtiness, and she on her part felt for him a contempt not the less
+strong that it was not openly expressed. From this time she made her
+journeys about once a month to Camden, carrying clean clothes and
+provisions; being often accompanied by other women bound on similar
+errands, and conveying articles of food and clothing to their captive
+fathers, husbands, or brothers. They rode without escort, fearless of
+peril by the way, and regardless of fatigue, though the journey was
+usually performed in haste, and under the pressure of anxiety for those
+at home as well as those to whose relief they were going. On one
+occasion, when Mrs. McCalla was just about setting off alone upon her
+journey, news of a glorious event was brought to her; the news of the
+battle of King's Mountain, which took place on the seventh of October.
+She did not stop to rejoice in the victory of her countrymen, but went
+on with a lightened heart, longing, no doubt, to share the joy with him
+who might hope, from the changed aspect of affairs, some mitigation of
+his imprisonment.
+
+... About the first of December, Mrs. McCalla went again to Camden. On
+the preceding trip she had met with Lord Cornwallis, by whom she was
+treated with kindness. Whatever hopes she had grounded on this, however,
+were doomed to disappointment; he was this time reserved and silent. She
+was afterwards informed by the Major that a considerable reverse had
+befallen his majesty's troops at Clermont, and the annoyance felt on
+this account--Doyle said--was the cause of his not showing as much
+courtesy as he usually did to ladies. "You must excuse him," observed
+the good-natured officer, who seems to have always acted the part of a
+peacemaker on these occasions; and he added that Cornwallis had never
+approved of the cruelties heretofore practised.
+
+Towards the last of December the indefatigable wife again performed the
+weary journey to Camden. McCalla's health had been impaired for some
+months, and was now declining; it was therefore necessary to make a
+strenuous effort to move the compassion of his enemies, and procure his
+release. Rawdon was in command, and she once more applied to him to
+obtain permission for her husband to go home with her. As might have
+been anticipated, her petition was refused: his lordship informed her
+that he could do nothing in the premises; but that if she would go to
+Winnsboro' and present her request to Lord Cornwallis, he might possibly
+be induced to give her an order for the liberation of the prisoner.
+
+To Winnsboro', accordingly, she made her way, determined to lose no time
+in presenting her application. It was on New Year's morning that she
+entered the village. The troops were under parade, and his lordship was
+engaged in reviewing them; there could be no admission, therefore, to
+his presence for some time, and she had nothing to do but remain a
+silent spectator of the imposing scene. A woman less energetic, and less
+desirous of improving every opportunity for the good of others, might
+have sought rest after the fatigues of her journey, during the hours her
+business had to wait; Sarah McCalla was one of heroic stamp, whose
+private troubles never caused her to forget what she might do for her
+country. She passed the time in noticing particularly every thing she
+saw, not knowing but that her report might do service. After the lapse
+of several hours, the interview she craved with Cornwallis was granted.
+He received her with courtesy and kindness, listened attentively to all
+she had to say, and appeared to feel pity for her distresses. But his
+polished expression of sympathy, to which her hopes clung with
+desperation, was accompanied with regret that he could not, consistently
+with the duties of his Majesty's service, comply unconditionally with
+her request. He expressed, nevertheless, entire willingness to enter
+into an exchange with General Sumter, releasing McCalla for any prisoner
+he had in his possession. Or he would accept the pledge of General
+Sumter that McCalla should not again serve until exchanged, and would
+liberate him on that security. "But, madam," he added, "it is Sumter
+himself who must stand pledged for the keeping of the parole. We have
+been too lenient heretofore, and have let men go who immediately made
+use of their liberty to take up arms against us."
+
+With this the long-tried wife was forced to be content, and she now saw
+the way clear to the accomplishment of her enterprise. She lost no time
+in returning home, and immediately set out for Charlotte to seek aid
+from the American general. She found Sumter at this place, nearly
+recovered of the wounds he had received in the action at Blackstock's,
+in November. Her appeal to him was at once favorably received. He gave
+her a few lines, stating that he would stand pledged for McCalla's
+continuance at home peaceably until he should be regularly exchanged.
+This paper was more precious than gold to the matron whose perseverance
+had obtained it; but it was destined to do her little good. She now made
+the best of her way homeward. After crossing the Catawba, she
+encountered the army of General Morgan, was stopped, being suspected to
+be a tory, and taken into his presence for examination. The idea that
+she could be thus suspected afforded her no little amusement, and she
+permitted the mistake to continue for some time, before she produced the
+paper in Sumter's hand-writing which she well knew would remove every
+difficulty. She then informed the General of her visit to Winnsboro' on
+the first of January, and her sight of the review of the troops. Morgan
+thanked her for the information and dismissed her, and without further
+adventure she arrived at her own house.
+
+A few days after her return, the British army, being on its march from
+Winnsboro', encamped on the plantation of John Service, in Chester
+district, and afterwards at Turkey creek. Mrs. McCalla went to one of
+those camps in the hope of seeing Lord Cornwallis. She succeeded in
+obtaining this privilege; his lordship recognised her as soon as she
+entered the camp, and greeted her courteously, questioning her as to her
+movements, and making many inquiries about Sumter and Morgan. On this
+last point she was on her guard, communicating no more information than
+she felt certain could give the enemy no manner of advantage, nor
+subject her friends to inconvenience. At length she presented to the
+noble Briton the paper which she imagined would secure her husband's
+freedom. What was her disappointment when he referred her to Lord
+Rawdon, as the proper person to take cognizance of the affair! The very
+name was a death-blow to her hopes, for she well knew she could expect
+nothing from his clemency. Remonstrance and entreaty were alike in vain;
+Cornwallis was a courteous man, but he knew how, with a bland smile and
+well-turned phrase of compliment, to refuse compliance even with a
+request that appealed so strongly to every feeling of humanity, as that
+of an anxious wife pleading for the suffering and imprisoned father of
+her children. She must submit, however, to the will of those in power;
+there was no resource but another journey to Camden, in worse than doubt
+of the success she had fancied just within her reach.
+
+It was a day or two after the battle of the Cowpens that she crossed the
+ferry on her way to Camden. She had not yet heard of that bloody action,
+but, observing that the guard was doubled at the ferry, concluded that
+something unusual had occurred. As she entered the village, she met her
+old friend Major Doyle, who stopped to speak to her. His first inquiry
+was if she had heard the news; and when she answered in the negative, he
+told her of the "melancholy affair" that had occurred at the Cowpens.
+The time, he observed, was most inauspicious for the business on which
+he knew she had come. "I fear, madam," he said, "that his lordship will
+not treat you well."
+
+"I have no hope," was her answer, "that he will let Thomas go home; but,
+sir, it is my duty to make efforts to save my husband. I will thank you
+to go with me to Lord Rawdon's quarters."
+
+Her reception was such as she had expected. As soon as Rawdon saw her,
+he cried angrily, "You here again, madam! Well--you want your husband--I
+dare say! Do you not know what the ---- rebels have been doing?"
+
+"I do not, sir," replied the dejected matron, for she saw that his mood
+was one of fury.
+
+"If we had hung them," he continued, "we should have been saved this.
+Madam! I order you most positively never to come into my presence
+again!"
+
+It was useless, Mrs. McCalla knew, to attempt to stem the tide; she did
+not therefore produce, nor even mention the paper given her by Sumter,
+nor apologise for the intrusion by saying that Lord Cornwallis had
+directed her to apply to him; but merely answered in a subdued and
+respectful tone by asking what she had done.
+
+"Enough!" exclaimed the irritated noble. "You go from one army to
+another, and Heaven only knows what mischief you do! Begone."
+
+She waited for no second dismissal, but could not refrain from saying,
+as she went out, in an audible voice, "My countrymen must right me."
+Lord Rawdon called her back and demanded what she was saying. She had
+learned by this time some lessons in policy, and answered, with a smile,
+"We are but simple country folk." His lordship probably saw through the
+deceit, for turning to his officer, he said, "Upon my life, Doyle, she
+is a wretch of a woman!" And thus she left him.
+
+That great event--the battle of the Cowpens--revived the spirits of the
+patriots throughout the country. Every where, as the news spread, men
+who had before been discouraged flew to arms. The action took place on
+the seventeenth of January, 1781; on the twenty-second of the same
+month, six wagons were loaded with corn at Wade's island, sixty miles
+down the Catawba for the use of General Davison's division. The whole
+whig country of Chester, York and Lancaster may be said to have risen in
+mass, and was rallying to arms. Mecklenburg, North Carolina, was again
+the scene of warlike preparation; for the whigs hoped to give the enemy
+another defeat at Cowans or Batisford on the Catawba. On the
+twenty-fourth of January, General Sumter crossed this river at
+Landsford, and received a supply of corn from Wade's island. His object
+was to cross the districts to the west, in the rear of the advancing
+British army, to arouse the country and gather forces as he went,
+threaten the English posts at Ninety-Six and Granby, and go on to
+recover the State. While Cornwallis marched from his encampment on
+Service's plantation, the whigs of Chester, under the gallant Captains
+John Mills and James Johnston, were hovering near, watching the
+movements of the hostile army as keenly as the eagle watches his
+intended prey. Choosing a fit opportunity, as they followed in the
+rear, they pounced upon a couple of British officers, one of whom was
+Major McCarter, at a moment when they had not the least suspicion of
+danger, took them prisoners in sight of the enemy, and made good their
+retreat. By means of this bold exploit the liberation of McCalla was
+brought about, at a time when his wife was wholly disheartened by her
+repeated and grievous disappointments. When General Sumter passed
+through the country, a cartel of exchange was effected, giving the two
+British officers in exchange for the prisoners of Chester district in
+Camden and Charleston.
+
+The person sent with the flag to accomplish this exchange in Camden, was
+Samuel Neely of Fishing creek. As he passed through the town to the
+quarters of Lord Rawdon, he was seen and recognized by the prisoners,
+and it may be supposed their hearts beat with joy at the prospect of
+speedy release. But in consequence of some mismanagement of the
+business, the unfortunate men were detained in jail several weeks
+longer. Neely was in haste to proceed to Charleston, being anxious, in
+the accomplishment of his mission in that city, to get his son Thomas
+out of the prison-ship, and in his hurry probably neglected some
+necessary formalities. His countrymen in Camden were kept in confinement
+after his return from Charleston with his son. Captain Mills was
+informed of this, and indignant at the supposed disrespect shown by Lord
+Rawdon to the cartel of General Sumter, wrote a letter of remonstrance
+to Rawdon, which he entrusted to Mrs. McCalla to be conveyed to him.
+
+Our heroine was accompanied on this journey by Mrs. Mary Nixon, for she
+judged it impolitic that the letter should be delivered by one so
+obnoxious to his lordship as herself. Still she deemed it her duty to be
+on the spot to welcome her liberated husband, supply all his wants, and
+conduct him home. The distance was traversed this time with lighter
+heart than before, for now she had no reason to fear disappointment.
+When they arrived at Camden, they went to the jail. John Adair was
+standing at a window; they saw and greeted each other, the women
+standing in the yard below. Perhaps in consequence of his advice, or
+prudential considerations on their part, they determined not to avail
+themselves of the good offices of Major Doyle on this occasion. Adair
+directed them to send the jailor up to him, and wrote a note introducing
+his sister to the acquaintance of Lord Rawdon. The two women then
+proceeded to the quarters of that nobleman. When they arrived at the
+gate, Mrs. McCalla stopped, saying she would wait there, and her
+companion proceeded by herself. She was admitted into the presence of
+Lord Rawdon, who read the note of introduction she handed to him, and
+observed, referring to the writer--that the small-pox had almost
+finished him; still, he had come very near escaping from the jail; that
+he was "a grand 'scape-gallows." On reading the letter of Captain Mills
+his color changed, and when he had finished it, turning to Mrs. Nixon,
+he said in an altered tone: "I am sorry these men have not been
+dismissed, as of right they ought." He immediately wrote a discharge for
+eleven of the prisoners, and put it into her hands, saying: "You can get
+them out, madam. I am very sorry they have been confined so many weeks
+longer than they should have been." At the same time he gave Mrs. Nixon
+a guinea. "This," he said, "will bear your expenses."
+
+His lordship accompanied her on her way out, and as she passed through
+the gate his eye fell on Mrs. McCalla, whom he instantly recognized.
+Walking to the spot where she stood near the gate, he said fiercely:
+"Did I not order you, madam, to keep out of my presence?" The matron's
+independent spirit flashed from her eyes, as she answered: "I had no
+wish, sir, to intrude myself on your presence; I stopped at the gate on
+purpose to avoid you." Unable to resist the temptation of speaking her
+mind for once, now that she had a last opportunity, she added: "I might
+turn the tables on you, sir, and ask, why did _you_ come out to the gate
+to insult a woman? I have received from you nothing but abuse. My
+distresses you have made sport of, and I ceased long since to expect
+anything from you but ill-treatment. I am now not your supplicant; I
+came to _demand_, as a right, the release of my husband!" So saying, she
+bowed to him contemptuously, wheeled about, and deliberately walked off,
+without stopping to see how her bold language was received. Mrs. Nixon
+hastened after her, pale as death, and at first too much frightened to
+speak. As soon as she found voice, she exclaimed: "Sally, you have
+ruined us, I am afraid! Why, he may put us both in jail!"
+
+Mrs. McCalla laughed outright. "It is not the first time, Mary," she
+replied, "that I have given him to understand I thought him a villain!"
+The two made their way back to the prison, but even after they got there
+Mrs. Nixon had not recovered from her terror. She was informed that it
+would be some time before the prisoners could be released. The
+blacksmith was then sent for, and came with his tools. The sound of the
+hammering in the apartments of the jail, gave the first intimation to
+the women who waited to greet their friends, that the helpless captives
+were chained to the floor. This precaution had been adopted not long
+before, in consequence of some of the prisoners having attempted an
+escape. They were then put in handcuffs or chained by the ankle. These
+men left the place of their long imprisonment and suffering in company
+with the two women, and as they marched through the streets of Camden,
+passing the British guard, they sang at the top of their voices the
+songs of the "liberty-men."
+
+
+
+
+INTREPIDITY OF MRS. ISRAEL.
+
+  He is not worthy of the honey comb,
+  That shuns the hive because the bees have stings.
+
+                                        SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+During the Revolution, Israel Israel, a true whig and a worthy farmer,
+residing on the banks of the Delaware, near Wilmington, was, for a short
+time, a prisoner on board the frigate Roebuck, directly opposite his own
+house and land. While thus situated, it was reported by some loyalists
+by whose treachery he had been betrayed into the hands of the enemy,
+that he had said repeatedly that "he would sooner drive his cattle as a
+present to George Washington, than receive thousands of dollars in
+British gold for them." The commander hearing the report, to be revenged
+on the rebel, sent a small detachment of soldiers to drive his cattle,
+which were in plain sight of the frigate, down to the Delaware, and have
+them slaughtered before their owner's eyes. Mrs. Israel,[26] who was
+young and sprightly, and brave as a Spartan, seeing the movements of
+the soldiers as she stood in her doorway, and divining their purpose as
+they marched towards the meadow where the cattle were grazing, called a
+boy about eight years old, and started off in great haste, to defeat, if
+possible, their marauding project. They threatened and she defied, till
+at last they fired at her. The cattle, more terrified than she,
+scattered over the fields; and as the balls flew thicker she called on
+the little boy "Joe" the louder and more earnestly to help, determined
+that the assailants should not have one of the cattle. _They did not._
+She drove them all into the barn-yard, when the soldiers, out of respect
+to her courage, or for some other cause, ceased their molestations and
+returned to the frigate.
+
+  [26] The maiden name of Mrs. Israel was Hannah Erwin. Her first meeting
+  with her husband was romantic enough. Mr. Israel had sailed in a sloop,
+  or packet, from Philadelphia, to visit New Castle where his mother and
+  family resided. He observed on deck an extremely pretty girl, hardly
+  seventeen years of age, and very neatly and tastefully dressed, with the
+  finest turned foot and ankle in the world. All who went on such voyages
+  were then obliged to furnish themselves with provisions; and his
+  attention was drawn by the young girl's kindly distribution of her
+  little stock, handing it about from one to another, till but little was
+  left for her own portion. In passing him, she modestly hesitated a
+  moment, and then offered him a share. This led to conversation; he
+  learned that she was the daughter of highly respectable parents, and
+  resided in Wilmington. Love at first sight was as common in those days
+  as now. After seeing his mother, he visited Wilmington; became better
+  acquainted, offered himself and was accepted: and on his marriage,
+  rented the farm above mentioned, and commenced life anew.--[Mrs.
+  Ellet.
+
+
+
+
+AN INCIDENT IN MISSIONARY LIFE.
+
+  Love's holy flame for ever burneth;
+  From heaven it came, to heaven returneth;
+  Too oft on earth a troubled guest,
+    ... at times oppressed.
+  It here is tried and purified,
+  Then hath in heaven its perfect rest.
+  It soweth here with toil and care,
+  But the harvest time of love is there.
+
+                                    SOUTHEY.
+
+
+No class of laborers in the broad harvest field of the world endure so
+many sacrifices of comfort and of home felicities as the missionaries to
+foreign countries. Of the trials peculiar to _mothers_ who go forth on
+such an errand of humanity, the keenest must be their separation from
+their children. The pernicious habits and influences of a pagan
+community, often render it absolutely necessary that their offspring
+should be sent to a civilized land to be educated. This duty, however
+painful, is imperative, and they who accuse the mother of hardness
+because she does it, are either grossly ignorant, or haters of truth.
+Many instances of heroic firmness and almost superhuman calmness under
+such trials, are on record, but one may stand as a type of the whole.
+
+Mrs. Comstock[27] of the Burmah Baptist mission felt called upon to part
+with her two children, whom God had given her while on the field of
+labor. The hour for separation came, and taking them by the hand, she
+led them down to the ship that was to bear them for ever from her sight.
+Having invoked the blessing of Heaven upon them, she gave each the
+parting kiss and, with streaming eyes, lifted her hands towards heaven
+and exclaimed: "My Saviour! I do this for thee."
+
+  [27] Sarah Davis Comstock was the wife of the Rev. Grover S. Comstock,
+  who was stationed at Kyouk Phyoo in the province of Arracan, Burmah. She
+  was born at Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1812 and died at Ramree, April
+  twenty-eighth, 1843.
+
+  Amid the jungles of the East,
+    Where gloomiest forms of sin are rife,
+  Like flowerets in a desert drear,
+    Her treasured ones had sprung to life.
+
+  And smiling round her, day by day,
+    Though cares unnumbered weigh her heart,
+  Their prattle, full of music tones,
+    Unceasing joy and hope impart.
+
+  Their little minds, like tender buds
+    In vernal hours, she sees unfold,
+  And young affection in their eyes
+    Is gleaming like a gem of gold.
+
+  But 'mid the toils that press her sore--
+    The spirit-wants of 'wildered ones--
+  These buds must often miss the dew,
+    And plead in vain for constant suns.
+
+  She sees their smiles, their music hears,
+    And feels affection's holy thrall;
+  But duty's voice, from out the skies,
+    In sweeter tones, is heard o'er all.
+
+  To Western climes, illumed by truth,
+    And blest with learning's sacred flowers,
+  These blossoms of her heart must go,
+    To bloom henceforth in stranger bowers.
+
+  She leads them to the waiting ship;
+    She kneels in anguish on the deck,
+  And while she breathes a silent prayer,
+    Their arms like tendrils twine her neck.
+
+  She tears her from the loved away,
+    Whom she on earth no more may see,
+  And looking up to heaven, exclaims,
+    "_My Saviour, I do this for thee!_"
+
+  Then hastens to her task again,
+    The pleasant task her Saviour's given,
+  That, finished all, she may ascend,
+    And lure the distant ones to heaven.
+
+
+
+
+A KIND-HEARTED CHIPPEWA.
+
+  Both men and women belie their nature
+  When they are not kind.
+
+                             BAILEY'S FESTUS.
+
+
+In the early settlement of Ohio, Daniel Convers was captured by the
+savages; but he had the good fortune to be purchased by a noble-hearted
+Indian whose wife possessed a kindred spirit. His condition, we are
+informed in the Pioneer History of Ohio, "was not that of a slave, but
+rather an adoption into the family as a son. The Indian's wife, whom he
+was directed to call mother, was a model of all that is excellent in
+woman, being patient, kind-hearted, humane and considerate to the wants
+and comfort of all around her, and especially so to their newly adopted
+son. To sum up all her excellences in a brief sentence of the captive's
+own language, she was 'as good a woman as ever lived.'"[28]
+
+  [28] Mr. Convers escaped from his Chippewa friends, at Detroit. Touching
+  the treatment he received from his adopted mother, a writer says: "How
+  few among the more civilized race of whites would ever imitate the
+  Christian charities of this untaught daughter of nature!"
+
+
+
+
+HUMANITY OF A CHEROKEE.
+
+            How poor an instrument
+  May do a noble deed.
+
+                            SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+During the Revolution, a young Shawanese Indian was captured by the
+Cherokees and sentenced to die at the stake. He was tied, and the usual
+preparations were made for his execution, when a Cherokee woman went to
+the warrior to whom the prisoner belonged, and throwing a parcel of
+goods at his feet, said she was a widow and would adopt the captive as
+her son, and earnestly plead for his deliverance. Her prayer was
+granted, and the prisoner taken under her care. He rewarded her by his
+fidelity, for, in spite of the entreaties of his friends, whom he was
+allowed to visit, he never left her.
+
+
+
+
+SELF-SACRIFICING SPIRIT OF THE MISSIONARY.
+
+    Thou know 'st not, Afric! sad of heart and blind,
+      Unskilled the precious Book of God to read;
+    Thou canst not know, what moved that soul refined,
+      Thy lot of wretchedness to heed,
+    And from her fireside, bright with hallowed glee,
+  To dare the boisterous surge and deadly clime for thee.
+
+                                           MRS. SIGOURNEY.
+
+
+We know not how one may exhibit greater benevolence than to offer life
+for the spiritual good of the heathen; and he virtually does this who
+goes to some, at least, of the missionary stations. Those in Africa are
+the most unhealthy, and their history presents a frightful bill of
+mortality. In his journal of January, 1846, Dr. Savage, of the
+Protestant Episcopal mission in Africa, states that during the nine
+years previous to that date, the whole number of missionaries under the
+patronage of the different Boards, in Africa, had been sixty-one, and of
+that number forty were then dead. American Baptists alone lost eleven
+between 1826 and 1848. Five of them were buried in the single town of
+Monrovia. With such facts as these, touching African missions, staring
+the disciple of Christ in the face, it must require no common degree of
+moral courage for him to embark in the enterprise.
+
+The following letter, by Miss Maria V. Chapin, of Vermont, was written
+prior to her leaving this country for West Africa, and breathes the
+sentiments of a self-sacrificing and heroic Christian. Multitudes of
+like examples, equally as noble, might be pointed out, but it seems to
+be needless: this letter may stand as a type of the spirit usually
+exhibited under similar circumstances. It was addressed to the Rev. Dr.
+Vaughan, then Secretary of the Foreign Committee of the Protestant
+Episcopal church:
+
+"The question of my personally engaging in a mission to the heathen, has
+long been before my mind, and received, as it claimed, my most serious
+and prayerful consideration. This great work is now brought nearer to my
+mind than I could ever before regard it, and I trust it does not appear
+the less desirable. I have considered the subject in every light, so far
+as I am able from the information I have respecting it, and I can never
+take up the question again, to find reasons for going. My mind is now
+settled as to the duty, should no unforeseen providence prevent, of
+leaving home and country for a heathen land. A long adieu to my kindred
+and friends will rend the heart; I feel already that it will; but at the
+same time, the prospect of doing good to some poor heathen soul will
+fill it with joy, and the hope of advancing, in ever so small a degree,
+the cause of my Redeemer, will be a constant feast to the soul. The
+silent tear of parental affection and solicitude would indeed overpower
+me, had I not confidence that He who thus afflicts, will support, my
+beloved parents. Neither, in the present case, can I think it proper to
+follow, altogether, the opinion of friends. With the smiles of my
+heavenly Father, I must be happy, though friends forsake me. I feel an
+inexpressible pleasure in commending them to God, assured that they will
+be enabled to give up their child without regret, in the hope that she
+will do good to perishing souls. And I have, also, that blessed hope,
+that, should we never again meet in this world, we shall be a happy
+family circle at the right hand of God. Still, I feel my own
+insufficiency to decide a question of such importance as that of leaving
+all that the heart holds most dear on earth, to encounter the toils and
+hardships of a missionary life. Indeed, I would not decide for myself. I
+trust solely to Him who has promised grace and strength. Though, at
+times, great weakness has constrained me to shrink at the prospect
+before me, I have been consoled and supported in the assurance that God
+will perfect strength in my weakness. I feel a desire to act in
+accordance with the will of God; to do nothing which would be
+displeasing in His sight. I think I am willing to be, and to do,
+anything for the sake of the glory of God; and if I can only be sure
+that I am wholly under the guidance of His spirit, I shall be fully
+satisfied. It is difficult, I know, to analyze one's feelings, and
+ascertain the real character of the motives by which we are actuated; I
+feel my liability to be deceived, and my need of Divine assistance. The
+only question which concerns me, is, are my motives pure and holy?
+Never would I bear the missionary standard, without having in my heart
+the missionary spirit. I have calmly and deliberately weighed the
+subject, and feel that no attraction from its novelty, no impulse from
+its moral dignity, can bear up, and carry forward any one, amidst the
+long continued labors of almost uniform sameness which you represented
+to me; nothing but a thorough conviction of being in the path of duty,
+nothing but the approving smile of Heaven, can keep one from
+despondency, from sinking into hopeless inactivity; but I have calmly
+and deliberately weighed the subject, and feel a willingness to give up
+comforts, and submit to privations, to forsake ease and endure toil, to
+assemble no more 'with the great congregation,' but seek the Lord in the
+wilderness, or in the desert--in short, to make every sacrifice of
+personal ease and gratification, for the one great object of making
+known a crucified Saviour to those who are perishing in ignorance and
+sin. Indeed, what sacrifice can be too great, if what is done for Him
+who bought us with his own blood can be called a sacrifice, for those to
+make, who have themselves experienced the efficacy of a Saviour's blood?
+I have reflected, that should I go out, cheered by the smiles of
+friends, and encouraged by the approbation of the churches, yet soon,
+amidst a people of strange speech, I shall see these smiles only in
+remembrance, and hear the voice of encouragement only in dying whispers
+across the ocean. Yet, when I have considered the command of Christ, 'Go
+ye and teach all nations,'--and when, in pouring out my soul on this
+subject to the Father of light, I have realized more of that sweet
+'peace which passeth all understanding;' objections have all dwindled to
+a point; I have been enabled, by the eye of faith, to discover the
+finger of God, pointing me to the benighted African, and have heard his
+voice saying, with the affection of a Father and the authority of a
+Sovereign, 'Come, follow me'--'He that loveth father or mother more than
+me, is not worthy of me;' and adding, for my encouragement, 'I will
+never leave thee nor forsake thee.' I do feel that God calls me to
+become a missionary, and do, with this belief, resolve to consider
+myself as devoted to that service, hoping that God will qualify me, and
+make me a faithful servant for Christ's sake."[29]
+
+  [29] This letter was written in the fall of 1841. Miss Chapin,
+  afterwards Mrs. Savage, embarked for Africa on the twenty-eighth of the
+  following January, and reached Cape Palmas on the twenty-fifth of March.
+  As might be anticipated, her labors soon closed. She died on the field,
+  in December, 1843.
+
+    "That life is long which answers life's great end."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+DARING EXPLOIT OF "TWO REBELS."
+
+  Think'st thou there dwells no courage but in breasts
+  That set their mail against the ringing spears,
+  When helmets are struck down? Thou little knowest
+  Of nature's marvels.
+
+                                              MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+During the sieges of Augusta and Cambridge, two young men of the name of
+Martin, belonging to Ninety-Six district, South Carolina, were in the
+army. Meanwhile their wives, who remained at home with their
+mother-in-law, displayed as much courage, on a certain occasion, as was
+exhibited, perhaps, by any female during the struggle for Independence.
+
+Receiving intelligence one evening that a courier, under guard of two
+British officers, would pass their house that night with important
+dispatches, Grace and Rachel Martin resolved to surprise the party and
+obtain the papers. Disguising themselves in their husbands' outer
+garments and providing themselves with arms, they waylaid the enemy.
+Soon after they took their station by the road-side, the courier and his
+escort made their appearance. At the proper moment, the disguised ladies
+sprang from their bushy covert, and presenting their pistols, ordered
+the party to surrender their papers. Surprised and alarmed, they obeyed
+without hesitation or the least resistance. The brave women having put
+them on parole, hastened home by the nearest route, which was a by-path
+through the woods, and dispatched the documents to General Greene by a
+single messenger, who probably had more courage than the trio that
+lately bore them.
+
+Strange to say, a few minutes after the ladies reached home, and just as
+they had doffed their male attire, the officers, retracing their steps,
+rode up to the house and craved accommodations for the night. The mother
+of the heroines asked them the cause of their so speedy return after
+passing her house, when they exhibited their paroles and said that "two
+rebels" had taken them prisoners. Here the young ladies, in a rallying
+mood, asked them if they had no arms, to which query they replied, that,
+although they had, they were arrested so suddenly that they had no time
+to use them. We have only to add that they were hospitably entertained,
+and the next morning took their leave of the women as ignorant of the
+residence of their captors as when first arrested.
+
+
+
+
+ELIZABETH MARTIN.
+
+  The mothers of our Forest-land!
+  Their bosoms pillowed _men_.
+
+                       W. D. GALLAGHER.
+
+  --A fine family is a fine thing.
+
+                                  BYRON.
+
+
+The mother-in-law of the two patriotic women spoken of in the preceding
+article, was a native of Caroline county, Virginia. Her maiden name was
+Marshall. On marrying Mr. Abram Martin, she removed to South Carolina.
+
+When the Revolutionary war broke out, she had seven sons old enough to
+enlist in their country's service; and as soon as the call to arms was
+heard, she said to them, "Go, boys, and fight for your country! fight
+till death, if you must, but never let your country be dishonored. Were
+I a man I would go with you."
+
+Several British officers once called at her house, and while receiving
+some refreshments, one of them asked her how many sons she had. She told
+him, eight; and when asked where they were, she boldly replied, "Seven
+of them are engaged in the service of their country." The officer
+sneeringly observed that she had enough of them. "No, sir, I wish I had
+fifty!" was her prompt and proud reply.
+
+Only one of those seven sons was killed during the war. He was a captain
+of artillery, served in the sieges of Savannah and Charleston, and was
+slain at the siege of Augusta. Soon after his death a British officer
+called on the mother, and in speaking of this son, inhumanly told her
+that he saw his brains blown out on the battle field. The reply she made
+to the monster's observation was: "He could not have died in a nobler
+cause."
+
+When Charleston was besieged, she had three sons in the place. She heard
+the report of cannon on the occasion, though nearly a hundred miles west
+of the besieged city. The wives of the sons were with her, and
+manifested great uneasiness while listening to the reports; nor could
+the mother control her feelings any better. While they were indulging in
+silent and, as we may suppose, painful reflections, the mother suddenly
+broke the silence by exclaiming, as she raised her hands: "Thank God!
+they are the children of the republic!"[30]
+
+  [30] Vide Women of the Revolution, vol. 1 p. 278.
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER'S EFFECTUAL PETITION.
+
+          What rhetoric didst thou use
+  To gain this mighty boon?
+
+                                  ADDISON.
+
+
+James M. Wilson was one of the unfortunate young men who engaged in the
+Cuban invasion, in 1851; and he was taken prisoner and sent to Spain.
+His mother petitioned for his release through President Fillmore, and so
+earnest, so full of the beauty of maternal love, and so touching was her
+appeal, that her request was granted, and the erring son was permitted
+to return to his mother's embrace. The following is a copy of the letter
+which she addressed to the President. It is said to have called forth
+flattering commendation from the heads of State and the highest
+encomiums from the Majesty of Spain.
+
+                                          NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 25, 1851.
+
+DEAR FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY:--To you I look for help. My dear son is one
+of the unfortunate prisoners to Spain. He is all the child I have; is
+only nineteen years old, not twenty-two, as stated. He was innocent and
+unsuspecting, and the more easily duped. He saw no means of making a
+support for himself and me, we being poor: he could get no employment;
+my health was bad; he therefore hoped to do something by going to Cuba.
+But, alas! I am worse than poor! Death would have been more welcome. His
+father died, when he was very young, in Texas, which makes him more dear
+to me. Oh! cruel fate, why have I lived to see this? Perhaps to suit
+some wise design. God's will be done, not mine! I have prayed for his
+life from the time he left; it was spared. Dear President, will it be
+possible for you to do any thing? Can you comfort me? I am wearing away.
+Methinks I cannot bear up under the idea of ten years; perhaps executed,
+or detained for life, or the climate cause his death. I feel for all of
+them, and pray for all. It was not my will that he should go; he was
+seduced into it by others. Dear father of the land of my birth, can you
+do any thing? Will you ask for their release? Methinks you will, and it
+would be granted. Will you feel offended with me for appealing to you
+for comfort? If so, I beg pardon. My distress has stimulated me to
+venture to dare to address the President. To whom else could I look for
+comfort? If you could but see me, I know you would pity me. If any one
+knew I had approached you, they might think I presumed much. Perhaps I
+do. Yet methinks you will view it in charity.
+
+      With all due respect to your Excellency.
+                                                   OPHELIA P. TALBOT.
+
+
+
+
+NOTEWORTHY INTEGRITY.
+
+  Honesty, even by itself, though making many adversaries
+  Whom prudence might have set aside, or charity have softened,
+  Evermore will prosper at the last.
+
+                                                            TUPPER.
+
+
+We have often read an interesting story of a stockbroker who, just
+before his death, laid a wager on parole with a Parisian capitalist; and
+a few weeks after his death, the latter visited the widow and gave her
+to understand that her late husband had lost a bet of sixteen thousand
+francs. She went to her secretary, took out her pocket-book, and counted
+bank notes to the stated amount, when the capitalist thus addressed her:
+"Madame, as you give such convincing proof that you consider the wager
+binding, _I_ have to pay you sixteen thousand francs. Here is the sum,
+for _I_ am the loser, and not your husband."
+
+An act that, in principle, matches the above, came to light not long
+since in Philadelphia. During the speculations of 1837-38, Mr. C., a
+young merchant of that city, possessed of a handsome fortune, caught the
+mania, entered largely into its operations, and for a time was
+considered immensely rich. But when the great revulsion occurred he was
+suddenly reduced to bankruptcy. His young wife immediately withdrew
+from the circles of wealth and fashion, and adapted her expenses, family
+and personal, to her altered circumstances.
+
+At the time of Mr. C.'s failure, his wife was in debt to Messrs. Stewart
+and Company, merchants of Philadelphia, about two hundred dollars for
+articles which she had used personally. This debt, she had no means of
+liquidating. It became barred by the statute of limitation, before Mr.
+C. became solvent, though his circumstances gradually improved. After
+the lapse of twelve years, and when the creditors had looked upon the
+debt as lost, Mrs. C. was able to take the principle, add to it twelve
+years' interest, enclose the whole in a note and address it to Messrs.
+Stewart and Company.[31]
+
+  [31] Messrs. Stewart and Company, upon the receipt of the money,
+  addressed a note in reply to Mrs. C., in which they requested her
+  acceptance of the accompanying gift, as a slight testimonial of their
+  high appreciation of an act so honorable and so rare as to call forth
+  unqualified admiration. Accompanying the letter was sent a superb
+  brocade silk dress, and some laces of exquisite texture and great
+  value.--[Philadelphia Enquirer.
+
+
+
+
+A FAITHFUL MOTHER.
+
+  --Her pure and holy spirit now
+  Doth intercede at the eternal throne.
+
+                                MISS LANDON.
+
+
+The following anecdote strikingly illustrates the strength of maternal
+love, the beauty of faith, and the efficacy of prayer. It was related by
+a blind preacher:
+
+"When I was about eighteen years of age, there was a dancing party in
+Middleboro, Massachusetts, which I was solicited to attend, and act, as
+usual, in the capacity of musician. I was fond of such scenes of
+amusements then, and I readily assented to the request. I had a pious
+mother; and she earnestly remonstrated against my going. But, at length,
+when all her expostulations and entreaties failed in changing my
+purpose, she said: 'Well, my son, I shall not forbid your going, but
+remember, that all the time you spend in that gay company, I shall spend
+in praying for you at home.' I went to the ball, but I was like the
+stricken deer, carrying an arrow in his side. I began to play; but my
+convictions sank deeper and deeper, and I felt miserable indeed. I
+thought I would have given the world to have been rid of that mother's
+prayers. At one time I felt so wretched and so overwhelmed with my
+feelings, that I ceased playing and dropped my musical instrument from
+my hand. There was another young person there who refused to dance; and,
+as I learned, her refusal was owing to feelings similar to my own, and
+perhaps they arose from a similar cause. My mother's prayers were not
+lost. That was the last ball I ever attended, except _one_, where I was
+invited to play again, but went and prayed and preached _instead_, till
+the place was converted into a Bochim, a place of weeping. The
+convictions of that wretched night never wholly left me, till they left
+me at the feet of Christ, and several of my young companions in sin ere
+long were led to believe and obey the gospel also."
+
+
+
+
+ANECDOTE OF MRS. SPAULDING OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.[32]
+
+  Through the deep wilderness, where scarce the sun
+  Can cast his darts, along the winding path
+  The pioneer is treading.
+
+                                                STREET.
+
+                            An energy
+  A spirit that will not be shaken.
+
+                                                WILLIS.
+
+
+One of the first two settlers of Northumberland, New Hampshire, was
+Daniel Spaulding, who removed thither in the summer of 1767. On the way
+to his new home, with his wife and child, the last burnt himself so
+badly at Plymouth that the mother was obliged to remain and take care of
+him, while Mr. Spaulding proceeded to the end of the journey. She soon
+became uneasy, and, anxious to join her husband, started off with her
+child, twenty-one months old, to travel twenty-six miles through the
+wilderness. A friend who had agreed to accompany her the whole distance
+with a horse, returned after traveling about one third of the way.
+Undaunted and persevering, she pushed on, alone and on foot; waded
+through Baker's river with her child in her arms; was overtaken by a
+heavy "thunder gust" in the afternoon, and thoroughly drenched; seated
+herself beside a tree when darkness appeared, and held her child in her
+lap through a long and sleepless night; resumed her journey early the
+next morning; waded through a small pond, with the water waist-high;
+pushed on to another river, which, though swollen by the rain of the
+preceding day and looking rapid and terrifying, she forded in safety;
+and at eleven o'clock that day, the second of her journey, she met her
+husband, who was on his way back with a horse for her accommodation.[33]
+
+  [32] The substance of this anecdote we find in the second number of the
+  first volume of a periodical called "Historical Collections," published
+  nearly thirty years ago at Concord, New Hampshire, and edited by J.
+  Farmer and J. B. Moore. The anecdote was communicated by Adino N.
+  Brackett, Esq., of Lancaster, and appeared in the June number for 1822.
+
+  [33] This pioneer matron of northern New Hampshire, was living at
+  Lancaster, in 1822, then in her eighty-second year. She was a
+  descendant, "in the third degree," of Mrs. Dustin, the heroine of
+  Penacook.
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF COLONEL THOMAS.
+
+  Then since there is no other way but fight or die,
+  Be resolute, my lord, for victory.
+
+                                            SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Jane Thomas, wife of John Thomas, Colonel of the Spartan regiment of
+South Carolina, was a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania. She was a
+woman of remarkable coolness and intrepidity, as a single act of hers,
+in the times that tried _women's_ souls, plainly indicates.
+
+Governor Rutledge having stored a quantity of arms and ammunition in the
+house of Colonel Thomas, under a guard of twenty-five men, the tories
+were determined to obtain these munitions. To this end they sent a large
+party under Colonel More of North Carolina. Apprised of their approach
+and not daring to engage with a force so superior, Colonel Thomas fled
+with his twenty-five soldiers, taking along as much ammunition as could
+be conveniently carried. Two young men and the women were now the sole
+occupants of the house. The tories marched up to the door, but instead
+of being invited by the ladies to enter, they were ordered off the
+premises. Not choosing to obey the commands of the mistress, they
+commenced firing into the logs of the house. The compliment was
+instantly returned from the upper story; and the women now loading the
+guns for the older of the two young men to discharge, a constant and
+perilous firing was kept up from the chamber, which soon made the
+assailants desperate. They forthwith attempted to demolish the "batten
+door," but it was too strongly barricaded. Finding that themselves were
+likely to share a worse fate then the door, they finally obeyed the
+original orders of the intrepid mistress; withdrew from the premises and
+fled. Mrs. Thomas soon afterwards descended, and opening the door, there
+met her returning husband.--The ammunition saved on that occasion by the
+courage of a woman, was the main supply, it is said, of Sumter's army in
+the skirmishes at Rocky Mount and Hanging Rock.
+
+
+
+
+EXEMPLARY PIETY.
+
+  I've pored o'er many a yellow page
+    Of ancient wisdom, and have won,
+  Perchance, a scholar's name--but sage
+    Or bard have never taught thy son
+  Lessons so dear, so fraught with holy truth,
+  As those his mother's faith shed on his youth.
+
+                                  GEORGE W. BETHUNE.
+
+
+A lady in the district of Beaufort, South Carolina, at the age of
+seventy-six, anxious once more to enjoy the society of all her children
+and grandchildren, invited them to spend a day with her. The interview
+was permitted and was very affecting. It "was conducted just as we
+should suppose piety and the relation sustained by the parties would
+dictate. She acknowledged God in this, as well as in every other way.
+Her eldest son, who is a minister of the Gospel in the Baptist
+denomination, commenced the exercises of the day, by reading the
+Scriptures and prayer. The whole family then joined in the song of
+praise to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. This service was
+concluded by a suitable exhortation from the same person. Eighty-five of
+her regular descendants were present. Forty-four children and
+grandchildren, arrived at maturity, sat at the same table at dinner. Of
+that number, forty-three professed faith in Jesus Christ; of the four
+surviving sons of this excellent lady, two were preachers of the Gospel,
+and the other two deacons in the Baptist church.
+
+"Two of her grandsons were also ministers of the same church. When the
+day was drawing to a close the matron called her numerous children
+around her, gave them each salutary advice and counsel, and bestowed
+upon all her parting blessing. The day was closed by her youngest son,
+with exercises similar to those with which it commenced.
+
+"Mrs. ---- lived eight years after this event, leaving, at her death,
+one hundred and fifteen lineal descendants, in which large number not a
+swearer nor drunkard is to be found."[34]
+
+  [34] Jabez Burns, D. D.
+
+
+
+
+BOLD ADVENTURE OF A PATRIOTIC GIRL.
+
+                          Stand
+  Firm for your country: *    *
+     *    * it were a noble life,
+  To be found dead embracing her.
+
+                                       JOHNSON.
+
+                      There is strength
+  Deep bedded in our hearts, of which we reck
+  But little.
+
+                                    MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+We find the following incident in the first volume of American
+Anecdotes, "original and select." The young heroine of the adventure
+afterwards married a rich planter named Threrwits, who lived on the
+Congaree. She has been dead more than half a century, but her name
+should be remembered while this republic is permitted to stand.
+
+"At the time General Greene retreated before Lord Rawdon from
+Ninety-Six, when he had passed Broad river, he was very desirous to send
+an order to General Sumter, who was on the Wateree, to join him, that
+they might attack Rawdon, who had divided his force. But the General
+could find no man in that part of the state who was bold enough to
+undertake so dangerous a mission. The country to be passed through for
+many miles was full of blood thirsty tories, who, on every occasion that
+offered, imbrued their hands in the blood of the whigs. At length Emily
+Geiger presented herself to General Greene, and proposed to act as his
+messenger: and the General, both surprised and delighted, closed with
+her proposal. He accordingly wrote a letter and delivered it, and at the
+same time communicated the contents of it verbally, to be told to Sumter
+in case of accidents.
+
+"Emily was young, but as to her person or adventures on the way, we have
+no further information, except that she was mounted on horseback, upon a
+side-saddle, and on the second day of her journey she was intercepted by
+Lord Rawdon's scouts. Coming from the direction of Greene's army, and
+not being able to tell an untruth without blushing, Emily was suspected
+and confined to a room; and as the officer in command had the modesty
+not to search her at the time, he sent for an old tory matron as more
+fitting for that purpose. Emily was not wanting in expedient, and as
+soon as the door was closed and the bustle a little subsided, she _ate
+up the letter_, piece by piece. After a while the matron arrived, and
+upon searching carefully, nothing was to be found of a suspicious nature
+about the prisoner, and she would disclose nothing. Suspicion being thus
+allayed, the officer commanding the scouts suffered Emily to depart
+whither she said she was bound; but she took a route somewhat
+circuitous to avoid further detention, and soon after struck into the
+road to Sumter's camp, where she arrived in safety. Emily told her
+adventure, and delivered Greene's verbal message to Sumter, who, in
+consequence, soon after joined the main army at Orangeburgh."
+
+
+
+
+MRS. CALDWELL AND THE TORIES.
+
+      --The spell is thine that reaches
+  The heart.
+
+                                   HALLECK.
+
+  Prudence protects and guides us.
+
+                                     YOUNG.
+
+
+Rachel Caldwell was the daughter of the Rev. Alexander Craighead and the
+wife of David Caldwell, D. D., whose history is somewhat identified with
+that of North Carolina. For several years he was at the head of a
+classical school at Guilford in that state, and in the vocation of
+teacher he had, at times, the efficient aid of his faithful and talented
+companion. She was a woman of exalted piety; and such a degree of
+success attended her "labor of love" in the school, that it became a
+common saying that "Dr. Caldwell makes the scholars, and Mrs. Caldwell
+makes the preachers."
+
+More than once during the Revolution, the house of Dr. Caldwell, who was
+a stanch friend of his country, was assailed by tories:[35] and on one
+occasion, while his wife was alone and the marauders were collecting
+plunder, they broke open a chest or drawer and took therefrom a
+table-cloth which was the gift of her mother. She seized it the moment
+the soldier had it fairly in his hand, and made an effort to wrest it
+from him. Finding she would be the loser in a trial of physical
+strength, she instinctively resorted to the power of rhetoric. With her
+grasp still firm on the precious article, she turned to the rest of the
+plunderers, who stood awaiting the issue of the contest, and in a
+beseeching tone and with words warm with eloquence, asked if some of
+their number had not wives for the love of whom they would assist her,
+and spare the one dear memorial of a mother's affection! Her plea,
+though short, was powerful, and actually moved one man to tears. With
+rills of sympathy running down his cheeks, he assured her he had a
+wife--a wife that he loved--and that for her sake the table-cloth should
+be given up. This was accordingly done, and no further rudeness was
+offered.
+
+  [35] The tories not only destroyed his property, but drove him into the
+  woods, where he was often obliged to pass nights; and some of his
+  escapes from captivity or death are said to have been almost
+  miraculous.--He resumed his labors as teacher and pastor after the war;
+  and continued to preach till his ninety-sixth year. He died in 1824, at
+  the age of ninety-nine. His wife died the following year, in the
+  eighty-seventh of her age.
+
+In the fall of 1780, a "way-worn and weary" stranger, bearing dispatches
+from Washington to Greene, stopped at her house and asked for supper and
+lodgings. Before he had eaten, the house began to be surrounded by
+tories, who were in pursuit of him. Mrs. Caldwell led him out at a
+back-door, unseen in the darkness, and ordered him to climb a large
+locust tree, and there remain till the house was plundered and the
+pursuers had departed. He did so. Mrs. Caldwell lost her property, but
+her calmness and prudence saved the express, and that was what most
+concerned the patriotic woman.
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF RANDOLPH
+
+       She led me first to God;
+  Her words and prayers were my young spirit's dew;
+       For when she used to leave
+       The fireside every eve,
+  I knew it was for prayer that she withdrew.
+
+  PIERPONT.
+
+
+The biographers of John Randolph mention the interesting fact that his
+mother taught him to pray. This all-important maternal duty made an
+impression on his heart. He lived at a period when skepticism was
+popular, particularly in some political circles in which he had occasion
+to mingle; and he has left on record his testimony in regard to the
+influence of his mother's religious instruction. Speaking of the subject
+of infidelity to an intimate friend, he once made the following
+acknowledgment:
+
+"I believe I should have been swept away by the flood of French
+infidelity if it had not been for one thing--the remembrance of the time
+when my sainted mother used to make me kneel by her side, taking my
+little hands folded in hers, and cause me to repeat the Lord's Prayer."
+
+
+
+
+CORNELIA BEEKMAN.
+
+  The smallest worm will turn when trodden on,
+  And doves will peck, in safeguard of their brood.
+
+                                              SHAKESPEARE.
+
+                  The vaunts
+  And menace of the vengeful enemy
+  Pass like the gust, that roared and died away
+  In the distant tree.
+
+                                                COLERIDGE.
+
+
+Mrs. Cornelia Beekman was a daughter of Pierre Van Cortlandt, Lieutenant
+Governor of New York from 1777 to 1795; and she seems to have inherited
+her father's zeal for the rights of his country. She was born at the
+Cortlandt manor house, "an old fashioned stone mansion situated on the
+banks of the Croton river," in 1752; was married when about seventeen or
+eighteen, to Gerard G. Beekman; and died on the fourteenth of March,
+1847. A few anecdotes will illustrate the noble characteristics of her
+nature.[36]
+
+  [36] For a fuller account of her life, see the second volume of Mrs.
+  Ellet's Women of the Revolution, to which work we are indebted for the
+  substance of these anecdotes.
+
+When the British were near her residence, which was a short distance
+from Peekskill, a soldier entered the house one day and went directly to
+the closet, saying, in reply to a question she put to him, that he
+wanted some brandy. She reproved him for his boldness and want of
+courtesy, when he threatened to stab her with a bayonet. Unalarmed by
+his oath-charged threats--although an old, infirm negro was the only aid
+at hand--she in turn threatened him, declaring that she would call her
+husband and have his conduct reported to his commander. Her sterness and
+intrepidity, coupled with her threats, subdued the insolent coward, and,
+obeying her orders, he marched out of the house.
+
+A party of tories, under command of Colonels Bayard and Fleming, once
+entered her house, and, with a great deal of impudence and in the most
+insulting tone, asked if she was not "the daughter of that old rebel,
+Pierre Van Cortlandt?" "I am the daughter of Pierre Van Cortlandt, but
+it becomes not such as you to call my father a rebel," was her dauntless
+reply. The person who put the question now raised his musket, at which
+menacing act, she coolly reprimanded him and ordered him out of doors.
+His heart melted beneath the fire of her eye, and, abashed, he sneaked
+away.
+
+In one instance, a man named John Webb, better known at that time as
+"Lieutenant Jack," left in her charge a valise which contained a new
+suit of uniform and some gold. He stated he would send for it when he
+wanted it, and gave her particular directions not to deliver it to any
+one without a written order from himself or his brother Samuel. About
+two weeks afterwards, a man named Smith rode up to the door in haste,
+and asked her husband, who was without, for Lieutenant Jack's valise.
+She knew Smith, and had little confidence in his _professed_ whig
+principles; so she stepped to the door and reminded her husband that it
+would be necessary for the messenger to show his order before the valise
+could be given up.
+
+"You know me very well, Mrs. Beekman; and when I assure you that
+Lieutenant Jack sent me for the valise, you will not refuse to deliver
+it to me, as he is greatly in want of his uniform."
+
+"I do know you very well--_too well_ to give you the valise without a
+written order from the owner or the Colonel."
+
+Soon after this brief colloquy, Smith went away without the valise, and
+it was afterwards ascertained that he was a rank tory, and at that very
+hour in league with the British. Indeed Major Andre was concealed in his
+house that day, and had Smith got possession of Webb's uniform, as the
+latter and Andre were about the same size, it is likely the celebrated
+spy would have escaped and changed the reading of a brief chapter of
+American history. Who can tell how much this republic is indebted to the
+prudence, integrity, courage and patriotism of Cornelia Beekman?
+
+  [Illustration: WEST AND HIS MOTHER.]
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF WEST.
+
+  O wondrous power! how little understood--
+    Entrusted to the mother's mind alone--
+  To fashion genius, form the soul for good,
+    Inspire a West, or train a Washington.
+
+                                      MRS. HALE.
+
+
+When Benjamin West was seven years old, he was left, one summer day,
+with the charge of an infant niece. As it lay in the cradle and he was
+engaged in fanning away the flies, the motion of the fan pleased the
+child, and caused it to smile. Attracted by the charms thus created,
+young West felt his instinctive passion aroused; and seeing paper, pen
+and some red and black ink on a table, he eagerly seized them and made
+his first attempt at portrait painting. Just as he had finished his
+maiden task, his mother and sister entered. He tried to conceal what he
+had done, but his confusion arrested his mother's attention and she
+asked him what he had been doing. With reluctance and timidity, he
+handed her the paper, begging, at the same time, that she would not be
+offended. Examining the drawing for a short time, she turned to her
+daughter and, with a smile, said, "I declare, he has made a likeness of
+Sally." She then gave him a fond kiss, which so encouraged him that
+he promised her some drawings of the flowers which she was then holding,
+if she wished to have them.
+
+The next year a cousin sent him a box of colors and pencils, with large
+quantities of canvas prepared for the easel, and half a dozen
+engravings. Early in the morning after their reception, he took all his
+materials into the garret, and for several days forgot all about school.
+His mother suspected that the box was the cause of his neglect of his
+books, and going into the garret and finding him busy at a picture, she
+was about to reprimand him; but her eye fell on some of his
+compositions, and her anger cooled at once. She was so pleased with them
+that she loaded him with kisses and promised to secure his father's
+pardon for his neglect of school.
+
+How much the world is indebted to Mrs. West for her early and constant
+encouragement of the immortal artist. He often used to say, after his
+reputation was established, "_My mother's kiss made me a painter!_"
+
+
+
+
+HEROIC ENDURANCE.
+
+  'Tis not now who is stout and bold,
+  But who bears hunger best and cold.
+
+                                        BUTLER.
+
+
+On the twenty-seventh of July, 1755, Mrs. Howe, of Hinsdale, New
+Hampshire, with seven children and two other women and their children,
+was taken captive by the Indians, and marched through the wilderness to
+Crown Point. There Mrs. Howe, with some of the other prisoners, remained
+several days. The rest were conducted to Montreal to be sold, but the
+French refusing to buy them, they were all brought back, except Mrs.
+Howe's youngest daughter, who was presented to Governor De Vaudreuil.
+
+Ere long the whole party started for St. Johns by water. Night soon came
+on; a storm arose; the darkness became intense; the canoes separated,
+and just before day Mrs. Howe was landed on the beach, ignorant of the
+destiny of her children. Raising a pillow of earth with her hands, she
+laid herself down to rest with her infant on her bosom. A toilsome day's
+journey brought her and her captors to St. Johns, and pressing onward
+they soon reached St. Francis, the home of the latter. A council having
+been called and the customary ceremonies performed, Mrs. Howe, with her
+infant left to her care, was put in the charge of a squaw, whom she was
+ordered to call mother.
+
+"At the approach of winter, the squaw, yielding to her earnest
+solicitations, set out with Mrs. Howe and her child, for Montreal, to
+sell them to the French. On the journey both she and her infant were in
+danger of perishing from hunger and cold; the lips of the child being at
+times so benumbed, as to be incapable of imbibing its proper
+nourishment. After her arrival in the city, she was offered to a French
+lady; who, seeing the child in her arms, exclaimed, 'I will not buy a
+woman, who has a child to look after.' I shall not attempt to describe
+the feelings with which this rebuff was received by a person who had no
+higher ambition than to become a slave. Few of our race have hearts made
+of such unyielding materials, as not to be broken by long-continued
+abuse; and Mrs. Howe was not one of this number. Chilled with cold, and
+pinched with hunger, she saw in the kitchen of this inhospitable house
+some small pieces of bread, floating in a pail amid other fragments,
+destined to feed swine; and eagerly skimmed them for herself. When her
+Indian mother found that she could not dispose of her, she returned by
+water to St. Francis, where she soon died of small pox, which she had
+caught at Montreal. Speedily after, the Indians commenced their winter
+hunting. Mrs. Howe was then ordered to return her child to the captors.
+The babe clung to her bosom; and she was obliged to force it away. They
+carried it to a place called 'Messiskow,' on the borders of the river
+Missiscoui, near the north end of lake Champlain upon the eastern shore.
+The mother soon followed, and found it neglected, lean, and almost
+perishing with hunger. As she pressed its face to her cheek, the eager,
+half-starved infant bit her with violence. For three nights she was
+permitted to cherish it in her bosom; but in the day-time she was
+confined to a neighboring wigwam, where she was compelled to hear its
+unceasing cries of distress, without a possibility of contributing to
+its relief.
+
+"The third day the Indians carried her several miles up the lake. The
+following night she was alarmed by what is usually called the great
+earthquake, which shook the region around her with violent concussions.
+Here, also, she was deserted for two nights in an absolute wilderness;
+and, when her Indian connections returned, was told by them that two of
+her children were dead. Very soon after, she received certain
+information of the death of her infant. Amid the anguish awakened by
+these melancholy tidings, she saw a distant volume of smoke; and was
+strongly inclined to make her way to the wigwam from which it ascended.
+As she entered the door, she met one of the children, reported to be
+dead; and to her great consolation found that he was in comfortable
+circumstances. A good-natured Indian soon after informed her, that the
+other was alive on the opposite side of the lake, at the distance of a
+few miles only. Upon this information she obtained leave to be absent
+for a single day; and, with the necessary directions from her informant,
+set out for the place. On her way she found her child, lean and hungry,
+and proceeded with it to the wigwam. A small piece of bread, presented
+to her by the Indian family in which she lived, she had carefully
+preserved for this unfortunate boy; but, to avoid offending the family
+in which he lived, was obliged to distribute it in equal shares to all
+the children. The little creature had been transported at the sight of
+his mother; and, when she announced her departure, fell at her feet, as
+if he had been dead. Yet she was compelled to leave him; and satisfied
+herself, as far as she was able, by commending him to the protection of
+God. The family in which she lived, passed the following summer at St.
+Johns. It was composed of the daughter and son-in-law of her late
+mother. The son-in-law went out early in the season on an expedition
+against the English settlements. At their return, the party had a
+drinking frolic, their usual festival after excursions of this nature.
+Drunkenness regularly enhances the bodily strength of a savage, and
+stimulates his mind to madness. In this situation he will insult, abuse,
+and not unfrequently murder, his nearest friends. The wife of this man
+had often been a sufferer by his intemperance. She therefore proposed to
+Mrs. Howe that they should withdraw themselves from the wigwam until
+the effects of his present intoxication were over. They accordingly
+withdrew. Mrs. Howe returned first, and found him surly and ill-natured,
+because his wife was absent. In the violence of his resentment he took
+Mrs. Howe, hurried her to St. Johns, and sold her for a trifling sum to
+a French gentleman, named Saccapee.
+
+"Upon a little reflection, however, the Indian perceived that he had
+made a foolish bargain. In a spirit of resentment he threatened to
+assassinate Mrs. Howe; and declared that if he could not accomplish his
+design, he would set fire to the fort. She was therefore carefully
+secreted, and the fort watchfully guarded, until the violence of his
+passion was over. When her alarm was ended, she found her situation as
+happy in the family, as a state of servitude would permit. Her new
+master and mistress were kind, liberal, and so indulgent as rarely to
+refuse anything that she requested. In this manner they enabled her
+frequently to befriend other English prisoners, who, from time to time,
+were brought to St. Johns.
+
+"Yet even in this humane family she met with new trials. Monsieur
+Saccapee, and his son, an officer in the French army, became at the same
+time passionately attached to her. This singular fact is a forcible
+proof that her person, mind, and manners, were unusually agreeable. Nor
+was her situation less perplexing than singular. The good will of the
+whole family was indispensable to her comfort, if not to her safety; and
+her purity she was determined to preserve at the hazard of her life. In
+the house where both her lovers resided, conversed with her every day,
+and, together with herself, were continually under the eye of her
+mistress, the lovers a father and a son, herself a slave, and one of
+them her master, it will be easily believed that she met with very
+serious embarrassments in accomplishing her determination. In this
+situation she made known her misfortunes to Colonel Peter Schuyler of
+Albany, then a prisoner at St. Johns. As soon as he had learned her
+situation he represented it to the Governor De Vaudreuil. The Governor
+immediately ordered young Saccapee into the army; and enjoined on his
+father a just and kind treatment of Mrs. Howe. His humanity did not stop
+here. Being informed that one of her daughters was in danger of being
+married to an Indian of St. Francis, he rescued her from this miserable
+destiny, and placed her in a nunnery with her sister. Here they were
+both educated as his adopted children.
+
+"By the good offices of Colonel Schuyler, also, who advanced
+twenty-seven hundred livres for that purpose, and by the assistance of
+several other gentlemen, she was enabled to ransom herself, and her four
+sons. With these children she set out for New England in the autumn of
+1758, under the protection of Colonel Schuyler, leaving her two
+daughters behind.[37] As she was crossing lake Champlain, young
+Saccapee came on board the boat, in which she was conveyed; gave her a
+handsome present; and bade her adieu. Colonel Schuyler being obliged to
+proceed to Albany with more expedition than was convenient for his
+fellow travelers, left them in the care of Major Putnam, afterwards
+Major-General Putnam. From this gentleman she received every kind
+office, which his well known humanity could furnish; and arrived without
+any considerable misfortune at the place of their destination."[38]
+
+  [37] After the treaty of peace at Paris, Mrs. Howe went to Canada and
+  brought home the younger daughter, who left the nunnery with a great
+  deal of reluctance. The older went to France with Monsieur Dr.
+  Vaudreuil, and was there married to a man named Louis.
+
+  [38] Dwight's Travels.
+
+
+
+
+MATERNAL HEROISM
+
+  Is there a man, into the lion's den
+  Who dares intrude to snatch his young away?
+
+                                         THOMSON.
+
+
+During the campaign of 1777, a soldier of the Fifty-fifth regiment was
+sitting with his wife at breakfast, when a bomb entered the tent, and
+fell between the table and a bed where their infant was sleeping. The
+mother urged her husband to go round the bomb and seize the child, his
+dress being, from the position of things, more favorable than hers for
+the prosecution of the dangerous task: but he refused, and running out
+of the tent, begged his wife to follow, saying that the fusee was just
+ready to communicate with the deadly combustibles. The fond mother,
+instead of obeying, hastily tucked up her garments to prevent their
+coming in contact with the bomb; leaped past it; caught the child, and
+in a moment was out of danger.
+
+In December, 1850, the house of Peter Knight, of Bath, Maine, caught
+fire, and a small child, asleep in the room where the flames burst out,
+would have perished but for the self-possession and daring of its
+mother. One or two unsuccessful attempts had been made by others to
+rescue it, when the mother, always the last to despair, made a desperate
+effort, and secured the prize. When the two were taken from the window
+of the second story, the dress of Mrs. Knight was in flames!
+
+
+
+
+A MODERN DORCAS.
+
+  'Tis truth divine, exhibited on earth,
+  Gives charity her being.
+
+                                      COWPER.
+
+
+Isabella, the wife of Dr. John Graham, was born in Scotland, on the
+twenty-ninth of July, 1742. At the age of seventeen she became a member
+of the church in Paisley of which the Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, afterwards
+President of Princeton college, was the pastor. Dr. Graham was a
+physician of the same town. Her marriage took place in 1765. The next
+year Dr. Graham was ordered to join his regiment then stationed in
+Canada. After spending a few months at Montreal, he removed to Fort
+Niagara, where he remained in the garrison four years.
+
+Just before the Revolutionary war the sixteenth regiment of Royal
+Americans was ordered to the island of Antigua. Thither Dr. Graham
+removed with his family, and there he died in 1774. Mrs. Graham then
+returned to her native land.
+
+In 1789 she came to this country, and permanently settled in the city of
+New York. She there opened a school for young ladies, and gained a high
+reputation in her profession. She united with the Presbyterian church
+of which John Mason, D. D., was pastor, and was noted, through all the
+latter years of her life, for the depth of her piety and her Christian
+benevolence. She made it a rule to give a tenth part of her earnings to
+religious and charitable purposes. In 1795 she received, at one time, an
+advance of a thousand pounds on the sale of a lease which she held on
+some building lots; and not being used to such large profits, she said,
+on receiving the money, "Quick, quick, let me appropriate the tenth
+before my heart grows hard."
+
+Two years afterwards, a society was organized and chartered, for the
+relief of poor widows; and Mrs. Graham was appointed first directress.
+Each of the managers had a separate district, and she had the
+superintendence of the whole. A house was purchased by the society,
+where work was received for the employment of the widows; and a school
+was opened for the instruction of their children. "Besides establishing
+this school, Mrs. Graham selected some of the widows, best qualified for
+the task, and engaged them, for a small compensation, to open day
+schools for the instruction of the children of widows, in distant parts
+of the city: she also established two Sabbath schools, one of which she
+superintended herself, and the other she placed under the care of her
+daughter. Wherever she met with Christians sick and in poverty, she
+visited and comforted them; and in some instances opened small
+subscription lists to provide for their support. She attended
+occasionally for some years at the Alms House for the instruction of the
+children there, in religious knowledge: in this work she was much
+assisted by a humble and pious female friend, who was seldom absent from
+it on the Lord's day.
+
+"It was often her custom to leave home after breakfast, to take with her
+a few rolls of bread, and return in the evening about eight o'clock. Her
+only dinner on such days was her bread, and perhaps some soup at the
+Soup House, established by the Humane Society for the poor, over which
+one of her widows had been, at her recommendation, appointed."[39]
+
+  [39] Mrs. Bethune's Life of Mrs. Graham, abridged.
+
+In the winter of 1804-5, before a Tract or Bible Society had been formed
+in New York, she visited between two and three hundred of the poorer
+families, and supplied them with a Bible where they were destitute. She
+also distributed tracts which were written, at her request, by a friend,
+"and lest it might be said it was cheap to give advice, she usually gave
+a small sum of money along with the tracts."
+
+On the fifteenth of March, 1806, a society was organized in New York for
+providing an Asylum for Orphan Children; and Mrs. Graham occupied the
+chair on the occasion. Her sympathies were strongly enlisted in this
+organization, and she was one of the trustees at the time of her death.
+
+"In the winter of 1807-8, when the suspension of commerce by the
+embargo, rendered the situation of the poor more destitute than ever,
+Mrs. Graham adopted a plan best calculated in her view to detect the
+idle applicant for charity, and at the same time to furnish employment
+for the more worthy amongst the female poor. She purchased flax, and
+lent wheels where applicants had none. Such as were industrious took the
+work with thankfulness, and were paid for it; those who were beggars by
+profession, never kept their word to return for the flax or the wheel.
+The flax thus spun was afterwards woven, bleached, and made into
+table-cloths and towels for family use."[40]
+
+  [40] Mrs. Bethune.
+
+When the Magdalen Society was established by some gentlemen, in 1811, a
+board of ladies was elected for the purpose of superintending the
+internal management of the house; and Mrs. Graham was chosen President.
+This office she continued to hold till her death. The next year the
+trustees of the Lancasterian School solicited the services of several
+women to instruct the pupils in the catechism. Mrs. Graham cheerfully
+assisted in this task, instruction being given one afternoon in each
+week.
+
+"In the spring of 1814 she was requested to unite with some ladies, in
+forming a Society for the Promotion of Industry amongst the poor. The
+Corporation of the city having returned a favorable answer to their
+petition for assistance, and provided a house, a meeting of the Society
+was held, and Mrs. Graham once more was called to the chair. It was the
+last time she was to preside at the formation of a new society. Her
+articulation, once strong and clear, was now observed to have become
+more feeble. The ladies present listened to her with affectionate
+attention; her voice broke upon the ear as a pleasant sound that was
+passing away. She consented to have her name inserted in the list of
+managers, to give what assistance her age would permit in forwarding so
+beneficent a work. Although it pleased God to make her cease from her
+labors, before the House of Industry was opened, yet the work was
+carried on by others, and prospered. Between four and five hundred women
+were employed and paid during the following winter. The Corporation
+declared in strong terms their approbation of the result, and enlarged
+their donation, with a view to promote the same undertaking for the
+succeeding winter."
+
+Mrs. Graham died on the twenty-seventh of July, 1814. Of no woman of the
+age may it be said with more propriety, as it was of Dorcas: "This woman
+was full of good works and alms-deeds, which she did." Yet few women are
+more humble than was Mrs. Graham, or think less of their benevolent
+deeds. Her daughter, Mrs. Bethune, writing of her decease, says that she
+departed in peace, not trusting in her wisdom or virtue, like the
+philosophers of Greece and Rome; not even, like Addison, calling on the
+profligate to see a good man die; but, like Howard, afraid that her good
+works might have a wrong place in the estimate of her hope, her chief
+glory was that of a "sinner saved by grace."
+
+
+
+
+SARAH HOFFMAN.
+
+  Still to a stricken brother turn.
+
+                               WHITTIER.
+
+
+In the act of incorporation of the Widow's Society, established in the
+city of New York, in 1797, with the name of Mrs. Graham, is associated
+that of Mrs. Sarah Hoffman. This lady was the daughter of David Ogden,
+one of the judges of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, before the
+elevation of the provinces into states. She was born at Newark, on the
+eighth of September, 1742; and married Nicholas Hoffman, in 1762. She
+early took delight in doing good, being thus prompted by deep religious
+principle. Cautious and discriminating, her charities were bestowed
+judiciously, and she was able to do much good without the largest means.
+In her benevolent operations, however, she usually acted in an
+associated capacity.
+
+As already intimated, she was a member of the society formed "for the
+relief of poor widows with small children." That this institution
+prospered under the control of such women as Mrs. Hoffman and Mrs.
+Graham, may be inferred from their report made in April, 1803.
+"Ninety-eight widows and two hundred and twenty-three children," this
+document states, "were brought through the severity of the winter with a
+considerable degree of comfort."
+
+Mrs. Hoffman, Mrs. Graham and their associates, often perambulated the
+districts of poverty and disease, from morning till night, entering the
+huts of want and desolation, and carrying comfort and consolation to
+many a despairing heart. They clambered to the highest and meanest
+garrets, and descended to the lowest, darkest and dankest cellars, to
+administer to the wants of the destitute, the sick, and the dying. They
+took with them medicine as well as food; and were accustomed to
+administer Christian counsel or consolation, as the case required, to
+the infirm in body and the wretched in heart. They even taught many poor
+creatures, who seemed to doubt the existence of an overruling
+Providence, to pray to Him whose laws they had broken and thereby
+rendered themselves miserable.[41]
+
+  [41] Knapp's Female Biography.
+
+In Mrs. Hoffman's character, to tenderness of feeling were added great
+firmness, strength of mind, and moral courage. She was often seen in the
+midst of contagion and suffering where the cheek of the warrior would
+blanch with fear. She exposed her own life, however, not like the
+warrior, to destroy, but to save; and hundreds _were_ saved by her
+humane efforts, combined with those of her co-workers. Her life
+beautifully exemplified the truth of what Crabbe says of woman:
+
+  ----In extremes of cold and heat,
+    Where wandering man may trace his kind;
+  Wherever grief and want retreat,
+    In woman they compassion find.
+
+And if, as the poet Grainger asserts,
+
+  The height of virtue is to serve mankind,
+
+Mrs. Hoffman reached a point towards which many aspire, but above which
+few ascend.
+
+
+
+
+HEROISM OF SCHOHARIE WOMEN.
+
+  Invaders! vain your battles' steel and fire.
+
+                                          HALLECK.
+
+
+During the struggle for Independence, there were three noted forts in
+the Schoharie settlement, called the Upper, Middle and Lower; and when,
+in the autumn of 1780, Sir John Johnson sallied forth from Niagara, with
+his five hundred or more British, tory and German troops, and made an
+attack on these forts, an opportunity was given for the display of
+patriotism and courage, as well by the women of the settlement as by the
+men.
+
+When the Middle fort was invested, an heroic and noted ranger named
+Murphy, used his rifle balls so fast as to need an additional supply;
+and, anticipating his wants, Mrs. Angelica Vrooman caught his bullet
+mould, some lead and an iron spoon, ran to her father's tent, and there
+moulded a quantity of bullets amid
+
+                                "the shout
+  Of battle, the barbarian yell, the bray
+  Of dissonant instruments, the clang of arms,
+  The shriek of agony, the groan of death."
+
+While the firing was kept up at the Middle fort, great anxiety
+prevailed at the Upper; and during this time Captain Hager, who
+commanded the latter, gave orders that the women and children should
+retire to a long cellar, which he specified, should the enemy attack
+him. A young lady named Mary Haggidorn, on hearing these orders, went to
+Captain Hager and addressed him as follows:--"Captain, I shall not go
+into that cellar. Should the enemy come, I will take a spear, which I
+can use as well as any _man_, and help defend the fort." The Captain,
+seeing her determination, made the following reply:--"Then take a spear,
+Mary, and be ready at the pickets to repel an attack." She cheerfully
+obeyed, and held the spear at the picket, till "huzzas for the American
+flag" burst on her ear, and told that all was safe.[42]
+
+  [42] _Vide_ History of Schoharie county, p. 410-11.
+
+
+
+
+A STERLING PATRIOT.
+
+  With nerve to wield the battle-brand,
+    And join the border-fray,
+  They shrank not from the foeman,
+    They quailed not in the fight,
+  But cheered their husbands through the day,
+    And soothed them through the night.
+
+                                   W. D. GALLAGHER.
+
+
+The most noted heroine of the Mohawk valley, and one of the bravest and
+noblest mothers of the Revolution, was Nancy Van Alstine. Her maiden
+name was Quackinbush. She was born near Canajoharie, about the year
+1733, and was married to Martin J. Van Alstine, at the age of eighteen.
+He settled in the valley of the Mohawk, and occupied the Van Alstine
+family mansion. Mrs. Van Alstine was the mother of fifteen children. She
+died at Wampsville, Madison county, in 1831.
+
+In the month of August, 1780, an army of Indians and tories, led on by
+Brant, rushed into the Mohawk valley, devastated several settlements,
+and killed many of the inhabitants: and during the two following months,
+Sir John Johnson, made a descent and finished the work which Brant had
+begun. The two almost completely destroyed the settlements throughout
+the valley. It was during those trying times that Mrs. Van Alstine
+performed a portion of her heroic exploits which are so interestingly
+related by Mrs. Ellet.
+
+"While the enemy, stationed at Johnstown, were laying waste the country,
+parties continually going about to murder the inhabitants and burn their
+dwellings, the neighborhood in which Mrs. Van Alstine lived remained in
+comparative quiet, though the settlers trembled as each sun arose, lest
+his setting beams should fall on their ruined homes. Most of the men
+were absent, and when, at length, intelligence came that the destroyers
+were approaching, the people were almost distracted with terror. Mrs.
+Van Alstine called her neighbors together, endeavored to calm their
+fears, and advised them to make immediate arrangements for removing to
+an island, belonging to her husband, near the opposite side of the
+river. She knew that the spoilers would be in too great haste to make
+any attempt to cross, and thought if some articles were removed, they
+might be induced to suppose the inhabitants gone to a greater distance.
+The seven families in the neighborhood were in a few hours upon the
+island, having taken with them many things necessary for their comfort
+during a short stay. Mrs. Van Alstine remained herself to the last, then
+crossed in the boat, helping to draw it far up on the beach. Scarcely
+had they secreted themselves before they heard the dreaded warwhoop, and
+descried the Indians in the distance. It was not long before one and
+another saw the homes they loved in flames. When the savages came to Van
+Alstine's house, they were about to fire that also, but the chief,
+interfering, informed them that Sir John would not be pleased if that
+house were burned--the owner having extended civilities to the baronet
+before the commencement of hostilities. 'Let the old wolf keep his den,'
+he said, and the house was left unmolested. The talking of the Indians
+could be distinctly heard from the island, and Mrs. Van Alstine rejoiced
+that she was thus enabled to give shelter to the houseless families who
+had fled with her. The fugitives, however, did not deem it prudent to
+leave their place of concealment for several days, the smoke seen in
+different directions too plainly indicating that the work of devastation
+was going on.
+
+"The destitute families remained at Van Alstine's house till it was
+deemed prudent to rebuild their homes. Later in the following autumn an
+incident occurred which brought much trouble upon them. Three men from
+the neighborhood of Canajoharie, who had deserted the whig cause and
+joined the British, came back from Canada as spies, and were detected
+and apprehended. Their execution followed; two were shot, and one, a
+bold, adventurous fellow, named Harry Harr, was hung in Mr. Van
+Alstine's orchard. Their prolonged absence causing some uneasiness to
+their friends in Canada, some Indians were sent to reconnoitre and learn
+something of them. It happened that they arrived on the day of Harr's
+execution, which they witnessed from a neighboring hill. They returned
+immediately with the information, and a party was dispatched--it is said
+by Brant--to revenge the death of the spies upon the inhabitants. Their
+continued shouts of 'Aha, Harry Harr!' while engaged in pillaging and
+destroying, showed that such was their purpose. In their progress of
+devastation, they came to the house of Van Alstine, where no
+preparations had been made for defence, the family not expecting an
+attack, or not being aware of the near approach of the enemy. Mrs. Van
+Alstine was personally acquainted with Brant, and it may have been owing
+to this circumstance that the members of the family were not killed or
+carried away as prisoners. The Indians came upon them by surprise,
+entered the house without ceremony, and plundered and destroyed
+everything in their way. Mrs. Van Alstine saw her most valued articles,
+brought from Holland, broken one after another, till the house was
+strewed with fragments. As they passed a large mirror without
+demolishing it, she hoped it might be saved; but presently two of the
+savages led in a colt from the stable, and the glass being laid in the
+hall, compelled the animal to walk over it. The beds which they could
+not carry away, they ripped open, shaking out the feathers and taking
+the ticks with them. They also took all the clothing. One young Indian,
+attracted by the brilliancy of a pair of inlaid buckles on the shoes of
+the aged grandmother seated in the corner, rudely snatched them from her
+feet, tore off the buckles, and flung the shoes in her face. Another
+took her shawl from her neck, threatening to kill her if resistance were
+offered. The eldest daughter, seeing a young savage carrying off a
+basket containing a hat and cap her father had brought her from
+Philadelphia, and which she highly prized, followed him, snatched her
+basket, and after a struggle succeeded in pushing him down. She then
+fled to a pile of hemp and hid herself, throwing the basket into it as
+far as she could. The other Indians gathered round, and as the young one
+rose clapped their hands, shouting 'Brave girl!' while he skulked away
+to escape their derision. During the struggle Mrs. Van Alstine had
+called to her daughter to give up the contest; but she insisted that her
+basket should not be taken. Having gone through the house, the intruders
+went up to the kitchen chamber, where a quantity of cream in large jars
+had been brought from the dairy, and threw the jars down stairs,
+covering the floor with their contents. They then broke the window glass
+throughout the house, and unsatisfied with the plunder they had
+collected, bribed a man servant by the promise of his clothes and a
+portion of the booty to show them where some articles had been hastily
+secreted. Mrs. Van Alstine had just finished cutting out winter clothing
+for her family--which consisted of her mother-in-law, her husband and
+twelve children, with two black servants--and had stowed it away in
+barrels. The servant treacherously disclosed the hiding place, and the
+clothing was soon added to the rest of the booty. Mrs. Van Alstine
+reproached the man for his perfidy, which she assured him would be
+punished, not rewarded by the savages, and her words were verified; for
+after they had forced him to assist in securing their plunder, they
+bound him and put him in one of their wagons, telling him his treachery
+to the palefaces deserved no better treatment. The provisions having
+been carried away, the family subsisted on corn, which they pounded and
+made into cakes. They felt much the want of clothing, and Mrs. Van
+Alstine gathered the silk of milkweed, of which, mixed with flax, she
+spun and wove garments. The inclement season was now approaching, and
+they suffered severely from the want of window glass, as well as their
+bedding, woolen clothes, and the various articles, including cooking
+utensils, taken from them. Mrs. Van Alstine's most arduous labors could
+do little towards providing for so many destitute persons; their
+neighbors were in no condition to help them, the roads were almost
+impassable, besides being infested by Indians, and their finest horses
+had been taken. In this deplorable situation, she proposed to her
+husband to join with others who had been robbed in like manner, and make
+an attempt to recover their property from the Indian castle, eighteen or
+twenty miles distant, where it had been carried. But the idea of such an
+enterprise against an enemy superior in numbers and well prepared for
+defence, was soon abandoned. As the cold became more intolerable and the
+necessity for doing something more urgent, Mrs. Van Alstine, unable to
+witness longer the sufferings of those dependent on her, resolved to
+venture herself on the expedition. Her husband and children endeavored
+to dissuade her, but firm for their sake, she left home, accompanied by
+her son, about sixteen years of age. The snow was deep and the roads in
+a wretched condition, yet she persevered through all difficulties, and
+by good fortune arrived at the castle at a time when the Indians were
+all absent on a hunting excursion, the women and children only being
+left at home. She went to the principal house, where she supposed the
+most valuable articles must have been deposited, and on entering, was
+met by the old squaw who had the superintendence, who demanded what she
+wanted. She asked for food; the squaw hesitated; but on her visitor
+saying she had never turned an Indian away hungry, sullenly commenced
+preparations for a meal. The matron saw her bright copper tea-kettle,
+with other cooking utensils, brought forth for use. While the squaw was
+gone for water, she began a search for her property, and finding several
+articles gave them to her son to put into the sleigh. When the squaw,
+returning, asked by whose order she was taking those things, Mrs. Van
+Alstine replied, that they belonged to her; and seeing that the woman
+was not disposed to give them up peaceably, took from her pocket-book a
+paper, and handed it to the squaw, who she knew could not read. The
+woman asked whose name was affixed to the supposed order, and being told
+it was that of 'Yankee Peter'--a man who had great influence among the
+savages, dared not refuse submission. By this stratagem Mrs. Van Alstine
+secured, without opposition, all the articles she could find belonging
+to her, and put them into the sleigh. She then asked where the horses
+were kept. The squaw refused to show her, but she went to the stable,
+and there found those belonging to her husband, in fine order--for the
+savages were careful of their best horses. The animals recognised their
+mistress, and greeted her by a simultaneous neighing. She bade her son
+cut the halters, and finding themselves at liberty they bounded off and
+went homeward at full speed. The mother and son now drove back as fast
+as possible, for she knew their fate would be sealed if the Indians
+should return. They reached home late in the evening, and passed a
+sleepless night, dreading instant pursuit and a night attack from the
+irritated savages. Soon after daylight the alarm was given that the
+Indians were within view, and coming towards the house, painted and in
+their war costume, and armed with tomahawks and rifles. Mr. Van Alstine
+saw no course to escape their vengeance but to give up whatever they
+wished to take back; but his intrepid wife was determined on an effort,
+at least, to retain her property. As they came near she begged her
+husband not to show himself--for she knew they would immediately fall
+upon him--but to leave the matter in her hands. The intruders took their
+course first to the stable, and bidding all the rest remain within
+doors, the matron went out alone, followed to the door by her family,
+weeping and entreating her not to expose herself. Going to the stable
+she enquired in the Indian language what the men wanted. The reply was
+'our horses.' She said boldly--'They are ours; you came and took them
+without right; they are ours, and we mean to keep them.' The chief now
+came forward threateningly, and approached the door. Mrs. Van Alstine
+placed herself against it, telling him she would not give up the animals
+they had raised and were attached to. He succeeded in pulling her from
+the door, and drew out the plug that fastened it, which she snatched
+from his hand, pushing him away. He then stepped back and presented his
+rifle, threatening to shoot her if she did not move; but she kept her
+position, opening her neckhandkerchief and bidding him shoot if he
+dared. It might be that the Indian feared punishment from his allies for
+any such act of violence, or that he was moved with admiration of her
+intrepidity; he hesitated, looked at her for a moment, and then slowly
+dropped his gun, uttering in his native language expressions implying
+his conviction that the evil one must help her, and saying to his
+companions that she was a brave woman and they would not molest her.
+Giving a shout, by way of expressing their approbation, they departed
+from the premises. On their way they called at the house of Col. Frey,
+and related their adventure, saying that the white woman's courage had
+saved her and her property, and were there fifty such brave women as
+the wife of 'Big Tree,' the Indians would never have troubled the
+inhabitants of the Mohawk valley. She experienced afterwards the good
+effects of the impression made at this time....
+
+"It was not long after this occurrence that several Indians came upon
+some children left in the field while the men went to dinner, and took
+them prisoners, tomahawking a young man who rushed from an adjoining
+field to their assistance. Two of these--six and eight years of
+age--were Mrs. Van Alstine's children. The savages passed on towards the
+Susquehanna, plundering and destroying as they went. They were three
+weeks upon the journey, and the poor little captives suffered much from
+hunger and exposure to the night air, being in a deplorable condition by
+the time they returned to Canada. On their arrival, according to custom,
+each prisoner was required to run the gauntlet, two Indian boys being
+stationed on either side, armed with clubs and sticks to beat him as he
+ran. The eldest was cruelly bruised, and when the younger, pale and
+exhausted, was led forward, a squaw of the tribe, taking pity on the
+helpless child, said she would go in his place, or if that could not be
+permitted, would carry him. She accordingly took him in her arms, and
+wrapping her blanket around him, got through with some severe blows. The
+children were then washed and clothed by order of the chief, and supper
+was given them. Their uncle--then also a prisoner--heard of the arrival
+of children from the Mohawk, and was permitted to visit them. The little
+creatures were sleeping soundly when aroused by a familiar voice, and
+joyfully exclaiming, 'Uncle Quackinbush!' were clasped in his arms. In
+the following spring the captives were ransomed, and returned home in
+fine spirits."[43]
+
+  [43] Women of the Revolution.
+
+Prior to the commencement of hostilities, Mr. Van Alstine had purchased
+a tract of land on the Susquehanna, eighteen miles below Cooperstown;
+and thither removed in 1785. There as at her former home, Mrs. Van
+Alstine had an opportunity to exhibit the heroic qualities of her
+nature. We subjoin two anecdotes illustrative of forest life in the
+midst of savages.
+
+"On one occasion an Indian whom Mr. Van Alstine had offended, came to
+his house with the intention of revenging himself. He was not at home,
+and the men were out at work, but his wife and family were within, when
+the intruder entered. Mrs. Van Alstine saw his purpose in his
+countenance. When she inquired his business, he pointed to his rifle,
+saying, he meant 'to show Big Tree which was the best man.' She well
+knew that if her husband presented himself he would probably fall a
+victim unless she could reconcile the difficulty. With this view she
+commenced a conversation upon subjects in which she knew the savage
+would take an interest, and admiring his dress, asked permission to
+examine his rifle, which, after praising, she set down, and while
+managing to fix his attention on something else poured water into the
+barrel. She then gave him back the weapon, and assuming a more earnest
+manner, spoke to him of the Good Spirit, his kindness to men, and their
+duty to be kind to each other. By her admirable tact she so far
+succeeded in pacifying him, that when her husband returned he was ready
+to extend to him the hand of reconciliation and fellowship. He partook
+of some refreshment, and before leaving informed them that one of their
+neighbors had lent him the rifle for his deadly purpose. They had for
+some time suspected this neighbor, who had coveted a piece of land, of
+unkind feelings towards them because he could not obtain it, yet could
+scarcely believe him so depraved. The Indian, to confirm his story,
+offered to accompany Mrs. Van Alstine to the man's house, and although
+it was evening she went with him, made him repeat what he had said, and
+so convinced her neighbor of the wickedness of his conduct, that he was
+ever afterwards one of their best friends. Thus by her prudence and
+address she preserved, in all probability, the lives of her husband and
+family; for she learned afterwards that a number of savages had been
+concealed near, to rush upon them in case of danger to their companion.
+
+"At another time a young Indian came in and asked the loan of a drawing
+knife. As soon as he had it in his hand he walked up to the table, on
+which there was a loaf of bread, and unceremoniously cut several slices
+from it. One of Mrs. Van Alstine's sons had a deerskin in his hand, and
+indignantly struck the savage with it. He turned and darted out of the
+door, giving a loud whoop as he fled. The mother just then came in, and
+hearing what had passed expressed her sorrow and fears that there would
+be trouble, for she knew the Indian character too well to suppose they
+would allow the matter to rest. Her apprehensions were soon realized by
+the approach of a party of savages, headed by the brother of the youth
+who had been struck. He entered alone, and inquired for the boy who had
+given the blow. Mr. Van Alstine, starting up in surprise, asked
+impatiently, 'What the devilish Indian wanted?' The savage,
+understanding the expression applied to his appearance to be anything
+but complimentary, uttered a sharp cry, and raising his rifle, aimed at
+Van Alstine's breast. His wife sprang forward in time to throw up the
+weapon, the contents of which were discharged into the wall, and pushing
+out the Indian, who stood just at the entrance, she quickly closed the
+door. He was much enraged, but she at length succeeded in persuading him
+to listen to a calm account of the matter, and asked why the quarrel of
+two lads should break their friendship. She finally invited him to come
+in and settle the difficulty in an amicable way. To his objection that
+they had no rum, she answered--'But we have tea;' and at length the
+party was called in, and a speech made by the leader in favor of the
+'white squaw,' after which the tea was passed round. The Indian then
+took the grounds, and emptying them into a hole made in the ashes,
+declared that the enmity was buried forever. After this, whenever the
+family was molested, the ready tact of Mrs. Van Alstine, and her
+acquaintance with Indian nature, enabled her to prevent any serious
+difficulty. They had few advantages for religious worship, but whenever
+the weather would permit, the neighbors assembled at Van Alstine's house
+to hear the word preached. His wife, by her influence over the Indians,
+persuaded many of them to attend, and would interpret to them what was
+said by the minister. Often their rude hearts were touched, and they
+would weep bitterly while she went over the affecting narrative of our
+Redeemer's life and death, and explained the truths of the Gospel. Much
+good did she in this way, and in after years many a savage converted to
+Christianity blessed her as his benefactress."
+
+
+
+
+HEROIC CONDUCT AT MONMOUTH.
+
+  Proud were they by such to stand,
+    In hammock, fort or glen;
+  To load the sure old rifle--
+    To run the leaden ball--
+  To watch a battling husband's place,
+    And fill it should he fall.
+
+                             W. D. GALLAGHER.
+
+
+During the battle of Monmouth, a gunner named Pitcher was killed; and
+when the call was made for some one to take the place of her fallen
+husband, his wife, who had followed him to the camp, and thence to the
+field of conflict, unhesitatingly stepped forward, and offered her
+services. The gun was so well managed as to draw the attention of
+General Washington to the circumstance, and to call forth an expression
+of his admiration of her bravery and her fidelity to her country. To
+show his appreciation of her virtues and her highly valuable services,
+he conferred on her a lieutenant's commission. She afterwards went by
+the name of _Captain Molly_.
+
+The poet Glover tells us, in his Leonidas, that Xerxes boasted
+
+  "His ablest, bravest counselor and chief
+  In Artemisia, Caria's matchless queen;"
+
+and Herodotus also very justly eulogizes the same character. Yet
+Artemisia was scarcely more serviceable to Xerxes in the battle of
+Salamis, than "Captain Molly" to Washington in the battle of Monmouth.
+One served in a Grecian expedition, to gratify her great spirit, vigor
+of mind and love of glory; the other fought, partly, it may be, to
+revenge the death of her husband, but more, doubtless, for the love she
+bore for an injured country, "bleeding at every vein." One was rewarded
+with a complete suit of Grecian armor; the other with a lieutenant's
+commission, and both for their bravery. If the queen of Caria is
+deserving of praise for her martial valor, the name of the heroic wife
+of the gunner, should be woven with hers in a fadeless wreath of song.
+
+
+
+
+COURAGE OF A COUNTRY GIRL.
+
+  Honor and shame from no condition rise,
+  Act well your part, there all the honor lies.
+
+                                            POPE
+
+
+In December, 1777, while Washington was at Valley Forge and the enemy
+was in Philadelphia, Major Tallmadge was stationed between the two
+places with a detachment of cavalry, to make observations and to limit
+the range of British foragers. On one occasion, while performing
+this duty, he was informed that a country girl had gone into
+Philadelphia--perhaps by Washington's instigation--ostensibly to sell
+eggs, but really and especially to obtain information respecting the
+enemy; and curiosity led him to move his detachment to Germantown. There
+the main body halted while he advanced with a small party towards the
+British lines. Dismounting at a tavern in plain sight of their outposts,
+he soon saw a young girl coming out of the city. He watched her till she
+came up to the tavern; made himself known to her, and was about to
+receive some valuable intelligence, when he was informed that the
+British light horse were advancing. Stepping to the door he saw them in
+full pursuit of his patroles. He hastily mounted, but before he had
+started his charger, the girl was at his side begging for protection.
+Quick as thought, he ordered her to mount behind him. She obeyed, and in
+that way rode to Germantown, a distance of three miles. During the whole
+ride, writes the Major in his Journal, where we find these details,
+"although there was considerable firing of pistols, and not a little
+wheeling and charging, she remained unmoved, and never once complained
+of fear."
+
+
+
+
+THE LEDYARDS AT FORT GRISWOLD
+
+  Ah never shall the land forget
+    How gushed the life-blood of the brave;
+  Gushed warm with hope and courage yet,
+    Upon the soil they fought to save.
+                          BRYANT
+
+  How few like thee enquire the wretched out,
+  And court the offices of soft humanity.
+
+                                          ROWE.
+
+
+"It will be remembered that at the time of the burning of New London,
+Connecticut, a detachment of the army of the traitor Arnold, under whose
+personal direction that feat of vandalism was performed, was directed to
+attack and carry Fort Griswold at Groton, on the opposite side of the
+river. It was then under the command of Colonel Ledyard, a brave and
+meritorious officer, whose memory will live in the warm affections of
+his country, as that of one of the early martyrs to her liberty, whilst
+the granite pile which now lifts its summit above the spot where he was
+sacrificed, shall long remain to bear the record of his death. The fort
+was, in truth, little more than an embankment of earth, thrown up as a
+breast-work for the handful of troops it surrounded, and with a strong
+log-house in the center. The force which attacked it was altogether
+superior to that of its defenders, even when the difference in their
+position is taken into view. The case was so hopeless, that the
+slightest share of prudence would have suggested retreat. But the chafed
+and gallant spirits of Ledyard and his men would not permit them to
+retire before a marauding enemy, however powerful, without making at
+least one effort to beat him back. With a boldness and heroism scarcely
+ever surpassed, they stood their ground, until overwhelming numbers of
+the enemy were in the fort, and engaged hand to hand with its heroic
+defenders. Fierce and terrible, for a few moments, was the encounter,
+and it was not until the last ray of hope was gone, and nothing but a
+useless effusion of blood would have resulted from further resistance,
+that they at length yielded. In doing so, however, they were inclined to
+believe that the gallantry displayed by their little band, would at
+least shelter them from indignity. Ledyard had turned the handle of his
+sword to the commander of the assailants, and in answer to the question,
+'who commands this fort,' replied, 'I did, sir, but you do now,' when he
+was pierced to the heart with his own weapon, and by the dastardly hand
+in which he had just placed it. An almost indiscriminate butchery now
+commenced; many falling instantly dead and some being desperately
+wounded. The fort was then entirely at the disposal of the enemy. The
+barbarity, however, did not end there. When it was found that several of
+the prisoners were still alive, the British soldiers piled their mangled
+bodies in an old cart and started it down the steep and rugged hill,
+towards the river, in order that they might be there drowned. But
+stumps and stones obstructed the passage of the cart; and when the enemy
+had retreated--for the aroused inhabitants of that region soon compelled
+them to the step--the friends of the wounded came to their aid and thus
+several lives were saved."[44]
+
+  [44] Democratic Review, vol. 20, pp. 93-4.
+
+One of the "ministering angels" who came the next morning to the aid of
+the thirty-five wounded men, who lay all night freezing in their own
+blood, was Miss Mary Ledyard, a near relative of the Colonel. "She
+brought warm chocolate, wine, and other refreshments, and while Dr.
+Downer of Preston was dressing their wounds, she went from one to
+another, administering her cordials, and breathing into their ears
+gentle words of sympathy and encouragement. In these labors of kindness
+she was assisted by another relative of the lamented Colonel
+Ledyard--Mrs. John Ledyard--who had also brought her household stores to
+refresh the sufferers, and lavished on them the most soothing personal
+attentions. The soldiers who recovered from their wounds, were
+accustomed, to the day of their death, to speak of these ladies in terms
+of fervent gratitude and praise."[45]
+
+  [45] Mrs. Ellet.
+
+
+
+
+SENECA HEROINES.
+
+  They fought like brave _men_, long and well.
+
+                                         HALLECK.
+
+
+In the celebrated battle between the French and Indians, which occurred
+near Victor, in the western part of New York, in 1687, five Seneca women
+took an active part in the bloody conflict. Mr. Hosmer, the poet,
+alludes to the circumstance in one of his celebrated "Lectures on the
+Iroquois," from the manuscript of which we have been permitted to copy,
+as follows:
+
+"The memory of illustrious women who have watched in defence of altar
+and hearth, the deeds of the sterner sex, has been enshrined in song,
+and honored by the Historic Muse. Joan of Arc, and the dark-eyed maid of
+Saragossa in all coming time will be chivalric watch-words of France and
+Spain, but not less worthy of record, and poetic embalmment, were the
+_five_[46] devoted heroines who followed their red lords to the
+battle-field near ancient Ganagarro, and fought with unflinching
+resolution by their sides. Children of such wives could not be
+otherwise than valiant. Bring back your shield, or be brought upon it,
+was the Spartan mother's stern injunction to her son: but roused to a
+higher pitch of courage, the wild daughters of the Genesee stood in the
+perilous pass, and in the defence of their forest homes, turned not back
+from the spear, 'the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.'"
+
+  [46] _Vide_ Doc. His, Vol. 1. p. 256.
+
+
+
+
+MARTHA BRATTON.
+
+  Not to the ensanguined field of death alone
+  Is valor limited.
+
+                                            SMOLLET.
+
+  Our country first, their glory and their pride.
+
+                                        J. T. FIELDS.
+
+
+Martha Bratton was the wife of William Bratton a native of Pennsylvania.
+She was born in Rowan county, North Carolina. They settled near York
+ville, in South Carolina, where she died in 1816. Two or three anecdotes
+will suffice to illustrate her character.
+
+In June, 1780, a party of British and tory marauders, were attacked by a
+company of whigs under Colonel Bratton, at Mobley Meeting House, in
+Fairfield district, South Carolina, and defeated. Advertised of this
+disaster, Colonel Turnbull, commander of a detachment of British troops
+at Rocky Mount, Chester county, ordered Captain Huck to proceed with his
+cavalry to the frontier of the province, collecting all the royal army
+on his march, and if possible to subdue the rebels. An engagement soon
+took place between Captain Huck and Colonel Bratton; but before the
+battle, the Colonel's wife had an opportunity to display her character
+in a truly heroic manner. The evening preceding, Huck arrived at the
+Colonel's house, and entering in an uncivil manner, demanded of his wife
+where her husband was. She boldly replied "He is in Sumter's army!" Huck
+then tried to persuade her to induce her husband to join the British,
+and even went so far as to promise him a commission, in case he would do
+so. But neither persuasion nor argument availed any thing. With the
+firmness of a true patriot, she assured him that she would rather see
+him--faithful to his country--perish in Sumter's army, than clothed with
+any power or graced with any honor royalty could bestow! At this point,
+a soldier, exasperated at her bold and fearless manner, seized a reaping
+hook that hung in the piazza and threatened to kill her if she did not
+give particular and full information in regard to her husband. But with
+the weapon still at her throat, she promptly refused; and, but for the
+interference of the officer second in command, she would have lost her
+life.
+
+Huck now ordered her to prepare supper for himself and the whole band.
+With this request she complied, and then retired to an upper apartment
+with her children. Supper over, Huck posted his sentinels along the road
+and went with his officers to another house, half a mile off, to pass
+the night.
+
+Convinced that the royalists would seek revenge for their late defeat at
+Mobley's Meeting House, and naturally fearing that his own family might
+be among the victims, Colonel Bratton had that day marched from
+Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, with seventy-five men. Late in the
+evening he drew near his house, and learning that the enemy were there,
+and ascertaining their number, he made speedy preparations for an
+attack. The guard of the royalists was neglected, and he found no
+trouble in reconnoitering the encampment. All things ready, the attack
+was made before Huck had finished his morning nap. He awoke only to
+attempt to rally his men and then lie down again to sleep for ever! The
+tories seeing their leader fall, fled, or made the attempt. Some _did_
+escape, others were killed, others taken prisoners. The firing ceased
+about day light, when Mrs. Bratton made her appearance. She received the
+wounded on both sides, and showed them impartial attention, setting
+herself to work immediately, dressing their wounds and trying to relieve
+their pains. She who was so brave in the hour of danger, was no less
+humane in a time of suffering.[47]
+
+  [47] The following toast was drunk at Brattonsville, York district, on
+  the twelfth of July, 1839, at a celebration of Huck's Defeat.
+
+  "The memory of Mrs. Martha Bratton.--In the hands of an infuriated
+  monster, with the instrument of death around her neck, she nobly refused
+  to betray her husband; in the hour of victory she remembered mercy, and
+  as a guardian angel, interposed in behalf of her inhuman enemies.
+  Throughout the Revolution she encouraged the whigs to fight on to the
+  last; to hope on to the end. Honor and gratitude to the woman and
+  heroine, who proved herself so faithful a wife--so firm a friend to
+  liberty!"
+
+Prior to the fall of Charleston at a period when ammunition was very
+scarce, Governor Rutledge intrusted to her a small stock of powder. This
+fact some tory ascertained, and communicated to the British at a station
+not far off. A detachment was forthwith sent out to secure the treasure,
+of which movement Mrs. Bratton received early intimation. Resolving that
+the red coats should not have the prize, she laid a train of powder from
+the depot to the spot she chose to occupy; and when they came in sight,
+she blew it up. "Who has dared to do this atrocious act? Speak quickly,
+that they may meet the punishment they deserve," was the demand of the
+officer in command. "Know then, 'twas _I_," was the dauntless reply of
+Mrs. Bratton, "and let the consequences be what they will," she added,
+"I glory in having frustrated the mischief contemplated by the merciless
+enemies of my country."
+
+
+
+
+A POOR WOMAN'S OFFERING.
+
+  The world is but a word;
+  Were it all yours, to give it in a breath,
+  How quickly were it gone!
+
+                                        SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+The following anecdote was related, a few years ago, by the Rev. W. S.
+Plumer, while addressing the Virginia Baptist Education Society. We
+regret that he did not give the name of the good woman who possessed
+such commendable zeal for the missionary cause.
+
+"A poor woman had attended a missionary meeting a few years since. Her
+heart was moved with pity. She looked around on her house and furniture
+to see what she could spare for the mission. She could think of nothing
+that would be of any use. At length she thought of her five children,
+three daughters and two sons. She entered her closet, and consecrated
+them to the mission. Two of her daughters are now in heathen lands, and
+the other is preparing to go. Of her sons, one is on his way to India,
+and the other is preparing for the ministry, and inquiring on the
+subject of a missionary life."
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF PRESIDENT JACKSON.
+
+        How often has the thought
+        Of my mourn'd mother brought
+  Peace to my troubled spirit, and new power
+        The tempter to repel.
+        Mother, thou knowest well
+  That thou has bless'd me since my natal hour.
+
+                                            PIERPONT.
+
+
+The mother of General Jackson had three children. Their names were Hugh,
+Robert and Andrew. The last was the youngest and lost his father when an
+infant. Like the mother of Washington, she was a very pious woman, and
+strove to glorify God as much in the rearing of her children as in the
+performance of any other duty. She taught Andrew the leading doctrines
+of the Bible, in the form of question and answer, from the Westminster
+catechism; and those lessons he never forgot. In conversation with him
+some years since, says a writer, "General Jackson spoke of his mother in
+a manner that convinced me that she never ceased to exert a secret power
+over him, until his heart was brought into reconciliation with God."
+This change, however, he did not experience till very late in
+life--after he had retired from the Presidency. He united with the
+Presbyterian church near the close of the year 1839, then in his
+seventy-third year. Just before his death, which occurred in June, 1845,
+he said to a clergyman, "My lamp of life is nearly out, and the last
+glimmer is come. I am ready to depart when called. The Bible is true....
+Upon that sacred volume I rest my hope of eternal salvation, through the
+merits and blood of our blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ."
+
+If departed spirits, the saintly and ascended, are permitted to look
+from their high habitation, upon the scenes of earth, with what holy
+transport must the mother of Andrew Jackson have beheld the death-bed
+triumph of her son. The lad whom she early sent to an academy at the
+Waxhaw meeting-house, hoping to fit him for the ministry, had become a
+man, and led the hosts of the land through many a scene of conflict and
+on to a glorious and decisive victory; had filled the highest office in
+the world, and was now an old man, able, in his last earthly hour, _by
+the grace of God attending her early, pious instruction_, to challenge
+death for his sting and to shout "victory" over his opening grave.
+
+
+
+
+THE YOUNG HEROINE OF FORT HENRY.
+
+        Judge me not ungentle,
+  Of manner's rude, and insolent of speech,
+  If, when the public safety is in question,
+  My zeal flows warm and eager from my tongue.
+
+                                  ROWE'S JANE SHORE.
+
+
+The siege of Fort Henry, at the mouth of Wheeling creek, in Ohio county,
+Virginia, occurred in September, 1777. Of the historical _fact_ most
+people are aware; yet but few, comparatively, knew how much the little
+band in the garrison, who held out against thirty or forty times their
+number of savage assailants, were indebted, for their success, to the
+courage and self-devotion of a single female.
+
+The Indians kept up a brisk firing from about sunrise till past noon,
+when they ceased and retired a short distance to the foot of a hill.
+During the forenoon the little company in the fort had not been idle.
+Among their number were a few sharp shooters, who had burnt most of the
+powder on hand to the best advantage. Almost every charge had taken
+effect; and probably the savages began to see that they were losing
+numbers at fearful odds, and had doubtless retired for consultation. But
+they had less occasion for anxiety, just at that time, than the men,
+women and children in the garrison. As already hinted, the stock of
+powder was nearly exhausted. There was a keg in a house ten or twelve
+rods from the gate of the fort, and as soon as the hostilities of the
+Indians were suspended, the question arose, who shall attempt to seize
+this prize? Strange to say, every soldier proffered his services, and
+there was an ardent contention among them for the honor. In the weak
+state of the garrison, Colonel Shepard, the commander, deemed it
+advisable that only one person should be spared; and in the midst of the
+confusion, before any one could be designated, a girl named Elizabeth
+Zane,[48] interrupted the debate, saying that her life was not so
+important, at that time, as any one of the soldier's, and claiming the
+privilege of performing the contested service. The Colonel would not, at
+first, listen to her proposal; but she was so resolute, so persevering
+in her plea, and her argument was so powerful, that he finally suffered
+the gate to be opened, and she passed out. The Indians saw her before
+she reached her brother's house, where the keg was deposited; but, for
+some unknown cause, they did not molest her, until she re-appeared with
+the article under her arm. Probably divining the nature of her burden,
+they discharged a volley as she was running towards the gate; but the
+whizzing balls only gave agility to her feet, and herself and the prize
+were quickly safe within the gate. The result was that the soldiers
+inspired with enthusiasm by this heroic adventure, fought with renewed
+courage, and, before the keg of powder was exhausted, the enemy raised
+the siege.
+
+  [48] We learn, from Withers, that Miss Zane has since had two husbands.
+
+  The name of the second was Clarke, a resident of Ohio. She was living,
+  not long since, near St. Clairsville.
+
+
+
+
+A BENEVOLENT WIDOW
+
+                Charity ever
+  Finds in the act reward.
+
+                     BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER.
+
+
+Several years ago, a poor widow had placed a smoked herring,--the last
+morsel of food she had in the house--on the table for herself and
+children, when a stranger entered and solicited food, saying that he had
+had nothing to eat for twenty-four hours. The widow unhesitatingly
+offered to share the herring with him, remarking, at the same time, "We
+shall not be forsaken, or suffer deeper for an act of charity."
+
+  [Illustration: THE WIDOW AND HER SON.]
+
+As the stranger drew near the table and saw the scantiness of the fare,
+he asked, "And is this all your store? Do you offer a share to one you
+do not know? Then I never saw charity before. But, madam, do you not
+wrong your children by giving a part of your morsel to a stranger?"
+"Ah," said she, with tears in her eyes, "I have a boy, a darling son,
+somewhere on the face of the wide world, unless Heaven has taken him
+away; and I only act towards you as I would that others should act
+towards him. God, who sent manna from heaven, can provide for us as he
+did for Israel; and how should I this night offend him, if my son
+should be a wanderer, destitute as you, and he should have provided for
+him a home, even as poor as this, were I to turn you unrelieved away!"
+
+The stranger whom she thus addressed, was the long absent son to whom
+she referred; and when she stopped speaking, he sprang from his feet,
+clasped her in his arms, and exclaimed, "God, indeed, has provided just
+such a home for your wandering son, _and has given him wealth to reward
+the goodness of his benefactress_. My mother! O, my mother!"[49]
+
+  [49] Abridged from Cyclopedia of Moral and Religious Anecdotes.
+
+
+
+
+ANNE FITZHUGH.
+
+  Who shall find a valiant woman?
+  The price of her is as things brought from afar.
+
+                                           PROVERBS.
+
+                               'T is the last
+  Duty that I can pay to my dear lord.
+
+                                           FLETCHER.
+
+
+The wife of Colonel William Fitzhugh, of Maryland, while he was absent
+at one time during the Revolution, was surprised by the news that a
+party of British soldiers was approaching her house. She instantly
+collected her slaves; furnished them with such weapons of defence as
+were at hand; took a quantity of cartridges in her apron, and, herself
+forming the van, urged her sable subalterns on to meet the foe. Not
+looking for resistance, the advancing party, on beholding the amazon
+with her sooty invincibles, hastily turned on their heels and fled.
+
+  [Illustration: THE HEROIC MOTHER.]
+
+On a subsequent occasion, a detachment of soldiers marched at midnight
+to Colonel Fitzhugh's house, which was half a mile from the shore, and
+near the mouth of the Patuxent river, and knocked at the door. The
+Colonel demanding who was there, and receiving for reply that the
+visitants were "friends to King George," told the unwelcome intruders
+that he was blind and unable to wait upon them, but that his wife would
+admit them forthwith. Lighting a candle and merely putting on her
+slippers, she descended, awoke her sons, put pistols in their hands,
+and, pointing to the back door, told them to flee. She then let the
+soldiers in at the front door. They inquired for Colonel Fitzhugh, and
+said he must come down stairs at once and go as a prisoner to New York.
+She accordingly dressed her husband--forgetting meanwhile, to do as much
+for herself--and when he had descended, he assured the soldiers that his
+blindness, and the infirmities of age unfitted him to take care of
+himself, and that it could hardly be desirable for them to take in
+charge so decrepit and inoffensive a person. They thought otherwise; and
+his wife, seeing he must go, took his arm and said she would go too. The
+officer told her she would be exposed and must suffer, but she persisted
+in accompanying him, saying that he could not take care of himself, nor,
+if he could, would she permit a separation.
+
+It was a cold and rainy night, and with the mere protection of a cloak,
+which the officer took down and threw over her shoulders before leaving
+the house, she sallied forth with the party. While on the way to their
+boat, the report of a gun was heard, which the soldiers supposed was the
+signal of a rebel gathering. They hastened to the boat, where a parole
+was written out with trembling hand, and placed in the old gentleman's
+possession. Without even a benediction, he was left on shore with his
+faithful and fearless companion, who thought but little of her wet feet
+as she stood and saw the cowardly detachment of British soldiers push
+off and row away with all their might for safety.
+
+
+
+
+ESTHER GASTON.
+
+  True fortitude is seen in great exploits
+  That justice warrants and that wisdom guides.
+
+                                           ADDISON.
+
+  The good alone are great.
+
+                                           BEATTIE.
+
+
+On the morning of July thirtieth, 1770, Esther Gaston, afterwards the
+wife of Alexander Walker, hearing the firing at the battle of Rocky
+Mount, took with her a sister-in-law, and, well mounted, pushed on
+towards the scene of conflict. They soon met two or three cowardly men,
+hastening from the field of action. Esther hailed and rebuked them, and
+finding entreaties would not cause them to retrace their steps, she
+seized the gun from the hands of one of them, exclaiming, "Give _us_
+your guns, then, and we will stand in your places." The cowards,
+abashed, now wheeled, and, in company with the females, hurried on to
+face the cannon's mouth.
+
+While the strife was still raging, Esther and her companion busied
+themselves in dressing the wounded and quenching the thirst of the
+dying. Even their helpless enemies shared in their humane services.
+
+During the battle of Hanging Rock, which occurred the next week, Esther
+might be seen at Waxhaw church, which was converted for the time into a
+hospital, administering to the wants of the wounded.
+
+As kind as patriotic, with her hands filled with soothing cordials, she
+was seen, through all her life, knocking at the door of suffering
+humanity.
+
+
+
+
+REMARKABLE PRESENCE OF MIND AND SELF-POSSESSION.
+
+  Were I the monarch of the earth,
+  And master of the swelling sea,
+  I would not estimate their worth,
+  Dear woman, half the price of thee.
+
+                              GEO. P. MORRIS.
+
+
+Mr. Ralph Izard, a true "liberty man," resided, during the struggle for
+Independence, near Dorchester, in South Carolina. He was for awhile
+aid-de-camp to the commander of the Light Troops, and was an especial
+object of British hatred. On one occasion, while at home, he came very
+near falling into the hands of the enemy. A number of British soldiers
+surrounded his house, and on discovering them he hid himself in the
+clothes-press. They were confident he was in the house, and having
+instituted a thorough but ineffectual search, threatened to burn the
+building, unless his wife would point out his place of concealment. She
+adroitly evaded answering directly all queries respecting his quarters.
+They next robbed his wardrobe; seized all the better articles they could
+find in the house, and even tried to force off her finger-rings. She
+still remained composed and courageous, yet courteous and urbane,
+knowing that much, every thing, in fact, depended on her self-control.
+Her calmness and apparent unconcern led the marauders to conclude that
+they had been misled in supposing Mr. Izard was in the house; and at
+length they departed. He then sprang from his covert, and, rushing out
+by a back door, crossed the Ashley river and notified the Americans on
+the opposite side, of the state of things.
+
+Meantime, the ruffians returned to the house, and, strange to say, went
+directly to the clothes-press. Again disappointed, they retired; but
+they were soon met by a body of cavalry, handsomely whipped, and all the
+fine articles belonging to Mr. Izard's wardrobe and house were
+restored.
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF GOVERNOR GRISWOLD.
+
+  Happy the man, and happy sure he was,
+  So wedded.
+
+                                   HURDIS.
+
+
+The residence of the first Governor of Connecticut, was at Blackhall,
+near Long Island Sound. While British ships were lying at anchor in
+these waters on a certain occasion, a party of marines in pursuit of his
+Excellency, presented themselves at the door. It being impossible for
+him to escape by flight, his affectionate and thoughtful wife secreted
+him in a large new meat barrel or tierce--for although he was somewhat
+corpulent, he could not vie in physical rotundity with the early and
+honored Knickerbocker magistrates. He was cleverly packed away in the
+future home of doomed porkers, just as the soldiers entered and
+commenced their search. Not finding him readily, they asked his
+quick-witted wife one or two hard questions, but received no very
+enlightening answer. The Legislature had convened a day or two before at
+Hartford, and she intimated that he was or ought to be at the capital.
+Unsuccessful in their search, the soldiers took their boat and returned
+to the ship. Before they had reached the latter, his unpacked Honor was
+on a swift steed, galloping to Gubernatorial head-quarters.
+
+
+
+
+BOLD EXPLOIT OF A YOUNG GIRL.
+
+  Some god impels with courage not thy own.
+
+                                 POPE'S HOMER.
+
+
+Robert Gibbes was the owner of a splendid mansion on John's Island, a
+few miles from Charleston, South Carolina, known, during the Revolution,
+as the "Peaceful Retreat." On his plantation the British encamped on a
+certain occasion; and the American authorities sent two galleys up the
+Stono river, on which the mansion stood, to dislodge them. Strict
+injunctions had been given to the men not to fire on the house, but Mr.
+Gibbes not being aware of this fact, when the firing commenced, thought
+it advisable to take his family to some remote place for shelter. They
+accordingly started in a cold and drizzly rain and in a direction
+ranging with the fire of the American guns. Shot struck the trees and
+cut the bushes beside their path for some distance. When about a mile
+from the mansion, and out of danger, reaching the huts occupied by the
+negroes on the plantation, Mrs. Gibbes, being chilled and exhausted, was
+obliged to lie down. Here, when they supposed all were safe, and began
+to rejoice over their fortunate escape, to their great astonishment,
+they discovered that a boy named Fenwick, a member of the family, had
+been left behind.[50] It was still raining, was very dark, and imminent
+danger must attend an effort to rescue the lad. And who would risk life
+in attempting it? The servants refused. Mr. Gibbes was gouty and feeble,
+and prudence forbade him to again venture out. At length, the oldest
+daughter of the family, Mary Ann, only thirteen years old, offers to go
+alone. She hastens off; reaches the house, still in possession of the
+British; begs the sentinel to let her enter; and though repeatedly
+repulsed, she doubles the earnestness of her entreaties, and finally
+gains admittance. She finds the child in the third story; clasps him in
+her arms; hastens down stairs, and, passing the sentry, flees with the
+shot whizzing past her head; and herself and the child are soon with the
+rest of the family.
+
+  [50] In addition to her own family, Mrs. Gibbes had the care of the
+  seven orphan children of Mrs. Fenwick, her sister-in-law, and two other
+  children. It is not surprising, that, in the confusion of a sudden
+  flight from the house, one of the number should be left behind.
+
+
+
+
+SUSANNA WRIGHT.
+
+  Work for some good, be it ever so slowly;
+  Cherish some flower, be it ever so lowly;
+  Labor--all labor is noble and holy.
+
+                                    MRS. OSGOOD.
+
+
+Susanna Wright removed to this country with her parents from Warrington,
+in Great Britain, in the year 1714. The family settled in Lancaster
+county, Pennsylvania. Susanna was then about seventeen. "She never
+married; but after the death of her father, became the head of her own
+family, who looked up to her for advice and direction as a parent, for
+her heart was replete with every kind affection."
+
+She was a remarkable economist of time, for although she had the
+constant management of a large family, and, at times, of a profitable
+establishment, she mastered many of the sciences; was a good French,
+Latin and Italian scholar; assisted neighbors in the settlement of
+estates, and was frequently consulted as a physician.
+
+"She took great delight in domestic manufacture, and had constantly much
+of it produced in her family. For many years she attended to the rearing
+of silk worms, and with the silk, which she reeled and prepared
+herself, made many articles both of beauty and utility, dying the silk
+of various colors with indigenous materials. She had at one time upwards
+of sixty yards of excellent mantua returned to her from Great Britain,
+where she had sent the raw silk to be manufactured."
+
+This industrious and pious Quakeress, who seems to have possessed all
+the excellencies defined in Solomon's inventory of the virtuous woman,
+lived more than four score years, an ornament to her sex and a blessing
+to the race.
+
+                          "There was no need,
+  In those good times, of trim callisthenics,--
+  And there was less of gadding, and far more
+  Of home-bred, heart-felt comfort, rooted strong
+  In industry, and bearing such rare fruit
+  As wealth may never purchase."
+
+
+
+
+PATRIOTISM OF 1770.
+
+  In conduct, as in courage, you excel,
+  Still first to act what you advise so well.
+
+                                    POPE'S HOMER.
+
+
+In the early part of February, 1770, the women of Boston publicly
+pledged themselves to abstain from the use of tea, "as a practical
+execution of the non-importation agreement of their fathers, husbands
+and brothers." We are credibly informed, writes the editor of the Boston
+Gazette of February ninth, "that upwards of one hundred ladies at the
+north part of the town, have, of their own free will and accord, come
+into and signed an agreement, not to drink any tea till the Revenue Acts
+are passed." At that date three hundred matrons had become members of
+the league.
+
+Three days after the above date, the young women followed the example of
+their mothers, multitudes signing a document which read as follows: "We,
+the daughters of those patriots who have and do now appear for the
+public interest, and, in that, principally regard their posterity,--as
+such do with pleasure engage with them in denying ourselves the drinking
+of foreign tea, in hopes to frustrate a plan which tends to deprive the
+whole community of all that is valuable in life."
+
+Multitudes of females in New York and Virginia, and, if we mistake not,
+some in other states, made similar movements; and it is easy to
+perceive, in the tone of those early pledges of self-denial for honor,
+liberty, country's sake, the infancy of that spirit which, quickly
+reaching its manhood, planned schemes of resistance to oppression on a
+more magnanimous scale, and flagged not till a work was done which
+filled half the world with admiration and the whole with astonishment.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. SPALDING OF GEORGIA.
+
+  Through trials hard as these, how oft are seen
+  The tender sex, in fortitude serene.
+
+                                    ANN SEWARD.
+
+
+Mrs. Spalding was the niece of General Lachlan McIntosh, daughter of
+Colonel William McIntosh and mother of Major Spalding, of Georgia.
+
+In 1778, after Colonel Campbell took possession of Savannah, Georgia,
+that section of the country was infested with reckless marauders, and
+many families fled to avoid their ruthlessness. Mr. Spalding retired
+with his wife and child to Florida; and twice during the Revolution, she
+traversed "the two hundred miles between Savannah and St. John's river,
+in an open boat, with only black servants on board, when the whole
+country was a desert, without a house to shelter her and her infant
+son."
+
+The part she bore in the dangers of the Revolution and the anxieties to
+which she was necessarily subjected, so impaired her health that "many
+years afterwards it was deemed necessary that she should try the climate
+of Europe. In January, 1800, she, with her son and his wife, left
+Savannah in a British ship of twenty guns, with fifty men, built in all
+points to resemble a sloop of war, without the appearance of a cargo.
+When they had been out about fifteen days, the captain sent one morning
+at daylight, to request the presence of two of his gentlemen passengers
+on deck. A large ship, painted black and showing twelve guns on a side,
+was seen to windward, running across their course. She was obviously a
+French privateer. The captain announced that there was no hope of
+out-sailing her, should their course be altered; nor would there be hope
+in a conflict, as those ships usually carried one hundred and fifty men.
+Yet he judged that if no effort were made to shun the privateer, the
+appearance of his ship might deter from an attack. The gentlemen were of
+the same opinion. Mr. Spalding, heart-sick at thought of the perilous
+situation of his wife and mother, and unwilling to trust himself with an
+interview till the crisis was over, requested the captain to go below
+and make what preparation he could for their security. After a few
+minutes' absence the captain returned to describe a most touching scene.
+Mrs. Spalding had placed her daughter-in-law and the other inmates of
+the cabin for safety in the two state-rooms, filling the berths with the
+cots and bedding from the outer cabin. She had then taken her station
+beside the scuttle, which led from the outer cabin to the magazine, with
+two buckets of water. Having noticed that the two cabin boys were
+heedless, she had determined herself to keep watch over the magazine.
+She did so till the danger was past. The captain took in his light
+sails, hoisted his boarding nettings, opened his ports, and stood on
+upon his course. The privateer waited till the ship was within a mile,
+then fired a gun to windward, and stood on her way. This ruse preserved
+the ship."[51]
+
+  [51] Mrs. Ellet.
+
+
+
+
+COURAGEOUS ACT OF MRS. DILLARD.
+
+  Thy country, glorious, brave and fair,
+  Thine all of life--
+  Her name alone thy heart's depths stirred,
+  And filled thy soul with war-like pride.
+
+                                    SARA J. CLARKE.
+
+
+The day before the battle at the Green Spring, in the Spartanburg
+district, South Carolina, Colonel Clarke, of the Georgia volunteers,
+with about two hundred men, stopped at the house of Captain Dillard and
+were cordially welcomed to a good supply of refreshments. In the evening
+of the same day, Colonel Ferguson and another officer named Dunlap, with
+a party of tories, arrived at the same house and inquired of the
+mistress, if Colonel Clarke had been there, to which question she gave a
+direct and honest answer. He then inquired in regard to the time of
+Clarke's departure and the number of his men. She could not guess their
+number, but said they had been gone a long time. She was then ordered to
+get supper, which she did, though in a less hospitable spirit than she
+had prepared the previous meal. While at work, she overheard some of the
+conversation of the officers, by which she learned that they were bent
+on surprising Colonel Clarke, and would start for that purpose when
+supper was dispatched. As soon as the food was on the table, Mrs.
+Dillard hurried out at the back door, bridled a horse that stood in the
+stable, and mounting without saddle, rode till nearly daylight before
+reaching the Green Spring where Clarke had encamped, and where he was to
+be attacked by Ferguson, at the break of day or sooner, as she had
+learned before starting.
+
+She had just aroused the whigs and notified them of their danger, when a
+detachment of two hundred picked, mounted men, commanded by Dunlap,
+rushed into the camp. They found their intended victims ready for the
+charge; were quickly driven out of the camp, and glad to escape by
+flight. Thus, fortunately for the friends of freedom, ended this battle,
+which, but for the daring of a single patriotic woman, would doubtless
+have resulted in the annihilation of the little band of Georgia
+volunteers.
+
+
+
+
+PHOEBE PHILLIPS.
+
+  The secret pleasure of a generous act
+  Is the great mind's great bribe.
+
+                                    DRYDEN.
+
+
+Phoebe Foxcroft, afterwards the wife of Samuel Phillips, the joint
+founder, with his uncle, of the academy at Andover, Massachusetts, was a
+native of Cambridge, in the same state. Reared beneath the shades of
+"Old Harvard" and being the daughter of a man of wealth and high
+respectability, it is almost needless to say that she was well educated
+and highly refined. To mental attainments she added the finishing charm
+of female character, glowing piety. The last forty years or more of her
+life were passed at Andover, where, after the death of her husband, she
+assisted in founding the celebrated Theological seminary. She died in
+1818.
+
+It is said that she was accustomed, for years, to make the health of
+every pupil in the academy a subject of personal interest. Her
+attentions to their wants were impartial and incalculably beneficial. To
+those that came from remote towns, and were thus deprived of parental
+oversight, she acted the part of a faithful mother.
+
+Affectionate, kind, generous, watchful, as a christian guardian; she was
+unbending, self-sacrificing and "zealous, yet modest," as a patriot.
+During the seven years' struggle for freedom, she frequently sat up till
+midnight or past, preparing bandages and scraping lint for the hospitals
+and making garments for the ragged soldiers.
+
+An offender of justice was once passing her house on his way to the
+whipping-post, when a boy, who observed him from her window, could not
+withhold a tear. He tried to conceal his emotion, but Mrs. Phillips saw
+the pearl drop of pity, and while a kindred drop fell from her own eyes,
+she said to him, with much emphasis and as though laying down some
+golden maxim--"When you become a law maker, examine the subject of
+corporeal punishment, and see if it is not unnatural, vindictive and
+productive of much evil." She was very discriminating, and could detect
+talent as well as tears; and addressed the lad with a premonition that
+he was destined to become a legislator--which was indeed the case.
+Elected to the assembly of the state, with the sacred command of his
+early and revered mentor impressed on his memory, he early called the
+attention of that body to the subject of corporeal punishment; had the
+statute book revised and the odious law, save in capital offences,
+expunged, and the pleasure of announcing the fact to the original
+suggestor of the movement.
+
+
+
+
+WORTHY EXAMPLE OF A POOR WIDOW.
+
+  Howe'er it be, it seems to me
+    'Tis only noble to be good;
+  Kind hearts are more than coronets,
+    And simple faith than Norman blood.
+
+                                   TENNYSON.
+
+
+The following article was communicated to the Christian Watchman and
+Reflector, of Boston, for January thirtieth, 1851. The facts are given
+without coloring or embellishment. The subject of the article has gone
+to the grave, but the influence of her exemplary life has not ceased to
+be felt. Her
+
+               "Speaking dust
+  Has more of life than half its breathing moulds."
+
+Some twenty years since, the writer became pastor of a church in the
+town of B. A few weeks after my settlement, I called at the humble
+dwelling of a poor widow, with whom I had already become somewhat
+acquainted. Having been apprised of the high estimation in which she was
+held by the church of which she was a member, for her cheerful and
+consistent piety, an interesting and profitable interview was
+anticipated. I had been seated but a few moments when she placed in my
+hand one dollar, and proceeded, by way of explanation, to make the
+following statements, which I give as nearly as possible in her own
+language:
+
+"Before you came among us, our church and people where in a very
+depressed and disheartened condition. For two or three Sabbaths we had
+no religious services during the day. How sad to be as sheep without a
+shepherd, and to have the house of God closed on his holy day! If the
+Lord would only send us a pastor, I felt willing to do any thing in my
+power to aid in sustaining him. But then the thought occurred to me,
+What can _you_ do, a poor widow, with four small children to support,
+and your house rent to pay? It is quite as much as you can do to meet
+necessary expenses. For a moment I was sad; but my mind still dwelt upon
+the subject, until finally this plan occurred to me: 'God has blessed
+you with excellent health, and you can sit up and work between the hours
+of nine and eleven or twelve o'clock at night; and what you thus earn
+you can give for that object.' I was at once relieved, and resolved
+before the Lord that, if he would send us a pastor, I would immediately
+commence my labors, and do what I could to aid in sustaining and
+encouraging him. I felt that now I could pray consistently, as I was
+willing to do my duty. With a faith and fervor to which I had before
+been a stranger, I besought the Lord speedily to favor us with an
+under-shepherd; and soon you came here to preach for us. I believed God
+sent you; and although at first you had no idea of remaining, I never
+doubted that you would become our pastor. As soon as you had accepted
+the call of the church, I began to work in accordance with my vow, and
+that dollar is the result of my earning, the last four weeks. And O, you
+would rejoice with me, could you know how much I have enjoyed these
+silent hours of night, when my children around me are wrapt in slumber,
+and all is as the stillness of the grave. The Lord has been with me
+continually, and I have had uninterrupted communion with him. When God
+had given us a pastor, I felt I must pray for a blessing to attend his
+labors among us; and, often have I been so impressed with the importance
+of a revival of religion, and the conversion of my children, and the
+people of this place, that I have been obliged to leave my work, and
+kneel down before my Maker, and earnestly plead with him that his Spirit
+may accomplish this work. Even after I had retired to rest, I have
+sometimes been obliged to arise and pray that he would save the souls of
+this people. And, blessed be his holy name, he has listened to prayer
+for this object also. When I heard of the numbers who attended the
+religious inquiry meeting, and the hopeful conversion of some to God, I
+felt I could say, 'This is the Lord, I have waited for him;' and I
+believe he will do greater things than these in our midst. Thus has God
+blessed one of the most unworthy of all his creatures; and I have often
+been led to sing, while I have been laboring here, lowly as is my
+condition,
+
+  'I would not change my blest estate,
+  With all that earth calls rich or great;
+  And, while my faith can keep her hold,
+  I envy not the sinner's gold.'"
+
+My attention had been absorbed with this interesting and affecting
+narrative; nor had I any inclination to interrupt it with remarks of my
+own. I now thought I could read the secret of the apparent success which
+had attended my labors in so short a time. As soon as I could recover
+from my emotions, I said to her, I am grateful for your prayers and this
+proffered donation; but, as my parish affords me a competent support, I
+can on no account feel at liberty to appropriate to my own private use
+the money thus earned. No; you shall have the additional satisfaction,
+while you are toiling at these unseasonable hours of night, of knowing
+that what you place in my hands shall be sacredly devoted to the cause
+of Christian benevolence, which I am sure you ardently love. With this
+she expressed herself satisfied; and continued her toils and prayers.
+
+It may be asked, What was the result? The answer is recorded with
+pleasure, and, I trust, with gratitude to God. Besides punctually
+attending all the meetings of the church, and laboring much in private
+for the eternal welfare of souls; besides supporting her family with
+more ease than formerly, as she stated to her pastor, at the close of
+the first year, and paying her assessments in several charitable
+societies to which she belonged, and also contributing something
+whenever a public collection was taken for benevolent objects; in
+addition to all this, she had placed in my hands ten dollars and a half,
+which was appropriated as stated above. Her donations for objects of
+religious charity must have amounted to at least _twelve dollars_ during
+that year, which, it is presumed, exceeded the amount given for similar
+objects by any other member of the church, although quite a number
+possessed a comfortable share of wealth. It may be thought that she was
+engaged in some business which yielded a handsome profit to reward her
+toils. But no; her business was shoe-binding, not then by any means very
+profitable. And who, with her disposition and spirit, could not do
+something to aid the cause of God? But what she earned and gave was not
+all. Her prayers, it is believed, had secured for the church a pastor,
+and been the means, with others, of the commencement of a revival of
+religion, which continued to prevail to a greater or less extent, for
+three successive years, during which time a large number were hopefully
+converted and added to the church: and among them several of her older
+children, who were away from home.
+
+
+
+
+ELIZABETH ESTAUGH.
+
+  A perfect woman, nobly planned,
+  To warn, to comfort and command;
+  And yet a spirit still, and bright
+  With something of an angel light.
+
+                                WORDSWORTH.
+
+
+Elizabeth Haddon was the oldest daughter of John Haddon, a well educated
+and wealthy, yet humble, Quaker, of London. She had two sisters, both of
+whom, with herself, received the highest finish of a practical
+education. Elizabeth possessed uncommon strength of mind, earnestness,
+energy and originality of character, and a heart overflowing with the
+kindest and warmest feelings. A single anecdote of her childhood, told
+by Mrs. Child, will illustrate the nobleness of nature which
+characterized her life:
+
+"At one time, she asked to have a large cake baked, because she wanted
+to invite some little girls. All her small funds were expended for
+oranges and candy on this occasion. When the time arrived, her father
+and mother were much surprised to see her lead in six little ragged
+beggars. They were, however, too sincerely humble and religious to
+_express_ any surprise. They treated the forlorn little ones very
+tenderly, and freely granted their daughter's request to give them some
+of her books and playthings at parting. When they had gone, the good
+mother quietly said, 'Elizabeth, why didst thou invite strangers,
+instead of thy schoolmates?' There was a heavenly expression in her eye,
+as she looked up earnestly, and answered, 'Mother, I wanted to invite
+_them_, they looked _so_ poor.'"
+
+When eleven years of age, she accompanied her parents to the Yearly
+Meeting of the Friends, where she heard, among other preachers, a very
+young man named John Estaugh, with whose manner of presenting divine
+truth she was particularly pleased. Many of his words were treasured in
+her memory. At the age of seventeen she made a profession of religion,
+uniting herself with the Quakers.
+
+During her early youth, William Penn visited the house of her father,
+and greatly amused her by describing his adventures with the Indians.
+From that time she became interested in the emigrant Quakers, and early
+began to talk of coming to America. Her father at length purchased a
+tract of land in New Jersey, with the view of emigrating, but his
+affairs took a new turn, and he made up his mind to remain in his native
+land. This decision disappointed Elizabeth. She had cherished the
+conviction that it was her duty to come to this country; and when, at
+length, her father, who was unwilling that any of his property should
+lie unimproved, offered the tract of land in New Jersey to any relative
+who would settle upon it, she promptly agreed to accept of the
+proffered estate. Willing that their child should follow in the path of
+duty, at the end of three months, and after much prayer, the parents
+consented to let Elizabeth join "the Lord's people in the New World."
+
+Accordingly, early in the spring of 1700, writes Mrs. Child, in whose
+sweet language, slightly condensed, the rest of the narrative is told,
+arrangements were made for her departure, and all things were provided
+that the abundance of wealth, or the ingenuity of affection, could
+devise.
+
+A poor widow of good sense and discretion accompanied her, as friend and
+housekeeper, and two trusty men servants, members of the Society of
+Friends. Among the many singular manifestations of strong faith and
+religious zeal, connected with the settlement of this country, few are
+more remarkable than the voluntary separation of this girl of eighteen
+years old from a wealthy home and all the pleasant associations of
+childhood, to go to a distant and thinly inhabited country, to fulfill
+what she considered a religious duty. And the humble, self-sacrificing
+faith of the parents, in giving up their child, with such reverend
+tenderness for the promptings of her own conscience, has in it something
+sublimely beautiful, if we look at it in its own pure light. The parting
+took place with more love than words can express, and yet without a tear
+on either side. Even during the long and tedious voyage, Elizabeth never
+wept. She preserved a martyr-like cheerfulness and serenity to the end.
+
+The house prepared for her reception stood in a clearing of the forest,
+three miles from any other dwelling. She arrived in June, when the
+landscape was smiling in youthful beauty; and it seemed to her as if the
+arch of heaven was never before so clear and bright, the carpet of the
+earth never so verdant. As she sat at her window and saw evening close
+in upon her in that broad forest home, and heard, for the first time,
+the mournful notes of the whippo-wil and the harsh scream of the jay in
+the distant woods, she was oppressed with a sense of vastness, of
+infinity, which she never before experienced, not even on the ocean. She
+remained long in prayer, and when she lay down to sleep beside her
+matron friend, no words were spoken between them. The elder, overcome
+with fatigue, soon sank into a peaceful slumber; but the young
+enthusiast lay long awake, listening to the lone voice of the whippo-wil
+complaining to the night. Yet, notwithstanding this prolonged
+wakefulness, she arose early and looked out upon the lovely landscape.
+The rising sun pointed to the tallest trees with his golden finger, and
+was welcomed with a gush of song from a thousand warblers. The poetry in
+Elizabeth's soul, repressed by the severe plainness of her education,
+gushed up like a fountain. She dropped on her knees, and, with an
+outburst of prayer, exclaimed fervently, "Oh, Father, very beautiful
+hast thou made this earth! How bountiful are thy gifts, O Lord!"
+
+To a spirit less meek and brave, the darker shades of the picture would
+have obscured these cheerful gleams; for the situation was lonely and
+the inconveniences innumerable. But Elizabeth easily triumphed over all
+obstacles, by practical good sense and the quick promptings of her
+ingenuity. She was one of those clear strong natures, who always have a
+definite aim in view, and who see at once the means best suited to the
+end. Her first inquiry was what grain was best adapted to the soil of
+her farm; and being informed that rye would yield best, "Then I shall
+eat rye bread," was her answer. But when winter came, and the gleaming
+snow spread its unbroken silence over hill and plain, was it not dreary
+then? It would have been dreary indeed to one who entered upon this mode
+of life from mere love of novelty, or a vain desire to do something
+extraordinary. But the idea of extended usefulness, which had first
+lured this remarkable girl into a path so unusual, sustained her through
+all trials. She was too busy to be sad, and leaned too trustingly on her
+Father's hand to be doubtful of her way. The neighboring Indians soon
+loved her as a friend, for they found her always truthful, just, and
+kind. From their teachings, she added much to her knowledge of simple
+medicines. So efficient was her skill and so prompt her sympathy, that
+for many miles round, if man, woman, or child were alarmingly ill, they
+were sure to send for Elizabeth Haddon; and wherever she went, her
+observing mind gathered some hint for the improvement of farm or dairy.
+Her house and heart were both large; and as her residence was on the way
+to the Quaker meeting-house in Newtown, it became a place of universal
+resort to Friends from all parts of the country traveling that road, as
+well as an asylum for benighted wanderers.
+
+The winter was drawing to a close, when late one evening, the sound of
+sleigh-bells was heard, and the crunching of snow beneath the hoofs of
+horses, as they passed into the barn-yard gate. The arrival of travelers
+was too common an occurrence to excite or disturb the well-ordered
+family.
+
+Great logs were piled in the capacious chimney, and the flames blazed up
+with a crackling warmth, when two strangers entered. In the younger,
+Elizabeth instantly recognized John Estaugh, whose preaching had so
+deeply impressed her at eleven years of age. This was almost like a
+glimpse of home--her dear old English home! She stepped forward with
+more than usual cordiality, saying:
+
+"Thou art welcome, Friend Estaugh; the more so for being entirely
+unexpected."
+
+"And I am glad to see thee, Elizabeth," he replied with a friendly shake
+of the hand. "It was not until after I landed in America, that I heard
+the Lord had called thee hither before me; but I remember thy father
+told me how often thou hadst played the settler in the woods, when thou
+wast quite a little girl."
+
+"I am but a child still," she replied, smiling.
+
+"I trust thou art," he rejoined; "and as for these strong impressions in
+childhood, I have heard of many cases where they seemed to be prophecies
+sent of the Lord. When I saw thy father in London, I had even then an
+indistinct idea that I might sometime be sent to America on a religious
+visit."
+
+"And hast thou forgotten, Friend John, the ear of Indian corn which my
+father begged of thee for me? I can show it to thee now. Since then I
+have seen this grain in perfect growth; and a goodly plant it is, I
+assure thee. See," she continued, pointing to many bunches of ripe corn,
+which hung in their braided husks against the walls of the ample
+kitchen: "all that, and more, came from a single ear, no bigger than the
+one thou didst give my father. May the seed sown by thy ministry be as
+fruitful!" "Amen," replied both the guests.
+
+The next morning, it was discovered that snow had fallen during the
+night in heavy drifts, and the roads were impassable. Elizabeth,
+according to her usual custom, sent out men, oxen and sledges, to open
+pathways for several poor families, and for households whose inmates
+were visited by illness. In this duty, John Estaugh and his friend
+joined heartily and none of the laborers worked harder than they. When
+he returned, glowing from this exercise, she could not but observe that
+the excellent youth had a goodly countenance. It was not physical
+beauty; for of that he had little. It was that cheerful, child-like,
+out-beaming honesty of expression, which we not unfrequently see in
+Germans, who, above all nations, look as if they carried a crystal heart
+within their manly bosoms.
+
+Two days after, when Elizabeth went to visit her patients, with a
+sled-load of medicines and provisions, John asked permission to
+accompany her. There, by the bedside of the aged and the suffering, she
+saw the clear sincerity of his countenance warmed with rays of love,
+while he spoke to them words of kindness and consolation; and there she
+heard his pleasant voice modulate itself into deeper tenderness of
+expression, when he took little children in his arms.
+
+The next First day, which we call the Sabbath, the whole family attended
+Newtown meeting; and there John Estaugh was gifted with an out-pouring
+of the spirit in his ministry, which sank deep into the hearts of those
+who listened to him. Elizabeth found it so marvellously applicable to
+the trials and temptations of her own soul, that she almost deemed it
+was spoken on purpose for her. She said nothing of this, but she
+pondered upon it deeply. Thus did a few days of united duties make them
+more thoroughly acquainted with each other, than they could have been by
+years of fashionable intercourse.
+
+The young preacher soon after bade farewell, to visit other meetings in
+Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Elizabeth saw him no more until the May
+following, when he stopped at her house to lodge, with numerous other
+Friends, on their way to the Quarterly Meeting at Salem. In the morning,
+quite a cavalcade started from her hospitable door, on horseback; for
+wagons were then unknown in Jersey. John Estaugh, always kindly in his
+impulses, busied himself with helping a lame and very ugly old woman,
+and left his hostess to mount her horse as she could. Most young women
+would have felt slighted; but in Elizabeth's noble soul the quiet deep
+tide of feeling rippled with an inward joy. "He is always kindest to the
+poor and the neglected," thought she; "verily he _is_ a good youth." She
+was leaning over the side of her horse, to adjust the buckle of the
+girth, when he came up on horseback, and inquired if anything was out of
+order. She thanked him, with slight confusion of manner, and a voice
+less calm than her usual utterance. He assisted her to mount, and they
+trotted along leisurely behind the procession of guests, speaking of the
+soil and climate of this new country, and how wonderfully the Lord had
+here provided a home for his chosen people. Presently the girth began to
+slip, and the saddle turned so much on one side, that Elizabeth was
+obliged to dismount. It took some time to re-adjust it, and when they
+again started, the company were out of sight. There was brighter color
+than usual in the maiden's cheeks, and unwonted radiance in her mild
+deep eyes. After a short silence, she said, in a voice slightly
+tremulous, "Friend John, I have a subject of importance on my mind, and
+one which nearly interests thee. I am strongly impressed that the Lord
+has sent thee to me as a partner for life. I tell thee my impression
+frankly, but not without calm and deep reflection; for matrimony is a
+holy relation, and should be entered into with all sobriety. If thou
+hast no light on the subject, wilt thou gather into the stillness, and
+reverently listen to thy own inward revealings? Thou art to leave this
+part of the country to-morrow, and not knowing when I should see thee
+again, I felt moved to tell thee what lay upon my mind."
+
+The young man was taken by surprise. Though accustomed to that
+suppression of emotion which characterizes his religious sect, the color
+went and came rapidly in his face, for a moment; but he soon became
+calmer, and replied, "This thought is new to me, Elizabeth; and I have
+no light thereon. Thy company has been right pleasant to me, and thy
+countenance ever reminds me of William Penn's title page, 'Innocency
+with her open face.' I have seen thy kindness to the poor, and the wise
+management of thy household. I have observed, too, that thy
+warm-heartedness is tempered by a most excellent discretion, and that
+thy speech is ever sincere. Assuredly, such is the maiden I would ask of
+the Lord, as a most precious gift; but I never thought of this connexion
+with thee. I came to this country solely on a religious visit, and it
+might distract my mind to entertain this subject at present. When I have
+discharged the duties of my mission, we will speak further."
+
+"It is best so," rejoined the maiden; "but there is one thing disturbs
+my conscience. Thou hast spoken of my true speech; and yet, Friend John,
+I have deceived thee a little, even now, while we conferred together on
+a subject so serious. I know not from what weakness the temptation came;
+but I will not hide it from thee. I allowed thee to suppose, just now,
+that I was fastening the girth of my horse securely; but, in plain
+truth, I was loosening the girth, John, that the saddle might slip, and
+give me an excuse to fall behind our friends; for I thought thou wouldst
+be kind enough to come and ask if I needed thy services."
+
+They spoke no further concerning their union; but when he returned to
+England, in July, he pressed her hand affectionately, as he said,
+"Farewell, Elizabeth. If it be the Lord's will, I shall return to thee
+soon."
+
+In October, he returned to America, and they were soon married, at
+Newtown meeting, according to the simple form of the Society of Friends.
+Neither of them made any change of dress for the occasion, and there was
+no wedding feast. Without the aid of priest or magistrate, they took
+each other by the hand, and, in the presence of witnesses, calmly and
+solemnly promised to be kind and faithful to each other. The wedded pair
+quietly returned to their happy home, with none to intrude upon those
+sacred hours of human life, when the heart most needs to be left alone
+with its own deep emotions.
+
+During the long period of their union, she three times crossed the
+Atlantic, to visit her aged parents, and he occasionally left her for a
+season, when called abroad to preach. These temporary separations were
+felt as a cross, but the strong-hearted woman always cheerfully gave him
+up to follow his own convictions of duty. In 1742, he parted from her,
+to go on a religious visit to Tortola, in the West Indies. He died
+there, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. She published a religious
+tract of his, to which is prefixed a preface entitled "Elizabeth
+Estaugh's testimony concerning her beloved husband, John Estaugh." In
+this preface, she says, "Since it pleased Divine Providence so highly to
+favor me, with being the near companion of this dear worthy, I must give
+some small account of him. Few, if any, in a married state, ever lived
+in sweeter harmony than we did. He was a pattern of moderation in all
+things; not lifted up with any enjoyments, nor cast down at
+disappointments; a man endowed with many good gifts, which rendered him
+very agreeable to his friends, and much more to me, his wife, to whom
+his memory is most dear and precious."
+
+Elizabeth survived her excellent husband twenty years, useful and
+honored to the last. The monthly Meeting of Haddonfield, in a published
+testimonial, speak of her thus: "She was endowed with great natural
+abilities, which, being sanctified by the spirit of Christ, were much
+improved; whereby she became qualified to act in the affairs of the
+church, and was a serviceable member, having been clerk to the women's
+meeting nearly fifty years, greatly to their satisfaction. She was a
+sincere sympathizer with the afflicted, of a benevolent disposition, and
+in distributing to the poor, was desirous to do it in a way most
+profitable and durable to them, and, if possible, not to let the right
+hand know what the left did. Though in a state of affluence as to this
+world's wealth, she was an example of plainness and moderation. Her
+heart and house were open to her friends, whom to entertain seemed one
+of her greatest pleasures. Prudently cheerful, and well knowing the
+value of friendship, she was careful not to wound it herself, nor to
+encourage others in whispering supposed failings or weaknesses. Her last
+illness brought great bodily pain, which she bore with much calmness of
+mind and sweetness of spirit. She departed this life as one falling
+asleep, full of days, like unto a shock of corn, fully ripe."
+
+The town of Haddonfield, in New Jersey, took its name from her; and the
+tradition concerning her courtship is often repeated by some patriarch
+among the Quakers.
+
+Her medical skill is so well remembered, that the old nurses of New
+Jersey still recommend Elizabeth Estaugh's salve as the "sovereignest
+thing on earth."
+
+
+
+
+KATE MOORE.
+
+  From lowest place when virtuous things proceed,
+  The place is dignified by the doer's deed.
+
+                                              SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Kate Moore is the daughter of Captain Moore, keeper of the Light House
+on Fairweather Island, sixty miles north of the city of New York, and
+about half way between the harbors of Black Rock and Bridgeport,
+Connecticut. The island is about half a mile from shore and contains
+five acres of land. On that little, secluded spot Captain Moore has
+resided nearly a quarter of a century, and has reared a family of five
+children, of whom Kate is the heroine.
+
+Disasters frequently occur to vessels which are driven round Montauk
+Point, and sometimes in the Sound, when they are homeward bound; and at
+such times she is always on the alert. She has so thoroughly cultivated
+the sense of hearing, that she can distinguish amid the howling storm,
+the shrieks of the drowning mariners, and thus direct a boat, which she
+has learned to manage most dexterously, in the darkest night, to the
+spot where a fellow mortal is perishing Though well educated and
+refined, she possesses none of the affected delicacy which characterizes
+too many town-bred misses; but, adapting herself to the peculiar
+exigences of her father's humble yet honorable calling, she is ever
+ready to lend a helping hand, and shrinks from no danger, if duty points
+that way. In the gloom and terror of the stormy night, amid perils at
+all hours of the day, and all seasons of the year, she has launched her
+barque on the threatening waves; and has assisted her aged and feeble
+father in saving the lives of twenty-one persons during the last fifteen
+years! Such conduct, like that of Grace Darling, to whom Kate Moore has
+been justly compared, needs no comment; it stamps its moral at once and
+indelibly upon the heart of every reader.
+
+
+
+
+CAPTIVITY OF MRS. ROWLANDSON.
+
+  Through sorrowing and suffering thou hast pass'd,
+  To show us what a woman true may be.
+
+                                                  LOWELL.
+
+
+Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, the wife of the Rev. Joseph Rowlandson, was taken
+prisoner by the Indians at Lancaster, Massachusetts, on the tenth of
+February, 1676, and remained in captivity till the third of the
+following May. The details of her sufferings, as related by herself, are
+too painful for many persons to read; but she bore them with such
+Christian fortitude, that nothing short of a brief account of her
+captivity would seem to be excusable in a work like this.
+
+The day after the destruction of Lancaster, the Indians began their
+march; and Mrs. Rowlandson carried her infant till her strength failed
+and she fell. She was then furnished with a horse, without a saddle.
+Attempting to ride, she again fell. Towards night it began to snow; and
+gathering a few sticks, she made a fire. Sitting beside it on the snow,
+she held her child in her arms through the long and dismal night. For
+three or four days she had no sustenance but water; nor did her child
+share any better for nine days. During this time it was constantly in
+her arms or lap. At the end of that period, the frost of death crept
+into its eyes, and she was forced to relinquish it to be disposed of by
+the unfeeling sextons of the forest.
+
+After its burial, Mrs. Rowlandson was sold by her Narraganset captor to
+a Sagamore named Quanopin, by which transfer she found in her new
+master's wife "a most uncomfortable mistress." Soon afterwards the
+Indians went on an expedition to Medfield, and on their return one of
+them gave her a Bible--her best friend and great support during her
+sufferings and trials. She retained it during her captivity.
+
+The party of Indians with whom she continued, remained for some time
+near Petersham, in Worcester county. At length, hearing a report that
+the pale faces were in pursuit of them, they hastily decamped and
+continued their march till they crossed the Connecticut river, in the
+neighborhood of Gill or Bernardston. There Mrs. Rowlandson came in
+contact with the great chief, Philip, who treated her civilly and even
+politely. Ere long the Indians re-crossed the Connecticut, and returned
+into Worcester county. During this part of her pilgrimage, writes
+President Dwight, whose concise narrative we have followed, "Mrs.
+Rowlandson went through almost every suffering but death. She was
+beaten, kicked, turned out of doors, refused food, insulted in the
+grossest manner, and at times almost starved. Nothing but experience
+can enable us to conceive what must be the hunger of a person, by whom
+the discovery of six acorns, and two chestnuts, was regarded as a rich
+prize. At times, in order to make her miserable, they announced to her
+the death of her husband and her children. One of the savages, of whom
+she enquired concerning her son, told her that his master had, at a time
+which he specified, killed and roasted him; that himself had eaten a
+piece of him, as big as his two fingers, and that it was delicious meat.
+On various occasions they threatened to kill her. Occasionally, but for
+short intervals only, she was permitted to see her children; and
+suffered her own anguish over again in their miseries. She was also
+obliged, while hardly able to walk, to carry a heavy burden over hills,
+and through rivers, swamps, and marshes; and that in the most inclement
+seasons. These evils were repeated daily; and, to crown them all, she
+was daily saluted with the most barbarous and insolent accounts of the
+burning and slaughter, the tortures and agonies, inflicted by them upon
+her countrymen. It is to be remembered that Mrs. Rowlandson was tenderly
+and delicately educated, and as ill fitted to encounter these distresses
+as persons who have received such an education, now are in this and
+other countries.
+
+"There was, however, among the savages a marked difference of character.
+Some of them, both men and women, treated her with kindness. None of
+them exhibited so much insolence to her as her mistress. This woman
+felt all the haughtiness of rank, as much as if she had been a European
+or Asiatic princess; and spent almost as much time in powdering her
+hair, painting her face, and adorning herself with ear-rings, bracelets,
+and other ornaments, a part of their plunder from the English."
+
+The captivity of Mrs. Rowlandson was terminated through the agency of
+Mr. Hoar, of Concord, Massachusetts. Under a commission from the
+Government he redeemed her for about eighty dollars, which sum was
+contributed by a Mr. Usher and some female friends in Boston.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. BOZARTH.
+
+  To weakness strength succeeds, and power
+  From frailty springs.
+
+                                   PARK BENJAMIN.
+
+  There's no impossibility to him
+  Who stands prepared to conquer every hazard.
+
+                                       MRS. HALE.
+
+
+In the spring of 1779, while two or three neighboring families, had,
+from fear, collected at the house of Mrs. Bozarth, in Green county,
+Pennsylvania, the little company was one day attacked by Indians. The
+children, who were playing without, first discovered the foe, and,
+giving the alarm, had not time to get within doors before they were
+overtaken, and began to fall beneath the tomahawk. The first man who
+stepped to the door when the alarm was heard, was shot, and fell back;
+and before the door could be closed, an Indian leaped over him into the
+house. The other man in the house caught the savage and threw him on the
+bed. He then called for a knife, but Mrs. Bozarth, being unable to find
+one, seized an axe and instantly dispatched the bold assailant. Another
+Indian now rushed in, and shot at and wounded the man before he was off
+the bed. Mrs. Bozarth gave this second intruder several blows, when his
+cries brought a third to the door. Him she killed as he entered. The
+wounded savage was then dragged out; the door again closed and fastened;
+and, through the assistance of the wounded man, Mrs. Bozarth was able to
+keep out the rest of the murderous assailants until relieved by the
+arrival of friends.
+
+
+
+
+THE HEROINE OF STEEL CREEK
+
+  Here and there some stern, high patriot stood.
+
+                                              BYRON.
+
+
+The subject of the following anecdote was the mother of eleven sons.
+Most of them were soldiers and some were officers in the war of the
+Revolution. Her residence was in Mechlenburg county, near Steel creek,
+North Carolina.
+
+When Lord Cornwallis heard of the defeat of Ferguson at King's
+Mountain,[52] fearing an attack of his rear at Camden, he collected his
+forces and retreated towards Winnsboro. While on this march, his whole
+army halted for the night on the plantation of Robert Wilson. Cornwallis
+and his staff took possession of the house, and made an unstinted levy
+on the hospitality of the good lady. By asking such questions as a
+British lord would, under the circumstances, feel at liberty to
+propound, the General learned, in the course of the evening, that the
+husband of Mrs. Wilson, and some of her sons, were then his prisoners in
+Camden jail. Her kindness and urbanity led him to think that perhaps
+she was a friend to the Crown; and, after some preliminary remarks,
+intended to prepare her mind for the leading consideration which he
+wished to enforce upon it, he at length addressed her as follows:
+
+  [52] October seventh, 1780.
+
+"Madam, your husband and your son are my prisoners; the fortune of war
+may soon place others of your sons--perhaps all your kinsmen, in my
+power. Your sons are young, aspiring and brave. In a good cause,
+fighting for a generous and powerful king, such as George III, they
+might hope for rank, honor and wealth. If you could but induce your
+husband and sons to leave the rebels, and take up arms for their lawful
+sovereign, I would almost pledge myself that they shall have rank and
+consideration in the British army. If you, madam, will pledge yourself
+to induce them to do so, I will immediately order their discharge."
+
+"I have seven sons," Mrs. Wilson replied, "who are now, or have been,
+bearing arms--indeed my seventh son, Zaccheus, who is only fifteen years
+old, I yesterday assisted to get ready to go and join his brothers in
+Sumter's army. Now, sooner than see one of my family turn back from the
+glorious enterprise, I would take these boys--pointing to three or four
+small sons--and with them would myself enlist, under Sumter's standard,
+and show my husband and sons how to fight, and, if necessary, to die for
+their country!"
+
+Colonel Tarleton was one of the listeners to this colloquy, and when
+Mrs. Wilson had finished her reply, he said to Cornwallis: "Ah! General!
+I think you've got into a hornet's nest! Never mind, when we get to
+Camden, I'll take good care that old Robin Wilson never comes back
+again!" We may add that Tarleton's threat was never executed. Mr. Wilson
+and his worthy companion lived to old age, and died at Steel creek just
+before the war of 1812.
+
+
+
+
+BENEVOLENCE OF A COLORED WOMAN.
+
+  Great minds, like Heaven, are pleased in doing good.
+
+                                                     ROWE.
+
+
+The following anecdote is obtained from a reliable source. Did the
+spirit which pervaded the heart of its subject, thoroughly permeate the
+churches, the great work of carrying the Gospel to every nation, would
+soon be accomplished.
+
+"In one of the eastern counties of New York lived a colored female, who
+was born a slave, but she was made free by the act gradually abolishing
+slavery in that state. She had no resources except such as she obtained
+by her own labor. On one occasion she carried to her pastor _forty
+dollars_: she told him that she wished him, with two dollars of this sum
+to procure for her a seat in his church; eighteen dollars she desired to
+be given to the American Board; and the remaining twenty dollars she
+requested him to divide among other benevolent societies according to
+his discretion."
+
+
+
+
+REBECCA EDWARDS.
+
+  Honor being then above life, dishonor must
+  Be worse than death; for fate can strike but one.
+  Reproach doth reach whole families.
+
+                                         CARTWRIGHT'S SIEGE.
+
+
+At the celebration of our national Independence, in 1797, the orator of
+the society of the Cincinnati of South Carolina, paid the following
+tribute to the magnanimity of Mrs. Rebecca Edwards:--"The Spartan
+mother, on delivering his shield to her son departing for the army,
+nobly bade him 'return with it or on it.' The sentiment was highly
+patriotic, but surely not superior to that which animated the bosom of
+the distinguished female of our own state, who, when the British officer
+presented the mandate which arrested her sons as objects of retaliation,
+less sensible of private affection than attached to her honor and the
+interest of her country, stifled the tender feelings of the mother, and
+heroically bade them despise the threats of their enemies, and
+steadfastly persist to support the glorious cause in which they had
+engaged--that if the threatened sacrifice should follow, they would
+carry a parent's blessing, and the good opinion of every virtuous
+citizen along with them to the grave: but if from the frailty of human
+nature--of the possibility of which she would not suffer an idea to
+enter her mind--they were disposed to temporize, and exchange their
+liberty for safety, they must forget her as a mother, nor subject her to
+the misery of ever beholding them again."[53]
+
+  [53] American Anecdotes, vol. 2, p. 11.
+
+
+
+
+"THE BEAUTIFUL REBEL."
+
+                  Trembling and fear
+  Are to her unknown.
+
+                           SIR WALTER SCOTT.
+
+
+The maiden name of Mrs. Lewis Morris was Ann Elliott. She was born at
+Maccabee, in 1762, and died in New York, in 1848. She was a firm and
+fearless patriot, and when the city of Charleston, South Carolina, was
+in possession of the red coats, she wore thirteen small plumes in her
+bonnet. She had so fair a face, so graceful a form and so patriotic a
+spirit, as to be called "the beautiful rebel." An English officer fell
+in love with her and offered to join the Americans, if she would favor
+his proposals. She ordered the friend who interceded for him to say to
+him, "that to her former want of esteem, was added scorn for a man
+capable of betraying his sovereign for selfish interest."
+
+While she was engaged to Colonel Morris and he was on a visit one time
+at Maccabee, the house was suddenly surrounded by Black Dragoons. They
+were in pursuit of the Colonel, and it was impossible for him to escape
+by flight. What to do he knew not, but, quick as thought, she ran to the
+window, opened it, and, fearlessly putting her head out, in a composed
+yet firm manner, demanded what was wanted. The reply was, "We want the
+---- rebel." "Then go," said she, "and look for him in the American
+army," adding "How dare you disturb a family under the protection of
+both armies!" She was so cool, self-possessed, firm and resolute as to
+triumph over the dragoons, who left without entering the house.
+
+
+
+
+HARRIET B. STEWART.
+
+  Men sacrifice others--women themselves.
+
+                            MRS. S. C. HALL.
+
+
+Harriet Bradford Tiffany, afterwards the wife of the Rev. Charles S.
+Stewart, was born near Stamford, Connecticut, on the fourth of June,
+1798. She lost her father when she was a small child, and till 1815,
+passed most of her time with an uncle, in Albany. At this date, an older
+sister married and settled in Cooperstown, and consequently Harriet took
+up her abode in that place. She became the subject of renewing grace in
+the summer of 1819; was married on the third of June, 1822, and sailed
+with her husband and nearly thirty other missionaries, all bound to the
+same field, on the nineteenth of November following. This little, heroic
+band, that, by the help of God, have since been mainly instrumental in
+making the Sandwich islands blossom like a rose, arrived at Honolulu, in
+Oahu, on the twenty-seventh of April, 1823.
+
+Mrs. Stewart left a beautiful town in a thriving part of the Empire
+State; tempting luxuries; a brilliant circle, and many endearing
+friends; but she had embarked in a glorious enterprise for Christ's
+sake, and, hence, she settled down in a little log hut, in the town of
+Lahaiua, three days' sail from Oahu, contented and happy. On the first
+day of January, 1824, she wrote as follows: "It is now fifteen months
+since I bade adieu to the dear valley which contains much, very much,
+that is most dear to me; but since the day I parted from it, my spirits
+have been uniformly good. Sometimes, it is true, a cloud of tender
+recollections passes over me, obscuring, for a moment, my mental vision,
+and threatening a day of darkness; but it is seldom. And as the
+returning sun, after a summer shower, spreads his beams over the
+retiring gloom of the heavens, and stretches abroad the shining arch of
+promise to cheer the face of nature, so, at such times, do the rays of
+the Sun of Righteousness speedily illumine the hopes of my soul, and
+fill my bosom with joy and peace."
+
+A few months after the above date, writing to a friend, she says: "We
+are most contented and most happy, and rejoice that God has seen fit to
+honor and bless us by permitting us to be the bearers of his light and
+truth to this dark corner of the earth. Could you feel the same gladness
+that often fills our bosoms, in witnessing the happy influence of the
+Gospel on the minds and hearts of many of these interesting creatures,
+you would be satisfied, yes more than satisfied, that we should be _what
+we are, and where we are, poor missionaries in the distant islands of
+the sea_."
+
+In these brief extracts from her letters, shines, in its serenest
+lustre, the character of the Christian heroine:[54] and it would be an
+easy task to compile a volume of letters written on the field of moral
+conflict by American female missionaries, breathing a spirit equally as
+unselfish, cheerful and brave. All pioneer women in this enterprise are
+heroines, and if the conflicts and sublime victories of all claiming
+American citizenship, are not herein recorded, it is because, in a work
+of unambitious pretensions as it regards size, a few characters must
+stand as representatives of a class.
+
+  [54] For a full account of the life of Mrs. Stewart, we refer the reader
+  to an interesting Memoir, by her husband.
+
+So pernicious was the influence of a tropical climate that, in the
+spring of 1825, the health of Mrs. Stewart began to fail; and at the end
+of a year, she was forced to leave the country. She sailed, with her
+husband, for London; and after tarrying three months in England, they
+embarked for home. They reached the valley of the Otsego in September,
+1826. For three or four years, it was the prayer of Mrs. Stewart that
+she might be restored to health and permitted to return to the mission
+station; but in January, 1830, she was laid on a bed of declension and
+suffering, and in the following autumn, fully ripe, was gathered into
+the heavenly garner.
+
+
+
+
+A KIND AND BENEVOLENT WOMAN.
+
+  Ah! woman--in this world of ours,
+  What gift can be compared to thee.
+
+                          GEORGE P. MORRIS.
+
+
+Mrs. Margaret Morris, of Burlington, New Jersey, kept a journal during
+the Revolution, for the amusement, it is said, of a sister, the wife of
+Dr. Charles Moore, of Philadelphia. A few copies were printed several
+years ago, for private circulation, supplying friends with a mirror
+which reflects the image of expanded benevolence and exalted piety.
+Belonging to the Society of Friends, she was not partial to
+
+  "The shot, the shout, the groan of war;"
+
+yet her principles were patriotic, and she no doubt rejoiced over all
+the victories and in the final and complete success of the "rebel" army.
+She became a widow at an early age, and died at Burlington, in 1816,
+aged seventy-nine years.
+
+A single extract from her journal will illustrate the most prominent
+feature of her character:
+
+"June 14th, 1777. By a person from Bordentown, we hear twelve expresses
+came in there to-day from camp. Some of the gondola-men and their wives
+being sick, and no doctor in town to apply to, they were told Mrs.
+Morris was a skillful woman, and kept medicines to give to the poor; and
+notwithstanding their late attempts to shoot my poor boy, they ventured
+to come to me, and in a very humble manner begged me to come and do
+something for them. At first I thought they designed to put a trick on
+me, get me aboard their gondola, and then pillage my house, as they had
+done some others; but on asking where the sick folks were, I was told
+they were lodged in the Governor's house. So I went to see them; there
+were several, both men and women, very ill with fever; some said, the
+camp or putrid fever. They were broken out in blotches; and on close
+examination, it appeared to be the itch fever. I treated them according
+to art, and they all got well. I thought I had received all my pay when
+they thankfully acknowledged my kindness; but lo! in a short time
+afterwards a very rough, ill-looking man came to the door and asked for
+me. When I went to him he drew me aside, and asked if I had any friends
+in Philadelphia. The question alarmed me, supposing there was some
+mischief meditated against that poor city; however, I calmly said--'I
+have an ancient father, some sisters, and other near friends there.'
+
+"'Well,' said the man, 'do you wish to hear from them, or send any thing
+by way of refreshment to them? If you do, I will take charge of it, and
+bring you back any thing you may send for.'
+
+"I was very much surprised, and thought, to be sure, he only wanted to
+get provisions to take to the gondolas; but when he told me his wife was
+one of those I had given medicine to, and this was the only thing he
+could do to pay me for my kindness, my heart leaped with joy, and I set
+about preparing something for my dear, absent friends. A quarter of
+beef, some veal, fowls and flour, were soon put up; and about midnight
+the man called and took them aboard his boat. He left them at Robert
+Hopkins'--at the point--whence my beloved friends took them to town.
+
+"Two nights afterwards, a loud knocking at our front door greatly
+alarmed us, and opening the chamber window, we heard a man's voice,
+saying, 'Come down softly and open the door, but bring no light.'
+
+"There was something mysterious in such a call; but we concluded to go
+down and set the candle in the kitchen.
+
+"When we got to the front door, we asked, 'Who are you?'
+
+"The man replied, 'A friend; open quickly.' So the door was opened; and
+who should it be but our honest gondola-man, with a letter, a bushel of
+salt, a jug of molasses, a bag of rice, some tea, coffee, and sugar, and
+some cloth for a coat for my poor boys; all sent by my kind sisters!
+
+"How did our hearts and eyes overflow with love to them, and thanks to
+our Heavenly Father for such seasonable supplies! May we never forget
+it! Being now so rich, we thought it our duty to hand out a little to
+the poor around us, who were mourning for want of salt; so we divided
+the bushel, and gave a pint to every poor person who came for it--having
+abundance left for our own use. Indeed, it seemed to us as if our little
+store was increased by distribution, like the bread broken by our
+Saviour to the multitude."
+
+
+
+
+NOBLE EXAMPLE OF PIONEERS.
+
+  In every rank, or great or small,
+  'Tis industry supports us all.
+
+                                      GAY.
+
+ Count life by virtues--these will last
+ When life's lame-footed race is o'er.
+
+                                 MRS. HALE.
+
+
+In the year 1843, the Hon. Samuel Wilkeson, of Buffalo--since
+deceased--communicated to the American Pioneer, a series of papers
+entitled "Early Recollections of the West." They present a graphic, yet
+painful picture of the perils, hardships and sufferings attendant on
+back-woods life in the midst of the aboriginal foresters. His father's
+family was one of twenty that removed from Carlisle and the adjacent
+towns, to the western part of Pennsylvania, in the spring of 1784. He
+pays the following tribute to the industry, perseverance and pious
+efforts of the mothers of the band:
+
+The labor of all the settlers was greatly interrupted by the Indian war.
+Although the older settlers had some sheep, yet their increase was slow,
+as the country abounded in wolves. It was therefore the work of time to
+secure a supply of wool. Deerskin was a substitute for cloth for men and
+boys, but not for women and girls, although they were sometimes
+compelled to resort to it. The women spun, and generally wove all the
+cloth for their families, and when the wife was feeble, and had a large
+family, her utmost efforts could not enable her to provide them with
+anything like comfortable clothing. The wonder is, and I shall never
+cease to wonder, that they did not sink under their burthens. Their
+patient endurance of these accumulated hardships did not arise from a
+slavish servility, or insensibility to their rights and comforts. They
+justly appreciated their situation, and nobly encountered the
+difficulties which could not be avoided.
+
+Possessing all the affections of the wife, the tenderness of the mother,
+and the sympathies of the woman, their tears flowed freely for others'
+griefs, while they bore their own with a fortitude which none but a
+woman could exercise. The entire education of her children devolved on
+the mother, and notwithstanding the difficulties to be encountered, she
+did not allow them to grow up wholly without instruction; but amidst all
+her numerous cares taught them to read, and instructed them in the
+principles of Christianity. To accomplish this, under the circumstances,
+was no easy task. The exciting influences which surrounded them, made
+the boys restless under restraint. Familiarized as they were to
+hardships from the cradle, and daily listening to stories of Indian
+massacres and depredations, and to the heroic exploits of some
+neighboring pioneer, who had taken an Indian scalp, or by some daring
+effort saved his own, ignorant of the sports and toys with which
+children in other circumstances are wont to be amused, no wonder they
+desired to emulate the soldier, or engage in the scarcely less exciting
+adventures of the hunter. Yet even many of these boys were subdued by
+the faithfulness of the mother, who labored to bring them up in the fear
+of God.
+
+
+
+
+ANECDOTE OF MRS. SLOCUMB.
+
+                  Our country yet remains:
+  By that dread name, we wave the sword on high,
+  And swear for her to live--with her to die!
+
+                                            CAMPBELL.
+
+
+One of the spiciest specimens of colloquial sparring, _vis-a-vis_, in
+our Revolutionary annals, was between Colonel Tarleton and the wife of
+Lieutenant Slocumb, of Wayne county, North Carolina.[55] The Attic wit
+and Spartan boldness of the latter, exhibit original powers of mind,
+strength of will, and a degree of self-possession truly grand and
+ennobling. But the character of the heroine of "Pleasant Green," is most
+luminous in her conduct at the battle of Moore's Creek, which occurred
+on the twenty-seventh of February, 1776. She tells the story of her
+adventures on that bloody occasion, as follows:
+
+  [55] _Vide_ Women of the Revolution, vol. 1. pp. 306-7, etc.
