The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-02-25

populous as far back as the latter part of
the seventeenth century. Those who
believe In heredity can find satisfaction
in knowing that men and women OF
ceptioD 10 Miss Seawelfs family; and
through her fathers mother, who was a
sister Of President Tyler, she is one with
those Of whom Henry A. Wise says in his
''Seven Decades of the Union: The
women of this family have always been
of char acter and beauty of person."
In this old country. and in rambling
old country house. "The Shelter" she
spent her early life. The only misfortune
OF her youth was in name, which is Molly
and not Mary. as it is commonly supposed
to be. 81 have very bad name," she
feelingly says. land have made it worse
by fOolishly putting my middle name in
with the vain hope OF redeeming my first
name. When l get letters addressed to
Mrs Mary Seawell. RS / often do, the iron
enters into my SOUL"
Although the war had made chaotic
changes, the old community In
which the child lived was so cut
off from the strenuous modern world. its
patriarchal life was so deeply rooted, that
the people held on desperately TO their
former mode Of living long after slavery
bad become q thing Of the past.
While the young girl was growing up
the negroes still remained on the old
Shelter plantation and things generally
wore an air of before the war" Nobody
seems TO have realized that the modern
condition: required any change In the edu-
cation of women different from that DUR
sued "before the war;" so the girl was
taught chiefly those things that went TO
make up the happiness and the accom-
plshment Of tbs women who presided
over the quaint Virginia homes. Litera-
ture was one Of these, and she received a
drilling in the English classics such as few
women can boast.
Her father, who was lawyer of dis
tinction, had an antique respect for the
literature of the eighteenth century,
and the old country house possessed one of
the best libraries Of these veteran books in
Virginia Charles Lambs proposed plan
for girls was followed in her education
sire was turned loose in a library full OF
good books" Novels alone were tab0oed.
and at IL she had only read one novel
''The Vicar of Wakefield" But poetry
was permitted. and like most young and
sensitive creatures she absorbed rather
passions. She Lad three amuSements, read
ing, writing and playing the piano. She
seems never to have thought of writing or
imagined leading any other life than that
around her. She thought that the finest
destiny of the world was 10 be mistress of
Splt0ulu pidUbdliUDs duQ HeT dflDltlO0
only went the length of making Il very
large, with the grandest house In the coun-
try on ii.
In this simple. quaint and impractical
life the young girl grew up. Just as she
was emerging into womanhood her
fathers death occurred. This made IL adYis-
able to give up the plantation with its bur-
dens and the idyllic country life vanished
She made visit TO Europe, and upon her
return her family established itself In
Wash ington. About this time the idea of
writing came to her. The excellent train
ing she had got from good reading now
manifested itself.
Her first story was accepted by Lippin-
colts Magazine. 1t was Russian story
under Russian name, and written with
such an air of verisimlitude that most
critics and writers were deceived into
thinking her native Russian.
This was followed by others, which were
widely read and commented uron. All
this was very creditable to so young a
writer. but she did not earn the full
benefit of this credit The retirement and
seclusion of her early life had bred a
positive fear OF appearing In print In her
own name, and she used no less than five
pen names in various periodicals and
changed them most capriciously. But she
thereby escaped being judged by her
prentice work.
The first story published under her own
name was the well-known "Maid Marian"
in Lippincott's Magazine. was then in
possession of the editorial chair, and the
success OF the story 10 book form as well
as in the magazine and the fact that Miss