“ She had been quick at learning, and in the brief period of her school life had been rapidly advanced, so that the slight knowledge thus acquired served as a foundation for her future self-education. She was an insatiable reader and student. When she was ten years old, she developed a remarkable talent for drawing, which her father took pains to cultivate. ”

“ As she declined to accept alimony, and had been by the war deprived of nearly all her property, she bent her energies to the support of herself and child, in the field of prose and story-writing. She succeeded in that new exercise of her talents. She contributed to New York newspapers, to "Harper's," "Scribner's" and other magazines, until incessant application to writing brought on a painful affection of the eyes, which for some years incapacitated her for the use of her pen. Of late years she has published little. She now resides with her son, in Richmond. ”

“ Her father, a gentleman of fine talents and literary taste, was bred to the profession of the law. He was early married to Miss Archer, of one of the oldest families of the old burrough of Norfolk, in Virginia. On the plantation Susan Archer Talley passed the first eight years of her life, where she delighted in the freedom of outdoor life. ”