1 ^.^ • S --r* .0- > % " ■■■ N » ^ \\^' % .N^^ -S ■^^ .s -/'- >-.^' ■>', . ■ -V ■"> ' ff ', , k '■ -o ■-» / "^ ■ - ■, ^^ -/^ ■-'^, ,■0- ..>^ •7-' ^> '"^t/- 0^ f "" O^N ^.. ^ \^^ f ■ 1 •\ c,"^-' "^. , , ■ ■ ■■^^. ^'^• A^ „.. x^ -U ^^/< 'A^ /■ \ aV ^' ■ 0' \^' Ci, o> <>. 0^ - '^c V' .^*^ ~^- ^ x° -/ .^^"^ ^ , - ■-- '^ 'O, V ,. j; .0- ■/- f/ ' ^ ^•~- V. O '-<. ,-^' ^-f- V\ _ ■•j^- ,'^- ' '/- "tv" -- ,>^^' \ A^ ''^^ .^^ o"^' \^ "'./. ' V . ^ x\^'' '• -o- ^^ V^^ \ V -T-/ ' -^ - a\ BALDWIN'S BIOGRAPHICAL BOOKLETS THE STORY OF John Greenleaf Whittier FOR YOUNG READERS BY SHERWIN CODY WERNER SCHOOL BOOK COMPANY NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON Baliwln's Biograiitiical Booilet Series. Biographical Stories of Great Americans for Young Americans EDITED BY James Baldwin, Ph.D. IN these biographical stories the lives of great Americans are presented in such a manner as to hold the attention uf the younjrest reader. In lives lilssary to toughen them- selves, they went out on very cold days without much clothing on. Indeed, they probal)ly had but very few warm clothes. There were no such things in those days as heavy flannels or great overcoats. The cloth in their garments was spun and woven at home by the mother, and she did not always get the threads very close together. So there were a great many spaces for the wind to blow through. Of course they had to go to meeting every First-day (Sunday), and as there were no fires in the meeting-house, they suffered much from the cold in winter. 12 Even the dwelling houses were not very warm. There was only one fire, and it was built in a chimney-place so large that there was room for benches inside the chimney next to the hre. Then the wind would come in through the cracks and crevices; and while it was very hot before the fire- place, a little way back it was cold. It would often happen on cold, windy nights that their faces would burn while their backs were almost freezing. And the bedrooms were like ice-chests, and never warm except in summer, when they were sure to be too hot. Whittier was sickly all the latter part of his life; and he laid his trouble largely to exposure in childhood; for he was always delicate. He lived to be very old, however, as did all his ancestors. This was the unpleasant side to his boyhood; of the pleasant side Whittier himself has told us. If you wish to know what good times he had in the summer season, read the "Barefoot Boy": Blessings on thee, little man, Barefoot boy with cheeks of tan! . , . From my heart I giv^e thee joy — I was once a barefoot boy! 13 It is only the country bo\' who knows — How the tortoise bears his shell, How the woodchnck digs his cell, And the g-round-molc sinks his well; How the robin feeds her young, How the oriole's nest is hung; Where the whitest lilies blow, Where the freshest berries grow. Where the groundnut trails its vine, Where the wood-grape's clusters shine. But it is in "Snow-Bound," his ^<;Tt';it(\st and most beautiful poem, that w(^ hear of all the pleasant times which the farm boy has in winter, and also all al)Out the meml)ers of Whittier's own family. He beo-ins the poem by tellin.i;- how the snowstorm came up, and then Among his poems is a sweet little one, entitled "In School Days." He begins by describing the schoolhouse : Within, the master's desk is seen, Deep scarred by raps official ; The warping floor, the battered seats, Tlie jack-knife's carved initial. You must read for yourself the story of the little boy and the little girl, and how the latter said: 25 " I 'm sorry that I spelt the word: I hate to go above you, Because," — the brown eyes lower fell,- " Because, you see, I love you!" Of books to read they had not many in the Whittier household, and most of them were the works of saintly Quakers. The Bible was the chief book, and that they read until they had it by heart. Joshua Coffin used to bring various books which he had and read them aloud to the older people, not paying much attention to the boy of fifteen who sat in the corner and listened. Once he brought a volume of Burns's poems and read page after page, explaining the Scotch dialect. Greenleaf, then a tall, shy lad, listened spellbound. He had got into what his Uncle Moses called his "stood." The teacher saw that he was interested, and offered to leave the book with him. That was about the first good poetry he had ever heard. It kindled the fire of poetic genius in his own mind and heart, and he soon began to write poetry him- self. But he was only a farmer's lad, and writing 26 poetry does not come easy to one in such sur- roundings. While he was in his teens he made his first visit to Boston, staying with a relative who was post- master of the city. You may imagine how he looked, a gawky country boy, with broad-brimmed Quaker hat and plain, homespun clothes. But he wore for the first time in his life ' ' boughten but- tons" on his coat, and his Quaker hat had been covered by his Aunt Mercy with drab velvet. These made him feel very fine. He was induced to buy a copy of Shakespeare; and at the table of his relative was a brilliant lady, who was very kind to him. He had been warned against the temptations of the town, and you can imagine how shocked he was to find out that this fine lady was an actress. She invited him to go to the theater; but he hastily declined, and was almost ashamed of himself for having bought a volume of plays, even if they were Shakespeare's. Somehow or other a copy of one of the Waverley novels came into the Quaker home, and Whittier and his sister read it together without letting their 27 parents know. They read late into the night; and atone time, just as they were getting to an exciting part, the candle burned out and they had to go to bed in the dark, for it was quite impossible to get another. There is a story that Whittier's first verses were written on the beam of his mother's loom. At any rate he wrote verses on his slate in school, and passed them around among the scholars. One stanza his sister remembered, and repeated after- ward : And must I always swing the flail, And help to fill the milking-pail? I wish to go away to school ; I do not wish to be a fooL The desk on which the poet wrote his first verses was built by that original Thomas Whittier, more than a hundred years before Greenleaf was born. It stood in the kitchen for many years; then it was packed away. But a few years before Whittier died, a niece of his had it taken out