spoken at the meetings; and we may have pure honey of Hymettus to give you yet.’
To another friend she wrote: —
‘The circle I meet interests me. So even devoutly
thoughtful seems their spirit, that, from the very first,
I took my proper place, and never had the feeling I
dreaded, of display, of a paid Corinné. I feel as I
would, truly a teacher and a guide. All are intelligent;
five or six have talent. But I am never driven
home for ammunition; never put to any expense;
never truly called out. What I have is always
enough; though I feel how superficially I am treating
my subject.’
Here is an extract from the letter of a lady, who
joined the class, for the first time, at the eighth meeting,
to her friend in New Haven: —
“Christmas made a holiday for Miss Fuller's class,
but it met on Saturday, at noon. As I sat there, my
heart overflowed with joy at the sight of the bright
circle, and I longed to have you by my side, for I know
not where to look for so much character, culture, and
so much love of truth and beauty, in any other circle of
women and girls. The names and faces would not
mean so much to you as to me, who have seen more
of the lives, of which they are the sign. Margaret,
beautifully dressed, (don’t despise that, for it made a
fine picture,) presided with more dignity and grace than
I had thought possible. The subject was Beauty. Each
had written her definition, and Margaret began with