Category: Pansy’s Words of Wisdom

Short pearls of wisdom gleaned from Isabella Alden’s books.

A Letter to the Pansy Society

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In previous posts we’ve talked about the great number of letters Isabella received on a regular basis from parents and children. She made a point of answering each of them, and one of the innovative methods Isabella used to keep up with the demand was to print her replies to their letters in The Pansy magazine.

The Pansy was a weekly publication she edited, with stories, poems, Bible verses for children of all ages. In almost every issue of the magazine, Isabella encouraged her young readers to join The Pansy Society, and pledge to overcome their faults, “in Jesus’ name.”

Here’s an example from an 1883 issue of The Pansy where she encouraged Pansy Society members to continue their good deeds, and charmingly replied to children who wrote to tell her of their progress.

DEAR PANSY SOCIETY:

My thoughts toward you this summer day — my good wishes and my hopes. Do you know where the book is that holds them? It is a wide-open book. I did not write it, and yet, the thoughts and pictures it holds just express what I would like to say to you.

Open your eyes and look above, beneath, around, and see if you cannot guess my riddle.

Does not the blue sky bend in blessing over you? the trees rustle out soft, loving words? the little birds sing “cheer up, cheer up?” The clear brook, gurgling over the stones, says “be true.” The buzzing bee says “be busy.” The daisies smile up into your faces, saying “be glad, be glad,” and the white lily bell re-echoes God’s own word, “be pure.” Then the rare fragrance from mountain-top and tree and flower floating all about you this sweet day— could it say anything but, “I love you, I love you, I love you”?

And these are my thoughts toward you; these too are God’s thoughts about you, written clear and plain in the book his own hands have made.

In the springtime just passed I presume many of you have made gardens and now have lovely blossoms as rewards.

Some of our boys and girls have been hard at work sowing pansy seeds; not those royal velvet or creamy white pansies, alone —they may have sown those, too —but I am talking now about our magazine.

Among those who have done faithful work in this way, is Fanny, a little Indiana girl. When those Western girls take hold of a thing they do it with their own souls.

Some new members have come into the Society; let me introduce them. Here are two little city boys, Eddie and Bertie. They both want to be “better boys.” They can, if they go and whisper that wish to Jesus.

Here is Maggie, a little Maryland girl, Maude, too, from Maryland. She writes a plain, clear hand. May her life be as free from faults.

Bessie sends us a pretty letter three inches square, very small, but holding more and better things than we’ve sometimes found in a whole sheet of foolscap. May the dear Lord help Bessie to be a true disciple of his. We are glad to welcome her to the Pansy Society.

Then there are Willie Porter, Claire Colman, Mabel and Lena and Addie; a little Pansy by the name of Lulu in Wisconsin, and Clarence Lathrop.

Minnie is working hard to put her “bonnet and books” in their place. If she keeps on she will someday be an orderly housekeeper, and maybe some of the Pansies will go and take tea with her. Won’t that be nice?

Lillie’s teacher says she is improving. Good news!

“Speaking back” has annoyed a certain little fellow in Philadelphia by the name of Jamie. But he “has made up his mind” to drop it. Stick to that, my dear boy. Remember, too, that if you must speak back, “a soft answer turneth away wrath.”

How many Pansies, I wonder, say to their tired mothers, “wait a minute,” and want their own way every time? Amy thinks them very bad habits and proposes to have no more to do with them; that is good.

But I really must stop, so good-by.

Lovingly,
Pansy.

How exciting it must have been for a child to see their name in print in their favorite magazine! Do you think Isabella’s brief words of encouragement helped the children in their daily struggles to conquer their faults, “for Jesus’ sake”?

You can read more about the letters Isabella received in these posts:

Fan Mail and Ester Ried
Pansy’s Typical Day
A Summer Poem
A Letter from Ida White
Pansy’s Letter-Box
The Pansy Society

Talk Over What You Read

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In 1891, Isabella wrote this bit of advice for parents, adults and children:

Too many readers are all eyes for what they are reading, but have neither ears to hear the questions of those who notice their absorption, nor lips to tell to others the good things they are absorbing.

There is no better training of the memory than to talk over what you read. Try it in your home. Encourage the children to give, in their own language, the substance of the last story they have read, or the last book that has been given to them. When public lectures were the “fashion,” many a home intellect was encouraged and strengthened by the request to sketch, in brief, the points and conclusions of the last lecture. The same thing can be done with books and with even more lasting and beneficial results.

Isabella’s timeless wisdom encourages us to actively engage with what we read. Her call to action — “Try it in your home” — is as relevant today as it was over a century ago.

She knew that when children are encouraged to retell a story or narrative in their own words, they strengthen their memory of what they read, and their understanding of it.

It’s interesting that Isabella mentioned public lectures. She delivered quite a few lectures herself — at Chautauqua, at church meetings and schools, and in front of small gatherings in private homes. She knew that the practice of having a post-lecture discussion wasn’t just about sharing information; it was about analytical thinking and comprehension. And she knew the same benefits apply to books. When you talk through what you’ve read, you’re not just recounting facts; you’re processing ideas, forming connections, and perhaps even challenging your own understanding.

