Early Life and Training
The twins were brought up by their father John (their mother having died two weeks after their birth), a solicitor and amateur linguist. They were educated in private schools in Birkenhead and London, interspersed with travels in Europe guided by their father.
After John's death, they settled in London and joined the Presbyterian church in Clapham Road. Already conversationally fluent in German, French and Italian, they continued to learn languages and travelled in Europe and the Middle East, including travelling up the Nile and visiting Palestine in 1868. In 1870, Agnes wrote Eastern Pilgrims, an account of their experiences in Egypt and Palestine.
In 1883, Agnes and Margaret,by then also quite fluent in Greek, travelled to Athens and other parts of Greece. beginning a lifelong affectionate relationship with Greek Orthodoxy, whose monks occupied Saint Catherine's Monastery at Sinai. In this year, Margaret married James Gibson; and in 1887, Agnes married Samuel Savage Lewis, librarian of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Both were clergymen. Each marriage was soon ended with the death of the husband.
Read more about this topic: Agnes And Margaret Smith
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or training:
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“There is probably not more than one hundred dollars in cash in circulation today. That is, if you were to call in all the bills and silver and gold in the country at noon tomorrow and pile them on the table, you would find that you had just about one hundred dollars, with perhaps several Canadian pennies and a few peppermint Life Savers.”
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“When a man goes through six years’ training to be a doctor he will never be the same. He knows too much.”
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