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[Illustration: Richmond, Del. J. & J. Wilson, So.

H.B. Stowe]




LIFE OF

HARRIET BEECHER STOWE

    COMPILED FROM

    Her Letters and Journals

    BY HER SON

    CHARLES EDWARD STOWE


[Illustration]

    BOSTON AND NEW YORK
    HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
    The Riverside Press, Cambridge
    1890




    Copyright, 1889,
    BY CHARLES E. STOWE,

    _All rights reserved._


    _The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S.A._
    Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Co.


[Illustration: Handwritten letter]

It seems but fitting, that I should preface this story of my life with
a few notes of instruction.

The desire to leave behind me some recollections of my life, has
been cherished by me, for many years past; but failing strength or
increasing infirmities have prevented its accomplishment.

At my suggestion and with what assistance I have been able to render,
my son, Ross Charles Edward Stowe, has compiled from my letters and
journals, this biography. It is this true story of my life, told for
the most part, in my own words and has therefore all the force of an
autobiography.

It is perhaps much more accurate as to detail & impression than is
possible with any autobiography, written later in life.

If these pages, shall help those who read them to a firmer trust in God
& a deeper sense of His fatherly goodness throughout the days of our
earthly pilgrimage I can say with Valiant for Truth in the Pilgrim's
Progress!

I am going to my Father's & tho with great difficulty, I am got
thither, get now, I do not repent me of all the troubles I have been
at, to arrive where I am.

My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage & my
courage & skill to him that can get it.

    Hartford Sept 30
    1889

                                         Harriet Beecher Stowe




INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT


I DESIRE to express my thanks here to Harper & Brothers, of New York,
for permission to use letters already published in the "Autobiography
and Correspondence of Lyman Beecher." I have availed myself freely
of this permission in chapters i. and iii. In chapter xx. I have
given letters already published in the "Life of George Eliot," by Mr.
Cross; but in every instance I have copied from the original MSS. and
not from the published work. In conclusion, I desire to express my
indebtedness to Mr. Kirk Munroe, who has been my co-laborer in the work
of compilation.

                                                       CHARLES E. STOWE.
    HARTFORD, _September 30, 1889_.




CONTENTS


  CHAPTER I.

  CHILDHOOD 1811-1824.

  DEATH OF HER MOTHER.--FIRST JOURNEY FROM HOME.--LIFE AT NUT
  PLAINS.--SCHOOL DAYS AND HOURS WITH FAVORITE AUTHORS.--THE
  NEW MOTHER.--LITCHFIELD ACADEMY AND ITS INFLUENCE.--FIRST
  LITERARY EFFORTS.--A REMARKABLE COMPOSITION.--GOES TO HARTFORD    1


  CHAPTER II.

  SCHOOL DAYS IN HARTFORD, 1824-1832.

  MISS CATHERINE BEECHER.--PROFESSOR FISHER.--THE WRECK OF THE
  ALBION AND DEATH OF PROFESSOR FISHER.--"THE MINISTER'S
  WOOING."--MISS CATHERINE BEECHER'S SPIRITUAL HISTORY.--MRS.
  STOWE'S RECOLLECTIONS OF HER SCHOOL DAYS IN HARTFORD.--HER
  CONVERSION.--UNITES WITH THE FIRST CHURCH IN HARTFORD.--HER
  DOUBTS AND SUBSEQUENT RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT.--HER FINAL PEACE      22


  CHAPTER III.

  CINCINNATI, 1832-1836.

  DR. BEECHER CALLED TO CINCINNATI.--THE WESTWARD JOURNEY.--FIRST
  LETTER FROM HOME.--DESCRIPTION OF WALNUT HILLS.--STARTING A NEW
  SCHOOL.--INWARD GLIMPSES.--THE SEMI-COLON CLUB.--EARLY
  IMPRESSIONS OF SLAVERY.--A JOURNEY TO THE EAST.--THOUGHTS
  AROUSED BY FIRST VISIT TO NIAGARA.--MARRIAGE TO PROFESSOR STOWE    53


  CHAPTER IV.

  EARLY MARRIED LIFE, 1836-1840.

