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diff --git a/old/hbstw10.txt b/old/hbstw10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3eedcc5 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/hbstw10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16574 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe +by Charles Edward Stowe + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe + +Author: Charles Edward Stowe + +Release Date: October, 2004 [EBook #6702] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on January 17, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII, with some ISO-8859-1 characters + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF HARRIET BEECHER STOWE *** + + + + +Produced by Steve Schulze, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. +This file was produced from images generously made available +by the CWRU Preservation Department Digital Library + + + + + + + +LIFE OF HARRIET BEECHER STOWE + +Compiled From + +Her Letters and Journals + +BY HER SON + +CHARLES EDWARD STOWE + + +[Illustration: Handwritten Preface + +It seems but fitting, that I should preface this story of my life, +with a few words of introduction. + +The desire to leave behind me some reflection of my life, has been +cherished by me, for many years past; but failing strength and +increasing infirmities have prevented its accomplishment. + +At my suggestion and with what assistance I have been able to render +my son Revd. Charles Edward Stow, has compiled from my letters and +journals, this biography. It is this true story of my own words, and +has therefore all the force of an autobiography. + +It is perhaps much more accurate as to detail & impression than is +possible with any autobiography, written later in life. + +If these pages, shall lead those who read them to a firmer trust in +God and a deeper sense of this fatherly goodness throughout the days +of our Earthly pilgrimage I can stay with Valient for Faith in the +Pilgrim's Progress. + +I am going to my Father's & this with great difficulty. I am got +hither, yet now I do not repent me of all the troubles I have been +at, to arrive where I am. + +My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage & my +courages & skills to him that can get it. + +Hartford Sept. 30 1889 + +(Signed) Harriet Beecher Stowe] + + + + +INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT. + +I desire to express my thanks here to Harper & Brothers, of New York, +for permission to use letters already published in the "Autobiography +and Correspondence of Lyman Beecher." I have availed myself freely of +this permission in chapters i. and iii. In chapter xx. I have given +letters already published in the "Life of George Eliot," by Mr. Cross; +but in every instance I have copied from the original MSS. and not +from the published work. In conclusion, I desire to express my +indebtedness to Mr. Kirk Munroe, who has been my co-laborer in the +work of compilation. + +CHARLES E. STOWE. + +HARTFORD, _September_ 30, 1889. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. + +CHILDHOOD 1811-1824. + +DEATH OF HER MOTHER.--FIRST JOURNEY FROM HOME.--LIFE AT NUT PLAINS.-- +SCHOOL DAYS AND HOURS WITH FAVORITE AUTHORS.--THE NEW MOTHER.-- +LITCHFIELD ACADEMY AND ITS INFLUENCE.--FIRST LITERARY EFFORTS.--A +REMARKABLE COMPOSITION.--GOES TO HARTFORD. + + +CHAPTER II. + +SCHOOL DAYS IN HARTFORD, 1824-1832. + +MISS CATHERINE BEECHER.--PROFESSOR FISHER.--THE WRECK OF THE ALBION +AND DEATH OF PROFESSOR FISHER.--"THE MINISTER'S WOOING."--MISS +CATHERINE BEECHER'S SPIRITUAL HISTORY.--MRS. STOWE'S RECOLLECTIONS OF +HER SCHOOL DAYS IN HARTFORD.--HER CONVERSION.--UNITES WITH THE FIRST +CHURCH IN HARTFORD.--HER DOUBTS AND SUBSEQUENT RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT. +--HER FINAL PEACE. + + +CHAPTER III. + +CINCINNATI, 1832-1836. + +DR. BEECHER CALLED TO CINCINNATI.--THE WESTWARD JOURNEY.--FIRST LETTER +FROM HOME.--DESCRIPTION OF WALNUT HILLS.--STARTING A NEW SCHOOL.-- +INWARD GLIMPSES.--THE SEMI-COLON CLUB.--EARLY IMPRESSIONS OF SLAVERY. +--A JOURNEY TO THE EAST.--THOUGHTS AROUSED BY FIRST VISIT TO NIAGARA.-- +MARRIAGE TO PROFESSOR STOWE. + + +CHAPTER IV. + +EARLY MARRIED LIFE, 1836-1840. + +PROFESSOR STOWE'S INTEREST IN POPULAR EDUCATION.--HIS DEPARTURE FOR +EUROPE.--SLAVERY RIOTS IN CINCINNATI.--BIRTH OF TWIN DAUGHTERS.-- +PROFESSOR STOWE'S RETURN AND VISIT TO COLUMBUS.--DOMESTIC TRIALS.-- +AIDING A FUGITIVE SLAVE.--AUTHORSHIP UNDER DIFFICULTIES.--A BEECHER +ROUND ROBIN. + + +CHAPTER V. + +POVERTY AND SICKNESS, 1840-1850. + +FAMINE IN CINCINNATI.--SUMMER AT THE EAST.--PLANS FOR LITERARY WORK.-- +EXPERIENCE ON A RAILROAD.--DEATH OF HER BROTHER GEORGE.--SICKNESS AND +DESPAIR.--A JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF HEALTH.--GOES TO BRATTLEBORO' WATER- +CURE.--TROUBLES AT LANE SEMINARY.--CHOLERA IN CINCINNATI.--DEATH OF +YOUNGEST CHILD.--DETERMINED TO LEAVE THE WEST. + + +CHAPTER VI. + +REMOVAL TO BRUNSWICK, 1850-1852. + +MRS. STOWE'S REMARKS ON WRITING AND UNDERSTANDING BIOGRAPHY.--THEIR +APPROPRIATENESS TO HER OWN BIOGRAPHY.--REASONS FOR PROFESSOR STOWE'S +LEAVING CINCINNATI.--MRS. STOWE'S JOURNEY TO BROOKLYN.--HER BROTHER'S +SUCCESS AS A MINISTER.--LETTERS FROM HARTFORD AND BOSTON.--ARRIVES IN +BRUNSWICK.--HISTORY OF THE SLAVERY AGITATION.--PRACTICAL WORKING OF +THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW.--MRS. EDWARD BEECHER'S LETTER TO MRS. STOWE +AND ITS EFFECT.--DOMESTIC TRIALS.--BEGINS TO WRITE "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" +AS A SERIAL FOR THE "NATIONAL ERA."--LETTER TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS.-- +"UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" A WORK OF RELIGIOUS EMOTION. + + +CHAPTER VII. + +UNCLE TOM'S CABIN, 1852. + +"UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" AS A SERIAL IN THE "NATIONAL ERA."--AN OFFER FOR +ITS PUBLICATION IN BOOK FORM.--WILL IT BE A SUCCESS?--AN UNPRECEDENTED +CIRCULATION.--CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES.--KIND WORDS FROM ABROAD.--MRS. +STOWE TO THE EARL OF CARLISLE.--LETTERS FROM AND TO LORD SHAFTESBURY. +--CORRESPONDENCE WITH ARTHUR HELPS. + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +FIRST TRIP TO EUROPE, 1853. + +THE EDMONDSONS.--BUYING SLAVES TO SET THEM FREE.--JENNY LIND.-- +PROFESSOR STOWE IS CALLED TO ANDOVER.--FITTING UP THE NEW HOME.--THE +"KEY TO UNCLE TOM'S CABIN."--"UNCLE TOM" ABROAD.--HOW IT WAS PUBLISHED +IN ENGLAND.--PREFACE TO THE EUROPEAN EDITION.--THE BOOK IN FRANCE.--IN +GERMANY.--A GREETING FROM CHARLES KINGSLEY.--PREPARING TO VISIT +SCOTLAND.--LETTER TO MRS. FOLLEN + + +CHAPTER IX. + +SUNNY MEMORIES, 1853. + +CROSSING THE ATLANTIC.--ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND.--RECEPTION IN LIVERPOOL.-- +WELCOME TO SCOTLAND.--A GLASGOW TEA-PARTY.--EDINBURGH HOSPITALITY.-- +ABERDEEN.--DUNDEE AND BIRMINGHAM.--JOSEPH STURGE.--ELIHU BURRITT.-- +LONDON.--THE LORD MAYOR'S DINNER.--CHARLES DICKENS AND HIS WIFE + + +CHAPTER X. + +FROM OVER THE SEA, 1853. + +THE EARL OF CARLISLE.--ARTHUR HELPS.--THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF ARGYLL. +--MARTIN FARQUHAR TUPPER.--A MEMORABLE MEETING AT STAFFORD HOUSE.-- +MACAULAY AND DEAN MILMAN.--WINDSOR CASTLE.--PROFESSOR STOWE RETURNS TO +AMERICA.--MRS. STOWE ON THE CONTINENT.--IMPRESSIONS OF PARIS.--EN +ROUTE TO SWITZERLAND AND GERMANY.--BACK TO ENGLAND.--HOMEWARD BOUND + + +CHAPTER XI. + +HOME AGAIN, 1853-1856. + +ANTI-SLAVERY WORK.--STIRRING TIMES IN THE UNITED STATES.--ADDRESS TO +THE LADIES OF GLASGOW.--APPEAL TO THE WOMEN OF AMERICA.-- +CORRESPONDENCE WITH WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON.--THE WRITING OF "DRED."-- +FAREWELL LETTER FROM GEORGIANA MAY.--SECOND VOYAGE TO ENGLAND. + + +CHAPTER XII. + +DRED, 1856. + +SECOND VISIT TO ENGLAND.--A GLIMPSE AT THE QUEEN.--THE DUKE OF ARGYLL +AND INVERARY.--EARLY CORRESPONDENCE WITH LADY BYRON.--DUNROBIN CASTLE +AND ITS INMATES.--A VISIT TO STOKE PARK.--LORD DUFFERIN.--HARLES +KINGSLEY AT HOME.--PARIS REVISITED.--MADAME MOHL'S RECEPTIONS + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +OLD SCENES REVISITED, 1856. + +EN ROUTE TO ROME.--TRIALS OF TRAVEL.--A MIDNIGHT ARRIVAL AND AN +INHOSPITABLE RECEPTION.--GLORIES OF THE ETERNAL CITY.--NAPLES AND +VESUVIUS.--VENICE.--HOLY WEEK IN ROME.--RETURN TO ENGLAND.--LETTER +FROM HARRIET MARTINEAU ON "DRED."--A WORD FROM MR. PRESCOTT ON +"DRED."--FAREWELL TO LADY BYRON. + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE MINISTER'S WOOING, 1857-1859. + +DEATH OF MRS. STOWE'S OLDEST SON.--LETTER TO THE DUCHESS OF +SUTHERLAND.--LETTER TO HER DAUGHTERS IN PARIS.--LETTER TO HER SISTER +CATHERINE.--VISIT TO BRUNSWICK AND ORR'S ISLAND.--WRITES "THE +MINISTER'S WOOING" AND "THE PEARL OF ORR'S ISLAND."--MR. WHITTIER'S +COMMENTS.--MR. LOWELL ON "THE MINISTER'S WOOING."--LETTER TO MRS. +STOWE FROM MR. LOWELL.--JOHN RUSKIN ON "THE MINISTER'S WOOING."--A +YEAR OF SADNESS.--LETTER TO LADY BYRON.--LETTER TO HER DAUGHTER.-- +DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE. + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE THIRD TRIP TO EUROPE, 1859. + +THIRD VISIT TO EUROPE.--LADY BYRON ON "THE MINISTER'S WOOING."--SOME +FOREIGN PEOPLE AND THINGS AS THEY APPEARED TO PROFESSOR STOWE.--A +WINTER IN ITALY.--THINGS UNSEEN AND UNREVEALED.--SPECULATIONS +CONCERNING SPIRITUALISM.--JOHN RUSKIN.--MRS. BROWNING.--THE RETURN TO +AMERICA.--LETTERS TO DR. HOLMES + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE CIVIL WAR, 1860-1865. + +THE OUTBREAK OF CIVIL WAR.--MRS. STOWE'S SON ENLISTS.--THANKSGIVING +DAY IN WASHINGTON.--THE PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION.--REJOICINGS IN +BOSTON.--FRED STOWE AT GETTYSBURG.--LEAVING ANDOVER AND SETTLING IN +HARTFORD.--A REPLY TO THE WOMEN OF ENGLAND.--LETTERS FROM JOHN BRIGHT, +ARCHBISHOP WHATELY, AND NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +FLORIDA, 1865-1869. + +LETTER TO DUCHESS OF ARGYLL.--MRS. STOWE DESIRES TO HAVE A HOME AT THE +SOUTH.--FLORIDA THE BEST FIELD FOR DOING GOOD.--SHE BUYS A PLACE AT +MANDARIN.--A CHARMING WINTER RESIDENCE--"PALMETTO LEAVES."--EASTER +SUNDAY AT MANDARIN.--CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR. HOLMES.--"POGANUC +PEOPLE."--RECEPTIONS IN NEW ORLEANS AND TALLAHASSEE.--LAST WINTER AT +MANDARIN. + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +OLDTOWN FOLKS, 1869. + +PROFESSOR STOWE THE ORIGINAL OF "HARRY" IN "OLDTOWN FOLKS."--PROFESSOR +STOWE'S LETTER TO GEORGE ELIOT.--HER REMARKS ON THE SAME.--PROFESSOR +STOWE'S NARRATIVE OF HIS YOUTHFUL ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF SPIRITS. +--PROFESSOR STOWE'S INFLUENCE ON MRS. STOWE'S LITERARY LIFE.--GEORGE +ELIOT ON "OLDTOWN FOLKS." + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE BYRON CONTROVERSY, 1869-1870. + +MRS. STOWE'S STATEMENT OF HER OWN CASE.--THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH +SHE FIRST MET LADY BYRON.--LETTERS TO LADY BYRON.--LETTER TO DR. +HOLMES WHEN ABOUT TO PUBLISH "THE TRUE STORY OF LADY BYRON'S LIFE" IN +THE "ATLANTIC."--DR. HOLMES'S REPLY.--THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER. + + +CHAPTER XX. + +GEORGE ELIOT. + +CORRESPONDENCE WITH GEORGE ELIOT.--GEORGE ELIOT'S FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF +MRS. STOWE.--MRS. STOWE'S LETTER TO MRS. FOLLEN.--GEORGE ELIOT'S +LETTER TO MRS. STOWE.--MRS. STOWE'S REPLY.--LIFE IN FLORIDA.--ROBERT +DALE OWEN AND MODERN SPIRITUALISM.--GEORGE ELIOT'S LETTER ON THE +PHENOMENA OF SPIRITUALISM.--MRS. STOWE'S DESCRIPTION OF SCENERY IN +FLORIDA.--MRS. STOWE CONCERNING "MIDDLEMARCH."--GEORGE ELIOT TO MRS. +STOWE DURING REV. H. W. BEECHER'S TRIAL.--MRS. STOWE CONCERNING HER +LIFE EXPERIENCE WITH HER BROTHER, H. W. BEECHER, AND His TRIAL.--MRS. +LEWES' LAST LETTER TO MRS. STOWE.--DIVERSE MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF +THESE TWO WOMEN.--MRS. STOWE'S FINAL ESTIMATE OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +CLOSING SCENES, 1870-1889. + +LITERARY LABORS.--COMPLETE LIST OF PUBLISHED BOOKS.--FIRST READING +TOUR.--PEEPS BEHIND THE CURTAIN.--SOME NEW ENGLAND CITIES.--A LETTER +FROM MAINE.--PLEASANT AND UNPLEASANT READINGS.--SECOND TOUR.--A +WESTERN JOURNEY.--VISIT TO OLD SCENES.--CELEBRATION OF SEVENTIETH +BIRTHDAY.--CONGRATULATORY POEMS FROM MR. WHITTIER AND DR. HOLMES.-- +LAST WORDS. + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + +PORTRAIT OF MRS. STOWE. From a crayon by Richmond, made in England in +1853 + +SILVER INKSTAND PRESENTED TO MRS. STOWE BY HER ENGLISH ADMIRERS IN +1853 + +PORTRAIT OF MRS. STOWE'S GRANDMOTHER, ROXANNA FOOTE. From a miniature +painted on ivory by her daughter, Mrs. Lyman Beecher. + +BIRTHPLACE AT LITCHFIELD, CONN. + +PORTRAIT OF CATHERINE E. BEECHER. From a photograph taken in 1875 + +THE HOME AT WALNUT HILLS, CINCINNATI. [Footnote: From recent +photographs and from views in the Autobiography of Lyman Beecher, +published by Messrs. Harper & Brothers.] + +PORTRAIT OF HENRY WARD BEECHER. From a photograph by Rockwood, in 1884 + +MANUSCRIPT PAGE OF "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" (facsimile) + +THE ANDOVER HOME. From a painting by F. Rondel, in 1860, owned by Mrs. +H. F. Allen. + +PORTRAIT OF LYMAN BEECHER, AT THE AGE OF EIGHTY-SEVEN. From a painting +owned by the Boston Congregational Club. + +PORTRAIT OF THE DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND. From an engraving presented to +Mrs. Stowe. + +THE OLD HOME AT HARTFORD + +THE HOME AT MANDARIN, FLORIDA + +PORTRAIT OF CALVIN ELLIS STOWE. From a photograph taken in 1882 + +PORTRAIT OF MRS. STOWE. From a photograph by Ritz and Hastings, in +1884 + +THE LATER HARTFORD HOME + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +CHILDHOOD, 1811-1824. + + +DEATH OF HER MOTHER.--FIRST JOURNEY FROM HOME.--LIFE AT NUT PLAINS.-- +SCHOOL DAYS AND HOURS WITH FAVORITE AUTHORS.--THE NEW MOTHER.-- +LITCHFIELD ACADEMY AND ITS INFLUENCE.--FIRST LITERARY EFFORTS.--A +REMARKABLE COMPOSITION.--GOES TO HARTFORD. + +Harriet Beecher (Stowe) was born June 14, 1811, in the characteristic +New England town of Litchfield, Conn. Her father was the Rev. Dr. +Lyman Beecher, a distinguished Calvinistic divine, her mother Roxanna +Foote, his first wife. The little new-comer was ushered into a +household of happy, healthy children, and found five brothers and +sisters awaiting her. The eldest was Catherine, born September 6, +1800. Following her were two sturdy boys, William and Edward; then +came Mary, then George, and at last Harriet. Another little Harriet +born three years before had died when only one month old, and the +fourth daughter was named, in memory of this sister, Harriet Elizabeth +Beecher. Just two years after Harriet was born, in the same month, +another brother, Henry Ward, was welcomed to the family circle, and +after him came Charles, the last of Roxanna Beecher's children. + +The first memorable incident of Harriet's life was the death of her +mother, which occurred when she was four years old, and which ever +afterwards remained with her as the tenderest, saddest, and most +sacred memory of her childhood. Mrs. Stowe's recollections of her +mother are found in a letter to her brother Charles, afterwards +published in the "Autobiography and Correspondence of Lyman Beecher." +She says:-- + +"I was between three and four years of age when our mother died, and +my personal recollections of her are therefore but few. But the deep +interest and veneration that she inspired in all who knew her were +such that during all my childhood I was constantly hearing her spoken +of, and from one friend or another some incident or anecdote of her +life was constantly being impressed upon me. + +"Mother was one of those strong, restful, yet widely sympathetic +natures in whom all around seemed to find comfort and repose. The +communion between her and my father was a peculiar one. It was an +intimacy throughout the whole range of their being. There was no human +mind in whose decisions he had greater confidence. Both intellectually +and morally he regarded her as the better and stronger portion of +himself, and I remember hearing him say that after her death his first +sensation was a sort of terror, like that of a child suddenly shut out +alone in the dark. + +"In my own childhood only two incidents of my mother twinkle like rays +through the darkness. One was of our all running and dancing out +before her from the nursery to the sitting-room one Sabbath morning, +and her pleasant voice saying after us, 'Remember the Sabbath day to +keep it holy, children.' + +"Another remembrance is this: mother was an enthusiastic +horticulturist in all the small ways that limited means allowed. Her +brother John in New York had just sent her a small parcel of fine +tulip-bulbs. I remember rummaging these out of an obscure corner of +the nursery one day when she was gone out, and being strongly seized +with the idea that they were good to eat, using all the little English +I then possessed to persuade my brothers that these were onions such +as grown people ate and would be very nice for us. So we fell to and +devoured the whole, and I recollect being somewhat disappointed in the +odd sweetish taste, and thinking that onions were not so nice as I had +supposed. Then mother's serene face appeared at the nursery door and +we all ran towards her, telling with one voice of our discovery and +achievement. We had found a bag of onions and had eaten them all up. + +"Also I remember that there was not even a momentary expression of +impatience, but that she sat down and said, 'My dear children, what +you have done makes mamma very sorry. Those were not onions but roots +of beautiful flowers, and if you had let them alone we should have +next summer in the garden great beautiful red and yellow flowers such +as you never saw.' I remember how drooping and dispirited we all grew +at this picture, and how sadly we regarded the empty paper bag. + +"Then I have a recollection of her reading aloud to the children Miss +Edgeworth's 'Frank,' which had just come out, I believe, and was +exciting a good deal of attention among the educational circles of +Litchfield. After that came a time when every one said she was sick, +and I used to be permitted to go once a day into her room, where she +sat bolstered up in bed. I have a vision of a very fair face with a +bright red spot on each cheek and her quiet smile. I remember dreaming +one night that mamma had got well, and of waking with loud transports +of joy that were hushed down by some one who came into the room. My +dream was indeed a true one. She was forever well. + +"Then came the funeral. Henry was too little to go. I can see his +golden curls and little black frock as he frolicked in the sun like a +kitten, full of ignorant joy. + +"I recollect the mourning dresses, the tears of the older children, +the walking to the burial-ground, and somebody's speaking at the +grave. Then all was closed, and we little ones, to whom it was so +confused, asked where she was gone and would she never come back. + +"They told us at one time that she had been laid in the ground, and at +another that she had gone to heaven. Thereupon Henry, putting the two +things together, resolved to dig through the ground and go to heaven +to find her; for being discovered under sister Catherine's window one +morning digging with great zeal and earnestness, she called to him to +know what he was doing. Lifting his curly head, he answered with great +simplicity, 'Why, I'm going to heaven to find mamma.' + +"Although our mother's bodily presence thus disappeared from our +circle, I think her memory and example had more influence in moulding +her family, in deterring from evil and exciting to good, than the +living presence of many mothers. It was a memory that met us +everywhere, for every person in the town, from the highest to the +lowest, seemed to have been so impressed by her character and life +that they constantly reflected some portion of it back upon us. + +"The passage in 'Uncle Tom' where Augustine St. Clare describes his +mother's influence is a simple reproduction of my own mother's +influence as it has always been felt in her family." + +Of his deceased wife Dr. Beecher said: "Few women have attained to +more remarkable piety. Her faith was strong and her prayer prevailing. +It was her wish that all her sons should devote themselves to the +ministry, and to it she consecrated them with fervent prayer. Her +prayers have been heard. All her sons have been converted and are now, +according to her wish, ministers of Christ." + +Such was Roxanna Beecher, whose influence upon her four-year-old +daughter was strong enough to mould the whole after-life of the author +of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." After the mother's death the Litchfield home +was such a sad, lonely place for the child that her aunt, Harriet +Foote, took her away for a long visit at her grandmother's at Nut +Plains, near Guilford, Conn., the first journey from home the little +one had ever made. Of this visit Mrs. Stowe herself says:-- + +"Among my earliest recollections are those of a visit to Nut Plains +immediately after my mother's death. Aunt Harriet Foote, who was with +mother during all her last sickness, took me home to stay with her. At +the close of what seemed to me a long day's ride we arrived after dark +at a lonely little white farmhouse, and were ushered into a large +parlor where a cheerful wood fire was crackling; I was placed in the +arms of an old lady, who held me close and wept silently, a thing at +which I marveled, for my great loss was already faded from my childish +mind. + +"I remember being put to bed by my aunt in a large room, on one side +of which stood the bed appropriated to her and me, and on the other +that of my grandmother. My aunt Harriet was no common character. A +more energetic human being never undertook the education of a child. +Her ideas of education were those of a vigorous English woman of the +old school. She believed in the Church, and had she been born under +that regime would have believed in the king stoutly, although being of +the generation following the Revolution she was a not less stanch +supporter of the Declaration of Independence. + +[Illustration: Roxanna Foote] + +"According to her views little girls were to be taught to move very +gently, to speak softly and prettily, to say 'yes ma'am,' and 'no +ma'am,' never to tear their clothes, to sew, to knit at regular hours, +to go to church on Sunday and make all the responses, and to come home +and be catechised. + +"During these catechisings she used to place my little cousin Mary and +myself bolt upright at her knee, while black Dinah and Harry, the +bound boy, were ranged at a respectful distance behind us; for Aunt +Harriet always impressed it upon her servants 'to order themselves +lowly and reverently to all their betters,' a portion of the Church +catechism that always pleased me, particularly when applied to them, +as it insured their calling me 'Miss Harriet,' and treating me with a +degree of consideration such as I never enjoyed in the more democratic +circle at home. I became proficient in the Church catechism, and gave +my aunt great satisfaction by the old-fashioned gravity and steadiness +with which I learned to repeat it. + +"As my father was a Congregational minister, I believe Aunt Harriet, +though the highest of High Church women, felt some scruples as to +whether it was desirable that my religious education should be +entirely out of the sphere of my birth. Therefore when this +catechetical exercise was finished she would say, 'Now, niece, you +have to learn another catechism, because your father is a Presbyterian +minister,'--and then she would endeavor to make me commit to memory +the Assembly catechism. + +"At this lengthening of exercise I secretly murmured. I was rather +pleased at the first question in the Church catechism, which is +certainly quite on the level of any child's understanding,--'What is +your name?' It was such an easy good start, I could say it so loud and +clear, and I was accustomed to compare it with the first question in +the Primer, 'What is the chief end of man?' as vastly more difficult +for me to answer. In fact, between my aunt's secret unbelief and my +own childish impatience of too much catechism, the matter was +indefinitely postponed after a few ineffectual attempts, and I was +overjoyed to hear her announce privately to grandmother that she +thought it would be time enough for Harriet to learn the Presbyterian +catechism when she went home." + +Mingled with this superabundance of catechism and plentiful needlework +the child was treated to copious extracts from Lowth's Isaiah, +Buchanan's Researches in Asia, Bishop Heber's Life, and Dr. Johnson's +Works, which, after her Bible and Prayer Book, were her grandmother's +favorite reading. Harriet does not seem to have fully appreciated +these; but she did enjoy her grandmother's comments upon their +biblical readings. Among the Evangelists especially was the old lady +perfectly at home, and her idea of each of the apostles was so +distinct and dramatic that she spoke of them as of familiar +acquaintances. She would, for instance, always smile indulgently at +Peter's remarks and say, "There he is again, now; that's just like +Peter. He's always so ready to put in." + +It must have been during this winter spent at Nut Plains, amid such +surroundings, that Harriet began committing to memory that wonderful +assortment of hymns, poems, and scriptural passages from which in +after years she quoted so readily and effectively, for her sister +Catherine, in writing of her the following November, says:-- + +"Harriet is a very good girl. She has been to school all this summer, +and has learned to read very fluently. She has committed to memory +twenty-seven hymns and two long chapters in the Bible. She has a +remarkably retentive memory and will make a very good scholar." + +At this time the child was five years old, and a regular attendant at +"Ma'am Kilbourne's" school on West Street, to which she walked every +day hand in hand with her chubby, rosy-faced, bare-footed, four-year- +old brother, Henry Ward. With the ability to read germinated the +intense literary longing that was to be hers through life. In those +days but few books were specially prepared for children, and at six +years of age we find the little girl hungrily searching for mental +food amid barrels of old sermons and pamphlets stored in a corner of +the garret. Here it seemed to her were some thousands of the most +unintelligible things. "An appeal on the unlawfulness of a man +marrying his wife's sister" turned up in every barrel she +investigated, by twos, or threes, or dozens, till her soul despaired +of finding an end. At last her patient search was rewarded, for at the +very bottom of a barrel of musty sermons she discovered an ancient +volume of "The Arabian Nights." With this her fortune was made, for in +these most fascinating of fairy tales the imaginative child discovered +a well-spring of joy that was all her own. When things went astray +with her, when her brothers started off on long excursions, refusing +to take her with them, or in any other childish sorrow, she had only +to curl herself up in some snug corner and sail forth on her bit of +enchanted carpet into fairyland to forget all her griefs. + +In recalling her own child-life Mrs. Stowe, among other things, +describes her father's library, and gives a vivid bit of her own +experiences within its walls. She says: "High above all the noise of +the house, this room had to me the air of a refuge and a sanctuary. +Its walls were set round from floor to ceiling with the friendly, +quiet faces of books, and there stood my father's great writing-chair, +on one arm of which lay open always his Cruden's Concordance and his +Bible. Here I loved to retreat and niche myself down in a quiet corner +with my favorite books around me. I had a kind of sheltered feeling as +I thus sat and watched my father writing, turning to his books, and +speaking from time to time to himself in a loud, earnest whisper. I +vaguely felt that he was about some holy and mysterious work quite +beyond my little comprehension, and I was careful never to disturb him +by question or remark. + +"The books ranged around filled me too with a solemn awe. On the lower +shelves were enormous folios, on whose backs I spelled in black +letters, 'Lightfoot Opera,' a title whereat I wondered, considering +the bulk of the volumes. Above these, grouped along in friendly, +social rows, were books of all sorts, sizes, and bindings, the titles +of which I had read so often that I knew them by heart. There were +Bell's Sermons, Bonnett's Inquiries, Bogue's Essays, Toplady on +Predestination, Boston's Fourfold State, Law's Serious Call, and other +works of that kind. These I looked over wistfully, day after day, +without even a hope of getting something interesting out of them. The +thought that father could read and understand things like these filled +me with a vague awe, and I wondered if I would ever be old enough to +know what it was all about. + +"But there was one of my father's books that proved a mine of wealth +to me. It was a happy hour when he brought home and set up in his +bookcase Cotton Mather's 'Magnalia,' in a new edition of two volumes. +What wonderful stories those! Stories too about my own country. +Stories that made me feel the very ground I trod on to be consecrated +by some special dealing of God's Providence." + +[Illustration: BIRTHPLACE AT LITCHFIELD, CONNECTICUT.] + +In continuing these reminiscences Mrs. Stowe describes as follows her +sensations upon first hearing the Declaration of Independence: "I had +never heard it before, and even now had but a vague idea of what was +meant by some parts of it. Still I gathered enough from the recital of +the abuses and injuries that had driven my nation to this course to +feel myself swelling with indignation, and ready with all my little +mind and strength to applaud the concluding passage, which Colonel +Talmadge rendered with resounding majesty. I was as ready as any of +them to pledge my life, fortune, and sacred honor for such a cause. +The heroic element was strong in me, having come down by ordinary +generation from a long line of Puritan ancestry, and just now it made +me long to do something, I knew not what: to fight for my country, or +to make some declaration on my own account." + +When Harriet was nearly six years old her father married as his second +wife Miss Harriet Porter of Portland, Maine, and Mrs. Stowe thus +describes her new mother: "I slept in the nursery with my two younger +brothers. We knew that father was gone away somewhere on a journey and +was expected home, therefore the sound of a bustle in the house the +more easily awoke us. As father came into our room our new mother +followed him. She was very fair, with bright blue eyes, and soft +auburn hair bound round with a black velvet bandeau, and to us she +seemed very beautiful. + +"Never did stepmother make a prettier or sweeter impression. The +morning following her arrival we looked at her with awe. She seemed to +us so fair, so delicate, so elegant, that we were almost afraid to go +near her. We must have appeared to her as rough, red-faced, country +children, honest, obedient, and bashful. She was peculiarly dainty and +neat in all her ways and arrangements, and I used to feel breezy, +rough, and rude in her presence. + +"In her religion she was distinguished for a most unfaltering Christ- +worship. She was of a type noble but severe, naturally hard, correct, +exact and exacting, with intense natural and moral ideality. Had it +not been that Doctor Payson had set up and kept before her a tender, +human, loving Christ, she would have been only a conscientious bigot. +This image, however, gave softness and warmth to her religious life, +and I have since noticed how her Christ-enthusiasm has sprung up in +the hearts of all her children." + +In writing to her old home of her first impressions of her new one, +Mrs. Beecher says: "It is a very lovely family, and with heartfelt +gratitude I observed how cheerful and healthy they were. The sentiment +is greatly increased, since I perceive them to be of agreeable habits +and some of them of uncommon intellect." + +This new mother proved to be indeed all that the name implies to her +husband's children, and never did they have occasion to call her aught +other than blessed. + +Another year finds a new baby brother, Frederick by name, added to the +family. At this time too we catch a characteristic glimpse of Harriet +in one of her sister Catherine's letters. She says: "Last week we +interred Tom junior with funeral honors by the side of old Tom of +happy memory. Our Harriet is chief mourner always at their funerals. +She asked for what she called an _epithet_ for the gravestone of +Tom junior, which I gave as follows:-- + + "Here lies our Kit, + Who had a fit, + And acted queer, + Shot with a gun, + Her race is run, + And she lies here." + +In June, 1820, little Frederick died from scarlet fever, and Harriet +was seized with a violent attack of the same dread disease; but, after +a severe struggle, recovered. + +Following her happy, hearty child-life, we find her tramping through +the woods or going on fishing excursions with her brothers, sitting +thoughtfully in her father's study, listening eagerly to the animated +theological discussions of the day, visiting her grandmother at Nut +Plains, and figuring as one of the brightest scholars in the +Litchfield Academy, taught by Mr. John Brace and Miss Pierce. When she +was eleven years old her brother Edward wrote of her: "Harriet reads +everything she can lay hands on, and sews and knits diligently." + +At this time she was no longer the youngest girl of the family, for +another sister (Isabella) had been born in 1822. This event served +greatly to mature her, as she was intrusted with much of the care of +the baby out of school hours. It was not, however, allowed to +interfere in any way with her studies, and, under the skillful +direction of her beloved teachers, she seemed to absorb knowledge with +every sense. She herself writes: "Much of the training and inspiration +of my early days consisted not in the things that I was supposed to be +studying, but in hearing, while seated unnoticed at my desk, the +conversation of Mr. Brace with the older classes. There, from hour to +hour, I listened with eager ears to historical criticisms and +discussions, or to recitations in such works as Paley's Moral +Philosophy, Blair's Rhetoric, Allison on Taste, all full of most +awakening suggestions to my thoughts. + +"Mr. Brace exceeded all teachers I ever knew in the faculty of +teaching composition. The constant excitement in which he kept the +minds of his pupils, the wide and varied regions of thought into which +he led them, formed a preparation for composition, the main requisite +for which is to have something which one feels interested to say." + +In her tenth year Harriet began what to her was the fascinating work +of writing compositions, and so rapidly did she progress that at the +school exhibition held when she was twelve years old, hers was one of +the two or three essays selected to be read aloud before the august +assembly of visitors attracted by the occasion. + +Of this event Mrs. Stowe writes: "I remember well the scene at that +exhibition, to me so eventful. The hall was crowded with all the +literati of Litchfield. Before them all our compositions were read +aloud. When mine was read I noticed that father, who was sitting on +high by Mr. Brace, brightened and looked interested, and at the close +I heard him ask, 'Who wrote that composition?' 'Your daughter, sir,' +was the answer. It was the proudest moment of my life. There was no +mistaking father's face when he was pleased, and to have interested +him was past all juvenile triumphs." + +That composition has been carefully preserved, and on the old yellow +sheets the cramped childish hand-writing is still distinctly legible. +As the first literary production of one who afterwards attained such +distinction as a writer, it is deemed of sufficient value and interest +to be embodied in this biography exactly as it was written and read +sixty-five years ago. The subject was certainly a grave one to be +handled by a child of twelve. + +CAN THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL BE PROVED BY THE LIGHT OF NATURE? + +It has justly been concluded by the philosophers of every age that +"The proper study of mankind is man," and his nature and composition, +both physical and mental, have been subjects of the most critical +examination. In the course of these researches many have been at a +loss to account for the change which takes place in the body at the +time of death. By some it has been attributed to the flight of its +tenant, and by others to its final annihilation. + +The questions, "What becomes of the soul at the time of death?" and, +if it be not annihilated, "What is its destiny after death?" are those +which, from the interest that we all feel in them, will probably +engross universal attention. + +In pursuing these inquiries it will be necessary to divest ourselves +of all that knowledge which we have obtained from the light which +revelation has shed over them, and place ourselves in the same +position as the philosophers of past ages when considering the same +subject. + +The first argument which has been advanced to prove the immortality of +the soul is drawn from the nature of the mind itself. It has (say the +supporters of this theory) no composition of parts, and therefore, as +there are no particles, is not susceptible of divisibility and cannot +be acted upon by decay, and therefore if it will not decay it will +exist forever. + +Now because the mind is not susceptible of decay effected in the +ordinary way by a gradual separation of particles, affords no proof +that that same omnipotent power which created it cannot by another +simple exertion of power again reduce it to nothing. The only reason +for belief which this argument affords is that the soul cannot be +acted upon by decay. But it does not prove that it cannot destroy its +existence. Therefore, for the validity of this argument, it must +either be proved that the "Creator" has not the power to destroy it, +or that he has not the will; but as neither of these can be +established, our immortality is left dependent on the pleasure of the +Creator. But it is said that it is evident that the Creator designed +the soul for immortality, or he would never have created it so +essentially different from the body, for had they both been designed +for the same end they would both have been created alike, as there +would have been no object in forming them otherwise. This only proves +that the soul and body had not the same destinations. Now of what +these destinations are we know nothing, and after much useless +reasoning we return where we began, our argument depending upon the +good pleasure of the Creator. + +And here it is said that a being of such infinite wisdom and +benevolence as that of which the Creator is possessed would not have +formed man with such vast capacities and boundless desires, and would +have given him no opportunity for exercising them. + +In order to establish the validity of this argument it is necessary to +prove by the light of Nature that the Creator is benevolent, which, +being impracticable, is of itself sufficient to render the argument +invalid. + +But the argument proceeds upon the supposition that to destroy the +soul would be unwise. Now this is arraigning the "All-wise" before the +tribunal of his subjects to answer for the mistakes in his government. +Can we look into the council of the "Unsearchable" and see what means +are made to answer their ends? We do not know but the destruction of +the soul may, in the government of God, be made to answer such a +purpose that its existence would be contrary to the dictates of +wisdom. + +The great desire of the soul for immortality, its secret, innate +horror of annihilation, has been brought to prove its immortality. But +do we always find this horror or this desire? Is it not much more +evident that the great majority of mankind have no such dread at all? +True that there is a strong feeling of horror excited by the idea of +perishing from the earth and being forgotten, of losing all those +honors and all that fame awaited them. Many feel this secret horror +when they look down upon the vale of futurity and reflect that though +now the idols of the world, soon all which will be left them will be +the common portion of mankind--oblivion! But this dread does not arise +from any idea of their destiny beyond the tomb, and even were this +true, it would afford no proof that the mind would exist forever, +merely from its strong desires. For it might with as much correctness +be argued that the body will exist forever because we have a great +dread of dying, and upon this principle nothing which we strongly +desire would ever be withheld from us, and no evil that we greatly +dread will ever come upon us, a principle evidently false. + +Again, it has been said that the constant progression of the powers of +the mind affords another proof of its immortality. Concerning this, +Addison remarks, "Were a human soul ever thus at a stand in her +acquirements, were her faculties to be full blown and incapable of +further enlargement, I could imagine that she might fall away +insensibly and drop at once into a state of annihilation. But can we +believe a thinking being that is in a perpetual progress of +improvement, and traveling on from perfection to perfection after +having just looked abroad into the works of her Creator and made a few +discoveries of his infinite wisdom and goodness, must perish at her +first setting out and in the very beginning of her inquiries?" + +In answer to this it may be said that the soul is not always +progressing in her powers. Is it not rather a subject of general +remark that those brilliant talents which in youth expand, in manhood +become stationary, and in old age gradually sink to decay? Till when +the ancient man descends to the tomb scarce a wreck of that once +powerful mind remains. + +Who, but upon reading the history of England, does not look with awe +upon the effects produced by the talents of her Elizabeth? Who but +admires that undaunted firmness in time of peace and that profound +depth of policy which she displayed in the cabinet? Yet behold the +tragical end of this learned, this politic princess! Behold the +triumphs of age and sickness over her once powerful talents, and say +not that the faculties of man are always progressing in their powers. + +From the activity of the mind at the hour of death has also been +deduced its immortality. But it is not true that the mind is always +active at the time of death. We find recorded in history numberless +instances of those talents, which were once adequate to the government +of a nation, being so weakened and palsied by the touch of sickness as +scarcely to tell to beholders what they once were. The talents of the +statesman, the wisdom of the sage, the courage and might of the +warrior, are instantly destroyed by it, and all that remains of them +is the waste of idiocy or the madness of insanity. + +Some minds there are who at the time of death retain their faculties +though much impaired, and if the argument be valid these are the only +cases where immortality is conferred. Again, it is urged that the +inequality of rewards and punishments in this world demand another in +which virtue may be rewarded and vice punished. This argument, in the +first place, takes for its foundation that by the light of nature the +distinction between virtue and vice can be discovered. By some this is +absolutely disbelieved, and by all considered as extremely doubtful. +And, secondly, it puts the Creator under an obligation to reward and +punish the actions of his creatures. No such obligation exists, and +therefore the argument cannot be valid. And this supposes the Creator +to be a being of justice, which cannot by the light of nature be +proved, and as the whole argument rests upon this foundation it +certainly cannot be correct. + +This argument also directly impeaches the wisdom of the Creator, for +the sense of it is this,--that, forasmuch as he was not able to manage +his government in this world, he must have another in which to rectify +the mistakes and oversights of this, and what an idea would this give +us of our All-wise Creator? + +It is also said that all nations have some conceptions of a future +state, that the ancient Greeks and Romans believed in it, that no +nation has been found but have possessed some idea of a future state +of existence. But their belief arose more from the fact that they +wished it to be so than from any real ground of belief; for arguments +appear much more plausible when the mind wishes to be convinced. But +it is said that every nation, however circumstanced, possess some idea +of a future state. For this we may account by the fact that it was +handed down by tradition from the time of the flood. From all these +arguments, which, however plausible at first sight, are found to be +futile, may be argued the necessity of a revelation. Without it, the +destiny of the noblest of the works of God would have been left in +obscurity. Never till the blessed light of the Gospel dawned on the +borders of the pit, and the heralds of the Cross proclaimed "Peace on +earth and good will to men," was it that bewildered and misled man was +enabled to trace his celestial origin and glorious destiny. + +The sun of the Gospel has dispelled the darkness that has rested on +objects beyond the tomb. In the Gospel man learned that when the dust +returned to dust the spirit fled to the God who gave it. He there +found that though man has lost the image of his divine Creator, he is +still destined, after this earthly house of his tabernacle is +dissolved, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth +not away, to a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. + +Soon after the writing of this remarkable composition, Harriet's +child-life in Litchfield came to an end, for that same year she went +to Hartford to pursue her studies in a school which had been recently +established by her sister Catherine in that city. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +SCHOOL DAYS IN HARTFORD, 1824-1832. + + +MISS CATHERINE BEECHER.--PROFESSOR FISHER.--THE WRECK OF THE ALBION +AND DEATH OF PROFESSOR FISHER.--"THE MINISTER'S WOOING."--MISS +CATHERINE BEECHER'S SPIRITUAL HISTORY.--MRS. STOWE'S RECOLLECTIONS OF +HER SCHOOL DAYS IN HARTFORD.--HER CONVERSION.--UNITES WITH THE FIRST +CHURCH IN HARTFORD.--HER DOUBTS AND SUBSEQUENT RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT. +--HER FINAL PEACE. + +The school days in Hartford began a new era in Harriet's life. It was +the formative period, and it is therefore important to say a few words +concerning her sister Catherine, under whose immediate supervision she +was to continue her education. In fact, no one can comprehend either +Mrs. Stowe or her writings without some knowledge of the life and +character of this remarkable woman, whose strong, vigorous mind and +tremendous personality indelibly stamped themselves on the sensitive, +yielding, dreamy, and poetic nature of the younger sister. Mrs. Stowe +herself has said that the two persons who most strongly influenced her +at this period of her life were her brother Edward and her sister +Catherine. + +Catherine was the oldest child of Lyman Beecher and Roxanna Foote, his +wife. In a little battered journal found among her papers is a short +sketch of her life, written when she was seventy-six years of age. In +a tremulous hand she begins: "I was born at East Hampton, L. I., +September 5, 1800, at 5 P.M., in the large parlor opposite father's +study. Don't remember much about it myself." The sparkle of wit in +this brief notice of the circumstances of her birth is very +characteristic. All through her life little ripples of fun were +continually playing on the surface of that current of intense thought +and feeling in which her deep, earnest nature flowed. + +When she was ten years of age her father removed to Litchfield, Conn., +and her happy girlhood was passed in that place. Her bright and +versatile mind and ready wit enabled her to pass brilliantly through +her school days with but little mental exertion, and those who knew +her slightly might have imagined her to be only a bright, thoughtless, +light-hearted girl. In Boston, at the age of twenty, she took lessons +in music and drawing, and became so proficient in these branches as to +secure a position as teacher in a young ladies' school, kept by a Rev. +Mr. Judd, an Episcopal clergyman, at New London, Conn. About this time +she formed the acquaintance of Professor Alexander Metcalf Fisher, of +Yale College, one of the most distinguished young men in New England. +In January of the year 1822 they became engaged, and the following +spring Professor Fisher sailed for Europe to purchase books and +scientific apparatus for the use of his department in the college. + +In his last letter to Miss Beecher, dated March 31, 1822, he writes:-- + +"I set out at 10 precisely to-morrow, in the Albion for Liverpool; the +ship has no superior in the whole number of excellent vessels +belonging to this port, and Captain Williams is regarded as first on +their list of commanders. The accommodations are admirable--fare $140. +Unless our ship should speak some one bound to America on the passage, +you will probably not hear from me under two months." + +Before two months had passed came vague rumors of a terrible shipwreck +on the coast of Ireland. Then the tidings that the Albion was lost. +Then came a letter from Mr. Pond, at Kinsale, Ireland, dated May 2, +1822:-- + +"You have doubtless heard of the shipwreck of the Albion packet of New +York, bound to Liverpool. It was a melancholy shipwreck. It happened +about four o'clock on the morning of the 22d of April. Professor +Fisher, of Yale College, was one of the passengers. Out of twenty- +three cabin passengers, but one reached the shore. He is a Mr. +Everhart, of Chester County, Pennsylvania. He informs me that +Professor Fisher was injured by things that fetched away in the cabin +at the time the ship was knocked down. This was between 8 and 9 +o'clock in the evening of the twenty-first. Mr. Fisher, though badly +bruised, was calm and resolute, and assisted Captain Williams by +taking the injured compass to his berth and repairing it. About five +minutes before the vessel struck Captain Williams informed the +passengers of their danger, and all went on deck except Professor +Fisher, who remained sitting in his berth. Mr. Everhart was the last +person who left the cabin, and the last who ever saw Professor Fisher +alive." + +I should not have spoken of this incident of family history with such +minuteness, except for the fact that it is so much a part of Mrs. +Stowe's life as to make it impossible to understand either her +character or her most important works without it. Without this +incident "The Minister's Wooing" never would have been written, for +both Mrs. Marvyn's terrible soul struggles and old Candace's direct +and effective solution of all religious difficulties find their origin +in this stranded, storm-beaten ship on the coast of Ireland, and the +terrible mental conflicts through which her sister afterward passed, +for she believed Professor Fisher eternally lost. No mind more +directly and powerfully influenced Harriet's than that of her sister +Catherine, unless it was her brother Edward's, and that which acted +with such overwhelming power on the strong, unyielding mind of the +older sister must have, in time, a permanent and abiding influence on +the mind of the younger. + +After Professor Fisher's death his books came into Miss Beecher's +possession, and among them was a complete edition of Scott's works. It +was an epoch in the family history when Doctor Beecher came down- +stairs one day with a copy of "Ivanhoe" in his hand, and said: "I have +always said that my children should not read novels, but they must +read these." + +The two years following the death of Professor Fisher were passed by +Miss Catherine Beecher at Franklin, Mass., at the home of Professor +Fisher's parents, where she taught his two sisters, studied +mathematics with his brother Willard, and listened to Doctor Emmons' +fearless and pitiless preaching. Hers was a mind too strong and +buoyant to be crushed and prostrated by that which would have driven a +weaker and less resolute nature into insanity. Of her it may well be +said:-- + + "She faced the spectres of the mind + And laid them, thus she came at length + To find a stronger faith her own." + +Gifted naturally with a capacity for close metaphysical analysis and a +robust fearlessness in following her premises to a logical conclusion, +she arrived at results startling and original, if not always of +permanent value. + +In 1840 she published in the "Biblical Repository" an article on Free +Agency, which has been acknowledged by competent critics as the ablest +refutation of Edwards on "The Will" which has appeared. An amusing +incident connected with this publication may not be out of place here. +A certain eminent theological professor of New England, visiting a +distinguished German theologian and speaking of this production, said: +"The ablest refutation of Edwards on 'The Will' which was ever written +is the work of a woman, the daughter of Dr. Lyman Beecher." The worthy +Teuton raised both hands in undisguised astonishment. "You have a +woman that can write an able refutation of Edwards on 'The Will'? God +forgive Christopher Columbus for discovering America!" + +Not finding herself able to love a God whom she thought of in her own +language as "a perfectly happy being, unmoved by my sorrows or tears, +and looking upon me only with dislike and aversion," she determined +"to find happiness in living to do good." "It was right to pray and +read the Bible, so I prayed and read. It was right to try to save +others, so I labored for their salvation. I never had any fear of +punishment or hope of reward all these years." She was tormented with +doubts. "What has the Son of God done which the meanest and most +selfish creature upon earth would not have done? After making such a +wretched race and placing them in such disastrous circumstances, +somehow, without any sorrow or trouble, Jesus Christ had a human +nature that suffered and died. If something else besides ourselves +will do all the suffering, who would not save millions of wretched +beings and receive all the honor and gratitude without any of the +trouble? Sometimes when such thoughts passed through my mind, I felt +that it was all pride, rebellion, and sin." + +So she struggles on, sometimes floundering deep in the mire of doubt, +and then lifted for the moment above it by her naturally buoyant +spirits, and general tendency to look on the bright side of things. In +this condition of mind, she came to Hartford in the winter of 1824, +and began a school with eight scholars, and it was in the practical +experience of teaching that she found a final solution of all her +difficulties. She continues:-- + +"After two or three years I commenced giving instruction in mental +philosophy, and at the same time began a regular course of lectures +and instructions from the Bible, and was much occupied with plans for +governing my school, and in devising means to lead my pupils to become +obedient, amiable, and pious. By degrees I finally arrived at the +following principles in the government of my school:-- + +"First. It is indispensable that my scholars should feel that I am +sincerely and deeply interested in their best happiness, and the more +I can convince them of this, the more ready will be their obedience. + +"Second. The preservation of authority and order depends upon the +certainty that unpleasant consequences to themselves will inevitably +be the result of doing wrong. + +"Third. It is equally necessary, to preserve my own influence and +their affection, that they should feel that punishment is the natural +result of wrong-doing in such a way that they shall regard themselves, +instead of me, as the cause of their punishment. + +"Fourth. It is indispensable that my scholars should see that my +requisitions are reasonable. In the majority of cases this can be +shown, and in this way such confidence will be the result that they +will trust to my judgment and knowledge, in cases where no explanation +can be given. + +"Fifth. The more I can make my scholars feel that I am actuated by a +spirit of self-denying benevolence, the more confidence they will feel +in me, and the more they will be inclined to submit to self-denying +duties for the good of others. + +"After a while I began to compare my experience with the government of +God. I finally got through the whole subject, and drew out the +results, and found that all my difficulties were solved and all my +darkness dispelled." + +Her solution in brief is nothing more than that view of the divine +nature which was for so many years preached by her brother, Henry Ward +Beecher, and set forth in the writings of her sister Harriet,--the +conception of a being of infinite love, patience, and kindness who +suffers with man. The sufferings of Christ on the cross were not the +sufferings of his human nature merely, but the sufferings of the +divine nature in Him. In Christ we see the only revelation of God, and +that is the revelation of one that suffers. This is the fundamental +idea in "The Minister's Wooing," and it is the idea of God in which +the storm-tossed soul of the older sister at last found rest. All this +was directly opposed to that fundamental principle of theologians that +God, being the infinitely perfect Being, cannot suffer, because +suffering indicates imperfection. To Miss Beecher's mind the lack of +ability to suffer with his suffering creatures was a more serious +imperfection. Let the reader turn to the twenty-fourth chapter of "The +Minister's Wooing" for a complete presentation of this subject, +especially the passage that begins, "Sorrow is divine: sorrow is +reigning on the throne of the universe." + +In the fall of the year 1824, while her sister Catherine was passing +through the soul crisis which we have been describing, Harriet came to +the school that she had recently established. + +In a letter to her son written in 1886, speaking of this period of her +life, Mrs. Stowe says: "Somewhere between my twelfth and thirteenth +year I was placed under the care of my elder sister Catherine, in the +school that she had just started in Hartford, Connecticut. When I +entered the school there were not more than twenty-five scholars in +it, but it afterwards numbered its pupils by the hundreds. The school- +room was on Main Street, nearly opposite Christ Church, over Sheldon & +Colton's harness store, at the sign of the two white horses. I never +shall forget the pleasure and surprise which these two white horses +produced in my mind when I first saw them. One of the young men who +worked in the rear of the harness store had a most beautiful tenor +voice, and it was my delight to hear him singing in school hours :-- + + 'When in cold oblivion's shade + Beauty, wealth, and power are laid, + When, around the sculptured shrine, + Moss shall cling and ivy twine, + Where immortal spirits reign, + There shall we all meet again.' + +"As my father's salary was inadequate to the wants of his large +family, the expense of my board in Hartford was provided for by a +species of exchange. Mr. Isaac D. Bull sent a daughter to Miss +Pierce's seminary in Litchfield, and she boarded in my father's family +in exchange for my board in her father's family. If my good, refined, +neat, particular stepmother could have chosen, she could not have +found a family more exactly suited to her desires. The very soul of +neatness and order pervaded the whole establishment. Mr. I. D. Bull +was a fine, vigorous, white-haired man on the declining slope of life, +but full of energy and of kindness. Mr. Samuel Collins, a neighbor who +lived next door, used to frequently come in and make most impressive +and solemn calls on Miss Mary Anne Bull, who was a brunette and a +celebrated beauty of the day. I well remember her long raven curls +falling from the comb that held them up on the top of her head. She +had a rich soprano voice, and was the leading singer in the Centre +Church choir. The two brothers also had fine, manly voices, and the +family circle was often enlivened by quartette singing and flute +playing. Mr. Bull kept a very large wholesale drug store on Front +Street, in which his two sons, Albert and James, were clerks. The +oldest son, Watson Bull, had established a retail drug store at the +sign of the 'Good Samaritan.' A large picture of the Good Samaritan +relieving the wounded traveler formed a striking part of the sign, and +was contemplated by me with reverence. + +[Illustration: Catherine E. Beecher] + +"The mother of the family gave me at once a child's place in her +heart. A neat little hall chamber was allotted to me for my own, and a +well made and kept single bed was given me, of which I took daily care +with awful satisfaction. If I was sick nothing could exceed the +watchful care and tender nursing of Mrs. Bull. In school my two most +intimate friends were the leading scholars. They had written to me +before I came and I had answered their letters, and on my arrival they +gave me the warmest welcome. One was Catherine Ledyard Cogswell, +daughter of the leading and best-beloved of Hartford physicians. The +other was Georgiana May, daughter of a most lovely Christian woman who +was a widow. Georgiana was one of many children, having two younger +sisters, Mary and Gertrude, and several brothers. Catherine Cogswell +was one of the most amiable, sprightly, sunny-tempered individuals I +have ever known. She was, in fact, so much beloved that it was +difficult for me to see much of her. Her time was all bespoken by +different girls. One might walk with her to school, another had the +like promise on the way home. And at recess, of which we had every day +a short half hour, there was always a suppliant at Katy's shrine, whom +she found it hard to refuse. Yet, among all these claimants, she did +keep a little place here and there for me. Georgiana was older and +graver, and less fascinating to the other girls, but between her and +me there grew up the warmest friendship, which proved lifelong in its +constancy. + +"Catherine and Georgiana were reading 'Virgil' when I came to the +school. I began the study of Latin alone, and at the end of the first +year made a translation of 'Ovid' in verse, which was read at the +final exhibition of the school, and regarded, I believe, as a very +creditable performance. I was very much interested in poetry, and it +was my dream to be a poet. I began a drama called 'Cleon.' The scene +was laid in the court and time of the emperor Nero, and Cleon was a +Greek lord residing at Nero's court, who, after much searching and +doubting, at last comes to the knowledge of Christianity. I filled +blank book after blank book with this drama. It filled my thoughts +sleeping and waking. One day sister Catherine pounced down upon me, +and said that I must not waste my time writing poetry, but discipline +my mind by the study of Butler's 'Analogy.' So after this I wrote out +abstracts from the 'Analogy,' and instructed a class of girls as old +as myself, being compelled to master each chapter just ahead of the +class I was teaching. About this time I read Baxter's 'Saint's Rest.' +I do not think any book affected me more powerfully. As I walked the +pavements I used to wish that they might sink beneath me if only I +might find myself in heaven. I was at the same time very much +interested in Butler's 'Analogy,' for Mr. Brace used to lecture on +such themes when I was at Miss Pierce's school at Litchfield. I also +began the study of French and Italian with a Miss Degan, who was born +in Italy. + +"It was about this time that I first believed myself to be a +Christian. I was spending my summer vacation at home, in Litchfield. I +shall ever remember that dewy, fresh summer morning. I knew that it +was a sacramental Sunday, and thought with sadness that when all the +good people should take the sacrificial bread and wine I should be +left out. I tried hard to feel my sins and count them up; but what +with the birds, the daisies, and the brooks that rippled by the way, +it was impossible. I came into church quite dissatisfied with myself, +and as I looked upon the pure white cloth, the snowy bread and shining +cups, of the communion table, thought with a sigh: 'There won't be +anything for me to-day; it is all for these grown-up Christians.' +Nevertheless, when father began to speak, I was drawn to listen by a +certain pathetic earnestness in his voice. Most of father's sermons +were as unintelligible to me as if he had spoken in Choctaw. But +sometimes he preached what he was accustomed to call a 'frame sermon;' +that is, a sermon that sprung out of the deep feeling of the occasion, +and which consequently could be neither premeditated nor repeated. His +text was taken from the Gospel of John, the declaration of Jesus: +'Behold, I call you no longer servants, but friends.' His theme was +Jesus as a soul friend offered to every human being. + +"Forgetting all his hair-splitting distinctions and dialectic +subtleties, he spoke in direct, simple, and tender language of the +great love of Christ and his care for the soul. He pictured Him as +patient with our errors, compassionate with our weaknesses, and +sympathetic for our sorrows. He went on to say how He was ever near +us, enlightening our ignorance, guiding our wanderings, comforting our +sorrows with a love unwearied by faults, unchilled by ingratitude, +till at last He should present us faultless before the throne of his +glory with exceeding joy. + +"I sat intent and absorbed. Oh! how much I needed just such a friend, +I thought to myself. Then the awful fact came over me that I had never +had any conviction of my sins, and consequently could not come to Him. +I longed to cry out 'I will,' when father made his passionate appeal, +'Come, then, and trust your soul to this faithful friend.' Like a +flash it came over me that if I needed conviction of sin, He was able +to give me even this also. I would trust Him for the whole. My whole +soul was illumined with joy, and as I left the church to walk home, it +seemed to me as if Nature herself were hushing her breath to hear the +music of heaven. + +"As soon as father came home and was seated in his study, I went up to +him and fell in his arms saying, 'Father, I have given myself to +Jesus, and He has taken me.' I never shall forget the expression of +his face as he looked down into my earnest, childish eyes; it was so +sweet, so gentle, and like sunlight breaking out upon a landscape. 'Is +it so?' he said, holding me silently to his heart, as I felt the hot +tears fall on my head. 