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 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
Under the Old Elms 
 
 MARY B. CLAFLIN 
 
 AUTHOR OF " BRAMPTON SKETCHES," " PERSONAL REC- 
 OLLECTIONS OF JOHN G. WHITTIER," 
 " REAL HAPPENINGS " 
 
 \ 
 
 £ast Fourteenth Street 
 
 New York : 46 East 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL & COMF 
 
 Boston : 100 Purchase Street 
 
 K 
 

 Copyright, 1895, 
 By T. Y. Crowell & Company. 
 
 TYPOGRAPHY BY C. J. PETERS & SON, 
 BOSTON. 
 
TO HIM 
 
 WHOSE OPEN-HEARTED HOSPITALITY 
 
 AND UNSWERVING LOYALTY 
 
 TO HOME AND FRIENDS AND COUNTRY 
 
 MADE "THE OLD ELMS" 
 
 A DELIGHT TO ITS INMATES, 
 
 THESE MEMORIES 
 
 OF HAPPY DAYS SPENT THERE 
 
 ARE DEDICATED. 
 
UNDER THE OLD ELMS. 
 
 I. 
 
 UNDER THE OLD ELMS. 
 
 " As if to music they had grown, 
 
 Stately and fair the elms uprise, 
 Their swaying shadows earthward thrown, 
 
 Their tops rejoicing in the skies. 
 What life and death, what love and pain, 
 
 What nights of gloom and days of gold, 
 Have passed beneath their leafy reign ! 
 
 Yet still their ancient pride they hold, 
 Still tower o'er roof and slope and plain, 
 
 And link the new years to the old." 
 
 For two hundred years the elms 
 have been growing on a grassy bank 
 in Newton, Massachusetts. Harps for 
 the winds, they have thrilled to the 
 breath of June, or bent in the blasts 
 
Under the Old Elms. 
 
 of December. Homes for the birds, 
 they have rocked the nests of the 
 robin and the oriole, whose songs 
 echo through their sylvan paradise. 
 The lawn they shadow is broad and 
 green, and at its farther side a low 
 wall separates it from the village street. 
 Through it there runs a brook with 
 pleasant ripple and flow, crossing the 
 field beyond to be lost in the Charles 
 River two miles away. There grow 
 the earliest flowers of spring, — violets, 
 anemones, hepaticas, to be followed 
 by buttercups and daisies, and, in their 
 season, by clusters of golden-rod and 
 purple asters. 
 
 The place is said to have been a part 
 of the Newton estate of Governor Si- 
 mon Bradstreet, from whom it passed 
 eventually to the Fuller family. That 
 the region has been long settled is 
 
Under the Old Elms. 
 
 shown by the fact that the homestead 
 near it has been in the possession 
 of one family for two hundred years. 
 Judge Fuller, whose farm a century ago 
 comprised nearly the whole of what is 
 now the village of Newtonville, cul- 
 tivated the fruitful acres ; and on 
 Thanksgiving Day, when his children 
 and grandchildren were gathered about 
 the ancestral board, beneath the old 
 elms, he was wont to say with satis- 
 faction, " My dear children, I hope 
 you realize that every article of food 
 before you was raised on this farm." 
 
 And there was no lack of variety, 
 with the plump turkey, the geese, 
 ducks, and chickens, the cranberry tart- 
 let, the popcorn, the sweet cider, the 
 hickory nuts that grew by the brook, 
 and the chestnuts that ripened on the 
 hillside. 
 
Under the Old Elms. 
 
 There stood on a ridge near the 
 house a group of great chestnut-trees, 
 so ancient and storm-beaten that prob- 
 ably they were bearing fruit when the 
 Mayflower sailed into Plymouth har- 
 bor in 162O0 Of the magnificent elm 
 whose branches overspread the house, 
 and whose trunk, because of its un- 
 usual size and fine proportions, has 
 been reverenced by his successors for 
 generations, he used to tell this little 
 story to his grandchildren : — 
 
 "Before the time of carriages, I was 
 riding to church, two miles distant, 
 one pleasant Sunday morning ; and my 
 horse, beginning like his master to 
 feel the encroachments of age, was not 
 disposed to trot. Fearing the parson 
 would have finished his opening exer- 
 cises before I should reach the corner 
 of the great square pew where he 
 
Under the Old Elms, 
 
 always looked to see me, and from 
 which I was seldom absent, I alighted 
 and broke from a tree by the 
 roadside a small elm sapling, which 
 would serve as an incentive to old 
 Dobbin to hasten his steps. The 
 sapling I stuck in the saddle as I 
 hitched the horse under the meeting- 
 house shed ; and I brought it home 
 with me. When I rode up to the door, 
 your grandmother, my good wife, as 
 was her custom, stood waiting for me ; 
 and I said, 'Wife, I am going to put 
 this little sapling in the ground ; it 
 may shade our grandchildren.' " 
 
 The sapling, nine feet above the 
 grassy knoll on which it stands, now 
 measures eighteen feet in circumfer- 
 ence. Many years ago a great tor- 
 nado stripped it of its upper branches; 
 but this loss gave it new life. To-day 
 
Under the Old Elms, 
 
 it is as strong and vigorous and thrifty 
 as it is picturesque and venerable. 
 
 General William Hull, who married 
 the daughter of Judge Fuller, had 
 served with credit in the Revolution- 
 ary War. In the War of 1812 he 
 was made governor of Michigan, and 
 was placed in charge of the forts at 
 Detroit. On account of the very in- 
 adequate garrison and the insufficient 
 equipment in every way, he felt com- 
 pelled to surrender the fort to the 
 British, for which he was tried by 
 court-martial, and condemned to be 
 shot ; but the president, in considera- 
 tion of his faithful service in the 
 Revolutionary War, pardoned him. 
 This surrender was made as a human- 
 itarian act, and at the risk of forfeit- 
 ing his military fame. He returned, 
 
Under the Old Elms. 
 
 crestfallen and heartsore, to spend the 
 remainder of his days at the old home- 
 stead. 
 
 General Hull was a graduate of 
 Yale. He was a soldier for ten years, 
 associating with Washington and his 
 generals. His manners were a fine 
 mingling of those of the soldier, the 
 courtier, and the man of the world. 
 He was a scientific and successful far- 
 mer ; and when he came back to the 
 estate he was as much at home among' 
 the farmers of Newton as he had been 
 in other days with generals, governors, 
 and presidents. 
 
 Mrs. Hull was a handsome woman, 
 with the same easy manners as her 
 husband, having associated with Mrs. 
 Washington, Mrs. Knox, and other 
 ladies. She had a peculiar hobby of 
 buying at auctions; and the attic of 
 
8 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 the house was a museum filled with the 
 most remarkable things, from a church 
 window to a lot of coffin-plates, as use- 
 less as the green spectacles of Moses 
 Primrose. The house was always full 
 from attic to cellar. She always had 
 a band of retainers of all colors and 
 races in and about the big kitchen. 
 Among these was a colored man named 
 " Othello," called Tillo for short. His 
 father had given him when a boy to 
 Mrs. Hull until he should become of 
 age. When General Hull set him at 
 liberty and gave him money to start, 
 he went as far as Watertown and then 
 returned to the house, considering him- 
 self one of the family, and he always 
 remained with them. 
 
 General Hull's name was always 
 spoken with respect and reverence by 
 the village folk, and he was honored 
 
Under the Old Elms. 
 
 all through the country-side for his 
 gentlemanly bearing and his kindly 
 consideration for those about him. He 
 felt keenly the disgrace that followed 
 his action at Detroit, and mingled little 
 with the outside world, spending his 
 time in cultivating the land, and intro- 
 ducing new and improved methods of 
 agriculture, and in adorning the place. 
 Wishing to irrigate and beautify his 
 estate, he diverted the brook from its 
 original course as it ran from the lake 
 above, thus diminishing the water 
 which fed a small mill lower down the 
 stream. This made trouble with the 
 mill, and the mill-owner appealed to 
 the law. General Hull took the ground 
 that agriculture was of the first impor- 
 tance, and that he had a right to use 
 the water for agricultural purposes. 
 The court decided that he had the 
 
io Under the Old Elms. 
 
 right to use the water, but not to in- 
 terfere with the rights of others. All 
 had equal rights, and the grinding of 
 the corn for the use of mankind was 
 as much a necessity as the raising of 
 the corn ; hence the miller won his 
 case, and General Hull was compelled 
 to turn the brook back to its original 
 channel. All the laws of the State 
 concerning water-ways and mill-privi- 
 leges are based upon the decision of 
 the courts at that time. 
 
 The village grew slowly in General 
 Hull's day. From his home under the 
 elms to the track where the trains now 
 run a hundred times a day, there was 
 not a house ; and when the whistle of 
 the engine was first heard on the 
 Boston & Albany Railroad, long after 
 General Hull had passed away, where 
 now stands the picturesque, vine-clad 
 
Under the Old Elms. n 
 
 depot and the populous village, there 
 was only a flag-station, called Hull's 
 Crossing. General Hull was gathered 
 to his fathers in the year 1825 ; and in 
 making some repairs in the vault where 
 he was laid, it was found that the 
 body of Judge Fuller, which had been 
 buried many years, had become pet- 
 rified, and was in perfect form and 
 condition, except a slight change in 
 color. This circumstance was a mat- 
 ter of great interest to the medical 
 men and scientists of the time. 
 
 During the Revolutionary War, Gen- 
 eral Hull for a time had served under 
 La Fayette, at Whitemarsh and Mon- 
 mouth. In 1824, when the Marquis 
 revisited this country, he came to see 
 the General. When the two met, 
 the Marquis, with French effusiveness, 
 kissed General Hull, and said with 
 
i2 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 feeling, " We have both suffered much 
 from calumny." General Hull's chil- 
 dren and grandchildren were presented 
 to the Marquis ; and finally, with a part- 
 ing embrace, the two old comrades-in- 
 arms bade each other an affectionate 
 and last farewell. 
 
 The old, rambling house which had 
 stood for nearly a century under the 
 elms, and where were preserved the 
 horns of the deer that was shot by 
 Judge Fuller from the doorstep of 
 his mansion, was removed after Gen- 
 eral Hull's death to the village that 
 was growing up at Hull's Crossing ; 
 and there it stands, a monument of 
 the early time when it was the centre 
 of all the activities of the town. The 
 elderly people talk to this day of the 
 events which occurred in the "good old 
 
Under the Old Elms. 13 
 
 time" at the Hull mansion. Old Tillo, 
 the colored man who always attended 
 General Hull, insisted that ghosts wan- 
 dered through the house at night, and 
 that the festivities of the family were 
 often disturbed by uncanny sights and 
 sounds. Be this as it may, the old 
 mansion was the scene of many a frolic 
 when the children and grandchildren 
 of the third and fourth generations 
 gathered, and made the rafters ring 
 with their mirth; while Tillo used his 
 fiddle and his bow to the tune of 
 "Money-Musk," "The Fisher's Horn- 
 pipe," and other merry strains. 
 
 The elms stood in their lonely gran- 
 deur, and the brook rippled along its 
 way undisturbed, until the year 1855, 
 when the estate was purchased by the 
 present occupant, and the house erected 
 that now stands on the very spot from 
 
i4 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 which the former was removed. But 
 I sometimes fancy the same birds sing 
 their morning songs (in no other trees 
 do they sing so sweetly), the same 
 frogs croak their evening discords, the 
 same crickets chirp their friendly, 
 cheerful tunes as we sit in the twi- 
 light on the doorstep, where used to 
 sit Governor Bradstreet, Judge Ful- 
 ler, General Hull, and all the goodly 
 company that called the old mansion 
 "home." 
 
Under the Old Elms. 
 
 II. 
 
 During our occupancy of the place, 
 we were fortunate in having such a 
 number of interesting people, many 
 of whom are no longer on earth, to 
 sojourn with us under the elms, or to 
 make brief visits there, that it has 
 seemed to me a pleasant thing to re- 
 cord some of my memories of them. 
 
 Among the first to help us dedicate 
 the new abode, came Mrs. Stowe and 
 her brother, Henry Ward Beecher; 
 and as we looked out on a bright morn- 
 ing from the doorstep, over the green 
 lawn, they said, "The place is worthy 
 of a name ; let us christen it here 
 and now ! " Various names were sug- 
 
1 6 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 gested, but none seemed exactly to 
 fit ; until Mrs. Stowe exclaimed with 
 enthusiasm, "How magnificent the old 
 elms are ! " Mr. Beecher immediately 
 took up the strain, and added, "We 
 have it ! the place shall be called, ' The 
 Old Elms ! ' " and so it has been desig- 
 nated for forty years. 
 
 The Reverend James Freeman Clarke 
 was a grandson of General Hull, and 
 many hours of his boyhood were spent 
 under "The Old Elms." He was fa- 
 miliar with every tree and shrub and 
 rock, and knew where the orioles hung 
 their nests, and where were the squir- 
 rels' hiding-places. Some of the hap- 
 piest hours of his later life were spent 
 in wandering over the paths of his 
 youth, and in recalling the scenes 
 where he and his brother had "played 
 
Under the Old Elms. 17 
 
 soldier" under the direction of their 
 grandfather, for whom they had great 
 reverence. Dr. Clarke wrote an able 
 and elaborate vindication of his grand- 
 father, which, I think, convinced every 
 fair-minded person of the wisdom of 
 General Hull's course at Detroit. One 
 of the pleasures to which we looked 
 forward was the annual visit of Dr. 
 Clarke. He was full of reminiscences ; 
 there was an anecdote about every 
 nook and corner ; and there, as no- 
 where else, he could lay aside his bur- 
 dens and forget his cares, and revel in 
 the memories of his happy childhood. 
 There he always brought the members 
 of his family, who lived in a distant 
 State; and they wandered up and 
 down the brookside where joyous hours 
 had been spent in dropping the line for 
 trout and pickerel, or in seeking for 
 
1 8 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 birds' nests in the overhanging trees. 
 One day there was music under the 
 elms when Dr. Clarke drove up the 
 avenue, and he was asked if he en- 
 joyed music. His reply was, "I have 
 not much interest in music. I think 
 if I had one more interest it would 
 have the effect of the last feather on 
 the camel's back." 
 
 I replied, " It has always been a 
 regret to me that I cannot sing or 
 make music in any form." 
 
 " Neither can I," said Dr. Clarke ; 
 "let us shake hands and agree to 
 sing a duet in heaven." 
 
