Julia was particularly fond of study. At first she had lessons at home, but at the age of nine she was sent to a private school nearby. Here this little girl studied a difficult book, Paley’s Moral Philosophy, with girls of sixteen and eighteen years of age.
Once, at this time, she heard a class reciting an Italian lesson. The musical sound of the language delighted her, and she listened whenever she had the chance. She secured a grammar, and studied it by herself. Then, one day, she handed the surprised teacher a letter, written correctly in Italian, asking permission to join the class.
Julia loved to make up poetry, and when she was in her thirteenth year, she copied a number of her poems into a brown blank book as a present for her father. One of them was a poem written about her mother, whom she had lost when she was only six years old. Still another was in French; and in the four stanzas there was only one mistake.
The study of languages was always a delight to her. She spoke and wrote French and German very well. Later in life she studied Spanish, and at the age of fifty she did not feel that she was too old to begin the study of Greek.
At twenty-four years of age Julia Ward married Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe. He was a noble-hearted man whom everyone knew as the first person to teach language to a blind deaf mute, namely, Laura Bridgman.
A happy, busy time began for these two people, who believed that life should be lived for others. Dr. Howe was engaged with his work for the blind and for the freeing of the slaves. Mrs. Howe went on with her studies, and wrote poems, plays, and essays. She helped her husband with his antislavery work, and together they edited a newspaper called the Commonwealth.
Yet no matter how crowded these days were, there was always a time in the afternoon that was set aside for the children. The mother played and sang to the little folks, and there were merry romps, as the father, wrapped in a big fur coat, played bear and growled fiercely. Both mother and father often read aloud to their children.
When the Civil War broke out, Julia Ward Howe longed to help her country and soon a special way came. One day, she was driving back into Washington with friends, after having witnessed a review of some troops. Their carriage was delayed by the returning soldiers. To pass away the time, Mrs. Howe and her companions began to sing war songs. Among them, they sang,
“John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave.”
“Why do you not write some good words for that stirring tune?” someone asked Mrs. Howe.