'Then has a new flower blossomed in the kingdom +this day.'" + +If she could have been let alone, and taught "to look up and not down, +forward and not back, out and not in," this religious experience might +have gone on as sweetly and naturally as the opening of a flower in +the gentle rays of the sun. But unfortunately this was not possible at +that time, when self-examination was carried to an extreme that was +calculated to drive a nervous and sensitive mind well-nigh distracted. +First, even her sister Catherine was afraid that there might be +something wrong in the case of a lamb that had come into the fold +without being first chased all over the lot by the shepherd; great +stress being laid, in those days, on what was called "being under +conviction." Then also the pastor of the First Church in Hartford, a +bosom friend of Dr. Beecher, looked with melancholy and suspicious +eyes on this unusual and doubtful path to heaven,--but more of this +hereafter. Harriet's conversion took place in the summer of 1825, when +she was fourteen, and the following year, April, 1826, Dr. Beecher +resigned his pastorate in Litchfield to accept a call to the Hanover +Street Church, Boston, Mass. In a letter to her grandmother Foote at +Guilford, dated Hartford, March 4, 1826, Harriet writes:-- + +"You have probably heard that our home in Litchfield is broken up. +Papa has received a call to Boston, and concluded to accept, because +he could not support his family in Litchfield. He was dismissed last +week Tuesday, and will be here (Hartford) next Tuesday with mamma and +Isabel. Aunt Esther will take Charles and Thomas to her house for the +present. Papa's salary is to be $2,000 and $500 settlement. + +"I attend school constantly and am making some progress in my studies. +I devote most of my attention to Latin and to arithmetic, and hope +soon to prepare myself to assist Catherine in the school." + +This breaking up of the Litchfield home led Harriet, under her +father's advice, to seek to connect herself with the First Church of +Hartford. Accordingly, accompanied by two of her school friends, she +went one day to the pastor's study to consult with him concerning the +contemplated step. The good man listened attentively to the child's +simple and modest statement of Christian experience, and then with an +awful, though kindly, solemnity of speech and manner said, "Harriet, +do you feel that if the universe should be destroyed (awful pause) you +could be happy with God alone?" After struggling in vain, in her +mental bewilderment, to fix in her mind some definite conception of +the meaning of the sounds which fell on her ear like the measured +strokes of a bell, the child of fourteen stammered out, "Yes, sir." + +"You realize, I trust," continued the doctor, "in some measure at +least, the deceitfulness of your heart, and that in punishment for +your sins God might justly leave you to make yourself as miserable as +you have made yourself sinful?" + +"Yes, sir," again stammered Harriet. + +Having thus effectually, and to his own satisfaction, fixed the +child's attention on the morbid and over-sensitive workings of her own +heart, the good and truly kind-hearted man dismissed her with a +fatherly benediction. But where was the joyous ecstasy of that +beautiful Sabbath morning of a year ago? Where was that heavenly +friend? Yet was not this as it should be, and might not God leave her +"to make herself as miserable as she had made herself sinful"? + +In a letter addressed to her brother Edward, about this time, she +writes: "My whole life is one continued struggle: I do nothing right. +I yield to temptation almost as soon as it assails me. My deepest +feelings are very evanescent. I am beset behind and before, and my +sins take away all my happiness. But that which most constantly besets +me is pride--I can trace almost all my sins back to it." + +In the mean time, the school is prospering. February 16, 1827, +Catherine writes to Dr. Beecher: "My affairs go on well. The stock is +all taken up, and next week I hope to have out the prospectus of the +'Hartford Female Seminary.' I hope the building will be done, and all +things in order, by June. The English lady is coming with twelve +pupils from New York." Speaking of Harriet, who was at this time with +her father in Boston, she adds: "I have received some letters from +Harriet to-day which make me feel uneasy. She says, 'I don't know as I +am fit for anything, and I have thought that I could wish to die +young, and let the remembrance of me and my faults perish in the +grave, rather than live, as I fear I do, a trouble to every one. You +don't know how perfectly wretched I often feel: so useless, so weak, +so destitute of all energy. Mamma often tells me that I am a strange, +inconsistent being. Sometimes I could not sleep, and have groaned and +cried till midnight, while in the day-time I tried to appear cheerful +and succeeded so well that papa reproved me for laughing so much. I +was so absent sometimes that I made strange mistakes, and then they +all laughed at me, and I laughed, too, though I felt as though I +should go distracted. I wrote rules; made out a regular system for +dividing my time; but my feelings vary so much that it is almost +impossible for me to be regular.'" + +But let Harriet "take courage in her dark sorrows and melancholies," +as Carlyle says: "Samuel Johnson too had hypochondrias; all great +souls are apt to have, and to be in thick darkness generally till the +eternal ways and the celestial guiding stars disclose themselves, and +the vague abyss of life knits itself up into firmaments for them." + +At the same time (the winter of 1827), Catherine writes to Edward +concerning Harriet: "If she could come here (Hartford) it might be the +best thing for her, for she can talk freely to me. I can get her +books, and Catherine Cogswell, Georgiana May, and her friends here +could do more for her than any one in Boston, for they love her and +she loves them very much. Georgiana's difficulties are different from +Harriet's: she is speculating about doctrines, etc. Harriet will have +young society here all the time, which she cannot have at home, and I +think cheerful and amusing friends will do much for her. I can do +better in preparing her to teach drawing than any one else, for I best +know what is needed." + +It was evidently necessary that something should be done to restore +Harriet to a more tranquil and healthful frame of mind; consequently +in the spring of 1827, accompanied by her friend Georgiana May, she +went to visit her grandmother Foote at Nut Plains, Guilford. Miss May +refers to this visit in a letter to Mrs. Foote, in January of the +following winter. + +HARTFORD, _January_ 4, 1828. + +DEAR MRS. FOOTE:--. . . I very often think of you and the happy hours +I passed at your house last spring. It seems as if it were but +yesterday: now, while I am writing, I can see your pleasant house and +the familiar objects around you as distinctly as the day I left them. +Harriet and I are very much the same girls we were then. I do not +believe we have altered very much, though she is improved in some +respects. + +The August following this visit to Guilford Harriet writes to her +brother Edward in a vein which is still streaked with sadness, but +shows some indication of returning health of mind. + +"Many of my objections you did remove that afternoon we spent +together. After that I was not as unhappy as I had been. I felt, +nevertheless, that my views were very indistinct and contradictory, +and feared that if you left me thus I might return to the same dark, +desolate state in which I had been all summer. I felt that my immortal +interest, my happiness for both worlds, was depending on the turn my +feelings might take. In my disappointment and distress I called upon +God, and it seemed as if I was heard. I felt that He could supply the +loss of all earthly love. All misery and darkness were over. I felt as +if restored, nevermore to fall. Such sober certainty of waking bliss +had long been a stranger to me. But even then I had doubts as to +whether these feelings were right, because I felt love to God alone +without that ardent love for my fellow-creatures which Christians have +often felt. . . . I cannot say exactly what it is makes me reluctant +to speak of my feelings. It costs me an effort to express feeling of +any kind, but more particularly to speak of my private religious +feelings. If any one questions me, my first impulse is to conceal all +I can. As for expression of affection towards my brothers and sisters, +my companions or friends, the stronger the affection the less +inclination have I to express it. Yet sometimes I think myself the +most frank, open, and communicative of beings, and at other times the +most reserved. If you can resolve all these caprices into general +principles, you will do more than I can. Your speaking so much +philosophically has a tendency to repress confidence. We never wish to +have our feelings analyzed down; and very little, nothing, that we say +brought to the test of mathematical demonstration. + +"It appears to me that if I only could adopt the views of God you +presented to my mind, they would exert a strong and beneficial +influence over my character. But I am afraid to accept them for +several reasons. First, it seems to be taking from the majesty and +dignity of the divine character to suppose that his happiness can be +at all affected by the conduct of his sinful, erring creatures. +Secondly, it seems to me that such views of God would have an effect +on our own minds in lessening that reverence and fear which is one of +the greatest motives to us for action. For, although to a generous +mind the thought of the love of God would be a sufficient incentive to +action, there are times of coldness when that love is not felt, and +then there remains no sort of stimulus. I find as I adopt these +sentiments I feel less fear of God, and, in view of sin, I feel only a +sensation of grief which is more easily dispelled and forgotten than +that I formerly felt." + + +A letter dated January 3, 1828, shows us that Harriet had returned to +Hartford and was preparing herself to teach drawing and painting, +under the direction of her sister Catherine. + +MY DEAR GRANDMOTHER,--I should have written before to assure you of my +remembrance of you, but I have been constantly employed, from nine in +the morning till after dark at night, in taking lessons of a painting +and drawing master, with only an intermission long enough to swallow a +little dinner which was sent to me in the school-room. You may easily +believe that after spending the day in this manner, I did not feel in +a very epistolary humor in the evening, and if I had been, I could not +have written, for when I did not go immediately to bed I was obliged +to get a long French lesson. + +The seminary is finished, and the school going on nicely. Miss +Clarissa Brown is assisting Catherine in the school. Besides her, +Catherine, and myself, there are two other teachers who both board in +the family with us: one is Miss Degan, an Italian lady who teaches +French and Italian; she rooms with me, and is very interesting and +agreeable. Miss Hawks is rooming with Catherine. In some respects she +reminds me very much of my mother. She is gentle, affectionate, +modest, and retiring, and much beloved by all the scholars. . . . I am +still going on with my French, and carrying two young ladies through +Virgil, and if I have time, shall commence Italian. + +I am very comfortable and happy. + +I propose, my dear grandmamma, to send you by the first opportunity a +dish of fruit of my own painting. Pray do not now devour it in +anticipation, for I cannot promise that you will not find it sadly +tasteless in reality. If so, please excuse it, for the sake of the +poor young artist. I admire to cultivate a taste for painting, and I +wish to improve it; it was what my dear mother admired and loved, and +I cherish it for her sake. I have thought more of this dearest of all +earthly friends these late years, since I have been old enough to know +her character and appreciate her worth. I sometimes think that, had +she lived, I might have been both better and happier than I now am, +but God is good and wise in all his ways. + + +A letter written to her brother Edward in Boston, dated March 27, +1828, shows how slowly she adopted the view of God that finally became +one of the most characteristic elements in her writings. + +"I think that those views of God which you have presented to me have +had an influence in restoring my mind to its natural tone. But still, +after all, God is a being afar off. He is so far above us that +anything but the most distant reverential affection seems almost +sacrilegious. It is that affection that can lead us to be familiar +that the heart needs. But easy and familiar expressions of attachment +and that sort of confidential communication which I should address to +papa or you would be improper for a subject to address to a king, much +less for us to address to the King of kings. The language of prayer is +of necessity stately and formal, and we cannot clothe all the little +minutiae of our wants and troubles in it. I wish I could describe to +you how I feel when I pray. I feel that I love God,--that is, that I +love Christ,--that I find comfort and happiness in it, and yet it is +not that kind of comfort which would arise from free communication of +my wants and sorrows to a friend. I sometimes wish that the Saviour +were visibly present in this world, that I might go to Him for a +solution of some of my difficulties. . . . Do you think, my dear +brother, that there is such a thing as so realizing the presence and +character of God that He can supply the place of earthly friends? I +really wish to know what you think of this. . . . Do you suppose that +God really loves sinners before they come to Him? Some say that we +ought to tell them that God hates them, that He looks on them with +utter abhorrence, and that they must love Him before He will look on +them otherwise. Is it right to say to those who are in deep distress,' +God is interested in you; He feels for and loves you'?" + +Appended to this letter is a short note from Miss Catherine Beecher, +who evidently read the letter over and answered Harriet's questions +herself. She writes: "When the young man came to Jesus, is it not said +that Jesus loved him, though he was unrenewed?" + +In April, 1828, Harriet again writes to her brother Edward:--- + +"I have had more reason to be grateful to that friend than ever +before. He has not left me in all my weakness. It seems to me that my +love to Him is the love of despair. All my communion with Him, though +sorrowful, is soothing. I am painfully sensible of ignorance and +deficiency, but still I feel that I am willing that He should know +all. He will look on all that is wrong only to purify and reform. He +will never be irritated or impatient. He will never show me my faults +in such a manner as to irritate without helping me. A friend to whom I +would acknowledge all my faults must be perfect. Let any one once be +provoked, once speak harshly to me, once sweep all the chords of my +soul out of tune, I never could confide there again. It is only to the +most perfect Being in the universe that imperfection can look and hope +for patience. How strange! . . . You do not know how harsh and +forbidding everything seems, compared with his character. All through +the day in my intercourse with others, everything has a tendency to +destroy the calmness of mind gained by communion with Him. One +flatters me, another is angry with me, another is unjust to me. + +"You speak of your predilections for literature having been a snare to +you. I have found it so myself. I can scarcely think, without tears +and indignation, that all that is beautiful and lovely and poetical +has been laid on other altars. Oh! will there never be a poet with a +heart enlarged and purified by the Holy Spirit, who shall throw all +the graces of harmony, all the enchantments of feeling, pathos, and +poetry, around sentiments worthy of them? . . . It matters little what +service He has for me. . . . I do not mean to live in vain. He has +given me talents, and I will lay them at his feet, well satisfied, if +He will accept them. All my powers He can enlarge. He made my mind, +and He can teach me to cultivate and exert its faculties." + +The following November she writes from Groton, Conn., to Miss May:-- + +"I am in such an uncertain, unsettled state, traveling back and forth, +that I have very little time to write. In the first place, on my +arrival in Boston I was obliged to spend two days in talking and +telling news. Then after that came calling, visiting, etc., and then I +came off to Groton to see my poor brother George, who was quite out of +spirits and in very trying circumstances. To-morrow I return to Boston +and spend four or five days, and then go to Franklin, where I spend +the rest of my vacation. + +"I found the folks all well on my coming to Boston, and as to my new +brother, James, he has nothing to distinguish him from forty other +babies, except a very large pair of blue eyes and an uncommonly fair +complexion, a thing which is of no sort of use or advantage to a man +or boy. + +"I am thinking very seriously of remaining in Groton and taking care +of the female school, and at the same time being of assistance and +company for George. On some accounts it would not be so pleasant as +returning to Hartford, for I should be among strangers. Nothing upon +this point can be definitely decided till I have returned to Boston, +and talked to papa and Catherine." + +Evidently papa and Catherine did not approve of the Groton plan, for +in February of the following winter Harriet writes from Hartford to +Edward, who is at this time with his father in Boston:--- + +"My situation this winter (1829) is in many respects pleasant. I room +with three other teachers, Miss Fisher, Miss Mary Dutton, and Miss +Brigham. Ann Fisher you know. Miss Dutton is about twenty, has a fine +mathematical mind, and has gone as far into that science perhaps as +most students at college. She is also, as I am told, quite learned in +the languages. . . . Miss Brigham is somewhat older: is possessed of +a fine mind and most unconquerable energy and perseverance of +character. From early childhood she has been determined to obtain an +education, and to attain to a certain standard. Where persons are +determined to be anything, they will be. I think, for this reason, she +will make a first-rate character. Such are my companions. We spend our +time in school during the day, and in studying in the evening. My plan +of study is to read rhetoric and prepare exercises for my class the +first half hour in the evening; after that the rest of the evening is +divided between French and Italian. Thus you see the plan of my +employment and the character of my immediate companions. Besides +these, there are others among the teachers and scholars who must exert +an influence over my character. Miss Degan, whose constant occupation +it is to make others laugh; Mrs. Gamage, her room-mate, a steady, +devoted, sincere Christian. . . . Little things have great power over +me, and if I meet with the least thing that crosses my feelings, I am +often rendered unhappy for days and weeks. . . . I wish I could bring +myself to feel perfectly indifferent to the opinions of others. I +believe that there never was a person more dependent on the good and +evil opinions of those around than I am. This desire to be loved +forms, I fear, the great motive for all my actions. . . . I have been +reading carefully the book of Job, and I do not think that it contains +the views of God which you presented to me. God seems to have stripped +a dependent creature of all that renders life desirable, and then to +have answered his complaints from the whirlwind; and instead of +showing mercy and pity, to have overwhelmed him by a display of his +power and justice. . . . With the view I received from you, I should +have expected that a being who sympathizes with his guilty, afflicted +creatures would not have spoken thus. Yet, after all, I do believe +that God is such a being as you represent Him to be, and in the New +Testament I find in the character of Jesus Christ a revelation of God +as merciful and compassionate; in fact, just such a God as I need. + +"Somehow or another you have such a reasonable sort of way of saying +things that when I come to reflect I almost always go over to your +side. . . . My mind is often perplexed, and such thoughts arise in it +that I cannot pray, and I become bewildered. The wonder to me is, how +all ministers and all Christians can feel themselves so inexcusably +sinful, when it seems to me we all come into the world in such a way +that it would be miraculous if we did not sin. Mr. Hawes always says +in prayer, 'We have nothing to offer in extenuation of any of our +sins,' and I always think when he says it, that we have everything to +offer in extenuation. The case seems to me exactly as if I had been +brought into the world with such a thirst for ardent spirits that +there was just a possibility, though no hope, that I should resist, +and then my eternal happiness made dependent on my being temperate. +Sometimes when I try to confess my sins, I feel that after all I am +more to be pitied than blamed, for I have never known the time when I +have not had a temptation within me so strong that it was certain I +should not overcome it. This thought shocks me, but it comes with such +force, and so appealingly, to all my consciousness, that it stifles +all sense of sin. . . . + +"Sometimes when I read the Bible, it seems to be wholly grounded on +the idea that the sin of man is astonishing, inexcusable, and without +palliation or cause, and the atonement is spoken of as such a +wonderful and undeserved mercy that I am filled with amazement. Yet if +I give up the Bible I gain nothing, for the providence of God in +nature is just as full of mystery, and of the two I think that the +Bible, with all its difficulties, is preferable to being without it; +for the Bible holds out the hope that in a future world all shall be +made plain. . . . So you see I am, as Mr. Hawes says, 'on the waves,' +and all I can do is to take the word of God that He does do right and +there I rest." + +The following summer, in July, she writes to Edward: "I have never +been so happy as this summer. I began it in more suffering than I ever +before have felt, but there is One whom I daily thank for all that +suffering, since I hope that it has brought me at last to rest +entirely in Him. I do hope that my long, long course of wandering and +darkness and unhappiness is over, and that I have found in Him who +died for me all, and more than all, I could desire. Oh, Edward, you +can feel as I do; you can speak of Him! There are few, very few, who +can. Christians in general do not seem to look to Him as their best +friend, or realize anything of his unutterable love. They speak with a +cold, vague, reverential awe, but do not speak as if in the habit of +close and near communion; as if they confided to Him every joy and +sorrow and constantly looked to Him for direction and guidance. I +cannot express to you, my brother, I cannot tell you, how that Saviour +appears to me. To bear with one so imperfect, so weak, so +inconsistent, as myself, implied long suffering and patience more than +words can express. I love most to look on Christ as my teacher, as one +who, knowing the utmost of my sinfulness, my waywardness, my folly, +can still have patience; can reform, purify, and daily make me more +like himself." + +So, after four years of struggling and suffering, she returns to the +place where she started from as a child of thirteen. It has been like +watching a ship with straining masts and storm-beaten sails, buffeted +by the waves, making for the harbor, and coming at last to quiet +anchorage. There have been, of course, times of darkness and +depression, but never any permanent loss of the religious trustfulness +and peace of mind indicated by this letter. + +The next three years were passed partly in Boston, and partly in +Guilford and Hartford. Writing of this period of her life to the Rev. +Charles Beecher, she says:--- + +My Dear Brother:---The looking over of father's letters in the period +of his Boston life brings forcibly to my mind many recollections. At +this time I was more with him, and associated in companionship of +thought and feeling for a longer period than any other of my +experience. + +In the summer of 1832 she writes to Miss May, revealing her spiritual +and intellectual life in a degree unusual, even for her. + +"After the disquisition on myself above cited, you will be prepared to +understand the changes through which this wonderful _ego et me +ipse_ has passed. + +"The amount of the matter has been, as this inner world of mine has +become worn out and untenable, I have at last concluded to come out of +it and live in the external one, and, as F------ S------ once advised +me, to give up the pernicious habit of meditation to the first +Methodist minister that would take it, and try to mix in society +somewhat as another person would. + +"'_Horas non numero nisi serenas.'_ Uncle Samuel, who sits by me, +has just been reading the above motto, the inscription on a sun-dial +in Venice. It strikes me as having a distant relationship to what I +was going to say. I have come to a firm resolution to count no hours +but unclouded ones, and to let all others slip out of my memory and +reckoning as quickly as possible. . . . + +"I am trying to cultivate a general spirit of kindliness towards +everybody. Instead of shrinking into a corner to notice how other +people behave, I am holding out my hand to the right and to the left, +and forming casual or incidental acquaintances with all who will be +acquainted with me. In this way I find society full of interest and +pleasure--a pleasure which pleaseth me more because it is not old and +worn out. From these friendships I expect little; therefore generally +receive more than I expect. From past friendships I have expected +everything, and must of necessity have been disappointed. The kind +words and looks and smiles I call forth by looking and smiling are not +much by themselves, but they form a very pretty flower border to the +way of life. They embellish the day or the hour as it passes, and when +they fade they only do just as you expected they would. This kind of +pleasure in acquaintanceship is new to me. I never tried it before. +When I used to meet persons, the first inquiry was, 'Have they such +and such a character, or have they anything that might possibly be of +use or harm to me?'" + +It is striking, the degree of interest a letter had for her. + +"Your long letter came this morning. It revived much in my heart. Just +think how glad I must have been this morning to hear from you. I was +glad. . . . I thought of it through all the vexations of school this +morning. . . . I have a letter at home; and when I came home from +school, I went leisurely over it. + +"This evening I have spent in a little social party,--a dozen or so,-- +and I have been zealously talking all the evening. When I came to my +cold, lonely room, there was your letter lying on the dressing-table. +It touched me with a sort of painful pleasure, for it seems to me +uncertain, improbable, that I shall ever return and find you as I have +found your letter. Oh, my dear G-----, it is scarcely well to love +friends thus. The greater part that I see cannot move me deeply. They +are present, and I enjoy them; they pass and I forget them. But those +that I love differently; those that I LOVE; and oh, how much that word +means! I feel sadly about them. They may change; they must die; they +are separated from me, and I ask myself why should I wish to love with +all the pains and penalties of such conditions? I check myself when +expressing feelings like this, so much has been said of it by the +sentimental, who talk what they could not have felt. But it is so +deeply, sincerely so in me, that sometimes it will overflow. Well, +there is a heaven,--a heaven,--a world of love, and love after all is +the life-blood, the existence, the all in all of mind." + +This is the key to her whole life. She was impelled by love, and did +what she did, and wrote what she did, under the impulse of love. Never +could "Uncle Tom's Cabin" or "The Minister's Wooing" have been +written, unless by one to whom love was the "life-blood of existence, +the all in all of mind." Years afterwards Mrs. Browning was to express +this same thought in the language of poetry. + + "But when a soul by choice and conscience doth + Throw out her full force on another soul, + The conscience and the concentration both + Make mere life love. For life in perfect whole + And aim consummated is love in sooth, + As nature's magnet heat rounds pole with pole." + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +CINCINNATI, 1832-1836. + + +DR. BEECHER CALLED TO CINCINNATI.--THE WESTWARD JOURNEY.--FIRST LETTER +FROM HOME.--DESCRIPTION OF WALNUT HILLS.--STARTING A NEW SCHOOL.-- +INWARD GLIMPSES.--THE SEMI-COLON CLUB.--EARLY IMPRESSIONS OF SLAVERY. +--A JOURNEY TO THE EAST.--THOUGHTS AROUSED BY FIRST VISIT TO NIAGARA.-- +MARRIAGE TO PROFESSOR STOWE. + +IN 1832, after having been settled for six years over the Hanover +Street Church in Boston, Dr. Beecher received and finally accepted a +most urgent call to become President of Lane Theological Seminary in +Cincinnati. This institution had been chartered in 1829, and in 1831 +funds to the amount of nearly $70,000 had been promised to it provided +that Dr. Beecher accepted the presidency. It was hard for this New +England family to sever the ties of a lifetime and enter on so long a +journey to the far distant West of those days; but being fully +persuaded that their duty lay in this direction, they undertook to +perform it cheerfully and willingly. With Dr. Beecher and his wife +were to go Miss Catherine Beecher, who had conceived the scheme of +founding in Cincinnati, then considered the capital of the West, a +female college, and Harriet, who was to act as her principal +assistant. In the party were also George, who was to enter Lane as a +student, Isabella, James, the youngest son, and Miss Esther Beecher, +the "Aunt Esther" of the children. + +Before making his final decision, Dr. Beecher, accompanied by his +daughter Catherine, visited Cincinnati to take a general survey of +their proposed battlefield, and their impressions of the city are +given in the following letter written by the latter to Harriet in +Boston:-- + +"Here we are at last at our journey's end, alive and well. We are +staying with Uncle Samuel (Foote), whose establishment I will try and +sketch for you. It is on a height in the upper part of the city, and +commands a fine view of the whole of the lower town. The city does not +impress me as being so very new. It is true everything looks neat and +clean, but it is compact, and many of the houses are of brick and very +handsomely built. The streets run at right angles to each other, and +are wide and well paved. We reached here in three days from Wheeling, +and soon felt ourselves at home. The next day father and I, with three +gentlemen, walked out to Walnut Hills. The country around the city +consists of a constant succession and variety of hills of all shapes +and sizes, forming an extensive amphitheatre. The site of the seminary +is very beautiful and picturesque, though I was disappointed to find +that both river and city are hidden by intervening hills. I never saw +a place so capable of being rendered a paradise by the improvements of +taste as the environs of this city. Walnut Hills are so elevated and +cool that people have to leave there to be sick, it is said. The +seminary is located on a farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres of +fine land, with groves of superb trees around it, about two miles from +the city. We have finally decided on the spot where our house shall +stand in case we decide to come, and you cannot (where running water +or the seashore is wanting) find another more delightful spot for a +residence. It is on an eminence, with a grove running up from the back +to the very doors, another grove across the street in front, and fine +openings through which distant hills and the richest landscapes +appear. + +"I have become somewhat acquainted with those ladies we shall have the +most to do with, and find them intelligent, New England sort of folks. +Indeed, this is a New England city in all its habits, and its +inhabitants are more than half from New England. The Second Church, +which is the best in the city, will give father a unanimous call to be +their minister, with the understanding that he will give them what +time he can spare from the seminary. + +"I know of no place in the world where there is so fair a prospect of +finding everything that makes social and domestic life pleasant. Uncle +John and Uncle Samuel are just the intelligent, sociable, free, and +hospitable sort of folk that everybody likes and everybody feels at +home with. + +"The folks are very anxious to have a school on our plan set on foot +here. We can have fine rooms in the city college building, which is +now unoccupied, and everybody is ready to lend a helping hand. As to +father, I never saw such a field of usefulness and influence as is +offered to him here." + +This, then, was the field of labor in which the next eighteen years of +the life of Mrs. Stowe were to be passed. At this time her sister Mary +was married and living in Hartford, her brothers Henry Ward and +Charles were in college, while William and Edward, already licensed to +preach, were preparing to follow their father to the West. + +Mr. Beecher's preliminary journey to Cincinnati was undertaken in the +early spring of 1832, but he was not ready to remove his family until +October of that year. An interesting account of this westward journey +is given by Mrs. Stowe in a letter sent back to Hartford from +Cincinnati, as follows:-- + +"Well, my dear, the great sheet is out and the letter is begun. All +our family are here (in New York), and in good health. + +"Father is to perform to-night in the Chatham Theatre! 'positively for +the _last_ time this season!' I don't know, I'm sure, as we shall +ever get to Pittsburgh. Father is staying here begging money for the +Biblical Literature professorship; the incumbent is to be C. Stowe. +Last night we had a call from Arthur Tappan and Mr. Eastman. Father +begged $2,000 yesterday, and now the good people are praying him to +abide certain days, as he succeeds so well. They are talking of +sending us off and keeping him here. I really dare not go and see Aunt +Esther and mother now; they were in the depths of tribulation before +at staying so long, and now, + +'In the lowest depths, _another_ deep!' + +Father is in high spirits. He is all in his own element,--dipping into +books; consulting authorities for his oration; going round here, +there, everywhere; begging, borrowing, and spoiling the Egyptians; +delighted with past success and confident for the future. + +"Wednesday. Still in New York. I believe it would kill me dead to live +long in the way I have been doing since I have been here. It is a sort +of agreeable delirium. There's only one thing about it, it is too +_scattering._ I begin to be athirst for the waters of quietness." + +[Illustration: The home at Walnut Hills, Cincinnati.] + +Writing from Philadelphia, she adds:-- + +"Well, we did get away from New York at last, but it was through much +tribulation. The truckman carried all the family baggage to the wrong +wharf, and, after waiting and waiting on board the boat, we were +obliged to start without it, George remaining to look it up. Arrived +here late Saturday evening,--dull, drizzling weather; poor Aunt Esther +in dismay,--not a clean cap to put on,--mother in like state; all of +us destitute. We went, half to Dr. Skinner's and half to Mrs. Elmes's: +mother, Aunt Esther, father, and James to the former; Kate, Bella, and +myself to Mr. Elmes's. They are rich, hospitable folks, and act the +part of Gaius in apostolic times. . . . Our trunks came this morning. +Father stood and saw them all brought into Dr. Skinner's entry, and +then he swung his hat and gave a 'hurrah,' as any man would whose wife +had not had a clean cap or ruffle for a week. Father does not succeed +very well in opening purses here. Mr. Eastman says, however, that this +is not of much consequence. I saw to-day a notice in the +'Philadelphian' about father, setting forth how 'this distinguished +brother, with his large family, having torn themselves from the +endearing scenes of their home,' etc., etc., 'were going, like Jacob,' +etc.,--a very scriptural and appropriate flourish. It is too much +after the manner of men, or, as Paul says, speaking 'as a fool.' A +number of the pious people of this city are coming here this evening +to hold a prayer-meeting with reference to the journey and its object. +For _this_ I thank them." + +From Downington she writes:-- + +"Here we all are,--Noah and his wife and his sons and his daughters, +with the cattle and creeping things, all dropped down in the front +parlor of this tavern, about thirty miles from Philadelphia. If to-day +is a fair specimen of our journey, it will be a very pleasant, +obliging driver, good roads, good spirits, good dinner, fine scenery, +and now and then some 'psalms and hymns and spiritual songs;' for with +George on board you may be sure of music of some kind. Moreover, +George has provided himself with a quantity of tracts, and he and the +children have kept up a regular discharge at all the wayfaring people +we encountered. I tell him he is _peppering_ the land with moral +influence. + +"We are all well; all in good spirits. Just let me give you a peep +into our traveling household. Behold us, then, in the front parlor of +this country inn, all as much at home as if we were in Boston. Father +is sitting opposite to me at this table, reading; Kate is writing a +billet-doux to Mary on a sheet like this; Thomas is opposite, writing +in a little journal that he keeps; Sister Bell, too, has her little +record; George is waiting for a seat that he may produce his paper and +write. As for me, among the multitude of my present friends, my heart +still makes occasional visits to absent ones,--visits full of +pleasure, and full of cause of gratitude to Him who gives us friends. +I have thought of you often to-day, my G. We stopped this noon at a +substantial Pennsylvania tavern, and among the flowers in the garden +was a late monthly honeysuckle like the one at North Guilford. I made +a spring for it, but George secured the finest bunch, which he wore in +his buttonhole the rest of the noon. + +"This afternoon, as we were traveling, we struck up and sang +'Jubilee.' It put me in mind of the time when we used to ride along +the rough North Guilford roads and make the air vocal as we went +along. Pleasant times those. Those were blue skies, and that was a +beautiful lake and noble pine-trees and rocks they were that hung over +it. But those we shall look upon 'na mair.' + +"Well, my dear, there is a land where we shall not _love_ and +_leave._ Those skies shall never cease to shine, the waters of +life we shall _never_ be called upon to leave. We have here no +continuing city, but we seek one to come. In such thoughts as these I +desire ever to rest, and with such words as these let us 'comfort one +another and edify one another.' + +"Harrisburg, Sunday evening. Mother, Aunt Esther, George, and the +little folks have just gathered into Kate's room, and we have just +been singing. Father has gone to preach for Mr. De Witt. To-morrow we +expect to travel sixty-two miles, and in two more days shall reach +Wheeling; there we shall take the steamboat to Cincinnati." + +On the same journey George Beecher writes:-- + +"We had poor horses in crossing the mountains. Our average rate for +the last four days to Wheeling was forty-four miles. The journey, +which takes the mail-stage forty-eight hours, took us eight days. At +Wheeling we deliberated long whether to go on board a boat for +Cincinnati, but the prevalence of the cholera there at last decided us +to remain. While at Wheeling father preached eleven times,--nearly +every evening,--and gave them the Taylorite heresy on sin and decrees +to the highest notch; and what amused me most was to hear him +establish it from the Confession of Faith. It went high and dry, +however, above all objections, and they were delighted with it, even +the old school men, since it had not been christened 'heresy' in their +hearing. After remaining in Wheeling eight days, we chartered a stage +for Cincinnati, and started next morning. + +"At Granville, Ohio, we were invited to stop and attend a protracted +meeting. Being in no great hurry to enter Cincinnati till the cholera +had left, we consented. We spent the remainder of the week there, and +I preached five times and father four. The interest was increasingly +deep and solemn each day, and when we left there were forty-five cases +of conversion in the town, besides those from the surrounding towns. +The people were astonished at the doctrine; said they never saw the +truth so plain in their lives." + +Although the new-comers were cordially welcomed in Cincinnati, and +everything possible was done for their comfort and to make them feel +at home, they felt themselves to be strangers in a strange land. Their +homesickness and yearnings for New England are set forth by the +following extracts from Mrs. Stowe's answer to the first letter they +received from Hartford after leaving there:-- + +My dear Sister (Mary),--The Hartford letter from all and sundry has +just arrived, and after cutting all manner of capers expressive of +thankfulness, I have skipped three stairs at a time up to the study to +begin an answer. My notions of answering letters are according to the +literal sense of the word; not waiting six months and then scrawling a +lazy reply, but sitting down the moment you have read a letter, and +telling, as Dr. Woods says, "How the subject strikes you." I wish I +could be clear that the path of duty lay in talking to you this +afternoon, but as I find a loud call to consider the heels of George's +stockings, I must only write a word or two, and then resume my +darning-needle. You don't know how anxiously we all have watched for +some intelligence from Hartford. Not a day has passed when I have not +been the efficient agent in getting somebody to the post-office, and +every day my heart has sunk at the sound of "no letters." I felt a +tremor quite sufficient for a lover when I saw your handwriting once +more, so you see that in your old age you can excite quite as much +emotion as did the admirable Miss Byron in her adoring Sir Charles. I +hope the consideration and digestion of this fact will have its due +weight in encouraging you to proceed. + +The fact of our having received said letter is as yet a state secret, +not to be made known till all our family circle "in full assembly +meet" at the tea-table. Then what an illumination! "How we shall be +edified and fructified," as that old Methodist said. It seems too bad +to keep it from mother and Aunt Esther a whole afternoon, but then I +have the comfort of thinking that we are consulting for their greatest +happiness "on the whole," which is metaphysical benevolence. + +So kind Mrs. Parsons stopped in the very midst of her pumpkin pies to +think of us? Seems to me I can see her bright, cheerful face now! And +then those well known handwritings! We _do_ love our Hartford +friends dearly; there can be, I think, no controverting that fact. +Kate says that the word _love_ is used in _six senses_, and +I am sure in some one of them they will all come in. Well, good-by for +the present. + +Evening. Having finished the last hole on George's black vest, I stick +in my needle and sit down to be sociable. You don't know how coming +away from New England has sentimentalized us all! Never was there such +an abundance of meditation on our native land, on the joys of +friendship, the pains of separation. Catherine had an alarming +paroxysm in Philadelphia which expended itself in "The Emigrant's +Farewell." After this was sent off she felt considerably relieved. My +symptoms have been of a less acute kind, but, I fear, more enduring. +There! the tea-bell rings. Too bad! I was just going to say something +bright. Now to take your letter and run! How they will stare when I +produce it! + +After tea. Well, we have had a fine time. When supper was about half +over, Catherine began: "We have a dessert that we have been saving all +the afternoon," and then I held up my letter. "See here, this is from +Hartford!" I wish you could have seen Aunt Esther's eyes brighten, and +mother's pale face all in a smile, and father, as I unfolded the +letter and began. Mrs. Parsons's notice of her Thanksgiving +predicament caused just a laugh, and then one or two sighs (I told you +we were growing sentimental!). We did talk some of keeping it +(Thanksgiving), but perhaps we should all have felt something of the +text, "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" Your +praises of Aunt Esther I read twice in an audible voice, as the +children made some noise the first time. I think I detected a visible +blush, though she found at that time a great deal to do in spreading +bread and butter for James, and shuffling his plate; and, indeed, it +was rather a vehement attack on her humility, since it gave her at +least "angelic perfection," if not "Adamic" (to use Methodist +technics). Jamie began his Sunday-school career yesterday. The +superintendent asked him how old he was. "I'm four years old now, and +when _it snows very hard_ I shall be five," he answered. I have +just been trying to make him interpret his meaning; but he says, "Oh, +I said so because I could not think of anything else to say." By the +by, Mary, speaking of the temptations of cities, I have much +solicitude on Jamie's account lest he should form improper intimacies, +for yesterday or day before we saw him parading by the house with his +arm over the neck of a great hog, apparently on the most amicable +terms possible; and the other day he actually got upon the back of +one, and rode some distance. So much for allowing these animals to +promenade the streets, a particular in which Mrs. Cincinnati has +imitated the domestic arrangements of some of her elder sisters, and a +very disgusting one it is. + +Our family physician is one Dr. Drake, a man of a good deal of +science, theory, and reputed skill, but a sort of general mark for the +opposition of all the medical cloth of the city. He is a tall, +rectangular, perpendicular sort of a body, as stiff as a poker, and +enunciates his prescriptions very much as though he were delivering a +discourse on the doctrine of election. The other evening he was +detained from visiting Kate, and he sent a very polite, ceremonious +note containing a prescription, with Dr. D.'s compliments to Miss +Beecher, requesting that she would take the inclosed in a little +molasses at nine o'clock precisely. + +The house we are at present inhabiting is the most inconvenient, ill- +arranged, good-for-nothing, and altogether to be execrated affair that +ever was put together. It was evidently built without a thought of a +winter season. The kitchen is so disposed that it cannot be reached +from any part of the house without going out into the air. Mother is +actually obliged to put on a bonnet and cloak every time she goes into +it. In the house are two parlors with folding doors between them. The +back parlor has but one window, which opens on a veranda and has its +lower half painted to keep out what little light there is. I need +scarcely add that our landlord is an old bachelor and of course acted +up to the light he had, though he left little enough of it for his +tenants. + +During this early Cincinnati life Harriet suffered much from ill- +health accompanied by great mental depression; but in spite of both +she labored diligently with her sister Catherine in establishing their +school. They called it the Western Female Institute, and proposed to +conduct it upon the college plan, with a faculty of instructors. As +all these things are treated at length in letters written by Mrs. +Stowe to her friend, Miss Georgiana May, we cannot do better than turn +to them. In May, 1833, she writes:-- + +"Bishop Purcell visited our school to-day and expressed himself as +greatly pleased that we had opened such an one here. He spoke of my +poor little geography, [Footnote: This geography was begun by Mrs. +Stowe during the summer of 1832, while visiting her brother William at +Newport, R. I. It was completed during the winter of 1833, and +published by the firm of Corey, Fairbank & Webster, of Cincinnati.] +and thanked me for the unprejudiced manner in which I had handled the +Catholic question in it. I was of course flattered that he should have +known anything of the book. + +"How I wish you could see Walnut Hills. It is about two miles from the +city, and the road to it is as picturesque as you can imagine a road +to be without 'springs that run among the hills.' Every possible +variety of hill and vale of beautiful slope, and undulations of land +set off by velvet richness of turf and broken up by groves and forests +of every outline of foliage, make the scene Arcadian. You might ride +over the same road a dozen times a day untired, for the constant +variation of view caused by ascending and descending hills relieves +you from all tedium. Much of the wooding is beech of a noble growth. +The straight, beautiful shafts of these trees as one looks up the cool +green recesses of the woods seems as though they might form very +proper columns for a Dryad temple. _There_! Catherine is growling +at _me_ for sitting up so late; so 'adieu to music, moonlight, +and you.' I meant to tell you an abundance of classical things that I +have been thinking to-night, but 'woe's me.' + +"Since writing the above my whole time has been taken up in the labor +of our new school, or wasted in the fatigue and lassitude following +such labor. To-day is Sunday, and I am staying at home because I think +it is time to take some efficient means to dissipate the illness and +bad feelings of divers kinds that have for some time been growing upon +me. At present there is and can be very little system or regularity +about me. About half of my time I am scarcely alive, and a great part +of the rest the slave and sport of morbid feeling and unreasonable +prejudice. I have everything but good health. + +"I still rejoice that this letter will find you in good old +Connecticut--thrice blessed--'oh, had I the wings of a dove' I would +be there too. Give my love to Mary H. I remember well how gently she +used to speak to and smile on that forlorn old daddy that boarded at +your house one summer. It was associating with her that first put into +my head the idea of saying something to people who were not agreeable, +and of saying something when I had nothing to say, as is generally the +case on such occasions." + +Again she writes to the same friend: "Your letter, my dear G., I have +just received, and read through three times. Now for my meditations +upon it. What a woman of the world you are grown. How good it would be +for me to be put into a place which so breaks up and precludes +thought. Thought, intense emotional thought, has been my disease. How +much good it might do me to be where I could not but be thoughtless. . . . + +"Now, Georgiana, let me copy for your delectation a list of matters +that I have jotted down for consideration at a teachers' meeting to be +held to-morrow night. It runneth as follows. Just hear! 'About quills +and paper on the floor; forming classes; drinking in the entry (cold +water, mind you); giving leave to speak; recess-bell, etc., etc.' 'You +are tired, I see,' says Gilpin, 'so am I,' and I spare you. + +"I have just been hearing a class of little girls recite, and telling +them a fairy story which I had to spin out as it went along, beginning +with 'once upon a time there was,' etc., in the good old-fashioned way +of stories. + +"Recently I have been reading the life of Madame de Stael +and 'Corinne.' I have felt an intense sympathy with many parts of that +book, with many parts of her character. But in America feelings +vehement and absorbing like hers become still more deep, morbid, and +impassioned by the constant habits of self-government which the rigid +forms of our society demand. They are repressed, and they burn +inwardly till they burn the very soul, leaving only dust and ashes. It +seems to me the intensity with which my mind has thought and felt on +every subject presented to it has had this effect. It has withered and +exhausted it, and though young I have no sympathy with the feelings of +youth. All that is enthusiastic, all that is impassioned in admiration +of nature, of writing, of character, in devotional thought and +emotion, or in the emotions of affection, I have felt with vehement +and absorbing intensity,--felt till my mind is exhausted, and seems to +be sinking into deadness. Half of my time I am glad to remain in a +listless vacancy, to busy myself with trifles, since thought is pain, +and emotion is pain." + +During the winter of 1833-34 the young school-teacher became so +distressed at her own mental listlessness that she made a vigorous +effort to throw it off. She forced herself to mingle in society, and, +stimulated by the offer of a prize of fifty dollars by Mr. James Hall, +editor of the "Western Monthly," a newly established magazine, for the +best short story, she entered into the competition. Her story, which +was entitled "Uncle Lot," afterwards republished in the "May-flower," +was by far the best submitted, and was awarded the prize without +hesitation. This success gave a new direction to her thoughts, gave +her an insight into her own ability, and so encouraged her that from +that time on she devoted most of her leisure moments to writing. + +Her literary efforts were further stimulated at this time by the +congenial society of the Semi-Colon Club, a little social circle that +met on alternate weeks at Mr. Samuel Foote's and Dr. Drake's. The name +of the club originated with a roundabout and rather weak bit of logic +set forth by one of its promoters. He said: "You know that in Spanish +Columbus is called 'Colon.' Now he who discovers a new pleasure is +certainly half as great as he who discovers a new continent. Therefore +if Colon discovered a continent, we who have discovered in this club a +new pleasure should at least be entitled to the name of 'Semi- +Colons.'" So Semi-Colons they became and remained for some years. + +At some meetings compositions were read, and at others nothing was +read, but the time was passed in a general discussion of some +interesting topic previously announced. Among the members of the club +were Professor Stowe, unsurpassed in Biblical learning; Judge James +Hall, editor of the "Western Monthly;" General Edward King; Mrs. +Peters, afterwards founder of the Philadelphia School of Design; Miss +Catherine Beecher; Mrs. Caroline Lee Hentz; E. P. Cranch; Dr. Drake; +S. P. Chase, and many others who afterwards became prominent in their +several walks of life. + +In one of her letters to Miss May, Mrs. Stowe describes one of her +methods for entertaining the members of the Semi-Colon as follows:-- + +"I am wondering as to what I shall do next. I have been writing a +piece to be read next Monday evening at Uncle Sam's soiree (the Semi- +Colon). It is a letter purporting to be from Dr. Johnson. I have been +stilting about in his style so long that it is a relief to me to come +down to the jog of common english. Now I think of it I will just give +you a history of my campaign in this circle. + +"My first piece was a letter from Bishop Butler, written in his +outrageous style of parentheses and foggification. My second a +satirical essay on the modern uses of languages. This I shall send to +you, as some of the gentlemen, it seems, took a fancy to it and +requested leave to put it in the 'Western Magazine,' and so it is in +print. It is ascribed to _Catherine_, or I don't know that I +should have let it go. I have no notion of appearing in _propria +personce_. + +"The next piece was a satire on certain members who were getting very +much into the way of joking on the worn-out subjects of matrimony and +old maid and old bachelorism. I therefore wrote a set of legislative +enactments purporting to be from the ladies of the society, forbidding +all such allusions in future. It made some sport at the time. I try +not to be personal, and to be courteous, even in satire. + +"But I have written a piece this week that is making me some disquiet. +I did not like it that there was so little that was serious and +rational about the reading. So I conceived the design of writing a +_set of letters_, and throwing them in, as being the letters of a +friend. I wrote a letter this week for the first of the set,--easy, +not very sprightly,--describing an imaginary situation, a house in the +country, a gentleman and lady, Mr. and Mrs. Howard, as being pious, +literary, and agreeable. I threw into the letter a number of little +particulars and incidental allusions to give it the air of having been +really a letter. I meant thus to give myself an opportunity for the +introduction of different subjects and the discussion of different +characters in future letters. + +"I meant to write on a great number of subjects in future. Cousin +Elisabeth, only, was in the secret; Uncle Samuel and Sarah Elliot were +not to know. + +"Yesterday morning I finished my letter, smoked it to make it look +yellow, tore it to make it look old, directed it and scratched out the +direction, postmarked it with red ink, sealed it and broke the seal, +all this to give credibility to the fact of its being a real letter. +Then I inclosed it in an envelope, stating that it was a part of a +_set_ which had incidentally fallen into my hands. This envelope +was written in a scrawny, scrawly, gentleman's hand. + +"I put it into the office in the morning, directed to 'Mrs. Samuel E. +Foote,' and then sent word to Sis that it was coming, so that she +might be ready to enact the part. + +"Well, the deception took. Uncle Sam examined it and pronounced, _ex +cathedra_, that it must have been a real letter. Mr. Greene (the +gentleman who reads) declared that it must have come from Mrs. Hall, +and elucidated the theory by spelling out the names and dates which I +had erased, which, of course, he accommodated to his own tastes. But +then, what makes me feel uneasy is that Elisabeth, after reading it, +did not seem to be exactly satisfied. She thought it had too much +sentiment, too much particularity of incident,--she did not exactly +know what. She was afraid that it would be criticised unmercifully. +Now Elisabeth has a tact and quickness of perception that I trust to, +and her remarks have made me uneasy enough. I am unused to being +criticised, and don't know how I shall bear it." + +In 1833 Mrs. Stowe first had the subject of slavery brought to her +personal notice by taking a trip across the river from Cincinnati into +Kentucky in company with Miss Dutton, one of the associate teachers in +the Western Institute. They visited an estate that afterwards figured +as that of Colonel Shelby in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and here the young +authoress first came into personal contact with the negro slaves of +the South. In speaking, many years afterwards, of this visit, Miss +Dutton said: "Harriet did not seem to notice anything in particular +that happened, but sat much of the time as though abstracted in +thought. When the negroes did funny things and cut up capers, she did +not seem to pay the slightest attention to them. Afterwards, however, +in reading 'Uncle Tom,' I recognized scene after scene of that visit +portrayed with the most minute fidelity, and knew at once where the +material for that portion of the story had been gathered." + +At this time, however, Mrs. Stowe was more deeply interested in the +subject of education than in that of slavery, as is shown by the +following extract from one of her letters to Miss May, who was herself +a teacher. She says:-- + +"We mean to turn over the West by means of _model schools_ in +this, its capital. We mean to have a young lady's school of about +fifty or sixty, a primary school of little girls to the same amount, +and then a primary school for _boys_. We have come to the +conclusion that the work of teaching will never be rightly done till +it passes into _female_ hands. This is especially true with +regard to boys. To govern boys by moral influences requires tact and +talent and versatility; it requires also the same division of labor +that female education does. But men of tact, versatility, talent, and +piety will not devote their lives to teaching. They must be ministers +and missionaries, and all that, and while there is such a thrilling +call for action in this way, every man who is merely teaching feels as +if he were a Hercules with a distaff, ready to spring to the first +trumpet that calls him away. As for division of labor, men must have +salaries that can support wife and family, and, of course, a revenue +would be required to support a requisite number of teachers if they +could be found. + +"Then, if men have more knowledge they have less talent at +communicating it, nor have they the patience, the long-suffering, and +gentleness necessary to superintend the formation of character. We +intend to make these principles understood, and ourselves to set the +example of what females can do in this way. You see that first-rate +talent is necessary for all that we mean to do, especially for the +last, because here we must face down the prejudices of society and we +must have exemplary success to be believed. We want original, planning +minds, and you do not know how few there are among females, and how +few we can command of those that exist." + +During the summer of 1834 the young teacher and writer made her first +visit East since leaving New England two years before. Its object was +mainly to be present at the graduation of her favorite brother, Henry +Ward, from Amherst College. The earlier part of this journey was +performed by means of stage to Toledo, and thence by steamer to +Buffalo. A pleasant bit of personal description, and also of +impressions of Niagara, seen for the first time on this journey, are +given in a letter sent back to Cincinnati during its progress. In it +she says of her fellow-travelers:-- + +"Then there was a portly, rosy, clever Mr. Smith, or Jones, or +something the like; and a New Orleans girl looking like distraction, +as far as dress is concerned, but with the prettiest language and +softest intonations in the world, and one of those faces which, while +you say it isn't handsome, keeps you looking all the time to see what +it can be that is so pretty about it. Then there was Miss B., an +independent, good-natured, do-as-I-please sort of a body, who seemed +of perpetual motion from morning till night. Poor Miss D. said, when +we stopped at night, 'Oh, dear! I suppose Lydia will be fiddling about +our room till morning, and we shall not one of us sleep.' Then, by way +of contrast, there was a Mr. Mitchell, the most gentlemanly, obliging +man that ever changed his seat forty times a day to please a lady. Oh, +yes, he could ride outside,---or, oh, certainly, he could ride +inside,--he had no objection to this, or that, or the other. Indeed, +it was difficult to say what could come amiss to him. He speaks in a +soft, quiet manner, with something of a drawl, using very correct, +well-chosen language, and pronouncing all his words with carefulness; +has everything in his dress and traveling appointments comme il +faut_; and seems to think there is abundant time for everything +that is to be done in this world, without, as he says, 'any +unnecessary excitement.' Before the party had fully discovered his +name he was usually designated as 'the obliging gentleman,' or 'that +gentleman who is so accommodating.' Yet our friend, withal, is of +Irish extraction, and I have seen him roused to talk with both hands +and a dozen words in a breath. He fell into a little talk about +abolition and slavery with our good Mr. Jones, a man whose mode of +reasoning consists in repeating the same sentence at regular intervals +as long as you choose to answer it. This man, who was finally +convinced that negroes were black, used it as an irrefragible argument +to all that could be said, and at last began to deduce from it that +they might just as well be slaves as anything else, and so he +proceeded till all the philanthropy of our friend was roused, and he +sprung up all lively and oratorical and gesticulatory and indignant to +my heart's content. I like to see a quiet man that can be roused." + +In the same letter she gives her impressions of Niagara, as follows :-- + +"I have seen it (Niagara) and yet live. Oh, where is your soul? Never +mind, though. Let me tell, if I can, what is unutterable. Elisabeth, +it is not _like_ anything; it did not look like anything I +expected; it did not look like a waterfall. I did not once think +whether it was high or low; whether it roared or didn't roar; whether +it equaled my expectations or not. My mind whirled off, it seemed to +me, in a new, strange world. It seemed unearthly, like the strange, +dim images in the Revelation. I thought of the great white throne; the +rainbow around it; the throne in sight like unto an emerald; and oh +that beautiful water rising like moonlight, falling as the soul sinks +when it dies, to rise refined, spiritualized, and pure. That rainbow, +breaking out, trembling, fading, and again coming like a beautiful +spirit walking the waters. Oh, it is lovelier than it is great; it is +like the Mind that made it: great, but so veiled in beauty that we +gaze without terror. I felt as if I could have _gone over_ with +the waters; it would be so beautiful a death; there would be no fear +in it. I felt the rock tremble under me with a sort of joy. I was so +maddened that I could have gone too, if it had gone." + +While at the East she was greatly affected by hearing of the death of +her dear friend, Eliza Tyler, the wife of Professor Stowe. This lady +was the daughter of Dr. Bennett Tyler, president of the Theological +Institute of Connecticut, at East Windsor; but twenty-five years of +age at the time of her death, a very beautiful woman gifted with a +wonderful voice. She was also possessed of a well-stored mind and a +personal magnetism that made her one of the most popular members of +the Semi-Colon Club, in the proceedings of which she took an active +interest. + +Her death left Professor Stowe a childless widower, and his forlorn +condition greatly excited the sympathy of her who had been his wife's +most intimate friend. It was easy for sympathy to ripen into love, and +after a short engagement Harriet E. Beecher became the wife of +Professor Calvin E. Stowe. + +Her last act before the wedding was to write the following note to the +friend of her girlhood, Miss Georgiana May:-- + +_January_ 6, 1836. + +Well, my dear G., about half an hour more and your old friend, +companion, schoolmate, sister, etc., will cease to be Hatty Beecher +and change to nobody knows who. My dear, you are engaged, and pledged +in a year or two to encounter a similar fate, and do you wish to know +how you shall feel? Well, my dear, I have been dreading and dreading +the time, and lying awake all last week wondering how I should live +through this overwhelming crisis, and lo! it has come and I feel +_nothing at all_. + +The wedding is to be altogether domestic; nobody present but my own +brothers and sisters, and my old colleague, Mary Dutton; and as there +is a sufficiency of the ministry in our family we have not even to +call in the foreign aid of a minister. Sister Katy is not here, so she +will not witness my departure from her care and guidance to that of +another. None of my numerous friends and acquaintances who have taken +such a deep interest in making the connection for me even know the +day, and it will be all done and over before they know anything about +it. + +Well, it is really a mercy to have this entire stupidity come over one +at such a time. I should be crazy to feel as I did yesterday, or +indeed to feel anything at all. But I inwardly vowed that my last +feelings and reflections on this subject should be yours, and as I +have not got any, it is just as well to tell you _that_. Well, +here comes Mr. S., so farewell, and for the last time I subscribe, + +Your own H. E. B. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +EARLY MARRIED LIFE, 1836-1840. + + +PROFESSOR STOWE'S INTEREST IN POPULAR EDUCATION.--HIS DEPARTURE FOR +EUROPE.--SLAVERY RIOTS IN CINCINNATI.--BIRTH OF TWIN DAUGHTERS.-- +PROFESSOR STOWE'S RETURN AND VISIT TO COLUMBUS.--DOMESTIC TRIALS.-- +AIDING A FUGITIVE SLAVE.--AUTHORSHIP UNDER DIFFICULTIES.--A BEECHER +ROUND ROBIN. + +The letter to her friend Georgiana May, begun half an hour before her +wedding, was not completed until nearly two months after that event. +Taking it from her portfolio, she adds:-- + +"Three weeks have passed since writing the above, and my husband and +self are now quietly seated by our own fireside, as domestic as any +pair of tame fowl you ever saw; he writing to his mother, and I to +you. Two days after our marriage we took a wedding excursion, so +called, though we would most gladly have been excused this conformity +to ordinary custom had not necessity required Mr. Stowe to visit +Columbus, and I had too much adhesiveness not to go too. Ohio roads at +this season are no joke, I can tell you, though we were, on the whole, +wonderfully taken care of, and our expedition included as many +pleasures as an expedition at this time of the year _ever_ could. + +"And now, my dear, perhaps the wonder to you, as to me, is how this +momentous crisis in the life of such a wisp of nerve as myself has +been transacted so quietly. My dear, it is a wonder to myself. I am +tranquil, quiet, and happy. I look _only_ on the present, and +leave the future with Him who has hitherto been so kind to me. 'Take +no thought for the morrow' is my motto, and my comfort is to rest on +Him in whose house there are many mansions provided when these +fleeting earthly ones pass away. + +"Dear Georgy, naughty girl that I am, it is a month that I have let +the above lie by, because I got into a strain of emotion in it that I +dreaded to return to. Well, so it shall be no longer. In about five +weeks Mr. Stowe and myself start for New England. He sails the first +of May. I am going with him to Boston, New York, and other places, and +shall stop finally at Hartford, whence, as soon as he is gone, it is +my intention to return westward." + +This reference to her husband as about to leave her relates to his +sailing for Europe to purchase books for Lane Seminary, and also as a +commissioner appointed by the State of Ohio to investigate the public +school systems of the old world. He had long been convinced that +higher education was impossible in the West without a higher grade of +public schools, and had in 1833 been one of the founders in Cincinnati +of "The College of Teachers," an institution that existed for ten +years, and exerted a widespread influence. Its objects were to +popularize the common schools, raise the standard of teachers, and +create a demand for education among the people. Professor Stowe was +associated in this movement with many of the leading intellects of +Ohio at that time, and among them were Albert Pickett, Dr. Drake, +Smith Grimke, Archbishop Purcell, President A. H. McGuffey, Dr. +Beecher, Lydia Sigourney, Caroline Lee Hentz, and others. Their +influence finally extended to the state legislature, and it was +concluded to authorize Professor Stowe, when abroad, to investigate +and report upon the common school systems of Europe, especially +Prussia. + +He sailed from New York for London in the ship Montreal, Captain +Champlin, on June 8, 1836, and carried with him, to be opened only +after he was at sea, a letter from his wife, from which the following +extract is made:-- + +"Now, my dear, that you are gone where you are out of the reach of my +care, advice, and good management, it is fitting that you should have +something under my hand and seal for your comfort and furtherance in +the new world you are going to. Firstly, I must caution you to set +your face as a flint against the 'cultivation of indigo,' as Elisabeth +calls it, in any way or shape. Keep yourself from it most +scrupulously, and though you are unprovided with that precious and +savory treatise entitled 'Kemper's Consolations,' [Footnote: A +ridiculous book from which Mr. Stowe derived endless amusement.] yet +you can exercise yourself to recall and set in order such parts +thereof as would more particularly suit your case, particularly those +portions wherewith you so much consoled Kate, Aunt Esther, and your +unworthy handmaid, while you yet tarried at Walnut Hills. But +seriously, dear one, you must give more way to hope than to memory. +You are going to a new scene now, and one that I hope will be full of +enjoyment to you. I want you to take the good of it. + +"Only think of all you expect to see: the great libraries and +beautiful paintings, fine churches, and, above all, think of seeing +Tholuck, your great Apollo. My dear, I wish I were a man in your +place; if I wouldn't have a grand time!" + +During her husband's absence abroad Mrs. Stowe lived quietly in +Cincinnati with her father and brothers. She wrote occasionally short +stories, articles, and essays for publication in the "Western Monthly +Magazine" or the "New York Evangelist," and maintained a constant +correspondence with her husband by means of a daily journal, which was +forwarded to him once a month. She also assisted her brother, Henry +Ward, who had accepted a temporary position as editor of the +"Journal," a small daily paper published in the city. + +At this time the question of slavery was an exciting one in +Cincinnati, and Lane Seminary had become a hotbed of abolition. The +anti-slavery movement among the students was headed by Theodore D. +Weld, one of their number, who had procured funds to complete his +education by lecturing through the South. While thus engaged he had +been so impressed with the evils and horrors of slavery that he had +become a radical abolitionist, and had succeeded in converting several +Southerners to his views of the subject. Among them was Mr. J. G. +Birney of Huntsville, Alabama, who not only liberated his slaves, but +in connection with Dr. Gamaliel Bailey of Cincinnati founded in that +city an anti-slavery paper called "The Philanthropist." This paper was +finally suppressed, and its office wrecked by a mob instigated by +Kentucky slaveholders, and it is of this event that Mrs. Stowe writes +to her husband as follows:-- + +"Yesterday evening I spent scribbling for Henry's newspaper (the +'Journal') in this wise: 'Birney's printing-press has been mobbed, and +many of the respectable citizens are disposed to wink at the outrage +in consideration of its moving in the line of their prejudices.' + +"I wrote a conversational sketch, in which I rather satirized this +inconsistent spirit, and brought out the effects of patronizing +_any_ violation of private rights. It was in a light, sketchy +style, designed to draw attention to a long editorial of Henry's in +which he considers the subject fully and seriously. His piece is, I +think, a powerful one; indeed, he does write very strongly. I am quite +proud of his editorials; they are well studied, earnest, and +dignified. I think he will make a first-rate writer. Both our pieces +have gone to press to-day, with Charles's article on music, and we +have had not a little diversion about our _family newspaper_. + +"I thought, when I was writing last night, that I was, like a good +wife, defending one of your principles in your absence, and wanted you +to see how manfully I talked about it. Henry has also taken up and +examined the question of the Seminole Indians, and done it very +nobly." + +Again:-- + +"The excitement about Birney continues to increase. The keeper of the +Franklin Hotel was assailed by a document subscribed to by many of his +boarders demanding that Birney should be turned out of doors. He chose +to negative the demand, and twelve of his boarders immediately left, +Dr. F. among the number. A meeting has been convoked by means of a +handbill, in which some of the most respectable men of the city are +invited by name to come together and consider the question whether +they will allow Mr. Birney to continue his paper in the city. Mr. +Greene says that, to his utter surprise, many of the most respectable +and influential citizens gave out that they should go. + +"He was one of the number they invited, but he told those who came to +him that he would have nothing to do with disorderly public meetings +or mobs in any shape, and that he was entirely opposed to the whole +thing. + +"I presume they will have a hot meeting, if they have any at all. + +"I wish father were at home to preach a sermon to his church, for many +of its members do not frown on these things as they ought." + +"Later: The meeting was held, and was headed by Morgan, Neville, Judge +Burke, and I know not who else. Judge Burnet was present and consented +to their acts. The mob madness is certainly upon this city when men of +sense and standing will pass resolutions approving in so many words of +things done contrary to law, as one of the resolutions of this meeting +did. It quoted the demolition of the tea in Boston harbor as being +authority and precedent. + +"A large body, perhaps the majority of citizens, disapprove, but I +fear there will not be public disavowal. Even N. Wright but faintly +opposes, and Dr. Fore has been exceedingly violent. Mr. Hammond +(editor of the 'Gazette') in a very dignified and judicious manner has +condemned the whole thing, and Henry has opposed, but otherwise the +papers have either been silent or in favor of mobs. We shall see what +the result will be in a few days. + +"For my part, I can easily see how such proceedings may make converts +to abolitionism, for already my sympathies are strongly enlisted for +Mr. Birney, and I hope that he will stand his ground and assert his +rights. The office is fire-proof, and inclosed by high walls. I wish +he would man it with armed men and see what can be done. If I were a +man I would go, for one, and take good care of at least one window. +Henry sits opposite me writing a most valiant editorial, and tells me +to tell you he is waxing mighty in battle." + +In another letter she writes:-- + +"I told you in my last that the mob broke into Birney's press, where, +however, the mischief done was but slight. The object appeared to be +principally to terrify. Immediately there followed a general +excitement in which even good men in their panic and prejudice about +abolitionism forgot that mobs were worse evils than these, talked +against Birney, and winked at the outrage; N. Wright and Judge Burnet, +for example. Meanwhile the turbulent spirits went beyond this and +talked of revolution and of righting things without law that could not +be righted by it. At the head of these were Morgan, Neville, +Longworth, Joseph Graham, and Judge Burke. A meeting was convoked at +Lower Market Street to decide whether they would permit the publishing +of an abolition paper, and to this meeting able citizens were by name +summoned. + +"There were four classes in the city then: Those who meant to go as +revolutionists and support the mob; those who meant to put down +Birney, but rather hoped to do it without a mob; those who felt +ashamed to go, foreseeing the probable consequence, and yet did not +decidedly frown upon it; and those who sternly and decidedly +reprehended it. + +"The first class was headed by Neville, Longworth, Graham, etc.; the +second class, though of some numbers, was less conspicuous; of the +third, Judge Burnet, Dr. Fore, and N. Wright were specimens; and in +the last such men as Hammond, Mansfield, S. P. Chase, [Footnote: +Salmon P. Chase.] and Chester were prominent. The meeting in so many +words voted a mob, nevertheless a committee was appointed to wait on +Mr. Birney and ascertain what he proposed to do; and, strange to tell, +men as sensible as Uncle John and Judge Burnet were so short-sighted +as to act on that committee. + +"All the newspapers in the city, except Hammond's ('Gazette') and +Henry's (the 'Journal'), were either silent or openly 'mobocratic.' As +might have been expected, Birney refused to leave, and that night the +mob tore down his press, scattered the types, dragged the whole to the +river, threw it in, and then came back to demolish the office. + +"They then went to the houses of Dr. Bailey, Mr. Donaldson, and Mr. +Birney; but the persons they sought were not at home, having been +aware of what was intended. The mayor was a silent spectator of these +proceedings, and was heard to say, 'Well, lads, you have done well, so +far; go home now before you disgrace yourselves;' but the 'lads' spent +the rest of the night and a greater part of the next day (Sunday) in +pulling down the houses of inoffensive and respectable blacks. The +'Gazette' office was threatened, the 'Journal' office was to go next; +Lane Seminary and the water-works also were mentioned as probable +points to be attacked by the mob. + +"By Tuesday morning the city was pretty well alarmed. A regular corps +of volunteers was organized, who for three nights patrolled the +streets with firearms and with legal warrant from the mayor, who by +this time was glad to give it, to put down the mob even by bloodshed. + +"For a day or two we did not know but there would actually be war to +the knife, as was threatened by the mob, and we really saw Henry +depart with his pistols with daily alarm, only we were all too full of +patriotism not to have sent every brother we had rather than not have +had the principles of freedom and order defended. + +"But here the tide turned. The mob, unsupported by a now frightened +community, slunk into their dens and were still; and then Hammond, +who, during the few days of its prevalence, had made no comments, but +published simply the Sermon on the Mount, the Constitution of Ohio, +and the Declaration of Independence, without any comment, now came out +and gave a simple, concise history of the mob, tracing it to the +market-house meeting, telling the whole history of the meeting, with +the names of those who got it up, throwing on them and on those who +had acted on the committee the whole responsibility of the following +mob. It makes a terrible sensation, but it 'cuts its way,' and all who +took other stand than that of steady opposition from the first are +beginning to feel the reaction of public sentiment, while newspapers +from abroad are pouring in their reprehensions of the disgraceful +conduct of Cincinnati. Another time, I suspect, such men as Judge +Burnet, Mr. Greene, and Uncle John will keep their fingers out of such +a trap, and