 Among the wise sayings in Tupper's 
 "Proverbial Philosophy" we find, in his 
 opinion, that no family is complete 
 without a grandmother and a baby. 
 Providence supplied both to " The Old 
 
Under the Old Elms. 19 
 
 Elms." The grandmother there was 
 a typical old-fashioned New England 
 woman, full of activity and abounding 
 energy. She kept up all the old-time 
 traditions, and told the stories of old- 
 time life, and was the delight of the 
 young people who frequented the house. 
 Knitting was her favorite employment ; 
 and nothing would induce her to cast 
 the stitches for a new stocking on 
 Friday, or to start on a journey on 
 that day, for good luck never attended 
 anything that was started on Friday ; 
 and as for sitting down to a table with 
 thirteen, she said she would sooner be 
 drawn and quartered, for some one 
 would surely die before the year ended 
 should that be done. The crowing of 
 the cock, the cackling of the hens, and 
 the spinning of a spider's web on the 
 grass, were signs and omens of some- 
 
20 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 thing that was going to happen for 
 good or ill. She told the stories of 
 her youth with so much zest that the 
 children preferred her room above all 
 others, and they were never tired of 
 hearing of the hardships and the frolics 
 of the days about which she delighted 
 to talk. She would tell them of riding 
 on a pillion to a neighboring town to 
 attend the balls, which began at five 
 o'clock in the afternoon, and did not 
 end until the " break o' day " the next 
 morning. The great event of her life, 
 which the children asked her often to 
 repeat, was a journey which she took 
 in her youth with her parents. They 
 were six weeks travelling from Massa- 
 chusetts to the wilderness of Rome 
 and Utica, "in York State," where 
 there were only native Indians dressed 
 in blankets and feathers, with scalping- 
 
Under the Old Elms, 
 
 knives, and from whom the children 
 had to hide away. When she came 
 back to Massachusetts she married a 
 young physician who afterward became 
 famous ; and while he followed his pro- 
 fession, she lived her busy life, taking 
 care of the farm, and entertaining the 
 guests and patients who came from far 
 and near to seek advice from the good 
 doctor. She was as noted for her 
 thrift and energy in managing affairs as 
 he for his skill in treating his patients. 
 Late in her life, after he had finished 
 his earthly career, she left the home in 
 the small New England village where 
 she had lived all her married life, and 
 came to dwell under the old elms. On 
 her seventy-seventh birthday she was 
 baptized there, and became a mem- 
 ber of the same church where Judge 
 Fuller and General Hull had wor- 
 
22 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 shipped nearly a century before. She 
 remained with us, the light and joy of 
 the family circle at " The Old Elms," 
 until she was ninety, when she went 
 to join the innumerable company with 
 whom she had walked the journey of 
 life. 
 
 The first great shadow that fell over 
 " The Old Elms," during our residence 
 there, was the departure of a dear little 
 boy, who for five years had been the 
 delight of all who looked into his 
 luminous eyes, and heard his bird-like 
 voice. He had said of a little cousin 
 whom he saw lying in his casket for 
 burial, "That little head will have a 
 crown on it, and those little hands will 
 have a harp in them ; " so when the 
 angel came a few months later for him, 
 his one thought of death was that it 
 
Under the Old Elms. 23 
 
 would bring him a harp and a crown. 
 His going away changed the whole 
 current of life there, and thenceforth 
 every storm and blast of winter, every 
 flower and shrub and blade of grass, 
 every zephyr and bird-song, spoke to 
 the mother's heart of the blessed child. 
 It was in this time of loss and loneli- 
 ness that Dr. S. F. Smith, whose home 
 was in the neighborhood, came as an 
 angel of mercy to comfort with his 
 tender sympathy the stricken hearts. 
 Then began a friendship which has 
 lasted through all the years. If any 
 event of special interest occurred in 
 the family, whether of joy or sorrow, 
 some sympathetic poem of his was 
 sure to find its way to the hearts under 
 "The Old Elms." One morning, after 
 a stormy night, came this sweet mes- 
 sage : — 
 
24 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 " I listened in the evening to the sighing of the 
 
 gale, 
 I watched the heaping snowdrifts, and heard the 
 
 rattling hail; 
 And I thought with grateful spirit, * what a glorious 
 
 God is ours, 
 So mighty in the tempest, so gentle in the 
 
 flowers ' ! 
 And I saw within the darkness, in the paths that 
 
 mortals tread, 
 In the land of grief and parting, of the mourning 
 
 and the dead, 
 How God, with loving mercy softening the painful 
 
 blow, 
 Leaves joy to gild our sorrow, like flowers in time 
 
 of snow." 
 
 Dr. Smith's visits at "The Old 
 Elms " were always looked forward to 
 with pleasure by old and young, for 
 he never came without leaving some 
 agreeable memory. One day on look- 
 ing at some beautiful flowers, a lady 
 said, "Will there be anything in heaven 
 more beautiful ? " Ouick as thought 
 
Under the Old Elms. 25 
 
 the reply came, " There everlasting 
 Spring abides, and never-withering flow- 
 ers." His lips were always ready to 
 give expression to the poetry which 
 was in his heart. At a large reception 
 one day, Dr. Smith's poetic fervor was 
 kindled by some expression of the lady 
 with whom he was conversing, and all 
 at once there was a lull in the conver- 
 sation, and an almost audible smile on 
 every countenance ; Dr. Smith had be- 
 come oblivious of his surroundings, 
 and had thrown himself on his knees 
 before the lady, and was pouring forth 
 some exquisite lines which had at that 
 moment fired his soul. 
 
 Dr. Holmes once said of him, " I 
 thought I was as bright as Smith 
 when we were in college together, 
 but Smith has gone far beyond me. 
 Smith's 'America' is sung on every 
 
26 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 mountain-top, in mid-ocean, and in 
 the darkest mines ; and will continue 
 to be sung as long as our country 
 endures. It opens or closes every 
 patriotic festival, and is familiar in 
 every schoolroom throughout the coun- 
 try. Smith's hymn is known where- 
 ever America is known. To write a 
 hymn that is sung with enthusiasm 
 by seventy millions of people over 
 this broad continent, and in every 
 land 0:1 the globe, is what I call 
 fame." 
 
 Dear Dr. Smith! Of all those of 
 his generation who used to tread the 
 paths under "The Old Elms," he 
 alone is left. 
 
 One pleasant summer's day Mr. 
 Whittier, Mrs. Stowe, and Mrs. Bailey, 
 wife of the editor of The National Era, 
 
Under the Old Elms. 27 
 
 the paper in which " Uncle Tom's 
 Cabin " was first published, met at 
 "The Old Elms." Was it not a rare 
 trio? — the three people who had more 
 to do with the overthrow of slavery 
 than any other three in the whole 
 country, — Mr. Whittier, with his soul- 
 stirring poems ; and Mrs. Stowe, whose 
 story has gone everywhere and been 
 translated into more languages than 
 any other book except the Bible ; and 
 Dr. Bailey, the gentlemanly and schol- 
 arly editor of The National Era, to 
 whom belongs the credit of daring to 
 publish an anti-slavery paper in the 
 midst of a community where slavery 
 was cherished as a divine institution, 
 and where the highest powers of the 
 land were legislating to uphold and ex- 
 tend the system that cursed our fair 
 country. Dr. Bailey's home in Wash- 
 
28 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 ington was the social centre of the lead- 
 ing progressive men from every part 
 of the country. At his Saturday even- 
 ing receptions one was sure to meet 
 Chief Justice Chase, Charles Sumner, 
 Henry Wilson, Joshua Giddings, and 
 many others. 
 
 Mrs. Stowe was often one of the 
 company ; and in such a gathering 
 there was much brilliant conversation, 
 and many a wise plan was formed for 
 the overthrow of slavery. Sumner 
 often remarked that the lack of social 
 life among the New England people in 
 Washington was to be deplored : " For," 
 he said, "more plans were made, and 
 more political intrigues matured, around 
 the dinner-tables of the Southern 
 politicians than ever the cool-headed, 
 hard-working, honest Northerners con- 
 ceived." 
 
Under the Old Elms. 29 
 
 Dr. Bailey's drawing-room was the 
 only place where the leading pro- 
 gressive men from the North and 
 West could meet the leaders of ad- 
 vanced thought in Congress. Mr. 
 Whittier was editor of The National 
 Era with Dr. Bailey, at the time 
 "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published. 
 
30 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 III. 
 
 Henry Wilson spent much time at 
 "The Old Elms." It was the rest- 
 ing-place where he found congenial 
 companionship, and where he could 
 lay aside his harassing cares. He 
 was a hard-working, fearless man in 
 Congress ; and the threatening atti- 
 tude of his Southern antagonists made 
 his position in Washington anything 
 but comfortable. 
 
 Mr. Sumner and Mr. Wilson were 
 in perfect accord in politics, and were 
 close friends. Sometimes when they 
 met at " The Old Elms," it was inter- 
 esting to note the contrast in the two 
 men : Sumner was always stately and 
 
Under the Old Elms. 31 
 
 dignified, while Mr. Wilson was care- 
 less in his language in ordinary conver- 
 sation. He often said, " Sumner is in 
 agony when I rise to speak in the 
 Senate, for fear Massachusetts will be 
 disgraced by my bad grammar." 
 
 Mr. Sumner said, "Do you think 
 Wilson will murder the king's English 
 when he is in England as he does 
 here ? " But, strange to say, careless 
 as Mr. Wilson was in every-day life, and 
 forgetful as he was of social etiquette 
 and requirements, he rarely made 
 a grammatical error in his public 
 speeches ; and he commanded as much 
 respect and attention in the Senate as 
 any man who lifted his voice in that 
 august assembly. He was most enter- 
 taining in conversation ; and no man 
 had a better knowledge of the political 
 situation of the country than he. It 
 
32 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 must be remembered that Mr. Wilson 
 had no advantages of family, and, in his 
 youth, none of society or education. 1 
 He never went to school, and he had 
 only the light of a pine knot to read 
 by until after he was twenty-one years 
 of age. 
 
 His twenty-first birthday occurred 
 on a Saturday ; and the hard-fisted 
 old man with whom he had spent most 
 of his life, and whom he had faithfully 
 served, told him that he could remain 
 over Sunday in his house by pay- 
 ing fifty cents. Mr. Sumner had had 
 every advantage of family and position, 
 education and travel, and his mind was 
 stored with knowledge on almost all 
 subjects. 
 
 1 Mr. Wilson might have said with Gerald Massey : 
 " Having had to earn my own dear bread by the eternal 
 cheapening of flesh and blood thus early, I never knew 
 what childhood was." 
 
Under the Old Elms. 33 
 
 The two senators met one morning 
 at breakfast ; and Mr. Wilson (having 
 just arrived from his first and only visit 
 to Europe), displayed some lace he had 
 bought in Liverpool of a woman who 
 had made the poor, unsophisticated 
 man believe it was something very 
 choice. In truth, it was the coarsest 
 cotton lace that could be made. 
 
 Naturally, after this display, the con- 
 versation at the morning meal fell upon 
 lace ; and Mr. Sumner discoursed for an 
 hour on the different qualities of lace, 
 — where the finest might be found, 
 where the choicest bits of old altar- 
 lace were preserved, what kind of 
 lace Lady So-and-So wore when he 
 dined with her at Lord Palmerston's, 
 and what was the quality of Ma- 
 dame Thiers's lace when he dined 
 with the president of the French Re- 
 
34 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 public. Mr. Wilson's lace disappeared 
 from sight, and never again came to 
 notice. 
 
 Mr. Sumner's great versatility was 
 shown in his conversation one evening 
 at "The Old Elms," when he met there 
 a club of gentlemen who had come to- 
 gether for the purpose of discussing 
 the merits of Jersey cattle, the best 
 breeds to import, etc. I was appalled 
 when he arrived unexpectedly ; for I 
 thought surely he could not know 
 about cattle, or have any interest in 
 the purposes for which the club had 
 come together. What was my surprise 
 to find that he was conversant with all 
 the breeds of cattle in Europe, that he 
 knew about the methods of raising and 
 treating them, and which were consid- 
 ered the most profitable for importa- 
 tion, and much concerning the different 
 
Under the Old Elms. 35 
 
 brands of cheese and of butter. He en- 
 tertained the club the whole evening. 
 
 Some of the gentlemen were politi- 
 cally opposed to Mr. Sumner; but at 
 the close of the evening they were all 
 ready to vote for him for President of 
 the United States. I remember a de- 
 lightful visit from Mr. Sumner, when 
 he spent most of the time describing 
 President Thiers's manner of entertain- 
 ing his guests. He told every smallest 
 detail, — the arrangement of the table; 
 who were the guests ; how they were 
 seated ; how Madame Thiers conversed, 
 and how courteous her husband's man- 
 ner was toward her ; and how the Pres- 
 ident at the close of the dinner gathered 
 his guests around him as he sat upon 
 the sofa in the salon, and rehearsed the 
 speech he was to make the next day 
 in the French Assembly. "Thus," said 
 
$6 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 Mr. Sumner, " taking advantage of any 
 suggestion or criticism that might be 
 made before he gave the speech to the 
 public." 
 
 Mr. Sumner remarked one morning, 
 when he was full of reminiscences, " I 
 can never forget how very courteous 
 and cordial Lord Palmerston was to me 
 personally, and how extremely cold and 
 unresponsive he was to my subject. I 
 called on him (it was at the beginning 
 of the war) for the purpose of explain- 
 ing our position in the United States, 
 and the attitude of the North toward 
 the South. He listened coldly, and 
 my remarks were entirely unavailing. 
 It was with him as with most English 
 statesmen, though there were a few 
 noble exceptions — Cobden was a firm 
 friend of the North, as was John Bright, 
 all through our contest with the South. 
 
Under the Old Elms. 37 
 
 A friend on his return from England 
 gave us an account of his interview 
 with Cobden. He said, " I called one 
 morning and asked Mr. Cobden if he 
 were sufficiently interested in the af- 
 fairs of our country to give me a 
 little time. Cobden replied, 'Inter- 
 ested, Sir ! My God, I cannot sleep 
 at night for interest ! ' " 
 
 Mr. Sumner believed that unity and 
 good-will among fellow-citizens could 
 only be assured through oblivion of 
 past differences ; and to this end he in- 
 troduced the following resolutions in 
 Congress : — 
 
 Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Re- 
 presentatives of the United States in Con- 
 gress assembled : — 
 That the names of battles with fellow-citizens 
 
 shall not be contained in the Army Registers or 
 
 placed on the regimental colors of the United 
 
 States. 
 
