of a poor widow.
She struggled through the university by teaching in vacation; renting a
poor little room in the town where the university was situated, and
cooking her own food, doing her own washing and ironing, living in the
plainest way, wearing cheap clothing, and eating the plainest food,
while she was pursuing her studies. Her struggles with poverty and
bitter circumstances taught her sympathy and kindness and helpfulness;
and though she was plain, very plain, in face and figure, the gentle
kindness of her spirit was apparent to all. As time passed on after
their graduation, both of these young women gained the goal of their
hopes and ambitions: an introduction to this brilliant and cultivated
circle of people through certain literary clubs. And furthermore, both
secured an invitation to read a paper before the same literary society
during the same winter. The first-named young lady was visiting friends,
while the second had secured a position as teacher. When the first young
lady appeared before the society, her dress of velvet, point lace, and
diamonds, was so striking as to be obtrusive. Her paper was fairly good,
but contained nothing of any permanent value. Her self-consciousness and
evident desire to be conspicuous had the effect of repelling the earnest
and thoughtful men and women who composed the society. Her essay and
herself were alike quietly dropped; and to this day she cannot
understand why. She calls the members of the society proud, haughty, and
exclusive, and denounces the city where these people live as pedantic,
disagreeable, and unsocial. Before this same club came our quiet,
unostentatious, plain young friend of the toilsome life. Her dress was
as plain as her face, but her paper was rich in information and filled
with the results of a deep and earnest observation. Around her gathered
the good men and women who knew how to appreciate such a spirit, and
from thenceforward she was one of them. Every winter since the reading
of her first essay I have found her name among the list of those who are
leaders in the world of thought and of benevolent action. With pride in
the success, of a genuine Western girl, I have often observed her name
among the invited guests present at receptions given to distinguished
authors and philanthropists both of our own country and of Europe. Why
did she succeed against such odds, when the other failed with all her
advantages? Simply because she was possessed of the t