and repaired, and he used it until the end of his life. 28 In those old days his sister Mary thought his verses exceedingly fine, quite as good as those she read in the "Poet's Corner" of the Free Press. This paper had just been started in Newburyport by William Lloyd Garrison, who was only three years older than Whittier, but had had every advantage of education. John Whittier, the father, liked the solid tone of it, and subscribed. Without letting her brother know, Mary got one of his poems and sent it anonymously to the editor of the paper. When, a week or so afterward, the postman came along by the field where the Whit- tiers were at work and fiung the paper over the fence, Greenleaf looked at once to see what was in the ' ' Poet's Corner, " and was immensely surprised to see his own poem there. He says he simply stood and stared at it, without reading a word. His father suggested that he had better go to work; but he couldn't help opening the paper again and looking at his own poem. Another poem was sent, and Garrison wrote a note to introduce it, in which he said: " His poetry bears the stamp of true poetic genius, which, if 29 carefully cultivated, will rank him among the bards of his country." How strange a prophecy, and how strange the fortune that brought together the great reformer, William Lloyd Garrison, and the great poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, when both were so young and inexperienced! CHAPTER VI HAVERHILL ACADEMY It was a happ}^ day for Whittier when his sister sent that stolen poem to the paper edited by William Lloyd Garrison, for Garrison immediately took a fancy to the author. After printing the second poem sent, he learned from what part of Haverhill the poems came, and drove out fourteen miles to see the young author. He was a neatly dressed, handsome, and affable young gentleman, and came with a lady friend. As it was a hot summer da}-, Whittier was at work in the fields, wearing doubtless little beside an old straw hat, a shirt, and a pair of overalls. His bash- 30 fulness made him wish to avoid secin*:^ the fine city visitor; but his sister persuaded him. He shpped in at the back door and changed his clothes, and a long and interesting visit with Garrison followed. They became fast friends, and in later years were workers together in the cause of the slave. Friend Whittier, the old gentleman, came into the room while the two were having their first talk, and Garrison told him he ought to send his son away to school. The old gentleman was not at all pleased by the turn afi^airs were taking, and told young Garrison that he ought not to put such notions into the boy's head. As we have already said, Friend Whittier, bemg a matter-of-fact Quaker, did not approve of poetry anyway. So this time passed by, and Greenleaf was kept at work on the farm. Garrison gave up his paper in Newburyport and went to Boston, and the young poet sent his verses to the Haverhill Gazette. A Mr. Thayer was the editor of this paper, and he conceived the same opinion of the lad that Garrison had. He also went to the old gentleman and urged him to give his son a classical education. An acad- 31 emy was to be opened in Haverhill that fall, and young Whittier could attend it and spend part of each week at home. Two years before, Greenleaf had seriously injured himself by undertaking some very hard work on the farm ; indeed from this strain he suffered all his life. On account of this, his father considered the matter more favorably. Mr. Thayer, the editor, promised to board the young man in his family; but it was a serious ques- tion as to where the small amount of money needed was to come from. There was a mortgage of |6oo on the farm, and nearly all the ready money that could be obtained went to pay taxes and interest on the debt. The young man received permission to attend the academy; but he must pay his own way. It was not an easy thing to pick up spare change in those days, as the elder Whittier well knew; but Greenleaf looked cheerfully about. An opportunity soon appeared. A hired man on his father's farm occupied his winters in making a kind of cheap slippers, which he sold for twenty-five cents a pair. He promised to teach the young poet the art of 32 making them. It was not hard to learn. During the winter of 1826-27 ^^^ made enough to keep him at the academy six months. He calculated so closely that he thought he would have twenty-five cents more than enough to pay his expenses of board, books, and clothes. At the end of the term, sure enough, he had that twenty-five cents left. James F. Otis, a noted lawyer, read some of Whittier's poems, and, like Garrison, determined to go and find him. He was told that he was a shoemaker in Haverhill. He says that he found him at work in his shoe shop, and making himself known to him, they spent the day together in wan- dering over the hills, and on the shores of the Mer- rimac River, talking about matters literary. Like Garrison, Otis later became an intimate friend of Whittier. When the Haverhill academy was opened, Whit- tier was not only to become a i^upil; but he con- tributed the ode that was sung. This gave him a sort of social send-ofi^ in the town, and henceforth he was something of a personage in Haver- hill. In the )'ear 1827 he contributed forty-seven 33 poems to the Havcj-Jiill Gazette alone, and forty- nine in 1828. So the young poet that Wilham Lloyd Garrison discovered and went fourteen miles to see was beginning to become famous. CHAPTER VII THE FRIENDSHIP OF GOOD WOMEN If Whittier ever had a real love affair, no one seems to have known about it. The fact is, he was not of the passionate kind. But all his life his best friends were women, and many a good woman he knew and was fond of, and he and she became real friends. And of that friendship with him, all those women, without exception, were proud indeed. In a letter written a dozen years after his school life began, he says: ' 'For myself. I owe much to the kind encourage- ment of female friends. A bashful, ignorant boy, I was favored by the kindness of a lady who saw, or thought she saw, beneath the clownish exterior 34 something which gave promise of intellect and worth. [This was the wife of Mr. Thayer, with whom he boarded. ] The powers of my own mind, the mysteries of my own spirit, were revealed to myself, only as they were called out b}' one of those dangerous relations called cousins, who, with all her boarding school glories