New-York tribune., 1881-09-11
STUDIES IN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
BY CHARLES n. coNGDoN.
MISS HANNAH ADAMS.

The name of Adams is common enough and does
its full share to make the directories bulky; but
then there and have been Adamses and
Adamses-people so called who are distinguished
and other people also called who, however
worthy have missed fame are likely TO- i 40
not know how many of my readers have so nuch as
heard of Miss Hannah Adams, who was somewhat
notable woman in the early days OF american
literature and who wrote several books respectable
for their learning and for the industry bestowed
upon them She has place in the encyclopedias,
where her photography is given as follows: l.
1View of Religion in three parts: Part |, contain
ing An Alphabetical Compendium of the DenOmi-
nations among Christians: g A Brief Account of
Paganism Mohammedanism, Judaism, and Desm
3, An Account of the Religion of the Different
Nations of the World" III. ~ History of New
England" III. The Evidences of Christianity"
This is not lively catalogue for the expedient of
making money by writing novels. so we'll employed
by the literary ladies of day had not been hit
upon in the primitive time of solid and erudite
single woman. Evidently she was not afraid of
hard work: but her books could scarcely have been
enriched by original research, by any interesting
speculation. There were materials in the
country then for writing profoundly of religious
history, if she had been a profound woman
which she was not. She had literary tastes pa
thence, perseverance under particular discourage
ments and she lived, through poverty and dsap
pointment, cheerful and useful life For long
time. with every capacity for friendship, she
solitary, turning her books and toilng at her
booksellers copy. Friends as we shall see came
afterward who made her old age as comfortable
asked her to write her autobiography. They might
have importuned her in vain if she had not hoped,
by doing the work, to leave small legacy to an
aged and iDfrm sister, to whose comfort she had
devoted her little savings for many years. The
small book, published in 1882, is not a common
one and account of literary American
woman living at q time when American literature
was in its infancy. may not prove uninterestng.
Miss Adams begins by canddly acknow lodging
that the retrospect of her past errors faults and
msfortunes would be exceedingly painful" Poor
old lady / cannot find that she committed any
serious errors or had any faults albeit of her
msfortunes there can be no doubt The story opens
in the little country town of Medfeld, eighteen
miles from Boston, in the year 1865, when George
the Second King. John Adams wrote to
her long afterward: "You and are undoubtedly
related by birth; and although we were both
'born in humble obscurity' yet l presume that
neither of us has any to regret that clrcum-
stance. If / could suppose that family pride
was in any case excusable, should think a descent
from line of virtuous Independent New England
farmers, for one hundred and sixty years.
better foundation for it than "a descent through
royal titled scoundrels ever since the flood"
The father of Miss Adams was man of literary
tastes who had prepared to enter the university but
compelled, I" to his inexpressible disappoint-
ment," as she says to give mp the plan. Not caring
to be farmer. he opened shop for the sale of
"English goods and books" The childhood of Miss
Adams was not pleasant one 1t was tormented
by extreme irritability of the system, and
she was educated in habits of debtating soft
ness" which added to her constitutional want of
bodily and mental firmness." She took no pleasure
IN the amusements to which children are generally
attached She too constantly i'll to attend
school. and. had it been otherwise, the country
schools in those days were hardly worth attending.
All that taught in them reading, writing
and arithmetic Little Miss Adams she tells us,
acquired faulty pronunciation which she
never able wholly to rectify. She was tmid and
afraid of company she found very few with whom
she cared to associate; she had thirst for knOwl
edge; and she read all her fathers books including
the novels through which she "acqured false
ideas of life" She committed to memory great
sections of the poetry of Milton, Thomson, Young;
and she deyoured history and biography. There
something really beautiful in the way in which,
when she DID, she recalled the purest pleasures
of her lonesome childhood, and especially her
@ardent admiration of the beauties of nature"
AT the present time,' she says, "when age and
experience have in measure repressed the
warmth of my feelings, and while am writing,
should be more delighted with rural prospects and
fine flowers than when in early life 1 used to be
enraptured with contemplating the sublime aid
beautiful in the works of creation"
But sorrows came thickly and heavily. The ex-
ceent mother died, when the child was ten years
old. An aunt to whom she much attached
soon followed. The business in "English goods
and books" dwindled into sheer bankruptcy, and
the family reduced to extreme poverty. In the
humble home all was melancholy and distress. The
girl grew up awkward, i'll and hindered by various
perpexities. But there plenty of leisure for
reading, and no home is really poor which has
few books. Gentlemen who boarded with her father
volunteered to instruct the young woman, hungry
above all things for knowledge in the rudments
Of Latin, Greek, geography and logic, which she
studied with ndescribable pleasure and avidity."
Sometimes think that this yearning for know ledge
which used to characterize the early lie of so many
children is a lost passion There difficulties
to be overcome. Opportunities of instruction are
everywhere, and the road to learning has been
made. in spite of the proverb, royal one. Our
children have schools, great libraries and books
numerous enough, fear, to be sometimes too little
priced. Think of this moody, awkward, tmid young
Hannah sensbly feeling the want of more sys-
tematic education and those advantages which
females enjoy in the present day" Yet she saws
"Perhaps few of my sex have perused more book
AT the age of twenty than / had" She read too
many novels. as she admits and worked latter too
desultory fashion; but the day of more systc-
matte study was at hand.
One of the gentlemen who boarded in the family
of Miss Adams had small MS, giving an account
of Arminians Calvinists and several other denomi-
nations, extracted from Broughton's Dictionary
(BibliOtheca Historico-Sacra: An Historical Die
tionary of all Religions London. 1737-39). Forth
with the young woman began to peruse all books
which she could obi ain upon the subject. The want
N in ant lta16 6,oo ata6 har