  PROFESSOR STOWE'S INTEREST IN POPULAR EDUCATION.--HIS DEPARTURE
   FOR EUROPE.--SLAVERY RIOTS IN CINCINNATI.--BIRTH OF TWIN
  DAUGHTERS.--PROFESSOR STOWE'S RETURN AND VISIT TO
  COLUMBUS.--DOMESTIC TRIALS.--AIDING A FUGITIVE
  SLAVE.--AUTHORSHIP UNDER DIFFICULTIES.--A BEECHER ROUND ROBIN      78


  CHAPTER V.

  POVERTY AND SICKNESS, 1840-1850.

  FAMINE IN CINCINNATI.--SUMMER AT THE EAST.--PLANS FOR LITERARY
  WORK.--EXPERIENCE ON A RAILROAD.--DEATH OF HER BROTHER
  GEORGE.--SICKNESS AND DESPAIR.--A JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF
  HEALTH.--GOES TO BRATTLEBORO' WATER-CURE.--TROUBLES AT LANE
  SEMINARY.--CHOLERA IN CINCINNATI.--DEATH OF YOUNGEST
  CHILD.--DETERMINED TO LEAVE THE WEST                              100


  CHAPTER VI.

  REMOVAL TO BRUNSWICK, 1850-1852.

  MRS. STOWE'S REMARKS ON WRITING AND UNDERSTANDING
  BIOGRAPHY.--THEIR APPROPRIATENESS TO HER OWN BIOGRAPHY.--REASONS
  FOR PROFESSOR STOWE'S LEAVING CINCINNATI.--MRS. STOWE'S JOURNEY
  TO BROOKLYN.--HER BROTHER'S SUCCESS AS A MINISTER.--LETTERS
  FROM HARTFORD AND BOSTON.--ARRIVES IN BRUNSWICK.--HISTORY OF THE
  SLAVERY AGITATION.--PRACTICAL WORKING OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE
  LAW.--MRS. EDWARD BEECHER'S LETTER TO MRS. STOWE AND ITS
  EFFECT.--DOMESTIC TRIALS.--BEGINS TO WRITE "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN"
  AS A SERIAL FOR THE "NATIONAL ERA."--LETTER TO FREDERICK
  DOUGLASS.--"UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" A WORK OF RELIGIOUS EMOTION        126


  CHAPTER VII.

  UNCLE TOM'S CABIN, 1852.

  "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" AS A SERIAL IN THE "NATIONAL ERA."--AN
  OFFER FOR ITS PUBLICATION IN BOOK FORM.--WILL IT BE A
  SUCCESS?--AN UNPRECEDENTED CIRCULATION.--CONGRATULATORY
  MESSAGES.--KIND WORDS FROM ABROAD.--MRS. STOWE TO THE EARL OF
  CARLISLE.--LETTERS FROM AND TO LORD SHAFTESBURY.--CORRESPONDENCE
  WITH ARTHUR HELPS                                                 156


  CHAPTER VIII.

  FIRST TRIP TO EUROPE, 1853.

  THE EDMONDSONS.--BUYING SLAVES TO SET THEM FREE.--JENNY
  LIND.--PROFESSOR STOWE IS CALLED TO ANDOVER.--FITTING UP THE NEW
  HOME.--THE "KEY TO UNCLE TOM'S CABIN."--"UNCLE TOM" ABROAD.--HOW
  IT WAS PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND.--PREFACE TO THE EUROPEAN
  EDITION.--THE BOOK IN FRANCE.--IN GERMANY.--A GREETING FROM
  CHARLES KINGSLEY.--PREPARING TO VISIT SCOTLAND.--LETTER TO MRS.
  FOLLEN                                                            178


  CHAPTER IX.

  SUNNY MEMORIES, 1853.

  CROSSING THE ATLANTIC.--ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND.--RECEPTION IN
  LIVERPOOL.--WELCOME TO SCOTLAND.--A GLASGOW TEA-PARTY.--EDINBURGH
  HOSPITALITY.--ABERDEEN.--DUNDEE AND BIRMINGHAM.--JOSEPH
  STURGE.--ELIHU BURRITT.--LONDON.--THE LORD MAYOR'S
  DINNER.--CHARLES DICKENS AND HIS WIFE                             205


  CHAPTER X.

  FROM OVER THE SEA, 1853.