So when you think about it, many of us have been following Isabella’s advice without even realizing it!

If you’ve ever read a book with a child, then asked them to tell you about their favorite part … If you belong to a book club where you can discuss a book’s theme, characters, or plot with others … If you keep a reading journal to jot down thoughts and questions about a book you’re reading … you have followed Isabella’s advice!

What methods do you use to deepen your understanding of what you read? Share your tips in the comments section below.

What’s one book or article you’ve discussed recently that truly stuck with you, and why?

A Feast of Good Things

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be famous?

Black and White photo of a woman almost in profile. Her hair is a light color, parted in the middle of her head, and pulled back to form a large braided bun at the back of her head. She wears a dress with a high ruffled collar trimmed in white lace; a white lace jabot falls from the high collar down the front of her dress.
Isabella Alden circa 1880

Imagine walking into a room filled with people who burst into applause as soon as you enter. Then imagine that you’ve agreed to speak at an assembly that’s filled to overflowing with people, seated and standing in every available space, who hang on your every word.

That’s a little taste of what life was sometimes like for Isabella Alden. Today it might be hard for us to understand just how famous and beloved she was by people across the country. In a time before social media, television, and radio, Isabella had a nation-wide reputation as both an author and as a respected and knowledgeable public speaker on a variety of topics, including the development of Sunday-school lessons.

In 1886 Isabella and her husband, Rev. G. R. Alden, were living in Cleveland, Ohio, where Rev. Alden was pastor of a Presbyterian church. But when he wasn’t preparing sermons, and she wasn’t writing novels and stories for Christian magazines, the Aldens traveled the country to help churches design and implement well-organized, robust Sunday-school curriculums.

In June of that year they were invited to attend a conference in Wellington, Kansas, where the local churches hoped to find a way to better manage their Sunday-school offerings to children and adults. The Aldens accepted.

Newspaper clipping: A Sunday school institute will be held at the Presbyterian church June 13th, 14th, and 15th. The services of Mrs. Alden of Cincinnati, the well-known authoress of the "Pansy" books, has been secured, and it is expected that the interest of the institute will be greatly increased by her presence. She will also take part in the celebration of children's day on Sunday, the 13th. All Sunday school workers of the city and country are invited to attend and participate in the work of the institute.
From The Conway Springs Star (a Kansas newspaper) on June 11, 1886

As soon as the local newspapers announced that Isabella Alden would be among the featured speakers, the churches were guaranteed to have an excellent turnout for their conference.

Newspaper clipping: The committee in charge of the arrangements make this further announcement: “We desire again to call the attention of all parents, Sunday School workers, and especially all young people, to this unlooked for opportunity to meet and greet Mrs. G. R. Allen [sic], “Pansy.” She is known and loved as the author of such helpful and thrillingly interesting books as “Ester Ried,” “Four Girls at Chautauqua,” “The Hall in the Grove,” “One Commonplace Day,” etc. Her engagement with the State Sunday School Assembly at Ottawa, Kansas, brings her west at this time and we trust that a “crowded house” will show our appreciation of the extra effort she is making to come to Wellington. The other speakers from abroad, and those among us who have kindly agreed to assist in these meetings, will give us a feast of good things. Come everybody and enjoy the feast.
from The Monitor-Press (Wellington, Kansas) June 11, 1886

Here’s how the local newspaper described the scene on the first night of the conference when Isabella made her appearance:

Newspaper clipping: The announcement that Mrs. G. R. Alden, the "Pansy" of Sunday-school literature, would take part was sufficient to fill the house for the evening services. In a clear and musical voice she read an original story entitled "Sabbath Fractures," whose purpose was to point out and condemn some of the more common forms of Sabbath desecration. The reading was very much enjoyed by her auditors many of whom for the first time had the pleasure of hearing the distinguished authoress, with whose writings they had long been familiar.
from The Wellington Monitor, June 18, 1886.

The meetings began on a Monday afternoon and Isabella took an active role, according to the agenda:

Newspaper Clipping: "Mention was made last week of the county Sunday school institute which will be held at the Presbyterian church on Monday and Tuesday, June 14th and 15th. The programme as published below shows many features of interest that ought to attract a large attendance of the active Sunday school workers of the county:" Follows an agenda including a "Primary conference" on Monday afternoon and a "Paper" reading Monday evening by Mrs. G. R. Alden, "Pansy."
from The Wellington Monitor, June 11, 1886

In one of the sessions she spoke about how to design Sunday-school lessons for children in the Primary Class age range of four to eight years:

Newspaper clipping: She sketched briefly and clearly a plan of work among the younger classes in the Sunday school that long experience had shown to be attended with the best results. She favored the division of the primary pupils into small classes of not more than seven members each, which should be taught if possible in a room separate from the rest of the school.
from The Wellington Monitor, June 18, 1886

In another session she participated in a discussion on the proper way to prepare teachers for the work of teaching meaningful lessons:

Newspaper clipping: Mrs. Alden conducted a conference on her favorite theme of primary work, of one hour’s duration. The spoke strongly against teaching children misty doctrines of general truth, of which the teacher lacked the skill to make definite application. The children’s quickness of apprehension, even at the earliest age when they enter the primary class should not be underrated. The danger of simply interesting the children with recitations of Bible stories, without bringing out the spiritual lessons they were meant to teach, was one point to be guarded carefully against.
from The Wellington Monitor, June 18, 1886

On Monday evening she read one of her short stories, “People Who Haven’t Time and Can’t Afford It,” which, the newspaper reported, “held the close attentions of the audience in spite of the discomforts of the crowded room.”

