nd masterfully stirred up such a one to his or her best,
sometimes with remarks of approval, or by censuring recreancy with
stinging sarcasm, or with expressions of despair over infirmity of
purpose. Some of such scholars, notably among them Charles Warren
Stoddard, panned out gold in the field of letters. Many of her pupils,
including myself, absorbed much of her wonderful help, and it grew into
our subconsciousness and became a part of us. She was the long-time
friend of Bret Harte, and from her he gathered a wealth of knowledge
that served him well.

When Mr. Ewer was ordained in Grace Episcopal Church, San Francisco,
Shirley became a member of his parish, and together with his wife she
assisted him in the ministrations of good. Then this dependable friend,
Dr. Ewer, was discovered, with the result that he was called to a
church in New York at a salary of ten thousand dollars a year.

In addition to her daily teaching, Shirley, by request, established
evening classes in art and literature, for men and women, and once a
week she held her _salon_, drawing the best minds about her. She
appreciated the privilege of having a home in Mr. John Swett's family,
because of its intellectual atmosphere. Here scholarly notabilities
from near and far were entertained, among them Emerson, Agassiz, and
Julia Ward Howe.

Childless, Shirley took her niece, Genevieve Stebbins, and reared her
from babyhood to a splendid womanhood. She contributed freely to
entertainments for charity, by her Shakespearean readings and other
recitations, and happily prepared whole parties for private
theatricals. With such mental strain, she kept herself fit by Saturday
outings, in which were graciously included some of her pupils. At times
we went across the bay, in various directions, but oftenest we strove
through the sand to the ocean beach, stopping here and there to
botanize, and gather the sweet yellow and purple lupin, and to rest on
the limbs of the scrub-oaks. On the beach we roasted potatoes and made
coffee, and then ate ravenously. A happy gipsying it was, and she, the
queen, forgot her cares. Not a pebble at our feet, nor a floating
seaweed, nor a shell, nor a seal on the rock, but opened up an
instructive talk from our teacher, or started Charley Stoddard reciting
a poem, or set a girl singing. Before starting homeward, the whole
party, including Shirley, shoes and stockings off, waded into the surf,
and afterwards rested on the warm beds