people will all learn better than to wink at a mob that +happens to please them at the outset, or in any way to give it their +countenance. Mr. Greene and Uncle John were full of wrath against +mobs, and would not go to the meeting, and yet were cajoled into +acting on that committee in the vain hope of getting Birney to go away +and thus preventing the outrage. + +"They are justly punished, I think, for what was very irresolute and +foolish conduct, to say the least." + +The general tone of her letters at this tune would seem to show that, +while Mrs. Stowe was anti-slavery in her sympathies, she was not a +declared abolitionist. This is still further borne out in a letter +written in 1837 from Putnam, Ohio, whither she had gone for a short +visit to her brother William. In it she says:-- + +"The good people here, you know, are about half abolitionists. A lady +who takes a leading part in the female society in this place yesterday +called and brought Catherine the proceedings of the Female Anti- +Slavery Convention. + +"I should think them about as ultra as to measures as anything that +has been attempted, though I am glad to see a better spirit than marks +such proceedings generally. + +"To-day I read some in Mr. Birney's 'Philanthropist.' Abolitionism +being the fashion here, it is natural to look at its papers. + +"It does seem to me that there needs to be an _intermediate_ +society. If not, as light increases, all the excesses of the abolition +party will not prevent humane and conscientious men from joining it. + +"Pray what is there in Cincinnati to satisfy one whose mind is +awakened on this subject? No one can have the system of slavery +brought before him without an irrepressible desire to _do_ +something, and what is there to be done?" + +On September 29, 1836, while Professor Stowe was still absent in +Europe, his wife gave birth to twin daughters, Eliza and Isabella, as +she named them; but Eliza Tyler and Harriet Beecher, as her husband +insisted they should be called, when, upon reaching New York, he was +greeted by the joyful news. His trip from London in the ship Gladiator +had been unusually long, even for those days of sailing vessels, and +extended from November 19, 1836, to January 20, 1837. + +During the summer of 1837 Mrs. Stowe suffered much from ill health, on +which account, and to relieve her from domestic cares, she was sent to +make a long visit at Putnam with her brother, Rev. William Beecher. +While here she received a letter from her husband, in which he says:-- + +"We all of course feel proper indignation at the doings of last +General Assembly, and shall treat them with merited contempt. This +alliance between the old school (Presbyterians) and slaveholders will +make more abolitionists than anything that has been done yet." + +In December Professor Stowe went to Columbus with the extended +educational report that he had devoted the summer to preparing; and in +writing from there to his wife he says:-- + +"To-day I have been visiting the governor and legislators. They +received me with the utmost kindness, and are evidently anticipating +much from my report. The governor communicated it to the legislature +to-day, and it is concluded that I read it in Dr. Hodges' church on +two evenings, to-morrow and the day after, before both houses of the +legislature and the citizens. The governor (Vance) will preside at +both meetings. I like him (the governor) much. He is just such a +plain, simple-hearted, sturdy body as old Fritz (Kaiser Frederick), +with more of natural talent than his predecessor in the gubernatorial +chair. For my year's work in this matter I am to receive $500." + +On January 14, 1838, Mrs. Stowe's third child, Henry Ellis, was born. + +It was about this time that the famous reunion of the Beecher family +described in Lyman Beecher's "Autobiography" occurred. Edward made a +visit to the East, and when he returned he brought Mary (Mrs. Thomas +Perkins) from Hartford with him. William came down from Putnam, Ohio, +and George from Batavia, New York, while Catherine, Harriet, Henry, +Charles, Isabella, Thomas, and James were already at home. It was the +first time they had ever all met together. Mary had never seen James, +and had seen Thomas but once. The old doctor was almost transported +with joy as they all gathered about him, and his eup of happiness was +filled to overflowing when, the next day, which was Sunday, his pulpit +was filled by Edward in the morning, William in the after-noon, and +George in the evening. + +Side by side with this charming picture we have another of domestic +life outlined by Mrs. Stowe's own hand. It is contained in the +following letter, written June 21, 1838, to Miss May, at New Haven, +Conn.:-- + +MY DEAR, DEAR GEORGIANA,--Only think how long it is since I have +written to you, and how changed I am since then--the mother of three +children! Well, if I have not kept the reckoning of old times, let +this last circumstance prove my apology, for I have been hand, heart, +and head full since I saw you. + +"Now, to-day, for example, I'll tell you what I had on my mind from +dawn to dewy eve. In the first place I waked about half after four and +thought, 'Bless me, how light it is! I must get out of bed and rap to +wake up Mina, for breakfast must be had at six o'clock this morning.' +So out of bed I jump and seize the tongs and pound, pound, pound over +poor Mina's sleepy head, charitably allowing her about half an hour to +get waked up in,--that being the quantum of time that it takes me,--or +used to. Well, then baby wakes--quâ, quâ, quâ, so I give him his +breakfast, dozing meanwhile and soliloquizing as follows: "Now I must +not forget to tell Mr. Stowe about the starch and dried apples"--doze-- +"ah, um, dear me! why doesn't Mina get up? I don't hear her," +--doze--"a, um,--I wonder if Mina has soap enough! I think there were +two bars left on Saturday"--doze again--I wake again. "Dear me, broad +daylight! I must get up and go down and see if Mina is getting +breakfast." Up I jump and up wakes baby. "Now, little boy, be good and +let mother dress, because she is in a hurry." I get my frock half on +and baby by that time has kicked himself down off his pillow, and is +crying and fisting the bed-clothes in great order. I stop with one +sleeve off and one on to settle matters with him. Having planted him +bolt upright and gone all up and down the chamber barefoot to get +pillows and blankets, to prop him up, I finish putting my frock on and +hurry down to satisfy myself by actual observation that the breakfast +is in progress. Then back I come into the nursery, where, remembering +that it is washing day and that there is a great deal of work to be +done, I apply myself vigorously to sweeping, dusting, and the setting +to rights so necessary where there are three little mischiefs always +pulling down as fast as one can put up. + +"Then there are Miss H---- and Miss E----, concerning whom Mary will +furnish you with all suitable particulars, who are chattering, +hallooing, or singing at the tops of their voices, as may suit their +various states of mind, while the nurse is getting their breakfast +ready. This meal being cleared away, Mr. Stowe dispatched to market +with various memoranda of provisions, etc., and the baby being washed +and dressed, I begin to think what next must be done. I start to cut +out some little dresses, have just calculated the length and got one +breadth torn off when Master Henry makes a doleful lip and falls to +crying with might and main. I catch him up and turning round see one +of his sisters flourishing the things out of my workbox in fine style. +Moving it away and looking the other side I see the second little +mischief seated by the hearth chewing coals and scraping up ashes with +great apparent relish. Grandmother lays hold upon her and charitably +offers to endeavor to quiet baby while I go on with my work. I set at +it again, pick up a dozen pieces, measure them once more to see which +is the right one, and proceed to cut out some others, when I see the +twins on the point of quarreling with each other. Number one pushes +number two over. Number two screams: that frightens the baby and he +joins in. I call number one a naughty girl, take the persecuted one in +my arms, and endeavor to comfort her by trotting to the old lyric:-- + + "So ride the gentlefolk, + And so do we, so do we." + +Meanwhile number one makes her way to the slop jar and forthwith +proceeds to wash her apron in it. Grandmother catches her by one +shoulder, drags her away, and sets the jar up out of her reach. By and +by the nurse comes up from her sweeping. I commit the children to her, +and finish cutting out the frocks. + +But let this suffice, for of such details as these are all my days +made up. Indeed, my dear, I am but a mere drudge with few ideas beyond +babies and housekeeping. As for thoughts, reflections, and sentiments, +good lack! good lack! + +I suppose I am a dolefully uninteresting person at present, but I hope +I shall grow young again one of these days, for it seems to me that +matters cannot always stand exactly as they do now. + +Well, Georgy, this marriage is--yes, I will speak well of it, after +all; for when I can stop and think long enough to discriminate my head +from my heels, I must say that I think myself a fortunate woman both +in husband and children. My children I would not change for all the +ease, leisure, and pleasure that I could have without them. They are +money on interest whose value will be constantly increasing. + +In 1839 Mrs. Stowe received into her family as a servant a colored +girl from Kentucky. By the laws of Ohio she was free, having been +brought into the State and left there by her mistress. In spite of +this, Professor Stowe received word, after she had lived with them +some months, that the girl's master was in the city looking for her, +and that if she were not careful she would be seized and conveyed back +into slavery. Finding that this could be accomplished by boldness, +perjury, and the connivance of some unscrupulous justice, Professor +Stowe determined to remove the girl to some place of security where +she might remain until the search for her should be given up. +Accordingly he and his brother-in-law, Henry Ward Beecher, both armed, +drove the fugitive, in a covered wagon, at night, by unfrequented +roads, twelve miles back into the country, and left her in safety with +the family of old John Van Zandt, the fugitive's friend. + +It is from this incident of real life and personal experience that +Mrs. Stowe conceived the thrilling episode of the fugitives' escape +from Tom Loker and Marks in "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +An amusing and at the same time most interesting account of her +struggles to accomplish literary work amid her distracting domestic +duties at this time is furnished by the letter of one of her intimate +friends, who writes:-- + +"It was my good fortune to number Mrs. Stowe among my friends, and +during a visit to her I had an opportunity one day of witnessing the +combined exercise of her literary and domestic genius in a style that +to me was quite amusing. + +"'Come Harriet,' said I, as I found her tending one baby and watching +two others just able to walk, 'where is that piece for the "Souvenir" +which I promised the editor I would get from you and send on next +week? You have only this one day left to finish it, and have it I +must.' + +"'And how will you get it, friend of mine?' said Harriet. 'You will at +least have to wait till I get house-cleaning over and baby's teeth +through.' + +"'As to house-cleaning, you can defer it one day longer; and as to +baby's teeth, there is to be no end to them, as I can see. No, no; to- +day that story must be ended. There Frederick has been sitting by +Ellen and saying all those pretty things for more than a month now, +and she has been turning and blushing till I am sure it is time to go +to her relief. Come, it would not take you three hours at the rate you +can write to finish the courtship, marriage, catastrophe, +éclaircissement, and all; and this three hours' labor of your brains +will earn enough to pay for all the sewing your fingers could do for a +year to come. Two dollars a page, my dear, and you can write a page in +fifteen minutes! Come, then, my lady housekeeper, economy is a +cardinal virtue; consider the economy of the thing.' + +"'But, my dear, here is a baby in my arms and two little pussies by my +side, and there is a great baking down in the kitchen, and there is a +"new girl" for "help," besides preparations to be made for house-cleaning +next week. It is really out of the question, you see.' + +"'I see no such thing. I do not know what genius is given for, if it +is not to help a woman out of a scrape. Come, set your wits to work, +let me have my way, and you shall have all the work done and finish +the story too.' + +"'Well, but kitchen affairs?' + +"'We can manage them too. You know you can write anywhere and anyhow. +Just take your seat at the kitchen table with your writing weapons, +and while you superintend Mina fill up the odd snatches of time with +the labors of your pen.' + +"I carried my point. In ten minutes she was seated; a table with +flour, rolling-pin, ginger, and lard on one side, a dresser with eggs, +pork, and beans and various cooking utensils on the other, near her an +oven heating, and beside her a dark-skinned nymph, waiting orders. + +"'Here, Harriet,' said I, 'you can write on this atlas in your lap; no +matter how the writing looks, I will copy it.' + +"'Well, well,' said she, with a resigned sort of amused look. 'Mina, +you may do what I told you, while I write a few minutes, till it is +time to mould up the bread. Where is the inkstand?' + +"'Here it is, close by, on the top of the tea-kettle,' said I. + +"At this Mina giggled, and we both laughed to see her merriment at our +literary proceedings. + +"I began to overhaul the portfolio to find the right sheet. + +"'Here it is,' said I. 'Here is Frederick sitting by Ellen, glancing +at her brilliant face, and saying something about "guardian angel," +and all that--you remember?' + +"'Yes, yes,' said she, falling into a muse, as she attempted to +recover the thread of her story. + +"'Ma'am, shall I put the pork on the top of the beans?' asked Mina. + +"'Come, come,' said Harriet, laughing. 'You see how it is. Mina is a +new hand and cannot do anything without me to direct her. We must give +up the writing for to-day.' + +"'No, no; let us have another trial. You can dictate as easily as you +can write. Come, I can set the baby in this clothes-basket and give +him some mischief or other to keep him quiet; you shall dictate and I +will write. Now, this is the place where you left off: you were +describing the scene between Ellen and her lover; the last sentence +was, "Borne down by the tide of agony, she leaned her head on her +hands, the tears streamed through her fingers, and her whole frame +shook with convulsive sobs." What shall I write next?' + +"'Mina, pour a little milk into this pearlash,' said Harriet. + +"'Come,' said I. '"The tears streamed through her fingers and her +whole frame shook with convulsive sobs." What next?' + +"Harriet paused and looked musingly out of the window, as she turned +her mind to her story. 'You may write now,' said she, and she dictated +as follows: + +"'"Her lover wept with her, nor dared he again to touch the point so +sacredly guarded"--Mina, roll that crust a little thinner. "He spoke +in soothing tones"--Mina, poke the coals in the oven.' + +"'Here,' said I, 'let me direct Mina about these matters, and write a +while yourself.' + +"Harriet took the pen and patiently set herself to the work. For a +while my culinary knowledge and skill were proof to all Mina's +investigating inquiries, and they did not fail till I saw two pages +completed. + +"'You have done bravely,' said I, as I read over the manuscript; 'now +you must direct Mina a while. Meanwhile dictate and I will write.' + +"Never was there a more docile literary lady than my friend. Without a +word of objection she followed my request. + +"'I am ready to write,' said I. 'The last sentence was: "What is this +life to one who has suffered as I have?" What next?' + +"'Shall I put in the brown or the white bread first?' said Mina. + +"'The brown first,' said Harriet. + +"'"What is this life to one who has suffered as I have?"' said I. + +"Harriet brushed the flour off her apron and sat down for a moment in +a muse. Then she dictated as follows:-- + +"'"Under the breaking of my heart I have borne up. I have borne up +under all that tries a woman,--but this thought,--oh, Henry!"' + +"'Ma'am, shall I put ginger into this pumpkin?' queried Mina. + +"'No, you may let that alone just now,' replied Harriet. She then +proceeded:-- + +"'"I know my duty to my children. I see the hour must come. You must +take them, Henry; they are my last earthly comfort."' + +"'Ma'am, what shall I do with these egg-shells and all this truck +here?' interrupted Mina. + +"'Put them in the pail by you,' answered Harriet. "'"They are my last +earthly comfort,"' said I. 'What next?' + +"She continued to dictate,-- + +"'"You must take them away. It may be---perhaps it _must_ be--- +that I shall soon follow, but the breaking heart of a wife still +pleads, 'a little longer, a little longer.'"' + +"'How much longer must the gingerbread stay in?' inquired Mina. + +"'Five minutes,' said Harriet. + +"'"A little longer, a little longer,"' I repeated in a dolorous tone, +and we burst into a laugh. + +"Thus we went on, cooking, writing, nursing, and laughing, till I +finally accomplished my object. The piece was finished, copied, and +the next day sent to the editor." + +The widely scattered members of the Beecher family had a fashion of +communicating with each other by means of circular letters. These, +begun on great sheets of paper, at either end of the line, were passed +along from one to another, each one adding his or her budget of news +to the general stock. When the filled sheet reached the last person +for whom it was intended, it was finally remailed to its point of +departure. Except in the cases of Mrs. Stowe and Mrs. Perkins, the +simple address "Rev. Mr. Beecher" was sufficient to insure its safe +delivery in any town to which it was sent. + +One of these great, closely-written sheets, bearing in faded ink the +names of all the Beechers, lies outspread before us as we write. It is +postmarked Hartford, Conn., Batavia, N. Y., Chillicothe, Ohio, +Zanesville, Ohio, Walnut Hills, Ohio, Indianapolis, Ind., +Jacksonville, Ill., and New Orleans, La. In it Mrs. Stowe occupies her +allotted space with-- + +WALNUT HILLS, 27,1839. + +DEAR FRIENDS,---I am going to Hartford myself, and therefore shall not +write, but hurry along the preparations for my forward journey. Belle, +father says you may go to the White Mountains with Mr. Stowe and me +this summer. George, we may look in on you coming back. Good-by. +Affectionately to all, H. E. STOWE. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +POVERTY AND SICKNESS, 1840-1850. + + +FAMINE IN CINCINNATI.--SUMMER AT THE EAST.--PLANS FOR LITERARY WORK.-- +EXPERIENCE ON A RAILROAD.--DEATH OF HER BROTHER GEORGE.--SICKNESS AND +DESPAIR.--A JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF HEALTH.--GOES TO BRATTLEBORO' +WATERCURE.--TROUBLES AT LANE SEMINARY.---CHOLERA IN CINCINNATI.--DEATH +OF YOUNGEST CHILD.---DETERMINED TO LEAVE THE WEST. + +On January 7, 1839, Professor Stowe wrote to his mother in Natick, +Mass.: "You left here, I believe, in the right time, for as there has +been no navigation on the Ohio River for a year, we are almost in a +state of famine as to many of the necessities of life. For example, +salt (coarse) has sold in Cincinnati this winter for three dollars a +bushel; rice eighteen cents a pound; coffee fifty cents a pound; white +sugar the same; brown sugar twenty cents; molasses a dollar a gallon; +potatoes a dollar a bushel. We do without such things mostly; as there +is yet plenty of bread and bacon (flour six and seven dollars a +barrel, and good pork from six to eight cents a pound) we get along +very comfortably. + +"Our new house is pretty much as it was, but they say it will be +finished in July. I expect to visit you next summer, as I shall +deliver the Phi Beta Kappa oration at Dartmouth College; but whether +wife and children come with me or not is not yet decided." + +Mrs. Stowe came on to the East with her husband and children during +the following summer, and before her return made a trip through the +White Mountains. + +In May, 1840, her second son was born and named Frederick William, +after the sturdy Prussian king, for whom her husband cherished an +unbounded admiration. + +Mrs. Stowe has said somewhere: "So we go, dear reader, so long as we +have a body and a soul. For worlds must mingle,--the great and the +little, the solemn and the trivial, wreathing in and out like the +grotesque carvings on a gothic shrine; only did we know it rightly, +nothing is trivial, since the human soul, with its awful shadow, makes +all things sacred." So in writing a biography it is impossible for us +to tell what did and what did not powerfully influence the character. +It is safer simply to tell the unvarnished truth. The lily builds up +its texture of delicate beauty from mould and decay. So how do we know +from what humble material a soul grows in strength and beauty! + +In December, 1840, writing to Miss May, Mrs. Stowe says:-- + +"For a year I have held the pen only to write an occasional business +letter such as could not be neglected. This was primarily owing to a +severe neuralgic complaint that settled in my eyes, and for two months +not only made it impossible for me to use them in writing, but to fix +them with attention on anything. I could not even bear the least light +of day in my room. Then my dear little Frederick was born, and for two +months more I was confined to my bed. Besides all this, we have had an +unusual amount of sickness in our family. . . . + +"For all that my history of the past year records so many troubles, I +cannot on the whole regard it as a very troublous one. I have had so +many counterbalancing mercies that I must regard myself as a person +greatly blessed. It is true that about six months out of the twelve I +have been laid up with sickness, but then I have had every comfort and +the kindest of nurses in my faithful Anna. My children have thriven, +and on the whole 'come to more,' as the Yankees say, than the care of +them. Thus you see my troubles have been but enough to keep me from +loving earth too well." + +In the spring of 1842 Mrs. Stowe again visited Hartford, taking her +six-year-old daughter Hatty with her. In writing from there to her +husband she confides some of her literary plans and aspirations to +him, and he answers:-- + +"My dear, you must be a literary woman. It is so written in the book +of fate. Make all your calculations accordingly. Get a good stock of +health and brush up your mind. Drop the E. out of your name. It only +incumbers it and interferes with the flow and euphony. Write yourself +fully and always Harriet Beecher Stowe, which is a name euphonious, +flowing, and full of meaning. Then my word for it, your husband will +lift up his head in the gate, and your children will rise up and call +you blessed. + +"Our humble dwelling has to-day received a distinguished honor of +which I must give you an account. It was a visit from his excellency +the Baron de Roenne, ambassador of his majesty the King of Prussia to +the United States. He was pleased to assure me of the great +satisfaction my report on Prussian schools had afforded the king and +members of his court, with much more to the same effect. Of course +having a real live lord to exhibit, I was anxious for some one to +exhibit him to; but neither Aunt Esther nor Anna dared venture near +the study, though they both contrived to get a peep at his lordship +from the little chamber window as he was leaving. + +"And now, my dear wife, I want you to come home as quick as you can. +The fact is I cannot live without you, and if we were not so +prodigious poor I would come for you at once. There is no woman like +you in this wide world. Who else has so much talent with so little +self-conceit; so much reputation with so little affectation; so much +literature with so little nonsense; so much enterprise with so little +extravagance; so much tongue with so little scold; so much sweetness +with so little softness; so much of so many things and so little of so +many other things?" + +In answer to this letter Mrs. Stowe writes from Hartford:-- + +"I have seen Johnson of the 'Evangelist.' He is very liberally +disposed, and I may safely reckon on being paid for all I do there. +Who is that Hale, Jr., that sent me the 'Boston Miscellany,' and will +he keep his word with me? His offers are very liberal,--twenty dollars +for three pages, not very close print. Is he to be depended on? If so, +it is the best offer I have received yet. I shall get something from +the Harpers some time this winter or spring. Robertson, the publisher +here, says the book ('The Mayflower') will sell, and though the terms +they offer me are very low, that I shall make something on it. For a +second volume I shall be able to make better terms. On the whole, my +dear, if I choose to be a literary lady, I have, I think, as good a +chance of making profit by it as any one I know of. But with all this, +I have my doubts whether I shall be able to do so. + +"Our children are just coming to the age when everything depends on my +efforts. They are delicate in health, and nervous and excitable, and +need a mother's whole attention. Can I lawfully divide my attention by +literary efforts? + +"There is one thing I must suggest. If I am to write, I must have a +room to myself, which shall be my room. I have in my own mind pitched +on Mrs. Whipple's room. I can put the stove in it. I have bought a +cheap carpet for it, and I have furniture enough at home to furnish it +comfortably, and I only beg in addition that you will let me change +the glass door from the nursery into that room and keep my plants +there, and then I shall be quite happy. + +"All last winter I felt the need of some place where I could go and be +quiet and satisfied. I could not there, for there was all the setting +of tables, and clearing up of tables, and dressing and washing of +children, and everything else going on, and the constant falling of +soot and coal dust on everything in the room was a constant annoyance +to me, and I never felt comfortable there though I tried hard. Then if +I came into the parlor where you were I felt as if I were interrupting +you, and you know you sometimes thought so too. + +"Now this winter let the cooking-stove be put into that room, and let +the pipe run up through the floor into the room above. We can eat by +our cooking-stove, and the children can be washed and dressed and keep +their playthings in the room above, and play there when we don't want +them below. You can study by the parlor fire, and I and my plants, +etc., will take the other room. I shall keep my work and all my things +there and feel settled and quiet. I intend to have a regular part of +each day devoted to the children, and then I shall take them in +there." + +In his reply to this letter Professor Stowe says:-- + +"The little magazine ('The Souvenir') goes ahead finely. Fisher sent +down to Fulton the other day and got sixty subscribers. He will make +the June number as handsome as possible, as a specimen number for the +students, several of whom will take agencies for it during the coming +vacation. You have it in your power by means of this little magazine +to form the mind of the West for the coming generation. It is just as +I told you in my last letter. God has written it in his book that you +must be a literary woman, and who are we that we should contend +against God? You must therefore make all your calculations to spend +the rest of your life with your pen. + +"If you only could come home to-day how happy should I be. I am daily +finding out more and more (what I knew very well before) that you are +the most intelligent and agreeable woman in the whole circle of my +acquaintance." + +That Professor Stowe's devoted admiration for his wife was +reciprocated, and that a most perfect sympathy of feeling existed +between the husband and wife, is shown by a line in one of Mrs. +Stowe's letters from Hartford in which she says: "I was telling Belle +yesterday that I did not know till I came away how much I was +dependent upon you for information. There are a thousand favorite +subjects on which I could talk with you better than with any one else. +If you were not already my dearly loved husband I should certainly +fall in love with you." + +In this same letter she writes of herself:-- + +"One thing more in regard to myself. The absence and wandering of mind +and forgetfulness that so often vexes you is a physical infirmity with +me. It is the failing of a mind not calculated to endure a great +pressure of care, and so much do I feel the pressure I am under, so +much is my mind often darkened and troubled by care, that life +seriously considered holds out few allurements,--only my children. + +"In returning to my family, from whom I have been so long separated, I +am impressed with a new and solemn feeling of responsibility. It +appears to me that I am not probably destined for long life; at all +events, the feeling is strongly impressed upon my mind that a work is +put into my hands which I must be earnest to finish shortly. It is +nothing great or brilliant in the world's eye; it lies in one small +family circle, of which I am called to be the central point." + +On her way home from this Eastern visit Mrs. Stowe traveled for the +first time by rail, and of this novel experience she writes to Miss +Georgiana May:-- + +BATAVIA, _August_ 29, 1842. + +"Here I am at Brother William's, and our passage along this railroad +reminds me of the verse of the psalm:-- + + "Tho' lions roar and tempests blow, + And rocks and dangers fill the way." + +Such confusion of tongues, such shouting and swearing, such want of +all sort of system and decency in arrangements, I never desire to see +again. I was literally almost trodden down and torn to pieces in the +Rochester depot when I went to help my poor, near-sighted spouse in +sorting out the baggage. You see there was an accident which happened +to the cars leaving Rochester that morning, which kept us two hours +and a half at the passing place this side of Auburn, waiting for them +to come up and go by us. The consequence was that we got into this +Rochester depot aforesaid after dark, and the steamboat, the canal- +boat, and the Western train of cars had all been kept waiting three +hours beyond their usual time, and they all broke loose upon us the +moment we put our heads out of the cars, and such a jerking, and +elbowing, and scuffling, and swearing, and protesting, and scolding +you never heard, while the great locomotive sailed up and down in the +midst thereof, spitting fire and smoke like some great fiend monster +diverting himself with our commotions. I do think these steam concerns +border a little too much on the supernatural to be agreeable, +especially when you are shut up in a great dark depot after sundown. +Well, after all, we had to ride till twelve o'clock at night to get to +Batavia, and I've been sick abed, so to speak, ever since." + +The winter of 1842 was one of peculiar trial to the family at Walnut +Hills; as Mrs. Stowe writes, "It was a season of sickness and gloom." +Typhoid fever raged among the students of the seminary, and the house +of the president was converted into a hospital, while the members of +his family were obliged to devote themselves to nursing the sick and +dying. + +July 6, 1843, a few weeks before the birth of her third daughter, +Georgiana May, a most terrible and overwhelming sorrow came on Mrs. +Stowe, in common with all the family, in the sudden death of her +brother, the Rev. George Beecher. + +He was a young man of unusual talent and ability, and much loved by +his church and congregation. The circumstances of his death are +related in a letter written by Mrs. Stowe, and are as follows: +"Noticing the birds destroying his fruit and injuring his plants, he +went for a double-barreled gun, which he scarcely ever had used, out +of regard to the timidity and anxiety of his wife in reference to it. +Shortly after he left the house, one of the elders of his church in +passing saw him discharge one barrel at the birds. Soon after he heard +the fatal report and saw the smoke, but the trees shut out the rest +from sight. . . . In about half an hour after, the family assembled at +breakfast, and the servant was sent out to call him. . . . In a few +minutes she returned, exclaiming, 'Oh, Mr. Beecher is dead! Mr. +Beecher is dead!' . . . In a short time a visitor in the family, +assisted by a passing laborer, raised him up and bore him to the +house. His face was pale and but slightly marred, his eyes were +closed, and over his countenance rested the sweet expression of +peaceful slumber. . . . Then followed the hurried preparations for the +funeral and journey, until three o'clock, when, all arrangements being +made, he was borne from his newly finished house, through his blooming +garden, to the new church, planned and just completed under his +directing eye. . . . The sermon and the prayers were finished, the +choir he himself had trained sung their parting hymn, and at about +five the funeral train started for a journey of over seventy miles. +That night will stand alone in the memories of those who witnessed its +scenes! + +"At ten in the evening heavy clouds gathered lowering behind, and +finally rose so as nearly to cover the hemisphere, sending forth +mutterings of thunder and constant flashes of lightning. + +"The excessive heat of the weather, the darkness of the night, the +solitary road, the flaring of the lamps and lanterns, the flashes of +the lightning, the roll of approaching thunder, the fear of being +overtaken in an unfrequented place and the lights extinguished by the +rain, the sad events of the day, the cries of the infant boy sick with +the heat and bewailing the father who ever before had soothed his +griefs, all combined to awaken the deepest emotions of the sorrowful, +the awful, and the sublime. . . . + +"And so it is at last; there must come a time when all that the most +heart-broken, idolizing love can give us is a coffin and a grave! All +that could be done for our brother, with all his means and all the +affection of his people and friends, was just this, no more! After +all, the deepest and most powerful argument for the religion of Christ +is its power in times like this. Take from us Christ and what He +taught, and what have we here? What confusion, what agony, what +dismay, what wreck and waste! But give Him to us, even the most +stricken heart can rise under the blow; yea, even triumph! + +"'Thy brother shall rise again,' said Jesus; and to us who weep He +speaks: 'Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are made partakers of Christ's +sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye also may be glad +with exceeding joy!'" + +The advent of Mrs. Stowe's third daughter was followed by a protracted +illness and a struggle with great poverty, of which Mrs. Stowe writes +in October, 1843:-- + +"Our straits for money this year are unparalleled even in our annals. +Even our bright and cheery neighbor Allen begins to look blue, and +says $600 is the very most we can hope to collect of our salary, once +$1,200. We have a flock of entirely destitute young men in the +seminary, as poor in money as they are rich in mental and spiritual +resources. They promise to be as fine a band as those we have just +sent off. We have two from Iowa and Wisconsin who were actually +crowded from secular pursuits into the ministry by the wants of the +people about them. Revivals began, and the people came to them saying, +'We have no minister, and you must preach to us, for you know more +than we do.'" + +In the spring of 1844 Professor Stowe visited the East to arouse an +interest in the struggling seminary and raise funds for its +maintenance. While he was there he received the following letter from +Mrs. Stowe:-- + +"I am already half sick with confinement to the house and overwork. If +I should sew every day for a month to come I should not be able to +accomplish a half of what is to be done, and should be only more unfit +for my other duties." + +This struggle against ill-health and poverty was continued through +that year and well into the next, when, during her husband's absence +to attend a ministerial convention at Detroit, Mrs. Stowe writes to +him:-- + +_June_ 16, 1845. + +"MY DEAR HUSBAND,--It is a dark, sloppy, rainy, muddy, disagreeable +day, and I have been working hard (for me) all day in the kitchen, +washing dishes, looking into closets, and seeing a great deal of that +dark side of domestic life which a housekeeper may who will +investigate too curiously into minutiae in warm, damp weather, +especially after a girl who keeps all clean on the _outside_ of +cup and platter, and is very apt to make good the rest of the text in +the _inside_ of things. + +I am sick of the smell of sour milk, and sour meat, and sour +everything, and then the clothes _will_ not dry, and no wet thing +does, and everything smells mouldy; and altogether I feel as if I +never wanted to eat again. + +Your letter, which was neither sour nor mouldy, formed a very +agreeable contrast to all these things; the more so for being +unexpected. I am much obliged to you for it. As to my health, it gives +me very little solicitude, although I am bad enough and daily growing +worse. I feel no life, no energy, no appetite, or rather a growing +distaste for food; in fact, I am becoming quite ethereal. Upon +reflection I perceive that it pleases my Father to keep me in the +fire, for my whole situation is excessively harassing and painful. I +suffer with sensible distress in the brain, as I have done more or +less since my sickness last winter, a distress which some days takes +from me all power of planning or executing anything; and you know +that, except this poor head, my unfortunate household has no +mainspring, for nobody feels any kind of responsibility to do a thing +in time, place, or manner, except as I oversee it. + +Georgiana is so excessively weak, nervous, cross, and fretful, night +and day, that she takes all Anna's strength and time with her; and +then the children are, like other little sons and daughters of Adam, +full of all kinds of absurdity and folly. + +When the brain gives out, as mine often does, and one cannot think or +remember anything, then what is to be done? All common fatigue, +sickness, and exhaustion is nothing to this distress. Yet do I rejoice +in my God and know in whom I believe, and only pray that the fire may +consume the dross; as to the gold, that is imperishable. No real evil +can happen to me, so I fear nothing for the future, and only suffer in +the present tense. + +God, the mighty God, is mine, of that I am sure, and I know He knows +that though flesh and heart fail, I am all the while desiring and +trying for his will alone. As to a journey, I need not ask a physician +to see that it is needful to me as far as health is concerned, that is +to say, all human appearances are that way, but I feel no particular +choice about it. If God wills I go. He can easily find means. Money, I +suppose, is as plenty with Him now as it always has been, and if He +sees it is really best He will doubtless help me." + +That the necessary funds were provided is evident from the fact that +the journey was undertaken and the invalid spent the summer of 1845 in +Hartford, in Natick, and in Boston. She was not, however, permanently +benefited by the change, and in the following spring it was deemed +necessary to take more radical measures to arrest the progress of her +increasing debility. After many consultations and much correspondence +it was finally decided that she should go to Dr. Wesselhoeft's +watercure establishment at Brattleboro', Vt. + +At this time, under date of March, 1846, she writes: + +"For all I have had trouble I can think of nothing but the greatness +and richness of God's mercy to me in giving me such friends, and in +always caring for us in every strait. There has been no day this +winter when I have not had abundant reason to see this. Some friend +has always stepped in to cheer and help, so that I have wanted for +nothing. My husband has developed wonderfully as house-father and +nurse. You would laugh to see him in his spectacles gravely marching +the little troop in their nightgowns up to bed, tagging after them, as +he says, like an old hen after a flock of ducks. The money for my +journey has been sent in from an unknown hand in a wonderful manner. +All this shows the care of our Father, and encourages me to rejoice +and to hope in Him." + +A few days after her departure Professor Stowe wrote to his wife:-- + +"I was greatly comforted by your brief letter from Pittsburgh. When I +returned from the steamer the morning you left I found in the post- +office a letter from Mrs. G. W. Bull of New York, inclosing $50 on +account of the sickness in my family. There was another inclosing $50 +more from a Mrs. Devereaux of Raleigh, N. C., besides some smaller +sums from others. My heart went out to God in aspiration and +gratitude. None of the donors, so far as I know, have I ever seen or +heard of before. + +"Henry and I have been living in a Robinson Crusoe and man Friday sort +of style, greatly to our satisfaction, ever since you went away." + +Mrs. Stowe was accompanied to Brattleboro' by her sisters, Catherine +and Mary, who were also suffering from troubles that they felt might +be relieved by hydropathic treatment. + +From May, 1846, until March, 1847, she remained at Brattleboro' +without seeing her husband or children. During these weary months her +happiest days were those upon which she received letters from home. + +The following extracts, taken from letters written by her during this +period, are of value, as revealing what it is possible to know of her +habits of thought and mode of life at this time. + +BRATTLEBORO', _September_, 1846. + +MY DEAR HUSBAND,--I have been thinking of all your trials, and I +really pity you in having such a wife. I feel as if I had been only a +hindrance to you instead of a help, and most earnestly and daily do I +pray to God to restore my health that I may do something for you and +my family. I think if I were only at home I could at least sweep and +dust, and wash potatoes, and cook a little, and talk some to my +children, and should be doing something for my family. But the hope of +getting better buoys me up. I go through these tedious and wearisome +baths and bear that terrible douche thinking of my children. They +never will know how I love them. . . . + +There is great truth and good sense in your analysis of the cause of +our past failures. We have now come to a sort of crisis. If you and I +do as we should for _five years_ to come the character of our +three oldest children will be established. This is why I am willing to +spend so much time and make such efforts to have health. Oh, that God +would give me these five years in full possession of mind and body, +that I may train my children as they should be trained. I am fully +aware of the importance of system and order in a family. I know that +nothing can be done without it; it is the keystone, the _sine quâ +non_, and in regard to my children I place it next to piety. At the +same time it is true that both Anna [Footnote: The governess, Miss +Anna Smith.] and I labor under serious natural disadvantages on this +subject. It is not all that is necessary to feel the importance of +order and system, but it requires a particular kind of talent to carry +it through a family. Very much the same kind of talent, as Uncle +Samuel said, which is necessary to make a good prime minister. . . . + +I think you might make an excellent sermon to Christians on the care +of health, in consideration of the various infirmities and impediments +to the developing the results of religion, that result from bodily ill +health, and I wish you would make one that your own mind may be more +vividly impressed with it. The world is too much in a hurry. Ministers +think there is no way to serve Christ but to overdraw on their +physical capital for four or five years for Christ and then have +nothing to give, but become a mere burden on his hands for the next +five. . . . + +_November_ 18. + +"The daily course I go through presupposes a degree of vigor beyond +anything I ever had before. For this week, I have gone before +breakfast to the wave-bath and let all the waves and billows roll over +me till every limb ached with cold and my hands would scarcely have +feeling enough to dress me. After that I have walked till I was warm, +and come home to breakfast with such an appetite! Brown bread and milk +are luxuries indeed, and the only fear is that I may eat too much. At +eleven comes my douche, to which I have walked in a driving rain for +the last two days, and after it walked in the rain again till I was +warm. (The umbrella you gave me at Natick answers finely, as well as +if it were a silk one.) After dinner I roll ninepins or walk till +four, then sitz-bath, and another walk till six. + +"I am anxious for your health; do be persuaded to try a long walk +before breakfast. You don't know how much good it will do you. Don't +sit in your hot study without any ventilation, a stove burning up all +the vitality of the air and weakening your nerves, and above all, do +amuse yourself. Go to Dr. Mussey's and spend an evening, and to +father's and Professor Allen's. When you feel worried go off somewhere +and forget and throw it off. I should really rejoice to hear that you +and father and mother, with Professor and Mrs. Allen, Mrs. K., and a +few others of the same calibre would agree to meet together for +dancing cotillons. It would do you all good, and if you took Mr. K.'s +wife and poor Miss Much-Afraid, her daughter, into the alliance it +would do them good. Bless me! what a profane set everybody would think +you were, and yet you are the people of all the world most solemnly in +need of it. I wish you could be with me in Brattleboro' and coast down +hill on a sled, go sliding and snowballing by moonlight! I would +snowball every bit of the _hypo_ out of you! Now, my dear, if you +are going to get sick, I am going to come home. There is no use in my +trying to get well if you, in the mean time, are going to run yourself +down." + +[Illustration: Ding, dong! Dead and gone!] + +_January_, 1847. + +MY DEAR SOUL,--I received your most melancholy effusion, and I am +sorry to find it's just so. I entirely agree and sympathize. Why +didn't you engage the two tombstones--one for you and one for me? + +I shall have to copy for your edification a "poem on tombstones" which +Kate put at Christmas into the stocking of one of our most +hypochondriac gentlemen, who had pished and pshawed at his wife and us +for trying to get up a little fun. This poem was fronted with the +above vignette and embellished with sundry similar ones, and tied with +a long black ribbon. There were only two cantos in very concise style, +so I shall send you them entire. + +CANTO I. + + In the kingdom of _Mortin_ + I had the good fortin' + To find these verses + On tombs and on hearses, + Which I, being jinglish + Have done into English. + + CANTO II. + + The man what's so colickish + When his friends are all frolickish + As to turn up his noses + And turn on his toses + Shall have only verses + On tombstones and hearses. + + But, seriously, my dear husband, you must try and be patient, for +this cannot last forever. Be patient and bear it like the toothache, +or a driving rain, or anything else that you cannot escape. To see +things as through a glass darkly is your infirmity, you know; but the +Lord will yet deliver you from this trial. I know how to pity you, for +the last three weeks I have suffered from an overwhelming mental +depression, a perfect heartsickness. All I wanted was to get home and +die. Die I was very sure I should at any rate, but I suppose I was +never less prepared to do so." + +The long exile was ended in the spring of 1847, and in May Mrs. Stowe +returned to her Cincinnati home, where she was welcomed with sincere +demonstrations of joy by her husband and children. + +Her sixth child, Samuel Charles, was born in January of 1848, and +about this time her husband's health became so seriously impaired that +it was thought desirable for him in turn to spend a season at the +Brattleboro' water-cure. He went in June, 1848, and was compelled by +the very precarious state of his health to remain until September, +1849. During this period of more than a year Mrs. Stowe remained in +Cincinnati caring for her six children, eking out her slender income +by taking boarders and writing when she found time, confronting a +terrible epidemic of cholera that carried off one of her little flock, +and in every way showing herself to be a brave woman, possessed of a +spirit that could rise superior to all adversity. Concerning this time +she writes in January, 1849, to her dearest friend:-- + +MY BELOVED GEORGY,--For six months after my return from Brattleboro' +my eyes were so affected that I wrote scarce any, and my health was in +so strange a state that I felt no disposition to write. After the +birth of little Charley my health improved, but my husband was sick +and I have been so loaded and burdened with cares as to drain me dry +of all capacity of thought, feeling, memory, or emotion. + +"Well, Georgy, I am thirty-seven years old! I am glad of it. I like to +grow old and have six children and cares endless. I wish you could see +me with my flock all around me. They sum up my cares, and were they +gone I should ask myself, What now remains to be done? They are my +work, over which I fear and tremble." + +In the early summer of 1849 cholera broke out in Cincinnati, and soon +became epidemic. Professor Stowe, absent in Brattleboro', and filled +with anxiety for the safety of his family, was most anxious, in spite +of his feeble health, to return and share the danger with them, but +this his wife would not consent to, as is shown by her letters to him, +written at this time. In one of them, dated June 29, 1849, she says:-- + +MY DEAR HUSBAND,--This week has been unusually fatal. The disease in +the city has been malignant and virulent. Hearse drivers have scarce +been allowed to unharness their horses, while furniture carts and +common vehicles are often employed for the removal of the dead. The +sable trains which pass our windows, the frequent indications of +crowding haste, and the absence of reverent decency have, in many +cases, been most painful. Of course all these things, whether we will +or no, bring very doleful images to the mind. + +On Tuesday one hundred and sixteen deaths from cholera were reported, +and that night the air was of that peculiarly oppressive, deathly kind +that seems to lie like lead on the brain and soul. + +As regards your coming home, I am decidedly opposed to it. First, +because the chance of your being taken ill is just as great as the +chance of your being able to render us any help. To exchange the +salubrious air of Brattleboro' for the pestilent atmosphere of this +place with your system rendered sensitive by water-cure treatment +would be extremely dangerous. It is a source of constant gratitude to +me that neither you nor father are exposed to the dangers here. + +Second, none of us are sick, and it is very uncertain whether we shall +be. + +Third, if we were sick there are so many of us that it is not at all +likely we shall all be taken at once. + +_July_ 1. Yesterday Mr. Stagg went to the city and found all +gloomy and discouraged, while a universal panic seemed to be drawing +nearer than ever before. Large piles of coal were burning on the cross +walks and in the public squares, while those who had talked +confidently of the cholera being confined to the lower classes and +those who were imprudent began to feel as did the magicians of old, +"This is the finger of God." + +Yesterday, upon the recommendation of all the clergymen of the city, +the mayor issued a proclamation for a day of general fasting, +humiliation, and prayer, to be observed on Tuesday next. + +_July_ 3. We are all in good health and try to maintain a calm +and cheerful frame of mind. The doctors are nearly used up. Dr. Bowen +and Dr. Peck are sick in bed. Dr. Potter and Dr. Pulte ought, I +suppose, to be there also. The younger physicians have no rest night +or day. Mr. Fisher is laid up from his incessant visitations with the +sick and dying. Our own Dr. Brown is likewise prostrated, but we are +all resolute to stand by each other, and there are so many of us that +it is not likely we can all be taken sick together. + +_July_ 4. All well. The meeting yesterday was very solemn and +interesting. There is more or less sickness about us, but no very +dangerous cases. One hundred and twenty burials from cholera alone +yesterday, yet to-day we see parties bent on pleasure or senseless +carousing, while to-morrow and next day will witness a fresh harvest +of death from them. How we can become accustomed to anything! Awhile +ago ten a day dying of cholera struck terror to all hearts; but now +the tide has surged up gradually until the deaths average over a +hundred daily, and everybody is getting accustomed to it. Gentlemen +make themselves agreeable to ladies by reciting the number of deaths +in this house or that. This together with talk of funerals, cholera +medicines, cholera dietetics, and chloride of lime form the ordinary +staple of conversation. Serious persons of course throw in moral +reflections to their taste. + +_July_ 10. Yesterday little Charley was taken ill, not seriously, +and at any other season I should not be alarmed. Now, however, a +slight illness seems like a death sentence, and I will not dissemble +that I feel from the outset very little hope. I still think it best +that you should not return. By so doing you might lose all you have +gained. You might expose yourself to a fatal incursion of disease. It +is decidedly not your duty to do so. + +_July_ 12. Yesterday I carried Charley to Dr. Pulte, who spoke in +such a manner as discouraged and frightened me. He mentioned dropsy on +the brain as a possible result. I came home with a heavy heart, +sorrowing, desolate, and wishing my husband and father were here. + +About one o'clock this morning Miss Stewart suddenly opened my door +crying, "Mrs. Stowe, Henry is vomiting." I was on my feet in an +instant, and lifted up my heart for help. He was, however, in a few +minutes relieved. Then I turned my attention to Charley, who was also +suffering, put him into a wet sheet, and kept him there until he was +in a profuse perspiration. He is evidently getting better, and is +auspiciously cross. Never was crossness in a baby more admired. Anna +and I have said to each other exultingly a score of times, "How cross +the little fellow is! How he does scold!" + +_July_ 15. Since I last wrote our house has been a perfect +hospital. Charley apparently recovering, but still weak and feeble, +unable to walk or play, and so miserably fretful and unhappy. Sunday +Anna and I were fairly stricken down, as many others are, with no +particular illness, but with such miserable prostration. I lay on the +bed all day reading my hymn-book and thinking over passages of +Scripture. + +_July_ 17. To-day we have been attending poor old Aunt Frankie's +[Footnote: An old colored woman.] funeral. She died yesterday morning, +taken sick the day before while washing. Good, honest, trustful old +soul! She was truly one who hungered and thirsted for righteousness. + +Yesterday morning our poor little dog, Daisy, who had been ailing the +day before, was suddenly seized with frightful spasms and died in half +an hour. Poor little affectionate thing! If I were half as good for my +nature as she for hers I should be much better than I am. While we +were all mourning over her the news came that Aunt Frankie was +breathing her last. Hatty, Eliza, Anna, and I made her shroud +yesterday, and this morning I made her cap. We have just come from her +grave. + +_July_ 23. At last, my dear, the hand of the Lord hath touched +us. We have been watching all day by the dying bed of little Charley, +who is gradually sinking. After a partial recovery from the attack I +described in my last letter he continued for some days very feeble, +but still we hoped for recovery. About four days ago he was taken with +decided cholera, and now there is no hope of his surviving this night. + +Every kindness is shown us by the neighbors. Do not return. All will +be over before you could possibly get here, and the epidemic is now +said by the physicians to prove fatal to every new case. Bear up. Let +us not faint when we are rebuked of Him. I dare not trust myself to +say more but shall write again soon. + +_July_ 26. MY DEAR HUSBAND,--At last it is over and our dear +little one is gone from us. He is now among the blessed. My Charley-- +my beautiful, loving, gladsome baby, so loving, so sweet, so full of +life and hope and strength--now lies shrouded, pale and cold, in the +room below. Never was he anything to me but a comfort. He has been my +pride and joy. Many a heartache has he cured for me. Many an anxious +night have I held him to my bosom and felt the sorrow and loneliness +pass out of me with the touch of his little warm hands. Yet I have +just seen him in his death agony, looked on his imploring face when I +could not help nor soothe nor do one thing, not one, to mitigate his +cruel suffering, do nothing but pray in my anguish that he might die +soon. I write as though there were no sorrow like my sorrow, yet there +has been in this city, as in the land of Egypt, scarce a house without +its dead. This heart-break, this anguish, has been everywhere, and +when it will end God alone knows. With this severest blow of all, the +long years of trial and suffering in the West practically end; for in +September, 1849, Professor Stowe returned from Brattleboro', and at +the same time received a call to the Collins Professorship at Bowdoin +College, in Brunswick, Maine, that he decided to accept. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +REMOVAL TO BRUNSWICK, 1850-1852. + + +MRS. STOWE'S REMARKS ON WRITING AND UNDERSTANDING BIOGRAPHY.--THEIR +APPROPRIATENESS TO HER OWN BIOGRAPHY.--REASONS FOR PROFESSOR STOWE'S +LEAVING CINCINNATI.--MRS. STOWE'S JOURNEY TO BROOKLYN.--HER BROTHER'S +SUCCESS AS A MINISTER.--LETTERS FROM HARTFORD AND BOSTON.--ARRIVES IN +BRUNSWICK.--HISTORY OF THE SLAVERY AGITATION.--PRACTICAL WORKING OF +THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW.--MRS. EDWARD BEECHER'S LETTER TO MRS. STOWE +AND ITS EFFECT.--DOMESTIC TRIALS.--BEGINS TO WRITE "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" +AS A SERIAL FOR THE "NATIONAL ERA."--LETTER TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS.-- +"UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" A WORK OF RELIGIOUS EMOTION. + +Early in the winter of 1849 Mrs. Stowe wrote in a private journal in +which she recorded thought and feeling concerning religious themes: +"It has been said that it takes a man to write the life of a man; that +is, there must be similarity of mind in the person who undertakes to +present the character of another. This is true, also, of reading and +understanding biography. A statesman and general would read the life +of Napoleon with the spirit and the understanding, while the +commonplace man plods through it as a task. The difference is that the +one, being of like mind and spirit with the subject of the biography, +is able to sympathize with him in all his thoughts and experiences, +and the other is not. The life of Henry Martyn would be tedious and +unintelligible to a mind like that of a Richelieu or a Mazarin. They +never experienced or saw or heard anything like it, and would be quite +at a loss where to place such a man in their mental categories. It is +not strange, therefore, that of all biography in the world that of +Jesus Christ should be least understood. It is an exception to all the +world has ever seen. 'The world knew Him not.' There is, to be sure, a +simple grandeur about the life of Jesus which awes almost every mind. +The most hardened scoffer, after he has jested and jeered at +everything in the temple of Christianity, stands for a moment +uncovered and breathless when he comes to the object of its adoration +and feels how awful goodness is, and Virtue in her shape how lovely. +Yet, after all, the character of the Christ has been looked at and not +sympathized with. Men have turned aside to see this great sight. +Christians have fallen in adoration, but very few have tried to enter +into his sympathies and to feel as He felt." How little she dreamed +that these words were to become profoundly appropriate as a +description of her own life in its relation to mankind! How little the +countless thousands who read, have read, and will read, "Uncle Tom's +Cabin" enter into or sympathize with the feelings out of which it was +written! A delicate, sensitive woman struggling with poverty, with +weary step and aching head attending to the innumerable demands of a +large family of growing children; a devoted Christian seeking with +strong crying and tears a kingdom not of this world,--is this the +popular conception of the author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin"? Nevertheless +it is the reality. When, amid the burning ruins of a besieged city, a +mother's voice is heard uttering a cry of anguish over a child killed +in her arms by a bursting shell, the attention is arrested, the heart +is touched. So "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was a cry of anguish from a +mother's heart, and uttered in sad sincerity. It was the bursting +forth of deep feeling, with all the intense anguish of wounded love. +It will be the purpose of this chapter to show this, and to cause to +pass before the reader's mind the time, the household, and the heart +from which this cry was heard. + +After struggling for seventeen years with ill health and every +possible vexation and hindrance in his work, Professor Stowe became +convinced that it was his duty to himself and his family to seek some +other field of labor. + +February 6, 1850, he writes to his mother, in Natick, Mass.: "My +health has not been good this winter, and I do not suppose that I +should live long were I to stay here. I have done a great deal of hard +work here, and practiced no little self-denial. I have seen the +seminary carried through a most vexatious series of lawsuits, +ecclesiastical and civil, and raised from the depths of poverty to +comparative affluence, and I feel at liberty now to leave. During the +three months of June, July, and August last, more than nine thousand +persons died of cholera within three miles of my house, and this +winter, in the same territory, there have been more than ten thousand +cases of small-pox, many of them of the very worst kind. Several have +died on the hill, and the Jesuits' college near us has been quite +broken up by it. There have been, however, no cases in our families or +in the seminary. + +"I have received many letters from friends in the East expressing +great gratification at the offer from Bowdoin College, and the hope +that I would accept it. I am quite inclined to do so, but the matter +is not yet finally settled, and there are difficulties in the way. +They can offer me only $1,000 a year, and I must, out of it, hire my +own house, at an expense of $75 to $100 a year. Here the trustees +offer me $1,500 a year if I will stay, and a good house besides, which +would make the whole salary equivalent to $1,800; and to-day I have +had another offer from New York city of $2,300. . . . On the whole, I +have written to Bowdoin College, proposing to them if they will give +me $500 free and clear in addition to the salary, I will accept their +proposition, and I suppose that there is no doubt that they will do +it. In that case I should come on next spring, in May or June." + +This offer from Bowdoin College was additionally attractive to +Professor Stowe from the fact that it was the college from which he +graduated, and where some of the happiest years of his life had been +passed. + +The professorship was one just established through the gift of Mrs. +Collins, a member of Bowdoin Street Church in Boston, and named in her +honor, the "Collins Professorship of Natural and Revealed Religion." + +It was impossible for Professor Stowe to leave Lane Seminary till some +one could be found to take his place; so it was determined that Mrs. +Stowe, with three of the children, should start for the East in April, +and having established the family in Brunswick, Professor Stowe was to +come on with the remaining children when his engagements would permit. + +The following extracts from a letter written by Mrs. Stowe at her +brother Henry's, at Brooklyn, April 29, 1850, show us that the journey +was accomplished without special incident. + +"The boat got into Pittsburgh between four and five on Wednesday. The +agent for the Pennsylvania Canal came on board and soon filled out our +tickets, calling my three chicks one and a half. We had a quiet and +agreeable passage, and crossed the slides at five o'clock in the +morning, amid exclamations of unbounded delight from all the children, +to whom the mountain scenery was a new and amazing thing. We reached +Hollidaysburg about eleven o'clock, and at two o'clock in the night +were called up to get into the cars at Jacktown. Arriving at +Philadelphia about three o'clock in the afternoon, we took the boat +and railroad line for New York. + +"At Lancaster we telegraphed to Brooklyn, and when we arrived in New +York, between ten and eleven at night, Cousin Augustus met us and took +us over to Brooklyn. We had ridden three hundred miles since two +o'clock that morning, and were very tired. . . . I am glad we came +that way, for the children have seen some of the finest scenery in our +country. . . . Henry's people are more than ever in love with him, and +have raised his salary to $3,300, and given him a beautiful horse and +carriage worth $600. . . . My health is already improved by the +journey, and I was able to walk a good deal between the locks on the +canal. As to furniture, I think that we may safely afford an outlay of +$150, and that will purchase all that may be necessary to set us up, +and then we can get more as we have means and opportunity. . . . If I +got anything for those pieces I wrote before coming away, I would like +to be advised thereof by you. . . . My plan is to spend this week in +Brooklyn, the next in Hartford, the next in Boston, and go on to +Brunswick some time in May or June." + +May 18, 1850, we find her writing from Boston, where she is staying +with her brother, Rev. Edward Beecher:-- + +MY DEAR HUSBAND,--I came here from Hartford on Monday, and have since +then been busily engaged in the business of buying and packing +furniture. + +I expect to go to Brunswick next Tuesday night by the Bath steamer, +which way I take as the cheaper. My traveling expenses, when I get to +Brunswick, including everything, will have been seventy-six dollars. . . . +And now, lastly, my dear husband, you have never been wanting . . . +in kindness, consideration, and justice, and I want you to reflect +calmly how great a work has been imposed upon me at a time when my +situation particularly calls for rest, repose, and quiet. + +To come alone such a distance with the whole charge of children, +accounts, and baggage; to push my way through hurrying crowds, looking +out for trunks, and bargaining with hackmen, has been a very severe +trial of my strength, to say nothing of the usual fatigues of +traveling. + +It was at this time, and as a result of the experiences of this trying +period, that Mrs. Stowe wrote that little tract dear to so many +Christian hearts, "Earthly Care a Heavenly Discipline." + +On the eve of sailing for Brunswick, Mrs. Stowe writes to Mrs. Sykes +(Miss May): "I am wearied and worn out with seeing to bedsteads, +tables, chairs, mattresses, with thinking about shipping my goods and +making out accounts, and I have my trunk yet to pack, as I go on board +the Bath steamer this evening. I beg you to look up Brunswick on the +map; it is about half a day's ride in the cars from Boston. I expect +to reach there by the way of Bath by to-morrow forenoon. There I have +a house engaged and kind friends who offer every hospitable +assistance. Come, therefore, to see me, and we will have a long talk +in the pine woods, and knit up the whole history from the place where +we left it." + +Before leaving Boston she had written to her husband in Cincinnati: +"You are not able just now to bear anything, my dear husband, +therefore trust all to me; I never doubt or despair. I am already +making arrangements with editors to raise money. + +"I have sent some overtures to Wright. If he accepts my pieces and +pays you for them, take the money and use it as you see necessary; if +not, be sure and bring the pieces back to me. I am strong in spirit, +and God who has been with me in so many straits will not forsake me +now. I know Him well; He is my Father, and though I may be a blind and +erring child, He will help me for all that. My trust through all +errors and sins is in Him. He who helped poor timid Jacob through all +his fears and apprehensions, who helped Abraham even when he sinned, +who was with David in his wanderings, and who held up the too +confident Peter when he began to sink,--He will help us, and his arms +are about us, so that we shall not sink, my dear husband." + +May 29, 1850, she writes from Brunswick: "After a week of most +incessant northeast storm, most discouraging and forlorn to the +children, the sun has at length come out. . . . There is a fair wind +blowing, and every prospect, therefore, that our goods will arrive +promptly from Boston, and that we shall be in our own house by next +week. Mrs. Upham [Footnote: Wife of Professor Upham of Bowdoin +College.] has done everything for me, giving up time and strength and +taking charge of my affairs in a way without which we could not have +got along at all in a strange place and in my present helpless +condition. This family is delightful, there is such a perfect +sweetness and quietude in all its movements. Not a harsh word or hasty +expression is ever heard. It is a beautiful pattern of a Christian +family, a beautiful exemplification of religion. . . ." + +The events of the first summer in Brunswick are graphically described +by Mrs. Stowe in a letter written to her sister-in-law, Mrs. George +Beecher, December 17, 1850. + +MY DEAR SISTER,--Is it really true that snow is on the ground and +Christmas coming, and I have not written unto thee, most dear sister? +No, I don't believe it! I haven't been so naughty--it's all a mistake-- +yes, written I must have--and written I have, too--in the night- +watches as I lay on my bed--such beautiful letters--I wish you had +only gotten them; but by day it has been hurry, hurry, hurry, and +drive, drive, drive! or else the calm of a sick-room, ever since last +spring. + +I put off writing when your letter first came because I meant to write +you a long letter--a full and complete one, and so days slid by,--and +became weeks,--and my little Charlie came . . . etc. and etc.!!! +Sarah, when I look back, I wonder at myself, not that I forget any one +thing that I should remember, but that I have remembered anything. +From the time that I left Cincinnati with my children to come forth to +a country that I knew not of almost to the present time, it has seemed +as if I could scarcely breathe, I was so pressed with care. My head +dizzy with the whirl of railroads and steamboats; then ten days' +sojourn in Boston, and a constant toil and hurry in buying my +furniture and equipments; and then landing in Brunswick in the midst +of a drizzly, inexorable northeast storm, and beginning the work of +getting in order a deserted, dreary, damp old house. All day long +running from one thing to another, as for example, thus:--- + +Mrs. Stowe, how shall I make this lounge, and what shall I cover the +back with first? + +_Mrs. Stowe_. With the coarse cotton in the closet. + +_Woman_. Mrs. Stowe, there isn't any more soap to clean the +windows. + +_Mrs. Stowe_. Where shall I get soap? + +Here H., run up to the store and get two bars. + +There is a man below wants to see Mrs. Stowe about the cistern. Before +you go down, Mrs. Stowe, just show me how to cover this round end of +the lounge. + +There 's a man up from the depot, and he says that a box has come for +Mrs. Stowe, and it's coming up to the house; will you come down and +see about it? + +Mrs. Stowe, don't go till you have shown the man how to nail that +carpet in the corner. He 's nailed it all crooked; what shall he do? +The black thread is all used up, and what shall I do about putting +gimp on the back of that sofa? Mrs. Stowe, there is a man come with a +lot of pails and tinware from Furbish; will you settle the bill now? + +Mrs. Stowe, here is a letter just come from Boston inclosing that bill +of lading; the man wants to know what he shall do with the goods. If +you will tell me what to say I will answer the letter for you. + +Mrs. Stowe, the meat-man is at the door. Hadn't we better get a little +beefsteak, or something, for dinner? + +Shall Hatty go to Boardman's for some more black thread? + +Mrs. Stowe, this cushion is an inch too wide for the frame. What shall +we do now? + +Mrs. Stowe, where are the screws of the black walnut bedstead? + +Here's a man has brought in these bills for freight. Will you settle +them now? + +Mrs. Stowe, I don't understand using this great needle. I can't make +it go through the cushion; it sticks in the cotton. + +Then comes a letter from my husband saying he is sick abed, and all +but dead; don't ever expect to see his family again; wants to know how +I shall manage, in case I am left a widow; knows we shall get in debt +and never get out; wonders at my courage; thinks I am very sanguine; +warns me to be prudent, as there won't be much to live on in case of +his death, etc., etc., etc. I read the letter and poke it into the +stove, and proceed. . . . + +Some of my adventures were quite funny; as for example: I had in my +kitchen elect no sink, cistern, or any other water privileges, so I +bought at the cotton factory two of the great hogsheads they bring oil +in, which here in Brunswick are often used for cisterns, and had them +brought up in triumph to my yard, and was congratulating myself on my +energy, when lo and behold! it was discovered that there was no cellar +door except one in the kitchen, which was truly a strait and narrow +way, down a long pair of stairs. Hereupon, as saith John Bunyan, I +fell into a muse,--how to get my cisterns into my cellar. In days of +chivalry I might have got a knight to make me a