Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1872-06-26
STORY OF A RRIrE GIRL. ].
Her Poverty. Struggles, Pluck, and
Final Triumph. l
Ell Perkins In the n. Y. Commercial Ad.
vertlser. -s-- T

I
-..-...-.-. .yertlser. -g-
Last Saturday a large crowd {
friends with boquets and smile
and bind benedictions, thronge
the city of Paris to see Of a youn
and interesting lady. Many of the be-
people IN the metropolis took he
hand and bid her "God speedr a;ros
the Atlantic, and success at Milan
Italy, whittier she goes to perfect heI
self in music and the opera. Sh
went with the intention Of retnrnin,
to New York after twoyears-perhap
a pFima dOnna-perhRps another Jen
ny Lind, for none can comic ecture wha
Providence has in store for the fai
young singer.
If the writer did not always 90 t
nature, and did not found everything
he whites upon the basis of .absolut
truth, you might, perhaps, doubt tn
story which now tell, and whiel
came to me from the lips of the sam
young lady.
A POOR GIRLS STORY.
Miss Emma A. Abbot was born il
Chicago about twenty years ago. II
1854 her father, then q music teacher
took her to the little villzge of Peoria
in Illinois. The little child then tool
intense dellghI in music. She hal
dreams of singing in public at the sg
OF six. When they read to her stories
Of actors and singers on the stage, she
| thought they meant q coach, and won
dered, with infantile fancy, how thel
could throw bOquets into a stage.
From six to nine she sang abou
home, catching every tune she hearC
her father play, and, Ito the suFpris'
Of everybody, began herself to play
the guitar. She became so prpfcien
that at the age of nine her father, (
very poor man, chained down with 1
large family of children, brought hel
out with her brother George at b con,
cert in Peoria. Her debut took &
well that her father, q man of restless
genius, but shiftless and always unfor,
tunate, decided to take little Emms
on.a concert tour, which he did, keep.
ing her thus occasionally employed
with varied fortune until she was
thirteen years old. At this age she
went to Mount Pulaski in company
with some Peoria children. While
here they wanted her to play heI
guitar and sing, 50 she got up, con-
cert ION her own hook" Though
wearing short dresses, she went to the
Pulaski printing Office, got out her
own handbiIls, and then went and
posted them around town. On one OF
these bills now before me it says:
Miss Abbott will sing The Merry
Swiss Girl, q ehOrlEs." IN ..r-.r..-I
The little thing didn't know what
a chorus meant, but il looked nice,
and so she had them put it on the bill.
She drew quite house, took in seven
dollars, and took ithome to her moth
er. After giving a concert at Lincoln,
in q school house, she came home
again, and gave guitar lessons to pu-
pills twice as old as she was, at twenty
cents per lesson. She now went to
school, but her father being too poor
to pay her tuition the little child
woman borrowed the money from q
friend-agreeing to pay it after she
should become a-teacher. ...a
At fifteen, Little Emma succeeded
in securing a class of twenty poor
children, who came to recite at her
mothers house. At the time she sang
in the Hebrew Synagogue-a kind old
rabbi, Marx Moses, teaching her to
pronounce in Hebrew and German.
The spring of her sixteenth birth
day found her father poorer than ever
before, and our little woman to help
her mother, tried to secure a clerk
ship in store, but failed. In great
distress, she heard OF school, nine
miles from Peoria, which was in need
Of teacher. Thither she went on
foot, through the mud and slush. She
found the principal trustee kind old
man, at dinner. r-.- s4
"What do you want, my. little wo-
man?n asked the old farmer, as he
laid down his knife and fork to sur
vey our little heroine. ..- -rI
.l''I live in Peoria, sir, and ! walk
ad-'f --f i1 --l -s.
What! walked, child ?' inter-
-upted The old man in astonishment.
Yes, sir, and / wantt tc teach your
school,"
well, I declare, my child, there
Ire fifteen applicants, but you're a /
pretty girl, and plueky as Julius /
cesar. Have you got your certifi-
ate ?" m.-
'rCSo, SIR faltered little Emma.
well, il you've walked nine miles
through this mud and slush, you'll do
o teach school for me. Sit up and
ave some dinner"
Emma commenced school the next
the respect Of the parents
nd the love of the children, and in
Jur months took sixty dollars back. to
er father in Peoria, where the large
8mily soon used 1t no.
Our heroine, with the assistance of
er father, now gave her first big con-
ert in Peoria. Quite 8 number, OF
mateurs assisted her, ROose's Hall
'as filed, the people eheered, and
,mma's father received one hundred
ollars. This was all used by her
lther, mother and sister, except three
Ollars. With this amount she left !
er father struggling at home and
arted for Rock Island to visit young
ldy friend She found her friend
Dseut, and her money dWindled 10 {
genty cents. With this she went to
Ioline for ten cents to call upon a
entIeman by the name of Deer, in
hose family her father had taught &
lusic twenty years before. Her idea
as TO get up Q e9neert. Mr. Deer I
as absent, and Alrs- Deer, q crotch G
y-iaeed old woman, was very cross.
be looked insinuRtingly at Emma, 7
nd said she didn't know what pret-
young girl wanted of her husband. 1
lst then Miss Abbott spied the piano I
Id asked II she might play. In a v
oment she was warbling a sweet '
ng. The old lady dropped her dish i
!, wiped her hands on her apron, and i
me and looked over her glasses in
toDishmeut, Just then Mr., Deer o
liered, ...s... ElL 9
by Jove, Matilda! That's darned !:
ce Singing he exclaimed, who's
''Aiy name is Abbott. said our hero a
9 modestly. "AIy father used to ii
ach in your family" S
Thunder, yes-but what are you \
ing here pr n
well, pa and ma are very poor and a
re come here TO give a concert, and A
want you to help me.p Il
'All right. You're plueky girl, 81
q I'll help you. You shall have D,
3 Congregational Church, +" said Mr.. 5,
eT. Of
And she did have it. She got her OF
Is printed, went around personally 81
d announced the concert, up In the OF
lools, and the house was crowded, q
e sang with her usual sweetness, h'
lehinG every heart. Ii was q warm h'
,ht, her concert guitar was out Of
ie, and the strings broke six times a.