James Parton, Horace Greeley, T. W. Higginson, J. S. C. Abbott, E. M. Hoppin, William Winter, Theodore Tilton, Fanny Fern, Grace Greenwood, Mrs. E. C. Stanton, Women of the age; being natives of the lives and deeds of the most prominent women of the present gentlemen

Miss Catharine Beecher relates that when Mrs. Stowe was at Paris, she was repeatedly visited by an aged French gentleman of distinction, who in youth had spent some years in Litchfield as a student at the law school, and, in his conversations with Mrs. Stowe, he frequently referred to, and dwelt with enthusiasm upon, the society of Litchfield, which he declared was the most charming in the world. In such a home, and in such a society, Harriet Beecher passed the first twelve years of her life. She was a pupil in the school taught by Miss Pierce and Mr. Brace. Of Mr. Brace, Mrs. Stowe speaks in terms of the highest praise, as a gentleman of wide information, well-read in the English classics, of singular conversational powers, and a most “stimulating and inspiring instructor.” Her own simpler lessons were neglected and forgotten as she sat listening intently, hour after hour, to the recitations of the older classes, and to the conversations of Mr. Brace with them, in moral philosophy, rhetoric, and history. In this school particular attention was given to the writing of compositions. An ambition was kindled in the minds of the scholars to excel in this exercise.

Harriet was but nine years old, when, roused by Mr. Brace's inspiration, she volunteered to write a composition every week. The theme for the first week was sufficiently formidable,--The Difference between the Natural and the Moral Sublime. But so great was the interest which the preparatory discussions had awakened in her mind, that she found herself in labor with the subject, felt sure that she had some clear distinctions in mind, and, although she could hardly write legibly or spell correctly, brought forth her first composition upon that question. Persevering in her efforts, she was soon publicly commended for her progress, and two