breach through the +foundation walls, but that was not to be thought of now, and my oil +hogsheads standing disconsolately in the yard seemed to reflect no +great credit on my foresight. In this strait I fell upon a real honest +Yankee cooper, whom I besought, for the reputation of his craft and +mine, to take my hogsheads to pieces, carry them down in staves, and +set them up again, which the worthy man actually accomplished one fair +summer forenoon, to the great astonishment of "us Yankees." When my +man came to put up the pump, he stared very hard to see my hogsheads +thus translated and standing as innocent and quiet as could be in the +cellar, and then I told him, in a very mild, quiet way, that I got 'em +taken to pieces and put together--just as if I had been always in the +habit of doing such things. Professor Smith came down and looked very +hard at them and then said, "Well, nothing can beat a willful woman." +Then followed divers negotiations with a very clever, but (with +reverence) somewhat lazy gentleman of jobs, who occupieth a +carpenter's shop opposite to mine. This same John Titcomb, my very +good friend, is a character peculiar to Yankeedom. He is part owner +and landlord of the house I rent, and connected by birth with all the +best families in town; a man of real intelligence, and good education, +a great reader, and quite a thinker. Being of an ingenious turn he +does painting, gilding, staining, upholstery jobs, varnishing, all in +addition to his primary trade of carpentry. But he is a man studious +of ease, and fully possessed with the idea that man wants but little +here below; so he boards himself in his workshop on crackers and +herring, washed down with cold water, and spends his time working, +musing, reading new publications, and taking his comfort. In his shop +you shall see a joiner's bench, hammers, planes, saws, gimlets, +varnish, paint, picture frames, fence posts, rare old china, one or +two fine portraits of his ancestry, a bookcase full of books, the +tooth of a whale, an old spinning-wheel and spindle, a lady's parasol +frame, a church lamp to be mended, in short, Henry says Mr. Titcomb's +shop is like the ocean; there is no end to the curiosities in it. + +In all my moving and fussing Mr. Titcomb has been my right-hand man. +Whenever a screw was loose, a nail to be driven, a lock mended, a pane +of glass set, and these cases were manifold, he was always on hand. +But my sink was no fancy job, and I believe nothing but a very +particular friendship would have moved him to undertake it. So this +same sink lingered in a precarious state for some weeks, and when I +had _nothing else to do_, I used to call and do what I could in +the way of enlisting the good man's sympathies in its behalf. + +How many times I have been in and seated myself in one of the old +rocking-chairs, and talked first of the news of the day, the railroad, +the last proceedings in Congress, the probabilities about the +millennium, and thus brought the conversation by little and little +round to my sink! . . . because, till the sink was done, the pump could +not be put up, and we couldn't have any rain-water. Sometimes my +courage would quite fail me to introduce the subject, and I would talk +of everything else, turn and get out of the shop, and then turn back +as if a thought had just struck my mind, and say:-- + +"Oh, Mr. Titcomb! about that sink?" + +"Yes, ma'am, I was thinking about going down street this afternoon to +look out stuff for it." + +"Yes, sir, if you would be good enough to get it done as soon as +possible; we are in great need of it." + +"I think there's no hurry. I believe we are going to have a dry time +now, so that you could not catch any water, and you won't need a pump +at present." + +These negotiations extended from the first of June to the first of +July, and at last my sink was completed, and so also was a new house +spout, concerning which I had had divers communings with Deacon +Dunning of the Baptist church. Also during this time good Mrs. +Mitchell and myself made two sofas, or lounges, a barrel chair, divers +bedspreads, pillow cases, pillows, bolsters, mattresses; we painted +rooms; we revarnished furniture; we--what _didn't_ we do? + +Then came on Mr. Stowe; and then came the eighth of July and my little +Charley. I was really glad for an excuse to lie in bed, for I was full +tired, I can assure you. Well, I was what folks call very comfortable +for two weeks, when my nurse had to leave me. . . . + +During this time I have employed my leisure hours in making up my +engagements with newspaper editors. I have written more than anybody, +or I myself, would have thought. I have taught an hour a day in our +school, and I have read two hours every evening to the children. The +children study English history in school, and I am reading Scott's +historic novels in their order. To-night I finish the "Abbot;" shall +begin "Kenilworth" next week; yet I am constantly pursued and haunted +by the idea that I don't do anything. Since I began this note I have +been called off at least a dozen times; once for the fish-man, to buy +a codfish; once to see a man who had brought me some barrels of +apples; once to see a book-man; then to Mrs. Upham, to see about a +drawing I promised to make for her; then to nurse the baby; then into +the kitchen to make a chowder for dinner; and now I am at it again, +for nothing but deadly determination enables me ever to write; it is +rowing against wind and tide. + +I suppose you think now I have begun, I am never going to stop, and in +truth it looks like it; but the spirit moves now and I must obey. + +Christmas is coming, and our little household is all alive with +preparations; every one collecting their little gifts with wonderful +mystery and secrecy. . . . + +To tell the truth, dear, I am getting tired; my neck and back ache, +and I must come to a close. + +Your ready kindness to me in the spring I felt very much; and +_why_ I did not have the sense to have sent you one line just by +way of acknowledgment, I'm sure I don't know; I felt just as if I had, +till I awoke, and behold! I had not. But, my dear, if my wits are +somewhat wool-gathering and unsettled, my heart is as true as a star. +I love you, and have thought of you often. + +This fall I have felt often _sad_, lonesome, both very unusual +feelings with me in these busy days; but the breaking away from my old +home, and leaving father and mother, and coming to a strange place +affected me naturally. In those sad hours my thoughts have often +turned to George; I have thought with encouragement of his blessed +state, and hoped that I should soon be there too. I have many warm and +kind friends here, and have been treated with great attention and +kindness. Brunswick is a delightful residence, and if you come East +next summer you must come to my new home. George [Footnote: Her +brother George's only child.] would delight to go a-fishing with the +children, and see the ships, and sail in the sailboats, and all that. + +Give Aunt Harriet's love to him, and tell him when he gets to be a +painter to send me a picture. Affectionately yours, H. STOWE. + +The year 1850 is one memorable in the history of our nation as well as +in the quiet household that we have followed in its pilgrimage from +Cincinnati to Brunswick. + +The signers of the Declaration of Independence and the statesmen and +soldiers of the Revolution were no friends of negro slavery. In fact, +the very principles of the Declaration of Independence sounded the +deathknell of slavery forever. No stronger utterances against this +national sin are to be found anywhere than in the letters and +published writings of Jefferson, Washington, Hamilton, and Patrick +Henry. "Jefferson encountered difficulties greater than he could +overcome, and after vain wrestlings the words that broke from him, 'I +tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just and that his +justice cannot sleep forever,' were the words of despair." + +"It was the desire of Washington's heart that Virginia should remove +slavery by a public act; and as the prospects of a general +emancipation grew more and more dim . . . he did all that he could by +bequeathing freedom to his own slaves." [Footnote: Bancroft's funeral +oration on Lincoln.] + +Hamilton was one of the founders of the Manumission Society, the +object of which was the abolition of slaves in the State of New York. +Patrick Henry, speaking of slavery, said: "A serious view of this +subject gives a gloomy prospect to future times." Slavery was thought +by the founders of our Republic to be a dying institution, and all the +provisions of the Constitution touching slavery looked towards gradual +emancipation as an inevitable result of the growth of the democracy. + +From an economic standpoint slave labor had ceased to be profitable. +"The whole interior of the Southern States was languishing, and its +inhabitants emigrating, for want of some object to engage their +attention and employ their industry." The cultivation of cotton was +not profitable for the reason that there was no machine for separating +the seed from the fibre. + +This was the state of affairs in 1793, when Eli Whitney, a New England +mechanic, at this time residing in Savannah, Georgia, invented his +cotton-gin, or a machine to separate seed and fibre. "The invention of +this machine at once set the whole country in active motion." +[Footnote: Greeley's American Conflict, vol. i. p. 65.] The effect of +this invention may to some extent be appreciated when we consider that +whereas in 1793 the Southern States produced only about five or ten +thousand bales, in 1859 they produced over five millions. But with +this increase of the cotton culture the value of slave property was +augmented. Slavery grew and spread. In 1818 to 1821 it first became a +factor in politics during the Missouri compromise. By this compromise +slavery was not to extend north of latitude 36° 30'. From the time of +this compromise till the year 1833 the slavery agitation slumbered. +This was the year that the British set the slaves free in their West +Indian dependencies. This act caused great uneasiness among the +slaveholders of the South. The National Anti-Slavery Society met in +Philadelphia and pronounced slavery a national sin, which could be +atoned for only by immediate emancipation. Such men as Garrison and +Lundy began a work of agitation that was soon to set the whole nation +in a ferment. From this time on slavery became the central problem of +American history, and the line of cleavage in American politics. The +invasion of Florida when it was yet the territory of a nation at peace +with the United States, and its subsequent purchase from Spain, the +annexation of Texas and the war with Mexico, were the direct results +of the policy of the pro-slavery party to increase its influence and +its territory. In 1849 the State of California knocked at the door of +the Union for admission as a free State. This was bitterly opposed by +the slaveholders of the South, who saw in it a menace to the slave- +power from the fact that no slave State was seeking admission at the +same time. Both North and South the feeling ran so high as to threaten +the dismemberment of the Union, and the scenes of violence and +bloodshed which were to come eleven years afterwards. It was to +preserve the Union and avert the danger of the hour that Henry Clay +brought forward his celebrated compromise measures in the winter of +1850. To conciliate the North, California was to be admitted as a free +State. To pacify the slaveholders of the South, more stringent laws +were to be enacted "concerning persons bound to service in one State +and escaping into another." + +The 7th of March, 1850, Daniel Webster made his celebrated speech, in +which he defended this compromise, and the abolitionists of the North +were filled with indignation, which found its most fitting expression +in Whittier's "Ichabod:" + + "So fallen, so lost, the glory from his gray hairs gone." + . . . + "When honor dies the man is dead." + +It was in the midst of this excitement that Mrs. Stowe, with her +children and her modest hopes for the future, arrived at the house of +her brother, Dr. Edward Beecher. + +Dr. Beecher had been the intimate friend and supporter of Lovejoy, who +had been murdered by the slaveholders at Alton for publishing an anti- +slavery paper. His soul was stirred to its very depths by the +iniquitous law which was at this time being debated in Congress,--a +law which not only gave the slaveholder of the South the right to seek +out and bring back into slavery any colored person whom he claimed as +a slave, but commanded the people of the free States to assist in this +revolting business. The most frequent theme of conversation while Mrs. +Stowe was in Boston was this proposed law, and when she arrived in +Brunswick her soul was all on fire with indignation at this new +indignity and wrong about to be inflicted by the slave-power on the +innocent and defenseless. + +After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, letter after letter was +received by Mrs. Stowe in Brunswick from Mrs. Edward Beecher and other +friends, describing the heart-rending scenes which were the inevitable +results of the enforcement of this terrible law. Cities were more +available for the capturing of escaped slaves than the country, and +Boston, which claimed to have the cradle of liberty, opened her doors +to the slavehunters. The sorrow and anguish caused thereby no pen +could describe. Families were broken up. Some hid in garrets and +cellars. Some fled to the wharves and embarked in ships and sailed for +Europe. Others went to Canada. One poor fellow who was doing good +business as a crockery merchant, and supporting his family well, when +he got notice that his master, whom he had left many years before, was +after him, set out for Canada in midwinter on foot, as he did not dare +to take a public conveyance. He froze both of his feet on the journey, +and they had to be amputated. Mrs. Edward Beecher, in a letter to Mrs. +Stowe's son, writing of this period, says:--- + +"I had been nourishing an anti-slavery spirit since Lovejoy was +murdered for publishing in his paper articles against slavery and +intemperance, when our home was in Illinois. These terrible things +which were going on in Boston were well calculated to rouse up this +spirit. What can I do? I thought. Not much myself, but I know one who +can. So I wrote several letters to your mother, telling her of various +heart-rending events caused by the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave +Law. I remember distinctly saying in one of them, 'Now, Hattie, if I +could use a pen as you can, I would write something that would make +this whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery is.' . . . When +we lived in Boston your mother often visited us. . . . Several numbers +of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' were written in your Uncle Edward's study at +these times, and read to us from the manuscripts." + +A member of Mrs. Stowe's family well remembers the scene in the little +parlor in Brunswick when the letter alluded to was received. Mrs. +Stowe herself read it aloud to the assembled family, and when she came +to the passage, "I would write something that would make this whole +nation feel what an accursed thing slavery is," Mrs. Stowe rose up +from her chair, crushing the letter in her hand, and with an +expression on her face that stamped itself on the mind of her child, +said: "I will write something. I will if I live." + +This was the origin of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and Professor Cairnes has +well said in his admirable work, "The Slave Power," "The Fugitive +Slave Law has been to the slave power a questionable gain. Among its +first-fruits was 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.'" + +The purpose of writing a story that should make the whole nation feel +that slavery was an accursed thing was not immediately carried out. In +December, 1850, Mrs. Stowe writes: "Tell sister Katy I thank her for +her letter and will answer it. As long as the baby sleeps with me +nights I can't do much at anything, but I will do it at last. I will +write that thing if I live. + +"What are folks in general saying about the slave law, and the stand +taken by Boston ministers universally, except Edward? + +"To me it is incredible, amazing, mournful!! I feel as if I should be +willing to sink with it, were all this sin and misery to sink in the +sea. . . . I wish father would come on to Boston, and preach on the +Fugitive Slave Law, as he once preached on the slave-trade, when I was +a little girl in Litchfield. I sobbed aloud in one pew and Mrs. Judge +Reeves in another. I wish some Martin Luther would arise to set this +community right." + +December 22, 1850, she writes to her husband in Cincinnati: "Christmas +has passed, not without many thoughts of our absent one. If you want a +description of the scenes in our family preceding it, _vide_ a +'New Year's Story,' which I have sent to the 'New York Evangelist.' I +am sorry that in the hurry of getting off this piece and one for the +'Era' you were neglected." The piece for the "Era" was a humorous +article called "A Scholar's Adventures in the Country," being, in +fact, a picture drawn from life and embodying Professor Stowe's +efforts in the department of agriculture while in Cincinnati. + +_December_ 29,1850. "We have had terrible weather here. I +remember such a storm when I was a child in Litchfield. Father and +mother went to Warren, and were almost lost in the snowdrifts. + +"Sunday night I rather watched than slept. The wind howled, and the +house rocked just as our old Litchfield house used to. The cold has +been so intense that the children have kept begging to get up from +table at meal-times to warm feet and fingers. Our air-tight stoves +warm all but the floor,---heat your head and keep your feet freezing. +If I sit by the open fire in the parlor my back freezes, if I sit in +my bedroom and try to write my head aches and my feet are cold. I am +projecting a sketch for the 'Era' on the capabilities of liberated +blacks to take care of themselves. Can't you find out for me how much +Willie Watson has paid for the redemption of his friends, and get any +items in figures of that kind that you can pick up in Cincinnati? . . . +When I have a headache and feel sick, as I do to-day, there is +actually not a place in the house where I can lie down and take a nap +without being disturbed. Overhead is the school-room, next door is the +dining-room, and the girls practice there two hours a day. If I lock +my door and lie down some one is sure to be rattling the latch before +fifteen minutes have passed. . . . There is no doubt in my mind that +our expenses this year will come two hundred dollars, if not three, +beyond our salary. We shall be able to come through, notwithstanding; +but I don't want to feel obliged to work as hard every year as I have +this. I can earn four hundred dollars a year by writing, but I don't +want to feel that I must, and when weary with teaching the children, +and tending the baby, and buying provisions, and mending dresses, and +darning stockings, sit down and write a piece for some paper." + +January 12, 1851, Mrs. Stowe again writes to Professor Stowe at +Cincinnati: "Ever since we left Cincinnati to come here the good hand +of God has been visibly guiding our way. Through what difficulties +have we been brought! Though we knew not where means were to come +from, yet means have been furnished every step of the way, and in +every time of need. I was just in some discouragement with regard to +my writing; thinking that the editor of the 'Era' was overstocked with +contributors, and would not want my services another year, and lo! he +sends me one hundred dollars, and ever so many good words with it. Our +income this year will be seventeen hundred dollars in all, and I hope +to bring our expenses within thirteen hundred." + +It was in the month of February after these words were written that +Mrs. Stowe was seated at communion service in the college church at +Brunswick. Suddenly, like the unrolling of a picture, the scene of the +death of Uncle Tom passed before her mind. So strongly was she +affected that it was with difficulty she could keep from weeping +aloud. Immediately on returning home she took pen and paper and wrote +out the vision which had been as it were blown into her mind as by the +rushing of a mighty wind. Gathering her family about her she read what +she had written. Her two little ones of ten and twelve years of age +broke into convulsions of weeping, one of them saying through is sobs, +"Oh, mamma! slavery is the most cruel thing in the world." Thus Uncle +Tom was ushered into the world, and it was, as we said at the +beginning, a cry, an immediate, an involuntary expression of deep, +impassioned feeling. + +Twenty-five years afterwards Mrs. Stowe wrote in a letter to one of +her children, of this period of her life: "I well remember the winter +you were a baby and I was writing 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' My heart was +bursting with the anguish excited by the cruelty and injustice our +nation was showing to the slave, and praying God to let me do a little +and to cause my cry for them to be heard. I remember many a night +weeping over you as you lay sleeping beside me, and I thought of the +slave mothers whose babes were torn from them." + +It was not till the following April that the first chapter of the +story was finished and sent on to the "National Era" at Washington. + +In July Mrs. Stowe wrote to Frederick Douglass the following letter, +which is given entire as the best possible introduction to the history +of the career of that memorable work, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +BRUNSWICK, _July 9_, 1851. FREDERICK DOUGLASS, ESQ.: + +_Sir_,---You may perhaps have noticed in your editorial readings +a series of articles that I am furnishing for the "Era" under the +title of "Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Life among the Lowly.". + +In the course of my story the scene will fall upon a cotton +plantation. I am very desirous, therefore, to gain information from +one who has been an actual laborer on one, and it occurred to me that +in the circle of your acquaintance there might be one who would be +able to communicate to me some such information as I desire. I have +before me an able paper written by a Southern planter, in which the +details and _modus operandi_ are given from his point of sight. I +am anxious to have something more from another standpoint. I wish to +be able to make a picture that shall be graphic and true to nature in +its details. Such a person as Henry Bibb, if in the country, might +give me just the kind of information I desire. You may possibly know +of some other person. I will subjoin to this letter a list of +questions, which in that case you will do me a favor by inclosing to +the individual, with the request that he will at earliest convenience +answer them. + +For some few weeks past I have received your paper through the mail, +and have read it with great interest, and desire to return my +acknowledgments for it. It will be a pleasure to me at some time when +less occupied to contribute something to its columns. I have noticed +with regret your sentiments on two subjects--the church and African +colonization, . . . with the more regret because I think you have a +considerable share of reason for your feelings on both these subjects; +but I would willingly, if I could, modify your views on both points. + +In the first place you say the church is "pro-slavery." There is a +sense in which this may be true. The American church of all +denominations, taken as a body, comprises the best and most +conscientious people in the country. I do not say it comprises none +but these, or that none such are found out of it, but only if a census +were taken of the purest and most high principled men and women of the +country, the majority of them would be found to be professors of +religion in some of the various Christian denominations. This fact has +given to the church great weight in this country--the general and +predominant spirit of intelligence and probity and piety of its +majority has given it that degree of weight that it has the power to +decide the great moral questions of the day. Whatever it unitedly and +decidedly sets itself against as moral evil it can put down. In this +sense the church is responsible for the sin of slavery. Dr. Barnes has +beautifully and briefly expressed this on the last page of his work on +slavery, when he says: "Not all the force out of the church could +sustain slavery an hour if it were not sustained in it." It then +appears that the church has the power to put an end to this evil and +does not do it. In this sense she may be said to be pro-slavery. But +the church has the same power over intemperance, and Sabbath-breaking, +and sin of all kinds. There is not a doubt that if the moral power of +the church were brought up to the New Testament standpoint it is +sufficient to put an end to all these as well as to slavery. But I +would ask you, Would you consider it a fair representation of the +Christian church in this country to say that it is pro-intemperance, +pro-Sabbath-breaking, and pro everything that it might put down if it +were in a higher state of moral feeling? If you should make a list of +all the abolitionists of the country, I think that you would find a +majority of them in the church--certainly some of the most influential +and efficient ones are ministers. + +I am a minister's daughter, and a minister's wife, and I have had six +brothers in the ministry (one is in heaven); I certainly ought to know +something of the feelings of ministers on this subject. I was a child +in 1820 when the Missouri question was agitated, and one of the +strongest and deepest impressions on my mind was that made by my +father's sermons and prayers, and the anguish of his soul for the poor +slave at that time. I remember his preaching drawing tears down the +hardest faces of the old farmers in his congregation. + +I well remember his prayers morning and evening in the family for +"poor, oppressed, bleeding Africa," that the time of her deliverance +might come; prayers offered with strong crying and tears, and which +indelibly impressed my heart and made me what I am from my very soul, +the enemy of all slavery. Every brother I have has been in his sphere +a leading anti-slavery man. One of them was to the last the bosom +friend and counselor of Lovejoy. As for myself and husband, we have +for the last seventeen years lived on the border of a slave State, and +we have never shrunk from the fugitives, and we have helped them with +all we had to give. I have received the children of liberated slaves +into a family school, and taught them with my own children, and it has +been the influence that we found in the church and by the altar that +has made us do all this. Gather up all the sermons that have been +published on this offensive and unchristian Fugitive Slave Law, and +you will find that those against it are numerically more than those in +its favor, and yet some of the strongest opponents have not published +their sermons. Out of thirteen ministers who meet with my husband +weekly for discussion of moral subjects, only three are found who will +acknowledge or obey this law in any shape. + +After all, my brother, the strength and hope of your oppressed race +does lie in the church--in hearts united to Him of whom it is said, +"He shall spare the souls of the needy, and precious shall their blood +be in his sight." Everything is against you, but Jesus Christ is for +you, and He has not forgotten his church, misguided and erring though +it be. I have looked all the field over with despairing eyes; I see no +hope but in Him. This movement must and will become a purely religious +one. The light will spread in churches, the tone of feeling will rise, +Christians North and South will give up all connection with, and take +up their testimony against, slavery, and thus the work will be done. + +This letter gives us a conception of the state of moral and religious +exaltation of the heart and mind out of which flowed chapter after +chapter of that wonderful story. It all goes to prove the correctness +of the position from which we started, that "Uncle Tom's Cabin" came +from the heart rather than the head. It was an outburst of deep +feeling, a cry in the darkness. The writer no more thought of style or +literary excellence than the mother who rushes into the street and +cries for help to save her children from a burning house thinks of the +teachings of the rhetorician or the elocutionist. + +A few years afterwards Mrs. Stowe, writing of this story, said, "This +story is to show how Jesus Christ, who liveth and was dead, and now is +alive and forever-more, has still a mother's love for the poor and +lowly, and that no man can sink so low but that Jesus Christ will +stoop to take his hand. Who so low, who so poor, who so despised as +the American slave? The law almost denies his existence as a person, +and regards him for the most part as less than a man--a mere thing, +the property of another. The law forbids him to read or write, to hold +property, to make a contract, or even to form a legal marriage. It +takes from him all legal right to the wife of his bosom, the children +of his body. He can do nothing, possess nothing, acquire nothing, but +what must belong to his master. Yet even to this slave Jesus Christ +stoops, from where he sits at the right hand of the Father, and says, +'Fear not, thou whom man despiseth, for I am thy brother. Fear not, +for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art +mine.'" + +"Uncle Tom's Cabin" is a work of religion; the fundamental principles +of the gospel applied to the burning question of negro slavery. It +sets forth those principles of the Declaration of Independence that +made Jefferson, Hamilton, Washington, and Patrick Henry anti-slavery +men; not in the language of the philosopher, but in a series of +pictures. Mrs. Stowe spoke to the understanding and moral sense +through the imagination. + +"Uncle Tom's Cabin" made the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law an +impossibility. It aroused the public sentiment of the world by +arousing in the concrete that which had been a mere series of abstract +propositions. It was, as we have already said, an appeal to the +imagination through a series of pictures. People are like children, +and understand pictures better than words. Some one rushes into your +dining-room while you are at breakfast and cries out, "Terrible +railroad accident, forty killed and wounded, six were burned alive." + +"Oh, shocking! dreadful!" you exclaim, and yet go quietly on with your +rolls and coffee. But suppose you stood at that instant by the wreck, +and saw the mangled dead, and heard the piercing shrieks of the +wounded, you would be faint and dizzy with the intolerable spectacle. + +So "Uncle Tom's Cabin" made the crack of the slavedriver's whip, and +the cries of the tortured blacks ring in every household in the land, +till human hearts could endure it no longer. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +UNCLE TOM'S CABIN, 1852. + + +"UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" AS A SERIAL IN THE "NATIONAL ERA."--AN OFFER FOR +ITS PUBLICATION IN BOOK FORM.--WILL IT BE A SUCCESS?--AN UNPRECEDENTED +CIRCULATION.--CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES.--KIND WORDS FROM ABROAD.--MRS. +STOWE TO THE EARL OF CARLISLE.--LETTERS FROM AND TO LORD SHAFTESBURY. +--CORRESPONDENCE WITH ARTHUR HELPS. + +The wonderful story that was begun in the "National Era," June 5, +1851, and was announced to run for about three months, was not +completed in that paper until April 1, 1852. It had been contemplated +as a mere magazine tale of perhaps a dozen chapters, but once begun it +could no more be controlled than the waters of the swollen +Mississippi, bursting through a crevasse in its levees. The intense +interest excited by the story, the demands made upon the author for +more facts, the unmeasured words of encouragement to keep on in her +good work that poured in from all sides, and above all the ever- +growing conviction that she had been intrusted with a great and holy +mission, compelled her to keep on until the humble tale had assumed +the proportions of a volume prepared to stand among the most notable +books in the world. As Mrs. Stowe has since repeatedly said, "I could +not control the story; it wrote itself;" or "I the author of 'Uncle +Tom's Cabin'? No, indeed. The Lord himself wrote it, and I was but the +humblest of instruments in his hand. To Him alone should be given all +the praise." + +Although the publication of the "National Era" has been long since +suspended, the journal was in those days one of decided literary merit +and importance. On its title-page, with the name of Dr. Gamaliel +Bailey as editor, appeared that of John Greenleaf Whittier as +corresponding editor. In its columns Mrs. Southworth made her first +literary venture, while Alice and Phoebe Gary, Grace Greenwood, and a +host of other well-known names were published with that of Mrs. Stowe, +which appeared last of all in its prospectus for 1851. + +Before the conclusion of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" Mrs. Stowe had so far +outstripped her contemporaries that her work was pronounced by +competent judges to be the most powerful production ever contributed +to the magazine literature of this country, and she stood in the +foremost rank of American writers. + +After finishing her story Mrs. Stowe penned the following appeal to +its more youthful readers, and its serial publication was concluded:-- + +"The author of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' must now take leave of a wide +circle of friends whose faces she has never seen, but whose sympathies +coming to her from afar have stimulated and cheered her in her work. + +"The thought of the pleasant family circles that she has been meeting +in spirit week after week has been a constant refreshment to her, and +she cannot leave them without a farewell. + +"In particular the dear children who have followed her story have her +warmest love. Dear children, you will soon be men and women, and I +hope that you will learn from this story always to remember and pity +the poor and oppressed. When you grow up, show your pity by doing all +you can for them. Never, if you can help it, let a colored child be +shut out from school or treated with neglect and contempt on account +of his color. Remember the sweet example of little Eva, and try to +feel the same regard for all that she did. Then, when you grow up, I +hope the foolish and unchristian prejudice against people merely on +account of their complexion will be done away with. + +"Farewell, dear children, until we meet again." + +With the completion of the story the editor of the "Era" wrote: "Mrs. +Stowe has at last brought her great work to a close. We do not +recollect any production of an American writer that has excited more +general and profound interest." + +For the story as a serial the author received $300. In the mean time, +however, it had attracted the attention of Mr. John P. Jewett, a +Boston publisher, who promptly made overtures for its publication in +book form. He offered Mr. and Mrs. Stowe a half share in the profits, +provided they would share with him the expense of publication. This +was refused by Professor Stowe, who said he was altogether too poor to +assume any such risk; and the agreement finally made was that the +author should receive a ten per cent royalty upon all sales. + +Mrs. Stowe had no reason to hope for any large pecuniary gain from +this publication, for it was practically her first book. To be sure, +she had, in 1832, prepared a small school geography for a Western +publisher, and ten years later the Harpers had brought out her +"Mayflower." Still, neither of these had been sufficiently +remunerative to cause her to regard literary work as a money-making +business, and in regard to this new contract she writes: "I did not +know until a week afterward precisely what terms Mr. Stowe had made, +and I did not care. I had the most perfect indifference to the +bargain." + +The agreement was signed March 13, 1852, and, as by arrangement with +the "National Era" the book publication of the story was authorized +before its completion as a serial, the first edition of five thousand +copies was issued on the twentieth of the same month. + +In looking over the first semi-annual statement presented by her +publishers we find Mrs. Stowe charged, a few days before the date of +publication of her book, with "one copy U. T. C. cloth $.56," and this +was the first copy of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" ever sold in book form. Five +days earlier we find her charged with one copy of Horace Mann's +speeches. In writing of this critical period of her life Mrs. Stowe +says:-- + +"After sending the last proof-sheet to the office I sat alone reading +Horace Mann's eloquent plea for these young men and women, then about +to be consigned to the slave warehouse of Bruin & Hill in Alexandria, +Va.,--a plea impassioned, eloquent, but vain, as all other pleas on +that side had ever proved in all courts hitherto. It seemed that there +was no hope, that nobody would hear, nobody would read, nobody pity; +that this frightful system, that had already pursued its victims into +the free States, might at last even threaten them in Canada." +[Footnote: Introduction to Illustrated Edition of _Uncle Tom_, p. +xiii. (Houghton, Osgood & Co., 1879.)] + +Filled with this fear, she determined to do all that one woman might +to enlist the sympathies of England for the cause, and to avert, even +as a remote contingency, the closing of Canada as a haven of refuge +for the oppressed. To this end she at once wrote letters to Prince +Albert, to the Duke of Argyll, to the Earls of Carlisle and +Shaftesbury, to Macaulay, Dickens, and others whom she knew to be +interested in the cause of anti-slavery. These she ordered to be sent +to their several addresses, accompanied by the very earliest copies of +her book that should be printed. + +Then, having done what she could, and committed the result to God, she +calmly turned her attention to other affairs. + +In the mean time the fears of the author as to whether or not her book +would be read were quickly dispelled. Three thousand copies were sold +the very first day, a second edition was issued the following week, a +third on the 1st of April, and within a year one hundred and twenty +editions, or over three hundred thousand copies of the book, had been +issued and sold in this country. Almost in a day the poor professor's +wife had become the most talked-of woman in the world, her influence +for good was spreading to its remotest corners, and henceforth she was +to be a public character, whose every movement would be watched with +interest, and whose every word would be quoted. The long, weary +struggle with poverty was to be hers no longer; for, in seeking to aid +the oppressed, she had also so aided herself that within four months +from the time her book was published it had yielded her $10,000 in +royalties. + +Now letters regarding the wonderful book, and expressing all shades of +opinion concerning it, began to pour in upon the author. Her lifelong +friend, whose words we have already so often quoted, wrote:-- + +"I sat up last night until long after one o'clock reading and +finishing 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' I could not leave it any more than I +could have left a dying child, nor could I restrain an almost +hysterical sobbing for an hour after I laid my head upon my pillow. I +thought I was a thorough-going abolitionist before, but your book has +awakened so strong a feeling of indignation and of compassion that I +never seem to have had any feeling on this subject until now." + +The poet Longfellow wrote:-- + +I congratulate you most cordially upon the immense success and +influence of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." It is one of the greatest triumphs +recorded in literary history, to say nothing of the higher triumph of +its moral effect. + +With great regard, and friendly remembrance to Mr. Stowe, I remain, + +Yours most truly, + +HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. + +Whittier wrote to Garrison:-- + +"What a glorious work Harriet Beecher Stowe has wrought. Thanks for +the Fugitive Slave Law! Better would it be for slavery if that law had +never been enacted; for it gave occasion for 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.'" + +Garrison wrote to Mrs. Stowe:-- + +"I estimate the value of anti-slavery writing by the abuse it brings. +Now all the defenders of slavery have let me alone and are abusing +you." + +To Mrs. Stowe, Whittier wrote:-- + +Ten thousand thanks for thy immortal book. My young friend Mary Irving +(of the "Era") writes me that she has been reading it to some twenty +young ladies, daughters of Louisiana slaveholders, near New Orleans, +and amid the scenes described in it, and that they, with one accord, +pronounce it true. + +Truly thy friend, + +JOHN G. WHITTIER. + +From Thomas Wentworth Higginson came the following:-- + +To have written at once the most powerful of contemporary fiction and +the most efficient of anti-slavery tracts is a double triumph in +literature and philanthropy, to which this country has heretofore seen +no parallel. + +Yours respectfully and gratefully, + +T. W. HIGGINSON. + +A few days after the publication of the book, Mrs. Stowe, writing from +Boston to her husband in Brunswick, says: "I have been in such a whirl +ever since I have been here. I found business prosperous. Jewett +animated. He has been to Washington and conversed with all the leading +senators, Northern and Southern. Seward told him it was the greatest +book of the times, or something of that sort, and he and Sumner went +around with him to recommend it to Southern men and get them to read +it." + +It is true that with these congratulatory and commendatory letters +came hosts of others, threatening and insulting, from the Haleys and +Legrees of the country. + +Of them Mrs. Stowe said: "They were so curiously compounded of +blasphemy, cruelty, and obscenity, that their like could only be +expressed by John Bunyan's account of the speech of Apollyon: 'He +spake as a dragon.'" + +A correspondent of the "National Era" wrote: "'Uncle Tom's Cabin' is +denounced by time-serving preachers as a meretricious work. Will you +not come out in defense of it and roll back the tide of vituperation?" + +To this the editor answered: "We should as soon think of coming out in +defense of Shakespeare." + +Several attempts were made in the South to write books controverting +"Uncle Tom's Cabin," and showing a much brighter side of the slavery +question, but they all fell flat and were left unread. Of one of them, +a clergyman of Charleston, S.C., wrote in a private letter:-- + +"I have read two columns in the 'Southern Press' of Mrs. Eastman's +'Aunt Phillis' Cabin, or Southern Life as it is,' with the remarks of +the editor. I have no comment to make on it, as that is done by +itself. The editor might have saved himself being writ down an ass by +the public if he had withheld his nonsense. If the two columns are a +fair specimen of Mrs. Eastman's book, I pity her attempt and her name +as an author." + +In due time Mrs. Stowe began to receive answers to the letters she had +forwarded with copies of her book to prominent men in England, and +these were without exception flattering and encouraging. Through his +private secretary Prince Albert acknowledged with thanks the receipt +of his copy, and promised to read it. Succeeding mails brought scores +of letters from English men of letters and statesmen. Lord Carlisle +wrote:-- + +"I return my deep and solemn thanks to Almighty God who has led and +enabled you to write such a book. I do feel indeed the most thorough +assurance that in his good Providence such a book cannot have been +written in vain. I have long felt that slavery is by far the +_topping_ question of the world and age we live in, including all +that is most thrilling in heroism and most touching in distress; in +short, the real epic of the universe. The self-interest of the parties +most nearly concerned on the one hand, the apathy and ignorance of +unconcerned observers on the other, have left these august pretensions +to drop very much out of sight. Hence my rejoicing that a writer has +appeared who will be read and must be felt, and that happen what may +to the transactions of slavery they will no longer be suppressed." + +To this letter, of which but an extract has been given, Mrs. Stowe +sent the following reply:-- + +MY LORD,--It is not with the common pleasure of gratified authorship +that I say how much I am gratified by the receipt of your very kind +communication with regard to my humble efforts in the cause of +humanity. The subject is one so grave, so awful--the success of what I +have written has been so singular and so unexpected--that I can scarce +retain a self-consciousness and am constrained to look upon it all as +the work of a Higher Power, who, when He pleases, can accomplish his +results by the feeblest instruments. I am glad of anything which gives +notoriety to the book, because it is a plea for the dumb and the +helpless! I am glad particularly of notoriety in England because I see +with what daily increasing power England's opinion is to act on this +country. No one can tell but a _native_ born here by what an +infinite complexity of ties, nerves, and ligaments this terrible evil +is bound in one body politic; how the slightest touch upon it causes +even the free States to thrill and shiver, what a terribly corrupting +and tempting power it has upon the conscience and moral sentiment even +of a free community. Nobody can tell the thousand ways in which by +trade, by family affinity, or by political expediency, the free part +of our country is constantly tempted to complicity with the +slaveholding part. It is a terrible thing to become used to hearing +the enormities of slavery, to hear of things day after day that one +would think the sun should hide his face from, and yet, to _get used +to them_, to discusss them coolly, to dismiss them coolly. For +example, the sale of intelligent, handsome colored females for vile +purposes, facts of the most public nature, have made this a perfectly +understood matter in our Northern States. I have now, myself, under +charge and educating, two girls of whose character any mother might be +proud, who have actually been rescued from this sale in the New +Orleans market. + +I desire to inclose a tract [Footnote: Afterwards embodied in the +_Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin_.] in which I sketched down a few +incidents in the history of the family to which these girls belong; it +will show more than words can the kind of incident to which I allude. +The tract is not a published document, only _printed_ to assist +me in raising money, and it would not, at present, be for the good of +the parties to have it published even in England. + +But though these things are known in the free States, and other +things, if possible, worse, yet there is a terrible deadness of moral +sense. They are known by clergymen who yet would not on any account so +far commit themselves as to preach on the evils of slavery, or pray +for the slaves in their pulpits. They are known by politicians who yet +give their votes for slavery extension and perpetuation. + +This year both our great leading parties voted to suppress all +agitation of the subject, and in both those parties were men who knew +personally facts of slavery and the internal slave-trade that one +would think no man could ever forget. Men _united_ in pledging +themselves to the Fugitive Slave Law, who yet would tell you in +private conversation that it was an abomination, and who do not +hesitate to say, that as a matter of practice they always help the +fugitive because they _can't_ do otherwise. + +The moral effect of this constant insincerity, the moral effect of +witnessing and becoming accustomed to the most appalling forms of +crime and oppression, is to me the most awful and distressing part of +the subject. Nothing makes me feel it so painfully as to see with how +much more keenness the English feel the disclosures of my book than +the Americans. I myself am blunted by use--by seeing, touching, +handling the details. In dealing even for the ransom of slaves, in +learning market prices of men, women, and children, I feel that I +acquire a horrible familiarity with evil. + +Here, then, the great, wise, and powerful mind of England, if she will +but fully master the subject, may greatly help us. Hers is the same +kind of mind as our own, but disembarrassed from our temptations and +unnerved by the thousands of influences that blind and deaden us. +There is a healthful vivacity of moral feeling on this subject that +must electrify our paralyzed vitality. For this reason, therefore, I +rejoice when I see minds like your lordship's turning to this subject; +and I feel an intensity of emotion, as if I could say, Do not for +Christ's sake let go; you know not what you may do. + +Your lordship will permit me to send you two of the most +characteristic documents of the present struggle, written by two men +who are, in their way, as eloquent for the slave as Chatham was for us +in our hour of need. + +I am now preparing some additional notes to my book, in which I shall +further confirm what I have said by facts and statistics, and in +particular by extracts from the _codes of slaveholding States_, +and the _records of their courts_. These are documents that +cannot be disputed, and I pray your lordship to give them your +attention. No disconnected facts can be so terrible as these legal +decisions. They will soon appear in England. + +It is so far from being irrelevant for England to notice slavery that +I already see indications that this subject, on _both sides_, is +yet to be presented there, and the battle fought on _English +ground_. I see that my friend the South Carolinian gentleman has +sent to "Fraser's Magazine" an article, before published in this +country, on "Uncle Tom's Cabin." The article in the London "Times" was +eagerly reprinted in this country, was issued as a tract and sold by +the hundred, headed, "What they think of 'Uncle Tom' in England." If I +mistake not, a strong effort will be made to pervert the public mind +of England, and to do away the impression which the book has left. + +For a time after it was issued it seemed to go by acclamation. From +quarters the most unexpected, from all political parties, came an +almost unbroken chorus of approbation. I was very much surprised, +knowing the explosive nature of the subject. It was not till the sale +had run to over a hundred thousand copies that reaction began, and the +reaction was led off by the London "Times." Instantly, as by a +preconcerted signal, all papers of a certain class began to abuse; and +some who had at first issued articles entirely commendatory, now +issued others equally depreciatory. Religious papers, notably the "New +York Observer," came out and denounced the book as _anti- +Christian_, anti-evangelical, resorting even to personal slander on +the author as a means of diverting attention from the work. + +All this has a meaning, but I think it comes too late. I can think of +no reason why it was not tried sooner, excepting that God had intended +that the cause should have a hearing. It is strange that they should +have waited so long for the political effect of a book which they +might have foreseen at first; but not strange that they should, now +they _do_ see what it is doing, attempt to root it up. + +The effects of the book so far have been, I think, these: 1st. To +soften and moderate the bitterness of feeling in _extreme +abolitionists_. 2d. To convert to abolitionist views many whom this +same bitterness had repelled. 3d. To inspire the free colored people +with self-respect, hope, and confidence. 4th. To inspire universally +through the country a kindlier feeling toward the negro race. + +It was unfortunate for the cause of freedom that the first agitators +of this subject were of that class which your lordship describes in +your note as "well-meaning men." I speak sadly of their faults, for +they were men of noble hearts. "But oppression maketh a wise man mad" +and they spoke and did many things in the frenzy of outraged humanity +that repelled sympathy and threw multitudes off to a hopeless +distance. It is mournful to think of all the absurdities that have +been said and done in the name and for the sake of this holy cause, +that have so long and so fatally retarded it. + +I confess that I expected for myself nothing but abuse from extreme +abolitionists, especially as I dared to name a forbidden shibboleth, +"Liberia," and the fact that the wildest and extremest abolitionists +united with the coldest conservatives, at first, to welcome and +advance the book is a thing that I have never ceased to wonder at. + +I have written this long letter because I am extremely desirous that +some leading minds in England should know how _we_ stand. The +subject is now on trial at the bar of a civilized world--a Christian +world! and I feel sure that God has not ordered this without a design. +Yours for the cause, + +HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. + +In December the Earl of Shaftesbury wrote to Mrs. Stowe:-- + +MADAM,-It is very possible that the writer of this letter may be +wholly unknown to you. But whether my name be familiar to your ears, +or whether you now read it for the first time, I cannot refrain from +expressing to you the deep gratitude that I feel to Almighty God who +has inspired both your heart and your head in the composition of +"Uncle Tom's Cabin." None but a Christian believer could have produced +such a book as yours, which has absolutely startled the whole world, +and impressed many thousands by revelations of cruelty and sin that +give us an idea of what would be the uncontrolled dominion of Satan on +this fallen earth. + +To this letter Mrs. Stowe replied as follows:-- + +ANDOVER, _January_ 6, 1853. + +To THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY: + +_My Lord_,-The few lines I have received from you are a comfort +and an encouragement to me, feeble as I now am in health, and pressed +oftentimes with sorrowful thoughts. + +It is a comfort to know that in other lands there are those who feel +as we feel, and who are looking with simplicity to the gospel of +Jesus, and prayerfully hoping his final coming. + +My lord, before you wrote me I read with deep emotion your letter to +the ladies of England, and subsequently the noble address of the +Duchess of Sutherland, and I could not but feel that such movements, +originating in such a quarter, prompted by a spirit so devout and +benevolent, were truly of God, and must result in a blessing to the +world. + +I grieve to see that both in England and this country there are those +who are entirely incapable of appreciating the Christian and truly +friendly feeling that prompted this movement, and that there are even +those who meet it with coarse personalities such as I had not thought +possible in an English or American paper. + +When I wrote my work it was in simplicity and in the love of Christ, +and if I felt anything that seemed to me like a call to undertake it, +it was this, that I had a true heart of love for the Southern people, +a feeling appreciation of their trials, and a sincere admiration of +their many excellent traits, and that I thus felt, I think, must +appear to every impartial reader of the work. + +It was my hope that a book so kindly intended, so favorable in many +respects, might be permitted free circulation among them, and that the +gentle voice of Eva and the manly generosity of St. Clare might be +allowed to say those things of the system which would be invidious in +any other form. + +At first the book seemed to go by acclamation; the South did not +condemn, and the North was loud and unanimous in praise; not a +dissenting voice was raised; to my astonishment everybody praised. But +when the book circulated so widely and began to penetrate the Southern +States, when it began to be perceived how powerfully it affected every +mind that read it, there came on a reaction. + +Answers, pamphlets, newspaper attacks came thick and fast, and certain +Northern papers, religious,--so called,--turned and began to denounce +the work as unchristian, heretical, etc. The reason of all this is +that it has been seen that the book has a direct tendency to do what +it was written for,--to awaken conscience in the slaveholding States +and lead to emancipation. + +Now there is nothing that Southern political leaders and capitalists +so dread as anti-slavery feeling among themselves. All the force of +lynch law is employed to smother discussion and blind conscience on +this question. The question is not allowed to be discussed, and he who +sells a book or publishes a tract makes himself liable to fine and +imprisonment. + +My book is, therefore, as much under an interdict in some parts of the +South as the Bible is in Italy. It is not allowed in the bookstores, +and the greater part of the people hear of it and me only through +grossly caricatured representations in the papers, with garbled +extracts from the book. + +A cousin residing in Georgia this winter says that the prejudice +against my name is so strong that she dares not have it appear on the +outside of her letters, and that very amiable and excellent people +have asked her if such as I could be received into reputable society +at the North. + +Under these circumstances, it is a matter of particular regret that +the "New York Observer," an old and long-established religious paper +in the United States, extensively read at the South, should have come +out in such a bitter and unscrupulous style of attack as even to +induce some Southern papers, with a generosity one often finds at the +South, to protest against it. + +That they should use their Christian character and the sacred name of +Christ still further to blind the minds and strengthen the prejudices +of their Southern brethren is to me a matter of deepest sorrow. All +those things, of course, cannot touch me in my private capacity, +sheltered as I am by a happy home and very warm friends. I only grieve +for it as a dishonor to Christ and a real injustice to many noble- +minded people at the South, who, if they were allowed quietly and +dispassionately to hear and judge, might be led to the best results. + +But, my lord, all this only shows us how strong is the interest we +touch. _All the wealth of America_ may be said to be interested +in it. And, if I may judge from the furious and bitter tone of some +English papers, they also have some sensitive connection with the +evil. + +I trust that those noble and gentle ladies of England who have in so +good a spirit expressed their views of the question will not be +discouraged by the strong abuse that will follow. England is doing us +good. We need the vitality of a disinterested country to warm our +torpid and benumbed public sentiment. + +Nay, the storm of feeling which the book raises in Italy, Germany, and +France is all good, though truly 'tis painful for us Americans to +bear. The fact is, we have become used to this frightful evil, and we +need the public sentiment of the world to help us. + +I am now writing a work to be called "Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin." It +contains, in an undeniable form, the facts which corroborate all that +I have said. One third of it is taken up with judicial records of +trials and decisions, and with statute law. It is a most fearful +story, my lord,---I can truly say that I write with life-blood, but as +called of God. I give in my evidence, and I hope that England may so +fix the attention of the world on the facts of which I am the +unwilling publisher, that the Southern States may be compelled to +notice what hitherto they have denied and ignored. If they call the +fiction dreadful, what will they say of the fact, where I cannot deny, +suppress, or color? But it is God's will that it must be told, and I +am the unwilling agent. + +This coming month of April, my husband and myself expect to sail for +England on the invitation of the Anti-Slavery Society of the Ladies +and Gentlemen of Glasgow, to confer with friends there. + +There are points where English people can do much good; there are also +points where what they seek to do may be made more efficient by a +little communion with those who know the feelings and habits of our +countrymen: but I am persuaded that England can do much for us. + +My lord, they greatly mistake who see, in this movement of English +Christians for the abolition of slavery, signs of disunion between the +nations. It is the purest and best proof of friendship England has +ever shown us, and will, I am confident, be so received. I earnestly +trust that all who have begun to take in hand the cause will be in +nothing daunted, but persevere to the end; for though everything else +be against us, _Christ_ is certainly on our side and He _must +at last prevail_, and it will be done, "not by might, nor by power, +but by His Spirit." Yours in Christian sincerity, H. B. STOWE. + +Mrs. Stowe also received a letter from Arthur Helps [Footnote: Author +of _Spanish Conquest in America_.--ED.] Accompanying a review of +her work written by himself and published in "Fraser's Magazine." In +his letter Mr. Helps took exception to the comparison instituted in +"Uncle Tom's Cabin" between the working-classes of England and the +slaves of America. In her answer to this criticism and complaint Mrs. +Stowe says:-- + +MR. ARTHUR HELPS: _My dear Sir_,--I cannot but say I am greatly +obliged to you for the kind opinions expressed in your letter. On one +point, however, it appears that my book has not faithfully represented +to you the feelings of my heart. I mean in relation to the English +nation as a nation. You will notice that the remarks on that subject +occur in the _dramatic_ part of the book, in the mouth of an +intelligent Southerner. As a fair-minded person, bound to state for +both sides all that could be said in the person of St. Clare, the best +that could be said on that point, and what I know _is_ in fact +constantly reiterated, namely, that the laboring class of the South +are in many respects, as to physical comfort, in a better condition +than the poor of England. + +This is the slaveholder's stereotyped apology,--a defense it cannot +be, unless two wrongs make one right. + +It is generally supposed among us that this estimate of the relative +condition of the slaves and the poor of England is correct, and we +base our ideas on reports made in Parliament and various documentary +evidence; also such sketches as "London Labor and London Poor," which +have been widely circulated among us. The inference, however, +which _we_ of the freedom party draw from it, is _not_ that +the slave is, on the whole, in the best condition because of this +striking difference; that in America the slave has not a recognized +_human_ character _in law, has not even an existence_, +whereas in England the law recognizes and protects the meanest +subject, in theory _always_, and in _fact_ to a certain +extent. A prince of the blood could not strike the meanest laborer +without a liability to prosecution, in _theory_ at least, and +that is something. In America any man may strike any slave he meets, +and if the master does not choose to notice it, he has no redress. + +I do not suppose _human nature_ to be widely different in England +and America. In both countries, when any class holds power and wealth +by institutions which in the long run bring misery on lower classes, +they are very unwilling still to part with that wealth and power. They +are unwilling to be convinced that it is their duty, and unwilling to +do it if they are. It is always so everywhere; it is not English +nature or American nature, but human nature. We have seen in England +the battle for popular rights fought step by step with as determined a +resistance from parties in possession as the slaveholder offers in +America. + +There was the same kind of resistance in certain quarters there to the +laws restricting the employing of young children eighteen hours a day +in factories, as there is here to the anti-slavery effort. + +Again, in England as in America, there are, in those very classes +whose interests are most invaded by what are called popular rights, +some of the most determined supporters of them, and here I think that +the balance preponderates in favor of England. I think there are more +of the high nobility of England who are friends of the common people +and willing to help the cause of human progress, irrespective of its +influence on their own interests, than there are those of a similar +class among slaveholding aristocracy, though even that class is not +without such men. But I am far from having any of that senseless +prejudice against the English nation as a nation which, greatly to my +regret, I observe sometimes in America. It is a relic of barbarism for +two such nations as England and America to cherish any such unworthy +prejudice. + +For my own part, I am proud to be of English blood; and though I do +not think England's national course faultless, and though I think many +of her institutions and arrangements capable of much revision and +improvement, yet my heart warms to her as, on the whole, the +strongest, greatest, and best nation on earth. Have not England and +America one blood, one language, one literature, and a glorious +literature it is! Are not Milton and Shakespeare, and all the wise and +brave and good of old, common to us both, and should there be anything +but cordiality between countries that have so glorious an inheritance +in common? If there is, it will be elsewhere than in hearts like mine. + +Sincerely yours, H. B. STOWE. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +FIRST TRIP TO EUROPE, 1853. + + +THE EDMONDSONS.--BUYING SLAVES TO SET THEM FREE.--JENNY LIND.-- +PROFESSOR STOWE is CALLED TO ANDOVER.--FITTING UP THE NEW HOME.--THE +"KEY TO UNCLE TOM'S CABIN."--"UNCLE TOM" ABROAD.--HOW IT WAS PUBLISHED +IN ENGLAND.--PREFACE TO THE EUROPEAN EDITION.--THE BOOK IN FRANCE.--IN +GERMANY.--A GREETING FROM CHARLES KINGSLEY.--PREPARING TO VISIT +SCOTLAND.--LETTER TO MRS. FOLLEN. + +Very soon after the publication of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" Mrs. Stowe +visited her brother Henry in Brooklyn, and while there became +intensely interested in the case of the Edmondsons, a slave family of +Washington, D.C. Emily and Mary two of the daughters of Paul (a free +colored man) and Milly (a slave) Edmondson, had, for trying to escape +from bondage, been sold to a trader for the New Orleans market. While +they were lying in jail in Alexandria awaiting the making up of a gang +for the South, their heartbroken father determined to visit the North +and try to beg from a freedom-loving people the money with which to +purchase his daughters' liberty. The sum asked by the trader was +$2,250, but its magnitude did not appall the brave old man, and he set +forth upon his quest full of faith that in some way he would secure +it. + +Reaching New York, he went to the anti-slavery bureau and related his +pitiful story. The sum demanded was such a large one and seemed so +exorbitant that even those who took the greatest interest in the case +were disheartened over the prospect of raising it. The old man was +finally advised to go to Henry Ward Beecher and ask his aid. He made +his way to the door of the great Brooklyn preacher's house, but, +overcome by many disappointments and fearing to meet with another +rebuff, hesitated to ring the bell, and sat down on the steps with +tears streaming from his eyes. + +There Mr. Beecher found him, learned his story, and promised to do +what he could. There was a great meeting in Plymouth Church that +evening, and, taking the old colored man with him to it, Mrs. Stowe's +brother made such an eloquent and touching appeal on behalf of the +slave girls as to rouse his audience to profound indignation and pity. +The entire sum of $2,250 was raised then and there, and the old man, +hardly able to realize his great joy, was sent back to his despairing +children with their freedom money in his hand. + +All this had happened in the latter part of 1848, and Mrs. Stowe had +first known of the liberated girls in 1851, when she had been appealed +to for aid in educating them. From that time forward she became +personally responsible for all their expenses while they remained in +school, and until the death of one of them in 1853. + +Now during her visit to New York in the spring of 1852 she met their +old mother, Milly Edmondson, who had come North in the hope of saving +her two remaining slave children, a girl and a young man, from falling +into the trader's clutches. Twelve hundred dollars was the sum to be +raised, and by hard work the father had laid by one hundred of it when +a severe illness put an end to his efforts. After many prayers and +much consideration of the matter, his feeble old wife said to him one +day, "Paul, I'm a gwine up to New York myself to see if I can't get +that money." + +Her husband objected that she was too feeble, that she would be unable +to find her way, and that Northern people had got tired of buying +slaves to set them free, but the resolute old woman clung to her +purpose and finally set forth. Beaching New York she made her way to +Mr. Beecher's house, where she was so fortunate as to find Mrs. Stowe. +Now her troubles were at an end, for this champion of the oppressed at +once made the slave woman's cause her own and promised that her +children should be redeemed. She at once set herself to the task of +raising the purchase-money, not only for Milly's children, but for +giving freedom to the old slave woman herself. On May 29, she writes +to her husband in Brunswick:-- + +"The mother of the Edmondson girls, now aged and feeble, is in the +city. I did not actually know when I wrote 'Uncle Tom' of a living +example in which Christianity had reached its fullest development +under the crushing wrongs of slavery, but in this woman I see it. I +never knew before what I could feel till, with her sorrowful, patient +eyes upon me, she told me her history and begged my aid. The +expression of her face as she spoke, and the depth of patient sorrow +in her eyes, was beyond anything I ever saw. + +"'Well,' said I, when she had finished, 'set your heart at rest; you +and your children shall be redeemed. If I can't raise the money +otherwise, I will pay it myself.' You should have seen the wonderfully +sweet, solemn look she gave me as she said, 'The Lord bless you, my +child!' + +"Well, I have received a sweet note from Jenny Lind, with her name +and her husband's with which to head my subscription list. They give a +hundred dollars. Another hundred is subscribed by Mr. Bowen in his +wife's name, and I have put my own name down for an equal amount. A +lady has given me twenty-five dollars, and Mr. Storrs has pledged me +fifty dollars. Milly and I are to meet the ladies of Henry's and Dr. +Cox's churches tomorrow, and she is to tell them her story. I have +written to Drs. Bacon and Button in New Haven to secure a similar +meeting of ladies there. I mean to have one in Boston, and another in +Portland. It will do good to the givers as well as to the receivers. + +"But all this time I have been so longing to get your letter from New +Haven, for I heard it was there. It is not fame nor praise that +contents me. I seem never to have needed love so much as now. I long +to hear you say how much you love me. Dear one, if this effort impedes +my journey home, and wastes some of my strength, you will not murmur. +When I see this Christlike soul standing so patiently bleeding, yet +forgiving, I feel a sacred call to be the helper of the helpless, and +it is better that my own family do without me for a while longer than +that this mother lose all. _I must redeem her._ + +_"New Haven, June_ 2. My old woman's case progresses gloriously. +I am to see the ladies of this place tomorrow. Four hundred dollars +were contributed by individuals in Brooklyn, and the ladies who took +subscription papers at the meeting will undoubtedly raise two hundred +dollars more." + +Before leaving New York, Mrs. Stowe gave Milly Edmondson her check for +the entire sum necessary to purchase her own freedom and that of her +children, and sent her home rejoicing. That this sum was made up to +her by the generous contributions of those to whom she appealed is +shown by a note written to her husband and dated July, 1852, in which +she says:-- + +"Had a very kind note from A. Lawrence inclosing a twenty-dollar gold- +piece for the Edmondsons. Isabella's ladies gave me twenty-five +dollars, so you see our check is more than paid already." + +Although during her visit in New York Mrs. Stowe made many new +friends, and was overwhelmed with congratulations and praise of her +book, the most pleasing incident of this time seems to have been an +epistolatory interview with Jenny Lind (Goldschmidt). In writing of it +to her husband she says:-- + +"Well, we have heard Jenny Lind, and the affair was a bewildering +dream of sweetness and beauty. Her face and movements are full of +poetry and feeling. She has the artless grace of a little child, the +poetic effect of a wood-nymph, is airy, light, and graceful. + +"We had first-rate seats, and how do you think we got them? When Mr. +Howard went early in the morning for tickets, Mr. Goldschmidt told him +it was impossible to get any good ones, as they were all sold. Mr. +Howard said he regretted that, on Mrs. Stowe's account, as she was +very desirous of hearing Jenny Lind. 