Page:Frances Shimer Record 38 4.djvu/16

 for girls was known as Mount Carroll Seminary without the "female" may have been due to the fact that for the first few years boys were also received. But we like to think that she eschewed the word from principle and though many people spoke of Mount Carroll "Female Seminary," because such schools were usually similarly designated, the name was always just Mount Carroll Seminary. About this time, Mrs. Hale, the "Lady of Godey's," was arguing long and bitterly against the word at the time of the opening of Vassar Female College. She was the direct cause of the offending word being removed from the name of the college cut in stone above the entrance to the first building of Vassar. Mrs. Finley in her life of Mrs. Hale gives a detailed and amusing account of the editorials against this use of the word, and of her correspondence with Matthew Vassar the founder, until he actually had the name changed and the stone bearing the word replaced by a plain stone. This is why, Mrs. Finley explains, there is the long blank space between "Vassar" and "College" above the entrance to the old first building.

We now come to the important time in Frances Wood's life when she felt that she had made the necessary preparations to enter the State Normal School at Albany. These preparations included not only the funds that were needed, most of which she had earned by her own efforts, but they embraced such scholastic requirements as would admit her to the senior class of the institution. This admission was by examination.

The normal school at Albany was the first one to be established in Frances' native state. It was founded in 1844, and was a part of the movement to train better teachers which accompanied the widespread interest in education of which the founding of the many academies throughout the country was also a result. At first there was no smooth sailing for the new school. Like all forward looking improvements in education or any other field this movement had its bitter enemies. At once a deep opposition to this particular school showed itself. The newspapers ridiculed and denounced it. Politicians were against it and the legislature tried to abolish it. As the first principal, David Perkins Page did valiant work in the defense of the new school. He travelled over the state explaining the purposes of the school and the advantages to be gained tor the citizens of the state by its establishment. Finally his speeches succeeded in turning the tide and at last public sentiment expressed itself in favor of the school. By 1848 when Frances was ready to enter, the young institution was in a flourishing condition.

We do not know where Cinderella had made her major preparations to enter the normal school but the two girls who were by now fast friends entered in the same class in 1848 and graduated together the following June, 1849.

Now came a period of four years of teaching for Frances about which we do not know a great deal. We are sure that those years were spent faithfully carrying out the young teacher's ideals and that they brought to her continued investigation of the lack of opportunities for higher education of women. Her determination was renewed to use her influence and efforts to help establish schools which would give to women the same chance for preparation for any profession or practical work which their brothers enjoyed.

At the end of these four years of teaching Frances showed symptoms of that dread disease "consumption, which had claimed so many of her mother's family. Not much was known then about the scientific