upon her, condescended to smile upon my rustic simplicity. She was so learned in the, to me, more than occult mysteries of verbs and nouns, and philosophy, and botany, and mineralogy, and French, and all that, and then she had seen something of society, and could talk (an accomplishment at that time to which I could lay no claim), that on the whole I looked upon her as a being to obtain whose good opinion no effort could be too great." One of these young lady friends, perhaps the very cousin of whom he speaks, wrote of him years afterwards : "He was nearly nineteen when I first saw him. He was a very handsome, distinguished-looking young man. His eyes were remarkably beautiful. He was tall, slight, and very erect; a bashful 35 youth, but never awkward, my mother said, who was a better judge of such matters than I. . . . ' 'With intimate friends he talked a great deal, and in a wonderfully interesting manner; usually earnest, and frequently playful. He had a great deal of wit. It was a family characteristic. . . . The influence of his Quaker bringing-up was mani- fest. I think it was always his endeavor to render less The sum of human wretchedness. This, I say, was his steadfast endeavor, in spite of his inborn love of teasing. He was very modest, never conceited, never egotistic. One could never flatter him. I never tried, but I have seen people attempt it, and it was a signal failure. He did not flatter, but told some very wholesome and unpalatable truths." An amusing story is told of Whittier's love of teasing. At the time it happened he must have been between thirty and forty. A Quaker sister named Sophronia Page, who went about preach- ing to little gatherings of the Friends, stopped one night at his mother's house. As most Quaker 36 bonnets are precisely alike, there is no way of tell- ing them apart except by the name inside. When Sophronia Page went away she put on Mrs. Whit- tier's bonnet by mistake. When she got to the next stopping place and saw the name inside, she sent the bonnet back. Whittier noticed it in a box in the hall, and thought he would have some fun with his mother. "What does thee think Sophronia Page has done?" he asked her, sitting down. "I don't know, Greenleaf, " she said quietly. "What is it?" "Something I'm much afraid she will be called up in Yearly Meeting for. " "I hope she hasn't been meddling with the troubles of the Friends," said Mrs. Whittier, anxiously, referring" to some church quarrels. "Worse than that!" said the young man, while his mother got more and more excited. "She has been taking other people's things, and has just begun to send some of them back. " With that he went into the hall and brought back the bonnet. 37 "If thee were twenty years younger I would take thee over my knee!" said his mother when she saw what it was ah about. Among his other famous women friends was Mrs. Sigourney, the poetess, with whom he became ac- cjuainted in Hartford while he was editing a paper there. He also knew Lucy Larcom ; and it was said at one time that he was engaged to marry Lucy Hooper, but there was no truth in this. Her death, shortly afterwards, made him feel very sad. In his poetic works you may find poems addressed to both these women. While speaking of women we must not omit a description of that woman who was to him dearest of all women in the world, his sister Lizzie. This gifted sister Lizzie was ' 'the pet and pride of the household, one of the rarest women, her brother's complement, possessing all the readiness of speech and facility of intercourse which he wanted; taking easily in his presence the lead in conversation, which the poet so gladly abandoned to her, while he sat rubbing his hands and laughing at her daring sallies. She was as unlike him in person as 38 in mind; for his dignified erectness, she had end- less motion and vivacity; for his regular and hand- some features, she had a long Jewish nose, so full of expression that it seemed to enhance, instead of injuring, the effect of the large and liquid eyes that glowed with merriment and sympathy behind it. . . . Her quick thoughts came like javelins; a saucy triumph gleamed in her great eyes; the head moved a little from side to side with the quiver of a weapon, and lo! you were transfixed." During his long life this sister was to Whittier more than sweetheart or wife, for she had the wit and the sympathy of all womankind in her one frail form; and Whittier knew it and depended on it for his happiness. CHAPTER Vni POLITICAL AMBITION Young Whittier remained at Haverhill academy only two terms. We have seen that he paid for the first one by making shoes. The second he paid for by teaching school. When he went to the 39 committee to be examined for this school he felt rather nervous; but the committee asked him only for a specimen of his handwriting, which was very neat and clear. He decided not to go to college, because he said he wouldn't live on the charities of others, and it would have been impossible to get through college without borrowing money of friends. Poor as he was, Whittier never borrowed money. While in Haverhill he wrote a great many poems and articles for the local newspaper. Garrison was then in Boston editing a temperance paper. But soon he thought he had something better in view, and concluded to turn the editorship over to Whit- tier. Whittier accepted the position and went to Boston; but he was to edit the Manufactiii'cr, not the PJiilaiitJiropist. Both were published by the same people. This is the way he writes about his work : ' '•''X\\Q. JMaiiufacturcr goes down well, thanks to the gullibility of the public, and we are doing well, very well. Have had one or two rubs from other papers, but I have had some compliments which 40 were quite as much as my vanity could swallow. Have tolerable good society, Mrs. Hale and her literary club, etc. I am coming out for the tariff by and by — have done something at it already — but the astonisha' is yet to come! Shall blow Cambreling and McDuffie sky-high." Cambreling and McDuffie were politicians whom he was going to oppose. We should hardly think that the gentle poet Whittier, Quaker as he was, would conceive the ambition to become a politician; but he was editing a political newspaper, and soon got deep into poli- tics and liked it. He had not been in Boston long when, his father becoming ill, he went back to the farm and remained there until the old gentleman died, in June, 1830. He spent all his time in study and writing, however, and after his father's death he was asked to edit a political paper in Hartford, Connecticut. He didn't know anything 9^ Connecticut politics; but he took hold and learned how matters stood. Everybody liked and he made some excellent friends there. 