Mrs. Dassel was a native of Königsberg, Prussia. Her father’s name was Borchard; he was a banker, and at one time a man of fortune, which enabled him to secure to his children an excellent education. He lost his property in 1839, in consequence of financial troubles in America; the liquidation of his affairs reduced his possessions to a small farm, depriving his family of teachers, servants, horses and carriages, and all the comforts which they had enjoyed. Upon the elder children devolved the duties of housekeeping, and the cultivation of the farm to some extent, as well as the instruction of the younger members of the family. At this time Herminie devoted herself to the art of painting as a profession, hoping to derive from it a support for herself and family. She would attend to her household duties in the morning, and then, with port-folio in hand, wander off over the dusty or muddy road to the city, and again return to attend to the flowers and cabbages, and the making of cheese and butter. She soon had the satisfaction of receiving a commission for a full-sized portrait of a clergyman; this she painted in the church, with her model on the altar, the country folk standing about, astonished and wondering that such a tiny little girl could accomplish such a marvel. She soon went to Düsseldorf, attracted thither by the pictures of Sohn, which she saw in an exhibition in her native city. She studied with this artist four years, supporting herself entirely by her own exertions. Her pictures found ready sale, consisting of such subjects as “Children in the Wood,” “Peasant Girls in a Vineyard,” “Children going to the Pasture with Goats,” etc. After her return home she applied herself again to portrait-painting, in order to obtain money sufficient for a tour to Italy, which was the great end of her ambition. She was fortunate enough to be able to accumulate in one year a thousand dollars. Out of this sum she furnished her brother with an amount large enough to secure his promotion to a doctor’s degree, as she wanted to have him accompany her as a traveling companion. A journey to Italy was much opposed by all her relatives; a girl so young, fresh, and diminutive could not protect herself; she would inevitably encounter serious misfortunes. But her mind was made up; she packed her things, took leave of her friends, and one morning started off on the way to Vienna, directing her brother to follow her. She was never in want of friends; every where persons took an interest in her; without money one day, it was sure to come on the next; and her faith was never shaken by any accident or hardship. In Vienna she began her studies, seeking models in the streets, and taking them to her room. From Vienna she passed into Italy. Of her studious life in Italy many sketches bear witness.