The rest of the conference was similarly busy for Isabella. The last night of the conference was “attended by an audience larger than the seating capacity of the church.” Isabella closed the evening session by reading a paper she wrote about “the Penn Avenue Church” and the difficulty the church had raising money for Sunday school purposes and for books to stock a small church library.

Eventually, Isabella revised that “paper” into a short story called “Circulating Decimals,” which was published two years later.

By every measure, the 1886 Sunday School Institute in Wellington, Kansas was a resounding success.

Newspaper clipping: The institute from every point of view was a great success, both as arousing new interest in the cause on the part of the Sunday-school workers of the city and county, and acquainting them with new methods of instruction. It will undoubtedly lead to the formation of a permanent county organization and the frequent and regular holding of similar institutes and conventions in the future.

And with Isabella’s many contributions—from offering practical advice to reading stories with a message—it truly was a “feast of good things.”

One final note:

Isabella may have been a famous celebrity, but when she and Reverend Alden made these trips, they rarely stayed in a hotel. Instead, they were usually invited to stay in the home of one of the local church members. In Wellington, Kansas, they stayed in the home of George and Laura Fultz. Mr. Fultz was a leading businessman in Wellington, and he and his wife were active members of the Presbyterian church.

Black and white photo of a man in profile. He wears wire rimmed glasses and his hair is wavy and dark. He is dressed in a dark suit of clothes that would have been in fashion in the 1890s. He wears a dark bow tie and has a high starched shirt collar.
George Fultz

How lucky were Mr. and Mrs. Fultz! Isabella and her husband stayed with them for five nights. Imagine having your favorite author sit at your dinner table, join you in a morning cup of coffee, or share an evening on your front porch, relaxing and watching the sun set together after a full day of meetings.

If you were fortunate enough to have Isabella as a guest in your home, what kind of questions would you ask her?

All of the short stories mentioned in the post are available for you to read for free. Just click on any of the highlighted titles or cover images to download your copy from Bookfunnel.com.

Proof of Our Allegiance to Christ

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Isabella was a teacher at heart, and one of the things she enjoyed teaching the most was how to read and study the Bible.

From an early age she developed a life-long habit of reading the Bible every morning, and she encouraged others to do the same. She regularly made notations and shared Bible verses that helped strengthen her daily walk with God, and she shared those notations to inspire her readers to make a study of their own.

One example was “Daily Thoughts,” a monthly list of Bible verses she personally selected, to be read individually, one per day, for an entire year. (You can read “Daily Thoughts” for January by clicking here.)

Her “Daily Thoughts” differed from other Bible devotionals of her time because Isabella didn’t print the actual verse; she only gave the citation, so her readers would have to open their Bibles to read the verses themselves. She did, however, include a brief question or comment about each verse to help her readers better understand it.

Other times, she paired her study of the Bible with an interesting biography, novel or sermon she recently read. For example when her studied I John, 4:1-21, she gave the Bible chapter a title: “The Proof of Our Allegiance to Christ.”

Then, beside individual verses in the chapter, she noted a word or two about how that verse instructed her to act as someone who loved and followed Jesus:

v. 1.           Thoughtfulness
v. 2.           Confession
v. 4.           Victory over error
v. 5.           Unworldliness
v. 6.           Willingness to hear and heed the truth
v. 7.           Love
v. 8.           Love
v. 9.           Our lives
v. 11          Love  
v. 13          Love
v. 14.         The spirit that is in us
v. 15.         Confession
v. 16.         Love
vs. 17, 18 Fearlessness or courage
v. 21          Love

To this she added a beloved quotation from a sermon she had read by Rev. Charles Stanford, and which she felt perfectly summarized I John, chapter 4:

“Jesus asks not that our love should equal his, but resemble his; not that it should be of the same strength, but of the same kind. A pearl of dew will not hold the sun; but it may hold a spark of its light. A child by the sea, trying to catch the waves as they dash in clouds of crystal spray upon the sand, cannot hold the ocean in a tiny shell; but he can hold a drop of the ocean-water.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE METHODS ISABELLA USED TO STUDY THE BIBLE?

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE WAY TO READ AND STUDY THE BIBLE?

Things Some People Regret

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In 1891 when Isabella Alden was the editor of The Pansy magazine, she took up a very special project on behalf of her readers.

She wrote to several prominent Christian leaders and asked them to share the one thing they wished they had done, or not done, or managed differently in their lives.

Banner that reads "Things Some People Regret" in an old-fashioned Victorian type. Beside the text is a single pink rose.

