The Circle of Benevolent Friends

The thread of guiding friendships that lifted Mary Antin from the slums into the broad avenues of American life.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

Miss Nixon's Care

Miss Nixon's Care The Special Class Miss Nixon taught the green pupils to see a cat and hear a dog bark in English. She let them help each other with Yiddish words. The Definite Article They struggled together over the English th. Miss Nixon's patience was remembered for fifteen years. The First American Teacher Mary loved her with the gratitude of a child who had never been welcomed by a school. The doors of Boston were open.

Miss Dillingham's Gift

Miss Dillingham's Gift The Printed Snow Miss Dillingham sent Mary's composition to a journal, giving her a first taste of print. The child stared at her own name and dreamed of books. The Longfellow Volume She gave Mary a thin volume of Longfellow's poems, the first book Mary ever owned. The gift started a library and a vocation. The Boston Common Meeting Later, when Mary was sick with adolescent misery, Miss Dillingham met her on Boston Common and taught her to bear sorrows bravely.

Miss Dwight's Encouragement

Miss Dwight's Encouragement The Astonished Teacher Miss Dwight was plainly astonished by Mary's Washington poem and asked many questions. She invited the child to recite it to the class. The Recitation Repeated Other classes requested the poem, and applause followed each repetition. Teachers and pupils surrounded the young author. A Poem Saved Miss Dwight kept her only copy of the poem for years. It represented what Mary strove to express.

Edward Everett Hale's Doorstep

Edward Everett Hale's Doorstep The Grand Old Man Mary met Edward Everett Hale, Boston's great citizen, and he invited her to visit. She went before school at eight in the morning. Advice and Grandeur He asked many questions about Russia and advised her never to study before breakfast. The rest of the day glowed with grandeur. The Open House She returned again and again, exploring his library and taking away books. Out of that modest house the troubled came comforted.

Miss Hale's Studio

Miss Hale's Studio The Portrait Sitting Miss Hale asked Mary to sit for a portrait. The posing became a season of lively conversation and Saturday adventure. The Silver Coin Miss Hale regularly gave Mary a silver coin. Mary wondered if it was charity or wages, but she accepted it because her friend believed in her cause. The Artist's Gift Miss Hale's attention treated a slum girl as a piece of creation worthy of a portrait. It was a lesson in democratic dignity.

Mary Antin's first school term in Chelsea

during the Chelsea school years

the Washington's Birthday season in the sixth grade

a morning visit at eight o'clock

Saturday mornings during the Dover Street years