The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1866-04-27

IN Hebrew to read the old Testament
with the aid of grammar and diction-
ory. TO these grave studies her pa
rents were sufficiently enlightened to
add a thorough drill in dancing. OF
ten, when her excellent mother OBJ
served that she had sat too long over
her books, she would get her out upon
the floor of their large kitchen, and
then, striking up lively song, set her
dancing until her cheeks were all
aglow.
This studious and happy girl, like
all other young people, had her day
dream of the future. II tcas m keep q
school : This strange ambition, she
tells MS in her autobiography, she
feared to impart to her companions
lest they should laugh at her; and she
thought even her parents would think
her arrogant if she mentioned it to
them The lOng-cherished secret was
revealed to her parents at length.
Her mother had guessed it before, but
her father was exceedingly surprised;
neither Of them, however, made any
objection, and one of the pleasantest
apartments Of their house was fitted
up for the reception OF pupils She
was then a delicate-l1oking girl Of
about eighteen, and rather I'm der
sized As soon as the desks were
brought home by the carpenter, the
ambitions little lady went round to
the families Of the place, informed
them Of her intentions, and solicited
their patronage, ut the established
rate OF three dollars quarter for each
pupil. She was disappointed and
puzzled at the GOODNESS with which
her project was received Day after
day she tramped the streets of Nor
wich, only TO return at night without
a name upon her catalogue. She sur
missed after time, that parents hest
tated to entrust their children to her
because of her extreme youth; which
was the fact. At length, however, she
began her school with two children.
nine and eleven years Of age; and not
only did she go through the formal
ties of a school with them working
six hours a day for five days and three
hours on Saturday, but at the end Of
the term she held an examination in
the presence ef q largo circle OF her
pupils admiring relations
Afterwards, associating herself with
another young lady 10 whom she was
tenderly attached she succeeded bet
ter. a large and popular school gath
cred about these admirable girls-sev-
eral Of their pupils being older than
themselves Compelled to hold the
school in a larger room, Lydia Hunt
ley walked two miles every morning
and two more at night, beside work
ing hard all day; and she was happy
as the weeks were long. Her expert
encc confirms that OF every genuine
teacher from DR. Arnold donnwards
that, Of all the employments of man
OF woman on this earth, The one which
is capable Of giving the most constant
aud intense happiness, is teaching in
a nationally conducted school. So
fond was she of teaching, that when
the severity Of the winter obliged her
to suspend the school for many weeks,
she opened free school for poor chill
dren, one of her favoritc classes in
which, was composed Of colored girls
In the course OF time, the well-known
Daniel Wadsworth, the great man OF
Hartford fifty years ago, lured her
away to that city, where he personally
organized for her school Of thirty
young ladies, the daughters of his
friends, and gave her home in his
own house There she spent FIVE hap
by years, cherished as a daughter by
her venerable patron and his wife, and
held in high honor by her pupils aud
their parents.
1t was in 1915, while residing in
Hartford that her fame was born
Good old Mrs. Wadsworth having OBJ
tanned a sight Of her journals and
manuscripts, in prose and verse, the
secret accumulation of many years,
infamed her husbands curiosity so
much that he too asked to see them.
The blushing poetess consented. Mr..
Wadsworth pronounced some of them
worthy of publication, and, under his
auspices, volume was printed in
Hartford, entitled, Moral Pieces in
Prose and Verse. The public gave it
a generous welcome, and its success
led to q career OF authorship that last
ed iorty-nine years, and gave to the
world fifty-six volumes of poetry, tales,
travels, biography, and letters.
SO passed her life till she was
past twenty-eight, She had re-
ceived offers of marriage from clor-
gymen and others, but none Of her
suitors tempted her to forsake her pu-
pills, and she supposed herself des-
tined TO spend her days as an old
maid. But another destiny was in
store for her On her way to and
from her school, ga pair of deep-set
and most expressive black eyes some
times encountered hers, and ''spoke
unutterable things" Those eyes be-
longed TO widower with three chill
dren, named Charles Sig0urney, a
thriving hardware merchant,of French
descent, and those 'unutterable
things were uttered at length, through
the unromantic medium OF letter
The marriage occurred a few months
after, in the year 1919.
For the next fifteen years she resid
ed in the most plcoaut mansion IN