  THE EARL OF CARLISLE.--ARTHUR HELPS.--THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF
  ARGYLL.--MARTIN FARQUHAR TUPPER.--A MEMORABLE MEETING AT
  STAFFORD HOUSE.--MACAULAY AND DEAN MILMAN.--WINDSOR
  CASTLE.--PROFESSOR STOWE RETURNS TO AMERICA.--MRS. STOWE ON THE
  CONTINENT.--IMPRESSIONS OF PARIS.--EN ROUTE TO SWITZERLAND AND
  GERMANY.--BACK TO ENGLAND.--HOMEWARD BOUND                        228


  CHAPTER XI.

  HOME AGAIN, 1853-1856.

  ANTI-SLAVERY WORK.--STIRRING TIMES IN THE UNITED
  STATES.--ADDRESS TO THE LADIES OF GLASGOW.--APPEAL TO THE WOMEN
  OF AMERICA.--CORRESPONDENCE WITH WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON.--THE
  WRITING OF "DRED."--FAREWELL LETTER FROM GEORGIANA MAY.--SECOND
  VOYAGE TO ENGLAND                                                 250

  CHAPTER XII.

  DRED, 1856.

  SECOND VISIT TO ENGLAND.--A GLIMPSE AT THE QUEEN.--THE DUKE OF
  ARGYLL AND INVERARY.--EARLY CORRESPONDENCE WITH LADY
  BYRON.--DUNROBIN CASTLE AND ITS INMATES.--A VISIT TO STOKE
  PARK.--LORD DUFFERIN.--CHARLES KINGSLEY AT HOME.--PARIS
  REVISITED.--MADAME MOHL'S RECEPTIONS                              270

  CHAPTER XIII.

  OLD SCENES REVISITED, 1856.

  EN ROUTE TO ROME.--TRIALS OF TRAVEL.--A MIDNIGHT ARRIVAL AND
  AN INHOSPITABLE RECEPTION.--GLORIES OF THE ETERNAL CITY.--NAPLES
  AND VESUVIUS.--VENICE.--HOLY WEEK IN ROME.--RETURN TO
  ENGLAND.--LETTER FROM HARRIET MARTINEAU ON "DRED."--A WORD FROM
  MR. PRESCOTT ON "DRED."--FAREWELL TO LADY BYRON                   294


  CHAPTER XIV.

  THE MINISTER'S WOOING, 1857-1859.

  DEATH OF MRS. STOWE'S OLDEST SON.--LETTER TO THE DUCHESS OF
  SUTHERLAND.--LETTER TO HER DAUGHTERS IN PARIS.--LETTER TO HER
  SISTER CATHERINE.--VISIT TO BRUNSWICK AND ORR'S ISLAND.--WRITES
  "THE MINISTER'S WOOING" AND "THE PEARL OF ORR'S ISLAND."--MR.
  WHITTIER'S COMMENTS.--MR. LOWELL ON "THE MINISTER'S
  WOOING."--LETTER TO MRS. STOWE FROM MR. LOWELL.--JOHN RUSKIN
  ON "THE MINISTER'S WOOING."--A YEAR OF SADNESS.--LETTER TO LADY
  BYRON.--LETTER TO HER DAUGHTER.--DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE             315


  CHAPTER XV.

  THE THIRD TRIP TO EUROPE, 1859.

  THIRD VISIT TO EUROPE.--LADY BYRON ON "THE MINISTER'S
  WOOING."--SOME FOREIGN PEOPLE AND THINGS AS THEY APPEARED TO
  PROFESSOR STOWE.--A WINTER IN ITALY.--THINGS UNSEEN AND
  UNREVEALED.--SPECULATIONS CONCERNING SPIRITUALISM.--JOHN
  RUSKIN.--MRS. BROWNING.--THE RETURN TO AMERICA.--LETTERS TO DR.
  HOLMES                                                            343


  CHAPTER XVI.

  THE CIVIL WAR, 1860-1865.

  THE OUTBREAK OF CIVIL WAR.--MRS. STOWE'S SON
  ENLISTS.--THANKSGIVING DAY IN WASHINGTON.--THE PROCLAMATION OF
  EMANCIPATION.--REJOICINGS IN BOSTON.--FRED STOWE AT
  GETTYSBURG.--LEAVING ANDOVER AND SETTLING IN HARTFORD.--A REPLY
  TO THE WOMEN OF ENGLAND.--LETTERS FROM JOHN BRIGHT, ARCHBISHOP
  WHATELY, AND NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE                                  363


  CHAPTER XVII.