'Mrs. Stowe!' exclaimed Mr. +Goldschmidt, 'the author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin"? Indeed, she shall +have a seat whatever happens!' + +"Thereupon he took his hat and went out, returning shortly with +tickets for two of the best seats in the house, inclosed in an +envelope directed to me in his wife's handwriting. Mr. Howard said he +could have sold those tickets at any time during the day for ten +dollars each. + +"Today I sent a note of acknowledgment with a copy of my book. I am +most happy to have seen her, for she is a noble creature." + +To this note the great singer wrote in answer:-- + +MY DEAR MADAM,--Allow me to express my sincere thanks for your very +kind letter, which I was very happy to receive. + +You must feel and know what a deep impression "Uncle Tom's Cabin" has +made upon every heart that can feel for the dignity of human +existence: so I with my miserable English would not even try to say a +word about the great excellency of that most beautiful book, but I +must thank you for the great joy I have felt over that book. + +Forgive me, my dear madam: it is a great liberty I take in thus +addressing you, I know, but I have so wished to find an opportunity to +pour out my thankfulness in a few words to you that I cannot help this +intruding. I have the feeling about "Uncle Tom's Cabin" that great +changes will take place by and by, from the impression people receive +out of it, and that the writer of that book can fall asleep today or +tomorrow with the bright, sweet conscience of having been a strong +means in the Creator's hand of operating essential good in one of the +most important questions for the welfare of our black brethren. God +bless and protect you and yours, dear madam, and certainly God's hand +will remain with a blessing over your head. + +Once more forgive my bad English and the liberty I have taken, and +believe me to be, dear madam, + +Yours most truly, JENNY GOLDSCHMIDT, _née_ LIND. + +In answer to Mrs. Stowe's appeal on behalf of the Edmonsons, Jenny +Lind wrote:-- + +MY DEAR MRS. STOWE,--I have with great interest read your statement of +the black family at Washington. It is with pleasure also that I and my +husband are placing our humble names on the list you sent. + +The time is short. I am very, very sorry that I shall not be able to +_see_ you. I must say farewell to you in this way. Hoping that in +the length of time you may live to witness the progression of the good +sake for which you so nobly have fought, my best wishes go with you. +Yours in friendship, + +JENNY GOLDSCHMIDT. + +While Mrs. Stowe was thus absent from home, her husband received and +accepted a most urgent call to the Professorship of Sacred Literature +in the Theological Seminary at Andover, Mass. + +In regard to leaving Brunswick and her many friends there, Mrs. Stowe +wrote: "For my part, if I _must_ leave Brunswick, I would rather +leave at once. I can tear away with a sudden pull more easily than to +linger there knowing that I am to leave at last. I shall never find +people whom I shall like better than those of Brunswick." + +As Professor Stowe's engagements necessitated his spending much of the +summer in Brunswick, and also making a journey to Cincinnati, it +devolved upon his wife to remain in Andover, and superintend the +preparation of the house they were to occupy. This was known as the +old stone workshop, on the west side of the Common, and it had a year +or two before been fitted up by Charles Munroe and Jonathan Edwards +[Footnote: Students in the Seminary.] as the Seminary gymnasium. +Beneath Mrs. Stowe's watchful care and by the judicious expenditure of +money, it was transformed by the first of November into the charming +abode which under the name of "The Cabin" became noted as one of the +pleasantest literary centres of the country. Here for many years were +received, and entertained in a modest way, many of the most +distinguished people of this and other lands, and here were planned +innumerable philanthropic undertakings in which Mrs. Stowe and her +scholarly husband were the prime movers. + +The summer spent in preparing this home was one of great pleasure as +well as literary activity. In July Mrs. Stowe writes to her husband: +"I had no idea this place was so beautiful. Our family circle is +charming. All the young men are so gentlemanly and so agreeable, as +well as Christian in spirit. Mr. Dexter, his wife, and sister are +delightful. Last evening a party of us went to ride on horseback down +to Pomp's Pond. What a beautiful place it is! There is everything here +that there is at Brunswick except the sea,--a great exception. +Yesterday I was out all the forenoon sketching elms. There is no end +to the beauty of these trees. I shall fill my book with them before I +get through. We had a levee at Professor Park's last week,--quite a +brilliant affair. Today there is to be a fishing party to go to Salem +beach and have a chowder. + +"It seems almost too good to be true that we are going to have such a +house in such a beautiful place, and to live here among all these +agreeable people, where everybody seems to love you so much and to +think so much of you. I am almost afraid to accept it, and should not, +did I not see the Hand that gives it all and know that it is both firm +and true. He knows if it is best for us, and His blessing addeth no +sorrow therewith. I cannot describe to you the constant undercurrent +of love and joy and peace ever flowing through my soul. I am so happy +--so blessed!" + +The literary work of this summer was directed toward preparing +articles on many subjects for the "New York Independent" and the +"National Era," as well as collecting material for future books. That +the "Pearl of Orr's Island," which afterward appeared as a serial in +the "Independent," was already contemplated, is shown by a letter +written July 29th, in which Mrs. Stowe says: "What a lovely place +Andover is! So many beautiful walks! Last evening a number of us +climbed Prospect Hill, and had a most charming walk. Since I came here +we have taken up hymn-singing to quite an extent, and while we were +all up on the hill we sang 'When I can read my title clear.' It went +finely. + +[Illustration: THE ANDOVER HOME] + +"I seem to have so much to fill my time, and yet there is my Maine +story waiting. However, I am composing it every day, only I greatly +need living studies for the filling in of my sketches. There is 'old +Jonas,' my 'fish father,' a sturdy, independent fisherman farmer, who +in his youth sailed all over the world and made up his mind about +everything. In his old age he attends prayer-meetings and reads the +'Missionary Herald.' He also has plenty of money in an old brown sea- +chest. He is a great heart with an inflexible will and iron muscles. I +must go to Orr's Island and see him again. I am now writing an article +for the 'Era' on Maine and its scenery, which I think is even better +than the 'Independent' letter. In it I took up Longfellow. Next I +shall write one on Hawthorne and his surroundings. + +"To-day Mrs. Jewett sent out a most solemnly savage attack upon me +from the 'Alabama Planter.' Among other things it says: 'The plan for +assaulting the best institutions in the world may be made just as +rational as it is by the wicked (perhaps unconsciously so) authoress +of this book. The woman who wrote it must be either a very bad or a +very fanatical person. For her own domestic peace we trust no enemy +will ever penetrate into her household to pervert the scenes he may +find there with as little logic or kindness as she has used in her +"Uncle Tom's Cabin." There's for you! Can you wonder now that such a +wicked woman should be gone from you a full month instead of the week +I intended? Ah, welladay!" + +At last the house was finished, the removal from Brunswick effected, +and the reunited family was comfortably settled in its Andover home. +The plans for the winter's literary work were, however, altered by +force of circumstances. Instead of proceeding quietly and happily with +her charming Maine story, Mrs. Stowe found it necessary to take notice +in some manner of the cruel and incessant attacks made upon her as the +author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and to fortify herself against them by +a published statement of incontrovertible facts. It was claimed on all +sides that she had in her famous book made such ignorant or malicious +misrepresentations that it was nothing short of a tissue of +falsehoods, and to refute this she was compelled to write a "Key to +Uncle Tom's Cabin," in which should appear the sources from which she +had obtained her knowledge. Late in the winter Mrs. Stowe wrote:-- + +"I am now very much driven. I am preparing a Key to unlock 'Uncle +Tom's Cabin.' It will contain all the original facts, anecdotes, and +documents on which the story is founded, with some very interesting +and affecting stories parallel to those told of Uncle Tom. Now I want +you to write for me just what you heard that slave-buyer say, exactly +as he said it, that people may compare it with what I have written. My +Key will be stronger than the Cabin." + +In regard to this "Key" Mrs. Stowe also wrote to the Duchess of +Sutherland upon hearing that she had headed an address from the women +of England to those of America:-- + +It is made up of the facts, the documents, the things which my own +eyes have looked upon and my hands have handled, that attest this +awful indictment upon my country. I write it in the anguish of my +soul, with tears and prayer, with sleepless nights and weary days. I +bear my testimony with a heavy heart, as one who in court is forced by +an awful oath to disclose the sins of those dearest. + +So I am called to draw up this fearful witness against my country and +send it into all countries, that the general voice of humanity may +quicken our paralyzed vitality, that all Christians may pray for us, +and that shame, honor, love of country, and love of Christ may be +roused to give us strength to cast out this mighty evil. Yours for the +oppressed, H. B. STOWE. + +This harassing, brain-wearying, and heart-sickening labor was +continued until the first of April, 1853, when, upon invitation of the +Anti-Slavery Society of Glasgow, Scotland, Mrs. Stowe, accompanied by +her husband and her brother, Charles Beecher, sailed for Europe. + +In the mean time the success of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" abroad was already +phenomenal and unprecedented. From the pen of Mr. Sampson Low, the +well-known London publisher, we have the following interesting +statement regarding it:-- + +"The first edition printed in London was in April, 1852, by Henry +Vizetelly, in a neat volume at ten and sixpence, of which he issued +7,000 copies. He received the first copy imported, through a friend +who had bought it in Boston the day the steamer sailed, for his own +reading. He gave it to Mr. V., who took it to the late Mr. David +Bogue, well known for his general shrewdness and enterprise. He had +the book to read and consider over night, and in the morning returned +it, declining to take it at the very moderate price of five pounds. + +"Vizetelly at once put the volume into the hands of a friendly printer +and brought it out on his own account, through the nominal agency of +Clarke & Co. The 7,000 copies sold, other editions followed, and Mr. +Vizetelly disposed of his interest in the book to the printer and +agent, who joined with Mr. Beeton and at once began to issue monster +editions. The demand called for fresh supplies, and these created an +increased demand. The discovery was soon made that any one was at +liberty to reprint the book, and the initiative was thus given to a +new era in cheap literature, founded on American reprints. A shilling +edition followed the one-and-sixpence, and this in turn became the +precursor of one 'complete for sixpence.' From April to December, +1852, twelve different editions (not reissues) were published, and +within the twelve months of its first appearance eighteen different +London publishing houses were engaged in supplying the great demand +that had set in, the total number of editions being forty, varying +from fine art-illustrated editions at 15s., 10s., and 7s. 6d., to the +cheap popular editions of 1s., 9d., and 6d. + +"After carefully analyzing these editions and weighing probabilities +with ascertained facts, I am able pretty confidently to say that the +aggregate number of copies circulated in Great Britain and the +colonies exceeds one and a half millions." + +A similar statement made by Clarke & Co. in October, 1852, reveals the +following facts. It says: "An early copy was sent from America the +latter end of April to Mr. Bogue, the publisher, and was offered by +him to Mr. Gilpin, late of Bishopsgate Street. Being declined by Mr. +Gilpin, Mr. Bogue offered it to Mr. Henry Vizetelly, and by the latter +gentleman it was eventually purchased for us. Before printing it, +however, as there was one night allowed for decision, one volume was +taken home to be read by Mr. Vizetelly, and the other by Mr. +Salisbury, the printer, of Bouverie Street. The report of the latter +gentleman the following morning, to quote his own words, was: 'I sat +up till four in the morning reading the book, and the interest I felt +was expressed one moment by laughter, another by tears. Thinking it +might be weakness and not the power of the author that affected me, I +resolved to try the effect upon my wife (a rather strong-minded +woman). I accordingly woke her and read a few chapters to her. Finding +that the interest in the story kept her awake, and that she, too, +laughed and cried, I settled in my mind that it was a book that ought +to, and might with safety, be printed.' + +"Mr. Vizetelly's opinion coincided with that of Mr. Salisbury, and to +the latter gentleman it was confided to be brought out immediately. +The week following the book was produced and one edition of 7,000 +copies worked off. It made no stir until the middle of June, although +we advertised it very extensively. From June it began to make its way, +and it sold at the rate of 1,000 per week during July. In August the +demand became very great, and went on increasing to the 20th, by which +time it was perfectly overwhelming. We have now about 400 people +employed in getting out the book, and seventeen printing machines +besides hand presses. Already about 150,000 copies of the book are in +the hands of the people, and still the returns of sales show no +decline." + +The story was dramatized in the United States in August, 1852, without +the consent or knowledge of the author, who had neglected to reserve +her rights for this purpose. In September of the same year we find it +announced as the attraction at two London theatres, namely, the Royal +Victoria and the Great National Standard. In 1853 Professor Stowe +writes: "The drama of 'Uncle Tom' has been going on in the National +Theatre of New York all summer with most unparalleled success. +Everybody goes night after night, and nothing can stop it. The +enthusiasm beats that of the run in the Boston Museum out and out. The +'Tribune' is full of it. The 'Observer,' the 'Journal of Commerce,' +and all that sort of fellows, are astonished and nonplussed. They do +not know what to say or do about it." + +While the English editions of the story were rapidly multiplying, and +being issued with illustrations by Cruikshank, introductions by Elihu +Burritt, Lord Carlisle, etc., it was also making its way over the +Continent. For the authorized French edition, translated by Madame +Belloc, and published by Charpentier of Paris, Mrs. Stowe wrote the +following:-- + +PREFACE TO THE EUROPEAN EDITION. + +In authorizing the circulation of this work on the Continent of +Europe, the author has only this apology, that the love of _man_ +is higher than the love of country. The great mystery which all +Christian nations hold in common, the union of God with man through +the humanity of Jesus Christ, invests human existence with an awful +sacredness; and in the eye of the true believer in Jesus, he who +tramples on the rights of his meanest fellow-man is not only inhuman +but sacrilegious, and the worst form of this sacrilege is the +institution of _slavery_. + +It has been said that the representations of this book are +exaggerations! and oh, _would_ that this were true! Would that +this book were indeed a fiction, and not a close mosaic of facts! But +that it is not a fiction the proofs lie bleeding in thousands of +hearts; they have been attested by surrounding voices from almost +every slave State, and from slave-owners themselves. Since so it must +be, thanks be to God that this mighty cry, this wail of an unutterable +anguish, has at last been heard! + +It has been said, and not in utter despair but in solemn hope and +assurance may we regard the struggle that now convulses America,--the +outcry of the demon of slavery, which has heard the voice of Jesus of +Nazareth, and is rending and convulsing the noble nation from which at +last it must depart. + +It cannot be that so monstrous a solecism can long exist in the bosom +of a nation which in all respects is the best exponent of the great +principle of universal brotherhood. In America the Frenchman, the +German, the Italian, the Swede, and the Irish all mingle on terms of +equal right; all nations there display their characteristic +excellences and are admitted by her liberal laws to equal privileges: +everything is tending to liberalize, humanize, and elevate, and for +that very reason it is that the contest with slavery there grows every +year more terrible. + +The stream of human progress, widening, deepening, strengthening from +the confluent forces of all nations, meets this barrier, behind which +is concentrated all the ignorance, cruelty, and oppression of the dark +ages, and it roars and foams and shakes the barrier, and anon it must +bear it down. + +In its commencement slavery overspread every State in the Union: the +progress of society has now emancipated the North from its yoke. In +Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and Maryland, at different times, +strong movements have been made for emancipation,--movements enforced +by a comparison of the progressive march of the adjoining free States +with the poverty and sterility and ignorance produced by a system +which in a few years wastes and exhausts all the resources of the soil +without the power of renewal. + +The time cannot be distant when these States will emancipate for self- +preservation; and if no new slave territory be added, the increase of +slave population in the remainder will enforce measures of +emancipation. + +Here, then, is the point of the battle. Unless more slave territory is +gained, slavery dies; if it is gained, it lives. Around this point +political parties fight and manoeuvre, and every year the battle wages +hotter. + +The internal struggles of no other nation in the world are so +interesting to Europeans as those of America; for America is fast +filling up from Europe, and every European has almost immediately his +vote in her councils. + +If, therefore, the oppressed of other nations desire to find in +America an asylum of permanent freedom, let them come prepared, heart +and hand, and vote against the institution of slavery; for they who +enslave man cannot themselves remain free. + +True are the great words of Kossuth: "No nation can remain free with +whom freedom is a _privilege_ and not a principle." + +This preface was more or less widely copied in the twenty translations +of the book that quickly followed its first appearance. These, +arranged in the alphabetical order of their languages, are as follows: +Armenian, Bohemian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Flemish, French, German, +Hungarian, Illyrian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romaic or modern +Greek, Russian, Servian, Spanish, Wallachian, and Welsh. + +In Germany it received the following flattering notice from one of the +leading literary journals: "The abolitionists in the United States +should vote the author of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' a civic crown, for a +more powerful ally than Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe and her romance +they could not have. We confess that in the whole modern romance +literature of Germany, England, and France, we know of no novel to be +called equal to this. In comparison with its glowing eloquence that +never fails of its purpose, its wonderful truth to nature, the +largeness of its ideas, and the artistic faultlessness of the +machinery in this book, George Sand, with her Spiridon and Claudie, +appears to us untrue and artificial; Dickens, with his but too +faithful pictures from the popular life of London, petty; Bulwer, +hectic and self-conscious. It is like a sign of warning from the New +World to the Old." + +Madame George Sand reviewed the book, and spoke of Mrs. Stowe herself +in words at once appreciative and discriminating: "Mrs. Stowe is all +instinct; it is the very reason she appears to some not to have +talent. Has she not talent? What is talent? Nothing, doubtless, +compared to genius; but has she genius? She has genius as humanity +feels the need of genius,--the genius of goodness, not that of the man +of letters, but that of the saint." + +Charles Sumner wrote from the senate chamber at Washington to +Professor Stowe: "All that I hear and read bears testimony to the good +Mrs. Stowe has done. The article of George Sand is a most remarkable +tribute, such as was hardly ever offered by such a genius to any +living mortal. Should Mrs. Stowe conclude to visit Europe she will +have a triumph." + +From Eversley parsonage Charles Kingsley wrote to Mrs. Stowe:-- + +A thousand thanks for your delightful letter. As for your progress +and ovation here in England, I have no fear for you. You will be +flattered and worshiped. You deserve it and you must bear it. I am +sure that you have seen and suffered too much and too long to be +injured by the foolish yet honest and heartfelt lionizing which you +must go through. + +I have many a story to tell you when we meet about the effects of the +great book upon the most unexpected people. + +Yours ever faithfully, + +C. KINGSLEY. + +March 28, 1853, Professor Stowe sent the following communication to +the Committee of Examination of the Theological Seminary at Andover: +"As I shall not be present at the examinations this term, I think it +proper to make to you a statement of the reasons of my absence. During +the last winter I have not enjoyed my usual health. Mrs. Stowe also +became sick and very much exhausted. At this time we had the offer of +a voyage to Great Britain and back free of expense." + +This offer, coming as it did from the friends of the cause of +emancipation in the United Kingdom, was gladly accepted by Mr. and +Mrs. Stowe, and they sailed immediately. + +The preceding month Mrs. Stowe had received a letter from Mrs. Follen +in London, asking for information with regard to herself, her family, +and the circumstances of her writing "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +In reply Mrs. Stowe sent the following very characteristic letter, +which may be safely given at the risk of some repetition:-- + +ANDOVER, _February_ 16, 1853. + +MY DEAR MADAM,--I hasten to reply to your letter, to me the more +interesting that I have long been acquainted with you, and during all +the nursery part of my life made daily use of your poems for children. + +I used to think sometimes in those days that I would write to you, and +tell you how much I was obliged to you for the pleasure which they +gave us all. + +So you want to know something about what sort of a woman I am! Well, +if this is any object, you shall have statistics free of charge. To +begin, then, I am a little bit of a woman,--somewhat more than forty, +about as thin and dry as a pinch of snuff; never very much to look at +in my best days, and looking like a used-up article now. + +I was married when I was twenty-five years old to a man rich in Greek +and Hebrew, Latin and Arabic, and, alas! rich in nothing else. When I +went to house-keeping, my entire stock of china for parlor and kitchen +was bought for eleven dollars. That lasted very well for two years, +till my brother was married and brought his bride to visit me. I then +found, on review, that I had neither plates nor teacups to set a table +for my father's family; wherefore I thought it best to reinforce the +establishment by getting me a tea-set that cost ten dollars more, and +this, I believe, formed my whole stock in trade for some years. + +But then I was abundantly enriched with wealth of another sort. + +I had two little, curly-headed twin daughters to begin with, and my +stock in this line has gradually increased, till I have been the +mother of seven children, the most beautiful and the most loved of +whom lies buried near my Cincinnati residence. It was at his dying bed +and at his grave that I learned what a poor slave mother may feel when +her child is torn away from her. In those depths of sorrow which +seemed to me immeasurable, it was my only prayer to God that such +anguish might not be suffered in vain. There were circumstances about +his death of such peculiar bitterness, of what seemed almost cruel +suffering, that I felt that I could never be consoled for it, unless +this crushing of my own heart might enable me to work out some great +good to others. . . . I allude to this here because I have often felt +that much that is in that book ("Uncle Tom") had its root in the awful +scenes and bitter sorrows of that summer. It has left now, I trust, no +trace on my mind, except a deep compassion for the sorrowful, +especially for mothers who are separated from their children. + +During long years of struggling with poverty and sickness, and a hot, +debilitating climate, my children grew up around me. The nursery and +the kitchen were my principal fields of labor. Some of my friends, +pitying my trials, copied and sent a number of little sketches from my +pen to certain liberally paying "Annuals" with my name. With the first +money that I earned in this way I bought a feather-bed! for as I had +married into poverty and without a dowry, and as my husband had only a +large library of books and a great deal of learning, the bed and +pillows were thought the most profitable investment. After this I +thought that I had discovered the philosopher's stone. So when a new +carpet or mattress was going to be needed, or when, at the close of +the year, it began to be evident that my family accounts, like poor +Dora's, "wouldn't add up," then I used to say to my faithful friend +and factotum Anna, who shared all my joys and sorrows, "Now, if you +will keep the babies and attend to the things in the house for one +day, I'll write a piece, and then we shall be out of the scrape." So I +became an author,--very modest at first, I do assure you, and +remonstrating very seriously with the friends who had thought it best +to put my name to the pieces by way of getting up a reputation; and if +you ever see a woodcut of me, with an immoderately long nose, on the +cover of all the U.S. Almanacs, I wish you to take notice, that I have +been forced into it contrary to my natural modesty by the imperative +solicitations of my dear five thousand friends and the public +generally. One thing I must say with regard to my life at the West, +which you will understand better than many English women could. + +I lived two miles from the city of Cincinnati, in the country, and +domestic service, not always you know to be found in the city, is next +to an impossibility to obtain in the country, even by those who are +willing to give the highest wages; so what was to be expected for poor +me, who had very little of this world's goods to offer? + +Had it not been for my inseparable friend Anna, a noble-hearted +English girl, who landed on our shores in destitution and sorrow, and +clave to me as Ruth to Naomi, I had never lived through all the trials +which this uncertainty and want of domestic service imposed on both: +you may imagine, therefore, how glad I was when, our seminary property +being divided out into small lots which were rented at a low price, a +number of poor families settled in our vicinity, from whom we could +occasionally obtain domestic service. About a dozen families of +liberated slaves were among the number, and they became my favorite +resort in cases of emergency. If anybody wishes to have a black face +look handsome, let them be left, as I have been, in feeble health in +oppressive hot weather, with a sick baby in arms, and two or three +other little ones in the nursery, and not a servant in the whole house +to do a single turn. Then, if they could see my good old Aunt Frankie +coming with her honest, bluff, black face, her long, strong arms, her +chest as big and stout as a barrel, and her hilarious, hearty laugh, +perfectly delighted to take one's washing and do it at a fair price, +they would appreciate the beauty of black people. + +My cook, poor Eliza Buck,--how she would stare to think of her name +going to England!--was a regular epitome of slave life in herself; +fat, gentle, easy, loving and lovable, always calling my very modest +house and door-yard "The Place," as if it had been a plantation with +seven hundred hands on it. She had lived through the whole sad story +of a Virginia-raised slave's life. In her youth she must have been a +very handsome mulatto girl. Her voice was sweet, and her manners +refined and agreeable. She was raised in a good family as a nurse and +seamstress. When the family became embarrassed, she was suddenly sold +on to a plantation in Louisiana. She has often told me how, without +any warning, she was suddenly forced into a carriage, and saw her +little mistress screaming and stretching her arms from the window +towards her as she was driven away. She has told me of scenes on the +Louisiana plantation, and she has often been out at night by stealth +ministering to poor slaves who had been mangled and lacerated by the +lash. Hence she was sold into Kentucky, and her last master was the +father of all her children. On this point she ever maintained a +delicacy and reserve that always appeared to me remarkable. She always +called him her husband; and it was not till after she had lived with +me some years that I discovered the real nature of the connection. I +shall never forget how sorry I felt for her, nor my feelings at her +humble apology, "You know, Mrs. Stowe, slave women cannot help +themselves." She had two very pretty quadroon daughters, with her +beautiful hair and eyes, interesting children, whom I had instructed +in the family school with my children. Time would fail to tell you all +that I learned incidentally of the slave system in the history of +various slaves who came into my family, and of the underground +railroad which, I may say, ran through our house. But the letter is +already too long. + +You ask with regard to the remuneration which I have received for my +work here in America. Having been poor all my life and expecting to be +poor the rest of it, the idea of making money by a book which I wrote +just because I could not help it, never occurred to me. It was +therefore an agreeable surprise to receive ten thousand dollars as the +first-fruits of three months' sale. I presume as much more is now due. +Mr. Bosworth in England, the firm of Clarke & Co., and Mr. Bentley, +have all offered me an interest in the sales of their editions in +London. I am very glad of it, both on account of the value of what +they offer, and the value of the example they set in this matter, +wherein I think that justice has been too little regarded. + +I have been invited to visit Scotland, and shall probably spend the +summer there and in England. + +I have very much at heart a design to erect in some of the Northern +States a normal school, for the education of colored teachers in the +United States and in Canada. I have very much wished that some +permanent memorial of good to the colored race might be created out of +the proceeds of a work which promises to have so unprecedented a sale. +My own share of the profits will be less than that of the publishers', +either English or American; but I am willing to give largely for this +purpose, and I have no doubt that the publishers, both American and +English, will unite with me; for nothing tends more immediately to the +emancipation of the slave than the education and elevation of the +free. + +I am now writing a work which will contain, perhaps, an equal amount +of matter with "Uncle Tom's Cabin." It will contain all the facts and +documents on which that story was founded, and an immense body of +facts, reports of trials, legal documents, and testimony of people now +living South, which will more than confirm every statement in "Uncle +Tom's Cabin." + +I must confess that till I began the examination of facts in order to +write this book, much as I thought I knew before, I had not begun to +measure the depth of the abyss. The law records of courts and judicial +proceedings are so incredible as to fill me with amazement whenever I +think of them. It seems to me that the book cannot but be felt, and, +coming upon the sensibility awaked by the other, do something. + +I suffer exquisitely in writing these things. It may be truly said +that I write with my heart's blood. Many times in writing "Uncle Tom's +Cabin" I thought my health would fail utterly; but I prayed earnestly +that God would help me till I got through, and still I am pressed +beyond measure and above strength. + +This horror, this nightmare abomination! can it be in my country! It +lies like lead on my heart, it shadows my life with sorrow; the more +so that I feel, as for my own brothers, for the South, and am pained +by every horror I am obliged to write, as one who is forced by some +awful oath to disclose in court some family disgrace. Many times I +have thought that I must die, and yet I pray God that I may live to +see something done. I shall in all probability be in London in May: +shall I see you? + +It seems to me so odd and dream-like that so many persons desire to +see me, and now I cannot help thinking that they will think, when they +do, that God hath chosen "the weak things of this world." + +If I live till spring I shall hope to see Shakespeare's grave, and +Milton's mulberry-tree, and the good land of my fathers,--old, old +England! May that day come! + +Yours affectionately, H. B. STOWE. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +SUNNY MEMORIES, 1853. + + +CROSSING THE ATLANTIC.--ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND.--RECEPTION IN LIVERPOOL. +--WELCOME TO SCOTLAND.--A GLASGOW TEA-PARTY.--EDINBURGH HOSPITALITY. +--ABERDEEN.--DUNDEE AND BIRMINGHAM.--JOSEPH STURGE.--ELIHU BURRITT. +--LONDON.--THE LORD MAYOR'S DINNER.--CHARLES DICKENS AND HIS WIFE. + +The journey undertaken by Mrs. Stowe with her husband and brother +through England and Scotland, and afterwards with her brother alone +over much of the Continent, was one of unusual interest. No one was +more surprised than Mrs. Stowe herself by the demonstrations of +respect and affection that everywhere greeted her. + +Fortunately an unbroken record of this memorable journey, in Mrs. +Stowe's own words, has been preserved, and we are thus able to receive +her own impressions of what she saw, heard, and did, under +circumstances that were at once pleasant, novel, and embarrassing. +Beginning with her voyage, she writes as follows:-- + +LIVERPOOL, _April_ 11,1853. + +MY DEAR CHILDREN,--You wish, first of all, to hear of the voyage. Let +me assure you, my dears, in the very commencement of the matter, that +going to sea is not at all the thing that we have taken it to be. Let +me warn you, if you ever go to sea, to omit all preparations for +amusement on shipboard. Don't leave so much as the unlocking of a +trunk to be done after sailing. In the few precious minutes when the +ship stands still, before she weighs her anchor, set your house, that +is to say your stateroom, as much in order as if you were going to be +hanged; place everything in the most convenient position to be seized +without trouble at a moment's notice; for be sure that in half an hour +after sailing, an infinite desperation will seize you, in which the +grasshopper will be a burden. If anything is in your trunk, it might +almost as well be in the sea, for any practical probability of your +getting to it. + +Our voyage out was called "a good run." It was voted unanimously to be +"an extraordinary good passage," "a pleasant voyage;" yet the ship +rocked the whole time from side to side with a steady, dizzy, +continuous motion, like a great cradle. I had a new sympathy for +babies, poor little things, who are rocked hours at a time without so +much as a "by your leave" in the case. No wonder there are so many +stupid people in the world! + +We arrived on Sunday morning: the custom-house officers, very +gentlemanly men, came on board; our luggage was all set out, and +passed through a rapid examination, which in many cases amounted only +to opening the trunk and shutting it, and all was over. The whole +ceremony did not occupy two hours. + +We were inquiring of some friends for the most convenient hotel, when +we found the son of Mr. Cropper, of Dingle Bank, waiting in the cabin +to take us with him to their hospitable abode. In a few moments after +the baggage had been examined, we all bade adieu to the old ship, and +went on board the little steam tender which carries passengers up to +the city. + +This Mersey River would be a very beautiful one, if it were not so +dingy and muddy. As we are sailing up in the tender towards Liverpool, +I deplore the circumstance feelingly. + +"What does make this river so muddy?" + +"Oh," says a by-stander, "don't you know that + + "'The quality of mercy is not strained'?" + +I had an early opportunity of making acquaintance with my English +brethren; for, much to my astonishment, I found quite a crowd on the +wharf, and we walked up to our carriage through a long lane of people, +bowing, and looking very glad to see us. + +When I came to get into the hack it was surrounded by more faces than +I could count. They stood very quietly, and looked very kindly, though +evidently very much determined to look. Something prevented the hack +from moving on; so the interview was prolonged for some time. + +Our carriage at last drove on, taking us through Liverpool and a mile +or two out, and at length wound its way along the gravel paths of a +beautiful little retreat, on the banks of the Mersey, called the +"Dingle." It opened to my eyes like a paradise, all wearied as I was +with the tossing of the sea. I have since become familiar with these +beautiful little spots, which are so common in England; but now all +was entirely new to me. + +After a short season allotted to changing our ship garments and for +rest, we found ourselves seated at the dinner table. While dining, the +sister-in-law of our friends came in from the next door, to exchange a +word or two of welcome, and invite us to breakfast with them the +following morning. + +The next morning we slept late and hurried to dress, remembering our +engagement to breakfast with the brother of our host, whose cottage +stands on the same ground, within a few steps of our own. I had not +the slightest idea of what the English mean by a breakfast, and +therefore went in all innocence, supposing I should see nobody but the +family circle of my acquaintances. Quite to my astonishment, I found a +party of between thirty and forty people; ladies sitting with their +bonnets on, as in a morning call. It was impossible, however, to feel +more than a momentary embarrassment in the friendly warmth and +cordiality of the circle by whom we were surrounded. + +In the evening I went into Liverpool to attend a party of friends of +the anti-slavery cause. When I was going away, the lady of the house +said that the servants were anxious to see me; so I came into the +dressing-room to give them an opportunity. + +The next day was appointed to leave Liverpool. A great number of +friends accompanied us to the cars, and a beautiful bouquet of flowers +was sent with a very affecting message from a sick gentleman, who, +from the retirement of his chamber, felt a desire to testify his +sympathy. We left Liverpool with hearts a little tremulous and excited +by the vibration of an atmosphere of universal sympathy and kindness, +and found ourselves, at length, shut from the warm adieu of our +friends, in a snug compartment of the railroad car. + +"Dear me!" said Mr. S.; "six Yankees shut up in a car together! Not +one Englishman to tell us anything about the country! Just like the +six old ladies that made their living by taking tea at each other's +houses!" + +What a bright lookout we kept for ruins and old houses! Mr. S., whose +eyes are always in every place, allowed none of us to slumber, but +looking out, first on his own side and then on ours, called our +attention to every visible thing. If he had been appointed on a +mission of inquiry, he could not have been more zealous and faithful, +and I began to think that our desire for an English cicerone was quite +superfluous. + +Well, we are in Scotland at last, and now our pulse rises as the sun +declines in the west. We catch glimpses of Solway Frith and talk about +Redgauntlet. The sun went down and night drew on; still we were in +Scotland. Scotch ballads, Scotch tunes, and Scotch literature were in +the ascendant. We sang "Auld Lang Syne," "Scots wha hae," and "Bonnie +Doon," and then, changing the key, sang "Dundee," "Elgin," and +"Martyr." + +"Take care," said Mr. S.; "don't get too much excited." + +"Ah," said I, "this is a thing that comes only once in a lifetime; do +let us have the comfort of it. We shall never come into Scotland for +the _first time_ again." + +While we were thus at the fusion point of enthusiasm, the cars stopped +at Lockerbie. All was dim and dark outside, but we soon became +conscious that there was quite a number of people collected, peering +into the window; and with a strange kind of thrill, I heard my name +inquired for in the Scottish accent. I went to the window; there were +men, women, and children gathered, and hand after hand was presented, +with the words, "Ye're welcome to Scotland!" + +Then they inquired for and shook hands with all the party, having in +some mysterious manner got the knowledge of who they were, even down +to little G., whom they took to be my son. Was it not pleasant, when I +had a heart so warm for this old country? I shall never forget the +thrill of those words, "Ye're welcome to Scotland," nor the "Gude +night." + +After that we found similar welcomes in many succeeding stopping- +places; and though I did wave a towel out of the window, instead of a +pocket handkerchief, and commit other awkwardnesses, from not knowing +how to play my part, yet I fancied, after all, that Scotland and we +were coming on well together. Who the good souls were that were thus +watching for us through the night, I am sure I do not know; but that +they were of the "one blood" which unites all the families of the +earth, I felt. + +At Glasgow, friends were waiting in the station-house. Earnest, eager, +friendly faces, ever so many. Warm greetings, kindly words. A crowd +parting in the middle, through which we were conducted into a +carriage, and loud cheers of welcome, sent a throb, as the voice of +living Scotland. + +I looked out of the carriage, as we drove on, and saw, by the light of +a lantern, Argyll Street. It was past twelve o'clock when I found +myself in a warm, cosy parlor, with friends whom I have ever since +been glad to remember. In a little time we were all safely housed in +our hospitable apartments, and sleep fell on me for the first time in +Scotland. + +The next morning I awoke worn and weary, and scarce could the charms +of the social Scotch breakfast restore me. + +Our friend and host was Mr. Bailie Paton. I believe that it is to his +suggestion in a public meeting that we owe the invitation which +brought us to Scotland. + +After breakfast the visiting began. First, a friend of the family, +with three beautiful children, the youngest of whom was the bearer of +a handsomely bound album, containing a pressed collection of the sea- +mosses of the Scottish coast, very vivid and beautiful. + +All this day is a confused dream to me of a dizzy and overwhelming +kind. So many letters that it took brother Charles from nine in the +morning till two in the afternoon to read and answer them in the +shortest manner; letters from all classes of people, high and low, +rich and poor, in all shades and styles of composition, poetry and +prose; some mere outbursts of feeling; some invitations; some advice +and suggestions; some requests and inquiries; some presenting books, +or flowers, or fruit. + +Then came, in their turn, deputations from Paisley, Greenock, Dundee, +Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Belfast in Ireland; calls of friendship, +invitations of all descriptions to go everywhere, and to see +everything, and to stay in so many places. One kind, venerable +minister, with his lovely daughter, offered me a retreat in his quiet +manse on the beautiful shores of the Clyde. + +For all these kindnesses, what could I give in return? There was +scarce time for even a grateful thought on each. People have often +said to me that it must have been an exceeding bore. For my part, I +could not think of regarding it so. It only oppressed me with an +unutterable sadness. + +In the afternoon I rode out with the lord provost to see the +cathedral. The lord provost answers to the lord mayor in England. His +title and office in both countries continue only a year, except in +case of re-election. + +As I saw the way to the cathedral blocked up by a throng of people who +had come out to see me, I could not help saying, "What went ye out for +to see? a reed shaken with the wind?" In fact I was so worn out that I +could hardly walk through the building. The next morning I was so ill +as to need a physician, unable to see any one that called, or to hear +any of the letters. I passed most of the day in bed, but in the +evening I had to get up, as I had engaged to drink tea with two +thousand people. Our kind friends, Dr. and Mrs. Wardlaw, came after +us, and Mr. S. and I went in the carriage with them. Our carriage +stopped at last at the place. I have a dim remembrance of a way being +made for us through a great crowd all round the house, and of going +with Mrs. Wardlaw up into a dressing-room where I met and shook hands +with many friendly people. Then we passed into a gallery, where a seat +was reserved for our party, directly in front of the audience. Our +friend Bailie Paton presided. Mrs. Wardlaw and I sat together, and +around us many friends, chiefly ministers of the different churches, +the ladies and gentlemen of the Glasgow Anti-Slavery Society and +others. I told you it was a tea-party; but the arrangements were +altogether different from any I had ever seen. There were narrow +tables stretched up and down the whole extent of the great hall, and +every person had an appointed seat. These tables were set out with +cups and saucers, cakes, biscuit, etc., and when the proper time came, +attendants passed along serving tea. The arrangements were so accurate +and methodical that the whole multitude actually took tea together, +without the least apparent inconvenience or disturbance. + +There was a gentle, subdued murmur of conversation all over the house, +the sociable clinking of teacups and teaspoons, while the +entertainment was going on. It seemed to me such an odd idea, I could +not help wondering what sort of a teapot that must be in which all +this tea for two thousand people was made. Truly, as Hadji Baba says, +I think they must have had the "father of all the tea-kettles" to boil +it in. I could not help wondering if old mother Scotland had put two +thousand teaspoonfuls of tea for the company, and one for the teapot, +as is our good Yankee custom. + +We had quite a sociable time up in our gallery. Our tea-table +stretched quite across, and we drank tea in sight of all the people. +By _we_, I mean a great number of ministers and their wives, and +ladies of the Anti-Slavery society, besides our party, and the friends +whom I have mentioned before. All seemed to be enjoying themselves. + +After tea they sang a few verses of the seventy-second psalm in the +old Scotch version. + +_April_ 17. To-day a large party of us started on a small steamer +to go down the Clyde. It was a trip full of pleasure and incident. Now +we were shown the remains of old Cardross Castle, where it was said +Robert Bruce breathed his last. And now we came near the beautiful +grounds of Roseneath, a green, velvet-like peninsula, stretching out +into the widening waters. + +Somewhere about here I was presented, by his own request, to a broad- +shouldered Scotch farmer, who stood some six feet two, and who paid me +the compliment to say that he had read my book, and that he would walk +sis miles to see me any day. Such a flattering evidence of +discriminating taste, of course, disposed my heart towards him; but +when I went up and put my hand into his great prairie of a palm, I was +as a grasshopper in my own eyes. I inquired who he was and was told he +was one of the Duke of Argyll's farmers. I thought to myself if all +the duke's farmers were of this pattern, that he might be able to +speak to the enemy in the gates to some purpose. + +It was concluded after we left Roseneath that, instead of returning by +the boat, we should take carriage and ride home along the banks of the +river. In our carriage were Mr. S. and myself, Dr. Robson, and Lady +Anderson. About this time I commenced my first essay towards giving +titles, and made, as you may suppose, rather an odd piece of work of +it, generally saying "Mrs." first, and "Lady" afterwards, and then +begging pardon. Lady Anderson laughed and said she would give me a +general absolution. She is a truly genial, hearty Scotchwoman, and +seemed to enter happily into the spirit of the hour. + +As we rode on, we found that the news of our coming had spread through +the village. People came and stood in their doors, beckoning, bowing, +smiling, and waving their handkerchiefs, and the carriage was several +times stopped by persons who came to offer flowers. I remember, in +particular, a group of young girls bringing to the carriage two of the +most beautiful children I ever saw, whose little hands literally +deluged us with flowers. + +At the village of Helensburgh we stopped a little while to call upon +Mrs. Bell, the wife of Mr. Bell, the inventor of the steamboat. His +invention in this country was at about the same time as that of Fulton +in America. Mrs. Bell came to the carriage to speak to us. She is a +venerable woman, far advanced in years. They had prepared a lunch for +us, and quite a number of people had come together to meet us, but our +friends said there was not time for us to stop. + +We rode through several villages after this, and met everywhere a warm +welcome. What pleased me was, that it was not mainly from the +literary, nor the rich, nor the great, but the plain, common people. +The butcher came out of his stall and the baker from his shop, the +miller dusty with flour, the blooming, comely young mother, with her +baby in her arms, all smiling and bowing, with that hearty, +intelligent, friendly look, as if they knew we should be glad to see +them. + +Once, while we stopped to change horses, I, for the sake of seeing +something more of the country, walked on. It seems the honest landlord +and his wife were greatly disappointed at this; however, they got into +the carriage and rode on to see me, and I shook hands with them with a +right good will. + +We saw several of the clergymen, who came out to meet us; and I +remember stopping just to be introduced, one by one, to a most +delightful family, a gray-headed father and mother, with comely +brothers and fair sisters, all looking so kindly and homelike, that I +should have been glad to accept the invitation they gave me to their +dwelling. + +This day has been a strange phenomenon to me. In the first place, I +have seen in all these villages how universally the people read. I +have seen how capable they are of a generous excitement and +enthusiasm, and how much may be done by a work of fiction so written +as to enlist those sympathies which are common to all classes. +Certainly a great deal may be effected in this way, if God gives to +any one the power, as I hope he will to many. The power of fictitious +writing, for good as well as evil, is a thing which ought most +seriously to be reflected on. No one can fail to see that in our day +it is becoming a very great agency. + +We came home quite tired, as you may well suppose. You will not be +surprised that the next day I found myself more disposed to keep my +bed than go out. + +Two days later: We bade farewell to Glasgow, overwhelmed with kindness +to the last, and only oppressed by the thought of how little that was +satisfactory we were able to give in return. Again we were in the +railroad car on our way to Edinburgh. A pleasant two hours' trip is +this from Glasgow to Edinburgh. When the cars stopped at Linlithgow +station, the name started us as out of a dream. + +In Edinburgh the cars stopped amid a crowd of people who had assembled +to meet us. The lord provost met us at the door of the car, and +presented us to the magistracy of the city and the committees of the +Edinburgh Anti-Slavery Societies. The drab dresses and pure white +bonnets of many Friends were conspicuous among the dense moving crowd, +as white doves seen against a dark cloud. Mr. S. and myself, and our +future hostess, Mrs. Wigham, entered the carriage with the lord +provost, and away we drove, the crowd following with their shouts and +cheers. I was inexpressibly touched and affected by this. While we +were passing the monument of Scott, I felt an oppressive melancholy. +What a moment life seems in the presence of the noble dead! What a +momentary thing is art, in all its beauty! Where are all those great +souls that have created such an atmosphere of light about Edinburgh? +and how little a space was given them to live and enjoy! + +We drove all over Edinburgh, up to the castle, to the university, to +Holyrood, to the hospitals, and through many of the principal streets, +amid shouts, and smiles, and greetings. Some boys amused me very much +by their pertinacious attempts to keep up with the carriage. + +"Heck," says one of them, "that's her; see the _courls_!" + +The various engravers who have amused themselves by diversifying my +face for the public having all, with great unanimity, agreed in giving +prominence to this point, I suppose the urchins thought they were on +safe ground there. I certainly think I answered one good purpose that +day, and that is of giving the much-oppressed and calumniated class +called boys an opportunity to develop all the noise that was in them, +--a thing for which I think they must bless me in their remembrances. +At last the carriage drove into a deep-graveled yard, and we alighted +at a porch covered with green ivy, and found ourselves once more at +home. + +You may spare your anxieties about me, for I do assure you that if I +were an old Sčvres china jar I could not have more careful handling +than I do. Everybody is considerate; a great deal to say when there +appears to be so much excitement. Everybody seems to understand how +good-for-nothing I am; and yet, with all this consideration, I have +been obliged to keep my room and bed for a good part of the time. Of +the multitudes who have called, I have seen scarcely any. + +To-morrow evening is to be the great tea-party here. How in the world +I am ever to live through it I don't know. + +The amount of letters we found waiting for us here in Edinburgh was, +if possible, more appalling than in Glasgow. Among those from persons +whom you would be interested in hearing of, I may mention a very kind +and beautiful one from the Duchess of Sutherland, and one also from +the Earl of Carlisle, both desiring to make appointments for meeting +us as soon as we come to London. Also a very kind and interesting note +from the Rev. Mr. Kingsley and lady. I look forward with a great deal +of interest to passing a little time with them in their rectory. + +As to all engagements, I am in a state of happy acquiescence, having +resigned myself, as a very tame lion, into the hands of my keepers. +Whenever the time comes for me to do anything, I try to behave as well +as I can, which, as Dr. Young says, is all that an angel could do +under the same circumstances. + +_April_ 26. Last night came off the _soiree_. The hall was +handsomely decorated with flags in front. We went with the lord +provost in his carriage. We went up as before into a dressing-room, +where I was presented to many gentlemen and ladies. When we go in, the +cheering, clapping, and stamping at first strikes one with a strange +sensation; but then everybody looks so heartily pleased and delighted, +and there is such an all-pervading atmosphere of geniality and +sympathy, as makes me in a few moments feel quite at home. After all, +I consider that these cheers and applauses are Scotland's voice to +America, a recognition of the brotherhood of the countries. + +The national penny offering, consisting of a thousand golden +sovereigns on a magnificent silver salver, stood conspicuously in view +of the audience. It has been an unsolicited offering, given in the +smallest sums, often from the extreme poverty of the giver. The +committee who collected it in Edinburgh and Glasgow bore witness to +the willingness with which the very poorest contributed the offering +of their sympathy. In one cottage they found a blind woman, and said, +"Here, at least, is one who will feel no interest, as she cannot have +read the book." + +"Indeed," said the old lady, "if I cannot read, my son has read it to +me, and I've got my penny saved to give." + +It is to my mind extremely touching to see how the poor, in their +poverty, can be moved to a generosity surpassing that of the rich. Nor +do I mourn that they took it from their slender store, because I know +that a penny given from a kindly impulse is a greater comfort and +blessing to the poorest giver than even a penny received. + +As in the case of the other meeting, we came out long before the +speeches were ended. Well, of course I did not sleep all night, and +the next day I felt quite miserable. + +From Edinburgh we took cars for Aberdeen. I enjoyed this ride more +than anything we had seen yet, the country was so wild and singular. +In the afternoon we came in sight of the German Ocean. The free, +bracing air from the sea, and the thought that it actually _was_ +the German Ocean, and that over the other side was Norway, within a +day's sail of us, gave it a strange, romantic charm. It was towards +the close of the afternoon that we found ourselves crossing the Dee, +in view of Aberdeen. My spirits were wonderfully elated: the grand +scenery and fine, bracing air; the noble, distant view of the city, +rising with its harbor and shipping,--all filled me with delight. In +this propitious state, disposed to be pleased with everything, our +hearts responded warmly to the greetings of the many friends who were +waiting for us at the station-house. + +The lord provost received us into his carriage, and as we drove along +pointed out to us the various objects of interest in the beautiful +town. Among other things, a fine old bridge across the Dee attracted +our particular attention. We were conducted to the house of Mr. +Cruikshank, a Friend, and found waiting for us there the thoughtful +hospitality which we had ever experienced in all our stopping-places. +A snug little quiet supper was laid out upon the table, of which we +partook in haste, as we were informed that the assembly at the hall +were waiting to receive us. + +There arrived, we found the hall crowded, and with difficulty made our +way to the platform. Whether owing to the stimulating effect of the +air from the ocean, or to the comparatively social aspect of the +scene, or perhaps to both, certain it is that we enjoyed the meeting +with great zest. I was surrounded on the stage with blooming young +ladies, one of whom put into my hands a beautiful bouquet, some +flowers of which I have now, dried, in my album. The refreshment +tables were adorned with some exquisite wax flowers, the work, as I +was afterwards told, of a young lady in the place. One of these +designs especially interested me. It was a group of water-lilies +resting on a mirror, which gave them the appearance of growing in the +water. + +We had some very animated speaking, in which the speakers contrived to +blend enthusiastic admiration and love for America with detestation of +slavery. + +They presented an offering in a beautiful embroidered purse, and after +much shaking of hands we went home, and sat down to the supper-table +for a little more chat before going to bed. The next morning--as we +had only till noon to stay in Aberdeen--our friends, the lord provost +and Mr. Leslie, the architect, came immediately after breakfast to +show us the place. + +About two o'clock we started from Aberdeen, among crowds of friends, +to whom we bade farewell with real regret. + +At Stonehaven station, where we stopped a few minutes, there was quite +a gathering of the inhabitants to exchange greetings, and afterwards, +at successive stations along the road, many a kindly face and voice +made our journey a pleasant one. + +When we got into Dundee it seemed all alive with welcome. We went in +the carriage with the lord provost, Mr. Thoms, to his residence, where +a party had been waiting dinner for us for some time. + +The meeting in the evening was in a large church, densely crowded, and +conducted much as the others had been. When they came to sing the +closing hymn, I hoped they would sing Dundee; but they did not, and I +fear in Scotland, as elsewhere, the characteristic national melodies +are giving way before more modern ones. + +We left Dundee at two o'clock, by cars, for Edinburgh again, and in +the evening attended another _soiree_ of the workingmen of +Edinburgh. We have received letters from the workingmen, both in +Dundee and Glasgow, desiring our return to attend _soirees_ in +those cities. Nothing could give us greater pleasure, had we time or +strength. The next day we had a few calls to make, and an invitation +from Lady Drummond to visit classic Hawthornden, which, however, we +had not time to accept. In the forenoon, Mr. S. and I called on Lord +and Lady Gainsborough. Though she is one of the queen's household, she +is staying here at Edinburgh while the queen is at Osborne. I infer, +therefore, that the appointment includes no very onerous duties. The +Earl of Gainsborough is the eldest brother of the Rev. Baptist W. +Noel. It was a rainy, misty morning when I left my kind retreat and +friends in Edinburgh. Considerate as everybody had been about imposing +on my time or strength, still you may well believe that I was much +exhausted. We left Edinburgh, therefore, with the determination to +plunge at once into some hidden and unknown spot, where we might spend +two or three days quietly by ourselves; and remembering your Sunday at +Stratford-on-Avon, I proposed that we should go there. As Stratford, +however, is off the railroad line, we determined to accept the +invitation, which was lying by us, from our friend, Joseph Sturge, of +Birmingham, and take sanctuary with him. So we wrote on, intrusting +him with the secret, and charging him on no account to let any one +know of our arrival. + +About night our cars whizzed into the depot at Birmingham; but just +before we came in a difficulty was started in the company. "Mr. Sturge +is to be there waiting for us, but he does not know us and we don't +know him; what is to be done?" C. insisted that he should know him by +instinct; and so, after we reached the depot, we told him to sally out +and try. Sure enough, in a few moments he pitched upon a cheerful, +middle-aged gentleman, with a moderate but not decisive broad brim to +his hat, and challenged him as Mr. Sturge. The result verified the +truth that "instinct is a great matter." In a few moments our new +friend and ourselves were snugly encased in a fly, trotting off as +briskly as ever we could to his place at Edgbaston, nobody a whit the +wiser. You do not know how pleased we felt to think we had done it so +nicely. + +As we were drinking tea that evening, Elihu Burritt came in. It was +the first time I had ever seen him, though I had heard a great deal of +him from our friends in Edinburgh. He is a man in middle life, tall +and slender, with fair complexion, blue eyes, an air of delicacy and +refinement, and manners of great gentleness. My ideas of the "learned +blacksmith" had been of something altogether more ponderous and +peremptory. Elihu has been for some years operating, in England and on +the Continent, in a movement which many in our half-Christianized +times regard with as much incredulity as the grim, old warlike barons +did the suspicious imbecilities of reading and writing. The sword now, +as then, seems so much more direct a way to terminate controversies, +that many Christian men, even, cannot conceive how the world is to get +along without it. + +We spent the evening in talking over various topics relating to the +anti-slavery movement. Mr. Sturge was very confident that something +more was to be done than had ever been done yet, by combinations for +the encouragement of free in the place of slave grown produce; a +question which has, ever since the days of Clarkson, more or less +deeply occupied the minds of abolitionists in England. I should say +that Mr. Sturge in his family has for many years conscientiously +forborne the use of any article produced by slave labor. I could +scarcely believe it possible that there could be such an abundance and +variety of all that is comfortable and desirable in the various +departments of household living within these limits. Mr. Sturge +presents the subject with very great force, the more so from the +consistency of his example. + +The next morning, as we were sitting down to breakfast, our friends +sent in to me a plate of the largest, finest strawberries I have ever +seen, which, considering that it was only the latter part of April, +seemed to me quite an astonishing luxury. + +Before we left, we had agreed to meet a circle of friends from +Birmingham, consisting of the Abolition Society there, which is of +long standing, extending back in its memories to the very commencement +of the agitation under Clarkson and Wilberforce. The windows of the +parlor were opened to the ground; and the company invited filled not +only the room, but stood in a crowd on the grass around the window. +Among the peaceable company present was an admiral in the navy, a +fine, cheerful old gentleman, who entered with hearty interest into +the scene. + +A throng of friends accompanied us to the depot, while from Birmingham +we had the pleasure of the company of Elihu Burritt, and enjoyed a +delightful run to London, where we arrived towards evening. + +At the station-house in London we found the Rev. Messrs. Binney and +Sherman waiting for us with carriages. C. went with Mr. Sherman, and +Mr. S. and I soon found ourselves in a charming retreat called Rose +Cottage, in Walworth, about which I will tell you more anon. Mrs. B. +received us with every attention which the most thoughtful hospitality +could suggest. One of the first things she said to me after we got +into our room was, "Oh, we are so glad you have come! for we are all +going to the lord mayor's dinner tonight, and you are invited." So, +though I was tired, I hurried to dress in all the glee of meeting an +adventure. As soon as Mr. and Mrs. B. and the rest of the party were +ready, crack went the whip, round went the wheels, and away we drove. + +We found a considerable throng, and I was glad to accept a seat which +was offered me in the agreeable vicinity of the lady mayoress, so that +I might see what would be interesting to me of the ceremonial. + +A very dignified gentleman, dressed in black velvet, with a fine head, +made his way through the throng, and sat down by me, introducing +himself as Lord Chief Baron Pollock. He told me he had just been +reading the legal part of the "Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin," and remarked +especially on the opinion of Judge Ruffin, in the case of _State_ +v. _Mann_, as having made a deep impression on his mind. + +Dinner was announced between nine and ten o'clock, and we were +conducted into a splendid hall, where the tables were laid. + +Directly opposite me was Mr. Dickens, whom I now beheld for the first +time, and was surprised to see looking so young. Mr. Justice Talfourd, +known as the author of "Ion," was also there with his lady. She had a +beautiful, antique cast of head. The lord mayor was simply dressed in +black, without any other adornment than a massive gold chain. We rose +from table between eleven and twelve o'clock--that is, we ladies--and +went into the drawing-room, where I was presented to Mrs. Dickens and +several other ladies. Mrs. Dickens is a good specimen of a truly +English woman; tall, large, and well developed, with fine, healthy +color, and an air of frankness, cheerfulness, and reliability. A +friend whispered to me that she was as observing and fond of humor as +her husband. + +After a while the gentlemen came back to the drawing-room, and I had a +few moments of very pleasant, friendly conversation with Mr. Dickens. +They are both people that one could not know a little of without +desiring to know more. After a little we began to talk of separating; +the lord mayor to take his seat in the House of Commons, and the rest +of the party to any other engagement that might be upon their list. + +"Come, let us go to the House of Commons," said one of my friends, +"and make a night of it." "With all my heart," replied I, "if I only +had another body to go into to-morrow." + +What a convenience in sight-seeing it would be if one could have a +relay of bodies as of clothes, and slip from one into the other! But +we, not used to the London style of turning night into day, are full +weary already. So good-night to you all. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +FROM OVER THE SEA, 1853. + + +THE EARL OF CARLISLE.--ARTHUR HELPS.--THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF ARGYLL. +--MARTIN FARQUHAR TUPPER.--A MEMORABLE MEETING AT STAFFORD HOUSE.-- +MACAULAY AND DEAN MILMAN.--WINDSOR CASTLE.--PROFESSOR STOWE RETURNS TO +AMERICA.--MRS. STOWE ON THE CONTINENT.--IMPRESSIONS OF PARIS.--EN +ROUTE TO SWITZERLAND AND GERMANY.--BACK TO ENGLAND.