///7 /m HALF HOUR LESSONS -ON- AMERICAN AUTHORS J I- -FOR oGial + lii *K)irGie8, 1=1 i ■xiriig iliii PKEPAKED BY ■ II'HW 1VCX1.S. J- H. ±jE:^tVIS, DECATITK, ILL. M'B"H'iartiiiiBiirfi!B ■" !■ , 'II 'I IBI"' IB' ..:'8" I ■ 'I ^ ,^^'.- ^A % Copyright, 1887, by Mrs. J. H. Lewis. Half-Hour Lessons Upon American Authors, von SOCIAL LITERARY IJRCLKS. IM'epared.HiKl I'uhlished l>,v MKS. J. H. LKWIS. Decatur, Illinois, 1887. INTIfODKTK^N AM) F.DITOHIAL (JKKKTIXGS. A few years ii','() a lady'.s education was ^'enerally conHidereil "finislied" when she turned her back on the school room, hud her school liooks on a high shelf, and usually entered into the bonds of matrimony. This last act was the final (juietus to literary effort. Within a few years many organizations have sj)rung up for the higher development and education of women, even amid the pressing cares of home and social life. Among them- the Social Literary Circle has found a home. A little seed droi)ped in a fertile soil ;i year and a half ago has budded and brought forth fruit. Many circles have l)een formeil, and the work has prospered through sunnner's scorching heat, through the lovely-tinted autumnal hours, and through hoary winter's fiercest blasts. We have taken old-time peeps of New York City through Diedrich Knickerbocker's eyes ; we have eaten of Geoffrey Crayon's "Salmagundi" ; we have climl)ed the mountain side with Rip Van Winkle, and almost slept in "Sleejjy Hollow" by the side of Washington Ir^^ng ; we have wandered through the i)rithless forest with "Natty Bumps", the "Leather Stocking" hero of C'ooper's fancy, then rigged him uj) in his tari)aulin and called him "Long Tom Coffin" as we sailed with him over the "Bounding Billows" ; we lingered a long time among the cool, quiet, i)oetic fancies of Bryant, the Father of American poetry ; we have made the acijuaintance of Irving's lady friends, and many of the Society Queens of a centurv- ago, and also of the literary ladies who first gave Europe to know that the young country's daughters were akin in intellect to their own fair dames. We have been mystified, edified, and almost defied at times by Ralph Waldo Emerson's deep phi!()soj)hizing, but ever encouraged l)y a wise men- tor we did not consign him to oblivion. Imt rather sheltered him in a "Cleft in the Rock", from whence his memory shall be taken from time to time, ever growing more beautiful to us as we are able to grasj) his "idealities" and his "spiritualities." Weeks of ravishing delii^ht have been ours as we have studied the works of America's Ace of Fiction, Nathaniel Hawthorne. James Kussell Lowell says of him : "There's Hawthorne with genius so shrinking and rare That you hardly, at first, see the strenisrth that is there. A frame so robust, with a nature so sweet. So earnest, so graceful, so .solid, so lieet ; When Nature was shaping him, clay was not granted, For making as full sized a man as was wanted ; So to till out her model, a little she s]«ired From a finer grained stutf. for a woman jji'epared. And she could not have hit a more excellent i»Ian. For making him fully, and perfectly, num." We have also had rich treats from the gifted minds of our quartette of poets Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes and Lowell. To Longfellow we say : Sleep well, in Auburn's peaceful dale ! but your sweet thoughts of purity and love shall live undimmed for ages. To Whittier, in B. F. Taylor's lan- guage, we say : '"Strike not thy tent beside the .sea. Brave Laureate of Liberty." Sing on ! And we thank the kind Power that has brought ba(^k to us, from over the seas, our Holmes and Lowell, richer than ever in the lore anil wit which has made them so dear to the American heart. We endeavored to descend into the "Maelstrom" of Poe's *^ad life and to search the darkeneil chaml)ers of his "Haunted Palace" for the truths that might be like light-house gleams, off the desolate coast. We at last partook of the "Bitter Sweet" berries and wandered down "The Bay Path" of J. G. Holland, and with KaHtriiia'a hero we sat on the mountain's top looking over into the next decade for the work for the New Yeiir. We hope that the .same good fellowship and love will prevail as in the past. •)In union there is strength." Remember that in study as in nnisic, it is Jianiiony that gives the chmnt. Differences of opinion will at times appear, but they are or should l)e only for the moment, as what are called "passing" notes, which are .soon again restjlved into the j)erfect harmony of the closing chord. And while interested in looking at the l)eautiful stones Avhich have been jxdished and set. each in its [)lace, in the temjile of litera- ture, let us not be content with an outside view of the .struture, Imt may all desire to open the portals and find the gems within which sliall sjiarklc and reflect the pure crystal lieams of the "Central Sun" of life. This year we .shall not walk with bowed and reverent heads among the /ow/«, but shall cultivate the aci|naintance of our lirimj aiitJiois for the most part. Death has set his seal on many of Avliom we wrote and studied last year, and the work of culling from the gathered shocks of so manv vears was com- paratively easy. The only trouble was. time was too shurt to gather all the sheaves. It will not be possible for us to make mention of all who are to- day before the American people as "Men and Women of Letters", so we shall have to pass over many who miylit with truth be placed in the front rank, and confine ourselves to those whose names are jjlaced before us in every magazine and paper we peruse. Many are bein«- daily crowned with wreaths of "laurel and bay," and of others it may be said, they are yet in the hey-day of life, not cpiite rij)e, perhaps, with the j,'lory that may be accorded them after they shall have filled out their years Sometimes we see the most tfor^eous colorinys on the western slopes, just ere the sun slips below "the everlastinsr hills." Posthunums fame is the surest. Amony those whose names iioir are immortal are the sweet sisters, Alice and Phebe Caiy. Loviny in their lives not lonj^' divided in their deaths. The subjects of oiir first two lessons have been mentioned before, but Avill now be i)laced before the student for s[)ecial study, as occujiyiny very hi^rh rank amonj? the literary women of the world, not only at home, but known abroad as bright stars. The first in order of time we place Mrs. Hakriett Beecher Stowe, the Queen of American Fiction, and second, Mrs. Jttlia Ward Howe, a poetess, and also one of the leadin^^c woman suff- ragists of the nation, and one who is seeking, in many laudable ways, the elevation and education of womanhood. Our poets, magazine writers and fiction writers shall in turn be discussed in their order of time, while the other literary characters — historians, jour- nalists and travelers — will be left for private reading. Encyclopedias and magazine articles form the basis for most of this vear's work, as few lives have yet been published. -4— 3IKS. HAUUIET BEEC'IIEK STOWE. LITCHFIELD, CONNECTICUT. BORN lsv> OR isia. 1st Topic : Ancestral and personal sketch. 2d " Give dift'erent varieties of styles of her writinj^s. 8d *' Her master-piece, Uncle Tom's Cabin, at |)leas- ure, with account of its o^reat circulation. 4th " Select from her •'Relii^ious Poems". ••()iil\ a Year," or other at pleasure. 5th •' -Old Town Folks." oth " •"Pink and White Tyranny". Avith comments on the subject. 