41 Of course rival political newspapers are always saying sharp things about one another. After he had been in Hartford a few weeks he opened a copy of the Catskill Recorder and saw a long article headed "John G. Whittier, " in which he was abused and ridiculed unmercifully. He hid the paper so that no one should see it, and went around in fear and trembling, thinking every one would know about it. Finally he wrote to the editor of the paper, protesting; but the editor had another paragraph, saying that, if he was as "thin-skinned" as that, he had better keep out of politics. Soon after this the New York papers, among them Bryant's Evening Post, spoke of him and his editor- ship in a very complimentary manner, and he felt better. The fact is, Whittier was a good politician. He managed affairs in Haverhill for years, and had a sort of party of his own which controlled things. Once on election day a tipsy man asked for a ride with him into town, and said that if Whittier would give him the ride he would vote for his candidate. Usually the man had voted on the other side. 42 Whittier said, "All right, "and took him along. He supported the man to the polls, put the right ballot in his hand, and told him to vote. But the fellow was so intoxieated he was obstinate, and deter- mined to vote the other way. At the last moment somebody handed him the wrong ballot, and he put it in the box. There was in Haverhill district a politician who did not really belong to Whittier's party, but who had always been elected after giving written pledges. After he had been elected in this way for several terms, and had been forced by Whittier to live up to his promises, he determined to go in without pledges. Whittier was away, and so he wrote a noncommittal letter, referring to his past record, and saying he didn't intend to pledge him- self any further. But Whittier came back in the nick of time, saw the danger, and went over to see the man, whose name was Caleb Gushing. Whit- tier told him he would not be elected unless he signed the desired pledges. After a while he said he would sign an}'thing WHiittier wrote. So the young politician sat down and wrote a letter, which 43 Mr. Gushing copied and signed. It was printed as a circular and sent all around town, and Gushing was elected. Then after he was elected Whittier watched him closely, and saw that he made good the promises in that letter. Some time after, he was on the point of being made a cabinet officer by the party to which Whittier was opposed; but by the use of this letter Whittier prevented it. GHAPTER IX THE GREAT QUESTION OF SLAVERY It is altogether probable that Whittier would have been elected to Gongress, and have had per- haps a great political career, had it not been for an act of genuine sacrifice on his part, made ^or the sake of right and conscience. In 1833 Garrison pointed out to him that the country must be roused on the question of slavery. As a good Quaker, Whittier was already an aboli- tionist. He felt deeply the insufferable wrong 44 that American citizens, even though black, should be slaves under the whip of a master. In an early poem he cries passionately: What, ho! — oi:r countryman in chains! The whip on woman's shrinking- flesh! Our soil yet reddening with the stains Caught from her scourging" warm and fresh! What! mothers from their children riven! What! God's own image bought and sold! Americans t(j market driven, And bartered as the brute for gold! When Garrison's appeal came, Whittier was at home on the farm, having given up the editorship of the Hartford paper on account of illness. Caleb Gushing, seven years younger than he, had come home from Europe and through Whittier's influ- ence had been elected to Gongrcss. Whittier's own name was being mentioned. A life of political ambition seemed to lie open before him. But with Garrison's appeal, he began a thorough and careful investigation of the question of slavery and its abolition in the United States. At last he \vrote 45 a pamphlet entitled "Justice and Expediency." It was a brilliant defense of the antislavery posi- tion. This he had published at his own expense, poor as he was. When it was about ready to appear he hesitated, and considered the situation carefully. The al)olitionists were a poor, despised party. If he cast in his lot with them, none of the great political parties would have anything to do with him: he must give up his political ambition, and devote himself to a cause that would require years for its success, even if it should ever succeed. In after times a boy of fifteen, who was am- bitious in a political way, came to him for advice, Whittier said that as a young man his ideal had been the life of a prominent politician. From this he had been persuaded only Ijy the appeals of his friends — chiefly Garrison. Taking their advice, he had united with the persecuted and obscure band of abolitionists, and to this course he attributed all his after success in life. Then, turn- ing to the boy, he placed his hand on his head, and said in his gentle voice: "My lad, if thou 46 wouldst win success, join thyself to some unpopular but noble cause. " From this time on, for thirty }'ears, Whittier continued to be a very poor man. He made anti- slavery speeches sometimes, edited antislavery papers, wrote antislavery poems, was secretary of antislavery societies. For all this he was paid very little, and at the same time his health was poor. He sold the farm which had been his father's, and moved to Amesbury, where he lived for the remainder of his life. His mother and his sister approved of his course, and supported him in every way. Their enthusi- astic help made his life even pleasant. He thought nothing of poverty or hardship, but only of the great work into which he had thrown himself. At one time he thought he must mortgage his home; but a friend came to his assistance, and at last in his old age he had money and comfort and all that success brings with it. From this time on, Whittier went through times of terrible struggle and conflict. Garrison had started his well-known paper, the Libcratoi\m Boston. To 47 it Whittier contributed the poem from which we have