--HOMEWARD BOUND. + +ROSE COTTAGE, WALWORTH, LONDON, _May_ 2, 1856. + +MY DEAR,--This morning Mrs. Follen called and we had quite a chat. We +are separated by the whole city. She lives at the West End, while I am +down here in Walworth, which is one of the postscripts of London, for +this place has as many postscripts as a lady's letter. This evening we +dined with the Earl of Carlisle. There was no company but ourselves, +for he, with great consideration, said in his note that he thought a +little quiet would be the best thing he could offer. + +Lord Carlisle is a great friend to America, and so is his sister, the +Duchess of Sutherland. He is the only English traveler who ever wrote +notes on our country in a real spirit of appreciation. + +We went about seven o'clock, the dinner hour being here somewhere +between eight and nine. We were shown into an ante-room adjoining the +entrance hall, and from that into an adjacent apartment, where we met +Lord Carlisle. The room had a pleasant, social air, warmed and +enlivened by the blaze of a coal fire and wax candles. + +We had never, any of us, met Lord Carlisle before; but the +considerateness and cordiality of our reception obviated whatever +embarrassment there might have been in this circumstance. In a few +moments after we were all seated, a servant announced the Duchess of +Sutherland, and Lord Carlisle presented me. She is tall and stately, +with a most noble bearing. Her fair complexion, blonde hair, and full +lips speak of Saxon blood. + +The only person present not of the family connection was my quondam +correspondent in America, Arthur Helps. Somehow or other I had formed +the impression from his writings that he was a venerable sage of very +advanced years, who contemplated life as an aged hermit from the door +of his cell. Conceive my surprise to find a genial young gentleman of +about twenty-five, who looked as if he might enjoy a joke as well as +another man. + +After the ladies left the table, the conversation turned on the Maine +law, which seems to be considered over here as a phenomenon in +legislation, and many of the gentlemen present inquired about it with +great curiosity. + +After the gentlemen rejoined us, the Duke and Duchess of Argyll came +in, and Lord and Lady Blantyre. These ladies are the daughters of the +Duchess of Sutherland. The Duchess of Argyll is of slight and fairy- +like figure, with flaxen hair and blue eyes, answering well enough to +the description of Annot Lyle in the Legend of Montrose. Lady Blantyre +was somewhat taller, of fuller figure, with a very brilliant bloom. +Lord Blantyre is of the Stuart blood, a tall and slender young man +with very graceful manners. + +As to the Duke of Argyll, we found that the picture drawn of him by +his countrymen in Scotland was in every way correct. Though slight of +figure, with fair complexion and blue eyes, his whole appearance is +indicative of energy and vivacity. His talents and efficiency have +made him a member of the British Cabinet at a much earlier age than is +usual; and he has distinguished himself not only in political life, +but as a writer, having given to the world a work on Presbyterianism, +embracing an analysis of the ecclesiastical history of Scotland since +the Reformation, which is spoken of as written with great ability, and +in a most liberal spirit. He made many inquiries about our +distinguished men, particularly of Emerson, Longfellow, and Hawthorne; +also of Prescott, who appears to be a general favorite here. I felt at +the moment that we never value our own literary men so much as when we +are placed in a circle of intelligent foreigners. + +The following evening we went to dine with our old friends of the +Dingle, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cropper, who are now spending a little +time in London. We were delighted to meet them once more and to hear +from our Liverpool friends. Mrs. Cropper's father, Lord Denman, has +returned to England, though with no sensible improvement in his +health. + +At dinner we were introduced to Lord and Lady Hatherton. Lady +Hatherton is a person of great cultivation and intelligence, warmly +interested in all the progressive movements of the day; and I gained +much information in her society. There were also present Sir Charles +and Lady Trevelyan; the former holds an appointment at the treasury, +and Lady Trevelyan is a sister of Macaulay. + +In the evening quite a circle came in, among others Lady Emma +Campbell, sister of the Duke of Argyll; the daughters of the +Archbishop of Canterbury, who very kindly invited me to visit them at +Lambeth; and Mr. Arthur Helps, besides many others whose names I need +not mention. + +_May_ 7. This evening our house was opened in a general way for +callers, who were coming and going all the evening. I think there must +have been over two hundred people, among them Martin Farquhar Tupper, +a little man with fresh, rosy complexion and cheery, joyous manners; +and Mary Howitt, just such a cheerful, sensible, fireside companion as +we find her in her books,--winning love and trust the very first +moment of the interview. + +The general topic of remark on meeting me seems to be, that I am not +so bad-looking as they were afraid I was; and I do assure you that +when I have seen the things that are put up in the shop windows here +with my name under them, I have been in wondering admiration at the +boundless loving-kindness of my English and Scottish friends in +keeping up such a warm heart for such a Gorgon. I should think that +the Sphinx in the London Museum might have sat for most of them. I am +going to make a collection of these portraits to bring home to you. +There is a great variety of them, and they will be useful, like the +Irishman's guide-board, which showed where the road did not go. + +Before the evening was through I was talked out and worn out; there +was hardly a chip of me left. To-morrow at eleven o'clock comes the +meeting at Stafford House. What it will amount to I do not know; but I +take no thought for the morrow. + +_May_ 8. + +MY DEAR C.,--In fulfillment of my agreement I will tell you, as nearly +as I can remember, all the details of the meeting at Stafford House. +At about eleven o'clock we drove under the arched carriage-way of a +mansion externally not very showy in appearance. + +When the duchess appeared, I thought she looked handsomer by daylight +than in the evening. She received us with the same warm and simple +kindness which she had shown before. We were presented to the Duke of +Sutherland. He is a tall, slender man, with rather a thin face, light- +brown hair, and a mild blue eye, with an air of gentleness and +dignity. + +Among the first that entered were the members of the family, the Duke +and Duchess of Argyll, Lord and Lady Blantyre, the Marquis and +Marchioness of Stafford, and Lady Emma Campbell. Then followed Lord +Shaftesbury with his beautiful lady, and her father and mother, Lord +and Lady Palmerston. Lord Palmerston is of middle height, with a keen +dark eye and black hair streaked with gray. There is something +peculiarly alert and vivacious about all his movements; in short, his +appearance perfectly answers to what we know of him from his public +life. One has a strange, mythological feeling about the existence of +people of whom one hears for many years without ever seeing them. +While talking with Lord Palmerston I could but remember how often I +had heard father and Mr. S. exulting over his foreign dispatches by +our own fireside. There were present, also, Lord John Russell, Mr. +Gladstone, and Lord Granville. The latter we all thought very +strikingly resembled in his appearance the poet Longfellow. + +After lunch the whole party ascended to the picture-gallery, passing +on our way the grand staircase and hall, said to be the most +magnificent in Europe. The company now began to assemble and throng +the gallery, and very soon the vast room was crowded. Among the throng +I remember many presentations, but of course must have forgotten many +more. Archbishop Whateley was there, with Mrs. and Miss Whateley; +Macaulay, with two of his sisters; Milman, the poet and historian; the +Bishop of Oxford, Chevalier Bunsen and lady, and many more. + +When all the company were together, Lord Shaftesbury read a very +short, kind, and considerate address in behalf of the ladies of +England, expressive of their cordial welcome. + +This Stafford House meeting, in any view of it, is a most remarkable +fact. Kind and gratifying as its arrangements have been to me, I am +far from appropriating it to myself individually as a personal honor. +I rather regard it as the most public expression possible of the +feelings of the women of England on one of the most important +questions of our day, that of individual liberty considered in its +religious bearings. + +On this occasion the Duchess of Sutherland presented Mrs. Stowe with a +superb gold bracelet, made in the form of a slave's shackle, bearing +the inscription: "We trust it is a memorial of a chain that is soon to +be broken." On two of the links were inscribed the dates of the +abolition of the slave-trade and of slavery in English territory. +Years after its presentation to her, Mrs. Stowe was able to have +engraved on the clasp of this bracelet, "Constitutional Amendment +(forever abolishing slavery in the United States)." + +Continuing her interesting journal, Mrs. Stowe writes, May 9th:-- + +DEAR E.,--This letter I consecrate to you, because I know that the +persons and things to be introduced into it will most particularly be +appreciated by you. + +In your evening reading circles, Macaulay, Sydney Smith, and Milman +have long been such familiar names that you will be glad to go with me +over all the scenes of my morning breakfast at Sir Charles Trevelyan's +yesterday. Lady Trevelyan, I believe I have said before, is a sister +of Macaulay. + +We were set down at Westbourne Terrace somewhere, I believe, about +eleven o'clock, and found quite a number already in the drawing-room. +I had met Macaulay before, but being seated between him and Dean +Milman, I must confess I was a little embarrassed at times, because I +wanted to hear what they were both saying at the same time. However, +by the use of the faculty by which you play a piano with both hands, I +got on very comfortably. + +There were several other persons of note present at this breakfast, +whose conversation I had not an opportunity of hearing, as they sat at +a distance from me. There was Lord Glenelg, brother of Sir Robert +Grant, governor of Bombay, whose beautiful hymns have rendered him +familiar in America. The favorite one, commencing + + "When gathering clouds around I view," + +was from his pen. + +The historian Hallam was also present, and I think it very likely +there may have been other celebrities whom I did not know. I am always +finding out, a day or two after, that I have been with somebody very +remarkable and did not know it at the time. + +Under date of May 18th she writes to her sister Mary:-- + +DEAR M.,--I can compare the embarrassment of our London life, with its +multiplied solicitations and infinite stimulants to curiosity and +desire, only to that annual perplexity which used to beset us in our +childhood on Thanksgiving Day. Like Miss Edgeworth's philosophic +little Frank, we are obliged to make out a list of what man +_must_ want, and of what he _may_ want; and in our list of +the former we set down, in large and decisive characters, one quiet +day for the exploration and enjoyment of Windsor. + +The ride was done all too soon. About eleven o'clock we found +ourselves going up the old stone steps to the castle. We went first +through the state apartments. The principal thing that interested me +was the ball-room, which was a perfect gallery of Vandyke's paintings. +After leaving the ball-room we filed off to the proper quarter to show +our orders for the private rooms. The state apartments, which we had +been looking at, are open at all times, but the private apartments can +only be seen in the Queen's absence and by a special permission, which +had been procured for us on that occasion by the kindness of the +Duchess of Sutherland. + +One of the first objects that attracted my attention upon entering the +vestibule was a baby's wicker wagon, standing in one corner. It was +much such a carriage as all mothers are familiar with; such as figures +largely in the history of almost every family. It had neat curtains +and cushions of green merino, and was not royal, only maternal. I +mused over the little thing with a good deal of interest. + +We went for our dinner to the White Hart, the very inn which +Shakespeare celebrates in his "Merry Wives," and had a most +overflowing merry time of it. After dinner we had a beautiful drive. + +We were bent upon looking up the church which gave rise to Gray's +"Elegy in a Country Churchyard," intending when we got there to have a +little scene over it; Mr. S., in all the conscious importance of +having been there before, assuring us that he knew exactly where it +was. So, after some difficulty with our coachman, and being stopped at +one church which would not answer our purpose in any respect, we were +at last set down by one which looked authentic; embowered in mossy +elms, with a most ancient and goblin yew-tree, an ivy-mantled tower, +all perfect as could be. Here, leaning on the old fence, we repeated +the Elegy, which certainly applies here as beautifully as language +could apply. + +Imagine our chagrin, on returning to London, at being informed that we +had not been to the genuine churchyard after all. The gentleman who +wept over the scenes of his early days on the wrong doorstep was not +more grievously disappointed. However, he and we could both console +ourselves with the reflection that the emotion was admirable, and +wanted only the right place to make it the most appropriate in the +world. + +The evening after our return from Windsor was spent with our kind +friends, Mr. and Mrs. Gurney. After breakfast the next day, Mr. S., +C., and I drove out to call upon Kossuth. We found him in an obscure +lodging on the outskirts of London. I would that some of the editors +in America, who have thrown out insinuations about his living in +luxury, could have seen the utter bareness and plainness of the +reception room, which had nothing in it beyond the simplest +necessaries. He entered into conversation with us with cheerfulness, +speaking English well, though with the idioms of foreign languages. +When we parted he took my hand kindly and said, "God bless you, my +child!" + +I have been quite amused with something which has happened lately. +This week the "Times" has informed the United Kingdom that Mrs. Stowe +is getting a new dress made! It wants to know if Mrs. Stowe is aware +what sort of a place her dress is being made in; and there is a letter +from a dressmaker's apprentice stating that it is being made up +piecemeal, in the most shockingly distressed dens of London, by poor, +miserable white slaves, worse treated than the plantation slaves of +America! + +Now Mrs. Stowe did not know anything of this, but simply gave the silk +into the hands of a friend, and was in due time waited on in her own +apartment by a very respectable-appearing woman, who offered to make +the dress, and lo, this is the result! Since the publication of this +piece, I have received earnest missives, from various parts of the +country, begging me to interfere, hoping that I was not going to +patronize the white slavery of England, and that I would employ my +talents equally against oppression in every form. Could these people +only know in what sweet simplicity I had been living in the State of +Maine, where the only dressmaker of our circle was an intelligent, +refined, well-educated woman who was considered as the equal of us +all, and whose spring and fall ministrations to our wardrobe were +regarded a double pleasure,--a friendly visit as well as a domestic +assistance,--I say, could they know all this, they would see how +guiltless I was in the matter. I verily never thought but that the +nice, pleasant person who came to measure me for my silk dress was +going to take it home and make it herself; it never occurred to me +that she was the head of an establishment. + +May 22, she writes to her husband, whose duties had obliged him to +return to America: "To-day we went to hear a sermon in behalf of the +ragged schools by the Archbishop of Canterbury. My thoughts have been +much saddened by the news which I received of the death of Mary +Edmonson." + +"_May_ 30. The next day from my last letter came off Miss +Greenfield's concert, of which I send a card. You see in what company +they have put your poor little wife. Funny!--isn't it? Well, the Hons. +and Right Hons. all were there. I sat by Lord Carlisle. + +"After the concert the duchess asked Lady Hatherton and me to come +round to Stafford House and take tea, which was not a thing to be +despised, either on account of the tea or the duchess. A lovelier time +we never had,--present, the Duchess of Argyll, Lady Caroline Campbell, +Lady Hatherton, and myself. We had the nicest cup of tea, with such +cream, and grapes and apricots, with some Italian bread, etc. + +"When we were going the duchess got me, on some pretext, into another +room, and came up and put her arms round me, with her noble face all +full of feeling. + +"'Oh, Mrs. Stowe, I have been reading that last chapter in the "Key"; +Argyll read it aloud to us. Oh, surely, surely you will succeed,--God +surely will bless you!' + +"I said then that I thanked her for all her love and feeling for us, +told her how earnestly all the women of England sympathized with her, +and many in America. She looked really radiant and inspired. Had those +who hang back from our cause seen her face, it might have put a soul +into them as she said again, 'It will be done--it will be done--oh, I +trust and pray it may!' + +"So we kissed each other, and vowed friendship and fidelity--so I came +away. + +"To-day I am going with Lord Shaftesbury to St. Paul's to see the +charity children, after which lunch with Dean Milman. + +"_May_ 31. We went to lunch with Miss R. at Oxford Terrace, +where, among a number of distinguished guests, was Lady Byron, with +whom I had a few moments of deeply interesting conversation. No +engravings that ever have been circulated in America do any justice to +her appearance. She is of slight figure, formed with exceeding +delicacy, and her whole form, face, dress, and air unite to make an +impression of a character singularly dignified, gentle, pure, and yet +strong. No words addressed to me in any conversation hitherto have +made their way to my inner soul with such force as a few remarks +dropped by her on the present religious aspect of England,--remarks of +such quality as one seldom hears. + +"According to request, I will endeavor to keep you informed of all our +goings-on after you left, up to the time of our departure for Paris. + +"We have borne in mind your advice to hasten away to the Continent. +Charles wrote, a day or two since, to Mrs. C. at Paris to secure very +private lodgings, and by no means let any one know that we were +coming. She has replied urging us to come to her house, and promising +entire seclusion and rest. So, since you departed, we have been +passing with a kind of comprehensive skip and jump over remaining +engagements. And just the evening after you left came off the +presentation of the inkstand by the ladies of Surrey Chapel. + +"It is a beautiful specimen of silver-work, eighteen inches long, with +a group of silver figures on it representing Religion, with the Bible +in her hand, giving liberty to the slave. The slave is a masterly +piece of work. He stands with his hands clasped, looking up to Heaven, +while a white man is knocking the shackles from his feet. But the +prettiest part of the scene was the presentation of a _gold pen_ +by a band of beautiful children, one of whom made a very pretty +speech. I called the little things to come and stand around me, and +talked with them a few minutes, and this was all the speaking that +fell to my share. + +"To-morrow we go--go to quiet, to obscurity, to peace--to Paris, to +Switzerland; there we shall find the loveliest glen, and, as the Bible +says, 'fall on sleep.' + +"_Paris, June_ 4. Here we are in Paris, in a most charming +family. I have been out all the morning exploring shops, streets, +boulevards, and seeing and hearing life in Paris. When one has a +pleasant home and friends to return to, this gay, bustling, vivacious, +graceful city is one of the most charming things in the world; and we +_have_ a most charming home. + +"I wish the children could see these Tuileries with their statues and +fountains, men, women, and children seated in family groups under the +trees, chatting, reading aloud, working muslin,--children driving +hoop, playing ball, all alive and chattering French. Such fresh, +pretty girls as are in the shops here! _Je suis ravé_, as they +say. In short I am decidedly in a French humor, and am taking things +quite _couleur de rose_. + +"_Monday, June_ 13. We went this morning to the studio of M. +Belloc, who is to paint my portrait. The first question which he +proposed, with a genuine French air, was the question of 'pose' or +position. It was concluded that, as other pictures had taken me +looking at the spectator, this should take me looking away. M. Belloc +remarked that M. Charpentier said I appeared always with the air of an +observer,--was always looking around on everything. Hence M. Belloc +would take me '_en observatrice, mais pas en curieuse_,'--with +the air of observation, but not of curiosity. By and by M. Charpentier +came in. He began panegyrizing 'Uncle Tom,' and this led to a +discussion of the ground of its unprecedented success. In his thirty- +five years' experience as a bookseller, he had known nothing like it. +It surpassed all modern writings! At first he would not read it; his +taste was for old masters of a century or two ago. 'Like M. Belloc in +painting,' said I. At length he found his friend M., the first +intelligence of the age, reading it. + +"'What, you, too?' said he. + +"'Ah, ah!' replied the friend; 'say nothing about this book! There is +nothing like it. This leaves us all behind,--all, all, miles behind!' + +"M. Belloc said the reason was because there was in it more _genuine +faith_ than in any book; and we branched off into florid eloquence +touching paganism, Christianity, and art. + +"_Wednesday, June_ 22. Adieu to Paris! Ho for Chalons-sur-Saône! +After affectionate farewells of our kind friends, by eleven o'clock we +were rushing, in the pleasantest of cars, over the smoothest of rails, +through Burgundy. We arrived at Chalons at nine P. M. + +"_Thursday_, 23, eight o'clock A. M. Since five we have had a +fine bustle on the quay below our windows. There lay three steamers, +shaped for all the world like our last night's rolls. One would think +Ichabod Crane might sit astride one of them and dip his feet in the +water. They ought to be swift. L'Hirondelle (The Swallow) flew at +five; another at six. We leave at nine. + +"_Lyons_. There was a scene of indescribable confusion upon our +arrival here. Out of the hold of our steamer a man with a rope and +hook began hauling baggage up a smooth board. Three hundred people +were sorting their goods without checks. Porters were shouldering +immense loads, four or five heavy trunks at once, corded together, and +stalking off Atlantean. Hat-boxes, bandboxes, and valises burst like a +meteoric shower out of a crater. '_A moi, ŕ moi_!' was the cry, +from old men, young women, soldiers, shopkeepers, and _frčres_, +scuffling and shoving together. + +"_Saturday, June_ 25. Lyons to Genčve. As this was our first +experience in the diligence line, we noticed particularly every +peculiarity. I had had the idea that a diligence was a ricketty, slow- +moulded antediluvian nondescript, toiling patiently along over +impassable roads at a snail's pace. Judge of my astonishment at +finding it a full-blooded, vigorous monster, of unscrupulous railway +momentum and imperturbable equipoise of mind. Down the macadamized +slopes we thundered at a prodigious pace; up the hills we trotted, +with six horses, three abreast; madly through the little towns we +burst, like a whirlwind, crashing across the pebbled streets, and out +upon the broad, smooth road again. Before we had well considered the +fact that we were out of Lyons we stopped to change horses. Done in a +jiffy; and whoop, crick, crack, whack, rumble, bump, whirr, whisk, +away we blazed, till, ere we knew it, another change and another. + +"As evening drew on, a wind sprang up and a storm seemed gathering on +the Jura. The rain dashed against the panes of the berlin as we rode +past the grim-faced monarch of the 'misty shroud.' It was night as we +drove into Geneva and stopped at the Messagerie. I heard with joy a +voice demanding if this were _Madame Besshare_. I replied, not +without some scruples of conscience, '_Oui, Monsieur, c'est +moi_,' though the name did not sound exactly like the one to which +I had been wont to respond. In half an hour we were at home in the +mansion of Monsieur Fazy." + +From Geneva the party made a tour of the Swiss Alps, spending some +weeks among them. While there Charles Beecher wrote from a small hotel +at the foot of the Jura:-- + +"The people of the neighborhood, having discovered who Harriet was, +were very kind, and full of delight at seeing her. It was Scotland +over again. We have had to be unflinching to prevent her being +overwhelmed, both in Paris and Geneva, by the same demonstrations of +regard. To this we were driven, as a matter of life and death. It was +touching to listen to the talk of these secluded mountaineers. The +good hostess, even the servant maids, hung about Harriet, expressing +such tender interest for the slave. All had read 'Uncle Tom;' and it +had apparently been an era in their life's monotony, for they said, +'Oh, madam, do write another! Remember, our winter nights here are +very long!'" + +Upon their return to Geneva they visited the Castle of Chillon, of +which, in describing the dungeons, Mrs. Stowe writes:-- + +"One of the pillars in this vault is covered with names. I think it is +Bonnevard's Pillar. There are the names of Byron, Hunt, Schiller, and +ever so many more celebrities. As we were going from the cell our +conductress seemed to have a sudden light upon her mind. She asked a +question or two of some of our party, and fell upon me vehemently to +put my name also there. Charley scratched it on the soft freestone, +and there it is for future ages. The lady could scarce repress her +enthusiasm; she shook my hand over and over again, and said she had +read 'Uncle Tom.' 'It is beautiful,' she said, 'but it is cruel.' + +"_Monday, July_ 18. Weather suspicious. Stowed ourselves and our +baggage into our _voiture_, and bade adieu to our friends and to +Geneva. Ah, how regretfully! From the market-place we carried away a +basket of cherries and fruit as a consolation. Dined at Lausanne, and +visited the cathedral and picture-gallery, where was an exquisite +_Eva_. Slept at Meudon. + +"_Tuesday, July_ 19. Rode through Payerne to Freyburg. Stopped at +the Zähringer Hof,--most romantic of inns. + +"_Wednesday, July_ 20. Examined, not the lions, but the bears of +Berne. Engaged a _coiture_ and drove to Thun. Dined and drove by +the shore of the lake to Interlachen, arriving just after a brilliant +sunset. + +"We crossed the Wengern Alps to Grindelwald. The Jungfrau is right +over against us,--her glaciers purer, tenderer, more dazzlingly +beautiful, if possible, than those of Mont Blanc. Slept at +Grindelwald." + +From Rosenlaui, on this journey, Charles Beecher writes:-- + +"_Friday, July 22_. Grindelwald to Meyringen. On we came, to the +top of the Great Schiedeck, where H. and W. botanized, while I slept. +Thence we rode down the mountain till we reached Rosenlaui, where, I +am free to say, a dinner was to me a more interesting object than a +glacier. Therefore, while H. and W. went to the latter, I turned off +to the inn, amid their cries and reproaches. + +"Here, then, I am, writing these notes in the _salle ŕ manger_ of +the inn, where other voyagers are eating and drinking, and there is H. +feeding on the green moonshine of an emerald ice cave. One would +almost think her incapable of fatigue. How she skips up and down high +places and steep places, to the manifest perplexity of the honest +guide Kienholz, _pčre_, who tries to take care of her, but does +not exactly know how! She gets on a pyramid of débris, which the edge +of the glacier is plowing and grinding up, sits down, and falls--not +asleep exactly, but into a trance. W. and I are ready to go on: we +shout; our voice is lost in the roar of the torrent. We send the +guide. He goes down, and stands doubtfully. He does not know exactly +what to do. She hears him, and starts to her feet, pointing with one +hand to yonder peak, and with the other to that knife-like edge that +seems cleaving heaven with its keen and glistening cimeter of snow, +reminding one of Isaiah's sublime imagery, 'For my sword is bathed in +heaven.' She points at the grizzly rocks, with their jags and spear- +points. Evidently she is beside herself, and thinks she can remember +the names of those monsters, born of earthquake and storm, which +cannot be named nor known but by sight, and then are known at once +perfectly and forever." + +After traveling through Germany, Belgium, and Holland, the party +returned to Paris toward the end of August, from which place Mrs. +Stowe writes:-- + +"I am seated in a snug little room at M. Belloc's. The weather is +overpoweringly hot, but these Parisian houses seem to have seized and +imprisoned coolness. French household ways are delightful. I like +their seclusion from the street by these deep-paned quadrangles. + +"Madame Belloc was the translator of Maria Edgeworth, by that lady's +desire; corresponded with her for years, and still has many of her +letters. Her translation of 'Uncle Tom' has to me all the merit and +all the interest of an original composition. In perusing it, I enjoy +the pleasure of reading the story with scarce any consciousness of its +ever having been mine." + +The next letter is from London _en route_ for America, to which +passage had been engaged on the Collins steamer Arctic. In it Mrs. +Stowe writes:-- + +"_London, August _28. Our last letters from home changed all our +plans. We concluded to hurry away by the next steamer, if at that late +hour we could get a passage. We were all in a bustle. The last +shoppings for aunts, cousins, and little folks were to be done by us +all. The Palais Royal was to be rummaged; bronzes, vases, statuettes, +bonbons, playthings,--all that the endless fertility of France could +show,--was to be looked over for the 'folks at home.' + +"How we sped across the Channel C. relates. We are spending a few very +pleasant days with our kind friends the L.'s, in London. + +"_On board the Arctic, September_ 7. On Thursday, September 1, we +reached York, and visited the beautiful ruins of St. Mary's Abbey, and +the magnificent cathedral. It rained with inflexible pertinacity +during all the time we were there, and the next day it rained still, +when we took the cars for Castle Howard station. + +"Lady Carlisle welcomed us most affectionately, and we learned that, +had we not been so reserved at the York station in concealing our +names, we should have received a note from her. However, as we were +safely arrived, it was of no consequence. + +"Our friends spoke much of Sunmer and Prescott, who had visited there; +also of Mr. Lawrence, our former ambassador, who had visited them just +before his return. After a very pleasant day, we left with regret the +warmth of this hospitable circle, thus breaking one more of the links +that bind us to the English shore. + +"Nine o'clock in the evening found us sitting by a cheerful fire in +the parlor of Mr. E. Baines at Leeds. The next day the house was +filled with company, and the Leeds offering was presented. + +"Tuesday we parted from our excellent friends in Leeds, and soon found +ourselves once more in the beautiful "Dingle," our first and last +resting-place on English shores. + +"A deputation from Belfast, Ireland, here met me, presenting a +beautiful bog-oak casket, lined with gold, and carved with appropriate +national symbols, containing an offering for the cause of the +oppressed. They read a beautiful address, and touched upon the +importance of inspiring with the principles of emancipation the Irish +nation, whose influence in our land is becoming so great. Had time and +strength permitted, it had been my purpose to visit Ireland, to +revisit Scotland, and to see more of England. But it is not in man +that walketh to direct his steps. And now came parting, leave-taking, +last letters, notes, and messages. + +"Thus, almost sadly as a child might leave its home, I left the shores +of kind, strong Old England,--the mother of us all." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +HOME AGAIN, 1853-1856. + + +ANTI-SLAVERY WORK.--STIRRING TIMES IN THE UNITED STATES.--ADDRESS TO +THE LADIES OF GLASGOW.--APPEAL TO THE WOMEN OF AMERICA.-- +CORRESPONDENCE WITH WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON.--THE WRITING OF "DRED."-- +FAREWELL LETTER FROM GEORGIANA MAY.--SECOND VOYAGE TO ENGLAND. + +After her return in the autumn of 1853 from her European tour, Mrs. +Stowe threw herself heart and soul into the great struggle with +slavery. Much of her time was occupied in distributing over a wide +area of country the English gold with which she had been intrusted for +the advancement of the cause. With this money she assisted in the +redemption of slaves whose cases were those of peculiar hardship, and +helped establish them as free men. She supported anti-slavery lectures +wherever they were most needed, aided in establishing and maintaining +anti-slavery publications, founded and assisted in supporting schools +in which colored people might be taught how to avail themselves of the +blessings of freedom. She arranged public meetings, and prepared many +of the addresses that should be delivered at them. She maintained such +an extensive correspondence with persons of all shades of opinion in +all parts of the world, that the letters received and answered by her +between 1853 and 1856 would fill volumes. With all these multifarious +interests, her children received a full share of her attention, nor +were her literary activities relaxed. + +Immediately upon the completion of her European tour, her experiences +were published in the form of a journal, both in this country and +England, under the title of "Sunny Memories." She also revised and +elaborated the collection of sketches which had been published by the +Harpers in 1843, under title of "The Mayflower," and having purchased +the plates caused them to be republished in 1855 by Phillips & +Sampson, the successors of John P. Jewett & Co., in this country, and +by Sampson Low & Co. in London. + +Soon after her return to America, feeling that she owed a debt of +gratitude to her friends in Scotland, which her feeble health had not +permitted her adequately to express while with them, Mrs. Stowe wrote +the following open letter:-- + +TO THE LADIES' ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW: + +_Dear Friends_,--I have had many things in my mind to say to you, +which it was my hope to have said personally, but which I am now +obliged to say by letter. + +I have had many fears that you must have thought our intercourse, +during the short time that I was in Glasgow, quite unsatisfactory. + +At the time that I accepted your very kind invitation, I was in +tolerable health, and supposed that I should be in a situation to +enjoy society, and mingle as much in your social circles as you might +desire. + +When the time came for me to fulfil my engagement with you, I was, as +you know, confined to my bed with a sickness brought on by the +exertion of getting the "Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin" through the press +during the winter. + +In every part of the world the story of "Uncle Tom" had awakened +sympathy for the American slave, and consequently in every part of the +world the story of his wrongs had been denied; it had been asserted to +be a mere work of romance, and I was charged with being the slanderer +of the institutions of my own country. I knew that if I shrank from +supporting my position, the sympathy which the work had excited would +gradually die out, and the whole thing would be looked upon as a mere +romantic excitement of the passions. + +When I came abroad, I had not the slightest idea of the kind of +reception which was to meet me in England and Scotland. I had thought +of something involving considerable warmth, perhaps, and a good deal +of cordiality and feeling on the part of friends; but of the general +extent of feeling through society, and of the degree to which it would +be publicly expressed, I had, I may say, no conception. + +As through your society I was invited to your country, it may seem +proper that what communication I have to make to friends in England +and Scotland should be made through you. + +In the first place, then, the question will probably arise in your +minds, Have the recent demonstrations in Great Britain done good to +the anti-slavery cause in America? + +The first result of those demonstrations, as might have been expected, +was an intense reaction. Every kind of false, evil, and malignant +report has been circulated by malicious and partisan papers; and if +there is any blessing in having all manner of evil said against us +falsely, we have seemed to be in a fair way to come in possession of +it. + +The sanction which was given in this matter to the voice of the +people, by the nobility of England and Scotland, has been regarded and +treated with special rancor; and yet, in its place, it has been +particularly important. Without it great advantages would have been +taken to depreciate the value of the national testimony. The value of +this testimony in particular will appear from the fact that the anti- +slavery cause has been treated with especial contempt by the leaders +of society in this country, and every attempt made to brand it with +ridicule. + +The effect of making a cause generally unfashionable is much greater +in this world than it ought to be. It operates very powerfully with +the young and impressible portion of the community; therefore Cassius +M. Clay very well said with regard to the demonstration at Stafford +House: "It will help our cause by rendering it fashionable." + +With regard to the present state of the anti-slavery cause in America, +I think, for many reasons, that it has never been more encouraging. It +is encouraging in this respect, that the subject is now fairly up for +inquiry before the public mind. And that systematic effort which has +been made for years to prevent its being discussed is proving wholly +ineffectual. + +The "Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin" has sold extensively at the South, +following in the wake of "Uncle Tom." Not one fact or statement in it +has been disproved as yet. I have yet to learn of even an +_attempt_ to disprove. + +The "North American Review," a periodical which has never been +favorable to the discussion of the slavery question, has come out with +a review of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," in which, while rating the book very +low as a work of art, they account for its great circulation and +success by the fact of its being a true picture of slavery. They go on +to say that the system is one so inherently abominable that, unless +slaveholders shall rouse themselves and abolish the principle of +chattel ownership, they can no longer sustain themselves under the +contempt and indignation of the whole civilized world. What are the +slaveholders to do when this is the best their friends and supporters +can say for them? + +I regret to say that the movements of Christian denominations on this +subject are yet greatly behind what they should be. Some movements +have been made by religious bodies, of which I will not now speak; but +as a general thing the professed Christian church is pushed up to its +duty by the world, rather than the world urged on by the church. + +The colored people in this country are rapidly rising in every +respect. I shall request Frederick Douglass to send you the printed +account of the recent colored convention. It would do credit to any +set of men whatever, and I hope you will get some notice taken of it +in the papers of the United Kingdom. It is time that the slanders +against this unhappy race should be refuted, and it should he seen +how, in spite of every social and political oppression, they are +rising in the scale of humanity. In my opinion they advance quite as +fast as any of the foreign races which have found an asylum among us. + +May God so guide us in all things that our good he not evil spoken of, +and that we be left to defend nothing which is opposed to his glory +and the good of man! + +Yours in all sympathy, + +H. B. STOWE. + +During the Kansas and Nebraska agitation (1853-54), Mrs. Stowe, in +common with the abolitionists of the North, was deeply impressed with +a solemn sense that it was a desperate crisis in the nation's history. +She was in constant correspondence with Charles Sumner and other +distinguished statesmen of the time, and kept herself informed as to +the minutest details of the struggle. At this time she wrote and +caused to be circulated broadcast the following appeal to the women of +America:-- + +"The Providence of God has brought our nation to a crisis of most +solemn interest. + +"A question is now pending in our national legislature which is most +vitally to affect the temporal and eternal interests, not only of +ourselves, but of our children and our children's children for ages +yet unborn. Through our nation it is to affect the interests of +liberty and Christianity throughout the world. + +"Of the woes, the injustice, and the misery of slavery it is not +needful to speak. There is but one feeling and one opinion upon this +subject among us all. I do not think there is a mother who clasps her +child to her breast who would ever be made to feel it right that that +child should be a slave, not a mother among us who would not rather +lay that child in its grave. + +"Nor can I believe that there is a woman so unchristian as to think it +right to inflict upon her neighbor's child what she would consider +worse than death were it inflicted upon her own. I do not believe +there is a wife who would think it right that _her_ husband +should be sold to a trader to be worked all his life without wages or +a recognition of rights. I do not believe there is a husband who would +consider it right that his wife should be regarded by law the property +of another man. I do not believe there is a father or mother who would +consider it right were they forbidden by law to teach their children +to read. I do not believe there is a brother who would think it right +to have his sister held as property, with no legal defense for her +personal honor, by any man living. + +"All this is inherent in slavery. It is not the abuse of slavery, but +its legal nature. And there is not a woman in the United States, where +the question is fairly put to her, who thinks these things are right. + +"But though our hearts have bled over this wrong, there have been many +things tending to fetter our hands, to perplex our efforts, and to +silence our voice. We have been told that to speak of it was an +invasion of the rights of states. We have heard of promises and +compacts, and the natural expression of feeling has in many cases been +repressed by an appeal to those honorable sentiments which respect the +keeping of engagements. + +"But a time has now come when the subject is arising under quite a +different aspect. + +"The question is not now, shall the wrongs of slavery exist as they +have within their own territories, but shall we permit them to be +extended all over the free territories of the United States? Shall the +woes and the miseries of slavery be extended over a region of fair, +free, unoccupied territory nearly equal in extent to the whole of the +free States? + +"Nor is this all! This is not the last thing that is expected or +intended. Should this movement be submitted to in silence, should the +North consent to this solemn breach of contract on the part of the +South, there yet remains one more step to be apprehended, namely, the +legalizing of slavery throughout the free States. By a decision of the +supreme court in the Lemmon case, it may be declared lawful for slave +property to be held in the Northern States. Should this come to pass, +it is no more improbable that there may be four years hence slave +depots in New York city than it was four years ago that the South +would propose a repeal of the Missouri Compromise. + +"Women of the free States! the question is not shall we remonstrate +with slavery on its own soil, but are we willing to receive slavery +into the free States and Territories of this Union? Shall the whole +power of these United States go into the hands of slavery? Shall every +State in the Union be thrown open to slavery? This is the possible +result and issue of the question now pending. This is the fearful +crisis at which we stand. + +"And now you ask, What can the _women_ of a country do? + +"O women of the free States! what did your brave mothers do in the +days of our Revolution? Did not liberty in those days feel the strong +impulse of woman's heart? + +"There was never a great interest agitating a community where woman's +influence was not felt for good or for evil. At the time when the +abolition of the slave-trade was convulsing England, women contributed +more than any other laborers to that great triumph of humanity. The +women of England refused to receive into their houses the sugar raised +by slaves. Seventy thousand families thus refused the use of sugar in +testimony of their abhorrence of the manner in which it was produced. +At that time women were unwearied in going from house to house +distributing books and tracts upon the subject, and presenting it +clearly and forcibly to thousands of families who would otherwise have +disregarded it. + +"The women all over England were associated in corresponding circles +for prayer and labor. Petitions to the government were prepared and +signed by women of every station in all parts of the kingdom. + +"Women of America! we do not know with what thrilling earnestness the +hopes and the eyes of the world are fastened upon our country, and how +intense is the desire that we should take a stand for universal +liberty. When I was in England, although I distinctly stated that the +raising of money was no part of my object there, it was actually +forced upon me by those who could not resist the impulse to do +something for this great cause. Nor did it come from the well-to-do +alone; but hundreds of most affecting letters were received from poor +working men and women, who inclosed small sums in postage-stamps to be +devoted to freeing slaves. + +"Nor is this deep feeling confined to England alone. I found it in +France, Switzerland, and Germany. Why do foreign lands regard us with +this intensity of interest? Is it not because the whole world looks +hopefully toward America as a nation especially raised by God to +advance the cause of human liberty and religion? + +"There has been a universal expectation that the next step taken by +America would surely be one that should have a tendency to right this +great wrong. Those who are struggling for civil and religious liberty +in Europe speak this word 'slavery' in sad whispers, as one names a +fault of a revered friend. They can scarce believe the advertisements +in American papers of slave sales of men, women, and children, traded +like cattle. Scarcely can they trust their eyes when they read the +laws of the slave States, and the decisions of their courts. The +advocates of despotism hold these things up to them and say: 'See what +comes of republican liberty!' Hitherto the answer has been, 'America +is more than half free, and she certainly will in time repudiate +slavery altogether.' + +"But what can they say now if, just as the great struggle for human +rights is commencing throughout Europe, America opens all her +Territories to the most unmitigated despotism? + +"While all the nations of Europe are thus moved on the subject of +American slavery, shall we alone remain unmoved? Shall we, the wives, +mothers, and sisters of America, remain content with inaction in such +a crisis as this? + +"The first duty of every American woman at this time is to thoroughly +understand the subject for herself, and to feel that she is bound to +use her influence for the right. Then they can obtain signatures to +petitions to our national legislature. They can spread information +upon this vital topic throughout their neighborhoods. They can employ +lecturers to lay the subject before the people. They can circulate the +speeches of their members of Congress that bear upon the subject, and +in many other ways they can secure to all a full understanding of the +present position of our country. + +"Above all, it seems to be necessary and desirable that we should make +this subject a matter of earnest prayer. A conflict is now begun +between the forces of liberty and despotism throughout the whole +world. We who are Christians, and believe in the sure word of +prophecy, know that fearful convulsions and over-turnings are +predicted before the coming of Him who is to rule the earth in +righteousness. How important, then, in this crisis, that all who +believe in prayer should retreat beneath the shadow of the Almighty! + +"It is a melancholy but unavoidable result of such great encounters of +principle that they tend to degenerate into sectional and personal +bitterness. It is this liability that forms one of the most solemn and +affecting features of the crisis now presented. We are on the eve of a +conflict which will try men's souls, and strain to the utmost the +bonds of brotherly union that bind this nation together. + +"Let us, then, pray that in the agitation of this question between the +North and the South the war of principle may not become a mere +sectional conflict, degenerating into the encounter of physical force. +Let us raise our hearts to Him who has the power to restrain the wrath +of men, that He will avert the consequences that our sins as a nation +so justly deserve. + +"There are many noble minds in the South who do not participate in the +machinations of their political leaders, and whose sense of honor and +justice is outraged by this proposition equally with our own. While, +then, we seek to sustain the cause of freedom unwaveringly, let us +also hold it to be our office as true women to moderate the acrimony +of political contest, remembering that the slaveholder and the slave +are alike our brethren, whom the law of God commands us to love as +ourselves. + +"For the sake, then, of our dear children, for the sake of our common +country, for the sake of outraged and struggling liberty throughout +the world, let every woman of America now do her duty." + +At this same time Mrs. Stowe found herself engaged in an active +correspondence with William Lloyd Garrison, much of which appeared in +the columns of his paper, the "Liberator." Late in 1853 she writes to +him:-- + +"In regard to you, your paper, and in some measure your party, I am in +an honest embarrassment. I sympathize with you fully in many of your +positions. Others I consider erroneous, hurtful to liberty and the +progress of humanity. Nevertheless, I believe you and those who +support them to be honest and conscientious in your course and +opinions. What I fear is that your paper will take from poor Uncle Tom +his Bible, and give him nothing in its place." + +To this Mr. Garrison answers: "I do not understand why the imputation +is thrown upon the 'Liberator' as tending to rob Uncle Tom of his +Bible. I know of no writer in its pages who wishes to deprive him of +it, or of any comfort he may derive from it. It is for him to place +whatever estimate he can upon it, and for you and me to do the same; +but for neither of us to accept any more of it than we sincerely +believe to be in accordance with reason, truth, and eternal right. How +much of it is true and obligatory, each one can determine only for +himself; for on Protestant ground there is no room for papal +infallibility. All Christendom professes to believe in the inspiration +of the volume, and at the same time all Christendom is by the ears as +to its real teachings. Surely you would not have me disloyal to my +conscience. How do you prove that you are not trammeled by educational +or traditional notions as to the entire sanctity of the book? Indeed, +it seems to me very evident that you are not free in spirit, in view +of the apprehension and sorrow you feel because you find your +conceptions of the Bible controverted in the 'Liberator,' else why +such disquietude of mind? 'Thrice is he armed who hath his quarrel +just.'" + +In answer to this Mrs. Stowe writes:-- + +I did not reply to your letter immediately, because I did not wish to +speak on so important a subject unadvisedly, or without proper thought +and reflection. The greater the interest involved in a truth the more +careful, self-distrustful, and patient should be the inquiry. + +I would not attack the faith of a heathen without being sure I had a +better one to put in its place, because, such as it is, it is better +than nothing. I notice in Mr. Parker's sermons a very eloquent passage +on the uses and influences of the Bible. He considers it to embody +absolute and perfect religion, and that no better mode for securing +present and eternal happiness can be found than in the obedience to +certain religious precepts therein recorded. He would have it read and +circulated, and considers it, as I infer, a Christian duty to send it +to the heathen, the slave, etc. I presume you agree with him. + +These things being supposed about the Bible would certainly make it +appear that, if any man deems it his duty to lessen its standing in +the eyes of the community, he ought at least to do so in a cautious +and reverential spirit, with humility and prayer. + +My objection to the mode in which these things are handled in the +"Liberator" is that the general tone and spirit seem to me the reverse +of this. If your paper circulated only among those of disciplined and +cultivated minds, skilled to separate truth from falsehood, knowing +where to go for evidence and how to satisfy the doubts you raise, I +should feel less regret. But your name and benevolent labors have +given your paper a circulation among the poor and lowly. They have no +means of investigating, no habits of reasoning. The Bible, as they at +present understand it, is doing them great good, and is a blessing to +them and their families. The whole tendency of your mode of proceeding +is to lessen their respect and reverence for the Bible, without giving +them anything in its place. + +I have no fear of discussion as to its final results on the Bible; my +only regrets are for those human beings whose present and immortal +interests I think compromised by this manner of discussion. Discussion +of the evidence of the authenticity and inspiration of the Bible and +of all theology will come more and more, and I rejoice that they will. +But I think they must come, as all successful inquiries into truth +must, in a calm, thoughtful, and humble spirit; not with bold +assertions, hasty generalizations, or passionate appeals. + +I appreciate your good qualities none the less though you differ with +me on this point. I believe you to be honest and sincere. In Mr. +Parker's works I have found much to increase my respect and esteem for +him as a man. He comes to results, it is true, to which it would be +death and utter despair for me to arrive at. Did I believe as he does +about the Bible and Jesus, I were of all creatures most miserable, +because I could not love God. I could find no God to love. I would far +rather never have been born. + +As to you, my dear friend, you must own that my frankness to you is +the best expression of my confidence in your honor and nobleness. Did +I not believe that "an excellent spirit" is in you, I would not take +the trouble to write all this. If in any points in this note I appear +to have misapprehended or done you injustice, I hope you will candidly +let me know where and how. + +Truly your friend, + +H. B. STOWE. + +[Illustration: Lyman Beecher] + +In addition to these letters the following extracts from a subsequent +letter to Mr. Garrison are given to show in what respect their fields +of labor differed, and to present an idea of what Mrs. Stowe was doing +for the cause of freedom besides writing against slavery:-- + +ANDOVER, MASS., _February_ 18,1854. + +DEAR FRIEND,--I see and sincerely rejoice in the result of your +lecture in New York. I am increasingly anxious that all who hate +slavery be united, if not in form, at least in fact,--a unity in +difference. _Our_ field lies in the church, and as yet I differ +from you as to what may be done and hoped there. Brother Edward +(Beecher) has written a sermon that goes to the very root of the +decline of moral feeling in the church. As soon as it can be got ready +for the press I shall have it printed, and shall send a copy to every +minister in the country. + +Our lectures have been somewhat embarrassed by a pressure of new +business brought upon us by the urgency of the Kansas-Nebraska +question. Since we began, however, brother Edward has devoted his +whole time to visiting, consultation, and efforts the result of which +will shortly be given to the public. We are trying to secure a +universal arousing of the pulpit. + +Dr. Bacon's letter is noble. You must think so. It has been sent to +every member of Congress. Dr. Kirk's sermon is an advance, and his +congregation warmly seconded it. Now, my good friend, be willing to +see that the church is better than you have thought it. Be not +unwilling to see some good symptoms, and hope that even those who see +not at all at first will gain as they go on. I am acting on the +conviction that you love the cause better than self. If anything can +be done now advantageously by the aid of money, let me know. God has +given me some power in this way, though I am too feeble to do much +otherwise. + +Yours for the cause, + +H. B. STOWE. + +Although the demand was very great upon Mrs. Stowe for magazine and +newspaper articles, many of which she managed to write in 1854-55, she +had in her mind at this time a new book which should be in many +respects the complement of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." In preparing her Key +to the latter work, she had collected much new material. In 1855, +therefore, and during the spring of 1856, she found time to weave +these hitherto unused facts into the story of "Dred." In her preface +to the English edition of this book she writes:-- + +"The author's object in this book is to show the general effect of +slavery on society; the various social disadvantages which it brings, +even to its most favored advocates; the shiftlessness and misery and +backward tendency of all the economical arrangements of slave States; +the retrograding of good families into poverty; the deterioration of +land; the worse demoralization of all classes, from the aristocratic, +tyrannical planter to the oppressed and poor white, which is the +result of the introduction of slave labor. + +"It is also an object to display the corruption of Christianity which +arises from the same source; a corruption that has gradually lowered +the standard of the church, North and South, and been productive of +more infidelity than the works of all the encyclopaedists put +together." + +The story of "Dred" was suggested by the famous negro insurrection, +led by Nat Turner, in Eastern Virginia in 1831. In this affair one of +the principal participators was named "Dred." An interesting incident +connected with the writing of "Dred" is vividly remembered by Mrs. +Stowe's daughters. + +One sultry summer night there arose a terrific thunder-storm, with +continuous flashes of lightning and incessant rumbling and muttering +of thunder, every now and then breaking out into sharp, crashing +reports followed by torrents of rain. + +The two young girls, trembling with fear, groped their way down-stairs +to their mother's room, and on entering found her lying quietly in bed +awake, and calmly watching the storm from the windows, the shades +being up. She expressed no surprise on seeing them, but said that she +had not been herself in the least frightened, though intensely +interested in watching the storm. "I have been writing a description +of a thunder-storm for my book, and I am watching to see if I need to +correct it in any particular." Our readers will be interested to know +that she had so well described a storm from memory that even this +vivid object-lesson brought with it no new suggestions. This scene is +to be found in the twenty-fourth chapter of "Dred,"--"Life in the +Swamps." + +"The day had been sultry and it was now an hour or two past midnight, +when a thunder-storm, which had long been gathering and muttering in +the distant sky, began to develop its forces. A low, shivering sigh +crept through the woods, and swayed in weird whistlings the tops of +the pines; and sharp arrows of lightning came glittering down among +the branches, as if sent from the bow of some warlike angel. An army +of heavy clouds swept in a moment across the moon; then came a broad, +dazzling, blinding sheet of flame." + +What particularly impressed Mrs. Stowe's daughters at the time was +their mother's perfect calmness, and the minute study of the storm. +She was on the alert to detect anything which might lead her to +correct her description. + +Of this new story Charles Summer wrote from the senate chamber:-- + +MY DEAR MRS. STOWE,--I am rejoiced to learn, from your excellent +sister here, that you are occupied with another tale exposing slavery. +I feel that it will act directly upon pending questions, and help us +in our struggle for Kansas, and also to overthrow the slave-oligarchy +in the coming Presidential election. We need your help at once in our +struggle. + +Ever sincerely yours, + +CHARLES SUMNER. + +Having finished this second great story of slavery, in the early +summer of 1856 Mrs. Stowe decided to visit Europe again, in search of +a much-needed rest. She also found it necessary to do so in order to +secure the English right to her book, which she had failed to do on +"Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +Just before sailing she received the following touching letter from +her life-long friend, Georgiana May. It is the last one of a series +that extended without interruption over a period of thirty years, and +as such has been carefully cherished:-- + +OCEAN HOUSE, GROTON POINT, _July_ 26, 1856. + +DEAR HATTIE,--Very likely it is too late for me to come with my modest +knock to your study door, and ask to be taken in for a moment, but I +do so want to _bless_ you before you go, and I have not been well +enough to write until to-day. It seems just as if I _could_ not +let you go till I have seen once more your face in the flesh, for +great uncertainties hang over my future. One thing, however, is +certain: whichever of us two gets first to the farther shore of the +great ocean between us and the unseen will be pretty sure to be at +hand to welcome the other. It is not poetry, but solemn verity between +us that we _shall_ meet again. + +But there is nothing _morbid_ or _morbific_ going into these +few lines. I have made "Old Tiff's" acquaintance. _He_ is a +verity,--will stand up with Uncle Tom and Topsy, pieces of negro +property you will be guilty of holding after you are dead. Very likely +your children may be selling them. + +Hattie, I rejoice over this completed work. Another work for God and +your generation. I am glad that you have come out of it alive, that +you have pleasure in prospect, that you "walk at liberty" and have +done with "fits of languishing." Perhaps some day I shall be set free, +but the prospect does not look promising, except as I have full faith +that "the Good Man above is looking on, and will bring it all round +right." Still "heart and flesh" both "fail me." He will be the +"strength of my heart," and I never seem to doubt "my portion +forever." + +If I never speak to you again, this is the farewell utterance. + +Yours truly, + +GEORGIANA. + +Mrs. Stowe was accompanied on this second trip to Europe by her +husband, her two eldest daughters, her son Henry, and her sister Mary +(Mrs. Perkins). It was a pleasant summer voyage, and was safely +accomplished without special incident. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +DRED, 1856. + + +SECOND VISIT TO ENGLAND.--A GLIMPSE AT THE QUEEN.--THE DUKE OF ARGYLL +AND INVERARY.--EARLY CORRESPONDENCE WITH LADY BYRON.--DUNROBIN CASTLE +AND ITS INMATES.--A VISIT TO STOKE PARK.--LORD DUFFERIN.--CHARLES +KINGSLEY AT HOME.--PARIS REVISITED.--MADAME MOHL'S RECEPTIONS. + +After reaching England, about the middle of August, 1856, Mrs. Stowe +and her husband spent some days in London completing arrangements to +have an English edition of "Dred" published by Sampson Low & Co. +Professor Stowe's duties in America being very pressing, he had +intended returning at once, but was detained for a short time, as will +be seen in the following letter written by him from Glasgow, August +29, to a friend in America:-- + +DEAR FRIEND,--I finished my business in London on Wednesday, and +intended to return by the Liverpool steamer of to-morrow, but find +that every berth on that line is engaged until the 3d of October. We +therefore came here yesterday, and I shall take passage in the steamer +New York from this port next Tuesday. We have received a special +invitation to visit Inverary Castle, the seat of the Duke of Argyll, +and yesterday we had just the very pleasantest little interview with +the Queen that ever was. None of the formal, drawing-room, breathless +receptions, but just an accidental, done-on-purpose meeting at a +railway station, while on our way to Scotland. + +The Queen seemed really delighted to see my wife, and remarkably glad +to see me for her sake. She pointed us out to Prince Albert, who made +two most gracious bows to my wife and two to me, while the four royal +children stared their big blue eyes almost out looking at the little +authoress of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Colonel Grey handed the Queen, with +my wife's compliments, a copy of the new book ("Dred"). She took one +volume herself and handed the other to Prince Albert, and they were +soon both very busy reading. She is a real nice little body with +exceedingly pleasant, kindly manners. + +I expect to be in Natick the last week in September. God bless you +all. + +C. E. STOWE. + +After her husband's departure for the United States, Mrs. Stowe, with +her son Henry, her two eldest daughters, and her sister Mary (Mrs. +Perkins), accepted the Duke of Argyll's invitation to visit the +Highlands. Of this visit we catch a pleasant glimpse from a letter +written to Professor Stowe during its continuance, which is as +follows:-- + +INVERARY CASTLE, _September_ 6, 1856. + +MY DEAR HUSBAND,--We have been now a week in this delicious place, +enjoying the finest skies and scenery, the utmost of kind hospitality. +From Loch Goil we took the coach for Inverary, a beautiful drive of +about two hours. We had seats on the outside, and the driver John, +like some of the White Mountain guides, was full of song and story, +and local tradition. He spoke Scotch and Gaelic, recited ballads, and +sung songs with great gusto. Mary and the girls stopped in a little +inn at St. Catherine's, on the shores of Loch Fine, while Henry and I +took steamboat for Inverary, where we found the duchess waiting in a +carriage for us, with Lady Emma Campbell. . . . + +The common routine of the day here is as follows: We rise about half +past eight. About half past nine we all meet in the dining-hall, where +the servants are standing in a line down one side, and a row of chairs +for guests and visitors occupies the other. The duchess with her nine +children, a perfectly beautiful little flock, sit together. The duke +reads the Bible and a prayer, and pronounces the benediction. After +that, breakfast is served,--a very hearty, informal, cheerful meal,-- +and after that come walks, or drives, or fishing parties, till lunch +time, and then more drives, or anything else: everybody, in short, +doing what he likes till half past seven, which is the dinner hour. +After that we have coffee and tea in the evening. + +The first morning, the duke took me to see his mine of nickel silver. +We had a long and beautiful drive, and talked about everything in +literature, religion, morals, and the temperance movement, about which +last he is in some state of doubt and uncertainty, not inclining, I +think, to have it pressed yet, though feeling there is need of doing +something. + +If "Dred" has as good a sale in America as it is likely to have in +England, we shall do well. There is such a demand that they had to +placard the shop windows in Glasgow with,-- + + "To prevent disappointment, + 'Dred' + Not to be had till," etc. + + Everybody is after it, and the prospect is of an enormous sale. + +God, to whom I prayed night and day while I was writing the book, has +heard me, and given us of worldly goods _more_ than I asked. I +feel, therefore, a desire to "walk softly," and inquire, for what has +He so trusted us? + +Every day I am more charmed with the duke and duchess; they are +simple-hearted, frank, natural, full of feeling, of piety, and good +sense. They certainly are, apart from any considerations of rank or +position, most interesting and noble people. The duke laughed heartily +at many things I told him of our Andover theological tactics, of your +preaching, etc.; but I think he is a sincere, earnest Christian. + +Our American politics form the daily topic of interest. The late +movements in Congress are discussed: with great warmth, and every +morning the papers are watched for new details. + +I must stop now, as it is late and we are to leave here early to- +morrow morning. We are going to Staffa, lona, the Pass of Glencoe, and +finally through the Caledonian Canal up to Dunrobin Castle, where a +large party of all sorts of interesting people are gathered around the +Duchess of Sutherland. + +Affectionately yours, + +HARRIET. + +From Dunrobin Castle one of his daughters writes to Professor Stowe: +"We spent five most delightful days at Inverary, and were so sorry you +could not be there with us. From there we went to Oban, and spent +several days sight-seeing, finally reaching Inverness by way of the +Caledonian Canal. Here, to our surprise, we found our rooms at the +hotel all prepared for us. The next morning we left by post for +Dunrobin, which is fifty-nine miles from Inverness. At the borders of +the duke's estate we found a delightfully comfortable carriage +awaiting us, and before we had gone much farther the postilion +announced that the duchess was coming to meet us. Sure enough, as we +looked up the road we saw a fine cavalcade approaching. It consisted +of a splendid coach-and-four (in which sat the duchess) with liveried +postilions, and a number of outriders, one of whom rode in front to +clear the way. The duchess seemed perfectly delighted to see mamma, +and taking her into her own carriage dashed off towards the castle, we +following on behind." + +At Dunrobin Mrs. Stowe found awaiting her the following note from her +friend, Lady Byron:-- + +LONDON, _September_ 10, 1856. + +Your book, dear Mrs. Stowe, is of the "little leaven" kind, and must +prove a great moral force,--perhaps not manifestly so much as +secretly, and yet I can hardly conceive so much power without +immediate and sensible effects; only there will be a strong +disposition to resist on the part of all the hollow-hearted professors +of religion, whose heathenisms you so unsparingly expose. They have a +class feeling like others. To the young, and to those who do not +reflect much on what is offered to their belief, you will do great +good by showing how spiritual food is adulterated. The Bread from +Heaven is in the same case as baker's bread. I feel that one perusal +is not enough. It is a "mine," to use your own simile. If there is +truth in what I heard Lord Byron say, that works of fiction +_lived_ only by the amount of _truth_ which they contained, +your story is sure of long life. . . . + +I know now, more than before, how to value communion with you. + +With kind regards to your family, + +Yours affectionately, + +A. T. NOEL BYRON. + +From this pleasant abiding-place Mrs. Stowe writes to her husband:-- + +DUNROBIN CASTLE, _September_ 15, 1856. + +MY DEAR HUSBAND,--Everything here is like a fairy story. The place is +beautiful! It is the most perfect combination of architectural and +poetic romance, with home comfort. The people, too, are charming. We +have here Mr. Labouchere, a cabinet minister, and Lady Mary his wife,-- +I like him very much, and her, too,--Kingsley's brother, a very +entertaining man, and to-morrow Lord Ellsmere is expected. I wish you +could be here, for I am sure you would like it. Life is so quiet and +sincere and friendly, that you would feel more as if you had come at +the hearts of these people than in London. + +The Sutherland estate looks like a garden. We stopped at the town of +Frain, four miles before we reached Sutherlandshire, where a crowd of +well-to-do, nice-looking people gathered around the carriage, and as +we drove off gave three cheers. This was better than I expected, and +looks well for their opinion of my views. + +"Dred" is selling over here wonderfully. Low says, with all the means +at his command, he has not been able to meet the demand. He sold fifty +thousand in two weeks, and probably will sell as many more. + +I am showered with letters, private and printed, in which the only +difficulty is to know what the writers would be at. I see evidently +happiness and prosperity all through the line of this estate. I see +the duke giving his thought and time, and spending the whole income of +this estate in improvements upon it. I see the duke and duchess +evidently beloved wherever they move. I see them most amiable, most +Christian, most considerate to everybody. The writers of the letters +admit the goodness of the duke, but denounce the system, and beg me to +observe its effects for myself. I do observe that, compared with any +other part of the Highlands, Sutherland is a garden. I observe well- +clothed people, thriving lands, healthy children, fine school-houses, +and all that. + +Henry was invited to the tenants' dinner, where he excited much +amusement by pledging every toast in fair water, as he has done +invariably on all occasions since he has been here. + +The duchess, last night, showed me her copy of "Dred," in which she +has marked what most struck or pleased her. I begged it, and am going +to send it to you. She said to me this morning at breakfast, "The +Queen says that she began 'Dred' the very minute she got it, and is +deeply interested in it." + +She bought a copy of Lowell's poems, and begged me to mark the best +ones for her; so if you see him, tell him that we have been reading +him together. She is, taking her all in all, one of the noblest- +appointed women I ever saw; real old, genuine English, such as one +reads of in history; full of nobility, courage, tenderness, and zeal. +It does me good to hear her read prayers daily, as she does, in the +midst of her servants and guests, with a manner full of grand and +noble feeling. + +_Thursday Morning, September 25_. We were obliged to get up at +half past five the morning we left Dunrobin, an effort when one +doesn't go to bed till one o'clock. We found breakfast laid for us in +the library, and before we had quite finished the duchess came in. Our +starting off was quite an imposing sight. First came the duke's +landau, in which were Mary, the duke, and myself; then a carriage in +which were Eliza and Hatty, and finally the carriage which we had +hired, with Henry, our baggage, and Mr. Jackson (the duke's +secretary). The gardener sent a fresh bouquet for each of us, and +there was such a leave-taking, as if we were old and dear friends. We +did really love them, and had no doubt of their love for us. + +The duke rode with us as far as Dornach, where he showed us the +cathedral beneath which his ancestors are buried, and where is a +statue of his father, similar to one the tenants have erected on top +of the highest hill in the neighborhood. + +We also saw the prison, which had but two inmates, and the old castle. +Here the duke took leave of us, and taking our own carriage we crossed +the ferry and continued on our way. After a very bad night's rest at +Inverness, in consequence of the town's being so full of people +attending some Highland games that we could have no places at the +hotel, and after a weary ride in the rain, we came into Aberdeen +Friday night. + +To-morrow we go on to Edinburgh, where I hope to meet a letter from +you. The last I heard from Low, he had sold sixty thousand of "Dred," +and it was still selling well. I have not yet heard from America how +it goes. The critics scold, and whiffle, and dispute about it, but on +the whole it is a success, so the "Times" says, with much coughing, +hemming, and standing first on one foot and then on the other. If the +"Times" were sure we should beat in the next election, "Dred" would go +up in the scale; but as long as there is that uncertainty, it has +first one line of praise, and then one of blame. + +Henry Stowe returned to America in October to enter Dartmouth College, +while the rest of the party pursued their way southward, as will be +seen by the following letters:-- + +CITY OF YORK, _October_ 10, 1856. + +DEAR HUSBAND,--Henry will tell you all about our journey, and at +present I have but little time for details. I received your first +letter with great joy, relief, and gratitude, first to God for +restoring your health and strength, and then to you for so good, long, +and refreshing a letter. + +Henry, I hope, comes home with a serious determination to do well and +be a comfort. Seldom has a young man seen what he has in this journey, +or made more valuable friends. + +Since we left Aberdeen, from which place my last was mailed, we have +visited in Edinburgh with abounding delight; thence yesterday to +Newcastle. Last night attended service in Durham Cathedral, and after +that came to York, whence we send Henry to Liverpool. + +I send you letters, etc., by him. One hundred thousand copies of +"Dred." sold in four weeks! After that who cares what critics say? Its +success in England has been complete, so far as sale is concerned. It +is very bitterly attacked, both from a literary and a religious point +of view. The "Record" is down upon it with a cartload of solemnity; +the "Athenaeum" with waspish spite; the "Edinburgh" goes out of its +way to say that the author knows nothing of the society she describes; +but yet it goes everywhere, is read everywhere, and Mr. Low says that +he puts the hundred and twenty-fifth thousand to press confidently. +The fact that so many good judges like it better than "Uncle Tom" is +success enough. + +In my journal to Henry, which you may look for next week, you will +learn how I have been very near the Queen, and formed acquaintance +with divers of her lords and ladies, and heard all she has said about +"Dred;" how she prefers it to "Uncle Tom," how she inquired for you, +and other matters. + +Till then, I am, as ever, your affectionate wife, + +H. B. STOWE. + +After leaving York, Mrs. Stowe and her party spent a day or two at +Carlton Rectory, on the edge of Sherwood Forest, in which they enjoyed +a most delightful picnic. From there they were to travel to London by +way of Warwick and Oxford, and of this journey Mrs. Stowe writes as +follows to her son Henry:-- + +"The next morning we were induced to send our things to London, being +assured by Mr. G. that he would dispatch them immediately with some +things of his own that were going, and that they should certainly +await us upon our arrival. In one respect it was well for us that we +thus rid ourselves of the trouble of looking after them, for I never +saw such blind, confusing arrangements as these English railroads +have. + +"When we were set down at the place where we were to change for +Warwick, we were informed that probably the train had gone. At any +rate it could only be found on the other side of the station. You +might naturally think we had nothing to do but walk across to the +other side. No, indeed! We had to ascend a flight of stairs, go +through a sort of tubular bridge, and down another pair of stairs. +When we got there the guard said the train was just about to start, +and yet the ticket office was closed. We tried the door in vain. 