7th ■• The •"Minister's Wooinu." (Sth •• ••Repression", fi'om ••Little Foxes." Ktli •• Volunteer selections, loth •• General discussion. MRS. .n LIA WAKl) HOWE. NEW YORK. HORN i^ii;. 1st Toi'ic : To[)ical sketch of author. 2d •• Selections from ••Passion Flowers.'' ••Words for the Hour." 8d •• Give account of her woi'ks of travel. 4th •• ••The New Kxodns." ~)ih •• Her present work and its iiitiucnce. ()th •' Her poem. ■•Our Country." Tth •■ Give poem in which we find the lines — '• Men saw the tJiorus on Jesus* brow. But Angels s;iw the roses." 8th "• Give account of the inspiration of her immortal poem. ••Battle Hymn of the Republic. " Dth •• General discussion. Mils. ELIZABETH PKENTISS. POKTLAND, MAINE. 1st Toi'ic : '•Steppiiii;- Heavpiiwai'd." 2d •• ••Aunt Jane's Hero. 8d " ''Peniaquid." 4th '• Life Sketch. THE VAU\ S I ST E IIS. CINCINNATI, OHIO. Houy - ALICE, is'ttnr 1ST!. HIKh. isn. PHERE. is:>i. •■ is; I. 1st Toi'ic : Personal sketch of the sisters in tlieir earl\ home life in Ohio. 2d •• Their removal to New York. Avitli subsequent history. 8d •• Poem: •"Mv Charley." 4th •• -My Faded "ShawL*"" 5th •• "Tlie Grace Wife of Keith." r)th •• "If and If." 7th •• The Bridal Veil." 8th •• Alice's favorite. ""An order for a picture."' Dtli •• Pictures of nieniory.' 10th •• Phebe's ••Woman's CV)nclusion." 11th •• •'Light. ■• 12th '• "A Summer Storm." IHth •' "Nearer Home." 14th •• Volunteer selections and discnssions. THOMAS Bl ( HANAX HEAD. HORX, Js-j:\ DIED, Js;j. 1st Topic : Sketch of author. 2d •• Epitomize "The AVild AVaggoner of the Allegha- nies". with line selecticms. ■id •• Selections from "The NeAv Pastoral." 4th •• '"A Summer Story."' oth •' •'Sheridans Ivide" ()th " "Drifting." Tth " Comments. —6— EDWARD em: RETT HALE. BOSTON, MASS. BOHI^. ls2->. 1st Topic : Sketch of Author. 2d " "The Man Without a couutry." 3d " "If, Yes and Perhaps." 4th " "Ups and Downs.'' 5th ■' "Ten times one is Ten." MRS. A. I). T. VMllTNEY. BOSTON, MASS. Hoh'X. /^Vi. 1st Topic : Author's skt^tcli. 2d " Her prose work. •"Faith {iMi'tney's (iiriliood." M " "Hitherto!" 4th " "Patience Strong's Outing."" r)th •• "A Summer in Leslie Goldthwaite's Life."" (;th ■• ••Sights and Lisights."" 7th •• Her poem: ••Larv;e." Sth •• -'Suidight and Starlight."" Sth •• ••( 'hristmas."" loth •• Discuss sul)je('ts and intiuences of liei' wi'itings. ( HARLES DUDLEY WARXEK*. PLAIN FfKLl). MASS. HORN, isi^'i. 1st Topic : Early life, witii its teaching for him. 2d •• Earliest literary efforts. 3(1 •• Describe' his varied styles of writing. 4th •• Select from his sketches •■My Summer in a (iar- den." 5th " "A New Vision of Sin.*" 5th " Select from ••Backlog Studies." 7th " "The Yankee Philoso|)her."" Sth " Volunteer Selections. Vlth •' (h-iticisms or discussion, loth •• Give latest magazine work. 11th •■ Select at [>leasure from his l)ooks of travel: ••Winter on the Nile." ••In the Levant." •'in the AVilderness." HKLEN HI XT JACKSON. AMHERST. MASS. BORN, ls:io. I>lh:i>, iss:,. 1st Topic : Author's sketcli. 2d •• (rive Tarietips of style of lier Avork. 8(1 •• Her |)oeni. •'Spiimiiio-.'" . 4tli " '"My LetJ-acy.'" otli " ••Love's Largess." ♦ ;tli •• "At Last."" Ttli •• Prose Avork: ••TJie Awkward A>»e."' from "Bits of Talk."' Stli '' A Cxeiiius for Affection."" Itth " Epitomize ••A (Vntury of Dishonor"' and "ive its teaching's, loth •• ••Ramona."" her i>"reat work of fiction. ILth " Selections at pleasure. l"2th •• (renei'al discussion. PAIL HAMILTON HAYNE. CHARLESTON. S. C. HORX. l-<:il. DTED, issc,. 1st Topic : Personal sketch witli poem, ••A Portrait."' 2(1 •■ ■•The Presentiment.'" Hd •• ••The Ten Summers." 4th " "My S(m. Will."" '")th '• His last touching poem, •■Face to Face," written while himself in the '•border land.'" EDMIM) ('. STEDMAN. HARTFORD, CONN. Ji(ih'\. is:i:i. 1st Topic : P