+
+"The men all left on Sunday morning. More than eighty went from this
+house with my husband; I looked at them well, and I could see that every
+man had mischief in him. I know a coward as soon as I set my eyes upon
+him. The tories more than once tried to frighten me, but they always
+showed coward at the bare insinuation that our troops were about.
+
+"Well, they got off in high spirits, every man stepping high and light.
+And I slept soundly and quietly that night, and worked hard all the next
+day; but I kept thinking where they had got to--how far; where and how
+many of the regulars and tories they would meet; and I could not keep
+myself from the study. I went to bed at the usual time, but still
+continued to study. As I lay--whether waking or sleeping I know not--I
+had a dream; yet it was not all a dream. (She used the words,
+unconsciously, of the poet who was not then in being.) I saw distinctly
+a body wrapped in my husband's guard-cloak--bloody--dead; and others
+dead and wounded on the ground about him. I saw them plainly and
+distinctly. I uttered a cry, and sprang to my feet on the floor; and so
+strong was the impression on my mind, that I rushed in the direction the
+vision appeared, and came up against the side of the house. The fire in
+the room gave little light, and I gazed in every direction to catch
+another glimpse of the scene. I raised the light; every thing was still
+and quiet. My child was sleeping, but my woman was awakened by my crying
+out or jumping on the floor. If ever I felt fear it was at that moment.
+Seated on the bed, I reflected a few moments--and said aloud: 'I must
+go to him.' I told the woman I could not sleep, and would ride down the
+road. She appeared in great alarm; but I merely told her to lock the
+door after me, and look after the child. I went to the stable, saddled
+my mare--as fleet and easy a nag as ever traveled; and in one minute we
+were tearing down the road at full speed. The cool night seemed after a
+mile or two's gallop to bring reflection with it; and I asked myself
+where I was going, and for what purpose. Again and again, I was tempted
+to turn back; but I was soon ten miles from home, and my mind became
+stronger every mile I rode. I should find my husband dead or dying--was
+as firmly my presentiment and conviction as any fact of my life. When
+day broke I was some thirty miles from home. I knew the general route
+our little army expected to take, and had followed them without
+hesitation. About sunrise I came upon a group of women and children,
+standing and sitting by the road-side, each one of them showing the same
+anxiety of mind I felt. Stopping a few minutes I inquired if the battle
+had been fought. They knew nothing, but were assembled on the road-side
+to catch intelligence. They thought Caswell had taken the right of the
+Wilmington road, and gone towards the north-west (cape Fear). Again was
+I skimming over the ground through a country thinly settled, and very
+poor and swampy; but neither my own spirits nor my beautiful nag's
+failed in the least. We followed the well-marked trail of the troops.
+
+"The sun must have been well up, say eight or nine o'clock, when I heard
+a sound like thunder, which I knew must be cannon. It was the first time
+I ever heard a cannon. I stopped still; when presently the cannon
+thundered again. The battle was then fighting. What a fool! my husband
+could not be dead last night, and the battle only fighting now! Still,
+as I am so near, I will go on and see how they come out. So away we went
+again, faster than ever; and I soon found, by the noise of the guns,
+that I was near the fight. Again I stopped. I could hear muskets, I
+could hear rifles, and I could hear shouting. I spoke to my mare and
+dashed on in the direction of the firing and the shouts, now louder than
+ever. The blind path I had been following brought me into the Wilmington
+road leading to Moore's creek bridge, a few hundred yards below the
+bridge. A few yards from the road, under a cluster of trees were lying
+perhaps twenty men. They were the wounded. I knew the spot; the very
+trees; and the position of the men I knew as if I had seen it a thousand
+times. I had seen it all night! I saw all at once; but in an instant my
+whole soul was centered in one spot; for there, wrapped in his bloody
+guard-cloak, was my husband's body! How I passed the few yards from my
+saddle to the place I never knew. I remember uncovering his head and
+seeing a face clothed with gore from a dreadful wound across the temple.
+I put my hand on the bloody face; 'twas warm; and an _unknown voice_
+begged for water. A small camp-kettle was lying near, and a stream of
+water was close by. I brought it; poured some in his mouth; washed his
+face; and behold--it was Frank Cogdell. He soon revived and could speak.
+I was washing the wound in his head. Said he 'It is not that; it is that
+hole in my leg that is killing me.' A puddle of blood was standing on
+the ground about his feet. I took his knife, cut away his trowsers and
+stockings, and found the blood came from a shot hole through and through
+the fleshy part of the leg. I looked about and could see nothing that
+looked as if it would do for dressing wounds but some heart-leaves. I
+gathered a handful and bound them tight to the holes; and the bleeding
+stopped. I then went to the others; and--Doctor! I dressed the wounds of
+many a brave fellow who did good fighting long after that day! I had not
+inquired for my husband; but while I was busy Caswell came up. He
+appeared very much surprised to see me; and was with his hat in hand
+about to pay some compliment: but I interrupted him by asking--'Where is
+my husband?'
+
+"'Where he ought to be, madam; in pursuit of the enemy. But pray,' said
+he, 'how came you here?'
+
+"'Oh, I thought,' replied I, 'you would need nurses as well as soldiers.
+See! I have already dressed many of these good fellows; and here is
+one'--going to Frank and lifting him up with my arm under his head so
+that he could drink some more water--'would have died before any of you
+men could have helped him.'
+
+"'I believe you,' said Frank. Just then I looked up, and my husband, as
+bloody as a butcher, and as muddy as a ditcher,[56] stood before me.
+
+  [56] It was his company that forded the creek, and, penetrating the
+  swamp, made the furious charge on the British left and rear which
+  decided the fate of the day.--[Mrs. Ellet.
+
+"'Why, Mary!' he exclaimed, 'What are you doing there? Hugging Frank
+Cogdell, the greatest reprobate in the army?'
+
+"'I don't care,' I cried. 'Frank is a brave fellow, a good soldier, and
+a true friend to Congress.'
+
+"'True, true! every word of it!' said Caswell. 'You are right, madam,'
+with the lowest possible bow.
+
+"I would not tell my husband what brought me there. I was so happy; and
+so were all! It was a glorious victory; I came just at the height of the
+enjoyment. I knew my husband was surprised, but I could see he was not
+displeased with me. It was night again before our excitement had at all
+subsided. Many prisoners were brought in, and among them some very
+obnoxious; but the worst of the tories were not taken prisoners. They
+were, for the most part, left in the woods and swamps wherever they were
+overtaken. I begged for some of the poor prisoners, and Caswell readily
+told me none should be hurt but such as had been guilty of murder and
+house-burning. In the middle of the night I again mounted my mare and
+started for home. Caswell and my husband wanted me to stay till next
+morning, and they would send a party with me; but no! I wanted to see
+my child, and I told them they could send no party who could keep up
+with me. What a happy ride I had back! and with what joy did I embrace
+my child as he ran to meet me!"[57]
+
+  [57] Mrs. Slocumb was a dignified and generous matron, a kind and
+  liberal neighbor, and a Christian of indomitable fortitude and
+  inexhaustible patience. After four or five years' extreme bodily
+  suffering, resulting from a complication of diseases, she died, on the
+  sixth of March, 1836, aged seventy-six years.
+
+
+
+
+CAPTAIN RICHARDSON SAVED BY HIS WIFE.
+
+  Love, lend me wings to make this purpose swift,
+  As thou hast lent me wit to plot this drift.
+
+                                          SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+During the struggle for Independence, Captain Richardson, of Sumter
+district, South Carolina, was obliged to conceal himself for a while in
+the thickets of the Santee swamp. One day he ventured to visit his
+family--a perilous movement, for the British had offered rewards for his
+apprehension, and patrolling parties were almost constantly in search of
+him.--Before his visit was ended, a small band of soldiers presented
+themselves in front of the house. Just as they were entering, with a
+great deal of composure and presence of mind, Mrs. Richardson appeared
+at the door, and found so much to do there at the moment, as to find it
+inconvenient to make room for the uninvited guests to enter. She was so
+calm, and appeared so unconcerned, that they did not mistrust the cause
+of her wonderful diligence, till her husband had rushed out of the back
+door and safely reached the neighboring swamp.
+
+
+
+
+STRIKING INSTANCE OF PATIENCE.
+
+  Patience and resignation are the pillars
+  Of human peace on earth.
+
+                                            YOUNG.
+
+
+The panegyric of Decker on patience is beautiful:
+
+  Patience, my lord! why 'tis the soul of peace:
+  Of all the virtues 'tis the nearest kin to heaven;
+  It makes men look like gods.
+
+Not every Christian sufferer wears this garment in its celestial
+whiteness, as did the God-man, whom the same writer calls
+
+                    "the best of men
+  That e'er wore earth about him."
+
+One of the most patient beings in modern times was Miss Sarah Parbeck,
+of Salem, Massachusetts. A lady who visited her in 1845, gives the
+following account of the interview:
+
+The door was opened by a very old lady, wrinkled and bowed down with
+age, who invited us to enter. The room was so dark, that, before my eyes
+were accommodated to the change, I could only see a figure dressed in
+white, sitting upon the bed and rocking to and fro. This motion was
+attended by a sound like the click of wooden machinery, which arose, as
+I afterwards discovered, from the bones, as they worked in their
+loosened sockets. As we approached, she extended her hand to my
+companion, and said, in a painful but affectionate voice, "Eliza, I am
+very glad to see thee;" and then asked my name and place of residence.
+She had just given me her hand, when a spasm seized her, and it was
+twitched suddenly from my grasp. It flew some four or five times with
+the greatest violence against her face, and then, with a sound, which I
+can only compare to that made by a child who has been sobbing a long
+time, in catching its breath, she threw up both her arms, and with a
+deep guttural groan was flung back upon her pillow, with a force
+inconceivable to one who has not witnessed it. The instant she touched
+the bed, she uttered that piercing shriek again, and sprung back to her
+former position, rocking to and fro, with those quick, heart-rending
+groans which I had heard while standing at the door. It was several
+minutes before she could speak, and then there was none to answer her.
+Both my companion and myself were choked with tears. Her poor mother
+went to the other side of the bed, and smoothed the coverlid, and
+re-arranged the pillows, looking sadly upon her poor child, writhing in
+torture which she could not alleviate. I became faint, and trembled with
+sudden weakness: a cold perspiration stood upon my face. The objects in
+the room began to swim about me, and I was obliged to take hold of the
+bedside for support. I have been in our largest hospitals, and have
+spent hours in going from room to room with the attending physician. I
+have witnessed there almost every form of human suffering, but I had
+never beheld any thing to be compared to that now before me. She
+afterwards told me, as if in apology for her screams, that when she was
+hurled back upon her pillow, both shoulders were dislocated, and as they
+sprung back into their sockets, the pain was far beyond endurance, and
+extorted from her these shrieks.
+
+Her sentences were broken, uttered with much difficulty, and frequently
+interrupted by the terrible spasm I have described above. Yet this was
+her "quiet" state; this the time when she suffered _least_. Day after
+day, night after night, _fourteen weary years_ have dragged themselves
+along, whilst her poor body has been thus racked. No relief; no hope of
+relief, except that which death shall give. When I asked her if her
+affliction did not at times seem greater than she could bear, "O!
+never," she replied. "I cannot thank God enough for having laid his
+heavy hand upon me. I was a thoughtless sinner, and had he not, in his
+mercy, afflicted me, I should probably have lost my immortal soul. I see
+only his kindness and love. The sweet communion I have with my Saviour
+more than compensates me for all I suffer. I am permitted to feel, in a
+measure, in my poor body, what he suffered to save me, and my soul can
+never grow weary in his praise." This last sentence, I must say, gave me
+an argument which put doubts of the verity and power of religion to
+flight more effectually than all the evidences which the wisdom of man
+has arrayed against the skeptic; and I could not but exclaim, "If this
+be delusion let me be deluded!"
+
+She spoke in the most tender terms of her Saviour's love. Her
+conversation was in heaven, from whence also she looked for her Saviour,
+knowing that he should change her body of humiliation, and fashion it
+like unto his glorious body. I shall never forget the tones and language
+in which she entreated my sobbing companion to give that Saviour her
+heart. As she recovered from a spasm, I said to her, "do you not often
+desire to depart, and be with the Saviour you love so fervently?" She
+had hardly recovered her exhausted breath, but replied with great
+decision, "By the grace of God, _I have never had that wish_. Though
+death will be a welcome gift when my Father sees fit to bestow it upon
+me, yet, thanks to his supporting grace, I can wait his time without
+impatience. He sees that there is much dross to refine away, and why
+should I wish against his will?"
+
+I remained by her side for more than an hour; such, however, were the
+attractions of her discourse, that I was unconscious of the time. I know
+not when I have been so drawn towards a fellow Christian, and never had
+I been led to such delightful contemplations of our Saviour's
+character--his faithfulness and love. I remarked to her, as I turned to
+go away, "God has made you a powerful preacher, here upon your bed of
+pain." "O," she replied, "if he will make me the instrument of saving
+but a single soul, I am willing to live and suffer here until my hair is
+gray with age." I noticed some bottles standing upon a small table, and
+asked her if she found any relief from opiates. "Through God's
+kindness," she answered, "I probably owe the preservation of my life
+thus far to an extract made from blackdrop." "Does it enable you to
+sleep?" "O no," she replied, "I have not known sleep for a very long
+time." "What!" I cried, "do you never rest?" A severe spasm here seized
+her, and it was some time before she could answer me; she had been
+attacked in this way some twelve or fifteen times whilst conversing with
+us, and frequently in the midst of a reply. When she recovered, she said
+the physicians thought she obtained rest in her "long spasm," which
+lasted for more than an hour. "During that time," she continued, "I am
+dead to every thing but a sense of the most extreme anguish. I see and
+hear nothing; I only feel as though I was being crushed in pieces by
+some immense weight." This was her rest! the rack! Yet, through all this
+suffering, the smiles of God penetrated to her heart. She sees him just,
+and acknowledges his love.
+
+
+
+
+SUSANNAH ELLIOTT.
+
+  ----The painted folds thus fly,
+  And lift their emblems, printed high
+  On morning mist and sunset sky.
+
+                                                HOLMES.
+
+  She showed that her soft sex contains strong mind.
+
+                                         SIR W. DAVENANT.
+
+
+Susannah Smith, afterwards the wife of Colonel Barnard Elliott, was a
+native of South Carolina. Ramsay, in his history of that state, and
+other authors, give a glowing account of her presentation of a pair of
+colors to the second South Carolina regiment of infantry, commanded by
+Col. Moultrie. The ceremony took place on the twenty-eighth of June,
+'76, two or three days after the attack on Fort Moultrie, Sullivan's
+island. The colors, which were embroidered by her own hand, were
+presented in these words: "Your gallant behavior in defence of liberty
+and your country, entitles you to the highest honors: accept these two
+standards as a reward justly due to your regiment; and I make not the
+least doubt, under Heaven's protection, you will stand by them as long
+as they can wave in the air of liberty."
+
+Mrs. Elliott had a plantation called "The Hut," and while there she once
+had three American gentlemen as guests. These she was obliged to hurry
+into a closet one day, on the sudden approach of the enemy; and, opening
+a secret door, she showed them a narrow apartment back of the chimney,
+which she had contrived expressly for a hiding place. Two of the guests
+entered, and were saved, while the third, attempting to flee on
+horse-back, was overtaken and slain.
+
+After the British had thoroughly, though ineffectually, searched the
+house, and failed, by many threats, to persuade the mistress to disclose
+the hiding place of the others, they demanded her silver. Pointing to
+some mounds of earth near by, as they made the demand, they asked if the
+plate was not buried there.[58] She told them, in reply, that those
+mounds were the graves of British soldiers who had died under her roof.
+The officers did not believe her, and made two of the soldiers dig till
+they came to one of the coffins, which was opened and which verified her
+assertion. The enemy then departed, when the two guests came forth,
+filled with gratitude to their kind and ingenious hostess for the free
+use of this singular apartment.
+
+  [58] The silver was buried in a trunk, and remained in a marshy bed till
+  the close of the war. When disinterred, it had turned black.
+
+
+
+
+ANECDOTES OF ANNA ELLIOTT.
+
+  "The spark of noble courage now awake,
+  And strive your excellent self to excel."
+
+
+The wife of Charles Elliott, of Charleston, South Carolina, was one of
+those dames of Seventy-six who "appeared to concentrate every thought
+and every hour of existence to the interests of America." She cheered
+the prisoner, befriended the unjustly persecuted, comforted the sick,
+fed the hungry, and was humane alike to enemies and friends. Major
+Garden has paid her the following compliment: "I do not know an officer
+who did not owe to her some essential increase of comfort."
+
+A British officer, whose cruel and persecuting disposition was well
+known to Mrs. Elliott, was walking with her in a flower garden one day,
+when, pointing to the chamomile he asked, "What is this, madam?" She at
+once replied, "The rebel flower." "And why," asked he, "is it called the
+rebel flower?" "Because," answered she, "it always flourishes most when
+trampled upon."
+
+At another time, while an officer of the royal army was in her house at
+Charleston, a French officer, belonging to Pulaski's legion, passed;
+and pointing to him, he vociferated, "There, Mrs. Elliott, is one of
+your illustrious allies. What a pity the hero is minus his _sword_." The
+spirit of the woman was roused, and she replied, "Had two thousand such
+men been here to aid in the defence of our city, I should not at this
+moment, sir, have been subjected to the insolence of your observation."
+
+When her father, the brave and zealous patriot, Thomas Ferguson, was put
+on board a transport ship at Charleston, preparatory to exile, she
+hastened from the country, where she chanced to be, and begged
+permission to receive his parting blessing. Her request being granted,
+she went on board the ship. Just as she entered the cabin, she was
+overcome with grief, and fainted. When recovered, she addressed her
+father as follows: "Let not oppression shake your fortitude, nor the
+hope of gentler treatment cause you for a moment to swerve from strict
+duty. Better times are in store for us: the bravery of the Americans,
+and the friendly aid of France, will achieve the deliverance of our
+country from oppression. We shall meet again, my father, and meet with
+joy."[59]
+
+  [59] A similar spirit was exhibited by the wife of Isaac Holmes, one of
+  the number who were sent into exile at St. Augustine. Just as the guard
+  were separating him from his family, she said to him, "Waver not in your
+  principles, but be true to your country. Have no fears for your family;
+  God is good, and will provide for them."
+
+
+
+
+PATRIOTIC STRATAGEM.
+
+  What bosom beats not in its country's cause?
+
+                                              POPE.
+
+
+While the Legislature of Virginia was in session at Charlottesville,
+Colonel Tarleton, with his famous band of cavalry, made a secret march
+to that place, in order to capture the Governor and some public stores
+there collected. Several of the Assembly-men were at the house of
+Colonel John Walker, a dozen miles distant, and directly on Tarleton's
+route. Colonel Walker was absent on duty in the lower part of the state.
+Tarleton came suddenly up to the door, and succeeded in making one or
+two prisoners, the other members fleeing to town. He then ordered
+breakfast for himself and his whole corps, which the shrewd lady of the
+house prepared in the slowest manner possible. This she did in order
+that the members who had fled to the capital, might attend to the
+removal or concealment of the stores, in the preservation of which she
+was deeply interested. Her stratagem succeeded; and, after tarrying a
+day or two at Charlottesville, Tarleton went empty away.
+
+
+
+
+INFLUENCE OF A FAITHFUL TEACHER.
+
+  Spread out earth's holiest records here.
+
+                                      SPRAGUE.
+
+
+"About the first of September, 1833, a deep and solemn interest upon the
+subject of religion, began to be visible in the Presbyterian church and
+congregation of Washingtonville, New York, and particularly in the
+Sabbath school. One teacher, feeling deeply the responsibility resting
+upon her, and the worth of immortal souls, before the school was
+dismissed on the Lord's day, affectionately requested her class,
+consisting of little girls about twelve or thirteen years of age, to
+remain after the rest of the school had retired. She then began, with an
+aching heart and with flowing tears, to reason and plead with them upon
+the subject of personal religion. They were deeply affected, and 'wept
+bitterly' in view of their lost condition. They then all knelt together
+before the Lord, and the teacher prayed for their salvation; and
+immediately the scholar next to her commenced praying for herself, and
+then the next, and so on, until the whole class, with ardent
+supplications, begged for the forgiveness of their sins, and the
+salvation of their souls. It would take long to tell the history of this
+class, and relate particular instances of conversions, and the happy
+changes which took place in the families to which they belonged, and
+show the family altars which were established. These scholars, with
+their teacher and their fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, were
+ere long seen commemorating a Saviour's dying love together. The revival
+extended itself to other towns, and the great day can alone unfold the
+astonishing results."
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF THOMAS HEYWARD.
+
+  What I will, I will, and there's an end.
+
+                                     SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Immediately after the victory of the British at Guilford, order was
+given for the illumination of Charleston, South Carolina. This order,
+Major Garden informs us,[60] the wife of Thomas Heyward of that city
+refused to obey; and when an officer asked her the reason of her
+disobedience, she replied, "Is it possible for me, sir, to feel a spark
+of joy? Can I celebrate the victory of your army while my husband
+remains a prisoner at St. Augustine?" Enraged at her obstinacy, he told
+her she _should_ illuminate. "Not a single light shall be placed, with
+my consent, on any occasion, in any window in the house," was her
+fearless reply. He then threatened to destroy her house before midnight.
+"You have power to destroy, sir," she said, "and seem well disposed to
+use it, but over my opinions you possess no control. I disregard your
+menaces, and resolutely declare, _I will not illuminate_!" As good as
+her word, she _did_ not, nor was her house destroyed.
+
+  [60] Revolutionary Anecdotes, First Series
+
+Orders were given, at another time, for an illumination on the
+anniversary of the battle and surrender of Charleston,[61] and Mrs.
+Heyward again refused to obey. The mob was so indignant as to pelt her
+house with brickbats; and while engaged in the mean act, a feeble and
+emaciated sister of Mrs. Heyward--Mrs. George A. Hall--expired! When the
+town major heard of this painful circumstance, he tried to apologize to
+Mrs. Heyward, expressing regret for the indignities and damages, and
+offering to repair the building. She received his personal courtesies,
+but refused his proffered aid in making repairs, hinting, at the same
+time, that it was hardly possible for the authorities, in that way, to
+remedy insults the offering of which their baseness had probably
+prompted and and which they could and _should_ have prevented.
+
+  [61] May twelfth, 1781.
+
+
+
+
+NOBLE DECISION.
+
+  We are born to do benefits.
+
+                          SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+When the news was received in Illinois, a few years ago, that, owing to
+a deficiency of funds, the Ceylon missionaries had been obliged to
+dismiss thousands of pupils from their schools, and that twenty-five
+dollars would revive any one of them, a minister of that state laid the
+subject before his small and poor church, and between pastor and people
+twenty-five dollars were promptly raised. Going home and communicating
+the intelligence to his wife, the minister learned that she had been
+weighing the subject, and was anxious, in some way, to raise enough
+herself alone to resuscitate a school. Her husband told her she could do
+it by dispensing with a tomb stone which had been ordered from New York
+for a child lately deceased, and which would cost twenty-five dollars.
+She promptly consented to have the order countermanded, saying that
+"living children demanded her money more than the one that was dead." By
+suffering the love of Christ to triumph over maternal feeling, she
+re-opened a mission school, and the day of judgment will reveal the
+great amount of good thereby accomplished.
+
+
+
+
+A TENNESSEE HEROINE.
+
+                          It is held
+  That valor is the chiefest virtue;
+  Most dignifies the haver: if it be,
+  The man I speak of cannot in the world
+  Be singly counterpoised.
+
+                                  SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Milton A. Haynes, Esq., of Tennessee, furnished for Mrs. Ellet's Women
+of the Revolution a lengthy and very interesting sketch of Sarah
+Buchanan, of East Tennessee. The following anecdotes, extracted
+therefrom, exhibit the heroism of her character:
+
+On one occasion, Sarah and a kinswoman named Susan Everett were
+returning home from a visit a mile or two distant, careless of danger,
+or not thinking of its presence. It was late in the evening, and they
+were riding along a path through the open woods, Miss Everett in
+advance. Suddenly she stopped her horse, exclaiming, "Look, Sally,
+yonder are the red skins!" Not more than a hundred yards ahead was a
+party of Indians armed with rifles, directly in their path. There was no
+time for counsel, and retreat was impossible, as the Indians might
+easily intercept them before they could gain a fort in their rear. To
+reach their own block-house, four or five hundred yards distant, was
+their only hope of safety. Quick as thought, Sarah whispered to her
+companion to follow and do as she did, and then instantly assuming the
+position of a man on horseback, in which she was imitated by her
+relative, she urged her horse into a headlong gallop. Waving their
+bonnets in the air, and yelling like madmen, they came furiously down
+upon the savages, who had not seen them, crying out as they came--"Clear
+the track, you ---- red skins!" The part was so well acted, that the
+Indians took them for the head of a body of troopers, who were making a
+deadly charge upon them, and dodging out of the path, fled for very
+life--and so did Sally and Susan! Before the savages had recovered from
+their fright, the two girls were safe within the gates of the fort,
+trembling like frightened fawns at the narrow escape which they had
+made.
+
+On another occasion, when her husband and all the men of the fort were
+absent, two celebrated horse-thieves, who had taken refuge with the
+Indians, came and demanded of Mrs. Buchanan two of the Major's fine
+horses. Knowing their lawless character, she pretended acquiescence, and
+went with them to the stable, but on arriving at the door she suddenly
+drew a large hunting knife from under her apron, and assuming an
+attitude of defiance, declared that if either of them dared to enter the
+stable, she would instantly cut him down. Struck by her intrepid
+bearing, they fell back, and although they tried to overcome her
+resolution by threats and bravado, she maintained her ground, and the
+marauders were compelled to retire without the horses.
+
+On Sunday night,[62] about the hour of midnight, while the moon was
+shining brilliantly, the Indian army under Watts and the Shawnee,
+advancing in silence, surrounded Buchanan's station. In order to effect
+an entrance into the fort by a _coup de main_, they sent runners to
+frighten and drive in the horses and cattle. This was done, and the
+animals came dashing furiously towards the fort; but the garrison,
+wrapped in slumber, heeded them not. The watchman, John McCrory, at this
+instant discovering the savages advancing within fifty yards of the
+gates, fired upon them. In an instant the mingled yells of the savage
+columns, the crack of their rifles, and the clatter of their hatchets,
+as they attempted to cut down the gate, told the little squad of
+nineteen men and seven women that the fearful war-cloud, which had been
+rising so long, was about to burst upon their devoted heads!
+
+  [62] In the autumn of 1792, while the war with the Creeks and Cherokees
+  was raging in the Cumberland valley.
+
+Aroused suddenly from deep slumber by the terrible war-whoop, every man
+and woman felt the horror of their situation. The first impulse with
+some was to surrender, and it is related of one woman that she instantly
+gathered her five children and attempted to go with them to the gate to
+yield themselves to the Indians. Mrs. Buchanan seized her by the
+shoulder, and asked her where she was going.
+
+"To surrender myself and children to the Indians--if I don't they'll
+kill us, any how," exclaimed the terrified woman. "Come back," said Mrs.
+Buchanan, "and let us all fight and die together." An old man, who waked
+up as it were in a dream, seemed paralyzed, and exclaimed, in a
+plaintive voice--"Oh, we shall all be murdered!"
+
+"Get up then and go to fighting!" exclaimed Mrs. Buchanan; "I'd be
+ashamed to sit crouched up there when any one else is fighting. Better
+die nobly than live shamefully!"
+
+In the mean time Major Buchanan had arranged his men in the block-houses
+so as to rake the Indians by a flank fire, and was pouring a galling
+fire into the head of the assaulting column. Yet, nothing dismayed, the
+daring foe crowded against the gates, their blows falling faster and
+heavier, while now and then they attempted to scale the pickets. At
+length, unable to do this or to force open the well-barred and ponderous
+gate, the bold warriors advanced to the block-houses, and standing
+before them, pointed their guns in at the port holes; both sides
+sometimes at the same instant firing through the same opening. It was
+the policy of Major Buchanan to impress upon them the idea that the fort
+contained a large garrison. To do this it was necessary for his men to
+fire their guns often, and occasionally in volleys. At this crisis the
+whisper went round--"All is lost. Our bullets are out!" But there were
+guardian angels whom these brave men knew not of. Scarcely had the words
+been spoken, when Mrs. Buchanan passed around with an apronful of
+bullets, which she and Nancy Mulherrin, the Major's sister, had moulded,
+during the fight, out of her plates and spoons. At the same time she
+gave to each of the tired soldiers some brandy which she carried in a
+pewter basin. During the contest they had thus moulded three hundred
+bullets. Not without their fun were these hardy men in this hour of
+peril. In order to keep up a show of good spirits, they frequently cried
+out to the Indians, "Shoot bullets, you squaws! Why don't you put powder
+in your guns?" This was understood, for Watts and many others spoke very
+good English, and they replied by daring them to come out and fight like
+men. In the midst of these banterings, Mrs. Buchanan discovered a large
+blunderbuss which had been standing in a corner during the fight and had
+not been discharged, and gave it to an Irishman named O'Connor to fire
+off. In telling the story afterwards the Irish man said: An' she gave me
+the wide-mouthed fusee and bade me to shoot that at the blasted
+creeters, and Jimmy O'Connor he took the fusee, and he pulled the
+trigger when the rest fired, for three or four times, and loaded her
+again every time, and so ye see, yer honor, when I pulled the trigger
+again, the fusee went off, it did, and Jimmy O'Connor went under the
+bed. This unequal contest lasted for four long hours, and when the first
+blush of morning began to appear in the east, most of the chiefs were
+killed or wounded. The boastful Shawnee was transfixed in death, leaning
+against the gate which he had so valorously assaulted; the White Owl's
+son and Unacate, or the White-man-killer, were mortally wounded, and
+John Watts was borne off on a litter, shot through both legs.
+
+During this protracted fight Mrs. Buchanan aided the defenders by words
+and deeds, as if life or death depended upon the efforts which she was
+then making. She knew, and all knew, that if the assault could be
+repelled for four hours, relief would come from the neighboring posts.
+Foiled, discouraged, their leaders disabled, this formidable army of
+savage warriors precipitately retreated towards their country, bearing
+off most of their wounded, yet leaving many dead upon the field. This
+was the first formidable invasion of Cumberland valley, and its tide was
+rolled back as much by the presence of mind and heroic firmness of Sarah
+Buchanan and Nancy Mulherrin, as by the rifles of their husbands and
+friends. The fame of this gallant defence went abroad, and the young
+wife of Major Buchanan was celebrated as the greatest heroine of the
+West. From 1780 to 1796, there was not a year in which her family had
+not been exposed to peril, in which, of course, she was a partaker.[63]
+
+  [63] This heroic woman died at Buchanan's Station, on the twenty-third
+  of November, 1831. She sleeps on the site of the old fort that witnessed
+  her bravery; and Carcas, queen of Carcassone, who defended that city
+  with such courage and resolution, when it was besieged by Charlemagne,
+  that the Emperor permitted her to retain the sovereignty of the place,
+  has scarcely higher claims to historical commemoration.
+
+AUTHOR.
+
+
+
+
+MAGNANIMITY OF MRS. M'KAY.
+
+  Greatness of mind, and nobleness, their seat
+  In her build loveliest.
+
+                                           MILTON.
+
+
+"In the beginning of June, 1781, the British garrison at Augusta,
+Georgia, capitulated to the American forces, under command of General
+Pickens and Colonel Lee, of the partizan legion. Colonel Grierson, who
+was obnoxious to the Americans on account of his barbarities, was shot
+down by an unknown hand, after he was a prisoner. A reward of one
+hundred guineas was offered to any person who would point out the
+offender, but in vain. Colonel Brown, the British commander, expecting
+the same fate, conscious that he deserved it, from his unrelenting and
+vindictive disposition towards the Americans, was furnished with a
+guard, although he had hanged thirteen American prisoners, and had given
+others into the hands of the Indians to be tortured. On his way to
+Savannah, he passed through the settlements where he had burned a number
+of houses, and hung some of the relatives of the inhabitants. At
+Silverbluff, Mrs. M'Kay obtained leave of the American officer, who
+commanded his safeguard, to speak to him; when she thus addressed
+him:--'Colonel Brown, in the late day of your prosperity, I visited your
+camp, and on my knees supplicated for the life of my only son, but you
+were deaf to my entreaties; you hanged him, though a beardless youth,
+before my face. These eyes have seen him scalped by the savages under
+your immediate command, and for no better reason than that his name was
+M'Kay. As you are now a prisoner to the leaders of my country, for the
+present I lay aside all thoughts of revenge, but when you resume your
+sword, I will go five hundred miles to demand satisfaction at the point
+of it, for the murder of my son!'"
+
+  [Illustration: THE GENEROUS DENTIST.]
+
+
+
+
+HEROIC CONDUCT OF A DAUGHTER.
+
+  Fair was her face, and spotless was her mind,
+  Where filial love with virgin sweetness joined.
+
+                                               POPE.
+
+
+Xantippe, a Roman lady, who nursed her father, the aged Cimonus, while
+he was a prisoner, and thereby saved his life, rendered herself immortal
+by this manifestation of filial affection. But the "Roman Charity" is
+not comparable to the following extraordinary deed of filial sacrifice.
+
+The winter of 1783 was unusually severe, and the sufferings of the poor
+in the city of New York were very great. One family, consisting of the
+husband, wife and one daughter, were, on one occasion, reduced to the
+last stick of wood, and were wholly destitute of provisions. The
+daughter, who had thus far supported her aged and infirm parents by her
+industry, was out of work, and knew not what to do. At this juncture of
+affairs, she recollected that a dentist had advertised for sound
+fore-teeth, and offered three guineas a piece for all he was himself
+permitted to extract. In the midst of her grief, the generous girl
+suddenly brightened up, and hastened to the dentist's office. She
+made known the condition of her parents, and offered to dispose of all
+her fore-teeth on his terms. The dentist, instead of extracting a tooth,
+with tears in his eyes, placed in her hands ten guineas, and sent her,
+rejoicing, to the relief of her parents.
+
+
+
+
+HEROIC DECISION.
+
+          No thought of flight,
+  None of retreat, no unbecoming deed
+  That argued fear.
+
+                                   MILTON.
+
+
+We have elsewhere in this work spoken of the perils necessary to be
+encountered by Christian missionaries, and particularly those who
+connect themselves with stations in Africa. The history of the Methodist
+Episcopal mission in that quarter of the globe, presents a noble, if not
+a long, list of soldiers who early fell there while contending with
+Error. They sank upon the battle field, with their armor on and covered
+with glory. They fell not before the hosts of paganism; they were
+conquered by the climate. Most of those who have not died on the field,
+have been obliged to shortly flee to their native land for the
+restoration of health. Here and there one has withstood the adverse
+nature of the climate, toiled for years, and done a noble work, which
+has caused rejoicing in Heaven and honored the name of Christ on earth.
+
+Few persons, whose names are connected with the history of modern
+missions, have displayed a more devoted, self-sacrificing spirit, or
+greater moral courage, than Miss Sophronia Farrington. Prior to the
+autumn of 1834, of six missionaries who had entered the field in Africa
+under the patronage of American Methodists, three[64] were in their
+graves, and two[65] had returned to the United States for health. Miss
+Farrington stood alone, and the question arose, what she should do. The
+officers of the Missionary Society were willing she should return home,
+and her friends were urging it upon her. With her co-laborers all dead
+or fled, she seemed herself to be left to the alternative either to flee
+or fall. Should she choose the former course, the mission would be
+wholly, and, for ought she knew, for ever, abandoned. What then should
+she do? Like a hero, to use her own words, she had "offered her soul
+upon the altar of her God, for the salvation of that long benighted
+continent," and with courage that shames the facer of the cannon's
+mouth, she resolved to remain and toil alone, beside the graves of her
+fallen companions till more help should come or the Divine Husbandman
+close the labors of the lone vine-dresser. More help arrived in a few
+months, and, according to the annual report of 1836, the mission, of
+whose history she formed at one time the connecting link, "continued to
+loom up in bright perspective, and promise a rich reward for all the
+labors and sufferings of the faithful missionaries."
+
+  [64] Rev. M. B. Cox and Rev. O. S. Wright and wife.
+
+  [65] Rev. Mr. Spaulding and lady.
+
+
+
+
+THE DAUGHTER OF AARON BURR.
+
+  'Tis thine on every heart to 'grave thy praise,
+  A monument which Worth alone can raise.
+
+                                              BROOME.
+
+
+Theodosia, the only daughter of Aaron Burr, was a woman of superior
+mental accomplishments, and very strong affections. She was married to
+Joseph Alston, Esq., afterwards Governor of South Carolina, in 1801. She
+was then in her eighteenth year. That she was an excellent wife may be
+gathered, not merely from the story of her life, but from the testimony
+of her husband. Writing to her father in 1813--soon after her death--he
+says, "The man who has been deemed worthy of the heart of Theodosia
+Burr, and has felt what it was to be blest with such a woman's, will
+never forget his elevation."[66]
+
+  [66] Memoirs of Aaron Burr, by Matthew L. Davis, vol. 2, p. 432.
+
+In regard to her attachment to her father, a writer, quoted in the
+appendix to Safford's Life of Blennerhassett, remarks as follows: "Her
+love for her father partook of the purity of a better world; holy, deep,
+unchanging; it reminds us of the affection which a celestial spirit
+might be supposed to entertain for a parent cast down from heaven, for
+sharing in the sin of the 'Son of the Morning.' No sooner did she hear
+of the arrest of her father, than she fled to his side.[67] There is
+nothing in human history more touching than the hurried letters, blotted
+with tears, in which she announced her daily progress to Richmond; for
+she was too weak to travel with the rapidity of the mail."
+
+  [67] He was imprisoned in Richmond, Virginia.--AUTHOR.
+
+Had her health permitted, and occasion presented itself, she would have
+matched in heroism any act in the life of Margaret Roper or Elizabeth
+Cazotte.[68]
+
+  [68] Mrs. Roper accompanied her father, Sir Thomas More, to prison, and
+  after he was executed and his head had lain fourteen days on London
+  Bridge, she purchased it, and thus saved it from being thrown into the
+  Thames. For this intrepidity, by the king's orders she was cast into
+  prison--though she was soon permitted to escape.
+
+  Mademoiselle Cazotte was the daughter of an aged Frenchman, who, on one
+  occasion, during the Revolution in his country, would have lost his life
+  but for her courage. He was a "counter-revolutionist," and after an
+  imprisonment, during which his daughter chose to be immured with him, on
+  the second day of September, he was about to be slain. An axe was raised
+  over his head, when Elizabeth threw herself upon him, and exclaimed,
+  "Strike, barbarians; you cannot reach my father but through my heart."
+  She did other heroic deeds.
+
+The trial of her father for treason, and his virtual banishment, not
+only depressed her spirits, but fearfully racked her already feeble
+constitution, yet his disgrace abated not a tittle the ardor of her
+affection; and when he returned from Europe, though in feeble health,
+she resolved to visit him in the city of New York. She was then in South
+Carolina. Embarking in the privateer Patriot, on the thirteenth of
+January, 1813, she was never heard of afterwards. The schooner may have
+fallen into the hands of pirates; but, as a heavy gale was experienced
+for several days soon after leaving Georgetown, the probability is that
+the craft foundered. Thus closed a life to which the panegyrical
+exclamation of Milton happily applies:
+
+  O glorious trial of exceeding love
+  Illustrious evidence, example high.
+
+
+
+
+FEMALE INTREPIDITY.
+
+  Be not dismayed--fear nurses up a danger,
+  And resolution kills it in the birth.
+
+                                          PHILLIPS.
+
+
+During the war between the Indians and Kentuckians, while the owner of a
+plantation in a thinly settled part of the state, was at work with his
+slaves in the field, a sable sentinel, who was posted near the house,
+saw a party of savages approaching. One of them was more fleet than he,
+and reaching the house at the same moment, they rushed within doors
+together. The planter's wife instantly closed the door and the negro and
+Indian grappled. The former was the stronger of the two, though the
+latter was the more expert. After a hard struggle, the negro threw the
+Indian, and held him fast until the woman beheaded him with a broad-axe.
+The negro then seized the guns, and began to fire at the other Indians
+through the loop-holes. The guns were loaded by the woman as fast as
+discharged. Their frequent report soon brought the laborers from the
+field, and the surviving Indians were driven away.
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF RICHARD SHUBRICK.
+
+                                  Be fire with fire;
+  Threaten the threatener, and out face the brow
+  Of bragging horror: so shall inferior eyes,
+  That borrow their behavior from the great,
+  Grow great by your example.
+
+                                             SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+The following anecdotes of Mrs. Richard Shubrick may be found in the
+First Series of Major Garden's Revolutionary Anecdotes. "There was," he
+writes, "an appearance of personal debility about her that rendered her
+peculiarly interesting: it seemed to solicit the interest of every
+heart, and the man would have felt himself degraded who would not have
+put his life at hazard to serve her. Yet, when firmness of character was
+requisite, when fortitude was called for to repel the encroachments of
+aggression, there was not a more intrepid being in existence.
+
+"An American soldier, flying from a party of the enemy, sought her
+protection, and was promised it. The British, pressing close upon him,
+insisted that he should be delivered up, threatening immediate and
+universal destruction in case of refusal. The ladies, her friends and
+companions, who were in the house with her, shrunk from the contest,
+and were silent; but, undaunted by their threats, this intrepid lady
+placed herself before the chamber into which the unfortunate fugitive
+had been conducted, and resolutely said, 'To men of honor the chamber of
+a lady should be as sacred as the sanctuary! I will defend the passage
+to it though I perish. You may succeed, and enter it, but it shall be
+over my corpse.' 'By God,' said the officer, 'if muskets were only
+placed in the hands of a few such women, our only safety would be found
+in retreat. Your intrepidity, madam, gives you security; from me you
+shall meet no further annoyance.'
+
+"At Brabant, the seat of the respectable and patriotic Bishop Smith, a
+sergeant of Tarleton's dragoons, eager for the acquisition of plunder,
+followed the overseer, a man advanced in years, into the apartment where
+the ladies of the family were assembled, and on his refusing to discover
+the spot in which the plate was concealed, struck him with violence,
+inflicting a severe sabre wound across the shoulders. Aroused by the
+infamy of the act, Mrs. Shubrick, starting from her seat, and placing
+herself betwixt the ruffian and his victim, resolutely said, 'Place
+yourself behind me, Murdoch; the interposition of my body shall give you
+protection, or I will die:' then, addressing herself to the sergeant,
+exclaimed, 'O what a degradation of manhood--what departure from that
+gallantry which was once the characteristic of British soldiers. Human
+nature is degraded by your barbarity;--but should you persist, then
+strike at _me_, for till I die, no further injury shall be done to
+_him_.' The sergeant, unable to resist such commanding eloquence,
+retired."[69]
+
+  [69] "The hope, however, of attaining the object in view, very speedily
+  subjected the unfortunate Murdoch to new persecution. He was tied up
+  under the very tree where the plate was buried, and threatened with
+  immediate execution unless he would make the discovery required. But
+  although well acquainted with the unrelenting severity of his enemy, and
+  earnestly solicited by his wife, to save his life by a speedy confession
+  of the place of deposit, he persisted resolutely, that a sacred trust
+  was not to be betrayed, and actually succeeded in preserving it."
+
+
+
+
+KEEN RETORT OF MRS. ASHE.
+
+  I have a thousand spirits in one breast,
+  To answer twenty thousand such as you.
+
+                                        SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+While General Leslie was staying with the British troops at Halifax,
+North Carolina, Colonel Tarleton and other officers held their quarters
+at the house of Colonel Ashe, whose wife was a firm friend of liberty.
+Her beau ideal of the hero was Colonel William Washington; and, knowing
+this fact, the sarcastic Tarleton took great delight in speaking
+diminutively of this officer in her presence. In his jesting way, he
+remarked to her one time, that he should like to have an opportunity of
+seeing her friend, Colonel Washington, whom he had understood to be a
+very small man. Mrs. Ashe promptly replied, "If you had looked behind
+you, Colonel Tarleton, at the battle of the Cowpens, you would have had
+that pleasure."[70]
+
+  [70] It is said that this taunt was so keenly felt that Tarleton laid
+  his hand on the hilt of his sword. General Leslie entered the room at
+  the moment, and seeing the agitation of Mrs. Ashe, and learning its
+  cause, said to her, "Say what you please, Mrs. Ashe; Colonel Tarleton
+  knows better than to insult a lady in my presence."
+
+
+
+
+PHILANTHROPIC WIFE OF A DRUNKARD.
+
+  There's in you all that we believe of heaven.
+
+                                            OTWAY.
+
+
+"The amazing influence of one Christian, who shows in her life the
+spirit of Christ, is illustrated in a striking manner, in the life of a
+lady who died not long since, in one of the principal cities of the
+United States. I am not permitted to give her name, nor all the
+particulars of her life. But what I relate may be relied upon, not only
+as facts, but as far below the whole truth. She had been for a long time
+afflicted with a drunken husband. At length the sheriff came, and swept
+off all her property, not excepting her household furniture, to
+discharge his grog bills. At this distressing crisis, she retired to an
+upper room, laid her babe upon the bare floor, kneeled down over it, and
+offered up the following petition: "O Lord, if thou wilt _in any way_
+remove from me this affliction, I will serve thee _upon bread and
+water_, all the days of my life." The Lord took her at her word. Her
+besotted husband immediately disappeared, and was never heard of again
+till after her death. The church would now have maintained her, but she
+would not consent to become a charge to others. Although in feeble
+health, and afflicted with the sick headache, she opened a small school,
+from which she obtained a bare subsistence; though it was often no more
+than what was contained in the condition of her prayer--literally bread
+and water. She was a lady of pleasing address, and of a mild and gentle
+disposition. "In her lips was the law of kindness." Yet she possessed an
+energy of character and a spirit of perseverance, which the power of
+faith alone can impart. When she undertook any Christian enterprise, she
+was discouraged by no obstacles, and appalled by no difficulties. She
+resided in the most wicked and abandoned part of the city, which
+afforded a great field of labor. Her benevolent heart was pained at
+seeing the grog shops open upon the holy Sabbath. She undertook the
+difficult and almost hopeless task of closing these sinks of moral
+pollution upon the Lord's day, and succeeded. This was accomplished by
+the mild influence of persuasion, flowing from the lips of kindness, and
+clothed with that power which always accompanies the true spirit of the
+gospel. But she was not satisfied with seeing the front doors and
+windows of these houses closed. She would, therefore, upon the morning
+of the Sabbath, pass round, and enter these shops through the dwellings
+occupied by the families of the keepers, where she often found them
+engaged secretly in this wickedness. She would then remonstrate with
+them, until she persuaded them to abandon it, and attend public worship.
+In this manner, she abolished, almost entirety, the sale of liquors
+upon the Sabbath, in the worst part of the city.
+
+"She also looked after the poor, that the Gospel might be preached to
+them. She carried with her the number of those pews in the church which
+were unoccupied. And upon Sabbath mornings, she made it her business to
+go out in the streets and lanes of the city, and persuade the poor to
+come in and fill up these vacant seats. By her perseverance and energy,
+she would remove every objection, until she had brought them to the
+house of God. She was incessant and untiring in every effort for doing
+good. She would establish a Sabbath school, and superintend it until she
+saw it flourishing, and then deliver it into the hands of some suitable
+person, and go and establish another. She collected together a Bible
+class of apprentices, which she taught herself. Her pastor one day
+visited it, and found half of them in tears, under deep conviction. She
+was faithful to the church and to impenitent sinners. It was her
+habitual practice to reprove sin, and to warn sinners wherever she found
+them. At the time of her death, she had under her care a number of pious
+young men preparing for the ministry. These she had looked after, and
+brought out of obscurity. As soon as their piety had been sufficiently
+proved, she would bring them to the notice of her Christian friends. She
+persuaded pious teachers to give them gratuitous instruction, and pious
+booksellers to supply them with books. In the same way, she procured
+their board in the families of wealthy Christians; and she formed
+little societies of ladies, to supply them with clothing. There was
+probably no person in the city whose death would have occasioned the
+shedding of more tears, or called forth more sincere and heartfelt
+grief."[71]
+
+  [71] Practical Directory for Young Christian Females.
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF DR. DWIGHT.
+
+                                  Though renown
+  Plant laurels on the warrior's grave, and wreathe
+  With bays the slumbering bard--the mother's urn
+  Shall claim more dear memorials: gratitude
+  Shall there abide; affection, reverence, there
+  Shall oft revolve the precepts which now speak
+  With emphasis divine.
+
+                                             MRS. WEST.
+
+
+The mother of Timothy Dwight was a daughter of Jonathan Edwards, and
+seems to have inherited a large share of her father's talents and
+spiritual graces. Her powers of mind were unusually strong; her
+knowledge was extensive and varied, and her piety highly fervid. She
+married at an early age; became a mother when eighteen; had a large
+family; and, though never negligent of domestic duties, she daily and
+assiduously devoted herself to the education of her children. She began
+to instruct Timothy, it is said, "as soon as he was able to speak; and
+such was his eagerness, as well as his capacity for improvement, that he
+learned the alphabet at a single lesson; and before he was four years
+old, was able to read the Bible with ease and correctness.... She taught
+him from the very dawn of his reason to fear God and to keep his
+commandments; to be conscientiously just, kind, affectionate,
+charitable, and forgiving; to preserve, on all occasions, and under all
+circumstances, the most sacred regard for truth; and to relieve the
+distresses and supply the wants of the poor and unfortunate. She aimed,
+at a very early period, to enlighten his conscience, to make him afraid
+of sin, and to teach him to hope for pardon only through Christ. The
+impressions thus made upon his mind in infancy, were never effaced. A
+great proportion of the instruction which he received before he arrived
+at the age of six years, was at home with his mother. His school room
+was the nursery. Here he had his regular hours for study, as in a
+school; and twice every day she heard him repeat his lesson. Here, in
+addition to his stated task, he watched the cradle of his younger
+brother. When his lesson was recited, he was permitted to read such
+books as he chose, until the limited period was expired. During these
+intervals, he often read over the historical parts of the Bible, and
+gave an account of them to his mother. So deep and distinct was the
+impression which these narrations made upon his mind, that their
+minutest incidents were indelibly fixed upon his memory. His relish for
+reading was thus early formed, and was strengthened by the conversation
+and example of his mother. His early knowledge of the Bible led to that
+ready, accurate, and extensive acquaintance with Scripture, which is so
+evident in his sermons and other writings."[72]
+
+  [72] Mothers of the Wise and Good, p. 142
+
+It is easy to see, in this picture, who it was that laid the foundation
+of that character which sanctified genius, and caused it to shine with
+transcendent lustre, for more than twenty years, at the head of Yale
+college. The mother of President Dwight was well repaid, even in this
+life, for the pains she took to rear this son for the glory of God; for,
+while he never disobeyed a command of hers or omitted a filial duty, he
+was kind and generous to her in her old age, and smoothed her path to a
+Christian's grave. But her true and great reward for her maternal
+faithfulness, is in another world, whither she went to receive it about
+the year 1807.
+
+
+
+
+HAPPY RESULTS OF MATERNAL FIDELITY.
+
+  Lift the heart and bend the knee.
+
+                              MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+The superior influence of the mother in forming the character of the
+child, is generally conceded. Biographical literature abounds with
+illustrations of this fact, and renders it incontrovertible. As
+examples, in Great Britain, we are often, with propriety, pointed to the
+mothers of Isaac and John Newton, Doddridge, the Wesleys, Richard Cecil,
+Legh Richmond and many others; but it is needless for any people to
+search in foreign lands for such examples.
+
+In the notices of the mothers of Washington, Jackson, Randolph, Dwight
+and some others, on preceding pages of this volume, the truth of the
+same proposition is endeavored to be substantiated: and, as facts most
+forcibly illustrate argument, and wholesome hints are often easiest
+given by example, we will add two or three more anecdotes having a
+bearing on this point.
+
+The mother of Jonathan Edwards, it is well known, began to pray for him
+as soon as he was born; and probably no mother ever strove harder than
+she to rear a child "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." The
+result of her efforts is known to the world.
+
+The late Professor Knowles, of the Newton theological institution,
+received much pious instruction from his mother in his infant years;
+and, as he lost his father at the age of twelve, at that period she
+assumed wholly the guidance of his steps and his studies. She early
+discovered his love of books and his promising talents; and while she
+admonished him, and led him to the Saviour, she also sympathized with
+him in his literary taste and encouraged him in his scientific pursuits.
+The zealous minister, the learned biblical instructor, the polished
+writer and biographer of the first Mrs. Judson, owed very much to the
+moral training and the literary encouragement of his faithful mother.
+
+Nearly half a century ago, the mother of the celebrated Beecher family,
+made the following record: "This morning I rose very early to pray for
+my children; and especially that my sons may be ministers and
+missionaries of Jesus Christ." The "fervent" prayers of the good woman
+were "effectual:" her five sons became "ministers and missionaries of
+Jesus Christ," and all her children--eight in number--are connected with
+the "household of God"--several on earth and one,[73] at least, in
+heaven.
+
+  [73] The late George Beecher.
+
+
+
+
+WONDERFUL ENDURANCE AND PERSEVERANCE OF MRS. SCOTT.
+
+                                  ----Mute
+  The camel labors with the heaviest load,
+  And the wolf dies in silence; not bestowed
+  In vain should such examples be; if they,
+  Things of ignoble or of savage mood,
+  Endure and shrink not, we of nobler clay,
+  May temper it to bear--it is but for a day.
+
+                                                BYRON.
+
+
+Mrs. Scott, a resident of Washington county, Virginia, was taken captive
+by Indians on the night of the twenty-ninth of June, 1785. Her husband
+and all her children were slain; and before morning she was forced to
+commence her march through the wilderness.
+
+On the eleventh day of her captivity, while in charge of four Indians,
+provision becoming scarce, a halt was made, and three of the number went
+on a hunting excursion. Being left in the care of an old man, she made
+him believe she was reconciled to her condition, and thus threw him off
+his guard. Anxious to escape, and having matured her plans, she asked
+him, in the most disinterested manner possible, to let her go to a small
+stream, near by, and wash her apron, which was besmeared with the blood
+of one of her children. He gave her leave, and while he was busy in
+"graining a deer-skin," she started off. Arriving at the stream, without
+a moment's hesitation, she pushed on in the direction of a mountain.
+Traveling till late at night, she came into a valley where she hoped to
+find the track along which she had been taken by her captors, and
+thereby be able to retrace her steps. Hurrying across the valley to the
+margin of a river, which she supposed must be the eastern branch of the
+Kentucky, she discovered in the sand the tracks of two men who had
+followed the stream upwards and returned. Thinking them to be the prints
+of pursuers, and that they had returned from the search, she took
+courage, thanked God, and was prepared to continue her flight.
+
+On the third day she came very near falling into the hands of savages, a
+company whom she supposed had been sent to Clinch river on a pilfering
+excursion. Hearing their approach before they came in sight, she
+concealed herself, and they passed without noticing her. She now became
+greatly alarmed, and was so bewildered as to lose her way and to wander
+at random for several days.
+
+At length, coming to a stream that seemed to flow from the east, she
+concluded it must be Sandy river; and resolving to trace it to its
+source, which was near a settlement where she was acquainted, she pushed
+on for several days, till she came into mountainous regions and to
+craggy steeps. There, in the vicinity of a "prodigious waterfall," she
+was forced to leap from a precipice, upon some rocks, and was so stunned
+as to be obliged to make a short delay in her journey.
+
+Soon after passing through the mountain,[74] she was bitten by a snake
+which she supposed was venomous. She killed it, and expected her turn to
+die would come next; but the only injury she received was some pain and
+the slight swelling of one foot. A writer, whose narration we follow and
+whose facts are more reliable than his philosophy, thinks that, being
+"reduced to a mere skeleton, with fatigue, hunger and grief," she was
+probably, on that account, "saved from the effects of the poisonous
+fangs."
+
+  [74] Laurel mountain.
+
+Leaving the river, Mrs. Scott came to a forked valley, and watching the
+flight of birds, took the branch they did, and in two days came in sight
+of New Garden, the settlement on Clinch river, before referred to. Thus,
+after wandering in the wilderness for six long weeks, almost destitute
+of clothing, without a weapon of defence or instrument for obtaining
+provision; exposed to wild beasts and merciless savages; subsisting a
+full month on the juice of young cane stalks, sassafras leaves and
+similar food; looking to God in prayer for guidance by day, and for
+protection by night; shielded from serious harm, and led by an unseen
+Hand, on the eleventh of August, the wanderings of the widowed and
+childless captive were brought to a close.
+
+
+
+
+SUCCESS OF BOLDNESS.
+
+  "Courage, prove thy chance once more."
+
+
+While Colonel Tarleton was marching through North Carolina, near the
+close of the Revolution, he passed two nights in Halifax county. From
+malice or because of a scarcity of provision, he caused his troops to
+catch all the horses, cattle, hogs, fowls, etc., that could be found,
+most of which were destroyed. The inhabitants generally fled and
+concealed themselves in the neighboring swamps and thickets. One young
+lady, however, in the upper part of the county, where they spent the
+second night, refused to retire. Remaining on the premises alone, when
+the marauders came for the horses and cattle thereon, Miss Bishop[75]
+ordered them off; but they did not obey. Among the animals they drove to
+camp, was a favorite pony of hers, which she resolved to recover. When
+night come on, she went unarmed to the camp, about a mile distant, and
+boldly made known her errand to Tarleton. "Your roguish men in red
+coats," she said to him, "came to my father's house about sundown and
+stole my pony, and I have walked here alone and unprotected, to claim
+and demand him; and, sir, I must and I will have him. I fear not your
+men. They are base and unprincipled enough to dare to offer insult to an
+unprotected female; but their cowardly hearts will prevent them from
+doing her any bodily injury." While thus speaking, her eye happened to
+fall on her favorite animal, upon which the camp fire flung its light,
+and she added, "There, sir, is my horse. I shall mount him and ride
+peacefully home; and if you have any gentlemanly feeling within you, of
+which your men are totally destitute, or, if you have any regard for
+their safety, you will see, sir, that I am not interrupted. But, before
+I go, I wish to say to you that he who can, and will not, prevent this
+base and cowardly stealing from henroosts, stables and barn-yards, is no
+better, in my estimation, than the mean, good-for-nothing, guilty
+wretches who do the dirty work with their own hands! Good night, sir."
+
+  [75] Afterwards Mrs. Powell. She died in 1840.
+
+Tarleton took the hint; ordered his soldiers not to molest her; and she
+was suffered to take the pony and gallop peacefully home.
+
+
+
+
+MARY KNIGHT.
+
+                          ----The office
+  Becomes a woman best; I'll take it upon me.
+
+                                      SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+The subject of this brief notice was a sister of General Isaac Worrell.
+She died two or three years since, in Philadelphia. The following
+tribute to her patriotism and humanity, was paid by a New Jersey
+newspaper, in July, 1849:
+
+"The deceased was one of those devoted women who aided to relieve the
+horrible sufferings of Washington's army at Valley Forge--cooking and
+carrying provisions to them alone, through the depth of winter, even
+passing through the outposts of the British army in the disguise of a
+market woman. And when Washington was compelled to retreat before a
+superior force, she concealed her brother, General Worrell,--when the
+British set a price on his head--in a cider hogshead in the cellar for
+three days, and fed him through the bunghole; the house being ransacked
+four different times by the troops in search of him, without success.
+She was over ninety years of age at the time of her death."
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF WILLIAM GRAY.
+
+                  ----Our lives
+  In acts exemplary, not only win
+  Ourselves good names, but do to others give
+  Matter for virtuous deeds, by which we live.
+
+                                          CHAPMAN.
+
+
+Elizabeth Chipman was born in Essex county, Massachusetts, in May, 1756.
+She was the daughter of a talented and eminent lawyer of Marblehead, and
+inherited a highly respectable share of his mental endowments. Her
+intellectual faculties and moral feelings were early and highly
+developed; and when, in 1782, she was married to William Gray, the
+celebrated millionaire, of Salem, in her native county, she was
+prepared, in all respects, to command the highest influence in society.
+But, although the wife of the richest man in Massachusetts and probably
+in New England, she never rose above her duties as a housekeeper, a
+mother and a Christian. She managed her domestic affairs personally and
+economically; and inculcated in the minds of her six children, by
+example as well as precept, the best habits and the noblest principles.
+"She divided her time between reading, household affairs, and duties to
+society, in such a manner as never for a moment to be in a hurry."[76]
+She was as well known by the poor as the rich: her virtues irradiated
+every sphere. She was anxious to exalt as much as possible the Christian
+profession; hence she rode in a plain carriage, and avoided all
+unnecessary display, "that no evil precedents of expense could arise
+from her example."
+
+  [76] Knapp's Female Biography, p. 235.
+
+The latter years of this excellent woman were passed in Boston, whither
+the family had removed, and where she died on the twenty-fourth of
+September, 1823. In her benevolent acts and cheerful life, is
+beautifully exemplified the truth of the poet's assertion:
+
+  On piety humanity is built,
+  And on humanity, much happiness.
+
+
+
+
+ANECDOTE OF MRS. HUNTINGTON.
+
+  Earthly power doth then show likest gods,
+  When mercy seasons justice.
+
+                                    SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Susan Mansfield was the daughter of the Rev. Achilles Mansfield, of
+Killingworth, Connecticut, and was born on the twenty-seventh of
+January, 1791. At the age of eighteen or nineteen, she was married to
+Joshua Huntington, pastor of the Old South church, Boston. She died in
+1823. Her memoirs, written by her husband's pastoral successor, B. B.
+Wisner, was, at one time, a very popular work. It passed through five
+editions in Scotland, in a very few years.
+
+Her husband preceded her to the grave four years. While a widow, she was
+robbed of several articles of jewelry by a young woman; and the articles
+were recovered, and the thief arrested and tried. During the
+examination, Mrs. Huntington was called into court to identify the
+property; and having done this, she was asked their value. Knowing that
+the degree of punishment depended somewhat on the apprisal of the
+property, and pitying the poor girl, she hinted that she never used
+much jewelry, and was not a good judge of its value. A person was then
+called upon to prize the several articles; and she told him to bear in
+mind that they had been used for many years, were consequently damaged,
+and out of fashion. In this way she secured a low and, to herself, a
+satisfactory valuation. She then addressed the judge, stating that she
+had herself taken the jewelry from a trunk; had carelessly left it
+exposed on a table; had thus thrown temptation in the way of the girl,
+and suggested that her own heedlessness might possibly have been the
+cause of the offence. She did not, she assured the judge, wish to
+interfere with his duties, or wrongly bias his decisions, but she would,
+nevertheless, esteem it a favor, if the punishment inflicted on the
+unfortunate transgressor, could be the lightest that would not dishonor
+the law. Hoping the ignorant girl would repent and reform, she left the
+stand with tears in her eyes, which greatly affected the judge. In his
+sentence he reminded the culprit, that the person whom she had most
+offended, was the first to plead for a mitigation of her punishment, and
+had saved her from the extreme rigors of a broken law.
+
+
+
+
+HOSPITALITY OF MRS. BIDDLE.
+
+  ----All were welcome and feasted.
+
+                            LONGFELLOW.
+
+
+In the summer of 1777, while Washington was encamped near Brandywine, a
+large party of foragers came into the neighborhood, and the General gave
+orders to a company of his troops, to go in pursuit of them early the
+next morning, and, if possible, cut off their retreat. As an engagement
+might ensue, he also gave orders that the women should leave the camp.
+Receiving intelligence of the latter order, and unwilling to be included
+in it, the wife of Colonel Clement Biddle, an intimate associate of Mrs.
+Washington in the camp, went to the General and told him that the
+officers, who had gone on the expedition, would be likely to return
+hungry, and she would consider it a favor to be allowed to remain and
+prepare some refreshment for them. Washington complied with her request,
+and her servant was immediately posted off in search of provision.
+
+Receiving information that a band of "rebels" was in pursuit of them,
+the foragers took a quick step out of the neighborhood. The pursuers
+returned at a late dinner hour exceedingly fatigued and ripe for
+attacking the "good things" prepared by Mrs. Biddle. Notified of her
+generosity, the officers forthwith repaired to her quarters, each
+saying, on his entrance, "Madam, we hear that you feed the army to-day."
+It is said that at least a hundred officers enjoyed her hospitalities on
+that occasion.
+
+  They ate like Famine, fast and well,
+    Piling their plates with turkeys slain;
+  They conquered--bones alone could tell
+    Of fowls late bled at every vein.
+
+
+
+
+KINDNESS OF SOME CONVICTS
+
+        ----When your head did but ache,
+  I knit my handkerchief about your brows,
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  And with my hand at midnight held your head;
+  And, like the watchful minutes to the hour,
+  Still and anon cheered up the heavy time.
+
+                                    SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+When the yellow fever broke out in Philadelphia, several years ago, it
+was extremely difficult to obtain help at the hospital; application was
+consequently made to the female convicts in the prison. Braving the
+danger of becoming nurses for the sick under such circumstances, as many
+as were needed readily profered their aid, and remained as long as
+desired. There was a scarcity of bedsteads, and these females were asked
+for theirs. Willing to sacrifice the meagre comforts of a convict for
+the sake of alleviating the condition of the sick and the dying, they
+not only gave up their bedsteads, but bedding also. Such humane conduct,
+coming from whom it may, is deserving of praise and worthy of record.
+
+
+
+
+MARGARET PRIOR.
+
+  ----If a soul thou wouldst redeem,
+    And lead a lost one back to God;
+  Wouldst thou a guardian angel seem
+    To one who long in guilt hath trod;
+  Go kindly to him--take his hand,
+    With gentlest words, within thine own,
+  And by his side a brother stand,
+    Till all the demon thou dethrone.
+
+                            MRS. C. M. SAWYER.
+
+
+The subject of this notice was a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia. She
+was born in 1773. Her maiden name was Barrett. She was married to
+William Allen, a merchant of Baltimore, at the age of sixteen; resided
+in that city for several years, and became the mother of seven children.
+All but one of them died in infancy. Her husband was lost at sea, in
+1808, when her only surviving child was about eighteen months old.
+
+Soon after becoming a widow she removed to the city of New York. There,
+in 1814, she was united in marriage with William Prior, a benevolent and
+public-spirited member of the Society of Friends. She was herself at
+that time in communion with the Baptists, she having united with them
+before the death of her first husband. In 1819 she joined the
+Methodists, with whom she remained in church-fellowship the residue of
+her life.
+
+When the New York Orphan Asylum was instituted, she was appointed one of
+the managers and was, thenceforward, incessantly engaged in benevolent
+operations. We first find her in the more conspicuous "walks of
+usefulness," in the severe winter of 1818 and '19. There being, at that
+time, no public fund for meeting the wants of the poor, she made
+arrangements with her nearest neighbor--herself a kind-hearted, humane
+woman--to prepare soup three times a week for the destitute in the ninth
+ward. She had previously visited that part of the city and made herself
+acquainted with many suffering individuals. All who applied for soup, if
+not known, she accompanied to their homes, and presented them with
+tickets entitling them to further supplies, if found to be true objects
+of charity. Many, it is thought, were saved from starvation by her
+humane exertions. "These, and similar deeds of mercy, tended to enlarge
+her heart: while she watered others, she was watered also herself, and
+felt continually the truth of the assertion, 'It is more blessed to give
+than to receive.'"[77]
+
+  [77] Walks of Usefulness; or, Reminiscences of Margaret Prior, p. 17.
+
+Notwithstanding her arduous, public duties, Mrs. Prior managed her
+household affairs with care, neatness and regularity. It has been
+appropriately said of her that she had "a place for every thing and
+every thing in its place." The time that some spend in fashionable and
+heartless calls, she devoted to industry and humanity. By rising early,
+working late, observing the strictest rules of economy, and subjecting
+herself, at times, to self-denial, she was able to visit the suffering,
+and to make daily appropriations from her own table for their relief.
+
+Numerous instances of her self-denial have been related, and one of them
+we will repeat. She usually obtained assistance to do her washing, and
+limited herself to a dollar a week to meet that expense. Sometimes the
+amount she wished to devote to some particular object fell short, and in
+such instances she would do the washing herself, and thereby save the
+dollar. She felt, in such cases, as has been remarked, that "the
+personal effort was made a blessing to herself of greater value than the
+sum saved."
+
+In the year 1822, Mrs. Prior visited the families on Bowery hill, where
+she had resided the three previous years; thoroughly acquainted herself
+with their moral condition and necessities; established a school for
+poor children; commenced her long-continued weekly visits for
+conversation and prayer with the pupils, and secured the sympathies and
+pecuniary assistance of several Christians to aid in supporting the
+school from year to year. She herself contributed one hundred dollars
+annually for its maintenance.
+
+On the fourteenth of September, 1829, this good woman again became a
+widow. Previous to this date she had lost her seventh child, and an
+adopted one. She had also taken a second motherless child into her
+family. About the year her second husband died, Bowery hill was dug
+away, and she changed her residence.
+
+When, in the early part of 1833, the Moral Reform society was organized,
+she became a prominent member of its board of managers, and, four years
+afterwards, commenced, under its patronage, her memorable labors as a
+city missionary. These she continued till 1842, in which year, on the
+seventh of April, her earthly work was finished.
+
+Two or three incidents connected with her labors as a missionary, will
+show, in part, at least, the character of her work and the philanthropic
+spirit by which she was ever actuated.
+
+As she was once passing through the streets, she was accosted by a lady
+who inquired her name, and wished to know if she did not belong to the
+society which had opened a register of direction for the accommodation
+of respectable females. Ascertaining that she was not mistaken in the
+person, the stranger told Mrs. Prior that two female acquaintances of
+hers were out of work, had become reduced to want, and were so wretched
+as to threaten to drown themselves, unless they soon found a situation.
+They had been working for houses connected with the southern trade which
+had failed, and thus thrown them out of employment. Learning their
+residence, Mrs. Prior visited them immediately; told them of the
+enormity of the crime they had threatened to commit; that she would try
+to secure work for them, and that it was their duty to seek the grace of
+God to sustain them in such trying seasons. The next day she found
+situations for them in pious families, and thus, while she probably
+saved them from committing suicide, she was, perhaps, the instrument, in
+the hands of God, of saving them from infamy and eternal ruin.
+
+Passing through the suburbs of the city one day, her attention was
+arrested by the chime of youthful voices. Seeing that the music
+proceeded from some little beggar-girls, who were sitting in the sun
+beside the fence and singing a Sabbath school hymn, she inquired of them
+what they were doing, when the following dialogue occurred: "We were
+cold, ma'am, and are getting warm in the sun." "Where do you live?" "In
+Twentieth street, ma'am." "Why have you come so far away from your
+homes?" "To get some food and some things to make a fire." "Why were you
+singing?" "To praise God: we go to the Sunday school, and our teacher
+says if we are good children God will never let us want." Pleased with
+the modest and artless answers to her questions, the good woman took
+them across the street, procured each of them a loaf of bread, gave them
+some pious counsel, and left them with smiles on their faces and
+gratitude in their hearts.
+
+Mrs. Prior frequently visited the city prison, and on occasion[78] went
+to Sing Sing. She made a record of her visit to the latter place, from
+which we make an extract: "In visiting the female convicts at their
+cells on Sabbath morning, after Sabbath school, which, under the
+customary regulations, we were permitted to do, we found nearly all
+employed in reading their Bibles. We conversed with them respecting the
+welfare of their souls, and as we knelt with them at the throne of
+grace, they on one side of the grated door and we on the other, we felt
+that He who healed a Mary Magdalene, is still the same compassionate
+Saviour, and our faith, we trust, apprehended him as the atoning
+sacrifice, who bore our sins in his own body on the tree, and opened a
+way for the salvation of even the chief of sinners."
+
+  [78] June, 1840.
+
+Being on an errand of mercy in G---- street one day, she stepped into a
+house of infamy to leave a certain tract. As soon as she had entered and
+made known her mission, the door was closed and locked by one of the
+female inmates, who told her that she was their prisoner. "For a
+moment," writes Mrs. Prior, in her journal, "my heart was tremulous; I
+said nothing till the risings of fear were quelled, and then replied
+pleasantly, 'Well, if I'm a prisoner, I shall pray here, and would sing
+praises to God if I were not so hoarse. Yes, bless the Lord! his
+presence can make me happy here or any where, and you can have no power
+to harm me unless he gives it. This is a dreadful place, to be sure, but
+it is not so bad as hell; for there, there is no hope. The smoke of
+their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever! What a mercy that we are
+not all there! what compassion in the blessed Jesus that he spares us,
+when our sins are every day so great.' I talked to them in this manner
+till they were glad to open the door as a signal for my release."
+
+Such were the doings, such was the character, of Margaret Prior. We see
+her organizing week-day and Sabbath schools, industrial associations and
+temperance societies; establishing soup houses and orphan asylums;
+visiting the sick, the poor, the idle, the culprit, the outcast;
+pointing the dying to a risen Saviour, leading the destitute by the hand
+to the place of relief, the idle to houses of industry, and warning the
+outlaw and the corrupt of the certain and terrible doom that would
+attend persistency in their downward course. With the sweetness,
+gentleness, simplicity, and delicacy, so becoming in woman under all
+circumstances, were blended in her character, energy that was
+unconquerable, courage that danger could not blench, and firmness that
+human power could not bend. The contemplation of such a character is
+superficial, if it does not prompt benevolent feelings, re-affirm
+virtuous resolutions, and revive and strengthen drooping piety.
+
+
+
+
+NOBLE ACTS OF KINDNESS.
+
+  We are to relieve the distressed, to put the wanderer in the way,
+  and divide our bread with the hungry.--SENECA.
+
+
+The Rev. Thomas Andros, of Berkley, Massachusetts, was a firm patriot
+and a keen sufferer in the strife for freedom. He was captured whilst on
+board a privateer, and transferred to the Jersey prison ship. In the
+autumn of 1781, he escaped; and, skulking through the east end of Long
+Island, received at the hands of females such marks of pity and kindness
+as were thought worthy of noting in his journal. The following are
+extracts:
+
+"I came to a respectable dwelling-house and entered it. Among the
+inmates were a decent woman and a tailor. To the woman I expressed my
+want of something to nourish my feeble frame, telling her if she would
+give me a morsel, it would be a mere act of charity. She made no
+objection, asked no questions, but promptly furnished me with the dish
+of light food I desired. Expressing my obligations to her, I rose to
+depart. But going round through another room, she met me in the front
+entry, placed a hat on my head, put an apple pie in my hand, and said,
+'you will want this before you get through the woods.' I opened my mouth
+to give vent to the grateful feelings with which my heart was filled.
+But she would not tarry to hear a word, and instantly vanished. The
+mystery of her conduct I suppose was this: she was satisfied that I had
+escaped from prison, and if she granted me any succor, knowing me to be
+such, it might cost her family the confiscation of their estate. She did
+not therefore wish to ask me any questions or hear me explain who I was
+in the hearing of the tailor, who might turn informer. This mark of
+kindness was more than I could well bear, and as I went on the tears
+flowed copiously! The recollection of her humanity and pity revives in
+my breast even now the same feeling of gratitude.
+
+"Some time after, in Suffolk county, being repulsed from one dwelling, I
+entered another, and informed the mistress of the house of my wants. By
+the cheerfulness and good-nature depicted in her countenance and first
+movements, I knew my suit was granted, and I had nothing more to say
+than to apprise her I was penniless. In a few moments she placed on the
+table a bowl of bread and milk, a dried bluefish roasted, and a mug of
+cider, and said, 'sit down and eat.'
+
+"It was now growing dark, so I went but a short distance further,
+entered a house, and begged the privilege of lodging by the fire. My
+request was granted. There was no one in the house but the man and his
+wife. They appeared to be cordial friends to each other--it was indeed
+one of the few happy matches. Before it became late in the evening the
+man took his Bible and read a chapter. He then arose and offered up his
+grateful acknowledgments and supplications to God through the Mediator.
+I now began to think I had got into a safe and hospitable retreat. They
+had before made many inquiries such as indicated that they felt tenderly
+and took an interest in my welfare. I now confessed my situation to
+them. All was silence. It took some time to recover themselves from a
+flood of tears. At last the kind woman said, 'Let us go and bake his
+clothes.' No sooner said than the man seized a brand of fire and threw
+it into the oven. The woman provided a clean suit of clothes to supply
+the place of mine till they had purified them by fire. The work done, a
+clean bed was laid down on which I was to rest, and rest I did as in a
+new world; for I had got rid of a swarm of cannibals who were eating me
+up alive! In the morning I took my leave of this dear family with a
+gratitude that for fifty years has suffered no abatement."[79]
+
+  [79] Mr. Andros thus describes the old Jersey: "Her dark and filthy
+  exterior corresponded with the death and despair reigning within. It is
+  supposed that eleven thousand American seamen perished in her. None came
+  to relieve their woes. Once or twice, by order of a stranger on the
+  quarter-deck, a bag of apples was hurled promiscuously into the midst of
+  hundreds of prisoners, crowded as thick as they could stand--and life
+  and limbs were endangered in the struggle. The prisoners were secured
+  between the decks by iron gratings; and when the ship was to be cleared
+  of water, an armed guard forced them up to the winches, amid a roar of
+  execrations and reproaches--the dim light adding to the horrors of the
+  scene. Thousands died whose names have never been known; perishing when
+  no eye could witness their fortitude, nor praise their devotion to their
+  country."
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF DR. RAMSAY.
+
+  Unrivalled as thy merit, be thy fame.
+
+                                   TICKELL.
+
+
+Few women of modern times have more charmingly exhibited "the beauties
+of holiness" than Martha Laurens Ramsay, the wife of the historian of
+South Carolina. In his interesting series of lectures on the Christian
+graces, the Rev. Dr. Williams very happily refers to her habit of
+prayer, to illustrate the spirit of brotherly kindness as shown in the
+mutual intercession of brethren in the same church. "It is animating,"
+he writes, "and yet, as contrasted with our present remissness,
+humiliating, to read how Baxter and his people held days of fasting and
+prayer for each other; or to turn to the pages which describe a
+Christian matron of the South, the wife of Ramsay and the daughter of
+Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress, praying over a
+list of her fellow-members, name by name, and remembering, to the best
+of her knowledge, the cares and wants of each before the throne of
+grace."[80]
+
+  [80] Religious Progress, pp. 200-1.
+
+Prior to her marriage, and whilst residing in France with her father,
+she received from him the handsome present of five hundred guineas.
+Appropriating a very small portion of this sum to her own use, with the
+bulk she purchased one hundred French Testaments--all to be found in the
+market--and distributed them amongst the destitute in Vigan and its
+vicinity, and organized a school there for the instruction of youth,
+constituting a fund sufficient to oblite rate its annual charges.
+
+Mrs. Ramsay was remarkably economical of time, rising early and devoting
+every hour to some useful service; and of money, never indulging herself
+in any needless expenditure. This principle of economy was observed even
+at her funeral. She directed that it should be at her own private house;
+and that her coffin should be plain and without a plate. She died on the
+tenth of June, 1811.
+
+
+
+
+COURAGE AND PRESENCE OF MIND OF MARGARET SCHUYLER.
+
+  --Courage mounteth with occasion.
+
+                            SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+In August, 1781, when the abduction of General Schuyler from his house
+in the suburbs of Albany, was projected, and John Waltermeyer, the bold
+partizan of Joseph Bettys, led a motley and blood-thirsty band--tories,
+Canadians and Indians--in the daring undertaking, a daughter of the
+General acted so courageous and wise a part as to justify us in giving
+on outline sketch of the unsuccessful enterprise.
+
+As the family sat in an open door, in the evening of a very sultry day,
+receiving information that a stranger was waiting at the back gate to
+see him, General Schuyler mistrusted, at once, that something was wrong;
+and, instead of repairing to the gate, he instantly closed and fastened
+the doors, and ran to his bed chamber for his arms. He then hurried his
+family into the third story, where he immediately discharged a pistol to
+arouse the careless guards, and afterwards others, to alarm, if
+possible, the inhabitants of the city. In hurrying up stairs, his wife
+overlooked her infant, which was asleep in the cradle; and she was about
+to descend, when the General warned her of the danger, and held her
+back. Seeing her mother's agony, a daughter named Margaret, rushed down
+stairs into the nursery, caught the child, and was about ascending, when
+a tomahawk flew past her, simply grazing her dress and slightly injuring
+it. Hurrying up a private stairway, she was met by Waltermeyer, who
+roughly exclaimed, "Wench! where is your master?" With remarkable
+presence of mind, she answered, "Gone to alarm the town." Fearing that
+such might be the case, Waltermeyer called his pilfering men, who were
+bagging plate in the dining hall, and began a consultation. Meanwhile
+the General was also thinking, and devising a stratagem by which to
+frighten away the kidnappers. He soon threw up a window, and, in the
+voice of an experienced commander, cried out, "Come on, my brave
+fellows; surround the house and secure the villains who are plundering."
+As he anticipated, the gang, hearing these words, snapped the thread of
+their consultation, and tested the nimbleness of their feet. The reports
+of the General's arms had alarmed the people of the city, and they came
+to the rescue just in season to be unneeded.
+
+
+
+
+NOBLE TREATMENT OF ENEMIES.
+
+                      ----True religion
+  Is always mild, propitious and humble,
+  Plays not the tyrant, plants no faith in blood;
+  Nor bears destruction on her chariot wheels;
+  But stoops to polish, succor, and redress,
+  And builds her grandeur on the public good.
+
+                                   MILLER'S MAHOMET.
+
+
+Among the early converts to Christianity in the Cherokee tribe, were a
+few women, who formed themselves into a society for propagating the
+Gospel. They felt its expanding power, and, though poor, were anxious to
+do something for those who were not sharing in the same blessing. The
+proceeds of their first year's efforts, were about ten dollars; and
+while deliberating on the manner of its appropriation, one of the
+members suggested that it be devoted to the promotion of religion among
+the Osages, giving as a reason that they were the greatest enemies of
+the Cherokees, and that the Bible teaches Christians to do good to
+such.
+
+
+
+
+HUMANITY REWARDED.
+
+  ----I should some kindness show them.
+
+                                 SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Among the early settlements of New Hampshire, were several on the
+Piscataqua river, in the neighborhood of the present town of Dover. For
+awhile the aborigines and whites were on amicable terms, and the former
+not unfrequently paid the latter a friendly visit. On one of those
+occasions, a pappoos was suddenly seized with illness, and its mother
+was obliged to remain several days. She found shelter and accommodations
+with a widow, who received her cordially, and nursed the feeble infant
+as her own. Such kindness would not be forgotten, even by savages; and
+when, after the lapse of years, the bow was bent and the hatchet raised
+against the settlement where the widow resided, the Indians placed a
+strong guard around her house; and, though the butchery was terrible,
+she and her family were unharmed.
+
+
+
+
+MARGARET WINTHROP.
+
+                      ----When meet now
+  Such pairs, in love and honor joined?
+
+                                    MILTON.
+
+
+Governor Winthrop, the father of the Massachusetts' colony, married
+Margaret, the daughter of Sir John Tindal, in April, 1618. She was his
+third wife, and a woman of rare qualities both of mind and heart.
+Previous to their emigration to New England, it was not an uncommon
+occurrence for them to be separated, and their correspondence on such
+occasions savors of the purest affection. Who does not see the image of
+a devoted wife and an exalted spirit in the following letter, written
+about the year 1627:
+
+"MY MOST SWEET HUSBAND,--How dearly welcome thy kind letter was to me, I
+am not able to express. The sweetness of it did much refresh me. What
+can be more pleasing to a wife, than to hear of the welfare of her best
+beloved, and how he is pleased with her poor endeavors! I blush to hear
+myself commended, knowing my own wants. But it is your love that
+conceives the best, and makes all things seem better than they are. I
+wish that I may be always pleasing to thee, and that those comforts we
+have in each other may be daily increased, as far as they may be
+pleasing to God. I will use that speech to thee, that Abigail did to
+David: 'I will be a servant to wash the feet of my lord.' I will do any
+service wherein I may please my good husband. I confess I cannot do
+enough for thee; but thou art pleased to accept the will for the deed,
+and rest contented.
+
+"I have many reasons to make me love thee, whereof I will name two:
+first, because thou lovest God; and secondly, because thou lovest me. If
+these two were wanting, all the rest would be eclipsed. But I must leave
+this discourse, and go about my household affairs. I am a bad housewife
+to be so long from them; but I must needs borrow a little time to talk
+with thee, my sweet heart. I hope thy business draws to an end. It will
+be but two or three weeks before I see thee, though they be long ones.
+God will bring us together in his good time; for which I shall pray.
+
+Farewell, my good husband; the Lord keep thee.
+
+                                     Your obedient wife,
+
+                                             MARGARET WINTHROP."
+
+Below is another letter from the pen of this good woman, written after
+her husband had decided to come to Massachusetts, and just before his
+embarkation:
+
+"MY MOST DEAR HUSBAND,--I should not now omit any opportunity of writing
+to thee, considering I shall not long have thee to write unto. But, by
+reason of my unfitness at this time, I must entreat thee to accept of a
+few lines from me, and not impute it to any want of love, or neglect of
+duty to thee, to whom I owe more than I ever shall be able to express.
+
+"My request now shall be to the Lord to prosper thee in thy voyage, and
+enable thee and fit thee for it, and give all graces and gifts for such
+employments as he shall call thee to. I trust God will once more bring
+us together before you go, that we may see each other with gladness, and
+take a solemn leave, till we, through the goodness of our God, shall
+meet in New England, which will be a joyful day to us. With my best
+wishes to God for thy health and welfare, I take my leave and rest, thy
+faithful, obedient wife,
+
+                                                MARGARET WINTHROP."[81]
+
+  [81] The following extract from a letter written by the Governor in
+  March, 1629, shows that he was not unconscious of the excellence of the
+  gift he possessed in his "yokefellow." Addressing her as "MINE OWN DEAR
+  HEART," he proceeds:
+
+  "I must confess thou hast overcome me with thy exceeding great love, and
+  those abundant expressions of it in thy sweet letters, which savor of
+  more than an ordinary spirit of love and piety. Blessed be the Lord our
+  God, that gives strength and comfort to thee to undergo this great
+  trial, which, I must confess, would be too heavy for thee, if the Lord
+  did not put under his hand in so gracious a measure. Let this experience
+  of his faithfulness to thee in this first trial, be a ground to
+  establish thy heart to believe and expect his help in all that may
+  follow. It grieveth me much, that I want time and freedom of mind to
+  discourse with thee, my faithful yokefellow, in those things which thy
+  sweet letters offer me so plentiful occasion for. I beseech the Lord, I
+  may have liberty to supply it, ere I depart; for I cannot thus leave
+  thee."
+
+Governor Winthrop landed on these shores in June, 1630, and his wife
+followed him in about a year. She lived till June, 1647, and was perhaps
+as useful in her more private, as her husband in his public and highly
+honorable, sphere. "A woman of singular virtue, prudence, modesty and
+piety;" though dignified, she was condescending; and knowing her place,
+she kept, and filled, and honored it. With undimmed and steady lustre,
+she shone for sixteen years amid the shadows of night that overhung and
+threatened the infant colony.
+
+
+
+
+A PIONEER SETTLER'S ADVENTURE.
+
+  ----Screw your courage up to the sticking place,
+  And we'll not fail.
+
+                                           SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+The first settler in Hollis, New Hampshire, was Captain Peter Powers. He
+removed thither in 1731. His nearest neighbor, for a time, was ten miles
+distant; and in order to exchange courtesies it was necessary for the
+families to cross the Nashua river. It had but one convenient and safe
+fording place in that vicinity, and that one only when the river was
+low.
+
+Having occasion, on a pleasant August morning, to visit her neighbor,
+Mrs. Powers mounted a Narraganset, hastened away, and reached the place
+of destination long before noon. Early in the after part of the day a
+fearful thunderstorm came up, and continued for several hours. Just at
+sunset the clouds began to break away, and Mrs. Powers immediately
+started on her return. She did not reach the river until some time after
+dark; and coming to the ford, she found the bank full and the water--as
+a narrator of the incident has it--"pressing on it with great
+rapidity." Added to this alarming circumstance, the wind had shifted and
+rolled the clouds up the sky again, so that the rain was descending in
+torrents, and drowning the threatening voice of the waves. Trusting to
+the experienced animal to keep the ford, and giving a slack rein,
+without realizing the danger, the courageous woman plunged into the
+black stream. The steed almost instantly lost its foothold, and "rolling
+in the waves at a full swim," made for the opposite shore. Missing the
+ford, and striking a forefoot on a rock in the bed of the stream, the
+animal was raised momentarily half way out of the water. Then plunging
+forward, it sank so deep that Mrs. Powers was raised from the pommel;
+but seizing the horse's mane as it rose, she held her grasp till they
+were safely on shore. The faithful animal soon found the right track,
+and in a brief hour Mrs. Powers was under the shelter of her cabin.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. McKENNY.
+
+  More can I bear than you dare execute.
+
+                                 SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+"Not a great way from Steel's and Taylor's forts was a settlement
+consisting of a few families, among which were those of William McKenny
+and his brother James. These lived near Fishing creek. In the summer of
+1761, sixteen Indians, with some squaws of the Cherokee tribe, took up
+their abode for several weeks near what is called Simpson's shoals, for
+the purpose of hunting and fishing during the hot months. In August, the
+two McKennys being absent on a journey to Camden, William's wife,
+Barbara, was left alone with several young children. One day she saw the
+Indian women running towards her house in great haste, followed by the
+men. She had no time to offer resistance; the squaws seized her and the
+children, pulled them into the house, and shoved them behind the door,
+where they immediately placed themselves on guard, pushing back the
+Indians as fast as they tried to force their way in, and uttering the
+most fearful outcries. Mrs. McKenny concluded it was their intention to
+kill her, and expected her fate every moment. The assistance rendered by
+the squaws, whether given out of compassion for a lonely mother, or in
+return for kindness shown them,--proved effectual for her protection
+until the arrival of one of the chiefs, who drew his long knife and
+drove off the savages. The mother, apprehending another attack, went to
+some of her neighbors and entreated them to come and stay with her.
+Robert Brown and Joanna his wife, Sarah Ferguson, her daughter Sarah and
+two sons, and a young man named Michael Melbury, came, in compliance
+with her request, and took up their quarters in the house. The next
+morning Mrs. McKenny ventured out alone to milk her cows. It had been
+her practice heretofore to take some of the children with her, and she
+could not explain why she went alone this time, though she was not free
+from apprehension; it seemed to be so by a special ordering of
+Providence. While she was milking, the Indians crept towards her on
+their hands and knees; she heard not their approach, nor knew any thing
+till they seized her. Sensible at once of all the horror of her
+situation, she made no effort to escape, but promised to go quietly with
+them. They then set off towards the house, holding her fast by the arm.
+She had the presence of mind to walk as far off as possible from the
+Indian who held her, expecting Melbury to fire as they approached her
+dwelling. As they came up, he fired, wounding the one who held Mrs.
+McKenny; she broke from his hold and ran, and another Indian pursued
+and seized her. At this moment she was just at her own door, which John
+Ferguson imprudently opening that she might enter, the Indians without
+shot him dead as he presented himself. His mother ran to him and
+received another shot in her thigh, of which she died in a few days.
+Melbury, who saw that all their lives depended on prompt action, dragged
+them from the door, fastened it, and repairing to the loft, prepared for
+a vigorous defence. There were in all five guns; Sarah Ferguson loaded
+for him, while he kept up a continual fire, aiming at the Indians
+wherever one could be seen. Determined to effect their object of forcing
+an entrance, some of the savages came very near the house, keeping under
+cover of an outhouse in which Brown and his wife had taken refuge, not
+being able, on the alarm, to get into the house. They had crept into a
+corner and were crouched there close to the boarding. One of the
+Indians, coming up, leaned against the outside, separated from them only
+by a few boards, the crevices between which probably enabled them to see
+him. Mrs. Brown proposed to take a sword that lay by them and run the
+savage through the body, but her husband refused; he expected death, he
+said, every moment, and did not wish to go out of the world having his
+hands crimsoned with the blood of any fellow creature. 'Let me die in
+peace,' were his words, 'with all the world.' Joanna, though in the same
+peril, could not respond to the charitable feeling. 'If I am to die,'
+she said, 'I should like first to send some of the redskins on the
+journey. But we are not so sure we have to die; don't you hear the crack
+of Melbury's rifle? He holds the house. I warrant you that redskin
+looked awfully scared as he leaned against the corner here. We could
+have done it in a moment.'
+
+"Mrs. McKenny, meanwhile, having failed to get into her house, had been
+again seized by the Indians, and, desperately regardless of her own
+safety, was doing all in her power to help her besieged friends. She
+would knock the priming out of the guns carried by the savages, and when
+they presented them to fire, would throw them up, so that the discharge
+might prove harmless. She was often heard to say, afterwards, that all
+fear had left her, and she thought only of those within the building,
+for she expected for herself neither deliverance nor mercy. Melbury
+continued to fire whenever one of the enemy appeared; they kept
+themselves, however, concealed, for the most part, behind trees or the
+outhouse. Several were wounded by his cool and well-directed shots, and
+at length, tired of the contest, the Indians retreated, carrying Mrs.
+McKenny with them. She now resisted with all her strength, preferring
+instant death to the more terrible fate of a captive in the hands of the
+fierce Cherokees. Her refusal to go forward irritated her captors, and
+when they had dragged her about half a mile, near a rock upon the
+plantation now occupied by John Culp, she received a second blow with
+the tomahawk which stretched her insensible upon the ground. When after
+some time consciousness returned, she found herself lying upon the rock,
+to which she had been dragged from the spot where she fell. She was
+stripped naked, and her scalp had been taken off. By degrees the
+knowledge of her condition, and the desire of obtaining help came upon
+her. She lifted up her head, and looking around, saw the wretches who
+had so cruelly mangled her, pulling ears of corn from a field near, to
+roast for their meal. She laid her head quickly down again, well knowing
+that if they saw her alive, they would not be slack in coming to finish
+the work of death. Thus she lay motionless till all was silent, and she
+found they were gone; then, with great pain and difficulty, she dragged
+herself back to the house. It may be imagined with what feelings the
+unfortunate woman was received by her friends and children, and how she
+met the bereaved mother, wounded unto death, who had suffered for her
+attempt to save others. One of the blows received by Mrs. McKenny had
+made a deep wound in her back; the others were upon her head....
+
+"The wounds in Mrs. McKenny's head never healed entirely; but continued
+to break out occasionally, so that the blood flowing from them stained
+the bed at night, and sometimes fragments of bone came off;
+nevertheless, she lived many years afterwards and bore several children.
+She was at the time with child, and in about three months gave birth to
+a daughter--Hannah, afterwards married to John Stedman--and living in
+Tennessee in 1827. This child was plainly marked with a tomahawk and
+drops of blood, as if running down the side of her face. The families of
+McKenny and McFadden, residing on Fishing creek, are descended from this
+Barbara McKenny; but most of her descendants have emigrated to the West.
+The above mentioned occurrence is narrated in a manuscript in the
+hand-writing of her grandson, Robert McFadden."[82]
+
+  [82] Women of the Revolution, vol. 3.
+
+
+
+
+THE FISHERMAN'S HEROIC WIFE.
+
+                              Strong affection
+  Contends with all things, and o'ercometh all things.
+
+                                               JOANNA BAILLIE.
+
+
+"One of the small islands in Boston bay was inhabited by a single poor
+family. The father was taken suddenly ill. There was no physician. The
+wife, on whom every labor for the household devolved, was sleepless in
+care and tenderness by the bedside of her suffering husband. Every
+remedy in her power to procure was administered, but the disease was
+acute, and he died.
+
+"Seven young children mourned around the lifeless corpse. They were the
+sole beings upon that desolate spot. Did the mother indulge the grief of
+her spirit, and sit down in despair? No: she entered upon the arduous
+and sacred duties of her station. She felt that there was no hand to
+assist her in burying her dead. Providing, as far as possible, for the
+comfort of her little ones, she put her babe into the arms of the
+oldest, and charged the two next in age to watch the corpse of their
+father. She unmoored her husband's fishing boat, which, but two days
+before, he had guided over the seas, to obtain food for his family. She
+dared not yield to those tender recollections, which might have unnerved
+her arm. The nearest island was at the distance of three miles. Strong
+winds lashed the waters to foam. Over the loud billows, that wearied and
+sorrowful woman rowed, and was preserved. She reached the next island,
+and obtained the necessary aid. With such energy did her duty to her
+desolate babes inspire her, that the voyage which depended on her
+individual effort, was performed in a shorter time than the returning
+one, when the oars were managed by two men, who went to assist in the
+last offices to the dead."
+
+
+
+
+MRS. JAMES K. POLK.
+
+  A fault doth never with remorse
+    Our minds so deeply move,
+  As when another's guiltless life
+    Our error doth reprove.
+
+                                BRANDON.
+
+
+Sarah Childress Polk is the daughter of an enterprising and wealthy
+merchant of Rutherford county, Tennessee. She was married on the first
+of January, 1824.
+
+Fitted to dignify and adorn any station appropriate for woman, while
+presiding at the White house she was universally esteemed, and retired
+as honorably as any woman since the days of Washington. She is
+intelligent, refined, unaffected, affable, courteous, hospitable, and,
+above all, pious, and exemplary as a Christian. She has been for years
+in communion with the Presbyterians; and while at the Capital, and the
+eyes of the whole nation were upon her, she forbade, in the President's
+mansion, any amusement not in keeping with the Christian profession. In
+this respect, it may be said of her, in the language of Shakspeare,
+
+  Thou art not for the fashion of these times.
+
+The following poetical tribute, from the pen and heart of Mrs. Stephens,
+is well merited:
+
+  LADY! had I the wealth of earth
+    To offer freely at thy shrine,
+  Bright gold, and buds of dewy birth,
+    Or gems from out the teeming mine,
+  A thousand things most beautiful,
+    All sparkling, precious, rich, and rare,
+  These hands would render up to thee--
+    Thou noble lady, good and fair!
+
+  For, as I write, sweet thoughts arise
+    Of times when all thy kindness lent
+  A thousand hues of Paradise
+    To the fleet moments as they went;
+  Then all thy thoughts were winged with light,
+    And every smile was calm and sweet,
+  And thy low tones and gentle words
+    Made the warm heart's blood thrill and beat.
+
+  There, standing in our nation's home,
+    My memory ever pictures thee
+  As some bright dame of ancient Rome,
+    Modest, yet all a queen should be.
+  I love to keep thee in my mind,
+    Thus mated with the pure of old,
+  When love with lofty deeds combined,
+    Made women great and warriors bold.
+
+  When first I saw thee standing there,
+    And felt the pressure of thy hand,
+  I scarcely thought if thou wert fair,
+    Or of the highest in the land;
+  I knew thee gentle, pure as great;
+    All that was lovely, meek and good;
+  And so I half forgot thy state
+    In love of thy bright womanhood.
+
+  And many a sweet sensation came
+    That lingers in my bosom yet,
+  Like that celestial, holy flame
+    That vestals tremble to forget
+  And on the earth, or in the sky,
+    There's not a thought more true and free
+  Than that which beats within my heart,
+    In pleasant memory of thee.
+
+  Lady, I gladly would have brought
+    Some gem that on thy heart may live;
+  But this poor wreath of woven thought
+    Is all the wealth I have to give.
+  All wet with heart-dew, fresh with love,
+    I lay the garland at thy feet,
+  Praying the angel forms above
+    To weave thee one more pure and sweet.
+
+
+
+
+
+THE WIDOW JENKINS.
+
+  In humblest vales the patriot heart may glow.
+
+                                          J. T. FIELDS.
+
+
+At the time Colonel Watson, the commander of a corps of regulars and
+tories, was making inroads upon the Pedee, he pitched his tent one night
+near the house of a widow named Jenkins, and took up his own quarters
+under her roof. Learning, in the course of the evening, that she had
+three sons fighting under General Marion, he commenced the following
+conversation with her:
+
+"So, madam, they tell me you have several sons in General Marion's camp;
+I hope it is not true."
+
+She said it was very true, and was only sorry that it was not a thousand
+times truer.
+
+"A thousand times truer, madam!" replied he, with great surprise, "pray
+what can be your meaning in that?"
+
+"Why, sir, I am only sorry that in place of three, I have not three
+thousand sons with General Marion."
+
+"Aye, indeed! well then, madam, begging your pardon, you had better send
+for them immediately to come in and join his majesty's troops under my
+command: for as they are rebels now in arms against their king, should
+they be taken, they will be hung as sure as ever they were born."
+
+"Why, sir, you are very considerate of my sons; for which, at any rate,
+I thank you. But, as you have begged my pardon for giving me this
+advice, I must beg yours for not taking it. My sons, sir, are of age,
+and must and will act for themselves. And as to their being in a state
+of rebellion against their king, I must take the liberty, sir, to deny
+that."
+
+"What, madam! not in rebellion against their king? Shooting at and
+killing his majesty's subjects like wolves! don't you call that
+rebellion against their king, madam?"
+
+"No, sir, they are only doing their duty, as God and nature commanded
+them, sir."
+
+"The d----l they are, madam!"
+
+"Yes, sir, and what you and every man in England would glory to do
+against the king, were he to dare to tax you contrary to your own
+consent and the constitution of the realm. 'Tis the king, sir, who is in
+rebellion against my sons, and not they against him. And could right
+prevail against might, he would as certainly lose his head as ever king
+Charles the First did."[83]
+
+  [83] Weems' Marion, pp. 182-3.
+
+
+
+
+A FAITHFUL LITTLE GIRL.
+
+  Labor in the path of duty
+  Beam'd up like a thing of beauty.
+
+                              C. P. CRANCH.
+
+
+"A very profane and profligate sailor, who belonged to a vessel lying in
+the port of New York, went out one day from his ship into the streets,
+bent on folly and wickedness. He met a pious little girl, whose feelings
+he tried to wound by using vile and sinful language. The little girl
+looked him earnestly in the face, warned him of his danger, and, with a
+solemn tone, told him to remember that he must meet her shortly at the
+bar of God. This unexpected reproof greatly affected him. To use his own
+language, 'it was like a broadside, raking him fore and aft, and
+sweeping by the board every sail and spar prepared for a wicked cruise.'
+Abashed and confounded, he returned to his ship. He could not banish
+from his mind the reproof of this little girl. Her look was present to
+his mind; her solemn declaration, 'You must meet me at the bar of God,'
+deeply affected his heart. The more he reflected upon it, the more
+uncomfortable he felt. In a few days his hard heart was subdued, and he
+submitted to the Saviour."
+
+
+
+
+HOSPITALITY OF CALIFORNIA WOMEN.
+
+  Blest that abode where want and pain repair,
+  And every stranger finds a ready chair.
+
+                                          GOLDSMITH.
+
+
+In his Three Years in California, the Rev. Walter Colton speaks as
+follows of the native women:
+
+Their hospitality knows no bounds; they are always glad to see you, come
+when you may; take a pleasure in entertaining you while you remain; and
+only regret that your business calls you away. If you are sick, there is
+nothing which sympathy and care can devise or perform, which is not done
+for you. No sister ever hung over the throbbing brain or fluttering
+pulse of a brother with more tenderness and fidelity. This is as true of
+the lady whose hand has only figured her embroidery or swept her guitar,
+as of the cottage-girl wringing from her laundry the foam of the
+mountain stream; and all this from the _heart_! If I must be cast, in
+sickness or destitution, on the care of a stranger, let it be in
+California; but let it be before avarice has hardened the heart and made
+a god of gold.
+
+
+
+
+SARAH LANMAN SMITH.
+
+  Where'er the path of duty led,
+  With an unquestioning faith she trod.
+
+                                   T. W. RENNE.
+
+
+Among the many names endeared to the friends of missions, is that of
+Sarah L. Smith, a native of Norwich, Connecticut. Her maiden name was
+Huntington. She was born in 1802; made a profession of religion in
+youth; became the wife of the Rev. Eli Smith in July, 1833; embarked
+with him for Palestine the September following; and died at Boojah, near
+Smyrna, the last day of September, 1836.
+
+Her work as a foreign missionary was quickly finished. She labored
+longer as a home missionary among the Moheagans, who live in the
+neighborhood of Norwich, and there displayed most conspicuously the
+moral heroism of her nature. In conjunction with Sarah Breed, she
+commenced her philanthropic operations in the year 1827. "The first
+object that drew them from the sphere of their own church, was the
+project of opening a Sabbath school for the poor Indian children of
+Moheagan. Satisfied that this was a work which Heaven would approve,
+they marked out their plans, and pursued them with untiring energy.
+Boldly they went forth, and, guided by the rising smoke or sounding axe,
+visited the Moheagans from field to field, and from hut to hut, till
+they had thoroughly informed themselves of their numbers, condition, and
+prospects. The opposition they encountered, the ridicule and opprobrium
+showered upon them from some quarters, the sullenness of the natives,
+the bluster of the white tenants, the brush wood and dry branches thrown
+across their pathway, could not discourage them. They saw no 'lions in
+the way,' while mercy, with pleading looks, beckoned them forward."
+
+The Moheagans then numbered a little more than one hundred, only one of
+whom was a professor of religion. She was ninety-seven years of age. In
+her hut the first prayer meeting and the first Sabbath school gathered
+by these young ladies, were held.
+
+Miss Breed soon removed from that part of the country, and Miss
+Huntington continued her labors for awhile alone. She was at that time
+very active in securing the formation of a society and the circulation
+of a subscription, having for their object the erection of a chapel. She
+found, ere long, a faithful co-worker in Miss Elizabeth Raymond. They
+taught a school in conjunction, and aside from their duties as teachers,
+were, at times, "advisers, counsellors, lawgivers, milliners,
+mantuamakers, tailoresses and almoners."[84]
+
+  [84] Missionary Offering, p. 86. We are indebted to the same source for
+  most of the particulars embraced in this article.
+
+"The school was kept in a house on Fort Hill, leased to a respectable
+farmer in whose family the young teachers boarded by alternate weeks,
+each going to the scene of labor every other Sabbath morning and
+remaining till the evening of the succeeding Sabbath, so that both were
+present in the Sabbath school, which was twice as large as the other. A
+single incident will serve to show the dauntless resolution which Miss
+Huntington carried into her pursuits. Just at the expiration of one of
+her terms of service during the winter, a heavy and tempestuous fall of
+snow blocked up the roads with such high drifts, that a friend who had
+been accustomed to go for her and convey her home in bad weather, and
+had started for this purpose in his sleigh, turned back, discouraged. No
+path had been broken, and the undertaking was so hazardous that he
+conceived no female would venture forth at such a time. He therefore
+called at her father's house to say that he should delay going for her
+till the morrow. What was his surprise to be met at the door by the
+young lady herself, who had reached home just before, having walked the
+whole distance on the hard crust of snow, _alone_, and some of the way
+over banks of snow that entirely obliterated the walls and fences by the
+roadside."
+
+While at Moheagan, Miss Huntington corresponded with the Hon. Lewis
+Cass, then Secretary of War, and secured his influence and the aid of
+that department. In 1832, a grant of nine hundred dollars was made from
+the fund devoted to the Indian department, five hundred being
+appropriated towards the erection of missionary buildings and four for
+the support of a teacher. Before leaving the Moheagan, for a wider
+field, this devoted and heroic missionary had the happiness of seeing a
+chapel, parsonage and school house, standing on "the sequestered
+land"[85] of her forest friends, and had thus partially repaid the debt
+of social and moral obligation to a tribe who fed the first and
+famishing settlers in Connecticut, and strove to protect them against
+the tomahawk of inimical tribes, and whose whoop was friendly to freedom
+when British aggressors were overriding American rights.
+
+  [85] That was its original name. It is a reserved tract; contains
+  between two and three thousand acres, and a considerable part is now
+  occupied by white tenants. Its situation is on the Thames, between New
+  London and Norwich.
+
+
+
+
+A BROTHER SAVED BY HIS SISTER.
+
+  Brave spirits are a balsam to themselves.
+
+                                     CARTWRIGHT.
+
+
+During the invasion of the Mohawk valley by Sir John Johnson, Samson
+Sammons, of Johnstown, and his three sons, were taken captive early one
+morning in May. The females were not made prisoners. While a soldier was
+standing sentinel over the youngest son, named Thomas, who was about
+eighteen, the latter, who was not more than half dressed, said he was
+not going to Canada in such a plight; that he should need his shoes
+especially; and asked permission to go to his chamber and get his
+clothes. The favor was not granted; but Thomas, resolving to have his
+shoes, stepped towards the door, when the barbarous soldier pointed a
+bayonet at his back, and made a plunge. At that moment a sister, who had
+watched every movement with breathless anxiety, sprang forward, seized
+the gun, threw herself across its barrel, bore it to the ground, and
+thus saved her brother's life. After a brief struggle, the soldier
+disengaged his weapon, but before he had time to make another plunge,
+an officer rushed forward and asked what was the trouble. The heroic
+girl stated the case, when the soldier was severely rebuked, and her
+brother permitted to obtain his shoes and all the raiment he
+desired.[86]
+
+  [86] It may be interesting to the reader to know that Thomas Sammons did
+  not go to Canada. He was released in the afternoon of the same day, with
+  some other persons who had been taken prisoners during the forenoon.
+  Feigning extreme lameness in one foot, he attracted the attention and
+  excited the sympathy of the widow of a British officer: she had resided
+  in the neighborhood, knew many of the captives, and as some were her
+  personal friends, she asked Sir John to permit their release. He did so;
+  and on going into the field to select them, writes Colonel Stone, "she
+  adroitly smuggled young Sammons into the group, and led him away in
+  safety."
+
+
+
+
+PATRIOTIC SACRIFICE OF MRS. BORDEN.
+
+  They love their land because it is their own.
+
+                                             HALLECK.
+
+
+At the darkest period of the Revolution, New Jersey was, for a short
+time, full of British soldiers, and Lord Cornwallis was stationed at
+Bordentown.[87] He visited Mrs. Borden one day, at her elegant mansion,
+and made an effort to intimidate her. He told her that if she would
+persuade her husband and son, who were then in the American army, to
+join his forces, none of her property should be destroyed; but if she
+refused to make such exertions, he would burn her house, and lay waste
+her whole estate. Unintimidated and patriotic, she made the following
+bold reply, which caused the execution of the threat: "The sight of my
+house in flames would be a treat to me, for I have seen enough to know
+that you never injure what you have power to keep and enjoy. The
+application of a torch to my dwelling I should regard as the signal for
+your departure." And such it was.
+
+  [87] Major Garden.
+
+
+
+
+MARGARET CORBIN.
+
+  Where cannon boomed, where bayonets clashed,
+  There was thy fiery way.
+
+                                       SARA J. CLARKE.
+
+
+An act similar to that recorded of Mrs. Pitcher at the battle of
+Monmouth, was performed by Mrs. Margaret Corbin at the attack on Fort
+Washington. Her husband belonged to the artillery; and, standing by his
+side and seeing him fall, she unhesitatingly took his place and
+heroically performed his duties. Her services were appreciated by the
+officers of the army, and honorably noticed by Congress. This body
+passed the following resolution in July, 1779:
+
+"Resolved,--That Margaret Corbin, wounded and disabled at the battle of
+Fort Washington, while she heroically filled the post of her husband,
+who was killed by her side serving a piece of artillery, do receive
+during her natural life, or continuance of said disability, one-half the
+monthly pay drawn by a soldier in service of these States; and that she
+now receive out of public stores, one suit of clothes or value thereof
+in money."
+
+
+
+
+BRAVERY OF MRS. CHANNING.
+
+                          ----The truly brave,
+  When they behold the brave oppressed with odds,
+  Are touched with a desire to shield or save.
+
+                                               BYRON.
+
+
+Soon after the commencement of the Revolutionary war, the family of Dr.
+Channing,[88] being in England, removed to France, and shortly
+afterwards sailed for the United States. The vessel, said to be stout
+and well-armed, was attacked on the voyage by a privateer, and a fierce
+engagement ensued. During its continuance, Mrs. Channing stood on the
+deck, exhorting the crew not to give up, encouraging them with words of
+cheer, handing them cartridges, and aiding such of them as were disabled
+by wounds. When, at length, the colors of the vessel were struck, she
+seized her husband's pistols and side arms, and flung them into the sea,
+declaring that she would prefer death to the witnessing of their
+surrender into the hands of the foe.
+
+  [88] This anecdote, which is recorded in several works, cannot refer to
+  the late William Ellery Channing, as he was not born at the commencement
+  of the Revolution.
+
+
+
+
+COMMENDABLE COURAGE.
+
+  Have chivalry's bold days
+  A deed of wilder bravery
+  In all their stirring lays?
+
+                     SARA J. CLARKE
+
+
+An incident which occurred at one of the forts in the Mohawk valley,
+might have been mentioned in connection with the heroism of Schoharie
+women. It is briefly related by the author of Border Wars of the
+American Revolution. "An interesting young woman," he writes, "whose
+name yet lives in story among her own mountains, perceiving, as she
+thought, symptoms of fear in a soldier who had been ordered to a well
+without the works, and within range of the enemy's fire, for water,
+snatched the bucket from his hands, and ran forth for it herself.
+Without changing color, or giving the slightest evidence of fear, she
+drew and brought back bucket after bucket to the thirsty soldiers, and
+providentially escaped without injury."
+
+
+
+
+THE HEROINE OF SHELL'S BUSH.
+
+  I dare do all that may become a man.
+  Who dares do more, is none.
+
+                                SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+For three-fourths of a century, there has been a wealthy settlement of
+Germans four or five miles north of the village of Herkimer, in the
+upper part of the Mohawk valley, called Shell's Bush. Among the early
+settlers, was John Christian Shell, who had a family of six brave sons
+and a no less brave wife. When, on the sixth of August, 1781, a Scotch
+refugee named Donald McDonald, at the head of sixty-six tories and
+Indians, attacked that settlement, Mrs. Shell acted the part of an
+heroic dame. The house was built for border emergencies, and when the
+enemy approached, the husband and older boys[89] fled from the fields,
+entered their castle, and strongly barricaded the doors. From two
+o'clock in the afternoon until twilight, the besieged kept up an almost
+incessant firing, Mrs. Shell loading the guns for her husband and older
+sons to discharge. During the siege, McDonald attempted to force the
+door with a crow bar, and was shot in the leg, seized by Shell and drawn
+within doors. Exasperated at this bold feat, the enemy soon attempted to
+carry the fortress by assault, five of them leaping upon the walls and
+thrusting their guns through the loopholes. At that moment the cool and
+courageous woman seized an axe, smote the barrels and bent and spoiled
+them. Her husband then resorted to stratagem to drive the besiegers
+away: running up stairs and calling to Mrs. Shell in a very loud voice,
+he said that Captain Small was approaching with help from Fort Dayton.
+Then raising his voice to its highest pitch, he exclaimed, "Captain
+Small, march your company round upon this side of the house. Captain
+Getman, you had better wheel your men off to the left, and come up upon
+that side."[90] Fearing the phantom troops whom Mr. Shell's imagination
+had conjured, the enemy shouldered their guns--crooked barreled and
+all--and quickly buried themselves in the dense forest.
+
+  [89] The two youngest boys, who were twins and about eight years old,
+  were captured; and when the enemy fled, they were carried away as
+  prisoners.
+
+  [90] Border Wars of the American Revolution, vol. 2, p. 153.
+
+
+
+
+FATHER TAYLOR'S WIDOWED FRIEND.
+
+  Humble toil and heavenward duty.
+
+                            MRS. HALE.
+
+
+"A pious widow, who resided among ignorant and vicious neighbors in the
+suburbs of B----, Massachusetts, determined to do what she could for
+their spiritual benefit; and so she opened her little front room for
+weekly prayer meetings, and engaged some pious Methodists to aid in
+conducting them. Much of the seed thus scattered on a seemingly arid
+soil, produced fruit. One instance deserves special notice.
+
+"Among others who attended, was a young sailor of intelligent and
+prepossessing countenance. A slight acquaintance with him discovered him
+to be very ignorant of even the rudiments of education; but, at the same
+time, he had such manifestly superior abilities, that the widow became
+much interested in his spiritual welfare, and could not but hope that
+God would in some way provide for his further instruction, convert him
+and render him useful. But in the midst of her anticipations, he was
+suddenly summoned away to sea. He had been out but a short time when the
+vessel was seized by a British privateer and carried into Halifax,
+where the crew suffered by a long and wretched imprisonment.
+
+"A year had passed away, during which the good woman had heard nothing
+of the young sailor. Still she remembered and prayed for him with the
+solicitude of a mother. About this time, she received a letter from her
+relations, who resided in Halifax, on business which required her to go
+to that town. While there, her habitual disposition to be useful, led
+her with a few friends to visit the prison with Bibles and tracts. In
+one apartment were the American prisoners. As she approached the grated
+door, a voice shouted her name, calling her mother, and a youth appeared
+and leaped for joy at the grate. It was the lost sailor boy! They wept
+and conversed like mother and son, and when she left she gave him a
+Bible--his future guide and comfort. During her stay at Halifax, she
+constantly visited the prison, supplying the youth with tracts,
+religious books, and clothing, and endeavoring by her conversation to
+secure the religious impression made on his mind at the prayer meetings
+in B----. After many months she removed to a distant part of the
+provinces; and for years she heard nothing more of the young sailor.
+
+"We pass over a period of many years, and introduce the reader to Father
+T----, the distinguished mariners' preacher in the city of B----. In a
+spacious and substantial chapel, crowded about by the worst habitations
+in the city, this distinguished man delivered every Sabbath, discourses
+as extraordinary, perhaps, as are to be found in the Christian world.
+In the centre column of seats, guarded sacredly against all other
+intrusion, sat a dense mass of mariners--a strange medley of white,
+black, and olive; Protestant, Catholic, and Pagan. On the other seats in
+the galleries, the aisles, the altar, and on the pulpit stairs, were
+crowded, week after week, and year after year--the families of sailors,
+and the poor who had no other temple--the elite of the city--the learned
+professor--the student--the popular writer--the actor--groups of
+clergymen, and the votaries of gayety and fashion, listening with
+throbbing hearts and wet eyes, to a man whose only school had been the
+forecastle, and whose only endowments were those of grace and nature.
+
+"In the year 183--, an aged English local preacher moved into the city
+of B---- from the British provinces.
+
+"The old local preacher was mingling in a public throng one day with a
+friend, when they met 'Father T----.' A few words of introduction led to
+a free conversation, in which the former residence of his wife in the
+city was mentioned, and allusion was made to her prayer meeting--her
+former name was asked by 'Father T----;' he seemed seized by an
+impulse--inquired their residence, hastened away, and in a short time
+arrived in a carriage, with all his family, at the home of the aged
+pair. There a scene ensued which must be left to the imagination of the
+reader. 'Father T----' was the sailor boy of the prayer meeting and the
+prison. The old lady was the widow who had first cared for his soul."
+
+
+
+
+PICTURE OF A REVOLUTIONARY MOTHER.
+
+  This is my own, my native land.
+
+                                      SCOTT.
+
+  True wit is nature to advantage dressed.
+
+                                        POPE.
+
+
+Mrs. Eliza Wilkinson resided during the Revolution on Yonge's island,
+thirty miles south of Charleston, South Carolina. She was a cheerful,
+witty and accomplished young widow, and a keen sufferer on account of
+her whig principles. Her letters, arranged by Mrs. Gilman, and published
+several years ago, afford a panoramic view of many dark scenes at the
+gloomiest period of American history, and beautifully daguerreotype her
+own pure and patriotic heart. A single extract will show her character.
+She visited the city of Charleston soon after its surrender, and
+witnessed the departure of her exiled friends. Referring to matters
+about that period, she writes:
+
+"Once I was asked by a British officer to play the guitar.
+
+"'I cannot play; I am very dull.'
+
+"'How long do you intend to continue so, Mrs. Wilkinson?'
+
+"'Until my countrymen return, sir!'
+
+"'Return as what, madam?--prisoners or subjects?'
+
+"'As conquerors, sir.'
+
+"He affected a laugh. 'You will never see that, madam!'
+
+"'I live in hopes, sir, of seeing the thirteen stripes hoisted once more
+on the bastions of this garrison.'
+
+"'Do not hope so; but come, give us a tune on the guitar.'
+
+"'I can play nothing but rebel songs.'
+
+"'Well, let us have one of them.'
+
+"'Not to-day--I cannot play--I will not play; besides, I suppose I
+should be put into the Provost for such a heinous crime.'
+
+"I have often wondered since, I was not packed off, too; for I was very
+saucy, and never disguised my sentiments.
+
+"One day Kitty and I were going to take a walk on the Bay, to get
+something we wanted. Just as we had got our hats on, up ran one of the
+Billets into the dining-room, where we were.
+
+"'Your servant, ladies.'
+
+"'Your servant, sir.'
+
+"'Going out, ladies?'
+
+"'Only to take a little walk.'
+
+"He immediately turned about and ran down stairs. I guessed for what....
+He offered me his hand, or rather arm, to lean upon.
+
+"'Excuse me, sir,' said I; 'I will support myself if you please.'
+
+"'No, madam, the pavements are very uneven; you may get a fall; do
+accept my arm.'
+
+"'Pardon me, I cannot.'
+
+"'Come, you do not know what your condescension may do. I will turn
+rebel!'
+
+"'Will you?' said I, laughingly--'Turn rebel first, and then offer your
+arm.'
+
+"We stopped in another store, where were several British officers. After
+asking for the articles I wanted, I saw a broad roll of ribbon, which
+appeared to be of black and white stripes.
+
+"'Go,' said I to the officer who was with us, 'and reckon the stripes of
+that ribbon; see if they are _thirteen_!' (with an emphasis I spoke the
+word)--and he went, too!
+
+"'Yes, they are thirteen, upon my word, madam.'
+
+"'Do hand it me.' He did so; I took it, and found that it was narrow
+black ribbon, carefully wound round a broad white. I returned it to its
+place on the shelf.
+
+"'Madam,' said the merchant, 'you can buy the black and white too, and
+tack them in stripes.'
+
+"By no means, sir; I would not have them _slightly tacked_, but _firmly
+united_.' The above mentioned officers sat on the counter kicking their
+heels. How they gaped at me when I said this! But the merchant laughed
+heartily."
+
+
+
+
+SUCCESSFUL DARING.
+
+  ----He stopped the fliers.
+
+                  SHAKSPEARE'S CORIOLANUS.
+
+
+Many years ago, while a stage was passing through Temple, New Hampshire,
+the driver's seat gave way, and himself and a gentleman seated with him,
+were precipitated to the ground. The latter was killed. The horses took
+fright at the noise, and ran a mile or more at full speed. Meanwhile,
+Miss Abigail Brown, the only inside passenger and now the sole occupant
+of the stage, endeavored, by speaking soothingly, to stop the horses. At
+length they came to a high hill, when their speed began to slacken, and
+Miss Brown, having previously opened the door and taken a convenient
+position to alight, sprang out. Not content to save her own life, but
+bent on acting the part of a heroine, she rushed forward, seized the
+leaders, turned them out of the road, and held them fast till persons
+whom she had passed and who had tried to stop the flying steeds, came to
+her relief. Had this feat, trifling as it may seem, been performed by
+the wife of some Roman dignitary, she would have been apotheosized and
+her biography inserted in Lempriere's Classical Dictionary.
+
+
+
+
+WORTHY EXAMPLE OF FORGIVENESS
+
+  They who forgive most shall be most forgiven.--BAILEY.
+
+
+"A worthy old colored woman in the city of New York, was one day walking
+along the street, on some errand to a neighboring store, with her
+tobacco pipe in her mouth, quietly smoking. A jovial sailor, rendered a
+little mischievous by liquor, came sawing down the street, and when
+opposite our good Phillis, saucily crowded her aside, and with a pass of
+his hand knocked her pipe out of her mouth. He then halted to hear her
+fret at his trick, and enjoy a laugh at her expense. But what was his
+astonishment, when she meekly picked up the pieces of her broken pipe,
+without the least resentment in her manner, and giving him a dignified
+look of mingled sorrow, kindness and pity, said, 'God forgive you, my
+son, as I do.' It touched a tender cord in the heart of the rude tar. He
+felt ashamed, condemned and repentant. The tear started in his eye; he
+must make reparation. He heartily confessed his error, and thrusting
+both hands into his two full pockets of '_change_,' forced the contents
+upon her, exclaiming, 'God bless you, kind mother, I'll never do so
+again.'"
+
+
+
+
+CROOKSHANKS SAVED BY A FEMALE.
+
+                    ----Oh the tender ties,
+  Close twisted with the fibres of the heart.
+
+                                            YOUNG.
+
+
+The night before the surprise of Georgetown, Adjutant Crookshanks, one
+of the enemy's officers, together with some of his commissioned
+comrades, slept at a public house. The next morning it was surrounded,
+and the Adjutant would have lost his life, but for the interposition of
+the landlord's daughter, to whom he was affianced. Awakened and, at
+first, alarmed by the firing without and the bustle at the door, and
+hearing her lover's voice, she sprung out of bed and rushed, half
+dressed, into the piazza. At that moment the swords of her countrymen
+were raised over his head, and she threw her arms around his neck,
+exclaiming, "O save! save Major Crookshanks!" Though made a prisoner, he
+was forthwith paroled, and left, for the time, with the brave and
+true-hearted maiden.
+
+
+
+
+A PATRIOTIC ARTIST.
+
+  Genius, the Pythian of the Beautiful,
+  Leaves its large truths a riddle to the dull.
+
+                                              BULWER.
+
+
+"At the commencement of the Revolution, Mrs. Wright, a native of
+Pennsylvania, a distinguished modeler of likenesses and figures of wax,
+was exhibiting specimens of her skill in London. The king of Great
+Britain, pleased with her talents, gave her liberal encouragement, and,
+finding her a great politician, and an enthusiastic republican, would
+often enter into discussion relative to passing occurrences, and
+endeavored to refute her opinion with regard to the probable issue of
+the war. The frankness with which she delivered her sentiments, seemed
+rather to please than to offend him; which was a fortunate circumstance,
+for, when he asked an opinion, she gave it without constraint, or the
+least regard to consequences. I remember to have heard her say, that on
+one occasion, the monarch, irritated by some disaster to his troops,
+where he had prognosticated a triumph, exclaimed with warmth: 'I wish,
+Mrs. Wright, you would tell me how it will be possible to check the
+silly infatuation of your countrymen, restore them to reason, and
+render them good and obedient subjects.'--'I consider their submission
+to your majesty's government is now altogether out of the question,'
+replied Mrs. Wright: 'friends you may make them, but never subjects; for
+America, before a king can reign there, must become a wilderness,
+without any other inhabitants than the beasts of the forest. The
+opponents of the decrees of your parliament, rather than submit, would
+perish to a man; but if the restoration of peace be seriously the object
+of your wishes, I am confident that it needs but the striking off of
+_three heads_ to produce it.'--'O, Lord North's and Lord George
+Germaine's, beyond all question; and where is the third head?' 'O, sir,
+politeness forbids me to name _him_. Your majesty could never wish me to
+forget myself, and be guilty of an incivility.'
+
+"In her exhibition room, one group of figures particularly attracted
+attention; and by all who knew her sentiments, was believed to be a
+pointed hint at the results which might follow the wild ambition of the
+monarch. The busts of the king and queen of Great Britain, were placed
+on a table, apparently intently gazing on a head, which a figure, an
+excellent representation of herself, was modeling in its lap. It was the
+head of the unfortunate Charles the First."
+
+
+
+
+TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT AMONG MOHAWK WOMEN.
+
+  Beware the bowl! though rich and bright
+  Its rubies flash upon the sight,
+  An adder coils its depths beneath,
+  Whose lure is woe, whose sting is death.
+
+                                          STREET.
+
+
+In the years 1801 and 1802, great efforts were made by the chiefs of the
+Mohawk Indians to prevent the sale of spirituous liquors among their
+people. In this humane movement the women of the tribe readily joined;
+and having assembled in council, on the twenty-second of May, 1802, they
+addressed the chiefs, whom they had summoned, as follows:
+
+"UNCLES,--Some time ago the women of this place spoke to you, but you
+did not then answer them, as you considered their meeting not
+sufficient. Now, a considerable number of those from below having met
+and consulted together, join in sentiment, and lament, as it were with
+tears in our eyes, the many misfortunes caused by the use of spirituous
+liquors. We therefore mutually request that you will use your endeavors
+to have it removed from our neighborhood, that there may be none sold
+nigher to us than the mountain. We flatter ourselves that this is in
+your power, and that you will have compassion on our uneasiness, and
+exert yourselves to have it done." STRINGS OF WAMPUM.
+
+This appeal had a good effect on the chiefs; and received suitable
+attention, drawing from them the following reply. It was delivered by
+Captain Brant:
+
+"NIECES,--We are fully convinced of the justice of your request;
+drinking has caused the many misfortunes in this place, and has been,
+besides, a great cause of the divisions, by the effect it has upon the
+people's speech. We assure you, therefore, that we will use our
+endeavours to effect what you desire. However, it depends in a great
+measure upon government, as the distance you propose is within their
+line. We cannot, therefore, absolutely promise that our request will be
+complied with."
+
+STRINGS. 29
+
+
+
+
+A FEMALE IN THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY.
+
+  She'll be a soldier too, she'll to the wars.
+
+                                       SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Deborah Samson, the daughter of very poor parents, of Plymouth county,
+Massachusetts, began, when about twenty years of age, to feel the
+patriotic zeal which had prompted the sterner sex in her neighborhood to
+take up arms in their country's defence. She accordingly assumed male
+attire, and enlisted in the Revolutionary army. We agree with Mrs. Ellet
+that, while this course cannot be commended, her exemplary conduct,
+after taking the first step, goes far to plead her excuse, and is worthy
+of record. Her method of obtaining men's garments, and her military
+career, are thus narrated by the author just mentioned:
+
+By keeping the district school for a summer term, she had amassed the
+sum of twelve dollars. She purchased a quantity of coarse fustian, and,
+working at intervals when she could be secure from observation, made up
+a suit of men's clothing; each article, as it was finished, being hid
+in a stack of hay. Having completed her preparations, she announced her
+intention of going where she could obtain better wages for her labor.
+Her new clothes and such articles as she wished to take with her, were
+tied in a bundle. The lonely girl departed; but went not far, probably
+only to the shelter of the nearest wood, before putting on the disguise
+she was so eager to assume. Although not beautiful, her features were
+animated and pleasing, and her figure, tall for a woman, was finely
+proportioned. As a man, she might have been called handsome; her general
+appearance was extremely prepossessing, and her manner calculated to
+inspire confidence.
+
+She now pursued her way to the American army, where she presented
+herself, in October, 1778, as a young man anxious to join his efforts to
+those of his countrymen, in their endeavors to oppose the common enemy.
+Her acquaintances, meanwhile, supposed her engaged in service at a
+distance. Rumors of her elopement with a British soldier, and even of
+her death, were afterwards current in the neighborhood where she had
+resided; but none were sufficiently interested to make such search for
+her as might have led to a discovery.
+
+Distrusting her own constancy, and resolute to continue in the service,
+notwithstanding any change of her inclination, she enlisted for the
+whole term of the war. She was received and enrolled in the army by the
+name of Robert Shirtliffe. She was one of the first volunteers in the
+company of Captain Nathan Thayer of Medway, Massachusetts; and as the
+young recruit appeared to have no home or connections, the Captain gave
+her a home in his family until his company should be full, when they
+were to join the main army.
+
+We now find her performing the duties and enduring the fatigues of
+military life. During the seven weeks she passed in the family of
+Captain Thayer, she had time both for experience and reflection; but, in
+after years, her constant declaration was that she never, for one
+moment, repented or regretted the step she had taken. Accustomed to
+labor from childhood, upon the farm and in out-door employment, she had
+acquired unusual vigor of constitution; her frame was robust, and of
+masculine strength; and having thus gained a degree of hardihood, she
+was enabled to acquire great expertness and precision in the manual
+exercise, and to undergo what a female delicately nurtured would have
+found it impossible to endure. Soon after they had joined the company,
+the recruits were supplied with uniforms by a kind of lottery. That
+drawn by Robert did not fit; but, taking needle and scissors, he soon
+altered it to suit him. To Mrs. Thayer's expression of surprise, at
+finding a young man so expert in using the implements of feminine
+industry, the answer was--that his mother having no girl, he had been
+often obliged to practice the seamstress's art.
+
+While in the house of Captain Thayer, a young girl visiting his wife,
+was much in the society of Deborah, or, as she was then called, Robert.
+Coquettish by nature, and perhaps priding herself on the conquest of
+the "blooming soldier," she suffered her growing partiality to be
+perceived. Robert, on his part, felt a curiosity to learn by new
+experience how soon a maiden's fancy might be won; and had no scruples
+in paying attentions to one so volatile and fond of flirtation, with
+whom it was not likely the impression would be lasting. This little
+piece of romance gave some uneasiness to the worthy Mrs. Thayer, who
+could not help observing that the liking of her fair visitor for Robert
+was not fully reciprocated. She took an opportunity of remonstrating
+with the young soldier, and showed what unhappiness might be the
+consequence of such folly, and how unworthy it was of a brave man to
+trifle with a girl's feelings. The caution was taken in good part, and
+it is not known that the "love passage" was continued, though Robert
+received at parting some tokens of remembrance, which were treasured as
+relics in after years.
+
+For three years our heroine appeared in the character of a soldier,
+being part of the time employed as a waiter in the family of Colonel
+Patterson. During this time, and in both situations, her exemplary
+conduct, and the fidelity with which her duties were performed, gained
+the approbation and confidence of the officers. She was a volunteer in
+several hazardous enterprizes, and was twice wounded, the first time by
+a sword cut on the left side of the head. Many were the adventures she
+passed through; as she herself would often say, volumes might be filled
+with them. Sometimes placed, unavoidably, in circumstances in which she
+feared detection, she nevertheless escaped without the least suspicion
+being awakened among her comrades. The soldiers were in the habit of
+calling her "Molly," in playful allusion to her want of a beard; but not
+one of them ever dreamed that the gallant youth fighting by their side,
+was in reality a female.
+
+About four months after her first wound she received another severe one,
+being shot through the shoulder. Her first emotion when the ball
+entered, she described to be a sickening terror at the probability that
+her sex would be discovered. She felt that death on the battle-field
+were preferable to the shame that would overwhelm her, and ardently
+prayed that the wound might close her earthly campaign. But, strange as
+it may seem, she escaped this time also unsuspected; and soon recovering
+her strength, was able again to take her place at the post of duty, and
+in the deadly conflict. Her immunity was not, however, destined long to
+continue--she was seized with a brain fever, then prevalent among the
+soldiers. For the few days that reason struggled against the disease,
+her sufferings were indescribable; and most terrible of all was the
+dread lest consciousness should desert her, and the secret she had
+guarded so carefully be revealed to those around her. She was carried to
+the hospital, and there could only ascribe her escape to the number of
+patients, and the negligent manner in which they were attended. Her case
+was considered a hopeless one, and she perhaps received less attention
+on this account. One day the physician of the hospital, inquiring--"How
+is Robert?" received from the nurse in attendance the answer--"Poor Bob
+is gone." The doctor went to the bed, and taking the hand of the youth
+supposed dead, found that the pulse was still feebly beating; attempting
+to place his hand on the heart, he perceived that a bandage was fastened
+tightly around the breast. This was removed, and to his utter
+astonishment he discovered a female patient where he had least expected
+one!
+
+This gentleman was Dr. Binney, of Philadelphia. With a prudence,
+delicacy and generosity, ever afterwards warmly appreciated by the
+unfortunate sufferer, he said not a word of his discovery, but paid her
+every attention, and provided every comfort her perilous condition
+required. As soon as she could be removed with safety, he had her taken
+to his own house, where she could receive better care. His family
+wondered not a little at the unusual interest manifested for the poor
+invalid soldier.
+
+Here occurred another of those romances in real life, which in
+strangeness surpass fiction. The doctor had a young and lovely niece, an
+heiress to considerable property, whose compassionate feelings led her
+to join her uncle in bestowing kindness on the friendless youth. Many
+censured the uncle's imprudence in permitting them to be so much in each
+other's society, and to take drives so frequently together. The doctor
+laughed to himself at the warnings and hints he received, and thought
+how foolish the censorious would feel when the truth should come out.
+His knowledge, meanwhile, was buried in his own bosom, nor shared even
+with the members of his family. The niece was allowed to be as much with
+the invalid as suited her pleasure. Her gentle heart was touched by the
+misfortunes she had contributed to alleviate; the pale and melancholy
+soldier, for whose fate no one seemed to care, who had no possession in
+the world save his sword, who had suffered so much in the cause of
+liberty, became dear to her. She saw his gratitude for the benefits and
+kindness received, yet knew by intuition that he would never dare aspire
+to the hand of one so gifted by fortune. In the confiding abandonment of
+woman's love, the fair girl made known her attachment, and offered to
+provide for the education of its object before marriage. Deborah often
+declared that the moment in which she learned that she had unwittingly
+gained the love of a being so guileless, was fraught with the keenest
+anguish she ever experienced. In return for the hospitality and tender
+care that had been lavished upon her, she had inflicted pain upon one
+she would have died to shield. Her former entanglement had caused no
+uneasiness, but this was a heart of a different mould; no way of amends
+seemed open, except confession of her real character, and to that,
+though impelled by remorse and self-reproach, she could not bring
+herself. She merely said to the generous girl, that they would meet
+again; and, though ardently desiring the possession of an education,
+that she could not avail herself of the noble offer. Before her
+departure, the young lady pressed on her acceptance several articles of
+needful clothing, such as in those times many of the soldiers received
+from fair hands. All these were afterwards lost by the upsetting of a
+boat, except the shirt and vest Robert had on at the time, which are
+still preserved as relics in the family.
+
+Her health being now nearly restored, the physician had a long
+conference with the commanding officer of the company in which Robert
+had served, and this was followed by an order to the youth to carry a
+letter to General Washington.
+
+Her worst fears were now confirmed. From the time of her removal into
+the doctor's family, she had cherished a misgiving which sometimes
+amounted almost to a certainty, that he had discovered her deception. In
+conversation with him she anxiously watched his countenance, but not a
+word or look indicated suspicion, and she had again flattered herself
+that she was safe from detection. When the order came for her to deliver
+a letter into the hands of the Commander-in-chief, she could no longer
+deceive herself.
+
+There remained no course but simple obedience. When she presented
+herself for admission at the head-quarters of Washington, she trembled
+as she had never done before the enemy's fire. Her heart sunk within
+her: she strove in vain to collect and compose herself, and, overpowered
+with dread and uncertainty, was ushered into the presence of the Chief.
+He noticed her extreme agitation, and, supposing it to proceed from
+diffidence, kindly endeavored to re-assure her. He then bade her retire
+with an attendant, who was directed to offer her some refreshment, while
+he read the communication of which she had been the bearer.
+
+Within a short time she was again summoned into the presence of
+Washington. He said not a word, but handed her in silence a discharge
+from the service, putting into her hand at the same time a note
+containing a few brief words of advice, and a sum of money sufficient to
+bear her expenses to some place where she might find a home. The
+delicacy and forbearance thus observed affected her sensibly. "How
+thankful," she has often said, "was I to that great and good man who so
+kindly spared my feelings! He saw me ready to sink with shame; one word
+from him at that moment would have crushed me to the earth. But he spoke
+no word--and I blessed him for it."
+
+After the termination of the war, she married Benjamin Gannett, of
+Sharon. When Washington was President, she received a letter inviting
+Robert Shirtliffe, or rather Mrs. Gannett, to visit the seat of
+government. Congress was then in session, and during her stay at the
+capital, a bill was passed granting her a pension in addition to certain
+lands, which she was to receive as an acknowledgment for her services to
+the country in a military capacity. She was invited to the houses of
+several of the officers, and to parties given in the city; attentions
+which manifested the high estimation in which she was there held.
+
+
+
+
+HOSPITALITY OF ELIZABETH BRANT.
+
+  Stranger, whoe'er thou art, securely rest
+  Affianced in my faith, a friendly guest.
+
+                                           POPE.
+
+
+At the close of the last war, John and Elizabeth Brant, children of the
+celebrated warrior, took possession of their father's mansion at the
+head of lake Ontario, and dispensed his "ancient hospitalities." While
+making the tour of Canada West with two of his daughters, in 1819, James
+Buchanan, Esq., British consul for the port of New York, visited the
+"Brant House," and afterwards published the following interesting
+account in a small volume of Indian sketches:
+
+"After stopping more than a week under the truly hospitable roof of the
+Honorable Colonel Clarke, at the Falls of Niagara, I determined to
+proceed by land, round lake Ontario, to York; and Mrs. Clarke offered to
+give my daughters a letter of introduction to a Miss Brant, advising us
+to arrange our time so as to sleep and stop a day or two in the house of
+that lady, as she was certain we should be much pleased with her and her
+brother. Our friend did not intimate, still less did we suspect, that
+the introduction was to an Indian prince and princess. Had we been in
+the least aware of this, our previous arrangements would all have given
+way, as there was nothing I was more anxious to obtain than an
+opportunity such as this was so well calculated to afford, of seeing in
+what degree the Indian character would be modified by a conformity to
+the habits and comforts of civilized life.
+
+"Proceeding on our journey, we stopped at an inn, romantically situated,
+where I determined to remain all night. Among other things, I inquired
+of the landlord if he knew the distance to Miss Brant's house, and from
+him I learned that it was about twenty miles farther. He added, that
+young Mr. Brant had passed that way in the forenoon, and would, no
+doubt, be returning in the evening, and that, if I wished it, he would
+be on the lookout for him. This I desired the landlord to do, as it
+would enable me to intimate our introduction to his sister, and
+intention of waiting on her the next morning.
+
+"At dusk Mr. Brant returned, and, being introduced into our room, we
+were unable to distinguish his complexion, and conversed with him,
+believing him to be a young Canadian gentleman. We did not, however,
+fail to observe a certain degree of hesitation and reserve in the manner
+of his speech. He certainly expressed a wish that we would do his sister
+and himself the favor of spending a few days with them, in order to
+refresh ourselves and our horses: but we thought his style more laconic
+than hospitable. Before candles were brought in our new friend departed,
+leaving us still in error as to his nation.
+
+"By four o'clock in the morning we resumed our journey. On arriving at
+the magnificent shores of lake Ontario, the driver of our carriage
+pointed out, at the distance of five miles, the house of Miss Brant,
+which had a very noble and commanding aspect; and we anticipated much
+pleasure in our visit. Young Mr. Brant, it appeared, unaware that with
+our carriage we could have reached his house so soon, had not arrived
+before us; so that our approach was not announced, and we drove up to
+the door under the full persuasion that the family would be apprised of
+our coming. The outer door, leading to a spacious hall, was open. We
+entered and remained a few minutes, when, seeing no person about, we
+proceeded into the parlor, which, like the hall, was for the moment
+unoccupied. We therefore had an opportunity of looking about us at our
+leisure. It was a room well furnished, with a carpet, pier and chimney
+glasses, mahogany tables, fashionable chairs, a guitar, a neat hanging
+bookcase, in which, among other volumes, we perceived a Church of
+England Prayer Book, translated into the Mohawk tongue. Having sent our
+note of introduction in by the coachman, and still no person waiting on
+us, we began to suspect (more especially in the hungry state we were in)
+that some delay or difficulty about breakfast stood in the way of the
+young lady's appearance. I can assure my readers that a keen morning's
+ride on the shores of an American lake is an exercise of all others
+calculated to make the appetite clamorous, if not insolent. We had
+already penetrated into the parlor, and were beginning to meditate a
+farther exploration in search of the pantry, when, to our unspeakable
+astonishment, in walked a charming, noble-looking Indian girl, dressed
+partly in the native and partly in the English costume. Her hair was
+confined on the head in a silk net, but the lower tresses, escaping from
+thence, flowed down on her shoulders. Under a tunic or morning dress of
+black silk was a petticoat of the same material and color, which reached
+very little below the knee. Her silk stockings and kid shoes were, like
+the rest of her dress, black. The grace and dignity of her movement, the
+style of her dress and manner, so new, so unexpected, filled us all with
+astonishment. With great ease, yet by no means in that commonplace mode
+so generally prevalent on such occasions, she inquired how we found the
+roads, accommodations, etc. No flutter was at all apparent on account of
+the delay in getting breakfast; no fidgeting and fuss-making, no running
+in and out, no idle expressions of regret, such as 'Oh! dear me! had I
+known of your coming, you would not have been kept in this way!' but,
+with perfect ease she maintained conversation, until a squaw, wearing a
+man's hat, brought in a tray with preparations for breakfast. A
+table-cloth of fine white damask being laid, we were regaled with tea,
+coffee, hot rolls, butter in water and ice-coolers, eggs, smoked beef,
+ham, broiled chickens, etc., all served in a truly neat and comfortable
+style. The delay, we afterwards discovered, arose from the desire of our
+hostess to supply us with hot rolls, which were actually baked while we
+were waiting. I have been thus minute in my description of these
+comforts, as they were so little to be expected in the house of an
+Indian.
+
+"After breakfast Miss Brant took my daughters out to walk, and look at
+the picturesque scenery of the country. She and her brother had
+previously expressed a hope that we would stay all day; but, though I
+wished of all things to do so, and had determined, in the event of their
+pressing their invitation, to accept it, yet I declined the proposal at
+first, and thus forfeited a pleasure which we all of us longed in our
+hearts to enjoy; for, as I afterward learned, it is not the custom of
+any uncorrupted Indian to repeat a request if once rejected. They
+believe that those to whom they offer any mark of friendship, and who
+give a reason for refusing it, do so in perfect sincerity, and that it
+would be rudeness to require them to alter their determination or break
+their word. And as the Indian never makes a show of civility but when
+prompted by a genuine feeling, so he thinks others are actuated by a
+similar candor. I really feel ashamed when I consider how severe a
+rebuke this carries with it to us who boast of civilization, but who are
+so much carried away by the general insincerity of expression pervading
+all ranks, that few, indeed, are to be found who speak just what they
+wish or know. This duplicity is the effect of what is termed a high
+state of refinement. We are taught so to conduct our language that
+others cannot discover our real views or intentions. The Indians are not
+only free from this deceitfulness, but surpass us in another instance of
+good breeding and decorum, namely, of never interrupting those who
+converse with them until they have done speaking; and then they reply in
+the hope of not being themselves interrupted. This was perfectly
+exemplified by Miss Brant and her brother; and I hope the lesson my
+daughters were so forcibly taught by the natural politeness of their
+hostess will never be forgotten by them, and that I also may profit by
+the example."
+
+Elizabeth was the youngest daughter of Joseph Brant. She was married to
+William Johnson Kerr, a gentleman who bore a commission in the last war,
+and fought against the Americans on the Niagara frontier. He is a
+grandson of Sir William Johnson. The author of American Border Wars,
+wrote in 1843, as follows: "Mrs. Kerr, as the reader must infer from
+what has been previously said respecting her, was educated with great
+care, as well in regard to her mental culture as her personal
+accomplishments. With her husband and little family, she now occupies
+the old mansion of her father, at the head of lake Ontario; a noble
+situation, as the author can certify from personal observation."
+
+
+
+
+BRIEF ANECDOTES.
+
+  The worthy acts of women to repeat.
+
+                       MIRROR FOR MAGISTRATES.
+
+
+Immediately after the dreadful massacre of Virginia colonists, on the
+twenty-second of March, 1622, Governor Wyat issued an order for the
+remainder of the people to "draw together" into a "narrow compass;"[91]
+and most of the eighty plantations were forthwith abandoned. Among the
+persons who remained at their homes, was Mrs. Proctor, whom Dr. Belknap
+calls "a gentlewoman of an heroic spirit."[92] She defended her
+plantation against the Indians a full month, and would not have
+abandoned it even then, had not the officers of the colony obliged her
+to do so.
+
+  [91] Belknap.
+
+  [92] American Biography, vol. 2, p. 182.
+
+One of the best women of her times was Experience West, wife of the Rev.
+Dr. West, who was pastor of a church in New Bedford, Massachusetts, for
+nearly half a century. Her life abounded in praiseworthy, though
+unrecorded, deeds. The Doctor was aware of the worth of his
+"help-meet," and had a punning way of praising her which must have
+sounded odd in a Puritan divine a hundred years ago. She was unusually
+tall, and he sometimes remarked to intimate friends, that he had found,
+by _long Experience_, that it is good to be married.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Rev. Dr. Mather Byles, of Boston, a tory of considerable notoriety,
+paid unsuccessful addresses to a young lady who subsequently gave her
+hand to a gentleman of the name of Quincy. Meeting her one day, the
+Doctor remarked: "So, madam, it appears that you prefer a Quincy to
+Byles." "Yes," she replied, "for if there had been any thing worse than
+_biles_, God would have afflicted Job with them."[93]
+
+[93] A Sabine's American Loyalist. The loyal divine was himself a wicked
+punster. "Near his house, in wet weather, was a very bad slough. It
+happened that two of the selectmen who had the care of the streets,
+driving in a chaise, stuck fast in this hole, and were obliged to get
+out in the mud to extricate their vehicle. Doctor Byles came out, and
+making them a respectful bow, said; 'Gentlemen, I have often complained
+to you of this nuisance without any attention being paid to it, and I am
+very glad to see you stirring in the matter now.' On the celebrated dark
+day in 1780, a lady who lived near the Doctor, sent her young son with
+her compliments, to know if he could account for the uncommon
+appearance. His answer was: 'My dear, you will give my compliments to
+your mamma, and tell her that I am as much in the dark as she is.'"
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A married Shawnee woman was once asked by a man who met her in the
+woods, to look upon and love him: "Oulman, my husband, who is forever
+before my eyes, hinders me from seeing you or any other person."
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+While the husband of Mrs. Dissosway, of Staten island, was in the hands
+of the British, her brother Nathaniel Randolph, a Captain in the
+American army, repeatedly and greatly annoyed the tories; and they were
+anxious to be freed from his incursions. Accordingly, one of their
+colonels promised Mrs. Dissosway to procure her husband's release, if
+she would prevail upon her brother to leave the army. She scornfully
+replied: "And if I could act so dastardly a part, think you that General
+Washington has but one Captain Randolph in his army?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When, by permission of the British authorities, the wife of Daniel Hall
+was once going to John's island, near Charleston, to see her mother, one
+of the king's officers stopped her and ordered her to surrender the key
+of her trunk. On her asking him what he wished to look for, he replied,
+"For treason, madam." "Then," said she, "you may be saved the trouble of
+search, for you may find enough of it at my tongue's end."[94]
+
+  [94] Major Garden.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When a party of Revolutionary patriots left Pleasant River settlement,
+in Maine, on an expedition, one of the number forgot his powder horn,
+and his wife, knowing he would greatly need it, ran twenty miles through
+the woods before she overtook him.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the village of Buffalo was burnt during the last war, only one
+dwelling-house was suffered to stand. Its owner, Mrs. St. John, was a
+woman of wonderful courage and self-possession; and when the Indians
+came to fire it, and destroy its inmates, she ordered them away in such
+a dignified, resolute and commanding, yet conciliatory, manner, that
+they seemed to be awed in her presence, and were kept at bay until some
+British officers rode up and ordered them to desist from the work of
+destruction. Saved by her presence of mind and heroic bravery, she who
+saw her neighbors butchered at their doors and the young village laid in
+ashes, lived to see a new village spring up, phoenix-like, and expand
+into a city of thirty-five thousand inhabitants.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Mrs. Beckham, who resided in the neighborhood of Pacolet river, South
+Carolina, was a true friend of freedom, and a great sufferer on that
+account. Tarleton, after sharing in her hospitality, pillaged her house,
+and then ordered its destruction. Her eloquent remonstrance, however,
+caused him to recall the order. Concealing a guinea in her braided hair,
+she once went eighty miles to Granby, purchased a bag of salt, and
+safely returned with it on the saddle under her.[95]
+
+  [95] Vide Women of the Revolution, vol. I, p. 296.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The house of Captain Charles Sims, who resided on Tyger river, South
+Carolina, was often plundered by tories; and on one of these occasions,
+when his wife was alone and all the robbers had departed but one, she
+ordered _him_ away, and he disobeying, she broke his arm with a stick,
+and drove him from the house.
+
+Several years ago, a family, residing on the Colorado, in Texas, were
+attacked by a party of Camanche Indians, who first fell upon two workmen
+in the fields and slew them. Seeing one of them fall, the proprietor of
+the establishment, who was standing near his house, caught two guns and
+ran towards the field. A daughter hastily put on her brother's hat and
+surtout, and followed her father. She soon overtook him, and persuaded
+him to return to the house. She bravely assisted in guarding it until
+the Indians, tired of the assault, departed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the year 1777, when General Burgoyne entered the valley of the
+Hudson, the wife of General Schuyler hastened to Saratoga, her husband's
+country seat, to secure her furniture. "Her carriage," writes the
+biographer of Brant, "was attended by only a single armed man on
+horseback. When within two miles of her house, she encountered a crowd
+of panic-stricken people, who recited to her the tragic fate of Miss
+M'Crea,[96] and, representing to her the danger of proceeding farther in
+the face of the enemy, urged her to return. She had yet to pass through
+a dense forest within which even then some of the savage troops might
+be lurking for prey. But to these prudential counsels she would not
+listen. 'The General's wife,' said she, 'must not be afraid!' and,
+pushing forward, she accomplished her purpose."
+
+  [96] The circumstances in regard to the murder of Jane M'Crea, have been
+  variously stated. The following version of the cruel story is probably
+  correct: "Miss M'Crea belonged to a family of loyalists, and had engaged
+  her hand in marriage to a young refugee named David Jones, a subordinate
+  officer in the British service, who was advancing with Burgoyne. Anxious
+  to possess himself of his bride, he dispatched a small party of Indians
+  to bring her to the British camp. Her family and friends were strongly
+  opposed to her going with such an escort; but her affection overcame her
+  prudence, and she determined upon the hazardous adventure. She set
+  forward with her dusky attendants on horseback. The family resided at
+  the village of Fort Edward, whence they had not proceeded half a mile
+  before her conductors stopped to drink at a spring. Meantime, the
+  impatient lover, who deserved not her embrace for confiding her
+  protection to such hands, instead of going himself, had dispatched a
+  second party of Indians upon the same errand. The Indians met at the
+  spring; and before the march was resumed, they were attacked by a party
+  of the Provincials. At the close of the skirmish, the body of Miss
+  M'Crea was found among the slain, tomahawked, scalped, and tied to a
+  pine-tree, yet standing by the side of the spring, as a monument of the
+  bloody transaction. The ascertained cause of the murder was this: The
+  promised reward for bringing her in safety to her betrothed was a barrel
+  of rum. The chiefs of the two parties sent for her by Mr. Jones
+  quarreled respecting the anticipated compensation. Each claimed it; and,
+  in a moment of passion, to end the controversy, one of them struck her
+  down with his hatchet."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+While Thomas Crittenden, the first Governor of Vermont, was discharging
+the functions of an executive, he was waited upon one day, in an
+official capacity, by several gentlemen from Albany. The visitors were
+of the higher class, and accompanied by their aristocratic wives. At
+noon the hostess summoned the workmen from the fields, and seated them
+at the table with her fashionable visitors. When the females had retired
+from the dinner table to an apartment by themselves, one of the visitors
+said to the lady of the house, "You do not usually have your hired
+laborers sit down at the first table do you?" "Why yes, madam," Mrs.
+Crittenden replied, "we have thus far done so, but are now thinking of
+making a different arrangement. The Governor and myself have been
+talking the matter over a little, lately, and come to the conclusion
+that the men, who do nearly all the hard work, ought to have the first
+table,--and that he and I, who do so little, should be content with the
+second. But, in compliment to you, I thought I would have you sit down
+with them, to-day, at the first table."[97]
+
+  [97] We find the substance of this anecdote in a copy of the Green
+  Mountain Freeman published in March, 1851. The paper is edited by Daniel
+  P. Thompson, Esq., who prefaces the article with the remark that the
+  anecdote was related to him "by the late Mrs. Timothy Hubbard, of
+  Montpelier, who, while a girl, was intimate with the Governor's family,
+  and knowing to the amusing incident at the time of its occurrence."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At the Fair held in Castle Garden, in the autumn of 1850, was exhibited
+a large Gothic arm-chair, backed and cushioned with beautifully wrought
+needle work in worsted. The needle work was from the hands of Mrs.
+Millard Fillmore. It was setting a noble example for the wife of a
+President to present her handiwork at an industrial exhibition; and, if
+the decision of the three Roman banqueters in regard to their wives, was
+correct--they preferring the one who was found with her maidens
+preparing loom-work,--Mrs. Fillmore must be ranked among the best of
+wives.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During the last war, Major Kennedy of South Carolina, wished to raise
+recruits for his troop of horse; and accordingly went to Mrs. Jane
+White, who had several hardy sons, and made known his wants. She was a
+true patriot, like her husband, who was an active "liberty man" in the
+war of '76: hence she was ready and anxious to further the Major's
+plans. Her sons being at work in the field, excepting the youngest, she
+called the lad, and ordered him, in her broad Scotch-Irish dialect, to
+"rin awa' ta the fiel' an' tell his brithers ta cum in an' gang an'
+fight for their counthry, like their father afore them."[98]
+
+ [98] Mrs. Ellet.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Among the fine sentiments quaintly uttered by the old dramatic poet,
+Webster, are these:
+
+  The chiefest action of a man of spirit
+  Is, never to be out of action; we should think
+  The soul was never to be put into the body,
+  Which has so many rare and curious pieces
+  Of mathematical motion, to stand still.
+  Virtue is ever sowing of her seeds.
+
+One of the models in activity and virtue, and one who doubtless secured
+thereby the prize of healthy and extreme old age, was Mrs. Lydia Gustin,
+a native of Lyme, Connecticut. She had five children, all of whom were
+at home to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of her birth day. She
+died in New Hampshire, on the twentieth of July, 1847, in the hundred
+and second year of her age. A part of the labor performed during her
+hundredth year, was the knitting of twenty-four pairs of stockings.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Mrs. Elizabeth Ferguson, who resided near Philadelphia, was one of the
+number who assisted the American prisoners taken at the battle of
+Germantown. She spun linen and sent it into the city, with orders that
+it be made into shirts. She was noted for humanity and benevolence.
+Learning, one time, while visiting her friends in Philadelphia, that a
+reduced merchant had been imprisoned for debt, and was suffering from
+destitution, she sent him a bed and other articles of comfort, and,
+though far from wealthy, put twenty dollars in money into his hands. She
+refused to give him her name, but was at length identified by a
+description of her person.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At the battle of the Cowpens, Colonel Washington wounded Colonel
+Tarleton; and when the latter afterwards, in conversation with Mrs.
+Wiley Jones, observed to her: "You appear to think very highly of
+Colonel Washington; and yet I have been told that he is so ignorant a
+fellow that he can hardly write his own name;" she replied, "It may be
+the case, but no man better than yourself, Colonel, can testify that he
+knows how to make his mark."
+
+
+
+
+PHILANTHROPY OF AMERICAN WOMEN: MISS DIX.
+
+  To the blind, the deaf, the lame,
+    To the ignorant and vile,
+  Stranger, captive, slave he came,
+    With a welcome and a smile.
+  Help to all he did dispense,
+    Gold, instruction, raiment, food;
+  Like the gifts of Providence,
+    To the evil and the good.
+
+                                  MONTGOMERY.
+
+
+It requires the enlightening and expanding influence of Christianity to
+show the full extent of fraternal obligation, and to make one _feel_ the
+wants of his brother's threefold nature. We must, therefore, look for
+large hearts, whose antennæ stretch through the domain of man's mental
+and moral, as well as his physical necessities, among a Christian
+people: there such hearts abound, and the strongest are among the female
+sex. Nor is this strange: the feelings of woman are more delicate, her
+constitution is less hardy, than man's. Physically more frail, she feels
+more sensibly the need of a helper and protector; and, being the greater
+sufferer, she thinks more of the sufferings of others, and consequently
+more fully develops the sisterly and sympathetic feelings of her
+nature.
+
+It is not, therefore, surprising, that in all the humanitary movements
+of the age, American women are interested; but it _is_ surprising to see
+with what masculine energy, heroic courage and sublime zeal they often
+prosecute their philanthropic labors. They lead in the distribution of
+the poor fund; are untiring in their efforts to sustain Sabbath schools
+in by-places; form and nobly sustain temperance organizations among
+themselves; establish and conduct infant schools on their own
+responsibility; manage orphan asylums; pray, and plead, and labor for
+the comfort of the insane, and for the education of the deaf, dumb and
+blind; and, with the religious tract in one hand and the Bible in the
+other, plunge into the darkest dens of vice, and, nerved by divine
+power, sow the good seed of truth in the most corrupt soil, with courage
+that seems to palsy the giant arm of Infamy.
+
+Heroines in the philanthropic movements which so beautify the present
+age, are found in most of the villages and in every city in the land.
+Isabella Graham, Sarah Hoffman, Margaret Prior, and others whose names
+are recorded in this work, are representatives of a class whose number
+is annually increasing and whose philanthropic exertions are manifest
+wherever human suffering abounds or the current of moral turpitude is
+strong and appalling. With the delicacy and fragility inherent in their
+sex, they possess the bravery and perseverance of the ambitious leader
+in the military campaign, and shrink from no task, however formidable or
+disheartening.
+
+They visit the abode of sickness, and the pillow is softened and the
+pain allayed; they enter the hut of penury, and the cry for bread is
+hushed, they pour the tide of united and sanctified effort through the
+Augean stables of iniquity, and the cleansing process is astonishing.
+Such is the work of philanthropic women; they are the "salt" of the
+community.
+
+A lady is now living in the city of Buffalo, whose benevolent exertions,
+in her restricted sphere, would compare favorably with those of the
+celebrated Quakeress whose mission at Newgate justified, for once, at
+least, the use of angel as an adjective qualifying woman. The person to
+whom we refer--who would blush to see her name in print--is foremost in
+all the humane and charitable operations of the day, and has, for years,
+been in the habit of visiting the jail regularly and usually alone on
+the Sabbath, to instruct its inmates from the word of God and to lecture
+before them on all that pertains to human duty. She is married, and has
+a family--her children being adopted orphans,--hence her opportunities
+for public usefulness are measurably limited: but her life-long actions
+seem to say,
+
+                                   "Give me leave
+  To speak my mind, and I will through and through
+  Cleanse the foul body of the infected world,
+  If they will patiently receive my medicine."
+
+Aside from our female missionaries, whose heroism is elsewhere partially
+illustrated in this work, the finest example of a living American
+philanthropist is Miss D. L. Dix, of Massachusetts. Her extreme
+modesty, learned through her New England friends, with whom we have
+corresponded, withholds all facts touching her early and private
+history, and leaves us a paucity of materials out of which to frame even
+an outline of her public career.
+
+We first hear of her as a teacher in the city of Boston, in which
+vocation she was faithful and honored. At the same time, she was
+connected, as instructor, with a Sabbath school--belonging we believe,
+to Dr. Channing's society--and while searching in by-places for poor
+children to enlarge her class, she necessarily came in contact with many
+destitute persons, and saw much suffering. Ere long she became
+interested more especially in the condition and wants of poor seamen,
+and endeavored to enlist the sympathies of others in their behalf. As
+opportunities presented themselves, she visited the hospital and other
+benevolent institutions in and near Boston, together with the State
+Prison. Anon we find her in the possession of a small legacy left by her
+deceased grand-mother; and, having resigned the office of teacher, she
+is traveling through the state. Having visited all the counties and most
+if not all the towns in Massachusetts, hunting up the insane and
+acquainting herself with their condition, visiting the inmates of the
+poor-houses and jails, and learning the state of things among all the
+unfortunate and suffering, she went to the Legislature, made a report,
+and petitioned for reforms where she thought they were needed.
+
+Having thoroughly canvassed one state, feeling her benevolent heart
+expand, she entered another, and went through the same routine of
+labors--visiting, reporting, pleading for reforms. She has traveled
+through all the states but three or four, and has extended her humane
+mission to Canada.
+
+She overlooks no almshouse; never fails of seeing and learning the
+history of an insane person; goes through every jail and prison; and
+usually, if not invariably, has a private interview with each inmate,
+imparting such counsel as wisdom and Christian sympathy dictate. She has
+lately petitioned Congress--as yet unsuccessfully--for a large
+appropriation of the public lands for the benefit of the insane.
+
+Her petitions are usually presented in a very quiet and modest manner.
+In her travels, she acquaints herself with the leading minds, and among
+them the state and national legislators; and when the law-making bodies
+are in session, she obtains an interview with members in the retirement
+of the parlor or the small social gathering; communicates the facts she
+has collected; and secures their coöperation in her plans and their aid
+in effecting her purposes.
+
+She who began the work of reform as a teacher in a Sabbath school, has
+advanced, step by step, until her capacious heart has embraced the
+Union, throughout which the benign influence of her philanthropic labors
+is sensibly felt. Some one has truthfully remarked that "the blessings
+of thousands, ready to perish, have come down upon her head," and that
+the institutions which she has caused to be erected or modified in the
+several states "are monuments more honorable, if not more enduring than
+the pyramids."
+
+While Miss Dix has brought about important reforms, she has accomplished
+her labors by great hardship and the most rigid economy. She had not a
+princely fortune, like Mrs. Fry, to expend in benevolent causes; she
+could not ride from place to place in her own private and splendid
+carriage, saying to this servant, do this, and to another, do that; she
+has been obliged to travel by public, haphazard conveyances--often in
+most uncomfortable vehicles in the most uncomfortable weather. A part of
+her early labors in the state of New York were performed in the winter,
+and when in the north-eastern and coldest part, she was under the
+necessity, on one occasion, of traveling all night in the severest part
+of the season in an open carriage. To show her economy, which has been
+hinted at, it is necessary merely to say that she purchases the
+materials for most of her garments in the places which she visits, and
+makes them up with her own hands, while traveling on steamboats, waiting
+for stages at public houses, and such odd intervals of leisure.[99]
+
+  [99] For the two last mentioned facts, and some others in regard to Miss
+  Dix, we are indebted to the Rev. G. W. Hosmer, pastor of the Unitarian
+  church, Buffalo.
+
+The character of Miss Dix is both pleasant and profitable to
+contemplate. Every thing connected with her public career is noble and
+worthy to be imitated. Would that the world were full of such
+characters: they are needed. Although she has done a great work, much is
+yet to do. Our country is wide, and enlarging almost every year; the
+field of benevolence is white to harvest, and where are the reapers,
+who, like Miss Dix, will make their "lives sublime?"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice. Printer errors
+have been changed and are listed here. All other inconsistencies are as
+in the original including unmatched quotation marks.
+
+p. viii: "Scoharie" changed to "Schoharie".
+
+p. ix: "Spaulding" changed to "Spalding".
+
+p. x: "McKenney" changed to "McKenny".
+
+p. xxii: "updraiding" changed to "upbraiding".
+
+p. 54: "inconveniencies" changes to "inconveniences".
+
+p. 59: "generaly" changed to "generally".
+
+p. 62: "horid" changed to "horrid".
+
+p. 77: "succesfully" changed to "successfully".
+
+p. 161: "Mrs. Mary Dixon" changed to "Mrs. Mary Nixon".
+
+p. 163: "appartments" changed to "apartments".
+
+p. Footnote 165: "seventeeen" changed to "seventeen".
+
+p. 179: "silence by exclaming" changed to "silence by exclaiming".
+
+p. 194: "delivered Green's verbal" changed to "delivered Greene's
+        verbal".
+
+p. 216: "industrions" changed to "industrious".
+
+p. 251: "Westminister" changed to "Westminster".
+
+p. 261: "rebuked then" changed to "rebuked them".
+
+p. 293: "see the again" changed to "see thee again".
+
+p. 325: "rode side" changed to "road side".
+
+P. Footnote 351: "beseiged" changed to "besieged".
+
+p. 389: "appropiately" changed to "appropriately".
+
+p. 402: "Buts stoops" changed to "But stoops".
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NOBLE DEEDS OF AMERICAN WOMEN***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 39079-8.txt or 39079-8.zip *******
+
+
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/9/0/7/39079
+
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://www.gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
diff --git a/39079-8.zip b/39079-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c81471d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-8.zip
diff --git a/39079-h.zip b/39079-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43a8c87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h.zip
diff --git a/39079-h/39079-h.htm b/39079-h/39079-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f52ef3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/39079-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,15044 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" />
+<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Noble Deeds of American Women, by J. (Jesse) Clement</title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+    h1,h2,h3,h4 {
+    text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+p {
+    margin-top: .75em;
+    text-align: justify;
+    margin-bottom: .75em;
+}
+
+hr {
+    margin: 3em auto 3em auto;
+    height: 0px;
+    border-width: 1px 0 0 0;
+    border-style: solid;
+    border-color: #dcdcdc;
+    width: 500px;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+table {
+    margin-left: auto;
+    margin-right: auto;
+}
+
+table.toc {
+    margin: auto;
+    width: 50%;
+}
+
+td.c1  {
+    text-align: right;
+    vertical-align: top;
+    padding-right: 1em;
+}
+
+td.c2  {
+    text-align: left;
+    margin-left: 0em;
+    padding-left: 2em;
+    text-indent: -2em;
+    padding-right: 1em;
+    vertical-align: top;
+}
+
+td.c3 {
+    text-align: right;
+    padding-left: 1em;
+    vertical-align: bottom;
+}
+
+td  { padding: 0em 1em; }
+th  { padding: 0em 1em; }
+
+    .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+        /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+        position: absolute;
+        left: 92%;
+        font-size: smaller;
+        text-align: right;
+        color: #999;
+} /* page numbers */
+
+    .blockquot {
+        margin-left: 5%;
+        margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+    .center   {text-align: center;}
+
+    .smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+    .u        {text-decoration: underline;}
+
+    .caption  {font-weight: bold;}
+
+    .gap { margin-top: 1em; }
+
+/* Images */
+    .figcenter {
+        margin: auto;
+        text-align: center;
+}
+
+p.caption {
+    margin-top: 0;
+    font-size: 70%;
+    text-align: left;
+}
+
+/* Transcriber Notes */
+div.tn {
+    background-color: #EEE;
+    border: dashed 1px;
+    color: #000;
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+    margin-top: 5em;
+    margin-bottom: 5em;
+    padding: 1em;
+}
+
+/* Footnotes */
+div.fn {
+    background-color: #EEE;
+    border: dashed 1px;
+    color: #000;
+    margin-left: 20%;
+    margin-right: 20%;
+    margin-top: 5em;
+    margin-bottom: 5em;
+    padding: 1em;
+}
+
+    .footnote {
+        margin-left: 10%;
+        margin-right: 10%;
+        font-size: 0.9em;
+}
+
+    .footnote .label {
+        position: absolute;
+        right: 84%;
+        text-align: right;
+}
+
+    .fnanchor {
+        vertical-align: super;
+        font-size: .8em;
+        text-decoration: none;
+}
+/* Poetry */
+
+.poem             {margin-left:15%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left; font-size: 1.0em;}
+.poem .stanza     {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;}
+.poem span.i0     {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i1     {display: block; margin-left: 1em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i2     {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i3     {display: block; margin-left: 3em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i4     {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i5     {display: block; margin-left: 5em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i6     {display: block; margin-left: 6em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i7     {display: block; margin-left: 7em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i8     {display: block; margin-left: 8em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i9     {display: block; margin-left: 9em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i10    {display: block; margin-left: 10em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i12    {display: block; margin-left: 12em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+.poem span.i14    {display: block; margin-left: 14em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+
+
+
+    .signature {
+        text-align: right;
+        margin-right: 5%;
+}
+    .signature1 {
+        text-align: right;
+        margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+    .signature2 {
+        text-align: right;
+        margin-right: 15%;
+}
+
+    .signature3 {
+        text-align: right;
+        margin-right: 20%;
+}
+    hr.full { width: 100%;
+              margin-top: 3em;
+              margin-bottom: 0em;
+              margin-left: auto;
+              margin-right: auto;
+              height: 4px;
+              border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */
+              border-style: solid;
+              border-color: #000000;
+              clear: both; }
+    pre      {font-size: 85%;}
+    </style>
+</head>
+<body>
+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Noble Deeds of American Women, Edited by J.
+(Jesse) Clement</h1>
+<pre>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre>
+<p>Title: Noble Deeds of American Women</p>
+<p>       With Biographical Sketches of Some of the More Prominent</p>
+<p>Editor: J. (Jesse) Clement</p>
+<p>Release Date: March 8, 2012  [eBook #39079]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NOBLE DEEDS OF AMERICAN WOMEN***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Julia Neufeld,<br />
+    and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+    (http://www.pgdp.net)</h3>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"><br /><br />
+<img src="images/frontis.jpg" width="450" height="488" alt="MARTHA WASHINGTON" title="Martha Washington" />
+<span class="caption">Eng<sup>d</sup> by J.C. Buttre.<br />
+MARTHA WASHINGTON.,<br />
+
+FROM STUART&#39;S PICTURE</span>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">
+SIXTEENTH THOUSAND.