quoted the verse on page 44. In 1835 he was elected to the legislature by his fellow townsmen of Haverhill. While attending a special session of the legisla- ture that year, he saw the mob which came near hanging Garrison, and saw the rope about his friend's neck as the crowd hurried him around the corner of a street. The riot started in an attempt to break up a meeting of the Female Antislavery Society, which Whittier's sister was attending. When he heard of the outbreak he hurried off to the rescue of his sister; but she and the other women had escaped; and the police finally saved Garrison and took him to the jail for protection. CHAPTER X IIOW^ WHITTIER WAS IVIOBBED We must now mention a few exciting events in which Whittier himself took part. At the time of the occurrences referred to in the last chapter, George Thompson, an eloquent English reformer 48 who had helped to secure the abohtion of slavery in the British colonies, came to Boston to speak against slavery in the United States. It hap- pened that the good people of the churches thought that the easy way to remove slavery was to send the slaves back to Africa, and for this they took up collections. Garrison and Whittier came out strongly against this weak-kneed plan, and George Thompson helped them. Of course, the church folk were angry; and all the business men were angry, because they said it spoiled business to stir up this agitation. As a result, the rough characters in every town saw a chance to have sport, and did all they could to break up the meetings of abolitionists. The good church peo- ple and all the well-to-do and solid members of the community were so angry that they wouldn't do anything to stop the mobs; and the result was that, wherever the speakers went, stones and rotten eggs were thrown at them, and abuse of all sorts was heaped upon them. They got up a cry against George Thompson especially, that he was an Englishman who had 49 come over to try to steal American business; for in those days Americans were very jealous of England. They said Thompson's antislavery speeches were intended simply to stir up a quar- rel between the Northern people and the South- ern, so that England could step in and get their business. Handbills were thrown broadcast in Boston offering one hundred dollars to the first person that would lay violent hands on him. The first mob was the one Whittier saw in Boston, from which his sister narrowly escaped. The rioters were after Thompson; but not find- ing him, they took Garrison instead. A little later Thompson came to Haverhill and stopped with the Whittiers. He and the poet immediately set out on a tour into New Hamp- shire. With Thompson had come a clergyman named Samuel J. May. He was to have held a meeting one Sunday in the First Parish meeting-house in Concord, but the committee refused to allow him to speak on slavery, and another church was obtained. At half-past seven he began to speak. Every 50 one was listening with breathless attention, when a stone came through a window. He paid no attention, but kept steadily on. In a moment another stone came through the pulpit window, and another big one fell among the audience and frightened them so they all started for the door. Rev. Mr. May then decided to close the meet- ing, and called to the people to receive the bene- diction. It was a good thing he did so, for the steps of the church had been taken away, and if the crowd had poured out they would have fallen headlong. A heavily loaded cannon had also been brought up, and would have been used with terrible effect had the meeting lasted much longer. Whittier's sister took one arm of the clergyman, and another young lady the other, and they got him through the crowd without injury. Whittier and Thompson had in the meantime gone to meet a still more violent mob. A man named George Kent arranged a meeting for them in Concord, Massachusetts, since famous as the home of Hawthorne and Emerson. Handbills 51 were circulated announcing that George Thomp- son and John G. Whittier would hold a meeting "at which the principles, views, and operations of the abolitionists would be explained." The selectmen warned the people who were promoting it that there would be trouble if they held it; but they persisted. As the hour for the meeting approached, a great crowd gathered. The selectmen ordered that the doors should not be opened. Thereupon the crowd determined that they would find "the incendiary George Thompson," and punish him as he deserved; and, with loud threats, they ac- cordingly set ofi" for the house of George Kent and his ' ' wine cellar. " On the way they met Whittier. They thought he was Thompson, in spite of his Quaker coat and the assurances of a gentleman who was with him that he was not the man, and began to pelt him with rotten eggs, mud, and stones. Whittier was only lamed a little; but his coat was spoiled by the decayed eggs so that he could not wear it any more. Years afterward, when clothes 52 were being sent to the negroes in the South, he donated this coat. At hist Whittier and his companion escaped into the house of Colonel Kent, a brother of George Kent, and the colonel convinced the crowd that Thompson was not there. They therefore pushed on to the house of George Kent, where he really was. Quite a little company of anti- slavery people had assembled there to see Thompson, among them two nieces of Daniel Webster. But when the crowd arrived, he had left the house by a back street. When the mob found that he was gone, they went away to celebrate with fireworks and bon- fires. In the meantime Whittier, anxious for his friend, changed his hat, and escaping through the crowd went to the house of George Kent. After a time Thompson came back. So did the crowd, all the time firing guns, throwing stones, and making a great noise. At last, early in the morning, a horse and buggy were brought around to the back door, and Thompson and Whittier got into the vehicle. 