Modern Americans: A Biographical School Reader for the Upper GradesSanford, Chester Milton
General
Modern Americans: A Biographical School Reader for the Upper Grades
Sanford, Chester Milton
Biography -- Juvenile literature; United States -- Biography
Frances' father and mother moved to Wisconsin from the State of New
York when their children were very small. Then the new home seemed to
be in the wilderness, and the family were indeed pioneers. Frances had
a genius for planning the most exciting games. She was always the
leader of the three, and delighted in organizing her willing playmates
into Indian bands, or into daring sailors of unknown seas. The other
two children called her Frank, and were glad to have her "think up"
wonderful plays.
[Illustration: FRANCES E. WILLARD
Founder of the
World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union]
One day long before Frances was twelve years of age her sister wrote
in her journal, "Frank said we might as well have a ship if we did
live on shore; so we took a hen coop pointed at the top, put a big
plank across it, and stood up, one at each end, with an old rake
handle apiece to steer with. Up and down we went, slow when it was a
calm sea and fast when there was a storm, until the old hen clucked
and the chickens all ran in and we had a lively time. Frank was
captain and I was mate. We made out charts of the sea, rules about how
to navigate when it was good weather and how when it was bad. We put
up a sail made of an old sheet and had great fun, until I fell off and
hurt me."
So you see they must have had many daring adventures. Frances longed
for a horse to ride, but there was none the children could have. This
did not discourage her in the least. She wanted to ride and so she
decided to train their pet calf. The calf's name was Dime, and Frances
said, "Dime is an unusually smart calf, she can be trained so we can
ride her." So she proceeded to do it and the children rode Dime to
their hearts' content.
But all of their play was not out of doors. Mr. and Mrs. Willard had
brought with them from their old home many books, and the children
liked to spend hours reading in their library. The father and mother
taught them and encouraged them to study. Frances liked to write,
and, as she was a neat and orderly girl, she did not want her books
and papers disturbed. In her sister Mary's journal we read how she
managed to have her belongings untouched:
"Today Frank gave me half her dog Frisk that she bought lately, and
for her pay I made a promise which mother witnessed and here it is:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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