+</p>
+
+
+<h1>NOBLE DEEDS<br />
+OF<br />
+AMERICAN WOMEN;</h1>
+
+<h2>WITH<br />
+BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES</h2>
+<h3>OF SOME OF THE MORE PROMINENT.</h3>
+<hr style="width: 25%;" />
+<h4>EDITED BY</h4>
+<h3>J. CLEMENT.,</h3>
+
+<h4>WITH AN INTRODUCTION<br />
+BY</h4>
+<h3>MRS. L. H. SIGOURNEY.</h3>
+<hr style="width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">
+Such examples should be set before them as patterns for their daily imitation.</p>
+<div class="signature"><span class="smcap">Locke &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span></div>
+<p class="center">NEW EDITION REVISED.<br />
+<br />
+NEW YORK:<br />
+MILLER, ORTON &amp; CO.,<br />
+<span class="smcap">25 Park Row.</span><br />
+<br />
+1857.</p>
+<hr style="width: 25%;" />
+
+
+<p class="center">Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by<br />
+<br />
+GEO. H. DERBY &amp; Co.,<br />
+<br />
+In the Clerk's Office of the Northern District of New York.<br /></p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Editor's Preface.</h2>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 270px;">
+<img src="images/illus004.jpg" width="270" height="600" alt="boy and girl under tree" />
+</div>
+
+<p>This work was suggested by one of a
+similar character, entitled "Noble Deeds
+of Woman," an English work, which contains
+but three references to American
+Women, two of which are of but very
+little importance. Only one article is the
+same in both works, and that is the letter
+written by Mrs. Sigourney to the women
+of Greece, in 1828,
+in behalf of the ladies
+of Hartford.</p>
+
+<p>This failure to do
+justice to American
+women, may have
+been an oversight; be
+that as it may, a work
+of the kind here presented,
+seemed to be
+needed, and we regret
+that its preparation
+had not been assigned
+to an abler pen. Multitudes
+of works have
+been consulted, and
+such anecdotes gleaned
+as it is thought will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span>
+have a salutary influence on the mind and heart. Should
+the records of female courage and virtue herein presented
+to the daughters of the land, encourage, even in the slightest
+degree, a laudable spirit of emulation, our humble labors
+will not have been put forth in vain.</p>
+
+<p>Facts are more sublime than fictions; and American
+women have actually performed all the good, and grand,
+and glorious deeds which the honest and judicious novelist
+dares ascribe to the female sex; hence we have found no
+occasion, in striving to make this work interesting, to deviate
+from the path of historical truth.</p>
+
+<p>The sources whence our materials have been derived, are
+largely indicated in the body of the work. Possibly, however,
+we may have failed, in some instances, to indicate our
+indebtedness to historians and biographers where such reference
+was justly demanded; suffice it to say, therefore, once
+for all, that, although something like two hundred of these
+pages are in our own language, we deserve but little credit
+for originality, and would prefer to be regarded as an unpretending
+compiler, rather than as an aspirant to the title of
+author.</p>
+
+<div class="signature">
+J. C.
+</div>
+
+<blockquote><p class="center">NOTE TO THE REVISED EDITION.</p>
+
+<p>The fact that eight thousand copies of this work have been published
+in less than a year after its appearance, indicates a degree of
+popularity which was not anticipated. In this edition we have thrown
+out a few pages of the old matter, and substituted, in most instances,
+fresher anecdotes; and this revision, with the illustrations which the
+liberal-minded publishers have added, will, it is hoped, render the
+work still more acceptable.</p>
+
+<div class="signature">
+J. C.
+</div></blockquote>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="contents">
+<tr><td align="left">&nbsp;</td><td align="right"><span class="smcap"><small>PAGE.</small></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_xiii">13</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mother of Washington</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Wife of Washington</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Wife of John Adams</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Ann H. Judson</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Christian Woman in the Hour of Danger</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Humanity of Hartford Ladies</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mother Bailey</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Elizabeth Heard</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Ladies of Philadelphia in 1780</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Wife of President Reed</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Completion of Bunker Hill Monument</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Lydia Darrah</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Widow Storey</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Hendee</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Patriotic Women of Old Middlesex</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Cacique's Noble Daughter</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Humane Spirit of a Forest Maid</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Hannah Dustin</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Heroines of Bryant's Station</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Daviess</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Kentucky Amazon</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Heroism at Innis Settlement</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Bold Exploit at Tampico</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Dicey Langston</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Rebecca Motte</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Another Sacrifice for Freedom</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span>A Patriotic Donation</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Little Black-eyed Rebel</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Benevolent Quakeress</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Pioneer in Sunday Schools</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_140">140</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Women of Wyoming</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mary Gould</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Mother of President Polk</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_145">145</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Trials of a Patriot</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Intrepidity of Mrs. Israel</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Incident in Missionary Life</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Kind-hearted Chippewa</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_169">169</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Humanity of a Cherokee</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Self-sacrificing Spirit of the Missionary</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Daring Exploit of Two Rebels</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Elizabeth Martin</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Mother's Effectual Petition</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_180">180</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Noteworthy Integrity</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Faithful Mother</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_184">184</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Spaulding</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_186">186</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Wife of Colonel Thomas</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_188">188</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Exemplary Piety</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Adventure of a Patriotic Girl</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Caldwell and the Tories</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_195">195</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mother of Randolph</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Cornelia Beekman</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mother of West</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Heroic Endurance</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Maternal Heroism</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Modern Dorcas</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_213">213</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Sarah Hoffman</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_218">218</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Heroism of Schoharie Women</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Sterling Patriot</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Heroic Conduct at Monmouth</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Courage of a Country Girl</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Ledyards at Fort Griswold</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Seneca Heroines</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_244">244</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Martha Bratton</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_246">246</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Poor Woman's Offering</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mother of Jackson</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_251">251</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Heroine of Fort Henry</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_253">253</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Benevolent Widow</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_256">256</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Anne Fitzhugh</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_258">258</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Esther Gaston</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_261">261</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Remarkable Presence of Mind</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_263">263</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Wife of Governor Griswold</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_265">265</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Bold Exploit of a Young Girl</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_266">266</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Susanna Wright</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Patriotism of 1770</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_270">270</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Spalding</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Dillard</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Ph&oelig;be Phillips</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Example of a Poor Widow</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_279">279</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Elizabeth Estaugh</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_284">284</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Kate Moore</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_297">297</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Captivity of Mrs. Rowlandson</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_299">299</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Bozarth</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Heroine of Steel Creek</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Benevolence of a Colored Woman</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_308">308</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Rebecca Edwards</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_309">309</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Beautiful Rebel</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_311">311</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Harriet B. Stewart</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_313">313</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Kind and Benevolent Woman</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_316">316</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Noble Example of Pioneers</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_320">320</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Slocumb</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_323">323</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Wife of Captain Richardson</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_330">330</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Striking Instance of Patience</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_331">331</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Susannah Elliott</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_336">336</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Anna Elliott</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_338">338</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Patriotic Stratagem</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_340">340</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Influence of a Faithful Teacher</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_341">341</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Wife of Thomas Heyward</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_343">343</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Noble Decision</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_345">345</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Tennessee Heroine</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_346">346</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. M'Kay</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_352">352</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Heroic Conduct of a Daughter</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_354">354</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Heroic Decision</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_356">356</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Daughter of Aaron Burr</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_358">358</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Female Intrepidity</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_361">361</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Wife of Richard Shubrick</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_362">362</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Retort of Mrs. Ashe</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_365">365</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Wife of a Drunkard</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_366">366</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mother of Dr. Dwight</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_370">370</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Happy Results of Maternal Fidelity</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_373">373</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Scott</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_375">375</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Success of Boldness</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_378">378</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mary Knight</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_380">380</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Wife of William Gray</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_381">381</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Huntington</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_383">383</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Biddle</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_385">385</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Kindness of Convicts</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_387">387</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Margaret Prior</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_388">388</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Noble Acts of Kindness</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_395">395</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Wife of Dr. Ramsay</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_398">398</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Margaret Schuyler</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_400">400</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Noble Treatment of Enemies</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_402">402</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Humanity Rewarded</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_403">403</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Margaret Winthrop</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_404">404</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">A Pioneer Settler's Adventure</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_408">408</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. McKenny</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_410">410</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">The Fisherman's Heroic Wife</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_416">416</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. James K. Polk</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_418">418</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Widow Jenkins</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_421">421</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Faithful Little Girl</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_423">423</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Hospitality of California Women</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_424">424</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Sarah Lanman Smith</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_425">425</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Brother saved by his Sister</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_429">429</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Borden</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_431">431</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Margaret Corbin</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_432">432</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mrs. Channing</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_433">433</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Commendable Courage</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_434">434</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Heroine of Shell's Bush</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_435">435</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Father Taylor's Widowed Friend</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_437">437</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Revolutionary Mother</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_440">440</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Successful Daring</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_443">443</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Worthy Example of Forgiveness</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_444">444</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Crookshanks saved by a Female</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_445">445</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Patriotic Artist</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_446">446</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mohawk Women</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_448">448</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Female in the Revolutionary Army</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_450">450</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Elizabeth Brant</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_459">459</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Brief Anecdotes</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_465">465</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Miss D. L. Dix</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_474">474</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus010.jpg" width="450" height="406" alt="Flower vase decoration" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span></p>
+<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The advantages of Biography are obvious and great.
+To the weight of precept, it adds the force and efficacy of
+example. It presents correct and beautiful models, and
+awakens the impulse to imitate what we admire. Other
+sciences strengthen the intellect, this influences and amends
+the heart. Other subjects interest the imagination, this
+modifies conduct and character. By the recorded actions
+of the great and good, we regulate our own course, and
+steer, star-guided, over life's trackless ocean.</p>
+
+<p>In remote ages, the department of Female Biography
+was almost a void. Here and there on the pages of the
+Sacred Volume, a lineament, or a form, is sketched with
+graphic power, either as a warning, or bright with the
+hues of heaven. Yet uninspired history, though she continued
+to utter "her dark sayings upon the harp," was
+wont to relapse into silence at the name of woman. Classic
+antiquity scarcely presents aught that might be cited
+as a sustained example. In the annals of ancient Greece,
+the wife of one of its philosophers has obtained a place,
+but only through the varied trials, by which she contributed
+to perfect his patience. Rome but slightly lifts the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</a></span>
+household veil from the mother of the Gracchi, as she exultingly
+exhibits her heart's jewels. Cleopatra, with her
+royal barge, casts a dazzling gleam over the Cydnus, but
+her fame is like the poison of the reptile that destroyed
+her. Boadicea rushes for a moment in her rude chariot
+over the battle field, but the fasces and the chains of
+Rome close the scene.</p>
+
+<p>Modern Paganism disclosed a still deeper abyss of degradation
+for woman. The aboriginal lord of the American
+forests lays the burden on the shoulder of his weaker companion,
+and stalks on in unbowed majesty, with his quiver
+and his tomahawk. Beneath the sultry skies of Africa,
+she crouches to drink the poison water before her judges,
+having no better test of her innocence than the deliverer,
+Death. In India, we see her plunging into the Ganges
+her female infants, that they may escape her lot of misery,
+or wrapped in the flames of the burning pile, turn into
+ashes with the corpse of her husband. Under the sway
+of the Moslem, her highest condition is a life-long incarceration,
+her best treatment, that of a gilded toy&mdash;a soulless
+slave. Throughout the whole heathen world, woman may
+be characterized, as Humanity, in Central Asia has been,
+by an elegant French writer, as "always remaining anonymous,&mdash;indifferent
+to herself,&mdash;not believing in her liberty,
+having none,&mdash;and leaving no trace of her passage upon
+earth."</p>
+
+<p>Christianity has changed the scene. Wherever her pure
+and pitying spirit prevails, the sway of brute force is softened,
+and the "weaker vessel" upheld. Bearing in her
+hand the blessed Gospel, "a light to lighten the Gentiles,
+and the glory of the people Israel," she adds to the literature
+of the world a new volume, the History of Woman.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[xv]</a></span>
+She spreads a page, for which the long, slow ages had
+neither looked, nor inquired,&mdash;neither waited for, nor imagined,
+the page of female biography.</p>
+
+<p>So liberal have been our own immediate times in supplying
+fitting materials, that an extensive and valuable library
+might readily be selected in this department alone.
+Since knowledge has shed her baptism upon the head of
+woman, her legitimate sphere of duty has become extended,
+and enriched by incident. We see her not only brought
+forward as a teacher, but entering unrebuked the fields of
+science and literature; we see her amid the hardships of
+colonial life, displaying a martyr's courage, or ascending the
+deck of the mission ship to take her part in "perils among
+the heathen."</p>
+
+<p>The venerable moralist of Barley Wood, who so perseveringly
+encouraged her sex to reflect, to discriminate, to
+choose the good and refuse the evil, who, after attaining
+the age of sixty years, presented them with eleven new and
+instructive volumes, has not long laid down her pen, for the
+rest and reward of the righteous. That high souled apostle
+of erring, suffering humanity, to whose dauntless benevolence
+crowned heads did honor, whose melodious voice I
+almost fancy that I again hear, as in the plain garb of
+her order, she stood as a tutelary being among the convicts
+at Newgate,&mdash;she has but recently arisen to that
+congenial society of the just made perfect, who rejoice over
+"one sinner that repenteth."</p>
+
+<p>And the harp of that tuneful one, so recently exchanged
+for a purer harmony, still breathes upon our hearts the
+echoes of her varied lay, as when touched by her hand it
+warbled&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[xvi]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="poem">"Fame hath a voice, whose thrilling tone<br />
+<span class="i2">Can bid the life pulse beat,</span>
+As when a trumpet's note hath blown,<br />
+<span class="i2">Warning the hosts to meet;</span>
+But ah! let mine, a woman's breast,<br />
+With words of home-born love be bless'd."
+</div>
+
+<p>She, too, who sleeps beneath the hopia-tree in Burmah,
+whose courage and constancy no hero has transcended,
+how rapidly has she been followed in the same self denying
+path, by others who "counted not their lives dear
+unto them," if they might bear to the perishing heathen
+the name and love of a Redeemer.</p>
+
+<p>And one still lives, the wonderful Scandinavian maiden,
+whose melody now holds our own land in enchantment,
+and who exhibits, on a scale hitherto unknown in the
+world's history, rare endowments, boundless liberality, and
+deep humility; God's grace held in subservience to the
+good of her fellow creatures. Through the power of song,
+which, as the compeer of the nightingale, she possesses,
+and with a singular freedom from vanity and selfishness,
+she charms and elevates, while with the harvest of her
+toils she feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, comforts the
+desolate, aids the hallowed temple to uplift its spire, and
+the school to spread its brooding wing over the children
+of future generations.</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+One there lives, who doth inherit<br />
+Angel gifts with angel spirit,<br />
+Bidding streams of gladness flow<br />
+Through the realms of want and woe,<br />
+'Mid lone age and misery's lot,<br />
+Kindling pleasures long forgot,<br />
+Seeking minds oppress'd with night,<br />
+And on darkness shedding light;<br />
+She the seraph's speech doth know,<br />
+She hath learn'd their deeds below<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[xvii]</a></span>So, when o'er this misty strand,<br />
+She shall clasp their waiting hand,<br />
+They will fold her to their breast,<br />
+More a sister than a guest.<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>If all true greatness should be estimated by its tendencies,
+and by the good it performs, it is peculiarly desirable
+that woman's claims to distinction should be thus judged
+and awarded. In this young western world, especially in
+New England, her agency has been admitted, and her capacity
+tested, of mingling a healthful leaven with the elements
+of a nation's character. Here, her presence has been acknowledged,
+and her aid faithfully rendered, from the beginning.
+There is a beautiful tradition, that the first foot
+which pressed the snow clad rock of Plymouth was that of
+Mary Chilton, a fair young maiden, and that the last survivor
+of those heroic pioneers was Mary Allerton, who lived
+to see the planting of twelve out of the thirteen colonies,
+which formed the nucleus of these United States.</p>
+
+<p>In the May Flower, eighteen wives accompanied their
+husbands to a waste land and uninhabited, save by the
+wily and vengeful savage. On the unfloored hut, she who
+had been nurtured amid the rich carpets and curtains of
+the mother land, rocked her new born babe, and complained
+not. She, who in the home of her youth had arranged
+the gorgeous shades of embroidery, or, perchance,
+had compounded the rich venison pasty as her share in the
+housekeeping, now pounded the coarse Indian corn for her
+children's bread, and bade them ask God's blessing, ere
+they took their scanty portion. When the snows sifted
+through their miserable roof-trees upon her little ones, she
+gathered them closer to her bosom; she taught them the
+Bible, and the catechism, and the holy hymn, though the
+war-whoop of the Indian rang through the wild. Amid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[xviii]</a></span>
+the untold hardships of colonial life, she infused new strength
+into her husband by her firmness, and solaced his weary
+hours by her love. She was to him,</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+"An undergoing spirit, to bear up<br />
+Against whate'er ensued."
+</div>
+
+<p>During the struggle of our Revolution, the privations sustained,
+and the efforts made by women, were neither few
+nor of short duration. Many of them are delineated in the
+present volume, and in other interesting ones of the same
+class, which have found favor with the public.</p>
+
+<p>Yet innumerable instances of faithful toil, and patient
+endurance, must have been covered with oblivion. In how
+many a lone home, whence the father was long sundered
+by a soldier's destiny, did the Mother labor to perform to
+their little ones both his duties and her own, having no
+witness of the extent of her heavy burdens, and sleepless
+anxieties, save the Hearer of Prayer.</p>
+
+<p>A good and hoary headed man, who had passed the
+limits of fourscore, once said to me, "my father was in the
+army during the whole eight years of the Revolutionary
+war, at first as a common soldier, afterwards as an officer.
+My mother had the sole charge of us, four little ones. Our
+house was a poor one, and far from neighbors. I have
+a keen remembrance of the terrible cold of some of these
+winters. The snow lay so deep and long, that it was difficult
+to cut or draw fuel from the woods, and to get our
+corn to mill, when we had any. My mother was the possessor
+of a coffee mill. In that she ground wheat, and
+made coarse bread, which we ate, and were thankful. It
+was not always that we could be allowed as much, even
+of this, as our keen appetites craved. Many is the time
+that we have gone to bed, with only a drink of water for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[xix]</a></span>
+our supper, in which a little molasses had been mingled.
+We patiently received it, for we knew our mother did as
+well for us as she could, and hoped to have something
+better in the morning. She was never heard to repine;
+and young as we were, we tried to make her loving spirit
+and heavenly trust, our example.</p>
+
+<p>"When my father was permitted to come home, his stay
+was short, and he had not much to leave us, for the pay
+of those who achieved our liberties was slight, and irregularly
+rendered. Yet when he went, my mother ever bade
+him farewell with a cheerful face, and not to be anxious
+about his children, for she would watch over them night
+and day, and God would take care of the families of
+those who went forth to defend the righteous cause of
+their country. Sometimes we wondered that she did not
+mention the cold weather, or our short meals, or her hard
+work, that we little ones might be clothed, and fed, and
+taught. But she would not weaken his hands, or sadden
+his heart, for she said a soldier's lot was harder than all.
+We saw that she never complained, but always kept in her
+heart a sweet hope, like a well of living water. Every
+night ere we slept, and every morning when we arose, we
+lifted our little hands for God's blessing on our absent father,
+and our endangered country."</p>
+
+<p>How deeply the prayers from such solitary homes, and
+faithful hearts, were mingled with the infant liberties of
+our dear native land, we may not know until we enter
+where we see no more "through a glass darkly, but face
+to face."</p>
+
+<p>Incidents repeatedly occurred during this contest of eight
+years, between the feeble colonies and the strong motherland,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[xx]</a></span>
+of a courage that ancient Sparta would have applauded.</p>
+
+<p>In a thinly settled part of Virginia, the quiet of the Sabbath
+eve was once broken by the loud, hurried roll of the
+drum. Volunteers were invoked to go forth and prevent
+the British troops, under the pitiless Tarleton, from forcing
+their way through an important mountain pass. In an old
+fort resided a family, all of whose elder sons were absent
+with our army, which at the North opposed the foe. The
+father lay enfeebled and sick. Around his bedside the
+Mother called their three sons, of the ages of thirteen, fifteen,
+and seventeen.</p>
+
+<p>"Go forth, children," said she, "to the defence of your
+native clime. Go, each and all of you. I spare not my
+youngest, my fair-haired boy, the light of my declining
+years.</p>
+
+<p>"Go forth, my sons. Repel the foot of the invader, or
+see my face no more."</p>
+
+<p>It has been recorded in the annals of other climes, as
+well as our own, that Woman, under the pressure of unusual
+circumstances, has revealed unwonted and unexpected
+energies. It is fitting that she should prove herself equal
+to every emergency, nor shrink from any duty that dangers
+or reverses may impose.</p>
+
+<p>Still, her best happiness and true glory are doubtless
+found in her own peculiar sphere. Rescued, as she has
+been, from long darkness, by the precepts of the religion of
+Jesus, brought forth into the broad sunlight of knowledge
+and responsibility, she is naturally anxious to know how to
+discharge her debt to the age, and to her own land. Her
+patriotism is, to labor in the sanctuary of home, and in every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[xxi]</a></span>
+allotted department of education, to form and train a race
+that shall bless their country, and serve their God.</p>
+
+<p>There has been sometimes claimed for her, under the
+name of "<i>rights</i>," a wider participation in the pursuits, exposures,
+and honors appertaining to men. Were these somewhat
+indefinite claims conceded, would the change promote
+her welfare? Would she be a gainer by any added power
+or sounding title, which should require the sacrifice of that
+delicacy which is the life-blood of her sex?</p>
+
+<p>Would it be better for man to have no exercise for those
+energies, which the state of a gentle, trustful being calls
+forth; those protecting energies which reveal his peculiar
+strength, and liken him to a god-like nature? Would it
+add either to her attractions or his happiness, to confront
+her in the arena of political strife, or enable her to bear her part
+in fierce collision with the bold and unprincipled? Might
+it not endanger or obliterate that enthusiasm of love, which
+she so much prizes, to meet the tutelary spirit of his home
+delights, on the steep unsheltered heights of ambition, as a
+competitor or a rival?</p>
+
+<p>Would it be as well for the rising generation, who are
+given into the arms of Woman for their earliest guidance,
+that the ardor of her nature should be drawn into different
+and contradictory channels? When a traveler in those lands
+where she goes forth to manual toil in the fields, I have
+mourned to see her neglected little ones, deprived of maternal
+care, unsoftened by the blandishments of its tenderness,
+growing up like animals, groveling, unimpressible, unconscientious.
+Whatever detaches her thoughts or divides
+her heart from home duties and affections, is especially a
+loss to the young plants that depend on her nurture and
+supervision.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii">[xxii]</a></span>If, therefore, the proposed change should profit neither
+man, woman, nor the rising race, how can it benefit the
+world at large? Is it not the province of true wisdom to
+select such measures as promote the greatest good of the
+greatest number?</p>
+
+<p>A moralist has well said, that "in contentions for power,
+both the philosophy and poetry of life are dropped and trodden
+down." A still heavier loss would accrue to domestic
+happiness, and the interests of well balanced society, should
+the innate delicacy and prerogative of woman, <i>as woman</i>,
+be sacrificed or transmuted.</p>
+
+<p>"I have given her as a help-meet," said the Voice that
+cannot err, when it spake unto Adam "in the cool of the
+day," amid the trees of Paradise. Not as a slave, a clog,
+a toy, a wrestler, a prize-fighter, a ruler. No. A <i>helper</i>,
+such as was meet for man to desire, and for her to become.</p>
+
+<p>If the unerring Creator has assigned different spheres
+of action to the sexes, it is to be presumed that some adaptation
+exists to their respective sphere, that there is work
+enough in each to employ them, and that the faithful performance
+of that work will be for the welfare of both. If He
+hath constituted one as the priestess of the "inner temple,"
+committing to her charge its veiled shrine and sacred harmonies,
+why should she covet to rage amid the warfare at
+its gates, or to ride on the whirlwind that may rock its
+turrets? Rushing, uncalled, to the strife, or the tumult,
+or the conflict, will there not linger in her heart the upbraiding
+question, "with whom didst thou leave thy few
+sheep in the wilderness?" Why need she be again tempted
+by pride, or curiosity, or glozing words, to forfeit her own
+Eden?</p>
+
+<p>The true nobility of Woman is to keep her own sphere,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiii" id="Page_xxiii">[xxiii]</a></span>
+and adorn it, not as the comet, daunting and perplexing
+other systems, but like the star, which is the first to light
+the day and the last to leave it. If she win not the laurel
+of the conqueror and the blood-shedder, her noble deeds may
+leave "footprints on the sands of time," and her good works,
+"such as become those that profess godliness," find record
+in the Book of Life.</p>
+
+<p>Sisters, are not our rights sufficiently comprehensive, the
+sanctuary of home, the throne of the heart, the moulding
+of the whole mass of mind, in its first formation? Have
+we not power enough in all realms of sorrow and suffering,
+over all forms of want and ignorance, amid all ministries
+of love, from the cradle-dream to the sealing of the sepulchre?</p>
+
+<p>Let us be content and faithful, aye, more,&mdash;grateful and
+joyful,&mdash;making this brief life a hymn of praise, until admitted
+to that choir which knows no discord, and where
+melody is eternal.</p>
+
+<div class="signature">
+L. HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY.
+</div>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Hartford, Conn.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus024.jpg" width="450" height="577" alt="Woman with plaque &quot;Noble Deeds&quot;" title="Woman with plaque &quot;Noble Deeds&quot;" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON</h2>
+
+
+<p>As the "mother" of our nation's "chief," it seems
+appropriate that Mary Washington should stand at
+the head of American females whose deeds are herein
+recorded. Her life was one unbroken series of praiseworthy
+actions&mdash;a drama of many scenes, none blood-chilling,
+none tragic, but all noble, all inspiring, and
+many even magnanimous. She was uniformly so
+gentle, so amiable, so dignified, that it is difficult to fix
+the eye on any one act more strikingly grand than the
+rest. Stretching the eye along a series of mountain
+peaks, all, seemingly, of the same height, a solitary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
+one cannot be singled out and called more sublime
+than the others.</p>
+
+<p>It is impossible to contemplate any one trait of her
+character without admiration. In republican simplicity,
+as her life will show, she was a model; and her
+piety was of such an exalted nature that the daughters
+of the land might make it their study. Though proud
+of her son, as we may suppose she must have been,
+she was sensible enough not to be betrayed into weakness
+and folly on that account. The honors that clustered
+around her name as associated with his, only
+humbled her and made her apparently more devout.
+She never forgot that she was a Christian mother, and
+that her son, herself, and, in perilous times especially,
+her country, needed her prayers. She was wholly
+destitute of aristocratic feelings, which are degrading
+to human beings; and never believed that sounding
+titles and high honors could confer lasting distinctions,
+without moral worth. The greatness which
+Byron, with so much justness and beauty, ascribes
+to Washington, was one portion of the inestimable
+riches which the son inherited from the mother:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+"Where may the weary eye repose,<br />
+<span class="i2">When gazing on the great,</span>
+Where neither guilty glory glows,<br />
+<span class="i2">Nor despicable state?</span>
+Yes, one&mdash;the first&mdash;the last&mdash;the best&mdash;<br />
+The Cincinnatus of the West,<br />
+<span class="i2">Whom envy dared not hate&mdash;</span>
+Bequeathed the name of Washington,<br />
+To make men blush there was but one."<br />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>Moulding, as she did, to a large extent, the character
+of the great Hero, Statesman and Sage of the
+Western World; instilling into his young heart the
+virtues that warmed her own, and fitting him to become
+the man of unbending integrity and heroic
+courage, and the father of a great and expanding republic,
+she may well claim the veneration, not of the
+lovers of freedom merely, but of all who can appreciate
+moral beauty and thereby estimate the true
+wealth of woman's heart. A few data and incidents
+of such a person's life should be treasured in every
+American mind.</p>
+
+<p>The maiden name of Mrs. Washington was Mary
+Bell. She was born in the Colony of Virginia, which
+is fertile in great names, towards the close of the year
+1706. She became the second wife of Mr. Augustine
+Washington, a planter of the "Old Dominion," on the
+sixth of March, 1730. He was at that time a resident
+of Westmoreland county. There, two years after this
+union, George, their oldest child, was born. While
+the "father of his country" was an infant, the parents
+removed to Stafford county, on the Rappahannock
+river, opposite Fredericksburg.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Washington had five more children, and lost
+the youngest in its infancy. Soon after this affliction,
+she was visited, in 1743, with a greater&mdash;the death of
+her husband. Thus, at the age of thirty-seven, Mrs.
+Washington became a widow, with five small children.
+Fortunately, her husband left a valuable property for
+their maintenance. It was mostly in land, and each
+son inherited a plantation. The one daughter was also<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+suitably provided for. "It was thus," writes Mr.
+Sparks, "that Augustine Washington, although suddenly
+cut off in the vigor of manhood, left all his children
+in a state of comparative independence. Confiding
+in the prudence of the mother, he directed that
+the proceeds of all the property of her children should
+be at her disposal, till they should respectively come
+of age."</p>
+
+<p>The same writer adds that, "this weighty charge of
+five young children, the eldest of whom was eleven
+years old, the superintendence of their education, and
+the management of complicated affairs, demanded no
+common share of resolution, resource of mind, and
+strength of character. In these important duties Mrs.
+Washington acquitted herself with fidelity to her trust,
+and with entire success. Her good sense, assiduity,
+tenderness and vigilance, overcame every obstacle;
+and, as the richest reward of a mother's solicitude and
+toil, she had the happiness of seeing all her children
+come forward with a fair promise into life, filling the
+sphere allotted to them in a manner equally honorable
+to themselves, and to the parent who had been the only
+guide of their principles, conduct and habits. She
+lived to witness the noble career of her eldest son, till,
+by his own rare merits, he was raised to the head of
+a nation, and applauded and revered by the whole
+world."</p>
+
+<p>Two years after the death of his father, George
+Washington obtained a midshipman's warrant, and
+had not his mother opposed the plan, he would have
+entered the naval service, been removed from her influence,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
+acted a different part on the theatre of life,
+and possibly changed the subsequent aspect of American
+affairs.</p>
+
+<p>Just before Washington's departure to the north, to
+assume the command of the American army, he persuaded
+his mother to leave her country residence, and
+assisted in effecting her removal to Fredericksburg.
+There she took up a permanent abode, and there died
+of a lingering and painful disease, a cancer in the
+breast, on the twenty-fifth of August, 1789.</p>
+
+<p>A few of the many lovely traits of Mrs. Washington's
+character, are happily exhibited in two or three
+incidents in her long, but not remarkably eventful life.</p>
+
+<p>She who looked to God in hours of darkness for
+light, in her country's peril, for Divine succor, was
+equally as ready to acknowledge the hand and to see
+the smiles of the "God of battles" in the victories that
+crowned our arms; hence, when she was informed of
+the surrender of Cornwallis, her heart instantly filled
+with gratitude, and raising her hands, with reverence
+and pious fervor, she exclaimed: "Thank God! war
+will now be ended, and peace, independence and happiness
+bless our country!"</p>
+
+<p>When she received the news of her son's successful
+passage of the Delaware&mdash;December 7th, 1776&mdash;with
+much self-possession she expressed her joy that the
+prospects of the country were brightening; but when
+she came to those portions of the dispatches which
+were panegyrical of her son, she modestly and coolly
+observed to the bearers of the good tidings, that
+"George appeared to have deserved well of his country<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
+for such signal services. But, my good sirs," she
+added, "here is too much flattery!&mdash;Still, <i>George will
+not forget the lessons I have taught him</i>&mdash;he will not
+forget <i>himself</i>, though he is the subject of so much
+praise."</p>
+
+<p>In like manner, when, on the return of the combined
+armies from Yorktown, Washington visited her at
+Fredericksburg, she inquired after his health and
+talked long and with much warmth of feeling of the
+scenes of former years, of early and mutual friends, of
+all, in short, that the past hallows; but to the theme
+of the ransomed millions of the land, the theme that
+for three quarters of a century has, in all lands,
+prompted the highest flights of eloquence, and awakened
+the noblest strains of song, to the deathless
+fame of her son, she made not the slightest allusion.</p>
+
+<p>In the fall of 1784, just before returning to his native
+land, General Lafayette went to Fredericksburg, "to
+pay his parting respects" to Mrs. Washington. "Conducted
+by one of her grandsons, he approached the
+house, when the young gentleman observed: 'There,
+sir, is my grandmother!' Lafayette beheld&mdash;working
+in the garden, clad in domestic-made clothes, and
+her gray head covered with a plain straw hat&mdash;the
+mother of 'his hero, his friend and a country's preserver!'
+The lady saluted him kindly, observing:
+'Ah, Marquis! you see an old woman; but come, I
+can make you welcome to my poor dwelling without
+the parade of changing my dress.'" During the interview,
+Lafayette, referring to her son, could not withhold
+his encomiums, which drew from the mother this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+beautifully simple remark: "I am not surprised at
+what George has done, for he was always a good
+boy."</p>
+
+<p>The remains of Mrs. Washington were interred at
+Fredericksburg. On the seventh of May, 1833, the
+corner-stone of a monument to her memory was laid
+under the direction of a Committee who represented
+the citizens of Virginia. General Jackson, then President
+of the United States, very appropriately took
+the leading and most honorable part in the ceremony.
+With the following extracts from the closing part of
+his chaste and elegant Address, our humble sketch
+may fittingly close:</p>
+
+<p>"In tracing the few recollections which can be gathered,
+of her principles and conduct, it is impossible
+to avoid the conviction, that these were closely interwoven
+with the destiny of her son. The great points
+of his character are before the world. He who runs
+may read them in his whole career, as a citizen, a soldier,
+a magistrate. He possessed unerring judgment,
+if that term can be applied to human nature; great
+probity of purpose, high moral principles, perfect self-possession,
+untiring application, and an inquiring
+mind, seeking information from every quarter, and
+arriving at its conclusions with a full knowledge of the
+subject; and he added to these an inflexibility of resolution,
+which nothing could change but a conviction
+of error. Look back at the life and conduct of his
+mother, and at her domestic government, as they
+have this day been delineated by the Chairman of
+the Monumental Committee, and as they were known<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
+to her contemporaries, and have been described by
+them, and they will be found admirably adapted to
+form and develop, the elements of such a character.
+The power of greatness was there; but had it not been
+guided and directed by maternal solicitude and judgment,
+its possessor, instead of presenting to the world
+examples of virtue, patriotism and wisdom, which
+will be precious in all succeeding ages, might have
+added to the number of those master-spirits, whose
+fame rests upon the faculties they have abused, and
+the injuries they have committed....</p>
+
+<p>"Fellow citizens, at your request, and in your name,
+I now deposit this plate in the spot destined for it;
+and when the American pilgrim shall, in after ages,
+come up to this high and holy place, and lay his hand
+upon this sacred column, may he recall the virtues of
+her who sleeps beneath, and depart with his affections
+purified, and his piety strengthened, while he invokes
+blessings upon the Mother of Washington."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE WIFE OF WASHINGTON.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+A woman's noblest station is retreat:<br />
+Her fairest virtues fly from public sight;<br />
+Domestic worth&mdash;that shuns too strong a light.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i9 smcap">Lord Lyttleton.</span><br />
+<br />
+The drying up a single tear has more<br />
+Of honest fame than shedding seas of gore.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Byron.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Woman may possess an equal share of the elements
+of greatness with man, but she has not an equal opportunity
+to display them in such a manner as to call forth
+the admiration and applause of the world. She was
+not made to pour the tide of eloquence in the Senate
+chamber, or lead on to victory the brave and heroic
+spirits of the land. Her course leads mainly through
+the quiet valley of domestic retirement, where the
+stream can rarely leap from dizzy heights with a thundering
+plunge, whose echoes shall go booming on to fill
+the ear of coming generations: her movements and
+influence are more like those of springs, which, flowing
+noiselessly and unseen, are widely scattered, and every
+where diffuse incalculable blessings.</p>
+
+<p>The wife of Washington could not be the hero of a
+seven-years' war, or the chief magistrate of a republic;
+but, as the companion of such a man, she could shine,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
+in her own proper sphere, with a lustre as mild, as
+steady, as serene, as his. And thus she did. Prompt
+to obey the calls of duty, when the voice of humanity
+beckoned her to the camp, she hastened away, at the
+sacrifice of ease and comfort, to relieve the wants of
+the suffering; and when forced to leave her "paradise"
+at Mount Vernon, to preside, as the matron of the nation,
+at the President's house, she did it with a dignity
+and propriety perhaps never equalled, certainly never
+excelled. But let us not anticipate.</p>
+
+<p>Martha Dandridge was born in New Kent county,
+Virginia, in May, 1732. She was endowed with good
+sense, a strong mind, sound ideas of feminine proprieties,
+and correct views of woman's practical duties:
+and these had to answer measurably as a substitute for
+the discipline of female seminaries, which were rare in
+the "Old Dominion," and in the Colonies generally,
+in her younger days. The advantages to be derived
+from domestic instruction, she enjoyed, and those
+only. They, however, were cut off at the age of seventeen,
+by her union in marriage with Colonel Daniel P.
+Custis, a gentleman of many excellent parts. They
+settled on his plantation in her native county. Beautiful,
+lovely in disposition, and fascinating in manners,
+the young wife was warmly admired by her neighbors
+and all with whom she came in contact; and her residence,
+known as the "<i>White House</i>," was the centre
+of strong attractions, and the scene of much genuine
+or&mdash;which is the same thing&mdash;<i>Virginian</i>, hospitality.
+Colonel Custis became the father of three children, and
+then died. Previous to this solemn event, however,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
+the White House had been veiled in weeds for the loss
+of his oldest child.</p>
+
+<p>With two small children, a son and daughter, Mrs.
+Custis early found herself a widow, with the disposition
+and management of all pecuniary interests left by
+her confiding husband, at her control. As sole executrix,
+it is said that she "managed the extensive
+landed and pecuniary concerns of the estate with surprising
+ability, making loans on mortgages, of money,
+and through her stewards and agents, conducting the
+sales or exportation of the crops to the best possible
+advantage."</p>
+
+<p>But from the cares of an extensive estate she was
+shortly relieved. On the sixth of January, 1759, she
+gave her hand, with upwards of a hundred thousand
+dollars, to Colonel George Washington, another planter
+of her native Colony. At the same time, she relinquished
+into his hands the guardianship of her children&mdash;the
+son six, and the daughter four years old&mdash;together
+with the care of their property. From the
+White House, Mrs. Washington now removed to
+Mount Vernon, which remained her home till her
+death, and became the final resting place of her
+remains.</p>
+
+<p>In her new home, as in the White House, she superintended
+the affairs of the household, exercising continual
+control over all culinary matters; carefully
+educating her offspring, and aiming to rear them up
+for usefulness. These duties she discharged with the
+utmost assiduity and faithfulness, in spite of the many
+social obligations which a woman in her position must<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+necessarily encounter.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> Nor did the demands of
+courtesy and of her family debar her from habitual and
+systematic charities, dispensed in her neighborhood, or
+from those most important of all daily duties, the calls
+of the "closet." In the language of Miss Conkling,
+in her Memoir: "It is recorded of this devout Christian,
+that never during her life, whether in prosperity
+or in adversity, did she omit that daily self-communion
+and self-examination, and those private devotional
+exercises, which would best prepare her for the self-control
+and self-denial by which she was, for more than
+half a century, so eminently distinguished. It was her
+habit to retire to her own apartment every morning
+after breakfast, there to devote an hour to solitary
+prayer and meditation."</p>
+
+<p>In 1770, she lost a child of many prayers, of bright
+hopes, and of much promise, her blooming daughter.
+She looked upon this affliction as a visitation from
+Him who doeth all things well, and bore it with
+becoming resignation, which the Christian only is prepared
+to do.</p>
+
+<p>During the Revolution, Mrs. Washington was accustomed
+to pass the winters with her husband at the
+head quarters of the army and the summers at Mount
+Vernon; and it was in the camp that she shone with
+the lustre of the true woman. "She was at Valley<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
+Forge in that dreadful winter of 1777-8, her presence
+and submission to privation strengthening the fortitude
+of those who might have complained, and giving hope
+and confidence to the desponding. She soothed the
+distresses of many sufferers, seeking out the poor and
+afflicted with benevolent kindness, extending relief
+wherever it was in her power, and with graceful deportment
+presiding in the Chief's humble dwelling."<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<p>In 1781, she lost her last surviving child, John
+Custis, aged twenty seven. Her widowed daughter-in-law
+and the four children, she took to her own
+home, and thenceforward they were the objects of her
+untiring solicitude.</p>
+
+<p>The life of Mrs. Washington, after her husband
+took the Presidential chair, was marked by no striking
+incidents, and affords scanty material of the nature
+marked out for this work. During the eight years
+that he was Chief Magistrate, she presided in his
+mansion with the same unaffected ease, equanimity
+and dignified simplicity that had marked her previous
+course in more retired circles. Visitors were
+received on all days <i>except the Sabbath</i>, and, irrespective
+of rank, shared in her courtesies and hospitalities.
+A portion of each summer, at that period,
+was passed in the quiet and seclusion of Mount
+Vernon, she rarely, if ever, accompanying her husband
+on his tours through the land. She expressed
+regret when he was chosen President, because she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
+preferred "to grow old" with him "in solitude and
+tranquillity;" hence it is not surprising that she found
+a luxury in retiring for a season from the scenes of
+public life, and in attending to the education of her
+grand-children and to other self-imposed tasks and
+important duties, in the performance of which she
+could bless her friends and honor God.</p>
+
+<p>After the death of her illustrious companion, which
+occurred in December, 1799, she remained at Mount
+Vernon; where she spent seventeen months mourning
+her loss; receiving the visits of the great from
+all parts of our land, and from various parts of the
+earth; attending, as heretofore, to her domestic concerns;
+perfecting in the Christian graces, and ripening
+for the joys of a holier state of being. On the
+twenty-second of May, 1801, she who, while on earth,
+could be placed in no station which she did not
+dignify and honor, was welcomed to the glories of
+another world.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE WIFE OF JOHN ADAMS.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+The mother in her office holds the key<br />
+Of the soul; and she it is who stamps the coin<br />
+Of character, and makes the being who would be a savage,<br />
+But for her gentle cares, a Christian man.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Old Play.</span>
+<br />
+&mdash;&mdash;O we will walk this world,<br />
+Yoked in all exercise of noble aim.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Tennyson.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Abigail Smith was a daughter of the Rev. William
+Smith, a Congregational minister of Weymouth, Massachusetts,
+where she was born on the eleventh of
+November, 1744, O. S. "It was fashionable to ridicule
+female learning," in her day; and she says of
+herself in one of her letters, "I was never sent to any
+school." She adds, "I was always sick. Female education,
+in the best families, went no further than writing
+and arithmetic." But notwithstanding her educational
+disadvantages, she read and studied in private,
+and kept up a brisk correspondence with relatives, and
+by these means expanded and fed her mind, and cultivated
+an easy and graceful style of writing.</p>
+
+<p>On the twenty-fifth of October, 1764, Miss Smith became
+the wife of John Adams, a lawyer of Braintree.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p><p>Her grandson, Charles Francis Adams, to whose Memoir
+of her we are indebted for these statistics, says,
+that "the ten years immediately following, present
+little that is worth recording."</p>
+
+<p>Prior to 1778, Mr. and Mrs. Adams had been separated
+at sundry times, in all, more than three years,
+which was a severe trial to her fortitude. The strength
+of her conjugal affection may be gathered from an extract
+from one of her letters: "I very well remember,"
+she writes, "when the eastern circuits of the courts,
+which lasted a month, were thought an age, and an
+absence of three months, intolerable; but we are carried
+from step to step, and from one degree to another,
+to endure that which at first we think impossible."
+Thus she was schooled for separation from her husband,
+when, in 1778, he went to France as a joint commissioner.
+While he was absent from his country
+on that occasion, faithful to the calls of duty, she
+remained at home, and managed, as she had done
+before, the affairs of the household and farm. And
+<i>there</i> let the reader look at her and see a picture of
+a true mother of the Revolution. "She is a farmer
+cultivating the land, and discussing the weather and
+crops; a merchant reporting prices-current and the
+rates of exchange, and directing the making up of
+invoices; a politician, speculating upon the probabilities
+of peace or war; and a mother, writing the
+most exalted sentiments to her son."</p>
+
+<p>What nobler deed could the mother, thus situated,
+do with her son, John Quincy Adams, in a foreign
+land, than to write to him in a tone like that of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
+extracts which follow, and which are taken from
+letters dated 1778-80:</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis almost four months since you left your native
+land, and embarked upon the mighty waters, in quest
+of a foreign country. Although I have not particularly
+written to you since, yet you may be assured you have
+constantly been upon my heart and mind.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a very difficult task, my dear son, for a tender
+parent to bring her mind to part with a child of
+your years going to a distant land; nor could I have
+acquiesced in such a separation under any other care
+than that of the most excellent parent and guardian
+who accompanied you. You have arrived at years capable
+of improving under the advantages you will be
+likely to have, if you do but properly attend to them.
+They are talents put into your hands, of which an
+account will be required of you hereafter; and being
+possessed of one, two, or four, see to it that you
+double your numbers.</p>
+
+<p>"The most amiable and most useful disposition in
+a young mind is diffidence of itself; and this should
+lead you to seek advice and instruction from him, who
+is your natural guardian, and will always counsel and
+direct you in the best manner, both for your present
+and future happiness. You are in possession of a natural
+good understanding, and of spirits unbroken by
+adversity and untamed with care. Improve your understanding
+by acquiring useful knowledge and virtue,
+such as will render you an ornament to society, an
+honor to your country, and a blessing to your parents.
+Great learning and superior abilities, should you ever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
+possess them, will be of little value and small estimation,
+unless virtue, honor, truth, and integrity are
+added to them. Adhere to those religious sentiments
+and principles which were early instilled into your
+mind, and remember that you are accountable to your
+Maker for all your words and actions.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me enjoin it upon you to attend constantly
+and steadfastly to the precepts and instructions of your
+father, as you value the happiness of your mother and
+your own welfare. His care and attention to you render
+many things unnecessary for me to write, which I
+might otherwise do; but the inadvertency and heedlessness
+of youth require line upon line and precept
+upon precept, and, when enforced by the joint efforts
+of both parents, will, I hope, have a due influence upon
+your conduct; for, dear as you are to me, I would
+much rather you should have found your grave in the
+ocean you have crossed, or that any untimely death
+crop you in your infant years, than see you an immoral,
+profligate, or graceless child.</p>
+
+<p>"You have entered early in life upon the great
+theatre of the world, which is full of temptations and
+vice of every kind. You are not wholly unacquainted
+with history, in which you have read of crimes which
+your inexperienced mind could scarcely believe credible.
+You have been taught to think of them with
+horror, and to view vice as</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i2">'a monster of so frightful mien,<br /></span>
+That, to be hated, needs but to be seen.'
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yet you must keep a strict guard upon yourself, or
+the odious monster will soon lose its terror by becoming<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+familiar to you. The modern history of our own
+times, furnishes as black a list of crimes, as can be
+paralleled in ancient times, even if we go back to
+Nero, Caligula, or Cæsar Borgia. Young as you are,
+the cruel war into which we have been compelled by
+the haughty tyrant of Britain and the bloody emissaries
+of his vengeance, may stamp upon your mind this
+certain truth, that the welfare and prosperity of all
+countries, communities, and, I may add, individuals,
+depend upon their morals. That nation to which we
+were once united, as it has departed from justice,
+eluded and subverted the wise laws which formerly
+governed it, and suffered the worst of crimes to go
+unpunished, has lost its valor, wisdom and humanity,
+and, from being the dread and terror of Europe, has
+sunk into derision and infamy....</p>
+
+<p>"Some author, that I have met with, compares a
+judicious traveler to a river, that increases its stream
+the further it flows from its source; or to certain
+springs, which, running through rich veins of minerals,
+improve their qualities as they pass along. It will be
+expected of you, my son, that, as you are favored with
+superior advantages under the instructive eye of a
+tender parent, your improvement should bear some
+proportion to your advantages. Nothing is wanting
+with you but attention, diligence, and steady application.
+Nature has not been deficient.</p>
+
+<p>"These are times in which a genius would wish to
+live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose
+of a pacific station, that great characters are formed.
+Would Cicero have shone so distinguished an orator<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+if he had not been roused, kindled, and inflamed by
+the tyranny of Catiline, Verres, and Mark Anthony?
+The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending
+with difficulties. All history will convince you of
+this, and that wisdom and penetration are the fruit of
+experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure.
+Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind
+is raised and animated by scenes that engage the
+heart, then those qualities, which would otherwise lie
+dormant, wake into life and form the character of the
+hero and the statesman. War, tyranny, and desolation
+are the scourges of the Almighty, and ought no
+doubt to be deprecated. Yet it is your lot, my son,
+to be an eye witness of these calamities in your own
+native land, and, at the same time, to owe your
+existence among a people who have made a glorious
+defence of their invaded liberties, and who, aided
+by a generous and powerful ally, with the blessing
+of Heaven, will transmit this inheritance to ages
+yet unborn.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor ought it to be one of the least of your incitements
+towards exerting every power and faculty of
+your mind, that you have a parent who has taken so
+large and active a share in this contest, and discharged
+the trust reposed in him with so much satisfaction as
+to be honored with the important embassy which at
+present calls him abroad.</p>
+
+<p>"The strict and inviolable regard you have ever
+paid to truth, gives me pleasing hopes that you will
+not swerve from her dictates, but add justice, fortitude,
+and every manly virtue which can adorn a good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+citizen, do honor to your country, and render your
+parents supremely happy, particularly your ever affectionate
+mother.</p>
+
+<p>... "The only sure and permanent foundation
+of virtue is religion. Let this important truth be
+engraven upon your heart. And also, that the foundation
+of religion is the belief of the one only God,
+and a just sense of his attributes, as a being infinitely
+wise, just, and good, to whom you owe the
+highest reverence, gratitude, and adoration; who
+superintends and governs all nature, even to clothing
+the lilies of the field, and hearing the young ravens
+when they cry; but more particularly regards man,
+whom he created after his own image, and breathed
+into him an immortal spirit, capable of a happiness
+beyond the grave; for the attainment of which he is
+bound to the performance of certain duties, which all
+tend to the happiness and welfare of society, and are
+comprised in one short sentence, expressive of universal
+benevolence, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
+thyself.'...</p>
+
+<p>"Justice, humanity, and benevolence, are the duties
+you owe to society in general. To your country the
+same duties are incumbent upon you, with the additional
+obligation of sacrificing ease, pleasure, wealth,
+and life itself for its defence and security. To your
+parents you owe love, reverence, and obedience to all
+just and equitable commands. To yourself,&mdash;here,
+indeed, is a wide field to expatiate upon. To become
+what you ought to be, and what a fond mother wishes
+to see you, attend to some precepts and instructions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
+from the pen of one, who can have no motive but your
+welfare and happiness, and who wishes in this way to
+supply to you the personal watchfulness and care,
+which a separation from you deprived you of at a
+period of life, when habits are easiest acquired and
+fixed; and though the advice may not be new, yet
+suffer it to obtain a place in your memory, for
+occasions may offer, and perhaps some concurring
+circumstances unite, to give it weight and force.</p>
+
+<p>"Suffer me to recommend to you one of the most
+useful lessons of life, the knowledge and study of yourself.
+There you run the greatest hazard of being deceived.
+Self-love and partiality cast a mist before the
+eyes, and there is no knowledge so hard to be acquired,
+nor of more benefit when once thoroughly understood.
+Ungoverned passions have aptly been compared to the
+boisterous ocean, which is known to produce the most
+terrible effects. 'Passions are the elements of life,'
+but elements which are subject to the control of reason.
+Whoever will candidly examine themselves,
+will find some degree of passion, peevishness, or
+obstinacy in their natural tempers. You will seldom
+find these disagreeable ingredients all united in one;
+but the uncontrolled indulgence of either is sufficient
+to render the possessor unhappy in himself, and disagreeable
+to all who are so unhappy as to be witnesses
+of it, or suffer from its effects.</p>
+
+<p>"You, my dear son, are formed with a constitution
+feelingly alive; your passions are strong and impetuous;
+and, though I have sometimes seen them
+hurry you into excesses, yet with pleasure I have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+observed a frankness and generosity accompany your
+efforts to govern and subdue them. Few persons are
+so subject to passion, but that they can command themselves,
+when they have a motive sufficiently strong;
+and those who are most apt to transgress will restrain
+themselves through respect and reverence to superiors,
+and even, where they wish to recommend themselves,
+to their equals. The due government of the passions,
+has been considered in all ages as a most valuable
+acquisition. Hence an inspired writer observes, 'He
+that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and
+he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.'
+This passion, coöperating with power, and unrestrained
+by reason, has produced the subversion of
+cities, the desolation of countries, the massacre of
+nations, and filled the world with injustice and
+oppression. Behold your own country, your native
+land, suffering from the effects of lawless power and
+malignant passions, and learn betimes, from your own
+observation and experience, to govern and control
+yourself. Having once obtained this self-government,
+you will find a foundation laid for happiness to yourself
+and usefulness to mankind. 'Virtue alone is
+happiness below;' and consists in cultivating and improving
+every good inclination, and in checking and
+subduing every propensity to evil. I have been particular
+upon the passion of anger, as it is generally
+the most predominant passion at your age, the soonest
+excited, and the least pains are taken to subdue it;</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+'what composes man, can man destroy.'"
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>With such a mother to counsel him, one is led to
+ask, how could John Quincy Adams <i>help</i> becoming a
+noble-minded and great man? Who wonders that,
+with good natural endowments and his excellent privileges,
+coupled with maternal training, he fitted himself
+to fill the highest office in the gift of a free people?</p>
+
+<p>In June, 1784, Mrs. Adams sailed for London to join
+her husband, who was then our Minister at the Court
+of St. James. While absent, she visited France and
+Netherlands; resided for a time in the former country;
+and returned with her knowledge of human nature, of
+men, manners, &amp;c., enlarged; disgusted with the splendor
+and sophistications of royalty, and well prepared to
+appreciate the republican simplicity and frankness
+of which she was herself a model. While Mr.
+Adams was Vice-President and President, she never
+laid aside her singleness of heart, and that sincerity
+and unaffected dignity which had won for her many
+friends before her elevation, and which, in spite of national
+animosity, conquered the prejudices and gained
+the hearts of the aristocracy of Great Britain. But her
+crowning virtue was her Christian humility, which is
+beautifully exemplified in a letter which she wrote to
+Mr. Adams, on the 8th of February, 1797, "the day
+on which the votes for President were counted, and
+Mr. Adams, as Vice-President, was required by law to
+announce himself the President elect for the ensuing
+term:"</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+"'The sun is dressed in brightest beams,<br />
+To give thy honors to the day.'<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>"And may it prove an auspicious prelude to each<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
+ensuing season. You have this day to declare yourself
+head of a nation. 'And now, O Lord, my
+God, thou hast made thy servant ruler over the
+people. Give unto him an understanding heart,
+that he may know how to go out and come in
+before this great people; that he may discern between
+good and bad. For who is able to judge this thy so
+great a people?' were the words of a royal sovereign;
+and not less applicable to him who is invested with
+the chief magistracy of a nation, though he wear
+not a crown, nor the robes of royalty.</p>
+
+<p>"My thoughts and my meditations are with you,
+though personally absent; and my petitions to Heaven
+are, that 'the things which make for peace may not
+be hidden from your eyes.' My feelings are not those
+of pride or ostentation, upon the occasion. They are
+solemnized by a sense of the obligations, the important
+trusts, and numerous duties connected with it. That
+you may be enabled to discharge them with honor to
+yourself, with justice and impartiality to your country,
+and with satisfaction to this great people, shall be the
+daily prayer of your</p>
+
+<div class="signature">
+"A. A."
+</div>
+
+<p>From her husband's retirement from the Presidency,
+in 1801, to the close of her life, in 1818, Mrs.
+Adams remained constantly at Quincy. Cheerful,
+contented, and happy, she devoted her last years, in
+that rural seclusion, to the reciprocities of friendship
+and love, to offices of kindness and charity, and, in
+short, to all those duties which tend to ripen the
+Christian for an exchange of worlds.</p>
+
+<p>But it would be doing injustice to her character<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
+and leaving one of her noblest deeds unrecorded, to
+close without mentioning the influence for good
+which she exerted over Mr. Adams, and her part in
+the work of making him what he was. That he was
+sensible of the benignant influence of wives, may
+be gathered from the following letter which was
+addressed to Mrs. Adams from Philadelphia, on the
+eleventh of August, 1777:</p>
+
+<p>"I think I have some times observed to you in
+conversation, that upon examining the biography of
+illustrious men, you will generally find some female
+about them, in the relation of mother, or wife, or
+sister, to whose instigation a great part of their merit
+is to be ascribed. You will find a curious example
+of this in the case of Aspasia, the wife of Pericles.
+She was a woman of the greatest beauty, and the
+first genius. She taught him, it is said, his refined
+maxims of policy, his lofty imperial eloquence, nay,
+even composed the speeches on which so great a
+share of his reputation was founded.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish some of our great men had such wives.
+By the account in your last letter, it seems the
+women in Boston begin to think themselves able to
+serve their country. What a pity it is that our
+generals in the northern districts had not Aspasias
+to their wives.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe the two Howes have not very great
+women to their wives. If they had, we should suffer
+more from their exertions than we do. This is our
+good fortune. A smart wife would have put Howe
+in possession of Philadelphia a long time ago."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>While Mr. Adams was wishing that some of our
+great men had such wives as Aspasia, he had such
+a wife, was himself such a man, and owed half his
+greatness to <i>his</i> Aspasia. The exalted patriotism and
+the cheerful piety infused into the letters she addressed
+to him during the long night of political uncertainty
+that hung over these Colonies, strengthened
+his courage, fired his nobler feelings, nerved his
+higher purposes and, doubtless, greatly contributed
+to make him the right hand man of Washington.</p>
+
+<p>The diligent and faithful Andromaches, the gifted
+and patriotic <i>Aspasias</i> of the Revolution, did their portion
+of the great work silently and unseen. Secretly
+they urged their husbands and sons to the battle-field,
+secretly spoke to them by letter in the camp or
+convention, and secretly prayed for wisdom to guide
+our statesmen and victory to crown our arms. Thus
+privately acting, how little of their labor or their
+worth is known. How few of their names are treasured
+in our annals. With rare exceptions, like the
+builders of the pyramids, their initials are lost.
+Then, while we have the name and the noble example
+of Mrs. Adams, with a few of her patriotic
+compeers, let us pledge our unswerving devotion to
+Freedom over the <i>unknown</i> names of the wives and
+mothers who secretly assisted in nerving the arm
+that broke the sceptre of British dominion on these
+shores, and gave the eagle of Liberty a safe and
+abiding home on our mountain tops.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ANN H. JUDSON.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+God has a bright example made of thee,<br />
+To show that womankind may be<br />
+Above that sex which her superior seems.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Cowley.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>About the commencement of the present century,
+a new field was opened for the display of Christian
+heroism. The despairing wail of the pagan millions
+of the East, had reached the ears of a few of the
+most devoted people of God on these Western shores,
+and the question arisen, Who shall lead the way to
+heathen realms, who among us first encounter the
+perils of an attempt to plant the standard of the
+Cross beside the pagodas of Buddhism? He who
+would then go forth, must leave his native land with
+the parting benediction of but few friends; must
+be accompanied with few and faint prayers; must
+make his own path through the tiger-haunted jungles,
+and face alone the untried dangers of a dubious
+assault on the strong-holds of pagan superstition.
+But, notwithstanding the discouragements inwoven
+with the contemplation of the undertaking, and the
+great peril that must attend its completion, it was
+magnanimous and sublime, and there were hearts in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
+the land philanthropic enough to embark in it and
+brave enough to face its terrors without fainting.</p>
+
+<p>Among the foremost Americans who offered their
+services in this work, were the Rev. Adoniram
+Judson and his wife. They embarked from Salem,
+Massachusetts, for Calcutta, with Samuel Newell and
+lady, on the nineteenth of February, 1812: and five
+days afterwards Messrs. Hall and Nott, with their
+wives, and Mr. Rice, sailed from Philadelphia for
+the same place. The names of these pioneer missionaries
+are sacred to the memory of all living
+Christians, and, being embodied in the history of
+the grandest enterprise of the age, are to be handed
+down to all future generations.</p>
+
+<p>While all the female portion of this little band,
+exhibited many excellent traits of character, and
+worked well while their day lasted, no other one
+endured so many and so great hardships and trials,
+encountered such fearful perils, and had such an
+opportunity to test the strength of the higher virtues,
+as Mrs. Judson.</p>
+
+<p>Ann Hasseltine was born at Bradford, in Essex
+county, Massachusetts, on the twenty-second day of
+December, 1789. She was an active and enthusiastic
+child; of a gay disposition, yet thoughtful at times;
+and before she was seventeen, gave religion that
+attention which its importance demands.</p>
+
+<p>She became acquainted with Mr. Judson in 1810.
+He was then a student in the Andover Theological
+Seminary, preparing for the work of foreign missions.
+A mutual and strong attachment sprang up, and they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
+were married in February, 1812, two weeks before
+their embarkation for India.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. and Mrs. Judson first halted at Serampore.
+There, soon after their arrival, they were immersed
+by an English missionary, having changed their views
+of the ordinance of baptism on the long voyage
+across the Atlantic and Indian oceans. From that
+place they were soon driven by the Directors and
+Agents of the British East India Company, who were
+at that time opposed to the introduction of the Christian
+religion into those parts. They sailed from
+Madras for Rangoon, on the twenty-second of June,
+1813, and settled at the latter place.</p>
+
+<p>From the commencement of missionary toil, Mrs.
+Judson had many inconveniences to encounter, but
+they were met with patience and served to strengthen
+that energy which, it will be seen, was afterwards so
+much needed and so strikingly displayed. Four or
+five years after settling at Rangoon, Mr. Judson went
+to Chittagong, in a neighboring province, to secure
+help, some Arracanese converts being there, who
+spoke the Burman language. He expected to return
+within three months. "At the expiration of this
+period, however, when his return was daily expected,
+a vessel from Chittagong arrived at Rangoon, bringing
+the distressing intelligence that neither he nor
+the vessel in which he had embarked had been
+heard of at that port. Similar tidings were also
+contained in letters which Mrs. Judson received
+from Bengal.</p>
+
+<p>"While the missionaries were in this state of fearful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
+suspense, an incident occurred which was well
+calculated to increase the perplexity and dismay in
+which they were plunged. Mr. Hough,<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> who had
+continued quietly studying the language, at the mission
+house, was suddenly summoned to appear
+immediately at the court house, and it was rumored
+among the affrighted domestics and neighbors who
+followed the officers that came for Mr. Hough, that
+the king had issued a decree for the banishment of
+all the foreign teachers. It was late in the afternoon
+when he made his appearance before the despotic
+tribunal that was charged with the execution of the
+imperial decree, and he was merely required to give
+security for his appearance the following morning;
+when, as the unfeeling magistrates declared, 'if he
+did not tell all the truth relative to his situation in
+the country, they would write with his heart's blood.'
+Mr. Hough was detained from day to day on the
+most flimsy pretences, himself unable to speak the
+language, and with no one near him who would
+attempt to explain his situation or vindicate his
+objects and his conduct. The viceroy whom Mr. and
+Mrs. Judson had known, had recently been recalled
+to Ava, and he who now held the reins of the
+government was a stranger, and, as his family were
+not with him, Mrs. Judson, according to the etiquette
+of the court, could not be admitted to his presence.
+The order which had led to the arrest was found to
+relate to some Portuguese priests whom the king had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
+banished, and Mr. Hough was at first summoned to
+give assurance that he was not one of the number,
+and then detained by the officers in order to extort
+money for his ransom. He was at length released by
+order of the viceroy, to whom Mrs. Judson boldly
+carried the cause and presented a petition which she
+had caused her teacher to draw up for the purpose.</p>
+
+<p>"The anxiety occasioned by this arrest and its
+train of petty annoyances, and still more by the protracted
+and mysterious absence of Mr. Judson, was
+at this time greatly increased by rumors which
+reached Rangoon, of an impending war between the
+English and the Burman governments. There were
+but few English vessels lying in the river, and the
+English traders who were in the country were
+closing their business and preparing to hasten away,
+at any new indications of hostilities that should be
+presented. The condition of the missionaries was
+rendered still more distressing by the ravages of
+the cholera, which now, for the first time made its
+appearance in Burmah, and was sending its terrors
+throughout the empire. The poor people of Rangoon
+fell in hundreds before its frightful progress. The
+dismal death-drum continually gave forth its warning
+sound as new names were added to the melancholy
+list of victims to the desolating malady. In these
+gloomy circumstances, they saw ship after ship leave
+the river, bearing away all the foreigners who were
+in the province, until at length the only one remaining
+was on the eve of sailing. Harassed with doubts
+concerning the uncertain fate of Mr. Judson, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>
+surrounded with perils, they saw before them what
+appeared the last opportunity of leaving the country,
+before the threatened hostilities should begin, and
+they should be exposed to all the merciless cruelties
+of barbarian-warfare.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. and Mrs. Hough decided to go on board and
+escape to Bengal, while escape was still in their
+power, and they urged Mrs. Judson to accompany
+them. She at length reluctantly yielded to their
+advice, and with a heart burdened with sorrows she
+embarked with her companions, on the fifth of July,
+in the only ship that remained to carry them from
+the country. The ship, however, was delayed for
+several days in the river, and was likely to be subjected
+to still further detention. Mrs. Judson, who
+had gone on board rather in obedience to the entreaties
+of her associates, and the dictates of prudence,
+than from the suggestions of that truer instinct
+which often serves to guide the noblest natures in
+great emergencies, now decided to leave the ship
+and return alone to the mission house, there to await
+either the return of her husband, or the confirmation
+of her worst fears respecting his fate. It was a noble
+exhibition of heroic courage, and gave assurance of
+all the distinguished qualities which, at a later
+period and amid dangers still more appalling, shone
+with unfailing brightness around the character of
+this remarkable woman. The event justified her
+determination; and, within a week after her decision
+was taken, Mr. Judson arrived at Rangoon, having
+been driven from place to place by contrary winds,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+and having entirely failed of the object for which he
+undertook the voyage."<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the summer of 1820, Mrs. Judson's health had
+become so far undermined by the deleterious influences
+of the climate, that it was deemed necessary
+that she should go to Calcutta for medical advice,
+better physicians being located there than in Rangoon.
+She was so feeble that her husband was
+obliged to accompany her. She was soon removed
+to Serampore, where were eminently skillful physicians
+and a purer atmosphere. Her health so
+improved in six months that she returned with
+her husband to Rangoon. The malady which had
+afflicted her was the chronic liver complaint. It
+was not entirely removed at Serampore, and a few
+months after her return, it began to distress her
+more than ever. It was now thought that nothing
+but a visit to her native land could save her. Accordingly,
+on the twenty-first of August, 1821, she
+started for Calcutta, where, after some delay, she
+found a ship bound to England, by which route she
+returned, reaching New York on the twenty-fifth of
+September, 1822.</p>
+
+<p>She remained in this country nine months. During
+that short period, aside from paying a visit to
+her relations, she attended the Triennial Convention
+at Washington, held in May, 1823; visited the larger
+cities North and South; attended numerous meetings
+of female associations; and prepared a history of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
+the Burman mission which was so ably written that
+even the London Quarterly Review, and, if we mistake
+not, other English periodicals of high critical
+character, noticed it in commendatory terms.</p>
+
+<p>The following extracts from letters written to Dr.
+Wayland while in this country, show the interest
+she took in the affairs of Burmah while absent from
+that land of her adoption. Under date of "Baltimore,
+January twenty-second, 1823," she says, "I
+want the Baptists throughout the United States to
+feel, that Burmah <i>must be converted</i> through their
+instrumentality. They must do more than they
+have ever yet done. They must <i>pray</i> more, they
+must <i>give</i> more, and make greater efforts to prevent
+the Missionary flame from becoming extinct. Every
+Christian in the United States should feel as deeply
+impressed with the importance of making continual
+efforts for the salvation of the heathen, as though
+their conversion depended solely on himself. Every
+individual Christian should feel himself guilty if he
+has not done and does not continue to do <i>all</i> in his
+power for the spread of the gospel and the enlightening
+of the heathen world. But I need not write
+thus to you. You see, you feel the misery of the
+heathen world. Try to awaken Christians around
+you. Preach frequently on the subject of Missions.
+I have remarked it to be the case, when a minister
+feels <i>much</i> engaged for the heathen, his people generally
+partake of his spirit."</p>
+
+<p>Writing from Washington in the following March,
+she says, "I long to be in Rangoon, and am anxiously<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>
+hoping to get away in the spring. Do make inquiries
+relative to the sailing of ships from Boston and
+Salem. I must not miss one good opportunity."</p>
+
+<p>With her health much improved though not fully
+restored, she sailed for her Burman home on the
+twenty-second of June, 1823, and reached Rangoon
+on the fifth of the following December. She found
+the work of the mission prospering. The next year,
+however, a war broke out between the Burman government
+and the English in Bengal, and, not only
+suspended the operations of the missionaries, but
+jeopardised their lives. They were supposed to be
+spies employed by the English government. Mr. and
+Mrs. Judson, with Dr. Price, another of the missionaries,
+were at that time at Ava, where the imperial
+government of the Burman Empire had just been
+removed.</p>
+
+<p>"It was on the eighth of June, 1824, that a company
+of Burmans, headed by an officer, and attended
+by a 'spotted-faced son of the prison,' came to the
+mission house, and, in the presence of Mrs. Judson
+seized her husband and Dr. Price, and after binding
+them tight with cords, drove them away to the court
+house. From this place they were hurried, by order of
+the king, without examination, to a loathsome dungeon,
+known as 'the death prison,' where along with
+the other foreigners they were confined, each loaded
+with three pairs of fetters and fastened to a long pole,
+so as to be incapable of moving. Meanwhile, Mrs.
+Judson was shut up in her house, deprived of her furniture
+and of most of her articles of property, and
+watched for several days by an unfeeling guard, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+whose rapacious extortions and brutal annoyances
+she was constantly exposed, without being able to
+make any exertion for the liberation of the prisoners,
+or the mitigation of their cruel sentence. She
+however, at length succeeded in addressing a petition
+to the governor of the city, who had the prisoners in
+charge. By a present of one hundred dollars to his
+subordinate officer, their condition was somewhat
+meliorated, and by the unwearied perseverance of
+Mrs. Judson, and her affecting appeals to the sympathies
+of the governor, he was induced to grant her
+occasional permission to go to the prison, and at
+length to build for herself a bamboo shed in the
+prison yard, where she took up her abode, in order
+that she might prepare food for the prisoners,
+and otherwise minister to their necessities.</p>
+
+<p>"At the end of nine months they were suddenly
+removed from Ava to Amarapura, and thence to
+a wretched place several miles beyond, called
+Oung-pen-la, where it was arranged that they should
+be put to death in presence of the pakah-woon, as a
+kind of sacrifice in honor of his taking command of
+a new army of fifty thousand men about to march
+against the English. This sanguinary chief had
+been raised from a low condition to the rank of
+woongyee; but in the height of his power, just as
+he was about to march at the head of the army
+he had mustered, he fell into disgrace, was charged
+with treason, and executed, at an hour's notice,
+with the unqualified approbation of all classes
+of people at Ava. His timely execution saved the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
+missionaries from the fate which hung over them,
+and they were left uncared for in the miserable
+cells of Oung-pen-la, till the near approach of
+the English to the capitol induced the king to
+send for Mr. Judson, to accompany the embassy
+that was about to start for the English camp, for
+the purpose of averting the destruction that now
+threatened the Golden City.</p>
+
+<p>"During this period of a year and a half Mrs.
+Judson followed them from prison to prison, beneath
+the darkness of night and the burning sun of noon-day,
+bearing in her arms her infant daughter,&mdash;the
+child of sorrow and misfortune, who was born after
+the imprisonment of its father,&mdash;procuring for them
+food which Burman policy never supplies to prisoners,
+and perpetually interceding for them with
+their successive keepers, with the governor of the
+city, with the kinsmen of the monarch, and the
+members of the royal household. More than once
+the queen's brother gave orders that they should be
+privately put to death; but such was the influence
+which Mrs. Judson possessed over the mind of the
+governor, that he evaded the order each time it was
+given, and assured her that for her sake he would
+not execute her husband, even though he was obliged
+to execute all the others. And when at last they
+were to be taken from his jurisdiction and driven
+to the horrid prison-house of Oung-pen-la, at the
+command of the pakah-woon, the old man humanely
+summoned Mrs. Judson from the prison where he
+had permitted her to go and sit with her husband,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
+in order that she might be spared the pangs of a
+separation which he had not the power to prevent.
+Her own pen has traced, in lines that will never be
+forgotten by those who read them, the affecting
+history of the dismal days and nights of her
+husband's captivity. We follow her alike with
+admiration and the deepest sympathy as she takes
+her solitary way from Ava, at first in a boat upon
+the river, and then in a Burman cart, in search of
+the unknown place to which the prisoners have
+been carried. At length, overcome with fatigue,
+with exposure, and the bitter pangs of hope
+deferred, we see her in a comfortless cabin, prostrate
+with disease and brought to the very gates
+of death,&mdash;while her infant is carried about the
+village by its father in the hours of his occasional
+liberation, to be nourished by such Burman mothers
+as might have compassion on its helpless necessities.</p>
+
+<p>"Such is a single scene from this melancholy
+record of missionary suffering. History has not
+recorded; poetry itself has seldom portrayed, a more
+affecting exhibition of Christian fortitude, of female
+heroism, and all the noble and generous qualities
+which constitute the dignity and glory of woman.
+In the midst of sickness and danger, and every
+calamity which can crush the human heart, she
+presented a character equal to the sternest trial,
+and an address and fertility of resources which
+gave her an ascendency over the minds of her
+most cruel enemies, and alone saved the missionaries
+and their fellow captives from the terrible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+doom which constantly awaited them. Day after
+day and amid the lonely hours of night was she
+employed in conciliating the favor of their keepers,
+and in devising plans for their release, or the alleviation
+of their captivity. Sometimes, she confesses,
+her thoughts would wander for a brief interval to
+America and the beloved friends of her better days;
+'but for nearly a year and a half, so entirely
+engrossed was every thought with present scenes
+and sufferings, that she seldom reflected on a single
+occurrence of her former life, or recollected that
+she had a friend in existence out of Ava.'"<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p>
+
+<p>When peace was declared between the two powers,
+by the terms of negotiation, the European prisoners
+were all released; and thus closed the long and brutal
+incarceration of the missionaries. Mr. and Mrs. Judson
+immediately departed for Rangoon. They soon
+removed to Amherst, a new town on the Salwen or
+Martaban river. After having established a mission
+there, Mr. Judson had occasion to visit Ava. He
+started on the fifth of July, 1826, leaving his wife
+and infant daughter in the care of kind friends.
+He was detained at the Capital longer than he had
+anticipated; and before he returned he received the
+painful intelligence that his wife was dead. "A
+remittent fever had settled on her constitution,
+already enfeebled by suffering and disease, and she
+died on the twenty-fourth of October, 1826, amid
+the universal sorrow, alike of the English residents<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>
+at Amherst and of the native Christians who had
+gathered around her at her new home. Her infant
+daughter died a few weeks afterwards, and side
+by side they were laid to rest, under a large hopia
+tree a few rods from the house where she had
+resided. Two marble stones, procured by the contributions
+of several female friends in her native
+land, are the humble memorial that marks the
+spot where sleeps one whose "name will be remembered
+in the churches of Burmah, in future times,
+when the pagodas of Gaudama shall have fallen;
+when the spires of Christian temples shall gleam
+along the waters of the Irrawaddy and the Salwen:
+and when the 'Golden City' shall have lifted up
+her gates to let the King of Glory in."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A CHRISTIAN WOMAN IN THE HOUR<br />
+OF DANGER.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+O rainbow of the battle-storm!<br />
+<span class="i2">Methinks thou'rt gleaming on my sight;</span>
+I see thy fair and fragile form<br />
+<span class="i2">Amid the thick cloud of the fight.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Sara J. Clarke.</span><br />
+<br />
+One grain of incense with devotion offered,<br />
+Is beyond all perfumes or Sabæan spices.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i14 smcap">Massinger.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The following incident, we are informed by Mrs.
+Ellet, was communicated to a minister&mdash;Rev. J. H.
+Saye&mdash;by two officers in the Revolutionary war.
+One of them was in the skirmish referred to; the
+other lived near the scene of action; hence, it may
+be relied on as authentic. The name of the heroine
+is unknown, which is greatly to be regretted:</p>
+
+<p>"Early in the war, the inhabitants on the frontier
+of Burke county, North Carolina, being apprehensive
+of an attack by the Indians, it was determined
+to seek protection in a fort in a more densely populated
+neighborhood in an interior settlement. A
+party of soldiers was sent to protect them on their
+retreat. The families assembled, the line of march<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
+was taken towards their place of destination, and
+they proceeded some miles unmolested&mdash;the soldiers
+marching in a hollow square, with the refugee families
+in the centre. The Indians who had watched
+these movements, had laid a plan for their destruction.
+The road to be traveled lay through a dense
+forest in the fork of a river, where the Indians
+concealed themselves, and waited till the travelers
+were in the desired spot. Suddenly the war-whoop
+sounded in front, and on either side; a large body
+of painted warriors rushed in, filling the gap by
+which the whites had entered, and an appalling
+crash of fire-arms followed. The soldiers, however,
+were prepared; such as chanced to be near the trees
+darted behind them, and began to ply the deadly
+rifle; the others prostrated themselves upon the
+earth, among the tall grass, and crawled to trees.
+The families screened themselves as best they could.
+The onset was long and fiercely urged; ever and
+anon amid the din and smoke, the warriors would
+rush, tomahawk in hand, towards the centre; but
+they were repulsed by the cool intrepidity of the
+back-woods riflemen. Still they fought on, determined
+on the destruction of the victims who offered
+such desperate resistance. All at once an appalling
+sound greeted the ears of the women and children
+in the centre; it was a cry from their defenders&mdash;a
+cry for powder! 'Our powder is giving out,' they
+exclaimed. 'Have you any? Bring us some, or we
+can fight no longer!' A woman of the party had a
+good supply. She spread her apron on the ground,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>
+poured her powder into it, and going round, from
+soldier to soldier, as they stood behind the trees,
+bade each who needed powder put down his hat,
+and poured a quantity upon it. Thus she went
+round the line of defence, till her whole stock, and
+all she could obtain from others, was distributed.
+At last the savages gave way, and, pressed by their
+foes, were driven off the ground. The victorious
+whites returned to those for whose safety they had
+ventured into the wilderness. Inquiries were made
+as to who had been killed, and one running up,
+cried, 'Where is the woman that gave us the powder?
+I want to see her!' 'Yes!&mdash;yes!&mdash;let us see
+her!' responded another and another; 'without her
+we should have been all lost!' The soldiers ran
+about among the women and children, looking for
+her and making inquiries. Directly came in others
+from the pursuit, one of whom observing the commotion,
+asked the cause, and was told. 'You are
+looking in the wrong place,' he replied. 'Is she
+killed? Ah, we were afraid of that!' exclaimed
+many voices. 'Not when I saw her,' answered the
+soldier. 'When the Indians ran off, she was on <i>her
+knees in prayer</i> at the root of yonder tree, and there
+I left her.' There was a simultaneous rush to the
+tree&mdash;and there, to their great joy, they found the
+woman safe, and still on her knees in prayer.
+Thinking not of herself, she received their applause
+without manifesting any other feeling than gratitude
+to Heaven for their great deliverance."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HUMANITY OF HARTFORD LADIES.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+As the rivers farthest flowing,<br />
+<span class="i1">In the highest hills have birth;</span>
+As the banyan broadest growing,<br />
+<span class="i1">Oftenest bows its head to earth,</span>
+So the noblest minds press onward,<br />
+<span class="i1">Channels far of good to trace;</span>
+So the largest hearts bend downward,<br />
+<span class="i1">Circling all the human race.</span>
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. Hale.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The sympathies of a free people are always
+aroused when a nation is struggling for freedom.
+Hence the war between the Turks and Greeks not
+only called forth the eloquence of American orators,
+but the mothers and daughters of the land, reminded
+of the long struggle of their husbands and
+fathers for liberty, were alive to the interests, and
+prayed much for the ransom of the latter people.
+Nor was this all; the sufferings to which the war
+reduced the Greeks, so much moved the hearts of
+females that, in one instance at least, they made
+a demonstration of their sympathy worthy of record.
+The ladies of Hartford, Connecticut, sent out a ship
+to the women of Greece, containing money, and
+articles of wearing apparel, wrought by themselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
+expressly for an offering to suffering humanity.
+Mrs. Sigourney, the Secretary of the Ladies' Committee,
+wrote the following letter to accompany the
+contribution:</p>
+
+<p>
+"<i>United States of America, March 12th, 1828.</i><br />
+&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <i>The Ladies of Hartford, in Connecticut, to the
+Ladies of Greece.</i>
+</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Sisters and Friends</span>,&mdash;From the years of childhood
+your native clime has been the theme of our
+admiration: together with our brothers and our
+husbands, we early learned to love the country of
+Homer, of Aristides, of Solon, and of Socrates.
+That enthusiasm which the glory of ancient Greece
+enkindled in our bosoms, has preserved a fervent
+friendship for her descendants: we have beheld with
+deep sympathy the horrors of Turkish domination,
+and the struggles so long and nobly sustained by
+them for existence and for liberty.</p>
+
+<p>"The communications of Dr. Howe, since his
+return from your land, have made us more intimately
+acquainted with your personal sufferings.
+He has presented many of you to us in his vivid
+descriptions, as seeking refuge in caves, and, under
+the branches of olive trees, listening for the footsteps
+of the destroyer, and mourning over your
+dearest ones slain in battle.</p>
+
+<p>"Sisters and friends, our hearts bleed for you.
+Deprived of your protectors by the fortune of war,
+and continually in fear of evils worse than death,
+our prayers are with you, in all your wanderings,
+your wants and your griefs. In this vessel (which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
+may God send in safety to your shores!) you will
+receive a portion of that bounty wherewith He
+hath blessed us. The poor among us have given
+according to their ability, and our little children
+have cheerfully aided, that some of you and your
+children might have bread to eat and raiment to
+put on. Could you but behold the faces of our
+little ones brighten, and their eyes sparkle with
+joy, while they give up their holidays, that they
+might work with their needles for Greece; could
+you see those females who earn a subsistence by
+labor, gladly casting their mite into our treasury,
+and taking hours from their repose that an additional
+garment might be furnished for you; could
+you witness the active spirit that pervades all classes
+of our community, it would cheer for a moment
+the darkness and misery of your lot.</p>
+
+<p>"We are the inhabitants of a part of one of the
+smallest of the United States, and our donations
+must therefore, of necessity, be more limited than
+those from the larger and more wealthy cities; yet
+such as we have, we give in the name of our dear
+Saviour, with our blessings and our prayers.</p>
+
+<p>"We know the value of sympathy&mdash;how it arms
+the heart to endure&mdash;how it plucks the sting from
+sorrow&mdash;therefore we have written these few lines
+to assure you, that in the remoter parts of our country,
+as well as in her high places, you are remembered
+with pity and with affection.</p>
+
+<p>"Sisters and friends, we extend across the ocean
+our hands to you in the fellowship of Christ. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
+pray that His Cross and the banner of your land
+may rise together over the Crescent and the Minaret&mdash;that
+your sons may hail the freedom of ancient
+Greece restored, and build again the waste places
+which the oppressor hath trodden down; and that
+you, admitted once more to the felicities of home,
+may gather from past perils and adversities a
+brighter wreath for the kingdom of Heaven.</p>
+
+<div class="signature">
+"<span class="smcap">Lydia H. Sigourney</span>,<br />
+"<i>Secretary of the Greek Committee of<br />
+Hartford, Connecticut.</i>"</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p>
+<h2>"MOTHER BAILEY."</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+No braver dames had Sparta,<br />
+No nobler matrons Rome.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i9 smcap">W. D. Gallagher.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Anna Warner was born in Groton, Connecticut,
+on the eleventh of October, 1758, and married
+Captain Elijah Bailey of the same town, in 1774.
+He participated in the hardships and dangers, and
+she in the trials of the struggle for Independence.
+He is dead; she is still living.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>
+
+<p>She was a witness of the terrible massacre at
+Fort Griswold, in Groton, on the sixth of September;
+and the following morning she hurried off to the
+scene of carnage, a distance of three miles, to
+search for an uncle who was among the brave defenders.
+She found him among the fatally wounded:
+at his request that he might see his wife and
+child before he died, she ran home, caught and
+saddled a horse for the feeble mother, and taking
+the child in her arms, carried it the whole distance,
+that it might receive the kisses and benediction of
+its dying father!</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>In the month of July, 1813 a blockading fleet
+appeared off the harbor of New London; and on
+the thirteenth, demonstrations were noticed of an
+intention to attack the place. Intense excitement
+now prevailed not only in New London, but in
+all the adjacent towns. Fort Griswold was once
+more occupied; small cannon&mdash;all to be had&mdash;were
+planted, and every preparation possible was
+made for a vigorous defence. The greatest deficiency
+was in flannel for cartridges; and in the
+emergency a messenger was dispatched to the
+village to consult with Mrs. Bailey on the most
+expeditious method of obtaining a supply. She
+promptly offered to see that each family was
+visited, and the wants of the soldiery made known.
+This was done, and each individual in the neighborhood
+cheerfully presented her and her co-laborers
+whatever of the desired articles could be spared,
+some in garments and some in the raw material.
+When these were delivered to the messenger, and
+there was still found a deficiency, she slyly slipped
+an under garment from her own person and charged
+him to give <i>that</i> to the British. As the enemy
+did not deem it expedient to make an attack, it
+is difficult to tell what aid that garment rendered;
+nor does it matter: its patriotic surrender showed
+the noble spirit which has always actuated
+"mother Bailey," and was an appropriation for
+her country which never caused her a blush.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus074.jpg" width="450" height="330" alt="Flowery decoration" />
+
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ELIZABETH HEARD.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Kindness has resistless charms.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Rochester.</span><br />
+<br />
+Why should'st thou faint? Heaven smiles above,<br />
+Though storm and vapor intervene.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Park Benjamin.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Mrs. Elizabeth Heard, "a widow of good estate,
+a mother of many children and a daughter of Mr.
+Hull, a revered minister formerly living at Pisquataqua,"
+was among the sufferers from captivity by the
+Indians in the latter part of the seventeenth century.
+She was taken at the destruction of Major Waldron's
+garrison in Dover, New Hampshire, about 1689. She
+was permitted to escape on account of a favor which
+she had shown a young Indian thirteen years before&mdash;she
+having secreted him in her house on the "calamitous
+day," in 1676, when four hundred savages were
+surprised in Dover.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p>
+
+<p>Having been suffered to escape, writes the Rev.
+John Pike, minister at Dover, to Dr. Cotton Mather,
+"she soon after safely arrived at Captain Gerish's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
+garrison, where she found a refuge from the storm.
+Here she also had the satisfaction to understand that
+her own garrison, though one of the first that was
+assaulted, had been bravely defended and successfully
+maintained against the enemy. This gentlewoman's
+garrison was on the most extreme frontier
+of the province, and more obnoxious than any
+other, and therefore incapable of being relieved.
+Nevertheless, by her presence and courage it held
+out all the war, even for ten years together; and the
+persons in it have enjoyed very eminent preservations.
+It would have been deserted if she had accepted
+offers that were made her by her friends to
+abandon it and retire to Portsmouth among them,
+which would have been a damage to the town and
+land."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE LADIES OF PHILADELPHIA IN 1780.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+I have not shut mine ears to their demands,<br />
+Nor posted off their suits with slow delays.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the long war which resulted in the Independence
+of the American Colonies, the women all
+over the land were warmly interested in the condition
+of the soldiers, and prompt to relieve their
+wants when suffering. There was, at times, a sad
+deficiency of wearing apparel; and many are the
+instances in which a noble sacrifice of ease and a
+liberal expenditure of time and strength, were made
+by the ladies that this comfort might be restored
+to the self-sacrificing soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>In 1780, the ladies of Philadelphia city and
+county, learning that the soldiers were in great
+need of clothing, sold their jewelry and converted
+<i>other</i> trinkets into something more serviceable; collected
+by solicitation large sums of money; purchased
+the raw material, plied the needle "with
+all diligence;" and in a short time the aggregate
+amount of their contributions was $7,500.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>The number of shirts made by the ladies of Philadelphia
+during that patriotic movement, was twenty-two
+hundred! These were cut out at the house
+of Mrs. Sarah Bache, daughter of Dr. Franklin.
+This lady writing to a Mrs. Meredith, of Trenton,
+New Jersey, at that time, says, "I am happy to
+have it in my power to tell you that the sums
+given by the good women of Philadelphia for the
+benefit of the army, have been much greater than
+could be expected, and given with so much cheerfulness
+and so many blessings, that it was rather a
+pleasing than a painful task to call for them. I
+write to claim you as a Philadelphian, and shall
+think myself honored in your donation."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE WIFE OF PRESIDENT REED.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i12">Mightier far</span>
+Than strength of nerve or sinew, or the sway<br />
+Of magic potent over sun and star,<br />
+Is love, though oft to agony distrest,<br />
+And though his favorite seat be feeble woman's breast.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Wordsworth.</span><br />
+
+Undaunted by the tempest, wild and chill,<br />
+That pours its restless and disastrous roll,<br />
+O'er all that blooms below.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Sands' Yamoyden.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Prominent among the ladies of Philadelphia who,
+in the summer and fall of 1780, were active in
+assisting the sufferers in the American army, was
+Esther Reed, the wife of President Reed. She stood
+at the head of the Association till her death, which
+occurred on the eighteenth of September of that
+year. She was succeeded by Mrs. Sarah Bache,
+Mrs. Francis, Mrs. Clarkson, Mrs. Blair and Mrs.
+Hillegas, who were constituted an Executive Committee.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>The maiden name of Mrs. Reed was De Berdt.
+She was born in London on the twenty-second of
+October, 1746. There, about the year 1763, she
+became acquainted with Mr. Joseph Reed, of New
+Jersey, then a student at the Temple. She had fond
+parents and lived in affluence, but from these she at
+length turned, and, being married in May, 1770,
+"followed the lover of her youth to these wild Colonies."
+Philadelphia became the home of the happy
+couple. The wife of an American, she imbibed the
+sentiments and manifested the spirit of an American,
+and to the day of her death showed herself worthy
+to be the wife of an American soldier. "During
+five years of war, more than half the time her family
+was broken up, and for a long period the young
+wife, with her little children and an aged mother,
+was driven to seek a distant and precarious refuge."
+Her husband was an Adjutant-General, and was in
+the camp much of the time, till he was chosen
+President&mdash;or, as we now say, Governor&mdash;of Pennsylvania,
+in 1778. Her letters written to him,
+breathe a patriotic and submissive spirit, and a cheerful
+trust in that "presiding Power" from whom all
+solace is derived in seasons of danger, disappointment
+and affliction.</p>
+
+<p>She was placed at the head of the voluntary association
+of Philadelphia ladies at its formation in
+May, and as early as the twentieth of the following
+month, it will be seen, by an extract from a
+letter written by Mr. Reed to General Washington,
+the business of the society was progressing admirably:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+"The ladies have caught the happy contagion,
+and in a few days Mrs. Reed will have the honor
+of writing to you on the subject. It is expected
+she will have a sum equal to £100,000, to be laid
+out according to your Excellency's direction, in
+such a way as may be thought most honorable and
+gratifying to the brave old soldiers who have borne
+so great a share of the burden of this war. I
+thought it best to mention it in this way to your
+Excellency for your consideration, as it may tend to
+forward the benevolent scheme of the donors with
+dispatch. I must observe that the ladies have
+excepted such articles of necessity, as clothing,
+which the states are bound to provide."</p>
+
+<p>The following letter, written the next month, explains
+itself:</p>
+
+<div class="signature">
+"ESTHER REED TO WASHINGTON.<br />
+"Philadelphia, July 4th, 1780.
+</div>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,&mdash;The subscription set on foot by the ladies
+of this city for the use of the soldiery, is so far
+completed as to induce me to transmit to your Excellency
+an account of the money I have received,
+and which, although it has answered our expectations,
+does not equal our wishes, but I am persuaded
+will be received as a proof of our zeal for
+the great cause of America, and our esteem and
+gratitude for those who so bravely defend it.</p>
+
+<p>"The amount of the subscription is 200,580 dollars,
+and £625 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> in specie, which makes in
+the whole, in paper money, 300,634 dollars.</p>
+
+<p>"The ladies are anxious for the soldiers to receive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
+the benefit of it, and wait your directions how it
+can best be disposed of. We expect some considerable
+addition from the country, and have also
+wrote to the other States in hopes the ladies there
+will adopt similar plans, to render it more general
+and beneficial.</p>
+
+<p>"With the utmost pleasure I offer any further
+attention and care in my power to complete the
+execution of the design, and shall be happy to accomplish
+it agreeable to the intention of the donors
+and your wishes on the subject.</p>
+
+<p>"The ladies of my family join me in their respectful
+compliments and sincerest prayer for your
+health, safety, and success.</p>
+
+<div class="signature3">"I have the honor to be,</div>
+<div class="signature2">"With the highest respect,</div>
+<div class="signature1">"Your obedient humble servant,</div>
+<div class="signature">"<span class="smcap">E. Reed.</span>"
+</div>
+
+<p>During the months of July and August, though
+in feeble health, Mrs. Reed held frequent correspondence
+with General Washington on the best
+mode of administering relief to the destitute soldiers.
+Her desire to make herself useful may be
+inferred from the tone of a letter addressed to her
+husband from the banks of the Schuylkill, on the
+twenty-second of August. Among other things, she
+says, "I received this morning a letter from the
+General, and he still continues his opinion that the
+money in my hands should be laid out in linen; he
+says, no supplies he has at present or has a prospect
+of are any way adequate to the wants of the army.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
+His letter is, I think, a little formal, as if he was
+hurt by our asking his opinion a second time, and
+our not following his directions, after desiring him
+to give them. The letter is very complaisant, and I
+shall now endeavor to get the shirts made as soon
+as possible. <i>This is another circumstance to urge
+my return to town, as I can do little towards it
+here.</i>"</p>
+
+<p>The responsible and onerous duties of Mrs. Reed
+during the summer of 1780, were no doubt injurious
+to her already poor health, and hastened the
+approach of death. Early in September she was
+laid upon a bed of fatal illness, and before the
+month had closed, as before mentioned, she was in
+the "mysterious realm." The Council and Assembly
+adjourned to pay their last respect to her exalted
+virtues. Her remains were deposited in the
+Presbyterian burying-ground in Arch Street, and the
+following epitaph was inscribed on her tomb:</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+"In memory of <span class="smcap">Esther</span>, the beloved wife of Joseph Reed,<br />
+President of this State, who departed this life<br />
+On the 18th of September, <small>A. D.</small> 1780, aged 34 years.<br />
+Reader! If the possession of those virtues of the heart<br />
+Which make life valuable, or those personal endowments which<br />
+Command esteem and love, may claim respectful and affectionate<br />
+Remembrance, venerate the ashes here entombed.<br />
+If to have the cup of temporal blessings dashed<br />
+In the period and station of life in which temporal blessings<br />
+May be best enjoyed, demands our sorrow, drop a tear, and<br />
+Think how slender is that thread on which the joys<br />
+And hopes of life depend."<br />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p>
+<h2>COMPLETION OF BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+The tardy pile, slow rising there,<br />
+With tongueless eloquence shall tell<br />
+Of them who for their country fell.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Sprague.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span class="i9">Ladies, you deserve</span>
+To have a temple built <i>you</i>.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12">Shakspeare.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The Bunker Hill Monument Association was incorporated
+in June, 1823. Nothing further was done
+that year. At the second annual meeting, which
+was held on the seventeenth of June, efficient plans
+were devised to carry forward the enterprise; and
+at the end of another year, just half a century after
+the battle, the corner stone was laid. General Lafayette
+was then on a visit to the United States, and
+was appropriately chosen to take a leading part in
+this interesting ceremony. The monument did not
+get fairly under way till the spring of 1827. This
+apparent tardiness was owing to the circumstance
+that the material was to be brought from a granite
+quarry in Quincy, and a rail road&mdash;the first in the
+United States&mdash;had to be built from the quarry to
+the wharf in Quincy to convey the stone.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>In 1828, the funds were exhausted, and the work
+was not resumed till 1834. Within a year the work
+was again suspended for the same cause. Nothing
+further was done, and but little said, till 1839, when
+it was announced that two gentlemen&mdash;Amos Lawrence,
+Esq., of Boston, and Judah Truro, Esq., of
+New Orleans&mdash;would give ten thousand each, provided
+a sum sufficient to complete the monument
+could be raised. This liberal offer caused some momentary
+stimulation; but no proposal immediately
+made was deemed expedient.</p>
+
+<p>The affairs of the Association now wore, as they
+had done once or twice before, a gloomy aspect. In
+the annual report, made on the seventeenth of June,
+1840, doubts were expressed whether the present generation
+would see the monument completed. The
+same discouraging remark was made soon after, in
+one of the sewing circles of Boston, when, instead of
+depressing the spirits, it raised the ambition and
+quickened the thoughts of the ladies, and several of
+them proposed to get up a Fair. It was a happy
+suggestion; was forthwith sanctioned by the board
+of directors; prompted the issuing of a circular by
+a sub-committee of the same; raised the stentorian
+voice of a free and patriotic press, and met with
+immediate favor all over the land.</p>
+
+<p>The ladies had moved in the matter&mdash;<i>had taken
+the work into their own hands</i>&mdash;and all doubts in
+regard to its speedy completion seemed to vanish.
+The Fair was announced to be held in Quincy Hall,
+Boston, to commence on the fifth of September, 1840<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
+Every female in the land was invited to contribute
+some article of her own hands' production, to the
+exhibition. The patriotic spirit of the <i>mothers</i> of the
+Revolution was now warm in the hearts of their
+<i>daughters</i>, and ten thousand hands, engaged in the
+work of preparation, were "plying the needle with
+exquisite art."</p>
+
+<p>The ladies were to have the complete management
+of the Fair; and, all things in readiness, it commenced.
+The product of so much industry and
+ingenuity, dispensed at the hands of the ladies,
+presented a scene to the thousands who gathered
+around the numerous well-stored tables, that is described
+by a writer&mdash;doubtless an eye-witness&mdash;as
+"brilliant and inspiring."<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p>
+
+<p>The Fair continued till the fifteenth of the month.
+Its success was chronicled from day to day in a
+journal called "The Monument," printed in the
+Hall. It was the grandest movement of the kind
+ever made in the country; was conducted throughout
+in the most admirable manner, and wound
+up in triumph. Its net proceeds were $30,035 50.
+To this sum and the $20,000 pledged by the two
+gentlemen before mentioned, was soon added enough,
+from other sources, to make the fund $55,153 27;
+and the work went on to its completion.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> Thus,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
+at length, a "duty had been performed;" this imperishable
+offering to Freedom, "which had its commencement
+in manly patriotism," was "crowned by
+garlands of grace and beauty."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p>
+<h2>LYDIA DARRAH.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+The brave man is not he who feels no fear,<br />
+For that were stupid and irrational;<br />
+But he whose noble soul its fear subdues,<br />
+And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Joanna Baillie.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>We find the following anecdote of the amiable
+and heroic Quakeress, Lydia Darrah, in the first
+number of the American Quarterly Review:</p>
+
+<p>When the British army held possession of Philadelphia,
+General Howe's head quarters were in
+Second street, the fourth door below Spruce, in a
+house which was before occupied by General Cadwalader.
+Directly opposite, resided William and
+Lydia Darrah, members of the Society of Friends.
+A superior officer of the British army, believed to
+be the Adjutant General, fixed upon one of their
+chambers, a back room, for private conference;
+and two of them frequently met there, with fire
+and candles, in close consultation. About the second
+of December, the Adjutant General told Lydia
+that they would be in the room at seven o'clock,
+and remain late; and that they wished the family
+to retire early to bed; adding, that when they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
+were going away, they would call her to let them
+out, and extinguish their fire and candles. She
+accordingly sent all the family to bed; but, as the
+officer had been so particular, her curiosity was
+excited. She took off her shoes, and put her ear
+to the key-hole of the conclave. She overheard an
+order read for all the British troops to march out,
+late in the evening of the fourth, and attack General
+Washington's army, then encamped at White
+Marsh. On hearing this, she returned to her
+chamber and laid herself down. Soon after, the
+officers knocked at her door, but she rose only at
+the third summons, having feigned to be asleep.
+Her mind was so much agitated that, from this
+moment, she could neither eat nor sleep; supposing
+it to be in her power to save the lives of
+thousands of her countrymen; but not knowing
+how she was to convey the necessary information
+to General Washington, nor daring to confide it
+even to her husband. The time left, was, however,
+short; she quickly determined to make her way,
+as soon as possible, to the American outposts.
+She informed her family, that, as they were in
+want of flour, she would go to Frankfort for some;
+her husband insisted that she should take with her
+the servant maid; but, to his surprise, she positively
+refused. She got access to General Howe, and solicited&mdash;what
+he readily granted,&mdash;a pass through
+the British troops on the lines. Leaving her bag
+at the mill, she hastened towards the American
+lines, and encountered on her way an American,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+Lieutenant Colonel Craig, of the light horse, who,
+with some of his men, was on the look-out for
+information. He knew her, and inquired whither she
+was going. She answered, in quest of her son, an
+officer in the American army; and prayed the
+Colonel to alight and walk with her. He did so,
+ordering his troops to keep in sight. To him she
+disclosed her momentous secret, after having obtained
+from him the most solemn promise never to
+betray her individually, since her life might be at
+stake, with the British. He conducted her to a
+house near at hand, directed a female in it to give
+her something to eat, and he speeded for head
+quarters, where he brought General Washington
+acquainted with what he had heard. Washington
+made, of course, all preparation for baffling the
+meditated surprise. Lydia returned home with her
+flour; sat up alone to watch the movement of the
+British troops; heard their footsteps; but when
+they returned, in a few days after, did not dare
+to ask a question, though solicitous to learn the
+event. The next evening, the Adjutant General
+came in, and requested her to walk up to his
+room, as he wished to put some questions. She
+followed him in terror; and when he locked the
+door, and begged her, with an air of mystery to be
+seated, she was sure that she was either suspected,
+or had been betrayed. He inquired earnestly whether
+any of her family were up the last night he and
+the other officer met:&mdash;she told him that they all
+retired at eight o'clock. He observed&mdash;"I know<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
+<i>you</i> were asleep, for I knocked at your chamber door
+three times before you heard me;&mdash;I am entirely at
+a loss to imagine who gave General Washington information
+of our intended attack, unless the walls of
+the house could speak. When we arrived near White
+Marsh, we found all their cannon mounted, and the
+troops prepared to receive us; and we have marched
+back like a parcel of fools."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/illus091.jpg" width="300" height="239" alt="Bunch of Flowers" />
+
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p>
+<h2>WIDOW STOREY.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Stick to your aim; the mongrel's hold will slip,<br />
+But only crow-bars loose the bull-dog's lip;<br />
+Small as he looks, the jaw that never yields,<br />
+Drags down the bellowing monarch of the fields.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Holmes.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The first man who commenced a settlement in
+the town of Salisbury, Vermont, on the Otter creek,
+was Amos Storey, who, in making an opening in
+the heart of the wilderness on the right of land to
+which the first settler was entitled, was killed by
+the fall of a tree. His widow, who had been left
+in Connecticut, immediately resolved to push into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
+the wilderness, with her ten small children, to take
+his place and preserve and clear up his farm. And
+this bold resolution she carried out to the letter, in
+spite of every difficulty, hardship and danger which
+for years constantly beset her in her solitary location
+in the woods. Acre after acre of the dense
+and dark forest melted away before her axe, which
+she handled with the dexterity of the most experienced
+chopper. The logs and bushes were piled
+and burnt by her own strong and untiring hand:
+crops were raised, by which, with the fruits of her
+fishing and unerring rifle, she supported herself and
+her hardy brood of children. As a place of refuge
+from the assaults of Indians or dangerous wild
+beasts, she dug out an underground room, into
+which, through a small entrance made to open under
+an overhanging thicket in the bank of the
+stream, she nightly retreated with her children.
+And here she continued to reside, thus living and
+thus laboring, unassisted, till, by her own hand and
+the help which her boys soon began to afford her,
+she cleared up a valuable farm and placed herself
+in independent circumstances in life.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MRS. HENDEE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+I am their mother, who shall bar me from them.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>On the burning of Royalton, Vermont, by the
+Indians, in 1776, Mrs. Hendee, of that place, exhibited
+a praiseworthy and heroic character. The
+attack was sudden, and her husband being absent
+in the Vermont regiment, and she being in the field,
+the Indians seized her children, carried them across
+White river, at that place perhaps an hundred
+yards wide and quite deep for fording, and placed
+them under the keepers having the other persons
+they had collected, thirty or forty in number, in
+charge. On discovering the fate of her children,
+Mrs. Hendee resolutely dashed into the river, waded
+through, and fearlessly entering the Indian
+camp, regardless of their tomahawks menacingly
+flourished round her head, boldly demanded the
+release of her little ones, and persevered in her
+alternate upbraidings and supplications, till her request
+was granted. She then carried her children
+back through the river and landed them in safety
+on the other bank. But not content with what she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+had done, like a patriot, as she was, she immediately
+returned, begged for the release of the children
+of others; again was rewarded with success,
+and brought two or three more away; again returned
+and again succeeded, till she had rescued the
+whole fifteen of her neighbors' children who had
+been thus snatched away from their distracted parents.
+On her last return to the camp of the
+enemy, the Indians were so struck with her conduct
+that one of them declared that so brave a squaw
+deserved to be carried across the river, and offered
+to take her on his back and carry her over. She,
+in the same spirit, accepted the offer, mounted the
+back of the gallant savage, was carried to the opposite
+bank, where she collected her rescued troop of
+children, and hastened away to restore them to their
+over-joyed parents.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>
+<h2>PATRIOTIC WOMEN OF OLD MIDDLESEX.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+In the radiant front superior shines<br />
+That first paternal virtue, public zeal,<br />
+Who throws o'er all an equal wide survey,<br />
+And, ever musing on the common weal,<br />
+Still labors glorious with some great design.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Thomson.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"Old Middlesex" being our native county, with
+peculiar pleasure and some local pride, we record
+the following anecdote. Should the historical ploughshare
+be driven through the other towns in the
+county, and the towns generally of Massachusetts,
+it would turn up similar gems in abundance, "of
+purest ray serene." We quote from Butler's History
+of Groton:</p>
+
+<p>"After the departure of Colonel Prescott's regiment
+of 'minute-men,' Mrs. David Wright, of Pepperell,
+Mrs. Job Shattuck, of Groton, and the neighboring
+women, collected at what is now Jewett's
+Bridge, over the Nashua, between Pepperell and
+Groton, clothed in their absent husbands' apparel,
+and armed with muskets, pitchforks, and such other
+weapons as they could find; and having elected
+Mrs. Wright their commander, resolutely determined
+that no foe to freedom, foreign or domestic, should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>
+pass that bridge. For rumors were rife, that the
+regulars were approaching and frightful stories of
+slaughter flew rapidly from place to place, and from
+house to house.</p>
+
+<p>"Soon there appeared one<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> on horseback, supposed
+to be treasonably engaged in conveying intelligence
+to the enemy. By the implicit command of
+Sergeant Wright, he is immediately arrested, unhorsed,
+searched, and the treasonable correspondence
+found concealed in his boots. He was detained prisoner,
+and sent to Oliver Prescott, Esq., of Groton,
+and his dispatches were sent to the Committee of
+Safety."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE CACIQUE'S NOBLE DAUGHTER.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+I think of thee, sweet lady, as of one<br />
+<span class="i1">Too pure to mix with others, like some star,</span>
+Shining in pensive beauty all alone,<br />
+<span class="i1">Kindred with those around, yet brighter far.</span>
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. Welby.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In his history of the Conquest of Florida, Mr.
+Theodore Irving repeats, very interestingly, the story
+of Juan Ortiz who, with three other Spaniards, fell into
+the hands of the Indians by stratagem. The four captives
+were taken to the village of Hirrihigua, the cacique,
+who ordered them to be executed on a day of
+religious festival. Three were shot with arrows; and
+then "Juan Ortiz, a youth, scarce eighteen years of
+age, of a noble family of Seville, was the fourth victim.
+As they were leading him forth, his extreme youth
+touched with compassion the hearts of the wife and
+daughters of the cacique, who interceded in his favor.</p>
+
+<p>"The cacique listened to their importunities, and
+granted for the present the life of Ortiz;&mdash;but a
+wretched life did he lead. From morning until evening
+he was employed in bringing wood and water,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
+and was allowed but little sleep and scanty food.
+Not a day passed that he was not beaten. On festivals
+he was an object of barbarous amusement to the
+cacique, who would oblige him to run, from sunrise
+until sunset, in the public square of the village, where
+his companions had met their untimely end, Indians
+being stationed with bows and arrows, to shoot him,
+should he halt one moment. When the day was
+spent, the unfortunate youth lay stretched on the hard
+floor of the hut, more dead than alive. At such times
+the wife and daughters of the cacique would come to
+him privately with food and clothing, and by their
+kind treatment his life was preserved.</p>
+
+<p>"At length the cacique, determining to put an end
+to his victim's existence, ordered that he should be
+bound down upon a wooden frame, in the form of a
+huge gridiron, placed in the public square, over a bed
+of live coals, and roasted alive.</p>
+
+<p>"The cries and shrieks of the poor youth reached
+his female protectors, and their entreaties were once
+more successful with the cacique. They unbound
+Ortiz, dragged him from the fire, and took him to
+their dwelling, where they bathed him with the juice
+of herbs, and tended him with assiduous care. After
+many days he recovered from his wounds, though
+marked with many a scar.</p>
+
+<p>"His employment was now to guard the cemetery
+of the village. This was in a lonely field in the bosom
+of a forest. The bodies of the dead were deposited
+in wooden boxes, covered with boards, without any
+fastening except a stone or a log of wood laid upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+the top; so that the bodies were often carried away
+by wild beasts.</p>
+
+<p>"In this cemetery was Ortiz stationed, with a bow
+and arrows, to watch day and night, and was told that
+should a single body be carried away, he would be
+burnt alive. He returned thanks to God for having
+freed him from the dreaded presence of the cacique,
+hoping to lead a better life with the dead than he
+had done with the living.</p>
+
+<p>"While watching thus one long wearisome night,
+sleep overpowered him towards morning. He was
+awakened by the falling lid of one of the chests, and
+running to it, found it empty. It had contained the
+body of an infant recently deceased, the child of an
+Indian of great note.</p>
+
+<p>"Ortiz doubted not some animal had dragged it
+away, and immediately set out in pursuit. After
+wandering for some time, he heard, at a short distance
+within the woods, a noise like that of a dog gnawing
+bones. Warily drawing near to the spot, he dimly
+perceived an animal among the bushes, and invoking
+succor from on high, let fly an arrow at it. The thick
+and tangled underwood prevented his seeing the effect
+of his shot, but as the animal did not stir, he flattered
+himself that it had been fatal: with this hope he waited
+until the day dawned, when he beheld his victim, a
+huge animal of the panther kind, lying dead, the
+arrow having passed through his entrails and cleft
+his heart.</p>
+
+<p>"Gathering together the mangled remains of the
+infant, and replacing them in the coffin, Ortiz dragged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>
+his victim in triumph to the village, with the arrow
+still in his body. The exploit gained him credit with
+the old hunters, and for some time softened even the
+ferocity of the cacique. The resentment of the latter,
+however, from the wrongs he had suffered from white
+men, was too bitter to be appeased. Some time after,
+his eldest daughter came to Ortiz, and warned him
+that her father had determined to sacrifice him at the
+next festival, which was just at hand, and that the
+influence of her mother, her sisters, and herself would
+no longer avail him. She wished him, therefore, to
+take refuge with a neighboring cacique named Mucozo,
+who loved her and sought her in marriage, and who,
+for her sake, would befriend him. 'This very night
+at midnight,' said the kind-hearted maiden, 'at the
+northern extremity of the village you will find a trusty
+friend who will guide you to a bridge, about two
+leagues hence; on arriving there, you must send him
+back, that he may reach home before the morning
+dawn, to avoid suspicion&mdash;for well he knows that this
+bold act, in daring to assist you, may bring down destruction
+upon us both. Six leagues further on, you
+will come to the village of Mucozo&mdash;tell him I have
+sent you, and expect him to befriend you in your extremity&mdash;I
+know he will do it&mdash;go, and may your
+God protect you!' Ortiz threw himself at the feet of
+his generous protectress, and poured out his acknowledgments
+for the kindness she had always shown him.
+The Indian guide was at the place appointed, and they
+left the village without alarming the warlike savages.
+When they came to the bridge, Ortiz sent back the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>
+guide, in obedience to the injunction of his mistress,
+and, continuing his flight, found himself, by break of
+day, on the banks of a small stream near the village
+of Mucozo.</p>
+
+<p>"Looking cautiously around, he espied two Indians
+fishing. As he was unacquainted with their language,
+and could not explain the cause of his coming, he was
+in dread lest they should take him for an enemy and
+kill him. He, therefore, ran to the place where they
+had deposited their weapons and seized upon them.
+The savages fled to the village without heeding his
+assurances of friendly intention. The inhabitants sallied
+out with bows and arrows, as though they would
+attack him. Ortiz fixed an arrow in his bow, but cried
+out at the same moment, that he came not as an enemy
+but as an ambassador from a female cacique to their
+chief. Fortunately one present understood him, and
+interpreted his words. On this the Indians unbent
+their bows, and returning with him to their village,
+presented him to Mucozo. The latter, a youthful chieftain,
+of a graceful form and handsome countenance,
+received Ortiz kindly for the sake of her who had sent
+him; but, on further acquaintance, became attached to
+him for his own merits, treating him with the affection
+of a brother."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HUMANE SPIRIT OF A FOREST MAID.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i12">"Beneath the gloom</span>
+Of overshadowing forests, sweetly springs<br />
+The unexpected flower."<br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Some of the noblest attributes of humanity are
+sometimes exhibited by the wild children of the
+forest. These attributes, in such cases, seem, like
+trees in the remotest wilderness, to have gained, by
+their spontaneous growth, surprising height, symmetry
+and beauty.</p>
+
+<p>A lovelier character than Pocahontas, daughter
+of Powhatan, king of the country where the first
+white settlement in Virginia was made, is rarely
+found among any people. She was lovely in the
+broadest as well as noblest sense of that word&mdash;lovely
+in features, lovely in disposition, lovely in
+the highest adornments of Christian grace. She
+was, in 1607, "a girl of ten or twelve years of age,
+who, not only for feature, countenance and expression,
+much exceeded any of the rest of her people,
+but for wit and spirit was the only nonpareil of
+the country." Such was Pocahontas, as described<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+by the first white man, probably, who ever saw
+her, and in whose behalf, at the above date, she
+displayed the tenderness and true grandeur of her
+nature.</p>
+
+<p>The colonists, writes Mr. Hildreth, in his new
+History of the United States, "were specially instructed
+to seek for a passage to the South Sea;
+and it was thought that possibly the Chickahoming
+might lead thither. Having ascended as
+high as he could in his barge, Captain Smith followed
+up the stream in a canoe, with two colonists
+and two Indians for companions; and when the canoe
+would float no longer, he left the two colonists
+to guard it, and struck inland with a single Indian
+as a guide. Set upon unexpectedly by a large party
+of natives, who had already surprised and killed
+the two men left to guard the canoe, Smith bound
+his Indian guide to his arm as a buckler, and made
+a vigorous defence, killing three of the assailants;
+but as he retreated backward, he presently sank
+into a miry swamp, and was taken prisoner. His
+captors would have killed him, but he amused
+them with a pocket compass. Carried in a sort of
+triumph through several villages, he was taken before
+Powhatan, the same chief whom he had visited
+in company with Newport. An attempt was made
+to engage his services&mdash;at least so Smith understood
+it&mdash;in surprising the colonists at Jamestown.
+Having failed in this, after much consultation, it
+was resolved to put him to death. He was dragged
+to the ground and his head placed upon a stone;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>
+Powhatan raised a club to dash out his brains"&mdash;and
+now view the highly dramatic scene which follows,
+as pictured by Mrs. Sigourney in a few lines
+of masterly coloring:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">The sentenced captive see&mdash;his brow how white!</span>
+Stretched on the turf, his manly form lies low,<br />
+The war club poises for its fatal blow,<br />
+<span class="i2">The death-mist swims before his darkened sight;</span>
+Forth springs the child, in tearful pity bold,<br />
+Her head on his reclines, her arms his neck enfold,<br />
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"The child! what madness fires her? Hence! Depart!</span>
+<span class="i2">Fly, daughter, fly! before the death-stroke rings;</span>
+Divide her, warriors! from that English heart."<br />
+<span class="i2">In vain, for with convulsive grasp she clings:</span>
+She claims a pardon from her frowning sire;<br />
+Her pleading tones subdue his gathered ire,<br />
+<span class="i2">And so, uplifting high his feathery dart,</span>
+That doting father gave the child her will,<br />
+And bade the victim live and be his servant still.<br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>After Smith had been an inmate of Powhatan's
+wigwam awhile, he was permitted to leave the Indians.
+Sometime after this the savages, becoming
+alarmed by witnessing Smith's wonderful feats, "laid
+a plan to get him into their power under the pretence
+of wishing an interview with him in their territory.
+But Pocahontas, knowing the desire of the
+warriors, left the wigwam after her father had gone
+to sleep, and ran more than nine miles through the
+woods to inform her friend Captain Smith of the
+danger that awaited him, either by stratagem or
+attack."</p>
+
+<p>Subsequently the colony at Jamestown was threatened
+with famine, when, accompanied by a few
+companions, she was accustomed to go to the fort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>
+every day or two with baskets of corn, and thus
+her</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+&mdash;&mdash;"generous hand vouchsafed its tireless aid<br />
+To guard a nation's germ."
+</div>
+
+<p>At the age of seventeen or eighteen, Pocahontas
+married a pious young English officer, named Thomas
+Rolfe, and went with him to England, where she was
+baptized and called Rebecca, and where she soon
+died. Well may it be said of her, in the language of
+the poet, slightly altered,</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+It is not meet such names should moulder in the grave.<br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;">
+<img src="images/illus106.jpg" width="350" height="311" alt="Lady relaxing on grass" />
+
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HANNAH DUSTIN.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i6">Experience teaches us</span>
+That resolution 's a sole help at need;<br />
+And this, my lord, our honor teacheth us,<br />
+That we be bold in every enterprise.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>On the fifteenth of March, 1697, a band of Indian
+prowlers broke into the house of Mr. Dustin,
+of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and captured his wife,
+her nurse,<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> and a babe about one week old. The
+last was killed before leaving the town. The other
+two were marched through the wilderness for several
+days till they came to a halt on an island in
+the Merrimac river about six miles above Concord,
+New Hampshire. There they were placed in a wigwam
+occupied by two men, three women, seven
+children of theirs, and an English boy who had
+been captured about a year previous at Worcester,
+Massachusetts. The captives remained there till the
+thirtieth of that month before they planned escape.
+On that day the boy was requested by Mrs. Dustin
+to ask his master where to strike "to kill instantly;"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
+and the savage was simple enough to tell, and also
+instructed him in the art of scalping. "At night,"
+to use the concise language of Mr. Bancroft, "while
+the household slumbers, the captives, each with a
+tomahawk, strike vigorously, and fleetly, and with
+division of labor,&mdash;and of the twelve sleepers, ten
+lie dead; of one squaw the wound was not mortal;
+one child was spared from design. The love of
+glory next asserted its power; and the gun and
+tomahawk of the murderer of her infant, and a bag
+heaped full of scalps were choicely kept as trophies
+of the heroine.&mdash;The streams are the guides which
+God has set for the stranger in the wilderness: in a
+bark canoe, the three descend the Merrimac to the
+English settlements, astonishing their friends by
+their escape, and filling the land with wonder at
+their successful daring."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dustin had the happiness of meeting her husband
+and seven children, who had escaped from the
+house before the savages entered, and the honor of
+a very handsome present from Colonel Nicholson,
+governor of Maryland, as a reward for her heroism.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE HEROINES OF BRYANT'S STATION.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i2">The brave example cannot perish<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Of courage.<br /></span>
+<br />
+<span class="i14 smcap">Hosmer.</span><br />
+<br />
+Nor could the boldest of our youth have dared<br />
+To pass our outworks.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Pope's Homer.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>At the siege of Bryant's station near Lexington,
+Kentucky, in August, 1782, the water in the fort was
+exhausted; and as the nearest place to obtain a
+supply was a spring several rods off, it would require
+no small risk and, consequently, no common
+intrepidity to undertake to bring it. A body of
+Indians in plain sight, were trying to entice the
+soldiers to attack them without the walls, while
+another party was concealed near the spring, waiting,
+it was supposed, to storm one of the gates, should
+the besieged venture out. It was thought probable
+that the Indians in ambush would remain so until
+they saw indications that the other party had succeeded
+in enticing the soldiers to open engagement.</p>
+
+<p>The position of things was explained to the women,
+and they were invited to each take a bucket and
+march to the spring in a body. "Some, as was natural,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
+had no relish for the undertaking, and asked
+why the men could not bring water as well
+as themselves, observing that they were not bullet-proof,
+and the Indians made no distinction between
+male and female scalps. To this it was answered, that
+the women were in the habit of bringing water every
+morning to the fort; and that if the Indians saw
+them engaged as usual, it would induce them to
+think that their ambuscade was undiscovered; and
+that they would not unmask themselves for the sake
+of firing at a few women, when they hoped, by
+remaining concealed a few moments longer, to obtain
+complete possession of the fort: that if men should
+go down to the spring, the Indians would immediately
+suspect something was wrong, would despair
+of succeeding by ambuscade, and would instantly
+rush upon them, follow them into the fort, or shoot
+them down at the spring.</p>
+
+<p>"The decision was soon made. A few of the
+boldest declared their readiness to brave the danger,
+and the younger and more timid rallying in the
+rear of these veterans, they all marched down in a
+body to the spring, within point blank shot of more
+than five hundred Indian warriors! Some of the
+girls could not help betraying symptoms of terror;
+but the married women, in general, moved with a
+steadiness and composure that completely deceived
+the Indians. Not a shot was fired. The party were
+permitted to fill their buckets, one after another,
+without interruption; and although their steps became
+quicker and quicker, on their return, and when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+near the fort, degenerated into a rather unmilitary
+celerity, with some little crowding in passing the
+gate, yet not more than one-fifth of the water was
+spilled, and the eyes of the youngest had not dilated
+to more than double their ordinary size."<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;">
+<img src="images/illus112.jpg" width="350" height="253" alt="decoration" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MRS. DAVIESS.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i6">'Tis late before</span>
+The brave despair.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Thomson.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Samuel Daviess was an early settler at a place
+called Gilmer's Lick, in Lincoln county, Kentucky.
+In the month of August, 1782, while a few rods
+from his house, he was attacked early one morning
+by an Indian; and attempting to get within doors,
+he found that his house was already occupied by
+other Indians. Pursued by his foe, he ran into a
+cornfield and lay concealed till the savage gave up
+the chase and returned to the house. He then ran
+to his brother's station, five miles off, gave the alarm,
+and was soon returning with five stout, well armed
+men.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus114.jpg" width="450" height="510" alt="THE INDIAN HORSE THIEF." title="THE INDIAN HORSE THIEF." />
+<span class="caption">THE INDIAN HORSE THIEF.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the Indians&mdash;four in number&mdash;who
+had entered the house while the fifth was in pursuit
+of Mr. Daviess, routed Mrs. Daviess and the children
+from their beds, and they soon understood
+that they must take up a line of march&mdash;they knew
+not whither. As soon as she was dressed, Mrs.
+Daviess "commenced showing the Indians one article
+of clothing and then another, which pleased them
+very much; and in that way delayed them at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
+house nearly two hours. In the mean time, the Indian
+who had been in pursuit of her husband
+returned, with his hands stained with poke berries,
+which he held up, and with some violent gestures
+and waving of his tomahawk, attempted to induce
+the belief, that the stain on his hands was the blood
+of her husband, and that he had killed him. She
+was enabled at once to discover the deception, and
+instead of producing any alarm on her part, she
+was satisfied that her husband had escaped uninjured.</p>
+
+<p>"After the savages had plundered the house of
+every thing that they could conveniently carry off
+with them, they started, taking Mrs. Daviess and
+her children&mdash;seven in number&mdash;as prisoners,
+along with them. Some of the children were too
+young to travel as fast as the Indians wished, and
+discovering, as she believed, their intention to kill
+such of them as could not conveniently travel, she
+made the two oldest boys carry them on their backs.
+The Indians, in starting from the house, were very
+careful to leave no signs of the direction they had
+taken, not even permitting the children to break a
+twig or weed as they passed along. They had not
+gone far before an Indian drew his knife and cut
+off a few inches of Mrs. Daviess' dress, so that
+she would not be interrupted in traveling.</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Daviess was a woman of cool, deliberate
+courage, and accustomed to handle the gun, so that
+she could shoot well, as many of the women were
+in the habit of doing in those days. She had contemplated,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
+as a last resort, that if not rescued in
+the course of the day, when night came on and
+the Indians had fallen asleep, she would deliver
+herself and children by killing as many of the Indians
+as she could&mdash;thinking that in a night attack
+as many of them as remained would most probably
+run off."<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Daviess and his comrades reaching the house
+and finding it empty, hastened on in pursuit of
+the Indians. They had gone but a few miles before
+they overtook the retreating party. Two Indian
+spies in the rear, first discovered the pursuers, and
+running on, overtook the three others, with the
+prisoners, and knocked down and scalped, though
+they did not kill, the oldest boy. At that moment
+the pursuers fired at the Indians, but missed. The
+latter were now alarmed and confused, and Mrs.
+Daviess, taking advantage of this circumstance,
+jumped into a sink hole with her infant in her
+arms; and the Indians fleeing, every child was
+saved.</p>
+
+<p>"Kentucky, in its early days, like most new countries,
+was occasionally troubled by men of abandoned
+character, who lived by stealing the property of
+others, and, after committing their depredations,
+retired to their hiding places, thereby eluding the
+operation of the law. One of these marauders, a
+man of desperate character, who had committed extensive
+thefts from Mr. Daviess, as well as from his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
+neighbors, was pursued by Daviess and a party
+whose property he had taken, in order to bring
+him to justice. While the party were in pursuit,
+the suspected individual, not knowing any one was
+pursuing him, came to the house of Daviess, armed
+with his gun and tomahawk&mdash;no person being at
+home but Mrs. Daviess and her children. After he
+had stepped into the house, Mrs. Daviess asked him
+if he would drink something&mdash;and having set a
+bottle of whiskey upon the table, requested him to
+help himself. The fellow, not suspecting any danger,
+set his gun up by the door, and while drinking,
+Mrs. Daviess picked up his gun, and placing herself
+in the door, had the gun cocked and leveled upon
+him by the time he turned around, and in a peremptory
+manner ordered him to take a seat, or she
+would shoot him. Struck with terror and alarm, he
+asked what he had done. She told him he had
+stolen her husband's property and that she intended
+to take care of him herself. In that condition she
+held him a prisoner, until the party of men returned
+and took him into their possession."<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A KENTUCKY AMAZON.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+This is true courage.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i9 smcap">Whitehead's Roman Father.<br /></span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the summer of 1787, writes Mr. McClung,
+in his Sketches of Western Adventure, "The house
+of Mr. John Merrill, of Nelson county, Kentucky,
+was attacked by the Indians, and defended with singular
+address and good fortune. Merrill was alarmed
+by the barking of a dog about midnight, and upon
+opening the door in order to ascertain the cause of
+the disturbance, he received the fire of six or seven
+Indians, by which one arm and one thigh were broken.
+He instantly sank upon the floor, and called
+upon his wife to close the door. This had scarcely
+been done when it was violently assailed by the
+tomahawks of the enemy, and a large breach soon
+effected. Mrs. Merrill, however, being a perfect amazon,
+both in strength and courage, guarded it with
+an axe, and successively killed or badly wounded
+four of the enemy as they attempted to force their
+way into the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>"The Indians ascended the roof, and attempted
+to enter by way of the chimney; but here again<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>
+they were met by the same determined enemy. Mrs.
+Merrill seized the only feather bed which the cabin
+afforded, and hastily ripping it open, poured its contents
+upon the fire. A furious blaze and stifling
+smoke instantly ascended the chimney, and brought
+down two of the enemy, who lay for a few moments
+at the mercy of the lady. Seizing the axe, she
+quickly dispatched them, and was instantly afterwards
+summoned to the door, where the only remaining
+savage now appeared, endeavoring to effect
+an entrance, while Mrs. Merrill was engaged at the
+chimney. He soon received a gash in the cheek,
+which compelled him, with a loud yell, to relinquish
+his purpose, and return hastily to Chillicothe, where,
+from the report of a prisoner, he gave an exaggerated
+account of the fierceness, strength, and courage
+of the 'long knife squaw!'"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HEROISM AT INNIS SETTLEMENT.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Courage alone can save us.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i9 smcap">Southey.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The account of the Indians' attack on the Innis
+settlement, near Frankfort, Kentucky, in April, 1792,
+has been differently related by different writers. The
+most reliable account is doubtless that given by the
+Rev. Abraham Cook, a minister of the Baptist denomination
+and the brother of Jesse and Hosea Cook,
+whose wives were the heroines of the settlement.
+The attack was made on the twenty-eighth of the
+month, by about one hundred Indians, and at three
+points almost simultaneously. The first onset was
+upon the Cooks who lived in cabins close together,
+and where was displayed a degree of intrepidity
+rarely matched.</p>
+
+<p>"The brothers were near their cabins, one engaged
+in shearing sheep, the other looking on. The sharp
+crack of rifles was the first intimation of the proximity
+of the Indians; and that fire was fatal to the
+brothers&mdash;the elder fell dead, and the younger was
+mortally wounded, but enabled to reach the cabin.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
+The two Mrs. Cook, with three children&mdash;two whites
+and one black&mdash;were instantly collected in the house,
+and the door, a very strong one, made secure. The
+Indians, unable to enter, discharged their rifles at the
+door, but without injury, as the balls did not penetrate
+through the thick boards of which it was constructed.
+They then attempted to cut it down with
+their tomahawks, but with no better success. While
+these things occurred without, there was deep sorrow,
+mingled with fearless determination and high
+resolve within. The younger Cook, mortally wounded,
+immediately the door was barred, sank down on the
+floor, and breathed his last; and the two Mrs. Cook
+were left the sole defenders of the cabin, with the
+three children. There was a rifle in the house, but
+no balls could be found. In this extremity, one of
+the women got hold of a musket ball, and placing
+it between her teeth, actually bit it into two pieces.
+With one she instantly loaded the rifle. The Indians,
+failing in their attempts to cut down the door, had
+retired a few paces in front, doubtless to consult
+upon their future operations. One seated himself
+upon a log, apparently apprehending no danger from
+within. Observing him, Mrs. Cook took aim from a
+narrow aperture and fired, when the Indian gave a
+loud yell, bounded high in the air, and fell dead.
+This infuriated the savages, who threatened&mdash;for
+they could speak English&mdash;to burn the house and
+all the inmates. Several speedily climbed to the top
+of the cabin, and kindled a fire on the boards of
+the roof. The devouring element began to take effect,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
+and with less determined and resolute courage
+within, the certain destruction of the cabin and the
+death of the inmates, must have been the consequence.
+But the self possession and intrepidity of these Spartan
+females were equal to the occasion. One of them
+instantly ascended to the loft, and the other handed
+her water, with which she extinguished the fire.
+Again and again the roof was fired, and as often
+extinguished. The water failing, the undaunted women
+called for some eggs, which were broken and
+the contents thrown upon the fire, for a time holding
+the flames at bay. Their next resource was the
+bloody waistcoat of the husband and brother-in-law,
+who lay dead upon the floor. The blood with
+which this was profusely saturated, checked the progress
+of the flames&mdash;but, as they appeared speedily
+to be gathering strength, another, and the last expedient ...
+proved successful. The savage foe
+yielded, and the fruitful expedients of female courage
+triumphed. One Indian, in bitter disappointment,
+fired at his unseen enemy through the boards, but
+did not injure her, when the whole immediately descended
+from the roof.</p>
+
+<p>"About the time the attack commenced, a young
+man named McAndre, escaped on horseback, in view
+of the Indians, who, it was supposed, would give the
+alarm to the older neighboring settlements. As soon
+as they descended from the house top, a few climbed
+some contiguous trees, and instituted a sharp look
+out. While in the trees, one of them fired a second
+ball into the loft of the cabin, which cut to pieces<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>
+a bundle of yarn hanging near the head of Mrs.
+Cook, but without doing further injury. Soon after,
+they threw the body of the dead Indian into the adjacent
+creek, and precipitately fled."</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;">
+<img src="images/illus124.jpg" width="350" height="246" alt="decoration" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p>
+<h2>BOLD EXPLOIT AT TAMPICO.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+A thousand hearts are great within my bosom;<br />
+Advance our standards.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span><br />
+<br />
+Rocks have been shaken from their solid base;<br />
+But what shall move a dauntless soul?<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Joanna Baillie.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>At the capture of Tampico, which took place on
+the fourteenth of November, 1846, a noteworthy act
+was performed by a lady, whose patriotism and daring
+should not be forgotten. She not only gave
+Commodore Connor full information in regard to the
+defence of the place, with a plan of the harbor,
+town and forts, but when the squadron was approaching,
+though opposed by the city council and even
+menaced, she hoisted the American flag and persisted
+in waving it beneath the very eye of the
+<i>ayuntamiento</i>! This intrepid woman was Mrs. Ann
+Chase, wife of the American Consul.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus127.jpg" width="450" height="592" alt="THE COLONEL AND HIS DAUGHTER." title="THE COLONEL AND HIS DAUGHTER." />
+<span class="caption">THE COLONEL AND HIS DAUGHTER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p>
+<h2>DICEY LANGSTON.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Thou soul of love and bravery!<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i9 smcap">Moore</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Dicey Langston was the daughter of Solomon
+Langston, of Laurens district, South Carolina. She
+possessed an intrepid spirit, which is highly serviceable
+in times of emergency, and which, as she
+lived in the days of the Revolution, she had more
+than one opportunity to display. Situated in the
+midst of tories, and being patriotically inquisitive,
+she often learned by accident, or discovered by
+strategy, the plottings so common in those days,
+against the whigs. Such intelligence she was accustomed
+to communicate to the friends of freedom
+on the opposite side of the Ennoree river.</p>
+
+<p>Learning one time that a band of loyalists&mdash;known
+in those parts as the "Bloody scout"&mdash;were
+about to fall upon the "Elder settlement," a place
+where a brother of hers and other friends were residing,
+she resolved to warn them of their danger.
+To do this she must hazard her own life. But off
+she started, alone, in the darkness of the night;
+traveled several miles through the woods, and over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>
+marshes and across creeks, through a country where
+foot-logs and bridges were then unknown; came to
+the Tyger, a rapid and deep stream, into which she
+plunged and waded till the water was up to her
+neck; she then became bewildered, and zigzagged
+the channel for some time; reached the opposite
+shore at length&mdash;for a helping Hand was beneath,
+a kind Providence guiding her:&mdash;hastened on;
+reached the settlement, and her brother and the
+whole community were safe!</p>
+
+<p>She was returning one day from another settlement
+of whigs&mdash;in the Spartanburg district, when
+a company of tories met her and questioned her
+in regard to the neighborhood she had just left;
+but she refused to communicate the desired information.
+The leader of the band then held a pistol
+to her breast, and threatened to shoot her if she
+did not make the wished for disclosure. "Shoot me
+if you dare! I will not tell you!" was her dauntless
+reply, as she opened a long handkerchief that
+covered her neck and bosom, thus manifesting a
+willingness to receive the contents of the pistol, if
+the officer insisted on disclosures or life. The dastard,
+enraged at her defying movement, was in the
+act of firing, at which moment one of the soldiers
+threw up the hand holding the weapon, and the
+cowerless heart of the girl was permitted to beat
+on.</p>
+
+<p>The brothers of Dicey were no less patriotic than
+she; and they having, by their active services on
+the side of freedom, greatly displeased the loyalists,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
+these latter were determined to be revenged. A
+desperate band accordingly went to the house of
+their father, and finding the sons absent, they were
+about to wreak their vengeance on the old man,
+whom they hated for the sons' sake. With this intent
+one of the party drew a pistol; but just as it
+was aimed at the breast of her aged and infirm
+father, Dicey rushed between the two, and though
+the ruffian bade her get out of his way or receive
+in her own breast the contents of the pistol, she
+regarded not his threats, but flung her arms around
+her father's neck and declared she would receive
+the ball first, if the weapon must be discharged.
+Such fearlessness and willingness to offer her own
+life for the sake of her parent, softened the heart
+of the "bloody scout," and Mr. Langston lived
+to see his noble daughter perform other heroic
+deeds.</p>
+
+<p>One time her brother James, in his absence, sent
+to the house for a gun which he had left in her
+care, with orders for her to deliver it to no one
+except by his direction. On reaching the house
+one of the company who where directed to call for
+it, made known their errand, whereupon she brought
+and was about to deliver the weapon. At this
+moment it occurred to her that she had not demanded
+the countersign agreed on between herself and
+brother. With the gun still in her hand, she looked
+the company sternly in the face, and remarking that
+they wore a suspicious look, called for the countersign.
+Hereupon one of them, in jest, told her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
+she was too tardy in her requirements; that both
+the gun and its holder were in their possession.
+"Do you think so," she boldly asked, as she
+cocked the disputed weapon and aimed it at the
+speaker. "If the gun is in your possession," she
+added, "take charge of it!" Her appearance indicated
+that she was in earnest, and the countersign
+was given without further delay. A hearty laugh
+on the part of the "liberty men," ended the ceremony.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>
+<h2>REBECCA MOTTE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+We can make our lives sublime.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i9 smcap">Longfellow.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the Revolutionary war, while Fort Motte,
+situated on Congaree river, in South Carolina, was
+in the hands of the British, in order to effect its
+surrender, it became necessary to burn a large
+mansion standing near the centre of the trench.
+The house was the property of Mrs. Motte. Lieut.
+Colonel Lee communicated to her the contemplated
+work of destruction with painful reluctance, but her
+smiles, half anticipating his proposal, showed, at
+once, that she was willing to sacrifice her property
+if she could thereby aid in the least degree towards
+the expulsion of the enemy and the salvation of
+the land. The reply she made to the proposal was
+that she was "gratified with the opportunity of
+contributing to the good of her country, and should
+view the approaching scene with delight!"
+
+<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a>
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The husband of this noble-hearted widow had so
+involved himself by securities for friends, that after
+the struggle for Independence was over, it was
+impossible for her to immediately meet all demands
+against the estate. She, however, resolved that
+they should some day be liquidated&mdash;that, life
+and health being continued long enough, all obligations
+of her husband's contracting should be good
+against herself. She purchased a large tract of rice
+land on credit, and by industry and economy was
+able, in a short time, to pay the old demands, and
+lived to accumulate a handsome property. She reminds
+us of Solomon's picture of the virtuous woman:
+"She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with
+the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard."...
+"She looketh well to the ways of her
+household, and eateth not of the bread of idleness."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ANOTHER SACRIFICE FOR FREEDOM.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+A patriot's birth-right thou may'st claim.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shelley.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The subject of the following anecdote was a sister
+of General Woodhull, and was born at Brookhaven,
+Long Island, in December, 1740. Her husband was
+a member of the Provincial Convention which met in
+May, 1775, and of the Convention which was called
+two years after, to frame the first state constitution.</p>
+
+<p>While Judge William Smith was in the Provincial
+Congress, his lady was met, at a place called Middle
+Island, by Major Benjamin Tallmadge, who was then
+on his march across Long Island. He told her he was
+on his way to her house to capture the force then possessing
+Fort St. George, and that he might be obliged
+to burn or otherwise destroy her dwelling-house and
+other buildings in accomplishing this object. Ready
+to make any sacrifice for the good of her bleeding
+country, she promptly assured the Major that the
+buildings were at his disposal, to destroy or not, as
+efforts to dislodge the enemy might require.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A PATRIOTIC DONATION.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Large charity doth never soil,<br />
+But only whitens soft white hands.&mdash;<span class="smcap">Lowell</span>.<br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When General Greene was retreating through the
+Carolinas, after the battle of the Cowpens, and while
+at Salisbury, North Carolina, he put up at a hotel, the
+landlady of which was Mrs. Elizabeth Steele. A detachment
+of Americans had just had a skirmish with
+the British under Cornwallis at the Catawba ford, and
+were defeated and dispersed; and when the wounded
+were brought to the hotel, the General no doubt felt
+somewhat discouraged, for the fate of the south and
+perhaps of the country seemed to hang on the result
+of this memorable retreat. Added to his other
+troubles was that of being penniless; and Mrs. Steele,
+learning this fact by accident, and ready to do any
+thing in her power to further the cause of freedom,
+took him aside and drew from under her apron two
+bags of specie. Presenting them to him she generously
+said, "Take these, for you will want them, and
+I can do without them."<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a>
+</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p>
+<h2>"THE LITTLE BLACK-EYED REBEL."</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i5">Some there are</span>
+By their good deeds exalted<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i9 smcap">Wordsworth.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Mary Redmond, the daughter of a patriot of Philadelphia
+of some local distinction, had many relatives
+who were loyalists. These were accustomed to call
+her "the little black-eyed rebel," so ready was she to
+assist women whose husbands were fighting for freedom,
+in procuring intelligence. "The dispatches
+were usually sent from their friends by a boy who
+carried them stitched in the back of his coat. He
+came into the city bringing provisions to market.
+One morning when there was some reason to fear he
+was suspected, and his movements were watched by
+the enemy, Mary undertook to get the papers from
+him in safety. She went, as usual, to the market, and
+in a pretended game of romps, threw her shawl over
+the boy's head and secured the prize. She hastened
+with the papers to her anxious friends, who read them
+by stealth, after the windows had been carefully
+closed."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>When the whig women in her neighborhood heard
+of Burgoyne's surrender, and were exulting in secret,
+the cunning little "rebel," prudently refraining from
+any open demonstration of joy, "put her head up the
+chimney and gave a shout for Gates!"</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;">
+<img src="images/illus138.jpg" width="150" height="222" alt="decoration" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A BENEVOLENT QUAKERESS.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+How few, like thee, inquire the wretched out,<br />
+And court the offices of soft humanity!<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i14 smcap">Rowe.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Charity Rodman was born in Newport, Rhode
+Island, in the year 1765. Her father was a sea-captain,
+and died at Honduras while she was in infancy.
+She married Thomas Rotch, of Nantucket, Massachusetts,
+on the sixth of June, 1790. Soon afterwards
+the Rotch family removed to New Bedford, where
+they have since distinguished themselves by their
+energy and uprightness of character, and their success
+in the mercantile business, being extensively engaged
+in the whale-fishery. Of some of them, as traffickers,
+it may be said, as it was of the merchants of Tyre in
+the days of her glory: "they are among the honorable
+of the earth."</p>
+
+<p>About the year 1801, Mrs. Rotch removed with her
+husband to Hartford, Connecticut, where she remained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+till 1811. She then, in a feeble state of health, and
+for its improvement, accompanied her husband on a
+journey through Ohio, and other parts of the West.
+The mildness of the winter was favorable to her constitution,
+and, restored to comfortable health, she
+returned to Hartford in the early part of the next
+summer. The following November she removed to
+Kendol, in Stark county, Ohio, near the site of the
+present village of Massillon.</p>
+
+<p>There the mind of Mrs. Rotch, coöperating with the
+long-cherished wishes of her heart, originated and
+matured plans for the establishment of a "school for
+orphan and destitute children." Having traveled
+much, she had made extensive observations; and with
+an eye always open to the condition and wants of
+human kind, she early and often felt the force of a
+remark once made to her by an English friend: "That
+there were a great many children <i>wasted</i> in this country"&mdash;a
+painful truth, but no less applicable to Great
+Britain than to the United States.</p>
+
+<p>Her husband died in 1823, and bequeathed to her,
+during life, his large and entire estate. His personal
+property was left in her hands to be disposed of as her
+philanthropic heart might dictate. This formed the
+basis of the school-fund which she left, and which,
+four or five years after her death, which occurred on
+the sixth of August, 1824, amounted to twenty thousand
+dollars. The interest of this sum has since purchased
+a farm of one hundred and eighty-five acres,
+one and a half miles from the village of Massillon, and
+erected, at a cost of five thousand dollars, a large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
+brick edifice for educational and dwelling purposes,
+which has been open seven years and which sustains
+forty pupils. The real and personal estate of the institution,
+is now estimated at thirty-five thousand dollars.</p>
+
+<p>A class of ten pupils enter annually and remain
+four years. The school is established on the manual
+labor plan; and the boys are thoroughly instructed
+in the art of husbandry, and the girls in culinary duties
+and the manufacture of their own wearing apparel.
+Children enter between the ages of ten and fourteen,
+hence the youngest leave as advanced in life as their
+fifteenth year, a period when their habits of industry
+and their moral principles usually become too well
+established to be easily changed.</p>
+
+<p>This school, founded by the benevolence of a single
+individual&mdash;a devout, yet modest and quiet member
+of the Society of Friends&mdash;is destined to become a
+source of inestimable blessings. Every half century,
+five hundred otherwise neglected plants in the garden
+of humanity, will there be pruned and nurtured, and
+strengthened for the storms of life; and many of them
+will doubtless be fitted to bear fruit here to the glory
+of God, and be finally transplanted to bloom in eternal
+youth in the gardens above.</p>
+
+<p>The offspring of Christian philanthropy, the school
+will stand as a lasting memorial of woman's worth.
+The highest ambition of its founder was to be a blessing
+to those who should come after her; and it may
+be said that while she did not live in vain, neither did
+she die in vain. Her death threw a legacy into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
+lap of orphanage, the benignant influence of which
+will long be felt.</p>
+
+<p>The grave of Mrs. Rotch is overlooked by the monument
+of her munificence, but no marble nor enduring
+object marks the spot. Virtues like hers neither crave
+nor need <i>chiseled</i> words of praise; they are engraved
+on the hearts of the succored, to be remembered while
+those hearts continue to beat; and the feet of befriended
+children will keep a path open to the grave
+of their foster-mother, for ages.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A PIONEER IN SUNDAY SCHOOLS.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a></h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+&mdash;Doubtless unto thee is given<br />
+A life that bears immortal fruit<br />
+In such great offices as suit<br />
+The full-grown energies of heaven.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Tennyson's In Memoriam.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The Ohio Company, which was organized in Boston
+in the year 1787, built a stockade fort during
+the next two years, at Marietta, and named it
+<i>Campus Martius</i>. The year it was completed, the
+Rev. Daniel Storey, a preacher at Worcester, Massachusetts,
+was sent out as a chaplain. He acted as
+an evangelist till 1797, when he became the pastor
+of a Congregational church which he had been instrumental
+in collecting in Marietta and the adjoining
+towns, and which was organized the preceding year.
+He held that relation till the spring of 1804. Probably
+he was the first Protestant minister whose voice
+was heard in the vast wilderness lying to the north-west
+of the Ohio river.</p>
+
+<p>In the garrison at Marietta was witnessed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>
+formation and successful operation of one of the
+first Sunday schools in the United States. Its originator,
+superintendent and sole teacher, was Mrs.
+Andrew Lake, an estimable lady from New York.
+Every Sabbath, after "Parson Storey" had finished
+his public services, she collected as many of the
+children at her house as would attend, and heard
+them recite verses from the Scriptures, and taught
+them the Westminster catechism. Simple in her
+manner of teaching and affable and kind in her
+disposition, she was able to interest her pupils&mdash;usually
+about twenty in number&mdash;and to win their affections
+to herself, to the school, and, subsequently,
+in some instances, to the Saviour. A few, at least,
+of the little children that used to sit on rude
+benches, low stools and the tops of meal bags, and
+listen to her sacred instructions and earnest admonitions,
+have doubtless ere this became pupils,
+with her, in the "school of Christ" above.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE WOMEN OF WYOMING.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+The guardians of the land.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i9 smcap">Holmes.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Justice and gratitude, writes Miner,<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> "demand
+a tribute to the praiseworthy spirit of the wives and
+daughters of Wyoming. While their husbands and
+fathers were on public duty, they cheerfully assumed
+a large portion of the labor which females could
+do. They assisted to plant, made hay, husked and
+garnered the corn. As the settlement was mainly
+dependent on its own resources for powder, Mr.
+Hollenback caused to be brought up the river a
+pounder; and the women took up their floors, dug
+out the earth, put it in casks, and run water through
+it,&mdash;as ashes are bleached:&mdash;then took ashes, in
+another cask, and made ley&mdash;mixed the water from
+the earth with weak ley, boiled it, set it to cool,
+and the saltpetre rose to the top. Charcoal and
+sulphur were then used, and powder was produced
+for the public defence."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MARY GOULD.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Far rung the groves and gleamed the midnight grass,<br />
+With flambeau, javelin and naked arm;<br />
+As warriors wheeled their culverins of brass,<br />
+Sprung from the woods a bold athletic mass,<br />
+Whom virtue fires and liberty combines.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Campbell.</span><br />
+<br />
+Such is the power of mighty love.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Dryden.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Early in the evening of the third day of July,
+1778&mdash;the date of the memorable Wyoming massacre&mdash;Mrs.
+Mary Gould, wife of James Gould,
+with the other females remaining in the village of
+Wyoming, sought safety in the fort. In the haste
+and confusion attending this act, she left a boy of
+hers about four years old, behind. Obeying the instincts
+of a mother, and turning a deaf ear to the
+admonitions of friends, she started off on a perilous
+search for the missing one. It was dark; she was
+alone, and the foe was lurking around; but the
+agonies of death could not exceed her agonies of
+suspense; so she hastened on. She traversed the
+fields which, but a few hours before,</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+"Were trampled by the hurrying crowd;"<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>where</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p>
+<div class="poem">
+"&mdash;fiery hearts and armed hands<br />
+Encountered in the battle cloud,"<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>and where unarmed hands were now resting on cold
+and motionless hearts. After a search of between
+one and two hours, she found her child on the
+bank of the river, sporting with a little band of
+playmates. Clasping the jewel in her arms, she
+hurried back and reached the fort in safety.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE MOTHER OF PRESIDENT POLK.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Holy as heaven a mother's tender love!<br />
+The love of many prayers, and many tears,<br />
+Which changes not with dim, declining years.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. Norton.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The late President Folk's mother, who died at
+Columbia, Tennessee, in the winter of 1851-2, was a
+member of the Presbyterian church, a highly exemplary
+Christian, and a faithful mother. The lessons
+which she taught her son in youth, were not forgotten
+when he had arrived at manhood, and risen to the
+highest office in the gift of a free and sovereign people.
+A single anecdote will show the abiding recollection
+and influence of her teachings.</p>
+
+<p>A gentleman, who once visited Mr. Polk at the
+White House, remarked to him that his respect for
+the Sabbath was highly gratifying to the religious
+sentiment of the country; whereupon he made the following
+reply: "I was taught by a pious mother to
+fear God, and keep his commandments, and I trust
+that no cares of a government of my own, will ever
+tempt me to forget what I owe to the government
+of God."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p>
+<h2>TRIALS OF A PATRIOT.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Press on! if fortune play thee false<br />
+To-day, to-morrow she 'll be true.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Park Benjamin.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the latter part of the Revolution, Thomas
+McCalla lived in Chester district, South Carolina.
+He removed thither from Pennsylvania, with his
+young wife, in 1778. He was a whole-hearted whig;
+served in the American army before moving to the
+south, and again enlisted soon after reaching his new
+home. He was in all the engagements attending
+Sumter's operations against the enemy, till the seventeenth
+of August, 1780, when, by permission, he went
+to visit his family. A short time afterwards he again
+joined the fighting men, but was almost immediately
+taken prisoner, sent to Camden, thrown into jail and
+threatened daily with hanging. The persevering and
+heroic endeavors of his affectionate and patriotic wife,
+to obtain his release, are detailed in the following interesting
+manner by the author of the Women of the
+Revolution:</p>
+
+<p>While this brave man was languishing in prison,
+expecting death from day to day, his wife remained
+in the most unhappy state of suspense. For about a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>
+month she was unable to obtain any tidings of him.
+The rumor of Sumter's surprise, and that of Steel,
+came to her ears; she visited the places where those
+disasters had occurred, and sought for some trace of
+him, but without success. She inquired, in an agony
+of anxiety, of the women who had been to Charlotte
+for the purpose of carrying clothes or provisions to
+their husbands, brothers, or fathers, not knowing but
+that he had gone thither with the soldiers; but none
+could give her the least information. Imagination
+may depict the harrowing scenes that must have
+passed, when females returning to their homes and
+children after carrying aid to the soldiers, were met by
+such inquiries from those who were uncertain as to
+the fate of their kindred. To these hapless sufferers
+no consolation availed, and too often was their suspense
+terminated by more afflicting certainty.</p>
+
+<p>In the midst of Mrs. McCalla's distress, and before
+she had gained any information, she was called to
+another claim on her anxiety; her children took the
+small-pox. John was very ill for nine days with the
+disease, and his mother thought every day would be
+his last. During this terrible season of alarm, while
+her mind was distracted by cares, she had to depend
+altogether upon herself, for she saw but one among her
+neighbors. All the families in the vicinity were visited
+with the disease, and to many it proved fatal. As
+soon as her child was so far recovered as to be considered
+out of danger, Mrs. McCalla made preparations
+to go to Camden. She felt convinced that it was her
+duty to do so, for she clung to the hope that she might<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
+there learn something of her husband, or even find
+him among the prisoners.</p>
+
+<p>With her to resolve was to act, and having set her
+house in order, she was in the saddle long before day,
+taking the old Charleston road leading down on the
+west side of the Catawba river. The mountain gap
+on Wateree creek was passed ere the sun rose, and by
+two o'clock she had crossed the river, passing the
+guard there stationed, and entered Camden. Pressing
+on with fearless determination, she passed the guard,
+and desiring to be conducted to the presence of Lord
+Rawdon, was escorted by Major Doyle to the head-quarters
+of that commander. His Lordship then
+occupied a large, ancient looking house on the east
+side of the main street. The old site of the town is
+now in part deserted, and that building left standing
+alone some four hundred yards from any other, as if
+the memories associated with it had rendered the
+neighborhood undesirable. It was here that haughty
+and luxurious nobleman fixed his temporary residence,
+"sitting as a monarch," while so many true-hearted
+unfortunates, whose fate hung on his will, were languishing
+out their lives in prison, or atoning for their
+patriotism on the scaffold.</p>
+
+<p>Into the presence of this august personage Mrs.
+McCalla was conducted by the British major. Her
+impression at first sight was favorable; he was a fine
+looking young man, with a countenance not unprepossessing,
+which we may suppose was eagerly searched
+for the traces of human sympathy by one who felt that
+all her hopes depended on him. His aspect gave her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
+some encouragement, and being desired to explain the
+object of her visit, she pleaded her cause with the eloquence
+of nature and feeling; making known the distressed
+situation of her family at home, the fearful
+anxiety of mind she had suffered on account of the
+prolonged absence of her husband and her ignorance
+of his fate, and her children's urgent need of his care
+and protection. From Major Doyle she had at length
+learned that he was held a prisoner by his lordship's
+orders. She had come, therefore, to entreat mercy for
+him; to pray that he might be released and permitted
+to go home with her. This appeal to compassion she
+made with all the address in her power, nor was the
+untaught language of distress wanting in power to
+excite pity in any feeling heart.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Rawdon heard her to the end. His reply was
+characteristic. "I would rather hang such &mdash;&mdash; rebels
+than eat my breakfast." This insulting speech was
+addressed to his suppliant while her eyes were fixed
+on him in the agony of her entreaty, and the tears
+were streaming down her cheeks. His words dried
+up the fountain at once, and the spirit of the American
+matron was roused. "Would you?" was her answer,
+while she turned on him a look of the deepest scorn.
+A moment after, with a struggle to control her feelings,
+for she well knew how much depended on that&mdash;she
+said, "I crave of your lordship permission to see my
+husband."</p>
+
+<p>The haughty chief felt the look of scorn his cruel
+language had called up in her face, for his own conscience
+bore testimony against him, but pride forbade<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
+his yielding to the dictates of better feeling. "You
+should consider, madam," he answered, "in whose
+presence you now stand. Your husband is a rebel&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. McCalla was about to reply&mdash;but her companion,
+the Major, gave her a look warning her to be
+silent, and in truth the words that sprang to her lips
+would have ill pleased the Briton. Doyle now interposed,
+and requested his lordship to step aside with
+him for a moment. They left the apartment, and
+shortly afterwards returned. Rawdon then said to his
+visitor, with a stately coldness that precluded all hope
+of softening his determination: "Major Doyle, madam,
+has my permission to let you go into the prison. You
+may continue in the prison <i>ten minutes only</i>. Major,
+you have my orders." So saying, he bowed politely
+both to her and the officer, as intimating that the
+business was ended, and they were dismissed. They
+accordingly quitted the room.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>The sight of the prison-pen almost overcame the
+fortitude of the resolute wife. An enclosure like that
+constructed for animals, guarded by soldiers, was the
+habitation of the unfortunate prisoners, who sate
+within on the bare earth, many of them suffering with
+the prevalent distemper, and stretched helpless on the
+ground, with no shelter from the burning sun of September.
+"Is it possible," cried the matron, turning
+to Doyle, "that you shut up men in this manner, as
+you would a parcel of hogs!" She was then admitted
+into the jail, and welcome indeed was the sight of her
+familiar face to McCalla. The time allotted for the
+interview was too short to be wasted in condolement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>
+or complaint; she told him she must depart in a few
+minutes, informed him of the state of his family&mdash;inquired
+carefully what were his wants, and promised
+speedy relief. When the ten minutes had expired,
+she again shook hands with him, assuring him she
+would shortly return with clothes for his use, and
+what provisions she could bring, then turning walked
+away with a firm step, stopping to shake hands with
+young John Adair and the other captives with whom
+she was acquainted. The word of encouragement was
+not wanting, and as she bade the prisoners adieu, she
+said: "Have no fear; the women are doing their
+part of the service." "I admire your spirit, madam,"
+Doyle observed to her, "but must request you to be a
+little more cautious."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. McCalla was furnished by the Major with a
+pass, which she showed to the officer on duty as she
+passed the guard on her return, and to the officer at
+the ferry. She rode with all speed, and was at home
+before midnight; having had less than twenty-four
+hours for the accomplishment of her whole enterprise;
+in that time riding one hundred miles, crossing the
+river twice, and passing the guard four times&mdash;visiting
+her husband, and having the interview with Lord
+Rawdon, in which probably for the first time in his
+life he felt uneasiness from a woman's rebuke. It
+convinced him that even in the breast of woman a
+spirit of independence might dwell, which no oppression
+could subdue, and before which brute force must
+quail, as something of superior nature. How must
+the unexpected outbreaking of this spirit, from time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>
+to time, have dismayed those who imagined it was
+crushed forever throughout the conquered province!</p>
+
+<p>It is proper to say that Mrs. McCalla met with
+kinder treatment from the other British officers to
+whom she had occasion to apply at this time, for
+they were favorably impressed by the courage and
+strength of affection evinced by her. Even the soldiers,
+as she passed them, paid her marks of respect.
+The tories alone showed no sympathy nor pity for
+her trials; it being constantly observed that there
+was deeper hostility towards the whigs on the part
+of their countrymen of different politics, than those
+of English birth.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. McCalla began her work immediately after
+her arrival at home; making new clothes, altering
+and mending others, and preparing provisions. Her
+preparations being completed, she again set out for
+Camden. This time she had the company of one of
+her neighbors, Mrs. Mary Nixon. Each of the women
+drove before her a pack-horse, laden with the
+articles provided for the use of their suffering friends.
+They were again admitted to the presence of Lord
+Rawdon to petition for leave to visit the prisoners, but
+nothing particular occurred at the interview. His
+lordship treated the matron who had offended him with
+much haughtiness, and she on her part felt for him
+a contempt not the less strong that it was not openly
+expressed. From this time she made her journeys
+about once a month to Camden, carrying clean clothes
+and provisions; being often accompanied by other
+women bound on similar errands, and conveying articles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>
+of food and clothing to their captive fathers, husbands,
+or brothers. They rode without escort, fearless
+of peril by the way, and regardless of fatigue, though
+the journey was usually performed in haste, and under
+the pressure of anxiety for those at home as well
+as those to whose relief they were going. On one
+occasion, when Mrs. McCalla was just about setting
+off alone upon her journey, news of a glorious event
+was brought to her; the news of the battle of King's
+Mountain, which took place on the seventh of October.
+She did not stop to rejoice in the victory of her countrymen,
+but went on with a lightened heart, longing,
+no doubt, to share the joy with him who might hope,
+from the changed aspect of affairs, some mitigation
+of his imprisonment.</p>
+
+<p>... About the first of December, Mrs. McCalla
+went again to Camden. On the preceding trip she
+had met with Lord Cornwallis, by whom she was
+treated with kindness. Whatever hopes she had
+grounded on this, however, were doomed to disappointment;
+he was this time reserved and silent. She
+was afterwards informed by the Major that a considerable
+reverse had befallen his majesty's troops at
+Clermont, and the annoyance felt on this account&mdash;Doyle
+said&mdash;was the cause of his not showing as
+much courtesy as he usually did to ladies. "You
+must excuse him," observed the good-natured officer,
+who seems to have always acted the part of a peacemaker
+on these occasions; and he added that Cornwallis
+had never approved of the cruelties heretofore
+practised.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>Towards the last of December the indefatigable
+wife again performed the weary journey to Camden.
+McCalla's health had been impaired for some months,
+and was now declining; it was therefore necessary
+to make a strenuous effort to move the compassion of
+his enemies, and procure his release. Rawdon was
+in command, and she once more applied to him
+to obtain permission for her husband to go home with
+her. As might have been anticipated, her petition
+was refused: his lordship informed her that he could
+do nothing in the premises; but that if she would go
+to Winnsboro' and present her request to Lord Cornwallis,
+he might possibly be induced to give her an
+order for the liberation of the prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>To Winnsboro', accordingly, she made her way,
+determined to lose no time in presenting her application.
+It was on New Year's morning that she entered
+the village. The troops were under parade, and his
+lordship was engaged in reviewing them; there could
+be no admission, therefore, to his presence for some
+time, and she had nothing to do but remain a silent
+spectator of the imposing scene. A woman less
+energetic, and less desirous of improving every opportunity
+for the good of others, might have sought rest
+after the fatigues of her journey, during the hours
+her business had to wait; Sarah McCalla was one of
+heroic stamp, whose private troubles never caused her
+to forget what she might do for her country. She
+passed the time in noticing particularly every thing
+she saw, not knowing but that her report might do
+service. After the lapse of several hours, the interview<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
+she craved with Cornwallis was granted. He received
+her with courtesy and kindness, listened attentively
+to all she had to say, and appeared to feel pity
+for her distresses. But his polished expression of
+sympathy, to which her hopes clung with desperation,
+was accompanied with regret that he could not, consistently
+with the duties of his Majesty's service,
+comply unconditionally with her request. He expressed,
+nevertheless, entire willingness to enter into
+an exchange with General Sumter, releasing McCalla
+for any prisoner he had in his possession. Or he
+would accept the pledge of General Sumter that McCalla
+should not again serve until exchanged, and
+would liberate him on that security. "But, madam,"
+he added, "it is Sumter himself who must
+stand pledged for the keeping of the parole. We
+have been too lenient heretofore, and have let men
+go who immediately made use of their liberty to
+take up arms against us."</p>
+
+<p>With this the long-tried wife was forced to be
+content, and she now saw the way clear to the accomplishment
+of her enterprise. She lost no time in
+returning home, and immediately set out for Charlotte
+to seek aid from the American general. She
+found Sumter at this place, nearly recovered of the
+wounds he had received in the action at Blackstock's,
+in November. Her appeal to him was at
+once favorably received. He gave her a few lines,
+stating that he would stand pledged for McCalla's
+continuance at home peaceably until he should be
+regularly exchanged. This paper was more precious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
+than gold to the matron whose perseverance had
+obtained it; but it was destined to do her little
+good. She now made the best of her way homeward.
+After crossing the Catawba, she encountered
+the army of General Morgan, was stopped, being suspected
+to be a tory, and taken into his presence
+for examination. The idea that she could be thus
+suspected afforded her no little amusement, and
+she permitted the mistake to continue for some
+time, before she produced the paper in Sumter's
+hand-writing which she well knew would remove
+every difficulty. She then informed the General of
+her visit to Winnsboro' on the first of January,
+and her sight of the review of the troops. Morgan
+thanked her for the information and dismissed
+her, and without further adventure she arrived at
+her own house.</p>
+
+<p>A few days after her return, the British army,
+being on its march from Winnsboro', encamped on
+the plantation of John Service, in Chester district,
+and afterwards at Turkey creek. Mrs. McCalla
+went to one of those camps in the hope of seeing
+Lord Cornwallis. She succeeded in obtaining this
+privilege; his lordship recognised her as soon as
+she entered the camp, and greeted her courteously,
+questioning her as to her movements, and making
+many inquiries about Sumter and Morgan. On this
+last point she was on her guard, communicating no
+more information than she felt certain could give
+the enemy no manner of advantage, nor subject
+her friends to inconvenience. At length she presented<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
+to the noble Briton the paper which she
+imagined would secure her husband's freedom.
+What was her disappointment when he referred her
+to Lord Rawdon, as the proper person to take cognizance
+of the affair! The very name was a death-blow
+to her hopes, for she well knew she could
+expect nothing from his clemency. Remonstrance
+and entreaty were alike in vain; Cornwallis was a
+courteous man, but he knew how, with a bland smile
+and well-turned phrase of compliment, to refuse compliance
+even with a request that appealed so strongly
+to every feeling of humanity, as that of an anxious
+wife pleading for the suffering and imprisoned father
+of her children. She must submit, however, to the
+will of those in power; there was no resource but
+another journey to Camden, in worse than doubt
+of the success she had fancied just within her reach.</p>
+
+<p>It was a day or two after the battle of the Cowpens
+that she crossed the ferry on her way to
+Camden. She had not yet heard of that bloody
+action, but, observing that the guard was doubled at
+the ferry, concluded that something unusual had occurred.
+As she entered the village, she met her
+old friend Major Doyle, who stopped to speak to
+her. His first inquiry was if she had heard the
+news; and when she answered in the negative,
+he told her of the "melancholy affair" that had
+occurred at the Cowpens. The time, he observed,
+was most inauspicious for the business on which he
+knew she had come. "I fear, madam," he said,
+"that his lordship will not treat you well."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>"I have no hope," was her answer, "that he will
+let Thomas go home; but, sir, it is my duty to
+make efforts to save my husband. I will thank you
+to go with me to Lord Rawdon's quarters."</p>
+
+<p>Her reception was such as she had expected.
+As soon as Rawdon saw her, he cried angrily, "You
+here again, madam! Well&mdash;you want your husband&mdash;I
+dare say! Do you not know what the
+&mdash;&mdash; rebels have been doing?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not, sir," replied the dejected matron, for
+she saw that his mood was one of fury.</p>
+
+<p>"If we had hung them," he continued, "we should
+have been saved this. Madam! I order you most
+positively never to come into my presence again!"</p>
+
+<p>It was useless, Mrs. McCalla knew, to attempt
+to stem the tide; she did not therefore produce,
+nor even mention the paper given her by Sumter,
+nor apologise for the intrusion by saying that Lord
+Cornwallis had directed her to apply to him; but
+merely answered in a subdued and respectful tone
+by asking what she had done.</p>
+
+<p>"Enough!" exclaimed the irritated noble. "You
+go from one army to another, and Heaven only
+knows what mischief you do! Begone."</p>
+
+<p>She waited for no second dismissal, but could not
+refrain from saying, as she went out, in an audible
+voice, "My countrymen must right me." Lord
+Rawdon called her back and demanded what she
+was saying. She had learned by this time some
+lessons in policy, and answered, with a smile, "We
+are but simple country folk." His lordship probably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>
+saw through the deceit, for turning to his officer,
+he said, "Upon my life, Doyle, she is a wretch of a
+woman!" And thus she left him.</p>
+
+<p>That great event&mdash;the battle of the Cowpens&mdash;revived
+the spirits of the patriots throughout the
+country. Every where, as the news spread, men who
+had before been discouraged flew to arms. The action
+took place on the seventeenth of January,
+1781; on the twenty-second of the same month, six
+wagons were loaded with corn at Wade's island,
+sixty miles down the Catawba for the use of General
+Davison's division. The whole whig country
+of Chester, York and Lancaster may be said to
+have risen in mass, and was rallying to arms.
+Mecklenburg, North Carolina, was again the scene
+of warlike preparation; for the whigs hoped to give
+the enemy another defeat at Cowans or Batisford
+on the Catawba. On the twenty-fourth of January,
+General Sumter crossed this river at Landsford, and
+received a supply of corn from Wade's island.
+His object was to cross the districts to the west,
+in the rear of the advancing British army, to
+arouse the country and gather forces as he went,
+threaten the English posts at Ninety-Six and Granby,
+and go on to recover the State. While Cornwallis
+marched from his encampment on Service's plantation,
+the whigs of Chester, under the gallant
+Captains John Mills and James Johnston, were
+hovering near, watching the movements of the hostile
+army as keenly as the eagle watches his intended
+prey. Choosing a fit opportunity, as they followed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
+in the rear, they pounced upon a couple of British
+officers, one of whom was Major McCarter, at a
+moment when they had not the least suspicion of
+danger, took them prisoners in sight of the enemy,
+and made good their retreat. By means of this
+bold exploit the liberation of McCalla was brought
+about, at a time when his wife was wholly disheartened
+by her repeated and grievous disappointments.
+When General Sumter passed through
+the country, a cartel of exchange was effected,
+giving the two British officers in exchange for the
+prisoners of Chester district in Camden and Charleston.</p>
+
+<p>The person sent with the flag to accomplish this
+exchange in Camden, was Samuel Neely of Fishing
+creek. As he passed through the town to the quarters
+of Lord Rawdon, he was seen and recognized
+by the prisoners, and it may be supposed their
+hearts beat with joy at the prospect of speedy release.
+But in consequence of some mismanagement
+of the business, the unfortunate men were detained
+in jail several weeks longer. Neely was in haste
+to proceed to Charleston, being anxious, in the
+accomplishment of his mission in that city, to get
+his son Thomas out of the prison-ship, and in his
+hurry probably neglected some necessary formalities.
+His countrymen in Camden were kept in confinement
+after his return from Charleston with his son.
+Captain Mills was informed of this, and indignant
+at the supposed disrespect shown by Lord Rawdon
+to the cartel of General Sumter, wrote a letter of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
+remonstrance to Rawdon, which he entrusted to Mrs.
+McCalla to be conveyed to him.</p>
+
+<p>Our heroine was accompanied on this journey by
+Mrs. Mary Nixon, for she judged it impolitic that
+the letter should be delivered by one so obnoxious
+to his lordship as herself. Still she deemed it her
+duty to be on the spot to welcome her liberated
+husband, supply all his wants, and conduct him
+home. The distance was traversed this time with
+lighter heart than before, for now she had no reason
+to fear disappointment. When they arrived at Camden,
+they went to the jail. John Adair was standing
+at a window; they saw and greeted each other, the
+women standing in the yard below. Perhaps in
+consequence of his advice, or prudential considerations
+on their part, they determined not to avail
+themselves of the good offices of Major Doyle on
+this occasion. Adair directed them to send the
+jailor up to him, and wrote a note introducing his
+sister to the acquaintance of Lord Rawdon. The
+two women then proceeded to the quarters of that
+nobleman. When they arrived at the gate, Mrs.