  FLORIDA, 1865-1869.

  LETTER TO DUCHESS OF ARGYLL.--MRS. STOWE DESIRES TO HAVE A HOME
  AT THE SOUTH.--FLORIDA THE BEST FIELD FOR DOING GOOD.--SHE BUYS
  A PLACE AT MANDARIN.--A CHARMING WINTER RESIDENCE.--"PALMETTO
  LEAVES."--EASTER SUNDAY AT MANDARIN.--CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR.
  HOLMES.--"POGANUC PEOPLE."--RECEPTIONS IN NEW ORLEANS AND
  TALLAHASSEE.--LAST WINTER AT MANDARIN                             395


  CHAPTER XVIII.

  OLDTOWN FOLKS, 1869.

  PROFESSOR STOWE THE ORIGINAL OF "HARRY" IN "OLDTOWN
  FOLKS."--PROFESSOR STOWE'S LETTER TO GEORGE ELIOT.--HER REMARKS
  ON THE SAME.--PROFESSOR STOWE'S NARRATIVE OF HIS YOUTHFUL
  ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF SPIRITS.--PROFESSOR STOWE'S INFLUENCE
  ON MRS. STOWE'S LITERARY LIFE.--GEORGE ELIOT ON "OLDTOWN FOLKS"   419


  CHAPTER XIX.

  THE BYRON CONTROVERSY, 1869-1870.

  MRS. STOWE'S STATEMENT OF HER OWN CASE.--THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER
  WHICH SHE FIRST MET LADY BYRON.--LETTERS TO LADY BYRON.--LETTER
  TO DR. HOLMES WHEN ABOUT TO PUBLISH "THE TRUE STORY OF LADY
  BYRON'S LIFE" IN THE "ATLANTIC."--DR. HOLMES'S REPLY.--THE
  CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER                                          445


  CHAPTER XX.

  GEORGE ELIOT.

  CORRESPONDENCE WITH GEORGE ELIOT.--GEORGE ELIOT'S FIRST
  IMPRESSIONS OF MRS. STOWE.--MRS. STOWE'S LETTER TO MRS.
  FOLLEN.--GEORGE ELIOT'S LETTER TO MRS. STOWE.--MRS. STOWE'S
  REPLY.--LIFE IN FLORIDA.--ROBERT DALE OWEN AND MODERN
  SPIRITUALISM.--GEORGE ELIOT'S LETTER ON THE PHENOMENA OF
  SPIRITUALISM.--MRS. STOWE'S DESCRIPTION OF SCENERY IN
  FLORIDA.--MRS. STOWE CONCERNING "MIDDLEMARCH."--GEORGE ELIOT
  TO MRS. STOWE DURING REV. H. W. BEECHER'S TRIAL.--MRS. STOWE
  CONCERNING HER LIFE EXPERIENCE WITH HER BROTHER, H. W. BEECHER,
  AND HIS TRIAL.--MRS. LEWES' LAST LETTER TO MRS. STOWE.--DIVERSE
  MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THESE TWO WOMEN.--MRS. STOWE'S FINAL
  ESTIMATE OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM                                   459


  CHAPTER XXI.

  CLOSING SCENES, 1870-1889.

  LITERARY LABORS.--COMPLETE LIST OF PUBLISHED BOOKS.--FIRST
  READING TOUR.--PEEPS BEHIND THE CURTAIN.--SOME NEW ENGLAND
  CITIES.--A LETTER FROM MAINE.--PLEASANT AND UNPLEASANT
  READINGS.--SECOND TOUR.--A WESTERN JOURNEY.--VISIT TO OLD
  SCENES.--CELEBRATION OF SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY.--CONGRATULATORY
  POEMS FROM MR. WHITTIER AND DR. HOLMES.--LAST WORDS               489




[Illustration]




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


                                                                   PAGE
  PORTRAIT OF MRS. STOWE. From a crayon by Richmond, made in
      England in 1853                                     _Frontispiece_

  SILVER INKSTAND PRESENTED TO MRS. STOWE BY HER ENGLISH
      ADMIRERS IN 1853                                               xi

