Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1868-11-13
Aiscellauu.
Anna Dickinson.

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 togeth-
er her average hours for 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 her retentive
memory, what she read once was hers
forever. The rhymes and compositions
she wrote in her young days bear evi-
dent marks of genius. When fourteen
years old she published an article headed
Slavery " in the Liberator. She early
determined that she would be public
speaker. One of her greatest pleasures
was to get troop of children about her
and tell them stories if she could fix
their attention and alternately convulse
them with laughter, and melt them into
tears, she was perfectly happy. She
loved to wander all over the city alone,
to think her own thoughts, and see what
was going on in the outer world. One
of her favorite rendezvous was the anti
slavery office in Fifth street where she
would stay for hours to hear people talk
about the horrors of slavery, or to read
papers, tracts, and books on that subject.
AT seventeen she left school.
When about thirteen years old she
visited lawyers office one day, on her
way from school, and asked for some
copying. He, pleased with the appear
ance of the bright child, asked her if she
intended to do it herself; she said, yes
He gave her some, which she did so well
that he interested himself at once in he1
behalf, and secured her work from other
offices as well as his own. How could
she get money to buy books was the one
thought, next to helping her mother, that
occupied her mind. To this end she
would do anything-run errands, carry
bundles, sweep walks-and as soon al
she had obtained the desired sum, she
would buy book, read it with The
greatest avidity, then take it te seconc
hand bookstore and sell it for a Fraction
of its cost and get another. When sew
en- years old, she would take Byron
works, secrete herself under the bed tina
she might not be disturbed, and read fo
hours. There was something in tn
style, spirit and rhythm that she enjoy
ed, even before the thought was fully un
derstood. She had a passion for orato
ry, and when Curtis, Phillips, or Beech
er lectured in Philadelphia, she woul
perform any service to get money enoug
to 90. On one occasion she scrubbed
sidewalk for twenty-five cents, to hea
Wendell Phillips lecture ON 1.-The Lo:
Arts" There are many very interestin
anecdotes of her life during this perioc
Illustrating her fortitude under most tr,
ing circumstances and her strong fait
in promising future. Through he
magnetism and self-confdence she wer
forth and did many things unchallenge,
that others of her sex and age would NJ
have had the courage or presumption
attempt. There was something so irr
sistible in her face and manner that el
tire strangers would yield her privileg'
which Others would not dare to ask.
her fourteenth year, while with relative
in the country, during the holidays, 81
attended Methodist protracted meetin
and was deeply moved on the subject
religion, was converted and Joined Il
church. Her mind, however, was muC
disturbed on theological questions fl
several years, but after great distress al
uncertainty, with opposing the doctrin
and opinions she heard on all sides, s.
found rest at last in the liberal views
J. those who taught that religion was Iii
: faith in the goodness and wisdom
Gods laws, and love to man. She d
liked the silent Quaker meetings, al
: made every excuse to avoid them.
Her reputation of that faith was
source of unhappiness both to ner fam
be and herself. About this time she spe