53 Then the gates were thrown open, and, before the crowd knew what was being done, they drove away at a furious rate and escaped. They drove fast; but the news had spread be- fore them. They came to an inn at some dis- tance from Concord. A number of men were telhng about the riot, and exhibiting a handbill calling upon all good citizens to assist in captur- ing George Thompson and giving him his deserts. "How will you recognize the rascal? " asked Whittier. "Easily enough; he is a tonguey fellow," said the landlord. When they were in their carriage ready to drive away, Whittier said, "I am John G. Whittier, and this is George Thompson." The men stared at them until they were out of sight, but did not offer to lay hands on them. A year or two later Whittier went to Philadel- phia to edit an antislavery paper. The aboli- tionists had put up a large, fine building, called Penn- sylvania Hall. Whittier moved his editorial office into it as soon as it was finished. A series of 54 meetings were at once held in it; but they did not last long, for one night a mob burned the build- ing, and of course Whittier's office, with all his papers, was destroyed. CHAPTER XI SOME OF WIIITTIER S FAMOUS POEMS It is not necessary to tell all the events of those years of struggle and hardship and poverty. Whittier wrote a great many poems on slavery. A volume containing one hundred of them was pub- lished without his knowledge in 1837 by Isaac Knapp, publisher of the Liberator in Boston. It was entitled ' ' Poems Written during the Progress of the Abolition Question in the United States, between the years 1830 and 1838. By John G. Whittier." He was in New York when it came out. It was the first edition of his poems ever published. The next year he edited a volume of antislavery poems entitled ' ' The North Star, " only a few of which he contributed. In 1839 the 55 financial a^ent of the antislavery society, Joseph Healy, pubhshed a volume of poems by Whittier, There were i8o pages in the book, half of which was devoted to poems on slavery, the remainder to miscellaneous poems. So the years passed by, and Whittier and his friends kept up the great fight against slavery. The poet wrote hundreds of pieces, poetry and prose, which were published in all sorts of papers all over the country. Now he was at Haverhill in politics, always working for the cause of the slave, now in Philadelphia or somewhere else editing a paper; and again at his home in Ames- bury recovering his health. In the meantime the great cause to which he devoted himself moved steadily on until the Civil War came and all the negroes were set free. Whittier did not believe in war; but when it came he urged the Quakers, who were opposed to fighting, to become nurses, like the nuns and sisters of the Catholic church, and minister to the sick and wounded. In 1857 the Atlantic MontJily was started in 56 Boston. All the great writers of the day were to have a hand in it — Longfellow, Lowell, Emer- son, Holmes, and others. Whittier was also invited to take part, and an edition of his col- lected poems was published. The Atlantic MontJily paid more for contributions than most other periodicals in those days. Whittier got fifty dollars for each poem, and had a poem published nearly every month. He was in very delicate health at this time, and was so poor that this small amount was a godsend to him. He did not attend the monthly dinners in Boston, to which all the other literary men went, for he was a Quaker and did not approve of wine and luxuries; and besides he was not well enough to go. He sent his poems, however, with modest little notes, asking Lowell if he thought they would do, and telling him not to hesitate in rejecting them if he thought them silly. He seemed always to be afraid lest his beautiful simple poems would be so simple that some people would consider them foolish. In 1858 his mother died, and now he lived 57 alone with his sister. She, too, died in 1864, the last year of the war, and the next year he wrote "Snow-Bound" as a sort of tribute to her memory. It was published in Boston in 1866 and at once proved very popular. Whittier made $10,000 out of the royalties on it. His great regret was that his mother and sister had not lived to enjoy the benefit of his good fortune. Two famous poems deserve mention. One is ' ' Barbara Frietchie. " A lady friend of Whittier heard the story in Washington, and at once said, "That is a beautiful subject for a ballad by Whittier. It is almost like a scrap of paper lying around with his signature on it." So she wrote it out and sent it to him. Not long after that he wTote the poem, following the original story almost exactly. Some people afterward declared that it was not true; but there was certainly an old Ger- man woman who kept the Union flag waving over the rebel troops. The other poem is "The Barefoot Boy." Whit- tier wrote it in memory of his own boyhood. ' 'For, " says he, "I was once a barefoot boy." It pleased 58 him very much, and he sent it up to Mr. Fields, who was then editing the Atlantic, and asked ' ' if he thought it would do." Mr. Fields thought it very fine, and said it must go into the edition of Whittier's works which he was then publishing. Whittier was now sixty years old. The struggles of war and politics were over. The dear ones he loved were dead. To amuse and relieve himself he wrote those simple, beautiful ballads, which every person has read and admired. They were among the finest things he ever did. Among them were "Maud Muller, " "Skipper Ireson's Ride," and others equally familiar. They were cheerful and happy, and some were about the days of his child- hood. There was occasionally a tinge of sadness in them, but sadness mingled with hope. Of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: "It might have been!" Ah, well ! for us all some sweet hope lies Deeply buried from human eyes; And, in the hereafter, angels may Roll the stone from its grave away! 59 Whittier's life viigJit have been much easier and much happier. But he had helped much in the accomplishment of a great work, and he was not one to regret all his hardships and sufferings. CHAPTER XII THE END OF A SUCCESSFLIL LIFE Before closing this short biography we must refer briefly to one or two interesting anecdotes and circumstances. Whittier was color-blind, at least as to red and green. He could see no differ- ence between the color of ripe strawberries and the leaves of the vine. Yellow he thought the finest color in the world, and perhaps for this reason he preferred the golden-rod. When the Peace Jubilee was to be celebrated after the Civil War, Patrick S. Gil more, the famous bandmaster, asked Whittier to write an ode for the occasion. He declined, and then Gil- more offered a prize to the poet who would con- 6o tribute the best one. Whittier thought he would write one and send it anonymously. No notice was taken of it. Some people will point a moral to this tale by saying, "See