Quite a few of the replies she received were from well-respected ministers who had regrets about their early Christian life. Here are a few:

“I regret that in my boyhood I did not read the Bible more, and did not memorize a greater number of its most precious promises.”

E. Hez Swem
Pastor, Second Baptist Church, Washington D. C.

Old black and white portrait photograph from about 1890 of a middle-aged man. He is balding and his hair is closely cut. He wears a dark suit with a vest, white shirt with a high collar, and a white bow-tie.
Pastor E. Hez Swem

“My most painful regret in regard to my early life is, that I did not become a member of the Church before my mother died, that she might have carried into eternity the comfortable knowledge of the fact that her only child was on the Lord’s side, a thing she greatly desired. It was simply postponing my public profession; and she died without the sight!”

Charles F. Deems
Pastor of the Church of the Strangers, New York, New York

“There is nothing in my life that I regret so frequently and so deeply, as that I was not a more earnest and active Christian during the years of my college life. A professed Christian when I entered the institution, though without a thought of the ministry of Christ, my life was largely one of spiritual idleness. It was in the future that I hoped to serve my Master. Present opportunities were neglected.”

Rev. Henry Darling, D. D.
President of Hamilton College

Old black and white portrait photograph from about 1890 of an older man. He is clean shaven and his wavy hair is white or grey and arranged neatly. He wears a dark suit with a white shirt and high collar, and a dark bow-tie.
Rev. Henry Darling

Some of the responses were about not making the most about the time they were given:

“I look back over my life and feel as if I had walked like one with a string of priceless pearls in his hand, and the cord had been carelessly broken, and they had slipped off one by one as I walked, and were forever lost. Only the days are so much more precious than pearls!”

J. H. Ecob, D.D.
Pastor Second Presbyterian Church, Albany, New York

“The great regret of my life is my failure to realize the value of life till the larger part of it has slipped away. I have always been what might be called “a busy man,” but the thing which troubles me is, that I have for the most part been busy with trifles, and have trifled so much with life’s real business.”

P. S. Henson
Pastor, Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois

A few wrote about not recognizing the value of opportunities they let pass:

“I greatly regret an early want of thoroughness. I was too willing, in my early days, to let a hard thing balk me. Such an enemy of early unthoroughness has been in my late days a miserable and plaguing nuisance.”

Rev. Wayland Hoyt
Pastor, Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

 “I regret having failed to understand the value of such accomplishments as may be gained along with a more substantial education. For instance, I do not know music, so useful to a pastor, as well as so important to a father as an aid to making his home pleasant to his children. I might easily have gotten it in spare hours at any time before entering my profession; but now there are no spare hours! This is only one of several things that I once underestimated, but whose value I now see very clearly.”

Dr. Teunis S. Hamlin
Pastor of President William Henry Harrison
Pastor, Church of the Covenant, Washington, D. C.

Old black and white portrait photograph from about 1890 of a man in his thirties or forties. His hair is closely cut and he wears a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. He wears a dark colored suit with a white shirt and white tie.
Dr. Teunis S. Hamlin

Isabella and her husband were close friends with Rev. George Hays, who wrote the next “regret.” She noted that despite Rev. Hays’ many plans for his life, he was instead “led, as a child, by his Father’s hand.”

“The number of foolish ambitions that entered my head when young was large. The hard work done to fit myself for places from which God’s good providence saved me, is not any part of my regrets. Not one of the positions I wanted did I ever get.”

Rev. George P. Hays, D.D., LL.D.
Pastor Second Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, Missouri

Some “regrets,” like this one, were about showing kindness to others:

“I regret that I have not better acquired the art of pleasantly acknowledging the kindnesses shown me, and of showing my appreciation of people whom I really do appreciate. My influence with many would be greatly increased if I could but make them understand how warmly my heart goes out to them.”

Dr. William J. Beecher
Professor of Hebrew in Auburn Theological Seminary

Old black and white portrait photograph from about 1890 of an older man. His hair is closely cut and he wears a beard, but no mustache. The top button of his suit coat is right below his neck. Beneath it he wears a white shirt with a high collar that covers his neck, and a necktie arranged with a large knot.
Dr. William J. Beecher

Last, but not least, is a letter Isabella received and almost didn’t share, because she didn’t want it to appear she was praising her very own magazine:

“The greatest regret that I have for lost opportunities in my youth is that I did not have the benefit of such magazines as The Pansy. No amount of reading in after years can make up for this serious loss in youth. I feel this so keenly that I seek every opportunity in my lectures and writings to impress upon parents the necessity of feeding the minds as carefully as they are wont to feed the bodies of the young immortals entrusted to their care. So I thank God for The Pansy, which has such a sweet, tender, yet strong way of putting thoughts into the heads and hearts of the young people.”

Helen M. Gougar
Attorney, newspaper journalist, and women’s rights advocate

Old black and white portrait photograph from about 1890 of an older woman. Her hair is white and is styled in a loose arrangement at the top of her head. She wears a dark dress with a high collar that fastens down the front. In between fastenings she has inserted a few flowers.
Helen M. Gougar

There are many adults today who will agree with Mrs. Gougar!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE REGRETS THESE CHRISTIAN LEADERS SHARED?

