Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. III.djvu/374

Rh is the progress made by the pupils—so numerous are the orders for designs, wood engraving, &c.—and so well paid is all—that the young girls are able already to make considerable earnings, and there is every prospect that the establishment will, within very few years, be able fully to support itself.

It is the same school which I saw last year in its infancy, with the warm-hearted Mrs. P., the wife of the British consul here, when it entirely depended on her support. Since then it has rapidly developed itself, has become incorporated with the excellent Franklin Institute here, and receives an annual stipend from its funds, and now grows from its own strength. Several of the young pupils gain already from ten to fifteen dollars per week. The publisher of “Sartain's Magazine” told me, that the demand for such work in the United States, for newspapers, magazines, manufactures, &c., was so great, that all the women of the country, who had time to devote themselves to such occupation, might have full employment. And never have I seen, in any school whatever, so many cheerful, animated countenances. One of the most cheerful was that of a young girl who had hitherto maintained herself by dressmaking, but who was found to possess so fine a talent for drawing, that she might now calculate with certainty on making by this means a respectable maintenance for her whole life.

The cheerful, agreeable superintendent, Mrs. Hill, told me that the young girls were so amused and interested by their work, that they sometimes remained in the school the whole day, instead of five hours, which constituted the proper school-time. I am enchanted with this institution, which reveals a bright future for so many young girls, otherwise unprovided for, and develops the feeling of beauty in their minds, whilst it opens a path for them in manifold ways. I am very much pleased with this academy, also, because its design is applicable to Sweden,