what a reputation IS! I " Whittier was very fond of pets. Once he had a gray parrot. It was trained on shipboard and would swear occasionally; but it soon fell into the quiet ways of its home. One Sunday morning, however, it got on top of the chimney while the church bells were ringing, and began to dance and scream and swear, while the poor Quakers inside the house came out and looked helplessly up at him, wondering how they would get him down. After that he fell down the chimney and remained in the soot two days. When he was discovered and taken out he was nearly starved, and died not long after. Whittier also had a little bantam rooster which he trained to crow when he placed it at the door of his niece's room in the morning. Every morning Whittier would push open her door and put the rooster on top of it; and the little fowl would 6i crow lustily until his young mistress was quite awake. One day not long after the war the Whittiers received a small box, and on opening it they were astonished to see little spikes sticking out all over. Whittier's niece at once guessed it must be an infernal machine, and took it out and buried it in the garden. A few days after there came a letter saying a paperweight, made out of the bullets from a famous battlefield, had been sent. Then they knew it must be the thing they thought an infernal machine, and went and dug it up; and after that it always stood on the poet's desk. During the time of the war, Gail Hamilton, a friend of Whittier's, embroidered a pair of slippers for him. They were in Quaker gray, but on them was pictured a fierce eagle, with a bunch of thun- derbolts in one claw. He was looking knowingly around, as much as to say that if he got a good chance when nobody was looking, he would hurl those thunderbolts. This was intended as a joke on W'hittier, who was a Quaker and opposed to war, but still had a good deal of the warlike spirit 62 in him ready to break out at any moment. Whit- tier used to say, referring to the sHppers, that Gail Hamilton was as sharp with her needle as with her tongue. On the occasion of his seventieth birthday, Whittier was given a great dinner at the Hotel Brunswick in Boston. Nearly all the famous writers of the day were present. When it came the poet's turn to respond to the address of con- gratulation, he said Longfellow would read a short poem he had written. He handed a paper to that poet, who read the response. After that, his birthdays were celebrated more or less regularly, and often Whittier had to make great efforts to escape the ' 'pilgrims" who came to Amesbury to see him. Once a party of boys from Exeter Academy started over to visit him and get his autograph. By accident they were delayed, and when they reached his house it was the dead of night and the poet was in bed. He got up, how- ever, and gave them hospitality, writing in all their books. Before he had finished, one of the boys said, "You have written only John in my book." 6.3 "I am afraid some of you haven't even got as much as that, " said he drily, and took up the candle and went off to bed. He died on the 7th of September, 1892, at the house of some friends in New Hampshire, with whom he was staying. We cannot close this account of the life of the dearest and sweetest of poets better than by quot- ing; his own words about himself: ^t> And while my words are read, Let this at least be said: "Whate'er his life's defeatures, He loved his fellow-creatures. "To all who humbly suffered, His tongue and end he offered; His life was not his own, Nor lived for self alone. "Hater of din and riot, He lived in days unquiet; And, lover of all beauty. Trod the hard ways of duty. 64 "He meant no wrong to any, He so Light the good of many, Yet knew both sin and folly, — May God forgive him wholly!" Also these lines from "My Soul and I": I have wrestled stoutly with the wrong. And borne the right From beneath the footfall of the throng To life and light. Wherever Freedom shivered a chain, God speed, quoth I ; To Error amidst her shouting train I trave the lie. Note. — The thanks of the piiblisher<; are due Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. for their kind permission to use selections from the copyrighted works of Whittier. "four Great James Baldwin, Ph. D. flmericans" Scries... For Young American Readers. In order that Baldwin's Biographical Stories may be had in book form, they are bound together, four Booklets to the volume. These volumes, beautifully bound in cloth, will be published and known as the "Four Great Americans" Series. VOLUMES NOW READY: L Four Great Americans GEORGE WASHINGTON, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, DANIEL WEBSTER, ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By James Baldwin, Ph. D. Cloth. 246 Pages. . . . Price, 50 Cents. IL Four American Patriots PATRICK HENRY, ALEXANDER HAMILTON, ANDREW JACKSON, ULYSSES S. GRANT. By Alma Holman Burton, Author of "The Story of Our Country." Cloth. 256 Pages. . . . Price, 50 Cents. Other Volumes in Preparation. Liberal Terms for Supplies to Schools. Send for our Price List and Announcement of EPOCH-MAKING BOOKS. WERNER SCHOOL BOOK COMPANY, Educational Publishers. New York, CHICAGO, Boston, 78 Fifth Avenue. 378-388 Wabash Avenue. 73 Tremont Street. ^ III. Four American Naval Heroes. " FOR BEGINNERS IN READING." THE WERNER PRIMER Exquisitely Illustrated in Colors. n2 Pages. Price 30 Cents. 'T^HE Werner Primer is a growth. It is based on the -■■- Kindergarten idea as taught by Froebel. It in- cludes all the work for the first half year, taking up the subjects of reading, writing, language, number, science, drawing, literature, and occupations, by means of the most perfect inductive, correlative exercises. This famous book has accomplished two results: 1. It has revolutionized methods of teaching* be- ginners in reading". 2. It has revolutionized the making* of text-books for beginners in reading. The ' ' old style ' ' Primers, First Readers, Primary Readers, etc. , have all been relegated to the past. THE vVERNER PRIMER stands without a rival in original- ity, in plan, in method, in beauty, in practical value, — In everything needed in the schoolroom for beginners in reading. Liberal Terms for Supplies to Schools. THE First Year Nature Reader* o^ o? o? 