  PORTRAIT OF MRS. STOWE'S GRANDMOTHER, ROXANNA FOOTE. From
      a miniature painted on ivory by her daughter, Mrs.
      Lyman Beecher                                                   6

  BIRTHPLACE AT LITCHFIELD, CONN.[A]                                 10

  PORTRAIT OF CATHERINE E. BEECHER. From a photograph taken in
      1875                                                           30

  THE HOME AT WALNUT HILLS, CINCINNATI[A]                            56

  PORTRAIT OF HENRY WARD BEECHER. From a photograph by Rockwood,
      in 1884                                                       130

  MANUSCRIPT PAGE OF "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" (fac-simile)               160

  THE ANDOVER HOME. From a painting by F. Rondel, in 1860, owned
      by Mrs. H. F. Allen                                           186

  PORTRAIT OF LYMAN BEECHER, AT THE AGE OF EIGHTY-SEVEN. From a
      painting owned by the Boston Congregational Club              264

  PORTRAIT OF THE DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND. From an engraving
      presented to Mrs. Stowe                                       318

  THE OLD HOME AT HARTFORD                                          374

  THE HOME AT MANDARIN, FLORIDA                                     402

  PORTRAIT OF CALVIN ELLIS STOWE. From a photograph taken in 1882   422

  PORTRAIT OF MRS. STOWE. From a photograph by Ritz and Hastings,
      in 1884                                                       470

  THE LATER HARTFORD HOME      508

FOOTNOTE:

[A] From recent photographs and from views in the Autobiography of
Lyman Beecher, published by Messrs. Harper & Brothers.




LIFE AND LETTERS OF HARRIET BEECHER STOWE.




CHAPTER I.

CHILDHOOD, 1811-1824.

    DEATH OF HER MOTHER.--FIRST JOURNEY FROM HOME.--LIFE
    AT NUT PLAINS.--SCHOOL DAYS AND HOURS WITH FAVORITE
    AUTHORS.--THE NEW MOTHER.--LITCHFIELD ACADEMY AND ITS
    INFLUENCE.--FIRST LITERARY EFFORTS.--A REMARKABLE
    COMPOSITION.--GOES TO HARTFORD.


HARRIET BEECHER (STOWE) was born June 14, 1811, in the characteristic
New England town of Litchfield, Conn. Her father was the Rev. Dr. Lyman
Beecher, a distinguished Calvinistic divine, her mother Roxanna Foote,
his first wife. The little new-comer was ushered into a household of
happy, healthy children, and found five brothers and sisters awaiting
her. The eldest was Catherine, born September 6, 1800. Following her
were two sturdy boys, William and Edward; then came Mary, then George,
and at last Harriet. Another little Harriet born three years before had
died when only one month old, and the fourth daughter was named, in
memory of this sister, Harriet Elizabeth Beecher. Just two years after
Harriet was born, in the same month, another brother, Henry Ward, was
welcomed to the family circle, and after him came Charles, the last of
Roxanna Beecher's children.

The first memorable incident of Harriet's life was the death of her
mother, which occurred when she was four years old, and which ever
afterwards remained with her as the tenderest, saddest, and most sacred
memory of her childhood. Mrs. Stowe's recollections of her mother are
found in a letter to her brother Charles, afterwards published in the
"Autobiography and Correspondence of Lyman Beecher." She says:--

"I was between three and four years of age when our mother died, and
my personal recollections of her are therefore but few. But the deep
interest and veneration that she inspired in all who knew her were such
that during all my childhood I was constantly hearing her spoken of,
and from one friend or another some incident or anecdote of her life
was constantly being impressed upon me.

"Mother was one of those strong, restful, yet widely sympathetic
natures in whom all around seemed to find comfort and repose. The
communion between her and my father was a peculiar one. It was an
intimacy throughout the whole range of their being. There was no human
mind in whose decisions he had greater confidence. Both intellectually
and morally he regarded her as the better and stronger portion of
himself, and I remember hearing him say that after her death his first
sensation was a sort of terror, like that of a child suddenly shut out
alone in the dark.

"In my own childhood only two incidents of my mother twinkle like rays
through the darkness. One was of our all running and dancing out before
her from the nursery to the sitting-room one Sabbath morning, and her
pleasant voice saying after us, 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it
holy, children.'

