In Isabella Alden’s lifetime, women had to rely solely upon the men in their lives for the basic necessities of life—food, shelter, and clothing. She knew all too well that unmarried women had little choice when it came to securing a respectable job, and even then they barely earned enough to eke out a living (more about that in our next post).
That’s certainly the case for Miss Esther Beekman, the heroine of Isabella’s short story “Their Providence.”
Miss Esther Beekman would dearly love to find a place where she can work for her room and board while she finishes her education. Mrs. Richards is in desperate need of help to turn her topsy-turvy household back into the perfect, well-ordered home it once was. So when Mrs. Richards allows Esther to stay on a temporary basis, both ladies find themselves on trial and wondering if it was accident or providence that brought them together.
In 1877 a rural Pennsylvania minister named Willard Parsons and members of his congregation began a program that would later become The Fresh Air Fund. The idea behind the program was simple: members of the congregation opened their homes to the neediest of children from disadvantaged neighborhoods in New York City, and provided the children with a few weeks of fresh air, healthy food, and new experiences.
Later, as the program expanded, The Fresh Air Fund opened summer camps that offered many inner-city children their first glimpse of a lake, green grass, and wide open fields.
Games on the playgrounds of the St. Vincent “Fresh Air” home for destitute children, Spring Valley, N.Y. about 1910 (courtesy the Library of Congress)
One such camp was The Salvation Army Home in Spring Valley, New York. Only 35 miles from New York City, the camp taught children to hike, grow fresh vegetables, and roam the great outdoors.
Childhood days at the Salvation Army home for destitute children, Spring Valley, N.Y. (courtesy, Library of Congress)
Isabella was a believer in the benefits of Fresh Air programs. She also believed individuals could impact the lives of destitute children just as well as large charitable organizations. That was the premise of her novel Monteagle (which you can read more about here). In the novel Mrs. Hammond helps poor Dilly West escape the summer heat by taking her along on a trip to the Monteagle Assembly in the cool Tennessee mountains.
It’s also the theme of this month’s free read, a short story Isabella wrote in 1897.
To escape the city heat, wealthy Miss Katherine Eaton spends the summer on a country farm, where she learns about the fresh air program for city waifs. Soon, her imagination takes hold of the idea, and she begins to plan her own program to teach a farm girl the benefits of city life. But it may be that Katherine is the one in need of a lesson.
In Alabama the Tuscaloosa Female College was a successful and popular boarding school for girls aged six through sixteen.
Tuscaloosa Female College, from an 1895 brochure.
In addition to classroom studies, the school offered students a variety of different clubs they could join; one club that was available to the youngest students was a chapter of The Pansy Society.
Isabella created The Pansy Society of Christian Endeavor as a children’s version of the Christian Endeavor program that had taken teens and young adults by storm in the 1880s.
Logo for The Pansy Society of Christian Endeavor
She wrote about The Pansy Society in stories and articles she published The Pansy magazine. Children who joined the society pledged to do good works and live their daily lives “For Jesus’ sake.”
That motto—For Jesus’ Sake—was a motto the students at the Tuscaloosa Female College took to heart. Under the mentorship of teacher Eloise Hemphill, the school’s Pansy Society chapter took a special interest in some newspaper articles written by a local reporter about an orphanage in Tuskegee that was in need of help.
From The Tuskaloosa Gazette, September 20, 1888.
So when it came time for the school’s Pansy Society to perform their annual Christmas cantata, they invited the same reporter who wrote the articles to attend so he could write about their performance for the newspaper.
Unfortunately, the reporter arrived late, after much of the performance was over, and after Santa Claus had distributed all of the presents under the Christmas tree. So he was very surprised when, as soon as he arrived, the students immediately halted the program and called him up on the stage.
Wary, he did as he was asked, expecting to “receive a ten-cent comic toy placed on the tree by some little girl, to have a good laugh at his expense.”
“Imagine, therefore, his surprise and gratification when old Santa Claus handed him an envelope, tied with a piece of pink floss, with the following inscription:
“A Christmas offering of five dollars to the orphans of Tuskegee; presented by the Pansy Society in the Primary Department of the Tuskaloosa [sic] Female College, December 25, 1887.”
From The Tuskaloosa Gazette, Thursday, January 5, 1888.
In 1887, five dollars was a lot of money for little girls to raise; it was the equivalent of about $160 in today’s economy.
The reporter was so surprised and gratified, the gesture caused him “to lose his head and eyesight at the same time” as he stammered out his thanks.
Of course the editor of The Tuskaloosa Gazette printed the story of the evening’s events, and added:
“Miss Eloise Hemphill and the sweet little Pansy Society have acted nobly. Out of their own little savings, in the midst of the festivities of Christmas, these little girls have contributed the handsome sum of five dollars for the little orphans whom God hath bereft of father and mother. It was one of the most delicate little acts of kindness it has ever been our pleasure to witness.”
Miss Eloise Hemphill (from Ancestry.com)
The editor added:
“The seeds of charity that have this Christmas been planted in their hearts by their noble teacher, Miss Eloise Hemphill, will take root and grow and bloom as they develop into lovely womanhood, until, like angels of mercy, they will go about doing good as long as they live.”
Isabella encouraged every member of The Pansy Society to plant similar “seeds of charity.” Each Christmas she asked them to pause amid the merry bustle of the season to “make some little gift as a loving reminder to one who otherwise would have none,” and to do it “For Jesus’ Sake.”
Do you have a similar Christmas tradition of giving a christmas gift to someone who otherwise wouldn’t have one?
What’s your favorite way to share a small act of kindness “For Jesus’ Sake”?
You can read more about The Pansy Society of Christian Endeavor in these posts:
In 1888 Isabella added a hint of romance to this short story about two little girls who wanted to give their favorite aunt a very merry Christmas.
