tramped from town to town preaching to lumbermen and living on a meagre pittance, eating crackers and cheese, often in broken health and expecting an early death.

But even this earnest life of religious devotion and sacrifice was interspersed with attempts at literary work and he wrote a critical essay on "Beranger and his Songs" while he was trying to evangelize the red-shirted lumbermen of St. Croix. It was in such life and amid such experiences that Eggleston gained his keen knowledge of human nature which has been the delight and charm of his books.

He began his literary career as associate editor of the "Little Corporal" at Evanston, Illinois, in 1866, and in 1870 he rose to the position of literary editor of the New York "Independent," of which he was for a time superintending editor. For five years, from 1874 to 1879, he was pastor of the Church of Christian Endeavor in Brooklyn, but failing health compelled him to retire, and he made his home at "Owl's Nest," on Lake George, where he has since devoted himself to literary work.

His novels depict the rural life of Southern Indiana, and his own judgment upon them is as follows: "I should say that what distinguishes my novels from other works of fiction is the prominence which they give to social conditions; that the individual characters are here treated to a greater degree than elsewhere as parts of a study of a society, as in some sense the logical result of the environment. Whatever may be the rank assigned to these stories as works of literary art, they will always have a certain value as materials for the student of social history."

His chief novels and stories are the following: "Mr. Blake's Walking Stick" (Chicago, 1869); "The Hoosier School-master" (New York, 1871);" "End of the World" (1872); "The Mystery of Metropolisville" (1873); "The Circuit Rider" (1874); "School-master's Stories for Boys and Girls" (1874); and "The Hoosier School-boy" (1883). He has written in connection with his daughter an interesting series of biographical tales of famous American Indians, and during these later years of his life he has largely devoted himself to historical work which has had an attraction for him all his life.

In his historical work as in his novels he is especially occupied with the evolution of society. His interest runs in the line of unfolding the history of life and development rather than in giving mere facts of political history.

His chief works in this department are: "Household History of the United States and its People" (New York, 1893); and "The Beginners of a Nation" (New York, 1897).

Though possessed of a weak and ailing body and always on the verge of invalidism, he has done the work of a strong man. He has always preserved his deep and earnest religious and moral tone, but he has woven with it a joyous and genuine humor which has warmed the hearts of his many readers.

E

SPELLING DOWN THE MASTER.*

(FROM "THE HOOSIER SCHOOLMASTER." (ORANGE JUDD CO., PUBLISHERS.)

VERY family furnished a candle. There futility (especially the latter) of all attempts at reconwere yellow dips and white dips, burning, struction. For by this time the ghastly pupil of the smoking, and flaring. There was laugh- left eye, which was black, was looking away round to ing, and talking, and giggling, and simpering, and the left while the little blue one on the right twinkled ogling, and flirting, and courting. What a dress cheerfully toward the front. The front teeth would party is to Fifth Avenue, a spelling-school is to drop down so that the Squire's mouth was kept nearly Hoophole County. It is an occasion which is meta-closed, and his words whistled through. phorically inscribed with this legend, "Choose your "I feel as if I could be grandiloquent on this partners." Spelling is only a blind in Hoophole interesting occasion," twisting his scalp round, "but County, as is dancing on Fifth Avenue. But as raley I must forego any such exertions. It is spelling there are some in society who love dancing for its own sake, so in Flat Creek district there were those who loved spelling for its own sake, and who, smelling the battle from afar, had come to try their skill in this tournament, hoping to freshen the laurels they had won in their school-days.

"I 'low," said Mr. Means, speaking as the principal school trustee, "I 'low our friend the Square is jest the man to boss this ere consarn to-night. Ef nobody objects, I'll appint him. Come, Square, don't be bashful. Walk up to the trough, fodder or no fodder, as the man said to his donkey."

There was a general giggle at this, and many of the young swains took occasion to nudge the girls alongside them, ostensibly for the purpose of making them see the joke, but really for the pure pleasure of nudging.

