In 1876 Isabella Alden was serving her second year as editor of The Pansy magazine. At that time the magazine was published monthly and by all accounts, it was a success!
Children regularly wrote letters to her, telling how much they enjoyed an article or story. Some sent in word puzzles they had made, in hopes their puzzles would be published to delight (or possibly stump) other readers.
They also wrote to Isabella about their birthdays, how they spent a holiday, and the difficulties they encountered in daily life.
Here’s a letter a boy named Orvie B. Strain wrote to Isabella about the fun he had on April Fools’ Day.
Dear Pansy: I will tell you some of the funny things that happened to me April first. I took an empty oyster can, done it up in brown paper, and laid it on the sidewalk. A young man came along, looked at it a minute, and then kicked it off the sidewalk, and I didn’t watch it any longer. Late in the afternoon, I went to look for it, and I found it all mashed fine. As I came from the post-office, I forgot about its being April fool-day. I saw a two-cent piece lying on the side walk; I stopped to pick it up, and it was nailed fast. I had lots more fun, but I’ll not write about it this time. I am nine years old. May I belong to your ‘Pansy bed?’ This letter is written with my left hand.
Not only did Isabella publish many of the letters she received like Orvie’s, she replied to them all! Sometimes she sent individual replies by mail. Other times she simply wrote a quick reply in the next issue of The Pansy magazine.
Here are a few of those replies from the June 1876 issue of The Pansy. They give us a glimpse into Isabella’s personality and how she interacted with children:
LENA DARLING: Delighted to hear from you, my darling. The story is good, and will appear in The Pansy one of these days. Give my love to “Rubie.”
NELLIE MILLS: Such a nice little printed letter, with three new people in it! I am glad you think the Pansy “very nice.” Do you know, little darling, that you make Ns up-side down?
FRANKIE PAGE: I am glad that you have learned to write. Fifteen cows! Oh my! Can you milk any of them?
LAURA KESSNER: Welcome to the Pansy bed. You must wait patiently from month to month. Pansies have to grow, you know.
IDA T. DERBY: How many words did you miss at spelling school? Tell us all about it. Are there no little people in your “garden,” to make a Sunday-school of? Can’t you start one?
BERTHA WOLCOTT: I am glad to hear you think so much of our paper; but you must not expect Pansies to blossom every week! You have made a splendid selection of verses for your acrostic [puzzle].
CHARLIE FISK: Your puzzle is good. It will appear in The Pansy some time. Are you practicing on your verses?
PUELLA HALBERT: Have you enjoyed my visits? May you be one of His “little ones.” We must all keep young hearts. See Matthew xviii. 3.
IDA MAY HATFIELD: There was good news in your letter. It is very easy to “live a Christian life,” if we always “love to pray.”
JOSEPH WASSON: We too have a pony, and his name is Tony. We haven’t any dog; but our Ray, whenever we ask him what he would like to have for a birthday present, says: “A big, black dog.”
WATSON BEAR: I’ll answer your questions with pleasure. There’s a lady edits the paper, and her name is Pansy, and ever and ever so many thousands of children take it. You write a letter to all the Pansies, and if it isn’t more than twelve lines long, I’ll publish it. That is a good idea.
HORACE A. STRAIN: Yes, indeed; you shall belong to the “Pansy bed.” Will you be a great, purple Pansy, or a little bit of a white one? You got pretty high up in school, didn’t you, and only seven years old? Well done.
EVA HATFIELD: Welcome, Eva. We shall not consider you a stranger any longer. We all belong to the same garden. I hope we are all trying for the same home.
ALBERT P. OVERMAN: Poor little Ralph, or, rather, Ralph’s mamma. How sorry we are for her! You miss him from the Sunday-school, but think what a great army of Sunday-school children he has joined!
MINNIE L. SMITH: The puzzle is very nice. It will appear just as soon as we get to it, but there are about twenty-five ahead of you. I am glad you like The Pansy so much. We are going to make it semi-monthly one of these days. What was your prize, and for what was it given? Kiss “Tidy” for me. I think Benny gave her a very pretty pet name. I am glad of the good news about yourself.
Isabella Alden 