WHAT REGRETS WOULD YOU ADD TO THIS LIST?

Why?

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As a teacher and a parent, Isabella must have often found herself from time to time on the receiving end of a child’s relentless “Why?” questions. She probably understood that asking “Why?” is an important part of a young child’s learning process, and that it’s more than just a question; it’s a peek inside their busy minds, showing their natural drive to understand the world around them.

In many of the articles she wrote for The Pansy magazine, Isabella demonstrated how astute (and patient) she was in answering the many “Why?” questions she received from her young readers.

In 1891 she published this article that addressed children’s “Why?” questions about Easter:

“Why do people use eggs at Easter?”

“Why do they call a certain day in the spring Easter?”

“Why do Easter cards so often have pictures of butterflies on them?”

Let me see if I can answer your questions. Let me begin in the middle: “Why do they call a certain day in the spring ‘Easter’?”

Away back in the days when people had a great deal to do with imaginary “gods” and “goddesses,” there was one named “Ostara,” who was called the goddess of the spring; our fourth month of the year was set apart for her special service, and called “Eostur-monath,” or “Easter month.”

The heathen festivals in honor of Ostara were times of great rejoicing. The people were so glad that the season for the resurrection of flowers and vines and plants had come again, that they built great bonfires, and with wild shouts and many strange customs, showed their joy. They called it the “awaking of nature from the death of winter.”

An old greeting card showing a bird and her nest of four eggs in a cherry blossom tree. The caption reads, "Easter Greeting. May sweet Hope, the hope of Eastertide, In your heart for evermore abide."

After many years it became the custom for Christians to choose the same time of year for their festival in honor of the “awaking of Jesus from the death of sleep.” So that “Easter” today means to Christians the glad day when Jesus Christ arose from the grave.

Illustration of a wooden cross with cherry blossoms twined around it and a butterfly resting on one of the flowers. The caption reads, "He is Risen."

Now for the second question:

“Why do people use eggs at Easter?”

That is an old, old thought handed down to us. When the festival was held entirely in honor of the return of spring, eggs seemed to be used as symbols of life. As from the apparently dead egg life sprang forth, after the mother hen had brooded over it for awhile, so from the apparently dead earth the life of nature started forth anew. This was the thought.

An old greeting card with an illustration of a chick just hatched as it stares down into half of its former egg shell while the other half is on his back.. Nearby are two brightly dyed pink and red Easter eggs and a small bouquet of blue flowers. A caption reads "Easter Greetings."

The Persians used the brightly-colored eggs as New Year presents in honor of the birth of the solar year, which, you know, is in March!

Illustration of a basket of Easter eggs brightly colored in pink, white, yellow and blue. Behind them is a green glass vase holding an arrangement of white daisies with bright yellow centers.

Christian people have held to the same symbol to represent their faith in the life after death. And in this connection I can best answer that third question about “butterflies.”

Did you ever watch a slow-crawling caterpillar with his awkward, woolly body and sluggish ways, and wonder how it was possible that such a creature could change into the brilliant butterfly, whose swift, graceful circlings through the air charm all eyes? If you have, I think you have answered your own question. Where could we find in nature a better symbol of the wonderful difference between these slow-moving, easily stopped, rather troublesome bodies of ours, and the glorious bodies promised us some day?

Illustration of a group of four children frolicking on a grassy hill. Three of the children pick wild flowers while a fourth reaches up to touch one of four butterflies hovering near them. Nearby a white rabbit sits beside some colored Easter eggs and in the background white sheep and lambs feed on the grass. A caption reads "Loving Greetings and best wishes for a Happy Easter."

More than that, when the caterpillar weaves a coffin for himself and shuts himself into silence and immovableness, does it not seem as though his life was ended? Haven’t you had some such thought when you stood beside an open grave? How still and cold and utterly lifeless the body is which is being placed therein. Is it possible that it can live again?

Illustration of three butterflies hovering near a vase of white and pink roses. Beside them a poem reads "Fair Days. Joy fill your heart, and gladness your days, with content never part, through life's varied ways."

“Oh, yes!” says the butterfly. “Look at me; I was a worm, and I crawled away and the children thought me dead. See me now! If God so clothe the worms of the dust, shall he not much more clothe you, O, ye of little faith?”

Almost as plainly as though he had a tongue, the bright-winged butterfly speaks to me.

Illustration showing three butterflies with their orange, yellow, and black wings spread. Beside them reads "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time."

A better emblem than the egg, I think it is, of the wonders of resurrection; but the egg is the universal emblem. Nearly all nations, and all classes of people, think a great deal about Easter eggs, and spend much time in making them beautiful. Isn’t it a grand thought that such simple, every-day objects are able to remind us of the glory which is to come to those who “love His appearing.”

Pansy.

What do you think of Isabella’s answers to the children’s “Why?” questions about Easter?

What is the most memorable “Why?” question a child ever asked you, and how did you answer?

The True Gentleman

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Isabella’s primary purpose in writing her stories and novels was to win souls for Christ. But she also wrote to inspire readers to simply be better people.

