Peters, afterwards founder of the Philadelphia School of Design; Miss
Catherine Beecher; Mrs. Caroline Lee Hentz; E. P. Cranch; Dr. Drake;
S. P. Chase, and many others who afterwards became prominent in their
several walks of life.
In one of her letters to Miss May, Mrs. Stowe describes one of her
methods for entertaining the members of the Semi-Colon as follows:--
"I am wondering as to what I shall do next. I have been writing a
piece to be read next Monday evening at Uncle Sam's soiree (the Semi-
Colon). It is a letter purporting to be from Dr. Johnson. I have been
stilting about in his style so long that it is a relief to me to come
down to the jog of common english. Now I think of it I will just give
you a history of my campaign in this circle.
"My first piece was a letter from Bishop Butler, written in his
outrageous style of parentheses and foggification. My second a
satirical essay on the modern uses of languages. This I shall send to
you, as some of the gentlemen, it seems, took a fancy to it and
requested leave to put it in the 'Western Magazine,' and so it is in
print. It is ascribed to _Catherine_, or I don't know that I
should have let it go. I have no notion of appearing in _propria
personce_.
"The next piece was a satire on certain members who were getting very
much into the way of joking on the worn-out subjects of matrimony and
old maid and old bachelorism.
Pages:
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95