"Another remembrance is this: mother was an enthusiastic horticulturist
in all the small ways that limited means allowed. Her brother John
in New York had just sent her a small parcel of fine tulip-bulbs. I
remember rummaging these out of an obscure corner of the nursery one
day when she was gone out, and being strongly seized with the idea that
they were good to eat, using all the little English I then possessed
to persuade my brothers that these were onions such as grown people
ate and would be very nice for us. So we fell to and devoured the
whole, and I recollect being somewhat disappointed in the odd sweetish
taste, and thinking that onions were not so nice as I had supposed.
Then mother's serene face appeared at the nursery door and we all ran
towards her, telling with one voice of our discovery and achievement.
We had found a bag of onions and had eaten them all up.

"Also I remember that there was not even a momentary expression of
impatience, but that she sat down and said, 'My dear children, what you
have done makes mamma very sorry. Those were not onions but roots of
beautiful flowers, and if you had let them alone we should have next
summer in the garden great beautiful red and yellow flowers such as you
never saw.' I remember how drooping and dispirited we all grew at this
picture, and how sadly we regarded the empty paper bag.

"Then I have a recollection of her reading aloud to the children Miss
Edgeworth's 'Frank,' which had just come out, I believe, and was
exciting a good deal of attention among the educational circles of
Litchfield. After that came a time when every one said she was sick,
and I used to be permitted to go once a day into her room, where she
sat bolstered up in bed. I have a vision of a very fair face with a
bright red spot on each cheek and her quiet smile. I remember dreaming
one night that mamma had got well, and of waking with loud transports
of joy that were hushed down by some one who came into the room. My
dream was indeed a true one. She was forever well.

"Then came the funeral. Henry was too little to go. I can see his
golden curls and little black frock as he frolicked in the sun like a
kitten, full of ignorant joy.

"I recollect the mourning dresses, the tears of the older children, the
walking to the burial-ground, and somebody's speaking at the grave.
Then all was closed, and we little ones, to whom it was so confused,
asked where she was gone and would she never come back.

"They told us at one time that she had been laid in the ground, and at
another that she had gone to heaven. Thereupon Henry, putting the two
things together, resolved to dig through the ground and go to heaven
to find her; for being discovered under sister Catherine's window one
morning digging with great zeal and earnestness, she called to him to
know what he was doing. Lifting his curly head, he answered with great
simplicity, 'Why, I'm going to heaven to find mamma.'

"Although our mother's bodily presence thus disappeared from our
circle, I think her memory and example had more influence in moulding
her family, in deterring from evil and exciting to good, than
the living presence of many mothers. It was a memory that met us
everywhere, for every person in the town, from the highest to the
lowest, seemed to have been so impressed by her character and life that
they constantly reflected some portion of it back upon us.

"The passage in 'Uncle Tom' where Augustine St. Clare describes
his mother's influence is a simple reproduction of my own mother's
influence as it has always been felt in her family."

Of his deceased wife Dr. Beecher said: "Few women have attained to
more remarkable piety. Her faith was strong and her prayer prevailing.
It was her wish that all her sons should devote themselves to the
ministry, and to it she consecrated them with fervent prayer. Her
prayers have been heard. All her sons have been converted and are now,
according to her wish, ministers of Christ."

Such was Roxanna Beecher, whose influence upon her four-year-old
daughter was strong enough to mould the whole after-life of the author
of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." After the mother's death the Litchfield home
was such a sad, lonely place for the child that her aunt, Harriet
Foote, took her away for a long visit at her grandmother's at Nut
Plains, near Guilford, Conn., the first journey from home the little
one had ever made. Of this visit Mrs. Stowe herself says:--

"Among my earliest recollections are those of a visit to Nut Plains
immediately after my mother's death. Aunt Harriet Foote, who was with
mother during all her last sickness, took me home to stay with her.
At the close of what seemed to me a long day's ride we arrived after
dark at a lonely little white farmhouse, and were ushered into a large
parlor where a cheerful wood fire was crackling. I was placed in the
arms of an old lady, who held me close and wept silently, a thing at
which I marveled, for my great loss was already faded from my childish
mind.

