St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-03
How She Expended Much OF
Her Wealth Upon the
Poor. -
Once a Woman of Personal
Neutrality-suspicious. Any
Religious Belief.
Now a Physical Wreck, and
an Inmate Of an Insane
Asylum.

court of Kansas City, that she is insane,
writes Florence Carpenter Ives. Her
life was full of good deeds, her desire
only to benefit mankind, her heart full
of loving kindness.
A few years ago Mrs, Thompson,
whose face was still unwrinkled, and
whose hair was but family touched by
| the hand of time, was ayouthful looking
woman. She was once noted for beauty
and handsome figure, but an accident
to her foot, making it impossible for
her to walk much, and, in fact. keeping
her from almost all physical exertion,
inclined her to stoutness. Three years
ago paralysis had worked a great
! change. Her figure was shrunken, and
one arm had become disabled. Her
face had lost its plump look, and al
| though the hair was still dark, her
whole physical bearing was a wreck.
| Speech was impossible, but the spark
ling eyes and the expression of features
and the recognition of friends showed
that her mind was still alive.
AS Mrs. Thompson was warm friend
| of my father. we knew in an intimate
and personal way how her life was
! spent. Always sympathetic, always
earnest and ready TO believe the stories
| of unfortunates, there was all army
ever pulling at her heaItstrings.
She was not thoughtleSSly generous.
Her money did not go in subscriptions
| to Well-knOwn charities, but to those
| who personally drew upon her sympa-
thies. Her interest in reform and the
advancement of science induced her to
give thousands of dollars to enterprises
that were more or less successful.
Gradually her work became known to
the worlds and from time to time the
newspapers produced sketches of her.
After the publication of one of these
she wrote to my father: II have more
than 100 letters coming from the article
that was in the Lam so
sick of my name, Do you know any
one who will take it and give me new
One?'
The simplicity of her mode of living
was not mere fancy. She rose early;
she liked to take her dinner in the
middle of the day, and the cut of her
dress was of small moment to her. If
she had fad 1t was cleanliness. II
made her impatient to talk about dress,
but at some time in her life she must
have beer fond of personal adornmeut.
for she owned many beautiful pieces of
jewelTy,
She invariably had carriage when
she wanted to go out. This was her one
luxury, but it was rather a necessity.
Although her income was 5000 a year
she rode in hired vehicles. Only once
in her later years did she allow herself
slight extravaganza in dress. 1t was
when the ceremony of her presentation
of my fathers picture of the 'Emanci-
patton Proclamation" TO the govern
ment took place. Then she wore
handsome black velvet gown and some
rich lace.
Mrs. Thompson was not only gener-
GUS with her money, but was tender
hearted, and was led impulsively to do
kind and compassionate acts. AS an in
stance of this may be cited an occasion
when she became interested in woman
who stopped her on the street. To her
tale of misery she lent an attentive ear,
and ended by taking her home with her.
The woman was i'll, and Mrs. Thompson
nursed her, and actually bathed her feet
with her own hands. The poor creature
proved to be religious crank. 1t was
the intensity of thought which she
evinced on theological subjects that
partly won Mrs. Thompson's favor.
The great philanthropist was without
religious belief herself, but her mind
was constantly reaching out for tan
gIble form of Christianity on which she
could hang her faith. An extract from
a letter written to her by one of her
clerical friends in 1883 bears witness to
a portion of the above statement: go,
never forget to ask that your eyes may
yet be fully opened to the peace of the
blessed Saviorw
That Mrs. Thompson was without
ambition the following extract from
letter from S. P. Wait to her will show:
You ought to be the last one to say you
wish you could write etc. You have
mothered and fathered a multitude of
writings, prose and poetical, that have
gone forth to the world with the name
of some wet nurse attached instead of
that of the legitimate parent of the pro-
duction, and what has been kept hidden
will some time be proclaimed"
The following is letter from Miss
Maria Mitchell to Mrs. Thompson, writ
ten in June. 1888: "You have heard
that l have left Vassar! / have taken
board in Lynn for the summer. Where
are you? Will you not come down and
spend a day with me and let us plan
some way to reform all the world? Let
US try and make our late days the best
ones that we can bring about. l have
put up very small observatory. Come
and see it. do not ask for money, but
beg of you to make the best possible
use of it."
Mrs. Thompson's comments, written
on the back of this. read: This grand
soul thinks the best use money can be
put to is to build observatorieS and big
telescopes TO study the far off stars
This do not object to. An artist thinks
fhn hpCf of fn
art, and each one thinks his own spe-
cial branch or domain is not only the
best but the only one worthy of patron
age. Many people think they know ex-
actly what is right and what is wrong,
not only for themselves, but for every
body elsel Alasi for the smallness of
my own capacity to judge of all things
seen and unseen. l just begin to see
the wisdom of each one being fully per-
suaded in his own mind, otherwise he
will be like feather blown in the air
his course will be changed by every
breath"
These and other letters acknowledge
ing the receipt of large sums OF money
from the phiIanthropist were given to
my father by Mrs. Thompson as samples
of what the mail brought to her every
day.
The story of Mrs. Elizabeth Thomp-
sons early life is already known. She
has brave ancestry. AS a child and
country girl in Vermont her sympathy
and kindness were the strongest traits
shown. The suffering even of an ami
NAL caused her the greatest pain. From
her own poverty before her marriage
grew her interest in the poor and op-
pressed. and it was no doubt through
her influence upon her husband that
his will was made in favor of fund for
the benefit of working women, the in
come until his wife's death being placed
at her own disposition. How this in
come was spent hundreds and thousands
of people can testify, and those who
were not sordid In their demands, those
who felt the quick and ready sympathy
Of the woman behind the benehcence of
the philauthropist, will mourn that this
rare soul has been left In the world be-
reft of reason and battling as in the