She was utterly taken by surprise once in a foreign city by being
invited out to breakfast, as she supposed privately, and finding
herself suddenly in a large hall, upon a raised platform crowded with
local dignitaries, and greeted before she could get her breath by a
chorus of children's voices singing an anthem in her honor, especially
composed for the occasion. Her love of fun was greatly excited by this
unexpected situation, and she used to relate the anecdote, with
details about her unprepared condition which were irresistibly
amusing. In a letter home she refers incidentally to the large
breakfast party and says: "I could not help wondering if old mother
Scotland had put into 'the father of all the tea-kettles' two thousand
teaspoonfuls of tea for the company and one for the teapot, as is our
good Yankee custom."
The tributes paid to her were ceaseless, and her house in Hartford
testifies to many of them. "There," as her friend and neighbor the
Reverend Joseph Twichell wrote once in a brief sketch of her--a sketch
full of deep feeling--"there, an observant stranger would soon
discover whose house he was in, and be reminded of the world-wide
distinction her genius has won and of that great service of humanity
with which her name is forever identified. He would, for instance,
remark on its pedestal in the bow-window a beautiful bronze statuette
by Cumberworth called 'The African Woman of the Fountain,' and on an
easel in the back parlor a lovely engraving of the late Duchess of
Sutherland and her daughter--a gift from her son, the present Duke of
that name, subscribed 'Mrs.
Pages:
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153