“ Alden is deeply interested in Sunday-school primary teaching, and has had charge of more than a hundred children every Sunday for many years. She is interested in temperance also, but delicate health and a busy life hinder her from taking an active part in the work. She gives liberally to the cause, and four of her books, "Three People," "The King's Daughter," "One Commonplace Day," and "Little Fishers and their Nets," are distinctively temperance books, while the principle of total abstinence is maintained in all her writings. ”

“ Alden is a constant sufferer from headache, which never leaves her and is often very severe, but she refuses to call herself an invalid. She is a model housekeeper in every way. Her physician limits her to three hours of literary work each day. The famous Chautauqua system of instruction is warmly advocated by her. She has been prominently identified with that movement from its beginning. Her books are peculiarly adapted to the youth of this country. Most of them have been adopted in Sunday-school libraries throughout the United States. ”

“ Her father and mother, both persons of intellect and education, encouraged her in every way in her literary work, and her progress was very rapid. When she was only ten years old, she wrote a story about an old family clock which suddenly stopped after running many years, and her father had it published. ”