, 1870-06-12
GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF
UNCOMMON WOMEN,

| UNCOMMON WOMEN.
Fanny Wright.
Tacitus, in eulo, o,9izing Aricola, said the 200
custom had prevailed for ages Of transmitting
to posterity course OF worthy action when
ever great and splendid virtue had been abl
to surnount those two pcrnicioas yices, insen
| sihilty to merit and envy.
In Iaeitus' time it is evident t1lat none were
able to buy Immortality At the p7ce Of biog
raphy that the traits OF character and courst
Of action war1anting such we're found in the
person rather thAn in the writer. and thai
biographers we're unable to make heroes and
cages to the satisfaction Of the people where
The gods had not succeeded.
As sufficient time secms to hare elapsed 10,
the virtue and wisdom Of the woman whose
name heads this page to have smmounted the
two lindrauces to appreciation sbove men.
toned, it is 3 matter Of surprise that, among
The numerous laudatory biographies oI
women thrown upon the public Of late, hers
should not have appeared, especially as she
was one OF tho most intellectual women tina,
has ever appeared before an English speaking
public as lecturer, and because she held
many of the views which have served IS ele,
mentary principles upon which our present fe-
male agitators have labo1ed to establish tkei1
claims.
Fanny Wright Was born in Dundee, Scot.
]and, in the year 1876. Her father at thai
time lived III retirement, in tho enjoyment Of I
large fortune, amassed in tho East India trade
Her mother died soon after the birth Of ar
only sister- Constance Wright-and ere Fanny
had reached her ninth year her father also
died, leaving the two orphan children to the
care Of ps7simonious uncle, who proved K
have been moro interested in sohemea-for in,
yestipg their wealth than in the Judlcious dis
posal Of their persons.
Deprived thus early Of tho nurture which
only parents can bestow, and Of tho tender
sympathy which only parents can express, Fan
ny Wright early became seif-dependent. As
Emerson SAYS, in his I" Essay upon Compensar
tion, - The death Of dear parent, wife, Of
lover, which seemed nothing but lnvAtion al
1rst, aomewhat Inter assumes tho aspect Of q
guide OF genius; for it commonly operates
revolutions in our way OF life, terminates s1
epoch Of infancy or Of youthwhich was Whiting
to be closed breaks up q wonted occupation
OF household, or style Of living. and allows
the formation OF new ones more friendly TO the
growth Of character"
Fanny Wright, having early given evidences
ef uncommon natural ability, her father, ut his
death, left instructions for her and her sisters
thorough education but where possibility
for dishonesty exists, mankind are prone to
saeeb tsas 'dVs9tsg' stsg 9f hf foe Psua aauis.
Of reetifHng the wrong when
the hour Of reckoning comes; at least such
Was the case with her guardian, her father
having left . clause in his will to the effect
that the guardian should not be held RESPONSE
bic for the depreciation OF the property in
stocks held BY hin in trust for the children.
Some SIXTY thousand pounds coming into his
hands, with no responsibility attached to loss
OF the same, caused him to neglect the wishes
OF the father in tho seriouB matter Of tho
daughters early educational advantages; but,
| though allowed to idle away that period be
lieycd by instructors TO be the best in schol-
ar's life, Fanny Wright fully made up By self
less courageous woman would have deemed
unacquirable- Before reaching her 20th year,
she had gained knowledge OF the Greek and
Latin languages, with = thorough culture in
ancient and modern literature. To these
creditahle Accomplishments she lates
added the French and Italian languages, the
former Of which she spoke and wrote with the
same ease and facility as that Of her mother
tongue Neither were the sciences neglected
Having become interested in John Dalton't
atomic theory, She made chemistry her chic
study. Bier mind, naturally logical, from in
tured with the Aristotaliau philosophy. Moth
ing appeared worthy Of belief unless demon
strahle-
She applied herself consciendously to th,
study Of all those progressive theories preced
ing and following the French Revolution. sht
| 1oJta TtIatr 1ukr
! 1sn, jeremy Bentham's theory Of legisla
ton, and was often found reading carefully
| such works as Adam Smiths Wealth o1
Nations" She became, ~ was but natural, =
| WARM defender Of the known opinions o1
Rommi]y, Whitebread, Robt- Owen and JameE
INTO sympathy with the sentiments expressed
in William Godwin's "Political Justice" An
acquaintance with Godwin's daughter Mary,
afterwards the wife Of the poet Smelly, gave to
her tho opportunity Of associating with the
most liberal and advanced thinkers Of the day.
Her principal inquiry came to be, What il
As With the German poet, Leasing, abe came
TO think that men and women we're more
dear to the human heart thsn any number OF
orerdreEsed angels; that welldotng was the
nnair thing, and belief secondary that merely
world indulged, efIeminated rather than
strengthened character; and that !" rirtuous
deeds" should be the standard by which to
judge OF mans excellence rather than pro.
feHsionE.
On reaching her majority and coming into
possession Of what she called "the remains
OF her fortune through law suit, she I'M
nediately began to form plans for putting
into execution some one OF her humanitarian
schemes, Of which she had many. Enabled
by her wealth, which w1s something over I
hundred Thousand dollars, to devote hersel
| to the pleasures of literature, fitted by educa
| tion and natural ability for such occupation
and holding through her wealth the key tha
unlocked many a door in England, where meri
alone waa no passport, hers might hsve beer
l life Of idle elegance, had such been he
choice, hut, like The Pe1ipatetics Of OLD, sh'
deepised not riches too much, but held then
Us the third best thing in life. Believing tha
work Of come lind was essential to the ful
| DEVELOPMENT of both epiIit and body, sh
turned her eyes toward America
The New Worll, in its then unsettled soc1A
condition, seemed to present field Of labo
| suitad to her talents and inclination. Accord
iuEly she sailed for this country, in 1918, the'
/ in travelling over that portion OF the Unite
States then accessible through its primitiv
public convcya ances, she was not able to for1
80 correct an idea Of the rastness OF our a1abl
territory as abe was able to Judge Of our inst
tuticns, and Of the character Of the America
people.
On her return to England she published
book, entitled I" Views OF Society and Manner
in America" compiled from eeries Of letter
sent to q friend during her stay IN this countr!
Tho book was dedicated to Charles Wilke!
ESQ.,, md, it being among tho first Of
Ecries of critical works on America, white
by English travellers, and, more parher
la11y, Lecause it commended rather ths
deprecated our institutions and characteristic.
it was well received by Us. She saw ever,
thing here 60 nearly approaching the idei
country whose existence she had never 81
pcctcd to realize, that her enthusiasm was u1
bounded. She thought she had found th
! country ready for the reception Of those priz
clples taught by the most advanced philost
, Ehers OF the age. This was tho Utopia whic
The wise men q the past had pictured M
sighed for She said, "Here we're free Pet
: with arms in their hands, respecting ths Voit
, Of a government which their breath HI
created. md which their breath in 4 nome,
could destroy" To her there WIS truly SON
thing grand in this moral restraint freely u
posed on a community by itself While Il
English understood what was Hgh
she thought the Americans practissd
The spectacle Of the minority
the men engaged IN agriculture, and contel
with their occupation; the why open for ever
man to obtain IN the wealth and position hi
ambition craved, the laws cranp1ng none
no man compelled to render an account TO
eelf-constituted class for the expression Of b
characteristic Of tho American" were cond
tions calculated to excite the surprise and ~
mirntiop OF foreigner. She was astonishe
to find, in the ordinary citizen, TINT INTEL
eence and those sentiments which she ha
been accustomed to seek in the writings {
enlishtened. In fine, she represented us as
| o,1H r.+iona1 and wall-behayed people.