Burlington tri-weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1852-1855, 1855-01-16
From th6Boston True Flagof December 30.
awho is Fanny Fern''--A Plain Statement
8 OF Facts.
.spcak If me as / am !; nothing extcnuate,

n In consequences Of the recent issue Of Q /,
work Of fiction, the Distinguishing feature OF
which is IN attempt to embody, il the guise
Of a romance, partial account of the pub
lie ana private history Of the literary star
whose name graces the head OF THIS article
we consider II due to our readers, who were
the first to form the ecquaintance OF Fanny
as writer; due also to ourselves, to the
public generally, and, above all, to the per-
sonal friends and relatives of the lady IN
question, to answer, in as plain and concise
manner as possible, the oft-repeated IN
curry, ssWho il Fanny Fern z,
Fanny,s maiden name was Willis. She is
! the daughter of Mr. Nathaniel Willis, one Of
our most Industrious and respectable towns |
men. nov a man well advanced in years. 1t
is scarcely necessary to add that she is a SIS
ter to Mr. N. p. Willis, the brilliant essayest
and poet.
Mr.. Willis, senior, s'commenced life as
mechanic, and, at the time of his marriaFc,
worked ut the case as journeyman printer.
He afterwards published the Eastern Argus,
| in Portland. Meeting with reverses 70 that
city, he removed to Boston, where he estaD-
lish d, and, for many years, edited tho "Re-
corder,'' the Oldest religious paper in New
England.
Mr.. Willis has met with similar expe
rience 10 that Of most men of his calling
He never made fortune at publishing. At
the present time, although aged and in6rm,
he finds it necessary to devote his failing en-
ergies to the publication Of that agreeable
Juvenile, the ssYouth's Companion" Yet,
Notwithstanding his narrow means, Mr.. Will
lis contrived-at how great sacrifice only
parents can guess-to give his sons and
daughters that education, viii h is poor
mans noblest legacy.
In accordance with the course he had
wisely planned for his children, Sarah Will
lis. the veritable Fanny, was favored with an
: early introduction into the seminary OF Miss
| Catharlne Beecher, in Connecticut. AT this
we'll conducted establishment, the most pop
ular in the country, at that time, Miss Fanny
) received her first strong impressions Of life
7 and the world. We have never heard her
spoken of as a very apt or studous pupil
J Stad works of philosophy and learning
were not 50 much to her taste. But from the
prohibited PAGES Of romance and poems, ca
gerly deyoured III secret, her craving genius
derived an active stimulus.
Already she had become keen dissector
of the human heart, and she found plenty Of
pleasant practice for the scalpel Of her wit
; among the young ladies of the school,
Here. too, the novel and startling expe-
riences Of boarding school Irritation gave
their warm coloring 20 her future life. Fan
) ! nv possessed large capacity for this de-
scripton of knowledge, and her writings
; show better memory for those pleasant
branches of female education than for the
dry rule of syhtax and prosody. In fact,
the best Of her sketches are transcripts OF her
l SCHOOLGIRL life--for Fanny writes well only
when giving the concentrated vinegar and
spice Of her own vivid experiences.
Our limits compel us to pass over the In
$ terval between Fanny's graduation at Miss
Beechers school, and the next important
n step, to which young ladies look forward with
snch anxious interest. At period of well
maturei womanhood, Sarah Willis bee ime
] Sarah Lldredge The fortunate husband Of
: the vet undeveoped genius, was an only
child-ths son Of the late DIR. Eldredge. a
highly este med physician in one Of our sub
, urban town. Two daughters, the fruit Of
= this union, now reside with their mother in
New York. one is about ten, and the other
we should judge from her appearance to be
some fifteen years of age.
$ Mr.. Eldredge enjoyed handsome income
5 from his services as cashier of the Merchants
I Bank-the largest institution Of the kind in
g this city. Now, we esteem the domestic viz
tutS VI GSOnomN tiu piuAoheO Uos ~ III
rious mode Of life is not so readily pardoned
as the opposite extreme Of lavish expendi-
ture, and the devoted husband of so spirited
:. young wife, may certainly be excused for
!. !, living 10 the extent of his means. But as
= Othello very promptly observes, 'sWho can
control his fate?o Hal the young Banker
: been is wise as he was generous and indul-
gent, he would have looked forward through
the long bright vista Of the present, to the
proyerhial ssrainy day. liable at any time to
n befall us. In the prime Of manhood, he was
: cut off by sharp, quick stroke of Deaths
. remorseless hand and the wife and mother
: awakng suddenly from her gay dreams, saw
a aff ction an widowhood descend upon her
4 like ball.
Fortunately for the subject of our sketch,
t her father, though poor, as we have said,
: fastened to make what provision he could
s afford for the comfort of the broken family.
e Nor did DIR. Eldredge turn deaf ear or
a pass by on the other side. Some bitter
thoughts were doubtless occasioned by the
d remembrance Of the Injuries Of which she
: had ben so suddenly bereft. 1t was hard TO
i, sink like star behind the hills Of adversely
; to pass sud- anly from cay and splendid
$ career into the obscurity Of more COM
monplace and quiet life and We can excuse
8 the sensitive Fanny for some unreasonable
: complaints, and thanks to her own and her
{ husbands father, she had the consolation
$ and treasure of home-a home, which,
however modest, was in every respect COM
d Portable and not altogether inelegant.
/. Sarah Eldredge was now in the full flush
$ and vigor of womanhood-a widow! 1t
is wise provision of nature which ordains
4 that the most deeply wounded heart shall not
: always bleed. Hope springs from the ashes