The squire came to the front.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, shoving up his spectacles, and sucking his lips over his white teeth to keep them in place, "ladies and gentlemen, young men and maidens, raley I'm obleeged to Mr. Means fer this honor," and the Squire took both hands and turned the top of his head round several inches. Then he adjusted his spectacles. Whether he was obliged to Mr. Means for the honor of being compared to a donkey, was not clear. "I feel in the inmost compartments of my animal spirits a most happyfying sense of the success and futility of all my endeavors to sarve the people of Flat Creek deestrick, and the people of Tomkins township, in my weak way and manner." This burst of eloquence was delivered with a constrained air and an apparent sense of danger that he, Squire Hawkins, might fall to pieces in his weak way and manner, and of the success and

you want. Spelling is the corner-stone, the grand, underlying subterfuge of a good eddication. I put the spellin'-book prepared by the great Daniel Webster alongside the Bible. I do raley. The man who got up, who compounded this little work of inextri cable valoo was a benufactor to the whole human race or any other." Here the spectacles fell off. The Squire replaced them in some confusion, gave the top of his head another twist, and felt for his glass eye, while poor Shocky stared in wonder, and Betsy Short rolled from side to side at the point of death from the effort to suppress her giggle. Mrs. Means and the other old ladies looked the applause they could not speak.

66

I appint Larkin Lanham and Jeems Buchanan fer captings," said the Squire. And the two young men thus named took a stick and tossed it from hand to hand to decide who should have the "first chice." One tossed the stick to the other, who held it fast just where he happened to catch it. Then the first placed his hand above the second, and so the hands were alternately changed to the top. The one who held the stick last without room for the other to take hold had gained the lot. This was tried three times. As Larkin held the stick twice out of three times, he had the choice. He hesitated a moment. Everybody looked toward tall Jim Phillips. But Larkin was fond of a venture on unknown seas, and so he said, "I take the master," while a buzz of surprise ran round the room, and the captain of the other side, as if afraid his opponent would withdraw the choice, retorted quickly, and with a little smack of exultation and defiance in his voice: "And I take Jeems Phillips."

And soon all present, except a few of the old folks, *Copyright, Orange Judd Co.

out every now and then to bewilder the world. Bud Means, foreseeing that Ralph would be pitted against Jim Phillips, had warned his friend that Jim could spell "like thunder and lightning," and that it “took a powerful smart speller" to beat him, for he knew "a heap of spelling-book." To have "spelled down the master" is next thing to having whipped the biggest bully in Hoophole County, and Jim had "spelled down" the last three masters. He divided the hero-worship of the district with Bud Means.

For half an hour the Squire gave out hard words. What a blessed thing our crooked orthography is. Without it there could be no spelling-schools. As Ralph discovered his opponent's mettle he became more and more cautious. He was now satisfied that

found themselves ranged in opposing hosts, the poor spellers lagging in, with what grace they could at the foot of the two divisions. The Squire opened his spelling-book and began to give out the words to the two captains, who stood up and spelled against each other. It was not long before Larkin spelled "really" with one 7, and had to sit down in confusion, while a murmur of satisfaction ran through the ranks of the opposing forces. His own side bit their lips. The slender figure of the young teacher took the place of the fallen leader, and the excitement made the house very quiet. Ralph dreaded the loss of influence he would suffer if he should be easily spelled down. And at the moment of rising he saw in the darkest corner the figure of a well-dressed young man sitting in the shadow. It made him tremble. Why Jim would eventually beat him. The fellow evidently should his evil genius haunt him? But by a strong knew more about the spelling-book than old Noah effort he turned his attention away from Dr. Small, Webster himself. As he stood there, with his dull and listened carefully to the words which the Squire face and long sharp nose, his hands behind his back, did not pronounce very distinctly, spelling them with and his voice spelling infallibly, it seemed to Hartextreme deliberation. This gave him an air of hesi-sook that his superiority must lie in his nose. Ralph's tation which disappointed those on his own side. cautiousness answered a double purpose; it enabled They wanted him to spell with a dashing assurance. him to tread surely, and it was mistaken by Jim for But he did not begin a word until he had mentally felt his way through it. After ten minutes of spelling hard words, Jeems Buchanan, the captain of the other side, spelled "atrocious" with an s instead of a c, and subsided, his first choice, Jeems Phillips, coming up against the teacher. This brought the excitement to fever-heat. For though Ralph was chosen first, it was entirely on trust, and most of the company were disappointed. The champion who now stood up against the school-master was a famous speller.