38 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 For his action in this regard he was 
 severely criticised, and received a vote 
 of censure from the Legislature of 
 Massachusetts. I well remember, in 
 an after-visit, his great distress, as he 
 paced the room, turning back his 
 massive locks and wiping the perspira- 
 tion from his brow, saying, " Have you 
 any reason to think Massachusetts 
 will ever rescind that vote ? " News 
 that the Legislature had decided to 
 blot out the obnoxious vote which had 
 caused him and his friends so much 
 pain, came to him just before his 
 death. He had exclaimed in his agony, 
 "When I am dead justice will not be 
 denied me." It was a matter of grati- 
 tude to his friends that he had the 
 satisfaction of knowing justice was 
 done to him by his beloved State while 
 he yet lived. His terrible physical 
 
Under the Old Elms, 39 
 
 suffering after the brutal attack of 
 Brooks in the Senate Chamber did not 
 equal his mental torture when the vote 
 of censure was passed upon him by the 
 Massachusetts legislature. This was 
 the bitterest trial of his political life. 
 
 Mr. Wilson had given his whole 
 thought and energy to the condition 
 of the country, and, first of all, to 
 the overthrow of slavery ; and when 
 he became an invalid (he was stricken 
 with paralysis soon after the close of 
 the war), his habits of life were so fixed 
 and had taken such strong hold upon 
 him that it was beyond the power of 
 those who sought to amuse him to in- 
 terest him in a game or a story. He 
 could not find diversion except in his 
 chosen line, and his physicians advised 
 him to put aside all work. He wished 
 
40 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 to try every school of medicine, and 
 not a quack advertisement escaped his 
 notice. Going one day to a person 
 who had advertised to cure every dis- 
 ease that flesh is heir to, he came back 
 to the family greatly amused, saying, — 
 " My new doctor said, ' There was 
 a man in to see me yesterday who 
 told me you was of some consequence, 
 and I must cure you ; now I want to 
 know who you be, and where you put 
 up. You ought to have very nourish- 
 ing provender.' I told the doctor I 
 had been stopping with Governor Claf- 
 lin. ' Well, now,' said he, * I want to 
 know if you get enough to eat there. 
 You must have good, wholesome food, 
 and enough of it. I've been to them 
 big houses where I couldn't get half 
 enough to eat ; they put on little 
 messes, and not enough of anything 
 
Under the Old Elms. 41 
 
 to satisfy a man. Such kind of liv- 
 ing, I tell you, won't answer for 
 you.'" 
 
 On Mr. Wilson's return from the 
 doctor's that day we were reminded 
 of Pope's definition of fame: — 
 
 "What's fame? 
 A fancied life in others' breath, 
 A thing beyond us e'en before our death." 
 
 This "doctor" experimented for a 
 while to no purpose, and Mr. Wilson 
 looked for the next quack, often tak- 
 ing the nostrums of three or four at 
 a time. 
 
 During Mr. Wilson's illness a great 
 number of letters were received from 
 every part of the country, showing 
 the high esteem in which he was 
 held by people of every shade of poli- 
 tics, and by men of the South whom 
 he had bitterly opposed in the Senate ; 
 
42 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 even by those who had threatened his 
 life. When he was stricken, and felt 
 that he was face to face with death, 
 almost his first coherent remark was, 
 "I have no ill-will against any man, 
 and I don't know that any one has 
 any ill-will toward me." As he rallied 
 from the first attack, the unrest which 
 usually follows in such cases took pos- 
 session of him, and it was touching 
 then to see Mr. Sumner's tender in- 
 terest in him. He wrote repeatedly 
 from the Senate Chamber to the 
 friends at "The Old Elms," — - " Take 
 good care of Wilson. Watch him, and 
 do not let him expose himself." But 
 the friends who would gladly have 
 served him found themselves helpless. 
 It was difficult to keep him from the 
 hands of charlatans and quacks, and 
 it was pathetic to see him wandering 
 
Under the Old Elms, 43 
 
 from place to place in search of rest. 
 When Mr. Sumner was seized with his 
 last illness, Mr. Wilson started for 
 Washington as soon as he heard the 
 news. Entirely unfit for such a jour- 
 ney, his friends were obliged to take 
 him, almost by force, back to his home. 
 
 Henry Wilson sleeps in the quiet 
 burial ground at Natick ; but his 
 works do follow him. 
 
 Mr. Whittier's noble tribute to him 
 is so just and true that I cannot for- 
 bear quoting some of its stanzas : — 
 
 " The lowliest born of all the land, 
 He wrung from Fate's reluctant hand 
 
 The gifts which happier boyhood claims; 
 And, tasting on a thankless soil 
 The bitter bread of unpaid toil, 
 
 He fed his soul with noble aims. 
 
 By the low hearth-fire's fitful blaze 
 He read of old heroic days, 
 
 The sage's thought, the patriot's speech: 
 
44 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 Unhelped, alone, himself he taught; 
 His school, the craft at which he wrought, 
 His lore, the book within his reach. 
 
 He felt his country's need; he knew 
 The work her children had to do; 
 
 And when, at last, he heard the call 
 In her behalf to serve and dare, 
 Beside his senatorial chair 
 
 He stood the unquestioned peer of all. 
 
 How wise, how brave he was, how well 
 He bore himself, let history tell. 
 
 While waves our flag o'er land and sea 
 No black thread in its warp or weft! 
 He found dissevered states ; he left 
 
 A grateful nation strong and free!" 
 
Under the Old Elms, 45 
 
 IV. 
 
 Mrs. Stowe and Mr. Whittier were 
 congenial spirits, and their favorite 
 amusement when they chanced to be 
 together at " The Old Elms " was tell- 
 ing ghost stories. The members of the 
 family, and whatever other guests were 
 present, were ready to throw aside 
 every occupation and pastime to listen 
 to their marvellous tales of ghosts and 
 goblins. Those days will live in the 
 memory of all who were fortunate 
 enough to hear from their lips stories 
 of rappings and ghostly visitations, and 
 of music from the spirit land. Mr. 
 Whittier would smite his knee, as was 
 his custom when anything pleased him, 
 
46 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 and Mrs. Stowe's merry laugh would 
 echo through the house. They would 
 sit up till the small hours of the morn- 
 ing, and until the lights burned blue, 
 to rehearse the most unlikely tales, as 
 if they believed them all. 
 
 Henry Ward Beecher often met his 
 sister, Mrs. Stowe, at "The Old Elms;" 
 and many a battle they fought on the 
 croquet ground in the shade of the 
 trees. They would play in a pouring 
 rain, and when the darkness of night 
 overtook them so that lanterns were 
 necessary to enable them to see the 
 wickets and the balls ; often becoming 
 so absorbed in their game that they 
 were unmindful of everything around 
 them. On one occasion an old friend 
 of their father's called, and expressed 
 a great desire to see the children of 
 his revered friend, Dr. Lyman Beecher. 
 
Under the Old Elms. 47 
 
 A message was sent to the field of 
 contest, informing them that their 
 father's friend desired to see them. 
 They paid no attention to the call ; and 
 soon a second message was sent, beg- 
 ging them to throw aside their mallets 
 and come in. Meanwhile, the hostess 
 talked against time, trying to divert 
 the aged visitor as best she could, until 
 a third request was sent, with like re- 
 sult ; when the gentleman reluctantly 
 rose, saying his train would be soon 
 due, and he should be obliged to take 
 his leave. Soon after he left, the two 
 culprits came slowly up the path to the 
 piazza, wiping their faces, and arguing 
 briskly about the position of the balls ; 
 each contending vigorously that he or 
 she would have obtained the victory if 
 the other had not hit the ball so-and-so. 
 
 An older sister of Mrs. Stowe's, who 
 
48 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 was sitting with the family on the 
 piazza, and who was more practical, 
 and less inclined to lose herself in cro- 
 quet and billiards, remarked as Mrs. 
 Stowe approached, " Sister Hattie, I 
 am ashamed of you ; I never was so 
 provoked with you in my life." In 
 the meekest possible tone, Mrs. Stowe 
 said, "Why, Sister Mary, what have 
 I done ? " Sister Mary's eyes snapped 
 when she said, " You have insulted our 
 father's old friend and Mrs. C. ; and 
 we have sat in tortures, racking our 
 brains to cover up your rudeness and 
 brother Henry's ; and finally the old 
 man departed, grieved and injured with 
 the conduct of the revered Dr. Beech- 
 er's recreant offspring." 
 
 " I am so sorry, sister Mary ; I 
 would not for the world injure any- 
 body's feelings ; do you really think 
 
Under the Old Elms. 49 
 
 pa's friend felt aggrieved ? " " Brother 
 Henry " hid himself behind a newspa- 
 per, leaving Mrs. Stowe to fight out the 
 battle, and soothed sister Mary's feel- 
 ings, by reminding her that she looked 
 very handsome when she was mad. 
 
 Mrs. Stowe had the power of with- 
 drawing from everything except the 
 one thing on her mind which wholly 
 engrossed her for the time being. She 
 could not be diverted from the idea 
 that had taken possession of her. Her 
 spirit seemed to leave the body in a 
 most remarkable way. I have known 
 her to wander from room to room, 
 humming softly to herself, seeming un- 
 conscious of everything about her, as 
 if she were in a trance ; and then, as 
 though she had been communing with 
 some spirit * from another sphere, she 
 would burst into eloquent language, a 
 
50 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 divine rhapsody, and entrance those 
 around her with what she had seen and 
 heard. She lived apparently more in 
 the upper air than in a world of action ; 
 and she always said, " I did not write 
 ' Uncle Tom's Cabin ; ' I was only the 
 instrument through which it was given 
 to the world." 
 
 Her conversations with her brother 
 at the hour of morning devotions were 
 inspiring beyond any thing I have ever 
 listened to. On one occasion, when 
 she was soaring in the clouds, she 
 all at once burst into an ecstasy 
 and said, " When I laid my head 
 upon my pillow last night, one thought 
 took possession of me, and I could 
 not close my eyes through the long 
 night watches. It was this, 'Jesus 
 Christ has lived and died, and what is 
 all the world beside?'" And then, 
 
Under the Old Elms. 51 
 
 as if inspired, she talked of heavenly 
 sights and sounds. 
 
 Mrs. Stowe had an enthusiastic love 
 for flowers, and a marvellous gift for 
 reproducing them. When she was 
 visiting "The Old Elms" she ran out 
 one morning regardless of the pouring 
 rain, and gathered a large bunch of 
 nasturtiums, which she put so deftly 
 upon canvas that we hold the picture 
 as one of our choicest treasures. She 
 loved the birds and the animals about 
 the place ; and on one occasion when 
 she was coming to visit me, she wrote 
 that she wished me to be prepared 
 to receive a cat which she should 
 bring with her. She was on her way 
 from Concord; and she said the cat 
 had been educated in Concord, and 
 that it had Emersonian tendencies, 
 and she hoped, therefore, that it 
 
52 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 would be hospitably received and en- 
 tertained. 
 
 The clergymen of the neighborhood 
 were accustomed to meet in the bowl- 
 ing-alley, and the excitement often ran 
 high between the Wesleyans on the 
 one side and the Calvinists on the 
 other. There was, however, no dis- 
 tinction of persons or creeds at "The 
 Old Elms," and the balls rolled as im- 
 partially for the Calvinists as they did 
 for the Wesleyans. 
 
 On an occasion when Henry Ward 
 Beecher was visiting " The Old Elms," 
 I thought, it would be a pleasant 
 surprise to the distinguished preacher 
 if I invited some of the clergy in 
 our neighborhood to meet him ; but 
 it proved to be an inauspicious time. 
 The preachers came, but the lion of 
 
Under the Old Elms. 53 
 
 the evening was not disposed to roar. 
 He retired to the library, where some 
 of the bolder clergy followed him, one 
 of whom ventured to ask him what was 
 his method of preparing his sermons. 
 Mr. Beecher's reply almost upset the 
 poor country divine, who spent much 
 of the week on his sermons, and was 
 quite used up by Saturday night, as 
 he said, " I prepare my morning ser- 
 mon Sunday morning after breakfast, 
 and my evening sermon after dinner." 
 One of the clergy, somewhat at a 
 loss for conversation, broke out sud- 
 denly with this question, which would 
 have been proper enough in the pri- 
 vacy of his own study, " Brother, 
 what is the state of religion in your 
 church ? " The " brother " was indis- 
 posed to discuss the state of religion 
 in his church then and there, and 
 
54 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 at once turned the conversation to 
 flowers and trees, in which he always 
 delighted. 
 
 Mr. Beecher, the most genial and 
 sympathetic of men, had moods in 
 which he was withdrawn from all 
 about him, and as inaccessible as an 
 unsealed mountain peak. Unfortunate, 
 then, were those who through igno- 
 rance or daring presumed to intrude 
 upon him. 
 
Under the Old Elms, 55 
 
 Mrs. Stowe loved " The Old Elms ; " 
 and when Messrs. Houghton and Mif- 
 flin, her publishers, proposed celebrat- 
 ing her seventieth birthday, she 
 thought it would be pleasant to have 
 the fete on the lawn there. Accord- 
 ingly on the 1 2th of June, 1882, a goodly 
 company assembled to honor the mod- 
 est woman, who had become famous 
 among all English-speaking people on 
 both sides of the Atlantic. A large 
 tent was spread on the lawn under 
 the elms, and never did a more nota- 
 ble company gather together. Every 
 one who had written a book or sung a 
 song came to do her homage. The sun 
 
56 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 never shone more brightly, the birds 
 piped their sweetest notes, and the old 
 elms swayed and nodded in the gentle 
 breeze, as if to do their part in honor- 
 ing her. 
 
 This was the neighborhood of the 
 scenes described in " Old-Town Folks ; " 
 and the elms under whose shade the 
 gathering was held might have whis- 
 pered much about the quaint contem- 
 poraries of Sam' Lawson, could they 
 have told what had passed beneath 
 them. 
 
 The place of Mrs. Stowe in American 
 letters was significantly indicated in the 
 poems offered and the speeches made 
 during these birthday exercises. The 
 distinction of having given that power- 
 ful book, " Uncle Tom's Cabin," to the 
 world was never more charmingly em- 
 phasized than on that memorable after- 
 
Under the Old Elms. 57 
 
 noon. A ray of sunlight that came 
 in through an opening in the tent il- 
 lumined dear Mr. Whittier's face as he 
 sat on the platform, and the people 
 waited breathlessly to hear what he 
 had to say, when all at once he stole 
 silently out and left another to read 
 his exquisite poem: — 
 
 "Thrice welcome from the land of flowers 
 And golden-fruited orange bowers 
 To this sweet, green-turfed June of ours ! 
 To her, who in our evil time 
 Dragged into light the nation's crime, 
 With strength beyond the strength of men, 
 And, mightier than their sword, her pen; 
 To her who world-wide entrance gave 
 To the log cabin of the slave, 
 Made all his wrongs and sorrows known, 
 And all earth's languages his own ! — 
 Welcome from each and all to her 
 Whose Wooing of the Minister 
 Revealed the warm heart of the man 
 Beneath the creed-bound Puritan, 
 And taught the kinship of the love 
 Of man below and God above. 
 