Illustration of a young man dressed in the clothes worn about the year 1910. He is standing at a desk near a window. He has one hand in his trouser pocket; with his other hand he holds a book open on the top of the desk.

During Isabella Alden’s lifetime, there was no higher compliment you could pay a man than to call him a “gentleman.” So it’s no surprise that the main male characters in Isabella’s stories—young or old, rich or poor—exhibited many of the characteristics that defined a gentleman.

They had strong moral principles. They were courteous and considerate. They had good manners, a desire to learn and understand the world, and they were willing to help and be kind to others.

For Isabella, a gentleman’s character was closely tied to his Christian beliefs. She illustrated that premise in this scene from her novel, Her Associates Members:

As she walked back and forth thinking her troubled thoughts, she heard footsteps approaching, and was surprised to see Uncle Tommy returning.

“Why, Uncle Tommy,” she said, going to the gate to speak to him; “are you coming back? I thought you had started homeward for the night. Have you seen my charge to her own door already?”

“No, I didn’t see her to the door, ma’am; she met with someone whose company suited her better than mine, and said I need not trouble further, though it would have been no trouble at all, of course.”

“Met someone? Did she meet a friend?”

“Aye, and he turned and walked with her, and seemed glad of the chance, and she likewise, or at least willing; so there was nothing for me to do but turn and leave them.”

“A gentleman was it, Uncle Tommy?”

Illustration of a young man dressed in clothing from about the year 1910. He stands outside with one hand in his trouser pocket and the other holding a Bible. Behind him is a church with a tall steeple.

“Aye, at least that is what he calls himself. I make no doubt there might be two opinions about that.”

 “What is a gentleman?” she asked, more for the purpose of seeming to be friendly with the old man, than because she was interested in his reply.

“Well,” said Uncle Tommy, straightening himself in the moonlight, “there might be different opinions about it; looking on at folks, I’ve no kind of doubt that there are; but if you ask for my views, why, according to my way of thinking, there is only one kind of true gentleman, and that is a man who is keeping to the road He traveled, just as near as he can.”

Not only did Isabella write about gentlemanly behavior, she also shared other authors’ writings that touched on the subject. In one of the magazines she edited, Isabella published this brief essay:

Banner showing a gentleman's top hat and cane with the words "The True Gentleman" printed across the top.
The true gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to emergencies; 

. . . who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity;
. . . who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements;
. . . who speaks with frankness, but always with sincerity and sympathy, and whose deed follows his word;
. . . who thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than of his own;
. . . who appears well in any company, and who is the same at home what he seems to be abroad;
. . . a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue is safe.

—John Walter Wayland

In today’s world of social media, movies, and television shows that encourage people to behave badly, it’s sometimes difficult to remember there was once a time when honor, honesty and kindness were admired traits. Thankfully, we have Isabella’s stories and novels to remind us of those days.

Do you know someone you would consider a “true gentleman”?

Do you think that being a gentleman has gone out of style?

The Domestic Problem

Published on by Isabella Alden4 Comments

Isabella Alden believed that young Christian women who must earn a living would—for the most part—be better off doing so by hiring themselves out as domestic helpers in Christian homes, rather than taking jobs in factories or stores.

Illustration of a young woman about 1910 wearing a long-sleeved, floor-length dress over which is an apron. In one hand she holds a canned grocery item. With her other hand she gestures toward a large, ornately-decorated cast-iron stove. Beside her is a kitchen work table holding a jar, a bowl, a bucket, a spoon and glass.

She used that idea as the premise for her short story “Their Providence” (which you can read for free by clicking here).

Isabella believed a Christian home offered a safer living environment for a single young woman; and that she would be protected from the coarse worldly influences she would find if she lived in a boarding house.

Illustration of a young girl from about 1910. She wears her brown hair up in a loose bun with a large black bow. Her floor-length dress is black with a white collar, cuffs, and a white lace-trimmed apron.

She also believed that living with a Christian family would reinforce the beliefs and principles Christian girls grew up with, such as keeping the Sabbath holy, regularly attending church, having daily Bible readings, and engaging in mission work.

Isabella knew the arrangement could be problematic. In her novel Ester Ried’s Namesake she wrote about a head-strong, quick-tempered young heroine who was hired as a live-in domestic helper for a Christian family that often treated her very poorly. But in true “Pansy” fashion, the characters in her novel eventually recognized their shortcomings and, with God’s help, learned to forgive and influence each other for good.

Illustration of a woman about 1900 wearing a high-necked, long-sleeved shirt and a brown skirt, over which is a white apron. In one hand she holds a recipe book; in the other she holds a pan of backed bread. Behind her another woman wearing a servant's cap pours a liquid from a saucepan into bowls placed on a table. Behind them is a large cast-iron stove. On top of the stove is a kettle with steam coming from its spout.

She also shared her idea of young women working as domestic help in some of her speaking engagements and in magazine articles she wrote.

But the concept was not always a welcome one. In 1911 Isabella received a letter from a young woman in Ohio who disagreed with Isabella’s advice.