'Pnr {^rnr1/=Q T nnrJ IT By Katherine Beebe rur urrdaeb i ana ii. and nellie f. kingsley J54 Pages. Price 35 Cents. "^I^HIS is a remaricably interesting book for children. -*- It is designed to be taken up after the Werner Primer, and has been prepared in the same thorough and beautiful manner. The subject matter follows the seasons as they change from fall to summer, calling attention to the flowers, fruits, birds, and activities of every-day interest. The study of Nature is always attractive to the child, and in the First Year Nature Reader are some of the most interesting phases of out-door life, put in a form easily understood and enjoyed by the youngest reader. A valuable feature of the book is a list of appropriate stories by well-known authors. These are to be read or told in connection with the reading lessons. At the end of the book are placed many suggestions regarding seat work, such as painting, drawing, modeling, sewing, etc. The book is beautifully illustrated in colors and forms an "ideal First Reader." Liberal Terms for Supplies to Schools, Legends of the Red Children O? O? vl? For Grades IV and V. mara l. pratt ^28 Pages. Price 30 Cents. TN contrast with the old, classic tales and the lessons -■- from Nature are these poetic legends of Indian life. Children delight in beautiful stories like these, which carry them into a new and strange world. Not only do the myths form most interesting reading, but they directly cultivate the child's imagination by means of the delightful, poetic fancies. The literary style of the author is picturesque and charming, and is peculiarly adapted to interest the children. The following extract, from the preface, shows the pleasing character of the writings: "Many years ago, when this country of ours was one great forest, * * * there dwelt a race of happy little children. The Red Children, we call them * * * Some wise men, who loved the Red Children and saw the sweetness of their simple stories, gathered them together and told them in a book, so that you and I might read these legends of the Red Children. " The little book is attractively bound and illustrated. The chapters include, among others: The Legend of the Lightning. The Rainbow. The Star Beautiful. The Sun a Prisoner. Will-o'-the-Wisp. The Land of the Hereafter, etc. Liberal Terms for Supplies to Schools. The Story of Our Country* '^Cj o? o^ For Grades V and VI. ^^ma ho: man burton 240 Pages. Price 60 Cents. nnHIS is a unique and charming work, which not only -■- forms an admirable primary history, but also makes a remarkably interesting book for supplementary read- ing. It is the story of the people of the United States, and of their progress from the struggles and privations in the wilderness down to the national prosperity of to- day. So skillfully is our country's growth depicted that the whole is one continuous story, as charming as any ro- mance and of absorbing interest from beginning to end. The captivating and picturesque style in which it is writ- ten makes the work especially desirable as a supplemen- tary reading book. The illustrations are numerous, and are much more than mere pictures, for each one assists in telling the story, and is not thrown in haphazard, merely for embel- lishment. The author's aim throughout is to awaken in the child an interest in our country's progress and to cherish feel- ings of patriotic pride and love of country. Liberal Terms for Supplies to Schools. SOHRAB AND RUSTUM AN EPISODE For Higher Grades. matthew arnold J23 Pages. Price 40 Cents. 'T^HIS little volume presents one of the greatest epics -*" of modern times, and introduces the student to the rich fields of Persian literature. The subject of the poem goes back to the earliest traditions of Persia, which have been handed down for centuries in the folk-lore and the written chronicles. During the tenth century these traditional data were gathered together by the " Homer of Persia ' ' into one great epic, and it is on the crowning episode of this great saga that Arnold has based his poem. Sohrab and Rustum, more than any other of his works, has placed Arnold among the poets of modern England. It is the masterpiece of his classic and heroic poems. A most interesting introduction, and valuable and abundant notes, have been prepared by Merwin Marie Snell. There is also a bibliography for the use of students. This poem has been selected as one of the English requirements for admission into the colleges of the United States. Liberal Terms for Supplies to Schools. afaj/ette^ The THE BOOK OF THE HOUR for THE YOUTH OF AMERICA.. ^^ Just '^'^ Published. Ohe proposal to erect a monument in Paris to the early friend of American liberty, GENERAL LAFAYETTE, by contributions from the patriotic school children of the United States, has aroused national enthusiasm for the memory of this noble In view of the great interest which this fitting and significant movement has awakened in the life, character and services of the heroic soldier and patriot, the Werner School Book Company has just issued, edited by Dr. James Baldwin, *' LAFAYETTE, THE FRIEND OF AMERICAN LIBERTY," By Mrs. ALMA HOLMAN BURTON, The author of " Four American Patriots," " The Story of Our Country," Etc. A TIMELY CONTRIBUTION OF GREAT VALUE TO PATRIOTIC EDUCATIONAL LITERATURE. lUerner School Book ^..Company,,. pocb-niaking gooKs ti ii The term, *' Epoch-Making," is often used inaccurately. When properly applied to school books, it means such ■works as introduce new conceptions ^vith reference to a given branch of know^ledge, or illustrate new and improved methods in the treatment of that branch. Such works, by showing a better way than that which was formerly pursued, bring about a revolution in the making of school=books, as well as reform in the meth= ods of teaching. JBS'Here are some NOTABLE EXAMPLES OF EP0CH=MAK1NG BOOKS: DeGarmo's Language Lessons, Book I S 30 DeGarmo's Language Lessons, Book II 40 DeGarmo's Complete Language Lessons 50 The Werner Introductory Geography (Tarbell) 55 The Werner Grammar School Geography (Tarbell) 1 40 The Werner Arithmetic, Book I. (Hall ) 40 The Werner Arithmetic. Book II. 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Educational :: Publishers. ^3 Tremont St. BOStOtt. 57 4 .<« ; .0 . , ,^^^ aN -\>^^^ ..x^^ aX^ \^: '■'If <'' ' - ''^^ .X x^^ o '^^ -/■ ' •' N " ,0 " --'^•^ aN \^' -Ci ■ o rv A^'-^ ^. . > • " * <■ A- - T :. " * '/' "? = "J ■' i , "*■ \ ;V " /^ ■"o \ '^^^ ia\' .^^^' % • o- -- , \' ■-^~- \V V '- •, '^• ■"■' 0,- ''■ z %^ u \' ,4^ ■';/.. =;h. '•''2' ■ S "x-- '^ ,. . .^^■^ ,A .^^^■ ■\' xV^-^ V^ A^ ,v^ r> o>' .<\^^ ,'^'- -•':>" -' ^ .v\" ''-.