'You +must hurry,' said the guard. 'How can we?' said I, 'when we can't get +tickets.' He went and thumped, and at last roused the dormant +intelligence inside. We got our tickets, ran for dear life, got in, +and then _waited ten minutes_! Arrived at Warwick we had a very +charming time, and after seeing all there was to see we took cars for +Oxford. + +"The next day we tried to see Oxford. You can have no idea of it. Call +it a college! it is a city, of colleges,--a mountain of museums, +colleges, halls, courts, parks, chapels, lecture-rooms. Out of twenty- +four colleges we saw only three. We saw enough, however, to show us +that to explore the colleges of Oxford would take a week. Then we came +away, and about eleven o'clock at night found ourselves in London. It +was dripping and raining here, for all the world, just as it did when +we left; but we found a cosy little parlor, papered with cheerful +crimson paper, lighted by a coal-fire, a neat little supper laid out, +and the Misses Low waiting for us. Wasn't it nice? + +"We are expecting our baggage to-night. Called at Sampson Low's store +to-day and found it full everywhere of red 'Dreds.'" + +Upon reaching London Mrs. Stowe found the following note from Lady +Byron awaiting her:-- + +OXFORD HOUSE, _October_ 15, 1856. + +DEAR MRS. STOWE,--The newspapers represent you as returning to London, +but I cannot wait for the chance, slender I fear, of seeing you there, +for I wish to consult you on a point admitting but of little delay. +Feeling that the sufferers in Kansas have a claim not only to +sympathy, but to the expression of it, I wish to send them a donation. +It is, however, necessary to know what is the best application of +money and what the safest channel. Presuming that you will approve the +object, I ask you to tell me. Perhaps you would undertake the +transmission of my Ł50. My present residence, two miles beyond +Richmond, is opposite. I have watched for instructions of your course +with warm interest. The sale of your book will go on increasing. It is +beginning to be understood. + +Believe me, with kind regards to your daughters, + +Your faithful and affectionate + +A. T. NOEL BYRON. + +To this note the following answer was promptly returned:-- + +GROVE TERRACE, KENTISH TOWN, _October_ 16,1856. + +DEAR LADY BYRON,--How glad I was to see your handwriting once more! +how more than glad I should be to see _you_! I do long to see +you. I have so much to say,--so much to ask, and need to be refreshed +with a sense of a congenial and sympathetic soul. + +Thank you, my dear friend, for your sympathy with our poor sufferers +in Kansas. May God bless you for it! By doing this you will step to my +side; perhaps you may share something of that abuse which they who +"know, not what they do" heap upon all who so feel for the right. I +assure you, dear friend, I am _not_ insensible to the fiery darts +which thus fly around me. . . . + +Direct as usual to my publishers, and believe me, as ever, with all my +heart, + +Affectionately yours, + +H. B. S. + +Having dispatched this note, Mrs. Stowe wrote to her husband +concerning their surroundings and plans as follows:-- + +"_Friday, 16th_. Confusion in the camp! no baggage come, nobody +knows why; running to stations, inquiries, messages, and no baggage. +Meanwhile we have not even a clean collar, nothing but very soiled +traveling dresses; while Lady Mary Labouchere writes that her carriage +will wait for us at Slough Station this afternoon, and we must be off +at two. What's to be done? Luckily I did not carry all my dresses to +Dunrobin; so I, of all the party, have a dress that can be worn. We go +out and buy collars and handkerchiefs, and two o'clock beholds us at +the station house. + +"_Stoke Park_. I arrived here alone, the baggage not having yet +been heard from. Mr. G., being found in London, confessed that he +delayed sending it by the proper train. In short, Mr. G. is what is +called an easy man, and one whose easiness makes everybody else un +easy. So because he was easy and thought it was no great matter, and +things would turn out well enough, without any great care, _we_ +have had all this discomfort. + +"I arrived alone at the Slough Station and found Lady Mary's carriage +waiting. Away we drove through a beautiful park full of deer, who were +so tame as to stand and look at us as we passed. The house is in the +Italian style, with a dome on top, and wide terraces with stone +balustrades around it. + +"Lady Mary met me at the door, and seemed quite concerned to learn of +our ill-fortune. We went through a splendid suite of rooms to a +drawing-room, where a little tea-table was standing. + +"After tea Lady Mary showed me my room. It had that delightful, +homelike air of repose and comfort they succeed so well in giving to +rooms here. There was a cheerful fire burning, an arm-chair drawn up +beside it, a sofa on the other side with a neatly arranged sofa-table +on which were writing materials. One of the little girls had put a pot +of pretty greenhouse moss in a silver basket on this table, and my +toilet cushion was made with a place in the centre to hold a little +vase of flowers. Here Lady Mary left me to rest before dressing for +dinner. I sat down in an easy-chair before the fire, and formed +hospitable resolutions as to how I would try to make rooms always look +homelike and pleasant to tired guests. Then came the maid to know if I +wanted hot water,--if I wanted anything,--and by and by it was time +for dinner. Going down into the parlor I met Mr. Labouchere and we all +went in to dinner. It was not quite as large a party as at Dunrobin, +but much in the same way. No company, but several ladies who were all +family connections. + +"The following morning Lord Dufferin and Lord Alfred Paget, two +gentlemen of the Queen's household, rode over from Windsor to lunch +with us. They brought news of the goings-on there. Do you remember one +night the Duchess of S. read us a letter from Lady Dufferin, +describing the exploits of her son, who went yachting with Prince +Napoleon up by Spitzbergen, and when Prince Napoleon and all the rest +gave up and went back, still persevered and discovered a new island? +Well, this was the same man. A thin, slender person, not at all the +man you would fancy as a Mr. Great Heart,--lively, cheery, and +conversational. + +"Lord Alfred is also very pleasant. + +"Lady Mary prevailed on Lord Dufferin to stay and drive with us after +lunch, and we went over to Clifden, the duchess's villa, of which we +saw the photograph at Dunrobin. For grace and beauty some of the rooms +in this place exceed any I have yet seen in England. + +"When we came back my first thought was whether Aunt Mary and the +girls had come. Just as we were all going up to dress for dinner they +appeared. Meanwhile, the Queen had sent over from Windsor for Lady +Mary and her husband to dine with her that evening, and such +invitations are understood as commands. + +"So, although they themselves had invited four or five people to +dinner, they had to go and leave us to entertain ourselves. Lady Mary +was dressed very prettily in a flounced white silk dress with a +pattern of roses woven round the bottom of each flounce, and looked +very elegant. Mr. Labouchere wore breeches, with knee and shoe buckles +sparkling with diamonds. + +"They got home soon after we had left the drawing-room, as the Queen +always retires at eleven. No late hours for her. + +"The next day Lady Mary told me that the Queen had talked to her all +about 'Dred,' and how she preferred it to 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' how +interested she was in Nina, how provoked when she died, and how she +was angry that something dreadful did not happen to Tom Gordon. She +inquired for papa, and the rest of the family, all of whom she seemed +to be well informed about. + +"The next morning we had Lord Dufferin again to breakfast. He is one +of the most entertaining young men I have seen in England, full of +real thought and noble feeling, and has a wide range of reading. He +had read all our American literature, and was very flattering in his +remarks on Hawthorne, Poe, and Longfellow. I find J. R. Lowell less +known, however, than he deserves to be. + +"Lord Dufferin says that his mother wrote him some verses on his +coming of age, and that he built a tower for them and inscribed them +on a brass plate. I recommend the example to you, Henry; make yourself +the tower and your memory the brass plate. + +"This morning came also, to call, Lady Augusta Bruce, Lord Elgin's +daughter, one of the Duchess of Kent's ladies-in-waiting; a very +excellent, sensible girl, who is a strong anti-slavery body. + +"After lunch we drove over to Eton, and went in to see the provost's +house. After this, as we were passing by Windsor the coachman suddenly +stopped and said, 'The Queen is coming, my lady.' We stood still and +the royal cortege passed. I only saw the Queen, who bowed graciously. + +"Lady Mary stayed at our car door till it left the station, and handed +in a beautiful bouquet as we parted. This is one of the loveliest +visits I have made." + +After filling a number of other pleasant engagements in England, among +which was a visit in the family of Charles Kingsley, Mrs. Stowe and +her party crossed the Channel and settled down for some months in +Paris for the express purpose of studying French. From the French +capital she writes to her husband in Andover as follows:-- + +PARIS, _November_ 7, 1856. + +MY DEAR HUSBAND,--On the 28th, when your last was written, I was at +Charles Kingsley's. It seemed odd enough to Mary and me to find +ourselves, long after dark, alone in a hack, driving towards the house +of a man whom we never had seen (nor his wife either). + +My heart fluttered as, after rumbling a long way through the dark, we +turned into a yard. We knocked at a door and were met in the hall by a +man who stammers a little in his speech, and whose inquiry, "Is this +Mrs. Stowe?" was our first positive introduction. Ushered into a +large, pleasant parlor lighted by a coal fire, which flickered on +comfortable chairs, lounges, pictures, statuettes, and book-cases, we +took a good view of him. He is tall, slender, with blue eyes, brown +hair, and a hale, well-browned face, and somewhat loose-jointed +withal. His wife is a real Spanish beauty. + +How we did talk and go on for three days! I guess he is tired. I'm +sure we were. He is a nervous, excitable being, and talks with head, +shoulders, arms, and hands, while his hesitance makes it the harder. +Of his theology I will say more some other time. He, also, has been +through the great distress, the "Conflict of Ages," but has come out +at a different end from Edward, and stands with John Foster, though +with more positiveness than he. + +He laughed a good deal at many stories I told him of father, and +seemed delighted to hear about him. But he is, what I did not expect, +a zealous Churchman; insists that the Church of England is the finest +and broadest platform a man can stand on, and that the thirty-nine +articles are the only ones he could subscribe to. I told him you +thought them the best summary (of doctrine) you knew, which pleased +him greatly. + +Well, I got your letter to-night in Paris, at No. 19 Rue de Clichy, +where you may as well direct your future letters. + +We reached Paris about eleven o'clock last night and took a carriage +for 17 Rue de Clichy, but when we got there, no ringing or pounding +could rouse anybody. Finally, in despair, we remembered a card that +had been handed into the cars by some hotel-runner, and finding it was +of an English and French hotel, we drove there, and secured very +comfortable accommodations. We did not get to bed until after two +o'clock. The next morning I sent a messenger to find Mme. Borione, and +discovered that we had mistaken the number, and should have gone to +No. 19, which was the next door; so we took a carriage and soon found +ourselves established here, where we have a nice parlor and two +bedrooms. + +There are twenty-one in the family, mostly Americans, like ourselves, +come to learn to speak French. One of them is a tall, handsome, young +English lady, Miss Durant, who is a sculptress, studying with Baron de +Triqueti. She took me to his studio, and he immediately remarked that +she ought to get me to sit. I said I would, "only my French lessons." +"Oh," said he, smiling, "we will give you French lessons while you +sit." So I go to-morrow morning. + +As usual, my horrid pictures do me a service, and people seem relieved +when they see me; think me even handsome "in a manner." Kingsley, in +his relief, expressed as much to his wife, and as beauty has never +been one of my strong points I am open to flattery upon it. + +We had a most agreeable call from Arthur Helps before we left London. +He, Kingsley, and all the good people are full of the deepest anxiety +for our American affairs. They really do feel very deeply, seeing the +peril so much plainer than we do in America. + +_Sunday night_. I fear I have delayed your letter too long. The +fact is, that of the ten days I have been here I have been laid up +three with severe neuralgia, viz., _toothache in the backbone_, +and since then have sat all day to be modeled for my bust. + +We spent the other evening with Baron de Triqueti, the sculptor. He +has an English wife, and a charming daughter about the age of our +girls. Life in Paris is altogether more simple and natural than in +England. They give you a plate of cake and a cup of tea in the most +informal, social way,--the tea-kettle sings at the fire, and the son +and daughter busy themselves gayly together making and handing tea. +When tea was over, M. de Triqueti showed us a manuscript copy of the +Gospels, written by his mother, to console herself in a season of +great ill-health, and which he had illustrated all along with +exquisite pen-drawings, resembling the most perfect line engravings. I +can't describe the beauty, grace, delicacy, and fullness of devotional +feeling in these people. He is one of the loveliest men I ever saw. + +We have already three evenings in the week in which we can visit and +meet friends if we choose, namely, at Madame Mohl's, Madame Lanziel's, +and Madame Belloc's. All these salôns are informal, social gatherings, +with no fuss of refreshments, no nonsense of any kind. Just the +cheeriest, heartiest, kindest little receptions you ever saw. + +A kiss to dear little Charley. If he could see all the things that I +see every day in the Tuileries and Champs Elysées, he would go wild. +All Paris is a general whirligig out of doors, but indoors people seem +steady, quiet, and sober as anybody. + +_November_ 30. This is Sunday evening, and a Sunday in Paris +always puts me in mind of your story about somebody who said, "Bless +you! they make such a noise that the Devil couldn't meditate." All the +extra work and odd jobs of life are put into Sunday. Your washerwoman +comes Sunday, with her innocent, good-humored face, and would be +infinitely at a loss to know why she shouldn't. Your bonnet, cloak, +shoes, and everything are sent home Sunday morning, and all the way to +church there is such whirligiging and pirouetting along the boulevards +as almost takes one's breath away. Today we went to the Oratoire to +hear M. Grand Pierre. I could not understand much; my French ear is +not quick enough to follow. I could only perceive that the subject was +"La Charité," and that the speaker was fluent, graceful, and earnest, +the audience serious and attentive. + +Last night we were at Baron de Triqueti's again, with a party invited +to celebrate the birthday of their eldest daughter, Blanche, a lovely +girl of nineteen. There were some good ladies there who had come +eighty leagues to meet me, and who were so delighted with my miserable +French that it was quite encouraging. I believe I am getting over the +sandbar at last, and conversation is beginning to come easy to me. + +There were three French gentlemen who had just been reading "Dred" in +English, and who were as excited and full of it as could be, and I +talked with them to a degree that astonished myself. There is a review +of "Dred" in the "Revue des Deux Mondes" which has long extracts from +the book, and is written in a very appreciative and favorable spirit. +Generally speaking, French critics seem to have a finer appreciation +of my subtle shades of meaning than English. I am curious to hear what +Professor Park has to say about it. There has been another review in +"La Presse" equally favorable. All seem to see the truth about +American slavery much plainer than people can who are in it. If +American ministers and Christians could see through their sophistical +spider-webs, with what wonder, pity, and contempt they would regard +their own vacillating condition! + +We visit once a week at Madame Mohl's, where we meet all sorts of +agreeable people. Lady Elgin doesn't go into society now, having been +struck with paralysis, but sits at home and receives her friends as +usual. This notion of sitting always in the open air is one of her +peculiarities. + +I must say, life in Paris is arranged more sensibly than with us. +Visiting involves no trouble in the feeding line. People don't go to +eat. A cup of tea and plate of biscuit is all,--just enough to break +up the stiffness. + +It is wonderful that the people here do not seem to have got over +"Uncle Tom" a bit. The impression seems fresh as if just published. +How often have they said, That book has revived the Gospel among the +poor of France; it has done more than all the books we have published +put together. It has gone among the _les ouvriers_, among the +poor of Faubourg St. Antoine, and nobody knows how many have been led +to Christ by it. Is not this blessed, my dear husband? Is it not worth +all the suffering of writing it? + +I went the other evening to M. Grand Pierre's, where there were three +rooms full of people, all as eager and loving as ever we met in +England or Scotland. Oh, if Christians in Boston could only see the +earnestness of feeling with which Christians here regard slavery, and +their surprise and horror at the lukewarmness, to say the least, of +our American church! About eleven o'clock we all joined in singing a +hymn, then M. Grand Pierre made an address, in which I was named in +the most affectionate and cordial manner. Then followed a beautiful +prayer for our country, for America, on which hang so many of the +hopes of Protestantism. One and all then came up, and there was great +shaking of hands and much effusion. + +Under date of December 28, Mrs. Perkins writes: "On Sunday we went +with Mr. and Mrs. (Jacob) Abbott to the Hôtel des Invalides, and I +think I was never more interested and affected. Three or four thousand +old and disabled soldiers have here a beautiful and comfortable home. +We went to the morning service. The church is very large, and the +colors taken in battle are hung on the walls. Some of them are so old +as to be moth-eaten. The service is performed, as near as possible, in +imitation of the service before a battle. The drum beats the call to +assemble, and the common soldiers march up and station themselves in +the centre of the church, under the commander. All the services are +regulated by the beat of the drum. Only one priest officiates, and +soldiers are stationed around to protect him. The music is from a +brass band, and is very magnificent. + +"In the afternoon I went to vespers in the Madeleine, where the music +was exquisite. They have two fine organs at opposite ends of the +church. The 'Adeste Fidelis' was sung by a single voice, accompanied +by the organ, and after every verse it was taken up by male voices and +the other organ and repeated. The effect was wonderfully fine. I have +always found in our small churches at home that the organ was too +powerful and pained my head, but in these large cathedrals the effect +is different. The volume of sound rolls over, full but soft, and I +feel as though it must come from another sphere. + +"In the evening Mr. and Mrs. Bunsen called. He is a son of Chevalier +Bunsen, and she a niece of Elizabeth Fry,--very intelligent and +agreeable people." + +Under date of January 25, Mrs. Stowe writes from Paris:--"Here is a +story for Charley. The boys in the Faubourg St. Antoine are the +children of _ouvriers_, and every day their mothers give them two +sous to buy a dinner. When they heard I was coming to the school, of +their own accord they subscribed half their dinner money to give to me +for the poor slaves. This five-franc piece I have now; I have bought +it of the cause for five dollars, and am going to make a hole in it +and hang it round Charley's neck as a medal. + +"I have just completed arrangements for leaving the girls at a +Protestant boarding-school while I go to Rome. + +"We expect to start the 1st of February, and my direction will be, E. +Bartholimeu, 108 Via Margaretta." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +OLD SCENES REVISITED, 1856. + + +EN ROUTE TO ROME.--TRIALS OF TRAVEL.--A MIDNIGHT ARRIVAL AND AN +INHOSPITABLE RECEPTION.--GLORIES OP THE ETERNAL CITY.--NAPLES AND +VESUVIUS.--VENICE.--HOLY WEEK IN ROME.--RETURN TO ENGLAND.--LETTER +FROM HARRIET MARTINEAU ON "DRED."--A WORD FROM MR. PRESCOTT ON +"DRED."--FAREWELL TO LADY BYRON. + +After leaving Paris Mrs. Stowe and her sister, Mrs. Perkins, traveled +leisurely through the South of France toward Italy, stopping at +Amiens, Lyons, and Marseilles. At this place they took steamer for +Genoa, Leghorn, and Civita Vecchia. During their last night on +shipboard they met with an accident, of which, and their subsequent +trials in reaching Rome, Mrs. Stowe writes as follows:-- + +About eleven o'clock, as I had just tranquilly laid down in my berth, +I was roused by a grating crash, accompanied by a shock that shook the +whole ship, and followed by the sound of a general rush on deck, +trampling, scuffling, and cries. I rushed to the door and saw all the +gentlemen hurrying on their clothes and getting confusedly towards the +stairway. I went back to Mary, and we put on our things in silence, +and, as soon as we could, got into the upper saloon. It was an hour +before we could learn anything certainly, except that we had run into +another vessel. The fate of the Arctic came to us both, but we did not +mention it to each other; indeed, a quieter, more silent company you +would not often see. Had I had any confidence in the administration of +the boat, it would have been better, but as I had not, I sat in +momentary uncertainty. Had we then known, as we have since, the fate +of a boat recently sunk in the Mediterranean by a similar +carelessness, it would have increased our fears. By a singular chance +an officer, whose wife and children were lost on board that boat, was +on board ours, and happened to be on the forward part of the boat when +the accident occurred. The captain and mate were both below; there was +nobody looking out, and had not this officer himself called out to +stop the boat, we should have struck her with such force as to have +sunk us. As it was, we turned aside and the shock came on a paddle- +wheel, which was broken by it, for when, after two hours' delay, we +tried to start and had gone a little way, there was another crash and +the paddle-wheel fell down. You may be sure we did little sleeping +that night. It was an inexpressible desolation to think that we might +never again see those we loved. No one knows how much one thinks, and +how rapidly, in such hours. + +In the Naples boat that was sunk a short time ago, the women perished +in a dreadful way. The shock threw the chimney directly across the +egress from below, so that they could not get on deck, and they were +all drowned in the cabin. + +We went limping along with one broken limb till the next day about +eleven, when we reached Civita Vecchia, where there were two hours +more of delay about passports. Then we, that is, Mary and I, and a Dr. +Edison from Philadelphia, with his son Alfred, took a carriage to +Rome, but they gave us a miserable thing that looked as if it had been +made soon after the deluge. About eight o'clock at night, on a lonely +stretch of road, the wheel came off. We got out, and our postilions +stood silently regarding matters. None of us could speak Italian, they +could not speak French; but the driver at last conveyed the idea that +for five francs he could get a man to come and mend the wheel. The +five francs were promised, and he untackled a horse and rode off. Mary +and I walked up and down the dark, desolate road, occasionally +reminding each other that we were on classic ground, and laughing at +the oddity of our lonely, starlight promenade. After a while our +driver came back, Tag, Rag, and Bobtail at his heels. I don't think I +can do greater justice to Italian costumes than by this respectable +form of words. + +Then there was another consultation. They put a bit of rotten timber +under to pry the carriage up. Fortunately, it did not break, as we all +expected it would, till after the wheel was on. Then a new train of +thought was suggested. How was it to be kept on? Evidently they had +not thought far in that direction, for they had brought neither hammer +nor nail, nor tool of any kind, and therefore they looked first at the +wheel, then at each other, and then at us. The doctor now produced a +little gimlet, with the help of which the broken fragments of the +former linchpin were pushed out, and the way was cleared for a new +one. Then they began knocking a fence to pieces to get out nails, but +none could be found to fit. At last another ambassador was sent back +for nails. While we were thus waiting, the diligence, in which many of +our ship's company were jogging on to Rome, came up. They had plenty +of room inside, and one of the party, seeing our distress, tried hard +to make the driver stop, but he doggedly persisted in going on, and +declared if anybody got down to help us he would leave him behind. + +An interesting little episode here occurred. It was raining, and Mary +and I proposed, as the wheel was now on, to take our seats. We had no +sooner done so than the horses were taken with a sudden fit of +animation and ran off with us in the most vivacious manner, Tag, Rag, +and Co. shouting in the rear. Some heaps of stone a little in advance +presented an interesting prospect by way of a terminus. However, the +horses were luckily captured before the wheel was off again; and our +ambassador being now returned, we were set right and again proceeded. + +I must not forget to remark that at every post where we changed horses +and drivers, we had a pitched battle with the driver for more money +than we had been told was the regular rate, and the carriage was +surrounded with a perfect mob of ragged, shock-headed, black-eyed +people, whose words all ended in "ino," and who raved and ranted at us +till finally we paid much more than we ought, to get rid of them. + +At the gates of Rome the official, after looking at our passports, +coolly told the doctor that if he had a mind to pay him five francs he +could go in without further disturbance, but if not he would keep the +baggage till morning. This form of statement had the recommendation of +such precision and neatness of expression that we paid him forthwith, +and into Rome we dashed at two o'clock in the morning of the 9th of +February, 1857, in a drizzling rain. + +We drove to the Hotel d'Angleterre,--it was full,--and ditto to four +or five others, and in the last effort our refractory wheel came off +again, and we all got out into the street. About a dozen lean, ragged +"corbies," who are called porters and who are always lying in wait for +travelers, pounced upon us. They took down our baggage in a twinkling, +and putting it all into the street surrounded it, and chattered over +it, while M. and I stood in the rain and received first lessons in +Italian. How we did try to say something! but they couldn't talk +anything but in "ino" as aforesaid. The doctor finally found a man who +could speak a word or two of French, and leaving Mary, Alfred, and me +to keep watch over our pile of trunks, he went off with him to apply +for lodgings. I have heard many flowery accounts of first impressions +of Rome. I must say ours was somewhat sombre. + +A young man came by and addressed us in English. How cheering! We +almost flew upon him. We begged him, at least, to lend us his Italian +to call another carriage, and he did so. A carriage which was passing +was luckily secured, and Mary and I, with all our store of boxes and +little parcels, were placed in it out of the rain, at least. Here we +sat while the doctor from time to time returned from his wanderings to +tell us he could find no place. "Can it be," said I, "that we are to +be obliged to spend a night in the streets?" What made it seem more +odd was the knowledge that, could we only find them, we had friends +enough in Rome who would be glad to entertain us. We began to +speculate on lodgings. Who knows what we may get entrapped into? +Alfred suggested stories he had read of beds placed on trap-doors,--of +testers which screwed down on people and smothered them; and so, when +at last the doctor announced lodgings found, we followed in rather an +uncertain frame of mind. + +We alighted at a dirty stone passage, smelling of cats and onions, +damp, cold, and earthy, we went up stone stairways, and at last were +ushered into two very decent chambers, where we might lay our heads. +The "corbies" all followed us,--black-haired, black-browed, ragged, +and clamorous as ever. They insisted that we should pay the pretty +little sum of twenty francs, or four dollars, for bringing our trunks +about twenty steps. The doctor modestly but firmly declined to be thus +imposed upon, and then ensued a general "chatteration;" one and all +fell into attitudes, and the "inos" and "issimos" rolled freely. "For +pity's sake get them off," we said; so we made a truce for ten francs, +but still they clamored, forced their way even into our bedroom, and +were only repulsed by a loud and combined volley of "No, no, noes!" +which we all set up at once, upon which they retreated. + +Our hostess was a little French woman, and that reassured us. I +examined the room, and seeing no trace of treacherous testers, or +trap-doors, resolved to avail myself without fear of the invitation of +a very clean, white bed, where I slept till morning without dreaming. + +The next day we sent our cards to M. Bartholimeu, and before we had +finished breakfast he was on the spot. We then learned that he had +been watching the diligence office for over a week, and that he had +the pleasant set of apartments we are now occupying all ready and +waiting for us. + +_March 1._ + +MY DEAR HUSBAND,--Every day is opening to me a new world of wonders +here in Italy. I have been in the Catacombs, where I was shown many +memorials of the primitive Christians, and to-day we are going to the +Vatican. The weather is sunny and beautiful beyond measure, and +flowers are springing in the fields on every side. Oh, my dear, how I +do long to have you here to enjoy what you are so much better fitted +to appreciate than I,--this wonderful combination of the past and the +present, of what has been and what is! + +Think of strolling leisurely through the Forum, of seeing the very +stones that were laid in the time of the Republic, of rambling over +the ruined Palace of the Cćsars, of walking under the Arch of Titus, +of seeing the Dying Gladiator, and whole ranges of rooms filled with +wonders of art, all in one morning! All this I did on Saturday, and +only wanted you. You know so much more and could appreciate so much +better. At the Palace of the Cćesars, where the very dust is a +_mélange_ of exquisite marbles, I saw for the first time an +acanthus growing, and picked my first leaf. + +Our little _ménage_ moves on prosperously; the doctor takes +excellent care of us and we of him. One sees everybody here at Rome, +John Bright, Mrs. Hemans' son, Mrs. Gaskell, etc., etc. Over five +thousand English travelers are said to be here. Jacob Abbot and wife +are coming. Rome is a world! Rome is an astonishment! Papal Rome is an +enchantress! Old as she is, she is like Nińon d'Enelos,--the young +fall in love with her. + +You will hear next from us at Naples. + +Affectionately yours, + +H. B. S. + +From Rome the travelers went to Naples, and after visiting Pompeii and +Herculaneum made the ascent of Vesuvius, a graphic account of which is +contained in a letter written at this time by Mrs. Stowe to her +daughters in Paris. After describing the preparations and start, she +says:-- + +"Gradually the ascent became steeper and steeper, till at length it +was all our horses could do to pull us up. The treatment of horses in +Naples is a thing that takes away much from the pleasure and comfort +of such travelers as have the least feeling for animals. The people +seem absolutely to have no consideration for them. You often see +vehicles drawn by one horse carrying fourteen or fifteen great, stout +men and women. This is the worse as the streets are paved with flat +stones which are exceedingly slippery. On going up hill the drivers +invariably race their horses, urging them on with a constant storm of +blows. + +"As the ascent of the mountain became steeper, the horses panted and +trembled in a way that made us feel that we could not sit in the +carriage, yet the guide and driver never made the slightest motion to +leave the box. At last three of us got out and walked, and invited our +guide to do the same, yet with all this relief the last part of the +ascent was terrible, and the rascally fellows actually forced the +horses to it by beating them with long poles on the back of their +legs. No Englishman or American would ever allow a horse to be treated +so. + +"The Hermitage is a small cabin, where one can buy a little wine or +any other refreshment one may need. There is a species of wine made of +the grapes of Vesuvius, called 'Lachryma Christi,' that has a great +reputation. Here was a miscellaneous collection of beggars, ragged +boys, men playing guitars, bawling donkey drivers, and people wanting +to sell sticks or minerals, the former to assist in the ascent, and +the latter as specimens of the place. In the midst of the commotion we +were placed on our donkeys, and the serious, pensive brutes moved +away. At last we reached the top of the mountain, and I gladly sprang +on firm land. The whole top of the mountain was covered with wavering +wreaths of smoke, from the shadows of which emerged two English +gentlemen, who congratulated us on our safe arrival, and assured us +that we were fortunate in our day, as the mountain was very active. We +could hear a hollow, roaring sound, like the burning of a great +furnace, but saw nothing. 'Is this all?' I said. 'Oh, no. Wait till +the guide comes up with the rest of the party,' and soon one after +another came up, and we then followed the guide up a cloudy, rocky +path, the noise of the fire constantly becoming nearer. Finally we +stood on the verge of a vast, circular pit about forty feet deep, the +floor of which is of black, ropy waves of congealed lava. + +"The sides are sulphur cliffs, stained in every brilliant shade, from +lightest yellow to deepest orange and brown. In the midst of the lava +floor rises a black cone, the chimney of the great furnace. This was +burning and flaming like the furnace of a glass-house, and every few +moments throwing up showers of cinders and melted lava which fell with +a rattling sound on the black floor of the pit. One small bit of the +lava came over and fell at our feet, and a gentleman lighted his cigar +at it. + +"All around where we stood the smoke was issuing from every chance +rent and fissure of the rock, and the Neapolitans who crowded round us +were every moment soliciting us to let them cook us an egg in one of +these rifts, and, overcome by persuasion, I did so, and found it very +nicely boiled, or rather steamed, though the shell tasted of Glauber's +salt and sulphur. + +"The whole place recalled to my mind so vividly Milton's description +of the infernal regions, that I could not but believe that he had +drawn the imagery from this source. Milton, as we all know, was some +time in Italy, and, although I do not recollect any account of his +visiting Vesuvius, I cannot think how he should have shaped his +language so coincidently to the phenomena if he had not. + +"On the way down the mountain our ladies astonished the natives by +making an express stipulation that our donkeys were not to be beaten,-- +why, they could not conjecture. The idea of any feeling of compassion +for an animal is so foreign to a Neapolitan's thoughts that they +supposed it must be some want of courage on our part. When, once in a +while, the old habit so prevailed that the boy felt that he must +strike the donkey, and when I forbade him, he would say, 'Courage, +signora, courage.' + +"Time would fail me to tell the whole of our adventures in Southern +Italy. We left it with regret, and I will tell you some time by word +of mouth what else we saw. + +"We went by water from Naples to Leghorn, and were gloriously seasick, +all of us. From Leghorn we went to Florence, where we abode two weeks +nearly. Two days ago we left Florence and started for Venice, stopping +one day and two nights _en route_ at Bologna, Here we saw the +great university, now used as a library, the walls of which are +literally covered with the emblazoned names and coats of arms of +distinguished men who were educated there. + +"_Venice_. The great trouble of traveling in Europe, or indeed of +traveling anywhere, is that you can never _catch_ romance. No +sooner are you in any place than being there seems the most natural, +matter-of-fact occurrence in the world. Nothing looks foreign or +strange to you. You take your tea and your dinner, eat, drink, and +sleep as aforetime, and scarcely realize where you are or what you are +seeing. But Venice is an exception to this state of things; it is all +romance from beginning to end, and never ceases to seem strange and +picturesque. + +"It was a rainy evening when our cars rumbled over the long railroad +bridge across the lagoon that leads to the station. Nothing but flat, +dreary swamps, and then the wide expanse of sea on either side. The +cars stopped, and the train, being a long one, left us a little out of +the station. We got out in a driving rain, in company with flocks of +Austrian soldiers, with whom the third-class cars were filled. We went +through a long passage, and emerged into a room where all nations +seemed commingling; Italians, Germans, French, Austrians, Orientals, +all in wet weather trim. + +"Soon, however, the news was brought that our baggage was looked out +and our gondolas ready. + +"The first plunge under the low, black hood of a gondola, especially +of a rainy night, has something funereal in it. Four of us sat +cowering together, and looked, out of the rain-dropped little windows +at the sides, at the scene. Gondolas of all sizes were gliding up and +down, with their sharp, fishy-looking prows of steel pushing their +ways silently among each other, while gondoliers shouted and jabbered, +and made as much confusion in their way as terrestrial hackmen on dry +land. Soon, however, trunks and carpet-bags being adjusted, we pushed +off, and went gliding away up the Grand Canal, with a motion so calm +that we could scarce discern it except by the moving of objects on +shore. Venice, _la belle_, appeared to as much disadvantage as a +beautiful woman bedraggled in a thunder-storm." + +"_Lake Como_. We stayed in Venice five days, and during that time +saw all the sights that it could enter the head of a _valet-de- +place_ to afflict us with. It is an affliction, however, for which +there is no remedy, because you want to see the things, and would be +very sorry if you went home without having done so. From Venice we +went to Milan to see the cathedral and Leonardo da Vinci's 'Last +Supper.' The former is superb, and of the latter I am convinced, from +the little that remains of it, that it _was_ the greatest picture +the world ever saw. We shall run back to Rome for Holy Week, and then +to Paris. + +"_Rome_. From Lake Como we came back here for Holy Week, and now +it is over. + +"'What do you think of it?' + +"Certainly no thoughtful or sensitive person, no person impressible +either through the senses or the religious feelings, can fail to feel +it deeply. + +"In the first place, the mere fact of the different nations of the +earth moving, so many of them, with one accord, to so old and +venerable a city, to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, is +something in itself affecting. Whatever dispute there may be about the +other commemorative feasts of Christendom, the time of this epoch is +fixed unerringly by the Jews' Passover. That great and solemn feast, +therefore, stands as an historical monument to mark the date of the +most important and thrilling events which this world ever witnessed. + +"When one sees the city filling with strangers, pilgrims arriving on +foot, the very shops decorating themselves in expectancy, every church +arranging its services, the prices even of temporal matters raised by +the crowd and its demands, he naturally thinks, Wherefore, why is all +this? and he must be very careless indeed if it do not bring to mind, +in a more real way than before, that at this very time, so many years +ago, Christ and his apostles were living actors in the scenes thus +celebrated to-day." + +As the spring was now well advanced, it was deemed advisable to bring +this pleasant journey to a close, and for Mrs. Stowe at least it was +imperative that she return to America. Therefore, leaving Rome with +many regrets and lingering, backward glances, the two sisters hurried +to Paris, where they found their brother-in-law, Mr. John Hooker, +awaiting them. Under date of May 3 Mrs. Stowe writes from Paris to her +husband: "Here I am once more, safe in Paris after a fatiguing +journey. I found the girls well, and greatly improved in their +studies. As to bringing them home with me now, I have come to the +conclusion that it would not be expedient. A few months more of study +here will do them a world of good. I have, therefore, arranged that +they shall come in November in the Arago, with a party of friends who +are going at that time. + +"John Hooker is here, so Mary is going with him and some others for a +few weeks into Switzerland. I have some business affairs to settle in +England, and shall sail from Liverpool in the Europa on the sixth of +June. I am _so_ homesick to-day, and long with a great longing to +be with you once more. I am impatient to go, and yet dread the voyage. +Still, to reach you I must commit myself once more to the ocean, of +which at times I have a nervous horror, as to the arms of my Father. +'The sea is his, and He made it.' It is a rude, noisy old servant, but +it is always obedient to his will, and cannot carry me beyond his +power and love, wherever or to whatever it bears me." + +Having established her daughters in a Protestant boarding-school in +Paris, Mrs. Stowe proceeded to London. While there she received the +following letter from Harriet Martineau:-- + +AMBLESIDE, _June_ 1. + +DEAR MRS. STOWE,--I have been at my wits' end to learn how to reach +you, as your note bore no direction but "London." Arnolds, Croppers, +and others could give no light, and the newspapers tell only where you +_had_ been. So I commit this to your publishers, trusting that it +will find you somewhere, and in time, perhaps, bring you here. +_Can't_ you come? You are aware that we shall never meet if you +don't come soon. I see no strangers at all, but I hope to have breath +and strength enough for a little talk with you, if you could come. You +could have perfect freedom at the times when I am laid up, and we +could seize my "capability seasons" for our talk. + +The weather and scenery are usually splendid just now. Did I see you +(in white frock and black silk apron) when I was in Ohio in 1835? Your +sister I knew well, and I have a clear recollection of your father. I +believe and hope you were the young lady in the black silk apron. + +Do you know I rather dreaded reading your book! Sick people _are_ +weak: and one of my chief weaknesses is dislike of novels,--(except +some old ones which I almost know by heart). I knew that with you I +should be safe from the cobweb-spinning of our modern subjective +novelists and the jaunty vulgarity of our "funny philosophers"--the +Dickens sort, who have tired us out. But I dreaded the alternative,-- +the too strong interest. But oh! the delight I have had in "Dred!" The +genius carries all before it, and drowns everything in glorious +pleasure. So marked a work of genius claims exemption from every sort +of comparison; but, _as you ask for my opinion of the book_, you +may like to know that I think it far superior to "Uncle Tom." I have +no doubt that a multitude of people will say it is a falling off, +because they made up their minds that any new book of yours must be +inferior to that, and because it is so rare a thing for a prodigious +fame to be sustained by a second book; but, in my own mind I am +entirely convinced that the second book is by far the best. Such +faults as you have are in the artistic department, and there is less +defect in "Dred" than in "Uncle Tom," and the whole material and +treatment seem to me richer and more substantial. I have had critiques +of "Dred" from the two very wisest people I know--perfectly unlike +each other (the critics, I mean), and they delight me by thinking +exactly like each other and like me. They distinctly prefer it to +"Uncle Tom." To say the plain truth, it seems to me so splendid a work +of genius that nothing that I can say can give you an idea of the +intensity of admiration with which I read it. It seemed to me, as I +told my nieces, that our English fiction writers had better shut up +altogether and have done with it, for one will have no patience with +any but didactic writing after yours. My nieces (and you may have +heard that Maria, my nurse, is very, very clever) are thoroughly +possessed with the book, and Maria says she feels as if a fresh +department of human life had been opened to her since this day week. I +feel the freshness no less, while, from my travels, I can be even more +assured of the truthfulness of your wonderful representation. I see no +limit to the good it may do by suddenly splitting open Southern life, +for everybody to look into. It is precisely the thing that is most +wanted,--just as "Uncle Tom" was wanted, three years since, to show +what negro slavery in your republic was like. It is plantation-life, +particularly in the present case, that I mean. As for your exposure of +the weakness and helplessness to the churches, I deeply honor you for +the courage with which you have made the exposure; but I don't suppose +that any amendment is to be looked for in that direction. You have +unburdened your own soul in that matter, and if they had been +corrigible, you would have helped a good many more. But I don't expect +that result. The Southern railing at you will be something unequaled, +I suppose. I hear that three of us have the honor of being abused from +day to day already, as most portentous and shocking women, you, Mrs. +Chapman, and myself as (the traveler of twenty years ago). Not only +newspapers, but pamphlets of such denunciation are circulated, I'm +told. I'm afraid now I, and even Mrs. Chapman, must lose our fame, and +all the railing will be engrossed by you. My little function is to +keep English people tolerably right, by means of a London daily paper, +while the danger of misinformation and misreading from the "Times" +continues. I can't conceive how such a paper as the "Times" can fail +to be _better informed_ than it is. At times it seems as if its +New York correspondent was making game of it. The able and excellent +editor of the "Daily News" gives me complete liberty on American +subjects, and Mrs. Chapman's and other friends' constant supply of +information enables me to use this liberty for making the cause better +understood. I hope I shall hear that you are coming. It is like a +great impertinence--my having written so freely about your book: but +you asked my opinion,--that is all I can say. Thank you much for +sending the book to me. If you come you will write our names in it, +and this will make it a valuable legacy to a nephew or niece. + +Believe me gratefully and affectionately yours, + +HARRIET MARTINEAU. + +In London Mrs. Stowe also received the following letter from Prescott, +the historian, which after long wandering had finally rested quietly +at her English publishers awaiting her coming. + +PEPPERELL, _October_ 4, 1856. + +MY DEAR MRS. STOWE,--I am much obliged to you for the copy of "Dred" +which Mr. Phillips put into my hands. It has furnished us our +evening's amusement since we have been in the country, where we spend +the brilliant month of October. + +The African race are much indebted to you for showing up the good +sides of their characters, their cheerfulness, and especially their +powers of humor, which are admirably set off by their peculiar +_patois_, in the same manner as the expression of the Scottish +sentiment is by the peculiar Scottish dialect. People differ; but I +was most struck among your characters with Uncle Tiff and Nina. The +former a variation of good old Uncle Tom, though conceived in a +merrier vein than belonged to that sedate personage; the difference of +their tempers in this respect being well suited to the difference of +the circumstances in which they were placed. But Nina, to my mind, is +the true _hero_ of the book, which I should have named after her +instead of "Dred." She is indeed a charming conception, full of what +is called character, and what is masculine in her nature is toned down +by such a delightful sweetness and kindness of disposition as makes +her perfectly fascinating. I cannot forgive you for smothering her so +prematurely. No _dramatis personć_ could afford the loss of such +a character. But I will not bore you with criticism, of which you have +had quite enough. I must thank you, however, for giving Tom Gordon a +guttapercha cane to perform his flagellations with. + +I congratulate you on the brilliant success of the work, unexampled +even in this age of authorship; and, as Mr. Phillips informs me, +greater even in the old country than in ours. I am glad you are likely +to settle the question and show that a Yankee writer can get a +copyright in England--little thanks to our own government, which +compels him to go there in order to get it. + +With sincere regard, believe me, dear Mrs. Stowe, + +Very truly yours, + +WM. H. PRESCOTT. + +From Liverpool, on the eve of her departure for America, Mrs. Stowe +wrote to her daughters in Paris:-- + +I spent the day before leaving London with Lady Byron. She is lovelier +than ever, and inquired kindly about you both. I left London to go to +Manchester, and reaching there found the Rev. Mr. Gaskell waiting to +welcome me in the station. Mrs. Gaskell seems lovely at home, where +besides being a writer she proves herself to be a first-class +housekeeper, and performs all the duties of a minister's wife. After +spending a delightful day with her I came here to the beautiful +"Dingle," which is more enchanting than ever. I am staying with Mrs. +Edward Cropper, Lord Denman's daughter. + +I want you to tell Aunt Mary that Mr. Ruskin lives with his father at +a place called Denmark Hill, Camberwell. He has told me that the +gallery of Turner pictures there is open to me or my friends at any +time of the day or night. Both young and old Mr. Ruskin are fine +fellows, sociable and hearty, and will cordially welcome any of my +friends who desire to look at their pictures. + +I write in haste, as I must be aboard the ship tomorrow at eight +o'clock. So good-by, my dear girls, from your ever affectionate +mother. + +Her last letter written before sailing was to Lady Byron, and serves +to show how warm an intimacy had sprung up between them. It was as +follows:-- + +_June_ 5, 1857. + +DEAR FRIEND,--I left you with a strange sort of yearning, throbbing +feeling--you make me feel quite as I did years ago, a sort of +girlishness quite odd for me. I have felt a strange longing to send +you something. Don't smile when you see what it turns out to be. I +have a weakness for your pretty Parian things; it is one of my own +home peculiarities to have strong passions for pretty tea-cups and +other little matters for my own quiet meals, when, as often happens, I +am too unwell to join the family. So I send you a cup made of +primroses, a funny little pitcher, quite large enough for cream, and a +little vase for violets and primroses--which will be lovely together-- +and when you use it think of me and that I love you more than I can +say. + +I often think how strange it is that I should _know_ you--you who +were a sort of legend of my early days--that I should love you is only +a natural result. You seem to me to stand on the confines of that land +where the poor formalities which separate hearts here pass like mist +before the sun, and therefore it is that I feel the language of love +must not startle you as strange or unfamiliar. You are so nearly there +in spirit that I fear with every adieu that it may be the last; yet +did you pass within the veil I should not feel you lost. + +I have got past the time when I feel that my heavenly friends are +_lost_ by going there. I feel them _nearer_, rather than +farther off. + +So good-by, dear, dear friend, and if you see morning in our Father's +house before I do, carry my love to those that wait for me, and if I +pass first, you will find me there, and we shall love each other +_forever_. + +Ever yours, + +H. B. STOWE. + +The homeward voyage proved a prosperous one, and it was followed by a +joyous welcome to the "Cabin" in Andover. The world seemed very +bright, and amid all her happiness came no intimation of the terrible +blow about to descend upon the head of the devoted mother. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE MINISTER'S WOOING, 1857-1859. + + +DEATH OF MRS. STOWE'S OLDEST SON.--LETTER TO THE DUCHESS OF +SUTHERLAND.--LETTER TO HER DAUGHTERS IN PARIS.--LETTER TO HER SISTER +CATHERINE.--VISIT TO BRUNSWICK AND ORR'S ISLAND.--WRITES "THE +MINISTER'S WOOING" AND "THE PEARL OF ORR'S ISLAND."--MR. WHITTIER'S +COMMENTS.--MR. LOWELL ON THE "MINISTER'S WOOING."--LETTER TO MRS. +STOWE FROM MR. LOWELL.--JOHN RUSKIN ON THE "MINISTER'S WOOING."--A +YEAR OF SADNESS.--LETTER TO LADY BYRON.--LETTER TO HER DAUGHTER.-- +DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE. + +Immediately after Mrs. Stowe's return from England in June, 1857, a +crushing sorrow came upon her in the death of her oldest son, Henry +Ellis, who was drowned while bathing in the Connecticut River at +Hanover, N. H., where he was pursuing his studies as a member of the +Freshman class in Dartmouth College. This melancholy event transpired +the 9th of July, 1857, and the 3d of August Mrs. Stowe wrote to the +Duchess of Sutherland:-- + +DEAR FRIEND,--Before this reaches you you will have perhaps learned +from other sources of the sad blow which has fallen upon us,--our +darling, our good, beautiful boy, snatched away in the moment of +health and happiness. Alas! could I know that when I parted from my +Henry on English shores that I should never see him more? I returned +to my home, and, amid the jubilee of meeting the rest, was fain to be +satisfied with only a letter from him, saying that his college +examinations were coming on, and he must defer seeing me a week or two +till they were over. I thought then of taking his younger brother and +going up to visit him; but the health of the latter seeming +unfavorably affected by the seacoast air, I turned back with him to a +water-cure establishment. Before I had been two weeks absent a fatal +telegram hurried me home, and when I arrived there it was to find the +house filled with his weeping classmates, who had just come bringing +his remains. There he lay so calm, so placid, so peaceful, that I +could not believe that he would not smile upon me, and that my voice +which always had such power over him could not recall him. There had +always been such a peculiar union, such a tenderness between us. I had +had such power always to call up answering feelings to my own, that it +seemed impossible that he could be silent and unmoved at my grief. But +yet, dear friend, I am sensible that in this last sad scene I had an +alleviation that was not granted to you. I recollect, in the mournful +letter you wrote me about that time, you said that you mourned that +you had never told your own dear one how much you loved him. That +sentence touched me at the time. I laid it to heart, and from that +time lost no occasion of expressing to my children those feelings that +we too often defer to express to our dearest friends till it is +forever too late. + +He did fully know how I loved him, and some of the last loving words +he spoke were of me. The very day that he was taken from us, and when +he was just rising from the table of his boarding-house to go whence +he never returned, some one noticed the seal ring, which you may +remember to have seen on his finger, and said, How beautiful that ring +is! Yes, he said, and best of all, it was my mother's gift to me. That +ring, taken from the lifeless hand a few hours later, was sent to me. +Singularly enough, it is broken right across the name from a fall a +little time previous. . . . + +It is a great comfort to me, dear friend, that I took Henry with me to +Dunrobin. I hesitated about keeping him so long from his studies, but +still I thought a mind so observing and appreciative might learn from +such a tour more than through books, and so it was. He returned from +England full of high resolves and manly purposes. "I may not be what +the world calls a Christian," he wrote, "but I will live such a life +as a Christian ought to live, such a life as every true man ought to +live." Henceforth he became remarkable for a strict order and energy, +and a vigilant temperance and care of his bodily health, docility and +deference to his parents and teachers, and perseverance in every duty. + +. . . Well, from the hard battle of this life he is excused, and the +will is taken for the deed, and whatever comes his heart will not be +pierced as mine is. But I am glad that I can connect him with all my +choicest remembrances of the Old World. + +Dunrobin will always be dearer to me now, and I have felt towards you +and the duke a turning of spirit, because I remember how kindly you +always looked on and spoke to him. I knew then it was the angel of +your lost one that stirred your hearts with tenderness when you looked +on another so near his age. The plaid that the duke gave him, and +which he valued as one of the chief of his boyish treasures, will hang +in his room--for still we have a room that we call his. + +You will understand, you will feel, this sorrow with us as few can. My +poor husband is much prostrated. I need not say more: you know what +this must be to a father's heart. But still I repeat what I said when +I saw you last. Our dead are ministering angels; they teach us to +love, they fill us with tenderness for all that can suffer. These +weary hours when sorrow makes us for the time blind and deaf and dumb, +have their promise. These hours come in answer to our prayers for +nearness to God. It is always our treasure that the lightning strikes. +. . . I have poured out my heart to you because you can understand. +While I was visiting in Hanover, where Henry died, a poor, deaf old +slave woman, who has still five children in bondage, came to comfort +me. "Bear up, dear soul, she said; you must bear it, for the Lord +loves ye." She said further, "Sunday is a heavy day to me, 'cause I +can't work, and can't hear preaching, and can't read, so I can't keep +my mind off my poor children. Some on 'em the blessed Master's got, +and they's safe; but, oh, there are five that I don't know where they +are." + +What are our mother sorrows to this! I shall try to search out and +redeem these children, though, from the ill success of efforts already +made, I fear it will be hopeless. Every sorrow I have, every lesson on +the sacredness of family love, makes me the more determined to resist +to the last this dreadful evil that makes so many mothers so much +deeper mourners than I ever can be. . . . + +Affectionately yours, + +H. B. STOWE. + +[Illustration: THE DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND] + +About this same time she writes to her daughters in Paris: "Can +anybody tell what sorrows are locked up with our best affections, or +what pain may be associated with every pleasure? As I walk the house, +the pictures he used to love, the presents I brought him, and the +photographs I meant to show him, ail pierce my heart, I have had a +dreadful faintness of sorrow come over me at times. I have felt so +crushed, so bleeding, so helpless, that I could only call on my +Saviour with groanings that could not be uttered. Your papa justly +said, 'Every child that dies is for the time being an only one; yes-- +his individuality no time, no change, can ever replace.' + +"Two days after the funeral your father and I went to Hanover. We saw +Henry's friends, and his room, which was just as it was the day he +left it. + +"'There is not another such room in the college as his,' said one of +his classmates with tears. I could not help loving the dear boys as +they would come and look sadly in, and tell us one thing and another +that they remembered of him. 'He was always talking of his home and +his sisters,' said one. The very day he died he was so happy because I +had returned, and he was expecting soon to go home and meet me. He +died with that dear thought in his heart. + +"There was a beautiful lane leading down through a charming glen to +the river. It had been for years the bathing-place of the students, +and into the pure, clear water he plunged, little dreaming that he was +never to come out alive. + +"In the evening we went down to see the boating club of which he was a +member. He was so happy in this boating club. They had a beautiful +boat called the Una, and a uniform, and he enjoyed it so much. + +"This evening all the different crews were out; but Henry's had their +flag furled, and tied with black crape. I felt such love to the dear +boys, all of them, because they loved Henry, that it did not pain me +as it otherwise would. They were glad to see us there, and I was glad +that we could be there. Yet right above where their boats were gliding +in the evening light lay the bend in the river, clear, still, +beautiful, fringed with overhanging pines, from whence our boy went +upward to heaven. To heaven--if earnest, manly purpose, if sincere, +deliberate strife with besetting sin is accepted of God, as I firmly +believe it is. Our dear boy was but a beginner in the right way. Had +he lived, we had hoped to see all wrong gradually fall from his soul +as the worn-out calyx drops from the perfected flower. But Christ has +taken him into his own teaching. + + "'And one view of Jesus as He is, + Will strike all sin forever dead.' + +"Since I wrote to you last we have had anniversary meetings, and with +all the usual bustle and care, our house full of company. Tuesday we +received a beautiful portrait of our dear Henry, life-size, and as +perfect almost as life. It has just that half-roguish, half-loving +expression with which he would look at me sometimes, when I would come +and brush back his hair and look into his eyes. Every time I go in or +out of the room, it seems to give so bright a smile that I almost +think that a spirit dwells within it. + +"When I am so heavy, so weary, and go about as if I were wearing an +arrow that had pierced my heart, I sometimes look up, and this smile +seems to say, 'Mother, patience, I am happy. In our Father's house are +many mansions.' Sometimes I think I am like a gardener who has planted +the seed of some rare exotic. He watches as the two little points of +green leaf first spring above the soil. He shifts it from soil to +soil, from pot to pot. He watches it, waters it, saves it through +thousands of mischiefs and accidents. He counts every leaf, and marks +the strengthening of the stem, till at last the blossom bud was fully +formed. What curiosity, what eagerness,--what expectation--what +longing now to see the mystery unfold in the new flower. + +"Just as the calyx begins to divide and a faint streak of color +becomes visible,--lo! in one night the owner of the greenhouse sends +and takes it away. He does not consult me, he gives me no warning; he +silently takes it and I look, but it is no more. What, then? Do I +suppose he has destroyed the flower? Far from it; I know that he has +taken it to his own garden. What Henry might have been I could guess +better than any one. What Henry is, is known to Jesus only." + +Shortly after this time Mrs. Stowe wrote to her sister Catherine:-- + +If ever I was conscious of an attack of the Devil trying to separate +me from the love of Christ, it was for some days after the terrible +news came. I was in a state of great physical weakness, most +agonizing, and unable to control my thoughts. Distressing doubts as to +Henry's spiritual state were rudely thrust upon my soul. It was as if +a voice had said to me: "You trusted in God, did you? You believed +that He loved you! You had perfect confidence that he would never take +your child till the work of grace was mature! Now He has hurried him +into eternity without a moment's warning, without preparation, and +where is he?" + +I saw at last that these thoughts were irrational, and contradicted +the calm, settled belief of my better moments, and that they were +dishonorable to God, and that it was my duty to resist them, and to +assume and steadily maintain that Jesus in love had taken my dear one +to his bosom. Since then the Enemy has left me in peace. + +It is our duty to assume that a thing which would be in its very +nature unkind, ungenerous, and unfair has not been done. What should +we think of the crime of that human being who should take a young mind +from circumstances where it was progressing in virtue, and throw it +recklessly into corrupting and depraving society? Particularly if it +were the child of one who had trusted and confided in Him for years. +No! no such slander as this shall the Devil ever fix in my mind +against my Lord and my God! He who made me capable of such an +absorbing, unselfish devotion for my children, so that I would +sacrifice my eternal salvation for them, He certainly did not make me +capable of more love, more disinterestedness than He has himself. He +invented mothers' hearts, and He certainly has the pattern in his own, +and my poor, weak rush-light of love is enough to show me that some +things can and some things cannot be done. Mr. Stowe said in his +sermon last Sunday that the mysteries of God's ways with us must be +swallowed up by the greater mystery of the love of Christ, even as +Aaron's rod swallowed up the rods of the magicians. + +Papa and mamma are here, and we have been reading over the +"Autobiography and Correspondence." It is glorious, beautiful; but +more of this anon. + +Your affectionate sister, + +HATTIE. + +ANDOVER, _August_ 24, 1857. + +DEAR CHILDREN,--Since anniversary papa and I have been living at home; +Grandpa and Grandma Beecher are here also, and we have had much +comfort in their society. . . . To-night the last sad duty is before +us. The body is to be removed from the receiving tomb in the Old South +Churchyard, and laid in the graveyard near by. Pearson has been at +work for a week on a lot that is to be thenceforth ours. + + "Our just inheritance consecrated by his grave." + +How little he thought, wandering there as he often has with us, that +his mortal form would so soon be resting there. Yet that was written +for him. It was as certain then as now, and the hour and place of our +death is equally certain, though we know it not. + +It seems selfish that I should yearn to lie down by his side, but I +never knew how much I loved him till now. + +The one lost piece of silver seems more than all the rest,--the one +lost sheep dearer than all the fold, and I so long for one word, one +look, one last embrace. . . . + +ANDOVER, _September_ 1, 1857. + +MY DARLING CHILDREN,--I must not allow a week to pass without sending +a line to you. . . . Our home never looked lovelier. I never saw +Andover look so beautiful; the trees so green, the foliage so rich. +Papa and I are just starting to spend a week in Brunswick, for I am so +miserable--so weak--the least exertion fatigues me, and much of my +time I feel a heavy languor, indifferent to everything. I know nothing +is so likely to bring me up as the air of the seaside. . . . I have +set many flowers around Henry's grave, which are blossoming; pansies, +white immortelle, white petunia, and verbenas. Papa walks there every +day, often twice or three times. The lot has been rolled and planted +with fine grass, which is already up and looks green and soft as +velvet, and the little birds gather about it. To-night as I sat there +the sky was so beautiful, all rosy, with the silver moon looking out +of it. Papa said with a deep sigh, "I am submissive, but not +reconciled." + +BRUNSWICK, _September_ 6,1857. + +MY DEAR GIRLS,--Papa and I have been here for four or five days past. +We both of us felt so unwell that we thought we would try the sea air +and the dear old scenes of Brunswick. Everything here is just as we +left it. We are staying with Mrs. Upham, whose house is as wide, cool, +and hospitable as ever. The trees in the yard have grown finely, and +Mrs. Upham has cultivated flowers so successfully that the house is +all surrounded by them. Everything about the town is the same, even to +Miss Gidding's old shop, which is as disorderly as ever, presenting +the same medley of tracts, sewing-silk, darning-cotton, and +unimaginable old bonnets, which existed there of yore. She has been +heard to complain that she can't find things as easily as once. Day +before yesterday papa, Charley, and I went down to Harpswell about +seven o'clock in the morning. The old spruces and firs look lovely as +ever, and I was delighted, as I always used to be, with every step of +the way. Old Gotchell's mill stands as forlorn as ever in its sandy +wastes, and More Brook creeps on glassy and clear beyond. Arriving at +Harpswell a glorious hot day, with scarce a breeze to ruffle the +water, papa and Charley went to fish for cunners, who soon proved too +cunning for them, for they ate every morsel of bait off the hooks, so +that out of twenty bites they only secured two or three. What they did +get were fried for our dinner, reinforced by a fine clam-chowder. The +evening was one of the most glorious I ever saw--a calm sea and round, +full moon; Mrs. Upham and I sat out on the rocks between the mainland +and the island until ten o'clock. I never did see a more perfect and +glorious scene, and to add to it there was a splendid northern light +dancing like spirits in the sky. Had it not been for a terrible attack +of mosquitoes in our sleeping-rooms, that kept us up and fighting all +night, we should have called it a perfect success. + +We went into the sea to bathe twice, once the day we came, and about +eight o'clock in the morning before we went back. Besides this we have +been to Middle Bay, where Charley, standing where you all stood before +him, actually caught a flounder with his own hand, whereat he screamed +loud enough to scare all the folks on Eagle Island. We have also been +to Maquoit. We have visited the old pond, and, if I mistake not, the +relics of your old raft yet float there; at all events, one or two +fragments of a raft are there, caught among rushes. + +I do not realize that one of the busiest and happiest of the train who +once played there shall play there no more. "He shall return to his +house no more, neither shall his place know him any more." I think I +have felt the healing touch of Jesus of Nazareth on the deep wound in +my heart, for I have golden hours of calm when I say: "Even so, +Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." So sure am I that the +most generous love has ordered all, that I can now take pleasure to +give this little proof of my unquestioning confidence in resigning one +of my dearest comforts to Him. I feel very near the spirit land, and +the words, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me," are +very sweet. + +Oh, if God would give to you, my dear children, a view of the infinite +beauty of Eternal Love,--if He would unite us in himself, then even on +earth all tears might be wiped away. + +Papa has preached twice to-day, and is preaching again to-night. He +told me to be sure to write and send you his love. I hope his health +is getting better. Mrs. Upham sends you her best love, and hopes you +will make her a visit some time. + +Good-by, my darlings. Come soon to your affectionate mother. + +H. B. S. + +The winter of 1857 was passed quietly and uneventfully at Andover. In +November Mrs. Stowe contributed to the "Atlantic Monthly" a touching +little allegory, "The Mourning Veil." + +In December, 1858, the first chapter of "The Minister's Wooing" +appeared in the same magazine. Simultaneously with this story was +written "The Pearl of Orr's Island," published first as a serial in +the "Independent." + +She dictated a large part of "The Minister's Wooing" under a great +pressure of mental excitement, and it was a relief to her to turn to +the quiet story of the coast of Maine, which she loved so well. + +In February, 1874, Mrs. Stowe received the following words from Mr. +Whittier, which are very interesting in this connection: "When I am in +the mood for thinking deeply I read 'The Minister's Wooing.' But 'The +Pearl of Orr's Island' is my favorite. It is the most charming New +England idyl ever written." + +"The Minister's Wooing" was received with universal commendation from +the first, and called forth the following appreciative words from the +pen of Mr. James Russell Lowell:-- + +"It has always seemed to us that the anti-slavery element in the two +former novels by Mrs. Stowe stood in the way of a full appreciation of +her remarkable genius, at least in her own country. It was so easy to +account for the unexampled popularity of 'Uncle Tom' by attributing it +to a cheap sympathy with sentimental philanthropy! As people began to +recover from the first enchantment, they began also to resent it and +to complain that a dose of that insane Garrison-root which takes the +reason prisoner had been palmed upon them without their knowing it, +and that their ordinary watergruel of fiction, thinned with sentiment +and thickened with moral, had been hocussed with the bewildering +hasheesh of Abolition. We had the advantage of reading that truly +extraordinary book for the first time in Paris, long after the whirl +of excitement produced by its publication had subsided, in the +seclusion of distance, and with a judgment unbiased by those political +sympathies which it is impossible, perhaps unwise, to avoid at home. +We felt then, and we believe now, that the secret of Mrs. Stowe's +power lay in that same genius by which the great successes in creative +literature have always been achieved,--the genius that instinctively +goes right to the organic elements of human nature, whether under a +white skin or a black, and which disregards as trivial the +conventional and factitious notions which make so large a part both of +our thinking and feeling. Works of imagination written with an aim to +immediate impression are commonly ephemeral, like Miss Martineau's +'Tales,' and Elliott's 'Corn-law Rhymes;' but the creative faculty of +Mrs. Stowe, like that of Cervantes in 'Don Quixote' and of Fielding in +'Joseph Andrews,' overpowered the narrow specialty of her design, and +expanded a local and temporary theme with the cosmopolitanism of +genius. + +"It is a proverb that 'There is a great deal of human nature in men,' +but it is equally and sadly true that there is amazingly little of it +in books. Fielding is the only English novelist who deals with life in +its broadest sense. Thackeray, his disciple and congener, and Dickens, +the congener of Smollett, do not so much treat of life as of the +strata of society; the one studying nature from the club-room window, +the other from the reporters' box in the police court. It may be that +the general obliteration of distinctions of rank in this country, +which is generally considered a detriment to the novelist, will in the +end turn to his advantage by compelling him to depend for his effects +on the contrasts and collisions of innate character, rather than on +those shallower traits superinduced by particular social arrangements, +or by hereditary associations. Shakespeare drew ideal, and Fielding +natural men and women; Thackeray draws either gentlemen or snobs, and +Dickens either unnatural men or the oddities natural only in the +lowest grades of a highly artificial system of society. The first two +knew human nature; of the two latter, one knows what is called the +world, and the other the streets of London. Is it possible that the +very social democracy which here robs the novelist of so much romance, +so much costume, so much antithesis of caste, so much in short that is +purely external, will give him a set-off in making it easier for him +to get at that element of universal humanity which neither of the two +extremes of an aristocratic system, nor the salient and picturesque +points of contrast between the two, can alone lay open to him? + +"We hope to see this problem solved by Mrs. Stowe. That kind of +romantic interest which Scott evolved from the relations of lord and +vassal, of thief and clansman, from the social more than the moral +contrast of Roundhead and Cavalier, of far-descended pauper and +_nouveau riche_ which Cooper found in the clash of savagery with +civilization, and the shaggy virtue bred on the border-land between +the two, Indian by habit, white by tradition, Mrs. Stowe seems in her +former novels to have sought in a form of society alien to her +sympathies, and too remote for exact study, or for the acquirement of +that local truth which is the slow result of unconscious observation. +There can be no stronger proof of the greatness of her genius, of her +possessing that conceptive faculty which belongs to the higher order +of imagination, than the avidity with which 'Uncle Tom' was read at +the South. It settled the point that this book was true to human +nature, even if not minutely so to plantation life. + +"If capable of so great a triumph where success must so largely depend +on the sympathetic insight of her mere creative power, have we not a +right to expect something far more in keeping with the requirements of +art, now that her wonderful eye is to be the mirror of familiar +scenes, and of a society in which she was bred, of which she has seen +so many varieties, and that, too, in the country, where it is most +_naive_ and original? It is a great satisfaction to us that in +'The Minister's Wooing' she has chosen her time and laid her scene +amid New England habits and traditions. There is no other writer who +is so capable of perpetuating for us, in a work of art, a style of +thought and manners which railways and newspapers will soon render as +palćozoic as the mastodon or the megalosaurians. Thus far the story +has fully justified our hopes. The leading characters are all fresh +and individual creations. Mrs. Kate Scudder, the notable Yankee +housewife; Mary, in whom Cupid is to try conclusions with Calvin; +James Marvyn, the adventurous boy of the coast, in whose heart the +wild religion of nature swells till the strait swathings of Puritanism +are burst; Dr. Hopkins, the conscientious minister come upon a time +when the social _prestige_ of the clergy is waning, and whose +independence will test the voluntary system of ministerial support; +Simeon Brown, the man of theological dialectics, in whom the utmost +perfection of creed is shown to be not inconsistent with the most +contradictory imperfection of life,--all these are characters new to +literature. And the scene is laid just far enough away in point of +time to give proper tone and perspective. + +"We think we find in the story, so far as it has proceeded, the +promise of an interest as unhackneyed as it will be intense. There is +room for the play of all the passions and interests that make up the +great tragi-comedy of life, while all the scenery and accessories will +be those which familiarity has made dear to us. We are a little afraid +of Colonel Burr, to be sure, it is so hard to make a historical +personage fulfill the conditions demanded by the novel of every-day +life. He is almost sure either to fall below our traditional +conception of him, or to rise above the natural and easy level of +character, into the vague or the melodramatic. Moreover, we do not +want a novel of society from Mrs. Stowe; she is quite too good to be +wasted in that way, and her tread is much more firm on the turf of the +"door-yard" or the pasture, and the sanded floor of the farmhouse, +than on the velvet of the _salôn_. We have no notion how she is +to develop her plot, but we think we foresee chances for her best +power in the struggle which seems foreshadowed between Mary's +conscientious admiration of the doctor and her half-conscious passion +for James, before she discovers that one of these conflicting feelings +means simply moral liking and approval, and the other that she is a +woman and that she loves. And is not the value of dogmatic theology as +a rule of life to be thoroughly tested for the doctor by his slave- +trading parishioners? Is he not to learn the bitter difference between +intellectual acceptance of a creed and that true partaking of the +sacrament of love and faith and sorrow that makes Christ the very +life-blood of our being and doing? And has not James Marvyn also his +lesson to be taught? We foresee him drawn gradually back by Mary from +his recoil against Puritan formalism to a perception of how every +creed is pliant and plastic to a beautiful nature, of how much charm +there may be in an hereditary faith, even if it have become almost +conventional. + +"In the materials of character already present in the story, there is +scope for Mrs. Stowe's humor, pathos, clear moral sense, and quick eye +for the scenery of life. We do not believe that there is any one who, +by birth, breeding, and natural capacity, has had the opportunity to +know New England so well as she, or who has the peculiar genius so to +profit by the knowledge. Already there have been scenes in 'The +Minister's Wooing' that, in their lowness of tone and quiet truth, +contrast as charmingly with the humid vagueness of the modern school +of novel-writers as 'The Vicar of Wakefield' itself, and we are +greatly mistaken if it do not prove to be the most characteristic of +Mrs. Stowe's works, and therefore that on which her fame will chiefly +rest with posterity." + +"The Minister's Wooing" was not completed as a serial till December, +1859. Long before its completion Mrs. Stowe received letters from many +interested readers, who were as much concerned for the future of her +"spiritual children," as George Eliot would call them, as if they had +been flesh and blood. + +The following letter from Mr. Lowell is given as the most valuable +received by Mrs. Stowe at this time:-- + +CAMBRIDGE, February 4, 1859. + +MY DEAR MRS. STOWE,--I certainly did mean to write you about your +story, but only to cry _bravissima!