Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1868-11-18
Miss DickinsOn,s Childhood.

4 When about II years old Anna en-
tered 'WesIOwn Boarding School OF
4 Friends" (" in Chester county, and re-
/ mained there two years from this she
went 10 ''Friends' Select SCHOOL, in
philadelphia, where she applied her
self so diligently to her studies, that,
although she pursued over a dozen
branches at one time, she seldom failed
1 in recitation.
During all her schOOl-days, she read
with the greatest avidity every book
that she could obtain. Newspapers,
speeches, tracts, history, biography,
poetry, novels. and fairy tales were all
alike read and relished. For weeks
and months together her average
hours of sleep were not five in the
twenty-four. She would often read
until one o'clock in the morning, and
then seize her school books and learn
her. lessons for the next day. She did
not study her lessons, for, with herre-
tentive memory, what she read once
was hers forever. The rhymes and
compositions she wrote in her young
DAYS bear evident marks of her genius.
When fourteen years old she published
an article headed Slavery" in the
Li6erdtor.- Sheearly determined that
she wonld be public speaker. One
of her greatest pleasures was to get al
troop OF children about her and tell
them stories If she could fix their at
tention and alternately convlfise them
with laughter, and melt them with
tears, she was perfectly happy. She
loved to wander all over the city alone,
to think her own thoughts and see
what was going OH in the outer world.
One of her favorite rendezvous was
the eAnti-SIaveTy Office in Fifth street
where she would stay for hours to
hear people talk about the horrors of
or TO read papers, tracts and
books on that subject. At fourteen
she left school. /
She was skillful in all kinds OF house
work, and orderly in her arrange
ments. She was willing to do any
kind of work TO make an honest liY-
ing. No service, however hard, or
seemed mental to her. Be
ing a queen born, she felt she digni- |
fled whatever she touched even the |
broom became a scepter of royalty in 4
her hand.
When about thirteen years old she |
' bSlACu law = OlllNC Vic oAA !
her way from school, and asked for |
some copying. He, pleased with the l
of the bright child, asked 4
her if she intended 10 do it herself E; |
she said yes. He gave her some,
which she did so well that he inter
ested himself at once in her behalf,
and secured her work from other of
fees as well as his own. How she /
could get money to buy books was the
Dne thought, next TO helping her
that occupied her mind. To
this end she would do anything-run
carry bundles, sweep walks
and a. soon rs she had obtained the
desired sum. she would buy a book,
read il with the greatest avidity, then
AXE il to a secondhand bookstore
md sell il for fraction of its cost az d
ret another. When seven years old
,he would take Byron's works, secrete
herself under the bed that she might
lot be disturbed, and read for hours.
There was something in the style,
'pirit, and rythm, that she enjoyed,
wen before the thought was fully un-
lerstOOd. She had passion for ora
iory, and when Curtis, Phillips, or
Beecher leetured in Philadelphia, she
would perform any service toget mOn-
" enough to go. On one occasion she
scrubbed a sidewalk for twenty-five
,ents TO hear Wendell Phillips lecture
N 1.-The Lost Arts There aye many
-ery interesting anecdotes of her life
Turing this period, illustrating her
ortitude under most trying circum-
tances, and her strong faith in a
f.rt frArn,,a.l l.. 1
letism and self-cOnfidence she went
Onward and did many things grace
ully and unchallenged, that others OF
Ter sex and age would not have had
he courage or presumption to at .
empt. There was something so ir-
in her face and manner that ,
ntire strangers would yield her priv
leges which others would not dare to
Isk. In her fourteenth year, while
With her relatives in the country du- ,
ing the holidays, she attended a Meth
'dist prOtracted meeting, and was
leeply moved OH the subject of relig-
on, was converted, and Joined the
,hurch. Her mind, however. was
much disturbed on theological uues-
ions for several years. but after great
distress and uncertainty, with the Op-
Iosing doctrines and opinions she
heard on all sides, she found rest at
asst in the liberal views of those who
aught that religion was life-faith i'm
he goodness and wisdom of Gods
avs, and love TO man. She disiiked
he silent Quaker meetings, and made ,
very excuse to avoid them. Her re-
DudiatiOn of that faith was a source of
both TO her family and
lerself. About this time she spent s
ew months as pupil and assistant
eacher in school at New Brighton,
Beaver county; but as her situation I
here was not pleasant, she applied for
district school that was vacant in
hat town.-E,rtrdcts from The Enin-
ut H'OHeR Of the Aqe.