+McCalla stopped, saying she would wait there, and
+her companion proceeded by herself. She was admitted
+into the presence of Lord Rawdon, who read
+the note of introduction she handed to him, and
+observed, referring to the writer&mdash;that the small-pox
+had almost finished him; still, he had come very
+near escaping from the jail; that he was "a grand
+'scape-gallows." On reading the letter of Captain
+Mills his color changed, and when he had finished<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>
+it, turning to Mrs. Nixon, he said in an altered
+tone: "I am sorry these men have not been dismissed,
+as of right they ought." He immediately
+wrote a discharge for eleven of the prisoners, and
+put it into her hands, saying: "You can get them
+out, madam. I am very sorry they have been confined
+so many weeks longer than they should have
+been." At the same time he gave Mrs. Nixon a
+guinea. "This," he said, "will bear your expenses."</p>
+
+<p>His lordship accompanied her on her way out,
+and as she passed through the gate his eye fell
+on Mrs. McCalla, whom he instantly recognized.
+Walking to the spot where she stood near the gate,
+he said fiercely: "Did I not order you, madam,
+to keep out of my presence?" The matron's independent
+spirit flashed from her eyes, as she answered:
+"I had no wish, sir, to intrude myself on your
+presence; I stopped at the gate on purpose to avoid
+you." Unable to resist the temptation of speaking
+her mind for once, now that she had a last opportunity,
+she added: "I might turn the tables on you,
+sir, and ask, why did <i>you</i> come out to the gate to
+insult a woman? I have received from you nothing
+but abuse. My distresses you have made sport of,
+and I ceased long since to expect anything from
+you but ill-treatment. I am now not your supplicant;
+I came to <i>demand</i>, as a right, the release of my
+husband!" So saying, she bowed to him contemptuously,
+wheeled about, and deliberately walked off,
+without stopping to see how her bold language was
+received. Mrs. Nixon hastened after her, pale as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>
+death, and at first too much frightened to speak.
+As soon as she found voice, she exclaimed: "Sally,
+you have ruined us, I am afraid! Why, he may
+put us both in jail!"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. McCalla laughed outright. "It is not the
+first time, Mary," she replied, "that I have given
+him to understand I thought him a villain!" The
+two made their way back to the prison, but even
+after they got there Mrs. Nixon had not recovered
+from her terror. She was informed that it would
+be some time before the prisoners could be released.
+The blacksmith was then sent for, and came with
+his tools. The sound of the hammering in the
+apartments of the jail, gave the first intimation
+to the women who waited to greet their friends,
+that the helpless captives were chained to the floor.
+This precaution had been adopted not long before,
+in consequence of some of the prisoners having
+attempted an escape. They were then put in handcuffs
+or chained by the ankle. These men left the
+place of their long imprisonment and suffering
+in company with the two women, and as they
+marched through the streets of Camden, passing the
+British guard, they sang at the top of their voices
+the songs of the "liberty-men."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span></p>
+<h2>INTREPIDITY OF MRS. ISRAEL.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+He is not worthy of the honey comb,<br />
+That shuns the hive because the bees have stings.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the Revolution, Israel Israel, a true whig
+and a worthy farmer, residing on the banks of the
+Delaware, near Wilmington, was, for a short time,
+a prisoner on board the frigate Roebuck, directly
+opposite his own house and land. While thus situated,
+it was reported by some loyalists by whose
+treachery he had been betrayed into the hands of
+the enemy, that he had said repeatedly that "he
+would sooner drive his cattle as a present to George
+Washington, than receive thousands of dollars in
+British gold for them." The commander hearing
+the report, to be revenged on the rebel, sent a small
+detachment of soldiers to drive his cattle, which
+were in plain sight of the frigate, down to the Delaware,
+and have them slaughtered before their
+owner's eyes. Mrs. Israel,<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a>
+
+
+ who was young and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>
+sprightly, and brave as a Spartan, seeing the movements
+of the soldiers as she stood in her doorway,
+and divining their purpose as they marched towards
+the meadow where the cattle were grazing, called a
+boy about eight years old, and started off in great
+haste, to defeat, if possible, their marauding project.
+They threatened and she defied, till at last they fired
+at her. The cattle, more terrified than she, scattered
+over the fields; and as the balls flew thicker she called
+on the little boy "Joe" the louder and more
+earnestly to help, determined that the assailants
+should not have one of the cattle. <i>They did not.</i>
+She drove them all into the barn-yard, when the
+soldiers, out of respect to her courage, or for some
+other cause, ceased their molestations and returned
+to the frigate.
+</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span></p>
+<h2>AN INCIDENT IN MISSIONARY LIFE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Love's holy flame for ever burneth;<br />
+From heaven it came, to heaven returneth;<br />
+Too oft on earth a troubled guest,<br />
+... at times oppressed.<br />
+It here is tried and purified,<br />
+Then hath in heaven its perfect rest.<br />
+It soweth here with toil and care,<br />
+But the harvest time of love is there.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Southey.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>No class of laborers in the broad harvest field of
+the world endure so many sacrifices of comfort and
+of home felicities as the missionaries to foreign
+countries. Of the trials peculiar to <i>mothers</i> who go
+forth on such an errand of humanity, the keenest must
+be their separation from their children. The pernicious
+habits and influences of a pagan community,
+often render it absolutely necessary that their offspring
+should be sent to a civilized land to be educated.
+This duty, however painful, is imperative, and they
+who accuse the mother of hardness because she does
+it, are either grossly ignorant, or haters of truth.
+Many instances of heroic firmness and almost superhuman
+calmness under such trials, are on record, but
+one may stand as a type of the whole.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>Mrs. Comstock<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> of the Burmah Baptist mission
+felt called upon to part with her two children, whom
+God had given her while on the field of labor.
+The hour for separation came, and taking them by
+the hand, she led them down to the ship that was
+to bear them for ever from her sight. Having invoked
+the blessing of Heaven upon them, she gave
+each the parting kiss and, with streaming eyes,
+lifted her hands towards heaven and exclaimed:
+"My Saviour! I do this for thee."</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+Amid the jungles of the East,<br />
+<span class="i2">Where gloomiest forms of sin are rife,</span>
+Like flowerets in a desert drear,<br />
+<span class="i2">Her treasured ones had sprung to life.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="stanza">
+And smiling round her, day by day,<br />
+<span class="i2">Though cares unnumbered weigh her heart,</span>
+Their prattle, full of music tones,<br />
+<span class="i2">Unceasing joy and hope impart.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="stanza">
+Their little minds, like tender buds<br />
+<span class="i2">In vernal hours, she sees unfold,</span>
+And young affection in their eyes<br />
+<span class="i2">Is gleaming like a gem of gold.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="stanza">
+But 'mid the toils that press her sore&mdash;<br />
+<span class="i2">The spirit-wants of 'wildered ones&mdash;</span>
+These buds must often miss the dew,<br />
+<span class="i2">And plead in vain for constant suns.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="stanza">
+She sees their smiles, their music hears,<br />
+<span class="i2">And feels affection's holy thrall;</span>
+But duty's voice, from out the skies,<br />
+<span class="i2">In sweeter tones, is heard o'er all.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>To Western climes, illumed by truth,<br />
+<span class="i2">And blest with learning's sacred flowers,</span>
+These blossoms of her heart must go,<br />
+<span class="i2">To bloom henceforth in stranger bowers.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="stanza">
+She leads them to the waiting ship;<br />
+<span class="i2">She kneels in anguish on the deck,</span>
+And while she breathes a silent prayer,<br />
+<span class="i2">Their arms like tendrils twine her neck.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="stanza">
+She tears her from the loved away,<br />
+<span class="i2">Whom she on earth no more may see,</span>
+And looking up to heaven, exclaims,<br />
+<span class="i2">"<i>My Saviour, I do this for thee!</i>"</span>
+</div>
+<div class="stanza">
+Then hastens to her task again,<br />
+<span class="i2">The pleasant task her Saviour's given,</span>
+That, finished all, she may ascend,<br />
+<span class="i2">And lure the distant ones to heaven.</span>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A KIND-HEARTED CHIPPEWA.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Both men and women belie their nature<br />
+When they are not kind.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Bailey's Festus.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the early settlement of Ohio, Daniel Convers
+was captured by the savages; but he had the good
+fortune to be purchased by a noble-hearted Indian
+whose wife possessed a kindred spirit. His condition,
+we are informed in the Pioneer History of
+Ohio, "was not that of a slave, but rather an
+adoption into the family as a son. The Indian's
+wife, whom he was directed to call mother, was a
+model of all that is excellent in woman, being
+patient, kind-hearted, humane and considerate to
+the wants and comfort of all around her, and especially
+so to their newly adopted son. To sum
+up all her excellences in a brief sentence of the
+captive's own language, she was 'as good a woman
+as ever lived.'"<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HUMANITY OF A CHEROKEE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i5">How poor an instrument</span>
+May do a noble deed.<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the Revolution, a young Shawanese Indian
+was captured by the Cherokees and sentenced
+to die at the stake. He was tied, and the usual
+preparations were made for his execution, when a
+Cherokee woman went to the warrior to whom the
+prisoner belonged, and throwing a parcel of goods
+at his feet, said she was a widow and would
+adopt the captive as her son, and earnestly plead
+for his deliverance. Her prayer was granted, and
+the prisoner taken under her care. He rewarded
+her by his fidelity, for, in spite of the entreaties of
+his friends, whom he was allowed to visit, he never
+left her.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span></p>
+<h2>SELF-SACRIFICING SPIRIT OF THE MISSIONARY.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i2">Thou know 'st not, Afric! sad of heart and blind,</span>
+<span class="i3">Unskilled the precious Book of God to read;</span>
+<span class="i2">Thou canst not know, what moved that soul refined,</span>
+<span class="i3">Thy lot of wretchedness to heed,</span>
+<span class="i2">And from her fireside, bright with hallowed glee,</span>
+To dare the boisterous surge and deadly clime for thee.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. Sigourney.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>We know not how one may exhibit greater benevolence
+than to offer life for the spiritual good of the
+heathen; and he virtually does this who goes to
+some, at least, of the missionary stations. Those in
+Africa are the most unhealthy, and their history
+presents a frightful bill of mortality. In his journal
+of January, 1846, Dr. Savage, of the Protestant Episcopal
+mission in Africa, states that during the nine
+years previous to that date, the whole number of missionaries
+under the patronage of the different Boards,
+in Africa, had been sixty-one, and of that number
+forty were then dead. American Baptists alone lost
+eleven between 1826 and 1848. Five of them were
+buried in the single town of Monrovia. With such
+facts as these, touching African missions, staring the
+disciple of Christ in the face, it must require no common<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>
+degree of moral courage for him to embark in
+the enterprise.</p>
+
+<p>The following letter, by Miss Maria V. Chapin,
+of Vermont, was written prior to her leaving this
+country for West Africa, and breathes the sentiments
+of a self-sacrificing and heroic Christian. Multitudes
+of like examples, equally as noble, might be
+pointed out, but it seems to be needless: this letter
+may stand as a type of the spirit usually exhibited
+under similar circumstances. It was addressed to the
+Rev. Dr. Vaughan, then Secretary of the Foreign
+Committee of the Protestant Episcopal church:</p>
+
+<p>"The question of my personally engaging in a
+mission to the heathen, has long been before my
+mind, and received, as it claimed, my most serious
+and prayerful consideration. This great work is now
+brought nearer to my mind than I could ever before
+regard it, and I trust it does not appear the less desirable.
+I have considered the subject in every light,
+so far as I am able from the information I have respecting
+it, and I can never take up the question
+again, to find reasons for going. My mind is now
+settled as to the duty, should no unforeseen providence
+prevent, of leaving home and country for a heathen
+land. A long adieu to my kindred and friends will
+rend the heart; I feel already that it will; but at the
+same time, the prospect of doing good to some poor
+heathen soul will fill it with joy, and the hope of advancing,
+in ever so small a degree, the cause of my
+Redeemer, will be a constant feast to the soul. The
+silent tear of parental affection and solicitude would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>
+indeed overpower me, had I not confidence that He
+who thus afflicts, will support, my beloved parents.
+Neither, in the present case, can I think it proper to
+follow, altogether, the opinion of friends. With the
+smiles of my heavenly Father, I must be happy,
+though friends forsake me. I feel an inexpressible
+pleasure in commending them to God, assured that
+they will be enabled to give up their child without regret,
+in the hope that she will do good to perishing
+souls. And I have, also, that blessed hope, that,
+should we never again meet in this world, we shall be
+a happy family circle at the right hand of God.
+Still, I feel my own insufficiency to decide a question
+of such importance as that of leaving all that the
+heart holds most dear on earth, to encounter the toils
+and hardships of a missionary life. Indeed, I would
+not decide for myself. I trust solely to Him who has
+promised grace and strength. Though, at times, great
+weakness has constrained me to shrink at the prospect
+before me, I have been consoled and supported
+in the assurance that God will perfect strength in my
+weakness. I feel a desire to act in accordance with
+the will of God; to do nothing which would be displeasing
+in His sight. I think I am willing to be, and
+to do, anything for the sake of the glory of God; and
+if I can only be sure that I am wholly under the guidance
+of His spirit, I shall be fully satisfied. It is
+difficult, I know, to analyze one's feelings, and ascertain
+the real character of the motives by which we are
+actuated; I feel my liability to be deceived, and my
+need of Divine assistance. The only question which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>
+concerns me, is, are my motives pure and holy?
+Never would I bear the missionary standard, without
+having in my heart the missionary spirit. I have
+calmly and deliberately weighed the subject, and feel
+that no attraction from its novelty, no impulse from
+its moral dignity, can bear up, and carry forward any
+one, amidst the long continued labors of almost uniform
+sameness which you represented to me; nothing
+but a thorough conviction of being in the path of duty,
+nothing but the approving smile of Heaven, can keep
+one from despondency, from sinking into hopeless inactivity;
+but I have calmly and deliberately weighed
+the subject, and feel a willingness to give up comforts,
+and submit to privations, to forsake ease and endure
+toil, to assemble no more 'with the great congregation,'
+but seek the Lord in the wilderness, or in the
+desert&mdash;in short, to make every sacrifice of personal
+ease and gratification, for the one great object of making
+known a crucified Saviour to those who are perishing
+in ignorance and sin. Indeed, what sacrifice
+can be too great, if what is done for Him who bought
+us with his own blood can be called a sacrifice, for
+those to make, who have themselves experienced the
+efficacy of a Saviour's blood? I have reflected, that
+should I go out, cheered by the smiles of friends, and
+encouraged by the approbation of the churches, yet
+soon, amidst a people of strange speech, I shall see
+these smiles only in remembrance, and hear the voice
+of encouragement only in dying whispers across the
+ocean. Yet, when I have considered the command of
+Christ, 'Go ye and teach all nations,'&mdash;and when,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
+in pouring out my soul on this subject to the Father
+of light, I have realized more of that sweet 'peace
+which passeth all understanding;' objections have
+all dwindled to a point; I have been enabled, by
+the eye of faith, to discover the finger of God,
+pointing me to the benighted African, and have
+heard his voice saying, with the affection of a Father
+and the authority of a Sovereign, 'Come, follow me'&mdash;'He
+that loveth father or mother more than me,
+is not worthy of me;' and adding, for my encouragement,
+'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.'
+I do feel that God calls me to become a missionary,
+and do, with this belief, resolve to consider myself
+as devoted to that service, hoping that God will
+qualify me, and make me a faithful servant for
+Christ's sake."<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p>
+<h2>DARING EXPLOIT OF "TWO REBELS."</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Think'st thou there dwells no courage but in breasts<br />
+That set their mail against the ringing spears,<br />
+When helmets are struck down? Thou little knowest<br />
+Of nature's marvels.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. Hemans.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the sieges of Augusta and Cambridge, two
+young men of the name of Martin, belonging to
+Ninety-Six district, South Carolina, were in the
+army. Meanwhile their wives, who remained at
+home with their mother-in-law, displayed as much
+courage, on a certain occasion, as was exhibited,
+perhaps, by any female during the struggle for Independence.</p>
+
+<p>Receiving intelligence one evening that a courier,
+under guard of two British officers, would pass their
+house that night with important dispatches, Grace
+and Rachel Martin resolved to surprise the party
+and obtain the papers. Disguising themselves in
+their husbands' outer garments and providing themselves
+with arms, they waylaid the enemy. Soon
+after they took their station by the road-side, the
+courier and his escort made their appearance. At
+the proper moment, the disguised ladies sprang from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>
+their bushy covert, and presenting their pistols, ordered
+the party to surrender their papers. Surprised
+and alarmed, they obeyed without hesitation or the
+least resistance. The brave women having put them
+on parole, hastened home by the nearest route, which
+was a by-path through the woods, and dispatched the
+documents to General Greene by a single messenger,
+who probably had more courage than the trio that
+lately bore them.</p>
+
+<p>Strange to say, a few minutes after the ladies
+reached home, and just as they had doffed their
+male attire, the officers, retracing their steps, rode up
+to the house and craved accommodations for the
+night. The mother of the heroines asked them the
+cause of their so speedy return after passing her
+house, when they exhibited their paroles and said that
+"two rebels" had taken them prisoners. Here the
+young ladies, in a rallying mood, asked them if they
+had no arms, to which query they replied, that,
+although they had, they were arrested so suddenly
+that they had no time to use them. We have only
+to add that they were hospitably entertained, and
+the next morning took their leave of the women as
+ignorant of the residence of their captors as when
+first arrested.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ELIZABETH MARTIN.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+The mothers of our Forest-land!<br />
+Their bosoms pillowed <i>men</i>.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">W. D. Gallagher.</span><br />
+
+&mdash;A fine family is a fine thing.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Byron.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The mother-in-law of the two patriotic women
+spoken of in the preceding article, was a native of
+Caroline county, Virginia. Her maiden name was
+Marshall. On marrying Mr. Abram Martin, she removed
+to South Carolina.</p>
+
+<p>When the Revolutionary war broke out, she had
+seven sons old enough to enlist in their country's
+service; and as soon as the call to arms was heard,
+she said to them, "Go, boys, and fight for your
+country! fight till death, if you must, but never
+let your country be dishonored. Were I a man I
+would go with you."</p>
+
+<p>Several British officers once called at her house,
+and while receiving some refreshments, one of them
+asked her how many sons she had. She told him,
+eight; and when asked where they were, she boldly
+replied, "Seven of them are engaged in the service<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>
+of their country." The officer sneeringly observed
+that she had enough of them. "No, sir, I wish I
+had fifty!" was her prompt and proud reply.</p>
+
+<p>Only one of those seven sons was killed during
+the war. He was a captain of artillery, served in
+the sieges of Savannah and Charleston, and was
+slain at the siege of Augusta. Soon after his death
+a British officer called on the mother, and in
+speaking of this son, inhumanly told her that he saw
+his brains blown out on the battle field. The reply
+she made to the monster's observation was: "He
+could not have died in a nobler cause."</p>
+
+<p>When Charleston was besieged, she had three
+sons in the place. She heard the report of cannon
+on the occasion, though nearly a hundred miles
+west of the besieged city. The wives of the sons
+were with her, and manifested great uneasiness
+while listening to the reports; nor could the mother
+control her feelings any better. While they were
+indulging in silent and, as we may suppose, painful
+reflections, the mother suddenly broke the silence
+by exclaiming, as she raised her hands: "Thank
+God! they are the children of the republic!"<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE MOTHER'S EFFECTUAL PETITION.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i4">What rhetoric didst thou use</span>
+To gain this mighty boon?<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Addison.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>James M. Wilson was one of the unfortunate young
+men who engaged in the Cuban invasion, in 1851; and
+he was taken prisoner and sent to Spain. His mother
+petitioned for his release through President Fillmore,
+and so earnest, so full of the beauty of maternal love,
+and so touching was her appeal, that her request was
+granted, and the erring son was permitted to return to
+his mother's embrace. The following is a copy of the
+letter which she addressed to the President. It is said
+to have called forth flattering commendation from the
+heads of State and the highest encomiums from the
+Majesty of Spain.</p>
+
+<div class="signature">
+<span class="smcap">New Orleans</span>, Sept. 25, 1851.
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Father of Our Country</span>:&mdash;To you I look for
+help. My dear son is one of the unfortunate prisoners
+to Spain. He is all the child I have; is only nineteen
+years old, not twenty-two, as stated. He was innocent
+and unsuspecting, and the more easily duped. He saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>
+no means of making a support for himself and me, we
+being poor: he could get no employment; my health
+was bad; he therefore hoped to do something by going
+to Cuba. But, alas! I am worse than poor! Death
+would have been more welcome. His father died,
+when he was very young, in Texas, which makes him
+more dear to me. Oh! cruel fate, why have I lived to
+see this? Perhaps to suit some wise design. God's
+will be done, not mine! I have prayed for his life
+from the time he left; it was spared. Dear President,
+will it be possible for you to do any thing? Can you
+comfort me? I am wearing away. Methinks I cannot
+bear up under the idea of ten years; perhaps executed,
+or detained for life, or the climate cause his death. I
+feel for all of them, and pray for all. It was not my
+will that he should go; he was seduced into it by
+others. Dear father of the land of my birth, can you
+do any thing? Will you ask for their release? Methinks
+you will, and it would be granted. Will you feel
+offended with me for appealing to you for comfort?
+If so, I beg pardon. My distress has stimulated me
+to venture to dare to address the President. To whom
+else could I look for comfort? If you could but see
+me, I know you would pity me. If any one knew I
+had approached you, they might think I presumed
+much. Perhaps I do. Yet methinks you will view
+it in charity.</p>
+
+<p>
+With all due respect to your Excellency.</p>
+<div class="signature">OPHELIA P. TALBOT.<br />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p>
+<h2>NOTEWORTHY INTEGRITY.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Honesty, even by itself, though making many adversaries<br />
+Whom prudence might have set aside, or charity have softened,<br />
+Evermore will prosper at the last.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i14 smcap">Tupper.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>We have often read an interesting story of a stockbroker
+who, just before his death, laid a wager on parole
+with a Parisian capitalist; and a few weeks after
+his death, the latter visited the widow and gave her to
+understand that her late husband had lost a bet of
+sixteen thousand francs. She went to her secretary,
+took out her pocket-book, and counted bank notes to
+the stated amount, when the capitalist thus addressed
+her: "Madame, as you give such convincing proof
+that you consider the wager binding, <i>I</i> have to pay
+you sixteen thousand francs. Here is the sum, for <i>I</i>
+am the loser, and not your husband."</p>
+
+<p>An act that, in principle, matches the above, came
+to light not long since in Philadelphia. During the
+speculations of 1837-38, Mr. C., a young merchant of
+that city, possessed of a handsome fortune, caught the
+mania, entered largely into its operations, and for a
+time was considered immensely rich. But when the
+great revulsion occurred he was suddenly reduced to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>
+bankruptcy. His young wife immediately withdrew
+from the circles of wealth and fashion, and adapted
+her expenses, family and personal, to her altered circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of Mr. C.'s failure, his wife was in debt
+to Messrs. Stewart and Company, merchants of Philadelphia,
+about two hundred dollars for articles which
+she had used personally. This debt, she had no
+means of liquidating. It became barred by the statute
+of limitation, before Mr. C. became solvent,
+though his circumstances gradually improved. After
+the lapse of twelve years, and when the creditors had
+looked upon the debt as lost, Mrs. C. was able to take
+the principle, add to it twelve years' interest, enclose
+the whole in a note and address it to Messrs. Stewart
+and Company.<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a>
+</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A FAITHFUL MOTHER.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+&mdash;Her pure and holy spirit now<br />
+Doth intercede at the eternal throne.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Miss Landon.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The following anecdote strikingly illustrates the
+strength of maternal love, the beauty of faith, and
+the efficacy of prayer. It was related by a blind
+preacher:</p>
+
+<p>"When I was about eighteen years of age, there
+was a dancing party in Middleboro, Massachusetts,
+which I was solicited to attend, and act, as usual, in
+the capacity of musician. I was fond of such scenes
+of amusements then, and I readily assented to the
+request. I had a pious mother; and she earnestly
+remonstrated against my going. But, at length, when
+all her expostulations and entreaties failed in changing
+my purpose, she said: 'Well, my son, I shall
+not forbid your going, but remember, that all the
+time you spend in that gay company, I shall spend
+in praying for you at home.' I went to the ball,
+but I was like the stricken deer, carrying an arrow
+in his side. I began to play; but my convictions
+sank deeper and deeper, and I felt miserable indeed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
+I thought I would have given the world to have
+been rid of that mother's prayers. At one time I
+felt so wretched and so overwhelmed with my feelings,
+that I ceased playing and dropped my musical
+instrument from my hand. There was another young
+person there who refused to dance; and, as I learned,
+her refusal was owing to feelings similar to my own,
+and perhaps they arose from a similar cause. My
+mother's prayers were not lost. That was the last
+ball I ever attended, except <i>one</i>, where I was invited
+to play again, but went and prayed and preached
+<i>instead</i>, till the place was converted into a Bochim,
+a place of weeping. The convictions of that wretched
+night never wholly left me, till they left me at the
+feet of Christ, and several of my young companions
+in sin ere long were led to believe and obey the
+gospel also."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ANECDOTE OF MRS. SPAULDING OF<br />
+NEW HAMPSHIRE.<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a></h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Through the deep wilderness, where scarce the sun<br />
+Can cast his darts, along the winding path<br />
+The pioneer is treading.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Street.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span class="i9">An energy</span>
+A spirit that will not be shaken.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Willis.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>One of the first two settlers of Northumberland,
+New Hampshire, was Daniel Spaulding, who removed
+thither in the summer of 1767. On the way to his
+new home, with his wife and child, the last burnt
+himself so badly at Plymouth that the mother was
+obliged to remain and take care of him, while Mr.
+Spaulding proceeded to the end of the journey.
+She soon became uneasy, and, anxious to join her
+husband, started off with her child, twenty-one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>
+months old, to travel twenty-six miles through the
+wilderness. A friend who had agreed to accompany
+her the whole distance with a horse, returned after
+traveling about one third of the way. Undaunted
+and persevering, she pushed on, alone and on foot;
+waded through Baker's river with her child in her
+arms; was overtaken by a heavy "thunder gust"
+in the afternoon, and thoroughly drenched; seated
+herself beside a tree when darkness appeared, and
+held her child in her lap through a long and sleepless
+night; resumed her journey early the next
+morning; waded through a small pond, with the
+water waist-high; pushed on to another river, which,
+though swollen by the rain of the preceding day
+and looking rapid and terrifying, she forded in safety;
+and at eleven o'clock that day, the second of her
+journey, she met her husband, who was on his
+way back with a horse for her accommodation.<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE WIFE OF COLONEL THOMAS.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Then since there is no other way but fight or die,<br />
+Be resolute, my lord, for victory.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Jane Thomas, wife of John Thomas, Colonel of the
+Spartan regiment of South Carolina, was a native of
+Chester county, Pennsylvania. She was a woman of
+remarkable coolness and intrepidity, as a single act
+of hers, in the times that tried <i>women's</i> souls,
+plainly indicates.</p>
+
+<p>Governor Rutledge having stored a quantity of
+arms and ammunition in the house of Colonel
+Thomas, under a guard of twenty-five men, the
+tories were determined to obtain these munitions.
+To this end they sent a large party under Colonel
+More of North Carolina. Apprised of their approach
+and not daring to engage with a force so
+superior, Colonel Thomas fled with his twenty-five
+soldiers, taking along as much ammunition as
+could be conveniently carried. Two young men and
+the women were now the sole occupants of the
+house. The tories marched up to the door, but
+instead of being invited by the ladies to enter, they
+were ordered off the premises. Not choosing to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
+obey the commands of the mistress, they commenced
+firing into the logs of the house. The compliment
+was instantly returned from the upper story; and
+the women now loading the guns for the older of
+the two young men to discharge, a constant and
+perilous firing was kept up from the chamber, which
+soon made the assailants desperate. They forthwith
+attempted to demolish the "batten door," but it
+was too strongly barricaded. Finding that themselves
+were likely to share a worse fate then the
+door, they finally obeyed the original orders of the
+intrepid mistress; withdrew from the premises and
+fled. Mrs. Thomas soon afterwards descended, and
+opening the door, there met her returning husband.&mdash;The
+ammunition saved on that occasion by the
+courage of a woman, was the main supply, it is
+said, of Sumter's army in the skirmishes at Rocky
+Mount and Hanging Rock.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p>
+<h2>EXEMPLARY PIETY.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+I've pored o'er many a yellow page<br />
+<span class="i1">Of ancient wisdom, and have won,</span>
+Perchance, a scholar's name&mdash;but sage<br />
+<span class="i1">Or bard have never taught thy son</span>
+Lessons so dear, so fraught with holy truth,<br />
+As those his mother's faith shed on his youth.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">George W. Bethune.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>A lady in the district of Beaufort, South Carolina,
+at the age of seventy-six, anxious once more to
+enjoy the society of all her children and grandchildren,
+invited them to spend a day with her.
+The interview was permitted and was very affecting.
+It "was conducted just as we should suppose piety
+and the relation sustained by the parties would dictate.
+She acknowledged God in this, as well as in
+every other way. Her eldest son, who is a minister
+of the Gospel in the Baptist denomination, commenced
+the exercises of the day, by reading the
+Scriptures and prayer. The whole family then joined
+in the song of praise to the Giver of every good
+and perfect gift. This service was concluded by a
+suitable exhortation from the same person. Eighty-five
+of her regular descendants were present. Forty-four<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>
+children and grandchildren, arrived at maturity,
+sat at the same table at dinner. Of that number,
+forty-three professed faith in Jesus Christ; of the
+four surviving sons of this excellent lady, two were
+preachers of the Gospel, and the other two deacons
+in the Baptist church.</p>
+
+<p>"Two of her grandsons were also ministers of the
+same church. When the day was drawing to a close
+the matron called her numerous children around her,
+gave them each salutary advice and counsel, and
+bestowed upon all her parting blessing. The day
+was closed by her youngest son, with exercises similar
+to those with which it commenced.</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. &mdash;&mdash; lived eight years after this event, leaving,
+at her death, one hundred and fifteen lineal
+descendants, in which large number not a swearer
+nor drunkard is to be found."<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span></p>
+<h2>BOLD ADVENTURE OF A PATRIOTIC GIRL.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i12">Stand</span>
+Firm for your country:&nbsp; *   &nbsp;  &nbsp;*<br />
+<span class="i2">*&nbsp; &nbsp; * it were a noble life,</span>
+To be found dead embracing her.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Johnson.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12">There is strength</span>
+Deep bedded in our hearts, of which we reck<br />
+But little.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. Hemans.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>We find the following incident in the first volume
+of American Anecdotes, "original and select." The
+young heroine of the adventure afterwards married
+a rich planter named Threrwits, who lived on the
+Congaree. She has been dead more than half a
+century, but her name should be remembered while
+this republic is permitted to stand.</p>
+
+<p>"At the time General Greene retreated before
+Lord Rawdon from Ninety-Six, when he had passed
+Broad river, he was very desirous to send an order
+to General Sumter, who was on the Wateree, to
+join him, that they might attack Rawdon, who had
+divided his force. But the General could find no
+man in that part of the state who was bold enough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>
+to undertake so dangerous a mission. The country
+to be passed through for many miles was full of
+blood thirsty tories, who, on every occasion that offered,
+imbrued their hands in the blood of the whigs.
+At length Emily Geiger presented herself to General
+Greene, and proposed to act as his messenger: and
+the General, both surprised and delighted, closed with
+her proposal. He accordingly wrote a letter and
+delivered it, and at the same time communicated
+the contents of it verbally, to be told to Sumter in
+case of accidents.</p>
+
+<p>"Emily was young, but as to her person or adventures
+on the way, we have no further information,
+except that she was mounted on horseback,
+upon a side-saddle, and on the second day of her
+journey she was intercepted by Lord Rawdon's
+scouts. Coming from the direction of Greene's army,
+and not being able to tell an untruth without
+blushing, Emily was suspected and confined to a
+room; and as the officer in command had the modesty
+not to search her at the time, he sent for an
+old tory matron as more fitting for that purpose.
+Emily was not wanting in expedient, and as soon
+as the door was closed and the bustle a little subsided,
+she <i>ate up the letter</i>, piece by piece. After
+a while the matron arrived, and upon searching
+carefully, nothing was to be found of a suspicious
+nature about the prisoner, and she would disclose
+nothing. Suspicion being thus allayed, the officer
+commanding the scouts suffered Emily to depart
+whither she said she was bound; but she took<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>
+a route somewhat circuitous to avoid further detention,
+and soon after struck into the road to Sumter's
+camp, where she arrived in safety. Emily told her
+adventure, and delivered Greene's verbal message to
+Sumter, who, in consequence, soon after joined the
+main army at Orangeburgh."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus197.jpg" width="450" height="509" alt="Stately Building" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MRS. CALDWELL AND THE TORIES.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i3">&mdash;The spell is thine that reaches</span>
+The heart.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Halleck.</span>
+<br />
+Prudence protects and guides us.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Young.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Rachel Caldwell was the daughter of the Rev.
+Alexander Craighead and the wife of David Caldwell,
+D. D., whose history is somewhat identified
+with that of North Carolina. For several years he
+was at the head of a classical school at Guilford
+in that state, and in the vocation of teacher he
+had, at times, the efficient aid of his faithful and
+talented companion. She was a woman of exalted
+piety; and such a degree of success attended her
+"labor of love" in the school, that it became a
+common saying that "Dr. Caldwell makes the scholars,
+and Mrs. Caldwell makes the preachers."</p>
+
+<p>More than once during the Revolution, the house
+of Dr. Caldwell, who was a stanch friend of his
+country, was assailed by tories:<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> and on one occasion,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>
+while his wife was alone and the marauders
+were collecting plunder, they broke open a chest or
+drawer and took therefrom a table-cloth which was
+the gift of her mother. She seized it the moment
+the soldier had it fairly in his hand, and made an
+effort to wrest it from him. Finding she would be
+the loser in a trial of physical strength, she instinctively
+resorted to the power of rhetoric. With her
+grasp still firm on the precious article, she turned
+to the rest of the plunderers, who stood awaiting
+the issue of the contest, and in a beseeching tone
+and with words warm with eloquence, asked if
+some of their number had not wives for the love of
+whom they would assist her, and spare the one dear
+memorial of a mother's affection! Her plea, though
+short, was powerful, and actually moved one man
+to tears. With rills of sympathy running down
+his cheeks, he assured her he had a wife&mdash;a wife
+that he loved&mdash;and that for her sake the table-cloth
+should be given up. This was accordingly
+done, and no further rudeness was offered.</p>
+
+<p>In the fall of 1780, a "way-worn and weary"
+stranger, bearing dispatches from Washington to
+Greene, stopped at her house and asked for supper
+and lodgings. Before he had eaten, the house began
+to be surrounded by tories, who were in pursuit of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>
+him. Mrs. Caldwell led him out at a back-door,
+unseen in the darkness, and ordered him to climb
+a large locust tree, and there remain till the house
+was plundered and the pursuers had departed.
+He did so. Mrs. Caldwell lost her property, but
+her calmness and prudence saved the express,
+and that was what most concerned the patriotic
+woman.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE MOTHER OF RANDOLPH</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i2">She led me first to God;</span>
+Her words and prayers were my young spirit's dew;<br />
+<span class="i2">For when she used to leave</span>
+<span class="i2">The fireside every eve,</span>
+I knew it was for prayer that she withdrew.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Pierpont.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The biographers of John Randolph mention the
+interesting fact that his mother taught him to pray.
+This all-important maternal duty made an impression
+on his heart. He lived at a period when
+skepticism was popular, particularly in some political
+circles in which he had occasion to mingle; and
+he has left on record his testimony in regard to
+the influence of his mother's religious instruction.
+Speaking of the subject of infidelity to an intimate
+friend, he once made the following acknowledgment:</p>
+
+<p>"I believe I should have been swept away by the
+flood of French infidelity if it had not been for
+one thing&mdash;the remembrance of the time when my
+sainted mother used to make me kneel by her side,
+taking my little hands folded in hers, and cause me
+to repeat the Lord's Prayer."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CORNELIA BEEKMAN.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+The smallest worm will turn when trodden on,<br />
+And doves will peck, in safeguard of their brood.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakespeare.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span class="i8">The vaunts</span>
+And menace of the vengeful enemy<br />
+Pass like the gust, that roared and died away<br />
+In the distant tree.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Coleridge.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Mrs. Cornelia Beekman was a daughter of Pierre
+Van Cortlandt, Lieutenant Governor of New York
+from 1777 to 1795; and she seems to have inherited
+her father's zeal for the rights of his country.
+She was born at the Cortlandt manor house, "an
+old fashioned stone mansion situated on the banks
+of the Croton river," in 1752; was married when
+about seventeen or eighteen, to Gerard G. Beekman;
+and died on the fourteenth of March, 1847.
+A few anecdotes will illustrate the noble characteristics
+of her nature.<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p>
+
+<p>When the British were near her residence, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>
+was a short distance from Peekskill, a soldier entered
+the house one day and went directly to the
+closet, saying, in reply to a question she put to him,
+that he wanted some brandy. She reproved him
+for his boldness and want of courtesy, when he
+threatened to stab her with a bayonet. Unalarmed
+by his oath-charged threats&mdash;although an old, infirm
+negro was the only aid at hand&mdash;she in turn threatened
+him, declaring that she would call her husband
+and have his conduct reported to his commander.
+Her sterness and intrepidity, coupled with her threats,
+subdued the insolent coward, and, obeying her orders,
+he marched out of the house.</p>
+
+<p>A party of tories, under command of Colonels
+Bayard and Fleming, once entered her house, and,
+with a great deal of impudence and in the most
+insulting tone, asked if she was not "the daughter
+of that old rebel, Pierre Van Cortlandt?" "I am
+the daughter of Pierre Van Cortlandt, but it becomes
+not such as you to call my father a rebel," was her
+dauntless reply. The person who put the question
+now raised his musket, at which menacing act, she
+coolly reprimanded him and ordered him out of
+doors. His heart melted beneath the fire of her eye,
+and, abashed, he sneaked away.</p>
+
+<p>In one instance, a man named John Webb, better
+known at that time as "Lieutenant Jack," left in
+her charge a valise which contained a new suit
+of uniform and some gold. He stated he would
+send for it when he wanted it, and gave her particular
+directions not to deliver it to any one without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>
+a written order from himself or his brother Samuel.
+About two weeks afterwards, a man named Smith
+rode up to the door in haste, and asked her husband,
+who was without, for Lieutenant Jack's valise. She
+knew Smith, and had little confidence in his <i>professed</i>
+whig principles; so she stepped to the door
+and reminded her husband that it would be necessary
+for the messenger to show his order before
+the valise could be given up.</p>
+
+<p>"You know me very well, Mrs. Beekman; and
+when I assure you that Lieutenant Jack sent me
+for the valise, you will not refuse to deliver it to
+me, as he is greatly in want of his uniform."</p>
+
+<p>"I do know you very well&mdash;<i>too well</i> to give you
+the valise without a written order from the owner
+or the Colonel."</p>
+
+<p>Soon after this brief colloquy, Smith went away
+without the valise, and it was afterwards ascertained
+that he was a rank tory, and at that very hour in
+league with the British. Indeed Major Andre was
+concealed in his house that day, and had Smith got
+possession of Webb's uniform, as the latter and
+Andre were about the same size, it is likely the
+celebrated spy would have escaped and changed
+the reading of a brief chapter of American history.
+Who can tell how much this republic is indebted
+to the prudence, integrity, courage and patriotism
+of Cornelia Beekman?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus206.jpg" width="450" height="584" alt="WEST AND HIS MOTHER." title="WEST AND HIS MOTHER." />
+<span class="caption">WEST AND HIS MOTHER.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE MOTHER OF WEST.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+O wondrous power! how little understood&mdash;<br />
+<span class="i1">Entrusted to the mother's mind alone&mdash;</span>
+To fashion genius, form the soul for good,<br />
+<span class="i1">Inspire a West, or train a Washington.</span>
+
+<span class="i14 smcap">Mrs. Hale.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>When Benjamin West was seven years old, he was
+left, one summer day, with the charge of an infant
+niece. As it lay in the cradle and he was engaged in
+fanning away the flies, the motion of the fan pleased
+the child, and caused it to smile. Attracted by the
+charms thus created, young West felt his instinctive
+passion aroused; and seeing paper, pen and some red
+and black ink on a table, he eagerly seized them and
+made his first attempt at portrait painting. Just as
+he had finished his maiden task, his mother and sister
+entered. He tried to conceal what he had done,
+but his confusion arrested his mother's attention and
+she asked him what he had been doing. With reluctance
+and timidity, he handed her the paper, begging,
+at the same time, that she would not be offended.
+Examining the drawing for a short time, she turned to
+her daughter and, with a smile, said, "I declare, he
+has made a likeness of Sally." She then gave him a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
+fond kiss, which so encouraged him that he promised
+her some drawings of the flowers which she was then
+holding, if she wished to have them.</p>
+
+<p>The next year a cousin sent him a box of colors and
+pencils, with large quantities of canvas prepared for
+the easel, and half a dozen engravings. Early in the
+morning after their reception, he took all his materials
+into the garret, and for several days forgot all about
+school. His mother suspected that the box was the
+cause of his neglect of his books, and going into the
+garret and finding him busy at a picture, she was
+about to reprimand him; but her eye fell on some of
+his compositions, and her anger cooled at once. She
+was so pleased with them that she loaded him with
+kisses and promised to secure his father's pardon for
+his neglect of school.</p>
+
+<p>How much the world is indebted to Mrs. West for
+her early and constant encouragement of the immortal
+artist. He often used to say, after his reputation
+was established, "<i>My mother's kiss made me a
+painter!</i>"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HEROIC ENDURANCE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+'Tis not now who is stout and bold,<br />
+But who bears hunger best and cold.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Butler.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>On the twenty-seventh of July, 1755, Mrs. Howe,
+of Hinsdale, New Hampshire, with seven children
+and two other women and their children, was taken
+captive by the Indians, and marched through the
+wilderness to Crown Point. There Mrs. Howe, with
+some of the other prisoners, remained several days.
+The rest were conducted to Montreal to be sold, but
+the French refusing to buy them, they were all
+brought back, except Mrs. Howe's youngest daughter,
+who was presented to Governor De Vaudreuil.</p>
+
+<p>Ere long the whole party started for St. Johns
+by water. Night soon came on; a storm arose;
+the darkness became intense; the canoes separated,
+and just before day Mrs. Howe was landed on the
+beach, ignorant of the destiny of her children.
+Raising a pillow of earth with her hands, she laid
+herself down to rest with her infant on her bosom.
+A toilsome day's journey brought her and her captors
+to St. Johns, and pressing onward they soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>
+reached St. Francis, the home of the latter. A
+council having been called and the customary ceremonies
+performed, Mrs. Howe, with her infant left
+to her care, was put in the charge of a squaw,
+whom she was ordered to call mother.</p>
+
+<p>"At the approach of winter, the squaw, yielding
+to her earnest solicitations, set out with Mrs. Howe
+and her child, for Montreal, to sell them to the
+French. On the journey both she and her infant
+were in danger of perishing from hunger and cold;
+the lips of the child being at times so benumbed,
+as to be incapable of imbibing its proper nourishment.
+After her arrival in the city, she was offered
+to a French lady; who, seeing the child in her
+arms, exclaimed, 'I will not buy a woman, who
+has a child to look after.' I shall not attempt
+to describe the feelings with which this rebuff was
+received by a person who had no higher ambition
+than to become a slave. Few of our race have
+hearts made of such unyielding materials, as not
+to be broken by long-continued abuse; and Mrs.
+Howe was not one of this number. Chilled with
+cold, and pinched with hunger, she saw in the kitchen
+of this inhospitable house some small pieces of bread,
+floating in a pail amid other fragments, destined to
+feed swine; and eagerly skimmed them for herself.
+When her Indian mother found that she could not
+dispose of her, she returned by water to St. Francis,
+where she soon died of small pox, which she had
+caught at Montreal. Speedily after, the Indians
+commenced their winter hunting. Mrs. Howe was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>
+then ordered to return her child to the captors.
+The babe clung to her bosom; and she was obliged
+to force it away. They carried it to a place called
+'Messiskow,' on the borders of the river Missiscoui,
+near the north end of lake Champlain upon the
+eastern shore. The mother soon followed, and found
+it neglected, lean, and almost perishing with hunger.
+As she pressed its face to her cheek, the eager,
+half-starved infant bit her with violence. For three
+nights she was permitted to cherish it in her bosom;
+but in the day-time she was confined to a neighboring
+wigwam, where she was compelled to hear its unceasing
+cries of distress, without a possibility of
+contributing to its relief.</p>
+
+<p>"The third day the Indians carried her several
+miles up the lake. The following night she was
+alarmed by what is usually called the great earthquake,
+which shook the region around her with violent
+concussions. Here, also, she was deserted for two
+nights in an absolute wilderness; and, when her
+Indian connections returned, was told by them that
+two of her children were dead. Very soon after,
+she received certain information of the death of
+her infant. Amid the anguish awakened by these
+melancholy tidings, she saw a distant volume of
+smoke; and was strongly inclined to make her
+way to the wigwam from which it ascended. As
+she entered the door, she met one of the children,
+reported to be dead; and to her great consolation
+found that he was in comfortable circumstances. A
+good-natured Indian soon after informed her, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>
+the other was alive on the opposite side of the
+lake, at the distance of a few miles only. Upon
+this information she obtained leave to be absent
+for a single day; and, with the necessary directions
+from her informant, set out for the place.
+On her way she found her child, lean and hungry,
+and proceeded with it to the wigwam. A small
+piece of bread, presented to her by the Indian family
+in which she lived, she had carefully preserved for
+this unfortunate boy; but, to avoid offending the
+family in which he lived, was obliged to distribute
+it in equal shares to all the children. The little
+creature had been transported at the sight of his
+mother; and, when she announced her departure,
+fell at her feet, as if he had been dead. Yet she
+was compelled to leave him; and satisfied herself,
+as far as she was able, by commending him to
+the protection of God. The family in which she
+lived, passed the following summer at St. Johns.
+It was composed of the daughter and son-in-law of
+her late mother. The son-in-law went out early in
+the season on an expedition against the English settlements.
+At their return, the party had a drinking
+frolic, their usual festival after excursions of this
+nature. Drunkenness regularly enhances the bodily
+strength of a savage, and stimulates his mind to
+madness. In this situation he will insult, abuse,
+and not unfrequently murder, his nearest friends.
+The wife of this man had often been a sufferer by
+his intemperance. She therefore proposed to Mrs.
+Howe that they should withdraw themselves from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>
+the wigwam until the effects of his present intoxication
+were over. They accordingly withdrew. Mrs.
+Howe returned first, and found him surly and ill-natured,
+because his wife was absent. In the
+violence of his resentment he took Mrs. Howe,
+hurried her to St. Johns, and sold her for a trifling
+sum to a French gentleman, named Saccapee.</p>
+
+<p>"Upon a little reflection, however, the Indian
+perceived that he had made a foolish bargain. In
+a spirit of resentment he threatened to assassinate
+Mrs. Howe; and declared that if he could not
+accomplish his design, he would set fire to the
+fort. She was therefore carefully secreted, and the
+fort watchfully guarded, until the violence of his
+passion was over. When her alarm was ended,
+she found her situation as happy in the family, as
+a state of servitude would permit. Her new master
+and mistress were kind, liberal, and so indulgent
+as rarely to refuse anything that she requested. In
+this manner they enabled her frequently to befriend
+other English prisoners, who, from time to time, were
+brought to St. Johns.</p>
+
+<p>"Yet even in this humane family she met with
+new trials. Monsieur Saccapee, and his son, an
+officer in the French army, became at the same time
+passionately attached to her. This singular fact is
+a forcible proof that her person, mind, and manners,
+were unusually agreeable. Nor was her situation
+less perplexing than singular. The good will
+of the whole family was indispensable to her comfort,
+if not to her safety; and her purity she was determined
+to preserve at the hazard of her life. In the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>
+house where both her lovers resided, conversed with
+her every day, and, together with herself, were
+continually under the eye of her mistress, the lovers
+a father and a son, herself a slave, and one of
+them her master, it will be easily believed that
+she met with very serious embarrassments in accomplishing
+her determination. In this situation she
+made known her misfortunes to Colonel Peter
+Schuyler of Albany, then a prisoner at St. Johns.
+As soon as he had learned her situation he represented
+it to the Governor De Vaudreuil. The
+Governor immediately ordered young Saccapee into
+the army; and enjoined on his father a just and
+kind treatment of Mrs. Howe. His humanity did
+not stop here. Being informed that one of her
+daughters was in danger of being married to an
+Indian of St. Francis, he rescued her from this
+miserable destiny, and placed her in a nunnery
+with her sister. Here they were both educated as
+his adopted children.</p>
+
+<p>"By the good offices of Colonel Schuyler, also,
+who advanced twenty-seven hundred livres for that
+purpose, and by the assistance of several other
+gentlemen, she was enabled to ransom herself, and
+her four sons. With these children she set out for
+New England in the autumn of 1758, under the
+protection of Colonel Schuyler, leaving her two
+daughters behind.<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> As she was crossing lake Champlain,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
+young Saccapee came on board the boat, in
+which she was conveyed; gave her a handsome
+present; and bade her adieu. Colonel Schuyler
+being obliged to proceed to Albany with more expedition
+than was convenient for his fellow travelers,
+left them in the care of Major Putnam, afterwards
+Major-General Putnam. From this gentleman she
+received every kind office, which his well known
+humanity could furnish; and arrived without any
+considerable misfortune at the place of their destination."<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MATERNAL HEROISM</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Is there a man, into the lion's den<br />
+Who dares intrude to snatch his young away?<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Thomson.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the campaign of 1777, a soldier of the
+Fifty-fifth regiment was sitting with his wife at
+breakfast, when a bomb entered the tent, and fell
+between the table and a bed where their infant
+was sleeping. The mother urged her husband to go
+round the bomb and seize the child, his dress being,
+from the position of things, more favorable than hers
+for the prosecution of the dangerous task: but he
+refused, and running out of the tent, begged his
+wife to follow, saying that the fusee was just ready
+to communicate with the deadly combustibles. The
+fond mother, instead of obeying, hastily tucked up
+her garments to prevent their coming in contact
+with the bomb; leaped past it; caught the child,
+and in a moment was out of danger.</p>
+
+<p>In December, 1850, the house of Peter Knight,
+of Bath, Maine, caught fire, and a small child, asleep
+in the room where the flames burst out, would have
+perished but for the self-possession and daring of its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>
+mother. One or two unsuccessful attempts had been
+made by others to rescue it, when the mother, always
+the last to despair, made a desperate effort, and secured
+the prize. When the two were taken from
+the window of the second story, the dress of Mrs.
+Knight was in flames!</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/illus217.jpg" width="300" height="214" alt="birds" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>A MODERN DORCAS.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+'Tis truth divine, exhibited on earth,<br />
+Gives charity her being.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Cowper.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Isabella, the wife of Dr. John Graham, was born
+in Scotland, on the twenty-ninth of July, 1742. At
+the age of seventeen she became a member of the
+church in Paisley of which the Rev. Dr. Witherspoon,
+afterwards President of Princeton college, was the
+pastor. Dr. Graham was a physician of the same
+town. Her marriage took place in 1765. The next
+year Dr. Graham was ordered to join his regiment
+then stationed in Canada. After spending a few
+months at Montreal, he removed to Fort Niagara,
+where he remained in the garrison four years.</p>
+
+<p>Just before the Revolutionary war the sixteenth
+regiment of Royal Americans was ordered to the
+island of Antigua. Thither Dr. Graham removed
+with his family, and there he died in 1774. Mrs.
+Graham then returned to her native land.</p>
+
+<p>In 1789 she came to this country, and permanently
+settled in the city of New York. She there opened
+a school for young ladies, and gained a high reputation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>
+in her profession. She united with the Presbyterian
+church of which John Mason, D. D., was
+pastor, and was noted, through all the latter years
+of her life, for the depth of her piety and her
+Christian benevolence. She made it a rule to give
+a tenth part of her earnings to religious and
+charitable purposes. In 1795 she received, at one
+time, an advance of a thousand pounds on the sale
+of a lease which she held on some building lots;
+and not being used to such large profits, she said,
+on receiving the money, "Quick, quick, let me appropriate
+the tenth before my heart grows hard."</p>
+
+<p>Two years afterwards, a society was organized and
+chartered, for the relief of poor widows; and
+Mrs. Graham was appointed first directress. Each
+of the managers had a separate district, and she
+had the superintendence of the whole. A house was
+purchased by the society, where work was received
+for the employment of the widows; and a school
+was opened for the instruction of their children.
+"Besides establishing this school, Mrs. Graham selected
+some of the widows, best qualified for the
+task, and engaged them, for a small compensation,
+to open day schools for the instruction of the children
+of widows, in distant parts of the city: she
+also established two Sabbath schools, one of which
+she superintended herself, and the other she placed
+under the care of her daughter. Wherever she met
+with Christians sick and in poverty, she visited and
+comforted them; and in some instances opened
+small subscription lists to provide for their support.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>
+She attended occasionally for some years at the
+Alms House for the instruction of the children there,
+in religious knowledge: in this work she was much
+assisted by a humble and pious female friend, who
+was seldom absent from it on the Lord's day.</p>
+
+<p>"It was often her custom to leave home after
+breakfast, to take with her a few rolls of bread,
+and return in the evening about eight o'clock. Her
+only dinner on such days was her bread, and perhaps
+some soup at the Soup House, established by
+the Humane Society for the poor, over which one
+of her widows had been, at her recommendation,
+appointed."<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the winter of 1804-5, before a Tract or Bible
+Society had been formed in New York, she visited
+between two and three hundred of the poorer families,
+and supplied them with a Bible where they were
+destitute. She also distributed tracts which were
+written, at her request, by a friend, "and lest it
+might be said it was cheap to give advice, she
+usually gave a small sum of money along with
+the tracts."</p>
+
+<p>On the fifteenth of March, 1806, a society was
+organized in New York for providing an Asylum
+for Orphan Children; and Mrs. Graham occupied
+the chair on the occasion. Her sympathies were
+strongly enlisted in this organization, and she was
+one of the trustees at the time of her death.</p>
+
+<p>"In the winter of 1807-8, when the suspension<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>
+of commerce by the embargo, rendered the situation
+of the poor more destitute than ever, Mrs.
+Graham adopted a plan best calculated in her view
+to detect the idle applicant for charity, and at the
+same time to furnish employment for the more worthy
+amongst the female poor. She purchased flax,
+and lent wheels where applicants had none. Such
+as were industrious took the work with thankfulness,
+and were paid for it; those who were beggars
+by profession, never kept their word to return for
+the flax or the wheel. The flax thus spun was afterwards
+woven, bleached, and made into table-cloths
+and towels for family use."<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p>
+
+<p>When the Magdalen Society was established by
+some gentlemen, in 1811, a board of ladies was elected
+for the purpose of superintending the internal
+management of the house; and Mrs. Graham was
+chosen President. This office she continued to hold
+till her death. The next year the trustees of the
+Lancasterian School solicited the services of several
+women to instruct the pupils in the catechism. Mrs.
+Graham cheerfully assisted in this task, instruction
+being given one afternoon in each week.</p>
+
+<p>"In the spring of 1814 she was requested to unite
+with some ladies, in forming a Society for the Promotion
+of Industry amongst the poor. The Corporation
+of the city having returned a favorable answer
+to their petition for assistance, and provided a house,
+a meeting of the Society was held, and Mrs. Graham
+once more was called to the chair. It was the last<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>
+time she was to preside at the formation of a new
+society. Her articulation, once strong and clear, was
+now observed to have become more feeble. The
+ladies present listened to her with affectionate attention;
+her voice broke upon the ear as a pleasant
+sound that was passing away. She consented to have
+her name inserted in the list of managers, to give
+what assistance her age would permit in forwarding
+so beneficent a work. Although it pleased God to
+make her cease from her labors, before the House
+of Industry was opened, yet the work was carried
+on by others, and prospered. Between four and five
+hundred women were employed and paid during the
+following winter. The Corporation declared in strong
+terms their approbation of the result, and enlarged
+their donation, with a view to promote the same
+undertaking for the succeeding winter."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Graham died on the twenty-seventh of July,
+1814. Of no woman of the age may it be said with
+more propriety, as it was of Dorcas: "This woman
+was full of good works and alms-deeds, which she
+did." Yet few women are more humble than was
+Mrs. Graham, or think less of their benevolent deeds.
+Her daughter, Mrs. Bethune, writing of her decease,
+says that she departed in peace, not trusting in her
+wisdom or virtue, like the philosophers of Greece and
+Rome; not even, like Addison, calling on the profligate
+to see a good man die; but, like Howard, afraid
+that her good works might have a wrong place in the
+estimate of her hope, her chief glory was that of a
+"sinner saved by grace."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span></p>
+<h2>SARAH HOFFMAN.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Still to a stricken brother turn.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Whittier.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the act of incorporation of the Widow's Society,
+established in the city of New York, in 1797, with
+the name of Mrs. Graham, is associated that of Mrs.
+Sarah Hoffman. This lady was the daughter of
+David Ogden, one of the judges of the Supreme
+Court of New Jersey, before the elevation of the
+provinces into states. She was born at Newark, on
+the eighth of September, 1742; and married Nicholas
+Hoffman, in 1762. She early took delight in
+doing good, being thus prompted by deep religious
+principle. Cautious and discriminating, her charities
+were bestowed judiciously, and she was able to
+do much good without the largest means. In her
+benevolent operations, however, she usually acted in
+an associated capacity.</p>
+
+<p>As already intimated, she was a member of the
+society formed "for the relief of poor widows with
+small children." That this institution prospered under
+the control of such women as Mrs. Hoffman and
+Mrs. Graham, may be inferred from their report<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>
+made in April, 1803. "Ninety-eight widows and
+two hundred and twenty-three children," this document
+states, "were brought through the severity of
+the winter with a considerable degree of comfort."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hoffman, Mrs. Graham and their associates,
+often perambulated the districts of poverty and disease,
+from morning till night, entering the huts of
+want and desolation, and carrying comfort and consolation
+to many a despairing heart. They clambered
+to the highest and meanest garrets, and descended
+to the lowest, darkest and dankest cellars, to administer
+to the wants of the destitute, the sick, and the
+dying. They took with them medicine as well as
+food; and were accustomed to administer Christian
+counsel or consolation, as the case required, to the
+infirm in body and the wretched in heart. They
+even taught many poor creatures, who seemed to
+doubt the existence of an overruling Providence, to
+pray to Him whose laws they had broken and
+thereby rendered themselves miserable.<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a></p>
+
+<p>In Mrs. Hoffman's character, to tenderness of feeling
+were added great firmness, strength of mind,
+and moral courage. She was often seen in the midst
+of contagion and suffering where the cheek of the
+warrior would blanch with fear. She exposed her
+own life, however, not like the warrior, to destroy,
+but to save; and hundreds <i>were</i> saved by her humane
+efforts, combined with those of her co-workers. Her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>
+life beautifully exemplified the truth of what Crabbe
+says of woman:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+&mdash;&mdash;In extremes of cold and heat,<br />
+<span class="i1">Where wandering man may trace his kind;</span>
+Wherever grief and want retreat,<br />
+<span class="i1">In woman they compassion find.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>And if, as the poet Grainger asserts,</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+The height of virtue is to serve mankind,<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hoffman reached a point towards which many
+aspire, but above which few ascend.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HEROISM OF SCHOHARIE WOMEN.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Invaders! vain your battles' steel and fire.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Halleck.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the struggle for Independence, there were
+three noted forts in the Schoharie settlement, called
+the Upper, Middle and Lower; and when, in the
+autumn of 1780, Sir John Johnson sallied forth from
+Niagara, with his five hundred or more British, tory
+and German troops, and made an attack on these
+forts, an opportunity was given for the display of
+patriotism and courage, as well by the women of the
+settlement as by the men.</p>
+
+<p>When the Middle fort was invested, an heroic and
+noted ranger named Murphy, used his rifle balls so
+fast as to need an additional supply; and, anticipating
+his wants, Mrs. Angelica Vrooman caught his
+bullet mould, some lead and an iron spoon, ran to her
+father's tent, and there moulded a quantity of bullets
+amid</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i14">"the shout</span>
+Of battle, the barbarian yell, the bray<br />
+Of dissonant instruments, the clang of arms,<br />
+The shriek of agony, the groan of death."<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>While the firing was kept up at the Middle fort,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>
+great anxiety prevailed at the Upper; and during
+this time Captain Hager, who commanded the latter,
+gave orders that the women and children should
+retire to a long cellar, which he specified, should the
+enemy attack him. A young lady named Mary Haggidorn,
+on hearing these orders, went to Captain
+Hager and addressed him as follows:&mdash;"Captain, I
+shall not go into that cellar. Should the enemy
+come, I will take a spear, which I can use as well as
+any <i>man</i>, and help defend the fort." The Captain,
+seeing her determination, made the following reply:&mdash;"Then
+take a spear, Mary, and be ready at the
+pickets to repel an attack." She cheerfully obeyed,
+and held the spear at the picket, till "huzzas for
+the American flag" burst on her ear, and told that
+all was safe.<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A STERLING PATRIOT.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+With nerve to wield the battle-brand,<br />
+<span class="i1">And join the border-fray,</span>
+They shrank not from the foeman,<br />
+<span class="i1">They quailed not in the fight,</span>
+But cheered their husbands through the day,<br />
+<span class="i1">And soothed them through the night.</span>
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">W. D. Gallagher.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The most noted heroine of the Mohawk valley, and
+one of the bravest and noblest mothers of the Revolution,
+was Nancy Van Alstine. Her maiden name
+was Quackinbush. She was born near Canajoharie,
+about the year 1733, and was married to Martin J.
+Van Alstine, at the age of eighteen. He settled in
+the valley of the Mohawk, and occupied the Van
+Alstine family mansion. Mrs. Van Alstine was the
+mother of fifteen children. She died at Wampsville,
+Madison county, in 1831.</p>
+
+<p>In the month of August, 1780, an army of Indians
+and tories, led on by Brant, rushed into the Mohawk
+valley, devastated several settlements, and killed
+many of the inhabitants: and during the two following
+months, Sir John Johnson, made a descent and
+finished the work which Brant had begun. The two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>
+almost completely destroyed the settlements throughout
+the valley. It was during those trying times
+that Mrs. Van Alstine performed a portion of her
+heroic exploits which are so interestingly related by
+Mrs. Ellet.</p>
+
+<p>"While the enemy, stationed at Johnstown, were
+laying waste the country, parties continually going
+about to murder the inhabitants and burn their
+dwellings, the neighborhood in which Mrs. Van Alstine
+lived remained in comparative quiet, though
+the settlers trembled as each sun arose, lest his setting
+beams should fall on their ruined homes. Most
+of the men were absent, and when, at length, intelligence
+came that the destroyers were approaching, the
+people were almost distracted with terror. Mrs. Van
+Alstine called her neighbors together, endeavored to
+calm their fears, and advised them to make immediate
+arrangements for removing to an island, belonging
+to her husband, near the opposite side of the
+river. She knew that the spoilers would be in too
+great haste to make any attempt to cross, and
+thought if some articles were removed, they might
+be induced to suppose the inhabitants gone to a
+greater distance. The seven families in the neighborhood
+were in a few hours upon the island,
+having taken with them many things necessary for
+their comfort during a short stay. Mrs. Van Alstine
+remained herself to the last, then crossed in
+the boat, helping to draw it far up on the beach.
+Scarcely had they secreted themselves before they
+heard the dreaded warwhoop, and descried the Indians<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>
+in the distance. It was not long before one and another
+saw the homes they loved in flames. When the
+savages came to Van Alstine's house, they were about
+to fire that also, but the chief, interfering, informed
+them that Sir John would not be pleased if that
+house were burned&mdash;the owner having extended civilities
+to the baronet before the commencement of
+hostilities. 'Let the old wolf keep his den,' he said,
+and the house was left unmolested. The talking of
+the Indians could be distinctly heard from the island,
+and Mrs. Van Alstine rejoiced that she was thus
+enabled to give shelter to the houseless families who
+had fled with her. The fugitives, however, did not
+deem it prudent to leave their place of concealment
+for several days, the smoke seen in different directions
+too plainly indicating that the work of devastation
+was going on.</p>
+
+<p>"The destitute families remained at Van Alstine's
+house till it was deemed prudent to rebuild their
+homes. Later in the following autumn an incident
+occurred which brought much trouble upon them.
+Three men from the neighborhood of Canajoharie,
+who had deserted the whig cause and joined the
+British, came back from Canada as spies, and were
+detected and apprehended. Their execution followed;
+two were shot, and one, a bold, adventurous fellow,
+named Harry Harr, was hung in Mr. Van Alstine's
+orchard. Their prolonged absence causing some
+uneasiness to their friends in Canada, some Indians
+were sent to reconnoitre and learn something of them.
+It happened that they arrived on the day of Harr's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>
+execution, which they witnessed from a neighboring
+hill. They returned immediately with the information,
+and a party was dispatched&mdash;it is said by
+Brant&mdash;to revenge the death of the spies upon the
+inhabitants. Their continued shouts of 'Aha, Harry
+Harr!' while engaged in pillaging and destroying,
+showed that such was their purpose. In their progress
+of devastation, they came to the house of Van
+Alstine, where no preparations had been made for
+defence, the family not expecting an attack, or not
+being aware of the near approach of the enemy.
+Mrs. Van Alstine was personally acquainted with
+Brant, and it may have been owing to this circumstance
+that the members of the family were not
+killed or carried away as prisoners. The Indians
+came upon them by surprise, entered the house
+without ceremony, and plundered and destroyed
+everything in their way. Mrs. Van Alstine saw her
+most valued articles, brought from Holland, broken
+one after another, till the house was strewed with
+fragments. As they passed a large mirror without
+demolishing it, she hoped it might be saved; but
+presently two of the savages led in a colt from the
+stable, and the glass being laid in the hall, compelled
+the animal to walk over it. The beds which
+they could not carry away, they ripped open, shaking
+out the feathers and taking the ticks with them.
+They also took all the clothing. One young Indian,
+attracted by the brilliancy of a pair of inlaid buckles
+on the shoes of the aged grandmother seated in the
+corner, rudely snatched them from her feet, tore off<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>
+the buckles, and flung the shoes in her face. Another
+took her shawl from her neck, threatening to
+kill her if resistance were offered. The eldest
+daughter, seeing a young savage carrying off a basket
+containing a hat and cap her father had brought
+her from Philadelphia, and which she highly prized,
+followed him, snatched her basket, and after a
+struggle succeeded in pushing him down. She then
+fled to a pile of hemp and hid herself, throwing
+the basket into it as far as she could. The other
+Indians gathered round, and as the young one rose
+clapped their hands, shouting 'Brave girl!' while
+he skulked away to escape their derision. During
+the struggle Mrs. Van Alstine had called to her
+daughter to give up the contest; but she insisted
+that her basket should not be taken. Having gone
+through the house, the intruders went up to the
+kitchen chamber, where a quantity of cream in large
+jars had been brought from the dairy, and threw
+the jars down stairs, covering the floor with their
+contents. They then broke the window glass throughout
+the house, and unsatisfied with the plunder they
+had collected, bribed a man servant by the promise
+of his clothes and a portion of the booty to show
+them where some articles had been hastily secreted.
+Mrs. Van Alstine had just finished cutting out winter
+clothing for her family&mdash;which consisted of her
+mother-in-law, her husband and twelve children, with
+two black servants&mdash;and had stowed it away in
+barrels. The servant treacherously disclosed the hiding
+place, and the clothing was soon added to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>
+rest of the booty. Mrs. Van Alstine reproached the
+man for his perfidy, which she assured him would be
+punished, not rewarded by the savages, and her words
+were verified; for after they had forced him to assist
+in securing their plunder, they bound him and put
+him in one of their wagons, telling him his treachery
+to the palefaces deserved no better treatment.
+The provisions having been carried away, the family
+subsisted on corn, which they pounded and made
+into cakes. They felt much the want of clothing,
+and Mrs. Van Alstine gathered the silk of milkweed,
+of which, mixed with flax, she spun and wove
+garments. The inclement season was now approaching,
+and they suffered severely from the want of
+window glass, as well as their bedding, woolen
+clothes, and the various articles, including cooking
+utensils, taken from them. Mrs. Van Alstine's most
+arduous labors could do little towards providing for
+so many destitute persons; their neighbors were in
+no condition to help them, the roads were almost
+impassable, besides being infested by Indians, and
+their finest horses had been taken. In this deplorable
+situation, she proposed to her husband to join
+with others who had been robbed in like manner,
+and make an attempt to recover their property from
+the Indian castle, eighteen or twenty miles distant,
+where it had been carried. But the idea of such
+an enterprise against an enemy superior in numbers
+and well prepared for defence, was soon abandoned.
+As the cold became more intolerable and
+the necessity for doing something more urgent,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>
+Mrs. Van Alstine, unable to witness longer the sufferings
+of those dependent on her, resolved to venture
+herself on the expedition. Her husband and
+children endeavored to dissuade her, but firm for
+their sake, she left home, accompanied by her son,
+about sixteen years of age. The snow was deep
+and the roads in a wretched condition, yet she persevered
+through all difficulties, and by good fortune
+arrived at the castle at a time when the Indians
+were all absent on a hunting excursion, the women
+and children only being left at home. She went
+to the principal house, where she supposed the
+most valuable articles must have been deposited,
+and on entering, was met by the old squaw who
+had the superintendence, who demanded what she
+wanted. She asked for food; the squaw hesitated;
+but on her visitor saying she had never turned an
+Indian away hungry, sullenly commenced preparations
+for a meal. The matron saw her bright copper
+tea-kettle, with other cooking utensils, brought
+forth for use. While the squaw was gone for
+water, she began a search for her property, and
+finding several articles gave them to her son to
+put into the sleigh. When the squaw, returning,
+asked by whose order she was taking those things,
+Mrs. Van Alstine replied, that they belonged to her;
+and seeing that the woman was not disposed to give
+them up peaceably, took from her pocket-book a
+paper, and handed it to the squaw, who she knew
+could not read. The woman asked whose name was
+affixed to the supposed order, and being told it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>
+that of 'Yankee Peter'&mdash;a man who had great
+influence among the savages, dared not refuse submission.
+By this stratagem Mrs. Van Alstine secured,
+without opposition, all the articles she could
+find belonging to her, and put them into the sleigh.
+She then asked where the horses were kept. The
+squaw refused to show her, but she went to the stable,
+and there found those belonging to her husband,
+in fine order&mdash;for the savages were careful of their
+best horses. The animals recognised their mistress,
+and greeted her by a simultaneous neighing. She
+bade her son cut the halters, and finding themselves
+at liberty they bounded off and went homeward
+at full speed. The mother and son now drove
+back as fast as possible, for she knew their fate
+would be sealed if the Indians should return. They
+reached home late in the evening, and passed a
+sleepless night, dreading instant pursuit and a night
+attack from the irritated savages. Soon after daylight
+the alarm was given that the Indians were
+within view, and coming towards the house, painted
+and in their war costume, and armed with tomahawks
+and rifles. Mr. Van Alstine saw no course
+to escape their vengeance but to give up whatever
+they wished to take back; but his intrepid
+wife was determined on an effort, at least, to retain
+her property. As they came near she begged
+her husband not to show himself&mdash;for she
+knew they would immediately fall upon him&mdash;but to
+leave the matter in her hands. The intruders took
+their course first to the stable, and bidding all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>
+rest remain within doors, the matron went out alone,
+followed to the door by her family, weeping and
+entreating her not to expose herself. Going to the
+stable she enquired in the Indian language what
+the men wanted. The reply was 'our horses.' She
+said boldly&mdash;'They are ours; you came and took
+them without right; they are ours, and we mean
+to keep them.' The chief now came forward threateningly,
+and approached the door. Mrs. Van Alstine
+placed herself against it, telling him she would
+not give up the animals they had raised and were
+attached to. He succeeded in pulling her from the
+door, and drew out the plug that fastened it, which
+she snatched from his hand, pushing him away.
+He then stepped back and presented his rifle, threatening
+to shoot her if she did not move; but she
+kept her position, opening her neckhandkerchief and
+bidding him shoot if he dared. It might be that
+the Indian feared punishment from his allies for
+any such act of violence, or that he was moved
+with admiration of her intrepidity; he hesitated,
+looked at her for a moment, and then slowly dropped
+his gun, uttering in his native language expressions
+implying his conviction that the evil one
+must help her, and saying to his companions that
+she was a brave woman and they would not molest
+her. Giving a shout, by way of expressing their
+approbation, they departed from the premises. On
+their way they called at the house of Col. Frey, and
+related their adventure, saying that the white woman's
+courage had saved her and her property, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>
+were there fifty such brave women as the wife of
+'Big Tree,' the Indians would never have troubled
+the inhabitants of the Mohawk valley. She experienced
+afterwards the good effects of the impression
+made at this time....</p>
+
+<p>"It was not long after this occurrence that several
+Indians came upon some children left in the field
+while the men went to dinner, and took them prisoners,
+tomahawking a young man who rushed from
+an adjoining field to their assistance. Two of these&mdash;six
+and eight years of age&mdash;were Mrs. Van
+Alstine's children. The savages passed on towards
+the Susquehanna, plundering and destroying as they
+went. They were three weeks upon the journey,
+and the poor little captives suffered much from
+hunger and exposure to the night air, being in a
+deplorable condition by the time they returned to
+Canada. On their arrival, according to custom,
+each prisoner was required to run the gauntlet,
+two Indian boys being stationed on either side,
+armed with clubs and sticks to beat him as he
+ran. The eldest was cruelly bruised, and when
+the younger, pale and exhausted, was led forward,
+a squaw of the tribe, taking pity on the helpless
+child, said she would go in his place, or if that
+could not be permitted, would carry him. She
+accordingly took him in her arms, and wrapping
+her blanket around him, got through with some
+severe blows. The children were then washed and
+clothed by order of the chief, and supper was
+given them. Their uncle&mdash;then also a prisoner&mdash;heard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>
+of the arrival of children from the Mohawk,
+and was permitted to visit them. The little creatures
+were sleeping soundly when aroused by a
+familiar voice, and joyfully exclaiming, 'Uncle
+Quackinbush!' were clasped in his arms. In the
+following spring the captives were ransomed, and
+returned home in fine spirits."<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a></p>
+
+<p>Prior to the commencement of hostilities, Mr.
+Van Alstine had purchased a tract of land on
+the Susquehanna, eighteen miles below Cooperstown;
+and thither removed in 1785. There as at
+her former home, Mrs. Van Alstine had an opportunity
+to exhibit the heroic qualities of her nature.
+We subjoin two anecdotes illustrative of forest life
+in the midst of savages.</p>
+
+<p>"On one occasion an Indian whom Mr. Van
+Alstine had offended, came to his house with the
+intention of revenging himself. He was not at
+home, and the men were out at work, but his wife
+and family were within, when the intruder entered.
+Mrs. Van Alstine saw his purpose in his countenance.
+When she inquired his business, he pointed to his
+rifle, saying, he meant 'to show Big Tree which was
+the best man.' She well knew that if her husband
+presented himself he would probably fall a victim
+unless she could reconcile the difficulty. With this
+view she commenced a conversation upon subjects
+in which she knew the savage would take an interest,
+and admiring his dress, asked permission<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>
+to examine his rifle, which, after praising, she set
+down, and while managing to fix his attention on
+something else poured water into the barrel. She
+then gave him back the weapon, and assuming a
+more earnest manner, spoke to him of the Good
+Spirit, his kindness to men, and their duty to be
+kind to each other. By her admirable tact she so
+far succeeded in pacifying him, that when her husband
+returned he was ready to extend to him the
+hand of reconciliation and fellowship. He partook
+of some refreshment, and before leaving informed
+them that one of their neighbors had lent him the
+rifle for his deadly purpose. They had for some
+time suspected this neighbor, who had coveted a
+piece of land, of unkind feelings towards them because
+he could not obtain it, yet could scarcely
+believe him so depraved. The Indian, to confirm
+his story, offered to accompany Mrs. Van Alstine
+to the man's house, and although it was evening
+she went with him, made him repeat what he had
+said, and so convinced her neighbor of the wickedness
+of his conduct, that he was ever afterwards
+one of their best friends. Thus by her prudence
+and address she preserved, in all probability, the
+lives of her husband and family; for she learned
+afterwards that a number of savages had been concealed
+near, to rush upon them in case of danger to
+their companion.</p>
+
+<p>"At another time a young Indian came in and
+asked the loan of a drawing knife. As soon as he
+had it in his hand he walked up to the table, on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>
+which there was a loaf of bread, and unceremoniously
+cut several slices from it. One of Mrs. Van
+Alstine's sons had a deerskin in his hand, and
+indignantly struck the savage with it. He turned
+and darted out of the door, giving a loud whoop as
+he fled. The mother just then came in, and hearing
+what had passed expressed her sorrow and fears
+that there would be trouble, for she knew the Indian
+character too well to suppose they would allow the
+matter to rest. Her apprehensions were soon realized
+by the approach of a party of savages, headed by
+the brother of the youth who had been struck.
+He entered alone, and inquired for the boy who
+had given the blow. Mr. Van Alstine, starting up
+in surprise, asked impatiently, 'What the devilish
+Indian wanted?' The savage, understanding the
+expression applied to his appearance to be anything
+but complimentary, uttered a sharp cry, and raising
+his rifle, aimed at Van Alstine's breast. His wife
+sprang forward in time to throw up the weapon,
+the contents of which were discharged into the wall,
+and pushing out the Indian, who stood just at the
+entrance, she quickly closed the door. He was
+much enraged, but she at length succeeded in persuading
+him to listen to a calm account of the
+matter, and asked why the quarrel of two lads
+should break their friendship. She finally invited
+him to come in and settle the difficulty in an amicable
+way. To his objection that they had no rum,
+she answered&mdash;'But we have tea;' and at length
+the party was called in, and a speech made by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>
+leader in favor of the 'white squaw,' after which
+the tea was passed round. The Indian then took
+the grounds, and emptying them into a hole made
+in the ashes, declared that the enmity was buried
+forever. After this, whenever the family was molested,
+the ready tact of Mrs. Van Alstine, and her
+acquaintance with Indian nature, enabled her to prevent
+any serious difficulty. They had few advantages
+for religious worship, but whenever the weather would
+permit, the neighbors assembled at Van Alstine's
+house to hear the word preached. His wife, by her
+influence over the Indians, persuaded many of them
+to attend, and would interpret to them what was
+said by the minister. Often their rude hearts were
+touched, and they would weep bitterly while she
+went over the affecting narrative of our Redeemer's
+life and death, and explained the truths of the Gospel.
+Much good did she in this way, and in after
+years many a savage converted to Christianity blessed
+her as his benefactress."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HEROIC CONDUCT AT MONMOUTH.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Proud were they by such to stand,<br />
+<span class="i1">In hammock, fort or glen;</span>
+To load the sure old rifle&mdash;<br />
+<span class="i1">To run the leaden ball&mdash;</span>
+To watch a battling husband's place,<br />
+<span class="i1">And fill it should he fall.</span>
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">W. D. Gallagher.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the battle of Monmouth, a gunner named
+Pitcher was killed; and when the call was made for
+some one to take the place of her fallen husband,
+his wife, who had followed him to the camp, and
+thence to the field of conflict, unhesitatingly stepped
+forward, and offered her services. The gun was so
+well managed as to draw the attention of General
+Washington to the circumstance, and to call forth an
+expression of his admiration of her bravery and her
+fidelity to her country. To show his appreciation of
+her virtues and her highly valuable services, he conferred
+on her a lieutenant's commission. She afterwards
+went by the name of <i>Captain Molly</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The poet Glover tells us, in his Leonidas, that
+Xerxes boasted</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+"His ablest, bravest counselor and chief<br />
+In Artemisia, Caria's matchless queen;"
+</div>
+
+<p>and Herodotus also very justly eulogizes the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>
+character. Yet Artemisia was scarcely more serviceable
+to Xerxes in the battle of Salamis, than "Captain
+Molly" to Washington in the battle of Monmouth.
+One served in a Grecian expedition, to
+gratify her great spirit, vigor of mind and love of
+glory; the other fought, partly, it may be, to revenge
+the death of her husband, but more, doubtless, for
+the love she bore for an injured country, "bleeding
+at every vein." One was rewarded with a complete
+suit of Grecian armor; the other with a lieutenant's
+commission, and both for their bravery. If the queen
+of Caria is deserving of praise for her martial valor,
+the name of the heroic wife of the gunner, should be
+woven with hers in a fadeless wreath of song.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p>
+<h2>COURAGE OF A COUNTRY GIRL.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Honor and shame from no condition rise,<br />
+Act well your part, there all the honor lies.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Pope</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In December, 1777, while Washington was at
+Valley Forge and the enemy was in Philadelphia,
+Major Tallmadge was stationed between the two
+places with a detachment of cavalry, to make observations
+and to limit the range of British foragers.
+On one occasion, while performing this duty, he was
+informed that a country girl had gone into Philadelphia&mdash;perhaps
+by Washington's instigation&mdash;ostensibly
+to sell eggs, but really and especially to
+obtain information respecting the enemy; and curiosity
+led him to move his detachment to Germantown.
+There the main body halted while he advanced with
+a small party towards the British lines. Dismounting
+at a tavern in plain sight of their outposts, he soon
+saw a young girl coming out of the city. He watched
+her till she came up to the tavern; made himself
+known to her, and was about to receive some valuable
+intelligence, when he was informed that the British
+light horse were advancing. Stepping to the door he
+saw them in full pursuit of his patroles. He hastily<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>
+mounted, but before he had started his charger, the
+girl was at his side begging for protection. Quick as
+thought, he ordered her to mount behind him. She
+obeyed, and in that way rode to Germantown, a distance
+of three miles. During the whole ride, writes
+the Major in his Journal, where we find these details,
+"although there was considerable firing of pistols,
+and not a little wheeling and charging, she remained
+unmoved, and never once complained of fear."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE LEDYARDS AT FORT GRISWOLD</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Ah never shall the land forget<br />
+<span class="i1">How gushed the life-blood of the brave;</span>
+Gushed warm with hope and courage yet,<br />
+<span class="i1">Upon the soil they fought to save.</span><br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Bryant</span><br />
+<br />
+How few like thee enquire the wretched out,<br />
+And court the offices of soft humanity.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Rowe.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"It will be remembered that at the time of the
+burning of New London, Connecticut, a detachment
+of the army of the traitor Arnold, under whose personal
+direction that feat of vandalism was performed,
+was directed to attack and carry Fort Griswold at
+Groton, on the opposite side of the river. It was
+then under the command of Colonel Ledyard, a brave
+and meritorious officer, whose memory will live in
+the warm affections of his country, as that of one of
+the early martyrs to her liberty, whilst the granite
+pile which now lifts its summit above the spot where
+he was sacrificed, shall long remain to bear the record
+of his death. The fort was, in truth, little more than
+an embankment of earth, thrown up as a breast-work
+for the handful of troops it surrounded, and with a
+strong log-house in the center. The force which
+attacked it was altogether superior to that of its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>
+defenders, even when the difference in their position
+is taken into view. The case was so hopeless, that
+the slightest share of prudence would have suggested
+retreat. But the chafed and gallant spirits of Ledyard
+and his men would not permit them to retire
+before a marauding enemy, however powerful, without
+making at least one effort to beat him back. With a
+boldness and heroism scarcely ever surpassed, they
+stood their ground, until overwhelming numbers of
+the enemy were in the fort, and engaged hand to
+hand with its heroic defenders. Fierce and terrible,
+for a few moments, was the encounter, and it was not
+until the last ray of hope was gone, and nothing but
+a useless effusion of blood would have resulted from
+further resistance, that they at length yielded. In
+doing so, however, they were inclined to believe that
+the gallantry displayed by their little band, would at
+least shelter them from indignity. Ledyard had
+turned the handle of his sword to the commander of
+the assailants, and in answer to the question, 'who
+commands this fort,' replied, 'I did, sir, but you do
+now,' when he was pierced to the heart with his own
+weapon, and by the dastardly hand in which he had
+just placed it. An almost indiscriminate butchery
+now commenced; many falling instantly dead and
+some being desperately wounded. The fort was then
+entirely at the disposal of the enemy. The barbarity,
+however, did not end there. When it was found that
+several of the prisoners were still alive, the British
+soldiers piled their mangled bodies in an old cart and
+started it down the steep and rugged hill, towards the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>
+river, in order that they might be there drowned.
+But stumps and stones obstructed the passage of the
+cart; and when the enemy had retreated&mdash;for the
+aroused inhabitants of that region soon compelled
+them to the step&mdash;the friends of the wounded came
+to their aid and thus several lives were saved."<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a></p>
+
+<p>One of the "ministering angels" who came the next
+morning to the aid of the thirty-five wounded men,
+who lay all night freezing in their own blood, was
+Miss Mary Ledyard, a near relative of the Colonel.
+"She brought warm chocolate, wine, and other refreshments,
+and while Dr. Downer of Preston was
+dressing their wounds, she went from one to another,
+administering her cordials, and breathing into their
+ears gentle words of sympathy and encouragement.
+In these labors of kindness she was assisted by another
+relative of the lamented Colonel Ledyard&mdash;Mrs.
+John Ledyard&mdash;who had also brought her household
+stores to refresh the sufferers, and lavished on them
+the most soothing personal attentions. The soldiers
+who recovered from their wounds, were accustomed,
+to the day of their death, to speak of these ladies in
+terms of fervent gratitude and praise."<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span></p>
+<h2>SENECA HEROINES.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+They fought like brave <i>men</i>, long and well.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Halleck.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the celebrated battle between the French and
+Indians, which occurred near Victor, in the western
+part of New York, in 1687, five Seneca women
+took an active part in the bloody conflict. Mr.
+Hosmer, the poet, alludes to the circumstance in
+one of his celebrated "Lectures on the Iroquois,"
+from the manuscript of which we have been permitted
+to copy, as follows:</p>
+
+<p>"The memory of illustrious women who have
+watched in defence of altar and hearth, the deeds
+of the sterner sex, has been enshrined in song, and
+honored by the Historic Muse. Joan of Arc, and
+the dark-eyed maid of Saragossa in all coming
+time will be chivalric watch-words of France and
+Spain, but not less worthy of record, and poetic
+embalmment, were the <i>five</i><a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> devoted heroines who
+followed their red lords to the battle-field near
+ancient Ganagarro, and fought with unflinching resolution<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>
+by their sides. Children of such wives
+could not be otherwise than valiant. Bring back
+your shield, or be brought upon it, was the Spartan
+mother's stern injunction to her son: but roused
+to a higher pitch of courage, the wild daughters of
+the Genesee stood in the perilous pass, and in the
+defence of their forest homes, turned not back from
+the spear, 'the thunder of the captains, and the
+shouting.'"</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MARTHA BRATTON.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Not to the ensanguined field of death alone<br />
+Is valor limited.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Smollet.</span>
+<br />
+Our country first, their glory and their pride.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">J. T. Fields.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Martha Bratton was the wife of William Bratton
+a native of Pennsylvania. She was born in Rowan
+county, North Carolina. They settled near York
+ville, in South Carolina, where she died in 1816.
+Two or three anecdotes will suffice to illustrate her
+character.</p>
+
+<p>In June, 1780, a party of British and tory marauders,
+were attacked by a company of whigs
+under Colonel Bratton, at Mobley Meeting House,
+in Fairfield district, South Carolina, and defeated.
+Advertised of this disaster, Colonel Turnbull, commander
+of a detachment of British troops at Rocky
+Mount, Chester county, ordered Captain Huck to
+proceed with his cavalry to the frontier of the
+province, collecting all the royal army on his march,
+and if possible to subdue the rebels. An engagement
+soon took place between Captain Huck and Colonel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>
+Bratton; but before the battle, the Colonel's wife
+had an opportunity to display her character in a
+truly heroic manner. The evening preceding, Huck
+arrived at the Colonel's house, and entering in an
+uncivil manner, demanded of his wife where her
+husband was. She boldly replied "He is in Sumter's
+army!" Huck then tried to persuade her
+to induce her husband to join the British, and
+even went so far as to promise him a commission,
+in case he would do so. But neither persuasion
+nor argument availed any thing. With the firmness
+of a true patriot, she assured him that she would
+rather see him&mdash;faithful to his country&mdash;perish in
+Sumter's army, than clothed with any power or
+graced with any honor royalty could bestow! At
+this point, a soldier, exasperated at her bold and
+fearless manner, seized a reaping hook that hung
+in the piazza and threatened to kill her if she did
+not give particular and full information in regard to
+her husband. But with the weapon still at her
+throat, she promptly refused; and, but for the interference
+of the officer second in command, she would
+have lost her life.</p>
+
+<p>Huck now ordered her to prepare supper for
+himself and the whole band. With this request she
+complied, and then retired to an upper apartment
+with her children. Supper over, Huck posted his
+sentinels along the road and went with his officers
+to another house, half a mile off, to pass the night.</p>
+
+<p>Convinced that the royalists would seek revenge
+for their late defeat at Mobley's Meeting House,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>
+and naturally fearing that his own family might
+be among the victims, Colonel Bratton had that
+day marched from Mecklenburg county, North Carolina,
+with seventy-five men. Late in the evening
+he drew near his house, and learning that the enemy
+were there, and ascertaining their number, he made
+speedy preparations for an attack. The guard
+of the royalists was neglected, and he found no
+trouble in reconnoitering the encampment. All
+things ready, the attack was made before Huck
+had finished his morning nap. He awoke only to
+attempt to rally his men and then lie down again
+to sleep for ever! The tories seeing their leader
+fall, fled, or made the attempt. Some <i>did</i> escape,
+others were killed, others taken prisoners. The
+firing ceased about day light, when Mrs. Bratton
+made her appearance. She received the wounded on
+both sides, and showed them impartial attention,
+setting herself to work immediately, dressing their
+wounds and trying to relieve their pains. She who
+was so brave in the hour of danger, was no less
+humane in a time of suffering.<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a></p>
+
+<p>Prior to the fall of Charleston at a period when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>
+ammunition was very scarce, Governor Rutledge
+intrusted to her a small stock of powder. This
+fact some tory ascertained, and communicated to
+the British at a station not far off. A detachment
+was forthwith sent out to secure the treasure, of
+which movement Mrs. Bratton received early intimation.
+Resolving that the red coats should not
+have the prize, she laid a train of powder from
+the depot to the spot she chose to occupy; and
+when they came in sight, she blew it up. "Who
+has dared to do this atrocious act? Speak quickly,
+that they may meet the punishment they deserve,"
+was the demand of the officer in command. "Know
+then, 'twas <i>I</i>," was the dauntless reply of Mrs.
+Bratton, "and let the consequences be what they
+will," she added, "I glory in having frustrated the
+mischief contemplated by the merciless enemies of
+my country."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A POOR WOMAN'S OFFERING.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i5">The world is but a word;</span>
+Were it all yours, to give it in a breath,<br />
+How quickly were it gone!<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The following anecdote was related, a few years
+ago, by the Rev. W. S. Plumer, while addressing
+the Virginia Baptist Education Society. We regret
+that he did not give the name of the good woman
+who possessed such commendable zeal for the missionary
+cause.</p>
+
+<p>"A poor woman had attended a missionary meeting
+a few years since. Her heart was moved with
+pity. She looked around on her house and furniture
+to see what she could spare for the mission. She
+could think of nothing that would be of any use.
+At length she thought of her five children, three
+daughters and two sons. She entered her closet, and
+consecrated them to the mission. Two of her daughters
+are now in heathen lands, and the other is preparing
+to go. Of her sons, one is on his way to
+India, and the other is preparing for the ministry,
+and inquiring on the subject of a missionary life."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE MOTHER OF PRESIDENT JACKSON.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i3">How often has the thought</span>
+<span class="i3">Of my mourn'd mother brought</span>
+Peace to my troubled spirit, and new power<br />
+<span class="i3">The tempter to repel.</span>
+<span class="i3">Mother, thou knowest well</span>
+That thou has bless'd me since my natal hour.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Pierpont.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The mother of General Jackson had three children.
+Their names were Hugh, Robert and Andrew.
+The last was the youngest and lost his father when
+an infant. Like the mother of Washington, she was
+a very pious woman, and strove to glorify God as
+much in the rearing of her children as in the performance
+of any other duty. She taught Andrew the
+leading doctrines of the Bible, in the form of question
+and answer, from the Westminster catechism; and
+those lessons he never forgot. In conversation with
+him some years since, says a writer, "General Jackson
+spoke of his mother in a manner that convinced
+me that she never ceased to exert a secret power
+over him, until his heart was brought into reconciliation
+with God." This change, however, he did not
+experience till very late in life&mdash;after he had retired
+from the Presidency. He united with the Presbyterian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>
+church near the close of the year 1839, then
+in his seventy-third year. Just before his death,
+which occurred in June, 1845, he said to a clergyman,
+"My lamp of life is nearly out, and the last
+glimmer is come. I am ready to depart when called.
+The Bible is true.... Upon that sacred volume
+I rest my hope of eternal salvation, through the
+merits and blood of our blessed Lord and Saviour,
+Jesus Christ."</p>
+
+<p>If departed spirits, the saintly and ascended, are
+permitted to look from their high habitation, upon
+the scenes of earth, with what holy transport must
+the mother of Andrew Jackson have beheld the
+death-bed triumph of her son. The lad whom she
+early sent to an academy at the Waxhaw meeting-house,
+hoping to fit him for the ministry, had become
+a man, and led the hosts of the land through many a
+scene of conflict and on to a glorious and decisive
+victory; had filled the highest office in the world,
+and was now an old man, able, in his last earthly
+hour, <i>by the grace of God attending her early, pious
+instruction</i>, to challenge death for his sting and to
+shout "victory" over his opening grave.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE YOUNG HEROINE OF FORT HENRY.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i3">Judge me not ungentle,</span>
+Of manner's rude, and insolent of speech,<br />
+If, when the public safety is in question,<br />
+My zeal flows warm and eager from my tongue.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i14 smcap">Rowe's Jane Shore.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The siege of Fort Henry, at the mouth of Wheeling
+creek, in Ohio county, Virginia, occurred in
+September, 1777. Of the historical <i>fact</i> most people
+are aware; yet but few, comparatively, knew how
+much the little band in the garrison, who held out
+against thirty or forty times their number of savage
+assailants, were indebted, for their success, to the
+courage and self-devotion of a single female.</p>
+
+<p>The Indians kept up a brisk firing from about
+sunrise till past noon, when they ceased and retired
+a short distance to the foot of a hill. During the
+forenoon the little company in the fort had not been
+idle. Among their number were a few sharp shooters,
+who had burnt most of the powder on hand to the
+best advantage. Almost every charge had taken
+effect; and probably the savages began to see that
+they were losing numbers at fearful odds, and had
+doubtless retired for consultation. But they had less<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>
+occasion for anxiety, just at that time, than the men,
+women and children in the garrison. As already
+hinted, the stock of powder was nearly exhausted.
+There was a keg in a house ten or twelve rods
+from the gate of the fort, and as soon as the hostilities
+of the Indians were suspended, the question
+arose, who shall attempt to seize this prize? Strange
+to say, every soldier proffered his services, and there
+was an ardent contention among them for the honor.
+In the weak state of the garrison, Colonel Shepard,
+the commander, deemed it advisable that only one
+person should be spared; and in the midst of the confusion,
+before any one could be designated, a girl
+named Elizabeth Zane,<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> interrupted the debate,
+saying that her life was not so important, at that
+time, as any one of the soldier's, and claiming the
+privilege of performing the contested service. The
+Colonel would not, at first, listen to her proposal;
+but she was so resolute, so persevering in her plea,
+and her argument was so powerful, that he finally
+suffered the gate to be opened, and she passed out.
+The Indians saw her before she reached her brother's
+house, where the keg was deposited; but, for
+some unknown cause, they did not molest her, until
+she re-appeared with the article under her arm.
+Probably divining the nature of her burden, they
+discharged a volley as she was running towards the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>
+gate; but the whizzing balls only gave agility to
+her feet, and herself and the prize were quickly safe
+within the gate. The result was that the soldiers
+inspired with enthusiasm by this heroic adventure,
+fought with renewed courage, and, before the keg
+of powder was exhausted, the enemy raised the siege.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus260.jpg" width="450" height="544" alt="decoration" />
+
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A BENEVOLENT WIDOW</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i7">Charity ever</span>
+Finds in the act reward.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i8 smcap">Beaumont and Fletcher.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Several years ago, a poor widow had placed a smoked
+herring,&mdash;the last morsel of food she had in the
+house&mdash;on the table for herself and children, when a
+stranger entered and solicited food, saying that he had
+had nothing to eat for twenty-four hours. The widow
+unhesitatingly offered to share the herring with him,
+remarking, at the same time, "We shall not be forsaken,
+or suffer deeper for an act of charity."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus262.jpg" width="450" height="547" alt="THE WIDOW AND HER SON." title="THE WIDOW AND HER SON." />
+<span class="caption">THE WIDOW AND HER SON.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As the stranger drew near the table and saw the
+scantiness of the fare, he asked, "And is this all your
+store? Do you offer a share to one you do not know?
+Then I never saw charity before. But, madam, do
+you not wrong your children by giving a part of your
+morsel to a stranger?" "Ah," said she, with tears in
+her eyes, "I have a boy, a darling son, somewhere on
+the face of the wide world, unless Heaven has taken
+him away; and I only act towards you as I would
+that others should act towards him. God, who sent
+manna from heaven, can provide for us as he did
+for Israel; and how should I this night offend him,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>
+if my son should be a wanderer, destitute as you,
+and he should have provided for him a home, even
+as poor as this, were I to turn you unrelieved away!"</p>
+
+<p>The stranger whom she thus addressed, was the long
+absent son to whom she referred; and when she stopped
+speaking, he sprang from his feet, clasped her
+in his arms, and exclaimed, "God, indeed, has provided
+just such a home for your wandering son, <i>and
+has given him wealth to reward the goodness of
+his benefactress</i>. My mother! O, my mother!"<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ANNE FITZHUGH.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Who shall find a valiant woman?<br />
+The price of her is as things brought from afar.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Proverbs.</span>
+<br />
+<span class="i9">'T is the last</span>
+Duty that I can pay to my dear lord.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Fletcher.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The wife of Colonel William Fitzhugh, of Maryland,
+while he was absent at one time during the
+Revolution, was surprised by the news that a party
+of British soldiers was approaching her house.
+She instantly collected her slaves; furnished them
+with such weapons of defence as were at hand;
+took a quantity of cartridges in her apron, and,
+herself forming the van, urged her sable subalterns
+on to meet the foe. Not looking for resistance, the
+advancing party, on beholding the amazon with her
+sooty invincibles, hastily turned on their heels and
+fled.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus267.jpg" width="450" height="561" alt="THE HEROIC MOTHER." title="THE HEROIC MOTHER." />
+<span class="caption">THE HEROIC MOTHER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>On a subsequent occasion, a detachment of soldiers
+marched at midnight to Colonel Fitzhugh's house,
+which was half a mile from the shore, and near the
+mouth of the Patuxent river, and knocked at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>
+door. The Colonel demanding who was there, and
+receiving for reply that the visitants were "friends
+to King George," told the unwelcome intruders that
+he was blind and unable to wait upon them, but
+that his wife would admit them forthwith. Lighting
+a candle and merely putting on her slippers, she
+descended, awoke her sons, put pistols in their
+hands, and, pointing to the back door, told them
+to flee. She then let the soldiers in at the front
+door. They inquired for Colonel Fitzhugh, and said
+he must come down stairs at once and go as a
+prisoner to New York. She accordingly dressed her
+husband&mdash;forgetting meanwhile, to do as much for
+herself&mdash;and when he had descended, he assured
+the soldiers that his blindness, and the infirmities
+of age unfitted him to take care of himself, and
+that it could hardly be desirable for them to take
+in charge so decrepit and inoffensive a person.
+They thought otherwise; and his wife, seeing he
+must go, took his arm and said she would go too.
+The officer told her she would be exposed and
+must suffer, but she persisted in accompanying him,
+saying that he could not take care of himself, nor,
+if he could, would she permit a separation.</p>
+
+<p>It was a cold and rainy night, and with the
+mere protection of a cloak, which the officer took
+down and threw over her shoulders before leaving
+the house, she sallied forth with the party. While
+on the way to their boat, the report of a gun was
+heard, which the soldiers supposed was the signal
+of a rebel gathering. They hastened to the boat,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>
+where a parole was written out with trembling
+hand, and placed in the old gentleman's possession.
+Without even a benediction, he was left on shore
+with his faithful and fearless companion, who thought
+but little of her wet feet as she stood and saw the
+cowardly detachment of British soldiers push off
+and row away with all their might for safety.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ESTHER GASTON.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+True fortitude is seen in great exploits<br />
+That justice warrants and that wisdom guides.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Addison.</span>
+<br />
+The good alone are great.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Beattie.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>On the morning of July thirtieth, 1770, Esther
+Gaston, afterwards the wife of Alexander Walker,
+hearing the firing at the battle of Rocky Mount, took
+with her a sister-in-law, and, well mounted, pushed on
+towards the scene of conflict. They soon met two or
+three cowardly men, hastening from the field of action.
+Esther hailed and rebuked them, and finding
+entreaties would not cause them to retrace their steps,
+she seized the gun from the hands of one of them,
+exclaiming, "Give <i>us</i> your guns, then, and we will
+stand in your places." The cowards, abashed, now
+wheeled, and, in company with the females, hurried
+on to face the cannon's mouth.</p>
+
+<p>While the strife was still raging, Esther and her
+companion busied themselves in dressing the wounded
+and quenching the thirst of the dying. Even
+their helpless enemies shared in their humane services.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>During the battle of Hanging Rock, which occurred
+the next week, Esther might be seen at Waxhaw
+church, which was converted for the time into a hospital,
+administering to the wants of the wounded.</p>
+
+<p>As kind as patriotic, with her hands filled with
+soothing cordials, she was seen, through all her life,
+knocking at the door of suffering humanity.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span></p>
+<h2>REMARKABLE PRESENCE OF MIND AND<br />
+SELF-POSSESSION.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Were I the monarch of the earth,<br />
+<span class="i2">And master of the swelling sea,</span>
+I would not estimate their worth,<br />
+<span class="i2">Dear woman, half the price of thee.</span>
+<br />
+<span class="i10 smcap">Geo. P. Morris.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Mr. Ralph Izard, a true "liberty man," resided,
+during the struggle for Independence, near Dorchester,
+in South Carolina. He was for awhile aid-de-camp
+to the commander of the Light Troops, and
+was an especial object of British hatred. On one
+occasion, while at home, he came very near falling
+into the hands of the enemy. A number of British
+soldiers surrounded his house, and on discovering
+them he hid himself in the clothes-press. They
+were confident he was in the house, and having
+instituted a thorough but ineffectual search, threatened
+to burn the building, unless his wife would
+point out his place of concealment. She adroitly
+evaded answering directly all queries respecting his
+quarters. They next robbed his wardrobe; seized
+all the better articles they could find in the house,
+and even tried to force off her finger-rings. She<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>
+still remained composed and courageous, yet courteous
+and urbane, knowing that much, every thing,
+in fact, depended on her self-control. Her calmness
+and apparent unconcern led the marauders to conclude
+that they had been misled in supposing Mr.
+Izard was in the house; and at length they departed.
+He then sprang from his covert, and, rushing out
+by a back door, crossed the Ashley river and notified
+the Americans on the opposite side, of the
+state of things.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime, the ruffians returned to the house, and,
+strange to say, went directly to the clothes-press.
+Again disappointed, they retired; but they were
+soon met by a body of cavalry, handsomely whipped,
+and all the fine articles belonging to Mr. Izard's
+wardrobe and house were restored.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE WIFE OF GOVERNOR GRISWOLD.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Happy the man, and happy sure he was,<br />
+So wedded.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Hurdis.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The residence of the first Governor of Connecticut,
+was at Blackhall, near Long Island Sound. While
+British ships were lying at anchor in these waters on
+a certain occasion, a party of marines in pursuit of
+his Excellency, presented themselves at the door. It
+being impossible for him to escape by flight, his affectionate
+and thoughtful wife secreted him in a large
+new meat barrel or tierce&mdash;for although he was somewhat
+corpulent, he could not vie in physical rotundity
+with the early and honored Knickerbocker magistrates.
+He was cleverly packed away in the future
+home of doomed porkers, just as the soldiers entered
+and commenced their search. Not finding him readily,
+they asked his quick-witted wife one or two hard
+questions, but received no very enlightening answer.
+The Legislature had convened a day or two before
+at Hartford, and she intimated that he was or ought
+to be at the capital. Unsuccessful in their search,
+the soldiers took their boat and returned to the ship.
+Before they had reached the latter, his unpacked
+Honor was on a swift steed, galloping to Gubernatorial
+head-quarters.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span></p>
+<h2>BOLD EXPLOIT OF A YOUNG GIRL.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Some god impels with courage not thy own.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Pope's Homer.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Robert Gibbes was the owner of a splendid mansion
+on John's Island, a few miles from Charleston,
+South Carolina, known, during the Revolution, as the
+"Peaceful Retreat." On his plantation the British
+encamped on a certain occasion; and the American
+authorities sent two galleys up the Stono river, on
+which the mansion stood, to dislodge them. Strict
+injunctions had been given to the men not to fire on
+the house, but Mr. Gibbes not being aware of this
+fact, when the firing commenced, thought it advisable
+to take his family to some remote place for shelter.
+They accordingly started in a cold and drizzly rain
+and in a direction ranging with the fire of the American
+guns. Shot struck the trees and cut the bushes
+beside their path for some distance. When about a
+mile from the mansion, and out of danger, reaching
+the huts occupied by the negroes on the plantation,
+Mrs. Gibbes, being chilled and exhausted, was obliged
+to lie down. Here, when they supposed all were
+safe, and began to rejoice over their fortunate escape,
+to their great astonishment, they discovered that a
+boy named Fenwick, a member of the family, had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span>
+been left behind.<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> It was still raining, was very
+dark, and imminent danger must attend an effort to
+rescue the lad. And who would risk life in attempting
+it? The servants refused. Mr. Gibbes was gouty
+and feeble, and prudence forbade him to again venture
+out. At length, the oldest daughter of the family,
+Mary Ann, only thirteen years old, offers to go
+alone. She hastens off; reaches the house, still in
+possession of the British; begs the sentinel to let her
+enter; and though repeatedly repulsed, she doubles
+the earnestness of her entreaties, and finally gains
+admittance. She finds the child in the third story;
+clasps him in her arms; hastens down stairs, and,
+passing the sentry, flees with the shot whizzing past
+her head; and herself and the child are soon with
+the rest of the family.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span></p>
+<h2>SUSANNA WRIGHT.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Work for some good, be it ever so slowly;<br />
+Cherish some flower, be it ever so lowly;<br />
+Labor&mdash;all labor is noble and holy.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. Osgood.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Susanna Wright removed to this country with her
+parents from Warrington, in Great Britain, in the
+year 1714. The family settled in Lancaster county,
+Pennsylvania. Susanna was then about seventeen.
+"She never married; but after the death of her
+father, became the head of her own family, who
+looked up to her for advice and direction as a parent,
+for her heart was replete with every kind affection."</p>
+
+<p>She was a remarkable economist of time, for
+although she had the constant management of a large
+family, and, at times, of a profitable establishment,
+she mastered many of the sciences; was a good
+French, Latin and Italian scholar; assisted neighbors
+in the settlement of estates, and was frequently consulted
+as a physician.</p>
+
+<p>"She took great delight in domestic manufacture,
+and had constantly much of it produced in her family.
+For many years she attended to the rearing of silk
+worms, and with the silk, which she reeled and prepared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>
+herself, made many articles both of beauty
+and utility, dying the silk of various colors with indigenous
+materials. She had at one time upwards of
+sixty yards of excellent mantua returned to her from
+Great Britain, where she had sent the raw silk to be
+manufactured."</p>
+
+<p>This industrious and pious Quakeress, who seems
+to have possessed all the excellencies defined in Solomon's
+inventory of the virtuous woman, lived more
+than four score years, an ornament to her sex and a
+blessing to the race.</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i10">"There was no need,</span>
+In those good times, of trim callisthenics,&mdash;<br />
+And there was less of gadding, and far more<br />
+Of home-bred, heart-felt comfort, rooted strong<br />
+In industry, and bearing such rare fruit<br />
+As wealth may never purchase."
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span></p>
+<h2>PATRIOTISM OF 1770.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+In conduct, as in courage, you excel,<br />
+Still first to act what you advise so well.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Pope's Homer.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the early part of February, 1770, the women of
+Boston publicly pledged themselves to abstain from
+the use of tea, "as a practical execution of the non-importation
+agreement of their fathers, husbands and
+brothers." We are credibly informed, writes the
+editor of the Boston Gazette of February ninth, "that
+upwards of one hundred ladies at the north part of
+the town, have, of their own free will and accord,
+come into and signed an agreement, not to drink any
+tea till the Revenue Acts are passed." At that date
+three hundred matrons had become members of the
+league.</p>
+
+<p>Three days after the above date, the young women
+followed the example of their mothers, multitudes
+signing a document which read as follows: "We, the
+daughters of those patriots who have and do now
+appear for the public interest, and, in that, principally
+regard their posterity,&mdash;as such do with pleasure
+engage with them in denying ourselves the drinking
+of foreign tea, in hopes to frustrate a plan which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span>
+tends to deprive the whole community of all that is
+valuable in life."</p>
+
+<p>Multitudes of females in New York and Virginia,
+and, if we mistake not, some in other states, made
+similar movements; and it is easy to perceive, in the
+tone of those early pledges of self-denial for honor,
+liberty, country's sake, the infancy of that spirit which,
+quickly reaching its manhood, planned schemes of
+resistance to oppression on a more magnanimous
+scale, and flagged not till a work was done which
+filled half the world with admiration and the whole
+with astonishment.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MRS. SPALDING OF GEORGIA.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Through trials hard as these, how oft are seen<br />
+The tender sex, in fortitude serene.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Ann Seward.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Mrs. Spalding was the niece of General Lachlan
+McIntosh, daughter of Colonel William McIntosh and
+mother of Major Spalding, of Georgia.</p>
+
+<p>In 1778, after Colonel Campbell took possession
+of Savannah, Georgia, that section of the country was
+infested with reckless marauders, and many families
+fled to avoid their ruthlessness. Mr. Spalding retired
+with his wife and child to Florida; and twice
+during the Revolution, she traversed "the two hundred
+miles between Savannah and St. John's river,
+in an open boat, with only black servants on board,
+when the whole country was a desert, without a house
+to shelter her and her infant son."</p>
+
+<p>The part she bore in the dangers of the Revolution
+and the anxieties to which she was necessarily subjected,
+so impaired her health that "many years afterwards
+it was deemed necessary that she should
+try the climate of Europe. In January, 1800, she,
+with her son and his wife, left Savannah in a British<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span>
+ship of twenty guns, with fifty men, built in all points
+to resemble a sloop of war, without the appearance
+of a cargo. When they had been out about fifteen
+days, the captain sent one morning at daylight, to
+request the presence of two of his gentlemen passengers
+on deck. A large ship, painted black and showing
+twelve guns on a side, was seen to windward,
+running across their course. She was obviously a
+French privateer. The captain announced that there
+was no hope of out-sailing her, should their course
+be altered; nor would there be hope in a conflict,
+as those ships usually carried one hundred and fifty
+men. Yet he judged that if no effort were made
+to shun the privateer, the appearance of his ship
+might deter from an attack. The gentlemen were
+of the same opinion. Mr. Spalding, heart-sick at
+thought of the perilous situation of his wife and mother,
+and unwilling to trust himself with an interview
+till the crisis was over, requested the captain to go
+below and make what preparation he could for their
+security. After a few minutes' absence the captain
+returned to describe a most touching scene. Mrs.
+Spalding had placed her daughter-in-law and the
+other inmates of the cabin for safety in the two state-rooms,
+filling the berths with the cots and bedding
+from the outer cabin. She had then taken her station
+beside the scuttle, which led from the outer cabin
+to the magazine, with two buckets of water. Having
+noticed that the two cabin boys were heedless, she had
+determined herself to keep watch over the magazine.
+She did so till the danger was past. The captain took<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span>
+in his light sails, hoisted his boarding nettings, opened
+his ports, and stood on upon his course. The privateer
+waited till the ship was within a mile, then fired
+a gun to windward, and stood on her way. This ruse
+preserved the ship."<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span></p>
+<h2>COURAGEOUS ACT OF MRS. DILLARD.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Thy country, glorious, brave and fair,<br />
+Thine all of life&mdash;<br />
+Her name alone thy heart's depths stirred,<br />
+And filled thy soul with war-like pride.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Sara J. Clarke.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The day before the battle at the Green Spring, in
+the Spartanburg district, South Carolina, Colonel
+Clarke, of the Georgia volunteers, with about two
+hundred men, stopped at the house of Captain Dillard
+and were cordially welcomed to a good supply of refreshments.
+In the evening of the same day, Colonel
+Ferguson and another officer named Dunlap, with
+a party of tories, arrived at the same house and inquired
+of the mistress, if Colonel Clarke had been there,
+to which question she gave a direct and honest answer.
+He then inquired in regard to the time of
+Clarke's departure and the number of his men. She
+could not guess their number, but said they had been
+gone a long time. She was then ordered to get supper,
+which she did, though in a less hospitable spirit
+than she had prepared the previous meal. While at
+work, she overheard some of the conversation of the
+officers, by which she learned that they were bent on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>
+surprising Colonel Clarke, and would start for that
+purpose when supper was dispatched. As soon as the
+food was on the table, Mrs. Dillard hurried out at the
+back door, bridled a horse that stood in the stable,
+and mounting without saddle, rode till nearly daylight
+before reaching the Green Spring where Clarke
+had encamped, and where he was to be attacked by
+Ferguson, at the break of day or sooner, as she had
+learned before starting.</p>
+
+<p>She had just aroused the whigs and notified them
+of their danger, when a detachment of two hundred
+picked, mounted men, commanded by Dunlap, rushed
+into the camp. They found their intended victims
+ready for the charge; were quickly driven out of the
+camp, and glad to escape by flight. Thus, fortunately
+for the friends of freedom, ended this battle, which,
+but for the daring of a single patriotic woman, would
+doubtless have resulted in the annihilation of the little
+band of Georgia volunteers.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span></p>
+<h2>PHOEBE PHILLIPS.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+The secret pleasure of a generous act<br />
+Is the great mind's great bribe.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Dryden.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Phoebe Foxcroft, afterwards the wife of Samuel
+Phillips, the joint founder, with his uncle, of the academy
+at Andover, Massachusetts, was a native of
+Cambridge, in the same state. Reared beneath the
+shades of "Old Harvard" and being the daughter of
+a man of wealth and high respectability, it is almost
+needless to say that she was well educated and highly
+refined. To mental attainments she added the finishing
+charm of female character, glowing piety. The
+last forty years or more of her life were passed at Andover,
+where, after the death of her husband, she
+assisted in founding the celebrated Theological seminary.
+She died in 1818.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that she was accustomed, for years, to
+make the health of every pupil in the academy a subject
+of personal interest. Her attentions to their
+wants were impartial and incalculably beneficial. To
+those that came from remote towns, and were thus
+deprived of parental oversight, she acted the part
+of a faithful mother.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Affectionate, kind, generous, watchful, as a christian
+guardian; she was unbending, self-sacrificing and
+"zealous, yet modest," as a patriot. During the seven
+years' struggle for freedom, she frequently sat up till
+midnight or past, preparing bandages and scraping
+lint for the hospitals and making garments for the ragged
+soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>An offender of justice was once passing her house
+on his way to the whipping-post, when a boy, who observed
+him from her window, could not withhold a
+tear. He tried to conceal his emotion, but Mrs. Phillips
+saw the pearl drop of pity, and while a kindred
+drop fell from her own eyes, she said to him, with
+much emphasis and as though laying down some golden
+maxim&mdash;"When you become a law maker, examine
+the subject of corporeal punishment, and see
+if it is not unnatural, vindictive and productive of
+much evil." She was very discriminating, and could
+detect talent as well as tears; and addressed the lad
+with a premonition that he was destined to become a
+legislator&mdash;which was indeed the case. Elected to the
+assembly of the state, with the sacred command of his
+early and revered mentor impressed on his memory,
+he early called the attention of that body to the subject
+of corporeal punishment; had the statute book
+revised and the odious law, save in capital offences,
+expunged, and the pleasure of announcing the fact to
+the original suggestor of the movement.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span></p>
+<h2>WORTHY EXAMPLE OF A POOR WIDOW.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Howe'er it be, it seems to me<br />
+<span class="i1">'Tis only noble to be good;</span>
+Kind hearts are more than coronets,<br />
+<span class="i1">And simple faith than Norman blood.</span>
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Tennyson.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The following article was communicated to the
+Christian Watchman and Reflector, of Boston, for
+January thirtieth, 1851. The facts are given without
+coloring or embellishment. The subject of the article
+has gone to the grave, but the influence of her exemplary
+life has not ceased to be felt. Her</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i7">"Speaking dust</span>
+Has more of life than half its breathing moulds."<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Some twenty years since, the writer became pastor
+of a church in the town of B. A few weeks after
+my settlement, I called at the humble dwelling of a
+poor widow, with whom I had already become somewhat
+acquainted. Having been apprised of the high
+estimation in which she was held by the church of
+which she was a member, for her cheerful and consistent
+piety, an interesting and profitable interview
+was anticipated. I had been seated but a few moments
+when she placed in my hand one dollar, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span>
+proceeded, by way of explanation, to make the following
+statements, which I give as nearly as possible
+in her own language:</p>
+
+<p>"Before you came among us, our church and people
+where in a very depressed and disheartened condition.
+For two or three Sabbaths we had no religious
+services during the day. How sad to be as
+sheep without a shepherd, and to have the house of
+God closed on his holy day! If the Lord would only
+send us a pastor, I felt willing to do any thing in
+my power to aid in sustaining him. But then the
+thought occurred to me, What can <i>you</i> do, a poor
+widow, with four small children to support, and your
+house rent to pay? It is quite as much as you
+can do to meet necessary expenses. For a moment
+I was sad; but my mind still dwelt upon the subject,
+until finally this plan occurred to me: 'God
+has blessed you with excellent health, and you can
+sit up and work between the hours of nine and
+eleven or twelve o'clock at night; and what you
+thus earn you can give for that object.' I was at
+once relieved, and resolved before the Lord that,
+if he would send us a pastor, I would immediately
+commence my labors, and do what I could to aid
+in sustaining and encouraging him. I felt that now
+I could pray consistently, as I was willing to do
+my duty. With a faith and fervor to which I had
+before been a stranger, I besought the Lord speedily
+to favor us with an under-shepherd; and soon you
+came here to preach for us. I believed God sent
+you; and although at first you had no idea of remaining,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span>
+I never doubted that you would become
+our pastor. As soon as you had accepted the call of
+the church, I began to work in accordance with
+my vow, and that dollar is the result of my earning,
+the last four weeks. And O, you would rejoice
+with me, could you know how much I have enjoyed
+these silent hours of night, when my children around
+me are wrapt in slumber, and all is as the stillness
+of the grave. The Lord has been with me continually,
+and I have had uninterrupted communion with him.
+When God had given us a pastor, I felt I must pray
+for a blessing to attend his labors among us; and,
+often have I been so impressed with the importance
+of a revival of religion, and the conversion of my
+children, and the people of this place, that I have
+been obliged to leave my work, and kneel down before
+my Maker, and earnestly plead with him that
+his Spirit may accomplish this work. Even after I
+had retired to rest, I have sometimes been obliged
+to arise and pray that he would save the souls of
+this people. And, blessed be his holy name, he has
+listened to prayer for this object also. When I
+heard of the numbers who attended the religious
+inquiry meeting, and the hopeful conversion of some
+to God, I felt I could say, 'This is the Lord, I have
+waited for him;' and I believe he will do greater
+things than these in our midst. Thus has God blessed
+one of the most unworthy of all his creatures;
+and I have often been led to sing, while I have
+been laboring here, lowly as is my condition,</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span></p>
+<div class="poem">'I would not change my blest estate,<br />
+With all that earth calls rich or great;<br />
+And, while my faith can keep her hold,<br />
+I envy not the sinner's gold.'"<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>My attention had been absorbed with this interesting
+and affecting narrative; nor had I any inclination
+to interrupt it with remarks of my own.
+I now thought I could read the secret of the apparent
+success which had attended my labors in so
+short a time. As soon as I could recover from my
+emotions, I said to her, I am grateful for your prayers
+and this proffered donation; but, as my parish
+affords me a competent support, I can on no account
+feel at liberty to appropriate to my own private use
+the money thus earned. No; you shall have the additional
+satisfaction, while you are toiling at these
+unseasonable hours of night, of knowing that what
+you place in my hands shall be sacredly devoted
+to the cause of Christian benevolence, which I am
+sure you ardently love. With this she expressed
+herself satisfied; and continued her toils and prayers.</p>
+
+<p>It may be asked, What was the result? The answer
+is recorded with pleasure, and, I trust, with
+gratitude to God. Besides punctually attending all
+the meetings of the church, and laboring much in
+private for the eternal welfare of souls; besides supporting
+her family with more ease than formerly,
+as she stated to her pastor, at the close of the first
+year, and paying her assessments in several charitable
+societies to which she belonged, and also contributing
+something whenever a public collection<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span>
+was taken for benevolent objects; in addition to all
+this, she had placed in my hands ten dollars and a
+half, which was appropriated as stated above. Her
+donations for objects of religious charity must have
+amounted to at least <i>twelve dollars</i> during that year,
+which, it is presumed, exceeded the amount given for
+similar objects by any other member of the church,
+although quite a number possessed a comfortable
+share of wealth. It may be thought that she was
+engaged in some business which yielded a handsome
+profit to reward her toils. But no; her business
+was shoe-binding, not then by any means very profitable.
+And who, with her disposition and spirit, could
+not do something to aid the cause of God? But
+what she earned and gave was not all. Her prayers,
+it is believed, had secured for the church a pastor,
+and been the means, with others, of the commencement
+of a revival of religion, which continued to
+prevail to a greater or less extent, for three successive
+years, during which time a large number were hopefully
+converted and added to the church: and among
+them several of her older children, who were away
+from home.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ELIZABETH ESTAUGH.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+A perfect woman, nobly planned,<br />
+To warn, to comfort and command;<br />
+And yet a spirit still, and bright<br />
+With something of an angel light.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Wordsworth.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Elizabeth Haddon was the oldest daughter of John
+Haddon, a well educated and wealthy, yet humble,
+Quaker, of London. She had two sisters, both of
+whom, with herself, received the highest finish of a
+practical education. Elizabeth possessed uncommon
+strength of mind, earnestness, energy and originality
+of character, and a heart overflowing with the
+kindest and warmest feelings. A single anecdote of
+her childhood, told by Mrs. Child, will illustrate the
+nobleness of nature which characterized her life:</p>
+
+<p>"At one time, she asked to have a large cake
+baked, because she wanted to invite some little girls.
+All her small funds were expended for oranges and
+candy on this occasion. When the time arrived, her
+father and mother were much surprised to see her
+lead in six little ragged beggars. They were, however,
+too sincerely humble and religious to <i>express</i>
+any surprise. They treated the forlorn little ones<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span>
+very tenderly, and freely granted their daughter's request
+to give them some of her books and playthings
+at parting. When they had gone, the good mother
+quietly said, 'Elizabeth, why didst thou invite strangers,
+instead of thy schoolmates?' There was a heavenly
+expression in her eye, as she looked up earnestly,
+and answered, 'Mother, I wanted to invite <i>them</i>,
+they looked <i>so</i> poor.'"</p>
+
+<p>When eleven years of age, she accompanied her
+parents to the Yearly Meeting of the Friends, where
+she heard, among other preachers, a very young man
+named John Estaugh, with whose manner of presenting
+divine truth she was particularly pleased. Many
+of his words were treasured in her memory. At the
+age of seventeen she made a profession of religion,
+uniting herself with the Quakers.</p>
+
+<p>During her early youth, William Penn visited the
+house of her father, and greatly amused her by describing
+his adventures with the Indians. From that
+time she became interested in the emigrant Quakers,
+and early began to talk of coming to America. Her
+father at length purchased a tract of land in New
+Jersey, with the view of emigrating, but his affairs
+took a new turn, and he made up his mind to remain
+in his native land. This decision disappointed Elizabeth.
+She had cherished the conviction that it was
+her duty to come to this country; and when, at
+length, her father, who was unwilling that any of his
+property should lie unimproved, offered the tract of
+land in New Jersey to any relative who would settle
+upon it, she promptly agreed to accept of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span>
+proffered estate. Willing that their child should follow
+in the path of duty, at the end of three months,
+and after much prayer, the parents consented to let
+Elizabeth join "the Lord's people in the New
+World."</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, early in the spring of 1700, writes
+Mrs. Child, in whose sweet language, slightly condensed,
+the rest of the narrative is told, arrangements
+were made for her departure, and all things
+were provided that the abundance of wealth, or the
+ingenuity of affection, could devise.</p>
+
+<p>A poor widow of good sense and discretion accompanied
+her, as friend and housekeeper, and two trusty
+men servants, members of the Society of Friends.
+Among the many singular manifestations of strong
+faith and religious zeal, connected with the settlement
+of this country, few are more remarkable than
+the voluntary separation of this girl of eighteen years
+old from a wealthy home and all the pleasant associations
+of childhood, to go to a distant and thinly
+inhabited country, to fulfill what she considered a
+religious duty. And the humble, self-sacrificing faith
+of the parents, in giving up their child, with such
+reverend tenderness for the promptings of her own
+conscience, has in it something sublimely beautiful,
+if we look at it in its own pure light. The parting
+took place with more love than words can express,
+and yet without a tear on either side. Even during
+the long and tedious voyage, Elizabeth never wept.
+She preserved a martyr-like cheerfulness and serenity
+to the end.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The house prepared for her reception stood in a
+clearing of the forest, three miles from any other
+dwelling. She arrived in June, when the landscape
+was smiling in youthful beauty; and it seemed to her
+as if the arch of heaven was never before so clear and
+bright, the carpet of the earth never so verdant. As
+she sat at her window and saw evening close in upon
+her in that broad forest home, and heard, for the
+first time, the mournful notes of the whippo-wil and
+the harsh scream of the jay in the distant woods,
+she was oppressed with a sense of vastness, of infinity,
+which she never before experienced, not even
+on the ocean. She remained long in prayer, and
+when she lay down to sleep beside her matron friend,
+no words were spoken between them. The elder,
+overcome with fatigue, soon sank into a peaceful
+slumber; but the young enthusiast lay long awake,
+listening to the lone voice of the whippo-wil complaining
+to the night. Yet, notwithstanding this prolonged
+wakefulness, she arose early and looked out
+upon the lovely landscape. The rising sun pointed
+to the tallest trees with his golden finger, and was
+welcomed with a gush of song from a thousand warblers.
+The poetry in Elizabeth's soul, repressed by
+the severe plainness of her education, gushed up like
+a fountain. She dropped on her knees, and, with
+an outburst of prayer, exclaimed fervently, "Oh, Father,
+very beautiful hast thou made this earth! How
+bountiful are thy gifts, O Lord!"</p>
+
+<p>To a spirit less meek and brave, the darker shades
+of the picture would have obscured these cheerful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span>
+gleams; for the situation was lonely and the inconveniences
+innumerable. But Elizabeth easily triumphed
+over all obstacles, by practical good sense
+and the quick promptings of her ingenuity. She
+was one of those clear strong natures, who always
+have a definite aim in view, and who see at once
+the means best suited to the end. Her first inquiry
+was what grain was best adapted to the soil of her
+farm; and being informed that rye would yield best,
+"Then I shall eat rye bread," was her answer. But
+when winter came, and the gleaming snow spread
+its unbroken silence over hill and plain, was it not
+dreary then? It would have been dreary indeed to
+one who entered upon this mode of life from mere
+love of novelty, or a vain desire to do something extraordinary.
+But the idea of extended usefulness,
+which had first lured this remarkable girl into a
+path so unusual, sustained her through all trials. She
+was too busy to be sad, and leaned too trustingly
+on her Father's hand to be doubtful of her way. The
+neighboring Indians soon loved her as a friend, for
+they found her always truthful, just, and kind. From
+their teachings, she added much to her knowledge
+of simple medicines. So efficient was her skill and
+so prompt her sympathy, that for many miles round,
+if man, woman, or child were alarmingly ill, they
+were sure to send for Elizabeth Haddon; and wherever
+she went, her observing mind gathered some
+hint for the improvement of farm or dairy. Her
+house and heart were both large; and as her residence
+was on the way to the Quaker meeting-house<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span>
+in Newtown, it became a place of universal resort to
+Friends from all parts of the country traveling that
+road, as well as an asylum for benighted wanderers.</p>
+
+<p>The winter was drawing to a close, when late one
+evening, the sound of sleigh-bells was heard, and
+the crunching of snow beneath the hoofs of horses,
+as they passed into the barn-yard gate. The arrival
+of travelers was too common an occurrence to excite
+or disturb the well-ordered family.</p>
+
+<p>Great logs were piled in the capacious chimney,
+and the flames blazed up with a crackling warmth,
+when two strangers entered. In the younger, Elizabeth
+instantly recognized John Estaugh, whose preaching
+had so deeply impressed her at eleven years
+of age. This was almost like a glimpse of home&mdash;her
+dear old English home! She stepped forward
+with more than usual cordiality, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Thou art welcome, Friend Estaugh; the more so
+for being entirely unexpected."</p>
+
+<p>"And I am glad to see thee, Elizabeth," he replied
+with a friendly shake of the hand. "It was not until
+after I landed in America, that I heard the Lord
+had called thee hither before me; but I remember
+thy father told me how often thou hadst played the
+settler in the woods, when thou wast quite a little
+girl."</p>
+
+<p>"I am but a child still," she replied, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>"I trust thou art," he rejoined; "and as for
+these strong impressions in childhood, I have heard
+of many cases where they seemed to be prophecies
+sent of the Lord. When I saw thy father in London,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span>
+I had even then an indistinct idea that I
+might sometime be sent to America on a religious
+visit."</p>
+
+<p>"And hast thou forgotten, Friend John, the ear of
+Indian corn which my father begged of thee for me?
+I can show it to thee now. Since then I have seen
+this grain in perfect growth; and a goodly plant it
+is, I assure thee. See," she continued, pointing to
+many bunches of ripe corn, which hung in their
+braided husks against the walls of the ample kitchen:
+"all that, and more, came from a single ear, no
+bigger than the one thou didst give my father.
+May the seed sown by thy ministry be as fruitful!"
+"Amen," replied both the guests.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, it was discovered that snow
+had fallen during the night in heavy drifts, and the
+roads were impassable. Elizabeth, according to her
+usual custom, sent out men, oxen and sledges, to
+open pathways for several poor families, and for
+households whose inmates were visited by illness.
+In this duty, John Estaugh and his friend joined
+heartily and none of the laborers worked harder
+than they. When he returned, glowing from this
+exercise, she could not but observe that the excellent
+youth had a goodly countenance. It was not
+physical beauty; for of that he had little. It was
+that cheerful, child-like, out-beaming honesty of expression,
+which we not unfrequently see in Germans,
+who, above all nations, look as if they carried
+a crystal heart within their manly bosoms.</p>
+
+<p>Two days after, when Elizabeth went to visit her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>
+patients, with a sled-load of medicines and provisions,
+John asked permission to accompany her.
+There, by the bedside of the aged and the suffering,
+she saw the clear sincerity of his countenance
+warmed with rays of love, while he spoke to them
+words of kindness and consolation; and there she
+heard his pleasant voice modulate itself into deeper
+tenderness of expression, when he took little children
+in his arms.</p>
+
+<p>The next First day, which we call the Sabbath,
+the whole family attended Newtown meeting; and
+there John Estaugh was gifted with an out-pouring
+of the spirit in his ministry, which sank deep into
+the hearts of those who listened to him. Elizabeth
+found it so marvellously applicable to the trials and
+temptations of her own soul, that she almost deemed
+it was spoken on purpose for her. She said nothing
+of this, but she pondered upon it deeply.
+Thus did a few days of united duties make them
+more thoroughly acquainted with each other, than
+they could have been by years of fashionable intercourse.</p>
+
+<p>The young preacher soon after bade farewell, to
+visit other meetings in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
+Elizabeth saw him no more until the May
+following, when he stopped at her house to lodge,
+with numerous other Friends, on their way to the
+Quarterly Meeting at Salem. In the morning, quite
+a cavalcade started from her hospitable door, on
+horseback; for wagons were then unknown in Jersey.
+John Estaugh, always kindly in his impulses,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span>
+busied himself with helping a lame and very ugly
+old woman, and left his hostess to mount her horse
+as she could. Most young women would have felt
+slighted; but in Elizabeth's noble soul the quiet
+deep tide of feeling rippled with an inward joy. "He
+is always kindest to the poor and the neglected,"
+thought she; "verily he <i>is</i> a good youth." She was
+leaning over the side of her horse, to adjust the
+buckle of the girth, when he came up on horseback,
+and inquired if anything was out of order. She
+thanked him, with slight confusion of manner, and
+a voice less calm than her usual utterance. He assisted
+her to mount, and they trotted along leisurely
+behind the procession of guests, speaking of the soil
+and climate of this new country, and how wonderfully
+the Lord had here provided a home for his
+chosen people. Presently the girth began to slip,
+and the saddle turned so much on one side, that
+Elizabeth was obliged to dismount. It took some
+time to re-adjust it, and when they again started,
+the company were out of sight. There was brighter
+color than usual in the maiden's cheeks, and unwonted
+radiance in her mild deep eyes. After a short
+silence, she said, in a voice slightly tremulous,
+"Friend John, I have a subject of importance on my
+mind, and one which nearly interests thee. I am
+strongly impressed that the Lord has sent thee to
+me as a partner for life. I tell thee my impression
+frankly, but not without calm and deep reflection;
+for matrimony is a holy relation, and should be entered
+into with all sobriety. If thou hast no light<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span>
+on the subject, wilt thou gather into the stillness,
+and reverently listen to thy own inward revealings?
+Thou art to leave this part of the country to-morrow,
+and not knowing when I should see thee again,
+I felt moved to tell thee what lay upon my mind."</p>
+
+<p>The young man was taken by surprise. Though
+accustomed to that suppression of emotion which
+characterizes his religious sect, the color went and
+came rapidly in his face, for a moment; but he soon
+became calmer, and replied, "This thought is new
+to me, Elizabeth; and I have no light thereon. Thy
+company has been right pleasant to me, and thy
+countenance ever reminds me of William Penn's
+title page, 'Innocency with her open face.' I have
+seen thy kindness to the poor, and the wise management
+of thy household. I have observed, too,
+that thy warm-heartedness is tempered by a most
+excellent discretion, and that thy speech is ever
+sincere. Assuredly, such is the maiden I would ask
+of the Lord, as a most precious gift; but I never
+thought of this connexion with thee. I came to
+this country solely on a religious visit, and it might
+distract my mind to entertain this subject at present.
+When I have discharged the duties of my
+mission, we will speak further."</p>
+
+<p>"It is best so," rejoined the maiden; "but there
+is one thing disturbs my conscience. Thou hast
+spoken of my true speech; and yet, Friend John, I
+have deceived thee a little, even now, while we conferred
+together on a subject so serious. I know not
+from what weakness the temptation came; but I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span>
+will not hide it from thee. I allowed thee to suppose,
+just now, that I was fastening the girth of my
+horse securely; but, in plain truth, I was loosening
+the girth, John, that the saddle might slip, and give
+me an excuse to fall behind our friends; for I
+thought thou wouldst be kind enough to come and
+ask if I needed thy services."</p>
+
+<p>They spoke no further concerning their union; but
+when he returned to England, in July, he pressed her
+hand affectionately, as he said, "Farewell, Elizabeth.
+If it be the Lord's will, I shall return to thee soon."</p>
+
+<p>In October, he returned to America, and they
+were soon married, at Newtown meeting, according
+to the simple form of the Society of Friends.
+Neither of them made any change of dress for the
+occasion, and there was no wedding feast. Without
+the aid of priest or magistrate, they took each
+other by the hand, and, in the presence of witnesses,
+calmly and solemnly promised to be kind and
+faithful to each other. The wedded pair quietly returned
+to their happy home, with none to intrude
+upon those sacred hours of human life, when the
+heart most needs to be left alone with its own deep
+emotions.</p>
+
+<p>During the long period of their union, she three
+times crossed the Atlantic, to visit her aged parents,
+and he occasionally left her for a season,
+when called abroad to preach. These temporary
+separations were felt as a cross, but the strong-hearted
+woman always cheerfully gave him up to follow
+his own convictions of duty. In 1742, he parted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span>
+from her, to go on a religious visit to Tortola, in
+the West Indies. He died there, in the sixty-seventh
+year of his age. She published a religious
+tract of his, to which is prefixed a preface entitled
+"Elizabeth Estaugh's testimony concerning her beloved
+husband, John Estaugh." In this preface, she
+says, "Since it pleased Divine Providence so highly
+to favor me, with being the near companion of
+this dear worthy, I must give some small account
+of him. Few, if any, in a married state, ever lived
+in sweeter harmony than we did. He was a pattern
+of moderation in all things; not lifted up with
+any enjoyments, nor cast down at disappointments;
+a man endowed with many good gifts, which rendered
+him very agreeable to his friends, and much
+more to me, his wife, to whom his memory is most
+dear and precious."</p>
+
+<p>Elizabeth survived her excellent husband twenty
+years, useful and honored to the last. The monthly
+Meeting of Haddonfield, in a published testimonial,
+speak of her thus: "She was endowed with
+great natural abilities, which, being sanctified by
+the spirit of Christ, were much improved; whereby
+she became qualified to act in the affairs of the
+church, and was a serviceable member, having been
+clerk to the women's meeting nearly fifty years,
+greatly to their satisfaction. She was a sincere sympathizer
+with the afflicted, of a benevolent disposition,
+and in distributing to the poor, was desirous
+to do it in a way most profitable and durable to
+them, and, if possible, not to let the right hand know<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span>
+what the left did. Though in a state of affluence
+as to this world's wealth, she was an example of
+plainness and moderation. Her heart and house
+were open to her friends, whom to entertain seemed
+one of her greatest pleasures. Prudently cheerful,
+and well knowing the value of friendship, she
+was careful not to wound it herself, nor to encourage
+others in whispering supposed failings or weaknesses.
+Her last illness brought great bodily pain,
+which she bore with much calmness of mind and
+sweetness of spirit. She departed this life as one
+falling asleep, full of days, like unto a shock of
+corn, fully ripe."</p>
+
+<p>The town of Haddonfield, in New Jersey, took its
+name from her; and the tradition concerning her
+courtship is often repeated by some patriarch among
+the Quakers.</p>
+
+<p>Her medical skill is so well remembered, that the
+old nurses of New Jersey still recommend Elizabeth
+Estaugh's salve as the "sovereignest thing on
+earth."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span></p>
+<h2>KATE MOORE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+From lowest place when virtuous things proceed,<br />
+The place is dignified by the doer's deed.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Kate Moore is the daughter of Captain Moore,
+keeper of the Light House on Fairweather Island,
+sixty miles north of the city of New York, and about
+half way between the harbors of Black Rock and
+Bridgeport, Connecticut. The island is about half a
+mile from shore and contains five acres of land. On
+that little, secluded spot Captain Moore has resided
+nearly a quarter of a century, and has reared a family
+of five children, of whom Kate is the heroine.</p>
+
+<p>Disasters frequently occur to vessels which are
+driven round Montauk Point, and sometimes in the
+Sound, when they are homeward bound; and at such
+times she is always on the alert. She has so thoroughly
+cultivated the sense of hearing, that she can distinguish
+amid the howling storm, the shrieks of the
+drowning mariners, and thus direct a boat, which she
+has learned to manage most dexterously, in the darkest
+night, to the spot where a fellow mortal is perishing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span>
+Though well educated and refined, she possesses none
+of the affected delicacy which characterizes too many
+town-bred misses; but, adapting herself to the peculiar
+exigences of her father's humble yet honorable calling,
+she is ever ready to lend a helping hand, and shrinks
+from no danger, if duty points that way. In the gloom
+and terror of the stormy night, amid perils at all hours
+of the day, and all seasons of the year, she has launched
+her barque on the threatening waves; and has assisted
+her aged and feeble father in saving the lives of twenty-one
+persons during the last fifteen years! Such conduct,
+like that of Grace Darling, to whom Kate Moore
+has been justly compared, needs no comment; it stamps
+its moral at once and indelibly upon the heart of every
+reader.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CAPTIVITY OF MRS. ROWLANDSON.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Through sorrowing and suffering thou hast pass'd,<br />
+To show us what a woman true may be.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i14 smcap">Lowell.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, the wife of the Rev.
+Joseph Rowlandson, was taken prisoner by the Indians
+at Lancaster, Massachusetts, on the tenth of
+February, 1676, and remained in captivity till the
+third of the following May. The details of her
+sufferings, as related by herself, are too painful for
+many persons to read; but she bore them with such
+Christian fortitude, that nothing short of a brief account
+of her captivity would seem to be excusable
+in a work like this.</p>
+
+<p>The day after the destruction of Lancaster, the
+Indians began their march; and Mrs. Rowlandson
+carried her infant till her strength failed and she
+fell. She was then furnished with a horse, without
+a saddle. Attempting to ride, she again fell.
+Towards night it began to snow; and gathering a
+few sticks, she made a fire. Sitting beside it on the
+snow, she held her child in her arms through the
+long and dismal night. For three or four days she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span>
+had no sustenance but water; nor did her child share
+any better for nine days. During this time it was
+constantly in her arms or lap. At the end of that
+period, the frost of death crept into its eyes, and
+she was forced to relinquish it to be disposed of
+by the unfeeling sextons of the forest.</p>
+
+<p>After its burial, Mrs. Rowlandson was sold by her
+Narraganset captor to a Sagamore named Quanopin,
+by which transfer she found in her new master's
+wife "a most uncomfortable mistress." Soon afterwards
+the Indians went on an expedition to Medfield,
+and on their return one of them gave her a
+Bible&mdash;her best friend and great support during
+her sufferings and trials. She retained it during
+her captivity.</p>
+
+<p>The party of Indians with whom she continued,
+remained for some time near Petersham, in Worcester
+county. At length, hearing a report that the
+pale faces were in pursuit of them, they hastily
+decamped and continued their march till they crossed
+the Connecticut river, in the neighborhood of
+Gill or Bernardston. There Mrs. Rowlandson came
+in contact with the great chief, Philip, who treated
+her civilly and even politely. Ere long the Indians
+re-crossed the Connecticut, and returned into Worcester
+county. During this part of her pilgrimage,
+writes President Dwight, whose concise narrative we
+have followed, "Mrs. Rowlandson went through
+almost every suffering but death. She was beaten,
+kicked, turned out of doors, refused food, insulted
+in the grossest manner, and at times almost starved.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>
+Nothing but experience can enable us to conceive
+what must be the hunger of a person, by whom
+the discovery of six acorns, and two chestnuts, was
+regarded as a rich prize. At times, in order to
+make her miserable, they announced to her the death
+of her husband and her children. One of the
+savages, of whom she enquired concerning her son,
+told her that his master had, at a time which he
+specified, killed and roasted him; that himself had
+eaten a piece of him, as big as his two fingers, and
+that it was delicious meat. On various occasions
+they threatened to kill her. Occasionally, but for
+short intervals only, she was permitted to see her
+children; and suffered her own anguish over again
+in their miseries. She was also obliged, while hardly
+able to walk, to carry a heavy burden over hills,
+and through rivers, swamps, and marshes; and that
+in the most inclement seasons. These evils were
+repeated daily; and, to crown them all, she was
+daily saluted with the most barbarous and insolent
+accounts of the burning and slaughter, the tortures
+and agonies, inflicted by them upon her countrymen.
+It is to be remembered that Mrs. Rowlandson was
+tenderly and delicately educated, and as ill fitted to
+encounter these distresses as persons who have received
+such an education, now are in this and other
+countries.</p>
+
+<p>"There was, however, among the savages a marked
+difference of character. Some of them, both men
+and women, treated her with kindness. None of
+them exhibited so much insolence to her as her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>
+mistress. This woman felt all the haughtiness of
+rank, as much as if she had been a European or
+Asiatic princess; and spent almost as much time
+in powdering her hair, painting her face, and adorning
+herself with ear-rings, bracelets, and other
+ornaments, a part of their plunder from the English."</p>
+
+<p>The captivity of Mrs. Rowlandson was terminated
+through the agency of Mr. Hoar, of Concord, Massachusetts.
+Under a commission from the Government
+he redeemed her for about eighty dollars, which
+sum was contributed by a Mr. Usher and some
+female friends in Boston.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MRS. BOZARTH.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+To weakness strength succeeds, and power<br />
+From frailty springs.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Park Benjamin.</span>
+<br />
+There's no impossibility to him<br />
+Who stands prepared to conquer every hazard.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. Hale.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the spring of 1779, while two or three neighboring
+families, had, from fear, collected at the house of
+Mrs. Bozarth, in Green county, Pennsylvania, the
+little company was one day attacked by Indians.
+The children, who were playing without, first discovered
+the foe, and, giving the alarm, had not time
+to get within doors before they were overtaken, and
+began to fall beneath the tomahawk. The first man
+who stepped to the door when the alarm was heard,
+was shot, and fell back; and before the door could
+be closed, an Indian leaped over him into the house.
+The other man in the house caught the savage and
+threw him on the bed. He then called for a knife,
+but Mrs. Bozarth, being unable to find one, seized
+an axe and instantly dispatched the bold assailant.
+Another Indian now rushed in, and shot at and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span>
+wounded the man before he was off the bed. Mrs.
+Bozarth gave this second intruder several blows,
+when his cries brought a third to the door. Him
+she killed as he entered. The wounded savage was
+then dragged out; the door again closed and fastened;
+and, through the assistance of the wounded
+man, Mrs. Bozarth was able to keep out the rest
+of the murderous assailants until relieved by the
+arrival of friends.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE HEROINE OF STEEL CREEK</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Here and there some stern, high patriot stood.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Byron.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The subject of the following anecdote was the
+mother of eleven sons. Most of them were soldiers
+and some were officers in the war of the Revolution.
+Her residence was in Mechlenburg county, near Steel
+creek, North Carolina.</p>
+
+<p>When Lord Cornwallis heard of the defeat of Ferguson
+at King's Mountain,<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> fearing an attack of
+his rear at Camden, he collected his forces and retreated
+towards Winnsboro. While on this march,
+his whole army halted for the night on the plantation
+of Robert Wilson. Cornwallis and his staff
+took possession of the house, and made an unstinted
+levy on the hospitality of the good lady. By asking
+such questions as a British lord would, under the
+circumstances, feel at liberty to propound, the General
+learned, in the course of the evening, that the
+husband of Mrs. Wilson, and some of her sons, were
+then his prisoners in Camden jail. Her kindness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span>
+and urbanity led him to think that perhaps she
+was a friend to the Crown; and, after some preliminary
+remarks, intended to prepare her mind
+for the leading consideration which he wished to
+enforce upon it, he at length addressed her as follows:</p>
+
+<p>"Madam, your husband and your son are my prisoners;
+the fortune of war may soon place others of
+your sons&mdash;perhaps all your kinsmen, in my power.
+Your sons are young, aspiring and brave. In a good
+cause, fighting for a generous and powerful king, such
+as George III, they might hope for rank, honor and
+wealth. If you could but induce your husband and
+sons to leave the rebels, and take up arms for their
+lawful sovereign, I would almost pledge myself that
+they shall have rank and consideration in the British
+army. If you, madam, will pledge yourself to induce
+them to do so, I will immediately order their
+discharge."</p>
+
+<p>"I have seven sons," Mrs. Wilson replied, "who are
+now, or have been, bearing arms&mdash;indeed my seventh
+son, Zaccheus, who is only fifteen years old, I yesterday
+assisted to get ready to go and join his brothers
+in Sumter's army. Now, sooner than see one of my
+family turn back from the glorious enterprise, I
+would take these boys&mdash;pointing to three or four
+small sons&mdash;and with them would myself enlist,
+under Sumter's standard, and show my husband and
+sons how to fight, and, if necessary, to die for their
+country!"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Colonel Tarleton was one of the listeners to this
+colloquy, and when Mrs. Wilson had finished her
+reply, he said to Cornwallis: "Ah! General! I
+think you've got into a hornet's nest! Never mind,
+when we get to Camden, I'll take good care that old
+Robin Wilson never comes back again!" We may
+add that Tarleton's threat was never executed. Mr.
+Wilson and his worthy companion lived to old age,
+and died at Steel creek just before the war of 1812.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span></p>
+<h2>BENEVOLENCE OF A COLORED WOMAN.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Great minds, like Heaven, are pleased in doing good.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i14 smcap">Rowe.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The following anecdote is obtained from a reliable
+source. Did the spirit which pervaded the heart of
+its subject, thoroughly permeate the churches, the
+great work of carrying the Gospel to every nation,
+would soon be accomplished.</p>
+
+<p>"In one of the eastern counties of New York lived
+a colored female, who was born a slave, but she was
+made free by the act gradually abolishing slavery
+in that state. She had no resources except such as
+she obtained by her own labor. On one occasion she
+carried to her pastor <i>forty dollars</i>: she told him that
+she wished him, with two dollars of this sum to procure
+for her a seat in his church; eighteen dollars she
+desired to be given to the American Board; and the
+remaining twenty dollars she requested him to divide
+among other benevolent societies according to his
+discretion."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span></p>
+<h2>REBECCA EDWARDS.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Honor being then above life, dishonor must<br />
+Be worse than death; for fate can strike but one.<br />
+Reproach doth reach whole families.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Cartwright's Siege.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>At the celebration of our national Independence,
+in 1797, the orator of the society of the Cincinnati
+of South Carolina, paid the following tribute to the
+magnanimity of Mrs. Rebecca Edwards:&mdash;"The
+Spartan mother, on delivering his shield to her son
+departing for the army, nobly bade him 'return with
+it or on it.' The sentiment was highly patriotic, but
+surely not superior to that which animated the bosom
+of the distinguished female of our own state, who,
+when the British officer presented the mandate which
+arrested her sons as objects of retaliation, less sensible
+of private affection than attached to her honor
+and the interest of her country, stifled the tender
+feelings of the mother, and heroically bade them
+despise the threats of their enemies, and steadfastly
+persist to support the glorious cause in which they
+had engaged&mdash;that if the threatened sacrifice should
+follow, they would carry a parent's blessing, and the
+good opinion of every virtuous citizen along with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span>
+them to the grave: but if from the frailty of human
+nature&mdash;of the possibility of which she would not
+suffer an idea to enter her mind&mdash;they were disposed
+to temporize, and exchange their liberty for safety,
+they must forget her as a mother, nor subject her
+to the misery of ever beholding them again."<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/illus319.jpg" width="400" height="138" alt="Decoration" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span></p>
+<h2>"THE BEAUTIFUL REBEL."</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i6">Trembling and fear</span>
+Are to her unknown.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i9 smcap">Sir Walter Scott.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The maiden name of Mrs. Lewis Morris was Ann
+Elliott. She was born at Maccabee, in 1762, and
+died in New York, in 1848. She was a firm and
+fearless patriot, and when the city of Charleston,
+South Carolina, was in possession of the red coats,
+she wore thirteen small plumes in her bonnet. She
+had so fair a face, so graceful a form and so patriotic
+a spirit, as to be called "the beautiful rebel."
+An English officer fell in love with her and offered
+to join the Americans, if she would favor his proposals.
+She ordered the friend who interceded for
+him to say to him, "that to her former want of
+esteem, was added scorn for a man capable of betraying
+his sovereign for selfish interest."</p>
+
+<p>While she was engaged to Colonel Morris and
+he was on a visit one time at Maccabee, the house
+was suddenly surrounded by Black Dragoons. They
+were in pursuit of the Colonel, and it was impossible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span>
+for him to escape by flight. What to do he
+knew not, but, quick as thought, she ran to the
+window, opened it, and, fearlessly putting her head
+out, in a composed yet firm manner, demanded what
+was wanted. The reply was, "We want the &mdash;&mdash;
+rebel." "Then go," said she, "and look for him
+in the American army," adding "How dare you
+disturb a family under the protection of both
+armies!" She was so cool, self-possessed, firm and
+resolute as to triumph over the dragoons, who left
+without entering the house.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HARRIET B. STEWART.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Men sacrifice others&mdash;women themselves.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. S. C. Hall.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Harriet Bradford Tiffany, afterwards the wife of
+the Rev. Charles S. Stewart, was born near Stamford,
+Connecticut, on the fourth of June, 1798. She lost
+her father when she was a small child, and till
+1815, passed most of her time with an uncle, in
+Albany. At this date, an older sister married and
+settled in Cooperstown, and consequently Harriet
+took up her abode in that place. She became the
+subject of renewing grace in the summer of 1819;
+was married on the third of June, 1822, and sailed
+with her husband and nearly thirty other missionaries,
+all bound to the same field, on the nineteenth
+of November following. This little, heroic band, that,
+by the help of God, have since been mainly instrumental
+in making the Sandwich islands blossom like
+a rose, arrived at Honolulu, in Oahu, on the twenty-seventh
+of April, 1823.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Stewart left a beautiful town in a thriving
+part of the Empire State; tempting luxuries; a brilliant
+circle, and many endearing friends; but she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span>
+had embarked in a glorious enterprise for Christ's
+sake, and, hence, she settled down in a little log hut,
+in the town of Lahaiua, three days' sail from Oahu,
+contented and happy. On the first day of January,
+1824, she wrote as follows: "It is now fifteen months
+since I bade adieu to the dear valley which contains
+much, very much, that is most dear to me; but
+since the day I parted from it, my spirits have been
+uniformly good. Sometimes, it is true, a cloud of
+tender recollections passes over me, obscuring, for
+a moment, my mental vision, and threatening a day
+of darkness; but it is seldom. And as the returning
+sun, after a summer shower, spreads his beams
+over the retiring gloom of the heavens, and stretches
+abroad the shining arch of promise to cheer the
+face of nature, so, at such times, do the rays of the
+Sun of Righteousness speedily illumine the hopes
+of my soul, and fill my bosom with joy and
+peace."</p>
+
+<p>A few months after the above date, writing to a
+friend, she says: "We are most contented and most
+happy, and rejoice that God has seen fit to honor
+and bless us by permitting us to be the bearers of
+his light and truth to this dark corner of the earth.
+Could you feel the same gladness that often fills
+our bosoms, in witnessing the happy influence of
+the Gospel on the minds and hearts of many of
+these interesting creatures, you would be satisfied,
+yes more than satisfied, that we should be <i>what we
+are, and where we are, poor missionaries in the
+distant islands of the sea</i>."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span>In these brief extracts from her letters, shines, in
+its serenest lustre, the character of the Christian
+heroine:<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> and it would be an easy task to compile
+a volume of letters written on the field of moral
+conflict by American female missionaries, breathing
+a spirit equally as unselfish, cheerful and brave.
+All pioneer women in this enterprise are heroines,
+and if the conflicts and sublime victories of all
+claiming American citizenship, are not herein recorded,
+it is because, in a work of unambitious pretensions
+as it regards size, a few characters must
+stand as representatives of a class.</p>
+
+<p>So pernicious was the influence of a tropical
+climate that, in the spring of 1825, the health of
+Mrs. Stewart began to fail; and at the end of a
+year, she was forced to leave the country. She
+sailed, with her husband, for London; and after
+tarrying three months in England, they embarked
+for home. They reached the valley of the Otsego
+in September, 1826. For three or four years, it was
+the prayer of Mrs. Stewart that she might be restored
+to health and permitted to return to the mission
+station; but in January, 1830, she was laid on
+a bed of declension and suffering, and in the following
+autumn, fully ripe, was gathered into the
+heavenly garner.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A KIND AND BENEVOLENT WOMAN.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Ah! woman&mdash;in this world of ours,<br />
+What gift can be compared to thee.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">George P. Morris.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Mrs. Margaret Morris, of Burlington, New Jersey,
+kept a journal during the Revolution, for the amusement,
+it is said, of a sister, the wife of Dr. Charles
+Moore, of Philadelphia. A few copies were printed
+several years ago, for private circulation, supplying
+friends with a mirror which reflects the image of
+expanded benevolence and exalted piety. Belonging
+to the Society of Friends, she was not partial to</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+"The shot, the shout, the groan of war;"
+</p>
+
+<p>yet her principles were patriotic, and she no doubt
+rejoiced over all the victories and in the final and
+complete success of the "rebel" army. She became
+a widow at an early age, and died at Burlington, in
+1816, aged seventy-nine years.</p>
+
+<p>A single extract from her journal will illustrate
+the most prominent feature of her character:</p>
+
+<p>"June 14th, 1777. By a person from Bordentown,
+we hear twelve expresses came in there to-day from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span>
+camp. Some of the gondola-men and their wives
+being sick, and no doctor in town to apply to, they
+were told Mrs. Morris was a skillful woman, and
+kept medicines to give to the poor; and notwithstanding
+their late attempts to shoot my poor boy,
+they ventured to come to me, and in a very humble
+manner begged me to come and do something for
+them. At first I thought they designed to put a
+trick on me, get me aboard their gondola, and then
+pillage my house, as they had done some others;
+but on asking where the sick folks were, I was told
+they were lodged in the Governor's house. So I
+went to see them; there were several, both men and
+women, very ill with fever; some said, the camp or
+putrid fever. They were broken out in blotches;
+and on close examination, it appeared to be the
+itch fever. I treated them according to art, and
+they all got well. I thought I had received all my
+pay when they thankfully acknowledged my kindness;
+but lo! in a short time afterwards a very
+rough, ill-looking man came to the door and asked
+for me. When I went to him he drew me aside,
+and asked if I had any friends in Philadelphia.
+The question alarmed me, supposing there was
+some mischief meditated against that poor city;
+however, I calmly said&mdash;'I have an ancient father,
+some sisters, and other near friends there.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Well,' said the man, 'do you wish to hear from
+them, or send any thing by way of refreshment to
+them? If you do, I will take charge of it, and bring
+you back any thing you may send for.'</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span>"I was very much surprised, and thought, to be
+sure, he only wanted to get provisions to take to the
+gondolas; but when he told me his wife was one of
+those I had given medicine to, and this was the only
+thing he could do to pay me for my kindness, my
+heart leaped with joy, and I set about preparing
+something for my dear, absent friends. A quarter
+of beef, some veal, fowls and flour, were soon put up;
+and about midnight the man called and took them
+aboard his boat. He left them at Robert Hopkins'&mdash;at
+the point&mdash;whence my beloved friends took
+them to town.</p>
+
+<p>"Two nights afterwards, a loud knocking at our
+front door greatly alarmed us, and opening the chamber
+window, we heard a man's voice, saying, 'Come
+down softly and open the door, but bring no light.'</p>
+
+<p>"There was something mysterious in such a call;
+but we concluded to go down and set the candle in
+the kitchen.</p>
+
+<p>"When we got to the front door, we asked, 'Who
+are you?'</p>
+
+<p>"The man replied, 'A friend; open quickly.' So
+the door was opened; and who should it be but our
+honest gondola-man, with a letter, a bushel of salt, a
+jug of molasses, a bag of rice, some tea, coffee, and
+sugar, and some cloth for a coat for my poor boys;
+all sent by my kind sisters!</p>
+
+<p>"How did our hearts and eyes overflow with love
+to them, and thanks to our Heavenly Father for such
+seasonable supplies! May we never forget it! Being
+now so rich, we thought it our duty to hand out a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span>
+little to the poor around us, who were mourning for
+want of salt; so we divided the bushel, and gave a
+pint to every poor person who came for it&mdash;having
+abundance left for our own use. Indeed, it seemed
+to us as if our little store was increased by distribution,
+like the bread broken by our Saviour to the
+multitude."</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;">
+<img src="images/illus328.jpg" width="350" height="275" alt="decoration" />
+
+</div>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span></p>
+<h2>NOBLE EXAMPLE OF PIONEERS.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+In every rank, or great or small,<br />
+'Tis industry supports us all.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Gay.</span>
+<br />
+Count life by virtues&mdash;these will last<br />
+When life's lame-footed race is o'er.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i8 smcap">Mrs. Hale.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the year 1843, the Hon. Samuel Wilkeson, of
+Buffalo&mdash;since deceased&mdash;communicated to the
+American Pioneer, a series of papers entitled "Early
+Recollections of the West." They present a graphic,
+yet painful picture of the perils, hardships and sufferings
+attendant on back-woods life in the midst
+of the aboriginal foresters. His father's family was
+one of twenty that removed from Carlisle and the
+adjacent towns, to the western part of Pennsylvania,
+in the spring of 1784. He pays the following
+tribute to the industry, perseverance and pious efforts
+of the mothers of the band:</p>
+
+<p>The labor of all the settlers was greatly interrupted
+by the Indian war. Although the older settlers
+had some sheep, yet their increase was slow, as the
+country abounded in wolves. It was therefore the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span>
+work of time to secure a supply of wool. Deerskin
+was a substitute for cloth for men and boys, but not
+for women and girls, although they were sometimes
+compelled to resort to it. The women spun, and
+generally wove all the cloth for their families, and
+when the wife was feeble, and had a large family,
+her utmost efforts could not enable her to provide
+them with anything like comfortable clothing. The
+wonder is, and I shall never cease to wonder, that
+they did not sink under their burthens. Their
+patient endurance of these accumulated hardships
+did not arise from a slavish servility, or insensibility
+to their rights and comforts. They justly appreciated
+their situation, and nobly encountered the difficulties
+which could not be avoided.</p>
+
+<p>Possessing all the affections of the wife, the tenderness
+of the mother, and the sympathies of the woman,
+their tears flowed freely for others' griefs, while
+they bore their own with a fortitude which none
+but a woman could exercise. The entire education
+of her children devolved on the mother, and
+notwithstanding the difficulties to be encountered,
+she did not allow them to grow up wholly without
+instruction; but amidst all her numerous cares taught
+them to read, and instructed them in the principles
+of Christianity. To accomplish this, under the circumstances,
+was no easy task. The exciting influences
+which surrounded them, made the boys restless
+under restraint. Familiarized as they were to hardships
+from the cradle, and daily listening to stories
+of Indian massacres and depredations, and to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span>
+heroic exploits of some neighboring pioneer, who had
+taken an Indian scalp, or by some daring effort saved
+his own, ignorant of the sports and toys with which
+children in other circumstances are wont to be amused,
+no wonder they desired to emulate the soldier, or engage
+in the scarcely less exciting adventures of
+the hunter. Yet even many of these boys were
+subdued by the faithfulness of the mother, who labored
+to bring them up in the fear of God.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ANECDOTE OF MRS. SLOCUMB.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i8">Our country yet remains:</span>
+By that dread name, we wave the sword on high,<br />
+And swear for her to live&mdash;with her to die!<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Campbell.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>One of the spiciest specimens of colloquial sparring,
+<i>vis-a-vis</i>, in our Revolutionary annals, was
+between Colonel Tarleton and the wife of Lieutenant
+Slocumb, of Wayne county, North Carolina.<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a> The
+Attic wit and Spartan boldness of the latter, exhibit
+original powers of mind, strength of will, and a
+degree of self-possession truly grand and ennobling.
+But the character of the heroine of "Pleasant
+Green," is most luminous in her conduct at the
+battle of Moore's Creek, which occurred on the
+twenty-seventh of February, 1776. She tells the
+story of her adventures on that bloody occasion, as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p>"The men all left on Sunday morning. More
+than eighty went from this house with my husband;
+I looked at them well, and I could see that every
+man had mischief in him. I know a coward as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span>
+soon as I set my eyes upon him. The tories more
+than once tried to frighten me, but they always
+showed coward at the bare insinuation that our
+troops were about.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, they got off in high spirits, every man
+stepping high and light. And I slept soundly and
+quietly that night, and worked hard all the next
+day; but I kept thinking where they had got to&mdash;how
+far; where and how many of the regulars and
+tories they would meet; and I could not keep myself
+from the study. I went to bed at the usual
+time, but still continued to study. As I lay&mdash;whether
+waking or sleeping I know not&mdash;I had a
+dream; yet it was not all a dream. (She used the
+words, unconsciously, of the poet who was not then
+in being.) I saw distinctly a body wrapped in my
+husband's guard-cloak&mdash;bloody&mdash;dead; and others
+dead and wounded on the ground about him. I
+saw them plainly and distinctly. I uttered a cry,
+and sprang to my feet on the floor; and so strong
+was the impression on my mind, that I rushed in
+the direction the vision appeared, and came up
+against the side of the house. The fire in the room
+gave little light, and I gazed in every direction to
+catch another glimpse of the scene. I raised the
+light; every thing was still and quiet. My child
+was sleeping, but my woman was awakened by my
+crying out or jumping on the floor. If ever I felt
+fear it was at that moment. Seated on the bed, I
+reflected a few moments&mdash;and said aloud: 'I must<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span>
+go to him.' I told the woman I could not sleep,
+and would ride down the road. She appeared in
+great alarm; but I merely told her to lock the
+door after me, and look after the child. I went to
+the stable, saddled my mare&mdash;as fleet and easy a
+nag as ever traveled; and in one minute we were
+tearing down the road at full speed. The cool
+night seemed after a mile or two's gallop to bring
+reflection with it; and I asked myself where I was
+going, and for what purpose. Again and again, I
+was tempted to turn back; but I was soon ten
+miles from home, and my mind became stronger
+every mile I rode. I should find my husband dead
+or dying&mdash;was as firmly my presentiment and conviction
+as any fact of my life. When day broke
+I was some thirty miles from home. I knew the
+general route our little army expected to take, and
+had followed them without hesitation. About sunrise
+I came upon a group of women and children, standing
+and sitting by the road-side, each one of them
+showing the same anxiety of mind I felt. Stopping
+a few minutes I inquired if the battle had been
+fought. They knew nothing, but were assembled on
+the road-side to catch intelligence. They thought
+Caswell had taken the right of the Wilmington road,
+and gone towards the north-west (cape Fear). Again
+was I skimming over the ground through a country
+thinly settled, and very poor and swampy; but
+neither my own spirits nor my beautiful nag's failed
+in the least. We followed the well-marked trail of
+the troops.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span>"The sun must have been well up, say eight or
+nine o'clock, when I heard a sound like thunder,
+which I knew must be cannon. It was the first
+time I ever heard a cannon. I stopped still; when
+presently the cannon thundered again. The battle
+was then fighting. What a fool! my husband could
+not be dead last night, and the battle only fighting
+now! Still, as I am so near, I will go on and see
+how they come out. So away we went again, faster
+than ever; and I soon found, by the noise of the
+guns, that I was near the fight. Again I stopped.
+I could hear muskets, I could hear rifles, and I
+could hear shouting. I spoke to my mare and dashed
+on in the direction of the firing and the shouts, now
+louder than ever. The blind path I had been following
+brought me into the Wilmington road leading
+to Moore's creek bridge, a few hundred yards below
+the bridge. A few yards from the road, under a
+cluster of trees were lying perhaps twenty men.
+They were the wounded. I knew the spot; the
+very trees; and the position of the men I knew
+as if I had seen it a thousand times. I had seen
+it all night! I saw all at once; but in an instant
+my whole soul was centered in one spot; for there,
+wrapped in his bloody guard-cloak, was my husband's
+body! How I passed the few yards from
+my saddle to the place I never knew. I remember
+uncovering his head and seeing a face clothed
+with gore from a dreadful wound across the temple.
+I put my hand on the bloody face; 'twas warm;
+and an <i>unknown voice</i> begged for water. A small<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>
+camp-kettle was lying near, and a stream of water
+was close by. I brought it; poured some in his
+mouth; washed his face; and behold&mdash;it was Frank
+Cogdell. He soon revived and could speak. I was
+washing the wound in his head. Said he 'It is
+not that; it is that hole in my leg that is killing
+me.' A puddle of blood was standing on the ground
+about his feet. I took his knife, cut away his trowsers
+and stockings, and found the blood came from
+a shot hole through and through the fleshy part of
+the leg. I looked about and could see nothing that
+looked as if it would do for dressing wounds but
+some heart-leaves. I gathered a handful and bound
+them tight to the holes; and the bleeding stopped.
+I then went to the others; and&mdash;Doctor! I dressed
+the wounds of many a brave fellow who did good
+fighting long after that day! I had not inquired for
+my husband; but while I was busy Caswell came
+up. He appeared very much surprised to see me;
+and was with his hat in hand about to pay some
+compliment: but I interrupted him by asking&mdash;'Where
+is my husband?'</p>
+
+<p>"'Where he ought to be, madam; in pursuit of
+the enemy. But pray,' said he, 'how came you here?'</p>
+
+<p>"'Oh, I thought,' replied I, 'you would need
+nurses as well as soldiers. See! I have already
+dressed many of these good fellows; and here is
+one'&mdash;going to Frank and lifting him up with my
+arm under his head so that he could drink some
+more water&mdash;'would have died before any of you
+men could have helped him.'</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>"'I believe you,' said Frank. Just then I looked
+up, and my husband, as bloody as a butcher, and as
+muddy as a ditcher, stood before me.<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>"'Why, Mary!' he exclaimed, 'What are you
+doing there? Hugging Frank Cogdell, the greatest
+reprobate in the army?'</p>
+
+<p>"'I don't care,' I cried. 'Frank is a brave fellow,
+a good soldier, and a true friend to Congress.'</p>
+
+<p>"'True, true! every word of it!' said Caswell.
+'You are right, madam,' with the lowest possible
+bow.</p>
+
+<p>"I would not tell my husband what brought me
+there. I was so happy; and so were all! It was
+a glorious victory; I came just at the height of the
+enjoyment. I knew my husband was surprised, but
+I could see he was not displeased with me. It was
+night again before our excitement had at all subsided.
+Many prisoners were brought in, and among
+them some very obnoxious; but the worst of the
+tories were not taken prisoners. They were, for the
+most part, left in the woods and swamps wherever
+they were overtaken. I begged for some of the poor
+prisoners, and Caswell readily told me none should
+be hurt but such as had been guilty of murder and
+house-burning. In the middle of the night I again
+mounted my mare and started for home. Caswell
+and my husband wanted me to stay till next morning,
+and they would send a party with me; but no! I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span>
+wanted to see my child, and I told them they could
+send no party who could keep up with me. What
+a happy ride I had back! and with what joy did
+I embrace my child as he ran to meet me!"<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CAPTAIN RICHARDSON SAVED BY<br />
+HIS WIFE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Love, lend me wings to make this purpose swift,<br />
+As thou hast lent me wit to plot this drift.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the struggle for Independence, Captain
+Richardson, of Sumter district, South Carolina, was
+obliged to conceal himself for a while in the thickets
+of the Santee swamp. One day he ventured to visit
+his family&mdash;a perilous movement, for the British had
+offered rewards for his apprehension, and patrolling
+parties were almost constantly in search of him.&mdash;Before
+his visit was ended, a small band of soldiers
+presented themselves in front of the house. Just as
+they were entering, with a great deal of composure
+and presence of mind, Mrs. Richardson appeared at
+the door, and found so much to do there at the
+moment, as to find it inconvenient to make room for
+the uninvited guests to enter. She was so calm, and
+appeared so unconcerned, that they did not mistrust
+the cause of her wonderful diligence, till her husband
+had rushed out of the back door and safely reached
+the neighboring swamp.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span></p>
+<h2>STRIKING INSTANCE OF PATIENCE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Patience and resignation are the pillars<br />
+Of human peace on earth.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Young.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The panegyric of Decker on patience is beautiful:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Patience, my lord! why 'tis the soul of peace:<br />
+Of all the virtues 'tis the nearest kin to heaven;<br />
+It makes men look like gods.<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Not every Christian sufferer wears this garment
+in its celestial whiteness, as did the God-man, whom
+the same writer calls</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i6">"the best of men</span>
+That e'er wore earth about him."<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>One of the most patient beings in modern times
+was Miss Sarah Parbeck, of Salem, Massachusetts.
+A lady who visited her in 1845, gives the following
+account of the interview:</p>
+
+<p>The door was opened by a very old lady, wrinkled
+and bowed down with age, who invited us to enter.