58 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 To her, whose vigorous pencil strokes 
 Sketched into life her Oldtown Folks; 
 Whose fireside stories, grave or gay, 
 In quaint Sam Lawson's vagrant way, 
 With old New England's flavor rife, 
 Waifs from her rude idyllic life, 
 Are racy as the legends old 
 By Chaucer or Boccaccio told. 
 
 Ah ! dearer than the praise that stirs 
 
 The air to-day, our love is hers ! 
 
 She needs no guarantee of fame 
 
 Whose own is linked with Freedom's name. 
 
 Long ages after ours shall keep 
 
 Her memory living while we sleep; 
 
 The waves that wash our gray coast lines, 
 
 The winds that rock the Southern pines, 
 
 Shall sing of her; the unending years 
 
 Shall tell her tale in unborn ears. 
 
 And when, with sins and follies past, 
 
 Are numbered color-hate and caste, 
 
 White, black, and red shall own as one, . 
 
 The noblest work by woman done." 
 
 And then came Dr. Holmes, who was 
 greeted with a storm of applause, his 
 face beaming with inimitable humor, in 
 perfect contrast with the calm, sober 
 
Under the Old Elms. 59 
 
 face of Mr. Whittier. His poem was 
 full of witty allusions. 
 
 If every tongue that speaks her praise 
 For whom I shape my tinkling phrase 
 
 Were summoned to the table, 
 The vocal chorus that would meet 
 Of mingling accents harsh or sweet 
 From every land and tribe would beat 
 
 The polyglots of Babel. 
 
 Know her ! Who knows not Uncle Tom 
 And her he learned his gospel from 
 
 Has never heard of Moses; 
 Full well the brave black hand we know 
 That gave to freedom's grasp the hoe 
 That killed the weed that used to grow 
 
 Among the Southern roses. 
 
 Sister, the holy maid does well 
 
 Who counts her beads in convent cell, 
 
 Where pale devotion lingers; 
 But she who serves the sufferer's needs, 
 Whose prayers are spelt in loving deeds, 
 May trust the Lord will count her beads 
 
 As well as human fingers. 
 
 When Truth herself was Slavery's slave, 
 Thy hand the prisoned suppliant gave 
 The rainbow wings of fiction, 
 
6o Under the Old Elms. 
 
 And Truth, who soared, descends to-day 
 Bearing an angel's wreath away, 
 Its lilies at thy feet to lay 
 
 With heaven's own benediction. 
 
 To close the festivities Mrs. Stowe 
 came forward, the company rising and 
 remaining standing in her honor, and 
 applauding her most heartily. The 
 sweet, gentle face, crowned with its 
 locks of silver, the slightly bowed form 
 trembling with the joy and emotion of 
 this supreme moment, the group of 
 expectant, loving faces around and 
 about her, made a sight never to be 
 forgotten. Mrs. Stowe closed her lit- 
 tle speech by telling a story of an old 
 colored man whom she knew at the 
 South, who " owned an orange grove 
 and a house, and heads of cattle and 
 heads of horses, and heads of hens, and 
 ten head of children," as he expressed 
 
Under the Old Elms, 61 
 
 it ; and " they are all his own," said 
 Mrs. Stowe, in her enthusiastic way. 
 
 The whole company joined in Eliza- 
 beth Stuart Phelps's wish for Mrs. 
 Stowe : — 
 
 " Oh, wait to make her blessed, happy world, 
 
 To which she looketh onward ardently; 
 Lie distant, distant far, ye streets of gold, 
 
 Where up and down light-hearted spirits walk 
 And wonder that they stay so long away; 
 
 Be patient for her coming from our skies 
 Who will love Heaven better keeping her, 
 
 This only ask we : when from power to praise 
 She moves and when from peace to joy, be hers 
 
 To know she hath the life eternal, since 
 Her own heart's dearest wish did meet her there ! " 
 
 The band discoursed sweet music ; 
 Mrs. Humphrey Allen's voice mingled 
 with the bird-songs ; and the perfect day 
 ended in a glorious sunset. 
 
 It was truly an interesting spectacle 
 to see standing about in groups under 
 the elms, Whittier, Dr. Holmes, Mr. 
 
62 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 and Mrs. E. P. Whipple, T. B. Aldrich, 
 Louise Chandler Moulton, Dr. Lyman 
 Abbott, Mr. and Mrs. James T. Fields, 
 A. Bronson Alcott, Elizabeth Stuart 
 Phelps, Lucy Larcom, Henry Ward 
 Beecher, Edward Beecher, Dr. Stowe, 
 and dear Mrs. Stowe, the person in 
 all the distinguished company most 
 unconscious of fame and modest in her 
 bearing. 
 
 On the evening before the fete a 
 large barge filled with pretty girls from 
 Wellesley College drove up the avenue, 
 and alighted under the window where 
 Mrs. Stowe was sitting, and burst into 
 sweet and heartfelt song, so that all the 
 acres echoed with their music. 
 
 The only unfavorable criticism con- 
 cerning Mrs. Stowe's fete was from 
 the pen of Henry Ward Beecher, her 
 
Under the Old Elms. 63 
 
 brother. He wrote : " Mrs. Stowe s cel- 
 ebration was very good ; but one 
 marked exception is to be regretted. 
 Not a colored man or woman was 
 there ! Were none invited ? . . . Would 
 it not have been worthy of the occasion 
 if the Jubilee Singers could have been 
 present, who were born in slavery, but 
 who turned musical notes into bricks, 
 and built one of the noblest colleges in 
 the land — Fiske University, a castle 
 built in the air and ot the air ! " 
 
 Not long after the fete the Jubilee 
 Singers came to " The Old Elms," and 
 entertained us with their songs and 
 dances ; they came with beaming faces 
 and merry voices. When the singers 
 left the house I expressed the hope that 
 they had enjoyed the afternoon as 
 much as I had. One tall, very black 
 man, with his mouth stretched from ear 
 
64 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 to ear, and his white teeth shining al- 
 most across the lawn, replied, "Well, I 
 reckon I could beat ye on that." 
 
 To look upon the company of well- 
 dressed, intelligent men and women, 
 who had been a few months before re- 
 garded as chattels, bought and sold, 
 with no right to husband or wife or 
 children, or even to their own soul, — 
 to see them contented and happy, to 
 listen to their pleasant voices and 
 watch their graceful rhythmic motions, 
 as they danced upon the lawn ; all this 
 filled our hearts with joy, and made us 
 realize that the long, dreadful months 
 we had passed through during the war, 
 when every home was turned into a 
 hospital or a packing-house for the sol- 
 diers, had not been in vain. The hall 
 at "The Old Elms " was never without 
 
Under the Old Elms. 65 
 
 boxes or barrels waiting to be filled 
 with dainties for the soldiers ; with jel- 
 lies, sweetmeats, under-clothing, fans, 
 books, anything and everything that 
 could be thought of for their comfort. 
 No man or woman or child crossed the 
 threshold without being reminded, that 
 there was room for more in the waiting 
 boxes, in those days when every house 
 was a house of mourning, or of anxious 
 expectancy about some absent member. 
 
66 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Chief Justice Chase was one of 
 the most charming visitors at " The 
 Old Elms." He was full of inter- 
 est in everything that pertained to 
 the welfare of the country, and he 
 talked with enthusiastic knowledge up- 
 on every question that was before the 
 people ; yet he was always ready to 
 join in the sports of the young people, 
 at the bowling-alley, or on the croquet 
 ground. He was a man of magnifi- 
 cent proportions, tall, and elegant in 
 his bearing. When he was visiting 
 us at one time, we invited Governor 
 Bullock, who was then the executive 
 of the State, to dine with him. As I 
 
Under the Old Elms, 67 
 
 offered my escort to the chief justice 
 to go to the dining-room, taking it 
 for granted that the chief justice of 
 the United States was a more impor- 
 tant personage than a governor of a 
 State, he whispered in my ear, "You 
 have made a mistake ; the governor 
 is always sovereign in his own State ; 
 you should have escorted him to the 
 dining-room." 
 
 Of course I was grateful to my dis- 
 tinguished guest, and chagrined at my 
 own ignorance. The order of seating 
 people at the dinner-table is a matter 
 of great importance, I learned, among 
 titled and official people. I once knew 
 a senator in Washington who declined 
 to go to the table because he was not 
 given just the place he fancied his 
 position entitled him to; and another, 
 who took the seat allotted him, but 
 
68 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 would not speak through the entire 
 dinner. 
 
 Mrs. Charles Francis Adams, whose 
 husband represented us at the Court 
 of St. James at a critical time during 
 the war, when we were severely criti- 
 cised and snubbed, said to me, after 
 her return from London, " I never took 
 a step, I never entered a room, without 
 inquiring of some one who knew the 
 etiquette of court circles ; for I wished 
 my country should not be disgraced 
 by any mistake of mine." Mrs. Adams 
 was " to the manner born ; " she had 
 had every advantage of wealth and cul- 
 ture, of education and travel, and knew 
 the importance of proper attention to 
 form and ceremony in official circles. 
 
 John Bright was held in such high 
 estimation by all patriots in our coun- 
 
Under the Old Elms. 69 
 
 try who were laboring for the aboli- 
 tion of slavery, and was so in accord 
 with us at the North during our strug- 
 gles for emancipation, often express- 
 ing a wish to meet the leaders in the 
 conflict, especially our beloved Whit- 
 tier, that we wished in every possible 
 way to show our appreciation of his 
 sympathy, and of his actual services 
 in our behalf in England, where we 
 had little affinity or even recognition. 
 John Bright himself could not be per- 
 suaded to cross the ocean, greatly as 
 he desired to see our country of hope 
 and promise ; but his eldest son (now 
 a member of Parliament) came in his 
 stead, and we were glad to do him 
 honor for his father's sake. 
 
 He accepted our invitation to visit 
 "The Old Elms," and a right merry 
 time we had of it. It so happened 
 
70 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 there were a number of young ladies 
 at the house ; and young Bright, being 
 on pleasure intent, and not at all 
 weighted with the responsibilities of 
 state which oppressed his noble father, 
 cared little whether the slaves were 
 free or not, if only he could have 
 a " jolly" time. 
 
 He was a typical Englishman, hand- 
 some, gay, and full of robust health. 
 The house rang with the merriment 
 of the young people, and the days were 
 not long enough for their frolics. 
 When night came they resorted to the 
 bowling-alley, and played " skittles," 
 as young Bright called the bowling, 
 until eleven o'clock ; then on our put- 
 ting out the lights and dismissing the 
 boys (having mercy on the little fel- 
 lows who had patiently set up the 
 pins for three hours), he said, "I am 
 
Under the Old Elms. 71 
 
 having an awfully jolly time; could 
 we not have another round? I hope 
 you do not retire early." 
 
 Being plain country folk, and accus- 
 tomed to sleep before the midnight 
 hour, we were obliged to disappoint 
 our guest; but it was well into the 
 small hours of the morning before he 
 went to his room. His visit has been 
 a pleasant memory, and the young 
 ladies at least will not forget it. He 
 left us to make a tour through the 
 country, but several times returned 
 and amazed us with accounts of his 
 adventures in the New World. 
 
 The Rev. Newman Hall, of London, 
 spent his first night in America under 
 the elms. He was at a loss to know, 
 when he retired for the night, if he 
 could be sure of safety in a country 
 
72 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 where there was no king or queen. 
 He affected great ignorance of our 
 customs in this new and benighted 
 republic, and doubtless many of our 
 ways were new and strange to him ; 
 but I never felt quite sure that he 
 was really as ignorant as he pretended 
 to be when he asked if the water- 
 melons we offered him " grew on trees," 
 and begged to be informed "where 
 the heat in the rooms came from," ask- 
 ing that he might be taken to the 
 cellar to see the source of the heat. 
 He was more ignorant of our laws 
 and customs than I should suppose 
 it possible for any intelligent man to 
 be who understood our language. He 
 could not comprehend our system of 
 public schools. It was difficult to 
 make him understand where the work- 
 ing people lived. " Surely," he said, 
 
Under the Old Elms. 73 
 
 " people who work at day labor cannot 
 live in the comfortable cottages we 
 are passing as we drive." The Rev. 
 Newman Hall spent some time at 
 "The Old Elms," but he did not 
 readily adapt himself to the customs 
 of New England people. 
 
 Principal Fairbain, of Mansfield Col- 
 lege, Oxford, England, and Professor 
 Henry Drummond, of world-wide fame, 
 were among the guests who gave great 
 pleasure to the dwellers under the 
 elms. They were full of interest in 
 the work which they came to accom- 
 plish, and the pleasant impression they 
 left behind them when they returned to 
 their own country will never be forgot- 
 ten. They are held in grateful remem- 
 brance by all who had the pleasure of 
 meeting them. 
 
74 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 I shall never forget the beautiful pic- 
 ture that Principal Fairbain made on 
 the lawn under the elms with a com- 
 pany of little girls grouped about him, — 
 he, with his fascinating Scotch brogue 
 and his typical Scotch face, talking to 
 the girls who met there weekly to learn 
 sewing, and to talk about good manners, 
 and what best to do with their lives, 
 and how they could make themselves 
 useful, and how they might help others 
 less favored than they were. Many of 
 the children were of Scotch parentage, 
 and they stood with wide-open eyes and 
 ears to catch every word. It was inter- 
 esting to listen to this wise, kindly man 
 as he tried to adapt his language to the 
 little children. 
 
 One day we drove from "The Old 
 Elms " to Concord that he might see 
 the homes of Emerson, Alcott, and 
 
Under the Old Elms. 75 
 
 Hawthorne and the quiet hillside of 
 their last repose. It was most pleasant 
 to take him to places of interest, and 
 to show him anything peculiarly Amer- 
 ican, because of his quick interest and 
 cordial courtesy and ready comprehen- 
 sion of our life. There seems to be a 
 community of feeling between Ameri- 
 cans and Scotchmen that is lacking 
 many times with the English : this 
 was eminently true of Principal Fair- 
 bain, who seemed to enjoy every phase 
 of American life. 
 
