"book-agent" variety — a somewhat feared designation in the IS 

 last decade of the last century. But because his line was good, 

 his success was greater than expected. He made his way into 

 a goodly number of homes where the Christian education of 

 the children was still insisted upon and thus managed to sell 

 a colossal lot of maps of the Holy Land, done in seven clean 

 colors and clearly portraying the travels of Christ and all the 

 Apostles, the set mounted on a self-catching roller which per- 

 mitted unrolling and rolling with the greatest of ease. 



The financial triumph of one member of the family could 

 not, however, mean much where nine cried for food. Where- 

 fore September of 1 89 5 found sister Nellie writing her brother 

 as follows: 



. . . Minnie's [Almena's] school opened last Wednesday, so 

 Mamma and Grace have most of the work to do. I wish we 

 could afford to keep a girl but it is no use to think of it at 

 present. I'll be glad when I'm through here [an adept in ap- 

 plied art instruction, she was studying stenography and "busi- 

 ness" as quicker means to more lucrative practice] and can 

 get a position. Some women have commenced taking lessons 

 from me in china painting. ... I wish I could get up a small 

 class, enough to get myself some clothes if nothing else. . . . 

 What do you think of the Americans beating the English so 

 thoroughly in athletics? I think that what Mr. Houser said this 

 morning has a good deal to do with it. When an American is 

 training he does not use tobacco or drink but most Englishmen 

 think they can't live without their whiskey and soda or brandy. 

 One of the girls in our class was cheating this morning so the 

 man who had charge of the examinations tore up her papers 

 and she will have to drop into a lower class. It is too bad but it 

 serves her right and will be a lesson to some of the others. 



Such direct or indirect instruction went to the feared-for 

 one at college in almost every letter. How to get along on little 

 was the common theme, but moral or spiritual precept was still 

 commoner. The father's convictions in such matters were, of 

 course, never items of debate. Nor were they in the instance 

 of the elder sister, who in the stress of India and now of Chi- 

 cago was, of all the children, most obviously her father's 