weakness. Phillips was now confident that he should carry off the scalp of the fourth school-master before the evening was over. He spelled eagerly, confidently, brilliantly. Stoop-shouldered as he was, he began to straighten up. In the minds of all the company the odds were in his favor. He saw this, and became ambitious to distinguish himself by spelling without giving the matter any thought.

Ralph always believed that he would have been speedily defeated by Phillips had it not been for two thoughts which braced him. The sinister shadow of Jim Phillips was a tall, lank, stoop-shouldered fellow, young Dr. Small sitting in the dark corner by the who had never distinguished himself in any other water-bucket nerved him. A victory over Phillips pursuit than spelling. Except in this one art of was a defeat to one who wished only ill to the young spelling he was of no account. He could neither school-master. The other thought that kept his catch a ball well nor bat well. He could not throw pluck alive was the recollection of Bull. He apwell enough to make his mark in that famous West-proached a word as Bull approached the raccoon. He ern game of Bull-pen. He did not succeed well in did not take hold until he was sure of his game. any study but that of Webster's Elementary. But When he took hold, it was with a quiet assurance of in that to use the usual Flat Creek locution-he success. As Ralph spelled in this dogged way for was "a hoss." The genius for spelling is in some half an hour the hardest words the Squire could find, people a sixth sense, a matter of intuition. Some the excitement steadily rose in all parts of the house, spellers are born and not made, and their facility and Ralph's friends even ventured to whisper that reminds one of the mathematical prodigies that crop "maybe Jim had cotched his match after all!"

But Phillips never doubted of his success. "Theodolite," said the Squire. "T-h-e, the, o-d, od, theod, o, theodo, 1-y-t-e, bound girl at old Jack Means's. She had not

left on the opposite side, and as she rose in her blue calico dress, Ralph recognized Hannah, the

theodolite," spelled the champion.

attended school in the district, and had never

"Next," said the Squire, nearly losing his teeth in spelled in spelling-school before, and was chosen his excitement.

last as an uncertain quantity. The Squire began Ralph spelled the word slowly and correctly, and with easy words of two syllables, from that page of the conquered champion sat down in confusion. The Webster, so well-known to all who ever thumbed excitement was so great for some minutes that the it, as "Baker," from the word that stands at the spelling was suspended. Everybody in the house top of the page. She spelled these words in an hrad shown sympathy with one or other of the com- absent and uninterested manner. As everybody batants, except the silent shadow in the corner. It knew that she would have to go down as soon as had not moved during the contest, and did not show any interest now in the result.

this preliminary skirmishing was over, everybody began to get ready to go home, and already there was a buzz of preparation. Young men were timidly asking girls if they could "see them safe home," which is the approved formula, and were trembling in mortal fear of 66 the mitten." Presently the

"Gewhilliky crickets! Thunder and lightning! Licked him all to smash!" said Bud, rubbing his hands on his knees. That beats my time all holler!" And Betsy Short giggled until her tuck-comb fell Squire, thinking it time to close the contest, pulled out, though she was on the defeated side.

Shocky got up and danced with pleasure. But one suffocating look from the aqueous eyes of Mirandy destroyed the last spark of Ralph's pleasure in his triumph, and sent that awful belowzero feeling all through him.

