such as (1827) and (1834); this extends to her children's verse, for example, (1836). A contemporary critic called her work, infused with morals, "more like the dew than the lightning". She enjoyed substantial popularity in her lifetime and earned several nicknames, including "the American Hemans", the "Sweet Singer of Hartford", and the "female Milton". Her influences included the work of Hannah More, William Wordsworth, and William Cowper. Conduct literature An advocate of gendered spheres of society, Sigourney followed the example of Hannah More in creating a gendered rhetorical theory. Sigourney wrote two conduct books. Her first, Letters to Young Ladies, was published in 1833 and was printed more than twenty-five times. This book argued that women should practice reading aloud, and also offered advice in letter writing and memorization. Sigourney promotes the importance of being agreeable throughout the book, and suggests ways to take notes, along with advice on how to paraphrase what one has read. Sigourney recommends that girls should form reading societies, and says that women should use their virtue to promote its appearance in others. In 1835, Lydia Sigourney published Zinzendorff, and Other Poems which featured a notable poem entitled Garafilia Mohalbi. American painter and miniaturist Ann Hall also featured the same subject in a miniature portrait which later became a popular engraving by E. Gallaudet an engraver from Boston. A mazurka was written by Carl Gartner entitled Garafilia and a ship also bore the same name. Garafilia Mohalbi had been captured at the age of seven by the Turks during the Greek War of Independence. She was kidnapped and sold as a slave to an American Merchant Joseph Langdon. He freed her and adopted her as his daughter. Garafilia was sent to go live with his family in Boston. Three years later Mohalbi died in 1830 at the age of 13 and became the subject of an artistic movement. Sigourney's second conduct book, Letters to My Pupils, was published in 1837. In this book, Sigourney focuses on pronunciation and conversation, and claims that women should train in enunciation even if they are not going to be speaking publicly. According to Sigourney, women's conversation should adhere to three rules: It should give pleasure; it should be instructive and it should be comforting. Sigourney also made a case for the value of silence at times, and argued that part of a woman's role is to be a good