+The room was so dark, that, before my eyes were
+accommodated to the change, I could only see a
+figure dressed in white, sitting upon the bed and
+rocking to and fro. This motion was attended by a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span>
+sound like the click of wooden machinery, which
+arose, as I afterwards discovered, from the bones, as
+they worked in their loosened sockets. As we approached,
+she extended her hand to my companion,
+and said, in a painful but affectionate voice, "Eliza,
+I am very glad to see thee;" and then asked my
+name and place of residence. She had just given
+me her hand, when a spasm seized her, and it was
+twitched suddenly from my grasp. It flew some four
+or five times with the greatest violence against her
+face, and then, with a sound, which I can only compare
+to that made by a child who has been sobbing
+a long time, in catching its breath, she threw up both
+her arms, and with a deep guttural groan was flung
+back upon her pillow, with a force inconceivable
+to one who has not witnessed it. The instant she
+touched the bed, she uttered that piercing shriek
+again, and sprung back to her former position,
+rocking to and fro, with those quick, heart-rending
+groans which I had heard while standing at the door.
+It was several minutes before she could speak, and
+then there was none to answer her. Both my companion
+and myself were choked with tears. Her
+poor mother went to the other side of the bed, and
+smoothed the coverlid, and re-arranged the pillows,
+looking sadly upon her poor child, writhing in torture
+which she could not alleviate. I became faint, and
+trembled with sudden weakness: a cold perspiration
+stood upon my face. The objects in the room began
+to swim about me, and I was obliged to take hold
+of the bedside for support. I have been in our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span>
+largest hospitals, and have spent hours in going from
+room to room with the attending physician. I have
+witnessed there almost every form of human suffering,
+but I had never beheld any thing to be compared
+to that now before me. She afterwards told
+me, as if in apology for her screams, that when she
+was hurled back upon her pillow, both shoulders were
+dislocated, and as they sprung back into their sockets,
+the pain was far beyond endurance, and extorted
+from her these shrieks.</p>
+
+<p>Her sentences were broken, uttered with much difficulty,
+and frequently interrupted by the terrible
+spasm I have described above. Yet this was her
+"quiet" state; this the time when she suffered <i>least</i>.
+Day after day, night after night, <i>fourteen weary years</i>
+have dragged themselves along, whilst her poor body
+has been thus racked. No relief; no hope of relief,
+except that which death shall give. When I asked
+her if her affliction did not at times seem greater
+than she could bear, "O! never," she replied. "I
+cannot thank God enough for having laid his heavy
+hand upon me. I was a thoughtless sinner, and had
+he not, in his mercy, afflicted me, I should probably
+have lost my immortal soul. I see only his kindness
+and love. The sweet communion I have with
+my Saviour more than compensates me for all I
+suffer. I am permitted to feel, in a measure, in my
+poor body, what he suffered to save me, and my soul
+can never grow weary in his praise." This last sentence,
+I must say, gave me an argument which put
+doubts of the verity and power of religion to flight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span>
+more effectually than all the evidences which the
+wisdom of man has arrayed against the skeptic;
+and I could not but exclaim, "If this be delusion
+let me be deluded!"</p>
+
+<p>She spoke in the most tender terms of her Saviour's
+love. Her conversation was in heaven, from
+whence also she looked for her Saviour, knowing
+that he should change her body of humiliation, and
+fashion it like unto his glorious body. I shall never
+forget the tones and language in which she entreated
+my sobbing companion to give that Saviour her heart.
+As she recovered from a spasm, I said to her, "do
+you not often desire to depart, and be with the
+Saviour you love so fervently?" She had hardly recovered
+her exhausted breath, but replied with great
+decision, "By the grace of God, <i>I have never had
+that wish</i>. Though death will be a welcome gift
+when my Father sees fit to bestow it upon me, yet,
+thanks to his supporting grace, I can wait his time
+without impatience. He sees that there is much
+dross to refine away, and why should I wish against
+his will?"</p>
+
+<p>I remained by her side for more than an hour;
+such, however, were the attractions of her discourse,
+that I was unconscious of the time. I know not
+when I have been so drawn towards a fellow Christian,
+and never had I been led to such delightful
+contemplations of our Saviour's character&mdash;his faithfulness
+and love. I remarked to her, as I turned
+to go away, "God has made you a powerful preacher,
+here upon your bed of pain." "O," she replied,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span>
+"if he will make me the instrument of saving but
+a single soul, I am willing to live and suffer here
+until my hair is gray with age." I noticed some
+bottles standing upon a small table, and asked her
+if she found any relief from opiates. "Through God's
+kindness," she answered, "I probably owe the preservation
+of my life thus far to an extract made from
+blackdrop." "Does it enable you to sleep?" "O no,"
+she replied, "I have not known sleep for a very long
+time." "What!" I cried, "do you never rest?" A
+severe spasm here seized her, and it was some time
+before she could answer me; she had been attacked in
+this way some twelve or fifteen times whilst conversing
+with us, and frequently in the midst of a reply.
+When she recovered, she said the physicians thought
+she obtained rest in her "long spasm," which lasted
+for more than an hour. "During that time," she
+continued, "I am dead to every thing but a sense
+of the most extreme anguish. I see and hear nothing;
+I only feel as though I was being crushed in pieces
+by some immense weight." This was her rest! the
+rack! Yet, through all this suffering, the smiles of
+God penetrated to her heart. She sees him just,
+and acknowledges his love.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span></p>
+<h2>SUSANNAH ELLIOTT.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+&mdash;&mdash;The painted folds thus fly,<br />
+And lift their emblems, printed high<br />
+On morning mist and sunset sky.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Holmes.</span>
+<br />
+She showed that her soft sex contains strong mind.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Sir W. Davenant.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Susannah Smith, afterwards the wife of Colonel
+Barnard Elliott, was a native of South Carolina.
+Ramsay, in his history of that state, and other
+authors, give a glowing account of her presentation
+of a pair of colors to the second South Carolina
+regiment of infantry, commanded by Col. Moultrie.
+The ceremony took place on the twenty-eighth of
+June, '76, two or three days after the attack on Fort
+Moultrie, Sullivan's island. The colors, which were
+embroidered by her own hand, were presented in
+these words: "Your gallant behavior in defence of
+liberty and your country, entitles you to the highest
+honors: accept these two standards as a reward
+justly due to your regiment; and I make not the least
+doubt, under Heaven's protection, you will stand by
+them as long as they can wave in the air of liberty."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span>Mrs. Elliott had a plantation called "The Hut,"
+and while there she once had three American
+gentlemen as guests. These she was obliged to hurry
+into a closet one day, on the sudden approach of the
+enemy; and, opening a secret door, she showed
+them a narrow apartment back of the chimney,
+which she had contrived expressly for a hiding place.
+Two of the guests entered, and were saved, while
+the third, attempting to flee on horse-back, was overtaken
+and slain.</p>
+
+<p>After the British had thoroughly, though ineffectually,
+searched the house, and failed, by many
+threats, to persuade the mistress to disclose the hiding
+place of the others, they demanded her silver.
+Pointing to some mounds of earth near by, as they
+made the demand, they asked if the plate was not
+buried there.<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a> She told them, in reply, that those
+mounds were the graves of British soldiers who had
+died under her roof. The officers did not believe her,
+and made two of the soldiers dig till they came to one
+of the coffins, which was opened and which verified
+her assertion. The enemy then departed, when the two
+guests came forth, filled with gratitude to their kind
+and ingenious hostess for the free use of this singular
+apartment.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ANECDOTES OF ANNA ELLIOTT.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+"The spark of noble courage now awake,<br />
+And strive your excellent self to excel."
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The wife of Charles Elliott, of Charleston, South
+Carolina, was one of those dames of Seventy-six
+who "appeared to concentrate every thought and
+every hour of existence to the interests of America."
+She cheered the prisoner, befriended the unjustly
+persecuted, comforted the sick, fed the hungry, and
+was humane alike to enemies and friends. Major
+Garden has paid her the following compliment: "I
+do not know an officer who did not owe to her some
+essential increase of comfort."</p>
+
+<p>A British officer, whose cruel and persecuting
+disposition was well known to Mrs. Elliott, was
+walking with her in a flower garden one day, when,
+pointing to the chamomile he asked, "What is
+this, madam?" She at once replied, "The rebel
+flower." "And why," asked he, "is it called the
+rebel flower?" "Because," answered she, "it always
+flourishes most when trampled upon."</p>
+
+<p>At another time, while an officer of the royal
+army was in her house at Charleston, a French<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span>
+officer, belonging to Pulaski's legion, passed; and
+pointing to him, he vociferated, "There, Mrs. Elliott,
+is one of your illustrious allies. What a pity the
+hero is minus his <i>sword</i>." The spirit of the woman
+was roused, and she replied, "Had two thousand
+such men been here to aid in the defence of our
+city, I should not at this moment, sir, have been
+subjected to the insolence of your observation."</p>
+
+<p>When her father, the brave and zealous patriot,
+Thomas Ferguson, was put on board a transport
+ship at Charleston, preparatory to exile, she hastened
+from the country, where she chanced to be, and
+begged permission to receive his parting blessing.
+Her request being granted, she went on board the
+ship. Just as she entered the cabin, she was overcome
+with grief, and fainted. When recovered, she
+addressed her father as follows: "Let not oppression
+shake your fortitude, nor the hope of gentler treatment
+cause you for a moment to swerve from strict
+duty. Better times are in store for us: the bravery
+of the Americans, and the friendly aid of France,
+will achieve the deliverance of our country from
+oppression. We shall meet again, my father, and
+meet with joy."<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span></p>
+<h2>PATRIOTIC STRATAGEM.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+What bosom beats not in its country's cause?<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i14 smcap">Pope.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>While the Legislature of Virginia was in session
+at Charlottesville, Colonel Tarleton, with his famous
+band of cavalry, made a secret march to that place,
+in order to capture the Governor and some public
+stores there collected. Several of the Assembly-men
+were at the house of Colonel John Walker, a dozen
+miles distant, and directly on Tarleton's route. Colonel
+Walker was absent on duty in the lower part
+of the state. Tarleton came suddenly up to the
+door, and succeeded in making one or two prisoners,
+the other members fleeing to town. He then ordered
+breakfast for himself and his whole corps, which
+the shrewd lady of the house prepared in the
+slowest manner possible. This she did in order that
+the members who had fled to the capital, might
+attend to the removal or concealment of the stores,
+in the preservation of which she was deeply interested.
+Her stratagem succeeded; and, after tarrying a day
+or two at Charlottesville, Tarleton went empty away.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span></p>
+<h2>INFLUENCE OF A FAITHFUL TEACHER.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Spread out earth's holiest records here.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Sprague.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"About the first of September, 1833, a deep and
+solemn interest upon the subject of religion, began
+to be visible in the Presbyterian church and congregation
+of Washingtonville, New York, and particularly
+in the Sabbath school. One teacher, feeling
+deeply the responsibility resting upon her, and the
+worth of immortal souls, before the school was dismissed
+on the Lord's day, affectionately requested
+her class, consisting of little girls about twelve or
+thirteen years of age, to remain after the rest of
+the school had retired. She then began, with an
+aching heart and with flowing tears, to reason and
+plead with them upon the subject of personal religion.
+They were deeply affected, and 'wept bitterly' in
+view of their lost condition. They then all knelt
+together before the Lord, and the teacher prayed
+for their salvation; and immediately the scholar next
+to her commenced praying for herself, and then the
+next, and so on, until the whole class, with ardent
+supplications, begged for the forgiveness of their sins,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span>
+and the salvation of their souls. It would take
+long to tell the history of this class, and relate particular
+instances of conversions, and the happy
+changes which took place in the families to which
+they belonged, and show the family altars which
+were established. These scholars, with their teacher
+and their fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters,
+were ere long seen commemorating a Saviour's dying
+love together. The revival extended itself to other
+towns, and the great day can alone unfold the
+astonishing results."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE WIFE OF THOMAS HEYWARD.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+What I will, I will, and there's an end.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Immediately after the victory of the British at Guilford,
+order was given for the illumination of Charleston,
+South Carolina. This order, Major Garden
+informs us,<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> the wife of Thomas Heyward of that
+city refused to obey; and when an officer asked
+her the reason of her disobedience, she replied, "Is
+it possible for me, sir, to feel a spark of joy? Can
+I celebrate the victory of your army while my
+husband remains a prisoner at St. Augustine?" Enraged
+at her obstinacy, he told her she <i>should</i>
+illuminate. "Not a single light shall be placed, with
+my consent, on any occasion, in any window in the
+house," was her fearless reply. He then threatened
+to destroy her house before midnight. "You have
+power to destroy, sir," she said, "and seem well
+disposed to use it, but over my opinions you possess
+no control. I disregard your menaces, and resolutely
+declare, <i>I will not illuminate</i>!" As good as her
+word, she <i>did</i> not, nor was her house destroyed.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span></p>
+<p>Orders were given, at another time, for an illumination
+on the anniversary of the battle and surrender
+of Charleston,<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a> and Mrs. Heyward again refused to
+obey. The mob was so indignant as to pelt her
+house with brickbats; and while engaged in the mean
+act, a feeble and emaciated sister of Mrs. Heyward&mdash;Mrs.
+George A. Hall&mdash;expired! When the town
+major heard of this painful circumstance, he tried to
+apologize to Mrs. Heyward, expressing regret for the
+indignities and damages, and offering to repair the
+building. She received his personal courtesies, but
+refused his proffered aid in making repairs, hinting,
+at the same time, that it was hardly possible for the
+authorities, in that way, to remedy insults the offering
+of which their baseness had probably prompted and
+and which they could and <i>should</i> have prevented.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span></p>
+<h2>NOBLE DECISION.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+We are born to do benefits.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When the news was received in Illinois, a few
+years ago, that, owing to a deficiency of funds, the
+Ceylon missionaries had been obliged to dismiss
+thousands of pupils from their schools, and that
+twenty-five dollars would revive any one of them,
+a minister of that state laid the subject before his
+small and poor church, and between pastor and people
+twenty-five dollars were promptly raised. Going
+home and communicating the intelligence to his wife,
+the minister learned that she had been weighing the
+subject, and was anxious, in some way, to raise enough
+herself alone to resuscitate a school. Her husband
+told her she could do it by dispensing with a tomb
+stone which had been ordered from New York for a
+child lately deceased, and which would cost twenty-five
+dollars. She promptly consented to have the order
+countermanded, saying that "living children demanded
+her money more than the one that was
+dead." By suffering the love of Christ to triumph
+over maternal feeling, she re-opened a mission school,
+and the day of judgment will reveal the great amount
+of good thereby accomplished.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A TENNESSEE HEROINE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i9">It is held</span>
+That valor is the chiefest virtue;<br />
+Most dignifies the haver: if it be,<br />
+The man I speak of cannot in the world<br />
+Be singly counterpoised.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Milton A. Haynes, Esq., of Tennessee, furnished
+for Mrs. Ellet's Women of the Revolution a lengthy
+and very interesting sketch of Sarah Buchanan, of
+East Tennessee. The following anecdotes, extracted
+therefrom, exhibit the heroism of her character:</p>
+
+<p>On one occasion, Sarah and a kinswoman named
+Susan Everett were returning home from a visit a
+mile or two distant, careless of danger, or not thinking
+of its presence. It was late in the evening,
+and they were riding along a path through the open
+woods, Miss Everett in advance. Suddenly she
+stopped her horse, exclaiming, "Look, Sally, yonder
+are the red skins!" Not more than a hundred
+yards ahead was a party of Indians armed with
+rifles, directly in their path. There was no time for
+counsel, and retreat was impossible, as the Indians
+might easily intercept them before they could gain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span>
+a fort in their rear. To reach their own block-house,
+four or five hundred yards distant, was their only
+hope of safety. Quick as thought, Sarah whispered
+to her companion to follow and do as she did, and
+then instantly assuming the position of a man on
+horseback, in which she was imitated by her relative,
+she urged her horse into a headlong gallop.
+Waving their bonnets in the air, and yelling like
+madmen, they came furiously down upon the savages,
+who had not seen them, crying out as they
+came&mdash;"Clear the track, you &mdash;&mdash; red skins!" The
+part was so well acted, that the Indians took them
+for the head of a body of troopers, who were
+making a deadly charge upon them, and dodging
+out of the path, fled for very life&mdash;and so did Sally
+and Susan! Before the savages had recovered from
+their fright, the two girls were safe within the gates
+of the fort, trembling like frightened fawns at the
+narrow escape which they had made.</p>
+
+<p>On another occasion, when her husband and all
+the men of the fort were absent, two celebrated
+horse-thieves, who had taken refuge with the Indians,
+came and demanded of Mrs. Buchanan two
+of the Major's fine horses. Knowing their lawless
+character, she pretended acquiescence, and went with
+them to the stable, but on arriving at the door she
+suddenly drew a large hunting knife from under
+her apron, and assuming an attitude of defiance,
+declared that if either of them dared to enter the
+stable, she would instantly cut him down. Struck
+by her intrepid bearing, they fell back, and although<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span>
+they tried to overcome her resolution by threats
+and bravado, she maintained her ground, and the
+marauders were compelled to retire without the
+horses.</p>
+
+<p>On Sunday night,<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a> about the hour of midnight,
+while the moon was shining brilliantly, the Indian
+army under Watts and the Shawnee, advancing in silence,
+surrounded Buchanan's station. In order to
+effect an entrance into the fort by a <i>coup de main</i>,
+they sent runners to frighten and drive in the horses
+and cattle. This was done, and the animals came
+dashing furiously towards the fort; but the garrison,
+wrapped in slumber, heeded them not. The watchman,
+John McCrory, at this instant discovering the
+savages advancing within fifty yards of the gates,
+fired upon them. In an instant the mingled yells
+of the savage columns, the crack of their rifles, and
+the clatter of their hatchets, as they attempted to
+cut down the gate, told the little squad of nineteen
+men and seven women that the fearful war-cloud,
+which had been rising so long, was about to burst
+upon their devoted heads!</p>
+
+<p>Aroused suddenly from deep slumber by the terrible
+war-whoop, every man and woman felt the
+horror of their situation. The first impulse with
+some was to surrender, and it is related of one
+woman that she instantly gathered her five children
+and attempted to go with them to the gate to yield<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span>
+themselves to the Indians. Mrs. Buchanan seized
+her by the shoulder, and asked her where she was
+going.</p>
+
+<p>"To surrender myself and children to the Indians&mdash;if
+I don't they'll kill us, any how," exclaimed
+the terrified woman. "Come back," said Mrs. Buchanan,
+"and let us all fight and die together."
+An old man, who waked up as it were in a dream,
+seemed paralyzed, and exclaimed, in a plaintive
+voice&mdash;"Oh, we shall all be murdered!"</p>
+
+<p>"Get up then and go to fighting!" exclaimed
+Mrs. Buchanan; "I'd be ashamed to sit crouched
+up there when any one else is fighting. Better die
+nobly than live shamefully!"</p>
+
+<p>In the mean time Major Buchanan had arranged
+his men in the block-houses so as to rake the Indians
+by a flank fire, and was pouring a galling fire
+into the head of the assaulting column. Yet, nothing
+dismayed, the daring foe crowded against the gates,
+their blows falling faster and heavier, while now
+and then they attempted to scale the pickets. At
+length, unable to do this or to force open the well-barred
+and ponderous gate, the bold warriors advanced
+to the block-houses, and standing before
+them, pointed their guns in at the port holes; both
+sides sometimes at the same instant firing through
+the same opening. It was the policy of Major Buchanan
+to impress upon them the idea that the fort
+contained a large garrison. To do this it was necessary
+for his men to fire their guns often, and occasionally
+in volleys. At this crisis the whisper went<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span>
+round&mdash;"All is lost. Our bullets are out!" But
+there were guardian angels whom these brave men
+knew not of. Scarcely had the words been spoken,
+when Mrs. Buchanan passed around with an apronful
+of bullets, which she and Nancy Mulherrin,
+the Major's sister, had moulded, during the fight,
+out of her plates and spoons. At the same time she
+gave to each of the tired soldiers some brandy which
+she carried in a pewter basin. During the contest
+they had thus moulded three hundred bullets. Not
+without their fun were these hardy men in this hour
+of peril. In order to keep up a show of good spirits,
+they frequently cried out to the Indians, "Shoot bullets,
+you squaws! Why don't you put powder in
+your guns?" This was understood, for Watts and
+many others spoke very good English, and they replied
+by daring them to come out and fight like men.
+In the midst of these banterings, Mrs. Buchanan discovered
+a large blunderbuss which had been standing
+in a corner during the fight and had not been discharged,
+and gave it to an Irishman named O'Connor
+to fire off. In telling the story afterwards the Irish
+man said: An' she gave me the wide-mouthed fusee
+and bade me to shoot that at the blasted creeters, and
+Jimmy O'Connor he took the fusee, and he pulled the
+trigger when the rest fired, for three or four times,
+and loaded her again every time, and so ye see, yer
+honor, when I pulled the trigger again, the fusee went
+off, it did, and Jimmy O'Connor went under the
+bed. This unequal contest lasted for four long hours,
+and when the first blush of morning began to appear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span>
+in the east, most of the chiefs were killed or wounded.
+The boastful Shawnee was transfixed in death, leaning
+against the gate which he had so valorously assaulted;
+the White Owl's son and Unacate, or the White-man-killer,
+were mortally wounded, and John Watts was
+borne off on a litter, shot through both legs.</p>
+
+<p>During this protracted fight Mrs. Buchanan aided
+the defenders by words and deeds, as if life or death
+depended upon the efforts which she was then making.
+She knew, and all knew, that if the assault could be
+repelled for four hours, relief would come from the
+neighboring posts. Foiled, discouraged, their leaders
+disabled, this formidable army of savage warriors
+precipitately retreated towards their country, bearing
+off most of their wounded, yet leaving many dead
+upon the field. This was the first formidable invasion
+of Cumberland valley, and its tide was rolled back as
+much by the presence of mind and heroic firmness
+of Sarah Buchanan and Nancy Mulherrin, as by the
+rifles of their husbands and friends. The fame of this
+gallant defence went abroad, and the young wife of
+Major Buchanan was celebrated as the greatest heroine
+of the West. From 1780 to 1796, there was
+not a year in which her family had not been exposed
+to peril, in which, of course, she was a partaker.<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MAGNANIMITY OF MRS. M'KAY.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Greatness of mind, and nobleness, their seat<br />
+In her build loveliest.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Milton.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"In the beginning of June, 1781, the British garrison
+at Augusta, Georgia, capitulated to the American
+forces, under command of General Pickens and Colonel
+Lee, of the partizan legion. Colonel Grierson,
+who was obnoxious to the Americans on account of
+his barbarities, was shot down by an unknown hand,
+after he was a prisoner. A reward of one hundred
+guineas was offered to any person who would point
+out the offender, but in vain. Colonel Brown, the
+British commander, expecting the same fate, conscious
+that he deserved it, from his unrelenting and
+vindictive disposition towards the Americans, was
+furnished with a guard, although he had hanged
+thirteen American prisoners, and had given others
+into the hands of the Indians to be tortured. On
+his way to Savannah, he passed through the settlements
+where he had burned a number of houses,
+and hung some of the relatives of the inhabitants.
+At Silverbluff, Mrs. M'Kay obtained leave of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span>
+American officer, who commanded his safeguard, to
+speak to him; when she thus addressed him:&mdash;'Colonel
+Brown, in the late day of your prosperity,
+I visited your camp, and on my knees supplicated
+for the life of my only son, but you were deaf to
+my entreaties; you hanged him, though a beardless
+youth, before my face. These eyes have seen him
+scalped by the savages under your immediate command,
+and for no better reason than that his name
+was M'Kay. As you are now a prisoner to the
+leaders of my country, for the present I lay aside all
+thoughts of revenge, but when you resume your
+sword, I will go five hundred miles to demand satisfaction
+at the point of it, for the murder of my
+son!'"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus364.jpg" width="450" height="560" alt="THE GENEROUS DENTIST." title="THE GENEROUS DENTIST." />
+<span class="caption">THE GENEROUS DENTIST.</span>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HEROIC CONDUCT OF A DAUGHTER.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Fair was her face, and spotless was her mind,<br />
+Where filial love with virgin sweetness joined.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i14 smcap">Pope.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Xantippe, a Roman lady, who nursed her father,
+the aged Cimonus, while he was a prisoner, and
+thereby saved his life, rendered herself immortal by
+this manifestation of filial affection. But the "Roman
+Charity" is not comparable to the following
+extraordinary deed of filial sacrifice.</p>
+
+<p>The winter of 1783 was unusually severe, and
+the sufferings of the poor in the city of New York
+were very great. One family, consisting of the husband,
+wife and one daughter, were, on one occasion,
+reduced to the last stick of wood, and were wholly
+destitute of provisions. The daughter, who had
+thus far supported her aged and infirm parents by
+her industry, was out of work, and knew not what
+to do. At this juncture of affairs, she recollected
+that a dentist had advertised for sound fore-teeth,
+and offered three guineas a piece for all he was
+himself permitted to extract. In the midst of her
+grief, the generous girl suddenly brightened up,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span>
+and hastened to the dentist's office. She made
+known the condition of her parents, and offered to
+dispose of all her fore-teeth on his terms. The
+dentist, instead of extracting a tooth, with tears in
+his eyes, placed in her hands ten guineas, and sent
+her, rejoicing, to the relief of her parents.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HEROIC DECISION.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i6">No thought of flight,</span>
+None of retreat, no unbecoming deed<br />
+That argued fear.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Milton.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>We have elsewhere in this work spoken of the
+perils necessary to be encountered by Christian missionaries,
+and particularly those who connect themselves
+with stations in Africa. The history of the
+Methodist Episcopal mission in that quarter of the
+globe, presents a noble, if not a long, list of soldiers
+who early fell there while contending with Error.
+They sank upon the battle field, with their armor on
+and covered with glory. They fell not before the
+hosts of paganism; they were conquered by the
+climate. Most of those who have not died on the
+field, have been obliged to shortly flee to their native
+land for the restoration of health. Here and there
+one has withstood the adverse nature of the climate,
+toiled for years, and done a noble work, which has
+caused rejoicing in Heaven and honored the name
+of Christ on earth.</p>
+
+<p>Few persons, whose names are connected with the
+history of modern missions, have displayed a more devoted,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span>
+self-sacrificing spirit, or greater moral courage,
+than Miss Sophronia Farrington. Prior to the autumn
+of 1834, of six missionaries who had entered the field
+in Africa under the patronage of American Methodists,
+three<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a> were in their graves, and two<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a>
+had returned to the United States for health. Miss
+Farrington stood alone, and the question arose, what
+she should do. The officers of the Missionary Society
+were willing she should return home, and her friends
+were urging it upon her. With her co-laborers all
+dead or fled, she seemed herself to be left to the
+alternative either to flee or fall. Should she choose
+the former course, the mission would be wholly, and,
+for ought she knew, for ever, abandoned. What then
+should she do? Like a hero, to use her own words,
+she had "offered her soul upon the altar of her God,
+for the salvation of that long benighted continent,"
+and with courage that shames the facer of the cannon's
+mouth, she resolved to remain and toil alone,
+beside the graves of her fallen companions till more
+help should come or the Divine Husbandman close
+the labors of the lone vine-dresser. More help
+arrived in a few months, and, according to the
+annual report of 1836, the mission, of whose history
+she formed at one time the connecting link, "continued
+to loom up in bright perspective, and promise
+a rich reward for all the labors and sufferings of
+the faithful missionaries."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE DAUGHTER OF AARON BURR.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+'Tis thine on every heart to 'grave thy praise,<br />
+A monument which Worth alone can raise.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Broome.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Theodosia, the only daughter of Aaron Burr, was
+a woman of superior mental accomplishments, and
+very strong affections. She was married to Joseph
+Alston, Esq., afterwards Governor of South Carolina,
+in 1801. She was then in her eighteenth year. That
+she was an excellent wife may be gathered, not
+merely from the story of her life, but from the testimony
+of her husband. Writing to her father in 1813&mdash;soon
+after her death&mdash;he says, "The man who has
+been deemed worthy of the heart of Theodosia Burr,
+and has felt what it was to be blest with such a
+woman's, will never forget his elevation."<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a></p>
+
+<p>In regard to her attachment to her father, a writer,
+quoted in the appendix to Safford's Life of Blennerhassett,
+remarks as follows: "Her love for her father
+partook of the purity of a better world; holy, deep,
+unchanging; it reminds us of the affection which a
+celestial spirit might be supposed to entertain for a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span>
+parent cast down from heaven, for sharing in the sin
+of the 'Son of the Morning.' No sooner did she
+hear of the arrest of her father, than she fled to his
+side.<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a> There is nothing in human history more
+touching than the hurried letters, blotted with tears,
+in which she announced her daily progress to Richmond;
+for she was too weak to travel with the
+rapidity of the mail."</p>
+
+<p>Had her health permitted, and occasion presented
+itself, she would have matched in heroism any act in
+the life of Margaret Roper or Elizabeth Cazotte.<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a></p>
+
+<p>The trial of her father for treason, and his virtual
+banishment, not only depressed her spirits, but fearfully
+racked her already feeble constitution, yet his
+disgrace abated not a tittle the ardor of her affection;
+and when he returned from Europe, though in feeble
+health, she resolved to visit him in the city of New
+York. She was then in South Carolina. Embarking
+in the privateer Patriot, on the thirteenth of January,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span>
+1813, she was never heard of afterwards. The
+schooner may have fallen into the hands of pirates;
+but, as a heavy gale was experienced for several
+days soon after leaving Georgetown, the probability
+is that the craft foundered. Thus closed a life to
+which the panegyrical exclamation of Milton happily
+applies:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+O glorious trial of exceeding love<br />
+Illustrious evidence, example high.<br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;">
+<img src="images/illus371.jpg" width="350" height="198" alt="Scenic gate" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span></p>
+<h2>FEMALE INTREPIDITY.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Be not dismayed&mdash;fear nurses up a danger,<br />
+And resolution kills it in the birth.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Phillips.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the war between the Indians and Kentuckians,
+while the owner of a plantation in a thinly
+settled part of the state, was at work with his slaves
+in the field, a sable sentinel, who was posted near the
+house, saw a party of savages approaching. One of
+them was more fleet than he, and reaching the house
+at the same moment, they rushed within doors together.
+The planter's wife instantly closed the door
+and the negro and Indian grappled. The former was
+the stronger of the two, though the latter was the
+more expert. After a hard struggle, the negro threw
+the Indian, and held him fast until the woman beheaded
+him with a broad-axe. The negro then seized
+the guns, and began to fire at the other Indians
+through the loop-holes. The guns were loaded by
+the woman as fast as discharged. Their frequent
+report soon brought the laborers from the field, and
+the surviving Indians were driven away.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE WIFE OF RICHARD SHUBRICK.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i12">Be fire with fire;</span>
+Threaten the threatener, and out face the brow<br />
+Of bragging horror: so shall inferior eyes,<br />
+That borrow their behavior from the great,<br />
+Grow great by your example.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The following anecdotes of Mrs. Richard Shubrick
+may be found in the First Series of Major Garden's
+Revolutionary Anecdotes. "There was," he writes,
+"an appearance of personal debility about her that
+rendered her peculiarly interesting: it seemed to solicit
+the interest of every heart, and the man would
+have felt himself degraded who would not have put
+his life at hazard to serve her. Yet, when firmness
+of character was requisite, when fortitude was called
+for to repel the encroachments of aggression, there
+was not a more intrepid being in existence.</p>
+
+<p>"An American soldier, flying from a party of the
+enemy, sought her protection, and was promised it.
+The British, pressing close upon him, insisted that
+he should be delivered up, threatening immediate
+and universal destruction in case of refusal. The
+ladies, her friends and companions, who were in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span>
+house with her, shrunk from the contest, and were
+silent; but, undaunted by their threats, this intrepid
+lady placed herself before the chamber into which
+the unfortunate fugitive had been conducted, and
+resolutely said, 'To men of honor the chamber of a
+lady should be as sacred as the sanctuary! I will
+defend the passage to it though I perish. You may
+succeed, and enter it, but it shall be over my corpse.'
+'By God,' said the officer, 'if muskets were only
+placed in the hands of a few such women, our only
+safety would be found in retreat. Your intrepidity,
+madam, gives you security; from me you shall meet
+no further annoyance.'</p>
+
+<p>"At Brabant, the seat of the respectable and patriotic
+Bishop Smith, a sergeant of Tarleton's dragoons,
+eager for the acquisition of plunder, followed the overseer,
+a man advanced in years, into the apartment
+where the ladies of the family were assembled, and
+on his refusing to discover the spot in which the
+plate was concealed, struck him with violence, inflicting
+a severe sabre wound across the shoulders.
+Aroused by the infamy of the act, Mrs. Shubrick,
+starting from her seat, and placing herself betwixt
+the ruffian and his victim, resolutely said, 'Place
+yourself behind me, Murdoch; the interposition of
+my body shall give you protection, or I will die:'
+then, addressing herself to the sergeant, exclaimed,
+'O what a degradation of manhood&mdash;what departure
+from that gallantry which was once the characteristic
+of British soldiers. Human nature is degraded by
+your barbarity;&mdash;but should you persist, then strike<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span>
+at <i>me</i>, for till I die, no further injury shall be done
+to <i>him</i>.' The sergeant, unable to resist such commanding
+eloquence, retired."<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span></p>
+<h2>KEEN RETORT OF MRS. ASHE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+I have a thousand spirits in one breast,<br />
+To answer twenty thousand such as you.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>While General Leslie was staying with the British
+troops at Halifax, North Carolina, Colonel Tarleton
+and other officers held their quarters at the house
+of Colonel Ashe, whose wife was a firm friend of
+liberty. Her beau ideal of the hero was Colonel
+William Washington; and, knowing this fact, the
+sarcastic Tarleton took great delight in speaking
+diminutively of this officer in her presence. In his
+jesting way, he remarked to her one time, that he
+should like to have an opportunity of seeing her
+friend, Colonel Washington, whom he had understood
+to be a very small man. Mrs. Ashe promptly replied,
+"If you had looked behind you, Colonel Tarleton,
+at the battle of the Cowpens, you would have had
+that pleasure."<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span></p>
+<h2>PHILANTHROPIC WIFE OF A DRUNKARD.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+There's in you all that we believe of heaven.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Otway.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"The amazing influence of one Christian, who
+shows in her life the spirit of Christ, is illustrated in
+a striking manner, in the life of a lady who died not
+long since, in one of the principal cities of the
+United States. I am not permitted to give her name,
+nor all the particulars of her life. But what I relate
+may be relied upon, not only as facts, but as far
+below the whole truth. She had been for a long time
+afflicted with a drunken husband. At length the
+sheriff came, and swept off all her property, not
+excepting her household furniture, to discharge his
+grog bills. At this distressing crisis, she retired to
+an upper room, laid her babe upon the bare floor,
+kneeled down over it, and offered up the following
+petition: "O Lord, if thou wilt <i>in any way</i> remove
+from me this affliction, I will serve thee <i>upon bread
+and water</i>, all the days of my life." The Lord took
+her at her word. Her besotted husband immediately
+disappeared, and was never heard of again
+till after her death. The church would now have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[367]</a></span>
+maintained her, but she would not consent to become
+a charge to others. Although in feeble health, and
+afflicted with the sick headache, she opened a small
+school, from which she obtained a bare subsistence;
+though it was often no more than what was contained
+in the condition of her prayer&mdash;literally bread and
+water. She was a lady of pleasing address, and of a
+mild and gentle disposition. "In her lips was the
+law of kindness." Yet she possessed an energy of
+character and a spirit of perseverance, which the
+power of faith alone can impart. When she undertook
+any Christian enterprise, she was discouraged by
+no obstacles, and appalled by no difficulties. She
+resided in the most wicked and abandoned part of
+the city, which afforded a great field of labor. Her
+benevolent heart was pained at seeing the grog shops
+open upon the holy Sabbath. She undertook the
+difficult and almost hopeless task of closing these
+sinks of moral pollution upon the Lord's day, and
+succeeded. This was accomplished by the mild influence
+of persuasion, flowing from the lips of kindness,
+and clothed with that power which always
+accompanies the true spirit of the gospel. But she
+was not satisfied with seeing the front doors and
+windows of these houses closed. She would, therefore,
+upon the morning of the Sabbath, pass round, and
+enter these shops through the dwellings occupied by
+the families of the keepers, where she often found
+them engaged secretly in this wickedness. She would
+then remonstrate with them, until she persuaded
+them to abandon it, and attend public worship. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[368]</a></span>
+this manner, she abolished, almost entirety, the sale
+of liquors upon the Sabbath, in the worst part of the
+city.</p>
+
+<p>"She also looked after the poor, that the Gospel
+might be preached to them. She carried with her the
+number of those pews in the church which were
+unoccupied. And upon Sabbath mornings, she made
+it her business to go out in the streets and lanes of
+the city, and persuade the poor to come in and fill up
+these vacant seats. By her perseverance and energy,
+she would remove every objection, until she had
+brought them to the house of God. She was incessant
+and untiring in every effort for doing good. She
+would establish a Sabbath school, and superintend it
+until she saw it flourishing, and then deliver it into
+the hands of some suitable person, and go and establish
+another. She collected together a Bible class of
+apprentices, which she taught herself. Her pastor
+one day visited it, and found half of them in tears,
+under deep conviction. She was faithful to the
+church and to impenitent sinners. It was her habitual
+practice to reprove sin, and to warn sinners wherever
+she found them. At the time of her death, she had
+under her care a number of pious young men preparing
+for the ministry. These she had looked after,
+and brought out of obscurity. As soon as their piety
+had been sufficiently proved, she would bring them
+to the notice of her Christian friends. She persuaded
+pious teachers to give them gratuitous instruction,
+and pious booksellers to supply them with books. In
+the same way, she procured their board in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span>
+families of wealthy Christians; and she formed little
+societies of ladies, to supply them with clothing.
+There was probably no person in the city whose death
+would have occasioned the shedding of more tears,
+or called forth more sincere and heartfelt grief."<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus380.jpg" width="450" height="270" alt="Lady and children looking out doorway" />
+
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE MOTHER OF DR. DWIGHT.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i10">Though renown</span>
+Plant laurels on the warrior's grave, and wreathe<br />
+With bays the slumbering bard&mdash;the mother's urn<br />
+Shall claim more dear memorials: gratitude<br />
+Shall there abide; affection, reverence, there<br />
+Shall oft revolve the precepts which now speak<br />
+With emphasis divine.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. West.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The mother of Timothy Dwight was a daughter
+of Jonathan Edwards, and seems to have inherited
+a large share of her father's talents and spiritual
+graces. Her powers of mind were unusually strong;
+her knowledge was extensive and varied, and her
+piety highly fervid. She married at an early age;
+became a mother when eighteen; had a large family;
+and, though never negligent of domestic duties, she
+daily and assiduously devoted herself to the education
+of her children. She began to instruct Timothy, it
+is said, "as soon as he was able to speak; and such
+was his eagerness, as well as his capacity for improvement,
+that he learned the alphabet at a single
+lesson; and before he was four years old, was able
+to read the Bible with ease and correctness....
+She taught him from the very dawn of his reason
+to fear God and to keep his commandments; to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span>
+conscientiously just, kind, affectionate, charitable, and
+forgiving; to preserve, on all occasions, and under
+all circumstances, the most sacred regard for truth;
+and to relieve the distresses and supply the wants
+of the poor and unfortunate. She aimed, at a very
+early period, to enlighten his conscience, to make
+him afraid of sin, and to teach him to hope for pardon
+only through Christ. The impressions thus made
+upon his mind in infancy, were never effaced. A
+great proportion of the instruction which he received
+before he arrived at the age of six years, was at
+home with his mother. His school room was the
+nursery. Here he had his regular hours for study,
+as in a school; and twice every day she heard him
+repeat his lesson. Here, in addition to his stated
+task, he watched the cradle of his younger brother.
+When his lesson was recited, he was permitted to
+read such books as he chose, until the limited period
+was expired. During these intervals, he often read
+over the historical parts of the Bible, and gave an
+account of them to his mother. So deep and distinct
+was the impression which these narrations made upon
+his mind, that their minutest incidents were indelibly
+fixed upon his memory. His relish for reading was
+thus early formed, and was strengthened by the conversation
+and example of his mother. His early
+knowledge of the Bible led to that ready, accurate,
+and extensive acquaintance with Scripture, which is
+so evident in his sermons and other writings."<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[372]</a></span></p>
+<p>It is easy to see, in this picture, who it was that
+laid the foundation of that character which sanctified
+genius, and caused it to shine with transcendent lustre,
+for more than twenty years, at the head of Yale
+college. The mother of President Dwight was well
+repaid, even in this life, for the pains she took to
+rear this son for the glory of God; for, while he never
+disobeyed a command of hers or omitted a filial duty,
+he was kind and generous to her in her old age, and
+smoothed her path to a Christian's grave. But her
+true and great reward for her maternal faithfulness,
+is in another world, whither she went to receive it
+about the year 1807.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HAPPY RESULTS OF MATERNAL FIDELITY.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Lift the heart and bend the knee.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. Hemans.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The superior influence of the mother in forming the
+character of the child, is generally conceded. Biographical
+literature abounds with illustrations of this
+fact, and renders it incontrovertible. As examples,
+in Great Britain, we are often, with propriety, pointed
+to the mothers of Isaac and John Newton, Doddridge,
+the Wesleys, Richard Cecil, Legh Richmond
+and many others; but it is needless for any people
+to search in foreign lands for such examples.</p>
+
+<p>In the notices of the mothers of Washington, Jackson,
+Randolph, Dwight and some others, on preceding
+pages of this volume, the truth of the same proposition
+is endeavored to be substantiated: and, as
+facts most forcibly illustrate argument, and wholesome
+hints are often easiest given by example, we will add
+two or three more anecdotes having a bearing on this
+point.</p>
+
+<p>The mother of Jonathan Edwards, it is well known,
+began to pray for him as soon as he was born; and
+probably no mother ever strove harder than she to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[374]</a></span>
+rear a child "in the nurture and admonition of the
+Lord." The result of her efforts is known to the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>The late Professor Knowles, of the Newton theological
+institution, received much pious instruction
+from his mother in his infant years; and, as he lost
+his father at the age of twelve, at that period she
+assumed wholly the guidance of his steps and his
+studies. She early discovered his love of books and
+his promising talents; and while she admonished him,
+and led him to the Saviour, she also sympathized
+with him in his literary taste and encouraged him in
+his scientific pursuits. The zealous minister, the
+learned biblical instructor, the polished writer and
+biographer of the first Mrs. Judson, owed very much
+to the moral training and the literary encouragement
+of his faithful mother.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly half a century ago, the mother of the celebrated
+Beecher family, made the following record:
+"This morning I rose very early to pray for my
+children; and especially that my sons may be ministers
+and missionaries of Jesus Christ." The "fervent"
+prayers of the good woman were "effectual:" her five
+sons became "ministers and missionaries of Jesus
+Christ," and all her children&mdash;eight in number&mdash;are
+connected with the "household of God"&mdash;several on
+earth and one,<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a> at least, in heaven.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span></p>
+<h2>WONDERFUL ENDURANCE AND PERSEVERANCE<br />
+OF MRS. SCOTT.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i12">&mdash;&mdash;Mute</span>
+The camel labors with the heaviest load,<br />
+And the wolf dies in silence; not bestowed<br />
+In vain should such examples be; if they,<br />
+Things of ignoble or of savage mood,<br />
+Endure and shrink not, we of nobler clay,<br />
+May temper it to bear&mdash;it is but for a day.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Byron.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Mrs. Scott, a resident of Washington county, Virginia,
+was taken captive by Indians on the night
+of the twenty-ninth of June, 1785. Her husband
+and all her children were slain; and before morning
+she was forced to commence her march through the
+wilderness.</p>
+
+<p>On the eleventh day of her captivity, while in
+charge of four Indians, provision becoming scarce,
+a halt was made, and three of the number went on
+a hunting excursion. Being left in the care of an
+old man, she made him believe she was reconciled
+to her condition, and thus threw him off his guard.
+Anxious to escape, and having matured her plans,
+she asked him, in the most disinterested manner
+possible, to let her go to a small stream, near by,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[376]</a></span>
+and wash her apron, which was besmeared with the
+blood of one of her children. He gave her leave,
+and while he was busy in "graining a deer-skin,"
+she started off. Arriving at the stream, without a
+moment's hesitation, she pushed on in the direction
+of a mountain. Traveling till late at night, she came
+into a valley where she hoped to find the track along
+which she had been taken by her captors, and thereby
+be able to retrace her steps. Hurrying across the
+valley to the margin of a river, which she supposed
+must be the eastern branch of the Kentucky, she
+discovered in the sand the tracks of two men who
+had followed the stream upwards and returned.
+Thinking them to be the prints of pursuers, and that
+they had returned from the search, she took courage,
+thanked God, and was prepared to continue her
+flight.</p>
+
+<p>On the third day she came very near falling into
+the hands of savages, a company whom she supposed
+had been sent to Clinch river on a pilfering excursion.
+Hearing their approach before they came in sight,
+she concealed herself, and they passed without noticing
+her. She now became greatly alarmed, and
+was so bewildered as to lose her way and to wander
+at random for several days.</p>
+
+<p>At length, coming to a stream that seemed to flow
+from the east, she concluded it must be Sandy river;
+and resolving to trace it to its source, which was near
+a settlement where she was acquainted, she pushed
+on for several days, till she came into mountainous
+regions and to craggy steeps. There, in the vicinity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span>
+of a "prodigious waterfall," she was forced to leap
+from a precipice, upon some rocks, and was so stunned
+as to be obliged to make a short delay in her
+journey.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after passing through the mountain,<a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a> she was
+bitten by a snake which she supposed was venomous.
+She killed it, and expected her turn to die would
+come next; but the only injury she received was
+some pain and the slight swelling of one foot. A
+writer, whose narration we follow and whose facts
+are more reliable than his philosophy, thinks that,
+being "reduced to a mere skeleton, with fatigue, hunger
+and grief," she was probably, on that account,
+"saved from the effects of the poisonous fangs."</p>
+
+<p>Leaving the river, Mrs. Scott came to a forked
+valley, and watching the flight of birds, took the
+branch they did, and in two days came in sight of
+New Garden, the settlement on Clinch river, before
+referred to. Thus, after wandering in the wilderness
+for six long weeks, almost destitute of clothing, without
+a weapon of defence or instrument for obtaining
+provision; exposed to wild beasts and merciless savages;
+subsisting a full month on the juice of young
+cane stalks, sassafras leaves and similar food; looking
+to God in prayer for guidance by day, and for
+protection by night; shielded from serious harm, and
+led by an unseen Hand, on the eleventh of August,
+the wanderings of the widowed and childless captive
+were brought to a close.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span></p>
+<h2>SUCCESS OF BOLDNESS.</h2>
+
+<p class="center">
+"Courage, prove thy chance once more."<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<p>While Colonel Tarleton was marching through
+North Carolina, near the close of the Revolution, he
+passed two nights in Halifax county. From malice
+or because of a scarcity of provision, he caused his
+troops to catch all the horses, cattle, hogs, fowls, etc.,
+that could be found, most of which were destroyed.
+The inhabitants generally fled and concealed themselves
+in the neighboring swamps and thickets. One
+young lady, however, in the upper part of the county,
+where they spent the second night, refused to retire.
+Remaining on the premises alone, when the marauders
+came for the horses and cattle thereon, Miss
+Bishop<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a> ordered them off; but they did not obey.
+Among the animals they drove to camp, was a favorite
+pony of hers, which she resolved to recover.
+When night come on, she went unarmed to the camp,
+about a mile distant, and boldly made known her
+errand to Tarleton. "Your roguish men in red coats,"
+she said to him, "came to my father's house about sundown
+and stole my pony, and I have walked here<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[379]</a></span>
+alone and unprotected, to claim and demand him;
+and, sir, I must and I will have him. I fear not your
+men. They are base and unprincipled enough to
+dare to offer insult to an unprotected female; but
+their cowardly hearts will prevent them from doing
+her any bodily injury." While thus speaking, her eye
+happened to fall on her favorite animal, upon which
+the camp fire flung its light, and she added, "There,
+sir, is my horse. I shall mount him and ride peacefully
+home; and if you have any gentlemanly feeling
+within you, of which your men are totally destitute,
+or, if you have any regard for their safety, you will
+see, sir, that I am not interrupted. But, before I go,
+I wish to say to you that he who can, and will not,
+prevent this base and cowardly stealing from henroosts,
+stables and barn-yards, is no better, in my
+estimation, than the mean, good-for-nothing, guilty
+wretches who do the dirty work with their own
+hands! Good night, sir."</p>
+
+<p>Tarleton took the hint; ordered his soldiers not to
+molest her; and she was suffered to take the pony
+and gallop peacefully home.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[380]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MARY KNIGHT.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i12">&mdash;&mdash;The office</span>
+Becomes a woman best; I'll take it upon me.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The subject of this brief notice was a sister of General
+Isaac Worrell. She died two or three years
+since, in Philadelphia. The following tribute to her
+patriotism and humanity, was paid by a New Jersey
+newspaper, in July, 1849:</p>
+
+<p>"The deceased was one of those devoted women
+who aided to relieve the horrible sufferings of Washington's
+army at Valley Forge&mdash;cooking and carrying
+provisions to them alone, through the depth of winter,
+even passing through the outposts of the British army
+in the disguise of a market woman. And when
+Washington was compelled to retreat before a superior
+force, she concealed her brother, General Worrell,&mdash;when
+the British set a price on his head&mdash;in a
+cider hogshead in the cellar for three days, and fed
+him through the bunghole; the house being ransacked
+four different times by the troops in search of him,
+without success. She was over ninety years of age
+at the time of her death."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE WIFE OF WILLIAM GRAY.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i10">&mdash;&mdash;Our lives</span>
+In acts exemplary, not only win<br />
+Ourselves good names, but do to others give<br />
+Matter for virtuous deeds, by which we live.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Chapman.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Elizabeth Chipman was born in Essex county,
+Massachusetts, in May, 1756. She was the daughter
+of a talented and eminent lawyer of Marblehead, and
+inherited a highly respectable share of his mental
+endowments. Her intellectual faculties and moral
+feelings were early and highly developed; and when,
+in 1782, she was married to William Gray, the celebrated
+millionaire, of Salem, in her native county,
+she was prepared, in all respects, to command the
+highest influence in society. But, although the wife
+of the richest man in Massachusetts and probably in
+New England, she never rose above her duties as a
+housekeeper, a mother and a Christian. She managed
+her domestic affairs personally and economically;
+and inculcated in the minds of her six children, by
+example as well as precept, the best habits and the
+noblest principles. "She divided her time between
+reading, household affairs, and duties to society, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[382]</a></span>
+such a manner as never for a moment to be in a
+hurry."<a name="FNanchor_76_76" id="FNanchor_76_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a> She was as well known by the poor as the
+rich: her virtues irradiated every sphere. She was
+anxious to exalt as much as possible the Christian
+profession; hence she rode in a plain carriage, and
+avoided all unnecessary display, "that no evil precedents
+of expense could arise from her example."</p>
+
+<p>The latter years of this excellent woman were
+passed in Boston, whither the family had removed,
+and where she died on the twenty-fourth of September,
+1823. In her benevolent acts and cheerful life,
+is beautifully exemplified the truth of the poet's
+assertion:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+On piety humanity is built,<br />
+And on humanity, much happiness.<br />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ANECDOTE OF MRS. HUNTINGTON.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Earthly power doth then show likest gods,<br />
+When mercy seasons justice.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Susan Mansfield was the daughter of the Rev.
+Achilles Mansfield, of Killingworth, Connecticut, and
+was born on the twenty-seventh of January, 1791.
+At the age of eighteen or nineteen, she was married
+to Joshua Huntington, pastor of the Old South
+church, Boston. She died in 1823. Her memoirs,
+written by her husband's pastoral successor, B. B.
+Wisner, was, at one time, a very popular work. It
+passed through five editions in Scotland, in a very
+few years.</p>
+
+<p>Her husband preceded her to the grave four years.
+While a widow, she was robbed of several articles
+of jewelry by a young woman; and the articles were
+recovered, and the thief arrested and tried. During
+the examination, Mrs. Huntington was called into
+court to identify the property; and having done this,
+she was asked their value. Knowing that the degree
+of punishment depended somewhat on the apprisal of
+the property, and pitying the poor girl, she hinted that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[384]</a></span>
+she never used much jewelry, and was not a good
+judge of its value. A person was then called upon to
+prize the several articles; and she told him to bear
+in mind that they had been used for many years,
+were consequently damaged, and out of fashion. In
+this way she secured a low and, to herself, a satisfactory
+valuation. She then addressed the judge, stating
+that she had herself taken the jewelry from a trunk;
+had carelessly left it exposed on a table; had thus
+thrown temptation in the way of the girl, and suggested
+that her own heedlessness might possibly
+have been the cause of the offence. She did not, she
+assured the judge, wish to interfere with his duties,
+or wrongly bias his decisions, but she would, nevertheless,
+esteem it a favor, if the punishment inflicted
+on the unfortunate transgressor, could be the lightest
+that would not dishonor the law. Hoping the ignorant
+girl would repent and reform, she left the stand
+with tears in her eyes, which greatly affected the
+judge. In his sentence he reminded the culprit, that
+the person whom she had most offended, was the
+first to plead for a mitigation of her punishment,
+and had saved her from the extreme rigors of a
+broken law.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HOSPITALITY OF MRS. BIDDLE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+&mdash;&mdash;All were welcome and feasted.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Longfellow.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the summer of 1777, while Washington was
+encamped near Brandywine, a large party of foragers
+came into the neighborhood, and the General gave
+orders to a company of his troops, to go in pursuit
+of them early the next morning, and, if possible,
+cut off their retreat. As an engagement might
+ensue, he also gave orders that the women should
+leave the camp. Receiving intelligence of the latter
+order, and unwilling to be included in it, the wife
+of Colonel Clement Biddle, an intimate associate of
+Mrs. Washington in the camp, went to the General
+and told him that the officers, who had gone on the
+expedition, would be likely to return hungry, and she
+would consider it a favor to be allowed to remain
+and prepare some refreshment for them. Washington
+complied with her request, and her servant was immediately
+posted off in search of provision.</p>
+
+<p>Receiving information that a band of "rebels"
+was in pursuit of them, the foragers took a quick
+step out of the neighborhood. The pursuers returned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[386]</a></span>
+at a late dinner hour exceedingly fatigued and ripe
+for attacking the "good things" prepared by Mrs.
+Biddle. Notified of her generosity, the officers forthwith
+repaired to her quarters, each saying, on his
+entrance, "Madam, we hear that you feed the army
+to-day." It is said that at least a hundred officers
+enjoyed her hospitalities on that occasion.</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+They ate like Famine, fast and well,<br />
+<span class="i1">Piling their plates with turkeys slain;</span>
+They conquered&mdash;bones alone could tell<br />
+<span class="i1">Of fowls late bled at every vein.</span>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[387]</a></span></p>
+<h2>KINDNESS OF SOME CONVICTS</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i3">&mdash;&mdash;When your head did but ache,</span>
+I knit my handkerchief about your brows,<br />
+&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *<br />
+And with my hand at midnight held your head;<br />
+And, like the watchful minutes to the hour,<br />
+Still and anon cheered up the heavy time.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When the yellow fever broke out in Philadelphia,
+several years ago, it was extremely difficult to obtain
+help at the hospital; application was consequently
+made to the female convicts in the prison. Braving
+the danger of becoming nurses for the sick under
+such circumstances, as many as were needed readily
+profered their aid, and remained as long as desired.
+There was a scarcity of bedsteads, and these females
+were asked for theirs. Willing to sacrifice the meagre
+comforts of a convict for the sake of alleviating
+the condition of the sick and the dying, they not
+only gave up their bedsteads, but bedding also. Such
+humane conduct, coming from whom it may, is deserving
+of praise and worthy of record.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[388]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MARGARET PRIOR.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+&mdash;&mdash;If a soul thou wouldst redeem,<br />
+<span class="i1">And lead a lost one back to God;</span>
+Wouldst thou a guardian angel seem<br />
+<span class="i1">To one who long in guilt hath trod;</span>
+Go kindly to him&mdash;take his hand,<br />
+<span class="i1">With gentlest words, within thine own,</span>
+And by his side a brother stand,<br />
+<span class="i1">Till all the demon thou dethrone.</span>
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. C. M. Sawyer.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The subject of this notice was a native of Fredericksburg,
+Virginia. She was born in 1773. Her
+maiden name was Barrett. She was married to William
+Allen, a merchant of Baltimore, at the age of
+sixteen; resided in that city for several years, and
+became the mother of seven children. All but one
+of them died in infancy. Her husband was lost at
+sea, in 1808, when her only surviving child was
+about eighteen months old.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after becoming a widow she removed to the
+city of New York. There, in 1814, she was united
+in marriage with William Prior, a benevolent and
+public-spirited member of the Society of Friends.
+She was herself at that time in communion with
+the Baptists, she having united with them before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[389]</a></span>
+the death of her first husband. In 1819 she joined
+the Methodists, with whom she remained in church-fellowship
+the residue of her life.</p>
+
+<p>When the New York Orphan Asylum was instituted,
+she was appointed one of the managers and
+was, thenceforward, incessantly engaged in benevolent
+operations. We first find her in the more
+conspicuous "walks of usefulness," in the severe winter
+of 1818 and '19. There being, at that time, no
+public fund for meeting the wants of the poor, she
+made arrangements with her nearest neighbor&mdash;herself
+a kind-hearted, humane woman&mdash;to prepare soup
+three times a week for the destitute in the ninth
+ward. She had previously visited that part of the
+city and made herself acquainted with many suffering
+individuals. All who applied for soup, if not
+known, she accompanied to their homes, and presented
+them with tickets entitling them to further
+supplies, if found to be true objects of charity.
+Many, it is thought, were saved from starvation by
+her humane exertions. "These, and similar deeds
+of mercy, tended to enlarge her heart: while she
+watered others, she was watered also herself, and
+felt continually the truth of the assertion, 'It is more
+blessed to give than to receive.'"<a name="FNanchor_77_77" id="FNanchor_77_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a></p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding her arduous, public duties, Mrs.
+Prior managed her household affairs with care, neatness
+and regularity. It has been appropriately said
+of her that she had "a place for every thing and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[390]</a></span>
+every thing in its place." The time that some spend
+in fashionable and heartless calls, she devoted to industry
+and humanity. By rising early, working
+late, observing the strictest rules of economy, and
+subjecting herself, at times, to self-denial, she was
+able to visit the suffering, and to make daily appropriations
+from her own table for their relief.</p>
+
+<p>Numerous instances of her self-denial have been
+related, and one of them we will repeat. She usually
+obtained assistance to do her washing, and limited
+herself to a dollar a week to meet that expense.
+Sometimes the amount she wished to devote to some
+particular object fell short, and in such instances she
+would do the washing herself, and thereby save the
+dollar. She felt, in such cases, as has been remarked,
+that "the personal effort was made a blessing to
+herself of greater value than the sum saved."</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1822, Mrs. Prior visited the families
+on Bowery hill, where she had resided the three
+previous years; thoroughly acquainted herself with
+their moral condition and necessities; established a
+school for poor children; commenced her long-continued
+weekly visits for conversation and prayer with
+the pupils, and secured the sympathies and pecuniary
+assistance of several Christians to aid in supporting
+the school from year to year. She herself contributed
+one hundred dollars annually for its maintenance.</p>
+
+<p>On the fourteenth of September, 1829, this good
+woman again became a widow. Previous to this
+date she had lost her seventh child, and an adopted
+one. She had also taken a second motherless child<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[391]</a></span>
+into her family. About the year her second husband
+died, Bowery hill was dug away, and she changed
+her residence.</p>
+
+<p>When, in the early part of 1833, the Moral Reform
+society was organized, she became a prominent
+member of its board of managers, and, four years
+afterwards, commenced, under its patronage, her
+memorable labors as a city missionary. These she
+continued till 1842, in which year, on the seventh of
+April, her earthly work was finished.</p>
+
+<p>Two or three incidents connected with her labors as
+a missionary, will show, in part, at least, the character
+of her work and the philanthropic spirit by which
+she was ever actuated.</p>
+
+<p>As she was once passing through the streets, she
+was accosted by a lady who inquired her name, and
+wished to know if she did not belong to the society
+which had opened a register of direction for the
+accommodation of respectable females. Ascertaining
+that she was not mistaken in the person, the stranger
+told Mrs. Prior that two female acquaintances of hers
+were out of work, had become reduced to want, and
+were so wretched as to threaten to drown themselves,
+unless they soon found a situation. They had been
+working for houses connected with the southern trade
+which had failed, and thus thrown them out of
+employment. Learning their residence, Mrs. Prior
+visited them immediately; told them of the enormity
+of the crime they had threatened to commit; that
+she would try to secure work for them, and that it
+was their duty to seek the grace of God to sustain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[392]</a></span>
+them in such trying seasons. The next day she found
+situations for them in pious families, and thus, while
+she probably saved them from committing suicide,
+she was, perhaps, the instrument, in the hands of
+God, of saving them from infamy and eternal ruin.</p>
+
+<p>Passing through the suburbs of the city one day,
+her attention was arrested by the chime of youthful
+voices. Seeing that the music proceeded from some
+little beggar-girls, who were sitting in the sun beside
+the fence and singing a Sabbath school hymn, she
+inquired of them what they were doing, when the
+following dialogue occurred: "We were cold, ma'am,
+and are getting warm in the sun." "Where do you
+live?" "In Twentieth street, ma'am." "Why have
+you come so far away from your homes?" "To get
+some food and some things to make a fire." "Why
+were you singing?" "To praise God: we go to the
+Sunday school, and our teacher says if we are good
+children God will never let us want." Pleased with
+the modest and artless answers to her questions, the
+good woman took them across the street, procured
+each of them a loaf of bread, gave them some pious
+counsel, and left them with smiles on their faces and
+gratitude in their hearts.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Prior frequently visited the city prison, and
+on occasion<a name="FNanchor_78_78" id="FNanchor_78_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a> went to Sing Sing. She made a record
+of her visit to the latter place, from which we make
+an extract: "In visiting the female convicts at their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[393]</a></span>
+cells on Sabbath morning, after Sabbath school, which,
+under the customary regulations, we were permitted
+to do, we found nearly all employed in reading their
+Bibles. We conversed with them respecting the
+welfare of their souls, and as we knelt with them at
+the throne of grace, they on one side of the grated
+door and we on the other, we felt that He who
+healed a Mary Magdalene, is still the same compassionate
+Saviour, and our faith, we trust, apprehended
+him as the atoning sacrifice, who bore our sins in his
+own body on the tree, and opened a way for the salvation
+of even the chief of sinners."</p>
+
+<p>Being on an errand of mercy in G&mdash;&mdash; street
+one day, she stepped into a house of infamy to leave
+a certain tract. As soon as she had entered and
+made known her mission, the door was closed and
+locked by one of the female inmates, who told her
+that she was their prisoner. "For a moment," writes
+Mrs. Prior, in her journal, "my heart was tremulous;
+I said nothing till the risings of fear were quelled,
+and then replied pleasantly, 'Well, if I'm a prisoner,
+I shall pray here, and would sing praises to God if I
+were not so hoarse. Yes, bless the Lord! his presence
+can make me happy here or any where, and you
+can have no power to harm me unless he gives it.
+This is a dreadful place, to be sure, but it is not so
+bad as hell; for there, there is no hope. The smoke
+of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever!
+What a mercy that we are not all there! what compassion
+in the blessed Jesus that he spares us, when
+our sins are every day so great.' I talked to them in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[394]</a></span>
+this manner till they were glad to open the door as a
+signal for my release."</p>
+
+<p>Such were the doings, such was the character, of
+Margaret Prior. We see her organizing week-day
+and Sabbath schools, industrial associations and
+temperance societies; establishing soup houses and
+orphan asylums; visiting the sick, the poor, the
+idle, the culprit, the outcast; pointing the dying to
+a risen Saviour, leading the destitute by the hand
+to the place of relief, the idle to houses of industry,
+and warning the outlaw and the corrupt of the
+certain and terrible doom that would attend persistency
+in their downward course. With the sweetness,
+gentleness, simplicity, and delicacy, so becoming in
+woman under all circumstances, were blended in her
+character, energy that was unconquerable, courage
+that danger could not blench, and firmness that
+human power could not bend. The contemplation of
+such a character is superficial, if it does not prompt
+benevolent feelings, re-affirm virtuous resolutions, and
+revive and strengthen drooping piety.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[395]</a></span></p>
+<h2>NOBLE ACTS OF KINDNESS.</h2>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+We are to relieve the distressed, to put the wanderer in the way,
+and divide our bread with the hungry.&mdash;<span class="smcap">Seneca.</span></p>
+</blockquote>
+
+
+<p>The Rev. Thomas Andros, of Berkley, Massachusetts,
+was a firm patriot and a keen sufferer in the
+strife for freedom. He was captured whilst on board
+a privateer, and transferred to the Jersey prison ship.
+In the autumn of 1781, he escaped; and, skulking
+through the east end of Long Island, received at
+the hands of females such marks of pity and kindness
+as were thought worthy of noting in his journal.
+The following are extracts:</p>
+
+<p>"I came to a respectable dwelling-house and entered
+it. Among the inmates were a decent woman
+and a tailor. To the woman I expressed my want
+of something to nourish my feeble frame, telling her
+if she would give me a morsel, it would be a mere
+act of charity. She made no objection, asked no
+questions, but promptly furnished me with the dish
+of light food I desired. Expressing my obligations
+to her, I rose to depart. But going round through
+another room, she met me in the front entry, placed
+a hat on my head, put an apple pie in my hand, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[396]</a></span>
+said, 'you will want this before you get through the
+woods.' I opened my mouth to give vent to the
+grateful feelings with which my heart was filled.
+But she would not tarry to hear a word, and instantly
+vanished. The mystery of her conduct I suppose
+was this: she was satisfied that I had escaped from
+prison, and if she granted me any succor, knowing
+me to be such, it might cost her family the confiscation
+of their estate. She did not therefore wish to
+ask me any questions or hear me explain who I was
+in the hearing of the tailor, who might turn informer.
+This mark of kindness was more than I could well
+bear, and as I went on the tears flowed copiously!
+The recollection of her humanity and pity revives
+in my breast even now the same feeling of gratitude.</p>
+
+<p>"Some time after, in Suffolk county, being repulsed
+from one dwelling, I entered another, and informed
+the mistress of the house of my wants. By the
+cheerfulness and good-nature depicted in her countenance
+and first movements, I knew my suit was
+granted, and I had nothing more to say than to
+apprise her I was penniless. In a few moments she
+placed on the table a bowl of bread and milk, a dried
+bluefish roasted, and a mug of cider, and said, 'sit
+down and eat.'</p>
+
+<p>"It was now growing dark, so I went but a short
+distance further, entered a house, and begged the
+privilege of lodging by the fire. My request was
+granted. There was no one in the house but the
+man and his wife. They appeared to be cordial
+friends to each other&mdash;it was indeed one of the few<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[397]</a></span>
+happy matches. Before it became late in the evening
+the man took his Bible and read a chapter. He
+then arose and offered up his grateful acknowledgments
+and supplications to God through the Mediator.
+I now began to think I had got into a safe and
+hospitable retreat. They had before made many
+inquiries such as indicated that they felt tenderly and
+took an interest in my welfare. I now confessed my
+situation to them. All was silence. It took some
+time to recover themselves from a flood of tears.
+At last the kind woman said, 'Let us go and bake
+his clothes.' No sooner said than the man seized a
+brand of fire and threw it into the oven. The
+woman provided a clean suit of clothes to supply the
+place of mine till they had purified them by fire.
+The work done, a clean bed was laid down on which
+I was to rest, and rest I did as in a new world; for
+I had got rid of a swarm of cannibals who were
+eating me up alive! In the morning I took my
+leave of this dear family with a gratitude that for
+fifty years has suffered no abatement."<a name="FNanchor_79_79" id="FNanchor_79_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[398]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE WIFE OF DR. RAMSAY.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Unrivalled as thy merit, be thy fame.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Tickell.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Few women of modern times have more charmingly
+exhibited "the beauties of holiness" than Martha
+Laurens Ramsay, the wife of the historian of
+South Carolina. In his interesting series of lectures
+on the Christian graces, the Rev. Dr. Williams very
+happily refers to her habit of prayer, to illustrate the
+spirit of brotherly kindness as shown in the mutual
+intercession of brethren in the same church. "It is
+animating," he writes, "and yet, as contrasted with
+our present remissness, humiliating, to read how Baxter
+and his people held days of fasting and prayer
+for each other; or to turn to the pages which describe
+a Christian matron of the South, the wife of Ramsay
+and the daughter of Henry Laurens, President of the
+Continental Congress, praying over a list of her fellow-members,
+name by name, and remembering, to
+the best of her knowledge, the cares and wants of
+each before the throne of grace."<a name="FNanchor_80_80" id="FNanchor_80_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[399]</a></span>Prior to her marriage, and whilst residing in France
+with her father, she received from him the handsome
+present of five hundred guineas. Appropriating a
+very small portion of this sum to her own use, with
+the bulk she purchased one hundred French Testaments&mdash;all
+to be found in the market&mdash;and distributed
+them amongst the destitute in Vigan and its
+vicinity, and organized a school there for the instruction
+of youth, constituting a fund sufficient to oblite
+rate its annual charges.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Ramsay was remarkably economical of time,
+rising early and devoting every hour to some useful
+service; and of money, never indulging herself in
+any needless expenditure. This principle of economy
+was observed even at her funeral. She directed that
+it should be at her own private house; and that her
+coffin should be plain and without a plate. She died
+on the tenth of June, 1811.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[400]</a></span></p>
+<h2>COURAGE AND PRESENCE OF MIND OF<br />
+MARGARET SCHUYLER.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+&mdash;Courage mounteth with occasion.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In August, 1781, when the abduction of General
+Schuyler from his house in the suburbs of Albany,
+was projected, and John Waltermeyer, the bold partizan
+of Joseph Bettys, led a motley and blood-thirsty
+band&mdash;tories, Canadians and Indians&mdash;in the daring
+undertaking, a daughter of the General acted so
+courageous and wise a part as to justify us in giving
+on outline sketch of the unsuccessful enterprise.</p>
+
+<p>As the family sat in an open door, in the evening
+of a very sultry day, receiving information that a
+stranger was waiting at the back gate to see him,
+General Schuyler mistrusted, at once, that something
+was wrong; and, instead of repairing to the gate,
+he instantly closed and fastened the doors, and ran
+to his bed chamber for his arms. He then hurried
+his family into the third story, where he immediately
+discharged a pistol to arouse the careless guards,
+and afterwards others, to alarm, if possible, the inhabitants
+of the city. In hurrying up stairs, his wife<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[401]</a></span>
+overlooked her infant, which was asleep in the cradle;
+and she was about to descend, when the General
+warned her of the danger, and held her back. Seeing
+her mother's agony, a daughter named Margaret,
+rushed down stairs into the nursery, caught the
+child, and was about ascending, when a tomahawk
+flew past her, simply grazing her dress and slightly
+injuring it. Hurrying up a private stairway, she
+was met by Waltermeyer, who roughly exclaimed,
+"Wench! where is your master?" With remarkable
+presence of mind, she answered, "Gone to alarm the
+town." Fearing that such might be the case, Waltermeyer
+called his pilfering men, who were bagging
+plate in the dining hall, and began a consultation.
+Meanwhile the General was also thinking, and devising
+a stratagem by which to frighten away the
+kidnappers. He soon threw up a window, and, in
+the voice of an experienced commander, cried out,
+"Come on, my brave fellows; surround the house
+and secure the villains who are plundering." As he
+anticipated, the gang, hearing these words, snapped
+the thread of their consultation, and tested the nimbleness
+of their feet. The reports of the General's
+arms had alarmed the people of the city, and they
+came to the rescue just in season to be unneeded.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[402]</a></span></p>
+<h2>NOBLE TREATMENT OF ENEMIES.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i10">&mdash;&mdash;True religion</span>
+Is always mild, propitious and humble,<br />
+Plays not the tyrant, plants no faith in blood;<br />
+Nor bears destruction on her chariot wheels;<br />
+But stoops to polish, succor, and redress,<br />
+And builds her grandeur on the public good.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Miller's Mahomet.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Among the early converts to Christianity in the
+Cherokee tribe, were a few women, who formed themselves
+into a society for propagating the Gospel.
+They felt its expanding power, and, though poor,
+were anxious to do something for those who were not
+sharing in the same blessing. The proceeds of their
+first year's efforts, were about ten dollars; and while
+deliberating on the manner of its appropriation, one
+of the members suggested that it be devoted to the
+promotion of religion among the Osages, giving as
+a reason that they were the greatest enemies of
+the Cherokees, and that the Bible teaches Christians
+to do good to such.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[403]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HUMANITY REWARDED.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+&mdash;&mdash;I should some kindness show them.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Among the early settlements of New Hampshire,
+were several on the Piscataqua river, in the neighborhood
+of the present town of Dover. For awhile the
+aborigines and whites were on amicable terms, and
+the former not unfrequently paid the latter a friendly
+visit. On one of those occasions, a pappoos was
+suddenly seized with illness, and its mother was
+obliged to remain several days. She found shelter
+and accommodations with a widow, who received her
+cordially, and nursed the feeble infant as her own.
+Such kindness would not be forgotten, even by
+savages; and when, after the lapse of years, the bow
+was bent and the hatchet raised against the settlement
+where the widow resided, the Indians placed a
+strong guard around her house; and, though the
+butchery was terrible, she and her family were unharmed.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[404]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MARGARET WINTHROP.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i8">&mdash;&mdash;When meet now</span>
+Such pairs, in love and honor joined?<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Milton.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Governor Winthrop, the father of the Massachusetts'
+colony, married Margaret, the daughter of Sir
+John Tindal, in April, 1618. She was his third wife,
+and a woman of rare qualities both of mind and
+heart. Previous to their emigration to New England,
+it was not an uncommon occurrence for them to be
+separated, and their correspondence on such occasions
+savors of the purest affection. Who does not see
+the image of a devoted wife and an exalted spirit in
+the following letter, written about the year 1627:</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">My Most Sweet Husband</span>,&mdash;How dearly welcome
+thy kind letter was to me, I am not able to express.
+The sweetness of it did much refresh me. What can
+be more pleasing to a wife, than to hear of the welfare
+of her best beloved, and how he is pleased with
+her poor endeavors! I blush to hear myself commended,
+knowing my own wants. But it is your love
+that conceives the best, and makes all things seem
+better than they are. I wish that I may be always
+pleasing to thee, and that those comforts we have in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[405]</a></span>
+each other may be daily increased, as far as they
+may be pleasing to God. I will use that speech to
+thee, that Abigail did to David: 'I will be a servant
+to wash the feet of my lord.' I will do any service
+wherein I may please my good husband. I confess
+I cannot do enough for thee; but thou art pleased to
+accept the will for the deed, and rest contented.</p>
+
+<p>"I have many reasons to make me love thee,
+whereof I will name two: first, because thou lovest
+God; and secondly, because thou lovest me. If
+these two were wanting, all the rest would be
+eclipsed. But I must leave this discourse, and go
+about my household affairs. I am a bad housewife
+to be so long from them; but I must needs borrow a
+little time to talk with thee, my sweet heart. I hope
+thy business draws to an end. It will be but two or
+three weeks before I see thee, though they be long
+ones. God will bring us together in his good time;
+for which I shall pray.</p>
+
+<p>Farewell, my good husband; the Lord keep thee.</p>
+
+<div class="signature2">Your obedient wife,</div>
+
+<div class="signature"><span class="smcap">Margaret Winthrop.</span>"<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Below is another letter from the pen of this good
+woman, written after her husband had decided to
+come to Massachusetts, and just before his embarkation:</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">My Most Dear Husband</span>,&mdash;I should not now
+omit any opportunity of writing to thee, considering I
+shall not long have thee to write unto. But, by reason
+of my unfitness at this time, I must entreat thee to
+accept of a few lines from me, and not impute it to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[406]</a></span>
+any want of love, or neglect of duty to thee, to whom
+I owe more than I ever shall be able to express.</p>
+
+<p>"My request now shall be to the Lord to prosper
+thee in thy voyage, and enable thee and fit thee for
+it, and give all graces and gifts for such employments
+as he shall call thee to. I trust God will once more
+bring us together before you go, that we may see
+each other with gladness, and take a solemn leave,
+till we, through the goodness of our God, shall meet
+in New England, which will be a joyful day to us.
+With my best wishes to God for thy health and
+welfare, I take my leave and rest, thy faithful, obedient
+wife,</p>
+
+<div class="signature">
+<span class="smcap">Margaret Winthrop</span>."<a name="FNanchor_81_81" id="FNanchor_81_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a>
+</div>
+
+<p>Governor Winthrop landed on these shores in
+June, 1630, and his wife followed him in about a
+year. She lived till June, 1647, and was perhaps as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[407]</a></span>
+useful in her more private, as her husband in his
+public and highly honorable, sphere. "A woman
+of singular virtue, prudence, modesty and piety;"
+though dignified, she was condescending; and knowing
+her place, she kept, and filled, and honored it.
+With undimmed and steady lustre, she shone for
+sixteen years amid the shadows of night that overhung
+and threatened the infant colony.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus418.jpg" width="450" height="369" alt="Old and young ladies" />
+
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[408]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A PIONEER SETTLER'S ADVENTURE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+&mdash;&mdash;Screw your courage up to the sticking place,<br />
+And we'll not fail.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The first settler in Hollis, New Hampshire, was
+Captain Peter Powers. He removed thither in 1731.
+His nearest neighbor, for a time, was ten miles distant;
+and in order to exchange courtesies it was necessary
+for the families to cross the Nashua river.
+It had but one convenient and safe fording place in
+that vicinity, and that one only when the river was
+low.</p>
+
+<p>Having occasion, on a pleasant August morning, to
+visit her neighbor, Mrs. Powers mounted a Narraganset,
+hastened away, and reached the place of destination
+long before noon. Early in the after part
+of the day a fearful thunderstorm came up, and continued
+for several hours. Just at sunset the clouds
+began to break away, and Mrs. Powers immediately
+started on her return. She did not reach the river
+until some time after dark; and coming to the ford,
+she found the bank full and the water&mdash;as a narrator
+of the incident has it&mdash;"pressing on it with great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[409]</a></span>
+rapidity." Added to this alarming circumstance, the
+wind had shifted and rolled the clouds up the sky
+again, so that the rain was descending in torrents, and
+drowning the threatening voice of the waves. Trusting
+to the experienced animal to keep the ford, and
+giving a slack rein, without realizing the danger, the
+courageous woman plunged into the black stream.
+The steed almost instantly lost its foothold, and "rolling
+in the waves at a full swim," made for the opposite
+shore. Missing the ford, and striking a forefoot on a
+rock in the bed of the stream, the animal was raised
+momentarily half way out of the water. Then plunging
+forward, it sank so deep that Mrs. Powers was
+raised from the pommel; but seizing the horse's mane
+as it rose, she held her grasp till they were safely on
+shore. The faithful animal soon found the right track,
+and in a brief hour Mrs. Powers was under the shelter
+of her cabin.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[410]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MRS. McKENNY.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+More can I bear than you dare execute.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"Not a great way from Steel's and Taylor's forts
+was a settlement consisting of a few families, among
+which were those of William McKenny and his
+brother James. These lived near Fishing creek.
+In the summer of 1761, sixteen Indians, with some
+squaws of the Cherokee tribe, took up their abode
+for several weeks near what is called Simpson's
+shoals, for the purpose of hunting and fishing during
+the hot months. In August, the two McKennys
+being absent on a journey to Camden, William's
+wife, Barbara, was left alone with several young
+children. One day she saw the Indian women running
+towards her house in great haste, followed by
+the men. She had no time to offer resistance; the
+squaws seized her and the children, pulled them
+into the house, and shoved them behind the door,
+where they immediately placed themselves on guard,
+pushing back the Indians as fast as they tried to
+force their way in, and uttering the most fearful outcries.
+Mrs. McKenny concluded it was their intention<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[411]</a></span>
+to kill her, and expected her fate every moment.
+The assistance rendered by the squaws,
+whether given out of compassion for a lonely mother,
+or in return for kindness shown them,&mdash;proved
+effectual for her protection until the arrival of one
+of the chiefs, who drew his long knife and drove
+off the savages. The mother, apprehending another
+attack, went to some of her neighbors and entreated
+them to come and stay with her. Robert Brown
+and Joanna his wife, Sarah Ferguson, her daughter
+Sarah and two sons, and a young man named Michael
+Melbury, came, in compliance with her request, and
+took up their quarters in the house. The next morning
+Mrs. McKenny ventured out alone to milk her
+cows. It had been her practice heretofore to take
+some of the children with her, and she could not
+explain why she went alone this time, though she
+was not free from apprehension; it seemed to be so
+by a special ordering of Providence. While she
+was milking, the Indians crept towards her on their
+hands and knees; she heard not their approach,
+nor knew any thing till they seized her. Sensible
+at once of all the horror of her situation, she made
+no effort to escape, but promised to go quietly with
+them. They then set off towards the house, holding
+her fast by the arm. She had the presence of mind
+to walk as far off as possible from the Indian who
+held her, expecting Melbury to fire as they approached
+her dwelling. As they came up, he fired,
+wounding the one who held Mrs. McKenny; she
+broke from his hold and ran, and another Indian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[412]</a></span>
+pursued and seized her. At this moment she was
+just at her own door, which John Ferguson imprudently
+opening that she might enter, the Indians
+without shot him dead as he presented himself.
+His mother ran to him and received another shot
+in her thigh, of which she died in a few days. Melbury,
+who saw that all their lives depended on
+prompt action, dragged them from the door, fastened
+it, and repairing to the loft, prepared for a vigorous
+defence. There were in all five guns; Sarah Ferguson
+loaded for him, while he kept up a continual
+fire, aiming at the Indians wherever one could be
+seen. Determined to effect their object of forcing
+an entrance, some of the savages came very near
+the house, keeping under cover of an outhouse in
+which Brown and his wife had taken refuge, not
+being able, on the alarm, to get into the house. They
+had crept into a corner and were crouched there
+close to the boarding. One of the Indians, coming
+up, leaned against the outside, separated from them
+only by a few boards, the crevices between which
+probably enabled them to see him. Mrs. Brown
+proposed to take a sword that lay by them and run
+the savage through the body, but her husband refused;
+he expected death, he said, every moment,
+and did not wish to go out of the world having his
+hands crimsoned with the blood of any fellow creature.
+'Let me die in peace,' were his words, 'with
+all the world.' Joanna, though in the same peril,
+could not respond to the charitable feeling. 'If I
+am to die,' she said, 'I should like first to send<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[413]</a></span>
+some of the redskins on the journey. But we are
+not so sure we have to die; don't you hear the
+crack of Melbury's rifle? He holds the house. I
+warrant you that redskin looked awfully scared as
+he leaned against the corner here. We could have
+done it in a moment.'</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. McKenny, meanwhile, having failed to get
+into her house, had been again seized by the Indians,
+and, desperately regardless of her own safety, was
+doing all in her power to help her besieged friends.
+She would knock the priming out of the guns carried
+by the savages, and when they presented them to
+fire, would throw them up, so that the discharge
+might prove harmless. She was often heard to say,
+afterwards, that all fear had left her, and she thought
+only of those within the building, for she expected
+for herself neither deliverance nor mercy. Melbury
+continued to fire whenever one of the enemy appeared;
+they kept themselves, however, concealed,
+for the most part, behind trees or the outhouse.
+Several were wounded by his cool and well-directed
+shots, and at length, tired of the contest, the Indians
+retreated, carrying Mrs. McKenny with them. She
+now resisted with all her strength, preferring instant
+death to the more terrible fate of a captive in the
+hands of the fierce Cherokees. Her refusal to go
+forward irritated her captors, and when they had
+dragged her about half a mile, near a rock upon
+the plantation now occupied by John Culp, she
+received a second blow with the tomahawk which
+stretched her insensible upon the ground. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[414]</a></span>
+after some time consciousness returned, she found
+herself lying upon the rock, to which she had been
+dragged from the spot where she fell. She was
+stripped naked, and her scalp had been taken off.
+By degrees the knowledge of her condition, and
+the desire of obtaining help came upon her. She
+lifted up her head, and looking around, saw the
+wretches who had so cruelly mangled her, pulling
+ears of corn from a field near, to roast for their
+meal. She laid her head quickly down again, well
+knowing that if they saw her alive, they would not
+be slack in coming to finish the work of death.
+Thus she lay motionless till all was silent, and she
+found they were gone; then, with great pain and
+difficulty, she dragged herself back to the house.
+It may be imagined with what feelings the unfortunate
+woman was received by her friends and
+children, and how she met the bereaved mother,
+wounded unto death, who had suffered for her
+attempt to save others. One of the blows received
+by Mrs. McKenny had made a deep wound in her
+back; the others were upon her head....</p>
+
+<p>"The wounds in Mrs. McKenny's head never
+healed entirely; but continued to break out occasionally,
+so that the blood flowing from them
+stained the bed at night, and sometimes fragments
+of bone came off; nevertheless, she lived many
+years afterwards and bore several children. She
+was at the time with child, and in about three
+months gave birth to a daughter&mdash;Hannah, afterwards
+married to John Stedman&mdash;and living in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[415]</a></span>
+Tennessee in 1827. This child was plainly marked
+with a tomahawk and drops of blood, as if running
+down the side of her face. The families of McKenny
+and McFadden, residing on Fishing creek, are descended
+from this Barbara McKenny; but most of
+her descendants have emigrated to the West. The
+above mentioned occurrence is narrated in a manuscript
+in the hand-writing of her grandson, Robert
+McFadden."<a name="FNanchor_82_82" id="FNanchor_82_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[416]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>THE FISHERMAN'S HEROIC WIFE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i10">Strong affection</span>
+Contends with all things, and o'ercometh all things.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Joanna Baillie.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"One of the small islands in Boston bay was
+inhabited by a single poor family. The father was
+taken suddenly ill. There was no physician. The
+wife, on whom every labor for the household devolved,
+was sleepless in care and tenderness by the
+bedside of her suffering husband. Every remedy in
+her power to procure was administered, but the
+disease was acute, and he died.</p>
+
+<p>"Seven young children mourned around the lifeless
+corpse. They were the sole beings upon that
+desolate spot. Did the mother indulge the grief of
+her spirit, and sit down in despair? No: she entered
+upon the arduous and sacred duties of her station.
+She felt that there was no hand to assist her in burying
+her dead. Providing, as far as possible, for the
+comfort of her little ones, she put her babe into the
+arms of the oldest, and charged the two next in age
+to watch the corpse of their father. She unmoored
+her husband's fishing boat, which, but two days
+before, he had guided over the seas, to obtain food<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[417]</a></span>
+for his family. She dared not yield to those tender
+recollections, which might have unnerved her arm.
+The nearest island was at the distance of three miles.
+Strong winds lashed the waters to foam. Over the
+loud billows, that wearied and sorrowful woman
+rowed, and was preserved. She reached the next
+island, and obtained the necessary aid. With such
+energy did her duty to her desolate babes inspire her,
+that the voyage which depended on her individual
+effort, was performed in a shorter time than the returning
+one, when the oars were managed by two
+men, who went to assist in the last offices to the
+dead."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[418]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MRS. JAMES K. POLK.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+A fault doth never with remorse<br />
+<span class="i1">Our minds so deeply move,</span>
+As when another's guiltless life<br />
+<span class="i1">Our error doth reprove.</span>
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Brandon.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Sarah Childress Polk is the daughter of an enterprising
+and wealthy merchant of Rutherford county,
+Tennessee. She was married on the first of January,
+1824.</p>
+
+<p>Fitted to dignify and adorn any station appropriate
+for woman, while presiding at the White house she
+was universally esteemed, and retired as honorably
+as any woman since the days of Washington. She
+is intelligent, refined, unaffected, affable, courteous,
+hospitable, and, above all, pious, and exemplary as a
+Christian. She has been for years in communion
+with the Presbyterians; and while at the Capital, and
+the eyes of the whole nation were upon her, she forbade,
+in the President's mansion, any amusement not
+in keeping with the Christian profession. In this
+respect, it may be said of her, in the language of
+Shakspeare,</p>
+
+<p>
+Thou art not for the fashion of these times.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[419]</a></span>The following poetical tribute, from the pen and
+heart of Mrs. Stephens, is well merited:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="smcap">Lady</span>! had I the wealth of earth<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To offer freely at thy shrine,</span>
+Bright gold, and buds of dewy birth,<br />
+<span class="i1">Or gems from out the teeming mine,</span>
+A thousand things most beautiful,<br />
+<span class="i1">All sparkling, precious, rich, and rare,</span>
+These hands would render up to thee&mdash;<br />
+<span class="i1">Thou noble lady, good and fair!</span>
+<br />
+For, as I write, sweet thoughts arise<br />
+<span class="i1">Of times when all thy kindness lent</span>
+A thousand hues of Paradise<br />
+<span class="i1">To the fleet moments as they went;</span>
+Then all thy thoughts were winged with light,<br />
+<span class="i1">And every smile was calm and sweet,</span>
+And thy low tones and gentle words<br />
+<span class="i1">Made the warm heart's blood thrill and beat.</span>
+<br />
+There, standing in our nation's home,<br />
+<span class="i1">My memory ever pictures thee</span>
+As some bright dame of ancient Rome,<br />
+<span class="i1">Modest, yet all a queen should be.</span>
+I love to keep thee in my mind,<br />
+<span class="i1">Thus mated with the pure of old,</span>
+When love with lofty deeds combined,<br />
+<span class="i1">Made women great and warriors bold.</span>
+<br />
+When first I saw thee standing there,<br />
+<span class="i1">And felt the pressure of thy hand,</span>
+I scarcely thought if thou wert fair,<br />
+<span class="i1">Or of the highest in the land;</span>
+I knew thee gentle, pure as great;<br />
+<span class="i1">All that was lovely, meek and good;</span>
+And so I half forgot thy state<br />
+<span class="i1">In love of thy bright womanhood.</span>
+<br />
+And many a sweet sensation came<br />
+<span class="i1">That lingers in my bosom yet,</span>
+Like that celestial, holy flame<br />
+<span class="i1">That vestals tremble to forget</span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[420]</a></span>And on the earth, or in the sky,<br />
+<span class="i1">There's not a thought more true and free</span>
+Than that which beats within my heart,<br />
+<span class="i1">In pleasant memory of thee.</span>
+<br />
+Lady, I gladly would have brought<br />
+<span class="i1">Some gem that on thy heart may live;</span>
+But this poor wreath of woven thought<br />
+<span class="i1">Is all the wealth I have to give.</span>
+All wet with heart-dew, fresh with love,<br />
+<span class="i1">I lay the garland at thy feet,</span>
+Praying the angel forms above<br />
+<span class="i1">To weave thee one more pure and sweet.</span></div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[421]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE WIDOW JENKINS.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+In humblest vales the patriot heart may glow.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">J. T. Fields.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>At the time Colonel Watson, the commander of a
+corps of regulars and tories, was making inroads
+upon the Pedee, he pitched his tent one night near
+the house of a widow named Jenkins, and took up
+his own quarters under her roof. Learning, in the
+course of the evening, that she had three sons fighting
+under General Marion, he commenced the following
+conversation with her:</p>
+
+<p>"So, madam, they tell me you have several sons
+in General Marion's camp; I hope it is not true."</p>
+
+<p>She said it was very true, and was only sorry that
+it was not a thousand times truer.</p>
+
+<p>"A thousand times truer, madam!" replied he,
+with great surprise, "pray what can be your meaning
+in that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sir, I am only sorry that in place of three,
+I have not three thousand sons with General Marion."</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, indeed! well then, madam, begging your
+pardon, you had better send for them immediately to
+come in and join his majesty's troops under my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[422]</a></span>
+command: for as they are rebels now in arms against
+their king, should they be taken, they will be hung
+as sure as ever they were born."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sir, you are very considerate of my sons;
+for which, at any rate, I thank you. But, as you
+have begged my pardon for giving me this advice, I
+must beg yours for not taking it. My sons, sir, are
+of age, and must and will act for themselves. And
+as to their being in a state of rebellion against their
+king, I must take the liberty, sir, to deny that."</p>
+
+<p>"What, madam! not in rebellion against their
+king? Shooting at and killing his majesty's subjects
+like wolves! don't you call that rebellion against
+their king, madam?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, they are only doing their duty, as God
+and nature commanded them, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"The d&mdash;&mdash;l they are, madam!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, and what you and every man in England
+would glory to do against the king, were he to dare
+to tax you contrary to your own consent and the constitution
+of the realm. 'Tis the king, sir, who is in
+rebellion against my sons, and not they against him.
+And could right prevail against might, he would as
+certainly lose his head as ever king Charles the First
+did."<a name="FNanchor_83_83" id="FNanchor_83_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[423]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A FAITHFUL LITTLE GIRL.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Labor in the path of duty<br />
+Beam'd up like a thing of beauty.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">C. P. Cranch.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"A very profane and profligate sailor, who belonged
+to a vessel lying in the port of New York,
+went out one day from his ship into the streets,
+bent on folly and wickedness. He met a pious little
+girl, whose feelings he tried to wound by using vile
+and sinful language. The little girl looked him
+earnestly in the face, warned him of his danger,
+and, with a solemn tone, told him to remember that
+he must meet her shortly at the bar of God. This
+unexpected reproof greatly affected him. To use
+his own language, 'it was like a broadside, raking
+him fore and aft, and sweeping by the board every
+sail and spar prepared for a wicked cruise.' Abashed
+and confounded, he returned to his ship. He could
+not banish from his mind the reproof of this little
+girl. Her look was present to his mind; her solemn
+declaration, 'You must meet me at the bar of God,'
+deeply affected his heart. The more he reflected
+upon it, the more uncomfortable he felt. In a few
+days his hard heart was subdued, and he submitted
+to the Saviour."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[424]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HOSPITALITY OF CALIFORNIA WOMEN.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Blest that abode where want and pain repair,<br />
+And every stranger finds a ready chair.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Goldsmith.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In his Three Years in California, the Rev. Walter
+Colton speaks as follows of the native women:</p>
+
+<p>Their hospitality knows no bounds; they are
+always glad to see you, come when you may; take a
+pleasure in entertaining you while you remain; and
+only regret that your business calls you away. If
+you are sick, there is nothing which sympathy and
+care can devise or perform, which is not done for you.
+No sister ever hung over the throbbing brain or fluttering
+pulse of a brother with more tenderness and
+fidelity. This is as true of the lady whose hand has
+only figured her embroidery or swept her guitar, as
+of the cottage-girl wringing from her laundry the
+foam of the mountain stream; and all this from the
+<i>heart</i>! If I must be cast, in sickness or destitution,
+on the care of a stranger, let it be in California; but
+let it be before avarice has hardened the heart and
+made a god of gold.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[425]</a></span></p>
+<h2>SARAH LANMAN SMITH.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Where'er the path of duty led,<br />
+With an unquestioning faith she trod.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">T. W. Renne.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Among the many names endeared to the friends
+of missions, is that of Sarah L. Smith, a native of
+Norwich, Connecticut. Her maiden name was Huntington.
+She was born in 1802; made a profession
+of religion in youth; became the wife of the Rev.
+Eli Smith in July, 1833; embarked with him for
+Palestine the September following; and died at Boojah,
+near Smyrna, the last day of September, 1836.</p>
+
+<p>Her work as a foreign missionary was quickly
+finished. She labored longer as a home missionary
+among the Moheagans, who live in the neighborhood
+of Norwich, and there displayed most conspicuously
+the moral heroism of her nature. In conjunction
+with Sarah Breed, she commenced her philanthropic
+operations in the year 1827. "The first object that
+drew them from the sphere of their own church, was
+the project of opening a Sabbath school for the poor
+Indian children of Moheagan. Satisfied that this was
+a work which Heaven would approve, they marked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[426]</a></span>
+out their plans, and pursued them with untiring energy.
+Boldly they went forth, and, guided by the
+rising smoke or sounding axe, visited the Moheagans
+from field to field, and from hut to hut, till they
+had thoroughly informed themselves of their numbers,
+condition, and prospects. The opposition they encountered,
+the ridicule and opprobrium showered
+upon them from some quarters, the sullenness of the
+natives, the bluster of the white tenants, the brush
+wood and dry branches thrown across their pathway,
+could not discourage them. They saw no 'lions in
+the way,' while mercy, with pleading looks, beckoned
+them forward."</p>
+
+<p>The Moheagans then numbered a little more than
+one hundred, only one of whom was a professor of
+religion. She was ninety-seven years of age. In her
+hut the first prayer meeting and the first Sabbath
+school gathered by these young ladies, were held.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Breed soon removed from that part of the
+country, and Miss Huntington continued her labors
+for awhile alone. She was at that time very active
+in securing the formation of a society and the circulation
+of a subscription, having for their object the
+erection of a chapel. She found, ere long, a faithful
+co-worker in Miss Elizabeth Raymond. They taught
+a school in conjunction, and aside from their duties
+as teachers, were, at times, "advisers, counsellors,
+lawgivers, milliners, mantuamakers, tailoresses and
+almoners."<a name="FNanchor_84_84" id="FNanchor_84_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[427]</a></span>"The school was kept in a house on Fort Hill,
+leased to a respectable farmer in whose family the
+young teachers boarded by alternate weeks, each going
+to the scene of labor every other Sabbath morning
+and remaining till the evening of the succeeding
+Sabbath, so that both were present in the Sabbath
+school, which was twice as large as the other. A
+single incident will serve to show the dauntless resolution
+which Miss Huntington carried into her pursuits.
+Just at the expiration of one of her terms of
+service during the winter, a heavy and tempestuous
+fall of snow blocked up the roads with such high
+drifts, that a friend who had been accustomed to go
+for her and convey her home in bad weather, and
+had started for this purpose in his sleigh, turned
+back, discouraged. No path had been broken, and
+the undertaking was so hazardous that he conceived
+no female would venture forth at such a time. He
+therefore called at her father's house to say that he
+should delay going for her till the morrow. What
+was his surprise to be met at the door by the young
+lady herself, who had reached home just before, having
+walked the whole distance on the hard crust of
+snow, <i>alone</i>, and some of the way over banks of
+snow that entirely obliterated the walls and fences by
+the roadside."</p>
+
+<p>While at Moheagan, Miss Huntington corresponded
+with the Hon. Lewis Cass, then Secretary of War,
+and secured his influence and the aid of that department.
+In 1832, a grant of nine hundred dollars was
+made from the fund devoted to the Indian department,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[428]</a></span>
+five hundred being appropriated towards the
+erection of missionary buildings and four for the
+support of a teacher. Before leaving the Moheagan,
+for a wider field, this devoted and heroic missionary
+had the happiness of seeing a chapel, parsonage and
+school house, standing on "the sequestered land"<a name="FNanchor_85_85" id="FNanchor_85_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a> of
+her forest friends, and had thus partially repaid the
+debt of social and moral obligation to a tribe who
+fed the first and famishing settlers in Connecticut,
+and strove to protect them against the tomahawk of
+inimical tribes, and whose whoop was friendly to
+freedom when British aggressors were overriding
+American rights.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[429]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A BROTHER SAVED BY HIS SISTER.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Brave spirits are a balsam to themselves.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Cartwright.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During the invasion of the Mohawk valley by
+Sir John Johnson, Samson Sammons, of Johnstown,
+and his three sons, were taken captive early one
+morning in May. The females were not made prisoners.
+While a soldier was standing sentinel over
+the youngest son, named Thomas, who was about
+eighteen, the latter, who was not more than half
+dressed, said he was not going to Canada in such
+a plight; that he should need his shoes especially;
+and asked permission to go to his chamber and get
+his clothes. The favor was not granted; but Thomas,
+resolving to have his shoes, stepped towards
+the door, when the barbarous soldier pointed a bayonet
+at his back, and made a plunge. At that
+moment a sister, who had watched every movement
+with breathless anxiety, sprang forward, seized the
+gun, threw herself across its barrel, bore it to the
+ground, and thus saved her brother's life. After a
+brief struggle, the soldier disengaged his weapon,
+but before he had time to make another plunge, an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[430]</a></span>
+officer rushed forward and asked what was the
+trouble. The heroic girl stated the case, when the
+soldier was severely rebuked, and her brother permitted
+to obtain his shoes and all the raiment he
+desired.<a name="FNanchor_86_86" id="FNanchor_86_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[431]</a></span></p>
+<h2>PATRIOTIC SACRIFICE OF MRS. BORDEN.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+They love their land because it is their own.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Halleck.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>At the darkest period of the Revolution, New
+Jersey was, for a short time, full of British soldiers,
+and Lord Cornwallis was stationed at Bordentown.<a name="FNanchor_87_87" id="FNanchor_87_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a>
+He visited Mrs. Borden one day, at her elegant
+mansion, and made an effort to intimidate her. He
+told her that if she would persuade her husband
+and son, who were then in the American army, to
+join his forces, none of her property should be destroyed;
+but if she refused to make such exertions,
+he would burn her house, and lay waste her whole
+estate. Unintimidated and patriotic, she made the
+following bold reply, which caused the execution
+of the threat: "The sight of my house in flames
+would be a treat to me, for I have seen enough to
+know that you never injure what you have power
+to keep and enjoy. The application of a torch to
+my dwelling I should regard as the signal for your
+departure." And such it was.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[432]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MARGARET CORBIN.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Where cannon boomed, where bayonets clashed,<br />
+There was thy fiery way.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Sara J. Clarke.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>An act similar to that recorded of Mrs. Pitcher
+at the battle of Monmouth, was performed by Mrs.
+Margaret Corbin at the attack on Fort Washington.
+Her husband belonged to the artillery; and, standing
+by his side and seeing him fall, she unhesitatingly
+took his place and heroically performed his
+duties. Her services were appreciated by the officers
+of the army, and honorably noticed by Congress.
+This body passed the following resolution
+in July, 1779:</p>
+
+<p>"Resolved,&mdash;That Margaret Corbin, wounded and
+disabled at the battle of Fort Washington, while
+she heroically filled the post of her husband, who
+was killed by her side serving a piece of artillery,
+do receive during her natural life, or continuance
+of said disability, one-half the monthly pay drawn
+by a soldier in service of these States; and that
+she now receive out of public stores, one suit of
+clothes or value thereof in money."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[433]</a></span></p>
+<h2>BRAVERY OF MRS. CHANNING.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i9">&mdash;&mdash;The truly brave,</span>
+When they behold the brave oppressed with odds,<br />
+Are touched with a desire to shield or save.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Byron.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Soon after the commencement of the Revolutionary
+war, the family of Dr. Channing,<a name="FNanchor_88_88" id="FNanchor_88_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a> being in England,
+removed to France, and shortly afterwards sailed
+for the United States. The vessel, said to be stout
+and well-armed, was attacked on the voyage by a
+privateer, and a fierce engagement ensued. During
+its continuance, Mrs. Channing stood on the deck,
+exhorting the crew not to give up, encouraging them
+with words of cheer, handing them cartridges, and
+aiding such of them as were disabled by wounds.
+When, at length, the colors of the vessel were
+struck, she seized her husband's pistols and side
+arms, and flung them into the sea, declaring that
+she would prefer death to the witnessing of their
+surrender into the hands of the foe.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[434]</a></span></p>
+<h2>COMMENDABLE COURAGE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Have chivalry's bold days<br />
+A deed of wilder bravery<br />
+In all their stirring lays?<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i10 smcap">Sara J. Clarke.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>An incident which occurred at one of the forts in
+the Mohawk valley, might have been mentioned in
+connection with the heroism of Schoharie women. It
+is briefly related by the author of Border Wars of the
+American Revolution. "An interesting young woman,"
+he writes, "whose name yet lives in story
+among her own mountains, perceiving, as she thought,
+symptoms of fear in a soldier who had been ordered
+to a well without the works, and within range of the
+enemy's fire, for water, snatched the bucket from his
+hands, and ran forth for it herself. Without changing
+color, or giving the slightest evidence of fear, she
+drew and brought back bucket after bucket to the
+thirsty soldiers, and providentially escaped without
+injury."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[435]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE HEROINE OF SHELL'S BUSH.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+I dare do all that may become a man.<br />
+Who dares do more, is none.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>For three-fourths of a century, there has been a
+wealthy settlement of Germans four or five miles
+north of the village of Herkimer, in the upper part
+of the Mohawk valley, called Shell's Bush. Among
+the early settlers, was John Christian Shell, who had
+a family of six brave sons and a no less brave wife.
+When, on the sixth of August, 1781, a Scotch refugee
+named Donald McDonald, at the head of sixty-six
+tories and Indians, attacked that settlement, Mrs.
+Shell acted the part of an heroic dame. The house
+was built for border emergencies, and when the
+enemy approached, the husband and older boys<a name="FNanchor_89_89" id="FNanchor_89_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a> fled
+from the fields, entered their castle, and strongly
+barricaded the doors. From two o'clock in the afternoon
+until twilight, the besieged kept up an almost
+incessant firing, Mrs. Shell loading the guns for her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[436]</a></span>
+husband and older sons to discharge. During the
+siege, McDonald attempted to force the door with a
+crow bar, and was shot in the leg, seized by Shell and
+drawn within doors. Exasperated at this bold feat,
+the enemy soon attempted to carry the fortress by
+assault, five of them leaping upon the walls and
+thrusting their guns through the loopholes. At that
+moment the cool and courageous woman seized an
+axe, smote the barrels and bent and spoiled them.
+Her husband then resorted to stratagem to drive the
+besiegers away: running up stairs and calling to Mrs.
+Shell in a very loud voice, he said that Captain Small
+was approaching with help from Fort Dayton. Then
+raising his voice to its highest pitch, he exclaimed,
+"Captain Small, march your company round upon
+this side of the house. Captain Getman, you had
+better wheel your men off to the left, and come up
+upon that side."<a name="FNanchor_90_90" id="FNanchor_90_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a> Fearing the phantom troops whom
+Mr. Shell's imagination had conjured, the enemy
+shouldered their guns&mdash;crooked barreled and all&mdash;and
+quickly buried themselves in the dense forest.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[437]</a></span></p>
+<h2>FATHER TAYLOR'S WIDOWED FRIEND.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Humble toil and heavenward duty.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mrs. Hale.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"A pious widow, who resided among ignorant and
+vicious neighbors in the suburbs of B&mdash;&mdash;, Massachusetts,
+determined to do what she could for their
+spiritual benefit; and so she opened her little front
+room for weekly prayer meetings, and engaged some
+pious Methodists to aid in conducting them. Much
+of the seed thus scattered on a seemingly arid soil,
+produced fruit. One instance deserves special notice.</p>
+
+<p>"Among others who attended, was a young sailor
+of intelligent and prepossessing countenance. A
+slight acquaintance with him discovered him to be
+very ignorant of even the rudiments of education;
+but, at the same time, he had such manifestly superior
+abilities, that the widow became much interested
+in his spiritual welfare, and could not but hope that
+God would in some way provide for his further
+instruction, convert him and render him useful. But
+in the midst of her anticipations, he was suddenly
+summoned away to sea. He had been out but a
+short time when the vessel was seized by a British<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[438]</a></span>
+privateer and carried into Halifax, where the crew
+suffered by a long and wretched imprisonment.</p>
+
+<p>"A year had passed away, during which the good
+woman had heard nothing of the young sailor. Still
+she remembered and prayed for him with the solicitude
+of a mother. About this time, she received a
+letter from her relations, who resided in Halifax, on
+business which required her to go to that town.
+While there, her habitual disposition to be useful, led
+her with a few friends to visit the prison with Bibles
+and tracts. In one apartment were the American
+prisoners. As she approached the grated door, a
+voice shouted her name, calling her mother, and a
+youth appeared and leaped for joy at the grate. It
+was the lost sailor boy! They wept and conversed
+like mother and son, and when she left she gave him
+a Bible&mdash;his future guide and comfort. During her
+stay at Halifax, she constantly visited the prison,
+supplying the youth with tracts, religious books, and
+clothing, and endeavoring by her conversation to
+secure the religious impression made on his mind at
+the prayer meetings in B&mdash;&mdash;. After many months
+she removed to a distant part of the provinces; and
+for years she heard nothing more of the young sailor.</p>
+
+<p>"We pass over a period of many years, and introduce
+the reader to Father T&mdash;&mdash;, the distinguished
+mariners' preacher in the city of B&mdash;&mdash;. In a
+spacious and substantial chapel, crowded about by
+the worst habitations in the city, this distinguished
+man delivered every Sabbath, discourses as extraordinary,
+perhaps, as are to be found in the Christian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">[439]</a></span>
+world. In the centre column of seats, guarded
+sacredly against all other intrusion, sat a dense mass
+of mariners&mdash;a strange medley of white, black, and
+olive; Protestant, Catholic, and Pagan. On the other
+seats in the galleries, the aisles, the altar, and on the
+pulpit stairs, were crowded, week after week, and
+year after year&mdash;the families of sailors, and the poor
+who had no other temple&mdash;the elite of the city&mdash;the
+learned professor&mdash;the student&mdash;the popular writer&mdash;the
+actor&mdash;groups of clergymen, and the votaries of
+gayety and fashion, listening with throbbing hearts
+and wet eyes, to a man whose only school had been
+the forecastle, and whose only endowments were those
+of grace and nature.</p>
+
+<p>"In the year 183&mdash;, an aged English local preacher
+moved into the city of B&mdash;&mdash; from the British
+provinces.</p>
+
+<p>"The old local preacher was mingling in a public
+throng one day with a friend, when they met 'Father
+T&mdash;&mdash;.' A few words of introduction led to a free
+conversation, in which the former residence of his
+wife in the city was mentioned, and allusion was
+made to her prayer meeting&mdash;her former name was
+asked by 'Father T&mdash;&mdash;;' he seemed seized by
+an impulse&mdash;inquired their residence, hastened away,
+and in a short time arrived in a carriage, with all his
+family, at the home of the aged pair. There a scene
+ensued which must be left to the imagination of the
+reader. 'Father T&mdash;&mdash;' was the sailor boy of the
+prayer meeting and the prison. The old lady was
+the widow who had first cared for his soul."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[440]</a></span></p>
+<h2>PICTURE OF A REVOLUTIONARY<br />
+MOTHER.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+This is my own, my native land.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Scott.</span>
+<br />
+True wit is nature to advantage dressed.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Pope.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Mrs. Eliza Wilkinson resided during the Revolution
+on Yonge's island, thirty miles south of Charleston,
+South Carolina. She was a cheerful, witty and accomplished
+young widow, and a keen sufferer on
+account of her whig principles. Her letters, arranged
+by Mrs. Gilman, and published several years ago,
+afford a panoramic view of many dark scenes at
+the gloomiest period of American history, and beautifully
+daguerreotype her own pure and patriotic heart.
+A single extract will show her character. She
+visited the city of Charleston soon after its surrender,
+and witnessed the departure of her exiled friends.
+Referring to matters about that period, she writes:</p>
+
+<p>"Once I was asked by a British officer to play
+the guitar.</p>
+
+<p>"'I cannot play; I am very dull.'</p>
+
+<p>"'How long do you intend to continue so, Mrs.
+Wilkinson?'</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[441]</a></span>"'Until my countrymen return, sir!'</p>
+
+<p>"'Return as what, madam?&mdash;prisoners or subjects?'</p>
+
+<p>"'As conquerors, sir.'</p>
+
+<p>"He affected a laugh. 'You will never see that,
+madam!'</p>
+
+<p>"'I live in hopes, sir, of seeing the thirteen stripes
+hoisted once more on the bastions of this garrison.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Do not hope so; but come, give us a tune on
+the guitar.'</p>
+
+<p>"'I can play nothing but rebel songs.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Well, let us have one of them.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Not to-day&mdash;I cannot play&mdash;I will not play;
+besides, I suppose I should be put into the Provost
+for such a heinous crime.'</p>
+
+<p>"I have often wondered since, I was not packed
+off, too; for I was very saucy, and never disguised
+my sentiments.</p>
+
+<p>"One day Kitty and I were going to take a walk
+on the Bay, to get something we wanted. Just as
+we had got our hats on, up ran one of the Billets
+into the dining-room, where we were.</p>
+
+<p>"'Your servant, ladies.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Your servant, sir.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Going out, ladies?'</p>
+
+<p>"'Only to take a little walk.'</p>
+
+<p>"He immediately turned about and ran down
+stairs. I guessed for what.... He offered
+me his hand, or rather arm, to lean upon.</p>
+
+<p>"'Excuse me, sir,' said I; 'I will support myself
+if you please.'</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_442" id="Page_442">[442]</a></span>"'No, madam, the pavements are very uneven;
+you may get a fall; do accept my arm.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Pardon me, I cannot.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Come, you do not know what your condescension
+may do. I will turn rebel!'</p>
+
+<p>"'Will you?' said I, laughingly&mdash;'Turn rebel first,
+and then offer your arm.'</p>
+
+<p>"We stopped in another store, where were several
+British officers. After asking for the articles I wanted,
+I saw a broad roll of ribbon, which appeared to be of
+black and white stripes.</p>
+
+<p>"'Go,' said I to the officer who was with us, 'and
+reckon the stripes of that ribbon; see if they are <i>thirteen</i>!'
+(with an emphasis I spoke the word)&mdash;and he
+went, too!</p>
+
+<p>"'Yes, they are thirteen, upon my word, madam.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Do hand it me.' He did so; I took it, and
+found that it was narrow black ribbon, carefully
+wound round a broad white. I returned it to its place
+on the shelf.</p>
+
+<p>"'Madam,' said the merchant, 'you can buy the
+black and white too, and tack them in stripes.'</p>
+
+<p>"By no means, sir; I would not have them <i>slightly
+tacked</i>, but <i>firmly united</i>.' The above mentioned officers
+sat on the counter kicking their heels. How
+they gaped at me when I said this! But the merchant
+laughed heartily."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[443]</a></span></p>
+<h2>SUCCESSFUL DARING.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+&mdash;&mdash;He stopped the fliers.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare's Coriolanus.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Many years ago, while a stage was passing through
+Temple, New Hampshire, the driver's seat gave way,
+and himself and a gentleman seated with him, were
+precipitated to the ground. The latter was killed.
+The horses took fright at the noise, and ran a mile
+or more at full speed. Meanwhile, Miss Abigail
+Brown, the only inside passenger and now the sole
+occupant of the stage, endeavored, by speaking soothingly,
+to stop the horses. At length they came to
+a high hill, when their speed began to slacken, and
+Miss Brown, having previously opened the door
+and taken a convenient position to alight, sprang
+out. Not content to save her own life, but bent
+on acting the part of a heroine, she rushed forward,
+seized the leaders, turned them out of the road, and
+held them fast till persons whom she had passed
+and who had tried to stop the flying steeds, came
+to her relief. Had this feat, trifling as it may seem,
+been performed by the wife of some Roman dignitary,
+she would have been apotheosized and her biography
+inserted in Lempriere's Classical Dictionary.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[444]</a></span></p>
+<h2>WORTHY EXAMPLE OF FORGIVENESS</h2>
+
+<p class="center">
+They who forgive most shall be most forgiven.&mdash;<span class="smcap">Bailey.</span>
+</p>
+
+
+<p>"A worthy old colored woman in the city of New
+York, was one day walking along the street, on
+some errand to a neighboring store, with her tobacco
+pipe in her mouth, quietly smoking. A jovial sailor,
+rendered a little mischievous by liquor, came sawing
+down the street, and when opposite our good
+Phillis, saucily crowded her aside, and with a pass
+of his hand knocked her pipe out of her mouth.
+He then halted to hear her fret at his trick, and
+enjoy a laugh at her expense. But what was his
+astonishment, when she meekly picked up the pieces
+of her broken pipe, without the least resentment
+in her manner, and giving him a dignified look of
+mingled sorrow, kindness and pity, said, 'God forgive
+you, my son, as I do.' It touched a tender
+cord in the heart of the rude tar. He felt ashamed,
+condemned and repentant. The tear started in his
+eye; he must make reparation. He heartily confessed
+his error, and thrusting both hands into his
+two full pockets of '<i>change</i>,' forced the contents
+upon her, exclaiming, 'God bless you, kind mother,
+I'll never do so again.'"</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[445]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CROOKSHANKS SAVED BY A FEMALE.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i7">&mdash;&mdash;Oh the tender ties,</span>
+Close twisted with the fibres of the heart.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Young.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The night before the surprise of Georgetown, Adjutant
+Crookshanks, one of the enemy's officers, together
+with some of his commissioned comrades,
+slept at a public house. The next morning it was
+surrounded, and the Adjutant would have lost his
+life, but for the interposition of the landlord's daughter,
+to whom he was affianced. Awakened and, at
+first, alarmed by the firing without and the bustle
+at the door, and hearing her lover's voice, she sprung
+out of bed and rushed, half dressed, into the piazza.
+At that moment the swords of her countrymen
+were raised over his head, and she threw her arms
+around his neck, exclaiming, "O save! save Major
+Crookshanks!" Though made a prisoner, he was
+forthwith paroled, and left, for the time, with the
+brave and true-hearted maiden.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[446]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A PATRIOTIC ARTIST.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Genius, the Pythian of the Beautiful,<br />
+Leaves its large truths a riddle to the dull.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Bulwer.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"At the commencement of the Revolution, Mrs.
+Wright, a native of Pennsylvania, a distinguished
+modeler of likenesses and figures of wax, was exhibiting
+specimens of her skill in London. The
+king of Great Britain, pleased with her talents, gave
+her liberal encouragement, and, finding her a great
+politician, and an enthusiastic republican, would often
+enter into discussion relative to passing occurrences,
+and endeavored to refute her opinion with regard
+to the probable issue of the war. The frankness
+with which she delivered her sentiments, seemed
+rather to please than to offend him; which was a
+fortunate circumstance, for, when he asked an
+opinion, she gave it without constraint, or the least
+regard to consequences. I remember to have heard
+her say, that on one occasion, the monarch, irritated
+by some disaster to his troops, where he had prognosticated
+a triumph, exclaimed with warmth: 'I
+wish, Mrs. Wright, you would tell me how it will be
+possible to check the silly infatuation of your countrymen,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[447]</a></span>
+restore them to reason, and render them good
+and obedient subjects.'&mdash;'I consider their submission
+to your majesty's government is now altogether
+out of the question,' replied Mrs. Wright: 'friends
+you may make them, but never subjects; for America,
+before a king can reign there, must become a
+wilderness, without any other inhabitants than the
+beasts of the forest. The opponents of the decrees
+of your parliament, rather than submit, would perish
+to a man; but if the restoration of peace be seriously
+the object of your wishes, I am confident that it
+needs but the striking off of <i>three heads</i> to produce
+it.'&mdash;'O, Lord North's and Lord George Germaine's,
+beyond all question; and where is the third head?'
+'O, sir, politeness forbids me to name <i>him</i>. Your
+majesty could never wish me to forget myself, and
+be guilty of an incivility.'</p>
+
+<p>"In her exhibition room, one group of figures particularly
+attracted attention; and by all who knew
+her sentiments, was believed to be a pointed hint at
+the results which might follow the wild ambition of
+the monarch. The busts of the king and queen of
+Great Britain, were placed on a table, apparently
+intently gazing on a head, which a figure, an excellent
+representation of herself, was modeling in its
+lap. It was the head of the unfortunate Charles the
+First."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[448]</a></span></p>
+<h2>TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT AMONG<br />
+MOHAWK WOMEN.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Beware the bowl! though rich and bright<br />
+Its rubies flash upon the sight,<br />
+An adder coils its depths beneath,<br />
+Whose lure is woe, whose sting is death.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Street.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the years 1801 and 1802, great efforts were
+made by the chiefs of the Mohawk Indians to prevent
+the sale of spirituous liquors among their people.
+In this humane movement the women of the tribe
+readily joined; and having assembled in council, on
+the twenty-second of May, 1802, they addressed the
+chiefs, whom they had summoned, as follows:</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Uncles</span>,&mdash;Some time ago the women of this place
+spoke to you, but you did not then answer them, as
+you considered their meeting not sufficient. Now,
+a considerable number of those from below having
+met and consulted together, join in sentiment, and
+lament, as it were with tears in our eyes, the many
+misfortunes caused by the use of spirituous liquors.
+We therefore mutually request that you will use
+your endeavors to have it removed from our neighborhood,
+that there may be none sold nigher to us<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">[449]</a></span>
+than the mountain. We flatter ourselves that this
+is in your power, and that you will have compassion
+on our uneasiness, and exert yourselves to have
+it done."</p>
+<div class="signature"><span class="smcap">Strings of Wampum.</span></div>
+
+<p>This appeal had a good effect on the chiefs; and
+received suitable attention, drawing from them the following
+reply. It was delivered by Captain Brant:</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Nieces</span>,&mdash;We are fully convinced of the justice
+of your request; drinking has caused the many
+misfortunes in this place, and has been, besides, a
+great cause of the divisions, by the effect it has upon
+the people's speech. We assure you, therefore,
+that we will use our endeavours to effect what you
+desire. However, it depends in a great measure
+upon government, as the distance you propose is
+within their line. We cannot, therefore, absolutely
+promise that our request will be complied with."</p>
+
+<div class="signature"><span class="smcap">Strings.</span><br />
+29</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">[450]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A FEMALE IN THE REVOLUTIONARY<br />
+ARMY.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+She'll be a soldier too, she'll to the wars.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Shakspeare.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Deborah Samson, the daughter of very poor
+parents, of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, began,
+when about twenty years of age, to feel the patriotic
+zeal which had prompted the sterner sex in her
+neighborhood to take up arms in their country's
+defence. She accordingly assumed male attire, and
+enlisted in the Revolutionary army. We agree with
+Mrs. Ellet that, while this course cannot be commended,
+her exemplary conduct, after taking the first
+step, goes far to plead her excuse, and is worthy of
+record. Her method of obtaining men's garments,
+and her military career, are thus narrated by the
+author just mentioned:</p>
+
+<p>By keeping the district school for a summer term,
+she had amassed the sum of twelve dollars. She
+purchased a quantity of coarse fustian, and, working
+at intervals when she could be secure from observation,
+made up a suit of men's clothing; each article,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[451]</a></span>
+as it was finished, being hid in a stack of hay.
+Having completed her preparations, she announced
+her intention of going where she could obtain better
+wages for her labor. Her new clothes and such
+articles as she wished to take with her, were tied in a
+bundle. The lonely girl departed; but went not far,
+probably only to the shelter of the nearest wood,
+before putting on the disguise she was so eager to
+assume. Although not beautiful, her features were
+animated and pleasing, and her figure, tall for a
+woman, was finely proportioned. As a man, she
+might have been called handsome; her general
+appearance was extremely prepossessing, and her
+manner calculated to inspire confidence.</p>
+
+<p>She now pursued her way to the American army,
+where she presented herself, in October, 1778, as a
+young man anxious to join his efforts to those of his
+countrymen, in their endeavors to oppose the common
+enemy. Her acquaintances, meanwhile, supposed
+her engaged in service at a distance. Rumors of her
+elopement with a British soldier, and even of her
+death, were afterwards current in the neighborhood
+where she had resided; but none were sufficiently
+interested to make such search for her as might have
+led to a discovery.</p>
+
+<p>Distrusting her own constancy, and resolute to
+continue in the service, notwithstanding any change
+of her inclination, she enlisted for the whole term of
+the war. She was received and enrolled in the army
+by the name of Robert Shirtliffe. She was one of the
+first volunteers in the company of Captain Nathan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[452]</a></span>
+Thayer of Medway, Massachusetts; and as the young
+recruit appeared to have no home or connections, the
+Captain gave her a home in his family until his company
+should be full, when they were to join the main
+army.</p>
+
+<p>We now find her performing the duties and
+enduring the fatigues of military life. During the
+seven weeks she passed in the family of Captain
+Thayer, she had time both for experience and reflection;
+but, in after years, her constant declaration was
+that she never, for one moment, repented or regretted
+the step she had taken. Accustomed to labor from
+childhood, upon the farm and in out-door employment,
+she had acquired unusual vigor of constitution;
+her frame was robust, and of masculine strength;
+and having thus gained a degree of hardihood, she
+was enabled to acquire great expertness and precision
+in the manual exercise, and to undergo what a female
+delicately nurtured would have found it impossible
+to endure. Soon after they had joined the company,
+the recruits were supplied with uniforms by a kind
+of lottery. That drawn by Robert did not fit; but,
+taking needle and scissors, he soon altered it to suit
+him. To Mrs. Thayer's expression of surprise, at
+finding a young man so expert in using the implements
+of feminine industry, the answer was&mdash;that his
+mother having no girl, he had been often obliged to
+practice the seamstress's art.</p>
+
+<p>While in the house of Captain Thayer, a young
+girl visiting his wife, was much in the society of
+Deborah, or, as she was then called, Robert. Coquettish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">[453]</a></span>
+by nature, and perhaps priding herself on the
+conquest of the "blooming soldier," she suffered her
+growing partiality to be perceived. Robert, on his
+part, felt a curiosity to learn by new experience how
+soon a maiden's fancy might be won; and had no
+scruples in paying attentions to one so volatile and
+fond of flirtation, with whom it was not likely the
+impression would be lasting. This little piece of
+romance gave some uneasiness to the worthy Mrs.
+Thayer, who could not help observing that the liking
+of her fair visitor for Robert was not fully reciprocated.
+She took an opportunity of remonstrating
+with the young soldier, and showed what unhappiness
+might be the consequence of such folly, and how
+unworthy it was of a brave man to trifle with a girl's
+feelings. The caution was taken in good part, and it
+is not known that the "love passage" was continued,
+though Robert received at parting some tokens of
+remembrance, which were treasured as relics in after
+years.</p>
+
+<p>For three years our heroine appeared in the character
+of a soldier, being part of the time employed as
+a waiter in the family of Colonel Patterson. During
+this time, and in both situations, her exemplary
+conduct, and the fidelity with which her duties were
+performed, gained the approbation and confidence of
+the officers. She was a volunteer in several hazardous
+enterprizes, and was twice wounded, the first time by
+a sword cut on the left side of the head. Many were
+the adventures she passed through; as she herself
+would often say, volumes might be filled with them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">[454]</a></span>
+Sometimes placed, unavoidably, in circumstances in
+which she feared detection, she nevertheless escaped
+without the least suspicion being awakened among
+her comrades. The soldiers were in the habit of
+calling her "Molly," in playful allusion to her want
+of a beard; but not one of them ever dreamed that
+the gallant youth fighting by their side, was in reality
+a female.</p>
+
+<p>About four months after her first wound she received
+another severe one, being shot through the
+shoulder. Her first emotion when the ball entered,
+she described to be a sickening terror at the probability
+that her sex would be discovered. She felt that
+death on the battle-field were preferable to the shame
+that would overwhelm her, and ardently prayed that
+the wound might close her earthly campaign. But,
+strange as it may seem, she escaped this time also
+unsuspected; and soon recovering her strength, was
+able again to take her place at the post of duty, and
+in the deadly conflict. Her immunity was not,
+however, destined long to continue&mdash;she was seized
+with a brain fever, then prevalent among the soldiers.
+For the few days that reason struggled against the
+disease, her sufferings were indescribable; and most
+terrible of all was the dread lest consciousness should
+desert her, and the secret she had guarded so carefully
+be revealed to those around her. She was
+carried to the hospital, and there could only ascribe
+her escape to the number of patients, and the negligent
+manner in which they were attended. Her case
+was considered a hopeless one, and she perhaps<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[455]</a></span>
+received less attention on this account. One day
+the physician of the hospital, inquiring&mdash;"How is
+Robert?" received from the nurse in attendance the
+answer&mdash;"Poor Bob is gone." The doctor went to
+the bed, and taking the hand of the youth supposed
+dead, found that the pulse was still feebly beating;
+attempting to place his hand on the heart, he perceived
+that a bandage was fastened tightly around
+the breast. This was removed, and to his utter
+astonishment he discovered a female patient where he
+had least expected one!</p>
+
+<p>This gentleman was Dr. Binney, of Philadelphia.
+With a prudence, delicacy and generosity, ever afterwards
+warmly appreciated by the unfortunate sufferer,
+he said not a word of his discovery, but paid
+her every attention, and provided every comfort her
+perilous condition required. As soon as she could be
+removed with safety, he had her taken to his own
+house, where she could receive better care. His
+family wondered not a little at the unusual interest
+manifested for the poor invalid soldier.</p>
+
+<p>Here occurred another of those romances in real
+life, which in strangeness surpass fiction. The doctor
+had a young and lovely niece, an heiress to considerable
+property, whose compassionate feelings led her
+to join her uncle in bestowing kindness on the friendless
+youth. Many censured the uncle's imprudence
+in permitting them to be so much in each other's
+society, and to take drives so frequently together.
+The doctor laughed to himself at the warnings and
+hints he received, and thought how foolish the censorious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[456]</a></span>
+would feel when the truth should come out.
+His knowledge, meanwhile, was buried in his own
+bosom, nor shared even with the members of his
+family. The niece was allowed to be as much with
+the invalid as suited her pleasure. Her gentle heart
+was touched by the misfortunes she had contributed
+to alleviate; the pale and melancholy soldier, for
+whose fate no one seemed to care, who had no possession
+in the world save his sword, who had suffered so
+much in the cause of liberty, became dear to her.
+She saw his gratitude for the benefits and kindness
+received, yet knew by intuition that he would never
+dare aspire to the hand of one so gifted by fortune.
+In the confiding abandonment of woman's love, the
+fair girl made known her attachment, and offered to
+provide for the education of its object before marriage.
+Deborah often declared that the moment in
+which she learned that she had unwittingly gained
+the love of a being so guileless, was fraught with the
+keenest anguish she ever experienced. In return for
+the hospitality and tender care that had been lavished
+upon her, she had inflicted pain upon one she would
+have died to shield. Her former entanglement had
+caused no uneasiness, but this was a heart of a different
+mould; no way of amends seemed open, except
+confession of her real character, and to that, though
+impelled by remorse and self-reproach, she could not
+bring herself. She merely said to the generous girl,
+that they would meet again; and, though ardently
+desiring the possession of an education, that she could
+not avail herself of the noble offer. Before her departure,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_457" id="Page_457">[457]</a></span>
+the young lady pressed on her acceptance
+several articles of needful clothing, such as in those
+times many of the soldiers received from fair hands.
+All these were afterwards lost by the upsetting of a
+boat, except the shirt and vest Robert had on at the
+time, which are still preserved as relics in the family.</p>
+
+<p>Her health being now nearly restored, the physician
+had a long conference with the commanding
+officer of the company in which Robert had served,
+and this was followed by an order to the youth to
+carry a letter to General Washington.</p>
+
+<p>Her worst fears were now confirmed. From the
+time of her removal into the doctor's family, she had
+cherished a misgiving which sometimes amounted
+almost to a certainty, that he had discovered her
+deception. In conversation with him she anxiously
+watched his countenance, but not a word or look
+indicated suspicion, and she had again flattered herself
+that she was safe from detection. When the
+order came for her to deliver a letter into the hands
+of the Commander-in-chief, she could no longer deceive
+herself.</p>
+
+<p>There remained no course but simple obedience.
+When she presented herself for admission at the
+head-quarters of Washington, she trembled as she
+had never done before the enemy's fire. Her heart
+sunk within her: she strove in vain to collect and
+compose herself, and, overpowered with dread and
+uncertainty, was ushered into the presence of the
+Chief. He noticed her extreme agitation, and, supposing
+it to proceed from diffidence, kindly endeavored<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_458" id="Page_458">[458]</a></span>
+to re-assure her. He then bade her retire
+with an attendant, who was directed to offer her
+some refreshment, while he read the communication
+of which she had been the bearer.</p>
+
+<p>Within a short time she was again summoned
+into the presence of Washington. He said not a
+word, but handed her in silence a discharge from
+the service, putting into her hand at the same time
+a note containing a few brief words of advice, and
+a sum of money sufficient to bear her expenses to
+some place where she might find a home. The delicacy
+and forbearance thus observed affected her
+sensibly. "How thankful," she has often said, "was
+I to that great and good man who so kindly spared
+my feelings! He saw me ready to sink with shame;
+one word from him at that moment would have
+crushed me to the earth. But he spoke no word&mdash;and
+I blessed him for it."</p>
+
+<p>After the termination of the war, she married
+Benjamin Gannett, of Sharon. When Washington
+was President, she received a letter inviting Robert
+Shirtliffe, or rather Mrs. Gannett, to visit the seat
+of government. Congress was then in session, and
+during her stay at the capital, a bill was passed
+granting her a pension in addition to certain lands,
+which she was to receive as an acknowledgment
+for her services to the country in a military capacity.
+She was invited to the houses of several of the
+officers, and to parties given in the city; attentions
+which manifested the high estimation in which she
+was there held.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[459]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HOSPITALITY OF ELIZABETH BRANT.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+Stranger, whoe'er thou art, securely rest<br />
+Affianced in my faith, a friendly guest.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Pope.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>At the close of the last war, John and Elizabeth
+Brant, children of the celebrated warrior, took possession
+of their father's mansion at the head of
+lake Ontario, and dispensed his "ancient hospitalities."
+While making the tour of Canada West
+with two of his daughters, in 1819, James Buchanan,
+Esq., British consul for the port of New York, visited
+the "Brant House," and afterwards published the
+following interesting account in a small volume of
+Indian sketches:</p>
+
+<p>"After stopping more than a week under the truly
+hospitable roof of the Honorable Colonel Clarke, at
+the Falls of Niagara, I determined to proceed by
+land, round lake Ontario, to York; and Mrs. Clarke
+offered to give my daughters a letter of introduction
+to a Miss Brant, advising us to arrange our time so
+as to sleep and stop a day or two in the house of
+that lady, as she was certain we should be much
+pleased with her and her brother. Our friend did<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[460]</a></span>
+not intimate, still less did we suspect, that the introduction
+was to an Indian prince and princess. Had
+we been in the least aware of this, our previous
+arrangements would all have given way, as there
+was nothing I was more anxious to obtain than an
+opportunity such as this was so well calculated to
+afford, of seeing in what degree the Indian character
+would be modified by a conformity to the habits and
+comforts of civilized life.</p>
+
+<p>"Proceeding on our journey, we stopped at an
+inn, romantically situated, where I determined to
+remain all night. Among other things, I inquired
+of the landlord if he knew the distance to Miss
+Brant's house, and from him I learned that it was
+about twenty miles farther. He added, that young
+Mr. Brant had passed that way in the forenoon,
+and would, no doubt, be returning in the evening,
+and that, if I wished it, he would be on the lookout
+for him. This I desired the landlord to do, as it
+would enable me to intimate our introduction to
+his sister, and intention of waiting on her the next
+morning.</p>
+
+<p>"At dusk Mr. Brant returned, and, being introduced
+into our room, we were unable to distinguish
+his complexion, and conversed with him, believing
+him to be a young Canadian gentleman. We did
+not, however, fail to observe a certain degree of
+hesitation and reserve in the manner of his speech.
+He certainly expressed a wish that we would do his
+sister and himself the favor of spending a few days
+with them, in order to refresh ourselves and our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[461]</a></span>
+horses: but we thought his style more laconic than
+hospitable. Before candles were brought in our new
+friend departed, leaving us still in error as to his
+nation.</p>
+
+<p>"By four o'clock in the morning we resumed
+our journey. On arriving at the magnificent shores
+of lake Ontario, the driver of our carriage pointed
+out, at the distance of five miles, the house of Miss
+Brant, which had a very noble and commanding
+aspect; and we anticipated much pleasure in our
+visit. Young Mr. Brant, it appeared, unaware that
+with our carriage we could have reached his house
+so soon, had not arrived before us; so that our approach
+was not announced, and we drove up to the
+door under the full persuasion that the family would
+be apprised of our coming. The outer door, leading
+to a spacious hall, was open. We entered and remained
+a few minutes, when, seeing no person about,
+we proceeded into the parlor, which, like the hall,
+was for the moment unoccupied. We therefore had
+an opportunity of looking about us at our leisure.
+It was a room well furnished, with a carpet, pier
+and chimney glasses, mahogany tables, fashionable
+chairs, a guitar, a neat hanging bookcase, in which,
+among other volumes, we perceived a Church of
+England Prayer Book, translated into the Mohawk
+tongue. Having sent our note of introduction in
+by the coachman, and still no person waiting on us,
+we began to suspect (more especially in the hungry
+state we were in) that some delay or difficulty about
+breakfast stood in the way of the young lady's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[462]</a></span>
+appearance. I can assure my readers that a keen
+morning's ride on the shores of an American lake
+is an exercise of all others calculated to make the
+appetite clamorous, if not insolent. We had already
+penetrated into the parlor, and were beginning to
+meditate a farther exploration in search of the pantry,
+when, to our unspeakable astonishment, in walked
+a charming, noble-looking Indian girl, dressed partly
+in the native and partly in the English costume.
+Her hair was confined on the head in a silk net,
+but the lower tresses, escaping from thence, flowed
+down on her shoulders. Under a tunic or morning
+dress of black silk was a petticoat of the same
+material and color, which reached very little below
+the knee. Her silk stockings and kid shoes were,
+like the rest of her dress, black. The grace and
+dignity of her movement, the style of her dress
+and manner, so new, so unexpected, filled us all with
+astonishment. With great ease, yet by no means
+in that commonplace mode so generally prevalent
+on such occasions, she inquired how we found the
+roads, accommodations, etc. No flutter was at all
+apparent on account of the delay in getting breakfast;
+no fidgeting and fuss-making, no running in
+and out, no idle expressions of regret, such as 'Oh!
+dear me! had I known of your coming, you would
+not have been kept in this way!' but, with perfect
+ease she maintained conversation, until a squaw,
+wearing a man's hat, brought in a tray with preparations
+for breakfast. A table-cloth of fine white
+damask being laid, we were regaled with tea, coffee,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[463]</a></span>
+hot rolls, butter in water and ice-coolers, eggs, smoked
+beef, ham, broiled chickens, etc., all served in a
+truly neat and comfortable style. The delay, we
+afterwards discovered, arose from the desire of our
+hostess to supply us with hot rolls, which were actually
+baked while we were waiting. I have been
+thus minute in my description of these comforts, as
+they were so little to be expected in the house of
+an Indian.</p>
+
+<p>"After breakfast Miss Brant took my daughters
+out to walk, and look at the picturesque scenery of
+the country. She and her brother had previously
+expressed a hope that we would stay all day; but,
+though I wished of all things to do so, and had determined,
+in the event of their pressing their invitation,
+to accept it, yet I declined the proposal at
+first, and thus forfeited a pleasure which we all of
+us longed in our hearts to enjoy; for, as I afterward
+learned, it is not the custom of any uncorrupted
+Indian to repeat a request if once rejected. They
+believe that those to whom they offer any mark of
+friendship, and who give a reason for refusing it,
+do so in perfect sincerity, and that it would be rudeness
+to require them to alter their determination or
+break their word. And as the Indian never makes
+a show of civility but when prompted by a genuine
+feeling, so he thinks others are actuated by a similar
+candor. I really feel ashamed when I consider how
+severe a rebuke this carries with it to us who boast
+of civilization, but who are so much carried away
+by the general insincerity of expression pervading<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[464]</a></span>
+all ranks, that few, indeed, are to be found who
+speak just what they wish or know. This duplicity
+is the effect of what is termed a high state of refinement.
+We are taught so to conduct our language
+that others cannot discover our real views or intentions.
+The Indians are not only free from this deceitfulness,
+but surpass us in another instance of
+good breeding and decorum, namely, of never interrupting
+those who converse with them until they
+have done speaking; and then they reply in the
+hope of not being themselves interrupted. This was
+perfectly exemplified by Miss Brant and her brother;
+and I hope the lesson my daughters were so forcibly
+taught by the natural politeness of their hostess will
+never be forgotten by them, and that I also may
+profit by the example."</p>
+
+<p>Elizabeth was the youngest daughter of Joseph
+Brant. She was married to William Johnson Kerr,
+a gentleman who bore a commission in the last war,
+and fought against the Americans on the Niagara
+frontier. He is a grandson of Sir William Johnson.
+The author of American Border Wars, wrote
+in 1843, as follows: "Mrs. Kerr, as the reader must
+infer from what has been previously said respecting
+her, was educated with great care, as well in regard
+to her mental culture as her personal accomplishments.
+With her husband and little family, she
+now occupies the old mansion of her father, at the
+head of lake Ontario; a noble situation, as the author
+can certify from personal observation."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[465]</a></span></p>
+<h2>BRIEF ANECDOTES.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+The worthy acts of women to repeat.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Mirror for Magistrates.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Immediately after the dreadful massacre of Virginia
+colonists, on the twenty-second of March, 1622,
+Governor Wyat issued an order for the remainder
+of the people to "draw together" into a "narrow
+compass;"<a name="FNanchor_91_91" id="FNanchor_91_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a> and most of the eighty plantations were
+forthwith abandoned. Among the persons who remained
+at their homes, was Mrs. Proctor, whom Dr.
+Belknap calls "a gentlewoman of an heroic spirit."<a name="FNanchor_92_92" id="FNanchor_92_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_92_92" class="fnanchor">[92]</a>
+She defended her plantation against the Indians a
+full month, and would not have abandoned it even
+then, had not the officers of the colony obliged her
+to do so.</p>
+
+<p>One of the best women of her times was Experience
+West, wife of the Rev. Dr. West, who was
+pastor of a church in New Bedford, Massachusetts,
+for nearly half a century. Her life abounded in
+praiseworthy, though unrecorded, deeds. The Doctor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_466" id="Page_466">[466]</a></span>
+was aware of the worth of his "help-meet," and had
+a punning way of praising her which must have
+sounded odd in a Puritan divine a hundred years
+ago. She was unusually tall, and he sometimes remarked
+to intimate friends, that he had found, by
+<i>long Experience</i>, that it is good to be married.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>The Rev. Dr. Mather Byles, of Boston, a tory of
+considerable notoriety, paid unsuccessful addresses
+to a young lady who subsequently gave her hand
+to a gentleman of the name of Quincy. Meeting
+her one day, the Doctor remarked: "So, madam,
+it appears that you prefer a Quincy to Byles."
+"Yes," she replied, "for if there had been any thing
+worse than <i>biles</i>, God would have afflicted Job with
+them."<a name="FNanchor_93_93" id="FNanchor_93_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_93_93" class="fnanchor">[93]</a></p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>A married Shawnee woman was once asked by a
+man who met her in the woods, to look upon and
+love him: "Oulman, my husband, who is forever
+before my eyes, hinders me from seeing you or any
+other person."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_467" id="Page_467">[467]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>While the husband of Mrs. Dissosway, of Staten
+island, was in the hands of the British, her brother
+Nathaniel Randolph, a Captain in the American
+army, repeatedly and greatly annoyed the tories; and
+they were anxious to be freed from his incursions.
+Accordingly, one of their colonels promised Mrs.
+Dissosway to procure her husband's release, if she
+would prevail upon her brother to leave the army.
+She scornfully replied: "And if I could act so
+dastardly a part, think you that General Washington
+has but one Captain Randolph in his army?"</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>When, by permission of the British authorities, the
+wife of Daniel Hall was once going to John's island,
+near Charleston, to see her mother, one of the king's
+officers stopped her and ordered her to surrender the
+key of her trunk. On her asking him what he
+wished to look for, he replied, "For treason, madam."
+"Then," said she, "you may be saved the trouble of
+search, for you may find enough of it at my tongue's
+end."<a name="FNanchor_94_94" id="FNanchor_94_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_94_94" class="fnanchor">[94]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>When a party of Revolutionary patriots left Pleasant
+River settlement, in Maine, on an expedition,
+one of the number forgot his powder horn, and his
+wife, knowing he would greatly need it, ran twenty
+miles through the woods before she overtook him.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>When the village of Buffalo was burnt during the
+last war, only one dwelling-house was suffered to
+stand. Its owner, Mrs. St. John, was a woman of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_468" id="Page_468">[468]</a></span>
+wonderful courage and self-possession; and when the
+Indians came to fire it, and destroy its inmates, she
+ordered them away in such a dignified, resolute and
+commanding, yet conciliatory, manner, that they
+seemed to be awed in her presence, and were kept at
+bay until some British officers rode up and ordered
+them to desist from the work of destruction. Saved
+by her presence of mind and heroic bravery, she
+who saw her neighbors butchered at their doors and
+the young village laid in ashes, lived to see a new
+village spring up, phoenix-like, and expand into a
+city of thirty-five thousand inhabitants.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>Mrs. Beckham, who resided in the neighborhood of
+Pacolet river, South Carolina, was a true friend of
+freedom, and a great sufferer on that account. Tarleton,
+after sharing in her hospitality, pillaged her
+house, and then ordered its destruction. Her eloquent
+remonstrance, however, caused him to recall the
+order. Concealing a guinea in her braided hair, she
+once went eighty miles to Granby, purchased a bag
+of salt, and safely returned with it on the saddle
+under her.<a name="FNanchor_95_95" id="FNanchor_95_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_95" class="fnanchor">[95]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>The house of Captain Charles Sims, who resided on
+Tyger river, South Carolina, was often plundered by
+tories; and on one of these occasions, when his wife
+was alone and all the robbers had departed but one,
+she ordered <i>him</i> away, and he disobeying, she broke
+his arm with a stick, and drove him from the house.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_469" id="Page_469">[469]</a></span>Several years ago, a family, residing on the
+Colorado, in Texas, were attacked by a party of
+Camanche Indians, who first fell upon two workmen
+in the fields and slew them. Seeing one of them fall,
+the proprietor of the establishment, who was standing
+near his house, caught two guns and ran towards
+the field. A daughter hastily put on her brother's hat
+and surtout, and followed her father. She soon overtook
+him, and persuaded him to return to the house.
+She bravely assisted in guarding it until the Indians,
+tired of the assault, departed.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>In the year 1777, when General Burgoyne entered
+the valley of the Hudson, the wife of General Schuyler
+hastened to Saratoga, her husband's country seat,
+to secure her furniture. "Her carriage," writes the
+biographer of Brant, "was attended by only a single
+armed man on horseback. When within two miles
+of her house, she encountered a crowd of panic-stricken
+people, who recited to her the tragic fate of
+Miss M'Crea,<a name="FNanchor_96_96" id="FNanchor_96_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_96" class="fnanchor">[96]</a> and, representing to her the danger
+of proceeding farther in the face of the enemy, urged
+her to return. She had yet to pass through a dense
+forest within which even then some of the savage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_470" id="Page_470">[470]</a></span>
+troops might be lurking for prey. But to these prudential
+counsels she would not listen. 'The General's
+wife,' said she, 'must not be afraid!' and, pushing
+forward, she accomplished her purpose."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>While Thomas Crittenden, the first Governor of
+Vermont, was discharging the functions of an executive,
+he was waited upon one day, in an official
+capacity, by several gentlemen from Albany. The
+visitors were of the higher class, and accompanied
+by their aristocratic wives. At noon the hostess
+summoned the workmen from the fields, and seated
+them at the table with her fashionable visitors.
+When the females had retired from the dinner table
+to an apartment by themselves, one of the visitors
+said to the lady of the house, "You do not usually
+have your hired laborers sit down at the first table<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_471" id="Page_471">[471]</a></span>
+do you?" "Why yes, madam," Mrs. Crittenden replied,
+"we have thus far done so, but are now thinking
+of making a different arrangement. The Governor
+and myself have been talking the matter over
+a little, lately, and come to the conclusion that the
+men, who do nearly all the hard work, ought to have
+the first table,&mdash;and that he and I, who do so little,
+should be content with the second. But, in compliment
+to you, I thought I would have you sit down
+with them, to-day, at the first table."<a name="FNanchor_97_97" id="FNanchor_97_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_97_97" class="fnanchor">[97]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>At the Fair held in Castle Garden, in the autumn
+of 1850, was exhibited a large Gothic arm-chair,
+backed and cushioned with beautifully wrought
+needle work in worsted. The needle work was from
+the hands of Mrs. Millard Fillmore. It was setting
+a noble example for the wife of a President to present
+her handiwork at an industrial exhibition; and,
+if the decision of the three Roman banqueters in
+regard to their wives, was correct&mdash;they preferring
+the one who was found with her maidens preparing
+loom-work,&mdash;Mrs. Fillmore must be ranked among
+the best of wives.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>During the last war, Major Kennedy of South
+Carolina, wished to raise recruits for his troop of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_472" id="Page_472">[472]</a></span>
+horse; and accordingly went to Mrs. Jane White,
+who had several hardy sons, and made known his
+wants. She was a true patriot, like her husband,
+who was an active "liberty man" in the war of '76:
+hence she was ready and anxious to further the
+Major's plans. Her sons being at work in the field,
+excepting the youngest, she called the lad, and
+ordered him, in her broad Scotch-Irish dialect, to
+"rin awa' ta the fiel' an' tell his brithers ta cum in
+an' gang an' fight for their counthry, like their father
+afore them."<a name="FNanchor_98_98" id="FNanchor_98_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_98_98" class="fnanchor">[98]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>Among the fine sentiments quaintly uttered by
+the old dramatic poet, Webster, are these:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+The chiefest action of a man of spirit<br />
+Is, never to be out of action; we should think<br />
+The soul was never to be put into the body,<br />
+Which has so many rare and curious pieces<br />
+Of mathematical motion, to stand still.<br />
+Virtue is ever sowing of her seeds.<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>One of the models in activity and virtue, and one
+who doubtless secured thereby the prize of healthy
+and extreme old age, was Mrs. Lydia Gustin, a native
+of Lyme, Connecticut. She had five children,
+all of whom were at home to celebrate the hundredth
+anniversary of her birth day. She died in New
+Hampshire, on the twentieth of July, 1847, in the
+hundred and second year of her age. A part of
+the labor performed during her hundredth year, was
+the knitting of twenty-four pairs of stockings.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_473" id="Page_473">[473]</a></span>
+Mrs. Elizabeth Ferguson, who resided near Philadelphia,
+was one of the number who assisted the
+American prisoners taken at the battle of Germantown.
+She spun linen and sent it into the city, with
+orders that it be made into shirts. She was noted
+for humanity and benevolence. Learning, one time,
+while visiting her friends in Philadelphia, that a
+reduced merchant had been imprisoned for debt,
+and was suffering from destitution, she sent him a
+bed and other articles of comfort, and, though far
+from wealthy, put twenty dollars in money into his
+hands. She refused to give him her name, but was
+at length identified by a description of her person.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>At the battle of the Cowpens, Colonel Washington
+wounded Colonel Tarleton; and when the latter
+afterwards, in conversation with Mrs. Wiley Jones,
+observed to her: "You appear to think very highly
+of Colonel Washington; and yet I have been told
+that he is so ignorant a fellow that he can hardly
+write his own name;" she replied, "It may be the
+case, but no man better than yourself, Colonel, can
+testify that he knows how to make his mark."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_474" id="Page_474">[474]</a></span></p>
+<h2>PHILANTHROPY OF AMERICAN WOMEN:<br />
+MISS DIX.</h2>
+
+
+<div class="poem">
+To the blind, the deaf, the lame,<br />
+<span class="i1">To the ignorant and vile,</span>
+Stranger, captive, slave he came,<br />
+<span class="i1">With a welcome and a smile.</span>
+Help to all he did dispense,<br />
+<span class="i1">Gold, instruction, raiment, food;</span>
+Like the gifts of Providence,<br />
+<span class="i1">To the evil and the good.</span>
+<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Montgomery.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>It requires the enlightening and expanding influence
+of Christianity to show the full extent of fraternal
+obligation, and to make one <i>feel</i> the wants
+of his brother's threefold nature. We must, therefore,
+look for large hearts, whose antennæ stretch
+through the domain of man's mental and moral, as
+well as his physical necessities, among a Christian
+people: there such hearts abound, and the strongest
+are among the female sex. Nor is this strange: the
+feelings of woman are more delicate, her constitution
+is less hardy, than man's. Physically more frail,
+she feels more sensibly the need of a helper and
+protector; and, being the greater sufferer, she thinks
+more of the sufferings of others, and consequently
+more fully develops the sisterly and sympathetic
+feelings of her nature.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_475" id="Page_475">[475]</a></span>It is not, therefore, surprising, that in all the humanitary
+movements of the age, American women
+are interested; but it <i>is</i> surprising to see with what
+masculine energy, heroic courage and sublime zeal
+they often prosecute their philanthropic labors. They
+lead in the distribution of the poor fund; are untiring
+in their efforts to sustain Sabbath schools in
+by-places; form and nobly sustain temperance organizations
+among themselves; establish and conduct
+infant schools on their own responsibility; manage
+orphan asylums; pray, and plead, and labor for
+the comfort of the insane, and for the education of
+the deaf, dumb and blind; and, with the religious
+tract in one hand and the Bible in the other, plunge
+into the darkest dens of vice, and, nerved by divine
+power, sow the good seed of truth in the most corrupt
+soil, with courage that seems to palsy the giant
+arm of Infamy.</p>
+
+<p>Heroines in the philanthropic movements which so
+beautify the present age, are found in most of the
+villages and in every city in the land. Isabella
+Graham, Sarah Hoffman, Margaret Prior, and others
+whose names are recorded in this work, are representatives
+of a class whose number is annually increasing
+and whose philanthropic exertions are manifest
+wherever human suffering abounds or the current of
+moral turpitude is strong and appalling. With the
+delicacy and fragility inherent in their sex, they possess
+the bravery and perseverance of the ambitious
+leader in the military campaign, and shrink from
+no task, however formidable or disheartening.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_476" id="Page_476">[476]</a></span>They visit the abode of sickness, and the pillow
+is softened and the pain allayed; they enter the
+hut of penury, and the cry for bread is hushed,
+they pour the tide of united and sanctified effort
+through the Augean stables of iniquity, and the
+cleansing process is astonishing. Such is the work
+of philanthropic women; they are the "salt" of the
+community.</p>
+
+<p>A lady is now living in the city of Buffalo, whose
+benevolent exertions, in her restricted sphere, would
+compare favorably with those of the celebrated Quakeress
+whose mission at Newgate justified, for once, at
+least, the use of angel as an adjective qualifying
+woman. The person to whom we refer&mdash;who would
+blush to see her name in print&mdash;is foremost in all
+the humane and charitable operations of the day,
+and has, for years, been in the habit of visiting the
+jail regularly and usually alone on the Sabbath, to
+instruct its inmates from the word of God and to
+lecture before them on all that pertains to human
+duty. She is married, and has a family&mdash;her children
+being adopted orphans,&mdash;hence her opportunities
+for public usefulness are measurably limited: but
+her life-long actions seem to say,</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i12">"Give me leave</span>
+To speak my mind, and I will through and through<br />
+Cleanse the foul body of the infected world,<br />
+If they will patiently receive my medicine."<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Aside from our female missionaries, whose heroism
+is elsewhere partially illustrated in this work, the
+finest example of a living American philanthropist<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_477" id="Page_477">[477]</a></span>
+is Miss D. L. Dix, of Massachusetts. Her extreme
+modesty, learned through her New England friends,
+with whom we have corresponded, withholds all facts
+touching her early and private history, and leaves
+us a paucity of materials out of which to frame
+even an outline of her public career.</p>
+
+<p>We first hear of her as a teacher in the city of
+Boston, in which vocation she was faithful and
+honored. At the same time, she was connected,
+as instructor, with a Sabbath school&mdash;belonging
+we believe, to Dr. Channing's society&mdash;and while
+searching in by-places for poor children to enlarge her
+class, she necessarily came in contact with many destitute
+persons, and saw much suffering. Ere long she
+became interested more especially in the condition
+and wants of poor seamen, and endeavored to enlist
+the sympathies of others in their behalf. As opportunities
+presented themselves, she visited the hospital
+and other benevolent institutions in and near
+Boston, together with the State Prison. Anon we
+find her in the possession of a small legacy left by
+her deceased grand-mother; and, having resigned the
+office of teacher, she is traveling through the state.
+Having visited all the counties and most if not all
+the towns in Massachusetts, hunting up the insane
+and acquainting herself with their condition, visiting
+the inmates of the poor-houses and jails, and learning
+the state of things among all the unfortunate and
+suffering, she went to the Legislature, made a report,
+and petitioned for reforms where she thought they
+were needed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_478" id="Page_478">[478]</a></span>Having thoroughly canvassed one state, feeling her
+benevolent heart expand, she entered another, and
+went through the same routine of labors&mdash;visiting,
+reporting, pleading for reforms. She has traveled
+through all the states but three or four, and has extended
+her humane mission to Canada.</p>
+
+<p>She overlooks no almshouse; never fails of seeing
+and learning the history of an insane person; goes
+through every jail and prison; and usually, if not
+invariably, has a private interview with each inmate,
+imparting such counsel as wisdom and Christian sympathy
+dictate. She has lately petitioned Congress&mdash;as
+yet unsuccessfully&mdash;for a large appropriation
+of the public lands for the benefit of the insane.</p>
+
+<p>Her petitions are usually presented in a very quiet
+and modest manner. In her travels, she acquaints
+herself with the leading minds, and among them the
+state and national legislators; and when the law-making
+bodies are in session, she obtains an interview
+with members in the retirement of the parlor or
+the small social gathering; communicates the facts
+she has collected; and secures their coöperation in
+her plans and their aid in effecting her purposes.</p>
+
+<p>She who began the work of reform as a teacher in
+a Sabbath school, has advanced, step by step, until her
+capacious heart has embraced the Union, throughout
+which the benign influence of her philanthropic labors
+is sensibly felt. Some one has truthfully remarked
+that "the blessings of thousands, ready to
+perish, have come down upon her head," and that
+the institutions which she has caused to be erected or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_479" id="Page_479">[479]</a></span>
+modified in the several states "are monuments more
+honorable, if not more enduring than the pyramids."</p>
+
+<p>While Miss Dix has brought about important reforms,
+she has accomplished her labors by great
+hardship and the most rigid economy. She had not
+a princely fortune, like Mrs. Fry, to expend in benevolent
+causes; she could not ride from place to
+place in her own private and splendid carriage,
+saying to this servant, do this, and to another, do
+that; she has been obliged to travel by public, haphazard
+conveyances&mdash;often in most uncomfortable
+vehicles in the most uncomfortable weather. A part
+of her early labors in the state of New York were
+performed in the winter, and when in the north-eastern
+and coldest part, she was under the necessity,
+on one occasion, of traveling all night in the severest
+part of the season in an open carriage. To
+show her economy, which has been hinted at, it is
+necessary merely to say that she purchases the materials
+for most of her garments in the places which
+she visits, and makes them up with her own hands,
+while traveling on steamboats, waiting for stages at
+public houses, and such odd intervals of leisure.<a name="FNanchor_99_99" id="FNanchor_99_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_99_99" class="fnanchor">[99]</a></p>
+
+<p>The character of Miss Dix is both pleasant and
+profitable to contemplate. Every thing connected
+with her public career is noble and worthy to be
+imitated. Would that the world were full of such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_480" id="Page_480">[480]</a></span>
+characters: they are needed. Although
+she has done a great work,
+much is yet to do. Our country
+is wide, and enlarging almost every
+year; the field of benevolence is white
+to harvest, and where are the reapers,
+who, like Miss Dix, will make
+their "lives sublime?"</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">THE END.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus491.jpg" width="450" height="551" alt="Two children sitting and reading at foot of tree" />
+
+</div>
+
+
+<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> We have the authority of Mr. Sparks for asserting that while Washington's
+pursuits were those of a retired planter, he seldom passed a day
+when at home without the company of friends or strangers, frequently
+persons of great celebrity, and demanding much attention from the lady
+of the house.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Mrs. Washington, in writing to Mrs. Warren, says, "The General's
+apartment is very small; he has had a log cabin built to dine in, which
+has made our quarters more tolerable than at first."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> The part of the town in which he lived was afterwards called Quincy
+in honor of Mrs. Adams's maternal grandfather.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Mr. Hough was a printer in the employment of the Baptist Board.<br />
+<span class="i12 smcap">Author.</span><br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Gammell's History of American Baptist Missions.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Gammell.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> We are informed by the Postmaster of Groton, in a letter dated
+the tenth of December, 1850, that Mrs. B. is still living, and that her
+mind is somewhat impaired. She is now in her ninety-third year.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> The editor of the Democratic Review, to whom we are indebted
+for a portion of these facts, visited the heroine of Groton in the fall
+of 1846, in the number of his periodical for the January following
+spoke of her as a remarkable woman, physically, as well as mentally
+and patriotically. She was then eighty-eight years old, yet as agile as
+a girl of eighteen, and neither sight nor hearing had began to fail.
+"Such then," he adds, "is Mother Bailey. Had she lived in the palmy
+days of ancient Roman glory, no matron of the mighty empire would
+have been more highly honored." In the same article Mrs. B. is spoken
+of as the Postmistress of Groton, an office, which the present Postmaster
+assures us, she never held.
+</p><p>
+Since the above was originally stereotyped, Mrs. Bailey has died.
+Her demise occurred in the winter of 1850-1.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Drake's Indian Captivities.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> This sum was raised in and immediately around Philadelphia.
+The efforts of the ladies were not, however, limited to their own
+neighborhood. They addressed circulars to the adjoining counties and
+states, and the response of New Jersey and Maryland was truly generous.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> The facts embodied in this notice of Mrs. Reed, are mainly obtained
+from the Life and Correspondence of President Reed. <i>Vide</i>
+volume II., chapter XII.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Frothingham's Siege of Boston.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> The last stone was raised on the morning of the twenty-third of
+July, 1842; the government of the Association and a multitude of other
+people were present on the occasion. Just before this act took place, a
+cannon was raised to the apex and discharged&mdash;a morning salute to call
+the people together to engage in the matins of Freedom. Edward Carnes,
+Jr., of Charlestown, accompanied the stone in its ascent, waving the
+American flag as he went up, and the Charlestown Artillery were meanwhile
+firing salutes to announce to the surrounding country the interesting
+event.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> For this anecdote and that of Mrs. Hendee, we are indebted to the
+Hon. Daniel P. Thompson, of Montpelier, author of "The Green Mountain
+Boys," "Locke Amsden," &amp;c. In a note to the author, in a letter
+which contained these anecdotes, he appropriately observes that "the
+women of the Green Mountains deserve as much credit for their various
+displays of courage, endurance and patriotism, in the early settlement of
+their State, as was ever awarded to their sex for similar exhibitions in
+any part of the world. In the controversy with New York and New
+Hampshire, which took the form of war in many instances; in the predatory
+Indian incursions, and in the war of the Revolution, they often
+displayed a capacity for labor and endurance, a spirit and firmness in
+the hour of danger, and a resolution and hardihood in defending their
+families, and their threatened land against all enemies, whether domestic
+or foreign, that would have done honor to the dames of Sparta."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Captain Leonard Whiting, of Hollis, N. H., a noted tory, who was
+the bearer of dispatches from Canada to the British in Boston.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Mrs. Mary Neff.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Eleven years after the capture of Mrs. Dustin, a party of French and
+Indians from Canada made an attack upon the inhabitants of Haverhill,
+and killed and captured about forty persons. Several women exhibited
+on the occasion a remarkable degree of sagacity, courage and presence of
+mind. We condense from Mirick's History of Haverhill.
+</p><p>
+Ann Whittaker escaped the tomahawk by hiding in an apple chest
+under the stairs.&mdash;A negro servant, named Hagar, covered a couple
+of children with tubs in the cellar and then concealed herself behind
+some meat barrels. The Indians trod on a foot of one of the children
+and took meat from the barrel behind which Hagar had hidden,
+without discovering any of them.&mdash;The wife of Thomas Hartshorn,
+took all her children except the babe&mdash;which she was afraid would
+cry&mdash;through a trap-door into the cellar. The enemy entered and
+plundered the house, but did not find the way into the cellar. They
+took the infant from its bed in the garret and threw it out of the
+window. Strange to say, though stunned, it lived and grew to rugged
+manhood.&mdash;The wife of Captain Simon Wainwright, after the
+enemy had killed her husband, let them into the house and treated
+them kindly. They at length demanded money, when she went out,
+as she pretended, to get it. They soon ascertained&mdash;though too late
+to find her&mdash;that she had fled with all her children but one, who
+was taken captive.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> M'Clung's Sketches of Western Adventure.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Collins's Historical Sketches of Kentucky.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Collins.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a>  <span class="smcap">Mrs. Brewton</span>,&mdash;since Foster&mdash;one of the most amiable and enlightened
+of the whig ladies, was an inmate of Mrs. Motte's family
+at the time of the destruction of her house. Meeting with her shortly
+after the signing of the preliminary articles of peace at Philadelphia,
+I inquired&mdash;"How it had happened, that she, a helpless, unprotected
+widow, without any charge of improper conduct, had so far
+incurred the enmity of the British commanders, as to have been arrested
+without ceremony, and hurried unprepared, into exile." She
+answered&mdash;"That she knew no act of hers which had merited such
+ungentlemanly and inhuman treatment." Entering, however, into
+conversation relative to the siege and surrender of Fort Motte, she
+gave at once a clue to the transaction. While the American forces
+were at a distance, Major M'Pherson, the commander of the post,
+suffered Mrs. Motte and her family to remain, and an apartment
+was allowed for their accommodation. But when the post at Thompson's,
+but a little removed from him, was attacked and carried,
+anticipating the fate which awaited him, immediate removal was not
+only advised, but insisted on. At the moment of departure, Mrs.
+Brewton seeing a quiver of arrows, which had been presented to Mr.
+Motte by a favorite African, said to her friend, "I will take these
+with me, to prevent their destruction by the soldiers." With the
+quiver in her hands, she was passing the gate, when Major M'Pherson,
+drawing forth a shaft, and applying the point to his finger,
+said, "what have you here, Mrs. Brewton?" "For God's sake be
+careful," she replied "these arrows are poisoned." The ladies immediately
+passed on to the out-house, which they were now to inhabit.
+In the siege which directly followed, when the destruction of the
+house was determined upon, and missiles eagerly sought for by
+Lieutenant Colonel Lee for conveying the fire to the shingles, these
+arrows being remembered, were presented by Mrs. Motte, with a
+wish for the happy accomplishment of the end proposed. It was
+afterwards known, that the first arrow missed its aim, and fell at
+the feet of the commander, who taking, it up, with strong expressions
+of anger, exclaimed, "I thank you, Mrs. Brewton." The
+second arrow took effect, and set fire to the roof, when the brisk
+discharge of a six pounder being maintained by Captain Finley, in
+the direction of the stair-case, every effort to extinguish it proved
+fruitless, until, from the apprehension of the roof falling in, the
+garrison were compelled to surrender at discretion. General Greene
+arriving soon after, paid to Major M'Pherson the tribute of applause
+due to his excellent defence, declaring, "that such gallantry could
+not fail to procure for him a high increase of reputation." This
+compliment, however, does not appear to have soothed the mortified
+soldier; for, walking immediately up to Mrs. Brewton, he said, "to
+<i>you</i> madam, I owe this disgrace; it would have been more charitable
+to have allowed me to perish by poison, than to be thus
+compelled to surrender my post to the enemy." This speech
+alone, accounts for the enmity against Mrs. Brewton.&mdash;[Knapp's
+American Anecdotes.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a>
+Never did relief come at a more propitious moment; nor would it
+be straining conjecture to suppose that he resumed his journey with his
+spirits cheered and brightened by this touching proof of woman's devotion
+to the cause of her country. [Greene's Life of Nathaniel Greene.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Some of the facts embodied in this article were gathered by the
+author while on a visit to Massillon, Ohio, in the summer of 1847, and
+were communicated to the public at that time through the columns of
+the Western Literary Messenger; others were lately and very obligingly
+furnished by Dr. William Bowen, of that place.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> The facts contained in this article we find in a series of papers,
+by S. P. Hildreth, Esq., published in "The American Pioneer," in
+1842.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> History of Wyoming, page 212.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a>
+
+The maiden name of Mrs. Israel was Hannah Erwin. Her first
+meeting with her husband was romantic enough. Mr. Israel had
+sailed in a sloop, or packet, from Philadelphia, to visit New Castle
+where his mother and family resided. He observed on deck an extremely
+pretty girl, hardly seventeen years of age, and very neatly
+and tastefully dressed, with the finest turned foot and ankle in the
+world. All who went on such voyages were then obliged to furnish
+themselves with provisions; and his attention was drawn by the young
+girl's kindly distribution of her little stock, handing it about from one
+to another, till but little was left for her own portion. In passing him,
+she modestly hesitated a moment, and then offered him a share. This
+led to conversation; he learned that she was the daughter of highly
+respectable parents, and resided in Wilmington. Love at first sight
+was as common in those days as now. After seeing his mother, he
+visited Wilmington; became better acquainted, offered himself and
+was accepted: and on his marriage, rented the farm above mentioned,
+and commenced life anew.&mdash;[Mrs. Ellet.
+</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Sarah Davis Comstock was the wife of the Rev. Grover S.
+Comstock, who was stationed at Kyouk Phyoo in the province of
+Arracan, Burmah. She was born at Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1812
+and died at Ramree, April twenty-eighth, 1843.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Mr. Convers escaped from his Chippewa friends, at Detroit.
+Touching the treatment he received from his adopted mother, a
+writer says: "How few among the more civilized race of whites
+would ever imitate the Christian charities of this untaught daughter
+of nature!"</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> This letter was written in the fall of 1841. Miss Chapin, afterwards
+Mrs. Savage, embarked for Africa on the twenty-eighth of the following
+January, and reached Cape Palmas on the twenty-fifth of March. As
+might be anticipated, her labors soon closed. She died on the field,
+in December, 1843.
+</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+"That life is long which answers life's great end."<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Vide Women of the Revolution, vol. 1 p. 278.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a>
+Messrs. Stewart and Company, upon the receipt of the money, addressed
+a note in reply to Mrs. C., in which they requested her acceptance
+of the accompanying gift, as a slight testimonial of their high
+appreciation of an act so honorable and so rare as to call forth unqualified
+admiration. Accompanying the letter was sent a superb brocade
+silk dress, and some laces of exquisite texture and great value.&mdash;[Philadelphia
+Enquirer.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> The substance of this anecdote we find in the second number of
+the first volume of a periodical called "Historical Collections,"
+published nearly thirty years ago at Concord, New Hampshire, and
+edited by J. Farmer and J. B. Moore. The anecdote was communicated
+by Adino N. Brackett, Esq., of Lancaster, and appeared in the June
+number for 1822.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> This pioneer matron of northern New Hampshire, was living at
+Lancaster, in 1822, then in her eighty-second year. She was a descendant,
+"in the third degree," of Mrs. Dustin, the heroine of Penacook.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Jabez Burns, D. D.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> The tories not only destroyed his property, but drove him into the
+woods, where he was often obliged to pass nights; and some of his
+escapes from captivity or death are said to have been almost
+miraculous.&mdash;He resumed his labors as teacher and pastor after the
+war; and continued to preach till his ninety-sixth year. He died
+in 1824, at the age of ninety-nine. His wife died the following year,
+in the eighty-seventh of her age.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> For a fuller account of her life, see the second volume of Mrs.
+Ellet's Women of the Revolution, to which work we are indebted
+for the substance of these anecdotes.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> After the treaty of peace at Paris, Mrs. Howe went to Canada
+and brought home the younger daughter, who left the nunnery with
+a great deal of reluctance. The older went to France with Monsieur
+Dr. Vaudreuil, and was there married to a man named Louis.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Dwight's Travels.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Mrs. Bethune's Life of Mrs. Graham, abridged.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> Mrs. Bethune.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Knapp's Female Biography.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> <i>Vide</i> History of Schoharie county, p. 410-11.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Women of the Revolution.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> Democratic Review, vol. 20, pp. 93-4.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> Mrs. Ellet.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> <i>Vide</i> Doc. His, Vol. 1. p. 256.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> The following toast was drunk at Brattonsville, York district, on
+the twelfth of July, 1839, at a celebration of Huck's Defeat.
+</p><p>
+"The memory of Mrs. Martha Bratton.&mdash;In the hands of an infuriated
+monster, with the instrument of death around her neck, she nobly
+refused to betray her husband; in the hour of victory she remembered
+mercy, and as a guardian angel, interposed in behalf of her inhuman
+enemies. Throughout the Revolution she encouraged the whigs to
+fight on to the last; to hope on to the end. Honor and gratitude
+to the woman and heroine, who proved herself so faithful a wife&mdash;so
+firm a friend to liberty!"</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> We learn, from Withers, that Miss Zane has since had two
+husbands.