 He was not disposed to criticise and 
 carp at what he saw in our country of 
 achievement and promise ; and he did 
 not in the least agree with the distin- 
 guished Englishman who visited us not 
 long since, and pronounced America a 
 very uninteresting place. 
 
76 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 Professor Drummond captivated all 
 hearts ; and his words led us to realize 
 more than ever the beauty of this life, 
 and the glories of the next, of which 
 many who heard him said he gave them 
 a foretaste. He taught those who lis- 
 tened to him to follow that One 
 Teacher, who among all philosophers 
 of the world's history has associated 
 learning with character, charity, peace, 
 love, eternity — who said, " Learn of 
 Me, and ye shall find rest to your 
 souls." He said, "If I held truth cap- 
 tive in my hand, I should open my hand 
 and let it fly away in order that I might 
 again pursue and capture it." 
 
 Professor Drummond's delicate spir- 
 itual face expressed his humane, lofty 
 thoughts. It was a pleasure to look 
 upon him as well as to listen to 
 him. 
 
Under the Old Elms. 77 
 
 VII. 
 
 In the year 1877 a move was made 
 to sell the Old South Meeting House, 
 which stands at the head of Milk 
 Street. There was a great uprising 
 among the people, who wished to save 
 it as a monument of the old time where 
 so much relating to Revolutionary 
 days had been enacted. Miss Susan 
 Hale personated Madam Norton, who 
 gave the land upon which the old 
 church stands ; and for the purpose of 
 raising money to swell the fund for the 
 purchase of the church, she held a re- 
 ception at "The Old Elms." The invi- 
 tation is shown in fac simile (reduced) 
 on the following page : — 
 
78 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 Madam Mary Norton 
 
 Has returned to Bofton, after long Abfence, to make In- 
 quiry regarding the Garden which fhe gave for the Building 
 of the 
 
 Old South Meeting-Houfe. 
 
 Madam Norton has received from divers Pens, Verfes and 
 other Writings inftructing her in the Hiftory of the Meeting- 
 Houfe, in the Years fince fhe left Bofton. 
 
 She hopes for the honor of your Company at the Refidence 
 of the 
 
 Hon. William Claflin, Newtonville, 
 
 to hear thefe Writings read, on 
 
 Saturday Afternoon, October Sixth, Eighteen 
 Hundred and Seventy-feven, 
 
 at 4.00 o'clock, precisely. 
 Thefe writings are by 
 
 James Freeman Clarke, 
 William Everett, 
 James T. Fields, 
 Edward Everett Hale, 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes, 
 Rev. S. F. Smith, D.D. 
 Samuel M. Quiney, and others, 
 and Madam Norton hopes that thefe Friends will, themfelves, 
 honor her by reading what they have written. 
 
 Mr. I. F. Kingfbury, Mrs. A. J. Rogers, Mrs. M. A. 
 Cole, and Mr. J. W. Davis, have, at Madam Norton's requeft, 
 kindly confented to fing, and Mrs. J. A. Waldo to play. 
 
 Original Ballads are expected from Mr. Longfellow, and 
 Mr. Whittier. 
 
Under the Old Elms, 79 
 
 Many gathered to hear what Madam 
 Norton had to say ; and here, as at 
 many other places where she held 
 forth, a considerable sum of money 
 was raised to supplement Mrs. Mary 
 Hemenway's munificent gift for the 
 purchase of the meeting-house which 
 had stood in the centre of Boston for 
 more than a century. 
 
 Mrs. Hemenway desired that this 
 meeting-house around which clustered 
 so many memories of other days, and 
 which had been the scene of all those 
 great uprisings which ended in our in- 
 dependence, should be left as an object 
 lesson of inspiration and patriotism to 
 the younger generation. The meeting- 
 house, which was crowned the " Sanc- 
 tuary of Freedom," through these patri- 
 otic gifts was saved to Boston ; and Mrs. 
 Hemenway, one of the most remark- 
 
8o Under the Old Elms. 
 
 able women of this century, had the 
 satisfaction of seeing her work accom- 
 plished. 
 
 She originated and carried out many- 
 plans for the advancement of the young 
 people of our time, for their instruc- 
 tion in patriotism, and for inspiring 
 them with a love of country. By keep- 
 ing before them constantly through lec- 
 tures and lessons at what cost our 
 liberties were bought, by providing 
 means to improve their physical condi- 
 tion, and by arousing in the people a 
 desire to know something of pre-his- 
 toric America through archaeological 
 researches, she conferred a priceless 
 boon on the rising generation. 
 
 By her own efforts, and at her own 
 expense, she unearthed a city in Ari- 
 zona, two miles in extent, which is said 
 by archaeologists to have been buried 
 
Under the Old Elms. Si 
 
 thousands of years. She took from 
 the buried city numberless treasures, 
 which were pronounced by a congress 
 of scientists in Berlin to be of the 
 greatest value, proving our continent to 
 be "not the New World," but perhaps 
 the most ancient. Who else has done 
 what Mrs. Hemenway has done, and 
 to whom do we owe so much ? 
 
 She sometimes drove from her coun- 
 try place in Milton, and sat on the 
 piazza under the shade of the elms ; and 
 that she may have conceived there 
 some of her wonderful schemes for the 
 good of the world, and especially of our 
 own country, renders all the sweeter 
 the rustle of the leaves and the mur- 
 muring of the brook, to which she lis- 
 tened. Her kindly bearing, her noble 
 response to everything proposed for the 
 benefit of humanity, her hopeful atti- 
 
82 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 tude towards the world, made her pres- 
 ence and spirit never to be forgotten. 
 
 Dr. Kirk, the eloquent preacher of 
 Boston, came often to "The Old Elms " 
 for rest and refreshment, and he always 
 gave more than he took away. His con- 
 versation was most inspiring and instruc- 
 tive. He was proficient in all the graces 
 and elegances of life ; and in his day 
 no one excelled him in pulpit eloquence, 
 or in those conversational gifts that 
 made him sought by the best society. 
 
 Pere Hyacinth, when he was in 
 this country, was invited to meet Dr. 
 Kirk; and several gentlemen, all of 
 whom were supposed to be familiar 
 with the French language, came to 
 dine with the distinguished foreigner at 
 my table. Each gentleman in turn tried 
 to enter into conversation with Pere 
 
Under the Old Elms. 83 
 
 Hyacinth, who could not speak or un- 
 derstand one word of English. 
 
 Dr. Kirk was the only person whose 
 French was available for conversation, 
 for the pronunciation of the other gen- 
 tlemen was not what the accomplished 
 stranger had been accustomed to. One 
 of the guests, in his great desire to 
 converse with Pere Hyacinth, said, " I 
 will try Latin." But, alas ! his Latin 
 was pronounced in accordance with the 
 English system, and Pere Hyacinth's 
 with the Continental ; and that attempt 
 also failed. It may be imagined the 
 dinner was not a great social success. 
 Conversation dragged and grated like 
 the keel of a boat upon a sand-bar in a 
 river at low tide. But for Dr. Kirk's 
 tact and perfect French, silence would 
 have settled down upon the whole com- 
 pany. 
 
84 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 During Dr. Kirk's last years he was 
 deprived of sight. His life had been 
 spent in study, and his love of all beau- 
 tiful things in nature had filled his 
 lonely life (he was without wife or 
 child) ; but at the last, when earthly 
 objects were fading from his sight, 
 he found perfect peace and comfort in 
 his visions of the heavenly city, which 
 were so real that he often said, " I do 
 not care to see earthly scenes, for it 
 would, I fear, interrupt my views of 
 the celestial country." And so he 
 went away; and "The Old Elms" 
 mourned the loss of one who had loved 
 its flowers and shaded paths, and made 
 the home there dearer for his presence. 
 
 Mr. Henry F. Durant, that rare man 
 of consecrated genius and shrewd com- 
 mon sense, was a close friend of Dr. 
 
Under the Old Elms. 85 
 
 Kirk; and together those two devoted 
 men often met at " The Old Elms " to 
 consider how best Mr. Durant could 
 use his large fortune to promote and 
 advance the kingdom of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ on earth. Mr. Durant had a 
 beautiful boy, his only child, for whom 
 he was preparing and adorning a fine 
 estate, upon which he intended to build 
 a family mansion. He was in the midst 
 of life, being yet not forty years of age, 
 and in the height of his fame, when his 
 boy was attacked with that fell disease, 
 diphtheria, and in one week was re- 
 moved from his earthly sight forever. 
 
 This crushing blow changed the 
 whole current of his life ; during that 
 week his hair turned white as snow ; he 
 gave up the profession of law in which 
 he had become renowned, and resolved 
 that henceforth his life and his fortune 
 
86 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 should be consecrated to God. For five 
 years he labored and studied, going up 
 and down through the country, consult- 
 ing wise men and prominent educators 
 as to the best way of using his fortune 
 for the greatest good of mankind. 
 
 At length, led as he fully believed by 
 the Divine Spirit, he decided that to 
 found an institution for the broadest 
 Christian education of women was the 
 wisest thing he could do ; hence he built 
 and equipped Wellesley College, which 
 stands to-day as a noble monument to 
 his memory, though he forbade the use 
 of his name in connection with it, say- 
 ing always, "It is God's college, not 
 mine." 
 
 The college hall stands in the midst 
 of the beautiful trees he had planted, 
 and on the borders of the lake he had 
 prepared for the home of his boy. It 
 
Under the Old Elms. 87 
 
 is furnished with everything that is re- 
 quired in the best institutions of learn- 
 ing, with the most approved apparatus 
 for scientific pursuits, with a library of 
 nearly sixty thousand choice books, and 
 an art building with a fine collection of 
 paintings and statuary. This noble 
 college, the largest in the world for 
 women, and probably the most thor- 
 oughly equipped for its purposes, has 
 been for years one of the chief inter- 
 ests of the dwellers at "The Old 
 Elms," and the friends who gather 
 there. There Mr. Durant often came 
 to consider and mature his plans ; and 
 there, later, came the bright young col- 
 lege girls from every state in the Union 
 to make the fields and meadows re- 
 sound with their merry voices, to wan- 
 der through the paths under the elms, 
 and to gather wild flowers that grew 
 beside the brook. 
 
88 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 Mr. Durant lived only long enough 
 to see the college well started, and to 
 be assured that he had made no mis- 
 take in the disposition of his fortune. 
 The college was planned to accommo- 
 date three hundred students. It has 
 been enlarged year after year, until 
 now nearly a thousand are scattered 
 through its beautiful halls and cottages. 
 Mrs. Durant has devoted her life to the 
 interests of the college, and as far as 
 possible has carried out her husband's 
 wishes. 
 
 Ex-President and Mrs. Hayes were 
 among the friends who were most wel- 
 come at the " Elms." President 
 Hayes, with his quiet dignity and re- 
 serve, when questioned, related his 
 army experiences with great enthu- 
 siasm. His tender interest in his sol- 
 
Under the Old Elms. 89 
 
 diers impressed us with his warm, 
 self-sacrificing heart. One incident of 
 his army life is worth repeating if only 
 as a practical lesson. 
 
 " A terrible thunder-storm," said he, 
 "occurred on a mountain-side where 
 my troops were bivouacked. The light- 
 ning flashed as I never saw it flash be- 
 fore, and my men were terrified. Soon 
 a report was brought to me that our 
 provision wagons were struck and scat- 
 tered to the four winds, and seven of 
 our men were lying lifeless on the 
 ground. I said, ' I will go to them ; I 
 think we may restore them ! ' After 
 working for hours upon what appeared 
 to be their lifeless bodies, every one 
 of them was brought to life. My re- 
 peated experiences have convinced me," 
 said Mr. Hayes, "that persons simply 
 stunned by lightning may almost inva- 
 
90 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 riably be brought to consciousness by 
 persistent effort ; and I am convinced 
 that many people have been buried 
 alive who might have been saved if 
 intelligent efforts had been applied to 
 their resuscitation." 
 
 Quiet and reserved usually, he was 
 roused to great enthusiasm and elo- 
 quence when he touched upon army 
 life and experience. This seemed to 
 have had far more interest for him than 
 his presidential career. 
 
 Dr. Peter Parker, of Chinese reputa- 
 tion and fame, who built the first hos- 
 pital in the Chinese Empire, and 
 accomplished much in opening to the 
 " Flowery Kingdom " the wonders of 
 medical science, especially in the treat- 
 ment of the eye, was a frequent visitor 
 at "The Old Elms." Dr. Parker was 
 
Under the Old Elms, 91 
 
 the first commissioner from this gov- 
 ernment to China, and his name is held 
 in great reverence by all enlightened 
 Chinese. He acquired the Chinese 
 language, which few Americans in his 
 day had done ; and he had a better 
 knowledge of Chinese manners and cus- 
 toms, probably, than any other of our 
 countrymen. His long residence in 
 China made him familiar with the coun- 
 try, and his conversation was most in- 
 teresting and instructive. 
 
Under the Old Elms. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 As I look back, what varied forms 
 and faces seen in that loved home 
 gleam through the mists of years ! 
 How many interesting people I recall, 
 who at one time or another I have had 
 the pleasure of greeting there! 
 
 Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, with her 
 intense nature and her sympathy with 
 the suffering and sorrowing, whose bril- 
 liant conversation captivated her list- 
 teners ; General Armstrong, with his 
 burning zeal to uplift the lowly ; Gen- 
 eral Banks, in his commanding prime, 
 the self-taught, eloquent man to whom, 
 when, as Governor, he delivered an 
 address at Harvard at the inauguration 
 
Under the Old Elms. 93 
 
 of President Felton, Edward Everett 
 said : " Harvard College has no hon- 
 ors to bestow upon you, sir ; your 
 presence is an honor to Harvard ; " 
 Mrs. Robert C. Winthrop, a woman 
 with the dignity of colonial days, and 
 whom I especially recall as she stood 
 one afternoon upon the piazza and urged 
 that some syringa bushes which en- 
 croached somewhat upon the huge 
 trunk of one of the old trees might be 
 cut down, so that its grand proportions 
 should be at once revealed ; Madam 
 Carmen Diaz, the wife of the president 
 of Mexico, to whom, as we passed the 
 green-house door, the gardener pre- 
 sented a superb rose of a new variety 
 just in bloom, — a rose which so suited 
 her grace and rich Southern beauty 
 that thenceforth we called it the Car- 
 men Diaz rose ; Miss Emily Faithful, 
 
94 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 whose generous proportions, strong, 
 motherly face, and sweet voice were in 
 harmony with her humane labors ; Miss 
 Mary Carpenter, with her otherwise 
 plain features illumined by the sympa- 
 thetic soul that had enabled her to give 
 such help to the unfortunate women of 
 India ; Miss Alice Freeman, the gifted 
 president of Wellesley College, through 
 whose distinguished administration the 
 institution rose to its true place among 
 the universities of the country ; and 
 many, many more, who came with their 
 wisdom and enthusiasm, their cheer 
 and mirth, to brighten the hours, and 
 leave delightful memories. 
 