[Illustration: _Roxanna Foote_]

"I remember being put to bed by my aunt in a large room, on one side
of which stood the bed appropriated to her and me, and on the other
that of my grandmother. My aunt Harriet was no common character. A more
energetic human being never undertook the education of a child. Her
ideas of education were those of a vigorous English woman of the old
school. She believed in the Church, and had she been born under that
_regime_ would have believed in the king stoutly, although being of the
generation following the Revolution she was a not less stanch supporter
of the Declaration of Independence.

"According to her views little girls were to be taught to move very
gently, to speak softly and prettily, to say 'yes ma'am,' and 'no
ma'am,' never to tear their clothes, to sew, to knit at regular hours,
to go to church on Sunday and make all the responses, and to come home
and be catechised.

"During these catechisings she used to place my little cousin Mary
and myself bolt upright at her knee, while black Dinah and Harry, the
bound boy, were ranged at a respectful distance behind us; for Aunt
Harriet always impressed it upon her servants 'to order themselves
lowly and reverently to all their betters,' a portion of the Church
catechism that always pleased me, particularly when applied to them, as
it insured their calling me 'Miss Harriet,' and treating me with a
degree of consideration such as I never enjoyed in the more democratic
circle at home. I became proficient in the Church catechism, and gave
my aunt great satisfaction by the old-fashioned gravity and steadiness
with which I learned to repeat it.

"As my father was a Congregational minister, I believe Aunt Harriet,
though the highest of High Church women, felt some scruples as
to whether it was desirable that my religious education should
be entirely out of the sphere of my birth. Therefore when this
catechetical exercise was finished she would say, 'Now, niece, you
have to learn another catechism, because your father is a Presbyterian
minister,'--and then she would endeavor to make me commit to memory the
Assembly catechism.

"At this lengthening of exercise I secretly murmured. I was rather
pleased at the first question in the Church catechism, which is
certainly quite on the level of any child's understanding,--'What is
your name?' It was such an easy good start, I could say it so loud and
clear, and I was accustomed to compare it with the first question in
the Primer, 'What is the chief end of man?' as vastly more difficult
for me to answer. In fact, between my aunt's secret unbelief and my own
childish impatience of too much catechism, the matter was indefinitely
postponed after a few ineffectual attempts, and I was overjoyed to hear
her announce privately to grandmother that she thought it would be time
enough for Harriet to learn the Presbyterian catechism when she went
home."

Mingled with this superabundance of catechism and plentiful needlework
the child was treated to copious extracts from Lowth's Isaiah,
Buchanan's Researches in Asia, Bishop Heber's Life, and Dr. Johnson's
Works, which, after her Bible and Prayer Book, were her grandmother's
favorite reading. Harriet does not seem to have fully appreciated
these; but she did enjoy her grandmother's comments upon their biblical
readings. Among the Evangelists especially was the old lady perfectly
at home, and her idea of each of the apostles was so distinct and
dramatic that she spoke of them as of familiar acquaintances. She
would, for instance, always smile indulgently at Peter's remarks and
say, "There he is again, now; that's just like Peter. He's always so
ready to put in."

It must have been during this winter spent at Nut Plains, amid such
surroundings, that Harriet began committing to memory that wonderful
assortment of hymns, poems, and scriptural passages from which in after
years she quoted so readily and effectively, for her sister Catherine,
in writing of her the following November, says:--

"Harriet is a very good girl. She has been to school all this summer,
and has learned to read very fluently. She has committed to memory
twenty-seven hymns and two long chapters in the Bible. She has a
remarkably retentive memory and will make a very good scholar."

At this time the child was five years old, and a regular attendant
at "Ma'am Kilbourne's" school on West Street, to which she walked
every day hand in hand with her chubby, rosy-faced, bare-footed,
four-year-old brother, Henry Ward. With the ability to read germinated
the intense literary longing that was to be hers through life. In
those days but few books were specially prepared for children, and
at six years of age we find the little girl hungrily searching for
mental food amid barrels of old sermons and pamphlets stored in a
corner of the garret. Here it seemed to her were some thousands of the
most unintelligible things. "An appeal on the unlawfulness of a man
marrying his wife's sister" turned up in every barrel she investigated,
by twos, or threes, or dozens, till her soul despaired of finding an
end.