Her elder brother was fond of mathematics, and insisted upon teaching Clara the mysteries of number. These she mastered rapidly and soon no toy equaled her little slate in her esteem. Her younger brother, David, was a fearless and daring rider. On the farm were several fine horses, for Mr. Barton was fond of the animals and raised his own colts. It was David's delight to take little Clara, throw her upon the back of a colt and spring upon another himself. Then, shouting to her to "cling fast to the mane," he would catch hold of her by one foot and together they would gallop away. What mad rides they took, and how well Clara learned to stick on a horse's back! These lessons, too, she had cause to be thankful for later in life, when she was obliged to mount a strange horse on the battle-field and ride fearlessly to a place of safety. Her two sisters, who were teachers, took care that she should have a knowledge of books. Miss Barton said that she did not remember the time when she could not read; she always did her own story reading. When old enough she was sent to an academy at Clinton, New York, where she graduated. She then became a teacher and opened the first free school in the State of New Jersey, at Bordentown. Here her work was very successful, her school numbering at the close of the first year six hundred pupils. But, her health failing, she gave up the school work in 1854 and obtained a position as Head Clerk in the Patent Office at Washington. When the Civil War broke out, she offered her services as a volunteer nurse, and from the beginning of the war until its close she worked in the hospital, in the camp, and on the battle-field. During the Peninsula campaign in 1862, Miss Barton faced horrible scenes on the field. She also served eight months in the hospitals on Morris Island during the siege of Charleston, and was at the front during the Wilderness campaign. In 1864 she was put in charge of the hospitals at the front of the Army of the James, and continued that work until the close of the war. All this time Miss Barton persisted in aiding the wounded soldiers of _both_ armies—a practice which shocked many people and caused them to protest. But she paid no attention to the protests, nor are any such heard to-day, for Clara Barton's way of helping the suffering, regardless of the uniform they wore, is now followed over the civilized world; it is the very heart of the plan of the Red Cross Society itself.