 Lucy Larcom, the gentle, genial 
 friend, loved the shade of the elms. 
 She did not care to mingle with the 
 world ; and always preferred some quiet 
 
Under the Old Elms. 95 
 
 corner where she could commune with 
 nature, where she could listen to the 
 lowing of the cattle in the meadow and 
 the song of the birds, where she could 
 sit among the flowers and dream her 
 dreams and make the verses that went 
 home to so many hearts. She was full 
 of gentle courtesy and kindly feeling 
 toward everybody with whom she came 
 in contact, and a little verse she wrote 
 for a young girl in the family, who 
 asked her autograph, showed the ex- 
 quisite nature which could not refuse 
 so small a request without pain. For 
 some good reason, doubtless, she de- 
 ferred writing the autograph until it 
 was too late ; the young girl passed 
 away from earth, and to the mother 
 came the sweet tribute : — 
 
 " She sent to ask a verse of me to keep. 
 I promised, but delayed ; and now asleep 
 
96 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 She lies, an ocean's aching width between 
 Her mother's tears and her unwaking rest, 
 Beneath the soft blue skies of Italy. 
 Alas ! betwixt fulfilment and request 
 There rolls a wider, more mysterious sea. 
 
 Endless regret from smallest cause may grow. 
 Is any failure to do kindness small? 
 
 Since her I may not, thee I send my line 
 As a stray leaf to lay upon her grave ! ' 
 
 Edna Dean Proctor, with her 
 strength and imagination, and loyalty 
 to nature, her poetic genius and person- 
 al charm, was an ever-welcome visitor. 
 Pleasant were the hours when she 
 would repeat for us some inspiring 
 poem, or picture for us some rare scene 
 at home or abroad. Our friends de- 
 lighted in her tales of travel in Russia 
 and in the Holy Land ; and Mr. Whit- 
 tier used to say to her, " I do not need 
 to undergo the fatigue of travel, for I 
 
Under the Old Elms. 97 
 
 can see everything, when thee tells me 
 about the countries thee has visited. I 
 can see the rivers of Russia, and the 
 mountains of Palestine, all before me, 
 and it is far more pleasant to see them 
 through thine eyes." 
 
 Dr. Joseph Campbell, a native of 
 Tennessee, who was connected with the 
 Asylum for the Blind in South Boston, 
 came often to " The Old Elms " as a 
 friend and a teacher of music. We en- 
 joyed his congenial companionship for 
 several years ; and then, when his health 
 failed from overwork, he was advised by 
 physicians to cross the ocean. His 
 first thought when he arrived in Eng- 
 land was to look into the condition of 
 the blind, and to study the methods 
 employed for their education and ad- 
 vancement. He found them very inad- 
 
98 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 equate, and he set himself immediately 
 at work to improve their condition. As 
 the result of his untiring efforts, a Nor- 
 mal College was built in upper Nor- 
 wood, London, for the education of the 
 blind. 
 
 Dr. Campbell was a man of remark- 
 able gifts. He had rare genius and 
 consummate tact, and he succeeded at 
 once in winning the favor of the Duke 
 of Westminster and of Dr. Armitage, 
 both of whom gave him moral and finan- 
 cial support. His experiences in Eu- 
 rope, as he related them at our fireside, 
 were most interesting. Dr. Campbell 
 told the story of refusing to take into 
 his school a German prince who was 
 blind. The parents of the prince, after 
 looking all over Europe, decided that 
 Dr. Campbell's school was the best for 
 the education of the blind, and they 
 
Under the Old Elms. 99 
 
 wished to place their son there ; but the 
 Doctor informed them that he should 
 be unable to accede to their wishes, for 
 his institution was a republican institu- 
 tion, conducted upon American princi- 
 ples, and to receive a prince with his 
 attendants would interfere with the 
 management of the school and family. 
 He was urged, but to no purpose. His 
 dignified and persistent refusal to take 
 the prince greatly surprised the prince's 
 friends, who had supposed it would be 
 regarded as an important card for the 
 school to have for a pupil one of a royal 
 family. 
 
 When it was found that Dr. Camp- 
 bell would not yield the point, the par- 
 ents of the prince said, " If you will 
 not take him as a prince, will you take 
 him as a beggar ? He must come to 
 your school." And thus he was re- 
 
ioo Under the Old Elms. 
 
 ceived on the same footing as any waif 
 taken from the slums of London. He 
 remained several years in the institu- 
 tion. 
 
 Dr. Campbell is the only blind man 
 who has ever ascended Mont Blanc ; 
 and when asked why he undertook the 
 perilous journey, his answer was, " To 
 bring my school into notice. The Lon- 
 don Times does not hesitate now to 
 speak of my school, whereas before I 
 ascended Mont Blanc, the only blind 
 man who had ever accomplished this, it 
 was difficult to get any space in that or 
 any other prominent paper in London." 
 
 A visit to Dr. Campbell's institution 
 in upper Norwood, under the shadow of 
 the Crystal Palace, would well repay 
 any American ; for few of our country- 
 men have ever accomplished more in 
 England than this sightless man. 
 
Under the Old Elms, 101 
 
 He went to England poor, blind, and 
 friendless ; he now counts among his 
 friends the Prince of Wales, the Duke 
 of Westminster, and the princesses of 
 the royal family. He is invited to take 
 his pupils to sing and play before the 
 Queen ; and his school is considered the 
 best in Europe for the education of 
 the blind. 
 
 It was an interesting day when Mr. 
 Campbell brought from the Institution 
 in South Boston fifty blind children to 
 see " The Old Elms ; " and no company 
 of sight-seeing boys and girls ever en- 
 joyed more in looking at the flowers 
 and fruits of the green-houses, than did 
 these sightless children, who, with their 
 sensitive fingers and in spite of the 
 "blackness of darkness," seemed to 
 appreciate all the beauty of form and 
 even of color, in the tiniest flower and 
 
io2 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 the most delicate fern ; and measured 
 the great elms by stretching their arms 
 around them. They certainly enjoyed 
 to the full all the beauty of flowers and 
 trees, of brook and meadow — and what 
 a merry company it was that drove 
 down the avenue, singing as they went. 
 
 It was the custom in the early days 
 to hold educational conventions in every 
 county of the State to discuss methods, 
 and to introduce new and improved 
 plans in all the small district schools. 
 These conventions were conducted by 
 the Secretary of the Board of Educa- 
 tion, appointed by the Governor, and 
 assisted by the wise educators that 
 comprised the Board. Professor Agas- 
 siz, Dr. Sears, and Professor Guyot, 
 who afterward became famous in his 
 particular line of study, — for his re- 
 
Under the Old Elms, 103 
 
 searches in physical geography, — were 
 all members of the Board of Education 
 in Massachusetts. 
 
 It fell to my lot to entertain the gen- 
 tlemen for a week, when the meeting 
 was held in our neighborhood ; and 
 among the guests was Professor Agas- 
 siz, a member of the School Board, 
 whom to know was a liberal education. 
 With his genial presence and fascinat- 
 ing manner, he took every one captive ; 
 and to this far-off day his visit is re- 
 membered in our village as an honor. 
 One little circumstance is so character- 
 istic of him (and I wish never to forget 
 it) that I will repeat it. There was a 
 meeting called of ladies in Boston who 
 were interested in promoting the best 
 methods of education, to listen to an 
 English gentleman who was somewhat 
 renowned as a practical educator in his 
 
io4 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 own country. His remarks and observa- 
 tions were altogether from an English 
 stand-point ; and he said, among other 
 things which sounded strange to our 
 republican ears, " I do not understand 
 how you conduct your public schools. 
 How do you know that your child will 
 not be obliged to sit by a wash-wo- 
 man's child or a blacksmith's child ? " 
 When the gentleman had finished his 
 speech, the ladies sat breathless in 
 dumb amazement, wondering how best 
 to reply to such un-American senti- 
 ments. Professor Agassiz, a foreigner 
 born, arose, and in his fascinating voice 
 and convincing, persuasive manner, 
 said : " The glory of our country is 
 that we have no wash-woman's children 
 or blacksmith's children, as such ; and 
 all we have to fear is that the wash- 
 woman's child will go ahead of our 
 
Under the Old Elms. 105 
 
 children, and leave them in the back- 
 ground." 
 
 These words were like an electric 
 shock, coming from this European, and 
 testifying to the grandeur of American 
 patriotism; and the unfortunate Eng- 
 lishman looked wilted under this over- 
 whelming idea of equality, while the 
 ladies raised their heads in proud ap- 
 preciation of their distinguished advo- 
 cate, and were ready to embrace him. 
 
 John B. Gough, the eloquent tem- 
 perance advocate, spent many days 
 at " The Old Elms," and with his wit 
 and humor enlivened many an hour 
 after returning from his lectures. Be- 
 fore the lecture he was always "go- 
 ing to fail," and "probably would 
 have to be dragged from the platform 
 in disgrace." This was his invari- 
 
io6 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 able experience, though he lectured 
 thousands of times, and always to the 
 largest audiences. One could only en- 
 dure the prelude by keeping in mind 
 the postlude. 
 
 On one occasion we had promised 
 to accompany him to Norfolk, where 
 he was going to speak. The idea took 
 possession of him that his lecture would 
 be a total failure, that he probably 
 should not live to get through it, or 
 if he did not die on the platform he 
 should disgrace all his friends. He 
 set up a fearful impromptu cough, and 
 walked the floor in agony, saying to 
 his wife, who was a pattern of patience 
 and forbearance, " I know I shall die, 
 Mary; just listen to my cough; how 
 can I lecture with such a cough ? " 
 
 We were all appalled ; for we knew 
 great preparations had been made for 
 
Under the Old Elms, 107 
 
 the lecture, and his condition was so 
 much worse than usual, that we were 
 at a loss to know what course to pur- 
 sue ; but by dint of perseverance and 
 coaxing we succeeded in getting him to 
 the platform, where he gave one of the 
 most brilliant of lectures to a crowded 
 audience whose enthusiasm knew no 
 bounds. His cough disappeared, and 
 his spirits rose to the highest pitch, and 
 he gave up all idea of dying. 
 
 In the early days, lyceum lectures 
 were common in the country villages, 
 and the pleasure of entertaining the 
 lecturers usually fell to me. When Hor- 
 ace Greely came, he said, " I think I 
 ought to have as much as twenty-five 
 dollars for coming here from New 
 York to lecture ; and if there are those 
 who cannot afford to pay twenty-five 
 
io8 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 cents entrance fee, it would be but a 
 friendly act for you to present them 
 with tickets." 
 
 I well remember his peculiar impres- 
 sive appearance, his massive head, blue 
 eyes, and exquisitely fair skin, the light 
 overcoat which he always wore, and the 
 huge " arctics " which he would have 
 worn to the platform if the committee- 
 man in attendance had not suggested 
 to him that he would be more comfort- 
 able if he removed them — so intent 
 was he upon his theme, and so forgetful 
 of himself. His lectures were interest- 
 ing, but not brilliant. When supper 
 was finished, and some question was 
 asked him regarding the condition of 
 the country, he discoursed with such 
 wide intelligence and wisdom, told such 
 pithy anecdotes, and indulged in such 
 choice reminiscences, that we listened 
 
Under the Old Elms. 109 
 
 to him as if he had been a Mentor 
 who knew all the springs of action, and 
 could control the whole flow of affairs. 
 
 Many strange visitors came to " The 
 Old Elms," and among them once was 
 a woman who addressed me thus : — 
 
 " I have come to you, madam, as one 
 who will understand my position, and 
 appreciate the necessity of my case. I 
 address a lady ; I also am a lady, and 
 fit to associate with the best in the 
 land ; but fate has compelled me to 
 do something for a livelihood, and I 
 have chosen the position of lady's com- 
 panion as being best adapted to my re- 
 fined taste and requirements, and, 
 though I say it who should not, per- 
 haps I am able to fill any position ; but, 
 of course, it is quite necessary that I 
 should make a suitable appearance, and 
 
no Under the Old Elms, 
 
 I have, I must confess to you, no dress 
 suitable for those occasions where a 
 lady is expected to make a very digni- 
 fied and graceful appearance. In short, 
 I have no dress with a train ; and you 
 know as well as I how much more a 
 lady is respected who has a train to 
 her dress, especially by the foreign per- 
 suasion, that is, by the servants of a 
 fine house, such as I am fitted to adorn. 
 I have one dress which I think could 
 be converted by an artistic dressmaker 
 into a train. I feel competent myself 
 to make a plain skirt, but I really do 
 do not feel equal to the perfect adjust- 
 ment of a train, and I have not the 
 money to procure a skilled artist ; but 
 knowing your sympathy with all who 
 wish to make the most and best of 
 themselves, I felt that it would be 
 only a pleasure to you to let me 
 
Under the Old Elms. in 
 
 have five dollars, which I think would 
 enable me to do what is so desir- 
 able." 
 
 During this long harangue I had ex- 
 perienced nearly every emotion of 
 which the heart is capable ; but when 
 she finished, indignation prevailed, and 
 I exclaimed with considerable warmth, 
 " I think you will gain much more re- 
 spect by wearing a plain skirt than 
 you will by appearing in a train which 
 you have begged the money to pro- 
 cure. I must decline your request." 
 
 At this juncture my lady assumed 
 quite a different attitude ; with a very 
 lofty air, and in most contemptuous 
 tones she said, " I see I am much mis- 
 taken in the person I address. I 
 thought I was addressing a Christian 
 lady ;" and, slamming the door, she dis- 
 appeared. 
 
ii2 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 An interesting incident occurred in 
 connection with one of Mr. Wilson's 
 visits at "The Old Elms." A lady 
 from a distance presented herself to me 
 on a hot summer's day, when the vice- 
 president was sojourning with us, and 
 requested an interview. So great was 
 the heat I had declined to see visitors ; 
 but the lady urged her suit. She said 
 she had come quite a distance in the 
 cars, and her business was very impor- 
 tant. Her appeal was so persistent 
 that I could not resist ; and when I en- 
 tered the parlor the lady arose, begged 
 my pardon for interrupting me, and re- 
 marked she thought the importance of 
 her visit would justify the interview, 
 even on such an afternoon as this. 
 Then she introduced her subject : — 
 
 " Madam, I believe you are a friend 
 of the vice-president ? " 
 
Under the Old Elms. 113 
 
 I replied : " Yes ; the vice-president 
 is a friend of my husband." 
 