I have recently read, in a paper or yours, a remark about “lovely Christian homes” where self-respecting girls could earn their living as helpers. I wonder if you really have any idea how these “lovely” people treat their hirelings? I think you had in mind the comfort of your well-to-do friends, rather than the girls whom you advised.

When you talk about girls finding good “homes” I don’t think you stop to consider both sides. What does “home” mean, if not a place where one has entire freedom to come and go, to plan one’s work, and work one’s plans?

I cannot see how any self-respecting person who has always had her own home could live as a hireling in other people’s homes. Could you? My observation has shown me that a condescending manner is the very best that even “lovely Christian people” have for their domestic helpers.

—Ohio.

Isabella had heard such criticisms before, some of which were “kind and sensible” and others “supercilious and snappy.” Here’s how she responded to the letter writer from Ohio:

“Notwithstanding the letter writer’s opinion, I believe I had in mind the comfort of both employer and employed when I urged self-respecting girls who had their living to earn to choose an average Christian home in which to earn it, in preference to factories, shops, and other public places. You, my dear girls, who have written to me, are starting this argument from the wrong platform.

“The foundation question is not, “How shall I secure me a home where I can have entire freedom to come and go, to plan my own work, etc.” but, “Is doing housework in other people’s homes a good and respectable way for a young woman to earn her living, and can she in this way hope to secure the reasonable conveniences and comforts of a home?”

“To this question I reply with an unhesitating Yes.

Illustration of a young woman about 1895. She wears a black dress with a high collar and puffed sleeves, and a white apron. She is pouring liquid from a copper pan into a soup tureen that rests on a kitchen table beside a variety of vegetables.

“The only—or almost the only—work open to women in which careful previous training is not demanded, nor even expected, is domestic service. Here the demand has been so much greater than the supply that absolutely untrained and ignorant help has rushed in and created the conditions that now exist.

“The attitude of the average employer toward her servant is endurance: she is unable to commend her work, she can only tolerate it. She has learned to conduct herself accordingly; and the multitude of decently educated, reasonably well brought up American girls who cannot be artists nor teachers nor stenographers, but must, nevertheless, earn their living, have, because of the above state of things, given this form of work a wide berth and rushed into shops and offices and factories, instead.

Illustration of a young woman from about 1895, wearing a green dress with large puffed sleeves. The skirt is floor length and over the skirt she wears a white apron tied around her waise.

“Now, let us look for a moment at one of the exceptions:

“She is an American girl with a partial high school education. She planned to be a teacher, but something happened. Illness, or sudden reverses, or unexpected demands, have made it necessary for her to become an immediate wage-earner. Times are hard and openings few; as a last resort she resolves upon trying domestic service, with every nerve in her body shrinking from the ordeal, because of what she has heard and seen and fancied.

Illustration of a young woman bending over the railing of a staircase. In one hand she holds a bar of soap. In the other hand she holds a cloth she uses to clean the spindles and post of the staircase.

“The woman who employs her (knowing she lacks previous training or recommendations) does so because she is in straits and must have somebody right away. All she knows about the applicant is that she looks “uppish” and as though she would feel above her work; which is precisely what the girl does feel. She is all ready to have her worst fears confirmed, and they are confirmed. She finds a thousand things to flush her cheeks with indignation.

“She resents the “orders” given out by the hurried and worried mistress who yet is not mistress of herself. She resents the poorly furnished room, the solitary meals at the section table, the eternal use of her given name. These and a dozen other grievances keep her in a constant state of irritation and resentment. She cannot do even her best—and none know better than she that, because of the lack of training, her best is not very good, for she is too much tried to give real heart to her work.

Illustration of woman holding a bottle of furniture polish in one hand. In her other hand she uses a cloth to polish the top of a dining table.

“What wonder that, after a short trial, the exasperated mistress and the equally exasperated maid separate, the one to be more convinced than ever that the word “help” as applied to the kitchen is a misnomer, and the other to write letters to someone to prove the impossibility of self-respecting girls earning their living in domestic service?

“For the sake of my correspondent who thinks I am theorizing and do not understand the situation, I want to explain that I have been a housekeeper for forty-five years; that I have been studying this problem carefully in my own home and the homes of certain of my friends for more than a quarter century; that I have known intimately all sorts of “hired girls,” and have helped a few of them to experiment in all sorts of homes.

“I have had the would-be fine lady who was an intolerable nuisance; I was glad when I saw her depart, and endured with what patience I could the unkind and untrue things she said about me; though I really believe they were true from her standpoint; she had so warped a view of the whole situation that she was incapable of even listening correctly.

Illustration of young woman wearing a white apron over an orange dress, and a white dusting cap with an orange bow over her hair. She holds a large feather duster.

“I have had all grades between, and I have had the real lady who came into my kitchen in appropriate dress and with quiet voice and quiet ways, and submitted to the regulation that obtained—many of which must have been new and trying to her—without the raising of an eyebrow to hint that she had all her life been used to different things.