"He's powerful smart is the master," said old Jack to Mr. Pete Jones. "He'll beat the whole kit and tuck of 'em afore he's through. I know'd he was smart. That's the reason I tuck him," proceeded Mr. Means.

his scalp forward, adjusted his glass eye, which had been examining his nose long enough, and turned over the leaves of the book to the great words at the place known to spellers as " Incomprehensibility," and began to give out those "words of eight syllables with the accent on the sixth." Listless scholars now turned round, and ceased to whisper, in order to be in the master's final triumph. But to their surprise, "ole Miss Meanses' white nigger," as some of them called her, in allusion to her slavish life, spelled these great words with as perfect ease as the master. Still, not doubting the result, the Squire turned from place to place and selected all the hard words he could find. The school became utterly quiet, the excitement was too great for the ordinary buzz. Would Meanses'

"Yaas, but he don't lick enough. Not nigh," answered Pete Jones. "No lickin', no larnin', says I." It was now not so hard. The other spellers on the opposite side went down quickly under the hard words which the Squire gave out. The master had! Hanner" beat the master? mowed down all but a few, his opponents had given up the battle, and all had lost their keen interest in a contest to which there could be but one conclusion, for there were only the poor spellers left. But Ralph Hartsook ran against a stump where he was least expecting it. It was the Squire's custom, when one of the smaller scholars or poorer spellers rose to spell against the master, to give out eight or ten easy words that they might have some breathing spell before being slaughtered, and then to give a poser or two which soon settled them. He let them run a little, as a cat does a doomed mouse. There was now but one person

Beat the master that had laid out Jim Phillips? Everybody's sympathy was now turned to Hannah. Ralph noticed that even Shocky had deserted him, and that his face grew brilliant every time Hannah spelled a word. In fact, Ralph deserted himself. If he had not felt that a victory given would insult her, he would have missed intentionally.

"Daguerreotype," sniffled the Squire. Ralph's turn.

D-a-u, dau——___” "Next."

And Hannah spelled it right.

It was

HARRIET BEECHER STOWE,

AUTHOR OF "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN.

EW names are more indelibly written upon our country's history than that of Harriet Beecher Stowe. "No book," says George William Curtis, "was ever more a historical event than Uncle Tom's Cabin.' It was the great happiness of Mrs. Stowe not only to have written many delightful books, but to have written one book which will always be famous not only as the most vivid picture of an extinct evil system, but as one of the most powerful influences in overthrowing it... If all whom she has charmed and quickened should unite to sing her praises, the birds of summer would be outdone.'

Harriet Beecher Stowe was the sixth child of Reverend Lyman Beecher, the great head of that great family which has left so deep an impress upon the heart and mind of the American people. She was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in June, 1811,-just two years before her next younger brother, Henry Ward Beecher. Her father was pastor of the Congregational Church in Litchfield, and her girlhood was passed there and at Hartford, where she attended the excellent seminary kept by her elder sister, Catharine E. Beecher. In 1832 her father accepted a call to the presidency of Lane Theological Seminary, at Cincinnati, and moved thither with his family. Catharine Beecher went also, and established there a new school, under the name of the Western Female Institute, in which Harriet assisted.

In 1833 Mrs. Stowe first had the subject of slavery brought to her personal notice by taking a trip across the river from Cincinnati into Kentucky in company with Miss Dutton, one of the associate teachers in the Western Institute. They visited the estate that afterward figured as that of Mr. Shelby, in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and here the young authoress first came into personal contact with the slaves of the South.

Among the professors in Lane Seminary was Calvin E. Stowe, whose wife, a dear friend of Miss Beecher, died soon after Dr. Beecher's removal to Cincinnati. In 1836 Professor Stowe and Harriet Beecher were married. They were admirably suited to each other. Professor Stowe was a typical man of letters,-a learned, amiable, unpractical philosopher, whose philosophy was like that described by Shakespeare as "an excellent horse in the stable, but an arrant jade on a journey." Her practical ability and cheerful, inspiring courage were the unfailing support of her husband.