Frances E. Willard once said: "If I were asked what was the true mission of the ideal woman, I would say, 'It is to make the whole world home-like.'" Illinois, therefore, presents this statue not only as a tribute to her whom it represents,—one of the foremost women of America,—but as a tribute to woman and her mighty influence upon our national life; to woman in the home; to woman wherever she is toiling for the good of humanity; to woman everywhere who has ever stood "For God, for home, for native land."
[JULIA WARD HOWE:
THE SINGER OF A NATION'S SONG]
We have told the story of our mother's life, possibly at too great length; but she herself told it in eight words.
"Tell me," Maud asked her once, "what is the ideal aim of life?"
She paused a moment, and replied, dwelling thoughtfully on each word:
"To learn, to teach, to serve, to enjoy!"
Life of Julia Ward Howe.
THE SINGER OF A NATION'S SONG
TWO little girls were rolling hoops along the street when they suddenly caught them over their little bare arms and drew up close to the railings of a house on the corner.
"There is the wonderful coach and the little girl I told you about, Eliza," whispered Marietta, pushing back the straw bonnet that shaded her face from the sun and pointing with her stick.