 " You are aware, madam, that he is 
 a man of powerful physique ; he has a 
 very broad chest, and consequently re-, 
 quires a great deal of air to properly! 
 expand his lungs. My mind has been 
 greatly exercised of late about his sur- 
 roundings ; his own house is small, and 
 you know, madam, his means are quite 
 limited. The room he occupies is not 
 large ; the ceiling is low ; and the air is 
 not sufficient for a man of his lung 
 capacity. It is very sad that he has no 
 one to give him a welcoming smile 
 when he returns to his home after his 
 arduous duties ; and I have, madam, 
 quite a large place and quite a fortune 
 in my own right. My rooms are large 
 and airy, and much better adapted to 
 the wants of a man in his position than 
 
ii4 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 those he now occupies. My fortune is 
 considerable now, and will be larger 
 when my mother passes away ; she is 
 quite aged, and will not probably live 
 long. You doubtless perceive, madam, 
 by my conversation, that I am a lady of 
 refinement and education, that I could 
 adorn the high position I should take 
 as the vice-president's wife ; and I have 
 come to you feeling sure that you would 
 appreciate my feeling, and would make 
 known to the vice-president your im- 
 pression of me and of my ability to 
 grace any position. If I say it who 
 should not, perhaps, I suppose there 
 are few ladies in the country better 
 fitted to adorn the position which 
 I should take as his wife than I 
 am. 
 
 After a somewhat prolonged visit the 
 lady bowed herself out. I was left to 
 
Under the Old Elms. 115 
 
 meditate upon the strange experiences 
 of life. 
 
 A company of the most warlike In- 
 dian chiefs from the far West was 
 brought by the Indian Commissioner, 
 appointed by the Government, to Bos- 
 ton. In compliance with the request 
 of Sitting Bull, Thunder Cloud, Red 
 Jacket, and many more, who wished to 
 see how the " chief " in Massachusetts 
 lived, they were driven out to "The 
 Old Elms," accompanied by their inter- 
 preter and the dignified commissioners. 
 They were all dressed in their blankets 
 and feathers and beads and wampum. 
 As they drove up the avenue in fine ba- 
 rouches, and with prancing horses, they 
 presented a very unusual and pictur- 
 esque appearance ; but never by word 
 or look did they betray the fact that 
 
n6 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 they had not been accustomed to riding 
 in barouches up long avenues of elms 
 all their lives ; and when they were pre- 
 sented to the hostess, a solemn nod of 
 the head, a guttural grunt, was their 
 only recognition. 
 
 I was presented as " the white chief's 
 squaw;" but they gave no sign of pleas- 
 ure, and I was quite at a loss to know 
 what next to do, when I was informed 
 by the interpreter that they would not 
 recognize me as " the great chief's 
 squaw" unless I could show them some 
 "pappooses;" "for," said he, "the In- 
 dians believe that the Great Spirit will 
 never smile upon a house where there 
 are no " pappooses." 
 
 Thus informed, the " pappooses " 
 were called, and I armed myself with 
 a child on either side and appeared be- 
 fore them ; then, for the first time, they 
 
Under the Old Elms. 117 
 
 smiled and saluted me in true Indian 
 fashion, after which they made them- 
 selves quite at home, apparently inter- 
 ested in what they saw, but not in 
 the least surprised, as it is contrary 
 to their nature and etiquette to appear 
 surprised at anything. 
 
 When they were taken into the din- 
 ing-room, where a table was spread 
 with the usual dainties provided at an 
 afternoon tea, they behaved with civil- 
 ized propriety, but with more than civ- 
 ilized appetites. After eating all that 
 was offered, they squatted on the floor, 
 unable to stand the strain longer. It 
 was a time of uncommon novelty and 
 interest ; and when some months later 
 we read of scalpings and massacres 
 carried on by our afternoon guests, we 
 were grateful that the length of a con- 
 tinent separated us from the visitors 
 
n8 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 whom we had entertained in a most 
 peaceful and friendly fashion, never 
 dreaming they might like our scalps to 
 ornament their beaded belts. 
 
Under the Old Elms, 119 
 
 IX. 
 
 One of the pleasant memories of 
 " The Old Elms " is the fetes of lit- 
 tle children which took place there 
 almost every year. The children who 
 had no green grass to play upon and 
 no wild flowers to gather, used to come 
 and revel in the stacks of new-mown 
 hay, and gather buttercups and daisies 
 with as much pleasure as though they 
 had been Jacqueminots and carnations. 
 Hundreds of children have frolicked 
 in the shade of the elms ; and the 
 thought that joy and pleasure were 
 put into their cheerless lives even for 
 a day made the trees and the flowers 
 more dear to those who dwell there. 
 
i2o Under the Old Elms. 
 
 Little sales were held under the 
 trees year after year, in memory of 
 the daughter of the house, who said 
 to her young companions as she was 
 leaving home to travel in Europe : 
 " While we are separated, let us re- 
 member each other in working for the 
 Lord's poor. I am tired of Circles ; 
 we will call ourselves ' The Charity 
 Square.' I will gather things as I 
 travel from place to place, and you 
 can work here, and in the autumn 
 have a fair for the Orphan's Home." 
 Her plans were enthusiastically carried 
 out by her young companions who had 
 worked busily all through the sum- 
 mer months, and her box of treasures 
 came in time for the autumn sale. 
 There was a fine display of dainty 
 work, and pretty trinkets which sold 
 as well for her sake as for the orphans'. 
 
Under the Old Elms. 121 
 
 It came about that not far from the 
 time of the little sale she passed from 
 Rome to the " City that hath founda- 
 tions ; " and the last news she received 
 from " The Old Elms " (the place she 
 loved above all earthly spots) was an 
 account of the success of the fair for 
 which she had labored, never for a mo- 
 ment forgetting, wherever she went, 
 to add something to the box which 
 was to be sent home in the autumn 
 to "The Charity Square." 
 
 In memory of her, this little sale was 
 repeated year after year under the old 
 elms, until the young girls scattered 
 to make new homes for themselves ; 
 and thousands of dollars were added 
 to the treasury of the Orphan's Home. 
 
 Just as she was taking her flight 
 from Italy to the Eternal City, a lit- 
 tle Italian waif appeared on the even- 
 
i22 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 ing of the sale (as though sent by 
 Heaven), and asked protection. He 
 was a tiny boy ; his great black eyes 
 and his pathetic voice won the hearts 
 of the young girls when he asked to 
 play his fiddle for some supper, and 
 said, "Nobody love me; nobody smile 
 on me." The eyes of the girls filled with 
 tears ; and with one voice they begged 
 to take the little waif and give him 
 some supper. I said, " What shall we do 
 with him when the Fair is over ?" But 
 the appealing eyes of the child and the 
 pleading voices of the young girls pre- 
 vailed ; and we took him in and placed 
 him upon the flower table, where he 
 was reminded of his own beautiful Italy, 
 the land of flowers ; and the notes of 
 his little fiddle attracted the visitors, 
 so that as the evening wore on many 
 friends gathered around him ; his pock- 
 
Under the Old Elms. 123 
 
 ets were filled with pennies; and his 
 eyes overflowed with joy. But the 
 evening wore away, and the flowers 
 faded, and the people were leaving one 
 by one. What now was to become of 
 the child? 
 
 It was decided after much consulta- 
 tion to place him in the Orphan's 
 Home for which the girls were work- 
 ing ; and to that Home on the following 
 morning little Dino (for so we called 
 him) was taken. As we entered the 
 pleasant Home, Dino took a deliberate 
 look around the sunny room, and then 
 thrust his little brown chubby hand 
 into the pocket of his trousers, and 
 drew forth the pennies that were 
 snugly tucked away in their depths, 
 his black eyes fairly dancing with joy 
 as he handed them to the superinten- 
 dent, saying : " You give me home ; I 
 
i24 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 give you my pennies. I was 'fraid I 
 freeze to death." Dino remained in 
 the Home five years, the delight of all 
 the household. He often visited " The 
 Old Elms," and reported from time 
 to time progress in his lessons, and 
 repeated Scripture texts and poetry 
 which he thought would please me. 
 At length he left the Home and took 
 a place in the country where he could 
 go to school, and earn his own living 
 by doing the chores of a farmer. After 
 some years Dino returned to "The Old 
 Elms" dressed in the garb, and with 
 the manners, of a gentleman. He had 
 secured a situation where he was earn- 
 ing good wages ; and he said modestly : 
 " If I had not been cared for as I was, 
 and instructed in that Christian Home, 
 I should be a beggar now, as I was 
 when I entered the Home." Dino 
 
Under the Old Elms. 125 
 
 now has a pleasant home of his own, 
 with a wife and children ; and he adorns 
 the society in which he moves. 
 
 The young girl for whom it was done 
 had gone from Italy beyond our care 
 and keeping ; and the little child had 
 come from Italy to claim our love and 
 watchful care. 
 
 After it was all over, Dr. S. F. Smith 
 sent the following affectionate tribute : 
 
 " Is thy final rest more peaceful, 
 
 Is thy sleep more sweet, dear child? 
 Brought from Rome's gorgeous sepulchres 
 
 Back to thy native wild? 
 Or breathes the wind more gently 
 
 Where the chestnut and the pine 
 Above the tomb that holds thy dust 
 
 Their clustering branches twine ? 
 
 Thy footsteps trod the pathway 
 
 Of grand, historic Rome, 
 Thy gaze admiring rested 
 
 On picture, church, and dome. 
 
126 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 Why, yearning with a tender love 
 
 Did thine eyes look back to see 
 The elms around thy cherished home 
 
 Where thy whole soul longed to be? 
 
 Welcome again, fair sleeper; 
 
 Peace to thy precious dust! 
 Rest calmly with thy kindred 
 
 Till the rising of the just. 
 The winds shall sing above thee 
 
 Where the chestnut and the pine 
 In thy own dear native forests 
 
 Their clustering branches twine ! " 
 
 Winding up the avenue one sum- 
 mer's day was seen a motley group of 
 women and children. They came from 
 the attics and cellars of North Street. 
 Many of them had never seen the 
 country since their childhood, and had 
 never looked at the blue sky except 
 through smoke and dust. Every face 
 told the strange, sad story of empty, 
 hopeless lives, of struggles and fail- 
 
Under the Old Elms. 127 
 
 ures, of scanty clothing and insuf- 
 ficient food. There was not one ex- 
 pression of hope or cheer. It was in- 
 teresting to watch their varied coun- 
 tenances. Some were wildly excited 
 at the sight of green grass and daisies 
 and buttercups, and were almost like 
 caged animals let loose ; and others 
 seemed awed into silence, and sitting 
 down under the elms, their sad eyes 
 wandered over the meadows. They 
 looked into the trees, and saw the shim- 
 mering leaves and waving branches, 
 and dreamed, perhaps, of their child- 
 hood's home, and wondered if any- 
 thing better than their dark cellars 
 and crowded attics would ever come 
 to them. Many of them said : " If 
 heaven is anything like this, I should 
 like to go there." One, in a desperate 
 tone, exclaimed : " Christ must have put 
 
i28 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 it into yer head to ask us here ; yer 
 never could have thought of it yer- 
 self ! " 
 
 It is difficult for young people of this 
 generation to conceive the excitement 
 that prevailed as the question of the 
 abolition of slavery grew in interest, 
 and penetrated every hamlet. There 
 was not a man or woman who was so 
 ignorant or stupid as not to be moved 
 either one way or the other in this mat- 
 ter. It was discussed in the churches, 
 in the post-office, in the village store, in 
 the farmyards, at the corners of the 
 streets, over the dish-washing in the 
 kitchen ; families were separated, and 
 friendships broken ; sons were alien- 
 ated from their fathers, and churches 
 broken up ; people on both sides used 
 the most severe language ; we were told 
 
Under the Old Elms. 129 
 
 by a lecturer that " our communion 
 cloth was dripping with the blood of 
 slaves." 
 
 A woman appeared one day who said 
 she wished to see me alone upon very 
 important business. Taking her into a 
 remote corner, and closing every door 
 behind me, she informed me that she 
 had in her house a runaway slave, a 
 young girl, who had escaped from her 
 master, and had been wandering about 
 through forests and fields for many 
 days. Her clothes, she said, were torn 
 in tatters by the brambles and thorns 
 through which she had made her way ; 
 her shoes were almost dropping from 
 her feet ; her hair was a mass of tan- 
 gles ; and her flesh was so cut and 
 bruised as almost to bring the tears to 
 one's eyes. The woman told me that 
 this poor girl was in such a state of ner- 
 
130 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 vous excitement that I could not see 
 her; for she suspected every one, and 
 would burst into tears when a carriage 
 passed in the street, thinking her mas- 
 ter was in pursuit of her. . 
 
 The woman who came to me with 
 this strange story lived in a remote part 
 of the town, in a lonely place, and I 
 suggested that the runaway would be 
 safer with me among more people. 
 
 "Oh, no," she replied; "I wish to 
 take her away to-night ; and knowing 
 your interest in the slave, I have come 
 to ask you to give me a suit of your 
 husband's clothes that I may dress her 
 in man's attire, and start with her for 
 Canada, where the poor creature will be 
 safe from her pursuers." 
 
 Fired with excitement and interest, I 
 did not consider the plausibility of the 
 woman's story ; but gathered together a 
 
Under the Old Elms. 131 
 
 wardrobe of my husband's best cloth- 
 ing, — coat, trousers, boots, hat,, and 
 everything pertaining to a man's ward- 
 robe, — and taking a fast horse which 
 nothing would have induced me to 
 use on any less important occasion, I 
 drove at full speed to the hiding-place 
 of the hunted slave, so that no time 
 might be lost in starting her for Can- 
 ada, the only place of safety.- 
 
 Reaching the house where the object 
 of my search was supposed to be se- 
 creted, I was told that I could not see 
 her, for she would go into hysterics at 
 the sight of any one. I believed it all ; 
 and turning my excited, foam-flecked 
 steed toward home, I must have reached 
 there just about the time my informant, 
 with her husband dressed in a fine suit 
 of clothing provided for the runaway 
 slave, started for Canada to evade the 
 
132 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 law which she had trampled upon by 
 hiding stolen goods. But scenes of 
 real flight were not infrequent during 
 the months preceding the war, and we 
 were kept in a state of constant ex- 
 citement. 
 
