CLARA BEWICK COLBY
A SKETCH
CHAPTER I
EARLY LIFE
Clara Bewick was in every sense of the term a pioneer. Born in England, she came while a child with her parents to Wisconsin, then a new and sparsely settled country. Like other pioneers the Bewick family bore the burdens, endured the privations, and experienced the dangers of life in a new country. Opportunities for education and culture were few the public school was scarcely established and public libraries were unknown. But the members of the family were people of sturdy minds and strong character and not without a heritage of scholarly tastes and scientific ability. Clara's grandfather, Thomas Bewick, was a well known naturalist and engraver. He published several volumes, among them Bewick's Illustrated Book of Birds, and Bewick's Book of Beasts. Other members of the family had won distinction in various lines. Notwithstanding the want of opportunity for education, Clara learned
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