+</p><p>
+The name of the second was Clarke, a resident of Ohio. She was
+living, not long since, near St. Clairsville.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> Abridged from Cyclopedia of Moral and Religious Anecdotes.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> In addition to her own family, Mrs. Gibbes had the care of the
+seven orphan children of Mrs. Fenwick, her sister-in-law, and two other
+children. It is not surprising, that, in the confusion of a sudden flight
+from the house, one of the number should be left behind.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> Mrs. Ellet.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> October seventh, 1780.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> American Anecdotes, vol. 2, p. 11.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> For a full account of the life of Mrs. Stewart, we refer the reader
+to an interesting Memoir, by her husband.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> <i>Vide</i> Women of the Revolution, vol. 1. pp. 306-7, etc.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a>
+It was his company that forded the creek, and, penetrating the
+swamp, made the furious charge on the British left and rear which
+decided the fate of the day.&mdash;[Mrs. Ellet.</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> Mrs. Slocumb was a dignified and generous matron, a kind and
+liberal neighbor, and a Christian of indomitable fortitude and
+inexhaustible patience. After four or five years' extreme bodily suffering,
+resulting from a complication of diseases, she died, on the sixth
+of March, 1836, aged seventy-six years.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> The silver was buried in a trunk, and remained in a marshy bed till
+the close of the war. When disinterred, it had turned black.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> A similar spirit was exhibited by the wife of Isaac Holmes, one
+of the number who were sent into exile at St. Augustine. Just as the
+guard were separating him from his family, she said to him, "Waver
+not in your principles, but be true to your country. Have no fears for
+your family; God is good, and will provide for them."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> Revolutionary Anecdotes, First Series</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> May twelfth, 1781.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> In the autumn of 1792, while the war with the Creeks and Cherokees
+was raging in the Cumberland valley.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> This heroic woman died at Buchanan's Station, on the twenty-third
+of November, 1831. She sleeps on the site of the old fort that
+witnessed her bravery; and Carcas, queen of Carcassone, who defended
+that city with such courage and resolution, when it was besieged by
+Charlemagne, that the Emperor permitted her to retain the sovereignty
+of the place, has scarcely higher claims to historical commemoration.
+</p>
+<div class="signature"><span class="smcap">Author.</span></div></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> Rev. M. B. Cox and Rev. O. S. Wright and wife.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> Rev. Mr. Spaulding and lady.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> Memoirs of Aaron Burr, by Matthew L. Davis, vol. 2, p. 432.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> He was imprisoned in Richmond, Virginia.&mdash;<span class="smcap">Author.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> Mrs. Roper accompanied her father, Sir Thomas More, to prison,
+and after he was executed and his head had lain fourteen days on
+London Bridge, she purchased it, and thus saved it from being thrown
+into the Thames. For this intrepidity, by the king's orders she was
+cast into prison&mdash;though she was soon permitted to escape.
+</p><p>
+Mademoiselle Cazotte was the daughter of an aged Frenchman, who,
+on one occasion, during the Revolution in his country, would have lost
+his life but for her courage. He was a "counter-revolutionist," and
+after an imprisonment, during which his daughter chose to be immured
+with him, on the second day of September, he was about to be slain.
+An axe was raised over his head, when Elizabeth threw herself upon
+him, and exclaimed, "Strike, barbarians; you cannot reach my father
+but through my heart." She did other heroic deeds.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> "The hope, however, of attaining the object in view, very speedily
+subjected the unfortunate Murdoch to new persecution. He was tied
+up under the very tree where the plate was buried, and threatened
+with immediate execution unless he would make the discovery required.
+But although well acquainted with the unrelenting severity of his
+enemy, and earnestly solicited by his wife, to save his life by a speedy
+confession of the place of deposit, he persisted resolutely, that a sacred
+trust was not to be betrayed, and actually succeeded in preserving it."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> It is said that this taunt was so keenly felt that Tarleton laid his
+hand on the hilt of his sword. General Leslie entered the room at
+the moment, and seeing the agitation of Mrs. Ashe, and learning its
+cause, said to her, "Say what you please, Mrs. Ashe; Colonel Tarleton
+knows better than to insult a lady in my presence."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> Practical Directory for Young Christian Females.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> Mothers of the Wise and Good, p. 142</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> The late George Beecher.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> Laurel mountain.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> Afterwards Mrs. Powell. She died in 1840.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_76_76" id="Footnote_76_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> Knapp's Female Biography, p. 235.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_77_77" id="Footnote_77_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> Walks of Usefulness; or, Reminiscences of Margaret Prior, p. 17.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_78_78" id="Footnote_78_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> June, 1840.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_79_79" id="Footnote_79_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> Mr. Andros thus describes the old Jersey: "Her dark and filthy
+exterior corresponded with the death and despair reigning within. It
+is supposed that eleven thousand American seamen perished in her.
+None came to relieve their woes. Once or twice, by order of a stranger
+on the quarter-deck, a bag of apples was hurled promiscuously into the
+midst of hundreds of prisoners, crowded as thick as they could stand&mdash;and
+life and limbs were endangered in the struggle. The prisoners
+were secured between the decks by iron gratings; and when the ship
+was to be cleared of water, an armed guard forced them up to the
+winches, amid a roar of execrations and reproaches&mdash;the dim light
+adding to the horrors of the scene. Thousands died whose names have
+never been known; perishing when no eye could witness their fortitude,
+nor praise their devotion to their country."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_80_80" id="Footnote_80_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> Religious Progress, pp. 200-1.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_81_81" id="Footnote_81_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> The following extract from a letter written by the Governor in
+March, 1629, shows that he was not unconscious of the excellence of
+the gift he possessed in his "yokefellow." Addressing her as "<span class="smcap">Mine
+Own Dear Heart</span>," he proceeds:
+</p><p>
+"I must confess thou hast overcome me with thy exceeding great
+love, and those abundant expressions of it in thy sweet letters, which
+savor of more than an ordinary spirit of love and piety. Blessed be
+the Lord our God, that gives strength and comfort to thee to undergo
+this great trial, which, I must confess, would be too heavy for thee,
+if the Lord did not put under his hand in so gracious a measure. Let
+this experience of his faithfulness to thee in this first trial, be a ground
+to establish thy heart to believe and expect his help in all that may
+follow. It grieveth me much, that I want time and freedom of mind
+to discourse with thee, my faithful yokefellow, in those things which
+thy sweet letters offer me so plentiful occasion for. I beseech the
+Lord, I may have liberty to supply it, ere I depart; for I cannot thus
+leave thee."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_82_82" id="Footnote_82_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> Women of the Revolution, vol. 3.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_83_83" id="Footnote_83_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> Weems' Marion, pp. 182-3.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_84_84" id="Footnote_84_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_84"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> Missionary Offering, p. 86. We are indebted to the same source for
+most of the particulars embraced in this article.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_85_85" id="Footnote_85_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_85"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> That was its original name. It is a reserved tract; contains
+between two and three thousand acres, and a considerable part is now
+occupied by white tenants. Its situation is on the Thames, between
+New London and Norwich.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_86_86" id="Footnote_86_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_86"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> It may be interesting to the reader to know that Thomas Sammons
+did not go to Canada. He was released in the afternoon of the
+same day, with some other persons who had been taken prisoners during
+the forenoon. Feigning extreme lameness in one foot, he attracted
+the attention and excited the sympathy of the widow of a British
+officer: she had resided in the neighborhood, knew many of the captives,
+and as some were her personal friends, she asked Sir John to permit
+their release. He did so; and on going into the field to select
+them, writes Colonel Stone, "she adroitly smuggled young Sammons
+into the group, and led him away in safety."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_87_87" id="Footnote_87_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_87"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> Major Garden.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_88_88" id="Footnote_88_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_88"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> This anecdote, which is recorded in several works, cannot refer to
+the late William Ellery Channing, as he was not born at the commencement
+of the Revolution.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_89_89" id="Footnote_89_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_89"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> The two youngest boys, who were twins and about eight years
+old, were captured; and when the enemy fled, they were carried
+away as prisoners.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_90_90" id="Footnote_90_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_90"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> Border Wars of the American Revolution, vol. 2, p. 153.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_91_91" id="Footnote_91_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_91"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> Belknap.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_92_92" id="Footnote_92_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92_92"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> American Biography, vol. 2, p. 182.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_93_93" id="Footnote_93_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93_93"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> A Sabine's American Loyalist. The loyal divine was himself a wicked
+punster. "Near his house, in wet weather, was a very bad slough.
+It happened that two of the selectmen who had the care of the streets,
+driving in a chaise, stuck fast in this hole, and were obliged to get
+out in the mud to extricate their vehicle. Doctor Byles came out,
+and making them a respectful bow, said; 'Gentlemen, I have often
+complained to you of this nuisance without any attention being
+paid to it, and I am very glad to see you stirring in the matter now.'
+On the celebrated dark day in 1780, a lady who lived near the
+Doctor, sent her young son with her compliments, to know if he
+could account for the uncommon appearance. His answer was:
+'My dear, you will give my compliments to your mamma, and tell
+her that I am as much in the dark as she is.'"</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_94_94" id="Footnote_94_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94_94"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> Major Garden.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_95_95" id="Footnote_95_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_95"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> Vide Women of the Revolution, vol. I, p. 296.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_96_96" id="Footnote_96_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_96"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> The circumstances in regard to the murder of Jane M'Crea, have
+been variously stated. The following version of the cruel story is
+probably correct: "Miss M'Crea belonged to a family of loyalists,
+and had engaged her hand in marriage to a young refugee named David
+Jones, a subordinate officer in the British service, who was advancing
+with Burgoyne. Anxious to possess himself of his bride, he dispatched
+a small party of Indians to bring her to the British camp. Her family
+and friends were strongly opposed to her going with such an escort;
+but her affection overcame her prudence, and she determined upon the
+hazardous adventure. She set forward with her dusky attendants on
+horseback. The family resided at the village of Fort Edward, whence
+they had not proceeded half a mile before her conductors stopped to
+drink at a spring. Meantime, the impatient lover, who deserved not
+her embrace for confiding her protection to such hands, instead of going
+himself, had dispatched a second party of Indians upon the same
+errand. The Indians met at the spring; and before the march was
+resumed, they were attacked by a party of the Provincials. At the
+close of the skirmish, the body of Miss M'Crea was found among the
+slain, tomahawked, scalped, and tied to a pine-tree, yet standing by the
+side of the spring, as a monument of the bloody transaction. The
+ascertained cause of the murder was this: The promised reward for
+bringing her in safety to her betrothed was a barrel of rum. The
+chiefs of the two parties sent for her by Mr. Jones quarreled respecting
+the anticipated compensation. Each claimed it; and, in a moment of
+passion, to end the controversy, one of them struck her down with his
+hatchet."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_97_97" id="Footnote_97_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_97_97"><span class="label">[97]</span></a> We find the substance of this anecdote in a copy of the Green
+Mountain Freeman published in March, 1851. The paper is edited by
+Daniel P. Thompson, Esq., who prefaces the article with the remark
+that the anecdote was related to him "by the late Mrs. Timothy Hubbard,
+of Montpelier, who, while a girl, was intimate with the Governor's
+family, and knowing to the amusing incident at the time of its
+occurrence."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_98_98" id="Footnote_98_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_98_98"><span class="label">[98]</span></a> Mrs. Ellet.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_99_99" id="Footnote_99_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_99_99"><span class="label">[99]</span></a> For the two last mentioned facts, and some others in regard to
+Miss Dix, we are indebted to the Rev. G. W. Hosmer, pastor of
+the Unitarian church, Buffalo.</p></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class="tn"><h3>Transcriber's Note:</h3>
+<p>
+Minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice. Printer
+errors have been changed and are listed here. All other
+inconsistencies are as in the original including unmatched quotation marks.</p>
+
+<p>p. viii: "Scoharie" changed to "Schoharie".</p>
+
+<p>p. ix: "Spaulding" changed to "Spalding".</p>
+
+<p>p. x: "McKenney" changed to "McKenny".</p>
+
+<p>p. xxii: "updraiding" changed to "upbraiding".</p>
+
+<p>p. 54: "inconveniencies" changes to "inconveniences".</p>
+
+<p>p. 59: "generaly" changed to "generally".</p>
+
+<p>p. 62: "horid" changed to "horrid".</p>
+
+<p>p. 77: "succesfully" changed to "successfully".</p>
+
+<p>p. 161: "Mrs. Mary Dixon" changed to "Mrs. Mary Nixon".</p>
+
+<p>p. 163: "appartments" changed to "apartments".</p>
+
+<p>Footnote 165: "seventeeen" changed to "seventeen".</p>
+
+<p>p. 179: "silence by exclaming" changed to "silence by exclaiming".</p>
+
+<p>p. 194: "delivered Green's verbal" changed to "delivered Greene's
+        verbal".</p>
+
+<p>p. 216: "industrions" changed to "industrious".</p>
+
+<p>p. 251: "Westminister" changed to "Westminster".</p>
+
+<p>p. 261: "rebuked then" changed to "rebuked them".</p>
+
+<p>p. 293: "see the again" changed to "see thee again".</p>
+
+<p>p. 325: "rode side" changed to "road side".</p>
+
+<p>Footnote 351: "beseiged" changed to "besieged".</p>
+
+<p>p. 389: "appropiately" changed to "appropriately".</p>
+
+<p>p. 402: "Buts stoops" changed to "But stoops".</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NOBLE DEEDS OF AMERICAN WOMEN***</p>
+<p>******* This file should be named 39079-h.txt or 39079-h.zip *******</p>
+<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br />
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/9/0/7/39079">http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/0/7/39079</a></p>
+<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.</p>
+
+<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.</p>
+
+
+
+<pre>
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license)</a>.
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's
+eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII,
+compressed (zipped), HTML and others.
+
+Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over
+the old filename and etext number.  The replaced older file is renamed.
+VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving
+new filenames and etext numbers.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org">http://www.gutenberg.org</a>
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000,
+are filed in directories based on their release date.  If you want to
+download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular
+search system you may utilize the following addresses and just
+download by the etext year.
+
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/">http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/</a>
+
+    (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99,
+     98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90)
+
+EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are
+filed in a different way.  The year of a release date is no longer part
+of the directory path.  The path is based on the etext number (which is
+identical to the filename).  The path to the file is made up of single
+digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename.  For
+example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at:
+
+http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/0/2/3/10234
+
+or filename 24689 would be found at:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/6/8/24689
+
+An alternative method of locating eBooks:
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL">http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL</a>
+
+*** END: FULL LICENSE ***
+</pre>
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/39079-h/images/frontis.jpg b/39079-h/images/frontis.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ba11461
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/frontis.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus004.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus004.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3e754a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus004.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus010.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus010.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a36e633
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus010.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus024.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus024.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4cccf4e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus024.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus074.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus074.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e930a9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus074.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus091.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus091.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c54e500
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus091.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus106.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus106.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d65e8cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus106.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus112.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus112.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d8b4ada
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus112.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus114.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus114.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58f11c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus114.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus124.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus124.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ff4cf5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus124.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus127.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus127.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e51233
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus127.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus138.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus138.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b567cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus138.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus197.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus197.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a937f1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus197.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus206.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus206.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8222c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus206.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus217.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus217.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e903d9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus217.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus260.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus260.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cec8101
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus260.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus262.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus262.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d700b20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus262.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus267.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus267.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c42f2fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus267.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus319.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus319.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3c298f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus319.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus328.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus328.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d664f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus328.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus364.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus364.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..01d58d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus364.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus371.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus371.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87052e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus371.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus380.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus380.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f1d6e75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus380.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus418.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus418.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f8c2645
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus418.jpg
diff --git a/39079-h/images/illus491.jpg b/39079-h/images/illus491.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fec0830
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079-h/images/illus491.jpg
diff --git a/39079.txt b/39079.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1fd83fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11783 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Noble Deeds of American Women, Edited by J.
+(Jesse) Clement
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Noble Deeds of American Women
+       With Biographical Sketches of Some of the More Prominent
+
+
+Editor: J. (Jesse) Clement
+
+Release Date: March 8, 2012  [eBook #39079]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NOBLE DEEDS OF AMERICAN WOMEN***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Julia Neufeld, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 39079-h.htm or 39079-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39079/39079-h/39079-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39079/39079-h.zip)
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+      Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals.
+
+      The carat character (^) in Eng^d indicates that the following
+      letter ("d") is superscripted.
+
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: Eng^d by J.C. Buttre.
+
+    MARTHA WASHINGTON.
+
+    FROM STUART'S PICTURE]
+
+SIXTEENTH THOUSAND.
+
+NOBLE DEEDS OF AMERICAN WOMEN;
+
+With Biographical Sketches of Some of the More Prominent.
+
+Edited by
+
+J. CLEMENT.,
+
+With an introduction by Mrs. L. H. Sigourney.
+
+
+   Such examples should be set before them as patterns for their daily
+   imitation.
+
+   LOCKE
+
+New Edition Revised.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+New York:
+Miller, Orton & Co.,
+25 PARK ROW.
+1857.
+
+Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by
+Geo. H. Derby & Co.,
+In the Clerk's Office of the Northern District of New York.
+
+
+
+
+Editor's Preface.
+
+
+This work was suggested by one of a similar character, entitled "Noble
+Deeds of Woman," an English work, which contains but three references to
+American Women, two of which are of but very little importance. Only one
+article is the same in both works, and that is the letter written by
+Mrs. Sigourney to the women of Greece, in 1828, in behalf of the ladies
+of Hartford.
+
+This failure to do justice to American women, may have been an
+oversight; be that as it may, a work of the kind here presented, seemed
+to be needed, and we regret that its preparation had not been assigned
+to an abler pen. Multitudes of works have been consulted, and such
+anecdotes gleaned as it is thought will have a salutary influence on
+the mind and heart. Should the records of female courage and virtue
+herein presented to the daughters of the land, encourage, even in the
+slightest degree, a laudable spirit of emulation, our humble labors will
+not have been put forth in vain.
+
+Facts are more sublime than fictions; and American women have actually
+performed all the good, and grand, and glorious deeds which the honest
+and judicious novelist dares ascribe to the female sex; hence we have
+found no occasion, in striving to make this work interesting, to deviate
+from the path of historical truth.
+
+The sources whence our materials have been derived, are largely
+indicated in the body of the work. Possibly, however, we may have
+failed, in some instances, to indicate our indebtedness to historians
+and biographers where such reference was justly demanded; suffice it to
+say, therefore, once for all, that, although something like two hundred
+of these pages are in our own language, we deserve but little credit for
+originality, and would prefer to be regarded as an unpretending
+compiler, rather than as an aspirant to the title of author.
+
+                                                            J. C.
+
+     NOTE TO THE REVISED EDITION.
+
+     The fact that eight thousand copies of this work have been
+     published in less than a year after its appearance, indicates a
+     degree of popularity which was not anticipated. In this edition we
+     have thrown out a few pages of the old matter, and substituted, in
+     most instances, fresher anecdotes; and this revision, with the
+     illustrations which the liberal-minded publishers have added, will,
+     it is hoped, render the work still more acceptable.
+
+                                                            J. C.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                             PAGE.
+
+  INTRODUCTION                                 13
+
+  Mother of Washington                         25
+
+  Wife of Washington                           33
+
+  Wife of John Adams                           39
+
+  Ann H. Judson                                52
+
+  A Christian Woman in the Hour of Danger      66
+
+  Humanity of Hartford Ladies                  69
+
+  Mother Bailey                                73
+
+  Elizabeth Heard                              76
+
+  Ladies of Philadelphia in 1780               78
+
+  Wife of President Reed                       80
+
+  Completion of Bunker Hill Monument           85
+
+  Lydia Darrah                                 89
+
+  Widow Storey                                 93
+
+  Mrs. Hendee                                  95
+
+  Patriotic Women of Old Middlesex             97
+
+  The Cacique's Noble Daughter                 99
+
+  Humane Spirit of a Forest Maid              104
+
+  Hannah Dustin                               108
+
+  The Heroines of Bryant's Station            111
+
+  Mrs. Daviess                                114
+
+  A Kentucky Amazon                           118
+
+  Heroism at Innis Settlement                 120
+
+  Bold Exploit at Tampico                     124
+
+  Dicey Langston                              125
+
+  Rebecca Motte                               129
+
+  Another Sacrifice for Freedom               132
+
+  A Patriotic Donation                        133
+
+  The Little Black-eyed Rebel                 134
+
+  The Benevolent Quakeress                    136
+
+  A Pioneer in Sunday Schools                 140
+
+  The Women of Wyoming                        142
+
+  Mary Gould                                  143
+
+  The Mother of President Polk                145
+
+  Trials of a Patriot                         146
+
+  Intrepidity of Mrs. Israel                  164
+
+  Incident in Missionary Life                 166
+
+  A Kind-hearted Chippewa                     169
+
+  Humanity of a Cherokee                      170
+
+  Self-sacrificing Spirit of the Missionary   171
+
+  Daring Exploit of Two Rebels                176
+
+  Elizabeth Martin                            178
+
+  The Mother's Effectual Petition             180
+
+  Noteworthy Integrity                        182
+
+  A Faithful Mother                           184
+
+  Mrs. Spaulding                              186
+
+  Wife of Colonel Thomas                      188
+
+  Exemplary Piety                             190
+
+  Adventure of a Patriotic Girl               192
+
+  Mrs. Caldwell and the Tories                195
+
+  Mother of Randolph                          198
+
+  Cornelia Beekman                            199
+
+  Mother of West                              202
+
+  Heroic Endurance                            204
+
+  Maternal Heroism                            211
+
+  A Modern Dorcas                             213
+
+  Sarah Hoffman                               218
+
+  Heroism of Schoharie Women                  221
+
+  A Sterling Patriot                          223
+
+  Heroic Conduct at Monmouth                  237
+
+  Courage of a Country Girl                   239
+
+  The Ledyards at Fort Griswold               241
+
+  Seneca Heroines                             244
+
+  Martha Bratton                              246
+
+  A Poor Woman's Offering                     250
+
+  Mother of Jackson                           251
+
+  Heroine of Fort Henry                       253
+
+  A Benevolent Widow                          256
+
+  Anne Fitzhugh                               258
+
+  Esther Gaston                               261
+
+  Remarkable Presence of Mind                 263
+
+  Wife of Governor Griswold                   265
+
+  Bold Exploit of a Young Girl                266
+
+  Susanna Wright                              268
+
+  Patriotism of 1770                          270
+
+  Mrs. Spalding                               272
+
+  Mrs. Dillard                                275
+
+  Phoebe Phillips                             277
+
+  Example of a Poor Widow                     279
+
+  Elizabeth Estaugh                           284
+
+  Kate Moore,                                 297
+
+  Captivity of Mrs. Rowlandson                299
+
+  Mrs. Bozarth                                303
+
+  Heroine of Steel Creek                      305
+
+  Benevolence of a Colored Woman              308
+
+  Rebecca Edwards                             309
+
+  The Beautiful Rebel                         311
+
+  Harriet B. Stewart                          313
+
+  A Kind and Benevolent Woman                 316
+
+  Noble Example of Pioneers                   320
+
+  Mrs. Slocumb                                323
+
+  Wife of Captain Richardson                  330
+
+  Striking Instance of Patience               331
+
+  Susannah Elliott                            336
+
+  Anna Elliott                                338
+
+  Patriotic Stratagem                         340
+
+  Influence of a Faithful Teacher             341
+
+  Wife of Thomas Heyward                      343
+
+  Noble Decision                              345
+
+  A Tennessee Heroine                         346
+
+  Mrs. M'Kay                                  352
+
+  Heroic Conduct of a Daughter                354
+
+  Heroic Decision                             356
+
+  Daughter of Aaron Burr                      358
+
+  Female Intrepidity                          361
+
+  Wife of Richard Shubrick                    362
+
+  Retort of Mrs. Ashe                         365
+
+  Wife of a Drunkard                          366
+
+  Mother of Dr. Dwight                        370
+
+  Happy Results of Maternal Fidelity          373
+
+  Mrs. Scott                                  375
+
+  Success of Boldness                         378
+
+  Mary Knight                                 380
+
+  Wife of William Gray                        381
+
+  Mrs. Huntington                             383
+
+  Mrs. Biddle                                 385
+
+  Kindness of Convicts                        387
+
+  Margaret Prior                              388
+
+  Noble Acts of Kindness                      395
+
+  Wife of Dr. Ramsay                          398
+
+  Margaret Schuyler                           400
+
+  Noble Treatment of Enemies                  402
+
+  Humanity Rewarded                           403
+
+  Margaret Winthrop                           404
+
+  A Pioneer Settler's Adventure               408
+
+  Mrs. McKenny                                410
+
+  The Fisherman's Heroic Wife                 416
+
+  Mrs. James K. Polk                          418
+
+  Widow Jenkins                               421
+
+  Faithful Little Girl                        423
+
+  Hospitality of California Women             424
+
+  Sarah Lanman Smith                          425
+
+  Brother saved by his Sister                 429
+
+  Mrs. Borden                                 431
+
+  Margaret Corbin                             432
+
+  Mrs. Channing                               433
+
+  Commendable Courage                         434
+
+  Heroine of Shell's Bush                     435
+
+  Father Taylor's Widowed Friend              437
+
+  Revolutionary Mother                        440
+
+  Successful Daring                           443
+
+  Worthy Example of Forgiveness               444
+
+  Crookshanks saved by a Female               445
+
+  Patriotic Artist                            446
+
+  Mohawk Women                                448
+
+  Female in the Revolutionary Army            450
+
+  Elizabeth Brant                             459
+
+  Brief Anecdotes                             465
+
+  Miss D. L. Dix                              474
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+The advantages of Biography are obvious and great. To the weight of
+precept, it adds the force and efficacy of example. It presents correct
+and beautiful models, and awakens the impulse to imitate what we admire.
+Other sciences strengthen the intellect, this influences and amends the
+heart. Other subjects interest the imagination, this modifies conduct
+and character. By the recorded actions of the great and good, we
+regulate our own course, and steer, star-guided, over life's trackless
+ocean.
+
+In remote ages, the department of Female Biography was almost a void.
+Here and there on the pages of the Sacred Volume, a lineament, or a
+form, is sketched with graphic power, either as a warning, or bright
+with the hues of heaven. Yet uninspired history, though she continued to
+utter "her dark sayings upon the harp," was wont to relapse into silence
+at the name of woman. Classic antiquity scarcely presents aught that
+might be cited as a sustained example. In the annals of ancient Greece,
+the wife of one of its philosophers has obtained a place, but only
+through the varied trials, by which she contributed to perfect his
+patience. Rome but slightly lifts the household veil from the mother of
+the Gracchi, as she exultingly exhibits her heart's jewels. Cleopatra,
+with her royal barge, casts a dazzling gleam over the Cydnus, but her
+fame is like the poison of the reptile that destroyed her. Boadicea
+rushes for a moment in her rude chariot over the battle field, but the
+fasces and the chains of Rome close the scene.
+
+Modern Paganism disclosed a still deeper abyss of degradation for woman.
+The aboriginal lord of the American forests lays the burden on the
+shoulder of his weaker companion, and stalks on in unbowed majesty, with
+his quiver and his tomahawk. Beneath the sultry skies of Africa, she
+crouches to drink the poison water before her judges, having no better
+test of her innocence than the deliverer, Death. In India, we see her
+plunging into the Ganges her female infants, that they may escape her
+lot of misery, or wrapped in the flames of the burning pile, turn into
+ashes with the corpse of her husband. Under the sway of the Moslem, her
+highest condition is a life-long incarceration, her best treatment, that
+of a gilded toy--a soulless slave. Throughout the whole heathen world,
+woman may be characterized, as Humanity, in Central Asia has been, by an
+elegant French writer, as "always remaining anonymous,--indifferent to
+herself,--not believing in her liberty, having none,--and leaving no
+trace of her passage upon earth."
+
+Christianity has changed the scene. Wherever her pure and pitying spirit
+prevails, the sway of brute force is softened, and the "weaker vessel"
+upheld. Bearing in her hand the blessed Gospel, "a light to lighten the
+Gentiles, and the glory of the people Israel," she adds to the
+literature of the world a new volume, the History of Woman. She spreads
+a page, for which the long, slow ages had neither looked, nor
+inquired,--neither waited for, nor imagined, the page of female
+biography.
+
+So liberal have been our own immediate times in supplying fitting
+materials, that an extensive and valuable library might readily be
+selected in this department alone. Since knowledge has shed her baptism
+upon the head of woman, her legitimate sphere of duty has become
+extended, and enriched by incident. We see her not only brought forward
+as a teacher, but entering unrebuked the fields of science and
+literature; we see her amid the hardships of colonial life, displaying a
+martyr's courage, or ascending the deck of the mission ship to take her
+part in "perils among the heathen."
+
+The venerable moralist of Barley Wood, who so perseveringly encouraged
+her sex to reflect, to discriminate, to choose the good and refuse the
+evil, who, after attaining the age of sixty years, presented them with
+eleven new and instructive volumes, has not long laid down her pen, for
+the rest and reward of the righteous. That high souled apostle of
+erring, suffering humanity, to whose dauntless benevolence crowned heads
+did honor, whose melodious voice I almost fancy that I again hear, as in
+the plain garb of her order, she stood as a tutelary being among the
+convicts at Newgate,--she has but recently arisen to that congenial
+society of the just made perfect, who rejoice over "one sinner that
+repenteth."
+
+And the harp of that tuneful one, so recently exchanged for a purer
+harmony, still breathes upon our hearts the echoes of her varied lay, as
+when touched by her hand it warbled--
+
+  "Fame hath a voice, whose thrilling tone
+    Can bid the life pulse beat,
+  As when a trumpet's note hath blown,
+    Warning the hosts to meet;
+  But ah! let mine, a woman's breast,
+  With words of home-born love be bless'd."
+
+She, too, who sleeps beneath the hopia-tree in Burmah, whose courage and
+constancy no hero has transcended, how rapidly has she been followed in
+the same self denying path, by others who "counted not their lives dear
+unto them," if they might bear to the perishing heathen the name and
+love of a Redeemer.
+
+And one still lives, the wonderful Scandinavian maiden, whose melody now
+holds our own land in enchantment, and who exhibits, on a scale hitherto
+unknown in the world's history, rare endowments, boundless liberality,
+and deep humility; God's grace held in subservience to the good of her
+fellow creatures. Through the power of song, which, as the compeer of
+the nightingale, she possesses, and with a singular freedom from vanity
+and selfishness, she charms and elevates, while with the harvest of her
+toils she feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, comforts the desolate,
+aids the hallowed temple to uplift its spire, and the school to spread
+its brooding wing over the children of future generations.
+
+  One there lives, who doth inherit
+  Angel gifts with angel spirit,
+  Bidding streams of gladness flow
+  Through the realms of want and woe,
+  'Mid lone age and misery's lot,
+  Kindling pleasures long forgot,
+  Seeking minds oppress'd with night,
+  And on darkness shedding light;
+  She the seraph's speech doth know,
+  She hath learn'd their deeds below
+  So, when o'er this misty strand,
+  She shall clasp their waiting hand,
+  They will fold her to their breast,
+  More a sister than a guest.
+
+If all true greatness should be estimated by its tendencies, and by the
+good it performs, it is peculiarly desirable that woman's claims to
+distinction should be thus judged and awarded. In this young western
+world, especially in New England, her agency has been admitted, and her
+capacity tested, of mingling a healthful leaven with the elements of a
+nation's character. Here, her presence has been acknowledged, and her
+aid faithfully rendered, from the beginning. There is a beautiful
+tradition, that the first foot which pressed the snow clad rock of
+Plymouth was that of Mary Chilton, a fair young maiden, and that the
+last survivor of those heroic pioneers was Mary Allerton, who lived to
+see the planting of twelve out of the thirteen colonies, which formed
+the nucleus of these United States.
+
+In the May Flower, eighteen wives accompanied their husbands to a waste
+land and uninhabited, save by the wily and vengeful savage. On the
+unfloored hut, she who had been nurtured amid the rich carpets and
+curtains of the mother land, rocked her new born babe, and complained
+not. She, who in the home of her youth had arranged the gorgeous shades
+of embroidery, or, perchance, had compounded the rich venison pasty as
+her share in the housekeeping, now pounded the coarse Indian corn for
+her children's bread, and bade them ask God's blessing, ere they took
+their scanty portion. When the snows sifted through their miserable
+roof-trees upon her little ones, she gathered them closer to her bosom;
+she taught them the Bible, and the catechism, and the holy hymn, though
+the war-whoop of the Indian rang through the wild. Amid the untold
+hardships of colonial life, she infused new strength into her husband by
+her firmness, and solaced his weary hours by her love. She was to him,
+
+  "An undergoing spirit, to bear up
+  Against whate'er ensued."
+
+During the struggle of our Revolution, the privations sustained, and the
+efforts made by women, were neither few nor of short duration. Many of
+them are delineated in the present volume, and in other interesting ones
+of the same class, which have found favor with the public.
+
+Yet innumerable instances of faithful toil, and patient endurance, must
+have been covered with oblivion. In how many a lone home, whence the
+father was long sundered by a soldier's destiny, did the Mother labor to
+perform to their little ones both his duties and her own, having no
+witness of the extent of her heavy burdens, and sleepless anxieties,
+save the Hearer of Prayer.
+
+A good and hoary headed man, who had passed the limits of fourscore,
+once said to me, "my father was in the army during the whole eight years
+of the Revolutionary war, at first as a common soldier, afterwards as an
+officer. My mother had the sole charge of us, four little ones. Our
+house was a poor one, and far from neighbors. I have a keen remembrance
+of the terrible cold of some of these winters. The snow lay so deep and
+long, that it was difficult to cut or draw fuel from the woods, and to
+get our corn to mill, when we had any. My mother was the possessor of a
+coffee mill. In that she ground wheat, and made coarse bread, which we
+ate, and were thankful. It was not always that we could be allowed as
+much, even of this, as our keen appetites craved. Many is the time that
+we have gone to bed, with only a drink of water for our supper, in
+which a little molasses had been mingled. We patiently received it, for
+we knew our mother did as well for us as she could, and hoped to have
+something better in the morning. She was never heard to repine; and
+young as we were, we tried to make her loving spirit and heavenly trust,
+our example.
+
+"When my father was permitted to come home, his stay was short, and he
+had not much to leave us, for the pay of those who achieved our
+liberties was slight, and irregularly rendered. Yet when he went, my
+mother ever bade him farewell with a cheerful face, and not to be
+anxious about his children, for she would watch over them night and day,
+and God would take care of the families of those who went forth to
+defend the righteous cause of their country. Sometimes we wondered that
+she did not mention the cold weather, or our short meals, or her hard
+work, that we little ones might be clothed, and fed, and taught. But she
+would not weaken his hands, or sadden his heart, for she said a
+soldier's lot was harder than all. We saw that she never complained, but
+always kept in her heart a sweet hope, like a well of living water.
+Every night ere we slept, and every morning when we arose, we lifted our
+little hands for God's blessing on our absent father, and our endangered
+country."
+
+How deeply the prayers from such solitary homes, and faithful hearts,
+were mingled with the infant liberties of our dear native land, we may
+not know until we enter where we see no more "through a glass darkly,
+but face to face."
+
+Incidents repeatedly occurred during this contest of eight years,
+between the feeble colonies and the strong motherland, of a courage
+that ancient Sparta would have applauded.
+
+In a thinly settled part of Virginia, the quiet of the Sabbath eve was
+once broken by the loud, hurried roll of the drum. Volunteers were
+invoked to go forth and prevent the British troops, under the pitiless
+Tarleton, from forcing their way through an important mountain pass. In
+an old fort resided a family, all of whose elder sons were absent with
+our army, which at the North opposed the foe. The father lay enfeebled
+and sick. Around his bedside the Mother called their three sons, of the
+ages of thirteen, fifteen, and seventeen.
+
+"Go forth, children," said she, "to the defence of your native clime.
+Go, each and all of you. I spare not my youngest, my fair-haired boy,
+the light of my declining years.
+
+"Go forth, my sons. Repel the foot of the invader, or see my face no
+more."
+
+It has been recorded in the annals of other climes, as well as our own,
+that Woman, under the pressure of unusual circumstances, has revealed
+unwonted and unexpected energies. It is fitting that she should prove
+herself equal to every emergency, nor shrink from any duty that dangers
+or reverses may impose.
+
+Still, her best happiness and true glory are doubtless found in her own
+peculiar sphere. Rescued, as she has been, from long darkness, by the
+precepts of the religion of Jesus, brought forth into the broad sunlight
+of knowledge and responsibility, she is naturally anxious to know how to
+discharge her debt to the age, and to her own land. Her patriotism is,
+to labor in the sanctuary of home, and in every allotted department of
+education, to form and train a race that shall bless their country, and
+serve their God.
+
+There has been sometimes claimed for her, under the name of "_rights_,"
+a wider participation in the pursuits, exposures, and honors
+appertaining to men. Were these somewhat indefinite claims conceded,
+would the change promote her welfare? Would she be a gainer by any added
+power or sounding title, which should require the sacrifice of that
+delicacy which is the life-blood of her sex?
+
+Would it be better for man to have no exercise for those energies, which
+the state of a gentle, trustful being calls forth; those protecting
+energies which reveal his peculiar strength, and liken him to a god-like
+nature? Would it add either to her attractions or his happiness, to
+confront her in the arena of political strife, or enable her to bear her
+part in fierce collision with the bold and unprincipled? Might it not
+endanger or obliterate that enthusiasm of love, which she so much
+prizes, to meet the tutelary spirit of his home delights, on the steep
+unsheltered heights of ambition, as a competitor or a rival?
+
+Would it be as well for the rising generation, who are given into the
+arms of Woman for their earliest guidance, that the ardor of her nature
+should be drawn into different and contradictory channels? When a
+traveler in those lands where she goes forth to manual toil in the
+fields, I have mourned to see her neglected little ones, deprived of
+maternal care, unsoftened by the blandishments of its tenderness,
+growing up like animals, groveling, unimpressible, unconscientious.
+Whatever detaches her thoughts or divides her heart from home duties and
+affections, is especially a loss to the young plants that depend on her
+nurture and supervision.
+
+If, therefore, the proposed change should profit neither man, woman, nor
+the rising race, how can it benefit the world at large? Is it not the
+province of true wisdom to select such measures as promote the greatest
+good of the greatest number?
+
+A moralist has well said, that "in contentions for power, both the
+philosophy and poetry of life are dropped and trodden down." A still
+heavier loss would accrue to domestic happiness, and the interests of
+well balanced society, should the innate delicacy and prerogative of
+woman, _as woman_, be sacrificed or transmuted.
+
+"I have given her as a help-meet," said the Voice that cannot err, when
+it spake unto Adam "in the cool of the day," amid the trees of Paradise.
+Not as a slave, a clog, a toy, a wrestler, a prize-fighter, a ruler. No.
+A _helper_, such as was meet for man to desire, and for her to become.
+
+If the unerring Creator has assigned different spheres of action to the
+sexes, it is to be presumed that some adaptation exists to their
+respective sphere, that there is work enough in each to employ them, and
+that the faithful performance of that work will be for the welfare of
+both. If He hath constituted one as the priestess of the "inner temple,"
+committing to her charge its veiled shrine and sacred harmonies, why
+should she covet to rage amid the warfare at its gates, or to ride on
+the whirlwind that may rock its turrets? Rushing, uncalled, to the
+strife, or the tumult, or the conflict, will there not linger in her
+heart the upbraiding question, "with whom didst thou leave thy few sheep
+in the wilderness?" Why need she be again tempted by pride, or
+curiosity, or glozing words, to forfeit her own Eden?
+
+The true nobility of Woman is to keep her own sphere, and adorn it, not
+as the comet, daunting and perplexing other systems, but like the star,
+which is the first to light the day and the last to leave it. If she win
+not the laurel of the conqueror and the blood-shedder, her noble deeds
+may leave "footprints on the sands of time," and her good works, "such
+as become those that profess godliness," find record in the Book of
+Life.
+
+Sisters, are not our rights sufficiently comprehensive, the sanctuary of
+home, the throne of the heart, the moulding of the whole mass of mind,
+in its first formation? Have we not power enough in all realms of sorrow
+and suffering, over all forms of want and ignorance, amid all ministries
+of love, from the cradle-dream to the sealing of the sepulchre?
+
+Let us be content and faithful, aye, more,--grateful and joyful,--making
+this brief life a hymn of praise, until admitted to that choir which
+knows no discord, and where melody is eternal.
+
+                                            L. HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY.
+
+HARTFORD, CONN.
+
+  [Illustration: Woman with plaque "Noble Deeds"]
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON
+
+
+As the "mother" of our nation's "chief," it seems appropriate that Mary
+Washington should stand at the head of American females whose deeds are
+herein recorded. Her life was one unbroken series of praiseworthy
+actions--a drama of many scenes, none blood-chilling, none tragic, but
+all noble, all inspiring, and many even magnanimous. She was uniformly
+so gentle, so amiable, so dignified, that it is difficult to fix the eye
+on any one act more strikingly grand than the rest. Stretching the eye
+along a series of mountain peaks, all, seemingly, of the same height, a
+solitary one cannot be singled out and called more sublime than the
+others.
+
+It is impossible to contemplate any one trait of her character without
+admiration. In republican simplicity, as her life will show, she was a
+model; and her piety was of such an exalted nature that the daughters of
+the land might make it their study. Though proud of her son, as we may
+suppose she must have been, she was sensible enough not to be betrayed
+into weakness and folly on that account. The honors that clustered
+around her name as associated with his, only humbled her and made her
+apparently more devout. She never forgot that she was a Christian
+mother, and that her son, herself, and, in perilous times especially,
+her country, needed her prayers. She was wholly destitute of
+aristocratic feelings, which are degrading to human beings; and never
+believed that sounding titles and high honors could confer lasting
+distinctions, without moral worth. The greatness which Byron, with so
+much justness and beauty, ascribes to Washington, was one portion of the
+inestimable riches which the son inherited from the mother:
+
+  "Where may the weary eye repose,
+    When gazing on the great,
+  Where neither guilty glory glows,
+    Nor despicable state?
+  Yes, one--the first--the last--the best--
+  The Cincinnatus of the West,
+    Whom envy dared not hate--
+  Bequeathed the name of Washington,
+  To make men blush there was but one."
+
+Moulding, as she did, to a large extent, the character of the great
+Hero, Statesman and Sage of the Western World; instilling into his young
+heart the virtues that warmed her own, and fitting him to become the man
+of unbending integrity and heroic courage, and the father of a great and
+expanding republic, she may well claim the veneration, not of the lovers
+of freedom merely, but of all who can appreciate moral beauty and
+thereby estimate the true wealth of woman's heart. A few data and
+incidents of such a person's life should be treasured in every American
+mind.
+
+The maiden name of Mrs. Washington was Mary Bell. She was born in the
+Colony of Virginia, which is fertile in great names, towards the close
+of the year 1706. She became the second wife of Mr. Augustine
+Washington, a planter of the "Old Dominion," on the sixth of March,
+1730. He was at that time a resident of Westmoreland county. There, two
+years after this union, George, their oldest child, was born. While the
+"father of his country" was an infant, the parents removed to Stafford
+county, on the Rappahannock river, opposite Fredericksburg.
+
+Mrs. Washington had five more children, and lost the youngest in its
+infancy. Soon after this affliction, she was visited, in 1743, with a
+greater--the death of her husband. Thus, at the age of thirty-seven,
+Mrs. Washington became a widow, with five small children. Fortunately,
+her husband left a valuable property for their maintenance. It was
+mostly in land, and each son inherited a plantation. The one daughter
+was also suitably provided for. "It was thus," writes Mr. Sparks, "that
+Augustine Washington, although suddenly cut off in the vigor of manhood,
+left all his children in a state of comparative independence. Confiding
+in the prudence of the mother, he directed that the proceeds of all the
+property of her children should be at her disposal, till they should
+respectively come of age."
+
+The same writer adds that, "this weighty charge of five young children,
+the eldest of whom was eleven years old, the superintendence of their
+education, and the management of complicated affairs, demanded no common
+share of resolution, resource of mind, and strength of character. In
+these important duties Mrs. Washington acquitted herself with fidelity
+to her trust, and with entire success. Her good sense, assiduity,
+tenderness and vigilance, overcame every obstacle; and, as the richest
+reward of a mother's solicitude and toil, she had the happiness of
+seeing all her children come forward with a fair promise into life,
+filling the sphere allotted to them in a manner equally honorable to
+themselves, and to the parent who had been the only guide of their
+principles, conduct and habits. She lived to witness the noble career of
+her eldest son, till, by his own rare merits, he was raised to the head
+of a nation, and applauded and revered by the whole world."
+
+Two years after the death of his father, George Washington obtained a
+midshipman's warrant, and had not his mother opposed the plan, he would
+have entered the naval service, been removed from her influence, acted
+a different part on the theatre of life, and possibly changed the
+subsequent aspect of American affairs.
+
+Just before Washington's departure to the north, to assume the command
+of the American army, he persuaded his mother to leave her country
+residence, and assisted in effecting her removal to Fredericksburg.
+There she took up a permanent abode, and there died of a lingering and
+painful disease, a cancer in the breast, on the twenty-fifth of August,
+1789.
+
+A few of the many lovely traits of Mrs. Washington's character, are
+happily exhibited in two or three incidents in her long, but not
+remarkably eventful life.
+
+She who looked to God in hours of darkness for light, in her country's
+peril, for Divine succor, was equally as ready to acknowledge the hand
+and to see the smiles of the "God of battles" in the victories that
+crowned our arms; hence, when she was informed of the surrender of
+Cornwallis, her heart instantly filled with gratitude, and raising her
+hands, with reverence and pious fervor, she exclaimed: "Thank God! war
+will now be ended, and peace, independence and happiness bless our
+country!"
+
+When she received the news of her son's successful passage of the
+Delaware--December 7th, 1776--with much self-possession she expressed
+her joy that the prospects of the country were brightening; but when she
+came to those portions of the dispatches which were panegyrical of her
+son, she modestly and coolly observed to the bearers of the good
+tidings, that "George appeared to have deserved well of his country for
+such signal services. But, my good sirs," she added, "here is too much
+flattery!--Still, _George will not forget the lessons I have taught
+him_--he will not forget _himself_, though he is the subject of so much
+praise."
+
+In like manner, when, on the return of the combined armies from
+Yorktown, Washington visited her at Fredericksburg, she inquired after
+his health and talked long and with much warmth of feeling of the scenes
+of former years, of early and mutual friends, of all, in short, that the
+past hallows; but to the theme of the ransomed millions of the land, the
+theme that for three quarters of a century has, in all lands, prompted
+the highest flights of eloquence, and awakened the noblest strains of
+song, to the deathless fame of her son, she made not the slightest
+allusion.
+
+In the fall of 1784, just before returning to his native land, General
+Lafayette went to Fredericksburg, "to pay his parting respects" to Mrs.
+Washington. "Conducted by one of her grandsons, he approached the house,
+when the young gentleman observed: 'There, sir, is my grandmother!'
+Lafayette beheld--working in the garden, clad in domestic-made clothes,
+and her gray head covered with a plain straw hat--the mother of 'his
+hero, his friend and a country's preserver!' The lady saluted him
+kindly, observing: 'Ah, Marquis! you see an old woman; but come, I can
+make you welcome to my poor dwelling without the parade of changing my
+dress.'" During the interview, Lafayette, referring to her son, could
+not withhold his encomiums, which drew from the mother this beautifully
+simple remark: "I am not surprised at what George has done, for he was
+always a good boy."
+
+The remains of Mrs. Washington were interred at Fredericksburg. On the
+seventh of May, 1833, the corner-stone of a monument to her memory was
+laid under the direction of a Committee who represented the citizens of
+Virginia. General Jackson, then President of the United States, very
+appropriately took the leading and most honorable part in the ceremony.
+With the following extracts from the closing part of his chaste and
+elegant Address, our humble sketch may fittingly close:
+
+"In tracing the few recollections which can be gathered, of her
+principles and conduct, it is impossible to avoid the conviction, that
+these were closely interwoven with the destiny of her son. The great
+points of his character are before the world. He who runs may read them
+in his whole career, as a citizen, a soldier, a magistrate. He possessed
+unerring judgment, if that term can be applied to human nature; great
+probity of purpose, high moral principles, perfect self-possession,
+untiring application, and an inquiring mind, seeking information from
+every quarter, and arriving at its conclusions with a full knowledge of
+the subject; and he added to these an inflexibility of resolution, which
+nothing could change but a conviction of error. Look back at the life
+and conduct of his mother, and at her domestic government, as they have
+this day been delineated by the Chairman of the Monumental Committee,
+and as they were known to her contemporaries, and have been described
+by them, and they will be found admirably adapted to form and develop,
+the elements of such a character. The power of greatness was there; but
+had it not been guided and directed by maternal solicitude and judgment,
+its possessor, instead of presenting to the world examples of virtue,
+patriotism and wisdom, which will be precious in all succeeding ages,
+might have added to the number of those master-spirits, whose fame rests
+upon the faculties they have abused, and the injuries they have
+committed....
+
+"Fellow citizens, at your request, and in your name, I now deposit this
+plate in the spot destined for it; and when the American pilgrim shall,
+in after ages, come up to this high and holy place, and lay his hand
+upon this sacred column, may he recall the virtues of her who sleeps
+beneath, and depart with his affections purified, and his piety
+strengthened, while he invokes blessings upon the Mother of
+Washington."
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF WASHINGTON.
+
+  A woman's noblest station is retreat:
+  Her fairest virtues fly from public sight;
+  Domestic worth--that shuns too strong a light.
+
+                                     LORD LYTTLETON.
+
+  The drying up a single tear has more
+  Of honest fame than shedding seas of gore.
+
+                                              BYRON.
+
+
+Woman may possess an equal share of the elements of greatness with man,
+but she has not an equal opportunity to display them in such a manner as
+to call forth the admiration and applause of the world. She was not made
+to pour the tide of eloquence in the Senate chamber, or lead on to
+victory the brave and heroic spirits of the land. Her course leads
+mainly through the quiet valley of domestic retirement, where the stream
+can rarely leap from dizzy heights with a thundering plunge, whose
+echoes shall go booming on to fill the ear of coming generations: her
+movements and influence are more like those of springs, which, flowing
+noiselessly and unseen, are widely scattered, and every where diffuse
+incalculable blessings.
+
+The wife of Washington could not be the hero of a seven-years' war, or
+the chief magistrate of a republic; but, as the companion of such a man,
+she could shine, in her own proper sphere, with a lustre as mild, as
+steady, as serene, as his. And thus she did. Prompt to obey the calls of
+duty, when the voice of humanity beckoned her to the camp, she hastened
+away, at the sacrifice of ease and comfort, to relieve the wants of the
+suffering; and when forced to leave her "paradise" at Mount Vernon, to
+preside, as the matron of the nation, at the President's house, she did
+it with a dignity and propriety perhaps never equalled, certainly never
+excelled. But let us not anticipate.
+
+Martha Dandridge was born in New Kent county, Virginia, in May, 1732.
+She was endowed with good sense, a strong mind, sound ideas of feminine
+proprieties, and correct views of woman's practical duties: and these
+had to answer measurably as a substitute for the discipline of female
+seminaries, which were rare in the "Old Dominion," and in the Colonies
+generally, in her younger days. The advantages to be derived from
+domestic instruction, she enjoyed, and those only. They, however, were
+cut off at the age of seventeen, by her union in marriage with Colonel
+Daniel P. Custis, a gentleman of many excellent parts. They settled on
+his plantation in her native county. Beautiful, lovely in disposition,
+and fascinating in manners, the young wife was warmly admired by her
+neighbors and all with whom she came in contact; and her residence,
+known as the "_White House_," was the centre of strong attractions, and
+the scene of much genuine or--which is the same thing--_Virginian_,
+hospitality. Colonel Custis became the father of three children, and
+then died. Previous to this solemn event, however, the White House had
+been veiled in weeds for the loss of his oldest child.
+
+With two small children, a son and daughter, Mrs. Custis early found
+herself a widow, with the disposition and management of all pecuniary
+interests left by her confiding husband, at her control. As sole
+executrix, it is said that she "managed the extensive landed and
+pecuniary concerns of the estate with surprising ability, making loans
+on mortgages, of money, and through her stewards and agents, conducting
+the sales or exportation of the crops to the best possible advantage."
+
+But from the cares of an extensive estate she was shortly relieved. On
+the sixth of January, 1759, she gave her hand, with upwards of a hundred
+thousand dollars, to Colonel George Washington, another planter of her
+native Colony. At the same time, she relinquished into his hands the
+guardianship of her children--the son six, and the daughter four years
+old--together with the care of their property. From the White House,
+Mrs. Washington now removed to Mount Vernon, which remained her home
+till her death, and became the final resting place of her remains.
+
+In her new home, as in the White House, she superintended the affairs of
+the household, exercising continual control over all culinary matters;
+carefully educating her offspring, and aiming to rear them up for
+usefulness. These duties she discharged with the utmost assiduity and
+faithfulness, in spite of the many social obligations which a woman in
+her position must necessarily encounter.[1] Nor did the demands of
+courtesy and of her family debar her from habitual and systematic
+charities, dispensed in her neighborhood, or from those most important
+of all daily duties, the calls of the "closet." In the language of Miss
+Conkling, in her Memoir: "It is recorded of this devout Christian, that
+never during her life, whether in prosperity or in adversity, did she
+omit that daily self-communion and self-examination, and those private
+devotional exercises, which would best prepare her for the self-control
+and self-denial by which she was, for more than half a century, so
+eminently distinguished. It was her habit to retire to her own apartment
+every morning after breakfast, there to devote an hour to solitary
+prayer and meditation."
+
+  [1] We have the authority of Mr. Sparks for asserting that while
+  Washington's pursuits were those of a retired planter, he seldom passed
+  a day when at home without the company of friends or strangers,
+  frequently persons of great celebrity, and demanding much attention from
+  the lady of the house.
+
+In 1770, she lost a child of many prayers, of bright hopes, and of much
+promise, her blooming daughter. She looked upon this affliction as a
+visitation from Him who doeth all things well, and bore it with becoming
+resignation, which the Christian only is prepared to do.
+
+During the Revolution, Mrs. Washington was accustomed to pass the
+winters with her husband at the head quarters of the army and the
+summers at Mount Vernon; and it was in the camp that she shone with the
+lustre of the true woman. "She was at Valley Forge in that dreadful
+winter of 1777-8, her presence and submission to privation strengthening
+the fortitude of those who might have complained, and giving hope and
+confidence to the desponding. She soothed the distresses of many
+sufferers, seeking out the poor and afflicted with benevolent kindness,
+extending relief wherever it was in her power, and with graceful
+deportment presiding in the Chief's humble dwelling."[2]
+
+  [2] Mrs. Washington, in writing to Mrs. Warren, says, "The General's
+  apartment is very small; he has had a log cabin built to dine in, which
+  has made our quarters more tolerable than at first."
+
+In 1781, she lost her last surviving child, John Custis, aged twenty
+seven. Her widowed daughter-in-law and the four children, she took to
+her own home, and thenceforward they were the objects of her untiring
+solicitude.
+
+The life of Mrs. Washington, after her husband took the Presidential
+chair, was marked by no striking incidents, and affords scanty material
+of the nature marked out for this work. During the eight years that he
+was Chief Magistrate, she presided in his mansion with the same
+unaffected ease, equanimity and dignified simplicity that had marked her
+previous course in more retired circles. Visitors were received on all
+days _except the Sabbath_, and, irrespective of rank, shared in her
+courtesies and hospitalities. A portion of each summer, at that period,
+was passed in the quiet and seclusion of Mount Vernon, she rarely, if
+ever, accompanying her husband on his tours through the land. She
+expressed regret when he was chosen President, because she preferred
+"to grow old" with him "in solitude and tranquillity;" hence it is not
+surprising that she found a luxury in retiring for a season from the
+scenes of public life, and in attending to the education of her
+grand-children and to other self-imposed tasks and important duties, in
+the performance of which she could bless her friends and honor God.
+
+After the death of her illustrious companion, which occurred in
+December, 1799, she remained at Mount Vernon; where she spent seventeen
+months mourning her loss; receiving the visits of the great from all
+parts of our land, and from various parts of the earth; attending, as
+heretofore, to her domestic concerns; perfecting in the Christian
+graces, and ripening for the joys of a holier state of being. On the
+twenty-second of May, 1801, she who, while on earth, could be placed in
+no station which she did not dignify and honor, was welcomed to the
+glories of another world.
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF JOHN ADAMS.
+
+  The mother in her office holds the key
+  Of the soul; and she it is who stamps the coin
+  Of character, and makes the being who would be a savage,
+  But for her gentle cares, a Christian man.
+
+                                            OLD PLAY.
+
+  ----O we will walk this world,
+  Yoked in all exercise of noble aim.
+
+                                            TENNYSON.
+
+
+Abigail Smith was a daughter of the Rev. William Smith, a Congregational
+minister of Weymouth, Massachusetts, where she was born on the eleventh
+of November, 1744, O. S. "It was fashionable to ridicule female
+learning," in her day; and she says of herself in one of her letters, "I
+was never sent to any school." She adds, "I was always sick. Female
+education, in the best families, went no further than writing and
+arithmetic." But notwithstanding her educational disadvantages, she read
+and studied in private, and kept up a brisk correspondence with
+relatives, and by these means expanded and fed her mind, and cultivated
+an easy and graceful style of writing.
+
+On the twenty-fifth of October, 1764, Miss Smith became the wife of John
+Adams, a lawyer of Braintree.[3]
+
+  [3] The part of the town in which he lived was afterwards called Quincy
+  in honor of Mrs. Adams's maternal grandfather.
+
+Her grandson, Charles Francis Adams, to whose Memoir of her we are
+indebted for these statistics, says, that "the ten years immediately
+following, present little that is worth recording."
+
+Prior to 1778, Mr. and Mrs. Adams had been separated at sundry times, in
+all, more than three years, which was a severe trial to her fortitude.
+The strength of her conjugal affection may be gathered from an extract
+from one of her letters: "I very well remember," she writes, "when the
+eastern circuits of the courts, which lasted a month, were thought an
+age, and an absence of three months, intolerable; but we are carried
+from step to step, and from one degree to another, to endure that which
+at first we think impossible." Thus she was schooled for separation from
+her husband, when, in 1778, he went to France as a joint commissioner.
+While he was absent from his country on that occasion, faithful to the
+calls of duty, she remained at home, and managed, as she had done
+before, the affairs of the household and farm. And _there_ let the
+reader look at her and see a picture of a true mother of the Revolution.
+"She is a farmer cultivating the land, and discussing the weather and
+crops; a merchant reporting prices-current and the rates of exchange,
+and directing the making up of invoices; a politician, speculating upon
+the probabilities of peace or war; and a mother, writing the most
+exalted sentiments to her son."
+
+What nobler deed could the mother, thus situated, do with her son, John
+Quincy Adams, in a foreign land, than to write to him in a tone like
+that of the extracts which follow, and which are taken from letters
+dated 1778-80:
+
+"'Tis almost four months since you left your native land, and embarked
+upon the mighty waters, in quest of a foreign country. Although I have
+not particularly written to you since, yet you may be assured you have
+constantly been upon my heart and mind.
+
+"It is a very difficult task, my dear son, for a tender parent to bring
+her mind to part with a child of your years going to a distant land; nor
+could I have acquiesced in such a separation under any other care than
+that of the most excellent parent and guardian who accompanied you. You
+have arrived at years capable of improving under the advantages you will
+be likely to have, if you do but properly attend to them. They are
+talents put into your hands, of which an account will be required of you
+hereafter; and being possessed of one, two, or four, see to it that you
+double your numbers.
+
+"The most amiable and most useful disposition in a young mind is
+diffidence of itself; and this should lead you to seek advice and
+instruction from him, who is your natural guardian, and will always
+counsel and direct you in the best manner, both for your present and
+future happiness. You are in possession of a natural good understanding,
+and of spirits unbroken by adversity and untamed with care. Improve your
+understanding by acquiring useful knowledge and virtue, such as will
+render you an ornament to society, an honor to your country, and a
+blessing to your parents. Great learning and superior abilities, should
+you ever possess them, will be of little value and small estimation,
+unless virtue, honor, truth, and integrity are added to them. Adhere to
+those religious sentiments and principles which were early instilled
+into your mind, and remember that you are accountable to your Maker for
+all your words and actions.
+
+"Let me enjoin it upon you to attend constantly and steadfastly to the
+precepts and instructions of your father, as you value the happiness of
+your mother and your own welfare. His care and attention to you render
+many things unnecessary for me to write, which I might otherwise do; but
+the inadvertency and heedlessness of youth require line upon line and
+precept upon precept, and, when enforced by the joint efforts of both
+parents, will, I hope, have a due influence upon your conduct; for, dear
+as you are to me, I would much rather you should have found your grave
+in the ocean you have crossed, or that any untimely death crop you in
+your infant years, than see you an immoral, profligate, or graceless
+child.
+
+"You have entered early in life upon the great theatre of the world,
+which is full of temptations and vice of every kind. You are not wholly
+unacquainted with history, in which you have read of crimes which your
+inexperienced mind could scarcely believe credible. You have been taught
+to think of them with horror, and to view vice as
+
+    'a monster of so frightful mien,
+  That, to be hated, needs but to be seen.'
+
+"Yet you must keep a strict guard upon yourself, or the odious monster
+will soon lose its terror by becoming familiar to you. The modern
+history of our own times, furnishes as black a list of crimes, as can be
+paralleled in ancient times, even if we go back to Nero, Caligula, or
+Caesar Borgia. Young as you are, the cruel war into which we have been
+compelled by the haughty tyrant of Britain and the bloody emissaries of
+his vengeance, may stamp upon your mind this certain truth, that the
+welfare and prosperity of all countries, communities, and, I may add,
+individuals, depend upon their morals. That nation to which we were once
+united, as it has departed from justice, eluded and subverted the wise
+laws which formerly governed it, and suffered the worst of crimes to go
+unpunished, has lost its valor, wisdom and humanity, and, from being the
+dread and terror of Europe, has sunk into derision and infamy....
+
+"Some author, that I have met with, compares a judicious traveler to a
+river, that increases its stream the further it flows from its source;
+or to certain springs, which, running through rich veins of minerals,
+improve their qualities as they pass along. It will be expected of you,
+my son, that, as you are favored with superior advantages under the
+instructive eye of a tender parent, your improvement should bear some
+proportion to your advantages. Nothing is wanting with you but
+attention, diligence, and steady application. Nature has not been
+deficient.
+
+"These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the
+still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great
+characters are formed. Would Cicero have shone so distinguished an
+orator if he had not been roused, kindled, and inflamed by the tyranny
+of Catiline, Verres, and Mark Anthony? The habits of a vigorous mind are
+formed in contending with difficulties. All history will convince you of
+this, and that wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not
+the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great
+virtues. When a mind is raised and animated by scenes that engage the
+heart, then those qualities, which would otherwise lie dormant, wake
+into life and form the character of the hero and the statesman. War,
+tyranny, and desolation are the scourges of the Almighty, and ought no
+doubt to be deprecated. Yet it is your lot, my son, to be an eye witness
+of these calamities in your own native land, and, at the same time, to
+owe your existence among a people who have made a glorious defence of
+their invaded liberties, and who, aided by a generous and powerful ally,
+with the blessing of Heaven, will transmit this inheritance to ages yet
+unborn.
+
+"Nor ought it to be one of the least of your incitements towards
+exerting every power and faculty of your mind, that you have a parent
+who has taken so large and active a share in this contest, and
+discharged the trust reposed in him with so much satisfaction as to be
+honored with the important embassy which at present calls him abroad.
+
+"The strict and inviolable regard you have ever paid to truth, gives me
+pleasing hopes that you will not swerve from her dictates, but add
+justice, fortitude, and every manly virtue which can adorn a good
+citizen, do honor to your country, and render your parents supremely
+happy, particularly your ever affectionate mother.
+
+... "The only sure and permanent foundation of virtue is religion. Let
+this important truth be engraven upon your heart. And also, that the
+foundation of religion is the belief of the one only God, and a just
+sense of his attributes, as a being infinitely wise, just, and good, to
+whom you owe the highest reverence, gratitude, and adoration; who
+superintends and governs all nature, even to clothing the lilies of the
+field, and hearing the young ravens when they cry; but more particularly
+regards man, whom he created after his own image, and breathed into him
+an immortal spirit, capable of a happiness beyond the grave; for the
+attainment of which he is bound to the performance of certain duties,
+which all tend to the happiness and welfare of society, and are
+comprised in one short sentence, expressive of universal benevolence,
+'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'...
+
+"Justice, humanity, and benevolence, are the duties you owe to society
+in general. To your country the same duties are incumbent upon you, with
+the additional obligation of sacrificing ease, pleasure, wealth, and
+life itself for its defence and security. To your parents you owe love,
+reverence, and obedience to all just and equitable commands. To
+yourself,--here, indeed, is a wide field to expatiate upon. To become
+what you ought to be, and what a fond mother wishes to see you, attend
+to some precepts and instructions from the pen of one, who can have no
+motive but your welfare and happiness, and who wishes in this way to
+supply to you the personal watchfulness and care, which a separation
+from you deprived you of at a period of life, when habits are easiest
+acquired and fixed; and though the advice may not be new, yet suffer it
+to obtain a place in your memory, for occasions may offer, and perhaps
+some concurring circumstances unite, to give it weight and force.
+
+"Suffer me to recommend to you one of the most useful lessons of life,
+the knowledge and study of yourself. There you run the greatest hazard
+of being deceived. Self-love and partiality cast a mist before the eyes,
+and there is no knowledge so hard to be acquired, nor of more benefit
+when once thoroughly understood. Ungoverned passions have aptly been
+compared to the boisterous ocean, which is known to produce the most
+terrible effects. 'Passions are the elements of life,' but elements
+which are subject to the control of reason. Whoever will candidly
+examine themselves, will find some degree of passion, peevishness, or
+obstinacy in their natural tempers. You will seldom find these
+disagreeable ingredients all united in one; but the uncontrolled
+indulgence of either is sufficient to render the possessor unhappy in
+himself, and disagreeable to all who are so unhappy as to be witnesses
+of it, or suffer from its effects.
+
+"You, my dear son, are formed with a constitution feelingly alive; your
+passions are strong and impetuous; and, though I have sometimes seen
+them hurry you into excesses, yet with pleasure I have observed a
+frankness and generosity accompany your efforts to govern and subdue
+them. Few persons are so subject to passion, but that they can command
+themselves, when they have a motive sufficiently strong; and those who
+are most apt to transgress will restrain themselves through respect and
+reverence to superiors, and even, where they wish to recommend
+themselves, to their equals. The due government of the passions, has
+been considered in all ages as a most valuable acquisition. Hence an
+inspired writer observes, 'He that is slow to anger is better than the
+mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.' This
+passion, cooperating with power, and unrestrained by reason, has
+produced the subversion of cities, the desolation of countries, the
+massacre of nations, and filled the world with injustice and oppression.
+Behold your own country, your native land, suffering from the effects of
+lawless power and malignant passions, and learn betimes, from your own
+observation and experience, to govern and control yourself. Having once
+obtained this self-government, you will find a foundation laid for
+happiness to yourself and usefulness to mankind. 'Virtue alone is
+happiness below;' and consists in cultivating and improving every good
+inclination, and in checking and subduing every propensity to evil. I
+have been particular upon the passion of anger, as it is generally the
+most predominant passion at your age, the soonest excited, and the least
+pains are taken to subdue it;
+
+  ----'what composes man, can man destroy.'"
+
+With such a mother to counsel him, one is led to ask, how could John
+Quincy Adams _help_ becoming a noble-minded and great man? Who wonders
+that, with good natural endowments and his excellent privileges, coupled
+with maternal training, he fitted himself to fill the highest office in
+the gift of a free people?
+
+In June, 1784, Mrs. Adams sailed for London to join her husband, who was
+then our Minister at the Court of St. James. While absent, she visited
+France and Netherlands; resided for a time in the former country; and
+returned with her knowledge of human nature, of men, manners, &c.,
+enlarged; disgusted with the splendor and sophistications of royalty,
+and well prepared to appreciate the republican simplicity and frankness
+of which she was herself a model. While Mr. Adams was Vice-President and
+President, she never laid aside her singleness of heart, and that
+sincerity and unaffected dignity which had won for her many friends
+before her elevation, and which, in spite of national animosity,
+conquered the prejudices and gained the hearts of the aristocracy of
+Great Britain. But her crowning virtue was her Christian humility, which
+is beautifully exemplified in a letter which she wrote to Mr. Adams, on
+the 8th of February, 1797, "the day on which the votes for President
+were counted, and Mr. Adams, as Vice-President, was required by law to
+announce himself the President elect for the ensuing term:"
+
+  "'The sun is dressed in brightest beams,
+  To give thy honors to the day.'
+
+"And may it prove an auspicious prelude to each ensuing season. You
+have this day to declare yourself head of a nation. 'And now, O Lord, my
+God, thou hast made thy servant ruler over the people. Give unto him an
+understanding heart, that he may know how to go out and come in before
+this great people; that he may discern between good and bad. For who is
+able to judge this thy so great a people?' were the words of a royal
+sovereign; and not less applicable to him who is invested with the chief
+magistracy of a nation, though he wear not a crown, nor the robes of
+royalty.
+
+"My thoughts and my meditations are with you, though personally absent;
+and my petitions to Heaven are, that 'the things which make for peace
+may not be hidden from your eyes.' My feelings are not those of pride or
+ostentation, upon the occasion. They are solemnized by a sense of the
+obligations, the important trusts, and numerous duties connected with
+it. That you may be enabled to discharge them with honor to yourself,
+with justice and impartiality to your country, and with satisfaction to
+this great people, shall be the daily prayer of your
+
+                                                          "A. A."
+
+From her husband's retirement from the Presidency, in 1801, to the close
+of her life, in 1818, Mrs. Adams remained constantly at Quincy.
+Cheerful, contented, and happy, she devoted her last years, in that
+rural seclusion, to the reciprocities of friendship and love, to offices
+of kindness and charity, and, in short, to all those duties which tend
+to ripen the Christian for an exchange of worlds.
+
+But it would be doing injustice to her character and leaving one of her
+noblest deeds unrecorded, to close without mentioning the influence for
+good which she exerted over Mr. Adams, and her part in the work of
+making him what he was. That he was sensible of the benignant influence
+of wives, may be gathered from the following letter which was addressed
+to Mrs. Adams from Philadelphia, on the eleventh of August, 1777:
+
+"I think I have some times observed to you in conversation, that upon
+examining the biography of illustrious men, you will generally find some
+female about them, in the relation of mother, or wife, or sister, to
+whose instigation a great part of their merit is to be ascribed. You
+will find a curious example of this in the case of Aspasia, the wife of
+Pericles. She was a woman of the greatest beauty, and the first genius.
+She taught him, it is said, his refined maxims of policy, his lofty
+imperial eloquence, nay, even composed the speeches on which so great a
+share of his reputation was founded.
+
+"I wish some of our great men had such wives. By the account in your
+last letter, it seems the women in Boston begin to think themselves able
+to serve their country. What a pity it is that our generals in the
+northern districts had not Aspasias to their wives.
+
+"I believe the two Howes have not very great women to their wives. If
+they had, we should suffer more from their exertions than we do. This is
+our good fortune. A smart wife would have put Howe in possession of
+Philadelphia a long time ago."
+
+While Mr. Adams was wishing that some of our great men had such wives as
+Aspasia, he had such a wife, was himself such a man, and owed half his
+greatness to _his_ Aspasia. The exalted patriotism and the cheerful
+piety infused into the letters she addressed to him during the long
+night of political uncertainty that hung over these Colonies,
+strengthened his courage, fired his nobler feelings, nerved his higher
+purposes and, doubtless, greatly contributed to make him the right hand
+man of Washington.
+
+The diligent and faithful Andromaches, the gifted and patriotic
+_Aspasias_ of the Revolution, did their portion of the great work
+silently and unseen. Secretly they urged their husbands and sons to the
+battle-field, secretly spoke to them by letter in the camp or
+convention, and secretly prayed for wisdom to guide our statesmen and
+victory to crown our arms. Thus privately acting, how little of their
+labor or their worth is known. How few of their names are treasured in
+our annals. With rare exceptions, like the builders of the pyramids,
+their initials are lost. Then, while we have the name and the noble
+example of Mrs. Adams, with a few of her patriotic compeers, let us
+pledge our unswerving devotion to Freedom over the _unknown_ names of
+the wives and mothers who secretly assisted in nerving the arm that
+broke the sceptre of British dominion on these shores, and gave the
+eagle of Liberty a safe and abiding home on our mountain tops.
+
+
+
+
+ANN H. JUDSON.
+
+  God has a bright example made of thee,
+  To show that womankind may be
+  Above that sex which her superior seems.
+
+                                       COWLEY.
+
+
+About the commencement of the present century, a new field was opened
+for the display of Christian heroism. The despairing wail of the pagan
+millions of the East, had reached the ears of a few of the most devoted
+people of God on these Western shores, and the question arisen, Who
+shall lead the way to heathen realms, who among us first encounter the
+perils of an attempt to plant the standard of the Cross beside the
+pagodas of Buddhism? He who would then go forth, must leave his native
+land with the parting benediction of but few friends; must be
+accompanied with few and faint prayers; must make his own path through
+the tiger-haunted jungles, and face alone the untried dangers of a
+dubious assault on the strong-holds of pagan superstition. But,
+notwithstanding the discouragements inwoven with the contemplation of
+the undertaking, and the great peril that must attend its completion, it
+was magnanimous and sublime, and there were hearts in the land
+philanthropic enough to embark in it and brave enough to face its
+terrors without fainting.
+
+Among the foremost Americans who offered their services in this work,
+were the Rev. Adoniram Judson and his wife. They embarked from Salem,
+Massachusetts, for Calcutta, with Samuel Newell and lady, on the
+nineteenth of February, 1812: and five days afterwards Messrs. Hall and
+Nott, with their wives, and Mr. Rice, sailed from Philadelphia for the
+same place. The names of these pioneer missionaries are sacred to the
+memory of all living Christians, and, being embodied in the history of
+the grandest enterprise of the age, are to be handed down to all future
+generations.
+
+While all the female portion of this little band, exhibited many
+excellent traits of character, and worked well while their day lasted,
+no other one endured so many and so great hardships and trials,
+encountered such fearful perils, and had such an opportunity to test the
+strength of the higher virtues, as Mrs. Judson.
+
+Ann Hasseltine was born at Bradford, in Essex county, Massachusetts, on
+the twenty-second day of December, 1789. She was an active and
+enthusiastic child; of a gay disposition, yet thoughtful at times; and
+before she was seventeen, gave religion that attention which its
+importance demands.
+
+She became acquainted with Mr. Judson in 1810. He was then a student in
+the Andover Theological Seminary, preparing for the work of foreign
+missions. A mutual and strong attachment sprang up, and they were
+married in February, 1812, two weeks before their embarkation for India.
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Judson first halted at Serampore. There, soon after their
+arrival, they were immersed by an English missionary, having changed
+their views of the ordinance of baptism on the long voyage across the
+Atlantic and Indian oceans. From that place they were soon driven by the
+Directors and Agents of the British East India Company, who were at that
+time opposed to the introduction of the Christian religion into those
+parts. They sailed from Madras for Rangoon, on the twenty-second of
+June, 1813, and settled at the latter place.
+
+From the commencement of missionary toil, Mrs. Judson had many
+inconveniences to encounter, but they were met with patience and served
+to strengthen that energy which, it will be seen, was afterwards so much
+needed and so strikingly displayed. Four or five years after settling at
+Rangoon, Mr. Judson went to Chittagong, in a neighboring province, to
+secure help, some Arracanese converts being there, who spoke the Burman
+language. He expected to return within three months. "At the expiration
+of this period, however, when his return was daily expected, a vessel
+from Chittagong arrived at Rangoon, bringing the distressing
+intelligence that neither he nor the vessel in which he had embarked had
+been heard of at that port. Similar tidings were also contained in
+letters which Mrs. Judson received from Bengal.
+
+"While the missionaries were in this state of fearful suspense, an
+incident occurred which was well calculated to increase the perplexity
+and dismay in which they were plunged. Mr. Hough,[4] who had continued
+quietly studying the language, at the mission house, was suddenly
+summoned to appear immediately at the court house, and it was rumored
+among the affrighted domestics and neighbors who followed the officers
+that came for Mr. Hough, that the king had issued a decree for the
+banishment of all the foreign teachers. It was late in the afternoon
+when he made his appearance before the despotic tribunal that was
+charged with the execution of the imperial decree, and he was merely
+required to give security for his appearance the following morning;
+when, as the unfeeling magistrates declared, 'if he did not tell all the
+truth relative to his situation in the country, they would write with
+his heart's blood.' Mr. Hough was detained from day to day on the most
+flimsy pretences, himself unable to speak the language, and with no one
+near him who would attempt to explain his situation or vindicate his
+objects and his conduct. The viceroy whom Mr. and Mrs. Judson had known,
+had recently been recalled to Ava, and he who now held the reins of the
+government was a stranger, and, as his family were not with him, Mrs.
+Judson, according to the etiquette of the court, could not be admitted
+to his presence. The order which had led to the arrest was found to
+relate to some Portuguese priests whom the king had banished, and Mr.
+Hough was at first summoned to give assurance that he was not one of the
+number, and then detained by the officers in order to extort money for
+his ransom. He was at length released by order of the viceroy, to whom
+Mrs. Judson boldly carried the cause and presented a petition which she
+had caused her teacher to draw up for the purpose.
+
+  [4] Mr. Hough was a printer in the employment of the Baptist Board.
+                                                              AUTHOR.
+
+
+"The anxiety occasioned by this arrest and its train of petty
+annoyances, and still more by the protracted and mysterious absence of
+Mr. Judson, was at this time greatly increased by rumors which reached
+Rangoon, of an impending war between the English and the Burman
+governments. There were but few English vessels lying in the river, and
+the English traders who were in the country were closing their business
+and preparing to hasten away, at any new indications of hostilities that
+should be presented. The condition of the missionaries was rendered
+still more distressing by the ravages of the cholera, which now, for the
+first time made its appearance in Burmah, and was sending its terrors
+throughout the empire. The poor people of Rangoon fell in hundreds
+before its frightful progress. The dismal death-drum continually gave
+forth its warning sound as new names were added to the melancholy list
+of victims to the desolating malady. In these gloomy circumstances, they
+saw ship after ship leave the river, bearing away all the foreigners who
+were in the province, until at length the only one remaining was on the
+eve of sailing. Harassed with doubts concerning the uncertain fate of
+Mr. Judson, and surrounded with perils, they saw before them what
+appeared the last opportunity of leaving the country, before the
+threatened hostilities should begin, and they should be exposed to all
+the merciless cruelties of barbarian-warfare.
+
+"Mr. and Mrs. Hough decided to go on board and escape to Bengal, while
+escape was still in their power, and they urged Mrs. Judson to accompany
+them. She at length reluctantly yielded to their advice, and with a
+heart burdened with sorrows she embarked with her companions, on the
+fifth of July, in the only ship that remained to carry them from the
+country. The ship, however, was delayed for several days in the river,
+and was likely to be subjected to still further detention. Mrs. Judson,
+who had gone on board rather in obedience to the entreaties of her
+associates, and the dictates of prudence, than from the suggestions of
+that truer instinct which often serves to guide the noblest natures in
+great emergencies, now decided to leave the ship and return alone to the
+mission house, there to await either the return of her husband, or the
+confirmation of her worst fears respecting his fate. It was a noble
+exhibition of heroic courage, and gave assurance of all the
+distinguished qualities which, at a later period and amid dangers still
+more appalling, shone with unfailing brightness around the character of
+this remarkable woman. The event justified her determination; and,
+within a week after her decision was taken, Mr. Judson arrived at
+Rangoon, having been driven from place to place by contrary winds, and
+having entirely failed of the object for which he undertook the
+voyage."[5]
+
+  [5] Gammell's History of American Baptist Missions.
+
+In the summer of 1820, Mrs. Judson's health had become so far undermined
+by the deleterious influences of the climate, that it was deemed
+necessary that she should go to Calcutta for medical advice, better
+physicians being located there than in Rangoon. She was so feeble that
+her husband was obliged to accompany her. She was soon removed to
+Serampore, where were eminently skillful physicians and a purer
+atmosphere. Her health so improved in six months that she returned with
+her husband to Rangoon. The malady which had afflicted her was the
+chronic liver complaint. It was not entirely removed at Serampore, and a
+few months after her return, it began to distress her more than ever. It
+was now thought that nothing but a visit to her native land could save
+her. Accordingly, on the twenty-first of August, 1821, she started for
+Calcutta, where, after some delay, she found a ship bound to England, by
+which route she returned, reaching New York on the twenty-fifth of
+September, 1822.
+
+She remained in this country nine months. During that short period,
+aside from paying a visit to her relations, she attended the Triennial
+Convention at Washington, held in May, 1823; visited the larger cities
+North and South; attended numerous meetings of female associations; and
+prepared a history of the Burman mission which was so ably written that
+even the London Quarterly Review, and, if we mistake not, other English
+periodicals of high critical character, noticed it in commendatory
+terms.
+
+The following extracts from letters written to Dr. Wayland while in this
+country, show the interest she took in the affairs of Burmah while
+absent from that land of her adoption. Under date of "Baltimore, January
+twenty-second, 1823," she says, "I want the Baptists throughout the
+United States to feel, that Burmah _must be converted_ through their
+instrumentality. They must do more than they have ever yet done. They
+must _pray_ more, they must _give_ more, and make greater efforts to
+prevent the Missionary flame from becoming extinct. Every Christian in
+the United States should feel as deeply impressed with the importance of
+making continual efforts for the salvation of the heathen, as though
+their conversion depended solely on himself. Every individual Christian
+should feel himself guilty if he has not done and does not continue to
+do _all_ in his power for the spread of the gospel and the enlightening
+of the heathen world. But I need not write thus to you. You see, you
+feel the misery of the heathen world. Try to awaken Christians around
+you. Preach frequently on the subject of Missions. I have remarked it to
+be the case, when a minister feels _much_ engaged for the heathen, his
+people generally partake of his spirit."
+
+Writing from Washington in the following March, she says, "I long to be
+in Rangoon, and am anxiously hoping to get away in the spring. Do make
+inquiries relative to the sailing of ships from Boston and Salem. I must
+not miss one good opportunity."
+
+With her health much improved though not fully restored, she sailed for
+her Burman home on the twenty-second of June, 1823, and reached Rangoon
+on the fifth of the following December. She found the work of the
+mission prospering. The next year, however, a war broke out between the
+Burman government and the English in Bengal, and, not only suspended the
+operations of the missionaries, but jeopardised their lives. They were
+supposed to be spies employed by the English government. Mr. and Mrs.
+Judson, with Dr. Price, another of the missionaries, were at that time
+at Ava, where the imperial government of the Burman Empire had just been
+removed.
+
+"It was on the eighth of June, 1824, that a company of Burmans, headed
+by an officer, and attended by a 'spotted-faced son of the prison,' came
+to the mission house, and, in the presence of Mrs. Judson seized her
+husband and Dr. Price, and after binding them tight with cords, drove
+them away to the court house. From this place they were hurried, by
+order of the king, without examination, to a loathsome dungeon, known as
+'the death prison,' where along with the other foreigners they were
+confined, each loaded with three pairs of fetters and fastened to a long
+pole, so as to be incapable of moving. Meanwhile, Mrs. Judson was shut
+up in her house, deprived of her furniture and of most of her articles
+of property, and watched for several days by an unfeeling guard, to
+whose rapacious extortions and brutal annoyances she was constantly
+exposed, without being able to make any exertion for the liberation of
+the prisoners, or the mitigation of their cruel sentence. She however,
+at length succeeded in addressing a petition to the governor of the
+city, who had the prisoners in charge. By a present of one hundred
+dollars to his subordinate officer, their condition was somewhat
+meliorated, and by the unwearied perseverance of Mrs. Judson, and her
+affecting appeals to the sympathies of the governor, he was induced to
+grant her occasional permission to go to the prison, and at length to
+build for herself a bamboo shed in the prison yard, where she took up
+her abode, in order that she might prepare food for the prisoners, and
+otherwise minister to their necessities.
+
+"At the end of nine months they were suddenly removed from Ava to
+Amarapura, and thence to a wretched place several miles beyond, called
+Oung-pen-la, where it was arranged that they should be put to death in
+presence of the pakah-woon, as a kind of sacrifice in honor of his
+taking command of a new army of fifty thousand men about to march
+against the English. This sanguinary chief had been raised from a low
+condition to the rank of woongyee; but in the height of his power, just
+as he was about to march at the head of the army he had mustered, he
+fell into disgrace, was charged with treason, and executed, at an hour's
+notice, with the unqualified approbation of all classes of people at
+Ava. His timely execution saved the missionaries from the fate which
+hung over them, and they were left uncared for in the miserable cells of
+Oung-pen-la, till the near approach of the English to the capitol
+induced the king to send for Mr. Judson, to accompany the embassy that
+was about to start for the English camp, for the purpose of averting the
+destruction that now threatened the Golden City.
+
+"During this period of a year and a half Mrs. Judson followed them from
+prison to prison, beneath the darkness of night and the burning sun of
+noon-day, bearing in her arms her infant daughter,--the child of sorrow
+and misfortune, who was born after the imprisonment of its
+father,--procuring for them food which Burman policy never supplies to
+prisoners, and perpetually interceding for them with their successive
+keepers, with the governor of the city, with the kinsmen of the monarch,
+and the members of the royal household. More than once the queen's
+brother gave orders that they should be privately put to death; but such
+was the influence which Mrs. Judson possessed over the mind of the
+governor, that he evaded the order each time it was given, and assured
+her that for her sake he would not execute her husband, even though he
+was obliged to execute all the others. And when at last they were to be
+taken from his jurisdiction and driven to the horrid prison-house of
+Oung-pen-la, at the command of the pakah-woon, the old man humanely
+summoned Mrs. Judson from the prison where he had permitted her to go
+and sit with her husband, in order that she might be spared the pangs
+of a separation which he had not the power to prevent. Her own pen has
+traced, in lines that will never be forgotten by those who read them,
+the affecting history of the dismal days and nights of her husband's
+captivity. We follow her alike with admiration and the deepest sympathy
+as she takes her solitary way from Ava, at first in a boat upon the
+river, and then in a Burman cart, in search of the unknown place to
+which the prisoners have been carried. At length, overcome with fatigue,
+with exposure, and the bitter pangs of hope deferred, we see her in a
+comfortless cabin, prostrate with disease and brought to the very gates
+of death,--while her infant is carried about the village by its father
+in the hours of his occasional liberation, to be nourished by such
+Burman mothers as might have compassion on its helpless necessities.
+
+"Such is a single scene from this melancholy record of missionary
+suffering. History has not recorded; poetry itself has seldom portrayed,
+a more affecting exhibition of Christian fortitude, of female heroism,
+and all the noble and generous qualities which constitute the dignity
+and glory of woman. In the midst of sickness and danger, and every
+calamity which can crush the human heart, she presented a character
+equal to the sternest trial, and an address and fertility of resources
+which gave her an ascendency over the minds of her most cruel enemies,
+and alone saved the missionaries and their fellow captives from the
+terrible doom which constantly awaited them. Day after day and amid the
+lonely hours of night was she employed in conciliating the favor of
+their keepers, and in devising plans for their release, or the
+alleviation of their captivity. Sometimes, she confesses, her thoughts
+would wander for a brief interval to America and the beloved friends of
+her better days; 'but for nearly a year and a half, so entirely
+engrossed was every thought with present scenes and sufferings, that she
+seldom reflected on a single occurrence of her former life, or
+recollected that she had a friend in existence out of Ava.'"[6]
+
+  [6] Gammell.
+
+When peace was declared between the two powers, by the terms of
+negotiation, the European prisoners were all released; and thus closed
+the long and brutal incarceration of the missionaries. Mr. and Mrs.
+Judson immediately departed for Rangoon. They soon removed to Amherst, a
+new town on the Salwen or Martaban river. After having established a
+mission there, Mr. Judson had occasion to visit Ava. He started on the
+fifth of July, 1826, leaving his wife and infant daughter in the care of
+kind friends. He was detained at the Capital longer than he had
+anticipated; and before he returned he received the painful intelligence
+that his wife was dead. "A remittent fever had settled on her
+constitution, already enfeebled by suffering and disease, and she died
+on the twenty-fourth of October, 1826, amid the universal sorrow, alike
+of the English residents at Amherst and of the native Christians who
+had gathered around her at her new home. Her infant daughter died a few
+weeks afterwards, and side by side they were laid to rest, under a large
+hopia tree a few rods from the house where she had resided. Two marble
+stones, procured by the contributions of several female friends in her
+native land, are the humble memorial that marks the spot where sleeps
+one whose "name will be remembered in the churches of Burmah, in future
+times, when the pagodas of Gaudama shall have fallen; when the spires of
+Christian temples shall gleam along the waters of the Irrawaddy and the
+Salwen: and when the 'Golden City' shall have lifted up her gates to let
+the King of Glory in."
+
+
+
+
+A CHRISTIAN WOMAN IN THE HOUR OF DANGER.
+
+  O rainbow of the battle-storm!
+    Methinks thou'rt gleaming on my sight;
+  I see thy fair and fragile form
+    Amid the thick cloud of the fight.
+
+                                 SARA J. CLARKE.
+
+  One grain of incense with devotion offered,
+  Is beyond all perfumes or Sabaean spices.
+
+                                      MASSINGER.
+
+
+The following incident, we are informed by Mrs. Ellet, was communicated
+to a minister--Rev. J. H. Saye--by two officers in the Revolutionary
+war. One of them was in the skirmish referred to; the other lived near
+the scene of action; hence, it may be relied on as authentic. The name
+of the heroine is unknown, which is greatly to be regretted:
+
+"Early in the war, the inhabitants on the frontier of Burke county,
+North Carolina, being apprehensive of an attack by the Indians, it was
+determined to seek protection in a fort in a more densely populated
+neighborhood in an interior settlement. A party of soldiers was sent to
+protect them on their retreat. The families assembled, the line of
+march was taken towards their place of destination, and they proceeded
+some miles unmolested--the soldiers marching in a hollow square, with
+the refugee families in the centre. The Indians who had watched these
+movements, had laid a plan for their destruction. The road to be
+traveled lay through a dense forest in the fork of a river, where the
+Indians concealed themselves, and waited till the travelers were in the
+desired spot. Suddenly the war-whoop sounded in front, and on either
+side; a large body of painted warriors rushed in, filling the gap by
+which the whites had entered, and an appalling crash of fire-arms
+followed. The soldiers, however, were prepared; such as chanced to be
+near the trees darted behind them, and began to ply the deadly rifle;
+the others prostrated themselves upon the earth, among the tall grass,
+and crawled to trees. The families screened themselves as best they
+could. The onset was long and fiercely urged; ever and anon amid the din
+and smoke, the warriors would rush, tomahawk in hand, towards the
+centre; but they were repulsed by the cool intrepidity of the back-woods
+riflemen. Still they fought on, determined on the destruction of the
+victims who offered such desperate resistance. All at once an appalling
+sound greeted the ears of the women and children in the centre; it was a
+cry from their defenders--a cry for powder! 'Our powder is giving out,'
+they exclaimed. 'Have you any? Bring us some, or we can fight no
+longer!' A woman of the party had a good supply. She spread her apron on
+the ground, poured her powder into it, and going round, from soldier to
+soldier, as they stood behind the trees, bade each who needed powder put
+down his hat, and poured a quantity upon it. Thus she went round the
+line of defence, till her whole stock, and all she could obtain from
+others, was distributed. At last the savages gave way, and, pressed by
+their foes, were driven off the ground. The victorious whites returned
+to those for whose safety they had ventured into the wilderness.
+Inquiries were made as to who had been killed, and one running up,
+cried, 'Where is the woman that gave us the powder? I want to see her!'
+'Yes!--yes!--let us see her!' responded another and another; 'without
+her we should have been all lost!' The soldiers ran about among the
+women and children, looking for her and making inquiries. Directly came
+in others from the pursuit, one of whom observing the commotion, asked
+the cause, and was told. 'You are looking in the wrong place,' he
+replied. 'Is she killed? Ah, we were afraid of that!' exclaimed many
+voices. 'Not when I saw her,' answered the soldier. 'When the Indians
+ran off, she was on _her knees in prayer_ at the root of yonder tree,
+and there I left her.' There was a simultaneous rush to the tree--and
+there, to their great joy, they found the woman safe, and still on her
+knees in prayer. Thinking not of herself, she received their applause
+without manifesting any other feeling than gratitude to Heaven for their
+great deliverance."
+
+
+
+
+HUMANITY OF HARTFORD LADIES.
+
+  As the rivers farthest flowing,
+    In the highest hills have birth;
+  As the banyan broadest growing,
+    Oftenest bows its head to earth,
+  So the noblest minds press onward,
+    Channels far of good to trace;
+  So the largest hearts bend downward,
+    Circling all the human race.
+
+                             MRS. HALE.
+
+
+The sympathies of a free people are always aroused when a nation is
+struggling for freedom. Hence the war between the Turks and Greeks not
+only called forth the eloquence of American orators, but the mothers and
+daughters of the land, reminded of the long struggle of their husbands
+and fathers for liberty, were alive to the interests, and prayed much
+for the ransom of the latter people. Nor was this all; the sufferings to
+which the war reduced the Greeks, so much moved the hearts of females
+that, in one instance at least, they made a demonstration of their
+sympathy worthy of record. The ladies of Hartford, Connecticut, sent out
+a ship to the women of Greece, containing money, and articles of wearing
+apparel, wrought by themselves expressly for an offering to suffering
+humanity. Mrs. Sigourney, the Secretary of the Ladies' Committee, wrote
+the following letter to accompany the contribution:
+
+"_United States of America, March 12th, 1828._
+    _The Ladies of Hartford, in Connecticut, to the
+    Ladies of Greece._
+
+"SISTERS AND FRIENDS,--From the years of childhood your native clime has
+been the theme of our admiration: together with our brothers and our
+husbands, we early learned to love the country of Homer, of Aristides,
+of Solon, and of Socrates. That enthusiasm which the glory of ancient
+Greece enkindled in our bosoms, has preserved a fervent friendship for
+her descendants: we have beheld with deep sympathy the horrors of
+Turkish domination, and the struggles so long and nobly sustained by
+them for existence and for liberty.
+
+"The communications of Dr. Howe, since his return from your land, have
+made us more intimately acquainted with your personal sufferings. He has
+presented many of you to us in his vivid descriptions, as seeking refuge
+in caves, and, under the branches of olive trees, listening for the
+footsteps of the destroyer, and mourning over your dearest ones slain in
+battle.
+
+"Sisters and friends, our hearts bleed for you. Deprived of your
+protectors by the fortune of war, and continually in fear of evils worse
+than death, our prayers are with you, in all your wanderings, your wants
+and your griefs. In this vessel (which may God send in safety to your
+shores!) you will receive a portion of that bounty wherewith He hath
+blessed us. The poor among us have given according to their ability, and
+our little children have cheerfully aided, that some of you and your
+children might have bread to eat and raiment to put on. Could you but
+behold the faces of our little ones brighten, and their eyes sparkle
+with joy, while they give up their holidays, that they might work with
+their needles for Greece; could you see those females who earn a
+subsistence by labor, gladly casting their mite into our treasury, and
+taking hours from their repose that an additional garment might be
+furnished for you; could you witness the active spirit that pervades all
+classes of our community, it would cheer for a moment the darkness and
+misery of your lot.
+
+"We are the inhabitants of a part of one of the smallest of the United
+States, and our donations must therefore, of necessity, be more limited
+than those from the larger and more wealthy cities; yet such as we have,
+we give in the name of our dear Saviour, with our blessings and our
+prayers.
+
+"We know the value of sympathy--how it arms the heart to endure--how it
+plucks the sting from sorrow--therefore we have written these few lines
+to assure you, that in the remoter parts of our country, as well as in
+her high places, you are remembered with pity and with affection.
+
+"Sisters and friends, we extend across the ocean our hands to you in the
+fellowship of Christ. We pray that His Cross and the banner of your
+land may rise together over the Crescent and the Minaret--that your sons
+may hail the freedom of ancient Greece restored, and build again the
+waste places which the oppressor hath trodden down; and that you,
+admitted once more to the felicities of home, may gather from past
+perils and adversities a brighter wreath for the kingdom of Heaven.
+
+                                             "LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY,
+                            "_Secretary of the Greek Committee of
+                                          Hartford, Connecticut._"
+
+
+
+
+"MOTHER BAILEY."
+
+  No braver dames had Sparta,
+  No nobler matrons Rome.
+
+                       W. D. GALLAGHER.
+
+
+Anna Warner was born in Groton, Connecticut, on the eleventh of October,
+1758, and married Captain Elijah Bailey of the same town, in 1774. He
+participated in the hardships and dangers, and she in the trials of the
+struggle for Independence. He is dead; she is still living.[7]
+
+  [7] We are informed by the Postmaster of Groton, in a letter dated the
+  tenth of December, 1850, that Mrs. B. is still living, and that her mind
+  is somewhat impaired. She is now in her ninety-third year.
+
+She was a witness of the terrible massacre at Fort Griswold, in Groton,
+on the sixth of September; and the following morning she hurried off to
+the scene of carnage, a distance of three miles, to search for an uncle
+who was among the brave defenders. She found him among the fatally
+wounded: at his request that he might see his wife and child before he
+died, she ran home, caught and saddled a horse for the feeble mother,
+and taking the child in her arms, carried it the whole distance, that it
+might receive the kisses and benediction of its dying father!
+
+In the month of July, 1813 a blockading fleet appeared off the harbor of
+New London; and on the thirteenth, demonstrations were noticed of an
+intention to attack the place. Intense excitement now prevailed not only
+in New London, but in all the adjacent towns. Fort Griswold was once
+more occupied; small cannon--all to be had--were planted, and every
+preparation possible was made for a vigorous defence. The greatest
+deficiency was in flannel for cartridges; and in the emergency a
+messenger was dispatched to the village to consult with Mrs. Bailey on
+the most expeditious method of obtaining a supply. She promptly offered
+to see that each family was visited, and the wants of the soldiery made
+known. This was done, and each individual in the neighborhood cheerfully
+presented her and her co-laborers whatever of the desired articles could
+be spared, some in garments and some in the raw material. When these
+were delivered to the messenger, and there was still found a deficiency,
+she slyly slipped an under garment from her own person and charged him
+to give _that_ to the British. As the enemy did not deem it expedient to
+make an attack, it is difficult to tell what aid that garment rendered;
+nor does it matter: its patriotic surrender showed the noble spirit
+which has always actuated "mother Bailey," and was an appropriation for
+her country which never caused her a blush.[8]
+
+  [8] The editor of the Democratic Review, to whom we are indebted for a
+  portion of these facts, visited the heroine of Groton in the fall of
+  1846, in the number of his periodical for the January following spoke of
+  her as a remarkable woman, physically, as well as mentally and
+  patriotically. She was then eighty-eight years old, yet as agile as a
+  girl of eighteen, and neither sight nor hearing had began to fail. "Such
+  then," he adds, "is Mother Bailey. Had she lived in the palmy days of
+  ancient Roman glory, no matron of the mighty empire would have been more
+  highly honored." In the same article Mrs. B. is spoken of as the
+  Postmistress of Groton, an office, which the present Postmaster assures
+  us, she never held.
+
+  Since the above was originally stereotyped, Mrs. Bailey has died. Her
+  demise occurred in the winter of 1850-1.
+
+
+
+
+ELIZABETH HEARD.
+
+  Kindness has resistless charms.
+
+                                          ROCHESTER.
+
+  Why should'st thou faint? Heaven smiles above,
+  Though storm and vapor intervene.
+
+                                       PARK BENJAMIN.
+
+
+Mrs. Elizabeth Heard, "a widow of good estate, a mother of many children
+and a daughter of Mr. Hull, a revered minister formerly living at
+Pisquataqua," was among the sufferers from captivity by the Indians in
+the latter part of the seventeenth century. She was taken at the
+destruction of Major Waldron's garrison in Dover, New Hampshire, about
+1689. She was permitted to escape on account of a favor which she had
+shown a young Indian thirteen years before--she having secreted him in
+her house on the "calamitous day," in 1676, when four hundred savages
+were surprised in Dover.[9]
+
+  [9] Drake's Indian Captivities.
+
+Having been suffered to escape, writes the Rev. John Pike, minister at
+Dover, to Dr. Cotton Mather, "she soon after safely arrived at Captain
+Gerish's garrison, where she found a refuge from the storm. Here she
+also had the satisfaction to understand that her own garrison, though
+one of the first that was assaulted, had been bravely defended and
+successfully maintained against the enemy. This gentlewoman's garrison
+was on the most extreme frontier of the province, and more obnoxious
+than any other, and therefore incapable of being relieved. Nevertheless,
+by her presence and courage it held out all the war, even for ten years
+together; and the persons in it have enjoyed very eminent preservations.
+It would have been deserted if she had accepted offers that were made
+her by her friends to abandon it and retire to Portsmouth among them,
+which would have been a damage to the town and land."
+
+
+
+
+THE LADIES OF PHILADELPHIA IN 1780.
+
+  I have not shut mine ears to their demands,
+  Nor posted off their suits with slow delays.
+
+                                          SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+During the long war which resulted in the Independence of the American
+Colonies, the women all over the land were warmly interested in the
+condition of the soldiers, and prompt to relieve their wants when
+suffering. There was, at times, a sad deficiency of wearing apparel; and
+many are the instances in which a noble sacrifice of ease and a liberal
+expenditure of time and strength, were made by the ladies that this
+comfort might be restored to the self-sacrificing soldiers.
+
+In 1780, the ladies of Philadelphia city and county, learning that the
+soldiers were in great need of clothing, sold their jewelry and
+converted _other_ trinkets into something more serviceable; collected by
+solicitation large sums of money; purchased the raw material, plied the
+needle "with all diligence;" and in a short time the aggregate amount of
+their contributions was $7,500.[10]
+
+  [10] This sum was raised in and immediately around Philadelphia. The
+  efforts of the ladies were not, however, limited to their own
+  neighborhood. They addressed circulars to the adjoining counties and
+  states, and the response of New Jersey and Maryland was truly generous.
+
+The number of shirts made by the ladies of Philadelphia during that
+patriotic movement, was twenty-two hundred! These were cut out at the
+house of Mrs. Sarah Bache, daughter of Dr. Franklin. This lady writing
+to a Mrs. Meredith, of Trenton, New Jersey, at that time, says, "I am
+happy to have it in my power to tell you that the sums given by the good
+women of Philadelphia for the benefit of the army, have been much
+greater than could be expected, and given with so much cheerfulness and
+so many blessings, that it was rather a pleasing than a painful task to
+call for them. I write to claim you as a Philadelphian, and shall think
+myself honored in your donation."
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF PRESIDENT REED.[11]
+
+                                  Mightier far
+  Than strength of nerve or sinew, or the sway
+  Of magic potent over sun and star,
+  Is love, though oft to agony distrest,
+  And though his favorite seat be feeble woman's breast.
+
+                                              WORDSWORTH.
+
+  Undaunted by the tempest, wild and chill,
+  That pours its restless and disastrous roll,
+  O'er all that blooms below.
+
+                                         SANDS' YAMOYDEN.
+
+
+Prominent among the ladies of Philadelphia who, in the summer and fall
+of 1780, were active in assisting the sufferers in the American army,
+was Esther Reed, the wife of President Reed. She stood at the head of
+the Association till her death, which occurred on the eighteenth of
+September of that year. She was succeeded by Mrs. Sarah Bache, Mrs.
+Francis, Mrs. Clarkson, Mrs. Blair and Mrs. Hillegas, who were
+constituted an Executive Committee.
+
+  [11] The facts embodied in this notice of Mrs. Reed, are mainly obtained
+  from the Life and Correspondence of President Reed. _Vide_ volume II.,
+  chapter XII.
+
+The maiden name of Mrs. Reed was De Berdt. She was born in London on the
+twenty-second of October, 1746. There, about the year 1763, she became
+acquainted with Mr. Joseph Reed, of New Jersey, then a student at the
+Temple. She had fond parents and lived in affluence, but from these she
+at length turned, and, being married in May, 1770, "followed the lover
+of her youth to these wild Colonies." Philadelphia became the home of
+the happy couple. The wife of an American, she imbibed the sentiments
+and manifested the spirit of an American, and to the day of her death
+showed herself worthy to be the wife of an American soldier. "During
+five years of war, more than half the time her family was broken up, and
+for a long period the young wife, with her little children and an aged
+mother, was driven to seek a distant and precarious refuge." Her husband
+was an Adjutant-General, and was in the camp much of the time, till he
+was chosen President--or, as we now say, Governor--of Pennsylvania, in
+1778. Her letters written to him, breathe a patriotic and submissive
+spirit, and a cheerful trust in that "presiding Power" from whom all
+solace is derived in seasons of danger, disappointment and affliction.
+
+She was placed at the head of the voluntary association of Philadelphia
+ladies at its formation in May, and as early as the twentieth of the
+following month, it will be seen, by an extract from a letter written by
+Mr. Reed to General Washington, the business of the society was
+progressing admirably: "The ladies have caught the happy contagion, and
+in a few days Mrs. Reed will have the honor of writing to you on the
+subject. It is expected she will have a sum equal to L100,000, to be
+laid out according to your Excellency's direction, in such a way as may
+be thought most honorable and gratifying to the brave old soldiers who
+have borne so great a share of the burden of this war. I thought it best
+to mention it in this way to your Excellency for your consideration, as
+it may tend to forward the benevolent scheme of the donors with
+dispatch. I must observe that the ladies have excepted such articles of
+necessity, as clothing, which the states are bound to provide."
+
+The following letter, written the next month, explains itself:
+
+                                      "ESTHER REED TO WASHINGTON.
+                                          "Philadelphia, July 4th, 1780.
+
+"SIR,--The subscription set on foot by the ladies of this city for the
+use of the soldiery, is so far completed as to induce me to transmit to
+your Excellency an account of the money I have received, and which,
+although it has answered our expectations, does not equal our wishes,
+but I am persuaded will be received as a proof of our zeal for the great
+cause of America, and our esteem and gratitude for those who so bravely
+defend it.
+
+"The amount of the subscription is 200,580 dollars, and L625 6_s._ 8_d._
+in specie, which makes in the whole, in paper money, 300,634 dollars.
+
+"The ladies are anxious for the soldiers to receive the benefit of it,
+and wait your directions how it can best be disposed of. We expect some
+considerable addition from the country, and have also wrote to the other
+States in hopes the ladies there will adopt similar plans, to render it
+more general and beneficial.
+
+"With the utmost pleasure I offer any further attention and care in my
+power to complete the execution of the design, and shall be happy to
+accomplish it agreeable to the intention of the donors and your wishes
+on the subject.
+
+"The ladies of my family join me in their respectful compliments and
+sincerest prayer for your health, safety, and success.
+
+             "I have the honor to be,
+                       "With the highest respect,
+                               "Your obedient humble servant,
+                                                        "E. REED."
+
+During the months of July and August, though in feeble health, Mrs. Reed
+held frequent correspondence with General Washington on the best mode of
+administering relief to the destitute soldiers. Her desire to make
+herself useful may be inferred from the tone of a letter addressed to
+her husband from the banks of the Schuylkill, on the twenty-second of
+August. Among other things, she says, "I received this morning a letter
+from the General, and he still continues his opinion that the money in
+my hands should be laid out in linen; he says, no supplies he has at
+present or has a prospect of are any way adequate to the wants of the
+army. His letter is, I think, a little formal, as if he was hurt by our
+asking his opinion a second time, and our not following his directions,
+after desiring him to give them. The letter is very complaisant, and I
+shall now endeavor to get the shirts made as soon as possible. _This is
+another circumstance to urge my return to town, as I can do little
+towards it here._"
+
+The responsible and onerous duties of Mrs. Reed during the summer of
+1780, were no doubt injurious to her already poor health, and hastened
+the approach of death. Early in September she was laid upon a bed of
+fatal illness, and before the month had closed, as before mentioned, she
+was in the "mysterious realm." The Council and Assembly adjourned to pay
+their last respect to her exalted virtues. Her remains were deposited in
+the Presbyterian burying-ground in Arch Street, and the following
+epitaph was inscribed on her tomb:
+
+    "In memory of ESTHER, the beloved wife of Joseph Reed,
+        President of this State, who departed this life
+    On the 18th of September, A. D. 1780, aged 34 years.
+    Reader! If the possession of those virtues of the heart
+  Which make life valuable, or those personal endowments which
+  Command esteem and love, may claim respectful and affectionate
+        Remembrance, venerate the ashes here entombed.
+        If to have the cup of temporal blessings dashed
+  In the period and station of life in which temporal blessings
+  May be best enjoyed, demands our sorrow, drop a tear, and
+    Think how slender is that thread on which the joys
+                  And hopes of life depend."
+
+
+
+
+COMPLETION OF BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.
+
+  The tardy pile, slow rising there,
+  With tongueless eloquence shall tell
+  Of them who for their country fell.
+
+                                 SPRAGUE.
+
+                  Ladies, you deserve
+  To have a temple built _you_.
+
+                              SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+The Bunker Hill Monument Association was incorporated in June, 1823.
+Nothing further was done that year. At the second annual meeting, which
+was held on the seventeenth of June, efficient plans were devised to
+carry forward the enterprise; and at the end of another year, just half
+a century after the battle, the corner stone was laid. General Lafayette
+was then on a visit to the United States, and was appropriately chosen
+to take a leading part in this interesting ceremony. The monument did
+not get fairly under way till the spring of 1827. This apparent
+tardiness was owing to the circumstance that the material was to be
+brought from a granite quarry in Quincy, and a rail road--the first in
+the United States--had to be built from the quarry to the wharf in
+Quincy to convey the stone.
+
+In 1828, the funds were exhausted, and the work was not resumed till
+1834. Within a year the work was again suspended for the same cause.
+Nothing further was done, and but little said, till 1839, when it was
+announced that two gentlemen--Amos Lawrence, Esq., of Boston, and Judah
+Truro, Esq., of New Orleans--would give ten thousand each, provided a
+sum sufficient to complete the monument could be raised. This liberal
+offer caused some momentary stimulation; but no proposal immediately
+made was deemed expedient.
+
+The affairs of the Association now wore, as they had done once or twice
+before, a gloomy aspect. In the annual report, made on the seventeenth
+of June, 1840, doubts were expressed whether the present generation
+would see the monument completed. The same discouraging remark was made
+soon after, in one of the sewing circles of Boston, when, instead of
+depressing the spirits, it raised the ambition and quickened the
+thoughts of the ladies, and several of them proposed to get up a Fair.
+It was a happy suggestion; was forthwith sanctioned by the board of
+directors; prompted the issuing of a circular by a sub-committee of the
+same; raised the stentorian voice of a free and patriotic press, and met
+with immediate favor all over the land.
+
+The ladies had moved in the matter--_had taken the work into their own
+hands_--and all doubts in regard to its speedy completion seemed to
+vanish. The Fair was announced to be held in Quincy Hall, Boston, to
+commence on the fifth of September, 1840 Every female in the land was
+invited to contribute some article of her own hands' production, to the
+exhibition. The patriotic spirit of the _mothers_ of the Revolution was
+now warm in the hearts of their _daughters_, and ten thousand hands,
+engaged in the work of preparation, were "plying the needle with
+exquisite art."
+
+The ladies were to have the complete management of the Fair; and, all
+things in readiness, it commenced. The product of so much industry and
+ingenuity, dispensed at the hands of the ladies, presented a scene to
+the thousands who gathered around the numerous well-stored tables, that
+is described by a writer--doubtless an eye-witness--as "brilliant and
+inspiring."[12]
+
+  [12] Frothingham's Siege of Boston.
+
+The Fair continued till the fifteenth of the month. Its success was
+chronicled from day to day in a journal called "The Monument," printed
+in the Hall. It was the grandest movement of the kind ever made in the
+country; was conducted throughout in the most admirable manner, and
+wound up in triumph. Its net proceeds were $30,035 50. To this sum and
+the $20,000 pledged by the two gentlemen before mentioned, was soon
+added enough, from other sources, to make the fund $55,153 27; and the
+work went on to its completion.[13] Thus, at length, a "duty had been
+performed;" this imperishable offering to Freedom, "which had its
+commencement in manly patriotism," was "crowned by garlands of grace and
+beauty."
+
+  [13] The last stone was raised on the morning of the twenty-third of
+  July, 1842; the government of the Association and a multitude of other
+  people were present on the occasion. Just before this act took place, a
+  cannon was raised to the apex and discharged--a morning salute to call
+  the people together to engage in the matins of Freedom. Edward Carnes,
+  Jr., of Charlestown, accompanied the stone in its ascent, waving the
+  American flag as he went up, and the Charlestown Artillery were
+  meanwhile firing salutes to announce to the surrounding country the
+  interesting event.
+
+
+
+
+LYDIA DARRAH.
+
+  The brave man is not he who feels no fear,
+  For that were stupid and irrational;
+  But he whose noble soul its fear subdues,
+  And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from.
+
+                                     JOANNA BAILLIE.
+
+
+We find the following anecdote of the amiable and heroic Quakeress,
+Lydia Darrah, in the first number of the American Quarterly Review:
+
+When the British army held possession of Philadelphia, General Howe's
+head quarters were in Second street, the fourth door below Spruce, in a
+house which was before occupied by General Cadwalader. Directly
+opposite, resided William and Lydia Darrah, members of the Society of
+Friends. A superior officer of the British army, believed to be the
+Adjutant General, fixed upon one of their chambers, a back room, for
+private conference; and two of them frequently met there, with fire and
+candles, in close consultation. About the second of December, the
+Adjutant General told Lydia that they would be in the room at seven
+o'clock, and remain late; and that they wished the family to retire
+early to bed; adding, that when they were going away, they would call
+her to let them out, and extinguish their fire and candles. She
+accordingly sent all the family to bed; but, as the officer had been so
+particular, her curiosity was excited. She took off her shoes, and put
+her ear to the key-hole of the conclave. She overheard an order read for
+all the British troops to march out, late in the evening of the fourth,
+and attack General Washington's army, then encamped at White Marsh. On
+hearing this, she returned to her chamber and laid herself down. Soon
+after, the officers knocked at her door, but she rose only at the third
+summons, having feigned to be asleep. Her mind was so much agitated
+that, from this moment, she could neither eat nor sleep; supposing it to
+be in her power to save the lives of thousands of her countrymen; but
+not knowing how she was to convey the necessary information to General
+Washington, nor daring to confide it even to her husband. The time left,
+was, however, short; she quickly determined to make her way, as soon as
+possible, to the American outposts. She informed her family, that, as
+they were in want of flour, she would go to Frankfort for some; her
+husband insisted that she should take with her the servant maid; but, to
+his surprise, she positively refused. She got access to General Howe,
+and solicited--what he readily granted,--a pass through the British
+troops on the lines. Leaving her bag at the mill, she hastened towards
+the American lines, and encountered on her way an American, Lieutenant
+Colonel Craig, of the light horse, who, with some of his men, was on the
+look-out for information. He knew her, and inquired whither she was
+going. She answered, in quest of her son, an officer in the American
+army; and prayed the Colonel to alight and walk with her. He did so,
+ordering his troops to keep in sight. To him she disclosed her momentous
+secret, after having obtained from him the most solemn promise never to
+betray her individually, since her life might be at stake, with the
+British. He conducted her to a house near at hand, directed a female in
+it to give her something to eat, and he speeded for head quarters, where
+he brought General Washington acquainted with what he had heard.
+Washington made, of course, all preparation for baffling the meditated
+surprise. Lydia returned home with her flour; sat up alone to watch the
+movement of the British troops; heard their footsteps; but when they
+returned, in a few days after, did not dare to ask a question, though
+solicitous to learn the event. The next evening, the Adjutant General
+came in, and requested her to walk up to his room, as he wished to put
+some questions. She followed him in terror; and when he locked the door,
+and begged her, with an air of mystery to be seated, she was sure that
+she was either suspected, or had been betrayed. He inquired earnestly
+whether any of her family were up the last night he and the other
+officer met:--she told him that they all retired at eight o'clock. He
+observed--"I know _you_ were asleep, for I knocked at your chamber door
+three times before you heard me;--I am entirely at a loss to imagine who
+gave General Washington information of our intended attack, unless the
+walls of the house could speak. When we arrived near White Marsh, we
+found all their cannon mounted, and the troops prepared to receive us;
+and we have marched back like a parcel of fools."
+
+
+
+
+WIDOW STOREY.[14]
+
+  Stick to your aim; the mongrel's hold will slip,
+  But only crow-bars loose the bull-dog's lip;
+  Small as he looks, the jaw that never yields,
+  Drags down the bellowing monarch of the fields.
+
+                                             HOLMES.
+
+
+The first man who commenced a settlement in the town of Salisbury,
+Vermont, on the Otter creek, was Amos Storey, who, in making an opening
+in the heart of the wilderness on the right of land to which the first
+settler was entitled, was killed by the fall of a tree. His widow, who
+had been left in Connecticut, immediately resolved to push into the
+wilderness, with her ten small children, to take his place and preserve
+and clear up his farm. And this bold resolution she carried out to the
+letter, in spite of every difficulty, hardship and danger which for
+years constantly beset her in her solitary location in the woods. Acre
+after acre of the dense and dark forest melted away before her axe,
+which she handled with the dexterity of the most experienced chopper.
+The logs and bushes were piled and burnt by her own strong and untiring
+hand: crops were raised, by which, with the fruits of her fishing and
+unerring rifle, she supported herself and her hardy brood of children.
+As a place of refuge from the assaults of Indians or dangerous wild
+beasts, she dug out an underground room, into which, through a small
+entrance made to open under an overhanging thicket in the bank of the
+stream, she nightly retreated with her children. And here she continued
+to reside, thus living and thus laboring, unassisted, till, by her own
+hand and the help which her boys soon began to afford her, she cleared
+up a valuable farm and placed herself in independent circumstances in
+life.
+
+  [14] For this anecdote and that of Mrs. Hendee, we are indebted to the
+  Hon. Daniel P. Thompson, of Montpelier, author of "The Green Mountain
+  Boys," "Locke Amsden," &c. In a note to the author, in a letter which
+  contained these anecdotes, he appropriately observes that "the women of
+  the Green Mountains deserve as much credit for their various displays of
+  courage, endurance and patriotism, in the early settlement of their
+  State, as was ever awarded to their sex for similar exhibitions in any
+  part of the world. In the controversy with New York and New Hampshire,
+  which took the form of war in many instances; in the predatory Indian
+  incursions, and in the war of the Revolution, they often displayed a
+  capacity for labor and endurance, a spirit and firmness in the hour of
+  danger, and a resolution and hardihood in defending their families, and
+  their threatened land against all enemies, whether domestic or foreign,
+  that would have done honor to the dames of Sparta."
+
+
+
+
+MRS. HENDEE.
+
+  I am their mother, who shall bar me from them.
+
+                                        SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+On the burning of Royalton, Vermont, by the Indians, in 1776, Mrs.
+Hendee, of that place, exhibited a praiseworthy and heroic character.
+The attack was sudden, and her husband being absent in the Vermont
+regiment, and she being in the field, the Indians seized her children,
+carried them across White river, at that place perhaps an hundred yards
+wide and quite deep for fording, and placed them under the keepers
+having the other persons they had collected, thirty or forty in number,
+in charge. On discovering the fate of her children, Mrs. Hendee
+resolutely dashed into the river, waded through, and fearlessly entering
+the Indian camp, regardless of their tomahawks menacingly flourished
+round her head, boldly demanded the release of her little ones, and
+persevered in her alternate upbraidings and supplications, till her
+request was granted. She then carried her children back through the
+river and landed them in safety on the other bank. But not content with
+what she had done, like a patriot, as she was, she immediately
+returned, begged for the release of the children of others; again was
+rewarded with success, and brought two or three more away; again
+returned and again succeeded, till she had rescued the whole fifteen of
+her neighbors' children who had been thus snatched away from their
+distracted parents. On her last return to the camp of the enemy, the
+Indians were so struck with her conduct that one of them declared that
+so brave a squaw deserved to be carried across the river, and offered to
+take her on his back and carry her over. She, in the same spirit,
+accepted the offer, mounted the back of the gallant savage, was carried
+to the opposite bank, where she collected her rescued troop of children,
+and hastened away to restore them to their over-joyed parents.
+
+
+
+
+PATRIOTIC WOMEN OF OLD MIDDLESEX.
+
+  In the radiant front superior shines
+  That first paternal virtue, public zeal,
+  Who throws o'er all an equal wide survey,
+  And, ever musing on the common weal,
+  Still labors glorious with some great design.
+
+                                         THOMSON.
+
+
+"Old Middlesex" being our native county, with peculiar pleasure and some
+local pride, we record the following anecdote. Should the historical
+ploughshare be driven through the other towns in the county, and the
+towns generally of Massachusetts, it would turn up similar gems in
+abundance, "of purest ray serene." We quote from Butler's History of
+Groton:
+
+"After the departure of Colonel Prescott's regiment of 'minute-men,'
+Mrs. David Wright, of Pepperell, Mrs. Job Shattuck, of Groton, and the
+neighboring women, collected at what is now Jewett's Bridge, over the
+Nashua, between Pepperell and Groton, clothed in their absent husbands'
+apparel, and armed with muskets, pitchforks, and such other weapons as
+they could find; and having elected Mrs. Wright their commander,
+resolutely determined that no foe to freedom, foreign or domestic,
+should pass that bridge. For rumors were rife, that the regulars were
+approaching and frightful stories of slaughter flew rapidly from place
+to place, and from house to house.
+
+"Soon there appeared one[15] on horseback, supposed to be treasonably
+engaged in conveying intelligence to the enemy. By the implicit command
+of Sergeant Wright, he is immediately arrested, unhorsed, searched, and
+the treasonable correspondence found concealed in his boots. He was
+detained prisoner, and sent to Oliver Prescott, Esq., of Groton, and his
+dispatches were sent to the Committee of Safety."
+
+  [15] Captain Leonard Whiting, of Hollis, N. H., a noted tory, who was
+  the bearer of dispatches from Canada to the British in Boston.
+
+
+
+
+THE CACIQUE'S NOBLE DAUGHTER.
+
+  I think of thee, sweet lady, as of one
+    Too pure to mix with others, like some star,
+  Shining in pensive beauty all alone,
+    Kindred with those around, yet brighter far.
+
+                                          MRS. WELBY.
+
+
+In his history of the Conquest of Florida, Mr. Theodore Irving repeats,
+very interestingly, the story of Juan Ortiz who, with three other
+Spaniards, fell into the hands of the Indians by stratagem. The four
+captives were taken to the village of Hirrihigua, the cacique, who
+ordered them to be executed on a day of religious festival. Three were
+shot with arrows; and then "Juan Ortiz, a youth, scarce eighteen years
+of age, of a noble family of Seville, was the fourth victim. As they
+were leading him forth, his extreme youth touched with compassion the
+hearts of the wife and daughters of the cacique, who interceded in his
+favor.
+
+"The cacique listened to their importunities, and granted for the
+present the life of Ortiz;--but a wretched life did he lead. From
+morning until evening he was employed in bringing wood and water, and
+was allowed but little sleep and scanty food. Not a day passed that he
+was not beaten. On festivals he was an object of barbarous amusement to
+the cacique, who would oblige him to run, from sunrise until sunset, in
+the public square of the village, where his companions had met their
+untimely end, Indians being stationed with bows and arrows, to shoot
+him, should he halt one moment. When the day was spent, the unfortunate
+youth lay stretched on the hard floor of the hut, more dead than alive.
+At such times the wife and daughters of the cacique would come to him
+privately with food and clothing, and by their kind treatment his life
+was preserved.
+
+"At length the cacique, determining to put an end to his victim's
+existence, ordered that he should be bound down upon a wooden frame, in
+the form of a huge gridiron, placed in the public square, over a bed of
+live coals, and roasted alive.
+
+"The cries and shrieks of the poor youth reached his female protectors,
+and their entreaties were once more successful with the cacique. They
+unbound Ortiz, dragged him from the fire, and took him to their
+dwelling, where they bathed him with the juice of herbs, and tended him
+with assiduous care. After many days he recovered from his wounds,
+though marked with many a scar.
+
+"His employment was now to guard the cemetery of the village. This was
+in a lonely field in the bosom of a forest. The bodies of the dead were
+deposited in wooden boxes, covered with boards, without any fastening
+except a stone or a log of wood laid upon the top; so that the bodies
+were often carried away by wild beasts.
+
+"In this cemetery was Ortiz stationed, with a bow and arrows, to watch
+day and night, and was told that should a single body be carried away,
+he would be burnt alive. He returned thanks to God for having freed him
+from the dreaded presence of the cacique, hoping to lead a better life
+with the dead than he had done with the living.
+
+"While watching thus one long wearisome night, sleep overpowered him
+towards morning. He was awakened by the falling lid of one of the
+chests, and running to it, found it empty. It had contained the body of
+an infant recently deceased, the child of an Indian of great note.
+
+"Ortiz doubted not some animal had dragged it away, and immediately set
+out in pursuit. After wandering for some time, he heard, at a short
+distance within the woods, a noise like that of a dog gnawing bones.
+Warily drawing near to the spot, he dimly perceived an animal among the
+bushes, and invoking succor from on high, let fly an arrow at it. The
+thick and tangled underwood prevented his seeing the effect of his shot,
+but as the animal did not stir, he flattered himself that it had been
+fatal: with this hope he waited until the day dawned, when he beheld his
+victim, a huge animal of the panther kind, lying dead, the arrow having
+passed through his entrails and cleft his heart.
+
+"Gathering together the mangled remains of the infant, and replacing
+them in the coffin, Ortiz dragged his victim in triumph to the village,
+with the arrow still in his body. The exploit gained him credit with the
+old hunters, and for some time softened even the ferocity of the
+cacique. The resentment of the latter, however, from the wrongs he had
+suffered from white men, was too bitter to be appeased. Some time after,
+his eldest daughter came to Ortiz, and warned him that her father had
+determined to sacrifice him at the next festival, which was just at
+hand, and that the influence of her mother, her sisters, and herself
+would no longer avail him. She wished him, therefore, to take refuge
+with a neighboring cacique named Mucozo, who loved her and sought her in
+marriage, and who, for her sake, would befriend him. 'This very night at
+midnight,' said the kind-hearted maiden, 'at the northern extremity of
+the village you will find a trusty friend who will guide you to a
+bridge, about two leagues hence; on arriving there, you must send him
+back, that he may reach home before the morning dawn, to avoid
+suspicion--for well he knows that this bold act, in daring to assist
+you, may bring down destruction upon us both. Six leagues further on,
+you will come to the village of Mucozo--tell him I have sent you, and
+expect him to befriend you in your extremity--I know he will do it--go,
+and may your God protect you!' Ortiz threw himself at the feet of his
+generous protectress, and poured out his acknowledgments for the
+kindness she had always shown him. The Indian guide was at the place
+appointed, and they left the village without alarming the warlike
+savages. When they came to the bridge, Ortiz sent back the guide, in
+obedience to the injunction of his mistress, and, continuing his flight,
+found himself, by break of day, on the banks of a small stream near the
+village of Mucozo.
+
+"Looking cautiously around, he espied two Indians fishing. As he was
+unacquainted with their language, and could not explain the cause of his
+coming, he was in dread lest they should take him for an enemy and kill
+him. He, therefore, ran to the place where they had deposited their
+weapons and seized upon them. The savages fled to the village without
+heeding his assurances of friendly intention. The inhabitants sallied
+out with bows and arrows, as though they would attack him. Ortiz fixed
+an arrow in his bow, but cried out at the same moment, that he came not
+as an enemy but as an ambassador from a female cacique to their chief.
+Fortunately one present understood him, and interpreted his words. On
+this the Indians unbent their bows, and returning with him to their
+village, presented him to Mucozo. The latter, a youthful chieftain, of a
+graceful form and handsome countenance, received Ortiz kindly for the
+sake of her who had sent him; but, on further acquaintance, became
+attached to him for his own merits, treating him with the affection of a
+brother."
+
+
+
+
+HUMANE SPIRIT OF A FOREST MAID.
+
+                          "Beneath the gloom
+  Of overshadowing forests, sweetly springs
+  The unexpected flower."
+
+
+Some of the noblest attributes of humanity are sometimes exhibited by
+the wild children of the forest. These attributes, in such cases, seem,
+like trees in the remotest wilderness, to have gained, by their
+spontaneous growth, surprising height, symmetry and beauty.
+
+A lovelier character than Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan, king of the
+country where the first white settlement in Virginia was made, is rarely
+found among any people. She was lovely in the broadest as well as
+noblest sense of that word--lovely in features, lovely in disposition,
+lovely in the highest adornments of Christian grace. She was, in 1607,
+"a girl of ten or twelve years of age, who, not only for feature,
+countenance and expression, much exceeded any of the rest of her people,
+but for wit and spirit was the only nonpareil of the country." Such was
+Pocahontas, as described by the first white man, probably, who ever saw
+her, and in whose behalf, at the above date, she displayed the
+tenderness and true grandeur of her nature.
+
+The colonists, writes Mr. Hildreth, in his new History of the United
+States, "were specially instructed to seek for a passage to the South
+Sea; and it was thought that possibly the Chickahoming might lead
+thither. Having ascended as high as he could in his barge, Captain Smith
+followed up the stream in a canoe, with two colonists and two Indians
+for companions; and when the canoe would float no longer, he left the
+two colonists to guard it, and struck inland with a single Indian as a
+guide. Set upon unexpectedly by a large party of natives, who had
+already surprised and killed the two men left to guard the canoe, Smith
+bound his Indian guide to his arm as a buckler, and made a vigorous
+defence, killing three of the assailants; but as he retreated backward,
+he presently sank into a miry swamp, and was taken prisoner. His captors
+would have killed him, but he amused them with a pocket compass. Carried
+in a sort of triumph through several villages, he was taken before
+Powhatan, the same chief whom he had visited in company with Newport. An
+attempt was made to engage his services--at least so Smith understood
+it--in surprising the colonists at Jamestown. Having failed in this,
+after much consultation, it was resolved to put him to death. He was
+dragged to the ground and his head placed upon a stone; Powhatan raised
+a club to dash out his brains"--and now view the highly dramatic scene
+which follows, as pictured by Mrs. Sigourney in a few lines of masterly
+coloring:
+
+    The sentenced captive see--his brow how white!
+  Stretched on the turf, his manly form lies low,
+  The war club poises for its fatal blow,
+    The death-mist swims before his darkened sight;
+  Forth springs the child, in tearful pity bold,
+  Her head on his reclines, her arms his neck enfold,
+
+  "The child! what madness fires her? Hence! Depart!
+    Fly, daughter, fly! before the death-stroke rings;
+  Divide her, warriors! from that English heart."
+    In vain, for with convulsive grasp she clings:
+  She claims a pardon from her frowning sire;
+  Her pleading tones subdue his gathered ire,
+    And so, uplifting high his feathery dart,
+  That doting father gave the child her will,
+  And bade the victim live and be his servant still.
+
+After Smith had been an inmate of Powhatan's wigwam awhile, he was
+permitted to leave the Indians. Sometime after this the savages,
+becoming alarmed by witnessing Smith's wonderful feats, "laid a plan to
+get him into their power under the pretence of wishing an interview with
+him in their territory. But Pocahontas, knowing the desire of the
+warriors, left the wigwam after her father had gone to sleep, and ran
+more than nine miles through the woods to inform her friend Captain
+Smith of the danger that awaited him, either by stratagem or attack."
+
+Subsequently the colony at Jamestown was threatened with famine, when,
+accompanied by a few companions, she was accustomed to go to the fort
+every day or two with baskets of corn, and thus her
+
+  ----"generous hand vouchsafed its tireless aid
+  To guard a nation's germ."
+
+At the age of seventeen or eighteen, Pocahontas married a pious young
+English officer, named Thomas Rolfe, and went with him to England, where
+she was baptized and called Rebecca, and where she soon died. Well may
+it be said of her, in the language of the poet, slightly altered,
+
+  It is not meet such names should moulder in the grave.
+
+
+
+
+HANNAH DUSTIN.
+
+                     Experience teaches us
+  That resolution 's a sole help at need;
+  And this, my lord, our honor teacheth us,
+  That we be bold in every enterprise.
+
+                                   SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+On the fifteenth of March, 1697, a band of Indian prowlers broke into
+the house of Mr. Dustin, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and captured his
+wife, her nurse,[16] and a babe about one week old. The last was killed
+before leaving the town. The other two were marched through the
+wilderness for several days till they came to a halt on an island in the
+Merrimac river about six miles above Concord, New Hampshire. There they
+were placed in a wigwam occupied by two men, three women, seven children
+of theirs, and an English boy who had been captured about a year
+previous at Worcester, Massachusetts. The captives remained there till
+the thirtieth of that month before they planned escape. On that day the
+boy was requested by Mrs. Dustin to ask his master where to strike "to
+kill instantly;" and the savage was simple enough to tell, and also
+instructed him in the art of scalping. "At night," to use the concise
+language of Mr. Bancroft, "while the household slumbers, the captives,
+each with a tomahawk, strike vigorously, and fleetly, and with division
+of labor,--and of the twelve sleepers, ten lie dead; of one squaw the
+wound was not mortal; one child was spared from design. The love of
+glory next asserted its power; and the gun and tomahawk of the murderer
+of her infant, and a bag heaped full of scalps were choicely kept as
+trophies of the heroine.--The streams are the guides which God has set
+for the stranger in the wilderness: in a bark canoe, the three descend
+the Merrimac to the English settlements, astonishing their friends by
+their escape, and filling the land with wonder at their successful
+daring."
+
+  [16] Mrs. Mary Neff.
+
+Mrs. Dustin had the happiness of meeting her husband and seven children,
+who had escaped from the house before the savages entered, and the honor
+of a very handsome present from Colonel Nicholson, governor of Maryland,
+as a reward for her heroism.[17]
+
+  [17] Eleven years after the capture of Mrs. Dustin, a party of French
+  and Indians from Canada made an attack upon the inhabitants of
+  Haverhill, and killed and captured about forty persons. Several women
+  exhibited on the occasion a remarkable degree of sagacity, courage and
+  presence of mind. We condense from Mirick's History of Haverhill.
+
+  Ann Whittaker escaped the tomahawk by hiding in an apple chest under the
+  stairs.--A negro servant, named Hagar, covered a couple of children with
+  tubs in the cellar and then concealed herself behind some meat barrels.
+  The Indians trod on a foot of one of the children and took meat from the
+  barrel behind which Hagar had hidden, without discovering any of
+  them.--The wife of Thomas Hartshorn, took all her children except the
+  babe--which she was afraid would cry--through a trap-door into the
+  cellar. The enemy entered and plundered the house, but did not find the
+  way into the cellar. They took the infant from its bed in the garret and
+  threw it out of the window. Strange to say, though stunned, it lived and
+  grew to rugged manhood.--The wife of Captain Simon Wainwright, after the
+  enemy had killed her husband, let them into the house and treated them
+  kindly. They at length demanded money, when she went out, as she
+  pretended, to get it. They soon ascertained--though too late to find
+  her--that she had fled with all her children but one, who was taken
+  captive.
+
+
+
+
+THE HEROINES OF BRYANT'S STATION.
+
+  The brave example cannot perish
+  Of courage.
+
+                                        HOSMER.
+
+  Nor could the boldest of our youth have dared
+  To pass our outworks.
+
+                                    POPE'S HOMER.
+
+
+At the siege of Bryant's station near Lexington, Kentucky, in August,
+1782, the water in the fort was exhausted; and as the nearest place to
+obtain a supply was a spring several rods off, it would require no small
+risk and, consequently, no common intrepidity to undertake to bring it.
+A body of Indians in plain sight, were trying to entice the soldiers to
+attack them without the walls, while another party was concealed near
+the spring, waiting, it was supposed, to storm one of the gates, should
+the besieged venture out. It was thought probable that the Indians in
+ambush would remain so until they saw indications that the other party
+had succeeded in enticing the soldiers to open engagement.
+
+The position of things was explained to the women, and they were invited
+to each take a bucket and march to the spring in a body. "Some, as was
+natural, had no relish for the undertaking, and asked why the men could
+not bring water as well as themselves, observing that they were not
+bullet-proof, and the Indians made no distinction between male and
+female scalps. To this it was answered, that the women were in the habit
+of bringing water every morning to the fort; and that if the Indians saw
+them engaged as usual, it would induce them to think that their
+ambuscade was undiscovered; and that they would not unmask themselves
+for the sake of firing at a few women, when they hoped, by remaining
+concealed a few moments longer, to obtain complete possession of the
+fort: that if men should go down to the spring, the Indians would
+immediately suspect something was wrong, would despair of succeeding by
+ambuscade, and would instantly rush upon them, follow them into the
+fort, or shoot them down at the spring.
+
+"The decision was soon made. A few of the boldest declared their
+readiness to brave the danger, and the younger and more timid rallying
+in the rear of these veterans, they all marched down in a body to the
+spring, within point blank shot of more than five hundred Indian
+warriors! Some of the girls could not help betraying symptoms of terror;
+but the married women, in general, moved with a steadiness and composure
+that completely deceived the Indians. Not a shot was fired. The party
+were permitted to fill their buckets, one after another, without
+interruption; and although their steps became quicker and quicker, on
+their return, and when near the fort, degenerated into a rather
+unmilitary celerity, with some little crowding in passing the gate, yet
+not more than one-fifth of the water was spilled, and the eyes of the
+youngest had not dilated to more than double their ordinary size."[18]
+
+  [18] M'Clung's Sketches of Western Adventure.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. DAVIESS.
+
+               'Tis late before
+  The brave despair.
+
+                                     THOMSON.
+
+
+Samuel Daviess was an early settler at a place called Gilmer's Lick, in
+Lincoln county, Kentucky. In the month of August, 1782, while a few rods
+from his house, he was attacked early one morning by an Indian; and
+attempting to get within doors, he found that his house was already
+occupied by other Indians. Pursued by his foe, he ran into a cornfield
+and lay concealed till the savage gave up the chase and returned to the
+house. He then ran to his brother's station, five miles off, gave the
+alarm, and was soon returning with five stout, well armed men.
+
+  [Illustration: THE INDIAN HORSE THIEF.]
+
+Meanwhile the Indians--four in number--who had entered the house while
+the fifth was in pursuit of Mr. Daviess, routed Mrs. Daviess and the
+children from their beds, and they soon understood that they must take
+up a line of march--they knew not whither. As soon as she was dressed,
+Mrs. Daviess "commenced showing the Indians one article of clothing and
+then another, which pleased them very much; and in that way delayed them
+at the house nearly two hours. In the mean time, the Indian who had
+been in pursuit of her husband returned, with his hands stained with
+poke berries, which he held up, and with some violent gestures and
+waving of his tomahawk, attempted to induce the belief, that the stain
+on his hands was the blood of her husband, and that he had killed him.
+She was enabled at once to discover the deception, and instead of
+producing any alarm on her part, she was satisfied that her husband had
+escaped uninjured.
+
+"After the savages had plundered the house of every thing that they
+could conveniently carry off with them, they started, taking Mrs.
+Daviess and her children--seven in number--as prisoners, along with
+them. Some of the children were too young to travel as fast as the
+Indians wished, and discovering, as she believed, their intention to
+kill such of them as could not conveniently travel, she made the two
+oldest boys carry them on their backs. The Indians, in starting from the
+house, were very careful to leave no signs of the direction they had
+taken, not even permitting the children to break a twig or weed as they
+passed along. They had not gone far before an Indian drew his knife and
+cut off a few inches of Mrs. Daviess' dress, so that she would not be
+interrupted in traveling.
+
+"Mrs. Daviess was a woman of cool, deliberate courage, and accustomed to
+handle the gun, so that she could shoot well, as many of the women were
+in the habit of doing in those days. She had contemplated, as a last
+resort, that if not rescued in the course of the day, when night came on
+and the Indians had fallen asleep, she would deliver herself and
+children by killing as many of the Indians as she could--thinking that
+in a night attack as many of them as remained would most probably run
+off."[19]
+
+  [19] Collins's Historical Sketches of Kentucky.
+
+Mr. Daviess and his comrades reaching the house and finding it empty,
+hastened on in pursuit of the Indians. They had gone but a few miles
+before they overtook the retreating party. Two Indian spies in the rear,
+first discovered the pursuers, and running on, overtook the three
+others, with the prisoners, and knocked down and scalped, though they
+did not kill, the oldest boy. At that moment the pursuers fired at the
+Indians, but missed. The latter were now alarmed and confused, and Mrs.
+Daviess, taking advantage of this circumstance, jumped into a sink hole
+with her infant in her arms; and the Indians fleeing, every child was
+saved.
+
+"Kentucky, in its early days, like most new countries, was occasionally
+troubled by men of abandoned character, who lived by stealing the
+property of others, and, after committing their depredations, retired to
+their hiding places, thereby eluding the operation of the law. One of
+these marauders, a man of desperate character, who had committed
+extensive thefts from Mr. Daviess, as well as from his neighbors, was
+pursued by Daviess and a party whose property he had taken, in order to
+bring him to justice. While the party were in pursuit, the suspected
+individual, not knowing any one was pursuing him, came to the house of
+Daviess, armed with his gun and tomahawk--no person being at home but
+Mrs. Daviess and her children. After he had stepped into the house, Mrs.
+Daviess asked him if he would drink something--and having set a bottle
+of whiskey upon the table, requested him to help himself. The fellow,
+not suspecting any danger, set his gun up by the door, and while
+drinking, Mrs. Daviess picked up his gun, and placing herself in the
+door, had the gun cocked and leveled upon him by the time he turned
+around, and in a peremptory manner ordered him to take a seat, or she
+would shoot him. Struck with terror and alarm, he asked what he had
+done. She told him he had stolen her husband's property and that she
+intended to take care of him herself. In that condition she held him a
+prisoner, until the party of men returned and took him into their
+possession."[20]
+
+  [20] Collins.
+
+
+
+
+A KENTUCKY AMAZON.
+
+  This is true courage.
+
+                   WHITEHEAD'S ROMAN FATHER.
+
+
+During the summer of 1787, writes Mr. McClung, in his Sketches of
+Western Adventure, "The house of Mr. John Merrill, of Nelson county,
+Kentucky, was attacked by the Indians, and defended with singular
+address and good fortune. Merrill was alarmed by the barking of a dog
+about midnight, and upon opening the door in order to ascertain the
+cause of the disturbance, he received the fire of six or seven Indians,
+by which one arm and one thigh were broken. He instantly sank upon the
+floor, and called upon his wife to close the door. This had scarcely
+been done when it was violently assailed by the tomahawks of the enemy,
+and a large breach soon effected. Mrs. Merrill, however, being a perfect
+amazon, both in strength and courage, guarded it with an axe, and
+successively killed or badly wounded four of the enemy as they attempted
+to force their way into the cabin.
+
+"The Indians ascended the roof, and attempted to enter by way of the
+chimney; but here again they were met by the same determined enemy.
+Mrs. Merrill seized the only feather bed which the cabin afforded, and
+hastily ripping it open, poured its contents upon the fire. A furious
+blaze and stifling smoke instantly ascended the chimney, and brought
+down two of the enemy, who lay for a few moments at the mercy of the
+lady. Seizing the axe, she quickly dispatched them, and was instantly
+afterwards summoned to the door, where the only remaining savage now
+appeared, endeavoring to effect an entrance, while Mrs. Merrill was
+engaged at the chimney. He soon received a gash in the cheek, which
+compelled him, with a loud yell, to relinquish his purpose, and return
+hastily to Chillicothe, where, from the report of a prisoner, he gave an
+exaggerated account of the fierceness, strength, and courage of the
+'long knife squaw!'"
+
+
+
+
+HEROISM AT INNIS SETTLEMENT.
+
+  Courage alone can save us.
+
+                            SOUTHEY.
+
+
+The account of the Indians' attack on the Innis settlement, near
+Frankfort, Kentucky, in April, 1792, has been differently related by
+different writers. The most reliable account is doubtless that given by
+the Rev. Abraham Cook, a minister of the Baptist denomination and the
+brother of Jesse and Hosea Cook, whose wives were the heroines of the
+settlement. The attack was made on the twenty-eighth of the month, by
+about one hundred Indians, and at three points almost simultaneously.
+The first onset was upon the Cooks who lived in cabins close together,
+and where was displayed a degree of intrepidity rarely matched.
+
+"The brothers were near their cabins, one engaged in shearing sheep, the
+other looking on. The sharp crack of rifles was the first intimation of
+the proximity of the Indians; and that fire was fatal to the
+brothers--the elder fell dead, and the younger was mortally wounded, but
+enabled to reach the cabin. The two Mrs. Cook, with three children--two
+whites and one black--were instantly collected in the house, and the
+door, a very strong one, made secure. The Indians, unable to enter,
+discharged their rifles at the door, but without injury, as the balls
+did not penetrate through the thick boards of which it was constructed.
+They then attempted to cut it down with their tomahawks, but with no
+better success. While these things occurred without, there was deep
+sorrow, mingled with fearless determination and high resolve within. The
+younger Cook, mortally wounded, immediately the door was barred, sank
+down on the floor, and breathed his last; and the two Mrs. Cook were
+left the sole defenders of the cabin, with the three children. There was
+a rifle in the house, but no balls could be found. In this extremity,
+one of the women got hold of a musket ball, and placing it between her
+teeth, actually bit it into two pieces. With one she instantly loaded
+the rifle. The Indians, failing in their attempts to cut down the door,
+had retired a few paces in front, doubtless to consult upon their future
+operations. One seated himself upon a log, apparently apprehending no
+danger from within. Observing him, Mrs. Cook took aim from a narrow
+aperture and fired, when the Indian gave a loud yell, bounded high in
+the air, and fell dead. This infuriated the savages, who threatened--for
+they could speak English--to burn the house and all the inmates. Several
+speedily climbed to the top of the cabin, and kindled a fire on the
+boards of the roof. The devouring element began to take effect, and
+with less determined and resolute courage within, the certain
+destruction of the cabin and the death of the inmates, must have been
+the consequence. But the self possession and intrepidity of these
+Spartan females were equal to the occasion. One of them instantly
+ascended to the loft, and the other handed her water, with which she
+extinguished the fire. Again and again the roof was fired, and as often
+extinguished. The water failing, the undaunted women called for some
+eggs, which were broken and the contents thrown upon the fire, for a
+time holding the flames at bay. Their next resource was the bloody
+waistcoat of the husband and brother-in-law, who lay dead upon the
+floor. The blood with which this was profusely saturated, checked the
+progress of the flames--but, as they appeared speedily to be gathering
+strength, another, and the last expedient ... proved successful. The
+savage foe yielded, and the fruitful expedients of female courage
+triumphed. One Indian, in bitter disappointment, fired at his unseen
+enemy through the boards, but did not injure her, when the whole
+immediately descended from the roof.
+
+"About the time the attack commenced, a young man named McAndre, escaped
+on horseback, in view of the Indians, who, it was supposed, would give
+the alarm to the older neighboring settlements. As soon as they
+descended from the house top, a few climbed some contiguous trees, and
+instituted a sharp look out. While in the trees, one of them fired a
+second ball into the loft of the cabin, which cut to pieces a bundle of
+yarn hanging near the head of Mrs. Cook, but without doing further
+injury. Soon after, they threw the body of the dead Indian into the
+adjacent creek, and precipitately fled."
+
+
+
+
+BOLD EXPLOIT AT TAMPICO.
+
+  A thousand hearts are great within my bosom;
+  Advance our standards.
+
+                                       SHAKSPEARE.
+
+  Rocks have been shaken from their solid base;
+  But what shall move a dauntless soul?
+
+                                       JOANNA BAILLIE.
+
+
+At the capture of Tampico, which took place on the fourteenth of
+November, 1846, a noteworthy act was performed by a lady, whose
+patriotism and daring should not be forgotten. She not only gave
+Commodore Connor full information in regard to the defence of the place,
+with a plan of the harbor, town and forts, but when the squadron was
+approaching, though opposed by the city council and even menaced, she
+hoisted the American flag and persisted in waving it beneath the very
+eye of the _ayuntamiento_! This intrepid woman was Mrs. Ann Chase, wife
+of the American Consul.
+
+  [Illustration: THE COLONEL AND HIS DAUGHTER.]
+
+
+
+
+DICEY LANGSTON.
+
+  Thou soul of love and bravery!
+
+                                MOORE.
+
+
+Dicey Langston was the daughter of Solomon Langston, of Laurens
+district, South Carolina. She possessed an intrepid spirit, which is
+highly serviceable in times of emergency, and which, as she lived in the
+days of the Revolution, she had more than one opportunity to display.
+Situated in the midst of tories, and being patriotically inquisitive,
+she often learned by accident, or discovered by strategy, the plottings
+so common in those days, against the whigs. Such intelligence she was
+accustomed to communicate to the friends of freedom on the opposite side
+of the Ennoree river.
+
+Learning one time that a band of loyalists--known in those parts as the
+"Bloody scout"--were about to fall upon the "Elder settlement," a place
+where a brother of hers and other friends were residing, she resolved to
+warn them of their danger. To do this she must hazard her own life. But
+off she started, alone, in the darkness of the night; traveled several
+miles through the woods, and over marshes and across creeks, through a
+country where foot-logs and bridges were then unknown; came to the
+Tyger, a rapid and deep stream, into which she plunged and waded till
+the water was up to her neck; she then became bewildered, and zigzagged
+the channel for some time; reached the opposite shore at length--for a
+helping Hand was beneath, a kind Providence guiding her:--hastened on;
+reached the settlement, and her brother and the whole community were
+safe!
+
+She was returning one day from another settlement of whigs--in the
+Spartanburg district, when a company of tories met her and questioned
+her in regard to the neighborhood she had just left; but she refused to
+communicate the desired information. The leader of the band then held a
+pistol to her breast, and threatened to shoot her if she did not make
+the wished for disclosure. "Shoot me if you dare! I will not tell you!"
+was her dauntless reply, as she opened a long handkerchief that covered
+her neck and bosom, thus manifesting a willingness to receive the
+contents of the pistol, if the officer insisted on disclosures or life.
+The dastard, enraged at her defying movement, was in the act of firing,
+at which moment one of the soldiers threw up the hand holding the
+weapon, and the cowerless heart of the girl was permitted to beat on.
+
+The brothers of Dicey were no less patriotic than she; and they having,
+by their active services on the side of freedom, greatly displeased the
+loyalists, these latter were determined to be revenged. A desperate
+band accordingly went to the house of their father, and finding the sons
+absent, they were about to wreak their vengeance on the old man, whom
+they hated for the sons' sake. With this intent one of the party drew a
+pistol; but just as it was aimed at the breast of her aged and infirm
+father, Dicey rushed between the two, and though the ruffian bade her
+get out of his way or receive in her own breast the contents of the
+pistol, she regarded not his threats, but flung her arms around her
+father's neck and declared she would receive the ball first, if the
+weapon must be discharged. Such fearlessness and willingness to offer
+her own life for the sake of her parent, softened the heart of the
+"bloody scout," and Mr. Langston lived to see his noble daughter perform
+other heroic deeds.
+
+One time her brother James, in his absence, sent to the house for a gun
+which he had left in her care, with orders for her to deliver it to no
+one except by his direction. On reaching the house one of the company
+who where directed to call for it, made known their errand, whereupon
+she brought and was about to deliver the weapon. At this moment it
+occurred to her that she had not demanded the countersign agreed on
+between herself and brother. With the gun still in her hand, she looked
+the company sternly in the face, and remarking that they wore a
+suspicious look, called for the countersign. Hereupon one of them, in
+jest, told her she was too tardy in her requirements; that both the gun
+and its holder were in their possession. "Do you think so," she boldly
+asked, as she cocked the disputed weapon and aimed it at the speaker.
+"If the gun is in your possession," she added, "take charge of it!" Her
+appearance indicated that she was in earnest, and the countersign was
+given without further delay. A hearty laugh on the part of the "liberty
+men," ended the ceremony.
+
+
+
+
+REBECCA MOTTE.
+
+  We can make our lives sublime.
+
+                          LONGFELLOW.
+
+
+During the Revolutionary war, while Fort Motte, situated on Congaree
+river, in South Carolina, was in the hands of the British, in order to
+effect its surrender, it became necessary to burn a large mansion
+standing near the centre of the trench. The house was the property of
+Mrs. Motte. Lieut. Colonel Lee communicated to her the contemplated work
+of destruction with painful reluctance, but her smiles, half
+anticipating his proposal, showed, at once, that she was willing to
+sacrifice her property if she could thereby aid in the least degree
+towards the expulsion of the enemy and the salvation of the land. The
+reply she made to the proposal was that she was "gratified with the
+opportunity of contributing to the good of her country, and should view
+the approaching scene with delight!"[21]
+
+  [21] MRS. BREWTON,--since Foster--one of the most amiable and
+  enlightened of the whig ladies, was an inmate of Mrs. Motte's family at
+  the time of the destruction of her house. Meeting with her shortly after
+  the signing of the preliminary articles of peace at Philadelphia, I
+  inquired--"How it had happened, that she, a helpless, unprotected widow,
+  without any charge of improper conduct, had so far incurred the enmity
+  of the British commanders, as to have been arrested without ceremony,
+  and hurried unprepared, into exile." She answered--"That she knew no act
+  of hers which had merited such ungentlemanly and inhuman treatment."
+  Entering, however, into conversation relative to the siege and surrender
+  of Fort Motte, she gave at once a clue to the transaction. While the
+  American forces were at a distance, Major M'Pherson, the commander of
+  the post, suffered Mrs. Motte and her family to remain, and an apartment
+  was allowed for their accommodation. But when the post at Thompson's,
+  but a little removed from him, was attacked and carried, anticipating
+  the fate which awaited him, immediate removal was not only advised, but
+  insisted on. At the moment of departure, Mrs. Brewton seeing a quiver of
+  arrows, which had been presented to Mr. Motte by a favorite African,
+  said to her friend, "I will take these with me, to prevent their
+  destruction by the soldiers." With the quiver in her hands, she was
+  passing the gate, when Major M'Pherson, drawing forth a shaft, and
+  applying the point to his finger, said, "what have you here, Mrs.
+  Brewton?" "For God's sake be careful," she replied "these arrows are
+  poisoned." The ladies immediately passed on to the out-house, which they
+  were now to inhabit. In the siege which directly followed, when the
+  destruction of the house was determined upon, and missiles eagerly
+  sought for by Lieutenant Colonel Lee for conveying the fire to the
+  shingles, these arrows being remembered, were presented by Mrs. Motte,
+  with a wish for the happy accomplishment of the end proposed. It was
+  afterwards known, that the first arrow missed its aim, and fell at the
+  feet of the commander, who taking, it up, with strong expressions of
+  anger, exclaimed, "I thank you, Mrs. Brewton." The second arrow took
+  effect, and set fire to the roof, when the brisk discharge of a six
+  pounder being maintained by Captain Finley, in the direction of the
+  stair-case, every effort to extinguish it proved fruitless, until, from
+  the apprehension of the roof falling in, the garrison were compelled to
+  surrender at discretion. General Greene arriving soon after, paid to
+  Major M'Pherson the tribute of applause due to his excellent defence,
+  declaring, "that such gallantry could not fail to procure for him a high
+  increase of reputation." This compliment, however, does not appear to
+  have soothed the mortified soldier; for, walking immediately up to Mrs.
+  Brewton, he said, "to _you_ madam, I owe this disgrace; it would have
+  been more charitable to have allowed me to perish by poison, than to be
+  thus compelled to surrender my post to the enemy." This speech alone,
+  accounts for the enmity against Mrs. Brewton.--[Knapp's American
+  Anecdotes.
+
+The husband of this noble-hearted widow had so involved himself by
+securities for friends, that after the struggle for Independence was
+over, it was impossible for her to immediately meet all demands against
+the estate. She, however, resolved that they should some day be
+liquidated--that, life and health being continued long enough, all
+obligations of her husband's contracting should be good against herself.
+She purchased a large tract of rice land on credit, and by industry and
+economy was able, in a short time, to pay the old demands, and lived to
+accumulate a handsome property. She reminds us of Solomon's picture of
+the virtuous woman: "She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the
+fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard."... "She looketh well to the
+ways of her household, and eateth not of the bread of idleness."
+
+
+
+
+ANOTHER SACRIFICE FOR FREEDOM.
+
+  A patriot's birth-right thou may'st claim.
+
+                                         SHELLEY.
+
+
+The subject of the following anecdote was a sister of General Woodhull,
+and was born at Brookhaven, Long Island, in December, 1740. Her husband
+was a member of the Provincial Convention which met in May, 1775, and of
+the Convention which was called two years after, to frame the first
+state constitution.
+
+While Judge William Smith was in the Provincial Congress, his lady was
+met, at a place called Middle Island, by Major Benjamin Tallmadge, who
+was then on his march across Long Island. He told her he was on his way
+to her house to capture the force then possessing Fort St. George, and
+that he might be obliged to burn or otherwise destroy her dwelling-house
+and other buildings in accomplishing this object. Ready to make any
+sacrifice for the good of her bleeding country, she promptly assured the
+Major that the buildings were at his disposal, to destroy or not, as
+efforts to dislodge the enemy might require.
+
+
+
+
+A PATRIOTIC DONATION.
+
+  Large charity doth never soil,
+  But only whitens soft white hands.--LOWELL.
+
+
+When General Greene was retreating through the Carolinas, after the
+battle of the Cowpens, and while at Salisbury, North Carolina, he put up
+at a hotel, the landlady of which was Mrs. Elizabeth Steele. A
+detachment of Americans had just had a skirmish with the British under
+Cornwallis at the Catawba ford, and were defeated and dispersed; and
+when the wounded were brought to the hotel, the General no doubt felt
+somewhat discouraged, for the fate of the south and perhaps of the
+country seemed to hang on the result of this memorable retreat. Added to
+his other troubles was that of being penniless; and Mrs. Steele,
+learning this fact by accident, and ready to do any thing in her power
+to further the cause of freedom, took him aside and drew from under her
+apron two bags of specie. Presenting them to him she generously said,
+"Take these, for you will want them, and I can do without them."[22]
+
+  [22] Never did relief come at a more propitious moment; nor would it be
+  straining conjecture to suppose that he resumed his journey with his
+  spirits cheered and brightened by this touching proof of woman's
+  devotion to the cause of her country. [Greene's Life of Nathaniel
+  Greene.
+
+
+
+
+"THE LITTLE BLACK-EYED REBEL."
+
+              Some there are
+  By their good deeds exalted
+
+                         WORDSWORTH.
+
+
+Mary Redmond, the daughter of a patriot of Philadelphia of some local
+distinction, had many relatives who were loyalists. These were
+accustomed to call her "the little black-eyed rebel," so ready was she
+to assist women whose husbands were fighting for freedom, in procuring
+intelligence. "The dispatches were usually sent from their friends by a
+boy who carried them stitched in the back of his coat. He came into the
+city bringing provisions to market. One morning when there was some
+reason to fear he was suspected, and his movements were watched by the
+enemy, Mary undertook to get the papers from him in safety. She went, as
+usual, to the market, and in a pretended game of romps, threw her shawl
+over the boy's head and secured the prize. She hastened with the papers
+to her anxious friends, who read them by stealth, after the windows had
+been carefully closed."
+
+When the whig women in her neighborhood heard of Burgoyne's surrender,
+and were exulting in secret, the cunning little "rebel," prudently
+refraining from any open demonstration of joy, "put her head up the
+chimney and gave a shout for Gates!"
+
+
+
+
+A BENEVOLENT QUAKERESS.[23]
+
+  How few, like thee, inquire the wretched out,
+  And court the offices of soft humanity!
+
+                                           ROWE.
+
+
+Charity Rodman was born in Newport, Rhode Island, in the year 1765. Her
+father was a sea-captain, and died at Honduras while she was in infancy.
+She married Thomas Rotch, of Nantucket, Massachusetts, on the sixth of
+June, 1790. Soon afterwards the Rotch family removed to New Bedford,
+where they have since distinguished themselves by their energy and
+uprightness of character, and their success in the mercantile business,
+being extensively engaged in the whale-fishery. Of some of them, as
+traffickers, it may be said, as it was of the merchants of Tyre in the
+days of her glory: "they are among the honorable of the earth."
+
+  [23] Some of the facts embodied in this article were gathered by the
+  author while on a visit to Massillon, Ohio, in the summer of 1847, and
+  were communicated to the public at that time through the columns of the
+  Western Literary Messenger; others were lately and very obligingly
+  furnished by Dr. William Bowen, of that place.
+
+About the year 1801, Mrs. Rotch removed with her husband to Hartford,
+Connecticut, where she remained till 1811. She then, in a feeble state
+of health, and for its improvement, accompanied her husband on a journey
+through Ohio, and other parts of the West. The mildness of the winter
+was favorable to her constitution, and, restored to comfortable health,
+she returned to Hartford in the early part of the next summer. The
+following November she removed to Kendol, in Stark county, Ohio, near
+the site of the present village of Massillon.
+
+There the mind of Mrs. Rotch, cooperating with the long-cherished wishes
+of her heart, originated and matured plans for the establishment of a
+"school for orphan and destitute children." Having traveled much, she
+had made extensive observations; and with an eye always open to the
+condition and wants of human kind, she early and often felt the force of
+a remark once made to her by an English friend: "That there were a great
+many children _wasted_ in this country"--a painful truth, but no less
+applicable to Great Britain than to the United States.
+
+Her husband died in 1823, and bequeathed to her, during life, his large
+and entire estate. His personal property was left in her hands to be
+disposed of as her philanthropic heart might dictate. This formed the
+basis of the school-fund which she left, and which, four or five years
+after her death, which occurred on the sixth of August, 1824, amounted
+to twenty thousand dollars. The interest of this sum has since purchased
+a farm of one hundred and eighty-five acres, one and a half miles from
+the village of Massillon, and erected, at a cost of five thousand
+dollars, a large brick edifice for educational and dwelling purposes,
+which has been open seven years and which sustains forty pupils. The
+real and personal estate of the institution, is now estimated at
+thirty-five thousand dollars.
+
+A class of ten pupils enter annually and remain four years. The school
+is established on the manual labor plan; and the boys are thoroughly
+instructed in the art of husbandry, and the girls in culinary duties and
+the manufacture of their own wearing apparel. Children enter between the
+ages of ten and fourteen, hence the youngest leave as advanced in life
+as their fifteenth year, a period when their habits of industry and
+their moral principles usually become too well established to be easily
+changed.
+
+This school, founded by the benevolence of a single individual--a
+devout, yet modest and quiet member of the Society of Friends--is
+destined to become a source of inestimable blessings. Every half
+century, five hundred otherwise neglected plants in the garden of
+humanity, will there be pruned and nurtured, and strengthened for the
+storms of life; and many of them will doubtless be fitted to bear fruit
+here to the glory of God, and be finally transplanted to bloom in
+eternal youth in the gardens above.
+
+The offspring of Christian philanthropy, the school will stand as a
+lasting memorial of woman's worth. The highest ambition of its founder
+was to be a blessing to those who should come after her; and it may be
+said that while she did not live in vain, neither did she die in vain.
+Her death threw a legacy into the lap of orphanage, the benignant
+influence of which will long be felt.
+
+The grave of Mrs. Rotch is overlooked by the monument of her
+munificence, but no marble nor enduring object marks the spot. Virtues
+like hers neither crave nor need _chiseled_ words of praise; they are
+engraved on the hearts of the succored, to be remembered while those
+hearts continue to beat; and the feet of befriended children will keep a
+path open to the grave of their foster-mother, for ages.
+
+
+
+
+A PIONEER IN SUNDAY SCHOOLS.[24]
+
+  --Doubtless unto thee is given
+  A life that bears immortal fruit
+  In such great offices as suit
+  The full-grown energies of heaven.
+
+                           TENNYSON'S IN MEMORIAM.
+
+
+The Ohio Company, which was organized in Boston in the year 1787, built
+a stockade fort during the next two years, at Marietta, and named it
+_Campus Martius_. The year it was completed, the Rev. Daniel Storey, a
+preacher at Worcester, Massachusetts, was sent out as a chaplain. He
+acted as an evangelist till 1797, when he became the pastor of a
+Congregational church which he had been instrumental in collecting in
+Marietta and the adjoining towns, and which was organized the preceding
+year. He held that relation till the spring of 1804. Probably he was the
+first Protestant minister whose voice was heard in the vast wilderness
+lying to the north-west of the Ohio river.
+
+  [24] The facts contained in this article we find in a series of papers,
+  by S. P. Hildreth, Esq., published in "The American Pioneer," in 1842.
+
+In the garrison at Marietta was witnessed the formation and successful
+operation of one of the first Sunday schools in the United States. Its
+originator, superintendent and sole teacher, was Mrs. Andrew Lake, an
+estimable lady from New York. Every Sabbath, after "Parson Storey" had
+finished his public services, she collected as many of the children at
+her house as would attend, and heard them recite verses from the
+Scriptures, and taught them the Westminster catechism. Simple in her
+manner of teaching and affable and kind in her disposition, she was able
+to interest her pupils--usually about twenty in number--and to win their
+affections to herself, to the school, and, subsequently, in some
+instances, to the Saviour. A few, at least, of the little children that
+used to sit on rude benches, low stools and the tops of meal bags, and
+listen to her sacred instructions and earnest admonitions, have
+doubtless ere this became pupils, with her, in the "school of Christ"
+above.
+
+
+
+
+THE WOMEN OF WYOMING.
+
+  The guardians of the land.
+
+                           HOLMES.
+
+
+Justice and gratitude, writes Miner,[25] "demand a tribute to the
+praiseworthy spirit of the wives and daughters of Wyoming. While their
+husbands and fathers were on public duty, they cheerfully assumed a
+large portion of the labor which females could do. They assisted to
+plant, made hay, husked and garnered the corn. As the settlement was
+mainly dependent on its own resources for powder, Mr. Hollenback caused
+to be brought up the river a pounder; and the women took up their
+floors, dug out the earth, put it in casks, and run water through
+it,--as ashes are bleached:--then took ashes, in another cask, and made
+ley--mixed the water from the earth with weak ley, boiled it, set it to
+cool, and the saltpetre rose to the top. Charcoal and sulphur were then
+used, and powder was produced for the public defence."
+
+  [25] History of Wyoming, page 212.
+
+
+
+
+MARY GOULD.
+
+  Far rung the groves and gleamed the midnight grass,
+  With flambeau, javelin and naked arm;
+  As warriors wheeled their culverins of brass,
+  Sprung from the woods a bold athletic mass,
+  Whom virtue fires and liberty combines.
+
+                                            CAMPBELL.
+
+  Such is the power of mighty love.
+
+                                              DRYDEN.
+
+
+Early in the evening of the third day of July, 1778--the date of the
+memorable Wyoming massacre--Mrs. Mary Gould, wife of James Gould, with
+the other females remaining in the village of Wyoming, sought safety in
+the fort. In the haste and confusion attending this act, she left a boy
+of hers about four years old, behind. Obeying the instincts of a mother,
+and turning a deaf ear to the admonitions of friends, she started off on
+a perilous search for the missing one. It was dark; she was alone, and
+the foe was lurking around; but the agonies of death could not exceed
+her agonies of suspense; so she hastened on. She traversed the fields
+which, but a few hours before,
+
+  "Were trampled by the hurrying crowd;"
+
+where
+
+  "--fiery hearts and armed hands
+  Encountered in the battle cloud,"
+
+and where unarmed hands were now resting on cold and motionless hearts.
+After a search of between one and two hours, she found her child on the
+bank of the river, sporting with a little band of playmates. Clasping
+the jewel in her arms, she hurried back and reached the fort in safety.
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF PRESIDENT POLK.
+
+  Holy as heaven a mother's tender love!
+  The love of many prayers, and many tears,
+  Which changes not with dim, declining years.
+
+                                          MRS. NORTON.
+
+
+The late President Folk's mother, who died at Columbia, Tennessee, in
+the winter of 1851-2, was a member of the Presbyterian church, a highly
+exemplary Christian, and a faithful mother. The lessons which she taught
+her son in youth, were not forgotten when he had arrived at manhood, and
+risen to the highest office in the gift of a free and sovereign people.
+A single anecdote will show the abiding recollection and influence of
+her teachings.
+
+A gentleman, who once visited Mr. Polk at the White House, remarked to
+him that his respect for the Sabbath was highly gratifying to the
+religious sentiment of the country; whereupon he made the following
+reply: "I was taught by a pious mother to fear God, and keep his
+commandments, and I trust that no cares of a government of my own, will
+ever tempt me to forget what I owe to the government of God."
+
+
+
+
+TRIALS OF A PATRIOT.
+
+  Press on! if fortune play thee false
+  To-day, to-morrow she 'll be true.
+
+                              PARK BENJAMIN.
+
+
+During the latter part of the Revolution, Thomas McCalla lived in
+Chester district, South Carolina. He removed thither from Pennsylvania,
+with his young wife, in 1778. He was a whole-hearted whig; served in the
+American army before moving to the south, and again enlisted soon after
+reaching his new home. He was in all the engagements attending Sumter's
+operations against the enemy, till the seventeenth of August, 1780,
+when, by permission, he went to visit his family. A short time
+afterwards he again joined the fighting men, but was almost immediately
+taken prisoner, sent to Camden, thrown into jail and threatened daily
+with hanging. The persevering and heroic endeavors of his affectionate
+and patriotic wife, to obtain his release, are detailed in the following
+interesting manner by the author of the Women of the Revolution:
+
+While this brave man was languishing in prison, expecting death from day
+to day, his wife remained in the most unhappy state of suspense. For
+about a month she was unable to obtain any tidings of him. The rumor of
+Sumter's surprise, and that of Steel, came to her ears; she visited the
+places where those disasters had occurred, and sought for some trace of
+him, but without success. She inquired, in an agony of anxiety, of the
+women who had been to Charlotte for the purpose of carrying clothes or
+provisions to their husbands, brothers, or fathers, not knowing but that
+he had gone thither with the soldiers; but none could give her the least
+information. Imagination may depict the harrowing scenes that must have
+passed, when females returning to their homes and children after
+carrying aid to the soldiers, were met by such inquiries from those who
+were uncertain as to the fate of their kindred. To these hapless
+sufferers no consolation availed, and too often was their suspense
+terminated by more afflicting certainty.
+
+In the midst of Mrs. McCalla's distress, and before she had gained any
+information, she was called to another claim on her anxiety; her
+children took the small-pox. John was very ill for nine days with the
+disease, and his mother thought every day would be his last. During this
+terrible season of alarm, while her mind was distracted by cares, she
+had to depend altogether upon herself, for she saw but one among her
+neighbors. All the families in the vicinity were visited with the
+disease, and to many it proved fatal. As soon as her child was so far
+recovered as to be considered out of danger, Mrs. McCalla made
+preparations to go to Camden. She felt convinced that it was her duty to
+do so, for she clung to the hope that she might there learn something
+of her husband, or even find him among the prisoners.
+
+With her to resolve was to act, and having set her house in order, she
+was in the saddle long before day, taking the old Charleston road
+leading down on the west side of the Catawba river. The mountain gap on
+Wateree creek was passed ere the sun rose, and by two o'clock she had
+crossed the river, passing the guard there stationed, and entered
+Camden. Pressing on with fearless determination, she passed the guard,
+and desiring to be conducted to the presence of Lord Rawdon, was
+escorted by Major Doyle to the head-quarters of that commander. His
+Lordship then occupied a large, ancient looking house on the east side
+of the main street. The old site of the town is now in part deserted,
+and that building left standing alone some four hundred yards from any
+other, as if the memories associated with it had rendered the
+neighborhood undesirable. It was here that haughty and luxurious
+nobleman fixed his temporary residence, "sitting as a monarch," while so
+many true-hearted unfortunates, whose fate hung on his will, were
+languishing out their lives in prison, or atoning for their patriotism
+on the scaffold.
+
+Into the presence of this august personage Mrs. McCalla was conducted by
+the British major. Her impression at first sight was favorable; he was a
+fine looking young man, with a countenance not unprepossessing, which we
+may suppose was eagerly searched for the traces of human sympathy by one
+who felt that all her hopes depended on him. His aspect gave her some
+encouragement, and being desired to explain the object of her visit, she
+pleaded her cause with the eloquence of nature and feeling; making known
+the distressed situation of her family at home, the fearful anxiety of
+mind she had suffered on account of the prolonged absence of her husband
+and her ignorance of his fate, and her children's urgent need of his
+care and protection. From Major Doyle she had at length learned that he
+was held a prisoner by his lordship's orders. She had come, therefore,
+to entreat mercy for him; to pray that he might be released and
+permitted to go home with her. This appeal to compassion she made with
+all the address in her power, nor was the untaught language of distress
+wanting in power to excite pity in any feeling heart.
