Girls -- United States -- Biography -- Juvenile literature
At home in the village, when she was tired of playing in the big roomy
house, she could run across the green to the stream by her father’s
mill. Here, in the city, instead of wide green slopes and the low hum of
the sawmill were narrow, dirty alleys and the clatter of carts and
street cars.
When Mr. Addams explained that some people do not have money enough to
choose pleasant places for their homes, Jane declared: “When I grow up,
I shall have a large house, of course, but I shall not have it among
other fine houses, but right in the midst of horrid little houses like
these.”
Now, strangely enough, when she grew up, she did that very thing. She
went to live in a big house situated in the midst of poor Chicago
tenements. Later, this little girl, who was Jane Addams, became known
all over the world as the friend of the poor.
Jane Addams was born at Cedarville, Illinois, September 6, 1860. Little
Jane could not remember her mother, who died when she was a baby, but
she thought that no little girl ever had a father like hers. She was
proud of his imposing figure, and she loved him dearly. Though he was a
very busy man he always had time to answer her questions. She had a
great many to ask, too, for even as a small child she did a good deal of
thinking.
Jane’s father had been a state senator for sixteen years and could tell
her interesting stories about the history of the country. He talked to
her so often about Abraham Lincoln, who had been his friend, that Jane
felt almost as if she herself had known the great-hearted man.
One Sunday Jane appeared before her father dressed for Sunday school in
a beautiful new coat. It was a finer coat than any other little girl in
the village had. For this reason, Mr. Addams suggested that Jane wear
her old coat to save the feelings of the other little girls. Jane
consented to do so, although she was very much disappointed.
As they walked to Sunday school, Jane wondered how the good things of
life could be more evenly divided. Ever since she had first seen the
“horrid little houses” about a year before, her young mind had been busy
with this problem. Jane turned to her father and asked him how it could
be solved. He explained that even though everything cannot be divided
evenly, people should act and dress in such a way that those who are
less fortunate will not be made to feel so. He told her that in school
and church, at least, people should be able to feel that they belong to
one family.
Jane Addams attended the village school, and later, at seventeen years
of age, entered Rockford Seminary, at Rockford, Illinois. Soon after she
was graduated from this school it was declared a college, and she
received the degree of B. A.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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