“She came to me without flourish of trumpets, as an ordinary domestic servant at common wages; and when she left me after a year of invaluable helpfulness, it was as a tried and trusted friend, whom every member of my family not only respected, but enjoyed; and whom, as the years pass, we are glad to count as one held close in the bonds of friendship.

Illustration of smiling young woman wearing an apron and carrying a tray on which are glasses of juice and three plates of desserts.

“Nor was she the only “lady” help I have personally enjoyed. Glancing back over the almost half century, I find that five of them stand out in bold relief; strong friends, faithful friends, my “servants” still, in the same sense that I am theirs; and all of us trying to pattern after Him who said, “I am among you as he that serveth.”

“My correspondent asks if I “could live as a hireling in other people’s houses?” To which I reply, I do not know; I have never had the opportunity of trying myself in this way. It would all depend upon whether I was strong souled and resolute and sweet-spirited enough to brave present conditions and help to make them better.

“Yours for service,
“Pansy.”

What do you think of Isabella’s idea?

Do you think you could ever “live as a hireling in other people’s houses?”

You can read Isabella’s short story “Their Providence” for free by clicking here.

Read Isabella’s novel, Ester Ried’s Namesake by clicking here.

Pansy’s Best Advice Giveaway

Published on by Isabella Alden4 Comments

In past blog posts we’ve share some of Isabella’s advice columns that appeared in Christian magazines in the early 1900s. Sometimes humorous, sometimes serious, but always straightforward, Isabella answered reader questions on a variety of topics, from unwanted marriage proposals to a fear of praying in public.

Cathy and Elaine—two longtime readers of this blog—mentioned they would love to be able to have a booklet that contained all of Isabella’s advice columns.

What a great idea!

Thanks to Cathy and Elaine, today’s giveaway is an e-book collection of Isabella’s most popular bits of advice.

Book cover for Pansy's Advice to Readers. Image of a blue teacup and saucer filled with purple and yellow pansies and butterflies against a pink polka-dot background.

You can read Pansy’s Advice to Readers for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the e-book on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device. Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.

This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us every weekday in September for a fun drawing, giveaway, or Free Read!

We're 10! It's our Blogiversary Celebration! IsabellaAlden.com. September 2023. Join Us!

A Scolding Mood

Published on by Isabella Alden2 Comments

Do you have a pet peeve?

Is there some irritating little thing others do that seems to steadily accumulate until you can’t help but be angry?

Isabella found herself in just such a situation regarding the many letters she received each month from readers of her magazine and books. Here’s what she had to say about it (as published in a Christian magazine):

A Scolding Mood

Photograph of Isabella Alden from about 1898. She is seated at a table. In her lap she holds a piece of paper. Her right hand holds a pen poised above a piece of paper on the table.
Isabella Alden at her writing desk.

Perhaps it would be well for me to own at the outset that I am in a scolding mood this morning. On my desk lie three letters written with as much care and thought as I could give them. Out of my busy life I took time to do my best for the three earnest girls who wrote me on important subjects, all of them of such a character that it was either not wise to bring them into print or so important as regards time that it seemed not well to wait for the printed page. Yet what was the result? Within ten days of their writing, all three letters were returned to me with the words, “Person not found,” written on the envelope.

Now whose fault is that? Not the postmasters’ or postmen’s certainly; for, judging from the appearance of the returned letters, much care has been taken to find their owners. In one instance the information has been volunteered, “Address incomplete.” As if the writer did not know that! But how was I to help it? A name, and the name of a certain city in a certain State; this was all. No street, nor number, nor post-office box—nothing to indicate where in the great city the person was to be found.

If this had been my experience but three times in my life, I should indeed be a happy woman; but oh, dear, the innumerable times I have exhausted my knowledge on a given theme for the attempted benefit of another, only to have to consign my work two weeks afterwards to the waste-basket, and to go about with the injured feeling that someone who had opened her heart to me was smarting under the sense of having been rudely treated!

Dear friends, is not the moral plain? Why will you not give a carefully detailed address? If you are visiting in a strange city, expecting to be there but a short time, by all means give the full address of the person whose guest you are, or of the hotel or boarding-house where you are stopping. If it is possible that you may leave the town before the reply to your letter reaches there, consider how it would expedite matters if you would instruct your correspondent to write on the envelope, “If not there, please forward to —,” etc.

While we are on this subject and I am in the mood, suffer me a few more growls.

How many letters do you suppose I get, asking for immediate replies, with not so much as a postage-stamp enclosed? In most cases this is pure forgetfulness; but if one receives—let us say—one hundred letters a week, requiring private replies, and fifty of the writers have forgotten the return stamp, in the course of a year this amounts to quite a sum.

Let me tell you something. Instead of the stamp (which every well-informed person now encloses when he does not forget it), if those who desire a prompt reply would enclose an envelope properly addressed, with the stamp securely stuck on its own proper corner, their chances for very prompt response would be largely increased. One who has not a large list of correspondents can hardly be made to understand what a relief it is to find letters so prepared, nor what an amount of work it saves in the course of months. So small an item for the writer, such a load lifted from the shoulders of the burdened!

What do you think? Did Isabella have a good reason to scold her readers a little bit?

What’s your pet peeve?