+
+Lord Rawdon heard her to the end. His reply was characteristic. "I would
+rather hang such ---- rebels than eat my breakfast." This insulting
+speech was addressed to his suppliant while her eyes were fixed on him
+in the agony of her entreaty, and the tears were streaming down her
+cheeks. His words dried up the fountain at once, and the spirit of the
+American matron was roused. "Would you?" was her answer, while she
+turned on him a look of the deepest scorn. A moment after, with a
+struggle to control her feelings, for she well knew how much depended on
+that--she said, "I crave of your lordship permission to see my husband."
+
+The haughty chief felt the look of scorn his cruel language had called
+up in her face, for his own conscience bore testimony against him, but
+pride forbade his yielding to the dictates of better feeling. "You
+should consider, madam," he answered, "in whose presence you now stand.
+Your husband is a rebel----"
+
+Mrs. McCalla was about to reply--but her companion, the Major, gave her
+a look warning her to be silent, and in truth the words that sprang to
+her lips would have ill pleased the Briton. Doyle now interposed, and
+requested his lordship to step aside with him for a moment. They left
+the apartment, and shortly afterwards returned. Rawdon then said to his
+visitor, with a stately coldness that precluded all hope of softening
+his determination: "Major Doyle, madam, has my permission to let you go
+into the prison. You may continue in the prison _ten minutes only_.
+Major, you have my orders." So saying, he bowed politely both to her and
+the officer, as intimating that the business was ended, and they were
+dismissed. They accordingly quitted the room.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The sight of the prison-pen almost overcame the fortitude of the
+resolute wife. An enclosure like that constructed for animals, guarded
+by soldiers, was the habitation of the unfortunate prisoners, who sate
+within on the bare earth, many of them suffering with the prevalent
+distemper, and stretched helpless on the ground, with no shelter from
+the burning sun of September. "Is it possible," cried the matron,
+turning to Doyle, "that you shut up men in this manner, as you would a
+parcel of hogs!" She was then admitted into the jail, and welcome indeed
+was the sight of her familiar face to McCalla. The time allotted for the
+interview was too short to be wasted in condolement or complaint; she
+told him she must depart in a few minutes, informed him of the state of
+his family--inquired carefully what were his wants, and promised speedy
+relief. When the ten minutes had expired, she again shook hands with
+him, assuring him she would shortly return with clothes for his use, and
+what provisions she could bring, then turning walked away with a firm
+step, stopping to shake hands with young John Adair and the other
+captives with whom she was acquainted. The word of encouragement was not
+wanting, and as she bade the prisoners adieu, she said: "Have no fear;
+the women are doing their part of the service." "I admire your spirit,
+madam," Doyle observed to her, "but must request you to be a little more
+cautious."
+
+Mrs. McCalla was furnished by the Major with a pass, which she showed to
+the officer on duty as she passed the guard on her return, and to the
+officer at the ferry. She rode with all speed, and was at home before
+midnight; having had less than twenty-four hours for the accomplishment
+of her whole enterprise; in that time riding one hundred miles, crossing
+the river twice, and passing the guard four times--visiting her husband,
+and having the interview with Lord Rawdon, in which probably for the
+first time in his life he felt uneasiness from a woman's rebuke. It
+convinced him that even in the breast of woman a spirit of independence
+might dwell, which no oppression could subdue, and before which brute
+force must quail, as something of superior nature. How must the
+unexpected outbreaking of this spirit, from time to time, have dismayed
+those who imagined it was crushed forever throughout the conquered
+province!
+
+It is proper to say that Mrs. McCalla met with kinder treatment from the
+other British officers to whom she had occasion to apply at this time,
+for they were favorably impressed by the courage and strength of
+affection evinced by her. Even the soldiers, as she passed them, paid
+her marks of respect. The tories alone showed no sympathy nor pity for
+her trials; it being constantly observed that there was deeper hostility
+towards the whigs on the part of their countrymen of different politics,
+than those of English birth.
+
+Mrs. McCalla began her work immediately after her arrival at home;
+making new clothes, altering and mending others, and preparing
+provisions. Her preparations being completed, she again set out for
+Camden. This time she had the company of one of her neighbors, Mrs. Mary
+Nixon. Each of the women drove before her a pack-horse, laden with the
+articles provided for the use of their suffering friends. They were
+again admitted to the presence of Lord Rawdon to petition for leave to
+visit the prisoners, but nothing particular occurred at the interview.
+His lordship treated the matron who had offended him with much
+haughtiness, and she on her part felt for him a contempt not the less
+strong that it was not openly expressed. From this time she made her
+journeys about once a month to Camden, carrying clean clothes and
+provisions; being often accompanied by other women bound on similar
+errands, and conveying articles of food and clothing to their captive
+fathers, husbands, or brothers. They rode without escort, fearless of
+peril by the way, and regardless of fatigue, though the journey was
+usually performed in haste, and under the pressure of anxiety for those
+at home as well as those to whose relief they were going. On one
+occasion, when Mrs. McCalla was just about setting off alone upon her
+journey, news of a glorious event was brought to her; the news of the
+battle of King's Mountain, which took place on the seventh of October.
+She did not stop to rejoice in the victory of her countrymen, but went
+on with a lightened heart, longing, no doubt, to share the joy with him
+who might hope, from the changed aspect of affairs, some mitigation of
+his imprisonment.
+
+... About the first of December, Mrs. McCalla went again to Camden. On
+the preceding trip she had met with Lord Cornwallis, by whom she was
+treated with kindness. Whatever hopes she had grounded on this, however,
+were doomed to disappointment; he was this time reserved and silent. She
+was afterwards informed by the Major that a considerable reverse had
+befallen his majesty's troops at Clermont, and the annoyance felt on
+this account--Doyle said--was the cause of his not showing as much
+courtesy as he usually did to ladies. "You must excuse him," observed
+the good-natured officer, who seems to have always acted the part of a
+peacemaker on these occasions; and he added that Cornwallis had never
+approved of the cruelties heretofore practised.
+
+Towards the last of December the indefatigable wife again performed the
+weary journey to Camden. McCalla's health had been impaired for some
+months, and was now declining; it was therefore necessary to make a
+strenuous effort to move the compassion of his enemies, and procure his
+release. Rawdon was in command, and she once more applied to him to
+obtain permission for her husband to go home with her. As might have
+been anticipated, her petition was refused: his lordship informed her
+that he could do nothing in the premises; but that if she would go to
+Winnsboro' and present her request to Lord Cornwallis, he might possibly
+be induced to give her an order for the liberation of the prisoner.
+
+To Winnsboro', accordingly, she made her way, determined to lose no time
+in presenting her application. It was on New Year's morning that she
+entered the village. The troops were under parade, and his lordship was
+engaged in reviewing them; there could be no admission, therefore, to
+his presence for some time, and she had nothing to do but remain a
+silent spectator of the imposing scene. A woman less energetic, and less
+desirous of improving every opportunity for the good of others, might
+have sought rest after the fatigues of her journey, during the hours her
+business had to wait; Sarah McCalla was one of heroic stamp, whose
+private troubles never caused her to forget what she might do for her
+country. She passed the time in noticing particularly every thing she
+saw, not knowing but that her report might do service. After the lapse
+of several hours, the interview she craved with Cornwallis was granted.
+He received her with courtesy and kindness, listened attentively to all
+she had to say, and appeared to feel pity for her distresses. But his
+polished expression of sympathy, to which her hopes clung with
+desperation, was accompanied with regret that he could not, consistently
+with the duties of his Majesty's service, comply unconditionally with
+her request. He expressed, nevertheless, entire willingness to enter
+into an exchange with General Sumter, releasing McCalla for any prisoner
+he had in his possession. Or he would accept the pledge of General
+Sumter that McCalla should not again serve until exchanged, and would
+liberate him on that security. "But, madam," he added, "it is Sumter
+himself who must stand pledged for the keeping of the parole. We have
+been too lenient heretofore, and have let men go who immediately made
+use of their liberty to take up arms against us."
+
+With this the long-tried wife was forced to be content, and she now saw
+the way clear to the accomplishment of her enterprise. She lost no time
+in returning home, and immediately set out for Charlotte to seek aid
+from the American general. She found Sumter at this place, nearly
+recovered of the wounds he had received in the action at Blackstock's,
+in November. Her appeal to him was at once favorably received. He gave
+her a few lines, stating that he would stand pledged for McCalla's
+continuance at home peaceably until he should be regularly exchanged.
+This paper was more precious than gold to the matron whose perseverance
+had obtained it; but it was destined to do her little good. She now made
+the best of her way homeward. After crossing the Catawba, she
+encountered the army of General Morgan, was stopped, being suspected to
+be a tory, and taken into his presence for examination. The idea that
+she could be thus suspected afforded her no little amusement, and she
+permitted the mistake to continue for some time, before she produced the
+paper in Sumter's hand-writing which she well knew would remove every
+difficulty. She then informed the General of her visit to Winnsboro' on
+the first of January, and her sight of the review of the troops. Morgan
+thanked her for the information and dismissed her, and without further
+adventure she arrived at her own house.
+
+A few days after her return, the British army, being on its march from
+Winnsboro', encamped on the plantation of John Service, in Chester
+district, and afterwards at Turkey creek. Mrs. McCalla went to one of
+those camps in the hope of seeing Lord Cornwallis. She succeeded in
+obtaining this privilege; his lordship recognised her as soon as she
+entered the camp, and greeted her courteously, questioning her as to her
+movements, and making many inquiries about Sumter and Morgan. On this
+last point she was on her guard, communicating no more information than
+she felt certain could give the enemy no manner of advantage, nor
+subject her friends to inconvenience. At length she presented to the
+noble Briton the paper which she imagined would secure her husband's
+freedom. What was her disappointment when he referred her to Lord
+Rawdon, as the proper person to take cognizance of the affair! The very
+name was a death-blow to her hopes, for she well knew she could expect
+nothing from his clemency. Remonstrance and entreaty were alike in vain;
+Cornwallis was a courteous man, but he knew how, with a bland smile and
+well-turned phrase of compliment, to refuse compliance even with a
+request that appealed so strongly to every feeling of humanity, as that
+of an anxious wife pleading for the suffering and imprisoned father of
+her children. She must submit, however, to the will of those in power;
+there was no resource but another journey to Camden, in worse than doubt
+of the success she had fancied just within her reach.
+
+It was a day or two after the battle of the Cowpens that she crossed the
+ferry on her way to Camden. She had not yet heard of that bloody action,
+but, observing that the guard was doubled at the ferry, concluded that
+something unusual had occurred. As she entered the village, she met her
+old friend Major Doyle, who stopped to speak to her. His first inquiry
+was if she had heard the news; and when she answered in the negative, he
+told her of the "melancholy affair" that had occurred at the Cowpens.
+The time, he observed, was most inauspicious for the business on which
+he knew she had come. "I fear, madam," he said, "that his lordship will
+not treat you well."
+
+"I have no hope," was her answer, "that he will let Thomas go home; but,
+sir, it is my duty to make efforts to save my husband. I will thank you
+to go with me to Lord Rawdon's quarters."
+
+Her reception was such as she had expected. As soon as Rawdon saw her,
+he cried angrily, "You here again, madam! Well--you want your husband--I
+dare say! Do you not know what the ---- rebels have been doing?"
+
+"I do not, sir," replied the dejected matron, for she saw that his mood
+was one of fury.
+
+"If we had hung them," he continued, "we should have been saved this.
+Madam! I order you most positively never to come into my presence
+again!"
+
+It was useless, Mrs. McCalla knew, to attempt to stem the tide; she did
+not therefore produce, nor even mention the paper given her by Sumter,
+nor apologise for the intrusion by saying that Lord Cornwallis had
+directed her to apply to him; but merely answered in a subdued and
+respectful tone by asking what she had done.
+
+"Enough!" exclaimed the irritated noble. "You go from one army to
+another, and Heaven only knows what mischief you do! Begone."
+
+She waited for no second dismissal, but could not refrain from saying,
+as she went out, in an audible voice, "My countrymen must right me."
+Lord Rawdon called her back and demanded what she was saying. She had
+learned by this time some lessons in policy, and answered, with a smile,
+"We are but simple country folk." His lordship probably saw through the
+deceit, for turning to his officer, he said, "Upon my life, Doyle, she
+is a wretch of a woman!" And thus she left him.
+
+That great event--the battle of the Cowpens--revived the spirits of the
+patriots throughout the country. Every where, as the news spread, men
+who had before been discouraged flew to arms. The action took place on
+the seventeenth of January, 1781; on the twenty-second of the same
+month, six wagons were loaded with corn at Wade's island, sixty miles
+down the Catawba for the use of General Davison's division. The whole
+whig country of Chester, York and Lancaster may be said to have risen in
+mass, and was rallying to arms. Mecklenburg, North Carolina, was again
+the scene of warlike preparation; for the whigs hoped to give the enemy
+another defeat at Cowans or Batisford on the Catawba. On the
+twenty-fourth of January, General Sumter crossed this river at
+Landsford, and received a supply of corn from Wade's island. His object
+was to cross the districts to the west, in the rear of the advancing
+British army, to arouse the country and gather forces as he went,
+threaten the English posts at Ninety-Six and Granby, and go on to
+recover the State. While Cornwallis marched from his encampment on
+Service's plantation, the whigs of Chester, under the gallant Captains
+John Mills and James Johnston, were hovering near, watching the
+movements of the hostile army as keenly as the eagle watches his
+intended prey. Choosing a fit opportunity, as they followed in the
+rear, they pounced upon a couple of British officers, one of whom was
+Major McCarter, at a moment when they had not the least suspicion of
+danger, took them prisoners in sight of the enemy, and made good their
+retreat. By means of this bold exploit the liberation of McCalla was
+brought about, at a time when his wife was wholly disheartened by her
+repeated and grievous disappointments. When General Sumter passed
+through the country, a cartel of exchange was effected, giving the two
+British officers in exchange for the prisoners of Chester district in
+Camden and Charleston.
+
+The person sent with the flag to accomplish this exchange in Camden, was
+Samuel Neely of Fishing creek. As he passed through the town to the
+quarters of Lord Rawdon, he was seen and recognized by the prisoners,
+and it may be supposed their hearts beat with joy at the prospect of
+speedy release. But in consequence of some mismanagement of the
+business, the unfortunate men were detained in jail several weeks
+longer. Neely was in haste to proceed to Charleston, being anxious, in
+the accomplishment of his mission in that city, to get his son Thomas
+out of the prison-ship, and in his hurry probably neglected some
+necessary formalities. His countrymen in Camden were kept in confinement
+after his return from Charleston with his son. Captain Mills was
+informed of this, and indignant at the supposed disrespect shown by Lord
+Rawdon to the cartel of General Sumter, wrote a letter of remonstrance
+to Rawdon, which he entrusted to Mrs. McCalla to be conveyed to him.
+
+Our heroine was accompanied on this journey by Mrs. Mary Nixon, for she
+judged it impolitic that the letter should be delivered by one so
+obnoxious to his lordship as herself. Still she deemed it her duty to be
+on the spot to welcome her liberated husband, supply all his wants, and
+conduct him home. The distance was traversed this time with lighter
+heart than before, for now she had no reason to fear disappointment.
+When they arrived at Camden, they went to the jail. John Adair was
+standing at a window; they saw and greeted each other, the women
+standing in the yard below. Perhaps in consequence of his advice, or
+prudential considerations on their part, they determined not to avail
+themselves of the good offices of Major Doyle on this occasion. Adair
+directed them to send the jailor up to him, and wrote a note introducing
+his sister to the acquaintance of Lord Rawdon. The two women then
+proceeded to the quarters of that nobleman. When they arrived at the
+gate, Mrs. McCalla stopped, saying she would wait there, and her
+companion proceeded by herself. She was admitted into the presence of
+Lord Rawdon, who read the note of introduction she handed to him, and
+observed, referring to the writer--that the small-pox had almost
+finished him; still, he had come very near escaping from the jail; that
+he was "a grand 'scape-gallows." On reading the letter of Captain Mills
+his color changed, and when he had finished it, turning to Mrs. Nixon,
+he said in an altered tone: "I am sorry these men have not been
+dismissed, as of right they ought." He immediately wrote a discharge for
+eleven of the prisoners, and put it into her hands, saying: "You can get
+them out, madam. I am very sorry they have been confined so many weeks
+longer than they should have been." At the same time he gave Mrs. Nixon
+a guinea. "This," he said, "will bear your expenses."
+
+His lordship accompanied her on her way out, and as she passed through
+the gate his eye fell on Mrs. McCalla, whom he instantly recognized.
+Walking to the spot where she stood near the gate, he said fiercely:
+"Did I not order you, madam, to keep out of my presence?" The matron's
+independent spirit flashed from her eyes, as she answered: "I had no
+wish, sir, to intrude myself on your presence; I stopped at the gate on
+purpose to avoid you." Unable to resist the temptation of speaking her
+mind for once, now that she had a last opportunity, she added: "I might
+turn the tables on you, sir, and ask, why did _you_ come out to the gate
+to insult a woman? I have received from you nothing but abuse. My
+distresses you have made sport of, and I ceased long since to expect
+anything from you but ill-treatment. I am now not your supplicant; I
+came to _demand_, as a right, the release of my husband!" So saying, she
+bowed to him contemptuously, wheeled about, and deliberately walked off,
+without stopping to see how her bold language was received. Mrs. Nixon
+hastened after her, pale as death, and at first too much frightened to
+speak. As soon as she found voice, she exclaimed: "Sally, you have
+ruined us, I am afraid! Why, he may put us both in jail!"
+
+Mrs. McCalla laughed outright. "It is not the first time, Mary," she
+replied, "that I have given him to understand I thought him a villain!"
+The two made their way back to the prison, but even after they got there
+Mrs. Nixon had not recovered from her terror. She was informed that it
+would be some time before the prisoners could be released. The
+blacksmith was then sent for, and came with his tools. The sound of the
+hammering in the apartments of the jail, gave the first intimation to
+the women who waited to greet their friends, that the helpless captives
+were chained to the floor. This precaution had been adopted not long
+before, in consequence of some of the prisoners having attempted an
+escape. They were then put in handcuffs or chained by the ankle. These
+men left the place of their long imprisonment and suffering in company
+with the two women, and as they marched through the streets of Camden,
+passing the British guard, they sang at the top of their voices the
+songs of the "liberty-men."
+
+
+
+
+INTREPIDITY OF MRS. ISRAEL.
+
+  He is not worthy of the honey comb,
+  That shuns the hive because the bees have stings.
+
+                                        SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+During the Revolution, Israel Israel, a true whig and a worthy farmer,
+residing on the banks of the Delaware, near Wilmington, was, for a short
+time, a prisoner on board the frigate Roebuck, directly opposite his own
+house and land. While thus situated, it was reported by some loyalists
+by whose treachery he had been betrayed into the hands of the enemy,
+that he had said repeatedly that "he would sooner drive his cattle as a
+present to George Washington, than receive thousands of dollars in
+British gold for them." The commander hearing the report, to be revenged
+on the rebel, sent a small detachment of soldiers to drive his cattle,
+which were in plain sight of the frigate, down to the Delaware, and have
+them slaughtered before their owner's eyes. Mrs. Israel,[26] who was
+young and sprightly, and brave as a Spartan, seeing the movements of
+the soldiers as she stood in her doorway, and divining their purpose as
+they marched towards the meadow where the cattle were grazing, called a
+boy about eight years old, and started off in great haste, to defeat, if
+possible, their marauding project. They threatened and she defied, till
+at last they fired at her. The cattle, more terrified than she,
+scattered over the fields; and as the balls flew thicker she called on
+the little boy "Joe" the louder and more earnestly to help, determined
+that the assailants should not have one of the cattle. _They did not._
+She drove them all into the barn-yard, when the soldiers, out of respect
+to her courage, or for some other cause, ceased their molestations and
+returned to the frigate.
+
+  [26] The maiden name of Mrs. Israel was Hannah Erwin. Her first meeting
+  with her husband was romantic enough. Mr. Israel had sailed in a sloop,
+  or packet, from Philadelphia, to visit New Castle where his mother and
+  family resided. He observed on deck an extremely pretty girl, hardly
+  seventeen years of age, and very neatly and tastefully dressed, with the
+  finest turned foot and ankle in the world. All who went on such voyages
+  were then obliged to furnish themselves with provisions; and his
+  attention was drawn by the young girl's kindly distribution of her
+  little stock, handing it about from one to another, till but little was
+  left for her own portion. In passing him, she modestly hesitated a
+  moment, and then offered him a share. This led to conversation; he
+  learned that she was the daughter of highly respectable parents, and
+  resided in Wilmington. Love at first sight was as common in those days
+  as now. After seeing his mother, he visited Wilmington; became better
+  acquainted, offered himself and was accepted: and on his marriage,
+  rented the farm above mentioned, and commenced life anew.--[Mrs.
+  Ellet.
+
+
+
+
+AN INCIDENT IN MISSIONARY LIFE.
+
+  Love's holy flame for ever burneth;
+  From heaven it came, to heaven returneth;
+  Too oft on earth a troubled guest,
+    ... at times oppressed.
+  It here is tried and purified,
+  Then hath in heaven its perfect rest.
+  It soweth here with toil and care,
+  But the harvest time of love is there.
+
+                                    SOUTHEY.
+
+
+No class of laborers in the broad harvest field of the world endure so
+many sacrifices of comfort and of home felicities as the missionaries to
+foreign countries. Of the trials peculiar to _mothers_ who go forth on
+such an errand of humanity, the keenest must be their separation from
+their children. The pernicious habits and influences of a pagan
+community, often render it absolutely necessary that their offspring
+should be sent to a civilized land to be educated. This duty, however
+painful, is imperative, and they who accuse the mother of hardness
+because she does it, are either grossly ignorant, or haters of truth.
+Many instances of heroic firmness and almost superhuman calmness under
+such trials, are on record, but one may stand as a type of the whole.
+
+Mrs. Comstock[27] of the Burmah Baptist mission felt called upon to part
+with her two children, whom God had given her while on the field of
+labor. The hour for separation came, and taking them by the hand, she
+led them down to the ship that was to bear them for ever from her sight.
+Having invoked the blessing of Heaven upon them, she gave each the
+parting kiss and, with streaming eyes, lifted her hands towards heaven
+and exclaimed: "My Saviour! I do this for thee."
+
+  [27] Sarah Davis Comstock was the wife of the Rev. Grover S. Comstock,
+  who was stationed at Kyouk Phyoo in the province of Arracan, Burmah. She
+  was born at Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1812 and died at Ramree, April
+  twenty-eighth, 1843.
+
+  Amid the jungles of the East,
+    Where gloomiest forms of sin are rife,
+  Like flowerets in a desert drear,
+    Her treasured ones had sprung to life.
+
+  And smiling round her, day by day,
+    Though cares unnumbered weigh her heart,
+  Their prattle, full of music tones,
+    Unceasing joy and hope impart.
+
+  Their little minds, like tender buds
+    In vernal hours, she sees unfold,
+  And young affection in their eyes
+    Is gleaming like a gem of gold.
+
+  But 'mid the toils that press her sore--
+    The spirit-wants of 'wildered ones--
+  These buds must often miss the dew,
+    And plead in vain for constant suns.
+
+  She sees their smiles, their music hears,
+    And feels affection's holy thrall;
+  But duty's voice, from out the skies,
+    In sweeter tones, is heard o'er all.
+
+  To Western climes, illumed by truth,
+    And blest with learning's sacred flowers,
+  These blossoms of her heart must go,
+    To bloom henceforth in stranger bowers.
+
+  She leads them to the waiting ship;
+    She kneels in anguish on the deck,
+  And while she breathes a silent prayer,
+    Their arms like tendrils twine her neck.
+
+  She tears her from the loved away,
+    Whom she on earth no more may see,
+  And looking up to heaven, exclaims,
+    "_My Saviour, I do this for thee!_"
+
+  Then hastens to her task again,
+    The pleasant task her Saviour's given,
+  That, finished all, she may ascend,
+    And lure the distant ones to heaven.
+
+
+
+
+A KIND-HEARTED CHIPPEWA.
+
+  Both men and women belie their nature
+  When they are not kind.
+
+                             BAILEY'S FESTUS.
+
+
+In the early settlement of Ohio, Daniel Convers was captured by the
+savages; but he had the good fortune to be purchased by a noble-hearted
+Indian whose wife possessed a kindred spirit. His condition, we are
+informed in the Pioneer History of Ohio, "was not that of a slave, but
+rather an adoption into the family as a son. The Indian's wife, whom he
+was directed to call mother, was a model of all that is excellent in
+woman, being patient, kind-hearted, humane and considerate to the wants
+and comfort of all around her, and especially so to their newly adopted
+son. To sum up all her excellences in a brief sentence of the captive's
+own language, she was 'as good a woman as ever lived.'"[28]
+
+  [28] Mr. Convers escaped from his Chippewa friends, at Detroit. Touching
+  the treatment he received from his adopted mother, a writer says: "How
+  few among the more civilized race of whites would ever imitate the
+  Christian charities of this untaught daughter of nature!"
+
+
+
+
+HUMANITY OF A CHEROKEE.
+
+            How poor an instrument
+  May do a noble deed.
+
+                            SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+During the Revolution, a young Shawanese Indian was captured by the
+Cherokees and sentenced to die at the stake. He was tied, and the usual
+preparations were made for his execution, when a Cherokee woman went to
+the warrior to whom the prisoner belonged, and throwing a parcel of
+goods at his feet, said she was a widow and would adopt the captive as
+her son, and earnestly plead for his deliverance. Her prayer was
+granted, and the prisoner taken under her care. He rewarded her by his
+fidelity, for, in spite of the entreaties of his friends, whom he was
+allowed to visit, he never left her.
+
+
+
+
+SELF-SACRIFICING SPIRIT OF THE MISSIONARY.
+
+    Thou know 'st not, Afric! sad of heart and blind,
+      Unskilled the precious Book of God to read;
+    Thou canst not know, what moved that soul refined,
+      Thy lot of wretchedness to heed,
+    And from her fireside, bright with hallowed glee,
+  To dare the boisterous surge and deadly clime for thee.
+
+                                           MRS. SIGOURNEY.
+
+
+We know not how one may exhibit greater benevolence than to offer life
+for the spiritual good of the heathen; and he virtually does this who
+goes to some, at least, of the missionary stations. Those in Africa are
+the most unhealthy, and their history presents a frightful bill of
+mortality. In his journal of January, 1846, Dr. Savage, of the
+Protestant Episcopal mission in Africa, states that during the nine
+years previous to that date, the whole number of missionaries under the
+patronage of the different Boards, in Africa, had been sixty-one, and of
+that number forty were then dead. American Baptists alone lost eleven
+between 1826 and 1848. Five of them were buried in the single town of
+Monrovia. With such facts as these, touching African missions, staring
+the disciple of Christ in the face, it must require no common degree of
+moral courage for him to embark in the enterprise.
+
+The following letter, by Miss Maria V. Chapin, of Vermont, was written
+prior to her leaving this country for West Africa, and breathes the
+sentiments of a self-sacrificing and heroic Christian. Multitudes of
+like examples, equally as noble, might be pointed out, but it seems to
+be needless: this letter may stand as a type of the spirit usually
+exhibited under similar circumstances. It was addressed to the Rev. Dr.
+Vaughan, then Secretary of the Foreign Committee of the Protestant
+Episcopal church:
+
+"The question of my personally engaging in a mission to the heathen, has
+long been before my mind, and received, as it claimed, my most serious
+and prayerful consideration. This great work is now brought nearer to my
+mind than I could ever before regard it, and I trust it does not appear
+the less desirable. I have considered the subject in every light, so far
+as I am able from the information I have respecting it, and I can never
+take up the question again, to find reasons for going. My mind is now
+settled as to the duty, should no unforeseen providence prevent, of
+leaving home and country for a heathen land. A long adieu to my kindred
+and friends will rend the heart; I feel already that it will; but at the
+same time, the prospect of doing good to some poor heathen soul will
+fill it with joy, and the hope of advancing, in ever so small a degree,
+the cause of my Redeemer, will be a constant feast to the soul. The
+silent tear of parental affection and solicitude would indeed overpower
+me, had I not confidence that He who thus afflicts, will support, my
+beloved parents. Neither, in the present case, can I think it proper to
+follow, altogether, the opinion of friends. With the smiles of my
+heavenly Father, I must be happy, though friends forsake me. I feel an
+inexpressible pleasure in commending them to God, assured that they will
+be enabled to give up their child without regret, in the hope that she
+will do good to perishing souls. And I have, also, that blessed hope,
+that, should we never again meet in this world, we shall be a happy
+family circle at the right hand of God. Still, I feel my own
+insufficiency to decide a question of such importance as that of leaving
+all that the heart holds most dear on earth, to encounter the toils and
+hardships of a missionary life. Indeed, I would not decide for myself. I
+trust solely to Him who has promised grace and strength. Though, at
+times, great weakness has constrained me to shrink at the prospect
+before me, I have been consoled and supported in the assurance that God
+will perfect strength in my weakness. I feel a desire to act in
+accordance with the will of God; to do nothing which would be
+displeasing in His sight. I think I am willing to be, and to do,
+anything for the sake of the glory of God; and if I can only be sure
+that I am wholly under the guidance of His spirit, I shall be fully
+satisfied. It is difficult, I know, to analyze one's feelings, and
+ascertain the real character of the motives by which we are actuated; I
+feel my liability to be deceived, and my need of Divine assistance. The
+only question which concerns me, is, are my motives pure and holy?
+Never would I bear the missionary standard, without having in my heart
+the missionary spirit. I have calmly and deliberately weighed the
+subject, and feel that no attraction from its novelty, no impulse from
+its moral dignity, can bear up, and carry forward any one, amidst the
+long continued labors of almost uniform sameness which you represented
+to me; nothing but a thorough conviction of being in the path of duty,
+nothing but the approving smile of Heaven, can keep one from
+despondency, from sinking into hopeless inactivity; but I have calmly
+and deliberately weighed the subject, and feel a willingness to give up
+comforts, and submit to privations, to forsake ease and endure toil, to
+assemble no more 'with the great congregation,' but seek the Lord in the
+wilderness, or in the desert--in short, to make every sacrifice of
+personal ease and gratification, for the one great object of making
+known a crucified Saviour to those who are perishing in ignorance and
+sin. Indeed, what sacrifice can be too great, if what is done for Him
+who bought us with his own blood can be called a sacrifice, for those to
+make, who have themselves experienced the efficacy of a Saviour's blood?
+I have reflected, that should I go out, cheered by the smiles of
+friends, and encouraged by the approbation of the churches, yet soon,
+amidst a people of strange speech, I shall see these smiles only in
+remembrance, and hear the voice of encouragement only in dying whispers
+across the ocean. Yet, when I have considered the command of Christ, 'Go
+ye and teach all nations,'--and when, in pouring out my soul on this
+subject to the Father of light, I have realized more of that sweet
+'peace which passeth all understanding;' objections have all dwindled to
+a point; I have been enabled, by the eye of faith, to discover the
+finger of God, pointing me to the benighted African, and have heard his
+voice saying, with the affection of a Father and the authority of a
+Sovereign, 'Come, follow me'--'He that loveth father or mother more than
+me, is not worthy of me;' and adding, for my encouragement, 'I will
+never leave thee nor forsake thee.' I do feel that God calls me to
+become a missionary, and do, with this belief, resolve to consider
+myself as devoted to that service, hoping that God will qualify me, and
+make me a faithful servant for Christ's sake."[29]
+
+  [29] This letter was written in the fall of 1841. Miss Chapin,
+  afterwards Mrs. Savage, embarked for Africa on the twenty-eighth of the
+  following January, and reached Cape Palmas on the twenty-fifth of March.
+  As might be anticipated, her labors soon closed. She died on the field,
+  in December, 1843.
+
+    "That life is long which answers life's great end."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+DARING EXPLOIT OF "TWO REBELS."
+
+  Think'st thou there dwells no courage but in breasts
+  That set their mail against the ringing spears,
+  When helmets are struck down? Thou little knowest
+  Of nature's marvels.
+
+                                              MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+During the sieges of Augusta and Cambridge, two young men of the name of
+Martin, belonging to Ninety-Six district, South Carolina, were in the
+army. Meanwhile their wives, who remained at home with their
+mother-in-law, displayed as much courage, on a certain occasion, as was
+exhibited, perhaps, by any female during the struggle for Independence.
+
+Receiving intelligence one evening that a courier, under guard of two
+British officers, would pass their house that night with important
+dispatches, Grace and Rachel Martin resolved to surprise the party and
+obtain the papers. Disguising themselves in their husbands' outer
+garments and providing themselves with arms, they waylaid the enemy.
+Soon after they took their station by the road-side, the courier and his
+escort made their appearance. At the proper moment, the disguised ladies
+sprang from their bushy covert, and presenting their pistols, ordered
+the party to surrender their papers. Surprised and alarmed, they obeyed
+without hesitation or the least resistance. The brave women having put
+them on parole, hastened home by the nearest route, which was a by-path
+through the woods, and dispatched the documents to General Greene by a
+single messenger, who probably had more courage than the trio that
+lately bore them.
+
+Strange to say, a few minutes after the ladies reached home, and just as
+they had doffed their male attire, the officers, retracing their steps,
+rode up to the house and craved accommodations for the night. The mother
+of the heroines asked them the cause of their so speedy return after
+passing her house, when they exhibited their paroles and said that "two
+rebels" had taken them prisoners. Here the young ladies, in a rallying
+mood, asked them if they had no arms, to which query they replied, that,
+although they had, they were arrested so suddenly that they had no time
+to use them. We have only to add that they were hospitably entertained,
+and the next morning took their leave of the women as ignorant of the
+residence of their captors as when first arrested.
+
+
+
+
+ELIZABETH MARTIN.
+
+  The mothers of our Forest-land!
+  Their bosoms pillowed _men_.
+
+                       W. D. GALLAGHER.
+
+  --A fine family is a fine thing.
+
+                                  BYRON.
+
+
+The mother-in-law of the two patriotic women spoken of in the preceding
+article, was a native of Caroline county, Virginia. Her maiden name was
+Marshall. On marrying Mr. Abram Martin, she removed to South Carolina.
+
+When the Revolutionary war broke out, she had seven sons old enough to
+enlist in their country's service; and as soon as the call to arms was
+heard, she said to them, "Go, boys, and fight for your country! fight
+till death, if you must, but never let your country be dishonored. Were
+I a man I would go with you."
+
+Several British officers once called at her house, and while receiving
+some refreshments, one of them asked her how many sons she had. She told
+him, eight; and when asked where they were, she boldly replied, "Seven
+of them are engaged in the service of their country." The officer
+sneeringly observed that she had enough of them. "No, sir, I wish I had
+fifty!" was her prompt and proud reply.
+
+Only one of those seven sons was killed during the war. He was a captain
+of artillery, served in the sieges of Savannah and Charleston, and was
+slain at the siege of Augusta. Soon after his death a British officer
+called on the mother, and in speaking of this son, inhumanly told her
+that he saw his brains blown out on the battle field. The reply she made
+to the monster's observation was: "He could not have died in a nobler
+cause."
+
+When Charleston was besieged, she had three sons in the place. She heard
+the report of cannon on the occasion, though nearly a hundred miles west
+of the besieged city. The wives of the sons were with her, and
+manifested great uneasiness while listening to the reports; nor could
+the mother control her feelings any better. While they were indulging in
+silent and, as we may suppose, painful reflections, the mother suddenly
+broke the silence by exclaiming, as she raised her hands: "Thank God!
+they are the children of the republic!"[30]
+
+  [30] Vide Women of the Revolution, vol. 1 p. 278.
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER'S EFFECTUAL PETITION.
+
+          What rhetoric didst thou use
+  To gain this mighty boon?
+
+                                  ADDISON.
+
+
+James M. Wilson was one of the unfortunate young men who engaged in the
+Cuban invasion, in 1851; and he was taken prisoner and sent to Spain.
+His mother petitioned for his release through President Fillmore, and so
+earnest, so full of the beauty of maternal love, and so touching was her
+appeal, that her request was granted, and the erring son was permitted
+to return to his mother's embrace. The following is a copy of the letter
+which she addressed to the President. It is said to have called forth
+flattering commendation from the heads of State and the highest
+encomiums from the Majesty of Spain.
+
+                                          NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 25, 1851.
+
+DEAR FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY:--To you I look for help. My dear son is one
+of the unfortunate prisoners to Spain. He is all the child I have; is
+only nineteen years old, not twenty-two, as stated. He was innocent and
+unsuspecting, and the more easily duped. He saw no means of making a
+support for himself and me, we being poor: he could get no employment;
+my health was bad; he therefore hoped to do something by going to Cuba.
+But, alas! I am worse than poor! Death would have been more welcome. His
+father died, when he was very young, in Texas, which makes him more dear
+to me. Oh! cruel fate, why have I lived to see this? Perhaps to suit
+some wise design. God's will be done, not mine! I have prayed for his
+life from the time he left; it was spared. Dear President, will it be
+possible for you to do any thing? Can you comfort me? I am wearing away.
+Methinks I cannot bear up under the idea of ten years; perhaps executed,
+or detained for life, or the climate cause his death. I feel for all of
+them, and pray for all. It was not my will that he should go; he was
+seduced into it by others. Dear father of the land of my birth, can you
+do any thing? Will you ask for their release? Methinks you will, and it
+would be granted. Will you feel offended with me for appealing to you
+for comfort? If so, I beg pardon. My distress has stimulated me to
+venture to dare to address the President. To whom else could I look for
+comfort? If you could but see me, I know you would pity me. If any one
+knew I had approached you, they might think I presumed much. Perhaps I
+do. Yet methinks you will view it in charity.
+
+      With all due respect to your Excellency.
+                                                   OPHELIA P. TALBOT.
+
+
+
+
+NOTEWORTHY INTEGRITY.
+
+  Honesty, even by itself, though making many adversaries
+  Whom prudence might have set aside, or charity have softened,
+  Evermore will prosper at the last.
+
+                                                            TUPPER.
+
+
+We have often read an interesting story of a stockbroker who, just
+before his death, laid a wager on parole with a Parisian capitalist; and
+a few weeks after his death, the latter visited the widow and gave her
+to understand that her late husband had lost a bet of sixteen thousand
+francs. She went to her secretary, took out her pocket-book, and counted
+bank notes to the stated amount, when the capitalist thus addressed her:
+"Madame, as you give such convincing proof that you consider the wager
+binding, _I_ have to pay you sixteen thousand francs. Here is the sum,
+for _I_ am the loser, and not your husband."
+
+An act that, in principle, matches the above, came to light not long
+since in Philadelphia. During the speculations of 1837-38, Mr. C., a
+young merchant of that city, possessed of a handsome fortune, caught the
+mania, entered largely into its operations, and for a time was
+considered immensely rich. But when the great revulsion occurred he was
+suddenly reduced to bankruptcy. His young wife immediately withdrew
+from the circles of wealth and fashion, and adapted her expenses, family
+and personal, to her altered circumstances.
+
+At the time of Mr. C.'s failure, his wife was in debt to Messrs. Stewart
+and Company, merchants of Philadelphia, about two hundred dollars for
+articles which she had used personally. This debt, she had no means of
+liquidating. It became barred by the statute of limitation, before Mr.
+C. became solvent, though his circumstances gradually improved. After
+the lapse of twelve years, and when the creditors had looked upon the
+debt as lost, Mrs. C. was able to take the principle, add to it twelve
+years' interest, enclose the whole in a note and address it to Messrs.
+Stewart and Company.[31]
+
+  [31] Messrs. Stewart and Company, upon the receipt of the money,
+  addressed a note in reply to Mrs. C., in which they requested her
+  acceptance of the accompanying gift, as a slight testimonial of their
+  high appreciation of an act so honorable and so rare as to call forth
+  unqualified admiration. Accompanying the letter was sent a superb
+  brocade silk dress, and some laces of exquisite texture and great
+  value.--[Philadelphia Enquirer.
+
+
+
+
+A FAITHFUL MOTHER.
+
+  --Her pure and holy spirit now
+  Doth intercede at the eternal throne.
+
+                                MISS LANDON.
+
+
+The following anecdote strikingly illustrates the strength of maternal
+love, the beauty of faith, and the efficacy of prayer. It was related by
+a blind preacher:
+
+"When I was about eighteen years of age, there was a dancing party in
+Middleboro, Massachusetts, which I was solicited to attend, and act, as
+usual, in the capacity of musician. I was fond of such scenes of
+amusements then, and I readily assented to the request. I had a pious
+mother; and she earnestly remonstrated against my going. But, at length,
+when all her expostulations and entreaties failed in changing my
+purpose, she said: 'Well, my son, I shall not forbid your going, but
+remember, that all the time you spend in that gay company, I shall spend
+in praying for you at home.' I went to the ball, but I was like the
+stricken deer, carrying an arrow in his side. I began to play; but my
+convictions sank deeper and deeper, and I felt miserable indeed. I
+thought I would have given the world to have been rid of that mother's
+prayers. At one time I felt so wretched and so overwhelmed with my
+feelings, that I ceased playing and dropped my musical instrument from
+my hand. There was another young person there who refused to dance; and,
+as I learned, her refusal was owing to feelings similar to my own, and
+perhaps they arose from a similar cause. My mother's prayers were not
+lost. That was the last ball I ever attended, except _one_, where I was
+invited to play again, but went and prayed and preached _instead_, till
+the place was converted into a Bochim, a place of weeping. The
+convictions of that wretched night never wholly left me, till they left
+me at the feet of Christ, and several of my young companions in sin ere
+long were led to believe and obey the gospel also."
+
+
+
+
+ANECDOTE OF MRS. SPAULDING OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.[32]
+
+  Through the deep wilderness, where scarce the sun
+  Can cast his darts, along the winding path
+  The pioneer is treading.
+
+                                                STREET.
+
+                            An energy
+  A spirit that will not be shaken.
+
+                                                WILLIS.
+
+
+One of the first two settlers of Northumberland, New Hampshire, was
+Daniel Spaulding, who removed thither in the summer of 1767. On the way
+to his new home, with his wife and child, the last burnt himself so
+badly at Plymouth that the mother was obliged to remain and take care of
+him, while Mr. Spaulding proceeded to the end of the journey. She soon
+became uneasy, and, anxious to join her husband, started off with her
+child, twenty-one months old, to travel twenty-six miles through the
+wilderness. A friend who had agreed to accompany her the whole distance
+with a horse, returned after traveling about one third of the way.
+Undaunted and persevering, she pushed on, alone and on foot; waded
+through Baker's river with her child in her arms; was overtaken by a
+heavy "thunder gust" in the afternoon, and thoroughly drenched; seated
+herself beside a tree when darkness appeared, and held her child in her
+lap through a long and sleepless night; resumed her journey early the
+next morning; waded through a small pond, with the water waist-high;
+pushed on to another river, which, though swollen by the rain of the
+preceding day and looking rapid and terrifying, she forded in safety;
+and at eleven o'clock that day, the second of her journey, she met her
+husband, who was on his way back with a horse for her accommodation.[33]
+
+  [32] The substance of this anecdote we find in the second number of the
+  first volume of a periodical called "Historical Collections," published
+  nearly thirty years ago at Concord, New Hampshire, and edited by J.
+  Farmer and J. B. Moore. The anecdote was communicated by Adino N.
+  Brackett, Esq., of Lancaster, and appeared in the June number for 1822.
+
+  [33] This pioneer matron of northern New Hampshire, was living at
+  Lancaster, in 1822, then in her eighty-second year. She was a
+  descendant, "in the third degree," of Mrs. Dustin, the heroine of
+  Penacook.
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF COLONEL THOMAS.
+
+  Then since there is no other way but fight or die,
+  Be resolute, my lord, for victory.
+
+                                            SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Jane Thomas, wife of John Thomas, Colonel of the Spartan regiment of
+South Carolina, was a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania. She was a
+woman of remarkable coolness and intrepidity, as a single act of hers,
+in the times that tried _women's_ souls, plainly indicates.
+
+Governor Rutledge having stored a quantity of arms and ammunition in the
+house of Colonel Thomas, under a guard of twenty-five men, the tories
+were determined to obtain these munitions. To this end they sent a large
+party under Colonel More of North Carolina. Apprised of their approach
+and not daring to engage with a force so superior, Colonel Thomas fled
+with his twenty-five soldiers, taking along as much ammunition as could
+be conveniently carried. Two young men and the women were now the sole
+occupants of the house. The tories marched up to the door, but instead
+of being invited by the ladies to enter, they were ordered off the
+premises. Not choosing to obey the commands of the mistress, they
+commenced firing into the logs of the house. The compliment was
+instantly returned from the upper story; and the women now loading the
+guns for the older of the two young men to discharge, a constant and
+perilous firing was kept up from the chamber, which soon made the
+assailants desperate. They forthwith attempted to demolish the "batten
+door," but it was too strongly barricaded. Finding that themselves were
+likely to share a worse fate then the door, they finally obeyed the
+original orders of the intrepid mistress; withdrew from the premises and
+fled. Mrs. Thomas soon afterwards descended, and opening the door, there
+met her returning husband.--The ammunition saved on that occasion by the
+courage of a woman, was the main supply, it is said, of Sumter's army in
+the skirmishes at Rocky Mount and Hanging Rock.
+
+
+
+
+EXEMPLARY PIETY.
+
+  I've pored o'er many a yellow page
+    Of ancient wisdom, and have won,
+  Perchance, a scholar's name--but sage
+    Or bard have never taught thy son
+  Lessons so dear, so fraught with holy truth,
+  As those his mother's faith shed on his youth.
+
+                                  GEORGE W. BETHUNE.
+
+
+A lady in the district of Beaufort, South Carolina, at the age of
+seventy-six, anxious once more to enjoy the society of all her children
+and grandchildren, invited them to spend a day with her. The interview
+was permitted and was very affecting. It "was conducted just as we
+should suppose piety and the relation sustained by the parties would
+dictate. She acknowledged God in this, as well as in every other way.
+Her eldest son, who is a minister of the Gospel in the Baptist
+denomination, commenced the exercises of the day, by reading the
+Scriptures and prayer. The whole family then joined in the song of
+praise to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. This service was
+concluded by a suitable exhortation from the same person. Eighty-five of
+her regular descendants were present. Forty-four children and
+grandchildren, arrived at maturity, sat at the same table at dinner. Of
+that number, forty-three professed faith in Jesus Christ; of the four
+surviving sons of this excellent lady, two were preachers of the Gospel,
+and the other two deacons in the Baptist church.
+
+"Two of her grandsons were also ministers of the same church. When the
+day was drawing to a close the matron called her numerous children
+around her, gave them each salutary advice and counsel, and bestowed
+upon all her parting blessing. The day was closed by her youngest son,
+with exercises similar to those with which it commenced.
+
+"Mrs. ---- lived eight years after this event, leaving, at her death,
+one hundred and fifteen lineal descendants, in which large number not a
+swearer nor drunkard is to be found."[34]
+
+  [34] Jabez Burns, D. D.
+
+
+
+
+BOLD ADVENTURE OF A PATRIOTIC GIRL.
+
+                          Stand
+  Firm for your country: *    *
+     *    * it were a noble life,
+  To be found dead embracing her.
+
+                                       JOHNSON.
+
+                      There is strength
+  Deep bedded in our hearts, of which we reck
+  But little.
+
+                                    MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+We find the following incident in the first volume of American
+Anecdotes, "original and select." The young heroine of the adventure
+afterwards married a rich planter named Threrwits, who lived on the
+Congaree. She has been dead more than half a century, but her name
+should be remembered while this republic is permitted to stand.
+
+"At the time General Greene retreated before Lord Rawdon from
+Ninety-Six, when he had passed Broad river, he was very desirous to send
+an order to General Sumter, who was on the Wateree, to join him, that
+they might attack Rawdon, who had divided his force. But the General
+could find no man in that part of the state who was bold enough to
+undertake so dangerous a mission. The country to be passed through for
+many miles was full of blood thirsty tories, who, on every occasion that
+offered, imbrued their hands in the blood of the whigs. At length Emily
+Geiger presented herself to General Greene, and proposed to act as his
+messenger: and the General, both surprised and delighted, closed with
+her proposal. He accordingly wrote a letter and delivered it, and at the
+same time communicated the contents of it verbally, to be told to Sumter
+in case of accidents.
+
+"Emily was young, but as to her person or adventures on the way, we have
+no further information, except that she was mounted on horseback, upon a
+side-saddle, and on the second day of her journey she was intercepted by
+Lord Rawdon's scouts. Coming from the direction of Greene's army, and
+not being able to tell an untruth without blushing, Emily was suspected
+and confined to a room; and as the officer in command had the modesty
+not to search her at the time, he sent for an old tory matron as more
+fitting for that purpose. Emily was not wanting in expedient, and as
+soon as the door was closed and the bustle a little subsided, she _ate
+up the letter_, piece by piece. After a while the matron arrived, and
+upon searching carefully, nothing was to be found of a suspicious nature
+about the prisoner, and she would disclose nothing. Suspicion being thus
+allayed, the officer commanding the scouts suffered Emily to depart
+whither she said she was bound; but she took a route somewhat
+circuitous to avoid further detention, and soon after struck into the
+road to Sumter's camp, where she arrived in safety. Emily told her
+adventure, and delivered Greene's verbal message to Sumter, who, in
+consequence, soon after joined the main army at Orangeburgh."
+
+
+
+
+MRS. CALDWELL AND THE TORIES.
+
+      --The spell is thine that reaches
+  The heart.
+
+                                   HALLECK.
+
+  Prudence protects and guides us.
+
+                                     YOUNG.
+
+
+Rachel Caldwell was the daughter of the Rev. Alexander Craighead and the
+wife of David Caldwell, D. D., whose history is somewhat identified with
+that of North Carolina. For several years he was at the head of a
+classical school at Guilford in that state, and in the vocation of
+teacher he had, at times, the efficient aid of his faithful and talented
+companion. She was a woman of exalted piety; and such a degree of
+success attended her "labor of love" in the school, that it became a
+common saying that "Dr. Caldwell makes the scholars, and Mrs. Caldwell
+makes the preachers."
+
+More than once during the Revolution, the house of Dr. Caldwell, who was
+a stanch friend of his country, was assailed by tories:[35] and on one
+occasion, while his wife was alone and the marauders were collecting
+plunder, they broke open a chest or drawer and took therefrom a
+table-cloth which was the gift of her mother. She seized it the moment
+the soldier had it fairly in his hand, and made an effort to wrest it
+from him. Finding she would be the loser in a trial of physical
+strength, she instinctively resorted to the power of rhetoric. With her
+grasp still firm on the precious article, she turned to the rest of the
+plunderers, who stood awaiting the issue of the contest, and in a
+beseeching tone and with words warm with eloquence, asked if some of
+their number had not wives for the love of whom they would assist her,
+and spare the one dear memorial of a mother's affection! Her plea,
+though short, was powerful, and actually moved one man to tears. With
+rills of sympathy running down his cheeks, he assured her he had a
+wife--a wife that he loved--and that for her sake the table-cloth should
+be given up. This was accordingly done, and no further rudeness was
+offered.
+
+  [35] The tories not only destroyed his property, but drove him into the
+  woods, where he was often obliged to pass nights; and some of his
+  escapes from captivity or death are said to have been almost
+  miraculous.--He resumed his labors as teacher and pastor after the war;
+  and continued to preach till his ninety-sixth year. He died in 1824, at
+  the age of ninety-nine. His wife died the following year, in the
+  eighty-seventh of her age.
+
+In the fall of 1780, a "way-worn and weary" stranger, bearing dispatches
+from Washington to Greene, stopped at her house and asked for supper and
+lodgings. Before he had eaten, the house began to be surrounded by
+tories, who were in pursuit of him. Mrs. Caldwell led him out at a
+back-door, unseen in the darkness, and ordered him to climb a large
+locust tree, and there remain till the house was plundered and the
+pursuers had departed. He did so. Mrs. Caldwell lost her property, but
+her calmness and prudence saved the express, and that was what most
+concerned the patriotic woman.
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF RANDOLPH
+
+       She led me first to God;
+  Her words and prayers were my young spirit's dew;
+       For when she used to leave
+       The fireside every eve,
+  I knew it was for prayer that she withdrew.
+
+  PIERPONT.
+
+
+The biographers of John Randolph mention the interesting fact that his
+mother taught him to pray. This all-important maternal duty made an
+impression on his heart. He lived at a period when skepticism was
+popular, particularly in some political circles in which he had occasion
+to mingle; and he has left on record his testimony in regard to the
+influence of his mother's religious instruction. Speaking of the subject
+of infidelity to an intimate friend, he once made the following
+acknowledgment:
+
+"I believe I should have been swept away by the flood of French
+infidelity if it had not been for one thing--the remembrance of the time
+when my sainted mother used to make me kneel by her side, taking my
+little hands folded in hers, and cause me to repeat the Lord's Prayer."
+
+
+
+
+CORNELIA BEEKMAN.
+
+  The smallest worm will turn when trodden on,
+  And doves will peck, in safeguard of their brood.
+
+                                              SHAKESPEARE.
+
+                  The vaunts
+  And menace of the vengeful enemy
+  Pass like the gust, that roared and died away
+  In the distant tree.
+
+                                                COLERIDGE.
+
+
+Mrs. Cornelia Beekman was a daughter of Pierre Van Cortlandt, Lieutenant
+Governor of New York from 1777 to 1795; and she seems to have inherited
+her father's zeal for the rights of his country. She was born at the
+Cortlandt manor house, "an old fashioned stone mansion situated on the
+banks of the Croton river," in 1752; was married when about seventeen or
+eighteen, to Gerard G. Beekman; and died on the fourteenth of March,
+1847. A few anecdotes will illustrate the noble characteristics of her
+nature.[36]
+
+  [36] For a fuller account of her life, see the second volume of Mrs.
+  Ellet's Women of the Revolution, to which work we are indebted for the
+  substance of these anecdotes.
+
+When the British were near her residence, which was a short distance
+from Peekskill, a soldier entered the house one day and went directly to
+the closet, saying, in reply to a question she put to him, that he
+wanted some brandy. She reproved him for his boldness and want of
+courtesy, when he threatened to stab her with a bayonet. Unalarmed by
+his oath-charged threats--although an old, infirm negro was the only aid
+at hand--she in turn threatened him, declaring that she would call her
+husband and have his conduct reported to his commander. Her sterness and
+intrepidity, coupled with her threats, subdued the insolent coward, and,
+obeying her orders, he marched out of the house.
+
+A party of tories, under command of Colonels Bayard and Fleming, once
+entered her house, and, with a great deal of impudence and in the most
+insulting tone, asked if she was not "the daughter of that old rebel,
+Pierre Van Cortlandt?" "I am the daughter of Pierre Van Cortlandt, but
+it becomes not such as you to call my father a rebel," was her dauntless
+reply. The person who put the question now raised his musket, at which
+menacing act, she coolly reprimanded him and ordered him out of doors.
+His heart melted beneath the fire of her eye, and, abashed, he sneaked
+away.
+
+In one instance, a man named John Webb, better known at that time as
+"Lieutenant Jack," left in her charge a valise which contained a new
+suit of uniform and some gold. He stated he would send for it when he
+wanted it, and gave her particular directions not to deliver it to any
+one without a written order from himself or his brother Samuel. About
+two weeks afterwards, a man named Smith rode up to the door in haste,
+and asked her husband, who was without, for Lieutenant Jack's valise.
+She knew Smith, and had little confidence in his _professed_ whig
+principles; so she stepped to the door and reminded her husband that it
+would be necessary for the messenger to show his order before the valise
+could be given up.
+
+"You know me very well, Mrs. Beekman; and when I assure you that
+Lieutenant Jack sent me for the valise, you will not refuse to deliver
+it to me, as he is greatly in want of his uniform."
+
+"I do know you very well--_too well_ to give you the valise without a
+written order from the owner or the Colonel."
+
+Soon after this brief colloquy, Smith went away without the valise, and
+it was afterwards ascertained that he was a rank tory, and at that very
+hour in league with the British. Indeed Major Andre was concealed in his
+house that day, and had Smith got possession of Webb's uniform, as the
+latter and Andre were about the same size, it is likely the celebrated
+spy would have escaped and changed the reading of a brief chapter of
+American history. Who can tell how much this republic is indebted to the
+prudence, integrity, courage and patriotism of Cornelia Beekman?
+
+  [Illustration: WEST AND HIS MOTHER.]
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF WEST.
+
+  O wondrous power! how little understood--
+    Entrusted to the mother's mind alone--
+  To fashion genius, form the soul for good,
+    Inspire a West, or train a Washington.
+
+                                      MRS. HALE.
+
+
+When Benjamin West was seven years old, he was left, one summer day,
+with the charge of an infant niece. As it lay in the cradle and he was
+engaged in fanning away the flies, the motion of the fan pleased the
+child, and caused it to smile. Attracted by the charms thus created,
+young West felt his instinctive passion aroused; and seeing paper, pen
+and some red and black ink on a table, he eagerly seized them and made
+his first attempt at portrait painting. Just as he had finished his
+maiden task, his mother and sister entered. He tried to conceal what he
+had done, but his confusion arrested his mother's attention and she
+asked him what he had been doing. With reluctance and timidity, he
+handed her the paper, begging, at the same time, that she would not be
+offended. Examining the drawing for a short time, she turned to her
+daughter and, with a smile, said, "I declare, he has made a likeness of
+Sally." She then gave him a fond kiss, which so encouraged him that
+he promised her some drawings of the flowers which she was then holding,
+if she wished to have them.
+
+The next year a cousin sent him a box of colors and pencils, with large
+quantities of canvas prepared for the easel, and half a dozen
+engravings. Early in the morning after their reception, he took all his
+materials into the garret, and for several days forgot all about school.
+His mother suspected that the box was the cause of his neglect of his
+books, and going into the garret and finding him busy at a picture, she
+was about to reprimand him; but her eye fell on some of his
+compositions, and her anger cooled at once. She was so pleased with them
+that she loaded him with kisses and promised to secure his father's
+pardon for his neglect of school.
+
+How much the world is indebted to Mrs. West for her early and constant
+encouragement of the immortal artist. He often used to say, after his
+reputation was established, "_My mother's kiss made me a painter!_"
+
+
+
+
+HEROIC ENDURANCE.
+
+  'Tis not now who is stout and bold,
+  But who bears hunger best and cold.
+
+                                        BUTLER.
+
+
+On the twenty-seventh of July, 1755, Mrs. Howe, of Hinsdale, New
+Hampshire, with seven children and two other women and their children,
+was taken captive by the Indians, and marched through the wilderness to
+Crown Point. There Mrs. Howe, with some of the other prisoners, remained
+several days. The rest were conducted to Montreal to be sold, but the
+French refusing to buy them, they were all brought back, except Mrs.
+Howe's youngest daughter, who was presented to Governor De Vaudreuil.
+
+Ere long the whole party started for St. Johns by water. Night soon came
+on; a storm arose; the darkness became intense; the canoes separated,
+and just before day Mrs. Howe was landed on the beach, ignorant of the
+destiny of her children. Raising a pillow of earth with her hands, she
+laid herself down to rest with her infant on her bosom. A toilsome day's
+journey brought her and her captors to St. Johns, and pressing onward
+they soon reached St. Francis, the home of the latter. A council having
+been called and the customary ceremonies performed, Mrs. Howe, with her
+infant left to her care, was put in the charge of a squaw, whom she was
+ordered to call mother.
+
+"At the approach of winter, the squaw, yielding to her earnest
+solicitations, set out with Mrs. Howe and her child, for Montreal, to
+sell them to the French. On the journey both she and her infant were in
+danger of perishing from hunger and cold; the lips of the child being at
+times so benumbed, as to be incapable of imbibing its proper
+nourishment. After her arrival in the city, she was offered to a French
+lady; who, seeing the child in her arms, exclaimed, 'I will not buy a
+woman, who has a child to look after.' I shall not attempt to describe
+the feelings with which this rebuff was received by a person who had no
+higher ambition than to become a slave. Few of our race have hearts made
+of such unyielding materials, as not to be broken by long-continued
+abuse; and Mrs. Howe was not one of this number. Chilled with cold, and
+pinched with hunger, she saw in the kitchen of this inhospitable house
+some small pieces of bread, floating in a pail amid other fragments,
+destined to feed swine; and eagerly skimmed them for herself. When her
+Indian mother found that she could not dispose of her, she returned by
+water to St. Francis, where she soon died of small pox, which she had
+caught at Montreal. Speedily after, the Indians commenced their winter
+hunting. Mrs. Howe was then ordered to return her child to the captors.
+The babe clung to her bosom; and she was obliged to force it away. They
+carried it to a place called 'Messiskow,' on the borders of the river
+Missiscoui, near the north end of lake Champlain upon the eastern shore.
+The mother soon followed, and found it neglected, lean, and almost
+perishing with hunger. As she pressed its face to her cheek, the eager,
+half-starved infant bit her with violence. For three nights she was
+permitted to cherish it in her bosom; but in the day-time she was
+confined to a neighboring wigwam, where she was compelled to hear its
+unceasing cries of distress, without a possibility of contributing to
+its relief.
+
+"The third day the Indians carried her several miles up the lake. The
+following night she was alarmed by what is usually called the great
+earthquake, which shook the region around her with violent concussions.
+Here, also, she was deserted for two nights in an absolute wilderness;
+and, when her Indian connections returned, was told by them that two of
+her children were dead. Very soon after, she received certain
+information of the death of her infant. Amid the anguish awakened by
+these melancholy tidings, she saw a distant volume of smoke; and was
+strongly inclined to make her way to the wigwam from which it ascended.
+As she entered the door, she met one of the children, reported to be
+dead; and to her great consolation found that he was in comfortable
+circumstances. A good-natured Indian soon after informed her, that the
+other was alive on the opposite side of the lake, at the distance of a
+few miles only. Upon this information she obtained leave to be absent
+for a single day; and, with the necessary directions from her informant,
+set out for the place. On her way she found her child, lean and hungry,
+and proceeded with it to the wigwam. A small piece of bread, presented
+to her by the Indian family in which she lived, she had carefully
+preserved for this unfortunate boy; but, to avoid offending the family
+in which he lived, was obliged to distribute it in equal shares to all
+the children. The little creature had been transported at the sight of
+his mother; and, when she announced her departure, fell at her feet, as
+if he had been dead. Yet she was compelled to leave him; and satisfied
+herself, as far as she was able, by commending him to the protection of
+God. The family in which she lived, passed the following summer at St.
+Johns. It was composed of the daughter and son-in-law of her late
+mother. The son-in-law went out early in the season on an expedition
+against the English settlements. At their return, the party had a
+drinking frolic, their usual festival after excursions of this nature.
+Drunkenness regularly enhances the bodily strength of a savage, and
+stimulates his mind to madness. In this situation he will insult, abuse,
+and not unfrequently murder, his nearest friends. The wife of this man
+had often been a sufferer by his intemperance. She therefore proposed to
+Mrs. Howe that they should withdraw themselves from the wigwam until
+the effects of his present intoxication were over. They accordingly
+withdrew. Mrs. Howe returned first, and found him surly and ill-natured,
+because his wife was absent. In the violence of his resentment he took
+Mrs. Howe, hurried her to St. Johns, and sold her for a trifling sum to
+a French gentleman, named Saccapee.
+
+"Upon a little reflection, however, the Indian perceived that he had
+made a foolish bargain. In a spirit of resentment he threatened to
+assassinate Mrs. Howe; and declared that if he could not accomplish his
+design, he would set fire to the fort. She was therefore carefully
+secreted, and the fort watchfully guarded, until the violence of his
+passion was over. When her alarm was ended, she found her situation as
+happy in the family, as a state of servitude would permit. Her new
+master and mistress were kind, liberal, and so indulgent as rarely to
+refuse anything that she requested. In this manner they enabled her
+frequently to befriend other English prisoners, who, from time to time,
+were brought to St. Johns.
+
+"Yet even in this humane family she met with new trials. Monsieur
+Saccapee, and his son, an officer in the French army, became at the same
+time passionately attached to her. This singular fact is a forcible
+proof that her person, mind, and manners, were unusually agreeable. Nor
+was her situation less perplexing than singular. The good will of the
+whole family was indispensable to her comfort, if not to her safety; and
+her purity she was determined to preserve at the hazard of her life. In
+the house where both her lovers resided, conversed with her every day,
+and, together with herself, were continually under the eye of her
+mistress, the lovers a father and a son, herself a slave, and one of
+them her master, it will be easily believed that she met with very
+serious embarrassments in accomplishing her determination. In this
+situation she made known her misfortunes to Colonel Peter Schuyler of
+Albany, then a prisoner at St. Johns. As soon as he had learned her
+situation he represented it to the Governor De Vaudreuil. The Governor
+immediately ordered young Saccapee into the army; and enjoined on his
+father a just and kind treatment of Mrs. Howe. His humanity did not stop
+here. Being informed that one of her daughters was in danger of being
+married to an Indian of St. Francis, he rescued her from this miserable
+destiny, and placed her in a nunnery with her sister. Here they were
+both educated as his adopted children.
+
+"By the good offices of Colonel Schuyler, also, who advanced
+twenty-seven hundred livres for that purpose, and by the assistance of
+several other gentlemen, she was enabled to ransom herself, and her four
+sons. With these children she set out for New England in the autumn of
+1758, under the protection of Colonel Schuyler, leaving her two
+daughters behind.[37] As she was crossing lake Champlain, young
+Saccapee came on board the boat, in which she was conveyed; gave her a
+handsome present; and bade her adieu. Colonel Schuyler being obliged to
+proceed to Albany with more expedition than was convenient for his
+fellow travelers, left them in the care of Major Putnam, afterwards
+Major-General Putnam. From this gentleman she received every kind
+office, which his well known humanity could furnish; and arrived without
+any considerable misfortune at the place of their destination."[38]
+
+  [37] After the treaty of peace at Paris, Mrs. Howe went to Canada and
+  brought home the younger daughter, who left the nunnery with a great
+  deal of reluctance. The older went to France with Monsieur Dr.
+  Vaudreuil, and was there married to a man named Louis.
+
+  [38] Dwight's Travels.
+
+
+
+
+MATERNAL HEROISM
+
+  Is there a man, into the lion's den
+  Who dares intrude to snatch his young away?
+
+                                         THOMSON.
+
+
+During the campaign of 1777, a soldier of the Fifty-fifth regiment was
+sitting with his wife at breakfast, when a bomb entered the tent, and
+fell between the table and a bed where their infant was sleeping. The
+mother urged her husband to go round the bomb and seize the child, his
+dress being, from the position of things, more favorable than hers for
+the prosecution of the dangerous task: but he refused, and running out
+of the tent, begged his wife to follow, saying that the fusee was just
+ready to communicate with the deadly combustibles. The fond mother,
+instead of obeying, hastily tucked up her garments to prevent their
+coming in contact with the bomb; leaped past it; caught the child, and
+in a moment was out of danger.
+
+In December, 1850, the house of Peter Knight, of Bath, Maine, caught
+fire, and a small child, asleep in the room where the flames burst out,
+would have perished but for the self-possession and daring of its
+mother. One or two unsuccessful attempts had been made by others to
+rescue it, when the mother, always the last to despair, made a desperate
+effort, and secured the prize. When the two were taken from the window
+of the second story, the dress of Mrs. Knight was in flames!
+
+
+
+
+A MODERN DORCAS.
+
+  'Tis truth divine, exhibited on earth,
+  Gives charity her being.
+
+                                      COWPER.
+
+
+Isabella, the wife of Dr. John Graham, was born in Scotland, on the
+twenty-ninth of July, 1742. At the age of seventeen she became a member
+of the church in Paisley of which the Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, afterwards
+President of Princeton college, was the pastor. Dr. Graham was a
+physician of the same town. Her marriage took place in 1765. The next
+year Dr. Graham was ordered to join his regiment then stationed in
+Canada. After spending a few months at Montreal, he removed to Fort
+Niagara, where he remained in the garrison four years.
+
+Just before the Revolutionary war the sixteenth regiment of Royal
+Americans was ordered to the island of Antigua. Thither Dr. Graham
+removed with his family, and there he died in 1774. Mrs. Graham then
+returned to her native land.
+
+In 1789 she came to this country, and permanently settled in the city of
+New York. She there opened a school for young ladies, and gained a high
+reputation in her profession. She united with the Presbyterian church
+of which John Mason, D. D., was pastor, and was noted, through all the
+latter years of her life, for the depth of her piety and her Christian
+benevolence. She made it a rule to give a tenth part of her earnings to
+religious and charitable purposes. In 1795 she received, at one time, an
+advance of a thousand pounds on the sale of a lease which she held on
+some building lots; and not being used to such large profits, she said,
+on receiving the money, "Quick, quick, let me appropriate the tenth
+before my heart grows hard."
+
+Two years afterwards, a society was organized and chartered, for the
+relief of poor widows; and Mrs. Graham was appointed first directress.
+Each of the managers had a separate district, and she had the
+superintendence of the whole. A house was purchased by the society,
+where work was received for the employment of the widows; and a school
+was opened for the instruction of their children. "Besides establishing
+this school, Mrs. Graham selected some of the widows, best qualified for
+the task, and engaged them, for a small compensation, to open day
+schools for the instruction of the children of widows, in distant parts
+of the city: she also established two Sabbath schools, one of which she
+superintended herself, and the other she placed under the care of her
+daughter. Wherever she met with Christians sick and in poverty, she
+visited and comforted them; and in some instances opened small
+subscription lists to provide for their support. She attended
+occasionally for some years at the Alms House for the instruction of the
+children there, in religious knowledge: in this work she was much
+assisted by a humble and pious female friend, who was seldom absent from
+it on the Lord's day.
+
+"It was often her custom to leave home after breakfast, to take with her
+a few rolls of bread, and return in the evening about eight o'clock. Her
+only dinner on such days was her bread, and perhaps some soup at the
+Soup House, established by the Humane Society for the poor, over which
+one of her widows had been, at her recommendation, appointed."[39]
+
+  [39] Mrs. Bethune's Life of Mrs. Graham, abridged.
+
+In the winter of 1804-5, before a Tract or Bible Society had been formed
+in New York, she visited between two and three hundred of the poorer
+families, and supplied them with a Bible where they were destitute. She
+also distributed tracts which were written, at her request, by a friend,
+"and lest it might be said it was cheap to give advice, she usually gave
+a small sum of money along with the tracts."
+
+On the fifteenth of March, 1806, a society was organized in New York for
+providing an Asylum for Orphan Children; and Mrs. Graham occupied the
+chair on the occasion. Her sympathies were strongly enlisted in this
+organization, and she was one of the trustees at the time of her death.
+
+"In the winter of 1807-8, when the suspension of commerce by the
+embargo, rendered the situation of the poor more destitute than ever,
+Mrs. Graham adopted a plan best calculated in her view to detect the
+idle applicant for charity, and at the same time to furnish employment
+for the more worthy amongst the female poor. She purchased flax, and
+lent wheels where applicants had none. Such as were industrious took the
+work with thankfulness, and were paid for it; those who were beggars by
+profession, never kept their word to return for the flax or the wheel.
+The flax thus spun was afterwards woven, bleached, and made into
+table-cloths and towels for family use."[40]
+
+  [40] Mrs. Bethune.
+
+When the Magdalen Society was established by some gentlemen, in 1811, a
+board of ladies was elected for the purpose of superintending the
+internal management of the house; and Mrs. Graham was chosen President.
+This office she continued to hold till her death. The next year the
+trustees of the Lancasterian School solicited the services of several
+women to instruct the pupils in the catechism. Mrs. Graham cheerfully
+assisted in this task, instruction being given one afternoon in each
+week.
+
+"In the spring of 1814 she was requested to unite with some ladies, in
+forming a Society for the Promotion of Industry amongst the poor. The
+Corporation of the city having returned a favorable answer to their
+petition for assistance, and provided a house, a meeting of the Society
+was held, and Mrs. Graham once more was called to the chair. It was the
+last time she was to preside at the formation of a new society. Her
+articulation, once strong and clear, was now observed to have become
+more feeble. The ladies present listened to her with affectionate
+attention; her voice broke upon the ear as a pleasant sound that was
+passing away. She consented to have her name inserted in the list of
+managers, to give what assistance her age would permit in forwarding so
+beneficent a work. Although it pleased God to make her cease from her
+labors, before the House of Industry was opened, yet the work was
+carried on by others, and prospered. Between four and five hundred women
+were employed and paid during the following winter. The Corporation
+declared in strong terms their approbation of the result, and enlarged
+their donation, with a view to promote the same undertaking for the
+succeeding winter."
+
+Mrs. Graham died on the twenty-seventh of July, 1814. Of no woman of the
+age may it be said with more propriety, as it was of Dorcas: "This woman
+was full of good works and alms-deeds, which she did." Yet few women are
+more humble than was Mrs. Graham, or think less of their benevolent
+deeds. Her daughter, Mrs. Bethune, writing of her decease, says that she
+departed in peace, not trusting in her wisdom or virtue, like the
+philosophers of Greece and Rome; not even, like Addison, calling on the
+profligate to see a good man die; but, like Howard, afraid that her good
+works might have a wrong place in the estimate of her hope, her chief
+glory was that of a "sinner saved by grace."
+
+
+
+
+SARAH HOFFMAN.
+
+  Still to a stricken brother turn.
+
+                               WHITTIER.
+
+
+In the act of incorporation of the Widow's Society, established in the
+city of New York, in 1797, with the name of Mrs. Graham, is associated
+that of Mrs. Sarah Hoffman. This lady was the daughter of David Ogden,
+one of the judges of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, before the
+elevation of the provinces into states. She was born at Newark, on the
+eighth of September, 1742; and married Nicholas Hoffman, in 1762. She
+early took delight in doing good, being thus prompted by deep religious
+principle. Cautious and discriminating, her charities were bestowed
+judiciously, and she was able to do much good without the largest means.
+In her benevolent operations, however, she usually acted in an
+associated capacity.
+
+As already intimated, she was a member of the society formed "for the
+relief of poor widows with small children." That this institution
+prospered under the control of such women as Mrs. Hoffman and Mrs.
+Graham, may be inferred from their report made in April, 1803.
+"Ninety-eight widows and two hundred and twenty-three children," this
+document states, "were brought through the severity of the winter with a
+considerable degree of comfort."
+
+Mrs. Hoffman, Mrs. Graham and their associates, often perambulated the
+districts of poverty and disease, from morning till night, entering the
+huts of want and desolation, and carrying comfort and consolation to
+many a despairing heart. They clambered to the highest and meanest
+garrets, and descended to the lowest, darkest and dankest cellars, to
+administer to the wants of the destitute, the sick, and the dying. They
+took with them medicine as well as food; and were accustomed to
+administer Christian counsel or consolation, as the case required, to
+the infirm in body and the wretched in heart. They even taught many poor
+creatures, who seemed to doubt the existence of an overruling
+Providence, to pray to Him whose laws they had broken and thereby
+rendered themselves miserable.[41]
+
+  [41] Knapp's Female Biography.
+
+In Mrs. Hoffman's character, to tenderness of feeling were added great
+firmness, strength of mind, and moral courage. She was often seen in the
+midst of contagion and suffering where the cheek of the warrior would
+blanch with fear. She exposed her own life, however, not like the
+warrior, to destroy, but to save; and hundreds _were_ saved by her
+humane efforts, combined with those of her co-workers. Her life
+beautifully exemplified the truth of what Crabbe says of woman:
+
+  ----In extremes of cold and heat,
+    Where wandering man may trace his kind;
+  Wherever grief and want retreat,
+    In woman they compassion find.
+
+And if, as the poet Grainger asserts,
+
+  The height of virtue is to serve mankind,
+
+Mrs. Hoffman reached a point towards which many aspire, but above which
+few ascend.
+
+
+
+
+HEROISM OF SCHOHARIE WOMEN.
+
+  Invaders! vain your battles' steel and fire.
+
+                                          HALLECK.
+
+
+During the struggle for Independence, there were three noted forts in
+the Schoharie settlement, called the Upper, Middle and Lower; and when,
+in the autumn of 1780, Sir John Johnson sallied forth from Niagara, with
+his five hundred or more British, tory and German troops, and made an
+attack on these forts, an opportunity was given for the display of
+patriotism and courage, as well by the women of the settlement as by the
+men.
+
+When the Middle fort was invested, an heroic and noted ranger named
+Murphy, used his rifle balls so fast as to need an additional supply;
+and, anticipating his wants, Mrs. Angelica Vrooman caught his bullet
+mould, some lead and an iron spoon, ran to her father's tent, and there
+moulded a quantity of bullets amid
+
+                                "the shout
+  Of battle, the barbarian yell, the bray
+  Of dissonant instruments, the clang of arms,
+  The shriek of agony, the groan of death."
+
+While the firing was kept up at the Middle fort, great anxiety
+prevailed at the Upper; and during this time Captain Hager, who
+commanded the latter, gave orders that the women and children should
+retire to a long cellar, which he specified, should the enemy attack
+him. A young lady named Mary Haggidorn, on hearing these orders, went to
+Captain Hager and addressed him as follows:--"Captain, I shall not go
+into that cellar. Should the enemy come, I will take a spear, which I
+can use as well as any _man_, and help defend the fort." The Captain,
+seeing her determination, made the following reply:--"Then take a spear,
+Mary, and be ready at the pickets to repel an attack." She cheerfully
+obeyed, and held the spear at the picket, till "huzzas for the American
+flag" burst on her ear, and told that all was safe.[42]
+
+  [42] _Vide_ History of Schoharie county, p. 410-11.
+
+
+
+
+A STERLING PATRIOT.
+
+  With nerve to wield the battle-brand,
+    And join the border-fray,
+  They shrank not from the foeman,
+    They quailed not in the fight,
+  But cheered their husbands through the day,
+    And soothed them through the night.
+
+                                   W. D. GALLAGHER.
+
+
+The most noted heroine of the Mohawk valley, and one of the bravest and
+noblest mothers of the Revolution, was Nancy Van Alstine. Her maiden
+name was Quackinbush. She was born near Canajoharie, about the year
+1733, and was married to Martin J. Van Alstine, at the age of eighteen.
+He settled in the valley of the Mohawk, and occupied the Van Alstine
+family mansion. Mrs. Van Alstine was the mother of fifteen children. She
+died at Wampsville, Madison county, in 1831.
+
+In the month of August, 1780, an army of Indians and tories, led on by
+Brant, rushed into the Mohawk valley, devastated several settlements,
+and killed many of the inhabitants: and during the two following months,
+Sir John Johnson, made a descent and finished the work which Brant had
+begun. The two almost completely destroyed the settlements throughout
+the valley. It was during those trying times that Mrs. Van Alstine
+performed a portion of her heroic exploits which are so interestingly
+related by Mrs. Ellet.
+
+"While the enemy, stationed at Johnstown, were laying waste the country,
+parties continually going about to murder the inhabitants and burn their
+dwellings, the neighborhood in which Mrs. Van Alstine lived remained in
+comparative quiet, though the settlers trembled as each sun arose, lest
+his setting beams should fall on their ruined homes. Most of the men
+were absent, and when, at length, intelligence came that the destroyers
+were approaching, the people were almost distracted with terror. Mrs.
+Van Alstine called her neighbors together, endeavored to calm their
+fears, and advised them to make immediate arrangements for removing to
+an island, belonging to her husband, near the opposite side of the
+river. She knew that the spoilers would be in too great haste to make
+any attempt to cross, and thought if some articles were removed, they
+might be induced to suppose the inhabitants gone to a greater distance.
+The seven families in the neighborhood were in a few hours upon the
+island, having taken with them many things necessary for their comfort
+during a short stay. Mrs. Van Alstine remained herself to the last, then
+crossed in the boat, helping to draw it far up on the beach. Scarcely
+had they secreted themselves before they heard the dreaded warwhoop, and
+descried the Indians in the distance. It was not long before one and
+another saw the homes they loved in flames. When the savages came to Van
+Alstine's house, they were about to fire that also, but the chief,
+interfering, informed them that Sir John would not be pleased if that
+house were burned--the owner having extended civilities to the baronet
+before the commencement of hostilities. 'Let the old wolf keep his den,'
+he said, and the house was left unmolested. The talking of the Indians
+could be distinctly heard from the island, and Mrs. Van Alstine rejoiced
+that she was thus enabled to give shelter to the houseless families who
+had fled with her. The fugitives, however, did not deem it prudent to
+leave their place of concealment for several days, the smoke seen in
+different directions too plainly indicating that the work of devastation
+was going on.
+
+"The destitute families remained at Van Alstine's house till it was
+deemed prudent to rebuild their homes. Later in the following autumn an
+incident occurred which brought much trouble upon them. Three men from
+the neighborhood of Canajoharie, who had deserted the whig cause and
+joined the British, came back from Canada as spies, and were detected
+and apprehended. Their execution followed; two were shot, and one, a
+bold, adventurous fellow, named Harry Harr, was hung in Mr. Van
+Alstine's orchard. Their prolonged absence causing some uneasiness to
+their friends in Canada, some Indians were sent to reconnoitre and learn
+something of them. It happened that they arrived on the day of Harr's
+execution, which they witnessed from a neighboring hill. They returned
+immediately with the information, and a party was dispatched--it is said
+by Brant--to revenge the death of the spies upon the inhabitants. Their
+continued shouts of 'Aha, Harry Harr!' while engaged in pillaging and
+destroying, showed that such was their purpose. In their progress of
+devastation, they came to the house of Van Alstine, where no
+preparations had been made for defence, the family not expecting an
+attack, or not being aware of the near approach of the enemy. Mrs. Van
+Alstine was personally acquainted with Brant, and it may have been owing
+to this circumstance that the members of the family were not killed or
+carried away as prisoners. The Indians came upon them by surprise,
+entered the house without ceremony, and plundered and destroyed
+everything in their way. Mrs. Van Alstine saw her most valued articles,
+brought from Holland, broken one after another, till the house was
+strewed with fragments. As they passed a large mirror without
+demolishing it, she hoped it might be saved; but presently two of the
+savages led in a colt from the stable, and the glass being laid in the
+hall, compelled the animal to walk over it. The beds which they could
+not carry away, they ripped open, shaking out the feathers and taking
+the ticks with them. They also took all the clothing. One young Indian,
+attracted by the brilliancy of a pair of inlaid buckles on the shoes of
+the aged grandmother seated in the corner, rudely snatched them from her
+feet, tore off the buckles, and flung the shoes in her face. Another
+took her shawl from her neck, threatening to kill her if resistance were
+offered. The eldest daughter, seeing a young savage carrying off a
+basket containing a hat and cap her father had brought her from
+Philadelphia, and which she highly prized, followed him, snatched her
+basket, and after a struggle succeeded in pushing him down. She then
+fled to a pile of hemp and hid herself, throwing the basket into it as
+far as she could. The other Indians gathered round, and as the young one
+rose clapped their hands, shouting 'Brave girl!' while he skulked away
+to escape their derision. During the struggle Mrs. Van Alstine had
+called to her daughter to give up the contest; but she insisted that her
+basket should not be taken. Having gone through the house, the intruders
+went up to the kitchen chamber, where a quantity of cream in large jars
+had been brought from the dairy, and threw the jars down stairs,
+covering the floor with their contents. They then broke the window glass
+throughout the house, and unsatisfied with the plunder they had
+collected, bribed a man servant by the promise of his clothes and a
+portion of the booty to show them where some articles had been hastily
+secreted. Mrs. Van Alstine had just finished cutting out winter clothing
+for her family--which consisted of her mother-in-law, her husband and
+twelve children, with two black servants--and had stowed it away in
+barrels. The servant treacherously disclosed the hiding place, and the
+clothing was soon added to the rest of the booty. Mrs. Van Alstine
+reproached the man for his perfidy, which she assured him would be
+punished, not rewarded by the savages, and her words were verified; for
+after they had forced him to assist in securing their plunder, they
+bound him and put him in one of their wagons, telling him his treachery
+to the palefaces deserved no better treatment. The provisions having
+been carried away, the family subsisted on corn, which they pounded and
+made into cakes. They felt much the want of clothing, and Mrs. Van
+Alstine gathered the silk of milkweed, of which, mixed with flax, she
+spun and wove garments. The inclement season was now approaching, and
+they suffered severely from the want of window glass, as well as their
+bedding, woolen clothes, and the various articles, including cooking
+utensils, taken from them. Mrs. Van Alstine's most arduous labors could
+do little towards providing for so many destitute persons; their
+neighbors were in no condition to help them, the roads were almost
+impassable, besides being infested by Indians, and their finest horses
+had been taken. In this deplorable situation, she proposed to her
+husband to join with others who had been robbed in like manner, and make
+an attempt to recover their property from the Indian castle, eighteen or
+twenty miles distant, where it had been carried. But the idea of such an
+enterprise against an enemy superior in numbers and well prepared for
+defence, was soon abandoned. As the cold became more intolerable and the
+necessity for doing something more urgent, Mrs. Van Alstine, unable to
+witness longer the sufferings of those dependent on her, resolved to
+venture herself on the expedition. Her husband and children endeavored
+to dissuade her, but firm for their sake, she left home, accompanied by
+her son, about sixteen years of age. The snow was deep and the roads in
+a wretched condition, yet she persevered through all difficulties, and
+by good fortune arrived at the castle at a time when the Indians were
+all absent on a hunting excursion, the women and children only being
+left at home. She went to the principal house, where she supposed the
+most valuable articles must have been deposited, and on entering, was
+met by the old squaw who had the superintendence, who demanded what she
+wanted. She asked for food; the squaw hesitated; but on her visitor
+saying she had never turned an Indian away hungry, sullenly commenced
+preparations for a meal. The matron saw her bright copper tea-kettle,
+with other cooking utensils, brought forth for use. While the squaw was
+gone for water, she began a search for her property, and finding several
+articles gave them to her son to put into the sleigh. When the squaw,
+returning, asked by whose order she was taking those things, Mrs. Van
+Alstine replied, that they belonged to her; and seeing that the woman
+was not disposed to give them up peaceably, took from her pocket-book a
+paper, and handed it to the squaw, who she knew could not read. The
+woman asked whose name was affixed to the supposed order, and being told
+it was that of 'Yankee Peter'--a man who had great influence among the
+savages, dared not refuse submission. By this stratagem Mrs. Van Alstine
+secured, without opposition, all the articles she could find belonging
+to her, and put them into the sleigh. She then asked where the horses
+were kept. The squaw refused to show her, but she went to the stable,
+and there found those belonging to her husband, in fine order--for the
+savages were careful of their best horses. The animals recognised their
+mistress, and greeted her by a simultaneous neighing. She bade her son
+cut the halters, and finding themselves at liberty they bounded off and
+went homeward at full speed. The mother and son now drove back as fast
+as possible, for she knew their fate would be sealed if the Indians
+should return. They reached home late in the evening, and passed a
+sleepless night, dreading instant pursuit and a night attack from the
+irritated savages. Soon after daylight the alarm was given that the
+Indians were within view, and coming towards the house, painted and in
+their war costume, and armed with tomahawks and rifles. Mr. Van Alstine
+saw no course to escape their vengeance but to give up whatever they
+wished to take back; but his intrepid wife was determined on an effort,
+at least, to retain her property. As they came near she begged her
+husband not to show himself--for she knew they would immediately fall
+upon him--but to leave the matter in her hands. The intruders took their
+course first to the stable, and bidding all the rest remain within
+doors, the matron went out alone, followed to the door by her family,
+weeping and entreating her not to expose herself. Going to the stable
+she enquired in the Indian language what the men wanted. The reply was
+'our horses.' She said boldly--'They are ours; you came and took them
+without right; they are ours, and we mean to keep them.' The chief now
+came forward threateningly, and approached the door. Mrs. Van Alstine
+placed herself against it, telling him she would not give up the animals
+they had raised and were attached to. He succeeded in pulling her from
+the door, and drew out the plug that fastened it, which she snatched
+from his hand, pushing him away. He then stepped back and presented his
+rifle, threatening to shoot her if she did not move; but she kept her
+position, opening her neckhandkerchief and bidding him shoot if he
+dared. It might be that the Indian feared punishment from his allies for
+any such act of violence, or that he was moved with admiration of her
+intrepidity; he hesitated, looked at her for a moment, and then slowly
+dropped his gun, uttering in his native language expressions implying
+his conviction that the evil one must help her, and saying to his
+companions that she was a brave woman and they would not molest her.
+Giving a shout, by way of expressing their approbation, they departed
+from the premises. On their way they called at the house of Col. Frey,
+and related their adventure, saying that the white woman's courage had
+saved her and her property, and were there fifty such brave women as
+the wife of 'Big Tree,' the Indians would never have troubled the
+inhabitants of the Mohawk valley. She experienced afterwards the good
+effects of the impression made at this time....
+
+"It was not long after this occurrence that several Indians came upon
+some children left in the field while the men went to dinner, and took
+them prisoners, tomahawking a young man who rushed from an adjoining
+field to their assistance. Two of these--six and eight years of
+age--were Mrs. Van Alstine's children. The savages passed on towards the
+Susquehanna, plundering and destroying as they went. They were three
+weeks upon the journey, and the poor little captives suffered much from
+hunger and exposure to the night air, being in a deplorable condition by
+the time they returned to Canada. On their arrival, according to custom,
+each prisoner was required to run the gauntlet, two Indian boys being
+stationed on either side, armed with clubs and sticks to beat him as he
+ran. The eldest was cruelly bruised, and when the younger, pale and
+exhausted, was led forward, a squaw of the tribe, taking pity on the
+helpless child, said she would go in his place, or if that could not be
+permitted, would carry him. She accordingly took him in her arms, and
+wrapping her blanket around him, got through with some severe blows. The
+children were then washed and clothed by order of the chief, and supper
+was given them. Their uncle--then also a prisoner--heard of the arrival
+of children from the Mohawk, and was permitted to visit them. The little
+creatures were sleeping soundly when aroused by a familiar voice, and
+joyfully exclaiming, 'Uncle Quackinbush!' were clasped in his arms. In
+the following spring the captives were ransomed, and returned home in
+fine spirits."[43]
+
+  [43] Women of the Revolution.
+
+Prior to the commencement of hostilities, Mr. Van Alstine had purchased
+a tract of land on the Susquehanna, eighteen miles below Cooperstown;
+and thither removed in 1785. There as at her former home, Mrs. Van
+Alstine had an opportunity to exhibit the heroic qualities of her
+nature. We subjoin two anecdotes illustrative of forest life in the
+midst of savages.
+
+"On one occasion an Indian whom Mr. Van Alstine had offended, came to
+his house with the intention of revenging himself. He was not at home,
+and the men were out at work, but his wife and family were within, when
+the intruder entered. Mrs. Van Alstine saw his purpose in his
+countenance. When she inquired his business, he pointed to his rifle,
+saying, he meant 'to show Big Tree which was the best man.' She well
+knew that if her husband presented himself he would probably fall a
+victim unless she could reconcile the difficulty. With this view she
+commenced a conversation upon subjects in which she knew the savage
+would take an interest, and admiring his dress, asked permission to
+examine his rifle, which, after praising, she set down, and while
+managing to fix his attention on something else poured water into the
+barrel. She then gave him back the weapon, and assuming a more earnest
+manner, spoke to him of the Good Spirit, his kindness to men, and their
+duty to be kind to each other. By her admirable tact she so far
+succeeded in pacifying him, that when her husband returned he was ready
+to extend to him the hand of reconciliation and fellowship. He partook
+of some refreshment, and before leaving informed them that one of their
+neighbors had lent him the rifle for his deadly purpose. They had for
+some time suspected this neighbor, who had coveted a piece of land, of
+unkind feelings towards them because he could not obtain it, yet could
+scarcely believe him so depraved. The Indian, to confirm his story,
+offered to accompany Mrs. Van Alstine to the man's house, and although
+it was evening she went with him, made him repeat what he had said, and
+so convinced her neighbor of the wickedness of his conduct, that he was
+ever afterwards one of their best friends. Thus by her prudence and
+address she preserved, in all probability, the lives of her husband and
+family; for she learned afterwards that a number of savages had been
+concealed near, to rush upon them in case of danger to their companion.
+
+"At another time a young Indian came in and asked the loan of a drawing
+knife. As soon as he had it in his hand he walked up to the table, on
+which there was a loaf of bread, and unceremoniously cut several slices
+from it. One of Mrs. Van Alstine's sons had a deerskin in his hand, and
+indignantly struck the savage with it. He turned and darted out of the
+door, giving a loud whoop as he fled. The mother just then came in, and
+hearing what had passed expressed her sorrow and fears that there would
+be trouble, for she knew the Indian character too well to suppose they
+would allow the matter to rest. Her apprehensions were soon realized by
+the approach of a party of savages, headed by the brother of the youth
+who had been struck. He entered alone, and inquired for the boy who had
+given the blow. Mr. Van Alstine, starting up in surprise, asked
+impatiently, 'What the devilish Indian wanted?' The savage,
+understanding the expression applied to his appearance to be anything
+but complimentary, uttered a sharp cry, and raising his rifle, aimed at
+Van Alstine's breast. His wife sprang forward in time to throw up the
+weapon, the contents of which were discharged into the wall, and pushing
+out the Indian, who stood just at the entrance, she quickly closed the
+door. He was much enraged, but she at length succeeded in persuading him
+to listen to a calm account of the matter, and asked why the quarrel of
+two lads should break their friendship. She finally invited him to come
+in and settle the difficulty in an amicable way. To his objection that
+they had no rum, she answered--'But we have tea;' and at length the
+party was called in, and a speech made by the leader in favor of the
+'white squaw,' after which the tea was passed round. The Indian then
+took the grounds, and emptying them into a hole made in the ashes,
+declared that the enmity was buried forever. After this, whenever the
+family was molested, the ready tact of Mrs. Van Alstine, and her
+acquaintance with Indian nature, enabled her to prevent any serious
+difficulty. They had few advantages for religious worship, but whenever
+the weather would permit, the neighbors assembled at Van Alstine's house
+to hear the word preached. His wife, by her influence over the Indians,
+persuaded many of them to attend, and would interpret to them what was
+said by the minister. Often their rude hearts were touched, and they
+would weep bitterly while she went over the affecting narrative of our
+Redeemer's life and death, and explained the truths of the Gospel. Much
+good did she in this way, and in after years many a savage converted to
+Christianity blessed her as his benefactress."
+
+
+
+
+HEROIC CONDUCT AT MONMOUTH.
+
+  Proud were they by such to stand,
+    In hammock, fort or glen;
+  To load the sure old rifle--
+    To run the leaden ball--
+  To watch a battling husband's place,
+    And fill it should he fall.
+
+                             W. D. GALLAGHER.
+
+
+During the battle of Monmouth, a gunner named Pitcher was killed; and
+when the call was made for some one to take the place of her fallen
+husband, his wife, who had followed him to the camp, and thence to the
+field of conflict, unhesitatingly stepped forward, and offered her
+services. The gun was so well managed as to draw the attention of
+General Washington to the circumstance, and to call forth an expression
+of his admiration of her bravery and her fidelity to her country. To
+show his appreciation of her virtues and her highly valuable services,
+he conferred on her a lieutenant's commission. She afterwards went by
+the name of _Captain Molly_.
+
+The poet Glover tells us, in his Leonidas, that Xerxes boasted
+
+  "His ablest, bravest counselor and chief
+  In Artemisia, Caria's matchless queen;"
+
+and Herodotus also very justly eulogizes the same character. Yet
+Artemisia was scarcely more serviceable to Xerxes in the battle of
+Salamis, than "Captain Molly" to Washington in the battle of Monmouth.
+One served in a Grecian expedition, to gratify her great spirit, vigor
+of mind and love of glory; the other fought, partly, it may be, to
+revenge the death of her husband, but more, doubtless, for the love she
+bore for an injured country, "bleeding at every vein." One was rewarded
+with a complete suit of Grecian armor; the other with a lieutenant's
+commission, and both for their bravery. If the queen of Caria is
+deserving of praise for her martial valor, the name of the heroic wife
+of the gunner, should be woven with hers in a fadeless wreath of song.
+
+
+
+
+COURAGE OF A COUNTRY GIRL.
+
+  Honor and shame from no condition rise,
+  Act well your part, there all the honor lies.
+
+                                            POPE
+
+
+In December, 1777, while Washington was at Valley Forge and the enemy
+was in Philadelphia, Major Tallmadge was stationed between the two
+places with a detachment of cavalry, to make observations and to limit
+the range of British foragers. On one occasion, while performing
+this duty, he was informed that a country girl had gone into
+Philadelphia--perhaps by Washington's instigation--ostensibly to sell
+eggs, but really and especially to obtain information respecting the
+enemy; and curiosity led him to move his detachment to Germantown. There
+the main body halted while he advanced with a small party towards the
+British lines. Dismounting at a tavern in plain sight of their outposts,
+he soon saw a young girl coming out of the city. He watched her till she
+came up to the tavern; made himself known to her, and was about to
+receive some valuable intelligence, when he was informed that the
+British light horse were advancing. Stepping to the door he saw them in
+full pursuit of his patroles. He hastily mounted, but before he had
+started his charger, the girl was at his side begging for protection.
+Quick as thought, he ordered her to mount behind him. She obeyed, and in
+that way rode to Germantown, a distance of three miles. During the whole
+ride, writes the Major in his Journal, where we find these details,
+"although there was considerable firing of pistols, and not a little
+wheeling and charging, she remained unmoved, and never once complained
+of fear."
+
+
+
+
+THE LEDYARDS AT FORT GRISWOLD
+
+  Ah never shall the land forget
+    How gushed the life-blood of the brave;
+  Gushed warm with hope and courage yet,
+    Upon the soil they fought to save.
+                          BRYANT
+
+  How few like thee enquire the wretched out,
+  And court the offices of soft humanity.
+
+                                          ROWE.
+
+
+"It will be remembered that at the time of the burning of New London,
+Connecticut, a detachment of the army of the traitor Arnold, under whose
+personal direction that feat of vandalism was performed, was directed to
+attack and carry Fort Griswold at Groton, on the opposite side of the
+river. It was then under the command of Colonel Ledyard, a brave and
+meritorious officer, whose memory will live in the warm affections of
+his country, as that of one of the early martyrs to her liberty, whilst
+the granite pile which now lifts its summit above the spot where he was
+sacrificed, shall long remain to bear the record of his death. The fort
+was, in truth, little more than an embankment of earth, thrown up as a
+breast-work for the handful of troops it surrounded, and with a strong
+log-house in the center. The force which attacked it was altogether
+superior to that of its defenders, even when the difference in their
+position is taken into view. The case was so hopeless, that the
+slightest share of prudence would have suggested retreat. But the chafed
+and gallant spirits of Ledyard and his men would not permit them to
+retire before a marauding enemy, however powerful, without making at
+least one effort to beat him back. With a boldness and heroism scarcely
+ever surpassed, they stood their ground, until overwhelming numbers of
+the enemy were in the fort, and engaged hand to hand with its heroic
+defenders. Fierce and terrible, for a few moments, was the encounter,
+and it was not until the last ray of hope was gone, and nothing but a
+useless effusion of blood would have resulted from further resistance,
+that they at length yielded. In doing so, however, they were inclined to
+believe that the gallantry displayed by their little band, would at
+least shelter them from indignity. Ledyard had turned the handle of his
+sword to the commander of the assailants, and in answer to the question,
+'who commands this fort,' replied, 'I did, sir, but you do now,' when he
+was pierced to the heart with his own weapon, and by the dastardly hand
+in which he had just placed it. An almost indiscriminate butchery now
+commenced; many falling instantly dead and some being desperately
+wounded. The fort was then entirely at the disposal of the enemy. The
+barbarity, however, did not end there. When it was found that several of
+the prisoners were still alive, the British soldiers piled their mangled
+bodies in an old cart and started it down the steep and rugged hill,
+towards the river, in order that they might be there drowned. But
+stumps and stones obstructed the passage of the cart; and when the enemy
+had retreated--for the aroused inhabitants of that region soon compelled
+them to the step--the friends of the wounded came to their aid and thus
+several lives were saved."[44]
+
+  [44] Democratic Review, vol. 20, pp. 93-4.
+
+One of the "ministering angels" who came the next morning to the aid of
+the thirty-five wounded men, who lay all night freezing in their own
+blood, was Miss Mary Ledyard, a near relative of the Colonel. "She
+brought warm chocolate, wine, and other refreshments, and while Dr.
+Downer of Preston was dressing their wounds, she went from one to
+another, administering her cordials, and breathing into their ears
+gentle words of sympathy and encouragement. In these labors of kindness
+she was assisted by another relative of the lamented Colonel
+Ledyard--Mrs. John Ledyard--who had also brought her household stores to
+refresh the sufferers, and lavished on them the most soothing personal
+attentions. The soldiers who recovered from their wounds, were
+accustomed, to the day of their death, to speak of these ladies in terms
+of fervent gratitude and praise."[45]
+
+  [45] Mrs. Ellet.
+
+
+
+
+SENECA HEROINES.
+
+  They fought like brave _men_, long and well.
+
+                                         HALLECK.
+
+
+In the celebrated battle between the French and Indians, which occurred
+near Victor, in the western part of New York, in 1687, five Seneca women
+took an active part in the bloody conflict. Mr. Hosmer, the poet,
+alludes to the circumstance in one of his celebrated "Lectures on the
+Iroquois," from the manuscript of which we have been permitted to copy,
+as follows:
+
+"The memory of illustrious women who have watched in defence of altar
+and hearth, the deeds of the sterner sex, has been enshrined in song,
+and honored by the Historic Muse. Joan of Arc, and the dark-eyed maid of
+Saragossa in all coming time will be chivalric watch-words of France and
+Spain, but not less worthy of record, and poetic embalmment, were the
+_five_[46] devoted heroines who followed their red lords to the
+battle-field near ancient Ganagarro, and fought with unflinching
+resolution by their sides. Children of such wives could not be
+otherwise than valiant. Bring back your shield, or be brought upon it,
+was the Spartan mother's stern injunction to her son: but roused to a
+higher pitch of courage, the wild daughters of the Genesee stood in the
+perilous pass, and in the defence of their forest homes, turned not back
+from the spear, 'the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.'"
+
+  [46] _Vide_ Doc. His, Vol. 1. p. 256.
+
+
+
+
+MARTHA BRATTON.
+
+  Not to the ensanguined field of death alone
+  Is valor limited.
+
+                                            SMOLLET.
+
+  Our country first, their glory and their pride.
+
+                                        J. T. FIELDS.
+
+
+Martha Bratton was the wife of William Bratton a native of Pennsylvania.
+She was born in Rowan county, North Carolina. They settled near York
+ville, in South Carolina, where she died in 1816. Two or three anecdotes
+will suffice to illustrate her character.
+
+In June, 1780, a party of British and tory marauders, were attacked by a
+company of whigs under Colonel Bratton, at Mobley Meeting House, in
+Fairfield district, South Carolina, and defeated. Advertised of this
+disaster, Colonel Turnbull, commander of a detachment of British troops
+at Rocky Mount, Chester county, ordered Captain Huck to proceed with his
+cavalry to the frontier of the province, collecting all the royal army
+on his march, and if possible to subdue the rebels. An engagement soon
+took place between Captain Huck and Colonel Bratton; but before the
+battle, the Colonel's wife had an opportunity to display her character
+in a truly heroic manner. The evening preceding, Huck arrived at the
+Colonel's house, and entering in an uncivil manner, demanded of his wife
+where her husband was. She boldly replied "He is in Sumter's army!" Huck
+then tried to persuade her to induce her husband to join the British,
+and even went so far as to promise him a commission, in case he would do
+so. But neither persuasion nor argument availed any thing. With the
+firmness of a true patriot, she assured him that she would rather see
+him--faithful to his country--perish in Sumter's army, than clothed with
+any power or graced with any honor royalty could bestow! At this point,
+a soldier, exasperated at her bold and fearless manner, seized a reaping
+hook that hung in the piazza and threatened to kill her if she did not
+give particular and full information in regard to her husband. But with
+the weapon still at her throat, she promptly refused; and, but for the
+interference of the officer second in command, she would have lost her
+life.
+
+Huck now ordered her to prepare supper for himself and the whole band.
+With this request she complied, and then retired to an upper apartment
+with her children. Supper over, Huck posted his sentinels along the road
+and went with his officers to another house, half a mile off, to pass
+the night.
+
+Convinced that the royalists would seek revenge for their late defeat at
+Mobley's Meeting House, and naturally fearing that his own family might
+be among the victims, Colonel Bratton had that day marched from
+Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, with seventy-five men. Late in the
+evening he drew near his house, and learning that the enemy were there,
+and ascertaining their number, he made speedy preparations for an
+attack. The guard of the royalists was neglected, and he found no
+trouble in reconnoitering the encampment. All things ready, the attack
+was made before Huck had finished his morning nap. He awoke only to
+attempt to rally his men and then lie down again to sleep for ever! The
+tories seeing their leader fall, fled, or made the attempt. Some _did_
+escape, others were killed, others taken prisoners. The firing ceased
+about day light, when Mrs. Bratton made her appearance. She received the
+wounded on both sides, and showed them impartial attention, setting
+herself to work immediately, dressing their wounds and trying to relieve
+their pains. She who was so brave in the hour of danger, was no less
+humane in a time of suffering.[47]
+
+  [47] The following toast was drunk at Brattonsville, York district, on
+  the twelfth of July, 1839, at a celebration of Huck's Defeat.
+
+  "The memory of Mrs. Martha Bratton.--In the hands of an infuriated
+  monster, with the instrument of death around her neck, she nobly refused
+  to betray her husband; in the hour of victory she remembered mercy, and
+  as a guardian angel, interposed in behalf of her inhuman enemies.
+  Throughout the Revolution she encouraged the whigs to fight on to the
+  last; to hope on to the end. Honor and gratitude to the woman and
+  heroine, who proved herself so faithful a wife--so firm a friend to
+  liberty!"
+
+Prior to the fall of Charleston at a period when ammunition was very
+scarce, Governor Rutledge intrusted to her a small stock of powder. This
+fact some tory ascertained, and communicated to the British at a station
+not far off. A detachment was forthwith sent out to secure the treasure,
+of which movement Mrs. Bratton received early intimation. Resolving that
+the red coats should not have the prize, she laid a train of powder from
+the depot to the spot she chose to occupy; and when they came in sight,
+she blew it up. "Who has dared to do this atrocious act? Speak quickly,
+that they may meet the punishment they deserve," was the demand of the
+officer in command. "Know then, 'twas _I_," was the dauntless reply of
+Mrs. Bratton, "and let the consequences be what they will," she added,
+"I glory in having frustrated the mischief contemplated by the merciless
+enemies of my country."
+
+
+
+
+A POOR WOMAN'S OFFERING.
+
+  The world is but a word;
+  Were it all yours, to give it in a breath,
+  How quickly were it gone!
+
+                                        SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+The following anecdote was related, a few years ago, by the Rev. W. S.
+Plumer, while addressing the Virginia Baptist Education Society. We
+regret that he did not give the name of the good woman who possessed
+such commendable zeal for the missionary cause.
+
+"A poor woman had attended a missionary meeting a few years since. Her
+heart was moved with pity. She looked around on her house and furniture
+to see what she could spare for the mission. She could think of nothing
+that would be of any use. At length she thought of her five children,
+three daughters and two sons. She entered her closet, and consecrated
+them to the mission. Two of her daughters are now in heathen lands, and
+the other is preparing to go. Of her sons, one is on his way to India,
+and the other is preparing for the ministry, and inquiring on the
+subject of a missionary life."
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF PRESIDENT JACKSON.
+
+        How often has the thought
+        Of my mourn'd mother brought
+  Peace to my troubled spirit, and new power
+        The tempter to repel.
+        Mother, thou knowest well
+  That thou has bless'd me since my natal hour.
+
+                                            PIERPONT.
+
+
+The mother of General Jackson had three children. Their names were Hugh,
+Robert and Andrew. The last was the youngest and lost his father when an
+infant. Like the mother of Washington, she was a very pious woman, and
+strove to glorify God as much in the rearing of her children as in the
+performance of any other duty. She taught Andrew the leading doctrines
+of the Bible, in the form of question and answer, from the Westminster
+catechism; and those lessons he never forgot. In conversation with him
+some years since, says a writer, "General Jackson spoke of his mother in
+a manner that convinced me that she never ceased to exert a secret power
+over him, until his heart was brought into reconciliation with God."
+This change, however, he did not experience till very late in
+life--after he had retired from the Presidency. He united with the
+Presbyterian church near the close of the year 1839, then in his
+seventy-third year. Just before his death, which occurred in June, 1845,
+he said to a clergyman, "My lamp of life is nearly out, and the last
+glimmer is come. I am ready to depart when called. The Bible is true....
+Upon that sacred volume I rest my hope of eternal salvation, through the
+merits and blood of our blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ."
+
+If departed spirits, the saintly and ascended, are permitted to look
+from their high habitation, upon the scenes of earth, with what holy
+transport must the mother of Andrew Jackson have beheld the death-bed
+triumph of her son. The lad whom she early sent to an academy at the
+Waxhaw meeting-house, hoping to fit him for the ministry, had become a
+man, and led the hosts of the land through many a scene of conflict and
+on to a glorious and decisive victory; had filled the highest office in
+the world, and was now an old man, able, in his last earthly hour, _by
+the grace of God attending her early, pious instruction_, to challenge
+death for his sting and to shout "victory" over his opening grave.
+
+
+
+
+THE YOUNG HEROINE OF FORT HENRY.
+
+        Judge me not ungentle,
+  Of manner's rude, and insolent of speech,
+  If, when the public safety is in question,
+  My zeal flows warm and eager from my tongue.
+
+                                  ROWE'S JANE SHORE.
+
+
+The siege of Fort Henry, at the mouth of Wheeling creek, in Ohio county,
+Virginia, occurred in September, 1777. Of the historical _fact_ most
+people are aware; yet but few, comparatively, knew how much the little
+band in the garrison, who held out against thirty or forty times their
+number of savage assailants, were indebted, for their success, to the
+courage and self-devotion of a single female.
+
+The Indians kept up a brisk firing from about sunrise till past noon,
+when they ceased and retired a short distance to the foot of a hill.
+During the forenoon the little company in the fort had not been idle.
+Among their number were a few sharp shooters, who had burnt most of the
+powder on hand to the best advantage. Almost every charge had taken
+effect; and probably the savages began to see that they were losing
+numbers at fearful odds, and had doubtless retired for consultation. But
+they had less occasion for anxiety, just at that time, than the men,
+women and children in the garrison. As already hinted, the stock of
+powder was nearly exhausted. There was a keg in a house ten or twelve
+rods from the gate of the fort, and as soon as the hostilities of the
+Indians were suspended, the question arose, who shall attempt to seize
+this prize? Strange to say, every soldier proffered his services, and
+there was an ardent contention among them for the honor. In the weak
+state of the garrison, Colonel Shepard, the commander, deemed it
+advisable that only one person should be spared; and in the midst of the
+confusion, before any one could be designated, a girl named Elizabeth
+Zane,[48] interrupted the debate, saying that her life was not so
+important, at that time, as any one of the soldier's, and claiming the
+privilege of performing the contested service. The Colonel would not, at
+first, listen to her proposal; but she was so resolute, so persevering
+in her plea, and her argument was so powerful, that he finally suffered
+the gate to be opened, and she passed out. The Indians saw her before
+she reached her brother's house, where the keg was deposited; but, for
+some unknown cause, they did not molest her, until she re-appeared with
+the article under her arm. Probably divining the nature of her burden,
+they discharged a volley as she was running towards the gate; but the
+whizzing balls only gave agility to her feet, and herself and the prize
+were quickly safe within the gate. The result was that the soldiers
+inspired with enthusiasm by this heroic adventure, fought with renewed
+courage, and, before the keg of powder was exhausted, the enemy raised
+the siege.
+
+  [48] We learn, from Withers, that Miss Zane has since had two husbands.
+
+  The name of the second was Clarke, a resident of Ohio. She was living,
+  not long since, near St. Clairsville.
+
+
+
+
+A BENEVOLENT WIDOW
+
+                Charity ever
+  Finds in the act reward.
+
+                     BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER.
+
+
+Several years ago, a poor widow had placed a smoked herring,--the last
+morsel of food she had in the house--on the table for herself and
+children, when a stranger entered and solicited food, saying that he had
+had nothing to eat for twenty-four hours. The widow unhesitatingly
+offered to share the herring with him, remarking, at the same time, "We
+shall not be forsaken, or suffer deeper for an act of charity."
+
+  [Illustration: THE WIDOW AND HER SON.]
+
+As the stranger drew near the table and saw the scantiness of the fare,
+he asked, "And is this all your store? Do you offer a share to one you
+do not know? Then I never saw charity before. But, madam, do you not
+wrong your children by giving a part of your morsel to a stranger?"
+"Ah," said she, with tears in her eyes, "I have a boy, a darling son,
+somewhere on the face of the wide world, unless Heaven has taken him
+away; and I only act towards you as I would that others should act
+towards him. God, who sent manna from heaven, can provide for us as he
+did for Israel; and how should I this night offend him, if my son
+should be a wanderer, destitute as you, and he should have provided for
+him a home, even as poor as this, were I to turn you unrelieved away!"
+
+The stranger whom she thus addressed, was the long absent son to whom
+she referred; and when she stopped speaking, he sprang from his feet,
+clasped her in his arms, and exclaimed, "God, indeed, has provided just
+such a home for your wandering son, _and has given him wealth to reward
+the goodness of his benefactress_. My mother! O, my mother!"[49]
+
+  [49] Abridged from Cyclopedia of Moral and Religious Anecdotes.
+
+
+
+
+ANNE FITZHUGH.
+
+  Who shall find a valiant woman?
+  The price of her is as things brought from afar.
+
+                                           PROVERBS.
+
+                               'T is the last
+  Duty that I can pay to my dear lord.
+
+                                           FLETCHER.
+
+
+The wife of Colonel William Fitzhugh, of Maryland, while he was absent
+at one time during the Revolution, was surprised by the news that a
+party of British soldiers was approaching her house. She instantly
+collected her slaves; furnished them with such weapons of defence as
+were at hand; took a quantity of cartridges in her apron, and, herself
+forming the van, urged her sable subalterns on to meet the foe. Not
+looking for resistance, the advancing party, on beholding the amazon
+with her sooty invincibles, hastily turned on their heels and fled.
+
+  [Illustration: THE HEROIC MOTHER.]
+
+On a subsequent occasion, a detachment of soldiers marched at midnight
+to Colonel Fitzhugh's house, which was half a mile from the shore, and
+near the mouth of the Patuxent river, and knocked at the door. The
+Colonel demanding who was there, and receiving for reply that the
+visitants were "friends to King George," told the unwelcome intruders
+that he was blind and unable to wait upon them, but that his wife would
+admit them forthwith. Lighting a candle and merely putting on her
+slippers, she descended, awoke her sons, put pistols in their hands,
+and, pointing to the back door, told them to flee. She then let the
+soldiers in at the front door. They inquired for Colonel Fitzhugh, and
+said he must come down stairs at once and go as a prisoner to New York.
+She accordingly dressed her husband--forgetting meanwhile, to do as much
+for herself--and when he had descended, he assured the soldiers that his
+blindness, and the infirmities of age unfitted him to take care of
+himself, and that it could hardly be desirable for them to take in
+charge so decrepit and inoffensive a person. They thought otherwise; and
+his wife, seeing he must go, took his arm and said she would go too. The
+officer told her she would be exposed and must suffer, but she persisted
+in accompanying him, saying that he could not take care of himself, nor,
+if he could, would she permit a separation.
+
+It was a cold and rainy night, and with the mere protection of a cloak,
+which the officer took down and threw over her shoulders before leaving
+the house, she sallied forth with the party. While on the way to their
+boat, the report of a gun was heard, which the soldiers supposed was the
+signal of a rebel gathering. They hastened to the boat, where a parole
+was written out with trembling hand, and placed in the old gentleman's
+possession. Without even a benediction, he was left on shore with his
+faithful and fearless companion, who thought but little of her wet feet
+as she stood and saw the cowardly detachment of British soldiers push
+off and row away with all their might for safety.
+
+
+
+
+ESTHER GASTON.
+
+  True fortitude is seen in great exploits
+  That justice warrants and that wisdom guides.
+
+                                           ADDISON.
+
+  The good alone are great.
+
+                                           BEATTIE.
+
+
+On the morning of July thirtieth, 1770, Esther Gaston, afterwards the
+wife of Alexander Walker, hearing the firing at the battle of Rocky
+Mount, took with her a sister-in-law, and, well mounted, pushed on
+towards the scene of conflict. They soon met two or three cowardly men,
+hastening from the field of action. Esther hailed and rebuked them, and
+finding entreaties would not cause them to retrace their steps, she
+seized the gun from the hands of one of them, exclaiming, "Give _us_
+your guns, then, and we will stand in your places." The cowards,
+abashed, now wheeled, and, in company with the females, hurried on to
+face the cannon's mouth.
+
+While the strife was still raging, Esther and her companion busied
+themselves in dressing the wounded and quenching the thirst of the
+dying. Even their helpless enemies shared in their humane services.
+
+During the battle of Hanging Rock, which occurred the next week, Esther
+might be seen at Waxhaw church, which was converted for the time into a
+hospital, administering to the wants of the wounded.
+
+As kind as patriotic, with her hands filled with soothing cordials, she
+was seen, through all her life, knocking at the door of suffering
+humanity.
+
+
+
+
+REMARKABLE PRESENCE OF MIND AND SELF-POSSESSION.
+
+  Were I the monarch of the earth,
+  And master of the swelling sea,
+  I would not estimate their worth,
+  Dear woman, half the price of thee.
+
+                              GEO. P. MORRIS.
+
+
+Mr. Ralph Izard, a true "liberty man," resided, during the struggle for
+Independence, near Dorchester, in South Carolina. He was for awhile
+aid-de-camp to the commander of the Light Troops, and was an especial
+object of British hatred. On one occasion, while at home, he came very
+near falling into the hands of the enemy. A number of British soldiers
+surrounded his house, and on discovering them he hid himself in the
+clothes-press. They were confident he was in the house, and having
+instituted a thorough but ineffectual search, threatened to burn the
+building, unless his wife would point out his place of concealment. She
+adroitly evaded answering directly all queries respecting his quarters.
+They next robbed his wardrobe; seized all the better articles they could
+find in the house, and even tried to force off her finger-rings. She
+still remained composed and courageous, yet courteous and urbane,
+knowing that much, every thing, in fact, depended on her self-control.
+Her calmness and apparent unconcern led the marauders to conclude that
+they had been misled in supposing Mr. Izard was in the house; and at
+length they departed. He then sprang from his covert, and, rushing out
+by a back door, crossed the Ashley river and notified the Americans on
+the opposite side, of the state of things.
+
+Meantime, the ruffians returned to the house, and, strange to say, went
+directly to the clothes-press. Again disappointed, they retired; but
+they were soon met by a body of cavalry, handsomely whipped, and all the
+fine articles belonging to Mr. Izard's wardrobe and house were
+restored.
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF GOVERNOR GRISWOLD.
+
+  Happy the man, and happy sure he was,
+  So wedded.
+
+                                   HURDIS.
+
+
+The residence of the first Governor of Connecticut, was at Blackhall,
+near Long Island Sound. While British ships were lying at anchor in
+these waters on a certain occasion, a party of marines in pursuit of his
+Excellency, presented themselves at the door. It being impossible for
+him to escape by flight, his affectionate and thoughtful wife secreted
+him in a large new meat barrel or tierce--for although he was somewhat
+corpulent, he could not vie in physical rotundity with the early and
+honored Knickerbocker magistrates. He was cleverly packed away in the
+future home of doomed porkers, just as the soldiers entered and
+commenced their search. Not finding him readily, they asked his
+quick-witted wife one or two hard questions, but received no very
+enlightening answer. The Legislature had convened a day or two before at
+Hartford, and she intimated that he was or ought to be at the capital.
+Unsuccessful in their search, the soldiers took their boat and returned
+to the ship. Before they had reached the latter, his unpacked Honor was
+on a swift steed, galloping to Gubernatorial head-quarters.
+
+
+
+
+BOLD EXPLOIT OF A YOUNG GIRL.
+
+  Some god impels with courage not thy own.
+
+                                 POPE'S HOMER.
+
+
+Robert Gibbes was the owner of a splendid mansion on John's Island, a
+few miles from Charleston, South Carolina, known, during the Revolution,
+as the "Peaceful Retreat." On his plantation the British encamped on a
+certain occasion; and the American authorities sent two galleys up the
+Stono river, on which the mansion stood, to dislodge them. Strict
+injunctions had been given to the men not to fire on the house, but Mr.
+Gibbes not being aware of this fact, when the firing commenced, thought
+it advisable to take his family to some remote place for shelter. They
+accordingly started in a cold and drizzly rain and in a direction
+ranging with the fire of the American guns. Shot struck the trees and
+cut the bushes beside their path for some distance. When about a mile
+from the mansion, and out of danger, reaching the huts occupied by the
+negroes on the plantation, Mrs. Gibbes, being chilled and exhausted, was
+obliged to lie down. Here, when they supposed all were safe, and began
+to rejoice over their fortunate escape, to their great astonishment,
+they discovered that a boy named Fenwick, a member of the family, had
+been left behind.[50] It was still raining, was very dark, and imminent
+danger must attend an effort to rescue the lad. And who would risk life
+in attempting it? The servants refused. Mr. Gibbes was gouty and feeble,
+and prudence forbade him to again venture out. At length, the oldest
+daughter of the family, Mary Ann, only thirteen years old, offers to go
+alone. She hastens off; reaches the house, still in possession of the
+British; begs the sentinel to let her enter; and though repeatedly
+repulsed, she doubles the earnestness of her entreaties, and finally
+gains admittance. She finds the child in the third story; clasps him in
+her arms; hastens down stairs, and, passing the sentry, flees with the
+shot whizzing past her head; and herself and the child are soon with the
+rest of the family.
+
+  [50] In addition to her own family, Mrs. Gibbes had the care of the
+  seven orphan children of Mrs. Fenwick, her sister-in-law, and two other
+  children. It is not surprising, that, in the confusion of a sudden
+  flight from the house, one of the number should be left behind.
+
+
+
+
+SUSANNA WRIGHT.
+
+  Work for some good, be it ever so slowly;
+  Cherish some flower, be it ever so lowly;
+  Labor--all labor is noble and holy.
+
+                                    MRS. OSGOOD.
+
+
+Susanna Wright removed to this country with her parents from Warrington,
+in Great Britain, in the year 1714. The family settled in Lancaster
+county, Pennsylvania. Susanna was then about seventeen. "She never
+married; but after the death of her father, became the head of her own
+family, who looked up to her for advice and direction as a parent, for
+her heart was replete with every kind affection."
+
+She was a remarkable economist of time, for although she had the
+constant management of a large family, and, at times, of a profitable
+establishment, she mastered many of the sciences; was a good French,
+Latin and Italian scholar; assisted neighbors in the settlement of
+estates, and was frequently consulted as a physician.
+
+"She took great delight in domestic manufacture, and had constantly much
+of it produced in her family. For many years she attended to the rearing
+of silk worms, and with the silk, which she reeled and prepared
+herself, made many articles both of beauty and utility, dying the silk
+of various colors with indigenous materials. She had at one time upwards
+of sixty yards of excellent mantua returned to her from Great Britain,
+where she had sent the raw silk to be manufactured."
+
+This industrious and pious Quakeress, who seems to have possessed all
+the excellencies defined in Solomon's inventory of the virtuous woman,
+lived more than four score years, an ornament to her sex and a blessing
+to the race.
+
+                          "There was no need,
+  In those good times, of trim callisthenics,--
+  And there was less of gadding, and far more
+  Of home-bred, heart-felt comfort, rooted strong
+  In industry, and bearing such rare fruit
+  As wealth may never purchase."
+
+
+
+
+PATRIOTISM OF 1770.
+
+  In conduct, as in courage, you excel,
+  Still first to act what you advise so well.
+
+                                    POPE'S HOMER.
+
+
+In the early part of February, 1770, the women of Boston publicly
+pledged themselves to abstain from the use of tea, "as a practical
+execution of the non-importation agreement of their fathers, husbands
+and brothers." We are credibly informed, writes the editor of the Boston
+Gazette of February ninth, "that upwards of one hundred ladies at the
+north part of the town, have, of their own free will and accord, come
+into and signed an agreement, not to drink any tea till the Revenue Acts
+are passed." At that date three hundred matrons had become members of
+the league.
+
+Three days after the above date, the young women followed the example of
+their mothers, multitudes signing a document which read as follows: "We,
+the daughters of those patriots who have and do now appear for the
+public interest, and, in that, principally regard their posterity,--as
+such do with pleasure engage with them in denying ourselves the drinking
+of foreign tea, in hopes to frustrate a plan which tends to deprive the
+whole community of all that is valuable in life."
+
+Multitudes of females in New York and Virginia, and, if we mistake not,
+some in other states, made similar movements; and it is easy to
+perceive, in the tone of those early pledges of self-denial for honor,
+liberty, country's sake, the infancy of that spirit which, quickly
+reaching its manhood, planned schemes of resistance to oppression on a
+more magnanimous scale, and flagged not till a work was done which
+filled half the world with admiration and the whole with astonishment.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. SPALDING OF GEORGIA.
+
+  Through trials hard as these, how oft are seen
+  The tender sex, in fortitude serene.
+
+                                    ANN SEWARD.
+
+
+Mrs. Spalding was the niece of General Lachlan McIntosh, daughter of
+Colonel William McIntosh and mother of Major Spalding, of Georgia.
+
+In 1778, after Colonel Campbell took possession of Savannah, Georgia,
+that section of the country was infested with reckless marauders, and
+many families fled to avoid their ruthlessness. Mr. Spalding retired
+with his wife and child to Florida; and twice during the Revolution, she
+traversed "the two hundred miles between Savannah and St. John's river,
+in an open boat, with only black servants on board, when the whole
+country was a desert, without a house to shelter her and her infant
+son."
+
+The part she bore in the dangers of the Revolution and the anxieties to
+which she was necessarily subjected, so impaired her health that "many
+years afterwards it was deemed necessary that she should try the climate
+of Europe. In January, 1800, she, with her son and his wife, left
+Savannah in a British ship of twenty guns, with fifty men, built in all
+points to resemble a sloop of war, without the appearance of a cargo.
+When they had been out about fifteen days, the captain sent one morning
+at daylight, to request the presence of two of his gentlemen passengers
+on deck. A large ship, painted black and showing twelve guns on a side,
+was seen to windward, running across their course. She was obviously a
+French privateer. The captain announced that there was no hope of
+out-sailing her, should their course be altered; nor would there be hope
+in a conflict, as those ships usually carried one hundred and fifty men.
+Yet he judged that if no effort were made to shun the privateer, the
+appearance of his ship might deter from an attack. The gentlemen were of
+the same opinion. Mr. Spalding, heart-sick at thought of the perilous
+situation of his wife and mother, and unwilling to trust himself with an
+interview till the crisis was over, requested the captain to go below
+and make what preparation he could for their security. After a few
+minutes' absence the captain returned to describe a most touching scene.
+Mrs. Spalding had placed her daughter-in-law and the other inmates of
+the cabin for safety in the two state-rooms, filling the berths with the
+cots and bedding from the outer cabin. She had then taken her station
+beside the scuttle, which led from the outer cabin to the magazine, with
+two buckets of water. Having noticed that the two cabin boys were
+heedless, she had determined herself to keep watch over the magazine.
+She did so till the danger was past. The captain took in his light
+sails, hoisted his boarding nettings, opened his ports, and stood on
+upon his course. The privateer waited till the ship was within a mile,
+then fired a gun to windward, and stood on her way. This ruse preserved
+the ship."[51]
+
+  [51] Mrs. Ellet.
+
+
+
+
+COURAGEOUS ACT OF MRS. DILLARD.
+
+  Thy country, glorious, brave and fair,
+  Thine all of life--
+  Her name alone thy heart's depths stirred,
+  And filled thy soul with war-like pride.
+
+                                    SARA J. CLARKE.
+
+
+The day before the battle at the Green Spring, in the Spartanburg
+district, South Carolina, Colonel Clarke, of the Georgia volunteers,
+with about two hundred men, stopped at the house of Captain Dillard and
+were cordially welcomed to a good supply of refreshments. In the evening
+of the same day, Colonel Ferguson and another officer named Dunlap, with
+a party of tories, arrived at the same house and inquired of the
+mistress, if Colonel Clarke had been there, to which question she gave a
+direct and honest answer. He then inquired in regard to the time of
+Clarke's departure and the number of his men. She could not guess their
+number, but said they had been gone a long time. She was then ordered to
+get supper, which she did, though in a less hospitable spirit than she
+had prepared the previous meal. While at work, she overheard some of the
+conversation of the officers, by which she learned that they were bent
+on surprising Colonel Clarke, and would start for that purpose when
+supper was dispatched. As soon as the food was on the table, Mrs.
+Dillard hurried out at the back door, bridled a horse that stood in the
+stable, and mounting without saddle, rode till nearly daylight before
+reaching the Green Spring where Clarke had encamped, and where he was to
+be attacked by Ferguson, at the break of day or sooner, as she had
+learned before starting.
+
+She had just aroused the whigs and notified them of their danger, when a
+detachment of two hundred picked, mounted men, commanded by Dunlap,
+rushed into the camp. They found their intended victims ready for the
+charge; were quickly driven out of the camp, and glad to escape by
+flight. Thus, fortunately for the friends of freedom, ended this battle,
+which, but for the daring of a single patriotic woman, would doubtless
+have resulted in the annihilation of the little band of Georgia
+volunteers.
+
+
+
+
+PHOEBE PHILLIPS.
+
+  The secret pleasure of a generous act
+  Is the great mind's great bribe.
+
+                                    DRYDEN.
+
+
+Phoebe Foxcroft, afterwards the wife of Samuel Phillips, the joint
+founder, with his uncle, of the academy at Andover, Massachusetts, was a
+native of Cambridge, in the same state. Reared beneath the shades of
+"Old Harvard" and being the daughter of a man of wealth and high
+respectability, it is almost needless to say that she was well educated
+and highly refined. To mental attainments she added the finishing charm
+of female character, glowing piety. The last forty years or more of her
+life were passed at Andover, where, after the death of her husband, she
+assisted in founding the celebrated Theological seminary. She died in
+1818.
+
+It is said that she was accustomed, for years, to make the health of
+every pupil in the academy a subject of personal interest. Her
+attentions to their wants were impartial and incalculably beneficial. To
+those that came from remote towns, and were thus deprived of parental
+oversight, she acted the part of a faithful mother.
+
+Affectionate, kind, generous, watchful, as a christian guardian; she was
+unbending, self-sacrificing and "zealous, yet modest," as a patriot.
+During the seven years' struggle for freedom, she frequently sat up till
+midnight or past, preparing bandages and scraping lint for the hospitals
+and making garments for the ragged soldiers.
+
+An offender of justice was once passing her house on his way to the
+whipping-post, when a boy, who observed him from her window, could not
+withhold a tear. He tried to conceal his emotion, but Mrs. Phillips saw
+the pearl drop of pity, and while a kindred drop fell from her own eyes,
+she said to him, with much emphasis and as though laying down some
+golden maxim--"When you become a law maker, examine the subject of
+corporeal punishment, and see if it is not unnatural, vindictive and
+productive of much evil." She was very discriminating, and could detect
+talent as well as tears; and addressed the lad with a premonition that
+he was destined to become a legislator--which was indeed the case.
+Elected to the assembly of the state, with the sacred command of his
+early and revered mentor impressed on his memory, he early called the
+attention of that body to the subject of corporeal punishment; had the
+statute book revised and the odious law, save in capital offences,
+expunged, and the pleasure of announcing the fact to the original
+suggestor of the movement.
+
+
+
+
+WORTHY EXAMPLE OF A POOR WIDOW.
+
+  Howe'er it be, it seems to me
+    'Tis only noble to be good;
+  Kind hearts are more than coronets,
+    And simple faith than Norman blood.
+
+                                   TENNYSON.
+
+
+The following article was communicated to the Christian Watchman and
+Reflector, of Boston, for January thirtieth, 1851. The facts are given
+without coloring or embellishment. The subject of the article has gone
+to the grave, but the influence of her exemplary life has not ceased to
+be felt. Her
+
+               "Speaking dust
+  Has more of life than half its breathing moulds."
+
+Some twenty years since, the writer became pastor of a church in the
+town of B. A few weeks after my settlement, I called at the humble
+dwelling of a poor widow, with whom I had already become somewhat
+acquainted. Having been apprised of the high estimation in which she was
+held by the church of which she was a member, for her cheerful and
+consistent piety, an interesting and profitable interview was
+anticipated. I had been seated but a few moments when she placed in my
+hand one dollar, and proceeded, by way of explanation, to make the
+following statements, which I give as nearly as possible in her own
+language:
+
+"Before you came among us, our church and people where in a very
+depressed and disheartened condition. For two or three Sabbaths we had
+no religious services during the day. How sad to be as sheep without a
+shepherd, and to have the house of God closed on his holy day! If the
+Lord would only send us a pastor, I felt willing to do any thing in my
+power to aid in sustaining him. But then the thought occurred to me,
+What can _you_ do, a poor widow, with four small children to support,
+and your house rent to pay? It is quite as much as you can do to meet
+necessary expenses. For a moment I was sad; but my mind still dwelt upon
+the subject, until finally this plan occurred to me: 'God has blessed
+you with excellent health, and you can sit up and work between the hours
+of nine and eleven or twelve o'clock at night; and what you thus earn
+you can give for that object.' I was at once relieved, and resolved
+before the Lord that, if he would send us a pastor, I would immediately
+commence my labors, and do what I could to aid in sustaining and
+encouraging him. I felt that now I could pray consistently, as I was
+willing to do my duty. With a faith and fervor to which I had before
+been a stranger, I besought the Lord speedily to favor us with an
+under-shepherd; and soon you came here to preach for us. I believed God
+sent you; and although at first you had no idea of remaining, I never
+doubted that you would become our pastor. As soon as you had accepted
+the call of the church, I began to work in accordance with my vow, and
+that dollar is the result of my earning, the last four weeks. And O, you
+would rejoice with me, could you know how much I have enjoyed these
+silent hours of night, when my children around me are wrapt in slumber,
+and all is as the stillness of the grave. The Lord has been with me
+continually, and I have had uninterrupted communion with him. When God
+had given us a pastor, I felt I must pray for a blessing to attend his
+labors among us; and, often have I been so impressed with the importance
+of a revival of religion, and the conversion of my children, and the
+people of this place, that I have been obliged to leave my work, and
+kneel down before my Maker, and earnestly plead with him that his Spirit
+may accomplish this work. Even after I had retired to rest, I have
+sometimes been obliged to arise and pray that he would save the souls of
+this people. And, blessed be his holy name, he has listened to prayer
+for this object also. When I heard of the numbers who attended the
+religious inquiry meeting, and the hopeful conversion of some to God, I
+felt I could say, 'This is the Lord, I have waited for him;' and I
+believe he will do greater things than these in our midst. Thus has God
+blessed one of the most unworthy of all his creatures; and I have often
+been led to sing, while I have been laboring here, lowly as is my
+condition,
+
+  'I would not change my blest estate,
+  With all that earth calls rich or great;
+  And, while my faith can keep her hold,
+  I envy not the sinner's gold.'"
+
+My attention had been absorbed with this interesting and affecting
+narrative; nor had I any inclination to interrupt it with remarks of my
+own. I now thought I could read the secret of the apparent success which
+had attended my labors in so short a time. As soon as I could recover
+from my emotions, I said to her, I am grateful for your prayers and this
+proffered donation; but, as my parish affords me a competent support, I
+can on no account feel at liberty to appropriate to my own private use
+the money thus earned. No; you shall have the additional satisfaction,
+while you are toiling at these unseasonable hours of night, of knowing
+that what you place in my hands shall be sacredly devoted to the cause
+of Christian benevolence, which I am sure you ardently love. With this
+she expressed herself satisfied; and continued her toils and prayers.
+
+It may be asked, What was the result? The answer is recorded with
+pleasure, and, I trust, with gratitude to God. Besides punctually
+attending all the meetings of the church, and laboring much in private
+for the eternal welfare of souls; besides supporting her family with
+more ease than formerly, as she stated to her pastor, at the close of
+the first year, and paying her assessments in several charitable
+societies to which she belonged, and also contributing something
+whenever a public collection was taken for benevolent objects; in
+addition to all this, she had placed in my hands ten dollars and a half,
+which was appropriated as stated above. Her donations for objects of
+religious charity must have amounted to at least _twelve dollars_ during
+that year, which, it is presumed, exceeded the amount given for similar
+objects by any other member of the church, although quite a number
+possessed a comfortable share of wealth. It may be thought that she was
+engaged in some business which yielded a handsome profit to reward her
+toils. But no; her business was shoe-binding, not then by any means very
+profitable. And who, with her disposition and spirit, could not do
+something to aid the cause of God? But what she earned and gave was not
+all. Her prayers, it is believed, had secured for the church a pastor,
+and been the means, with others, of the commencement of a revival of
+religion, which continued to prevail to a greater or less extent, for
+three successive years, during which time a large number were hopefully
+converted and added to the church: and among them several of her older
+children, who were away from home.
+
+
+
+
+ELIZABETH ESTAUGH.
+
+  A perfect woman, nobly planned,
+  To warn, to comfort and command;
+  And yet a spirit still, and bright
+  With something of an angel light.
+
+                                WORDSWORTH.
+
+
+Elizabeth Haddon was the oldest daughter of John Haddon, a well educated
+and wealthy, yet humble, Quaker, of London. She had two sisters, both of
+whom, with herself, received the highest finish of a practical
+education. Elizabeth possessed uncommon strength of mind, earnestness,
+energy and originality of character, and a heart overflowing with the
+kindest and warmest feelings. A single anecdote of her childhood, told
+by Mrs. Child, will illustrate the nobleness of nature which
+characterized her life:
+
+"At one time, she asked to have a large cake baked, because she wanted
+to invite some little girls. All her small funds were expended for
+oranges and candy on this occasion. When the time arrived, her father
+and mother were much surprised to see her lead in six little ragged
+beggars. They were, however, too sincerely humble and religious to
+_express_ any surprise. They treated the forlorn little ones very
+tenderly, and freely granted their daughter's request to give them some
+of her books and playthings at parting. When they had gone, the good
+mother quietly said, 'Elizabeth, why didst thou invite strangers,
+instead of thy schoolmates?' There was a heavenly expression in her eye,
+as she looked up earnestly, and answered, 'Mother, I wanted to invite
+_them_, they looked _so_ poor.'"
+
+When eleven years of age, she accompanied her parents to the Yearly
+Meeting of the Friends, where she heard, among other preachers, a very
+young man named John Estaugh, with whose manner of presenting divine
+truth she was particularly pleased. Many of his words were treasured in
+her memory. At the age of seventeen she made a profession of religion,
+uniting herself with the Quakers.
+
+During her early youth, William Penn visited the house of her father,
+and greatly amused her by describing his adventures with the Indians.
+From that time she became interested in the emigrant Quakers, and early
+began to talk of coming to America. Her father at length purchased a
+tract of land in New Jersey, with the view of emigrating, but his
+affairs took a new turn, and he made up his mind to remain in his native
+land. This decision disappointed Elizabeth. She had cherished the
+conviction that it was her duty to come to this country; and when, at
+length, her father, who was unwilling that any of his property should
+lie unimproved, offered the tract of land in New Jersey to any relative
+who would settle upon it, she promptly agreed to accept of the
+proffered estate. Willing that their child should follow in the path of
+duty, at the end of three months, and after much prayer, the parents
+consented to let Elizabeth join "the Lord's people in the New World."
+
+Accordingly, early in the spring of 1700, writes Mrs. Child, in whose
+sweet language, slightly condensed, the rest of the narrative is told,
+arrangements were made for her departure, and all things were provided
+that the abundance of wealth, or the ingenuity of affection, could
+devise.
+
+A poor widow of good sense and discretion accompanied her, as friend and
+housekeeper, and two trusty men servants, members of the Society of
+Friends. Among the many singular manifestations of strong faith and
+religious zeal, connected with the settlement of this country, few are
+more remarkable than the voluntary separation of this girl of eighteen
+years old from a wealthy home and all the pleasant associations of
+childhood, to go to a distant and thinly inhabited country, to fulfill
+what she considered a religious duty. And the humble, self-sacrificing
+faith of the parents, in giving up their child, with such reverend
+tenderness for the promptings of her own conscience, has in it something
+sublimely beautiful, if we look at it in its own pure light. The parting
+took place with more love than words can express, and yet without a tear
+on either side. Even during the long and tedious voyage, Elizabeth never
+wept. She preserved a martyr-like cheerfulness and serenity to the end.
+
+The house prepared for her reception stood in a clearing of the forest,
+three miles from any other dwelling. She arrived in June, when the
+landscape was smiling in youthful beauty; and it seemed to her as if the
+arch of heaven was never before so clear and bright, the carpet of the
+earth never so verdant. As she sat at her window and saw evening close
+in upon her in that broad forest home, and heard, for the first time,
+the mournful notes of the whippo-wil and the harsh scream of the jay in
+the distant woods, she was oppressed with a sense of vastness, of
+infinity, which she never before experienced, not even on the ocean. She
+remained long in prayer, and when she lay down to sleep beside her
+matron friend, no words were spoken between them. The elder, overcome
+with fatigue, soon sank into a peaceful slumber; but the young
+enthusiast lay long awake, listening to the lone voice of the whippo-wil
+complaining to the night. Yet, notwithstanding this prolonged
+wakefulness, she arose early and looked out upon the lovely landscape.
+The rising sun pointed to the tallest trees with his golden finger, and
+was welcomed with a gush of song from a thousand warblers. The poetry in
+Elizabeth's soul, repressed by the severe plainness of her education,
+gushed up like a fountain. She dropped on her knees, and, with an
+outburst of prayer, exclaimed fervently, "Oh, Father, very beautiful
+hast thou made this earth! How bountiful are thy gifts, O Lord!"
+
+To a spirit less meek and brave, the darker shades of the picture would
+have obscured these cheerful gleams; for the situation was lonely and
+the inconveniences innumerable. But Elizabeth easily triumphed over all
+obstacles, by practical good sense and the quick promptings of her
+ingenuity. She was one of those clear strong natures, who always have a
+definite aim in view, and who see at once the means best suited to the
+end. Her first inquiry was what grain was best adapted to the soil of
+her farm; and being informed that rye would yield best, "Then I shall
+eat rye bread," was her answer. But when winter came, and the gleaming
+snow spread its unbroken silence over hill and plain, was it not dreary
+then? It would have been dreary indeed to one who entered upon this mode
+of life from mere love of novelty, or a vain desire to do something
+extraordinary. But the idea of extended usefulness, which had first
+lured this remarkable girl into a path so unusual, sustained her through
+all trials. She was too busy to be sad, and leaned too trustingly on her
+Father's hand to be doubtful of her way. The neighboring Indians soon
+loved her as a friend, for they found her always truthful, just, and
+kind. From their teachings, she added much to her knowledge of simple
+medicines. So efficient was her skill and so prompt her sympathy, that
+for many miles round, if man, woman, or child were alarmingly ill, they
+were sure to send for Elizabeth Haddon; and wherever she went, her
+observing mind gathered some hint for the improvement of farm or dairy.
+Her house and heart were both large; and as her residence was on the way
+to the Quaker meeting-house in Newtown, it became a place of universal
+resort to Friends from all parts of the country traveling that road, as
+well as an asylum for benighted wanderers.
+
+The winter was drawing to a close, when late one evening, the sound of
+sleigh-bells was heard, and the crunching of snow beneath the hoofs of
+horses, as they passed into the barn-yard gate. The arrival of travelers
+was too common an occurrence to excite or disturb the well-ordered
+family.
+
+Great logs were piled in the capacious chimney, and the flames blazed up
+with a crackling warmth, when two strangers entered. In the younger,
+Elizabeth instantly recognized John Estaugh, whose preaching had so
+deeply impressed her at eleven years of age. This was almost like a
+glimpse of home--her dear old English home! She stepped forward with
+more than usual cordiality, saying:
+
+"Thou art welcome, Friend Estaugh; the more so for being entirely
+unexpected."
+
+"And I am glad to see thee, Elizabeth," he replied with a friendly shake
+of the hand. "It was not until after I landed in America, that I heard
+the Lord had called thee hither before me; but I remember thy father
+told me how often thou hadst played the settler in the woods, when thou
+wast quite a little girl."
+
+"I am but a child still," she replied, smiling.
+
+"I trust thou art," he rejoined; "and as for these strong impressions in
+childhood, I have heard of many cases where they seemed to be prophecies
+sent of the Lord. When I saw thy father in London, I had even then an
+indistinct idea that I might sometime be sent to America on a religious
+visit."
+
+"And hast thou forgotten, Friend John, the ear of Indian corn which my
+father begged of thee for me? I can show it to thee now. Since then I
+have seen this grain in perfect growth; and a goodly plant it is, I
+assure thee. See," she continued, pointing to many bunches of ripe corn,
+which hung in their braided husks against the walls of the ample
+kitchen: "all that, and more, came from a single ear, no bigger than the
+one thou didst give my father. May the seed sown by thy ministry be as
+fruitful!" "Amen," replied both the guests.
+
+The next morning, it was discovered that snow had fallen during the
+night in heavy drifts, and the roads were impassable. Elizabeth,
+according to her usual custom, sent out men, oxen and sledges, to open
+pathways for several poor families, and for households whose inmates
+were visited by illness. In this duty, John Estaugh and his friend
+joined heartily and none of the laborers worked harder than they. When
+he returned, glowing from this exercise, she could not but observe that
+the excellent youth had a goodly countenance. It was not physical
+beauty; for of that he had little. It was that cheerful, child-like,
+out-beaming honesty of expression, which we not unfrequently see in
+Germans, who, above all nations, look as if they carried a crystal heart
+within their manly bosoms.
+
+Two days after, when Elizabeth went to visit her patients, with a
+sled-load of medicines and provisions, John asked permission to
+accompany her. There, by the bedside of the aged and the suffering, she
+saw the clear sincerity of his countenance warmed with rays of love,
+while he spoke to them words of kindness and consolation; and there she
+heard his pleasant voice modulate itself into deeper tenderness of
+expression, when he took little children in his arms.
+
+The next First day, which we call the Sabbath, the whole family attended
+Newtown meeting; and there John Estaugh was gifted with an out-pouring
+of the spirit in his ministry, which sank deep into the hearts of those
+who listened to him. Elizabeth found it so marvellously applicable to
+the trials and temptations of her own soul, that she almost deemed it
+was spoken on purpose for her. She said nothing of this, but she
+pondered upon it deeply. Thus did a few days of united duties make them
+more thoroughly acquainted with each other, than they could have been by
+years of fashionable intercourse.
+
+The young preacher soon after bade farewell, to visit other meetings in
+Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Elizabeth saw him no more until the May
+following, when he stopped at her house to lodge, with numerous other
+Friends, on their way to the Quarterly Meeting at Salem. In the morning,
+quite a cavalcade started from her hospitable door, on horseback; for
+wagons were then unknown in Jersey. John Estaugh, always kindly in his
+impulses, busied himself with helping a lame and very ugly old woman,
+and left his hostess to mount her horse as she could. Most young women
+would have felt slighted; but in Elizabeth's noble soul the quiet deep
+tide of feeling rippled with an inward joy. "He is always kindest to the
+poor and the neglected," thought she; "verily he _is_ a good youth." She
+was leaning over the side of her horse, to adjust the buckle of the
+girth, when he came up on horseback, and inquired if anything was out of
+order. She thanked him, with slight confusion of manner, and a voice
+less calm than her usual utterance. He assisted her to mount, and they
+trotted along leisurely behind the procession of guests, speaking of the
+soil and climate of this new country, and how wonderfully the Lord had
+here provided a home for his chosen people. Presently the girth began to
+slip, and the saddle turned so much on one side, that Elizabeth was
+obliged to dismount. It took some time to re-adjust it, and when they
+again started, the company were out of sight. There was brighter color
+than usual in the maiden's cheeks, and unwonted radiance in her mild
+deep eyes. After a short silence, she said, in a voice slightly
+tremulous, "Friend John, I have a subject of importance on my mind, and
+one which nearly interests thee. I am strongly impressed that the Lord
+has sent thee to me as a partner for life. I tell thee my impression
+frankly, but not without calm and deep reflection; for matrimony is a
+holy relation, and should be entered into with all sobriety. If thou
+hast no light on the subject, wilt thou gather into the stillness, and
+reverently listen to thy own inward revealings? Thou art to leave this
+part of the country to-morrow, and not knowing when I should see thee
+again, I felt moved to tell thee what lay upon my mind."
+
+The young man was taken by surprise. Though accustomed to that
+suppression of emotion which characterizes his religious sect, the color
+went and came rapidly in his face, for a moment; but he soon became
+calmer, and replied, "This thought is new to me, Elizabeth; and I have
+no light thereon. Thy company has been right pleasant to me, and thy
+countenance ever reminds me of William Penn's title page, 'Innocency
+with her open face.' I have seen thy kindness to the poor, and the wise
+management of thy household. I have observed, too, that thy
+warm-heartedness is tempered by a most excellent discretion, and that
+thy speech is ever sincere. Assuredly, such is the maiden I would ask of
+the Lord, as a most precious gift; but I never thought of this connexion
+with thee. I came to this country solely on a religious visit, and it
+might distract my mind to entertain this subject at present. When I have
+discharged the duties of my mission, we will speak further."
+
+"It is best so," rejoined the maiden; "but there is one thing disturbs
+my conscience. Thou hast spoken of my true speech; and yet, Friend John,
+I have deceived thee a little, even now, while we conferred together on
+a subject so serious. I know not from what weakness the temptation came;
+but I will not hide it from thee. I allowed thee to suppose, just now,
+that I was fastening the girth of my horse securely; but, in plain
+truth, I was loosening the girth, John, that the saddle might slip, and
+give me an excuse to fall behind our friends; for I thought thou wouldst
+be kind enough to come and ask if I needed thy services."
+
+They spoke no further concerning their union; but when he returned to
+England, in July, he pressed her hand affectionately, as he said,
+"Farewell, Elizabeth. If it be the Lord's will, I shall return to thee
+soon."
+
+In October, he returned to America, and they were soon married, at
+Newtown meeting, according to the simple form of the Society of Friends.
+Neither of them made any change of dress for the occasion, and there was
+no wedding feast. Without the aid of priest or magistrate, they took
+each other by the hand, and, in the presence of witnesses, calmly and
+solemnly promised to be kind and faithful to each other. The wedded pair
+quietly returned to their happy home, with none to intrude upon those
+sacred hours of human life, when the heart most needs to be left alone
+with its own deep emotions.
+
+During the long period of their union, she three times crossed the
+Atlantic, to visit her aged parents, and he occasionally left her for a
+season, when called abroad to preach. These temporary separations were
+felt as a cross, but the strong-hearted woman always cheerfully gave him
+up to follow his own convictions of duty. In 1742, he parted from her,
+to go on a religious visit to Tortola, in the West Indies. He died
+there, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. She published a religious
+tract of his, to which is prefixed a preface entitled "Elizabeth
+Estaugh's testimony concerning her beloved husband, John Estaugh." In
+this preface, she says, "Since it pleased Divine Providence so highly to
+favor me, with being the near companion of this dear worthy, I must give
+some small account of him. Few, if any, in a married state, ever lived
+in sweeter harmony than we did. He was a pattern of moderation in all
+things; not lifted up with any enjoyments, nor cast down at
+disappointments; a man endowed with many good gifts, which rendered him
+very agreeable to his friends, and much more to me, his wife, to whom
+his memory is most dear and precious."
+
+Elizabeth survived her excellent husband twenty years, useful and
+honored to the last. The monthly Meeting of Haddonfield, in a published
+testimonial, speak of her thus: "She was endowed with great natural
+abilities, which, being sanctified by the spirit of Christ, were much
+improved; whereby she became qualified to act in the affairs of the
+church, and was a serviceable member, having been clerk to the women's
+meeting nearly fifty years, greatly to their satisfaction. She was a
+sincere sympathizer with the afflicted, of a benevolent disposition, and
+in distributing to the poor, was desirous to do it in a way most
+profitable and durable to them, and, if possible, not to let the right
+hand know what the left did. Though in a state of affluence as to this
+world's wealth, she was an example of plainness and moderation. Her
+heart and house were open to her friends, whom to entertain seemed one
+of her greatest pleasures. Prudently cheerful, and well knowing the
+value of friendship, she was careful not to wound it herself, nor to
+encourage others in whispering supposed failings or weaknesses. Her last
+illness brought great bodily pain, which she bore with much calmness of
+mind and sweetness of spirit. She departed this life as one falling
+asleep, full of days, like unto a shock of corn, fully ripe."
+
+The town of Haddonfield, in New Jersey, took its name from her; and the
+tradition concerning her courtship is often repeated by some patriarch
+among the Quakers.
+
+Her medical skill is so well remembered, that the old nurses of New
+Jersey still recommend Elizabeth Estaugh's salve as the "sovereignest
+thing on earth."
+
+
+
+
+KATE MOORE.
+
+  From lowest place when virtuous things proceed,
+  The place is dignified by the doer's deed.
+
+                                              SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Kate Moore is the daughter of Captain Moore, keeper of the Light House
+on Fairweather Island, sixty miles north of the city of New York, and
+about half way between the harbors of Black Rock and Bridgeport,
+Connecticut. The island is about half a mile from shore and contains
+five acres of land. On that little, secluded spot Captain Moore has
+resided nearly a quarter of a century, and has reared a family of five
+children, of whom Kate is the heroine.
+
+Disasters frequently occur to vessels which are driven round Montauk
+Point, and sometimes in the Sound, when they are homeward bound; and at
+such times she is always on the alert. She has so thoroughly cultivated
+the sense of hearing, that she can distinguish amid the howling storm,
+the shrieks of the drowning mariners, and thus direct a boat, which she
+has learned to manage most dexterously, in the darkest night, to the
+spot where a fellow mortal is perishing Though well educated and
+refined, she possesses none of the affected delicacy which characterizes
+too many town-bred misses; but, adapting herself to the peculiar
+exigences of her father's humble yet honorable calling, she is ever
+ready to lend a helping hand, and shrinks from no danger, if duty points
+that way. In the gloom and terror of the stormy night, amid perils at
+all hours of the day, and all seasons of the year, she has launched her
+barque on the threatening waves; and has assisted her aged and feeble
+father in saving the lives of twenty-one persons during the last fifteen
+years! Such conduct, like that of Grace Darling, to whom Kate Moore has
+been justly compared, needs no comment; it stamps its moral at once and
+indelibly upon the heart of every reader.
+
+
+
+
+CAPTIVITY OF MRS. ROWLANDSON.
+
+  Through sorrowing and suffering thou hast pass'd,
+  To show us what a woman true may be.
+
+                                                  LOWELL.
+
+
+Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, the wife of the Rev. Joseph Rowlandson, was taken
+prisoner by the Indians at Lancaster, Massachusetts, on the tenth of
+February, 1676, and remained in captivity till the third of the
+following May. The details of her sufferings, as related by herself, are
+too painful for many persons to read; but she bore them with such
+Christian fortitude, that nothing short of a brief account of her
+captivity would seem to be excusable in a work like this.
+
+The day after the destruction of Lancaster, the Indians began their
+march; and Mrs. Rowlandson carried her infant till her strength failed
+and she fell. She was then furnished with a horse, without a saddle.
+Attempting to ride, she again fell. Towards night it began to snow; and
+gathering a few sticks, she made a fire. Sitting beside it on the snow,
+she held her child in her arms through the long and dismal night. For
+three or four days she had no sustenance but water; nor did her child
+share any better for nine days. During this time it was constantly in
+her arms or lap. At the end of that period, the frost of death crept
+into its eyes, and she was forced to relinquish it to be disposed of by
+the unfeeling sextons of the forest.
+
+After its burial, Mrs. Rowlandson was sold by her Narraganset captor to
+a Sagamore named Quanopin, by which transfer she found in her new
+master's wife "a most uncomfortable mistress." Soon afterwards the
+Indians went on an expedition to Medfield, and on their return one of
+them gave her a Bible--her best friend and great support during her
+sufferings and trials. She retained it during her captivity.
+
+The party of Indians with whom she continued, remained for some time
+near Petersham, in Worcester county. At length, hearing a report that
+the pale faces were in pursuit of them, they hastily decamped and
+continued their march till they crossed the Connecticut river, in the
+neighborhood of Gill or Bernardston. There Mrs. Rowlandson came in
+contact with the great chief, Philip, who treated her civilly and even
+politely. Ere long the Indians re-crossed the Connecticut, and returned
+into Worcester county. During this part of her pilgrimage, writes
+President Dwight, whose concise narrative we have followed, "Mrs.
+Rowlandson went through almost every suffering but death. She was
+beaten, kicked, turned out of doors, refused food, insulted in the
+grossest manner, and at times almost starved. Nothing but experience
+can enable us to conceive what must be the hunger of a person, by whom
+the discovery of six acorns, and two chestnuts, was regarded as a rich
+prize. At times, in order to make her miserable, they announced to her
+the death of her husband and her children. One of the savages, of whom
+she enquired concerning her son, told her that his master had, at a time
+which he specified, killed and roasted him; that himself had eaten a
+piece of him, as big as his two fingers, and that it was delicious meat.
+On various occasions they threatened to kill her. Occasionally, but for
+short intervals only, she was permitted to see her children; and
+suffered her own anguish over again in their miseries. She was also
+obliged, while hardly able to walk, to carry a heavy burden over hills,
+and through rivers, swamps, and marshes; and that in the most inclement
+seasons. These evils were repeated daily; and, to crown them all, she
+was daily saluted with the most barbarous and insolent accounts of the
+burning and slaughter, the tortures and agonies, inflicted by them upon
+her countrymen. It is to be remembered that Mrs. Rowlandson was tenderly
+and delicately educated, and as ill fitted to encounter these distresses
+as persons who have received such an education, now are in this and
+other countries.
+
+"There was, however, among the savages a marked difference of character.
+Some of them, both men and women, treated her with kindness. None of
+them exhibited so much insolence to her as her mistress. This woman
+felt all the haughtiness of rank, as much as if she had been a European
+or Asiatic princess; and spent almost as much time in powdering her
+hair, painting her face, and adorning herself with ear-rings, bracelets,
+and other ornaments, a part of their plunder from the English."
+
+The captivity of Mrs. Rowlandson was terminated through the agency of
+Mr. Hoar, of Concord, Massachusetts. Under a commission from the
+Government he redeemed her for about eighty dollars, which sum was
+contributed by a Mr. Usher and some female friends in Boston.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. BOZARTH.
+
+  To weakness strength succeeds, and power
+  From frailty springs.
+
+                                   PARK BENJAMIN.
+
+  There's no impossibility to him
+  Who stands prepared to conquer every hazard.
+
+                                       MRS. HALE.
+
+
+In the spring of 1779, while two or three neighboring families, had,
+from fear, collected at the house of Mrs. Bozarth, in Green county,
+Pennsylvania, the little company was one day attacked by Indians. The
+children, who were playing without, first discovered the foe, and,
+giving the alarm, had not time to get within doors before they were
+overtaken, and began to fall beneath the tomahawk. The first man who
+stepped to the door when the alarm was heard, was shot, and fell back;
+and before the door could be closed, an Indian leaped over him into the
+house. The other man in the house caught the savage and threw him on the
+bed. He then called for a knife, but Mrs. Bozarth, being unable to find
+one, seized an axe and instantly dispatched the bold assailant. Another
+Indian now rushed in, and shot at and wounded the man before he was off
+the bed. Mrs. Bozarth gave this second intruder several blows, when his
+cries brought a third to the door. Him she killed as he entered. The
+wounded savage was then dragged out; the door again closed and fastened;
+and, through the assistance of the wounded man, Mrs. Bozarth was able to
+keep out the rest of the murderous assailants until relieved by the
+arrival of friends.
+
+
+
+
+THE HEROINE OF STEEL CREEK
+
+  Here and there some stern, high patriot stood.
+
+                                              BYRON.
+
+
+The subject of the following anecdote was the mother of eleven sons.
+Most of them were soldiers and some were officers in the war of the
+Revolution. Her residence was in Mechlenburg county, near Steel creek,
+North Carolina.
+
+When Lord Cornwallis heard of the defeat of Ferguson at King's
+Mountain,[52] fearing an attack of his rear at Camden, he collected his
+forces and retreated towards Winnsboro. While on this march, his whole
+army halted for the night on the plantation of Robert Wilson. Cornwallis
+and his staff took possession of the house, and made an unstinted levy
+on the hospitality of the good lady. By asking such questions as a
+British lord would, under the circumstances, feel at liberty to
+propound, the General learned, in the course of the evening, that the
+husband of Mrs. Wilson, and some of her sons, were then his prisoners in
+Camden jail. Her kindness and urbanity led him to think that perhaps
+she was a friend to the Crown; and, after some preliminary remarks,
+intended to prepare her mind for the leading consideration which he
+wished to enforce upon it, he at length addressed her as follows:
+
+  [52] October seventh, 1780.
+
+"Madam, your husband and your son are my prisoners; the fortune of war
+may soon place others of your sons--perhaps all your kinsmen, in my
+power. Your sons are young, aspiring and brave. In a good cause,
+fighting for a generous and powerful king, such as George III, they
+might hope for rank, honor and wealth. If you could but induce your
+husband and sons to leave the rebels, and take up arms for their lawful
+sovereign, I would almost pledge myself that they shall have rank and
+consideration in the British army. If you, madam, will pledge yourself
+to induce them to do so, I will immediately order their discharge."
+
+"I have seven sons," Mrs. Wilson replied, "who are now, or have been,
+bearing arms--indeed my seventh son, Zaccheus, who is only fifteen years
+old, I yesterday assisted to get ready to go and join his brothers in
+Sumter's army. Now, sooner than see one of my family turn back from the
+glorious enterprise, I would take these boys--pointing to three or four
+small sons--and with them would myself enlist, under Sumter's standard,
+and show my husband and sons how to fight, and, if necessary, to die for
+their country!"
+
+Colonel Tarleton was one of the listeners to this colloquy, and when
+Mrs. Wilson had finished her reply, he said to Cornwallis: "Ah! General!
+I think you've got into a hornet's nest! Never mind, when we get to
+Camden, I'll take good care that old Robin Wilson never comes back
+again!" We may add that Tarleton's threat was never executed. Mr. Wilson
+and his worthy companion lived to old age, and died at Steel creek just
+before the war of 1812.
+
+
+
+
+BENEVOLENCE OF A COLORED WOMAN.
+
+  Great minds, like Heaven, are pleased in doing good.
+
+                                                     ROWE.
+
+
+The following anecdote is obtained from a reliable source. Did the
+spirit which pervaded the heart of its subject, thoroughly permeate the
+churches, the great work of carrying the Gospel to every nation, would
+soon be accomplished.
+
+"In one of the eastern counties of New York lived a colored female, who
+was born a slave, but she was made free by the act gradually abolishing
+slavery in that state. She had no resources except such as she obtained
+by her own labor. On one occasion she carried to her pastor _forty
+dollars_: she told him that she wished him, with two dollars of this sum
+to procure for her a seat in his church; eighteen dollars she desired to
+be given to the American Board; and the remaining twenty dollars she
+requested him to divide among other benevolent societies according to
+his discretion."
+
+
+
+
+REBECCA EDWARDS.
+
+  Honor being then above life, dishonor must
+  Be worse than death; for fate can strike but one.
+  Reproach doth reach whole families.
+
+                                         CARTWRIGHT'S SIEGE.
+
+
+At the celebration of our national Independence, in 1797, the orator of
+the society of the Cincinnati of South Carolina, paid the following
+tribute to the magnanimity of Mrs. Rebecca Edwards:--"The Spartan
+mother, on delivering his shield to her son departing for the army,
+nobly bade him 'return with it or on it.' The sentiment was highly
+patriotic, but surely not superior to that which animated the bosom of
+the distinguished female of our own state, who, when the British officer
+presented the mandate which arrested her sons as objects of retaliation,
+less sensible of private affection than attached to her honor and the
+interest of her country, stifled the tender feelings of the mother, and
+heroically bade them despise the threats of their enemies, and
+steadfastly persist to support the glorious cause in which they had
+engaged--that if the threatened sacrifice should follow, they would
+carry a parent's blessing, and the good opinion of every virtuous
+citizen along with them to the grave: but if from the frailty of human
+nature--of the possibility of which she would not suffer an idea to
+enter her mind--they were disposed to temporize, and exchange their
+liberty for safety, they must forget her as a mother, nor subject her to
+the misery of ever beholding them again."[53]
+
+  [53] American Anecdotes, vol. 2, p. 11.
+
+
+
+
+"THE BEAUTIFUL REBEL."
+
+                  Trembling and fear
+  Are to her unknown.
+
+                           SIR WALTER SCOTT.
+
+
+The maiden name of Mrs. Lewis Morris was Ann Elliott. She was born at
+Maccabee, in 1762, and died in New York, in 1848. She was a firm and
+fearless patriot, and when the city of Charleston, South Carolina, was
+in possession of the red coats, she wore thirteen small plumes in her
+bonnet. She had so fair a face, so graceful a form and so patriotic a
+spirit, as to be called "the beautiful rebel." An English officer fell
+in love with her and offered to join the Americans, if she would favor
+his proposals. She ordered the friend who interceded for him to say to
+him, "that to her former want of esteem, was added scorn for a man
+capable of betraying his sovereign for selfish interest."
+
+While she was engaged to Colonel Morris and he was on a visit one time
+at Maccabee, the house was suddenly surrounded by Black Dragoons. They
+were in pursuit of the Colonel, and it was impossible for him to escape
+by flight. What to do he knew not, but, quick as thought, she ran to the
+window, opened it, and, fearlessly putting her head out, in a composed
+yet firm manner, demanded what was wanted. The reply was, "We want the
+---- rebel." "Then go," said she, "and look for him in the American
+army," adding "How dare you disturb a family under the protection of
+both armies!" She was so cool, self-possessed, firm and resolute as to
+triumph over the dragoons, who left without entering the house.
+
+
+
+
+HARRIET B. STEWART.
+
+  Men sacrifice others--women themselves.
+
+                            MRS. S. C. HALL.
+
+
+Harriet Bradford Tiffany, afterwards the wife of the Rev. Charles S.
+Stewart, was born near Stamford, Connecticut, on the fourth of June,
+1798. She lost her father when she was a small child, and till 1815,
+passed most of her time with an uncle, in Albany. At this date, an older
+sister married and settled in Cooperstown, and consequently Harriet took
+up her abode in that place. She became the subject of renewing grace in
+the summer of 1819; was married on the third of June, 1822, and sailed
+with her husband and nearly thirty other missionaries, all bound to the
+same field, on the nineteenth of November following. This little, heroic
+band, that, by the help of God, have since been mainly instrumental in
+making the Sandwich islands blossom like a rose, arrived at Honolulu, in
+Oahu, on the twenty-seventh of April, 1823.
+
+Mrs. Stewart left a beautiful town in a thriving part of the Empire
+State; tempting luxuries; a brilliant circle, and many endearing
+friends; but she had embarked in a glorious enterprise for Christ's
+sake, and, hence, she settled down in a little log hut, in the town of
+Lahaiua, three days' sail from Oahu, contented and happy. On the first
+day of January, 1824, she wrote as follows: "It is now fifteen months
+since I bade adieu to the dear valley which contains much, very much,
+that is most dear to me; but since the day I parted from it, my spirits
+have been uniformly good. Sometimes, it is true, a cloud of tender
+recollections passes over me, obscuring, for a moment, my mental vision,
+and threatening a day of darkness; but it is seldom. And as the
+returning sun, after a summer shower, spreads his beams over the
+retiring gloom of the heavens, and stretches abroad the shining arch of
+promise to cheer the face of nature, so, at such times, do the rays of
+the Sun of Righteousness speedily illumine the hopes of my soul, and
+fill my bosom with joy and peace."
+
+A few months after the above date, writing to a friend, she says: "We
+are most contented and most happy, and rejoice that God has seen fit to
+honor and bless us by permitting us to be the bearers of his light and
+truth to this dark corner of the earth. Could you feel the same gladness
+that often fills our bosoms, in witnessing the happy influence of the
+Gospel on the minds and hearts of many of these interesting creatures,
+you would be satisfied, yes more than satisfied, that we should be _what
+we are, and where we are, poor missionaries in the distant islands of
+the sea_."
+
+In these brief extracts from her letters, shines, in its serenest
+lustre, the character of the Christian heroine:[54] and it would be an
+easy task to compile a volume of letters written on the field of moral
+conflict by American female missionaries, breathing a spirit equally as
+unselfish, cheerful and brave. All pioneer women in this enterprise are
+heroines, and if the conflicts and sublime victories of all claiming
+American citizenship, are not herein recorded, it is because, in a work
+of unambitious pretensions as it regards size, a few characters must
+stand as representatives of a class.
+
+  [54] For a full account of the life of Mrs. Stewart, we refer the reader
+  to an interesting Memoir, by her husband.
+
+So pernicious was the influence of a tropical climate that, in the
+spring of 1825, the health of Mrs. Stewart began to fail; and at the end
+of a year, she was forced to leave the country. She sailed, with her
+husband, for London; and after tarrying three months in England, they
+embarked for home. They reached the valley of the Otsego in September,
+1826. For three or four years, it was the prayer of Mrs. Stewart that
+she might be restored to health and permitted to return to the mission
+station; but in January, 1830, she was laid on a bed of declension and
+suffering, and in the following autumn, fully ripe, was gathered into
+the heavenly garner.
+
+
+
+
+A KIND AND BENEVOLENT WOMAN.
+
+  Ah! woman--in this world of ours,
+  What gift can be compared to thee.
+
+                          GEORGE P. MORRIS.
+
+
+Mrs. Margaret Morris, of Burlington, New Jersey, kept a journal during
+the Revolution, for the amusement, it is said, of a sister, the wife of
+Dr. Charles Moore, of Philadelphia. A few copies were printed several
+years ago, for private circulation, supplying friends with a mirror
+which reflects the image of expanded benevolence and exalted piety.
+Belonging to the Society of Friends, she was not partial to
+
+  "The shot, the shout, the groan of war;"
+
+yet her principles were patriotic, and she no doubt rejoiced over all
+the victories and in the final and complete success of the "rebel" army.
+She became a widow at an early age, and died at Burlington, in 1816,
+aged seventy-nine years.
+
+A single extract from her journal will illustrate the most prominent
+feature of her character:
+
+"June 14th, 1777. By a person from Bordentown, we hear twelve expresses
+came in there to-day from camp. Some of the gondola-men and their wives
+being sick, and no doctor in town to apply to, they were told Mrs.
+Morris was a skillful woman, and kept medicines to give to the poor; and
+notwithstanding their late attempts to shoot my poor boy, they ventured
+to come to me, and in a very humble manner begged me to come and do
+something for them. At first I thought they designed to put a trick on
+me, get me aboard their gondola, and then pillage my house, as they had
+done some others; but on asking where the sick folks were, I was told
+they were lodged in the Governor's house. So I went to see them; there
+were several, both men and women, very ill with fever; some said, the
+camp or putrid fever. They were broken out in blotches; and on close
+examination, it appeared to be the itch fever. I treated them according
+to art, and they all got well. I thought I had received all my pay when
+they thankfully acknowledged my kindness; but lo! in a short time
+afterwards a very rough, ill-looking man came to the door and asked for
+me. When I went to him he drew me aside, and asked if I had any friends
+in Philadelphia. The question alarmed me, supposing there was some
+mischief meditated against that poor city; however, I calmly said--'I
+have an ancient father, some sisters, and other near friends there.'
+
+"'Well,' said the man, 'do you wish to hear from them, or send any thing
+by way of refreshment to them? If you do, I will take charge of it, and
+bring you back any thing you may send for.'
+
+"I was very much surprised, and thought, to be sure, he only wanted to
+get provisions to take to the gondolas; but when he told me his wife was
+one of those I had given medicine to, and this was the only thing he
+could do to pay me for my kindness, my heart leaped with joy, and I set
+about preparing something for my dear, absent friends. A quarter of
+beef, some veal, fowls and flour, were soon put up; and about midnight
+the man called and took them aboard his boat. He left them at Robert
+Hopkins'--at the point--whence my beloved friends took them to town.
+
+"Two nights afterwards, a loud knocking at our front door greatly
+alarmed us, and opening the chamber window, we heard a man's voice,
+saying, 'Come down softly and open the door, but bring no light.'
