Ten American Girls from HistorySweetser, Kate Dickinson
History
Ten American Girls from History
Sweetser, Kate Dickinson
United States -- Biography; Women -- Biography
away his arguments one by one until he had no ground left to stand on.
When her last word had been said and she took her seat amid a storm of
applause, he swiftly and silently rose and left the hall, to the great
amusement of the audience, whose sympathies were entirely with the
young girl who had stated her case so brilliantly.
"Who is she?" was the question asked on every side as the eager crowd
pushed its way out of the building, all curious to get a nearer view
of the youthful speaker. Doctor Longshore, who had opened the meeting,
as on the previous Sunday, was now determined to become acquainted
with Anna and find out what had gone into the making of such a
remarkable personality, and at the close of the meeting he lost no
time in introducing himself to her and making an engagement to go to
the Dickinson home to meet her family.
Before the time of his promised call--in fact, before Anna had even
mentioned her success as a speaker to her mother--while she was out
one day two gentlemen called at the house and inquired if Miss Anna
Dickinson lived there. Her mother's cheeks paled with fright, for she
feared Anna had been doing some unconventional thing which the
strangers had come to report. When they said they had heard her speak
at a public meeting and were so much pleased with her speech that they
had come to find out something about her home surroundings, Mrs.
Dickinson's brow cleared, and, leading them into the house, she spent
a pleasant half-hour with them, and was secretly delighted with their
comments on her daughter's first appearance in public. When Anna came
home Mrs. Dickinson took her to task for not telling her about such a
great event, and was surprised to see the real diffidence which the
girl showed when she was questioned about the meetings and her
speeches. A few days later Doctor Longshore called with her brother,
Elwood, and with their flattering assurances that her daughter was a
born speaker, and that she had already made some valuable points on a
vital subject, Mrs. Dickinson began to feel that all her worry over
Anna's turbulent childhood and restless girlhood had not been in vain,
that she was born to do great things, and from that time she took a
genuine pride in all the achievements of the young girl who came so
rapidly into public notice.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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