Page:Sketches of representative women of New England.djvu/445

328 ing a magnificent view of fourteen miles of the Mississippi. To Miss Benneson, who was a good rower and knew every inlet and island of the neighboring river, it was a part of life. She watched with untiring interest the steamers plying to and fro between St. Louis and St. Paul, the flare of the pine torches when they neared the landings at night amidst the melodious chanting of the negro deck-hands, the varying moods of the restless stream itself in sunshine and in storm, its daily busy traffic and evening glow, and eagerly awaited its supreme moment, when it tossed off the crashing ice-blocks in the spring, piling them high along shore. Whether seen from her windows or from her boat, the Mississippi had always for her a personality indelibly associated with her childhood and youth: it was her unconscious friend, helping her to think and act.

In the home there was great harmony and incentive to noble living. The men of note who were there entertained, especially Alcott and Emerson, made a great impression on Miss Benneson, who while still in her teens was inclined to philosophic study. Indeed, Emerson has always been an inspiration to her. One of her hapjiiest summers was spent at the Old Manse in Concord, amidst the scenes that he has immortalized.

When the question of her higher education was considered, Miss Benneson chose the Uni- versity of Michigan, then recently opened to women. She entered with advanced rank, antl completeil the four years' course in three. The first college girl to greet her on her arrival in Ann Arbor was Alice Freeman (afterward Alice Freeman Palmer), then a Senior. She was one of a band of earnest women that had assem- bled frf)m all sections of the country in response to the new opportunities. They studied hard and said not much about the great cause for which they stood, laut the consciousness of it drew them very closely together. Some have since become famous. The lives of all have been the richer for what they there received. Their friendship and that of the men who stood loyally by them Miss Benneson regards as one of the best gifts of her Alma Mater. Her first public appearance m college was during her l'"reshman year, in a Homeric controversy, in which she took the position that Homer wrote the Iliad, arguing from the internal evidence of the book. She spoke extemporaneously, at that time unusual for a woman; and her manner of presenting argument, then, as always, for- cible, won the day. In her Senior year she was elected one of the editors of The Chronicle, the leading college paper, the first woman to fill this office.

After receiving the degree of A.B. at the Uni- versity of Michigan, Mi.ss Benneson began the study of law. It was a deliberate choice. She was not forced by circumstances to take up a profession, but it was impossible that her mind should remain inactive and her life ineffective. Her choice was not opposed by lier family or friends. Her application for admission to the Law School of Harvard University, signed by five Harvard alunmi, was refused on the ground that the equipments were too limited to make suitable provision for receiving women. It was no detriment to her legal education that she returned to the University of Michigan, where she received instruction from Judges Cooley, Campbell, and Walker, Professors Wells and Kent, one of the strongest law faculties ever assembled in America. In her law class, which numbered one hundred seventy-five, there were but two women. They had, however, no preju- dice to encounter. Respect anfl courtesy greeted them on every hand. Miss Benneson was sec- retary of her class, presiding officer in the lead- ing debating society, and judge of the Illinois Moot Court.

After receivi.ng her higher degrees, LL.B. and A.M., and being admitted to the bar in Michigan and Illinois, Miss Benneson made a journey around the world, occupying more than two years. This was accomplished without a day's illness, detention, or accident. Starting from San Francisco in company with a friend, a Massachusetts woman, she travelled continually westward, visiting Hawaii, Japan, China, liurma, India, Arabia, Abyssinia, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, and all of the principal countries of I'Airope. I'ar fmni being the ordinary journey of the ordinary globe trotter, it was an extended study of the customs, manners, and laws of many nations. Curiosity is not a touchstone in foreign travel, but a kindly nat-