+
+"There was something mysterious in such a call; but we concluded to go
+down and set the candle in the kitchen.
+
+"When we got to the front door, we asked, 'Who are you?'
+
+"The man replied, 'A friend; open quickly.' So the door was opened; and
+who should it be but our honest gondola-man, with a letter, a bushel of
+salt, a jug of molasses, a bag of rice, some tea, coffee, and sugar, and
+some cloth for a coat for my poor boys; all sent by my kind sisters!
+
+"How did our hearts and eyes overflow with love to them, and thanks to
+our Heavenly Father for such seasonable supplies! May we never forget
+it! Being now so rich, we thought it our duty to hand out a little to
+the poor around us, who were mourning for want of salt; so we divided
+the bushel, and gave a pint to every poor person who came for it--having
+abundance left for our own use. Indeed, it seemed to us as if our little
+store was increased by distribution, like the bread broken by our
+Saviour to the multitude."
+
+
+
+
+NOBLE EXAMPLE OF PIONEERS.
+
+  In every rank, or great or small,
+  'Tis industry supports us all.
+
+                                      GAY.
+
+ Count life by virtues--these will last
+ When life's lame-footed race is o'er.
+
+                                 MRS. HALE.
+
+
+In the year 1843, the Hon. Samuel Wilkeson, of Buffalo--since
+deceased--communicated to the American Pioneer, a series of papers
+entitled "Early Recollections of the West." They present a graphic, yet
+painful picture of the perils, hardships and sufferings attendant on
+back-woods life in the midst of the aboriginal foresters. His father's
+family was one of twenty that removed from Carlisle and the adjacent
+towns, to the western part of Pennsylvania, in the spring of 1784. He
+pays the following tribute to the industry, perseverance and pious
+efforts of the mothers of the band:
+
+The labor of all the settlers was greatly interrupted by the Indian war.
+Although the older settlers had some sheep, yet their increase was slow,
+as the country abounded in wolves. It was therefore the work of time to
+secure a supply of wool. Deerskin was a substitute for cloth for men and
+boys, but not for women and girls, although they were sometimes
+compelled to resort to it. The women spun, and generally wove all the
+cloth for their families, and when the wife was feeble, and had a large
+family, her utmost efforts could not enable her to provide them with
+anything like comfortable clothing. The wonder is, and I shall never
+cease to wonder, that they did not sink under their burthens. Their
+patient endurance of these accumulated hardships did not arise from a
+slavish servility, or insensibility to their rights and comforts. They
+justly appreciated their situation, and nobly encountered the
+difficulties which could not be avoided.
+
+Possessing all the affections of the wife, the tenderness of the mother,
+and the sympathies of the woman, their tears flowed freely for others'
+griefs, while they bore their own with a fortitude which none but a
+woman could exercise. The entire education of her children devolved on
+the mother, and notwithstanding the difficulties to be encountered, she
+did not allow them to grow up wholly without instruction; but amidst all
+her numerous cares taught them to read, and instructed them in the
+principles of Christianity. To accomplish this, under the circumstances,
+was no easy task. The exciting influences which surrounded them, made
+the boys restless under restraint. Familiarized as they were to
+hardships from the cradle, and daily listening to stories of Indian
+massacres and depredations, and to the heroic exploits of some
+neighboring pioneer, who had taken an Indian scalp, or by some daring
+effort saved his own, ignorant of the sports and toys with which
+children in other circumstances are wont to be amused, no wonder they
+desired to emulate the soldier, or engage in the scarcely less exciting
+adventures of the hunter. Yet even many of these boys were subdued by
+the faithfulness of the mother, who labored to bring them up in the fear
+of God.
+
+
+
+
+ANECDOTE OF MRS. SLOCUMB.
+
+                  Our country yet remains:
+  By that dread name, we wave the sword on high,
+  And swear for her to live--with her to die!
+
+                                            CAMPBELL.
+
+
+One of the spiciest specimens of colloquial sparring, _vis-a-vis_, in
+our Revolutionary annals, was between Colonel Tarleton and the wife of
+Lieutenant Slocumb, of Wayne county, North Carolina.[55] The Attic wit
+and Spartan boldness of the latter, exhibit original powers of mind,
+strength of will, and a degree of self-possession truly grand and
+ennobling. But the character of the heroine of "Pleasant Green," is most
+luminous in her conduct at the battle of Moore's Creek, which occurred
+on the twenty-seventh of February, 1776. She tells the story of her
+adventures on that bloody occasion, as follows:
+
+  [55] _Vide_ Women of the Revolution, vol. 1. pp. 306-7, etc.
+
+"The men all left on Sunday morning. More than eighty went from this
+house with my husband; I looked at them well, and I could see that every
+man had mischief in him. I know a coward as soon as I set my eyes upon
+him. The tories more than once tried to frighten me, but they always
+showed coward at the bare insinuation that our troops were about.
+
+"Well, they got off in high spirits, every man stepping high and light.
+And I slept soundly and quietly that night, and worked hard all the next
+day; but I kept thinking where they had got to--how far; where and how
+many of the regulars and tories they would meet; and I could not keep
+myself from the study. I went to bed at the usual time, but still
+continued to study. As I lay--whether waking or sleeping I know not--I
+had a dream; yet it was not all a dream. (She used the words,
+unconsciously, of the poet who was not then in being.) I saw distinctly
+a body wrapped in my husband's guard-cloak--bloody--dead; and others
+dead and wounded on the ground about him. I saw them plainly and
+distinctly. I uttered a cry, and sprang to my feet on the floor; and so
+strong was the impression on my mind, that I rushed in the direction the
+vision appeared, and came up against the side of the house. The fire in
+the room gave little light, and I gazed in every direction to catch
+another glimpse of the scene. I raised the light; every thing was still
+and quiet. My child was sleeping, but my woman was awakened by my crying
+out or jumping on the floor. If ever I felt fear it was at that moment.
+Seated on the bed, I reflected a few moments--and said aloud: 'I must
+go to him.' I told the woman I could not sleep, and would ride down the
+road. She appeared in great alarm; but I merely told her to lock the
+door after me, and look after the child. I went to the stable, saddled
+my mare--as fleet and easy a nag as ever traveled; and in one minute we
+were tearing down the road at full speed. The cool night seemed after a
+mile or two's gallop to bring reflection with it; and I asked myself
+where I was going, and for what purpose. Again and again, I was tempted
+to turn back; but I was soon ten miles from home, and my mind became
+stronger every mile I rode. I should find my husband dead or dying--was
+as firmly my presentiment and conviction as any fact of my life. When
+day broke I was some thirty miles from home. I knew the general route
+our little army expected to take, and had followed them without
+hesitation. About sunrise I came upon a group of women and children,
+standing and sitting by the road-side, each one of them showing the same
+anxiety of mind I felt. Stopping a few minutes I inquired if the battle
+had been fought. They knew nothing, but were assembled on the road-side
+to catch intelligence. They thought Caswell had taken the right of the
+Wilmington road, and gone towards the north-west (cape Fear). Again was
+I skimming over the ground through a country thinly settled, and very
+poor and swampy; but neither my own spirits nor my beautiful nag's
+failed in the least. We followed the well-marked trail of the troops.
+
+"The sun must have been well up, say eight or nine o'clock, when I heard
+a sound like thunder, which I knew must be cannon. It was the first time
+I ever heard a cannon. I stopped still; when presently the cannon
+thundered again. The battle was then fighting. What a fool! my husband
+could not be dead last night, and the battle only fighting now! Still,
+as I am so near, I will go on and see how they come out. So away we went
+again, faster than ever; and I soon found, by the noise of the guns,
+that I was near the fight. Again I stopped. I could hear muskets, I
+could hear rifles, and I could hear shouting. I spoke to my mare and
+dashed on in the direction of the firing and the shouts, now louder than
+ever. The blind path I had been following brought me into the Wilmington
+road leading to Moore's creek bridge, a few hundred yards below the
+bridge. A few yards from the road, under a cluster of trees were lying
+perhaps twenty men. They were the wounded. I knew the spot; the very
+trees; and the position of the men I knew as if I had seen it a thousand
+times. I had seen it all night! I saw all at once; but in an instant my
+whole soul was centered in one spot; for there, wrapped in his bloody
+guard-cloak, was my husband's body! How I passed the few yards from my
+saddle to the place I never knew. I remember uncovering his head and
+seeing a face clothed with gore from a dreadful wound across the temple.
+I put my hand on the bloody face; 'twas warm; and an _unknown voice_
+begged for water. A small camp-kettle was lying near, and a stream of
+water was close by. I brought it; poured some in his mouth; washed his
+face; and behold--it was Frank Cogdell. He soon revived and could speak.
+I was washing the wound in his head. Said he 'It is not that; it is that
+hole in my leg that is killing me.' A puddle of blood was standing on
+the ground about his feet. I took his knife, cut away his trowsers and
+stockings, and found the blood came from a shot hole through and through
+the fleshy part of the leg. I looked about and could see nothing that
+looked as if it would do for dressing wounds but some heart-leaves. I
+gathered a handful and bound them tight to the holes; and the bleeding
+stopped. I then went to the others; and--Doctor! I dressed the wounds of
+many a brave fellow who did good fighting long after that day! I had not
+inquired for my husband; but while I was busy Caswell came up. He
+appeared very much surprised to see me; and was with his hat in hand
+about to pay some compliment: but I interrupted him by asking--'Where is
+my husband?'
+
+"'Where he ought to be, madam; in pursuit of the enemy. But pray,' said
+he, 'how came you here?'
+
+"'Oh, I thought,' replied I, 'you would need nurses as well as soldiers.
+See! I have already dressed many of these good fellows; and here is
+one'--going to Frank and lifting him up with my arm under his head so
+that he could drink some more water--'would have died before any of you
+men could have helped him.'
+
+"'I believe you,' said Frank. Just then I looked up, and my husband, as
+bloody as a butcher, and as muddy as a ditcher,[56] stood before me.
+
+  [56] It was his company that forded the creek, and, penetrating the
+  swamp, made the furious charge on the British left and rear which
+  decided the fate of the day.--[Mrs. Ellet.
+
+"'Why, Mary!' he exclaimed, 'What are you doing there? Hugging Frank
+Cogdell, the greatest reprobate in the army?'
+
+"'I don't care,' I cried. 'Frank is a brave fellow, a good soldier, and
+a true friend to Congress.'
+
+"'True, true! every word of it!' said Caswell. 'You are right, madam,'
+with the lowest possible bow.
+
+"I would not tell my husband what brought me there. I was so happy; and
+so were all! It was a glorious victory; I came just at the height of the
+enjoyment. I knew my husband was surprised, but I could see he was not
+displeased with me. It was night again before our excitement had at all
+subsided. Many prisoners were brought in, and among them some very
+obnoxious; but the worst of the tories were not taken prisoners. They
+were, for the most part, left in the woods and swamps wherever they were
+overtaken. I begged for some of the poor prisoners, and Caswell readily
+told me none should be hurt but such as had been guilty of murder and
+house-burning. In the middle of the night I again mounted my mare and
+started for home. Caswell and my husband wanted me to stay till next
+morning, and they would send a party with me; but no! I wanted to see
+my child, and I told them they could send no party who could keep up
+with me. What a happy ride I had back! and with what joy did I embrace
+my child as he ran to meet me!"[57]
+
+  [57] Mrs. Slocumb was a dignified and generous matron, a kind and
+  liberal neighbor, and a Christian of indomitable fortitude and
+  inexhaustible patience. After four or five years' extreme bodily
+  suffering, resulting from a complication of diseases, she died, on the
+  sixth of March, 1836, aged seventy-six years.
+
+
+
+
+CAPTAIN RICHARDSON SAVED BY HIS WIFE.
+
+  Love, lend me wings to make this purpose swift,
+  As thou hast lent me wit to plot this drift.
+
+                                          SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+During the struggle for Independence, Captain Richardson, of Sumter
+district, South Carolina, was obliged to conceal himself for a while in
+the thickets of the Santee swamp. One day he ventured to visit his
+family--a perilous movement, for the British had offered rewards for his
+apprehension, and patrolling parties were almost constantly in search of
+him.--Before his visit was ended, a small band of soldiers presented
+themselves in front of the house. Just as they were entering, with a
+great deal of composure and presence of mind, Mrs. Richardson appeared
+at the door, and found so much to do there at the moment, as to find it
+inconvenient to make room for the uninvited guests to enter. She was so
+calm, and appeared so unconcerned, that they did not mistrust the cause
+of her wonderful diligence, till her husband had rushed out of the back
+door and safely reached the neighboring swamp.
+
+
+
+
+STRIKING INSTANCE OF PATIENCE.
+
+  Patience and resignation are the pillars
+  Of human peace on earth.
+
+                                            YOUNG.
+
+
+The panegyric of Decker on patience is beautiful:
+
+  Patience, my lord! why 'tis the soul of peace:
+  Of all the virtues 'tis the nearest kin to heaven;
+  It makes men look like gods.
+
+Not every Christian sufferer wears this garment in its celestial
+whiteness, as did the God-man, whom the same writer calls
+
+                    "the best of men
+  That e'er wore earth about him."
+
+One of the most patient beings in modern times was Miss Sarah Parbeck,
+of Salem, Massachusetts. A lady who visited her in 1845, gives the
+following account of the interview:
+
+The door was opened by a very old lady, wrinkled and bowed down with
+age, who invited us to enter. The room was so dark, that, before my eyes
+were accommodated to the change, I could only see a figure dressed in
+white, sitting upon the bed and rocking to and fro. This motion was
+attended by a sound like the click of wooden machinery, which arose, as
+I afterwards discovered, from the bones, as they worked in their
+loosened sockets. As we approached, she extended her hand to my
+companion, and said, in a painful but affectionate voice, "Eliza, I am
+very glad to see thee;" and then asked my name and place of residence.
+She had just given me her hand, when a spasm seized her, and it was
+twitched suddenly from my grasp. It flew some four or five times with
+the greatest violence against her face, and then, with a sound, which I
+can only compare to that made by a child who has been sobbing a long
+time, in catching its breath, she threw up both her arms, and with a
+deep guttural groan was flung back upon her pillow, with a force
+inconceivable to one who has not witnessed it. The instant she touched
+the bed, she uttered that piercing shriek again, and sprung back to her
+former position, rocking to and fro, with those quick, heart-rending
+groans which I had heard while standing at the door. It was several
+minutes before she could speak, and then there was none to answer her.
+Both my companion and myself were choked with tears. Her poor mother
+went to the other side of the bed, and smoothed the coverlid, and
+re-arranged the pillows, looking sadly upon her poor child, writhing in
+torture which she could not alleviate. I became faint, and trembled with
+sudden weakness: a cold perspiration stood upon my face. The objects in
+the room began to swim about me, and I was obliged to take hold of the
+bedside for support. I have been in our largest hospitals, and have
+spent hours in going from room to room with the attending physician. I
+have witnessed there almost every form of human suffering, but I had
+never beheld any thing to be compared to that now before me. She
+afterwards told me, as if in apology for her screams, that when she was
+hurled back upon her pillow, both shoulders were dislocated, and as they
+sprung back into their sockets, the pain was far beyond endurance, and
+extorted from her these shrieks.
+
+Her sentences were broken, uttered with much difficulty, and frequently
+interrupted by the terrible spasm I have described above. Yet this was
+her "quiet" state; this the time when she suffered _least_. Day after
+day, night after night, _fourteen weary years_ have dragged themselves
+along, whilst her poor body has been thus racked. No relief; no hope of
+relief, except that which death shall give. When I asked her if her
+affliction did not at times seem greater than she could bear, "O!
+never," she replied. "I cannot thank God enough for having laid his
+heavy hand upon me. I was a thoughtless sinner, and had he not, in his
+mercy, afflicted me, I should probably have lost my immortal soul. I see
+only his kindness and love. The sweet communion I have with my Saviour
+more than compensates me for all I suffer. I am permitted to feel, in a
+measure, in my poor body, what he suffered to save me, and my soul can
+never grow weary in his praise." This last sentence, I must say, gave me
+an argument which put doubts of the verity and power of religion to
+flight more effectually than all the evidences which the wisdom of man
+has arrayed against the skeptic; and I could not but exclaim, "If this
+be delusion let me be deluded!"
+
+She spoke in the most tender terms of her Saviour's love. Her
+conversation was in heaven, from whence also she looked for her Saviour,
+knowing that he should change her body of humiliation, and fashion it
+like unto his glorious body. I shall never forget the tones and language
+in which she entreated my sobbing companion to give that Saviour her
+heart. As she recovered from a spasm, I said to her, "do you not often
+desire to depart, and be with the Saviour you love so fervently?" She
+had hardly recovered her exhausted breath, but replied with great
+decision, "By the grace of God, _I have never had that wish_. Though
+death will be a welcome gift when my Father sees fit to bestow it upon
+me, yet, thanks to his supporting grace, I can wait his time without
+impatience. He sees that there is much dross to refine away, and why
+should I wish against his will?"
+
+I remained by her side for more than an hour; such, however, were the
+attractions of her discourse, that I was unconscious of the time. I know
+not when I have been so drawn towards a fellow Christian, and never had
+I been led to such delightful contemplations of our Saviour's
+character--his faithfulness and love. I remarked to her, as I turned to
+go away, "God has made you a powerful preacher, here upon your bed of
+pain." "O," she replied, "if he will make me the instrument of saving
+but a single soul, I am willing to live and suffer here until my hair is
+gray with age." I noticed some bottles standing upon a small table, and
+asked her if she found any relief from opiates. "Through God's
+kindness," she answered, "I probably owe the preservation of my life
+thus far to an extract made from blackdrop." "Does it enable you to
+sleep?" "O no," she replied, "I have not known sleep for a very long
+time." "What!" I cried, "do you never rest?" A severe spasm here seized
+her, and it was some time before she could answer me; she had been
+attacked in this way some twelve or fifteen times whilst conversing with
+us, and frequently in the midst of a reply. When she recovered, she said
+the physicians thought she obtained rest in her "long spasm," which
+lasted for more than an hour. "During that time," she continued, "I am
+dead to every thing but a sense of the most extreme anguish. I see and
+hear nothing; I only feel as though I was being crushed in pieces by
+some immense weight." This was her rest! the rack! Yet, through all this
+suffering, the smiles of God penetrated to her heart. She sees him just,
+and acknowledges his love.
+
+
+
+
+SUSANNAH ELLIOTT.
+
+  ----The painted folds thus fly,
+  And lift their emblems, printed high
+  On morning mist and sunset sky.
+
+                                                HOLMES.
+
+  She showed that her soft sex contains strong mind.
+
+                                         SIR W. DAVENANT.
+
+
+Susannah Smith, afterwards the wife of Colonel Barnard Elliott, was a
+native of South Carolina. Ramsay, in his history of that state, and
+other authors, give a glowing account of her presentation of a pair of
+colors to the second South Carolina regiment of infantry, commanded by
+Col. Moultrie. The ceremony took place on the twenty-eighth of June,
+'76, two or three days after the attack on Fort Moultrie, Sullivan's
+island. The colors, which were embroidered by her own hand, were
+presented in these words: "Your gallant behavior in defence of liberty
+and your country, entitles you to the highest honors: accept these two
+standards as a reward justly due to your regiment; and I make not the
+least doubt, under Heaven's protection, you will stand by them as long
+as they can wave in the air of liberty."
+
+Mrs. Elliott had a plantation called "The Hut," and while there she once
+had three American gentlemen as guests. These she was obliged to hurry
+into a closet one day, on the sudden approach of the enemy; and, opening
+a secret door, she showed them a narrow apartment back of the chimney,
+which she had contrived expressly for a hiding place. Two of the guests
+entered, and were saved, while the third, attempting to flee on
+horse-back, was overtaken and slain.
+
+After the British had thoroughly, though ineffectually, searched the
+house, and failed, by many threats, to persuade the mistress to disclose
+the hiding place of the others, they demanded her silver. Pointing to
+some mounds of earth near by, as they made the demand, they asked if the
+plate was not buried there.[58] She told them, in reply, that those
+mounds were the graves of British soldiers who had died under her roof.
+The officers did not believe her, and made two of the soldiers dig till
+they came to one of the coffins, which was opened and which verified her
+assertion. The enemy then departed, when the two guests came forth,
+filled with gratitude to their kind and ingenious hostess for the free
+use of this singular apartment.
+
+  [58] The silver was buried in a trunk, and remained in a marshy bed till
+  the close of the war. When disinterred, it had turned black.
+
+
+
+
+ANECDOTES OF ANNA ELLIOTT.
+
+  "The spark of noble courage now awake,
+  And strive your excellent self to excel."
+
+
+The wife of Charles Elliott, of Charleston, South Carolina, was one of
+those dames of Seventy-six who "appeared to concentrate every thought
+and every hour of existence to the interests of America." She cheered
+the prisoner, befriended the unjustly persecuted, comforted the sick,
+fed the hungry, and was humane alike to enemies and friends. Major
+Garden has paid her the following compliment: "I do not know an officer
+who did not owe to her some essential increase of comfort."
+
+A British officer, whose cruel and persecuting disposition was well
+known to Mrs. Elliott, was walking with her in a flower garden one day,
+when, pointing to the chamomile he asked, "What is this, madam?" She at
+once replied, "The rebel flower." "And why," asked he, "is it called the
+rebel flower?" "Because," answered she, "it always flourishes most when
+trampled upon."
+
+At another time, while an officer of the royal army was in her house at
+Charleston, a French officer, belonging to Pulaski's legion, passed;
+and pointing to him, he vociferated, "There, Mrs. Elliott, is one of
+your illustrious allies. What a pity the hero is minus his _sword_." The
+spirit of the woman was roused, and she replied, "Had two thousand such
+men been here to aid in the defence of our city, I should not at this
+moment, sir, have been subjected to the insolence of your observation."
+
+When her father, the brave and zealous patriot, Thomas Ferguson, was put
+on board a transport ship at Charleston, preparatory to exile, she
+hastened from the country, where she chanced to be, and begged
+permission to receive his parting blessing. Her request being granted,
+she went on board the ship. Just as she entered the cabin, she was
+overcome with grief, and fainted. When recovered, she addressed her
+father as follows: "Let not oppression shake your fortitude, nor the
+hope of gentler treatment cause you for a moment to swerve from strict
+duty. Better times are in store for us: the bravery of the Americans,
+and the friendly aid of France, will achieve the deliverance of our
+country from oppression. We shall meet again, my father, and meet with
+joy."[59]
+
+  [59] A similar spirit was exhibited by the wife of Isaac Holmes, one of
+  the number who were sent into exile at St. Augustine. Just as the guard
+  were separating him from his family, she said to him, "Waver not in your
+  principles, but be true to your country. Have no fears for your family;
+  God is good, and will provide for them."
+
+
+
+
+PATRIOTIC STRATAGEM.
+
+  What bosom beats not in its country's cause?
+
+                                              POPE.
+
+
+While the Legislature of Virginia was in session at Charlottesville,
+Colonel Tarleton, with his famous band of cavalry, made a secret march
+to that place, in order to capture the Governor and some public stores
+there collected. Several of the Assembly-men were at the house of
+Colonel John Walker, a dozen miles distant, and directly on Tarleton's
+route. Colonel Walker was absent on duty in the lower part of the state.
+Tarleton came suddenly up to the door, and succeeded in making one or
+two prisoners, the other members fleeing to town. He then ordered
+breakfast for himself and his whole corps, which the shrewd lady of the
+house prepared in the slowest manner possible. This she did in order
+that the members who had fled to the capital, might attend to the
+removal or concealment of the stores, in the preservation of which she
+was deeply interested. Her stratagem succeeded; and, after tarrying a
+day or two at Charlottesville, Tarleton went empty away.
+
+
+
+
+INFLUENCE OF A FAITHFUL TEACHER.
+
+  Spread out earth's holiest records here.
+
+                                      SPRAGUE.
+
+
+"About the first of September, 1833, a deep and solemn interest upon the
+subject of religion, began to be visible in the Presbyterian church and
+congregation of Washingtonville, New York, and particularly in the
+Sabbath school. One teacher, feeling deeply the responsibility resting
+upon her, and the worth of immortal souls, before the school was
+dismissed on the Lord's day, affectionately requested her class,
+consisting of little girls about twelve or thirteen years of age, to
+remain after the rest of the school had retired. She then began, with an
+aching heart and with flowing tears, to reason and plead with them upon
+the subject of personal religion. They were deeply affected, and 'wept
+bitterly' in view of their lost condition. They then all knelt together
+before the Lord, and the teacher prayed for their salvation; and
+immediately the scholar next to her commenced praying for herself, and
+then the next, and so on, until the whole class, with ardent
+supplications, begged for the forgiveness of their sins, and the
+salvation of their souls. It would take long to tell the history of this
+class, and relate particular instances of conversions, and the happy
+changes which took place in the families to which they belonged, and
+show the family altars which were established. These scholars, with
+their teacher and their fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, were
+ere long seen commemorating a Saviour's dying love together. The revival
+extended itself to other towns, and the great day can alone unfold the
+astonishing results."
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF THOMAS HEYWARD.
+
+  What I will, I will, and there's an end.
+
+                                     SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Immediately after the victory of the British at Guilford, order was
+given for the illumination of Charleston, South Carolina. This order,
+Major Garden informs us,[60] the wife of Thomas Heyward of that city
+refused to obey; and when an officer asked her the reason of her
+disobedience, she replied, "Is it possible for me, sir, to feel a spark
+of joy? Can I celebrate the victory of your army while my husband
+remains a prisoner at St. Augustine?" Enraged at her obstinacy, he told
+her she _should_ illuminate. "Not a single light shall be placed, with
+my consent, on any occasion, in any window in the house," was her
+fearless reply. He then threatened to destroy her house before midnight.
+"You have power to destroy, sir," she said, "and seem well disposed to
+use it, but over my opinions you possess no control. I disregard your
+menaces, and resolutely declare, _I will not illuminate_!" As good as
+her word, she _did_ not, nor was her house destroyed.
+
+  [60] Revolutionary Anecdotes, First Series
+
+Orders were given, at another time, for an illumination on the
+anniversary of the battle and surrender of Charleston,[61] and Mrs.
+Heyward again refused to obey. The mob was so indignant as to pelt her
+house with brickbats; and while engaged in the mean act, a feeble and
+emaciated sister of Mrs. Heyward--Mrs. George A. Hall--expired! When the
+town major heard of this painful circumstance, he tried to apologize to
+Mrs. Heyward, expressing regret for the indignities and damages, and
+offering to repair the building. She received his personal courtesies,
+but refused his proffered aid in making repairs, hinting, at the same
+time, that it was hardly possible for the authorities, in that way, to
+remedy insults the offering of which their baseness had probably
+prompted and and which they could and _should_ have prevented.
+
+  [61] May twelfth, 1781.
+
+
+
+
+NOBLE DECISION.
+
+  We are born to do benefits.
+
+                          SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+When the news was received in Illinois, a few years ago, that, owing to
+a deficiency of funds, the Ceylon missionaries had been obliged to
+dismiss thousands of pupils from their schools, and that twenty-five
+dollars would revive any one of them, a minister of that state laid the
+subject before his small and poor church, and between pastor and people
+twenty-five dollars were promptly raised. Going home and communicating
+the intelligence to his wife, the minister learned that she had been
+weighing the subject, and was anxious, in some way, to raise enough
+herself alone to resuscitate a school. Her husband told her she could do
+it by dispensing with a tomb stone which had been ordered from New York
+for a child lately deceased, and which would cost twenty-five dollars.
+She promptly consented to have the order countermanded, saying that
+"living children demanded her money more than the one that was dead." By
+suffering the love of Christ to triumph over maternal feeling, she
+re-opened a mission school, and the day of judgment will reveal the
+great amount of good thereby accomplished.
+
+
+
+
+A TENNESSEE HEROINE.
+
+                          It is held
+  That valor is the chiefest virtue;
+  Most dignifies the haver: if it be,
+  The man I speak of cannot in the world
+  Be singly counterpoised.
+
+                                  SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Milton A. Haynes, Esq., of Tennessee, furnished for Mrs. Ellet's Women
+of the Revolution a lengthy and very interesting sketch of Sarah
+Buchanan, of East Tennessee. The following anecdotes, extracted
+therefrom, exhibit the heroism of her character:
+
+On one occasion, Sarah and a kinswoman named Susan Everett were
+returning home from a visit a mile or two distant, careless of danger,
+or not thinking of its presence. It was late in the evening, and they
+were riding along a path through the open woods, Miss Everett in
+advance. Suddenly she stopped her horse, exclaiming, "Look, Sally,
+yonder are the red skins!" Not more than a hundred yards ahead was a
+party of Indians armed with rifles, directly in their path. There was no
+time for counsel, and retreat was impossible, as the Indians might
+easily intercept them before they could gain a fort in their rear. To
+reach their own block-house, four or five hundred yards distant, was
+their only hope of safety. Quick as thought, Sarah whispered to her
+companion to follow and do as she did, and then instantly assuming the
+position of a man on horseback, in which she was imitated by her
+relative, she urged her horse into a headlong gallop. Waving their
+bonnets in the air, and yelling like madmen, they came furiously down
+upon the savages, who had not seen them, crying out as they came--"Clear
+the track, you ---- red skins!" The part was so well acted, that the
+Indians took them for the head of a body of troopers, who were making a
+deadly charge upon them, and dodging out of the path, fled for very
+life--and so did Sally and Susan! Before the savages had recovered from
+their fright, the two girls were safe within the gates of the fort,
+trembling like frightened fawns at the narrow escape which they had
+made.
+
+On another occasion, when her husband and all the men of the fort were
+absent, two celebrated horse-thieves, who had taken refuge with the
+Indians, came and demanded of Mrs. Buchanan two of the Major's fine
+horses. Knowing their lawless character, she pretended acquiescence, and
+went with them to the stable, but on arriving at the door she suddenly
+drew a large hunting knife from under her apron, and assuming an
+attitude of defiance, declared that if either of them dared to enter the
+stable, she would instantly cut him down. Struck by her intrepid
+bearing, they fell back, and although they tried to overcome her
+resolution by threats and bravado, she maintained her ground, and the
+marauders were compelled to retire without the horses.
+
+On Sunday night,[62] about the hour of midnight, while the moon was
+shining brilliantly, the Indian army under Watts and the Shawnee,
+advancing in silence, surrounded Buchanan's station. In order to effect
+an entrance into the fort by a _coup de main_, they sent runners to
+frighten and drive in the horses and cattle. This was done, and the
+animals came dashing furiously towards the fort; but the garrison,
+wrapped in slumber, heeded them not. The watchman, John McCrory, at this
+instant discovering the savages advancing within fifty yards of the
+gates, fired upon them. In an instant the mingled yells of the savage
+columns, the crack of their rifles, and the clatter of their hatchets,
+as they attempted to cut down the gate, told the little squad of
+nineteen men and seven women that the fearful war-cloud, which had been
+rising so long, was about to burst upon their devoted heads!
+
+  [62] In the autumn of 1792, while the war with the Creeks and Cherokees
+  was raging in the Cumberland valley.
+
+Aroused suddenly from deep slumber by the terrible war-whoop, every man
+and woman felt the horror of their situation. The first impulse with
+some was to surrender, and it is related of one woman that she instantly
+gathered her five children and attempted to go with them to the gate to
+yield themselves to the Indians. Mrs. Buchanan seized her by the
+shoulder, and asked her where she was going.
+
+"To surrender myself and children to the Indians--if I don't they'll
+kill us, any how," exclaimed the terrified woman. "Come back," said Mrs.
+Buchanan, "and let us all fight and die together." An old man, who waked
+up as it were in a dream, seemed paralyzed, and exclaimed, in a
+plaintive voice--"Oh, we shall all be murdered!"
+
+"Get up then and go to fighting!" exclaimed Mrs. Buchanan; "I'd be
+ashamed to sit crouched up there when any one else is fighting. Better
+die nobly than live shamefully!"
+
+In the mean time Major Buchanan had arranged his men in the block-houses
+so as to rake the Indians by a flank fire, and was pouring a galling
+fire into the head of the assaulting column. Yet, nothing dismayed, the
+daring foe crowded against the gates, their blows falling faster and
+heavier, while now and then they attempted to scale the pickets. At
+length, unable to do this or to force open the well-barred and ponderous
+gate, the bold warriors advanced to the block-houses, and standing
+before them, pointed their guns in at the port holes; both sides
+sometimes at the same instant firing through the same opening. It was
+the policy of Major Buchanan to impress upon them the idea that the fort
+contained a large garrison. To do this it was necessary for his men to
+fire their guns often, and occasionally in volleys. At this crisis the
+whisper went round--"All is lost. Our bullets are out!" But there were
+guardian angels whom these brave men knew not of. Scarcely had the words
+been spoken, when Mrs. Buchanan passed around with an apronful of
+bullets, which she and Nancy Mulherrin, the Major's sister, had moulded,
+during the fight, out of her plates and spoons. At the same time she
+gave to each of the tired soldiers some brandy which she carried in a
+pewter basin. During the contest they had thus moulded three hundred
+bullets. Not without their fun were these hardy men in this hour of
+peril. In order to keep up a show of good spirits, they frequently cried
+out to the Indians, "Shoot bullets, you squaws! Why don't you put powder
+in your guns?" This was understood, for Watts and many others spoke very
+good English, and they replied by daring them to come out and fight like
+men. In the midst of these banterings, Mrs. Buchanan discovered a large
+blunderbuss which had been standing in a corner during the fight and had
+not been discharged, and gave it to an Irishman named O'Connor to fire
+off. In telling the story afterwards the Irish man said: An' she gave me
+the wide-mouthed fusee and bade me to shoot that at the blasted
+creeters, and Jimmy O'Connor he took the fusee, and he pulled the
+trigger when the rest fired, for three or four times, and loaded her
+again every time, and so ye see, yer honor, when I pulled the trigger
+again, the fusee went off, it did, and Jimmy O'Connor went under the
+bed. This unequal contest lasted for four long hours, and when the first
+blush of morning began to appear in the east, most of the chiefs were
+killed or wounded. The boastful Shawnee was transfixed in death, leaning
+against the gate which he had so valorously assaulted; the White Owl's
+son and Unacate, or the White-man-killer, were mortally wounded, and
+John Watts was borne off on a litter, shot through both legs.
+
+During this protracted fight Mrs. Buchanan aided the defenders by words
+and deeds, as if life or death depended upon the efforts which she was
+then making. She knew, and all knew, that if the assault could be
+repelled for four hours, relief would come from the neighboring posts.
+Foiled, discouraged, their leaders disabled, this formidable army of
+savage warriors precipitately retreated towards their country, bearing
+off most of their wounded, yet leaving many dead upon the field. This
+was the first formidable invasion of Cumberland valley, and its tide was
+rolled back as much by the presence of mind and heroic firmness of Sarah
+Buchanan and Nancy Mulherrin, as by the rifles of their husbands and
+friends. The fame of this gallant defence went abroad, and the young
+wife of Major Buchanan was celebrated as the greatest heroine of the
+West. From 1780 to 1796, there was not a year in which her family had
+not been exposed to peril, in which, of course, she was a partaker.[63]
+
+  [63] This heroic woman died at Buchanan's Station, on the twenty-third
+  of November, 1831. She sleeps on the site of the old fort that witnessed
+  her bravery; and Carcas, queen of Carcassone, who defended that city
+  with such courage and resolution, when it was besieged by Charlemagne,
+  that the Emperor permitted her to retain the sovereignty of the place,
+  has scarcely higher claims to historical commemoration.
+
+AUTHOR.
+
+
+
+
+MAGNANIMITY OF MRS. M'KAY.
+
+  Greatness of mind, and nobleness, their seat
+  In her build loveliest.
+
+                                           MILTON.
+
+
+"In the beginning of June, 1781, the British garrison at Augusta,
+Georgia, capitulated to the American forces, under command of General
+Pickens and Colonel Lee, of the partizan legion. Colonel Grierson, who
+was obnoxious to the Americans on account of his barbarities, was shot
+down by an unknown hand, after he was a prisoner. A reward of one
+hundred guineas was offered to any person who would point out the
+offender, but in vain. Colonel Brown, the British commander, expecting
+the same fate, conscious that he deserved it, from his unrelenting and
+vindictive disposition towards the Americans, was furnished with a
+guard, although he had hanged thirteen American prisoners, and had given
+others into the hands of the Indians to be tortured. On his way to
+Savannah, he passed through the settlements where he had burned a number
+of houses, and hung some of the relatives of the inhabitants. At
+Silverbluff, Mrs. M'Kay obtained leave of the American officer, who
+commanded his safeguard, to speak to him; when she thus addressed
+him:--'Colonel Brown, in the late day of your prosperity, I visited your
+camp, and on my knees supplicated for the life of my only son, but you
+were deaf to my entreaties; you hanged him, though a beardless youth,
+before my face. These eyes have seen him scalped by the savages under
+your immediate command, and for no better reason than that his name was
+M'Kay. As you are now a prisoner to the leaders of my country, for the
+present I lay aside all thoughts of revenge, but when you resume your
+sword, I will go five hundred miles to demand satisfaction at the point
+of it, for the murder of my son!'"
+
+  [Illustration: THE GENEROUS DENTIST.]
+
+
+
+
+HEROIC CONDUCT OF A DAUGHTER.
+
+  Fair was her face, and spotless was her mind,
+  Where filial love with virgin sweetness joined.
+
+                                               POPE.
+
+
+Xantippe, a Roman lady, who nursed her father, the aged Cimonus, while
+he was a prisoner, and thereby saved his life, rendered herself immortal
+by this manifestation of filial affection. But the "Roman Charity" is
+not comparable to the following extraordinary deed of filial sacrifice.
+
+The winter of 1783 was unusually severe, and the sufferings of the poor
+in the city of New York were very great. One family, consisting of the
+husband, wife and one daughter, were, on one occasion, reduced to the
+last stick of wood, and were wholly destitute of provisions. The
+daughter, who had thus far supported her aged and infirm parents by her
+industry, was out of work, and knew not what to do. At this juncture of
+affairs, she recollected that a dentist had advertised for sound
+fore-teeth, and offered three guineas a piece for all he was himself
+permitted to extract. In the midst of her grief, the generous girl
+suddenly brightened up, and hastened to the dentist's office. She
+made known the condition of her parents, and offered to dispose of all
+her fore-teeth on his terms. The dentist, instead of extracting a tooth,
+with tears in his eyes, placed in her hands ten guineas, and sent her,
+rejoicing, to the relief of her parents.
+
+
+
+
+HEROIC DECISION.
+
+          No thought of flight,
+  None of retreat, no unbecoming deed
+  That argued fear.
+
+                                   MILTON.
+
+
+We have elsewhere in this work spoken of the perils necessary to be
+encountered by Christian missionaries, and particularly those who
+connect themselves with stations in Africa. The history of the Methodist
+Episcopal mission in that quarter of the globe, presents a noble, if not
+a long, list of soldiers who early fell there while contending with
+Error. They sank upon the battle field, with their armor on and covered
+with glory. They fell not before the hosts of paganism; they were
+conquered by the climate. Most of those who have not died on the field,
+have been obliged to shortly flee to their native land for the
+restoration of health. Here and there one has withstood the adverse
+nature of the climate, toiled for years, and done a noble work, which
+has caused rejoicing in Heaven and honored the name of Christ on earth.
+
+Few persons, whose names are connected with the history of modern
+missions, have displayed a more devoted, self-sacrificing spirit, or
+greater moral courage, than Miss Sophronia Farrington. Prior to the
+autumn of 1834, of six missionaries who had entered the field in Africa
+under the patronage of American Methodists, three[64] were in their
+graves, and two[65] had returned to the United States for health. Miss
+Farrington stood alone, and the question arose, what she should do. The
+officers of the Missionary Society were willing she should return home,
+and her friends were urging it upon her. With her co-laborers all dead
+or fled, she seemed herself to be left to the alternative either to flee
+or fall. Should she choose the former course, the mission would be
+wholly, and, for ought she knew, for ever, abandoned. What then should
+she do? Like a hero, to use her own words, she had "offered her soul
+upon the altar of her God, for the salvation of that long benighted
+continent," and with courage that shames the facer of the cannon's
+mouth, she resolved to remain and toil alone, beside the graves of her
+fallen companions till more help should come or the Divine Husbandman
+close the labors of the lone vine-dresser. More help arrived in a few
+months, and, according to the annual report of 1836, the mission, of
+whose history she formed at one time the connecting link, "continued to
+loom up in bright perspective, and promise a rich reward for all the
+labors and sufferings of the faithful missionaries."
+
+  [64] Rev. M. B. Cox and Rev. O. S. Wright and wife.
+
+  [65] Rev. Mr. Spaulding and lady.
+
+
+
+
+THE DAUGHTER OF AARON BURR.
+
+  'Tis thine on every heart to 'grave thy praise,
+  A monument which Worth alone can raise.
+
+                                              BROOME.
+
+
+Theodosia, the only daughter of Aaron Burr, was a woman of superior
+mental accomplishments, and very strong affections. She was married to
+Joseph Alston, Esq., afterwards Governor of South Carolina, in 1801. She
+was then in her eighteenth year. That she was an excellent wife may be
+gathered, not merely from the story of her life, but from the testimony
+of her husband. Writing to her father in 1813--soon after her death--he
+says, "The man who has been deemed worthy of the heart of Theodosia
+Burr, and has felt what it was to be blest with such a woman's, will
+never forget his elevation."[66]
+
+  [66] Memoirs of Aaron Burr, by Matthew L. Davis, vol. 2, p. 432.
+
+In regard to her attachment to her father, a writer, quoted in the
+appendix to Safford's Life of Blennerhassett, remarks as follows: "Her
+love for her father partook of the purity of a better world; holy, deep,
+unchanging; it reminds us of the affection which a celestial spirit
+might be supposed to entertain for a parent cast down from heaven, for
+sharing in the sin of the 'Son of the Morning.' No sooner did she hear
+of the arrest of her father, than she fled to his side.[67] There is
+nothing in human history more touching than the hurried letters, blotted
+with tears, in which she announced her daily progress to Richmond; for
+she was too weak to travel with the rapidity of the mail."
+
+  [67] He was imprisoned in Richmond, Virginia.--AUTHOR.
+
+Had her health permitted, and occasion presented itself, she would have
+matched in heroism any act in the life of Margaret Roper or Elizabeth
+Cazotte.[68]
+
+  [68] Mrs. Roper accompanied her father, Sir Thomas More, to prison, and
+  after he was executed and his head had lain fourteen days on London
+  Bridge, she purchased it, and thus saved it from being thrown into the
+  Thames. For this intrepidity, by the king's orders she was cast into
+  prison--though she was soon permitted to escape.
+
+  Mademoiselle Cazotte was the daughter of an aged Frenchman, who, on one
+  occasion, during the Revolution in his country, would have lost his life
+  but for her courage. He was a "counter-revolutionist," and after an
+  imprisonment, during which his daughter chose to be immured with him, on
+  the second day of September, he was about to be slain. An axe was raised
+  over his head, when Elizabeth threw herself upon him, and exclaimed,
+  "Strike, barbarians; you cannot reach my father but through my heart."
+  She did other heroic deeds.
+
+The trial of her father for treason, and his virtual banishment, not
+only depressed her spirits, but fearfully racked her already feeble
+constitution, yet his disgrace abated not a tittle the ardor of her
+affection; and when he returned from Europe, though in feeble health,
+she resolved to visit him in the city of New York. She was then in South
+Carolina. Embarking in the privateer Patriot, on the thirteenth of
+January, 1813, she was never heard of afterwards. The schooner may have
+fallen into the hands of pirates; but, as a heavy gale was experienced
+for several days soon after leaving Georgetown, the probability is that
+the craft foundered. Thus closed a life to which the panegyrical
+exclamation of Milton happily applies:
+
+  O glorious trial of exceeding love
+  Illustrious evidence, example high.
+
+
+
+
+FEMALE INTREPIDITY.
+
+  Be not dismayed--fear nurses up a danger,
+  And resolution kills it in the birth.
+
+                                          PHILLIPS.
+
+
+During the war between the Indians and Kentuckians, while the owner of a
+plantation in a thinly settled part of the state, was at work with his
+slaves in the field, a sable sentinel, who was posted near the house,
+saw a party of savages approaching. One of them was more fleet than he,
+and reaching the house at the same moment, they rushed within doors
+together. The planter's wife instantly closed the door and the negro and
+Indian grappled. The former was the stronger of the two, though the
+latter was the more expert. After a hard struggle, the negro threw the
+Indian, and held him fast until the woman beheaded him with a broad-axe.
+The negro then seized the guns, and began to fire at the other Indians
+through the loop-holes. The guns were loaded by the woman as fast as
+discharged. Their frequent report soon brought the laborers from the
+field, and the surviving Indians were driven away.
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF RICHARD SHUBRICK.
+
+                                  Be fire with fire;
+  Threaten the threatener, and out face the brow
+  Of bragging horror: so shall inferior eyes,
+  That borrow their behavior from the great,
+  Grow great by your example.
+
+                                             SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+The following anecdotes of Mrs. Richard Shubrick may be found in the
+First Series of Major Garden's Revolutionary Anecdotes. "There was," he
+writes, "an appearance of personal debility about her that rendered her
+peculiarly interesting: it seemed to solicit the interest of every
+heart, and the man would have felt himself degraded who would not have
+put his life at hazard to serve her. Yet, when firmness of character was
+requisite, when fortitude was called for to repel the encroachments of
+aggression, there was not a more intrepid being in existence.
+
+"An American soldier, flying from a party of the enemy, sought her
+protection, and was promised it. The British, pressing close upon him,
+insisted that he should be delivered up, threatening immediate and
+universal destruction in case of refusal. The ladies, her friends and
+companions, who were in the house with her, shrunk from the contest,
+and were silent; but, undaunted by their threats, this intrepid lady
+placed herself before the chamber into which the unfortunate fugitive
+had been conducted, and resolutely said, 'To men of honor the chamber of
+a lady should be as sacred as the sanctuary! I will defend the passage
+to it though I perish. You may succeed, and enter it, but it shall be
+over my corpse.' 'By God,' said the officer, 'if muskets were only
+placed in the hands of a few such women, our only safety would be found
+in retreat. Your intrepidity, madam, gives you security; from me you
+shall meet no further annoyance.'
+
+"At Brabant, the seat of the respectable and patriotic Bishop Smith, a
+sergeant of Tarleton's dragoons, eager for the acquisition of plunder,
+followed the overseer, a man advanced in years, into the apartment where
+the ladies of the family were assembled, and on his refusing to discover
+the spot in which the plate was concealed, struck him with violence,
+inflicting a severe sabre wound across the shoulders. Aroused by the
+infamy of the act, Mrs. Shubrick, starting from her seat, and placing
+herself betwixt the ruffian and his victim, resolutely said, 'Place
+yourself behind me, Murdoch; the interposition of my body shall give you
+protection, or I will die:' then, addressing herself to the sergeant,
+exclaimed, 'O what a degradation of manhood--what departure from that
+gallantry which was once the characteristic of British soldiers. Human
+nature is degraded by your barbarity;--but should you persist, then
+strike at _me_, for till I die, no further injury shall be done to
+_him_.' The sergeant, unable to resist such commanding eloquence,
+retired."[69]
+
+  [69] "The hope, however, of attaining the object in view, very speedily
+  subjected the unfortunate Murdoch to new persecution. He was tied up
+  under the very tree where the plate was buried, and threatened with
+  immediate execution unless he would make the discovery required. But
+  although well acquainted with the unrelenting severity of his enemy, and
+  earnestly solicited by his wife, to save his life by a speedy confession
+  of the place of deposit, he persisted resolutely, that a sacred trust
+  was not to be betrayed, and actually succeeded in preserving it."
+
+
+
+
+KEEN RETORT OF MRS. ASHE.
+
+  I have a thousand spirits in one breast,
+  To answer twenty thousand such as you.
+
+                                        SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+While General Leslie was staying with the British troops at Halifax,
+North Carolina, Colonel Tarleton and other officers held their quarters
+at the house of Colonel Ashe, whose wife was a firm friend of liberty.
+Her beau ideal of the hero was Colonel William Washington; and, knowing
+this fact, the sarcastic Tarleton took great delight in speaking
+diminutively of this officer in her presence. In his jesting way, he
+remarked to her one time, that he should like to have an opportunity of
+seeing her friend, Colonel Washington, whom he had understood to be a
+very small man. Mrs. Ashe promptly replied, "If you had looked behind
+you, Colonel Tarleton, at the battle of the Cowpens, you would have had
+that pleasure."[70]
+
+  [70] It is said that this taunt was so keenly felt that Tarleton laid
+  his hand on the hilt of his sword. General Leslie entered the room at
+  the moment, and seeing the agitation of Mrs. Ashe, and learning its
+  cause, said to her, "Say what you please, Mrs. Ashe; Colonel Tarleton
+  knows better than to insult a lady in my presence."
+
+
+
+
+PHILANTHROPIC WIFE OF A DRUNKARD.
+
+  There's in you all that we believe of heaven.
+
+                                            OTWAY.
+
+
+"The amazing influence of one Christian, who shows in her life the
+spirit of Christ, is illustrated in a striking manner, in the life of a
+lady who died not long since, in one of the principal cities of the
+United States. I am not permitted to give her name, nor all the
+particulars of her life. But what I relate may be relied upon, not only
+as facts, but as far below the whole truth. She had been for a long time
+afflicted with a drunken husband. At length the sheriff came, and swept
+off all her property, not excepting her household furniture, to
+discharge his grog bills. At this distressing crisis, she retired to an
+upper room, laid her babe upon the bare floor, kneeled down over it, and
+offered up the following petition: "O Lord, if thou wilt _in any way_
+remove from me this affliction, I will serve thee _upon bread and
+water_, all the days of my life." The Lord took her at her word. Her
+besotted husband immediately disappeared, and was never heard of again
+till after her death. The church would now have maintained her, but she
+would not consent to become a charge to others. Although in feeble
+health, and afflicted with the sick headache, she opened a small school,
+from which she obtained a bare subsistence; though it was often no more
+than what was contained in the condition of her prayer--literally bread
+and water. She was a lady of pleasing address, and of a mild and gentle
+disposition. "In her lips was the law of kindness." Yet she possessed an
+energy of character and a spirit of perseverance, which the power of
+faith alone can impart. When she undertook any Christian enterprise, she
+was discouraged by no obstacles, and appalled by no difficulties. She
+resided in the most wicked and abandoned part of the city, which
+afforded a great field of labor. Her benevolent heart was pained at
+seeing the grog shops open upon the holy Sabbath. She undertook the
+difficult and almost hopeless task of closing these sinks of moral
+pollution upon the Lord's day, and succeeded. This was accomplished by
+the mild influence of persuasion, flowing from the lips of kindness, and
+clothed with that power which always accompanies the true spirit of the
+gospel. But she was not satisfied with seeing the front doors and
+windows of these houses closed. She would, therefore, upon the morning
+of the Sabbath, pass round, and enter these shops through the dwellings
+occupied by the families of the keepers, where she often found them
+engaged secretly in this wickedness. She would then remonstrate with
+them, until she persuaded them to abandon it, and attend public worship.
+In this manner, she abolished, almost entirety, the sale of liquors
+upon the Sabbath, in the worst part of the city.
+
+"She also looked after the poor, that the Gospel might be preached to
+them. She carried with her the number of those pews in the church which
+were unoccupied. And upon Sabbath mornings, she made it her business to
+go out in the streets and lanes of the city, and persuade the poor to
+come in and fill up these vacant seats. By her perseverance and energy,
+she would remove every objection, until she had brought them to the
+house of God. She was incessant and untiring in every effort for doing
+good. She would establish a Sabbath school, and superintend it until she
+saw it flourishing, and then deliver it into the hands of some suitable
+person, and go and establish another. She collected together a Bible
+class of apprentices, which she taught herself. Her pastor one day
+visited it, and found half of them in tears, under deep conviction. She
+was faithful to the church and to impenitent sinners. It was her
+habitual practice to reprove sin, and to warn sinners wherever she found
+them. At the time of her death, she had under her care a number of pious
+young men preparing for the ministry. These she had looked after, and
+brought out of obscurity. As soon as their piety had been sufficiently
+proved, she would bring them to the notice of her Christian friends. She
+persuaded pious teachers to give them gratuitous instruction, and pious
+booksellers to supply them with books. In the same way, she procured
+their board in the families of wealthy Christians; and she formed
+little societies of ladies, to supply them with clothing. There was
+probably no person in the city whose death would have occasioned the
+shedding of more tears, or called forth more sincere and heartfelt
+grief."[71]
+
+  [71] Practical Directory for Young Christian Females.
+
+
+
+
+THE MOTHER OF DR. DWIGHT.
+
+                                  Though renown
+  Plant laurels on the warrior's grave, and wreathe
+  With bays the slumbering bard--the mother's urn
+  Shall claim more dear memorials: gratitude
+  Shall there abide; affection, reverence, there
+  Shall oft revolve the precepts which now speak
+  With emphasis divine.
+
+                                             MRS. WEST.
+
+
+The mother of Timothy Dwight was a daughter of Jonathan Edwards, and
+seems to have inherited a large share of her father's talents and
+spiritual graces. Her powers of mind were unusually strong; her
+knowledge was extensive and varied, and her piety highly fervid. She
+married at an early age; became a mother when eighteen; had a large
+family; and, though never negligent of domestic duties, she daily and
+assiduously devoted herself to the education of her children. She began
+to instruct Timothy, it is said, "as soon as he was able to speak; and
+such was his eagerness, as well as his capacity for improvement, that he
+learned the alphabet at a single lesson; and before he was four years
+old, was able to read the Bible with ease and correctness.... She taught
+him from the very dawn of his reason to fear God and to keep his
+commandments; to be conscientiously just, kind, affectionate,
+charitable, and forgiving; to preserve, on all occasions, and under all
+circumstances, the most sacred regard for truth; and to relieve the
+distresses and supply the wants of the poor and unfortunate. She aimed,
+at a very early period, to enlighten his conscience, to make him afraid
+of sin, and to teach him to hope for pardon only through Christ. The
+impressions thus made upon his mind in infancy, were never effaced. A
+great proportion of the instruction which he received before he arrived
+at the age of six years, was at home with his mother. His school room
+was the nursery. Here he had his regular hours for study, as in a
+school; and twice every day she heard him repeat his lesson. Here, in
+addition to his stated task, he watched the cradle of his younger
+brother. When his lesson was recited, he was permitted to read such
+books as he chose, until the limited period was expired. During these
+intervals, he often read over the historical parts of the Bible, and
+gave an account of them to his mother. So deep and distinct was the
+impression which these narrations made upon his mind, that their
+minutest incidents were indelibly fixed upon his memory. His relish for
+reading was thus early formed, and was strengthened by the conversation
+and example of his mother. His early knowledge of the Bible led to that
+ready, accurate, and extensive acquaintance with Scripture, which is so
+evident in his sermons and other writings."[72]
+
+  [72] Mothers of the Wise and Good, p. 142
+
+It is easy to see, in this picture, who it was that laid the foundation
+of that character which sanctified genius, and caused it to shine with
+transcendent lustre, for more than twenty years, at the head of Yale
+college. The mother of President Dwight was well repaid, even in this
+life, for the pains she took to rear this son for the glory of God; for,
+while he never disobeyed a command of hers or omitted a filial duty, he
+was kind and generous to her in her old age, and smoothed her path to a
+Christian's grave. But her true and great reward for her maternal
+faithfulness, is in another world, whither she went to receive it about
+the year 1807.
+
+
+
+
+HAPPY RESULTS OF MATERNAL FIDELITY.
+
+  Lift the heart and bend the knee.
+
+                              MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+The superior influence of the mother in forming the character of the
+child, is generally conceded. Biographical literature abounds with
+illustrations of this fact, and renders it incontrovertible. As
+examples, in Great Britain, we are often, with propriety, pointed to the
+mothers of Isaac and John Newton, Doddridge, the Wesleys, Richard Cecil,
+Legh Richmond and many others; but it is needless for any people to
+search in foreign lands for such examples.
+
+In the notices of the mothers of Washington, Jackson, Randolph, Dwight
+and some others, on preceding pages of this volume, the truth of the
+same proposition is endeavored to be substantiated: and, as facts most
+forcibly illustrate argument, and wholesome hints are often easiest
+given by example, we will add two or three more anecdotes having a
+bearing on this point.
+
+The mother of Jonathan Edwards, it is well known, began to pray for him
+as soon as he was born; and probably no mother ever strove harder than
+she to rear a child "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." The
+result of her efforts is known to the world.
+
+The late Professor Knowles, of the Newton theological institution,
+received much pious instruction from his mother in his infant years;
+and, as he lost his father at the age of twelve, at that period she
+assumed wholly the guidance of his steps and his studies. She early
+discovered his love of books and his promising talents; and while she
+admonished him, and led him to the Saviour, she also sympathized with
+him in his literary taste and encouraged him in his scientific pursuits.
+The zealous minister, the learned biblical instructor, the polished
+writer and biographer of the first Mrs. Judson, owed very much to the
+moral training and the literary encouragement of his faithful mother.
+
+Nearly half a century ago, the mother of the celebrated Beecher family,
+made the following record: "This morning I rose very early to pray for
+my children; and especially that my sons may be ministers and
+missionaries of Jesus Christ." The "fervent" prayers of the good woman
+were "effectual:" her five sons became "ministers and missionaries of
+Jesus Christ," and all her children--eight in number--are connected with
+the "household of God"--several on earth and one,[73] at least, in
+heaven.
+
+  [73] The late George Beecher.
+
+
+
+
+WONDERFUL ENDURANCE AND PERSEVERANCE OF MRS. SCOTT.
+
+                                  ----Mute
+  The camel labors with the heaviest load,
+  And the wolf dies in silence; not bestowed
+  In vain should such examples be; if they,
+  Things of ignoble or of savage mood,
+  Endure and shrink not, we of nobler clay,
+  May temper it to bear--it is but for a day.
+
+                                                BYRON.
+
+
+Mrs. Scott, a resident of Washington county, Virginia, was taken captive
+by Indians on the night of the twenty-ninth of June, 1785. Her husband
+and all her children were slain; and before morning she was forced to
+commence her march through the wilderness.
+
+On the eleventh day of her captivity, while in charge of four Indians,
+provision becoming scarce, a halt was made, and three of the number went
+on a hunting excursion. Being left in the care of an old man, she made
+him believe she was reconciled to her condition, and thus threw him off
+his guard. Anxious to escape, and having matured her plans, she asked
+him, in the most disinterested manner possible, to let her go to a small
+stream, near by, and wash her apron, which was besmeared with the blood
+of one of her children. He gave her leave, and while he was busy in
+"graining a deer-skin," she started off. Arriving at the stream, without
+a moment's hesitation, she pushed on in the direction of a mountain.
+Traveling till late at night, she came into a valley where she hoped to
+find the track along which she had been taken by her captors, and
+thereby be able to retrace her steps. Hurrying across the valley to the
+margin of a river, which she supposed must be the eastern branch of the
+Kentucky, she discovered in the sand the tracks of two men who had
+followed the stream upwards and returned. Thinking them to be the prints
+of pursuers, and that they had returned from the search, she took
+courage, thanked God, and was prepared to continue her flight.
+
+On the third day she came very near falling into the hands of savages, a
+company whom she supposed had been sent to Clinch river on a pilfering
+excursion. Hearing their approach before they came in sight, she
+concealed herself, and they passed without noticing her. She now became
+greatly alarmed, and was so bewildered as to lose her way and to wander
+at random for several days.
+
+At length, coming to a stream that seemed to flow from the east, she
+concluded it must be Sandy river; and resolving to trace it to its
+source, which was near a settlement where she was acquainted, she pushed
+on for several days, till she came into mountainous regions and to
+craggy steeps. There, in the vicinity of a "prodigious waterfall," she
+was forced to leap from a precipice, upon some rocks, and was so stunned
+as to be obliged to make a short delay in her journey.
+
+Soon after passing through the mountain,[74] she was bitten by a snake
+which she supposed was venomous. She killed it, and expected her turn to
+die would come next; but the only injury she received was some pain and
+the slight swelling of one foot. A writer, whose narration we follow and
+whose facts are more reliable than his philosophy, thinks that, being
+"reduced to a mere skeleton, with fatigue, hunger and grief," she was
+probably, on that account, "saved from the effects of the poisonous
+fangs."
+
+  [74] Laurel mountain.
+
+Leaving the river, Mrs. Scott came to a forked valley, and watching the
+flight of birds, took the branch they did, and in two days came in sight
+of New Garden, the settlement on Clinch river, before referred to. Thus,
+after wandering in the wilderness for six long weeks, almost destitute
+of clothing, without a weapon of defence or instrument for obtaining
+provision; exposed to wild beasts and merciless savages; subsisting a
+full month on the juice of young cane stalks, sassafras leaves and
+similar food; looking to God in prayer for guidance by day, and for
+protection by night; shielded from serious harm, and led by an unseen
+Hand, on the eleventh of August, the wanderings of the widowed and
+childless captive were brought to a close.
+
+
+
+
+SUCCESS OF BOLDNESS.
+
+  "Courage, prove thy chance once more."
+
+
+While Colonel Tarleton was marching through North Carolina, near the
+close of the Revolution, he passed two nights in Halifax county. From
+malice or because of a scarcity of provision, he caused his troops to
+catch all the horses, cattle, hogs, fowls, etc., that could be found,
+most of which were destroyed. The inhabitants generally fled and
+concealed themselves in the neighboring swamps and thickets. One young
+lady, however, in the upper part of the county, where they spent the
+second night, refused to retire. Remaining on the premises alone, when
+the marauders came for the horses and cattle thereon, Miss Bishop[75]
+ordered them off; but they did not obey. Among the animals they drove to
+camp, was a favorite pony of hers, which she resolved to recover. When
+night come on, she went unarmed to the camp, about a mile distant, and
+boldly made known her errand to Tarleton. "Your roguish men in red
+coats," she said to him, "came to my father's house about sundown and
+stole my pony, and I have walked here alone and unprotected, to claim
+and demand him; and, sir, I must and I will have him. I fear not your
+men. They are base and unprincipled enough to dare to offer insult to an
+unprotected female; but their cowardly hearts will prevent them from
+doing her any bodily injury." While thus speaking, her eye happened to
+fall on her favorite animal, upon which the camp fire flung its light,
+and she added, "There, sir, is my horse. I shall mount him and ride
+peacefully home; and if you have any gentlemanly feeling within you, of
+which your men are totally destitute, or, if you have any regard for
+their safety, you will see, sir, that I am not interrupted. But, before
+I go, I wish to say to you that he who can, and will not, prevent this
+base and cowardly stealing from henroosts, stables and barn-yards, is no
+better, in my estimation, than the mean, good-for-nothing, guilty
+wretches who do the dirty work with their own hands! Good night, sir."
+
+  [75] Afterwards Mrs. Powell. She died in 1840.
+
+Tarleton took the hint; ordered his soldiers not to molest her; and she
+was suffered to take the pony and gallop peacefully home.
+
+
+
+
+MARY KNIGHT.
+
+                          ----The office
+  Becomes a woman best; I'll take it upon me.
+
+                                      SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+The subject of this brief notice was a sister of General Isaac Worrell.
+She died two or three years since, in Philadelphia. The following
+tribute to her patriotism and humanity, was paid by a New Jersey
+newspaper, in July, 1849:
+
+"The deceased was one of those devoted women who aided to relieve the
+horrible sufferings of Washington's army at Valley Forge--cooking and
+carrying provisions to them alone, through the depth of winter, even
+passing through the outposts of the British army in the disguise of a
+market woman. And when Washington was compelled to retreat before a
+superior force, she concealed her brother, General Worrell,--when the
+British set a price on his head--in a cider hogshead in the cellar for
+three days, and fed him through the bunghole; the house being ransacked
+four different times by the troops in search of him, without success.
+She was over ninety years of age at the time of her death."
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF WILLIAM GRAY.
+
+                  ----Our lives
+  In acts exemplary, not only win
+  Ourselves good names, but do to others give
+  Matter for virtuous deeds, by which we live.
+
+                                          CHAPMAN.
+
+
+Elizabeth Chipman was born in Essex county, Massachusetts, in May, 1756.
+She was the daughter of a talented and eminent lawyer of Marblehead, and
+inherited a highly respectable share of his mental endowments. Her
+intellectual faculties and moral feelings were early and highly
+developed; and when, in 1782, she was married to William Gray, the
+celebrated millionaire, of Salem, in her native county, she was
+prepared, in all respects, to command the highest influence in society.
+But, although the wife of the richest man in Massachusetts and probably
+in New England, she never rose above her duties as a housekeeper, a
+mother and a Christian. She managed her domestic affairs personally and
+economically; and inculcated in the minds of her six children, by
+example as well as precept, the best habits and the noblest principles.
+"She divided her time between reading, household affairs, and duties to
+society, in such a manner as never for a moment to be in a hurry."[76]
+She was as well known by the poor as the rich: her virtues irradiated
+every sphere. She was anxious to exalt as much as possible the Christian
+profession; hence she rode in a plain carriage, and avoided all
+unnecessary display, "that no evil precedents of expense could arise
+from her example."
+
+  [76] Knapp's Female Biography, p. 235.
+
+The latter years of this excellent woman were passed in Boston, whither
+the family had removed, and where she died on the twenty-fourth of
+September, 1823. In her benevolent acts and cheerful life, is
+beautifully exemplified the truth of the poet's assertion:
+
+  On piety humanity is built,
+  And on humanity, much happiness.
+
+
+
+
+ANECDOTE OF MRS. HUNTINGTON.
+
+  Earthly power doth then show likest gods,
+  When mercy seasons justice.
+
+                                    SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Susan Mansfield was the daughter of the Rev. Achilles Mansfield, of
+Killingworth, Connecticut, and was born on the twenty-seventh of
+January, 1791. At the age of eighteen or nineteen, she was married to
+Joshua Huntington, pastor of the Old South church, Boston. She died in
+1823. Her memoirs, written by her husband's pastoral successor, B. B.
+Wisner, was, at one time, a very popular work. It passed through five
+editions in Scotland, in a very few years.
+
+Her husband preceded her to the grave four years. While a widow, she was
+robbed of several articles of jewelry by a young woman; and the articles
+were recovered, and the thief arrested and tried. During the
+examination, Mrs. Huntington was called into court to identify the
+property; and having done this, she was asked their value. Knowing that
+the degree of punishment depended somewhat on the apprisal of the
+property, and pitying the poor girl, she hinted that she never used
+much jewelry, and was not a good judge of its value. A person was then
+called upon to prize the several articles; and she told him to bear in
+mind that they had been used for many years, were consequently damaged,
+and out of fashion. In this way she secured a low and, to herself, a
+satisfactory valuation. She then addressed the judge, stating that she
+had herself taken the jewelry from a trunk; had carelessly left it
+exposed on a table; had thus thrown temptation in the way of the girl,
+and suggested that her own heedlessness might possibly have been the
+cause of the offence. She did not, she assured the judge, wish to
+interfere with his duties, or wrongly bias his decisions, but she would,
+nevertheless, esteem it a favor, if the punishment inflicted on the
+unfortunate transgressor, could be the lightest that would not dishonor
+the law. Hoping the ignorant girl would repent and reform, she left the
+stand with tears in her eyes, which greatly affected the judge. In his
+sentence he reminded the culprit, that the person whom she had most
+offended, was the first to plead for a mitigation of her punishment, and
+had saved her from the extreme rigors of a broken law.
+
+
+
+
+HOSPITALITY OF MRS. BIDDLE.
+
+  ----All were welcome and feasted.
+
+                            LONGFELLOW.
+
+
+In the summer of 1777, while Washington was encamped near Brandywine, a
+large party of foragers came into the neighborhood, and the General gave
+orders to a company of his troops, to go in pursuit of them early the
+next morning, and, if possible, cut off their retreat. As an engagement
+might ensue, he also gave orders that the women should leave the camp.
+Receiving intelligence of the latter order, and unwilling to be included
+in it, the wife of Colonel Clement Biddle, an intimate associate of Mrs.
+Washington in the camp, went to the General and told him that the
+officers, who had gone on the expedition, would be likely to return
+hungry, and she would consider it a favor to be allowed to remain and
+prepare some refreshment for them. Washington complied with her request,
+and her servant was immediately posted off in search of provision.
+
+Receiving information that a band of "rebels" was in pursuit of them,
+the foragers took a quick step out of the neighborhood. The pursuers
+returned at a late dinner hour exceedingly fatigued and ripe for
+attacking the "good things" prepared by Mrs. Biddle. Notified of her
+generosity, the officers forthwith repaired to her quarters, each
+saying, on his entrance, "Madam, we hear that you feed the army to-day."
+It is said that at least a hundred officers enjoyed her hospitalities on
+that occasion.
+
+  They ate like Famine, fast and well,
+    Piling their plates with turkeys slain;
+  They conquered--bones alone could tell
+    Of fowls late bled at every vein.
+
+
+
+
+KINDNESS OF SOME CONVICTS
+
+        ----When your head did but ache,
+  I knit my handkerchief about your brows,
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  And with my hand at midnight held your head;
+  And, like the watchful minutes to the hour,
+  Still and anon cheered up the heavy time.
+
+                                    SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+When the yellow fever broke out in Philadelphia, several years ago, it
+was extremely difficult to obtain help at the hospital; application was
+consequently made to the female convicts in the prison. Braving the
+danger of becoming nurses for the sick under such circumstances, as many
+as were needed readily profered their aid, and remained as long as
+desired. There was a scarcity of bedsteads, and these females were asked
+for theirs. Willing to sacrifice the meagre comforts of a convict for
+the sake of alleviating the condition of the sick and the dying, they
+not only gave up their bedsteads, but bedding also. Such humane conduct,
+coming from whom it may, is deserving of praise and worthy of record.
+
+
+
+
+MARGARET PRIOR.
+
+  ----If a soul thou wouldst redeem,
+    And lead a lost one back to God;
+  Wouldst thou a guardian angel seem
+    To one who long in guilt hath trod;
+  Go kindly to him--take his hand,
+    With gentlest words, within thine own,
+  And by his side a brother stand,
+    Till all the demon thou dethrone.
+
+                            MRS. C. M. SAWYER.
+
+
+The subject of this notice was a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia. She
+was born in 1773. Her maiden name was Barrett. She was married to
+William Allen, a merchant of Baltimore, at the age of sixteen; resided
+in that city for several years, and became the mother of seven children.
+All but one of them died in infancy. Her husband was lost at sea, in
+1808, when her only surviving child was about eighteen months old.
+
+Soon after becoming a widow she removed to the city of New York. There,
+in 1814, she was united in marriage with William Prior, a benevolent and
+public-spirited member of the Society of Friends. She was herself at
+that time in communion with the Baptists, she having united with them
+before the death of her first husband. In 1819 she joined the
+Methodists, with whom she remained in church-fellowship the residue of
+her life.
+
+When the New York Orphan Asylum was instituted, she was appointed one of
+the managers and was, thenceforward, incessantly engaged in benevolent
+operations. We first find her in the more conspicuous "walks of
+usefulness," in the severe winter of 1818 and '19. There being, at that
+time, no public fund for meeting the wants of the poor, she made
+arrangements with her nearest neighbor--herself a kind-hearted, humane
+woman--to prepare soup three times a week for the destitute in the ninth
+ward. She had previously visited that part of the city and made herself
+acquainted with many suffering individuals. All who applied for soup, if
+not known, she accompanied to their homes, and presented them with
+tickets entitling them to further supplies, if found to be true objects
+of charity. Many, it is thought, were saved from starvation by her
+humane exertions. "These, and similar deeds of mercy, tended to enlarge
+her heart: while she watered others, she was watered also herself, and
+felt continually the truth of the assertion, 'It is more blessed to give
+than to receive.'"[77]
+
+  [77] Walks of Usefulness; or, Reminiscences of Margaret Prior, p. 17.
+
+Notwithstanding her arduous, public duties, Mrs. Prior managed her
+household affairs with care, neatness and regularity. It has been
+appropriately said of her that she had "a place for every thing and
+every thing in its place." The time that some spend in fashionable and
+heartless calls, she devoted to industry and humanity. By rising early,
+working late, observing the strictest rules of economy, and subjecting
+herself, at times, to self-denial, she was able to visit the suffering,
+and to make daily appropriations from her own table for their relief.
+
+Numerous instances of her self-denial have been related, and one of them
+we will repeat. She usually obtained assistance to do her washing, and
+limited herself to a dollar a week to meet that expense. Sometimes the
+amount she wished to devote to some particular object fell short, and in
+such instances she would do the washing herself, and thereby save the
+dollar. She felt, in such cases, as has been remarked, that "the
+personal effort was made a blessing to herself of greater value than the
+sum saved."
+
+In the year 1822, Mrs. Prior visited the families on Bowery hill, where
+she had resided the three previous years; thoroughly acquainted herself
+with their moral condition and necessities; established a school for
+poor children; commenced her long-continued weekly visits for
+conversation and prayer with the pupils, and secured the sympathies and
+pecuniary assistance of several Christians to aid in supporting the
+school from year to year. She herself contributed one hundred dollars
+annually for its maintenance.
+
+On the fourteenth of September, 1829, this good woman again became a
+widow. Previous to this date she had lost her seventh child, and an
+adopted one. She had also taken a second motherless child into her
+family. About the year her second husband died, Bowery hill was dug
+away, and she changed her residence.
+
+When, in the early part of 1833, the Moral Reform society was organized,
+she became a prominent member of its board of managers, and, four years
+afterwards, commenced, under its patronage, her memorable labors as a
+city missionary. These she continued till 1842, in which year, on the
+seventh of April, her earthly work was finished.
+
+Two or three incidents connected with her labors as a missionary, will
+show, in part, at least, the character of her work and the philanthropic
+spirit by which she was ever actuated.
+
+As she was once passing through the streets, she was accosted by a lady
+who inquired her name, and wished to know if she did not belong to the
+society which had opened a register of direction for the accommodation
+of respectable females. Ascertaining that she was not mistaken in the
+person, the stranger told Mrs. Prior that two female acquaintances of
+hers were out of work, had become reduced to want, and were so wretched
+as to threaten to drown themselves, unless they soon found a situation.
+They had been working for houses connected with the southern trade which
+had failed, and thus thrown them out of employment. Learning their
+residence, Mrs. Prior visited them immediately; told them of the
+enormity of the crime they had threatened to commit; that she would try
+to secure work for them, and that it was their duty to seek the grace of
+God to sustain them in such trying seasons. The next day she found
+situations for them in pious families, and thus, while she probably
+saved them from committing suicide, she was, perhaps, the instrument, in
+the hands of God, of saving them from infamy and eternal ruin.
+
+Passing through the suburbs of the city one day, her attention was
+arrested by the chime of youthful voices. Seeing that the music
+proceeded from some little beggar-girls, who were sitting in the sun
+beside the fence and singing a Sabbath school hymn, she inquired of them
+what they were doing, when the following dialogue occurred: "We were
+cold, ma'am, and are getting warm in the sun." "Where do you live?" "In
+Twentieth street, ma'am." "Why have you come so far away from your
+homes?" "To get some food and some things to make a fire." "Why were you
+singing?" "To praise God: we go to the Sunday school, and our teacher
+says if we are good children God will never let us want." Pleased with
+the modest and artless answers to her questions, the good woman took
+them across the street, procured each of them a loaf of bread, gave them
+some pious counsel, and left them with smiles on their faces and
+gratitude in their hearts.
+
+Mrs. Prior frequently visited the city prison, and on occasion[78] went
+to Sing Sing. She made a record of her visit to the latter place, from
+which we make an extract: "In visiting the female convicts at their
+cells on Sabbath morning, after Sabbath school, which, under the
+customary regulations, we were permitted to do, we found nearly all
+employed in reading their Bibles. We conversed with them respecting the
+welfare of their souls, and as we knelt with them at the throne of
+grace, they on one side of the grated door and we on the other, we felt
+that He who healed a Mary Magdalene, is still the same compassionate
+Saviour, and our faith, we trust, apprehended him as the atoning
+sacrifice, who bore our sins in his own body on the tree, and opened a
+way for the salvation of even the chief of sinners."
+
+  [78] June, 1840.
+
+Being on an errand of mercy in G---- street one day, she stepped into a
+house of infamy to leave a certain tract. As soon as she had entered and
+made known her mission, the door was closed and locked by one of the
+female inmates, who told her that she was their prisoner. "For a
+moment," writes Mrs. Prior, in her journal, "my heart was tremulous; I
+said nothing till the risings of fear were quelled, and then replied
+pleasantly, 'Well, if I'm a prisoner, I shall pray here, and would sing
+praises to God if I were not so hoarse. Yes, bless the Lord! his
+presence can make me happy here or any where, and you can have no power
+to harm me unless he gives it. This is a dreadful place, to be sure, but
+it is not so bad as hell; for there, there is no hope. The smoke of
+their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever! What a mercy that we are
+not all there! what compassion in the blessed Jesus that he spares us,
+when our sins are every day so great.' I talked to them in this manner
+till they were glad to open the door as a signal for my release."
+
+Such were the doings, such was the character, of Margaret Prior. We see
+her organizing week-day and Sabbath schools, industrial associations and
+temperance societies; establishing soup houses and orphan asylums;
+visiting the sick, the poor, the idle, the culprit, the outcast;
+pointing the dying to a risen Saviour, leading the destitute by the hand
+to the place of relief, the idle to houses of industry, and warning the
+outlaw and the corrupt of the certain and terrible doom that would
+attend persistency in their downward course. With the sweetness,
+gentleness, simplicity, and delicacy, so becoming in woman under all
+circumstances, were blended in her character, energy that was
+unconquerable, courage that danger could not blench, and firmness that
+human power could not bend. The contemplation of such a character is
+superficial, if it does not prompt benevolent feelings, re-affirm
+virtuous resolutions, and revive and strengthen drooping piety.
+
+
+
+
+NOBLE ACTS OF KINDNESS.
+
+  We are to relieve the distressed, to put the wanderer in the way,
+  and divide our bread with the hungry.--SENECA.
+
+
+The Rev. Thomas Andros, of Berkley, Massachusetts, was a firm patriot
+and a keen sufferer in the strife for freedom. He was captured whilst on
+board a privateer, and transferred to the Jersey prison ship. In the
+autumn of 1781, he escaped; and, skulking through the east end of Long
+Island, received at the hands of females such marks of pity and kindness
+as were thought worthy of noting in his journal. The following are
+extracts:
+
+"I came to a respectable dwelling-house and entered it. Among the
+inmates were a decent woman and a tailor. To the woman I expressed my
+want of something to nourish my feeble frame, telling her if she would
+give me a morsel, it would be a mere act of charity. She made no
+objection, asked no questions, but promptly furnished me with the dish
+of light food I desired. Expressing my obligations to her, I rose to
+depart. But going round through another room, she met me in the front
+entry, placed a hat on my head, put an apple pie in my hand, and said,
+'you will want this before you get through the woods.' I opened my mouth
+to give vent to the grateful feelings with which my heart was filled.
+But she would not tarry to hear a word, and instantly vanished. The
+mystery of her conduct I suppose was this: she was satisfied that I had
+escaped from prison, and if she granted me any succor, knowing me to be
+such, it might cost her family the confiscation of their estate. She did
+not therefore wish to ask me any questions or hear me explain who I was
+in the hearing of the tailor, who might turn informer. This mark of
+kindness was more than I could well bear, and as I went on the tears
+flowed copiously! The recollection of her humanity and pity revives in
+my breast even now the same feeling of gratitude.
+
+"Some time after, in Suffolk county, being repulsed from one dwelling, I
+entered another, and informed the mistress of the house of my wants. By
+the cheerfulness and good-nature depicted in her countenance and first
+movements, I knew my suit was granted, and I had nothing more to say
+than to apprise her I was penniless. In a few moments she placed on the
+table a bowl of bread and milk, a dried bluefish roasted, and a mug of
+cider, and said, 'sit down and eat.'
+
+"It was now growing dark, so I went but a short distance further,
+entered a house, and begged the privilege of lodging by the fire. My
+request was granted. There was no one in the house but the man and his
+wife. They appeared to be cordial friends to each other--it was indeed
+one of the few happy matches. Before it became late in the evening the
+man took his Bible and read a chapter. He then arose and offered up his
+grateful acknowledgments and supplications to God through the Mediator.
+I now began to think I had got into a safe and hospitable retreat. They
+had before made many inquiries such as indicated that they felt tenderly
+and took an interest in my welfare. I now confessed my situation to
+them. All was silence. It took some time to recover themselves from a
+flood of tears. At last the kind woman said, 'Let us go and bake his
+clothes.' No sooner said than the man seized a brand of fire and threw
+it into the oven. The woman provided a clean suit of clothes to supply
+the place of mine till they had purified them by fire. The work done, a
+clean bed was laid down on which I was to rest, and rest I did as in a
+new world; for I had got rid of a swarm of cannibals who were eating me
+up alive! In the morning I took my leave of this dear family with a
+gratitude that for fifty years has suffered no abatement."[79]
+
+  [79] Mr. Andros thus describes the old Jersey: "Her dark and filthy
+  exterior corresponded with the death and despair reigning within. It is
+  supposed that eleven thousand American seamen perished in her. None came
+  to relieve their woes. Once or twice, by order of a stranger on the
+  quarter-deck, a bag of apples was hurled promiscuously into the midst of
+  hundreds of prisoners, crowded as thick as they could stand--and life
+  and limbs were endangered in the struggle. The prisoners were secured
+  between the decks by iron gratings; and when the ship was to be cleared
+  of water, an armed guard forced them up to the winches, amid a roar of
+  execrations and reproaches--the dim light adding to the horrors of the
+  scene. Thousands died whose names have never been known; perishing when
+  no eye could witness their fortitude, nor praise their devotion to their
+  country."
+
+
+
+
+THE WIFE OF DR. RAMSAY.
+
+  Unrivalled as thy merit, be thy fame.
+
+                                   TICKELL.
+
+
+Few women of modern times have more charmingly exhibited "the beauties
+of holiness" than Martha Laurens Ramsay, the wife of the historian of
+South Carolina. In his interesting series of lectures on the Christian
+graces, the Rev. Dr. Williams very happily refers to her habit of
+prayer, to illustrate the spirit of brotherly kindness as shown in the
+mutual intercession of brethren in the same church. "It is animating,"
+he writes, "and yet, as contrasted with our present remissness,
+humiliating, to read how Baxter and his people held days of fasting and
+prayer for each other; or to turn to the pages which describe a
+Christian matron of the South, the wife of Ramsay and the daughter of
+Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress, praying over a
+list of her fellow-members, name by name, and remembering, to the best
+of her knowledge, the cares and wants of each before the throne of
+grace."[80]
+
+  [80] Religious Progress, pp. 200-1.
+
+Prior to her marriage, and whilst residing in France with her father,
+she received from him the handsome present of five hundred guineas.
+Appropriating a very small portion of this sum to her own use, with the
+bulk she purchased one hundred French Testaments--all to be found in the
+market--and distributed them amongst the destitute in Vigan and its
+vicinity, and organized a school there for the instruction of youth,
+constituting a fund sufficient to oblite rate its annual charges.
+
+Mrs. Ramsay was remarkably economical of time, rising early and devoting
+every hour to some useful service; and of money, never indulging herself
+in any needless expenditure. This principle of economy was observed even
+at her funeral. She directed that it should be at her own private house;
+and that her coffin should be plain and without a plate. She died on the
+tenth of June, 1811.
+
+
+
+
+COURAGE AND PRESENCE OF MIND OF MARGARET SCHUYLER.
+
+  --Courage mounteth with occasion.
+
+                            SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+In August, 1781, when the abduction of General Schuyler from his house
+in the suburbs of Albany, was projected, and John Waltermeyer, the bold
+partizan of Joseph Bettys, led a motley and blood-thirsty band--tories,
+Canadians and Indians--in the daring undertaking, a daughter of the
+General acted so courageous and wise a part as to justify us in giving
+on outline sketch of the unsuccessful enterprise.
+
+As the family sat in an open door, in the evening of a very sultry day,
+receiving information that a stranger was waiting at the back gate to
+see him, General Schuyler mistrusted, at once, that something was wrong;
+and, instead of repairing to the gate, he instantly closed and fastened
+the doors, and ran to his bed chamber for his arms. He then hurried his
+family into the third story, where he immediately discharged a pistol to
+arouse the careless guards, and afterwards others, to alarm, if
+possible, the inhabitants of the city. In hurrying up stairs, his wife
+overlooked her infant, which was asleep in the cradle; and she was about
+to descend, when the General warned her of the danger, and held her
+back. Seeing her mother's agony, a daughter named Margaret, rushed down
+stairs into the nursery, caught the child, and was about ascending, when
+a tomahawk flew past her, simply grazing her dress and slightly injuring
+it. Hurrying up a private stairway, she was met by Waltermeyer, who
+roughly exclaimed, "Wench! where is your master?" With remarkable
+presence of mind, she answered, "Gone to alarm the town." Fearing that
+such might be the case, Waltermeyer called his pilfering men, who were
+bagging plate in the dining hall, and began a consultation. Meanwhile
+the General was also thinking, and devising a stratagem by which to
+frighten away the kidnappers. He soon threw up a window, and, in the
+voice of an experienced commander, cried out, "Come on, my brave
+fellows; surround the house and secure the villains who are plundering."
+As he anticipated, the gang, hearing these words, snapped the thread of
+their consultation, and tested the nimbleness of their feet. The reports
+of the General's arms had alarmed the people of the city, and they came
+to the rescue just in season to be unneeded.
+
+
+
+
+NOBLE TREATMENT OF ENEMIES.
+
+                      ----True religion
+  Is always mild, propitious and humble,
+  Plays not the tyrant, plants no faith in blood;
+  Nor bears destruction on her chariot wheels;
+  But stoops to polish, succor, and redress,
+  And builds her grandeur on the public good.
+
+                                   MILLER'S MAHOMET.
+
+
+Among the early converts to Christianity in the Cherokee tribe, were a
+few women, who formed themselves into a society for propagating the
+Gospel. They felt its expanding power, and, though poor, were anxious to
+do something for those who were not sharing in the same blessing. The
+proceeds of their first year's efforts, were about ten dollars; and
+while deliberating on the manner of its appropriation, one of the
+members suggested that it be devoted to the promotion of religion among
+the Osages, giving as a reason that they were the greatest enemies of
+the Cherokees, and that the Bible teaches Christians to do good to
+such.
+
+
+
+
+HUMANITY REWARDED.
+
+  ----I should some kindness show them.
+
+                                 SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Among the early settlements of New Hampshire, were several on the
+Piscataqua river, in the neighborhood of the present town of Dover. For
+awhile the aborigines and whites were on amicable terms, and the former
+not unfrequently paid the latter a friendly visit. On one of those
+occasions, a pappoos was suddenly seized with illness, and its mother
+was obliged to remain several days. She found shelter and accommodations
+with a widow, who received her cordially, and nursed the feeble infant
+as her own. Such kindness would not be forgotten, even by savages; and
+when, after the lapse of years, the bow was bent and the hatchet raised
+against the settlement where the widow resided, the Indians placed a
+strong guard around her house; and, though the butchery was terrible,
+she and her family were unharmed.
+
+
+
+
+MARGARET WINTHROP.
+
+                      ----When meet now
+  Such pairs, in love and honor joined?
+
+                                    MILTON.
+
+
+Governor Winthrop, the father of the Massachusetts' colony, married
+Margaret, the daughter of Sir John Tindal, in April, 1618. She was his
+third wife, and a woman of rare qualities both of mind and heart.
+Previous to their emigration to New England, it was not an uncommon
+occurrence for them to be separated, and their correspondence on such
+occasions savors of the purest affection. Who does not see the image of
+a devoted wife and an exalted spirit in the following letter, written
+about the year 1627:
+
+"MY MOST SWEET HUSBAND,--How dearly welcome thy kind letter was to me, I
+am not able to express. The sweetness of it did much refresh me. What
+can be more pleasing to a wife, than to hear of the welfare of her best
+beloved, and how he is pleased with her poor endeavors! I blush to hear
+myself commended, knowing my own wants. But it is your love that
+conceives the best, and makes all things seem better than they are. I
+wish that I may be always pleasing to thee, and that those comforts we
+have in each other may be daily increased, as far as they may be
+pleasing to God. I will use that speech to thee, that Abigail did to
+David: 'I will be a servant to wash the feet of my lord.' I will do any
+service wherein I may please my good husband. I confess I cannot do
+enough for thee; but thou art pleased to accept the will for the deed,
+and rest contented.
+
+"I have many reasons to make me love thee, whereof I will name two:
+first, because thou lovest God; and secondly, because thou lovest me. If
+these two were wanting, all the rest would be eclipsed. But I must leave
+this discourse, and go about my household affairs. I am a bad housewife
+to be so long from them; but I must needs borrow a little time to talk
+with thee, my sweet heart. I hope thy business draws to an end. It will
+be but two or three weeks before I see thee, though they be long ones.
+God will bring us together in his good time; for which I shall pray.
+
+Farewell, my good husband; the Lord keep thee.
+
+                                     Your obedient wife,
+
+                                             MARGARET WINTHROP."
+
+Below is another letter from the pen of this good woman, written after
+her husband had decided to come to Massachusetts, and just before his
+embarkation:
+
+"MY MOST DEAR HUSBAND,--I should not now omit any opportunity of writing
+to thee, considering I shall not long have thee to write unto. But, by
+reason of my unfitness at this time, I must entreat thee to accept of a
+few lines from me, and not impute it to any want of love, or neglect of
+duty to thee, to whom I owe more than I ever shall be able to express.
+
+"My request now shall be to the Lord to prosper thee in thy voyage, and
+enable thee and fit thee for it, and give all graces and gifts for such
+employments as he shall call thee to. I trust God will once more bring
+us together before you go, that we may see each other with gladness, and
+take a solemn leave, till we, through the goodness of our God, shall
+meet in New England, which will be a joyful day to us. With my best
+wishes to God for thy health and welfare, I take my leave and rest, thy
+faithful, obedient wife,
+
+                                                MARGARET WINTHROP."[81]
+
+  [81] The following extract from a letter written by the Governor in
+  March, 1629, shows that he was not unconscious of the excellence of the
+  gift he possessed in his "yokefellow." Addressing her as "MINE OWN DEAR
+  HEART," he proceeds:
+
+  "I must confess thou hast overcome me with thy exceeding great love, and
+  those abundant expressions of it in thy sweet letters, which savor of
+  more than an ordinary spirit of love and piety. Blessed be the Lord our
+  God, that gives strength and comfort to thee to undergo this great
+  trial, which, I must confess, would be too heavy for thee, if the Lord
+  did not put under his hand in so gracious a measure. Let this experience
+  of his faithfulness to thee in this first trial, be a ground to
+  establish thy heart to believe and expect his help in all that may
+  follow. It grieveth me much, that I want time and freedom of mind to
+  discourse with thee, my faithful yokefellow, in those things which thy
+  sweet letters offer me so plentiful occasion for. I beseech the Lord, I
+  may have liberty to supply it, ere I depart; for I cannot thus leave
+  thee."
+
+Governor Winthrop landed on these shores in June, 1630, and his wife
+followed him in about a year. She lived till June, 1647, and was perhaps
+as useful in her more private, as her husband in his public and highly
+honorable, sphere. "A woman of singular virtue, prudence, modesty and
+piety;" though dignified, she was condescending; and knowing her place,
+she kept, and filled, and honored it. With undimmed and steady lustre,
+she shone for sixteen years amid the shadows of night that overhung and
+threatened the infant colony.
+
+
+
+
+A PIONEER SETTLER'S ADVENTURE.
+
+  ----Screw your courage up to the sticking place,
+  And we'll not fail.
+
+                                           SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+The first settler in Hollis, New Hampshire, was Captain Peter Powers. He
+removed thither in 1731. His nearest neighbor, for a time, was ten miles
+distant; and in order to exchange courtesies it was necessary for the
+families to cross the Nashua river. It had but one convenient and safe
+fording place in that vicinity, and that one only when the river was
+low.
+
+Having occasion, on a pleasant August morning, to visit her neighbor,
+Mrs. Powers mounted a Narraganset, hastened away, and reached the place
+of destination long before noon. Early in the after part of the day a
+fearful thunderstorm came up, and continued for several hours. Just at
+sunset the clouds began to break away, and Mrs. Powers immediately
+started on her return. She did not reach the river until some time after
+dark; and coming to the ford, she found the bank full and the water--as
+a narrator of the incident has it--"pressing on it with great
+rapidity." Added to this alarming circumstance, the wind had shifted and
+rolled the clouds up the sky again, so that the rain was descending in
+torrents, and drowning the threatening voice of the waves. Trusting to
+the experienced animal to keep the ford, and giving a slack rein,
+without realizing the danger, the courageous woman plunged into the
+black stream. The steed almost instantly lost its foothold, and "rolling
+in the waves at a full swim," made for the opposite shore. Missing the
+ford, and striking a forefoot on a rock in the bed of the stream, the
+animal was raised momentarily half way out of the water. Then plunging
+forward, it sank so deep that Mrs. Powers was raised from the pommel;
+but seizing the horse's mane as it rose, she held her grasp till they
+were safely on shore. The faithful animal soon found the right track,
+and in a brief hour Mrs. Powers was under the shelter of her cabin.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. McKENNY.
+
+  More can I bear than you dare execute.
+
+                                 SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+"Not a great way from Steel's and Taylor's forts was a settlement
+consisting of a few families, among which were those of William McKenny
+and his brother James. These lived near Fishing creek. In the summer of
+1761, sixteen Indians, with some squaws of the Cherokee tribe, took up
+their abode for several weeks near what is called Simpson's shoals, for
+the purpose of hunting and fishing during the hot months. In August, the
+two McKennys being absent on a journey to Camden, William's wife,
+Barbara, was left alone with several young children. One day she saw the
+Indian women running towards her house in great haste, followed by the
+men. She had no time to offer resistance; the squaws seized her and the
+children, pulled them into the house, and shoved them behind the door,
+where they immediately placed themselves on guard, pushing back the
+Indians as fast as they tried to force their way in, and uttering the
+most fearful outcries. Mrs. McKenny concluded it was their intention to
+kill her, and expected her fate every moment. The assistance rendered by
+the squaws, whether given out of compassion for a lonely mother, or in
+return for kindness shown them,--proved effectual for her protection
+until the arrival of one of the chiefs, who drew his long knife and
+drove off the savages. The mother, apprehending another attack, went to
+some of her neighbors and entreated them to come and stay with her.
+Robert Brown and Joanna his wife, Sarah Ferguson, her daughter Sarah and
+two sons, and a young man named Michael Melbury, came, in compliance
+with her request, and took up their quarters in the house. The next
+morning Mrs. McKenny ventured out alone to milk her cows. It had been
+her practice heretofore to take some of the children with her, and she
+could not explain why she went alone this time, though she was not free
+from apprehension; it seemed to be so by a special ordering of
+Providence. While she was milking, the Indians crept towards her on
+their hands and knees; she heard not their approach, nor knew any thing
+till they seized her. Sensible at once of all the horror of her
+situation, she made no effort to escape, but promised to go quietly with
+them. They then set off towards the house, holding her fast by the arm.
+She had the presence of mind to walk as far off as possible from the
+Indian who held her, expecting Melbury to fire as they approached her
+dwelling. As they came up, he fired, wounding the one who held Mrs.
+McKenny; she broke from his hold and ran, and another Indian pursued
+and seized her. At this moment she was just at her own door, which John
+Ferguson imprudently opening that she might enter, the Indians without
+shot him dead as he presented himself. His mother ran to him and
+received another shot in her thigh, of which she died in a few days.
+Melbury, who saw that all their lives depended on prompt action, dragged
+them from the door, fastened it, and repairing to the loft, prepared for
+a vigorous defence. There were in all five guns; Sarah Ferguson loaded
+for him, while he kept up a continual fire, aiming at the Indians
+wherever one could be seen. Determined to effect their object of forcing
+an entrance, some of the savages came very near the house, keeping under
+cover of an outhouse in which Brown and his wife had taken refuge, not
+being able, on the alarm, to get into the house. They had crept into a
+corner and were crouched there close to the boarding. One of the
+Indians, coming up, leaned against the outside, separated from them only
+by a few boards, the crevices between which probably enabled them to see
+him. Mrs. Brown proposed to take a sword that lay by them and run the
+savage through the body, but her husband refused; he expected death, he
+said, every moment, and did not wish to go out of the world having his
+hands crimsoned with the blood of any fellow creature. 'Let me die in
+peace,' were his words, 'with all the world.' Joanna, though in the same
+peril, could not respond to the charitable feeling. 'If I am to die,'
+she said, 'I should like first to send some of the redskins on the
+journey. But we are not so sure we have to die; don't you hear the crack
+of Melbury's rifle? He holds the house. I warrant you that redskin
+looked awfully scared as he leaned against the corner here. We could
+have done it in a moment.'
+
+"Mrs. McKenny, meanwhile, having failed to get into her house, had been
+again seized by the Indians, and, desperately regardless of her own
+safety, was doing all in her power to help her besieged friends. She
+would knock the priming out of the guns carried by the savages, and when
+they presented them to fire, would throw them up, so that the discharge
+might prove harmless. She was often heard to say, afterwards, that all
+fear had left her, and she thought only of those within the building,
+for she expected for herself neither deliverance nor mercy. Melbury
+continued to fire whenever one of the enemy appeared; they kept
+themselves, however, concealed, for the most part, behind trees or the
+outhouse. Several were wounded by his cool and well-directed shots, and
+at length, tired of the contest, the Indians retreated, carrying Mrs.
+McKenny with them. She now resisted with all her strength, preferring
+instant death to the more terrible fate of a captive in the hands of the
+fierce Cherokees. Her refusal to go forward irritated her captors, and
+when they had dragged her about half a mile, near a rock upon the
+plantation now occupied by John Culp, she received a second blow with
+the tomahawk which stretched her insensible upon the ground. When after
+some time consciousness returned, she found herself lying upon the rock,
+to which she had been dragged from the spot where she fell. She was
+stripped naked, and her scalp had been taken off. By degrees the
+knowledge of her condition, and the desire of obtaining help came upon
+her. She lifted up her head, and looking around, saw the wretches who
+had so cruelly mangled her, pulling ears of corn from a field near, to
+roast for their meal. She laid her head quickly down again, well knowing
+that if they saw her alive, they would not be slack in coming to finish
+the work of death. Thus she lay motionless till all was silent, and she
+found they were gone; then, with great pain and difficulty, she dragged
+herself back to the house. It may be imagined with what feelings the
+unfortunate woman was received by her friends and children, and how she
+met the bereaved mother, wounded unto death, who had suffered for her
+attempt to save others. One of the blows received by Mrs. McKenny had
+made a deep wound in her back; the others were upon her head....
+
+"The wounds in Mrs. McKenny's head never healed entirely; but continued
+to break out occasionally, so that the blood flowing from them stained
+the bed at night, and sometimes fragments of bone came off;
+nevertheless, she lived many years afterwards and bore several children.
+She was at the time with child, and in about three months gave birth to
+a daughter--Hannah, afterwards married to John Stedman--and living in
+Tennessee in 1827. This child was plainly marked with a tomahawk and
+drops of blood, as if running down the side of her face. The families of
+McKenny and McFadden, residing on Fishing creek, are descended from this
+Barbara McKenny; but most of her descendants have emigrated to the West.
+The above mentioned occurrence is narrated in a manuscript in the
+hand-writing of her grandson, Robert McFadden."[82]
+
+  [82] Women of the Revolution, vol. 3.
+
+
+
+
+THE FISHERMAN'S HEROIC WIFE.
+
+                              Strong affection
+  Contends with all things, and o'ercometh all things.
+
+                                               JOANNA BAILLIE.
+
+
+"One of the small islands in Boston bay was inhabited by a single poor
+family. The father was taken suddenly ill. There was no physician. The
+wife, on whom every labor for the household devolved, was sleepless in
+care and tenderness by the bedside of her suffering husband. Every
+remedy in her power to procure was administered, but the disease was
+acute, and he died.
+
+"Seven young children mourned around the lifeless corpse. They were the
+sole beings upon that desolate spot. Did the mother indulge the grief of
+her spirit, and sit down in despair? No: she entered upon the arduous
+and sacred duties of her station. She felt that there was no hand to
+assist her in burying her dead. Providing, as far as possible, for the
+comfort of her little ones, she put her babe into the arms of the
+oldest, and charged the two next in age to watch the corpse of their
+father. She unmoored her husband's fishing boat, which, but two days
+before, he had guided over the seas, to obtain food for his family. She
+dared not yield to those tender recollections, which might have unnerved
+her arm. The nearest island was at the distance of three miles. Strong
+winds lashed the waters to foam. Over the loud billows, that wearied and
+sorrowful woman rowed, and was preserved. She reached the next island,
+and obtained the necessary aid. With such energy did her duty to her
+desolate babes inspire her, that the voyage which depended on her
+individual effort, was performed in a shorter time than the returning
+one, when the oars were managed by two men, who went to assist in the
+last offices to the dead."
+
+
+
+
+MRS. JAMES K. POLK.
+
+  A fault doth never with remorse
+    Our minds so deeply move,
+  As when another's guiltless life
+    Our error doth reprove.
+
+                                BRANDON.
+
+
+Sarah Childress Polk is the daughter of an enterprising and wealthy
+merchant of Rutherford county, Tennessee. She was married on the first
+of January, 1824.
+
+Fitted to dignify and adorn any station appropriate for woman, while
+presiding at the White house she was universally esteemed, and retired
+as honorably as any woman since the days of Washington. She is
+intelligent, refined, unaffected, affable, courteous, hospitable, and,
+above all, pious, and exemplary as a Christian. She has been for years
+in communion with the Presbyterians; and while at the Capital, and the
+eyes of the whole nation were upon her, she forbade, in the President's
+mansion, any amusement not in keeping with the Christian profession. In
+this respect, it may be said of her, in the language of Shakspeare,
+
+  Thou art not for the fashion of these times.
+
+The following poetical tribute, from the pen and heart of Mrs. Stephens,
+is well merited:
+
+  LADY! had I the wealth of earth
+    To offer freely at thy shrine,
+  Bright gold, and buds of dewy birth,
+    Or gems from out the teeming mine,
+  A thousand things most beautiful,
+    All sparkling, precious, rich, and rare,
+  These hands would render up to thee--
+    Thou noble lady, good and fair!
+
+  For, as I write, sweet thoughts arise
+    Of times when all thy kindness lent
+  A thousand hues of Paradise
+    To the fleet moments as they went;
+  Then all thy thoughts were winged with light,
+    And every smile was calm and sweet,
+  And thy low tones and gentle words
+    Made the warm heart's blood thrill and beat.
+
+  There, standing in our nation's home,
+    My memory ever pictures thee
+  As some bright dame of ancient Rome,
+    Modest, yet all a queen should be.
+  I love to keep thee in my mind,
+    Thus mated with the pure of old,
+  When love with lofty deeds combined,
+    Made women great and warriors bold.
+
+  When first I saw thee standing there,
+    And felt the pressure of thy hand,
+  I scarcely thought if thou wert fair,
+    Or of the highest in the land;
+  I knew thee gentle, pure as great;
+    All that was lovely, meek and good;
+  And so I half forgot thy state
+    In love of thy bright womanhood.
+
+  And many a sweet sensation came
+    That lingers in my bosom yet,
+  Like that celestial, holy flame
+    That vestals tremble to forget
+  And on the earth, or in the sky,
+    There's not a thought more true and free
+  Than that which beats within my heart,
+    In pleasant memory of thee.
+
+  Lady, I gladly would have brought
+    Some gem that on thy heart may live;
+  But this poor wreath of woven thought
+    Is all the wealth I have to give.
+  All wet with heart-dew, fresh with love,
+    I lay the garland at thy feet,
+  Praying the angel forms above
+    To weave thee one more pure and sweet.
+
+
+
+
+
+THE WIDOW JENKINS.
+
+  In humblest vales the patriot heart may glow.
+
+                                          J. T. FIELDS.
+
+
+At the time Colonel Watson, the commander of a corps of regulars and
+tories, was making inroads upon the Pedee, he pitched his tent one night
+near the house of a widow named Jenkins, and took up his own quarters
+under her roof. Learning, in the course of the evening, that she had
+three sons fighting under General Marion, he commenced the following
+conversation with her:
+
+"So, madam, they tell me you have several sons in General Marion's camp;
+I hope it is not true."
+
+She said it was very true, and was only sorry that it was not a thousand
+times truer.
+
+"A thousand times truer, madam!" replied he, with great surprise, "pray
+what can be your meaning in that?"
+
+"Why, sir, I am only sorry that in place of three, I have not three
+thousand sons with General Marion."
+
+"Aye, indeed! well then, madam, begging your pardon, you had better send
+for them immediately to come in and join his majesty's troops under my
+command: for as they are rebels now in arms against their king, should
+they be taken, they will be hung as sure as ever they were born."
+
+"Why, sir, you are very considerate of my sons; for which, at any rate,
+I thank you. But, as you have begged my pardon for giving me this
+advice, I must beg yours for not taking it. My sons, sir, are of age,
+and must and will act for themselves. And as to their being in a state
+of rebellion against their king, I must take the liberty, sir, to deny
+that."
+
+"What, madam! not in rebellion against their king? Shooting at and
+killing his majesty's subjects like wolves! don't you call that
+rebellion against their king, madam?"
+
+"No, sir, they are only doing their duty, as God and nature commanded
+them, sir."
+
+"The d----l they are, madam!"
+
+"Yes, sir, and what you and every man in England would glory to do
+against the king, were he to dare to tax you contrary to your own
+consent and the constitution of the realm. 'Tis the king, sir, who is in
+rebellion against my sons, and not they against him. And could right
+prevail against might, he would as certainly lose his head as ever king
+Charles the First did."[83]
+
+  [83] Weems' Marion, pp. 182-3.
+
+
+
+
+A FAITHFUL LITTLE GIRL.
+
+  Labor in the path of duty
+  Beam'd up like a thing of beauty.
+
+                              C. P. CRANCH.
+
+
+"A very profane and profligate sailor, who belonged to a vessel lying in
+the port of New York, went out one day from his ship into the streets,
+bent on folly and wickedness. He met a pious little girl, whose feelings
+he tried to wound by using vile and sinful language. The little girl
+looked him earnestly in the face, warned him of his danger, and, with a
+solemn tone, told him to remember that he must meet her shortly at the
+bar of God. This unexpected reproof greatly affected him. To use his own
+language, 'it was like a broadside, raking him fore and aft, and
+sweeping by the board every sail and spar prepared for a wicked cruise.'
+Abashed and confounded, he returned to his ship. He could not banish
+from his mind the reproof of this little girl. Her look was present to
+his mind; her solemn declaration, 'You must meet me at the bar of God,'
+deeply affected his heart. The more he reflected upon it, the more
+uncomfortable he felt. In a few days his hard heart was subdued, and he
+submitted to the Saviour."
+
+
+
+
+HOSPITALITY OF CALIFORNIA WOMEN.
+
+  Blest that abode where want and pain repair,
+  And every stranger finds a ready chair.
+
+                                          GOLDSMITH.
+
+
+In his Three Years in California, the Rev. Walter Colton speaks as
+follows of the native women:
+
+Their hospitality knows no bounds; they are always glad to see you, come
+when you may; take a pleasure in entertaining you while you remain; and
+only regret that your business calls you away. If you are sick, there is
+nothing which sympathy and care can devise or perform, which is not done
+for you. No sister ever hung over the throbbing brain or fluttering
+pulse of a brother with more tenderness and fidelity. This is as true of
+the lady whose hand has only figured her embroidery or swept her guitar,
+as of the cottage-girl wringing from her laundry the foam of the
+mountain stream; and all this from the _heart_! If I must be cast, in
+sickness or destitution, on the care of a stranger, let it be in
+California; but let it be before avarice has hardened the heart and made
+a god of gold.
+
+
+
+
+SARAH LANMAN SMITH.
+
+  Where'er the path of duty led,
+  With an unquestioning faith she trod.
+
+                                   T. W. RENNE.
+
+
+Among the many names endeared to the friends of missions, is that of
+Sarah L. Smith, a native of Norwich, Connecticut. Her maiden name was
+Huntington. She was born in 1802; made a profession of religion in
+youth; became the wife of the Rev. Eli Smith in July, 1833; embarked
+with him for Palestine the September following; and died at Boojah, near
+Smyrna, the last day of September, 1836.
+
+Her work as a foreign missionary was quickly finished. She labored
+longer as a home missionary among the Moheagans, who live in the
+neighborhood of Norwich, and there displayed most conspicuously the
+moral heroism of her nature. In conjunction with Sarah Breed, she
+commenced her philanthropic operations in the year 1827. "The first
+object that drew them from the sphere of their own church, was the
+project of opening a Sabbath school for the poor Indian children of
+Moheagan. Satisfied that this was a work which Heaven would approve,
+they marked out their plans, and pursued them with untiring energy.
+Boldly they went forth, and, guided by the rising smoke or sounding axe,
+visited the Moheagans from field to field, and from hut to hut, till
+they had thoroughly informed themselves of their numbers, condition, and
+prospects. The opposition they encountered, the ridicule and opprobrium
+showered upon them from some quarters, the sullenness of the natives,
+the bluster of the white tenants, the brush wood and dry branches thrown
+across their pathway, could not discourage them. They saw no 'lions in
+the way,' while mercy, with pleading looks, beckoned them forward."
+
+The Moheagans then numbered a little more than one hundred, only one of
+whom was a professor of religion. She was ninety-seven years of age. In
+her hut the first prayer meeting and the first Sabbath school gathered
+by these young ladies, were held.
+
+Miss Breed soon removed from that part of the country, and Miss
+Huntington continued her labors for awhile alone. She was at that time
+very active in securing the formation of a society and the circulation
+of a subscription, having for their object the erection of a chapel. She
+found, ere long, a faithful co-worker in Miss Elizabeth Raymond. They
+taught a school in conjunction, and aside from their duties as teachers,
+were, at times, "advisers, counsellors, lawgivers, milliners,
+mantuamakers, tailoresses and almoners."[84]
+
+  [84] Missionary Offering, p. 86. We are indebted to the same source for
+  most of the particulars embraced in this article.
+
+"The school was kept in a house on Fort Hill, leased to a respectable
+farmer in whose family the young teachers boarded by alternate weeks,
+each going to the scene of labor every other Sabbath morning and
+remaining till the evening of the succeeding Sabbath, so that both were
+present in the Sabbath school, which was twice as large as the other. A
+single incident will serve to show the dauntless resolution which Miss
+Huntington carried into her pursuits. Just at the expiration of one of
+her terms of service during the winter, a heavy and tempestuous fall of
+snow blocked up the roads with such high drifts, that a friend who had
+been accustomed to go for her and convey her home in bad weather, and
+had started for this purpose in his sleigh, turned back, discouraged. No
+path had been broken, and the undertaking was so hazardous that he
+conceived no female would venture forth at such a time. He therefore
+called at her father's house to say that he should delay going for her
+till the morrow. What was his surprise to be met at the door by the
+young lady herself, who had reached home just before, having walked the
+whole distance on the hard crust of snow, _alone_, and some of the way
+over banks of snow that entirely obliterated the walls and fences by the
+roadside."
+
+While at Moheagan, Miss Huntington corresponded with the Hon. Lewis
+Cass, then Secretary of War, and secured his influence and the aid of
+that department. In 1832, a grant of nine hundred dollars was made from
+the fund devoted to the Indian department, five hundred being
+appropriated towards the erection of missionary buildings and four for
+the support of a teacher. Before leaving the Moheagan, for a wider
+field, this devoted and heroic missionary had the happiness of seeing a
+chapel, parsonage and school house, standing on "the sequestered
+land"[85] of her forest friends, and had thus partially repaid the debt
+of social and moral obligation to a tribe who fed the first and
+famishing settlers in Connecticut, and strove to protect them against
+the tomahawk of inimical tribes, and whose whoop was friendly to freedom
+when British aggressors were overriding American rights.
+
+  [85] That was its original name. It is a reserved tract; contains
+  between two and three thousand acres, and a considerable part is now
+  occupied by white tenants. Its situation is on the Thames, between New
+  London and Norwich.
+
+
+
+
+A BROTHER SAVED BY HIS SISTER.
+
+  Brave spirits are a balsam to themselves.
+
+                                     CARTWRIGHT.
+
+
+During the invasion of the Mohawk valley by Sir John Johnson, Samson
+Sammons, of Johnstown, and his three sons, were taken captive early one
+morning in May. The females were not made prisoners. While a soldier was
+standing sentinel over the youngest son, named Thomas, who was about
+eighteen, the latter, who was not more than half dressed, said he was
+not going to Canada in such a plight; that he should need his shoes
+especially; and asked permission to go to his chamber and get his
+clothes. The favor was not granted; but Thomas, resolving to have his
+shoes, stepped towards the door, when the barbarous soldier pointed a
+bayonet at his back, and made a plunge. At that moment a sister, who had
+watched every movement with breathless anxiety, sprang forward, seized
+the gun, threw herself across its barrel, bore it to the ground, and
+thus saved her brother's life. After a brief struggle, the soldier
+disengaged his weapon, but before he had time to make another plunge,
+an officer rushed forward and asked what was the trouble. The heroic
+girl stated the case, when the soldier was severely rebuked, and her
+brother permitted to obtain his shoes and all the raiment he
+desired.[86]
+
+  [86] It may be interesting to the reader to know that Thomas Sammons did
+  not go to Canada. He was released in the afternoon of the same day, with
+  some other persons who had been taken prisoners during the forenoon.
+  Feigning extreme lameness in one foot, he attracted the attention and
+  excited the sympathy of the widow of a British officer: she had resided
+  in the neighborhood, knew many of the captives, and as some were her
+  personal friends, she asked Sir John to permit their release. He did so;
+  and on going into the field to select them, writes Colonel Stone, "she
+  adroitly smuggled young Sammons into the group, and led him away in
+  safety."
+
+
+
+
+PATRIOTIC SACRIFICE OF MRS. BORDEN.
+
+  They love their land because it is their own.
+
+                                             HALLECK.
+
+
+At the darkest period of the Revolution, New Jersey was, for a short
+time, full of British soldiers, and Lord Cornwallis was stationed at
+Bordentown.[87] He visited Mrs. Borden one day, at her elegant mansion,
+and made an effort to intimidate her. He told her that if she would
+persuade her husband and son, who were then in the American army, to
+join his forces, none of her property should be destroyed; but if she
+refused to make such exertions, he would burn her house, and lay waste
+her whole estate. Unintimidated and patriotic, she made the following
+bold reply, which caused the execution of the threat: "The sight of my
+house in flames would be a treat to me, for I have seen enough to know
+that you never injure what you have power to keep and enjoy. The
+application of a torch to my dwelling I should regard as the signal for
+your departure." And such it was.
+
+  [87] Major Garden.
+
+
+
+
+MARGARET CORBIN.
+
+  Where cannon boomed, where bayonets clashed,
+  There was thy fiery way.
+
+                                       SARA J. CLARKE.
+
+
+An act similar to that recorded of Mrs. Pitcher at the battle of
+Monmouth, was performed by Mrs. Margaret Corbin at the attack on Fort
+Washington. Her husband belonged to the artillery; and, standing by his
+side and seeing him fall, she unhesitatingly took his place and
+heroically performed his duties. Her services were appreciated by the
+officers of the army, and honorably noticed by Congress. This body
+passed the following resolution in July, 1779:
+
+"Resolved,--That Margaret Corbin, wounded and disabled at the battle of
+Fort Washington, while she heroically filled the post of her husband,
+who was killed by her side serving a piece of artillery, do receive
+during her natural life, or continuance of said disability, one-half the
+monthly pay drawn by a soldier in service of these States; and that she
+now receive out of public stores, one suit of clothes or value thereof
+in money."
+
+
+
+
+BRAVERY OF MRS. CHANNING.
+
+                          ----The truly brave,
+  When they behold the brave oppressed with odds,
+  Are touched with a desire to shield or save.
+
+                                               BYRON.
+
+
+Soon after the commencement of the Revolutionary war, the family of Dr.
+Channing,[88] being in England, removed to France, and shortly
+afterwards sailed for the United States. The vessel, said to be stout
+and well-armed, was attacked on the voyage by a privateer, and a fierce
+engagement ensued. During its continuance, Mrs. Channing stood on the
+deck, exhorting the crew not to give up, encouraging them with words of
+cheer, handing them cartridges, and aiding such of them as were disabled
+by wounds. When, at length, the colors of the vessel were struck, she
+seized her husband's pistols and side arms, and flung them into the sea,
+declaring that she would prefer death to the witnessing of their
+surrender into the hands of the foe.
+
+  [88] This anecdote, which is recorded in several works, cannot refer to
+  the late William Ellery Channing, as he was not born at the commencement
+  of the Revolution.
+
+
+
+
+COMMENDABLE COURAGE.
+
+  Have chivalry's bold days
+  A deed of wilder bravery
+  In all their stirring lays?
+
+                     SARA J. CLARKE
+
+
+An incident which occurred at one of the forts in the Mohawk valley,
+might have been mentioned in connection with the heroism of Schoharie
+women. It is briefly related by the author of Border Wars of the
+American Revolution. "An interesting young woman," he writes, "whose
+name yet lives in story among her own mountains, perceiving, as she
+thought, symptoms of fear in a soldier who had been ordered to a well
+without the works, and within range of the enemy's fire, for water,
+snatched the bucket from his hands, and ran forth for it herself.
+Without changing color, or giving the slightest evidence of fear, she
+drew and brought back bucket after bucket to the thirsty soldiers, and
+providentially escaped without injury."
+
+
+
+
+THE HEROINE OF SHELL'S BUSH.
+
+  I dare do all that may become a man.
+  Who dares do more, is none.
+
+                                SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+For three-fourths of a century, there has been a wealthy settlement of
+Germans four or five miles north of the village of Herkimer, in the
+upper part of the Mohawk valley, called Shell's Bush. Among the early
+settlers, was John Christian Shell, who had a family of six brave sons
+and a no less brave wife. When, on the sixth of August, 1781, a Scotch
+refugee named Donald McDonald, at the head of sixty-six tories and
+Indians, attacked that settlement, Mrs. Shell acted the part of an
+heroic dame. The house was built for border emergencies, and when the
+enemy approached, the husband and older boys[89] fled from the fields,
+entered their castle, and strongly barricaded the doors. From two
+o'clock in the afternoon until twilight, the besieged kept up an almost
+incessant firing, Mrs. Shell loading the guns for her husband and older
+sons to discharge. During the siege, McDonald attempted to force the
+door with a crow bar, and was shot in the leg, seized by Shell and drawn
+within doors. Exasperated at this bold feat, the enemy soon attempted to
+carry the fortress by assault, five of them leaping upon the walls and
+thrusting their guns through the loopholes. At that moment the cool and
+courageous woman seized an axe, smote the barrels and bent and spoiled
+them. Her husband then resorted to stratagem to drive the besiegers
+away: running up stairs and calling to Mrs. Shell in a very loud voice,
+he said that Captain Small was approaching with help from Fort Dayton.
+Then raising his voice to its highest pitch, he exclaimed, "Captain
+Small, march your company round upon this side of the house. Captain
+Getman, you had better wheel your men off to the left, and come up upon
+that side."[90] Fearing the phantom troops whom Mr. Shell's imagination
+had conjured, the enemy shouldered their guns--crooked barreled and
+all--and quickly buried themselves in the dense forest.
+
+  [89] The two youngest boys, who were twins and about eight years old,
+  were captured; and when the enemy fled, they were carried away as
+  prisoners.
+
+  [90] Border Wars of the American Revolution, vol. 2, p. 153.
+
+
+
+
+FATHER TAYLOR'S WIDOWED FRIEND.
+
+  Humble toil and heavenward duty.
+
+                            MRS. HALE.
+
+
+"A pious widow, who resided among ignorant and vicious neighbors in the
+suburbs of B----, Massachusetts, determined to do what she could for
+their spiritual benefit; and so she opened her little front room for
+weekly prayer meetings, and engaged some pious Methodists to aid in
+conducting them. Much of the seed thus scattered on a seemingly arid
+soil, produced fruit. One instance deserves special notice.
+
+"Among others who attended, was a young sailor of intelligent and
+prepossessing countenance. A slight acquaintance with him discovered him
+to be very ignorant of even the rudiments of education; but, at the same
+time, he had such manifestly superior abilities, that the widow became
+much interested in his spiritual welfare, and could not but hope that
+God would in some way provide for his further instruction, convert him
+and render him useful. But in the midst of her anticipations, he was
+suddenly summoned away to sea. He had been out but a short time when the
+vessel was seized by a British privateer and carried into Halifax,
+where the crew suffered by a long and wretched imprisonment.
+
+"A year had passed away, during which the good woman had heard nothing
+of the young sailor. Still she remembered and prayed for him with the
+solicitude of a mother. About this time, she received a letter from her
+relations, who resided in Halifax, on business which required her to go
+to that town. While there, her habitual disposition to be useful, led
+her with a few friends to visit the prison with Bibles and tracts. In
+one apartment were the American prisoners. As she approached the grated
+door, a voice shouted her name, calling her mother, and a youth appeared
+and leaped for joy at the grate. It was the lost sailor boy! They wept
+and conversed like mother and son, and when she left she gave him a
+Bible--his future guide and comfort. During her stay at Halifax, she
+constantly visited the prison, supplying the youth with tracts,
+religious books, and clothing, and endeavoring by her conversation to
+secure the religious impression made on his mind at the prayer meetings
+in B----. After many months she removed to a distant part of the
+provinces; and for years she heard nothing more of the young sailor.
+
+"We pass over a period of many years, and introduce the reader to Father
+T----, the distinguished mariners' preacher in the city of B----. In a
+spacious and substantial chapel, crowded about by the worst habitations
+in the city, this distinguished man delivered every Sabbath, discourses
+as extraordinary, perhaps, as are to be found in the Christian world.
+In the centre column of seats, guarded sacredly against all other
+intrusion, sat a dense mass of mariners--a strange medley of white,
+black, and olive; Protestant, Catholic, and Pagan. On the other seats in
+the galleries, the aisles, the altar, and on the pulpit stairs, were
+crowded, week after week, and year after year--the families of sailors,
+and the poor who had no other temple--the elite of the city--the learned
+professor--the student--the popular writer--the actor--groups of
+clergymen, and the votaries of gayety and fashion, listening with
+throbbing hearts and wet eyes, to a man whose only school had been the
+forecastle, and whose only endowments were those of grace and nature.
+
+"In the year 183--, an aged English local preacher moved into the city
+of B---- from the British provinces.
+
+"The old local preacher was mingling in a public throng one day with a
+friend, when they met 'Father T----.' A few words of introduction led to
+a free conversation, in which the former residence of his wife in the
+city was mentioned, and allusion was made to her prayer meeting--her
+former name was asked by 'Father T----;' he seemed seized by an
+impulse--inquired their residence, hastened away, and in a short time
+arrived in a carriage, with all his family, at the home of the aged
+pair. There a scene ensued which must be left to the imagination of the
+reader. 'Father T----' was the sailor boy of the prayer meeting and the
+prison. The old lady was the widow who had first cared for his soul."
+
+
+
+
+PICTURE OF A REVOLUTIONARY MOTHER.
+
+  This is my own, my native land.
+
+                                      SCOTT.
+
+  True wit is nature to advantage dressed.
+
+                                        POPE.
+
+
+Mrs. Eliza Wilkinson resided during the Revolution on Yonge's island,
+thirty miles south of Charleston, South Carolina. She was a cheerful,
+witty and accomplished young widow, and a keen sufferer on account of
+her whig principles. Her letters, arranged by Mrs. Gilman, and published
+several years ago, afford a panoramic view of many dark scenes at the
+gloomiest period of American history, and beautifully daguerreotype her
+own pure and patriotic heart. A single extract will show her character.
+She visited the city of Charleston soon after its surrender, and
+witnessed the departure of her exiled friends. Referring to matters
+about that period, she writes:
+
+"Once I was asked by a British officer to play the guitar.
+
+"'I cannot play; I am very dull.'
+
+"'How long do you intend to continue so, Mrs. Wilkinson?'
+
+"'Until my countrymen return, sir!'
+
+"'Return as what, madam?--prisoners or subjects?'
+
+"'As conquerors, sir.'
+
+"He affected a laugh. 'You will never see that, madam!'
+
+"'I live in hopes, sir, of seeing the thirteen stripes hoisted once more
+on the bastions of this garrison.'
+
+"'Do not hope so; but come, give us a tune on the guitar.'
+
+"'I can play nothing but rebel songs.'
+
+"'Well, let us have one of them.'
+
+"'Not to-day--I cannot play--I will not play; besides, I suppose I
+should be put into the Provost for such a heinous crime.'
+
+"I have often wondered since, I was not packed off, too; for I was very
+saucy, and never disguised my sentiments.
+
+"One day Kitty and I were going to take a walk on the Bay, to get
+something we wanted. Just as we had got our hats on, up ran one of the
+Billets into the dining-room, where we were.
+
+"'Your servant, ladies.'
+
+"'Your servant, sir.'
+
+"'Going out, ladies?'
+
+"'Only to take a little walk.'
+
+"He immediately turned about and ran down stairs. I guessed for what....
+He offered me his hand, or rather arm, to lean upon.
+
+"'Excuse me, sir,' said I; 'I will support myself if you please.'
+
+"'No, madam, the pavements are very uneven; you may get a fall; do
+accept my arm.'
+
+"'Pardon me, I cannot.'
+
+"'Come, you do not know what your condescension may do. I will turn
+rebel!'
+
+"'Will you?' said I, laughingly--'Turn rebel first, and then offer your
+arm.'
+
+"We stopped in another store, where were several British officers. After
+asking for the articles I wanted, I saw a broad roll of ribbon, which
+appeared to be of black and white stripes.
+
+"'Go,' said I to the officer who was with us, 'and reckon the stripes of
+that ribbon; see if they are _thirteen_!' (with an emphasis I spoke the
+word)--and he went, too!
+
+"'Yes, they are thirteen, upon my word, madam.'
+
+"'Do hand it me.' He did so; I took it, and found that it was narrow
+black ribbon, carefully wound round a broad white. I returned it to its
+place on the shelf.
+
+"'Madam,' said the merchant, 'you can buy the black and white too, and
+tack them in stripes.'
+
+"By no means, sir; I would not have them _slightly tacked_, but _firmly
+united_.' The above mentioned officers sat on the counter kicking their
+heels. How they gaped at me when I said this! But the merchant laughed
+heartily."
+
+
+
+
+SUCCESSFUL DARING.
+
+  ----He stopped the fliers.
+
+                  SHAKSPEARE'S CORIOLANUS.
+
+
+Many years ago, while a stage was passing through Temple, New Hampshire,
+the driver's seat gave way, and himself and a gentleman seated with him,
+were precipitated to the ground. The latter was killed. The horses took
+fright at the noise, and ran a mile or more at full speed. Meanwhile,
+Miss Abigail Brown, the only inside passenger and now the sole occupant
+of the stage, endeavored, by speaking soothingly, to stop the horses. At
+length they came to a high hill, when their speed began to slacken, and
+Miss Brown, having previously opened the door and taken a convenient
+position to alight, sprang out. Not content to save her own life, but
+bent on acting the part of a heroine, she rushed forward, seized the
+leaders, turned them out of the road, and held them fast till persons
+whom she had passed and who had tried to stop the flying steeds, came to
+her relief. Had this feat, trifling as it may seem, been performed by
+the wife of some Roman dignitary, she would have been apotheosized and
+her biography inserted in Lempriere's Classical Dictionary.
+
+
+
+
+WORTHY EXAMPLE OF FORGIVENESS
+
+  They who forgive most shall be most forgiven.--BAILEY.
+
+
+"A worthy old colored woman in the city of New York, was one day walking
+along the street, on some errand to a neighboring store, with her
+tobacco pipe in her mouth, quietly smoking. A jovial sailor, rendered a
+little mischievous by liquor, came sawing down the street, and when
+opposite our good Phillis, saucily crowded her aside, and with a pass of
+his hand knocked her pipe out of her mouth. He then halted to hear her
+fret at his trick, and enjoy a laugh at her expense. But what was his
+astonishment, when she meekly picked up the pieces of her broken pipe,
+without the least resentment in her manner, and giving him a dignified
+look of mingled sorrow, kindness and pity, said, 'God forgive you, my
+son, as I do.' It touched a tender cord in the heart of the rude tar. He
+felt ashamed, condemned and repentant. The tear started in his eye; he
+must make reparation. He heartily confessed his error, and thrusting
+both hands into his two full pockets of '_change_,' forced the contents
+upon her, exclaiming, 'God bless you, kind mother, I'll never do so
+again.'"
+
+
+
+
+CROOKSHANKS SAVED BY A FEMALE.
+
+                    ----Oh the tender ties,
+  Close twisted with the fibres of the heart.
+
+                                            YOUNG.
+
+
+The night before the surprise of Georgetown, Adjutant Crookshanks, one
+of the enemy's officers, together with some of his commissioned
+comrades, slept at a public house. The next morning it was surrounded,
+and the Adjutant would have lost his life, but for the interposition of
+the landlord's daughter, to whom he was affianced. Awakened and, at
+first, alarmed by the firing without and the bustle at the door, and
+hearing her lover's voice, she sprung out of bed and rushed, half
+dressed, into the piazza. At that moment the swords of her countrymen
+were raised over his head, and she threw her arms around his neck,
+exclaiming, "O save! save Major Crookshanks!" Though made a prisoner, he
+was forthwith paroled, and left, for the time, with the brave and
+true-hearted maiden.
+
+
+
+
+A PATRIOTIC ARTIST.
+
+  Genius, the Pythian of the Beautiful,
+  Leaves its large truths a riddle to the dull.
+
+                                              BULWER.
+
+
+"At the commencement of the Revolution, Mrs. Wright, a native of
+Pennsylvania, a distinguished modeler of likenesses and figures of wax,
+was exhibiting specimens of her skill in London. The king of Great
+Britain, pleased with her talents, gave her liberal encouragement, and,
+finding her a great politician, and an enthusiastic republican, would
+often enter into discussion relative to passing occurrences, and
+endeavored to refute her opinion with regard to the probable issue of
+the war. The frankness with which she delivered her sentiments, seemed
+rather to please than to offend him; which was a fortunate circumstance,
+for, when he asked an opinion, she gave it without constraint, or the
+least regard to consequences. I remember to have heard her say, that on
+one occasion, the monarch, irritated by some disaster to his troops,
+where he had prognosticated a triumph, exclaimed with warmth: 'I wish,
+Mrs. Wright, you would tell me how it will be possible to check the
+silly infatuation of your countrymen, restore them to reason, and
+render them good and obedient subjects.'--'I consider their submission
+to your majesty's government is now altogether out of the question,'
+replied Mrs. Wright: 'friends you may make them, but never subjects; for
+America, before a king can reign there, must become a wilderness,
+without any other inhabitants than the beasts of the forest. The
+opponents of the decrees of your parliament, rather than submit, would
+perish to a man; but if the restoration of peace be seriously the object
+of your wishes, I am confident that it needs but the striking off of
+_three heads_ to produce it.'--'O, Lord North's and Lord George
+Germaine's, beyond all question; and where is the third head?' 'O, sir,
+politeness forbids me to name _him_. Your majesty could never wish me to
+forget myself, and be guilty of an incivility.'
+
+"In her exhibition room, one group of figures particularly attracted
+attention; and by all who knew her sentiments, was believed to be a
+pointed hint at the results which might follow the wild ambition of the
+monarch. The busts of the king and queen of Great Britain, were placed
+on a table, apparently intently gazing on a head, which a figure, an
+excellent representation of herself, was modeling in its lap. It was the
+head of the unfortunate Charles the First."
+
+
+
+
+TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT AMONG MOHAWK WOMEN.
+
+  Beware the bowl! though rich and bright
+  Its rubies flash upon the sight,
+  An adder coils its depths beneath,
+  Whose lure is woe, whose sting is death.
+
+                                          STREET.
+
+
+In the years 1801 and 1802, great efforts were made by the chiefs of the
+Mohawk Indians to prevent the sale of spirituous liquors among their
+people. In this humane movement the women of the tribe readily joined;
+and having assembled in council, on the twenty-second of May, 1802, they
+addressed the chiefs, whom they had summoned, as follows:
+
+"UNCLES,--Some time ago the women of this place spoke to you, but you
+did not then answer them, as you considered their meeting not
+sufficient. Now, a considerable number of those from below having met
+and consulted together, join in sentiment, and lament, as it were with
+tears in our eyes, the many misfortunes caused by the use of spirituous
+liquors. We therefore mutually request that you will use your endeavors
+to have it removed from our neighborhood, that there may be none sold
+nigher to us than the mountain. We flatter ourselves that this is in
+your power, and that you will have compassion on our uneasiness, and
+exert yourselves to have it done." STRINGS OF WAMPUM.
+
+This appeal had a good effect on the chiefs; and received suitable
+attention, drawing from them the following reply. It was delivered by
+Captain Brant:
+
+"NIECES,--We are fully convinced of the justice of your request;
+drinking has caused the many misfortunes in this place, and has been,
+besides, a great cause of the divisions, by the effect it has upon the
+people's speech. We assure you, therefore, that we will use our
+endeavours to effect what you desire. However, it depends in a great
+measure upon government, as the distance you propose is within their
+line. We cannot, therefore, absolutely promise that our request will be
+complied with."
+
+STRINGS. 29
+
+
+
+
+A FEMALE IN THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY.
+
+  She'll be a soldier too, she'll to the wars.
+
+                                       SHAKSPEARE.
+
+
+Deborah Samson, the daughter of very poor parents, of Plymouth county,
+Massachusetts, began, when about twenty years of age, to feel the
+patriotic zeal which had prompted the sterner sex in her neighborhood to
+take up arms in their country's defence. She accordingly assumed male
+attire, and enlisted in the Revolutionary army. We agree with Mrs. Ellet
+that, while this course cannot be commended, her exemplary conduct,
+after taking the first step, goes far to plead her excuse, and is worthy
+of record. Her method of obtaining men's garments, and her military
+career, are thus narrated by the author just mentioned:
+
+By keeping the district school for a summer term, she had amassed the
+sum of twelve dollars. She purchased a quantity of coarse fustian, and,
+working at intervals when she could be secure from observation, made up
+a suit of men's clothing; each article, as it was finished, being hid
+in a stack of hay. Having completed her preparations, she announced her
+intention of going where she could obtain better wages for her labor.
+Her new clothes and such articles as she wished to take with her, were
+tied in a bundle. The lonely girl departed; but went not far, probably
+only to the shelter of the nearest wood, before putting on the disguise
+she was so eager to assume. Although not beautiful, her features were
+animated and pleasing, and her figure, tall for a woman, was finely
+proportioned. As a man, she might have been called handsome; her general
+appearance was extremely prepossessing, and her manner calculated to
+inspire confidence.
+
+She now pursued her way to the American army, where she presented
+herself, in October, 1778, as a young man anxious to join his efforts to
+those of his countrymen, in their endeavors to oppose the common enemy.
+Her acquaintances, meanwhile, supposed her engaged in service at a
+distance. Rumors of her elopement with a British soldier, and even of
+her death, were afterwards current in the neighborhood where she had
+resided; but none were sufficiently interested to make such search for
+her as might have led to a discovery.
+
+Distrusting her own constancy, and resolute to continue in the service,
+notwithstanding any change of her inclination, she enlisted for the
+whole term of the war. She was received and enrolled in the army by the
+name of Robert Shirtliffe. She was one of the first volunteers in the
+company of Captain Nathan Thayer of Medway, Massachusetts; and as the
+young recruit appeared to have no home or connections, the Captain gave
+her a home in his family until his company should be full, when they
+were to join the main army.
+
+We now find her performing the duties and enduring the fatigues of
+military life. During the seven weeks she passed in the family of
+Captain Thayer, she had time both for experience and reflection; but, in
+after years, her constant declaration was that she never, for one
+moment, repented or regretted the step she had taken. Accustomed to
+labor from childhood, upon the farm and in out-door employment, she had
+acquired unusual vigor of constitution; her frame was robust, and of
+masculine strength; and having thus gained a degree of hardihood, she
+was enabled to acquire great expertness and precision in the manual
+exercise, and to undergo what a female delicately nurtured would have
+found it impossible to endure. Soon after they had joined the company,
+the recruits were supplied with uniforms by a kind of lottery. That
+drawn by Robert did not fit; but, taking needle and scissors, he soon
+altered it to suit him. To Mrs. Thayer's expression of surprise, at
+finding a young man so expert in using the implements of feminine
+industry, the answer was--that his mother having no girl, he had been
+often obliged to practice the seamstress's art.
+
+While in the house of Captain Thayer, a young girl visiting his wife,
+was much in the society of Deborah, or, as she was then called, Robert.
+Coquettish by nature, and perhaps priding herself on the conquest of
+the "blooming soldier," she suffered her growing partiality to be
+perceived. Robert, on his part, felt a curiosity to learn by new
+experience how soon a maiden's fancy might be won; and had no scruples
+in paying attentions to one so volatile and fond of flirtation, with
+whom it was not likely the impression would be lasting. This little
+piece of romance gave some uneasiness to the worthy Mrs. Thayer, who
+could not help observing that the liking of her fair visitor for Robert
+was not fully reciprocated. She took an opportunity of remonstrating
+with the young soldier, and showed what unhappiness might be the
+consequence of such folly, and how unworthy it was of a brave man to
+trifle with a girl's feelings. The caution was taken in good part, and
+it is not known that the "love passage" was continued, though Robert
+received at parting some tokens of remembrance, which were treasured as
+relics in after years.
+
+For three years our heroine appeared in the character of a soldier,
+being part of the time employed as a waiter in the family of Colonel
+Patterson. During this time, and in both situations, her exemplary
+conduct, and the fidelity with which her duties were performed, gained
+the approbation and confidence of the officers. She was a volunteer in
+several hazardous enterprizes, and was twice wounded, the first time by
+a sword cut on the left side of the head. Many were the adventures she
+passed through; as she herself would often say, volumes might be filled
+with them. Sometimes placed, unavoidably, in circumstances in which she
+feared detection, she nevertheless escaped without the least suspicion
+being awakened among her comrades. The soldiers were in the habit of
+calling her "Molly," in playful allusion to her want of a beard; but not
+one of them ever dreamed that the gallant youth fighting by their side,
+was in reality a female.
+
+About four months after her first wound she received another severe one,
+being shot through the shoulder. Her first emotion when the ball
+entered, she described to be a sickening terror at the probability that
+her sex would be discovered. She felt that death on the battle-field
+were preferable to the shame that would overwhelm her, and ardently
+prayed that the wound might close her earthly campaign. But, strange as
+it may seem, she escaped this time also unsuspected; and soon recovering
+her strength, was able again to take her place at the post of duty, and
+in the deadly conflict. Her immunity was not, however, destined long to
+continue--she was seized with a brain fever, then prevalent among the
+soldiers. For the few days that reason struggled against the disease,
+her sufferings were indescribable; and most terrible of all was the
+dread lest consciousness should desert her, and the secret she had
+guarded so carefully be revealed to those around her. She was carried to
+the hospital, and there could only ascribe her escape to the number of
+patients, and the negligent manner in which they were attended. Her case
+was considered a hopeless one, and she perhaps received less attention
+on this account. One day the physician of the hospital, inquiring--"How
+is Robert?" received from the nurse in attendance the answer--"Poor Bob
+is gone." The doctor went to the bed, and taking the hand of the youth
+supposed dead, found that the pulse was still feebly beating; attempting
+to place his hand on the heart, he perceived that a bandage was fastened
+tightly around the breast. This was removed, and to his utter
+astonishment he discovered a female patient where he had least expected
+one!
+
+This gentleman was Dr. Binney, of Philadelphia. With a prudence,
+delicacy and generosity, ever afterwards warmly appreciated by the
+unfortunate sufferer, he said not a word of his discovery, but paid her
+every attention, and provided every comfort her perilous condition
+required. As soon as she could be removed with safety, he had her taken
+to his own house, where she could receive better care. His family
+wondered not a little at the unusual interest manifested for the poor
+invalid soldier.
+
+Here occurred another of those romances in real life, which in
+strangeness surpass fiction. The doctor had a young and lovely niece, an
+heiress to considerable property, whose compassionate feelings led her
+to join her uncle in bestowing kindness on the friendless youth. Many
+censured the uncle's imprudence in permitting them to be so much in each
+other's society, and to take drives so frequently together. The doctor
+laughed to himself at the warnings and hints he received, and thought
+how foolish the censorious would feel when the truth should come out.
+His knowledge, meanwhile, was buried in his own bosom, nor shared even
+with the members of his family. The niece was allowed to be as much with
+the invalid as suited her pleasure. Her gentle heart was touched by the
+misfortunes she had contributed to alleviate; the pale and melancholy
+soldier, for whose fate no one seemed to care, who had no possession in
+the world save his sword, who had suffered so much in the cause of
+liberty, became dear to her. She saw his gratitude for the benefits and
+kindness received, yet knew by intuition that he would never dare aspire
+to the hand of one so gifted by fortune. In the confiding abandonment of
+woman's love, the fair girl made known her attachment, and offered to
+provide for the education of its object before marriage. Deborah often
+declared that the moment in which she learned that she had unwittingly
+gained the love of a being so guileless, was fraught with the keenest
+anguish she ever experienced. In return for the hospitality and tender
+care that had been lavished upon her, she had inflicted pain upon one
+she would have died to shield. Her former entanglement had caused no
+uneasiness, but this was a heart of a different mould; no way of amends
+seemed open, except confession of her real character, and to that,
+though impelled by remorse and self-reproach, she could not bring
+herself. She merely said to the generous girl, that they would meet
+again; and, though ardently desiring the possession of an education,
+that she could not avail herself of the noble offer. Before her
+departure, the young lady pressed on her acceptance several articles of
+needful clothing, such as in those times many of the soldiers received
+from fair hands. All these were afterwards lost by the upsetting of a
+boat, except the shirt and vest Robert had on at the time, which are
+still preserved as relics in the family.
+
+Her health being now nearly restored, the physician had a long
+conference with the commanding officer of the company in which Robert
+had served, and this was followed by an order to the youth to carry a
+letter to General Washington.
+
+Her worst fears were now confirmed. From the time of her removal into
+the doctor's family, she had cherished a misgiving which sometimes
+amounted almost to a certainty, that he had discovered her deception. In
+conversation with him she anxiously watched his countenance, but not a
+word or look indicated suspicion, and she had again flattered herself
+that she was safe from detection. When the order came for her to deliver
+a letter into the hands of the Commander-in-chief, she could no longer
+deceive herself.
+
+There remained no course but simple obedience. When she presented
+herself for admission at the head-quarters of Washington, she trembled
+as she had never done before the enemy's fire. Her heart sunk within
+her: she strove in vain to collect and compose herself, and, overpowered
+with dread and uncertainty, was ushered into the presence of the Chief.
+He noticed her extreme agitation, and, supposing it to proceed from
+diffidence, kindly endeavored to re-assure her. He then bade her retire
+with an attendant, who was directed to offer her some refreshment, while
+he read the communication of which she had been the bearer.
+
+Within a short time she was again summoned into the presence of
+Washington. He said not a word, but handed her in silence a discharge
+from the service, putting into her hand at the same time a note
+containing a few brief words of advice, and a sum of money sufficient to
+bear her expenses to some place where she might find a home. The
+delicacy and forbearance thus observed affected her sensibly. "How
+thankful," she has often said, "was I to that great and good man who so
+kindly spared my feelings! He saw me ready to sink with shame; one word
+from him at that moment would have crushed me to the earth. But he spoke
+no word--and I blessed him for it."
+
+After the termination of the war, she married Benjamin Gannett, of
+Sharon. When Washington was President, she received a letter inviting
+Robert Shirtliffe, or rather Mrs. Gannett, to visit the seat of
+government. Congress was then in session, and during her stay at the
+capital, a bill was passed granting her a pension in addition to certain
+lands, which she was to receive as an acknowledgment for her services to
+the country in a military capacity. She was invited to the houses of
+several of the officers, and to parties given in the city; attentions
+which manifested the high estimation in which she was there held.
+
+
+
+
+HOSPITALITY OF ELIZABETH BRANT.
+
+  Stranger, whoe'er thou art, securely rest
+  Affianced in my faith, a friendly guest.
+
+                                           POPE.
+
+
+At the close of the last war, John and Elizabeth Brant, children of the
+celebrated warrior, took possession of their father's mansion at the
+head of lake Ontario, and dispensed his "ancient hospitalities." While
+making the tour of Canada West with two of his daughters, in 1819, James
+Buchanan, Esq., British consul for the port of New York, visited the
+"Brant House," and afterwards published the following interesting
+account in a small volume of Indian sketches:
+
+"After stopping more than a week under the truly hospitable roof of the
+Honorable Colonel Clarke, at the Falls of Niagara, I determined to
+proceed by land, round lake Ontario, to York; and Mrs. Clarke offered to
+give my daughters a letter of introduction to a Miss Brant, advising us
+to arrange our time so as to sleep and stop a day or two in the house of
+that lady, as she was certain we should be much pleased with her and her
+brother. Our friend did not intimate, still less did we suspect, that
+the introduction was to an Indian prince and princess. Had we been in
+the least aware of this, our previous arrangements would all have given
+way, as there was nothing I was more anxious to obtain than an
+opportunity such as this was so well calculated to afford, of seeing in
+what degree the Indian character would be modified by a conformity to
+the habits and comforts of civilized life.
+
+"Proceeding on our journey, we stopped at an inn, romantically situated,
+where I determined to remain all night. Among other things, I inquired
+of the landlord if he knew the distance to Miss Brant's house, and from
+him I learned that it was about twenty miles farther. He added, that
+young Mr. Brant had passed that way in the forenoon, and would, no
+doubt, be returning in the evening, and that, if I wished it, he would
+be on the lookout for him. This I desired the landlord to do, as it
+would enable me to intimate our introduction to his sister, and
+intention of waiting on her the next morning.
+
+"At dusk Mr. Brant returned, and, being introduced into our room, we
+were unable to distinguish his complexion, and conversed with him,
+believing him to be a young Canadian gentleman. We did not, however,
+fail to observe a certain degree of hesitation and reserve in the manner
+of his speech. He certainly expressed a wish that we would do his sister
+and himself the favor of spending a few days with them, in order to
+refresh ourselves and our horses: but we thought his style more laconic
+than hospitable. Before candles were brought in our new friend departed,
+leaving us still in error as to his nation.
+
+"By four o'clock in the morning we resumed our journey. On arriving at
+the magnificent shores of lake Ontario, the driver of our carriage
+pointed out, at the distance of five miles, the house of Miss Brant,
+which had a very noble and commanding aspect; and we anticipated much
+pleasure in our visit. Young Mr. Brant, it appeared, unaware that with
+our carriage we could have reached his house so soon, had not arrived
+before us; so that our approach was not announced, and we drove up to
+the door under the full persuasion that the family would be apprised of
+our coming. The outer door, leading to a spacious hall, was open. We
+entered and remained a few minutes, when, seeing no person about, we
+proceeded into the parlor, which, like the hall, was for the moment
+unoccupied. We therefore had an opportunity of looking about us at our
+leisure. It was a room well furnished, with a carpet, pier and chimney
+glasses, mahogany tables, fashionable chairs, a guitar, a neat hanging
+bookcase, in which, among other volumes, we perceived a Church of
+England Prayer Book, translated into the Mohawk tongue. Having sent our
+note of introduction in by the coachman, and still no person waiting on
+us, we began to suspect (more especially in the hungry state we were in)
+that some delay or difficulty about breakfast stood in the way of the
+young lady's appearance. I can assure my readers that a keen morning's
+ride on the shores of an American lake is an exercise of all others
+calculated to make the appetite clamorous, if not insolent. We had
+already penetrated into the parlor, and were beginning to meditate a
+farther exploration in search of the pantry, when, to our unspeakable
+astonishment, in walked a charming, noble-looking Indian girl, dressed
+partly in the native and partly in the English costume. Her hair was
+confined on the head in a silk net, but the lower tresses, escaping from
+thence, flowed down on her shoulders. Under a tunic or morning dress of
+black silk was a petticoat of the same material and color, which reached
+very little below the knee. Her silk stockings and kid shoes were, like
+the rest of her dress, black. The grace and dignity of her movement, the
+style of her dress and manner, so new, so unexpected, filled us all with
+astonishment. With great ease, yet by no means in that commonplace mode
+so generally prevalent on such occasions, she inquired how we found the
+roads, accommodations, etc. No flutter was at all apparent on account of
+the delay in getting breakfast; no fidgeting and fuss-making, no running
+in and out, no idle expressions of regret, such as 'Oh! dear me! had I
+known of your coming, you would not have been kept in this way!' but,
+with perfect ease she maintained conversation, until a squaw, wearing a
+man's hat, brought in a tray with preparations for breakfast. A
+table-cloth of fine white damask being laid, we were regaled with tea,
+coffee, hot rolls, butter in water and ice-coolers, eggs, smoked beef,
+ham, broiled chickens, etc., all served in a truly neat and comfortable
+style. The delay, we afterwards discovered, arose from the desire of our
+hostess to supply us with hot rolls, which were actually baked while we
+were waiting. I have been thus minute in my description of these
+comforts, as they were so little to be expected in the house of an
+Indian.
+
+"After breakfast Miss Brant took my daughters out to walk, and look at
+the picturesque scenery of the country. She and her brother had
+previously expressed a hope that we would stay all day; but, though I
+wished of all things to do so, and had determined, in the event of their
+pressing their invitation, to accept it, yet I declined the proposal at
+first, and thus forfeited a pleasure which we all of us longed in our
+hearts to enjoy; for, as I afterward learned, it is not the custom of
+any uncorrupted Indian to repeat a request if once rejected. They
+believe that those to whom they offer any mark of friendship, and who
+give a reason for refusing it, do so in perfect sincerity, and that it
+would be rudeness to require them to alter their determination or break
+their word. And as the Indian never makes a show of civility but when
+prompted by a genuine feeling, so he thinks others are actuated by a
+similar candor. I really feel ashamed when I consider how severe a
+rebuke this carries with it to us who boast of civilization, but who are
+so much carried away by the general insincerity of expression pervading
+all ranks, that few, indeed, are to be found who speak just what they
+wish or know. This duplicity is the effect of what is termed a high
+state of refinement. We are taught so to conduct our language that
+others cannot discover our real views or intentions. The Indians are not
+only free from this deceitfulness, but surpass us in another instance of
+good breeding and decorum, namely, of never interrupting those who
+converse with them until they have done speaking; and then they reply in
+the hope of not being themselves interrupted. This was perfectly
+exemplified by Miss Brant and her brother; and I hope the lesson my
+daughters were so forcibly taught by the natural politeness of their
+hostess will never be forgotten by them, and that I also may profit by
+the example."
+
+Elizabeth was the youngest daughter of Joseph Brant. She was married to
+William Johnson Kerr, a gentleman who bore a commission in the last war,
+and fought against the Americans on the Niagara frontier. He is a
+grandson of Sir William Johnson. The author of American Border Wars,
+wrote in 1843, as follows: "Mrs. Kerr, as the reader must infer from
+what has been previously said respecting her, was educated with great
+care, as well in regard to her mental culture as her personal
+accomplishments. With her husband and little family, she now occupies
+the old mansion of her father, at the head of lake Ontario; a noble
+situation, as the author can certify from personal observation."
+
+
+
+
+BRIEF ANECDOTES.
+
+  The worthy acts of women to repeat.
+
+                       MIRROR FOR MAGISTRATES.
+
+
+Immediately after the dreadful massacre of Virginia colonists, on the
+twenty-second of March, 1622, Governor Wyat issued an order for the
+remainder of the people to "draw together" into a "narrow compass;"[91]
+and most of the eighty plantations were forthwith abandoned. Among the
+persons who remained at their homes, was Mrs. Proctor, whom Dr. Belknap
+calls "a gentlewoman of an heroic spirit."[92] She defended her
+plantation against the Indians a full month, and would not have
+abandoned it even then, had not the officers of the colony obliged her
+to do so.
+
+  [91] Belknap.
+
+  [92] American Biography, vol. 2, p. 182.
+
+One of the best women of her times was Experience West, wife of the Rev.
+Dr. West, who was pastor of a church in New Bedford, Massachusetts, for
+nearly half a century. Her life abounded in praiseworthy, though
+unrecorded, deeds. The Doctor was aware of the worth of his
+"help-meet," and had a punning way of praising her which must have
+sounded odd in a Puritan divine a hundred years ago. She was unusually
+tall, and he sometimes remarked to intimate friends, that he had found,
+by _long Experience_, that it is good to be married.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Rev. Dr. Mather Byles, of Boston, a tory of considerable notoriety,
+paid unsuccessful addresses to a young lady who subsequently gave her
+hand to a gentleman of the name of Quincy. Meeting her one day, the
+Doctor remarked: "So, madam, it appears that you prefer a Quincy to
+Byles." "Yes," she replied, "for if there had been any thing worse than
+_biles_, God would have afflicted Job with them."[93]
+
+[93] A Sabine's American Loyalist. The loyal divine was himself a wicked
+punster. "Near his house, in wet weather, was a very bad slough. It
+happened that two of the selectmen who had the care of the streets,
+driving in a chaise, stuck fast in this hole, and were obliged to get
+out in the mud to extricate their vehicle. Doctor Byles came out, and
+making them a respectful bow, said; 'Gentlemen, I have often complained
+to you of this nuisance without any attention being paid to it, and I am
+very glad to see you stirring in the matter now.' On the celebrated dark
+day in 1780, a lady who lived near the Doctor, sent her young son with
+her compliments, to know if he could account for the uncommon
+appearance. His answer was: 'My dear, you will give my compliments to
+your mamma, and tell her that I am as much in the dark as she is.'"
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A married Shawnee woman was once asked by a man who met her in the
+woods, to look upon and love him: "Oulman, my husband, who is forever
+before my eyes, hinders me from seeing you or any other person."
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+While the husband of Mrs. Dissosway, of Staten island, was in the hands
+of the British, her brother Nathaniel Randolph, a Captain in the
+American army, repeatedly and greatly annoyed the tories; and they were
+anxious to be freed from his incursions. Accordingly, one of their
+colonels promised Mrs. Dissosway to procure her husband's release, if
+she would prevail upon her brother to leave the army. She scornfully
+replied: "And if I could act so dastardly a part, think you that General
+Washington has but one Captain Randolph in his army?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When, by permission of the British authorities, the wife of Daniel Hall
+was once going to John's island, near Charleston, to see her mother, one
+of the king's officers stopped her and ordered her to surrender the key
+of her trunk. On her asking him what he wished to look for, he replied,
+"For treason, madam." "Then," said she, "you may be saved the trouble of
+search, for you may find enough of it at my tongue's end."[94]
+
+  [94] Major Garden.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When a party of Revolutionary patriots left Pleasant River settlement,
+in Maine, on an expedition, one of the number forgot his powder horn,
+and his wife, knowing he would greatly need it, ran twenty miles through
+the woods before she overtook him.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the village of Buffalo was burnt during the last war, only one
+dwelling-house was suffered to stand. Its owner, Mrs. St. John, was a
+woman of wonderful courage and self-possession; and when the Indians
+came to fire it, and destroy its inmates, she ordered them away in such
+a dignified, resolute and commanding, yet conciliatory, manner, that
+they seemed to be awed in her presence, and were kept at bay until some
+British officers rode up and ordered them to desist from the work of
+destruction. Saved by her presence of mind and heroic bravery, she who
+saw her neighbors butchered at their doors and the young village laid in
+ashes, lived to see a new village spring up, phoenix-like, and expand
+into a city of thirty-five thousand inhabitants.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Mrs. Beckham, who resided in the neighborhood of Pacolet river, South
+Carolina, was a true friend of freedom, and a great sufferer on that
+account. Tarleton, after sharing in her hospitality, pillaged her house,
+and then ordered its destruction. Her eloquent remonstrance, however,
+caused him to recall the order. Concealing a guinea in her braided hair,
+she once went eighty miles to Granby, purchased a bag of salt, and
+safely returned with it on the saddle under her.[95]
+
+  [95] Vide Women of the Revolution, vol. I, p. 296.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The house of Captain Charles Sims, who resided on Tyger river, South
+Carolina, was often plundered by tories; and on one of these occasions,
+when his wife was alone and all the robbers had departed but one, she
+ordered _him_ away, and he disobeying, she broke his arm with a stick,
+and drove him from the house.
+
+Several years ago, a family, residing on the Colorado, in Texas, were
+attacked by a party of Camanche Indians, who first fell upon two workmen
+in the fields and slew them. Seeing one of them fall, the proprietor of
+the establishment, who was standing near his house, caught two guns and
+ran towards the field. A daughter hastily put on her brother's hat and
+surtout, and followed her father. She soon overtook him, and persuaded
+him to return to the house. She bravely assisted in guarding it until
+the Indians, tired of the assault, departed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the year 1777, when General Burgoyne entered the valley of the
+Hudson, the wife of General Schuyler hastened to Saratoga, her husband's
+country seat, to secure her furniture. "Her carriage," writes the
+biographer of Brant, "was attended by only a single armed man on
+horseback. When within two miles of her house, she encountered a crowd
+of panic-stricken people, who recited to her the tragic fate of Miss
+M'Crea,[96] and, representing to her the danger of proceeding farther in
+the face of the enemy, urged her to return. She had yet to pass through
+a dense forest within which even then some of the savage troops might
+be lurking for prey. But to these prudential counsels she would not
+listen. 'The General's wife,' said she, 'must not be afraid!' and,
+pushing forward, she accomplished her purpose."
+
+  [96] The circumstances in regard to the murder of Jane M'Crea, have been
+  variously stated. The following version of the cruel story is probably
+  correct: "Miss M'Crea belonged to a family of loyalists, and had engaged
+  her hand in marriage to a young refugee named David Jones, a subordinate
+  officer in the British service, who was advancing with Burgoyne. Anxious
+  to possess himself of his bride, he dispatched a small party of Indians
+  to bring her to the British camp. Her family and friends were strongly
+  opposed to her going with such an escort; but her affection overcame her
+  prudence, and she determined upon the hazardous adventure. She set
+  forward with her dusky attendants on horseback. The family resided at
+  the village of Fort Edward, whence they had not proceeded half a mile
+  before her conductors stopped to drink at a spring. Meantime, the
+  impatient lover, who deserved not her embrace for confiding her
+  protection to such hands, instead of going himself, had dispatched a
+  second party of Indians upon the same errand. The Indians met at the
+  spring; and before the march was resumed, they were attacked by a party
+  of the Provincials. At the close of the skirmish, the body of Miss
+  M'Crea was found among the slain, tomahawked, scalped, and tied to a
+  pine-tree, yet standing by the side of the spring, as a monument of the
+  bloody transaction. The ascertained cause of the murder was this: The
+  promised reward for bringing her in safety to her betrothed was a barrel
+  of rum. The chiefs of the two parties sent for her by Mr. Jones
+  quarreled respecting the anticipated compensation. Each claimed it; and,
+  in a moment of passion, to end the controversy, one of them struck her
+  down with his hatchet."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+While Thomas Crittenden, the first Governor of Vermont, was discharging
+the functions of an executive, he was waited upon one day, in an
+official capacity, by several gentlemen from Albany. The visitors were
+of the higher class, and accompanied by their aristocratic wives. At
+noon the hostess summoned the workmen from the fields, and seated them
+at the table with her fashionable visitors. When the females had retired
+from the dinner table to an apartment by themselves, one of the visitors
+said to the lady of the house, "You do not usually have your hired
+laborers sit down at the first table do you?" "Why yes, madam," Mrs.
+Crittenden replied, "we have thus far done so, but are now thinking of
+making a different arrangement. The Governor and myself have been
+talking the matter over a little, lately, and come to the conclusion
+that the men, who do nearly all the hard work, ought to have the first
+table,--and that he and I, who do so little, should be content with the
+second. But, in compliment to you, I thought I would have you sit down
+with them, to-day, at the first table."[97]
+
+  [97] We find the substance of this anecdote in a copy of the Green
+  Mountain Freeman published in March, 1851. The paper is edited by Daniel
+  P. Thompson, Esq., who prefaces the article with the remark that the
+  anecdote was related to him "by the late Mrs. Timothy Hubbard, of
+  Montpelier, who, while a girl, was intimate with the Governor's family,
+  and knowing to the amusing incident at the time of its occurrence."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At the Fair held in Castle Garden, in the autumn of 1850, was exhibited
+a large Gothic arm-chair, backed and cushioned with beautifully wrought
+needle work in worsted. The needle work was from the hands of Mrs.
+Millard Fillmore. It was setting a noble example for the wife of a
+President to present her handiwork at an industrial exhibition; and, if
+the decision of the three Roman banqueters in regard to their wives, was
+correct--they preferring the one who was found with her maidens
+preparing loom-work,--Mrs. Fillmore must be ranked among the best of
+wives.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During the last war, Major Kennedy of South Carolina, wished to raise
+recruits for his troop of horse; and accordingly went to Mrs. Jane
+White, who had several hardy sons, and made known his wants. She was a
+true patriot, like her husband, who was an active "liberty man" in the
+war of '76: hence she was ready and anxious to further the Major's
+plans. Her sons being at work in the field, excepting the youngest, she
+called the lad, and ordered him, in her broad Scotch-Irish dialect, to
+"rin awa' ta the fiel' an' tell his brithers ta cum in an' gang an'
+fight for their counthry, like their father afore them."[98]
+
+ [98] Mrs. Ellet.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Among the fine sentiments quaintly uttered by the old dramatic poet,
+Webster, are these:
+
+  The chiefest action of a man of spirit
+  Is, never to be out of action; we should think
+  The soul was never to be put into the body,
+  Which has so many rare and curious pieces
+  Of mathematical motion, to stand still.
+  Virtue is ever sowing of her seeds.
+
+One of the models in activity and virtue, and one who doubtless secured
+thereby the prize of healthy and extreme old age, was Mrs. Lydia Gustin,
+a native of Lyme, Connecticut. She had five children, all of whom were
+at home to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of her birth day. She
+died in New Hampshire, on the twentieth of July, 1847, in the hundred
+and second year of her age. A part of the labor performed during her
+hundredth year, was the knitting of twenty-four pairs of stockings.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Mrs. Elizabeth Ferguson, who resided near Philadelphia, was one of the
+number who assisted the American prisoners taken at the battle of
+Germantown. She spun linen and sent it into the city, with orders that
+it be made into shirts. She was noted for humanity and benevolence.
+Learning, one time, while visiting her friends in Philadelphia, that a
+reduced merchant had been imprisoned for debt, and was suffering from
+destitution, she sent him a bed and other articles of comfort, and,
+though far from wealthy, put twenty dollars in money into his hands. She
+refused to give him her name, but was at length identified by a
+description of her person.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At the battle of the Cowpens, Colonel Washington wounded Colonel
+Tarleton; and when the latter afterwards, in conversation with Mrs.
+Wiley Jones, observed to her: "You appear to think very highly of
+Colonel Washington; and yet I have been told that he is so ignorant a
+fellow that he can hardly write his own name;" she replied, "It may be
+the case, but no man better than yourself, Colonel, can testify that he
+knows how to make his mark."
+
+
+
+
+PHILANTHROPY OF AMERICAN WOMEN: MISS DIX.
+
+  To the blind, the deaf, the lame,
+    To the ignorant and vile,
+  Stranger, captive, slave he came,
+    With a welcome and a smile.
+  Help to all he did dispense,
+    Gold, instruction, raiment, food;
+  Like the gifts of Providence,
+    To the evil and the good.
+
+                                  MONTGOMERY.
+
+
+It requires the enlightening and expanding influence of Christianity to
+show the full extent of fraternal obligation, and to make one _feel_ the
+wants of his brother's threefold nature. We must, therefore, look for
+large hearts, whose antennae stretch through the domain of man's mental
+and moral, as well as his physical necessities, among a Christian
+people: there such hearts abound, and the strongest are among the female
+sex. Nor is this strange: the feelings of woman are more delicate, her
+constitution is less hardy, than man's. Physically more frail, she feels
+more sensibly the need of a helper and protector; and, being the greater
+sufferer, she thinks more of the sufferings of others, and consequently
+more fully develops the sisterly and sympathetic feelings of her
+nature.
+
+It is not, therefore, surprising, that in all the humanitary movements
+of the age, American women are interested; but it _is_ surprising to see
+with what masculine energy, heroic courage and sublime zeal they often
+prosecute their philanthropic labors. They lead in the distribution of
+the poor fund; are untiring in their efforts to sustain Sabbath schools
+in by-places; form and nobly sustain temperance organizations among
+themselves; establish and conduct infant schools on their own
+responsibility; manage orphan asylums; pray, and plead, and labor for
+the comfort of the insane, and for the education of the deaf, dumb and
+blind; and, with the religious tract in one hand and the Bible in the
+other, plunge into the darkest dens of vice, and, nerved by divine
+power, sow the good seed of truth in the most corrupt soil, with courage
+that seems to palsy the giant arm of Infamy.
+
+Heroines in the philanthropic movements which so beautify the present
+age, are found in most of the villages and in every city in the land.
+Isabella Graham, Sarah Hoffman, Margaret Prior, and others whose names
+are recorded in this work, are representatives of a class whose number
+is annually increasing and whose philanthropic exertions are manifest
+wherever human suffering abounds or the current of moral turpitude is
+strong and appalling. With the delicacy and fragility inherent in their
+sex, they possess the bravery and perseverance of the ambitious leader
+in the military campaign, and shrink from no task, however formidable or
+disheartening.
+
+They visit the abode of sickness, and the pillow is softened and the
+pain allayed; they enter the hut of penury, and the cry for bread is
+hushed, they pour the tide of united and sanctified effort through the
+Augean stables of iniquity, and the cleansing process is astonishing.
+Such is the work of philanthropic women; they are the "salt" of the
+community.
+
+A lady is now living in the city of Buffalo, whose benevolent exertions,
+in her restricted sphere, would compare favorably with those of the
+celebrated Quakeress whose mission at Newgate justified, for once, at
+least, the use of angel as an adjective qualifying woman. The person to
+whom we refer--who would blush to see her name in print--is foremost in
+all the humane and charitable operations of the day, and has, for years,
+been in the habit of visiting the jail regularly and usually alone on
+the Sabbath, to instruct its inmates from the word of God and to lecture
+before them on all that pertains to human duty. She is married, and has
+a family--her children being adopted orphans,--hence her opportunities
+for public usefulness are measurably limited: but her life-long actions
+seem to say,
+
+                                   "Give me leave
+  To speak my mind, and I will through and through
+  Cleanse the foul body of the infected world,
+  If they will patiently receive my medicine."
+
+Aside from our female missionaries, whose heroism is elsewhere partially
+illustrated in this work, the finest example of a living American
+philanthropist is Miss D. L. Dix, of Massachusetts. Her extreme
+modesty, learned through her New England friends, with whom we have
+corresponded, withholds all facts touching her early and private
+history, and leaves us a paucity of materials out of which to frame even
+an outline of her public career.
+
+We first hear of her as a teacher in the city of Boston, in which
+vocation she was faithful and honored. At the same time, she was
+connected, as instructor, with a Sabbath school--belonging we believe,
+to Dr. Channing's society--and while searching in by-places for poor
+children to enlarge her class, she necessarily came in contact with many
+destitute persons, and saw much suffering. Ere long she became
+interested more especially in the condition and wants of poor seamen,
+and endeavored to enlist the sympathies of others in their behalf. As
+opportunities presented themselves, she visited the hospital and other
+benevolent institutions in and near Boston, together with the State
+Prison. Anon we find her in the possession of a small legacy left by her
+deceased grand-mother; and, having resigned the office of teacher, she
+is traveling through the state. Having visited all the counties and most
+if not all the towns in Massachusetts, hunting up the insane and
+acquainting herself with their condition, visiting the inmates of the
+poor-houses and jails, and learning the state of things among all the
+unfortunate and suffering, she went to the Legislature, made a report,
+and petitioned for reforms where she thought they were needed.
+
+Having thoroughly canvassed one state, feeling her benevolent heart
+expand, she entered another, and went through the same routine of
+labors--visiting, reporting, pleading for reforms. She has traveled
+through all the states but three or four, and has extended her humane
+mission to Canada.
+
+She overlooks no almshouse; never fails of seeing and learning the
+history of an insane person; goes through every jail and prison; and
+usually, if not invariably, has a private interview with each inmate,
+imparting such counsel as wisdom and Christian sympathy dictate. She has
+lately petitioned Congress--as yet unsuccessfully--for a large
+appropriation of the public lands for the benefit of the insane.
+
+Her petitions are usually presented in a very quiet and modest manner.
+In her travels, she acquaints herself with the leading minds, and among
+them the state and national legislators; and when the law-making bodies
+are in session, she obtains an interview with members in the retirement
+of the parlor or the small social gathering; communicates the facts she
+has collected; and secures their cooperation in her plans and their aid
+in effecting her purposes.
+
+She who began the work of reform as a teacher in a Sabbath school, has
+advanced, step by step, until her capacious heart has embraced the
+Union, throughout which the benign influence of her philanthropic labors
+is sensibly felt. Some one has truthfully remarked that "the blessings
+of thousands, ready to perish, have come down upon her head," and that
+the institutions which she has caused to be erected or modified in the
+several states "are monuments more honorable, if not more enduring than
+the pyramids."
+
+While Miss Dix has brought about important reforms, she has accomplished
+her labors by great hardship and the most rigid economy. She had not a
+princely fortune, like Mrs. Fry, to expend in benevolent causes; she
+could not ride from place to place in her own private and splendid
+carriage, saying to this servant, do this, and to another, do that; she
+has been obliged to travel by public, haphazard conveyances--often in
+most uncomfortable vehicles in the most uncomfortable weather. A part of
+her early labors in the state of New York were performed in the winter,
+and when in the north-eastern and coldest part, she was under the
+necessity, on one occasion, of traveling all night in the severest part
+of the season in an open carriage. To show her economy, which has been
+hinted at, it is necessary merely to say that she purchases the
+materials for most of her garments in the places which she visits, and
+makes them up with her own hands, while traveling on steamboats, waiting
+for stages at public houses, and such odd intervals of leisure.[99]
+
+  [99] For the two last mentioned facts, and some others in regard to Miss
+  Dix, we are indebted to the Rev. G. W. Hosmer, pastor of the Unitarian
+  church, Buffalo.
+
+The character of Miss Dix is both pleasant and profitable to
+contemplate. Every thing connected with her public career is noble and
+worthy to be imitated. Would that the world were full of such
+characters: they are needed. Although she has done a great work, much is
+yet to do. Our country is wide, and enlarging almost every year; the
+field of benevolence is white to harvest, and where are the reapers,
+who, like Miss Dix, will make their "lives sublime?"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice. Printer errors
+have been changed and are listed here. All other inconsistencies are as
+in the original including unmatched quotation marks.
+
+p. viii: "Scoharie" changed to "Schoharie".
+
+p. ix: "Spaulding" changed to "Spalding".
+
+p. x: "McKenney" changed to "McKenny".
+
+p. xxii: "updraiding" changed to "upbraiding".
+
+p. 54: "inconveniencies" changes to "inconveniences".
+
+p. 59: "generaly" changed to "generally".
+
+p. 62: "horid" changed to "horrid".
+
+p. 77: "succesfully" changed to "successfully".
+
+p. 161: "Mrs. Mary Dixon" changed to "Mrs. Mary Nixon".
+
+p. 163: "appartments" changed to "apartments".
+
+p. Footnote 165: "seventeeen" changed to "seventeen".
+
+p. 179: "silence by exclaming" changed to "silence by exclaiming".
+
+p. 194: "delivered Green's verbal" changed to "delivered Greene's
+        verbal".
+
+p. 216: "industrions" changed to "industrious".
+
+p. 251: "Westminister" changed to "Westminster".
+
+p. 261: "rebuked then" changed to "rebuked them".
+
+p. 293: "see the again" changed to "see thee again".
+
+p. 325: "rode side" changed to "road side".
+
+P. Footnote 351: "beseiged" changed to "besieged".
+
+p. 389: "appropiately" changed to "appropriately".
+
+p. 402: "Buts stoops" changed to "But stoops".
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NOBLE DEEDS OF AMERICAN WOMEN***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 39079.txt or 39079.zip *******
+
+
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/9/0/7/39079
+
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://www.gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
diff --git a/39079.zip b/39079.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f76665d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39079.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..09ba692
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #39079 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39079)