Something is wrong with Aunt Mary, and Kate and Hattie are determined to find the perfect Christmas gift to make their dear aunt smile again. But with only ten cents to spend, the girls seek advice from the wisest man in town, and end up receiving a Christmas surprise of their own!
Like her aunt Isabella, Grace Livingston Hill expressed her creative talents in many ways. Although she was best known for writing Christian novels and short stories (click here to read a few), she also wrote poetry.
After her first child Margaret was born in 1893, Grace wrote this charming poem to her darling little daughter:
The birdies have tucked their heads under their wings,
And cuddled down closely, the dear little things;
And my darling birdie is here in her nest,
With her heart nestled close on her own mother’s breast.
The wind sings a sleepy song soft to the roses,
And kisses the buds on the tips of their noses.
Shall I sing a sleepy song soft to my sweet,
And kiss the pink toes of her precious wee feet?
The butterflies fold their silver-gauze wings,
And now sweetly sleep with all the fluttering things;
Will you fold your wee palms, my dear little girl,
And rest the tired footies, my dainty rare pearl?
The violet sweet has closed its blue eye,
That has gazed all day long at the clear summer sky:
Now droop the dark fringes over your eyes;
They are weary with holding great looks of surprise.
The flower-bells have drooped their meek little heads,
And laid themselves down in their soft, mossy beds.
Your golden head droops and your eyes are shut quite;
Shall I lay you down soft on your pillow so white?
Grace’s lovely poem was published in newspapers across the country . What do you think of “Margaret’s Lullaby”?
September was a big month here on the blog, with plenty of new Free Reads by Isabella Alden!
If you missed any of the Free Read announcements, here’s a recap of all the new short stories and novels that are now available:
Click on any of the links below to go to BookFunnel.com where you can read the stories on your computer, download them to your favorite device, or print and share them with others.
Want to read even more classic Christian fiction? You can click on the “Free Reads” tab in the menu above to find more free stories by other authors. Enjoy!
Sadly, our Blogiversary party must come to an end. Thank you to everyone who helped make this celebration bright by leaving comments and liking posts!
Here are the names of this week’s winners of a “Power of Prayer” journal set:
Bethany Griggs
Shannon Sims
Ruthann Fernandez
Bethany, you’ll receive a Facebook DM. Please reply with your full name and mailing address so we can send your item out right away.
Shannon and Ruthann, you’ll receive an email from Isabella Alden. Please reply with your full name and mailing address, and your item will be on its way ASAP!
Congratulations, everyone!
This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us every weekday in September for a fun drawing, giveaway, or free read!
In 1893, when Isabella’s books were at the height of their popularity, a newspaper article about her mentioned that if forced to choose one word to describe Isabella’s work, that word would be “Help.”
The writer of the article made a very insightful observation. Typically, the main characters in Isabella’s books were, indeed, helpers. No doubt Isabella made them so as a reflection of her own belief that every effort counts. In her stories, no contribution was too small, and no effort was too little, as long as her characters did their best and made the most of what God had given them.
Today’s free read reflects that theme, when Mrs. Burns (one of the story’s main characters) asks the question, “How can I turn a small donation to help missions into a large and meaningful contribution?”
When Mrs. Burns is given a five-cent budget with which to help the cause of church missions, she can’t believe her ears. Five cents! What could she possibly accomplish with a small, insignificant nickel?
But with God’s help and a little imagination, Mrs. Burns soon discovers that her five-cent investment can accomplish great things.
Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.
Reader Tip: As you read the story, be on the look-out for one of Isabella’s most beloved characters from The Chautauqua Girls series to make a brief “cameo” appearance!
This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us every weekday in September for another fun drawing, giveaway or free read!
Isabella was a strong believer in the power of prayer. She once wrote:
Prayer is the pulse of the renewed soul; and the constancy of its beat is the test and measure of the spiritual life.
One of Isabella Alden’s talents was creating characters who discovered for themselves the power of prayer in their lives. Some of her characters turned to prayer in times of trouble or to heal a loved one of illness; other characters spoke to God as naturally and as often as they would speak to a close friend or family member.
As wealthy Miss Mary Brown discovered in The Browns at Mount Hermon:
“I would give—oh, what would I not give!—to be able to talk to God as those girls did this afternoon, with the assurance which they evidently had that he heard and cared!”
In her own life Isabella knew the power of prayer. It was through the prayers of her sister Marcia that Isabella chose Christ as her Saviour (read more about that here).
As a busy author and public speaker, Isabella began each day with prayer “to ask God’s help and blessing on the work to be done.” (You can read about that here.)
And in her journal she regularly wrote down prayer requests, notes about sermons, favorite Bible verses, and lessons learned.
The Giveaway:
We’re giving away three “Power of Prayer” journal packages to readers of Isabella’s blog!
Each package includes a lovely prayer journal with . . .
. . . a daily two-page spread that includes a verse of Scripture, space to record your meditations and prayers, and a generous area to reflect on God’s goodness.
The set also includes a coordinating sticker pack to help inspire your quiet moments of reflection.
To enter the drawing, just leave a comment below or on Isabella’s Facebook page no later than midnight (EDT) on Thursday, September 28.
The three winners will be announced on Friday, September 29. Good luck!
This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us every weekday in September for a fun drawing, giveaway, or Free Read!
Our Blogiversary celebration continues with another free read: a short story by Isabella Alden!
Timid Sarah Abbott is a tireless worker for the Lord—as long as the work isn’t too taxing and the people whose souls she wants to win don’t frighten her. So when she is accosted on the street by a stranger in need of help, Miss Abbott’s first instinct is to shy away from any involvement. Little does she know that those few precious minutes spent listening to the stranger’s story will change Miss Abbott’s life forever.
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