Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-06-25

s As rule literary women have had
less severe struggles to gain distinction
than their sisters Of the stage. Many
OF t,sm have had to battle with pow
sryv, but few with neglected education.
MS. Somerville, the only woman who
has become renowned as a geologist,
was one Of the exceptions to the
rule. As q child she was allowed
to run wild, at the age Of eleven she
did not know how to spell As
she grew up she was kept help
ing in the family Homework until
marriage seemed to offer her deliver
ance.> In this hope she was doomed
to most bitter disappointment. Her.
husband was q narrow-minded man,
who hated clever or even educated
women. He considered them inferior
mentally to his sex, and if q case &C.
Cured where woman proved herself
OF superior intellect, he was Mortified
and frowned her down as "unwoman.
ly." He thought that his wife unsexed
herself by pursuing her geological
studies, and made her keep strictly to
her domestic duties His death hap
PLY left this gifted woman free to fol-
low the bent OF her genius. Her Sec
ond husband encouraged her in her
chosen pursuit until she became the
most distinguished scientific woman
Of her day. She died as recently as
1872, having nearly completed her
one-hundreth year. She made intri-
cate astronomical calculations when
IN her ninety-second year.
Lady Morgan was another instance
of a woman who had little early edu-
cation becoming distinguished in lit
erature. Her father was O. poor
transformer in Ireland at the close
OF the last century, and the authoress
OF ''The Wild Irish Grip and other
popular novels OF that time had to
overcome the prejudice against her
fathers profession. She had also to
contend with poverty and a poor edu-
cation. Yet she became famous.
We have had two great female as
tronomers, Miss Herschell and Miss
Mitchell. Both were single women
and both took up the study ofiastron-
omy in order to assist their brothers.
Miss Herschell's pathway to fame was
over a smooth road, but Miss Maria
Mitchell had everyt hing to battle
with. She was the daughter OF small
farmer in Nantucket, who was obliged
to exc out his income by teaching
school at 50 q week. Maria was con-
stantly occupied with household
duties, and she describes her child
hood as "being an endless washing OF
dishes.'
1t is curious fact that so MANY OF
our celebrated literary women were
the daughters OF farmers and began
their life work by teaching school,
gradually acquiring fame and ahiuence
by writing. Take the Cary sisters to
begin with and Mrs. Lydia Sigourney,
the poetess, before them, then Grace
Greenwood, and lastly Ella Wheeler.
Ella Wheeler never taught school,
but her parents were poor farm PEG.
pie in the West. The first poem she
wrote she sent to Mrs. Frank Leslie,
who saw enough merit in it to accept
it. Ella has bought her parents a
home out OF her own earnings, and is
40 'oAy Ao'9IoSO o1 AAAooU cACeieAlL
daughter.
No female novelist worthy OF fame
appeared in England until the reign
of George III. That was 'little" Miss
Frances Burney. She was a sort OF
governess to some OF the royal chill
dren, which gave her an entrance into
society, and this made her books
fashionable. They possessed merits,
however. She was the daughter OF a
physician, not-well-to-do, and Miss
Burney had to maintain herself.
: The lady doctors and lawyers have
had the hardest time to enter profess
sional ranks. Nevertheless they have
made great Roadway since Elizabeth
Blackwell vainly applied for admission
to the medical COLLEGES in New York.
Boston, and Philadelphia. She WAS
finally admitted as a student in
the medical college in Geneva, N. Y.
Her youth was one OF struggle, hard
ship, encouragement, and restricted
means.
The grandfather of Nine Dudevant
George SANDY peddled birds about
the streets Of Paris-made money
enough by that to open a little tavern
and billiard room for ca bmen and 9TH
ers OF like grade. Her grandmother
was an illegitimate dauy hter OF Mar
shall SAKE, son OF Augustus, king OF
Poland. In Nine. Sands Life writ
ten by herself, she naively remarks
that she does not know whether she
is most proud OF having peddler's or
a kings blood in her veins. George
Sands mother was serving woman,
and the whole family had a hard fight
for bare existence. Her first romance
depicted the adventures of young
girl fascinated by birds.
Nine. Dudevant made herself q
deathless name by the brilllancy of
her own great genius, and may fairly
rank among the foremost self-,nade
women OF the world. She had every
thing to contend with-poverty, OBJ
security, an untutored girlhood, a
wretched marriage, and opinions in
advance of her time. Even her first
choice Of a profession was a mistake,
as she thought her talent lay in paint
ing.
1t would appear that the famous
female painters have had less to strug.
gle against than others of their sex.
Almost all inherited their genius, and
became proficient in their art, their
talent encouraged and fostered by
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