Page:The Poets and Poetry of the West.djvu/591

 ELIZABETH ORPHA HOYT. Elizabeth Orpha, fifth daughter of John and Mercy Sampson, is a native of Athens, Ohio. Her opportunities for early education were but few, indeed ; but her thirst for knowledge, b«- energy of character, and her lofty purposes, could not be repressed by any combmation of diificulties. Genius will burn, and burn till it blazes into notice. Among the young gentlemen of Ohio University, Miss Sampson had many to appreciate her genius, to love her character, and to encourage her ambition to the heights of literature. What they learned from their professors, they dropped upon her ears. In her hands they placed the text-books which they had mastered. In this w^ay she early attained an unusual degree of intellectual culture and devel- opment. Though naturally most fond of metaphysical studies, she possessed equal facility in the acquisition of mathematical truth and linguistic lore. Her ability to comprehend Paley, Butler, logic and the mathematics, when but a little girl, was to the writer a wonder. She wrote true poetry from a mere child. Ere fifteen of her summers had faded into autumn, she had written a volume. Many judicious critics urged her to put that volume before the public, but shrinking modesty kept out of sight what might have gladdened and soothed many a fireside. Her eyes failed her about this time, and have never since been restored. In all her studies for many years, she has, like Prescott, been forced to rely almost solely on her friends. In 1854, she married John "W. Hoyt, a gentleman of talent and learning, at that time a Professor in a medical college in Cincinnati, subsequently Professor in Antioch College, Ohio, and at this time Secretary of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, and editor of the Wisconsin Farmer. Her marriage, besides being a very happy one, especially in its spiritual relations, gave to her the companionship of a superior mind, having a severe classic taste, and the sympathy of a generous heart, possessing remarkable enthusiasm of nature. Since the removal of Mr. Hoyt, in 1857, to Wisconsin, Mrs. Hoyt has written more than for many previous years. Analytically considered, her poems give evi- dence of great tenderness of feeling, a genuine appreciation of the beautiful, and an overflowing sympathy with native and humanity. Philosophical acumen, vehement will and a heroism truly womanly are never deficient in her poems when needed. Enlargement of heart, elevation of character, refinement of taste, and improvement in morals, cannot fail to reward the reader of her poetry. Her poems for childi-en are singularly felicitous. No complete volume of Mrs. Hoyt's poems has yet been published, but several little books for children, from her pen, hav^i|een successful. We trust that her friends will, ere long, be gratified with a volume which will exhibit her varied capac- ity for metrical composition. (575)