 Strange footsteps were heard on the 
 piazza one night, just as we were retir- 
 ing ; and upon opening the door we be- 
 held an object so forlorn, ragged, filthy, 
 and black, as scarcely to resemble a 
 human being, — a negro who said he 
 had come for a night's lodging. We 
 told him we would give him money to 
 pay for his lodging at the hotel ; that 
 we did not take lodgers. " But," he 
 answered, " they will not let me lodge 
 there ; they told me you was an aboli- 
 tionist, and you would take me." We 
 at once saw the joke, and knew it was 
 being played upon us to test our princi- 
 
Under the Old Elms. 133 
 
 pies ; so we said, " Come in, friend ; we 
 will give you shelter." 
 
 There was an encampment of soldiers 
 in Readville, eight or nine miles distant 
 from "The Old Elms;" and a son of 
 one of our neighbors, who had been 
 some time in camp, suddenly died there. 
 He was brought to Newton for burial 
 on a snowy, dismal day, and the soldiers 
 detailed for the funeral had taken that 
 long march through mud and slush ; and 
 when they entered the church where 
 the service was held, they were shiver- 
 ing with cold. Nothing had been pro- 
 vided for their refreshment, and they 
 were faint and hungry. 
 
 We invited them to go to " The Old 
 Elms;" and a warmer welcome no com- 
 pany ever had there than these hundred 
 tired, foot-sore, bedraggled, mud-be- 
 
134 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 spattered soldiers. Everything in the 
 house that could be eaten was brought 
 out ; hot coffee was prepared, and blaz- 
 ing fires were lighted on all the hearths ; 
 and food was gathered from our neigh- 
 bors to supplement the lack. Thus 
 warmed and fed, they tramped back to 
 their cheerless tents to await the sum- 
 mons to go to the battle-fields, from 
 which many of them never returned. 
 
 A little incident in the experience of 
 the dwellers at "The Old Elms" is 
 looked back upon with interest. It 
 shows the changed condition of the 
 country. Having some business con- 
 nections with a house in a Southern 
 
 city, Mr. C found it necessary to 
 
 employ a slave, there being no other 
 service available. When the master 
 of the slave came for the wages of his 
 
Under the Old Elms. 135 
 
 "chattel," the poor slave would take 
 to the cellar, and hide behind barrels 
 until his master's departure; and then 
 on his knees, with the tears stream- 
 ing down his black face, he would beg 
 his employer to buy him. 
 
 This went on for a while, until it 
 could be endured no longer ; and the 
 poor fellow was bought and given his 
 liberty. When the business at the 
 
 South was given up, and Mr. C 
 
 came North to live, he was "held up " 
 for the Massachusetts legislature by 
 the so-called Free-soil party. The op- 
 posing party — the Whigs — felt that 
 the State would be in peril if the 
 Free-soiler should be elected. 
 
 Accordingly on the day of election, 
 horses were driven from one end of the 
 town to the other, until they were white 
 with foam ; old men were routed from 
 
136 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 their farms and out of their beds ; and 
 every one who could cast a vote was 
 dragged to the polls to prevent the dire 
 calamity of having a man elected repre- 
 sentative of Massachusetts, who had 
 owned a slave, and called himself a 
 Free-soiler. But the horses ran in vain ; 
 and the Free-soil party gained the vic- 
 tory. The State survived the shock; 
 and Jack, the emancipated slave, lived a 
 happy life with a wife and baby all his 
 own. 
 
 The memories clustering about " The 
 Old Elms " are for the most part 
 bright and glowing. The shadows 
 only serve to tone the picture down, 
 and give a natural relief. Such, for 
 instance, is the following experience 
 which once attended our annual hejira 
 from the city to the country house. 
 
Under the Old Elms. 137 
 
 We always affirmed that we never 
 moved anything ; and that particular 
 year, as my husband was in California, 
 we wished to make the moving as easy 
 as possible. When we packed up the 
 few articles that we felt it was essen- 
 tial to take with us, we found that 
 they filled three large express wagons 
 to their utmost capacity. 
 
 We covered the furniture, closed the 
 blinds, fastened the windows and doors, 
 and said good-by to the warm and dusty 
 city about one o'clock in the afternoon, 
 and seated ourselves in the carriage, so 
 packed with bundles and band-boxes, 
 pictures and vases, clocks and orna- 
 ments, and many little articles which 
 could not be trusted to other hands, 
 that we were reminded of a carriage- 
 load of emigrants en route from the 
 wharf to the Western prairies. 
 
138 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 Giving the driver many charges to 
 drive in such a way as to keep mirrors 
 from breaking and vases from tipping ; 
 and be sure not to bear against the 
 picture which had been placed behind 
 his back for safety ; and by no means 
 to lose the basket which had been 
 placed at his feet; and to avoid the 
 stones in driving, so as not to dis- 
 arrange the bandboxes inside ; we drew 
 a long breath of relief, and started on 
 our way. 
 
 After a few moments I was suffi- 
 ciently composed to fall into a pleas- 
 ant reverie : Oh ! what a delicious 
 rest awaits me in that quiet country 
 home, where the grass is waving, and 
 the birds are singing their sweetest 
 spring songs, and chirping their little 
 housekeeping affairs so lovingly that 
 the very sound of their music will lull 
 
Under the Old Elms. 139 
 
 me to sleep more sweet and restful 
 than I have known for months in the 
 noisy city ! 
 
 Thus we dreamed till the horses 
 trotted into the familiar avenue, and 
 we turned our tired eyes for the an- 
 ticipated rest — when, lo and behold! 
 the green lawn of which we had been 
 fondly dreaming was entirely over- 
 flowed with the swollen brook, and 
 where we looked for greenness we be- 
 held something more like the parade- 
 ground of a herd of swine. 
 
 My heart sank within me. I called 
 the farmer, and asked the cause of 
 all this, and was informed that the 
 late heavy rains had caused the brook 
 to overflow, and that when the water 
 had evaporated it would look better. 
 I replied : — 
 
 " I cannot wait for this process ; but 
 
140 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 I wish you to start immediately and 
 engage every man you can find, and 
 every cart and horse in the village, 
 and use them till enough gravel and 
 loam have been drawn to fill the low 
 ground beyond all contingencies of 
 storm and rain, and then have the 
 whole turfed." 
 
 "But," said the farmer, "that would 
 take a great deal of time, and more 
 than an acre of turf, besides being 
 a very great expense." 
 
 I replied : " If it takes all the men 
 in town, and all the gravel and loam off 
 all the hills, and all the time till dooms- 
 day, and all the money we possess, it 
 must be done now." 
 
 Accordingly, the next morning a line 
 of carts and horses were seen wending 
 their unhurried way to the scene of my 
 disappointment. In my heart I spurred 
 
Under the Old Elms. 141 
 
 them on with sharper spurs than ever 
 gallant rider used upon his steed, but 
 to little purpose. A glance upon the 
 upper lawn betrayed to me the fact 
 that the prolonged cold weather had 
 so far kept back vegetation that there 
 was scarcely an appearance of green- 
 ness anywhere. The grass was yet 
 quite brown. In order to stimulate 
 the growth, I told the gardener to use 
 some patent fertilizer which my hus- 
 band had purchased of a travelling 
 pedler whose business it was to de- 
 ceive the very elect ; accordingly, the 
 workmen were sent to sprinkle the dust 
 over the reluctant grass. After urging 
 each individual spear to do its best, and 
 finding it heeded neither my words nor 
 the patent fertilizer, I inquired the 
 cause, and was told that wherever the 
 wonderful patent fertilizer had touched, 
 
142 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 it had burned to brownness the strug- 
 gling grass. 
 
 Just here I took a long breath, and 
 in time to listen to the call, "What 
 are we to do, mum ? The hydraulics 
 is out of order, and the cistern is 
 nearly empty. There is no water in 
 the stable. The plants are suffering 
 in the greenhouse. The boiler is likely 
 to explode in the house. What is to 
 be done ? " 
 
 " Go at once for the plumbers," I 
 said, " and have the rams attended to." 
 
 The plumbers arrive, — one to work, 
 the other to look on ; and after two 
 days of investigation it was ascertained 
 that nobody knew what was the matter, 
 and we had to be supplied with water 
 by carting it from a neighboring brook. 
 The laundress, on being told that she 
 must be very careful of the water, re- 
 
Under the Old Elms. 143 
 
 plied : " Indeed, mum, I have not used 
 a quart of water for all me washing 
 to-day, and shure." 
 
 As the shades of evening gathered 
 round us, we thought for a little sea- 
 son to forget the outdoor troubles. We 
 ordered the gas lighted ; and with a 
 sigh of relief took up the evening paper 
 to read the news of the day, when all 
 at once the gas began to dance up 
 and down with a jerk and a twitch 
 which made reading quite impossible. 
 Only one resort was left to me ; and 
 I retired to my sleeping apartment to 
 seek repose for the night. Upon open- 
 ing the door, such an odor met my 
 nasal organs that I was obliged to re- 
 treat forthwith. At dawn of day a 
 messenger was despatched post-haste 
 for a gas-man, that the gas-pipes might 
 be overhauled ; and for a carpenter to 
 
i44 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 investigate the nauseous odor in my 
 room. The difficulty was so deep- 
 seated that it was found necessary to 
 have the floor removed. Then a mason 
 had to be sent for to remove the plas- 
 tering, and a furnace-man to take down 
 the flue which came in the way. 
 
 Three separate times this pleasant 
 little operation was performed before 
 the cause of offence was discovered 
 in the form of a huge rat, who had 
 chosen that quiet retreat back of my 
 closet wall to breathe out his life 
 sweetly there ; sweet, I trust, to him, 
 but, alas ! anything but sweet to me. 
 When this was over, the stableman 
 came, with a woe-begone expression, 
 saying, "One of the horses is lame, 
 mum. What is to be done ? " 
 
 " Go at once," I said, "for the horse- 
 doctor." 
 
Under the Old Elms. 145 
 
 This important personage arrived ; 
 and after a long and learned dis- 
 course upon the nature of horse dis- 
 eases in general, and of the lame foot 
 in question, told me that a carpen- 
 ter must prepare a box for the horse 
 to stand in. Again the carpenter was 
 sent for, and the necessary box pre- 
 pared ; and, as I was obliged to visit 
 the horse somewhat frequently to see 
 that the treatment was properly ad- 
 ministered, I discovered that the stable 
 and outbuildings were in a condition 
 more befitting a drunken frontiersman 
 than a respectable gentleman's country- 
 seat. I stationed myself at the stable 
 door, and delivered an oration, the pur- 
 port of which was that those cobwebs 
 must be removed, that rubbish dis- 
 posed of, and the stable and yard made 
 decent at once. 
 
146 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 A day or two later I discovered that 
 my orders had not been heeded ; and I 
 took my stand in the barnyard, and 
 gave my personal attention to the re- 
 moval of the cobwebs and the rubbish 
 in general. This done, it seemed neces- 
 sary that the house and outbuilding 
 should be painted. Six men were em- 
 ployed two weeks in this operation ; 
 and when it was within two days of 
 completion the painters proposed to 
 take a little vacation, in reply to which 
 proposition I calmly remarked: "You 
 will finish the work now, or take your 
 leave, never to ret urn.' ; 
 
 After about three weeks the lawn 
 and the water, the rams and the gas- 
 pipes, the stables and the outhouses, 
 the flower-houses and the graperies, 
 the cows and the horses, the painters 
 and the carpenters, the masons and 
 
Under the Old Elms. 147 
 
 the farmers, the gardeners and the 
 laborers, the coachman and his assis- 
 tant, were all in running order, except 
 that the horses were suffering for want 
 of use. And on a fine June evening 
 I thought I would take a little drive 
 for the purpose of exercising one of 
 them. 
 
 As I was driving down the mill hill, 
 with a strange driver, the dancing, pran- 
 cing animal slipped off his whole head- 
 dress, bridle, halter, and all ; and by a 
 far more rapid movement than usual, I 
 found myself walking double-quick time 
 toward home, leaving the man and 
 horse to follow the best they could. 
 Indeed, I was only too thankful to 
 escape with whole bones. 
 
 By this time summer guests were ex- 
 pected ; and, wishing my place to pre- 
 sent a pleasant appearance, I ordered 
 
148 Under the Old Elms. 
 
 the walks and paths put in order, and 
 the trimming-scissors and lawn-mowers 
 used about the borders and around 
 the little ponds. As I looked from 
 my window to see if the work was 
 properly done, I discovered the water 
 of the pond in front of the house, 
 which is usually clear as glass, entirely 
 covered with what appeared like a 
 green, slimy substance. I summoned 
 the gardener, and asked for an ex- 
 planation. 
 
 " I sent a man," he said, " to trim 
 the short grass, mum, who was unac- 
 customed to the work, and it all went 
 onto the water." 
 
 "Very well," I replied, calmly to 
 all appearance, but full of smothered 
 wrath, " send the same man to skim 
 the pond until every spear of grass 
 has been removed." 
 
Under the Old Elms. 149 
 
 I had set my heart upon offering 
 some very nice Jersey butter of home 
 make to my guests. I sat down to 
 the table with a complacent air, and 
 offered my butter, which was pleasing 
 enough to the eye, but, alas ! as bitter 
 as gall to the taste ; and the Jersey 
 cream, of which I had boasted, curdled 
 when I poured the coffee upon it, as 
 did my blood at the sight of it. Thus 
 ended the first month of my country 
 rest. 
 
 The years that have gone with light- 
 est touch over the elms have weighed 
 heavily upon many of those who were 
 accustomed to gather beneath them ; 
 and, one by one, how large a number of 
 these have passed to the land unseen ! 
 Yet wherever I am, I have only to close 
 my eyes to hear again the murmur of 
 
150 Under the Old Elms, 
 
 winds, and the songs of birds among 
 their boughs ; and to see once more on 
 the cool piazzas they overspread, or in 
 the winding walks under their shade, 
 the faces and forms of the friends I was 
 wont to welcome there, or of the occa- 
 sional guests whose visits lent bright- 
 ness to the days. With the trees are 
 linked hallowed associations, the joys of 
 friendship, the charm of social inter- 
 course ; and while life lasts these 
 blended memories will be ineffaceable 
 and dear. 
 
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