_ with the rest of the world. +I intended no kind of criticism; deeming it wholly out of place, and +in the nature of a wet-blanket, so long as a story is unfinished. When +I got the first number in MS., I said to Mr. Phillips that I thought +it would be the best thing you had done, and what followed has only +confirmed my first judgment. From long habit, and from the tendency of +my studies, I cannot help looking at things purely from an ćsthetic +point of view, and what _I_ valued in "Uncle Tom" was the genius, +and not the moral. That is saying a good deal, for I never use the +word _genius_ at haphazard, and always (perhaps, too) sparingly. +I am going to be as frank as I ought to be with one whom I value so +highly. What especially charmed me in the new story was, that you had +taken your stand on New England ground. You are one of the few persons +lucky enough to be born with eyes in your head,--that is, with +something behind the eyes which makes them of value. To most people +the seeing apparatus is as useless as the great telescope at the +observatory is to me,--something to stare through with no intelligent +result. Nothing could be better than the conception of your plot (so +far as I divine it), and the painting-in of your figures. As for +"theology," it is as much a part of daily life in New England as in +Scotland, and all I should have to say about it is this: let it crop +out when it naturally comes to the surface, only don't dig down to it. +A moral aim is a fine thing, but in making a story an artist is a +traitor who does not sacrifice everything to art. Remember the lesson +that Christ gave us twice over. First, he preferred the useless Mary +to the dish-washing Martha, and next, when that exemplary moralist and +friend of humanity, Judas, objected to the sinful waste of the +Magdalen's ointment, the great Teacher would rather it should be +wasted in an act of simple beauty than utilized for the benefit of the +poor. Cleopatra was an artist when she dissolved her biggest pearl to +captivate her Antony-public. May I, a critic by profession, say the +whole truth to a woman of genius? Yes? And never be forgiven? I shall +try, and try to be forgiven, too. In the first place, pay no regard to +the advice of anybody. In the second place, pay a great deal to mine! +A Kilkenny-cattish style of advice? Not at all. My advice is to follow +your own instincts,--to stick to nature, and to avoid what people +commonly call the "Ideal;" for that, and beauty, and pathos, and +success, all lie in the simply natural. We all preach it, from +Wordsworth down, and we all, from Wordsworth down, don't practice it. +Don't I feel it every day in this weary editorial mill of mine, that +there are ten thousand people who can write "ideal" things for one who +can see, and feel, and reproduce nature and character? Ten thousand, +did I say? Nay, ten million. What made Shakespeare so great? Nothing +but eyes and--faith in them. The same is true of Thackeray. I see +nowhere more often than in authors the truth that men love their +opposites. Dickens insists on being tragic and makes shipwreck. + +I always thought (forgive me) that the Hebrew parts of "Dred" were a +mistake. Do not think me impertinent; I am only honestly anxious that +what I consider a very remarkable genius should have faith in itself. +Let your moral take care of itself, and remember that an author's +writing-desk is something infinitely higher than a pulpit. What I call +"care of itself" is shown in that noble passage in the February number +about the ladder up to heaven. That is grand preaching and in the +right way. I am sure that "The Minister's Wooing" is going to be the +best of your products hitherto, and I am sure of it because you show +so thorough a mastery of your material, so true a perception of +realities, without which the ideality is impossible. + +As for "orthodoxy," be at ease. Whatever is well done the world finds +orthodox at last, in spite of all the Fakir journals, whose only +notion of orthodoxy seems to be the power of standing in one position +till you lose all the use of your limbs. If, with your heart and +brain, _you_ are not orthodox, in Heaven's name who is? If you +mean "Calvinistic," no woman could ever be such, for Calvinism is +logic, and no woman worth the name could ever live by syllogisms. +Woman charms a higher faculty in us than reason, God be praised, and +nothing has delighted me more in your new story than the happy +instinct with which you develop this incapacity of the lovers' logic +in your female characters. Go on just as you have begun, and make it +appear in as many ways as you like,--that, whatever creed may be true, +it is _not_ true and never will be that man can be saved by +machinery. I can speak with some chance of being right, for I confess +a strong sympathy with many parts of Calvinistic theology, and, for +one thing, believe in hell with all my might, and in the goodness of +God for all that. + +I have not said anything. What could I say? One might almost as well +advise a mother about the child she still bears under her heart, and +say, give it these and those qualities, as an author about a work yet +in the brain. + +Only this I will say, that I am honestly delighted with "The +Minister's Wooing;" that reading it has been one of my few editorial +pleasures; that no one appreciates your genius more highly than I, or +hopes more fervently that you will let yourself go without regard to +this, that, or t'other. Don't read any criticisms on your story: +believe that you know better than any of us, and be sure that +everybody likes it. That I know. There is not, and never was, anybody +so competent to write a true New England poem as yourself, and have no +doubt that you are doing it. The native sod sends up the best +inspiration to the brain, and you are as sure of immortality as we all +are of dying,--if you only go on with entire faith in yourself. + +Faithfully and admiringly yours, + +J. K. LOWELL. + +After the book was published in England, Mr. Buskin wrote to Mrs. +Stowe:-- + +"Well, I have read the book now, and I think nothing can be nobler +than the noble parts of it (Mary's great speech to Colonel Burr, for +instance), nothing wiser than the wise parts of it (the author's +parenthetical and under-breath remarks), nothing more delightful than +the delightful parts (all that Virginie says and does), nothing more +edged than the edged parts (Candace's sayings and doings, to wit); but +I do not like the plan of the whole, because the simplicity of the +minister seems to diminish the probability of Mary's reverence for +him. I cannot fancy even so good a girl who would not have laughed at +him. Nor can I fancy a man of real intellect reaching such a period of +life without understanding his own feelings better, or penetrating +those of another more quickly. + +"Then I am provoked at nothing happening to Mrs. Scudder, whom I think +as entirely unendurable a creature as ever defied poetical justice at +the end of a novel meant to irritate people. And finally, I think you +are too disdainful of what ordinary readers seek in a novel, under the +name of 'interest,'--that gradually developing wonder, expectation, +and curiosity which makes people who have no self-command sit up till +three in the morning to get to the crisis, and people who have self- +command lay the book down with a resolute sigh, and think of it all +the next day through till the time comes for taking it up again. +Still, I know well that in many respects it was impossible for you to +treat this story merely as a work of literary art. There must have +been many facts which you could not dwell upon, and which no one may +judge by common rules. + +"It is also true, as you say once or twice in the course of the work, +that we have not among us here the peculiar religious earnestness you +have mainly to describe. + +"We have little earnest formalism, and our formalists are for the most +part hollow, feeble, uninteresting, mere stumbling-blocks. We have the +Simeon Brown species, indeed; and among readers even of his kind the +book may do some good, and more among the weaker, truer people, whom +it will shake like mattresses,--making the dust fly, and perhaps with +it some of the sticks and quill-ends, which often make that kind of +person an objectionable mattress. I write too lightly of the book,-- +far too lightly,--but your letter made me gay, and I have been +lighter-hearted ever since; only I kept this after beginning it, +because I was ashamed to send it without a line to Mrs. Browning as +well. I do not understand why you should apprehend (or rather +anticipate without apprehension) any absurd criticism on it. It is +sure to be a popular book,--not as 'Uncle Tom' was, for that owed part +of its popularity to its dramatic effect (the flight on the ice, +etc.), which I did not like; but as a true picture of human life is +always popular. Nor, I should think, would any critics venture at all +to carp at it. + +"The Candace and Virginie bits appear to me, as far as I have yet +seen, the best. I am very glad there is this nice French lady in it: +the French are the least appreciated in general, of all nations, by +other nations. . . . My father says the book is worth its weight in +gold, and he knows good work." + +When we turn from these criticisms and commendations to the inner +history of this period, we find that the work was done in deep sadness +of heart, and the undertone of pathos that forms the dark background +of the brightest and most humorous parts of "The Minister's Wooing" +was the unconscious revelation of one of sorrowful spirit, who, weary +of life, would have been glad to lie down with her arms "round the +wayside cross, and sleep away into a brighter scene." + +Just before beginning the writing of "The Minister's Wooing" she sent +the following letter to Lady Byron:-- + +ANDOVER, _June_ 30, 1858. + +MY DEAR FRIEND,--I did long to hear from you at a time when few knew +how to speak, because I knew that you did know everything that sorrow +can teach,--you whose whole life has been a crucifixion, a long +ordeal. But I believe that the "Lamb," who stands forever in the midst +of the throne "as it had been slain," has everywhere his followers, +those who are sent into the world, as he was, to suffer for the +redemption of others, and like him they must look to the joy set +before them of redeeming others. + +I often think that God called you to this beautiful and terrible +ministry when He suffered you to link your destiny with one so +strangely gifted, so fearfully tempted, and that the reward which is +to meet you, when you enter within the veil, where you must soon pass, +will be to see the angel, once chained and defiled within him, set +free from sin and glorified, and so know that to you it has been +given, by your life of love and faith, to accomplish this glorious +change. + +I think very much on the subject on which you conversed with me once, +--the future state of retribution. It is evident to me that the spirit +of Christianity has produced in the human spirit a tenderness of love +which wholly revolts from the old doctrine on the subject, and I +observe the more Christ-like any one becomes, the more impossible it +seems for him to accept it; and yet, on the contrary, it was Christ +who said, "Fear Him that is able to destroy soul and body in hell," +and the most appalling language on this subject is that of Christ +himself. Certain ideas once prevalent certainly must be thrown off. An +endless infliction for past sins was once the doctrine that we now +generally reject. The doctrine as now taught is that of an eternal +persistence in evil necessitating eternal punishment, since evil +induces misery by an eternal nature of things, and this, I fear, is +inferable from the analogies of nature, and confirmed by the whole +implication of the Bible. + +Is there any fair way of disposing of the current of assertion, and +the still deeper undercurrent of implication, on this subject, without +one which loosens all faith in revelation, and throws us on pure +naturalism? But of one thing I am sure,--probation does not end with +this life, and the number of the redeemed may therefore be infinitely +greater than the world's history leads us to suppose. + +The views expressed in this letter certainly throw light on many +passages in "The Minister's Wooing." + +The following letter, written to her daughter Georgiana, is introduced +as revealing the spirit in which much of "The Minister's Wooing" was +written:-- + +_February_ 12, 1859. + +MY DEAR GEORGIE,--Why haven't I written? Because, dear Georgie, I am +like the dry, dead, leafless tree, and have only cold, dead, +slumbering buds of hope on the end of stiff, hard, frozen twigs of +thought, but no leaves, no blossoms; nothing to send to a little girl +who doesn't know what to do with herself any more than a kitten. I am +cold, weary, dead; everything is a burden to me. + +I let my plants die by inches before my eyes, and do not water them, +and I dread everything; I do, and wish it was not to be done, and so +when I get a letter from my little girl I smile and say, "Dear little +puss, I will answer it;" and I sit hour after hour with folded hands, +looking at the inkstand and dreading to begin. The fact is, pussy, +mamma is tired. Life to you is gay and joyous, but to mamma it has +been a battle in which the spirit is willing but the flesh weak, and +she would be glad, like the woman in the St. Bernard, to lie down with +her arms around the wayside cross, and sleep away into a brighter +scene. Henry's fair, sweet face looks down upon me now and then from +out a cloud, and I feel again all the bitterness of the eternal "No" +which says I must never, never, in this life, see that face, lean on +that arm, hear that voice. Not that my faith in God in the least +fails, and that I do not believe that all this is for good. I do, and +though not happy, I am blessed. Weak, weary as I am, I rest on Jesus +in the innermost depth of my soul, and am quite sure that there is +coming an inconceivable hour of beauty and glory when I shall regain +Jesus, and he will give me back my beloved one, whom he is educating +in a far higher sphere than I proposed. So do not mistake me,--only +know that mamma is sitting weary by the wayside, feeling weak and +worn, but in no sense discouraged. + + Your affectionate mother, H. B. S. + +So is it ever: when with bold step we press our way into the holy +place where genius hath wrought, we find it to be a place of sorrows. +Art has its Gethsemane and its Calvary as well as religion. Our best +loved books and sweetest songs are those "that tell of saddest +thought." + +The summer of 1859 found Mrs. Stowe again on her way to Europe, this +time accompanied by all her children except the youngest. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE THIRD TRIP TO EUROPE, 1859. + + +THIRD VISIT TO EUROPE.--LADY BYRON ON "THE MINISTER'S WOOING."--SOME +FOREIGN PEOPLE AND THINGS AS THEY APPEARED TO PROFESSOR STOWE.--A +WINTER IN ITALY.--THINGS UNSEEN AND UNREVEALED.--SPECULATIONS +CONCERNING SPIRITUALISM.--JOHN KUSKIN.--MRS. BROWNING.--THE RETURN TO +AMERICA.--LETTERS TO DR. HOLMES. + +Mrs. Stowe's third and last trip to Europe was undertaken in the +summer of 1859. In writing to Lady Byron in May of that year, she +says: "I am at present writing something that interests me greatly, +and may interest you, as an attempt to portray the heart and life of +New England, its religion, theology, and manners. Sampson Low & Son +are issuing it in numbers, and I should be glad to know how they +strike you. It is to publish this work complete that I intend to visit +England this summer." + +The story thus referred to was "The Minister's Wooing," and Lady +Byron's answer to the above, which is appended, leaves no room for +doubt as to her appreciation of it. She writes:-- + + LONDON, _May_ 31,1859. + +DEAR FRIEND,--I have found, particularly as to yourself, that if I did +not answer from the first impulse, all had evaporated. Your letter +came by the Niagara, which brought Fanny Kemble, to learn the loss of +her _best_ friend, that Miss Fitzhugh whom you saw at my house. + +I have an intense interest in your new novel. More power in these few +numbers than in any of your former writings, relatively, at least to +my own mind. More power than in "Adam Bede," which is _the_ book +of the season, and well deserves a high place. Whether Mrs. Scudder +will rival Mrs. Poyser, we shall see. + +It would amuse you to hear my granddaughter and myself attempting to +foresee the future of the "love story," being quite persuaded for the +moment that James is at sea, and the minister about to ruin himself. +We think that she will labor to be in love with the self-devoting man, +under her mother's influence, and from that hyper-conscientiousness so +common with good girls,--but we don't wish her to succeed. Then what +is to become of her older lover? He--Time will show. I have just +missed Dale Owen, with whom I wished to have conversed about the +"Spiritualism." Harris is lecturing here on religion. I do not hear +him praised. People are looking for helps to believe everywhere but in +life,--in music, in architecture, in antiquity, in ceremony,--and upon +all is written, "Thou shalt _not_ believe." At least, if this be +faith, happier the unbeliever. I am willing to see _through_ that +materialism, but if I am to rest there, I would rend the veil. + +_June_ 1. The day of the packet's sailing. I shall hope to be +visited by you here. The best flowers sent me have been placed in your +little vases, giving life, as it were, to the remembrance of you, +though not to pass away like them. + + Ever yours, A. T. NOEL BYRON. + +The entire family, with the exception of the youngest son, was abroad +at this time. The two eldest daughters were in Paris, having +previously sailed for Havre in March, in company with their cousin, +Miss Beecher. On their arrival in Paris, they went directly to the +house of their old friend, Madame Borione, and soon afterwards entered +a Protestant school. The rest of the family, including Mrs. Stowe, her +husband and youngest daughter, sailed for Liverpool early in August. +At about the same time, Fred Stowe, in company with his friend Samuel +Scoville, took passage for the same port in a sailing vessel. A +comprehensive outline of the earlier portion of this foreign tour is +given in the following letter written by Professor Stowe to the sole +member of the family remaining in America: + +CASTLE CHILLON, SWITZERLAND, _September_ 1, 1859. + +DEAR LITTLE CHARLEY,--We are all here except Fred, and all well. We +have had a most interesting journey, of which I must give a brief +account. + +We sailed from New York in the steamer Asia, on the 3d of August +[1859], a very hot day, and for ten days it was the hottest weather I +ever knew at sea. We had a splendid ship's company, mostly foreigners, +Italians, Spaniards, with a sprinkling of Scotch and Irish. We passed +one big iceberg in the night close to, and as the iceberg wouldn't +turn out for us we turned out for the iceberg, and were very glad to +come off so. This was the night of the 9th of August, and after that +we had cooler weather, and on the morning of the 13th the wind blew +like all possessed, and so continued till afternoon. Sunday morning, +the 14th, we got safe into Liverpool, landed, and went to the Adelphi +Hotel. Mamma and Georgie were only a little sick on the way over, and +that was the morning of the 13th. + +As it was court time, the high sheriff of Lancashire, Sir Robert +Gerauld, a fine, stout, old, gray-haired John Bull, came thundering up +to the hotel at noon in his grand coach with six beautiful horses with +outriders, and two trumpeters, and twelve men with javelins for a +guard, all dressed in the gayest manner, and rushing along like Time +in the primer, the trumpeters too-ti-toot-tooing like a house a-fire, +and how I wished my little Charley had been there to see it! + +Monday we wanted to go and see the court, so we went over to St. +George's Hall, a most magnificent structure, that beats the Boston +State House all hollow, and Sir Robert Gerauld himself met us, and +said he would get us a good place. So he took us away round a narrow, +crooked passage, and opened a little door, where we saw nothing but a +great, crimson curtain, which he told us to put aside and go straight +on; and where do you think we all found ourselves? + +Right on the platform with the judges in their big wigs and long +robes, and facing the whole crowded court! It was enough to frighten a +body into fits, but we took it quietly as we could, and your mamma +looked as meek as Moses in her little, battered straw hat and gray +cloak, seeming to say, "I didn't come here o' purpose." + +That same night we arrived in London, and Tuesday (August 16th), +riding over the city, we called at Stafford House, and inquired if the +Duchess of Sutherland was there. A servant came out and said the +duchess was in and would be very glad to see us; so your mamma, +Georgie, and I went walking up the magnificent staircase in the +entrance hall, and the great, noble, brilliant duchess came sailing +down the stairs to meet us, in her white morning dress (for it was +only four o'clock in the afternoon, and she was not yet dressed for +dinner), took your mamma into her great bosom, and folded her up till +the little Yankee woman looked like a small gray kitten half covered +in a snowbank, and kissed and kissed her, and then she took up little +Georgie and kissed her, and then she took my hand, and didn't kiss me. + +Next day we went to the duchess's villa, near Windsor Castle, and had +a grand time riding round the park, sailing on the Thames, and eating +the very best dinner that was ever set on a table. + +We stayed in London till the 25th of August, and then went to Paris +and found H. and E. and H. B. all well and happy; and on the 30th of +August we all went to Geneva together, and to-day, the 1st of +September, we all took a sail up the beautiful Lake Leman here in the +midst of the Alps, close by the old castle of Chillon, about which +Lord Byron has written a poem. In a day or two we shall go to +Chamouni, and then Georgie and I will go back to Paris and London, and +so home at the time appointed. Until then I remain as ever, Your +loving father, C. E. STOWE. + +Mrs. Stowe accompanied her husband and daughter to England, where, +after traveling and visiting for two weeks, she bade them good-by and +returned to her daughters in Switzerland. From Lausanne she writes +under date of October 9th:-- + +MY DEAR HUSBAND,--Here we are at Lausanne, in the Hotel Gibbon, +occupying the very parlor that the Ruskins had when we were here +before. The day I left you I progressed prosperously to Paris. Reached +there about one o'clock at night; could get no carriage, and finally +had to turn in at a little hotel close by the station, where I slept +till morning. I could not but think what if anything should happen to +me there? Nobody knew me or where I was, but the bed was clean, the +room respectable; so I locked my door and slept, then took a carriage +in the morning, and found Madame Borione at breakfast. I write to- +night, that you may get a letter from me at the earliest possible date +after your return. + +Instead of coming to Geneva in one day, I stopped over one night at +Macon, got to Geneva the next day about four o'clock, and to Lausanne +at eight. Coming up-stairs and opening the door, I found the whole +party seated with their books and embroidery about a centre-table, and +looking as homelike and cosy as possible. You may imagine the +greetings, the kissing, laughing, and good times generally. + +From Lausanne the merry party traveled toward Florence by easy stages, +stopping at Lake Como, Milan, Verona, Venice, Genoa, and Leghorn. At +Florence, where they arrived early in November, they met Fred Stowe +and his friend, Samuel Scoville, and here they were also joined by +their Brooklyn friends, the Howards. Thus it was a large and +thoroughly congenial party that settled down in the old Italian city +to spend the winter. From here Mrs. Stowe wrote weekly letters to her +husband in Andover, and among them are the following, that not only +throw light upon their mode of life, but illustrate a marked tendency +of her mind:-- + +FLORENCE, _Christmas Day,_ 1859. + +MY DEAR HUSBAND,--I wish you all a Merry Christmas, hoping to spend +the next one with you. For us, we are expecting to spend this evening +with quite a circle of American friends. With Scoville and Fred came +L. Bacon (son of Dr. Bacon); a Mr. Porter, who is to study theology at +Andover, and is now making the tour of Europe; Mr. Clarke, formerly +minister at Cornwall; Mr. Jenkyns, of Lowell; Mr. and Mrs. Howard, +John and Annie Howard, who came in most unexpectedly upon us last +night. So we shall have quite a New England party, and shall sing +Millais' Christmas hymn in great force. Hope you will all do the same +in the old stone cabin. + +Our parlor is all trimmed with laurel and myrtle, looking like a great +bower, and our mantel and table are redolent with bouquets of orange +blossoms and pinks. + +_January_ 16, 1860. + +MY DEAR HUSBAND,--Your letter received to-day has raised quite a +weight from my mind, for it shows that at last you have received all +mine, and that thus the chain of communication between us is unbroken. +What you said about your spiritual experiences in feeling the presence +of dear Henry with you, and, above all, the vibration of that +mysterious guitar, was very pleasant to me. Since I have been in +Florence, I have been distressed by inexpressible yearnings after +him,--such sighings and outreachings, with a sense of utter darkness +and separation, not only from him but from all spiritual communion +with my God. But I have become acquainted with a friend through whom I +receive consoling impressions of these things,--a Mrs. E., of Boston, +a very pious, accomplished, and interesting woman, who has had a +history much like yours in relation to spiritual manifestations. + +Without doubt she is what the spiritualists would regard as a very +powerful medium, but being a very earnest Christian, and afraid of +getting led astray, she has kept carefully aloof from all circles and +things of that nature. She came and opened her mind to me in the first +place, to ask my advice as to what she had better do; relating +experiences very similar to many of yours. + +My advice was substantially to try the spirits whether they were of +God,--to keep close to the Bible and prayer, and then accept whatever +came. But I have found that when I am with her I receive very strong +impressions from the spiritual world, so that I feel often sustained +and comforted, as if I had been near to my Henry and other departed +friends. This has been at times so strong as greatly to soothe and +support me. I told her your experiences, in which she was greatly +interested. She said it was so rare to hear of Christian and reliable +people with such peculiarities. + +I cannot, however, think that Henry strikes the guitar,--that must be +Eliza, Her spirit has ever seemed to cling to that mode of +manifestation, and if you would keep it in your sleeping-room, no +doubt you would hear from it oftener. I have been reading lately a +curious work from an old German in Paris who has been making +experiments in spirit-writing. He purports to describe a series of +meetings held in the presence of fifty witnesses, whose names he +gives, in which writing has come on paper, without the apparition of +hands or any pen or pencil, from various historical people. + +He seems a devout believer in inspiration, and the book is curious for +its mixture of all the phenomena, Pagan and Christian, going over +Hindoo. Chinese, Greek, and Italian literature for examples, and then +bringing similar ones from the Bible. + +One thing I am convinced of,--that spiritualism is a reaction from the +intense materialism of the present age. Luther, when he recognized a +personal devil, was much nearer right. We ought to enter fully, at +least, into the spiritualism of the Bible. Circles and spiritual +jugglery I regard as the lying signs and wonders, with all +deceivableness of unrighteousness; but there is a real scriptural +spiritualism which has fallen into disuse, and must be revived, and +there are, doubtless, people who, from some constitutional formation, +can more readily receive the impressions of the surrounding spiritual +world. Such were apostles, prophets, and workers of miracles. + +_Sunday evening_. To-day I went down to sit with Mrs. E. in her +quiet parlor. We read in Revelation together, and talked of the saints +and spirits of the just made perfect, till it seemed, as it always +does when with her, as if Henry were close by me. Then a curious thing +happened. She has a little Florentine guitar which hangs in her +parlor, quite out of reach. She and I were talking, and her sister, a +very matter-of-fact, practical body, who attends to temporals for her, +was arranging a little lunch for us, when suddenly the bass string of +the guitar was struck loudly and distinctly. + +"Who struck that guitar?" said the sister. We both looked up and saw +that no body or thing was on that side of the room. After the sister +had gone out, Mrs. E. said, "Now, that is strange! I asked last night +that if any spirit was present with us after you came to-day, that it +would try to touch that guitar." A little while after her husband came +in, and as we were talking we were all stopped by a peculiar sound, as +if somebody had drawn a hand across all the strings at once. We +marveled, and I remembered the guitar at home. + +What think you? Have you had any more manifestations, any truths from +the spirit world? + +About the end of February the pleasant Florentine circle broke up, and +Mrs. Stowe and her party journeyed to Rome, where they remained until +the middle of April. We next find them in Naples, starting on a six +days' trip to Castellamare, Sorrento, Salerno, Paestum, and Amalfi; +then up Vesuvius, and to the Blue Grotto of Capri, and afterwards back +to Rome by diligence. Leaving Rome on May 9th, they traveled leisurely +towards Paris, which they reached on the 27th. From there Mrs. Stowe +wrote to her husband on May 28th:-- + +Since my last letter a great change has taken place in our plans, in +consequence of which our passage for America is engaged by the Europa, +which sails the 16th of June; so, if all goes well, we are due in +Boston four weeks from this date. I long for home, for my husband and +children, for my room, my yard and garden, for the beautiful trees of +Andover. We will make a very happy home, and our children will help +us. + +Affectionately yours, + +HATTY. + +This extended and pleasant tour was ended with an equally pleasant +homeward voyage, for on the Europa were found Nathaniel Hawthorne and +James T. Fields, who proved most delightful traveling companions. + +While Mrs. Stowe fully enjoyed her foreign experiences, she was so +thoroughly American in every fibre of her being that she was always +thankful to return to her own land and people. She could not, +therefore, in any degree reciprocate the views of Mr. Ruskin on this +subject, as expressed in the following letter, received soon after her +return to Andover:-- + +GENEVA, _June_ 18, 1860. + +DEAR MRS. STOWE,--It takes a great deal, when I am at Geneva, to make +me wish myself anywhere else, and, of all places else, in London; +nevertheless, I very heartily wish at this moment that I were looking +out on the Norwood Hills, and were expecting you and the children to +breakfast to-morrow. + +I had very serious thoughts, when I received your note, of running +home; but I expected that very day an American friend, Mr. S., who I +thought would miss me more here than you would in London; so I stayed. + +What a dreadful thing it is that people should have to go to America +again, after coming to Europe! It seems to me an inversion of the +order of nature. I think America is a sort of "United" States of +Probation, out of which all wise people, being once delivered, and +having obtained entrance into this better world, should never be +expected to return (sentence irremediably ungrammatical), particularly +when they have been making themselves cruelly pleasant to friends +here. My friend Norton, whom I met first on this very blue lake water, +had no business to go back to Boston again, any more than you. + +I was waiting for S. at the railroad station on Thursday, and thinking +of you, naturally enough,--it seemed so short a while since we were +there together. I managed to get hold of Georgie as she was crossing +the rails, and packed her in opposite my mother and beside me, and was +thinking myself so clever, when you sent that rascally courier for +her! I never forgave him any of his behavior after his imperativeness +on that occasion. + +And so she is getting nice and strong? Ask her, please, when you +write, with my love, whether, when she stands now behind the great +stick, one can see much of her on each side? + +So you have been seeing the Pope and all his Easter performances? I +congratulate you, for I suppose it is something like "Positively the +last appearance on any stage." What was the use of thinking about +_him?_ You should have had your own thoughts about what was to +come after him. I don't mean that Roman Catholicism will die out so +quickly. It will last pretty nearly as long as Protestantism, which +keeps it up; but I wonder what is to come next. That is the main +question just now for everybody. + +So you are coming round to Venice, after all? We shall all have to +come to it, depend upon it, some way or another. There never has been +anything in any other part of the world like Venetian strength well +developed. + +I've no heart to write about anything in Europe to you now. When are +you coming back again? Please send me a line as soon as you get safe +over, to say you are all--wrong, but not lost in the Atlantic. + +I don't know if you will ever get this letter, but I hope you will +think it worth while to glance again at the Denmark Hill pictures; so +I send this to my father, who, I hope, will be able to give it you. + +I really am very sorry you are going,--you and yours; and that is +absolute fact, and I shall not enjoy my Swiss journey at all so much +as I might. It was a shame of you not to give me warning before. I +could have stopped at Paris so easily for you! All good be with you! +Remember me devotedly to the young ladies, and believe me ever +affectionately yours, + +J. RUSKIN. + +In Rome Mrs. Stowe had formed a warm friendship with the Brownings, +with whom she afterwards maintained a correspondence. The following +letter from Mrs. Browning was written a year after their first +meeting. + +ROME, 126 VIA FELICE, 14 _March_, 1861. + +MY DEAR, MRS. STOWE,--Let me say one word first. Your letter, which +would have given me pleasure if I had been in the midst of pleasures, +came to me when little beside could have pleased. Dear friend, let me +say it, I had had a great blow and loss in England, and you wrote +things in that letter which seemed meant for me, meant to do me good, +and which did me good,--the first good any letter or any talk did me; +and it struck me as strange, as more than a coincidence, that your +first word since we parted in Rome last spring should come to me in +Rome, and bear so directly on an experience which you did not know of. +I thank you very much. + +The earnest stanzas I sent to England for one who wanted them even +more than I. I don't know how people can keep up their prejudices +against spiritualism with tears in their eyes,--how they are not, at +least, thrown on the "wish that it might be true," and the +investigation of the phenomena, by that abrupt shutting in their faces +of the door of death, which shuts them out from the sight of their +beloved. My tendency is to beat up against it like a crying child. Not +that this emotional impulse is the best for turning the key and +obtaining safe conclusions,--no. I did not write before because I +always do shrink from touching my own griefs, one feels at first so +sore that nothing but stillness is borne. It is only after, when one +is better, that one can express one's self at all. This is so with me, +at least, though perhaps it ought not to be so with a poet. + +If you saw my "De Profundis" you must understand that it was written +nearly twenty years ago, and referred to what went before. Mr. +Howard's affliction made me think of the MS. (in reference to a sermon +of Dr. Beecher's in the "Independent"), and I pulled it out of a +secret place and sent it to America, not thinking that the publication +would fall in so nearly with a new grief of mine as to lead to +misconceptions. In fact the poem would have been an exaggeration in +that case, and unsuitable in other respects. + +It refers to the greatest affliction of my life,--the only time when I +felt _despair_,--written a year after or more. Forgive all these +reticences. My husband calls me "peculiar" in some things,--peculiarly +lâche, perhaps. I can't articulate some names, or speak of certain +afflictions;--no, not to _him_,--not after all these years! It's +a sort of _dumbness_ of the soul. Blessed are those who can +speak, I say. But don't you see from this how I must want +"spiritualism" above most persons? + +Now let me be ashamed of this egotism, together with the rest of the +weakness obtruded on you here, when I should rather have congratulated +you, my dear friend, on the great crisis you are passing through in +America. If the North is found noble enough to stand fast on the moral +question, whatever the loss or diminution of territory, God and just +men will see you greater and more glorious as a nation. + +I had much anxiety for you after the Seward and Adams speeches, but +the danger seems averted by that fine madness of the South which seems +judicial. The tariff movement we should regret deeply (and do, some of +us), only I am told it was wanted in order to persuade those who were +less accessible to moral argument. It's eking out the holy water with +ditch water. If the Devil flees before it, even so, let us be content. +How you must feel, _you_ who have done so much to set this +accursed slavery in the glare of the world, convicting it of +hideousness! They should raise a statue to you in America and +elsewhere. + +Meanwhile I am reading you in the "Independent," sent to me by Mr. +Tilton, with the greatest interest. Your new novel opens beautifully. +[Footnote: _The Pearl of Orr's Island_.] + +Do write to me and tell me of yourself and the subjects which interest +us both. It seems to me that our Roman affairs may linger a little +(while the Papacy bleeds slowly to death in its finances) on account +of this violent clerical opposition in France. Otherwise we were +prepared for the fall of the house any morning. Prince Napoleon's +speech represents, with whatever slight discrepancy, the inner mind of +the emperor. It occupied seventeen columns of the "Moniteur" and was +magnificent. Victor Emmanuel wrote to thank him for it in the name of +Italy, and even the English papers praised it as "a masterly +exposition of the policy of France." It is settled that we shall wait +for Venice. It will not be for long. Hungary is _only_ waiting, +and even in the ashes of Poland there are flickering sparks. Is it the +beginning of the restitution of all things? + +Here in Rome there are fewer English than usual, and more empty +houses. There is a new story every morning, and nobody to cut off the +head of the Scheherazade. Yesterday the Pope was going to Venice +directly, and, the day before, fixed the hour for Victor Emmanuel's +coming, and the day before _that_ brought a letter from Cavour to +Antonelli about sweeping the streets clean for the feet of the king. +The poor Romans live on these stories, while the Holy Father and king +of Naples meet holding one another's hands, and cannot speak for sobs. +The little queen, however, is a heroine in her way and from her point +of view, and when she drives about in a common fiacre, looking very +pretty under her only crown left of golden hair, one must feel sorry +that she was not born and married nearer to holy ground. My husband +prays you to remember him, and I ask your daughters to remember both +of us. Our boy rides his pony and studies under his abbé, and keeps a +pair of red cheeks, thank God. + +I ought to send you more about the society in Rome, but I have lived +much alone this winter, and have little to tell you. Dr. Manning and +Mr. DeVere stay away, not bearing, perhaps, to see the Pope in his +agony. + +Your ever affectionate friend, + +ELIZABETH B. BROWNING. + +Soon after her return to America Mrs. Stowe began a correspondence +with Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, which opened the way for the warm +friendship that has stood the test of years. Of this correspondence +the two following letters, written about this time, are worthy of +attention. + +ANDOVER, _September_ 9, 1860. + +DEAR DR. HOLMES,--I have had an impulse upon me for a long time to +write you a line of recognition and sympathy, in response to those +that reached me monthly in your late story in the "Atlantic" ("Elsie +Venner"). + +I know not what others may think of it, since I have seen nobody since +my return; but to me it is of deeper and broader interest than +anything you have done yet, and I feel an intense curiosity concerning +that underworld of thought from which Like bubbles your incidents and +remarks often seem to burst up. The foundations of moral +responsibility, the interlacing laws of nature and spirit, and their +relations to us here and hereafter, are topics which I ponder more and +more, and on which only one medically educated can write _well_. +I think a course of medical study ought to be required of all +ministers. How I should like to talk with you upon the strange list of +topics suggested in the schoolmaster's letter! They are bound to +agitate the public mind more and more, and it is of the chiefest +importance to learn, if we can, to think soundly and wisely of them. +Nobody can be a sound theologian who has not had his mind drawn to +think with reverential fear on these topics. + +Allow me to hint that the monthly numbers are not long enough. Get us +along a little faster. You must work this well out. Elaborate and give +us all the particulars. Old Sophie is a jewel; give us more of her. I +have seen her. Could you ever come out and spend a day with us? The +professor and I would so like to have a talk on some of these matters +with you! + +Very truly yours, H. B. STOWE. + +ANDOVER, _February_ 18, 1861. + +DEAR DOCTOR,--I was quite indignant to hear yesterday of the very +unjust and stupid attack upon you in the----. Mr. Stowe has written to +them a remonstrance which I hope they will allow to appear as he wrote +it, and over his name. He was well acquainted with your father and +feels the impropriety of the thing. + +But, my dear friend, in being shocked, surprised, or displeased +personally with such things, we must consider other people's natures. +A man or woman may wound us to the quick without knowing it, or +meaning to do so, simply through difference of fibre. As Cowper hath +somewhere happily said:-- + + "Oh, why are farmers made so coarse, + Or clergy made so fine? + A kick that scarce might move a horse + Might kill a sound divine." + +When once people get ticketed, and it is known that one is a hammer, +another a saw, and so on, if we happen to get a taste of their quality +we cannot help being hurt, to be sure, but we shall not take it ill of +them. There be pious, well-intending beetles, wedges, hammers, saws, +and all other kinds of implements, good--except where they come in the +way of our fingers--and from a beetle you can have only a beetle's +gospel. + +I have suffered in my day from this sort of handling, which is worse +for us women, who must never answer, and once when I wrote to Lady +Byron, feeling just as you do about some very stupid and unkind things +that had invaded my personality, she answered me, "Words do not kill, +my dear, or I should have been dead long ago." + +There is much true religion and kindness in the world, after all, and +as a general thing he who has struck a nerve would be very sorry for +it if he only knew what he had done. I would say nothing, if I were +you. There is eternal virtue in silence. + +I must express my pleasure with the closing chapters of "Elsie." They +are nobly and beautifully done, and quite come up to what I wanted to +complete my idea of her character. I am quite satisfied with it now. +It is an artistic creation, original and beautiful. + +Believe me to be your true friend, + +H. B. STOWE. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE CIVIL WAR, 1860-1865. + + +THE OUTBREAK OF CIVIL WAR.--MRS. STOWE'S SON ENLISTS.--THANKSGIVING +DAY IN WASHINGTON.--THE PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION.--REJOICINGS IN +BOSTON.--FRED STOWE AT GETTYSBURG.--LEAVING ANDOVER AND SETTLING IN +HARTFORD.--A REPLY TO THE WOMEN OF ENGLAND.--LETTERS FROM JOHN BRIGHT, +ARCHBISHOP WHATELY, AND NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. + +Immediately after Mrs. Stowe's return from Europe, it became only too +evident that the nation was rapidly and inevitably drifting into all +the horrors of civil war. To use her own words: "It was God's will +that this nation--the North as well as the South--should deeply and +terribly suffer for the sin of consenting to and encouraging the great +oppressions of the South; that the ill-gotten wealth, which had arisen +from striking hands with oppression and robbery, should be paid back +in the taxes of war; that the blood of the poor slave, that had cried +so many years from the ground in vain, should be answered by the blood +of the sons from the best hearthstones through all the free States; +that the slave mothers, whose tears nobody regarded, should have with +them a great company of weepers, North and South,--Rachels weeping for +their children and refusing to be comforted; that the free States, who +refused to listen when they were told of lingering starvation, cold, +privation, and barbarous cruelty, as perpetrated on the slave, should +have lingering starvation, cold, hunger, and cruelty doing its work +among their own sons, at the hands of these slave-masters, with whose +sins our nation had connived." + +Mrs. Stowe spoke from personal experience, having seen her own son go +forth in the ranks of those who first responded to the President's +call for volunteers. He was one of the first to place his name on the +muster-roll of Company A of the First Massachusetts Volunteers. While +his regiment was still at the camp in Cambridge, Mrs. Stowe was called +to Brooklyn on important business, from which place she writes to her +husband under the date June 11, 1861:-- + +"Yesterday noon Henry (Ward Beecher) came in, saying that the +Commonwealth, with the First (Massachusetts) Regiment on board, had +just sailed by. Immediately I was of course eager to get to Jersey +City to see Fred. Sister Eunice said she would go with me, and in a +few minutes she, Hatty, Sam Scoville, and I were in a carriage, +driving towards the Fulton Ferry. Upon reaching Jersey City we found +that the boys were dining in the depot, an immense building with many +tracks and platforms. It has a great cast-iron gallery just under the +roof, apparently placed there with prophetic instinct of these times. +There was a crowd of people pressing against the grated doors, which +were locked, but through which we could see the soldiers. It was with +great difficulty that we were at last permitted to go inside, and that +object seemed to be greatly aided by a bit of printed satin that some +man gave Mr. Scoville. + +"When we were in, a vast area of gray caps and blue overcoats was +presented. The boys were eating, drinking, smoking, talking, singing, +and laughing. Company A was reported to be here, there, and +everywhere. At last S. spied Fred in the distance, and went leaping +across the tracks towards him. Immediately afterwards a blue- +overcoated figure bristling with knapsack and haversack, and looking +like an assortment of packages, came rushing towards us. + +"Fred was overjoyed, you may be sure, and my first impulse was to wipe +his face with my handkerchief before I kissed him. He was in high +spirits, in spite of the weight of blue overcoat, knapsack, etc., +etc., that he would formerly have declared intolerable for half an +hour. I gave him my handkerchief and Eunice gave him hers, with a +sheer motherly instinct that is so strong within her, and then we +filled his haversack with oranges. + +"We stayed with Fred about two hours, during which time the gallery +was filled with people, cheering and waving their handkerchiefs. Every +now and then the band played inspiriting airs, in which the soldiers +joined with hearty voices. While some of the companies sang, others +were drilled, and all seemed to be having a general jollification. The +meal that had been provided was plentiful, and consisted of coffee, +lemonade, sandwiches, etc. + +"On our way out we were introduced to the Rev. Mr. Cudworth, chaplain +of the regiment. He is a fine-looking man, with black eyes and hair, +set off by a white havelock. He wore a sword, and Fred, touching it, +asked, 'Is this for use or ornament, sir?' + +"'Let me see you in danger,' answered the chaplain, 'and you'll find +out.' + +"I said to him I supposed he had had many an one confided to his kind +offices, but I could not forbear adding one more to the number. He +answered, 'You may rest assured, Mrs. Stowe, I will do all in my +power.' + +"We parted from Fred at the door. He said he felt lonesome enough +Saturday evening on the Common in Boston, where everybody was taking +leave of somebody, and he seemed to be the only one without a friend, +but that this interview made up for it all. + +"I also saw young Henry. Like Fred he is mysteriously changed, and +wears an expression of gravity and care. So our boys come to manhood +in a day. Now I am watching anxiously for the evening paper to tell me +that the regiment has reached Washington in safety." + +In November, 1862, Mrs. Stowe was invited to visit Washington, to be +present at a great thanksgiving dinner provided for the thousands of +fugitive slaves who had flocked to the city. She accepted the +invitation the more gladly because her son's regiment was encamped +near the city, and she should once more see him. He was now Lieutenant +Stowe, having honestly won his promotion by bravery on more than one +hard-fought field. She writes of this visit: + +Imagine a quiet little parlor with a bright coal fire, and the +gaslight burning above a centre-table, about which Hatty, Fred, and I +are seated. Fred is as happy as happy can be to be with mother and +sister once more. All day yesterday we spent in getting him. First we +had to procure a permit to go to camp, then we went to the fort where +the colonel is, and then to another where the brigadier-general is +stationed. I was so afraid they would not let him come with us, and +was never happier than when at last he sprang into the carriage free +to go with us for forty-eight hours. "Oh!" he exclaimed in a sort of +rapture, "this pays for a year and a half of fighting and hard work!" + +We tried hard to get the five o'clock train out to Laurel, where J.'s +regiment is stationed, as we wanted to spend Sunday all together; but +could not catch it, and so had to content ourselves with what we could +have. I have managed to secure a room for Fred next ours, and feel as +though I had my boy at home once more. He is looking very well, has +grown in thickness, and is as loving and affectionate as a boy can be. + +I have just been writing a pathetic appeal to the brigadier-general to +let him stay with us a week. I have also written to General Buckingham +in regard to changing him from the infantry, in which there seems to +be no prospect of anything but garrison duty, to the cavalry, which is +full of constant activity. + +General B. called on us last evening. He seemed to think the prospect +before us was, at best, of a long war. He was the officer deputed to +carry the order to General McClellan relieving him of command of the +army. He carried it to him in his tent about twelve o'clock at night. +Burnside was there. McClellan said it was very unexpected, but +immediately turned over the command. I said I thought he ought to have +expected it after having so disregarded the President's order. General +B. smiled and said he supposed McClellan had done that so often before +that he had no idea any notice would be taken of it this time. + +Now, as I am very tired, I must close, and remain as always, lovingly +yours, + +HATTY. + +During the darkest and most bitter period of the Civil War, Mrs. Stowe +penned the following letter to the Duchess of Argyll:-- + +ANDOVER, _July_ 31, 1863. + +MY DEAR FRIEND,--Your lovely, generous letter was a real comfort to +me, and reminded me that a year--and, alas! a whole year--had passed +since I wrote to your dear mother, of whom I think so often as one of +God's noblest creatures, and one whom it comforts me to think is still +in our world. + +_So many_, good and noble, have passed away whose friendship was +such a pride, such a comfort to me! Your noble father, Lady Byron, +Mrs. Browning,--their spirits are as perfect as ever passed to the +world of light. I grieve about your dear mother's eyes. I have thought +about you all, many a sad, long, quiet hour, as I have lain on my bed +and looked at the pictures on my wall; one, in particular, of the +moment before the Crucifixion, which is the first thing I look at when +I wake in the morning. I think how suffering is, and must be, the +portion of noble spirits, and no lot so brilliant that must not first +or last dip into the shadow of that eclipse. Prince Albert, too, the +ideal knight, the _Prince Arthur_ of our times, the good, wise, +steady head and heart we--that is, our world, we Anglo-Saxons--need so +much. And the Queen! yes, I have thought of and prayed for her, too. +But could a woman hope to have _always_ such a heart, and yet +ever be weaned from earth "all this and heaven, too"? + +Under my picture I have inscribed, "Forasmuch as Christ also hath +suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind." + +This year has been one long sigh, one smothering sob, to me. And I +thank God that we have as yet one or two generous friends in England +who understand and feel for our cause. + +The utter failure of Christian, anti-slavery England, in those +_instincts_ of a right heart which always can see where the cause +of liberty lies, has been as bitter a grief to me as was the similar +prostration of all our American religious people in the day of the +Fugitive Slave Law. Exeter Hall is a humbug, a pious humbug, like the +rest. Lord Shaftesbury. Well, let him go; he is a Tory, and has, after +all, the instincts of his class. But I saw _your_ duke's speech +to his tenants! That was grand! If _he_ can see these things, +they are to be seen, and why cannot Exeter Hall see them? It is simply +the want of the honest heart. + +Why do the horrible barbarities of _Southern_ soldiers cause no +comment? Why is the sympathy of the British Parliament reserved for +the poor women of New Orleans, deprived of their elegant amusement of +throwing vitriol into soldiers' faces, and practicing indecencies +inconceivable in any other state of society? Why is _all_ +expression of sympathy on the _Southern_ side? There is a class +of women in New Orleans whom Butler protects from horrible +barbarities, that up to his day have been practiced on them by these +so-called New Orleans ladies, but British sympathy has ceased to +notice _them_. You see I am bitter. I am. You wonder at my +brother. He is a man, and feels a thousand times more than I can, and +deeper than all he ever has expressed, the spirit of these things. You +must not wonder, therefore. Remember it is the moment when every nerve +is vital; it is our agony; we tread the winepress alone, and they +whose cheap rhetoric has been for years pushing us into it now desert +_en masse_. I thank my God I always loved and trusted most those +who now _do_ stand true,--your family, your duke, yourself, your +noble mother. I have lost Lady Byron. Her great heart, her eloquent +letters, would have been such a joy to me! And Mrs. Browning, oh such +a heroic woman! None of her poems can express what _she_ was,--so +grand, so comprehending, so strong, with such inspired insight! She +stood by Italy through its crisis. Her heart was with all good through +the world. Your prophecy that we shall come out better, truer, +stronger, will, I am confident, be true, and it was worthy of yourself +and your good lineage. + +Slavery will be sent out by this agony. We are only in the throes and +ravings of the exorcism. The roots of the cancer have gone everywhere, +but they must die--will. Already the Confiscation Bill is its natural +destruction. Lincoln has been too slow. He should have done it sooner, +and with an impulse, but come it must, come it will. Your mother will +live to see slavery abolished, _unless_ England forms an alliance +to hold it up. England is the great reliance of the slave-power to- +day, and next to England the faltering weakness of the North, which +palters and dare not fire the great broadside for fear of hitting +friends. These things _must_ be done, and sudden, sharp remedies +are _mercy_. Just now we are in a dark hour; but whether God be +with us or not, I know He is with the slave, and with his redemption +will come the solution of our question. I have long known _what_ +and who we had to deal with in this, for when I wrote "Uncle Tom's +Cabin" I had letters addressed to me showing a state of society +perfectly _inconceivable_. That they violate graves, make +drinking-cups of skulls, that _ladies_ wear cameos cut from +bones, and treasure scalps, is no surprise to me. If I had written +what I knew of the obscenity, brutality, and cruelty of that society +down there, society would have cast out the books; and it is for their +interest, the interest of the whole race in the South, that we should +succeed. I wish _them_ no ill, feel no bitterness; they have had +a Dahomian education which makes them savage. We don't expect any more +of _them_, but if slavery is destroyed, one generation of +education and liberty will efface these stains. They will come to +themselves, these States, and be glad it is over. + +I am using up my paper to little purpose. Please give my best love to +your dear mother. I am going to write to her. If I only could have +written the things I have often thought! I am going to put on her +bracelet, with the other dates, that of the abolition of slavery in +the District of Columbia. Remember me to the duke and to your dear +children. My husband desires his best regards, my daughters also. + +I am lovingly ever yours, + +H. B. STOWE. + +Later in the year we hear again from her son in the army, and this +time the news comes in a chaplain's letter from the terrible field of +Gettysburg. He writes:-- + +GETTYSBURG, PA., _Saturday, July_ 11, 9.30 P. M. + +MRS. H. B. STOWE: + +_Dear Madam_,--Among the thousands of wounded and dying men on +this war-scarred field, I have just met with your son, Captain Stowe. +If you have not already heard from him, it may cheer your heart to +know that he is in the hands of good, kind friends. He was struck by a +fragment of a shell, which entered his right ear. He is quiet and +cheerful, longs to see some member of his family, and is, above all, +anxious that they should hear from him as soon as possible. I assured +him I would write at once, and though I am wearied by a week's labor +here among scenes of terrible suffering, I know that, to a mother's +anxious heart, even a hasty scrawl about her boy will be more than +welcome. + +May God bless and sustain you in this troubled time! + +Yours with sincere sympathy, + +J. M. CROWELL. + +The wound in the head was not fatal, and after weary months of intense +suffering it imperfectly healed; but the cruel iron had too nearly +touched the brain of the young officer, and never again was he what he +had been. Soon after the war his mother bought a plantation in +Florida, largely in the hope that the out-of-door life connected with +its management might be beneficial to her afflicted son. He remained +on it for several years, and then, being possessed with the idea that +a long sea voyage would do him more good than anything else, sailed +from New York to San Francisco around the Horn. That he reached the +latter city in safety is known; but that is all. No word from him or +concerning him has ever reached the loving hearts that have waited so +anxiously for it, and of his ultimate fate nothing is known. + +Meantime, the year 1863 was proving eventful in many other ways to +Mrs. Stowe. In the first place, the long and pleasant Andover +connection of Professor Stowe was about to be severed, and the family +were to remove to Hartford, Conn. They were to occupy a house that +Mrs. Stowe was building on the bank of Park River. It was erected in a +grove of oaks that had in her girlhood been one of Mrs. Stowe's +favorite resorts. Here, with her friend Georgiana May, she had passed +many happy hours, and had often declared that if she were ever able to +build a house, it should stand in that very place. Here, then, it was +built in 1863, and as the location was at that time beyond the city +limits, it formed, with its extensive, beautiful groves, a +particularly charming place of residence. Beautiful as it was, +however, it was occupied by the family for only a few years. The needs +of the growing city caused factories to spring up in the neighborhood, +and to escape their encroachments the Stowes in 1873 bought and moved +into the house on Forest Street that has ever since been their +Northern home. Thus the only house Mrs. Stowe ever planned and built +for herself has been appropriated to the use of factory hands, and is +now a tenement occupied by several families. + +Another important event of 1863 was the publishing of that charming +story of Italy, "Agnes of Sorrento," which had been begun nearly four +years before. This story suggested itself to Mrs. Stowe while she was +abroad during the winter of 1859-60. The origin of the story is as +follows: One evening, at a hotel in Florence, it was proposed that the +various members of the party should write short stories and read them +for the amusement of the company. Mrs. Stowe took part in this +literary contest, and the result was the first rough sketch of "Agnes +of Sorrento." From this beginning was afterwards elaborated "Agnes of +Sorrento," with a dedication to Annie Howard, who was one of the +party. + +[Illustration: THE OLD HOME AT HARTFORD.] + +Not the least important event of the year to Mrs. Stowe, and the world +at large through her instrumentality, was the publication in the +"Atlantic Monthly" of her reply to the address of the women of +England. The "reply" is substantially as follows:-- + +_January_, 1863. + +A REPLY + +To "The affectionate and Christian Address of many thousands of Women +of Great Britain and Ireland to their Sisters, the Women of the United +States of America," (signed by) + + ANNA MARIA BEDFORD (Duchess of Bedford). + OLIVIA CECILIA COWLEY (Countess Cowley). + CONSTANCE GROSVENOR (Countess Grosvenor). + HARRIET SUTHERLAND (Duchess of Sutherland). + ELIZABETH ARGYLL (Duchess of Argyll). + ELIZABETH FORTESCUE (Countess Fortescue). + EMILY SHAFTESBURY (Countess of Shaftesbury). + MARY RUTHVEN (Baroness Ruthven). + M. A. MILMAN (wife of Dean of St. Paul). + R. BUXTON (daughter of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton). + CAROLINE AMELIA OWEN (wife of Professor Owen). + MRS. CHARLES WINDHAM. + C. A. HATHERTON (Baroness Hatherton). + ELIZABETH DUCIE (Countess Dowager of Ducie). + CECILIA PARKE (wife of Baron Parke). + MARY ANN CHALLIS (wife of the Lord Mayor of London). + E. GORDON (Duchess Dowager of Gordon). + ANNA M. L. MELVILLE (daughter of Earl of Leven and Melville). + GEORGIANA EBRINGTON (Lady Ebrington). + A. HILL (Viscountess Hill). + MRS. GOBAT (wife of Bishop Gobat of Jerusalem). + E. PALMERSTON (Viscountess Palmerston). + (And others). + +SISTERS,--More than eight years ago you sent to us in America a +document with the above heading. It is as follows:-- + +"A common origin, a common faith, and, we sincerely believe, a common +cause, urge us, at the present moment, to address you on the subject +of that system of negro slavery which still prevails so extensively, +and, even under kindly disposed masters, with such frightful results, +in many of the vast regions of the Western world. + +"We will not dwell on the ordinary topics,--on the progress of +civilization, on the advance of freedom everywhere, on the rights and +requirements of the nineteenth century; but we appeal to you very +seriously to reflect, and to ask counsel of God, how far such a state +of things is in accordance with his Holy Word, the inalienable rights +of immortal souls, and the pure and merciful spirit of the Christian +religion. We do not shut our eyes to the difficulties, nay, the +dangers, that might beset the immediate abolition of that long- +established system. We see and admit the necessity of preparation for +so great an event; but, in speaking of indispensable preliminaries, we +cannot be silent on those laws of your country which, in direct +contravention of God's own law, 'instituted in the time of man's +innocency, deny in effect to the slave the sanctity of marriage, with +all its joys, rights, and obligations; which separate, at the will of +the master, the wife from the husband, and the children from the +parents. Nor can we be silent on that awful system which, either by +statute or by custom, interdicts to any race of men, or any portion of +the human family, education in the truths of the gospel and the +ordinances of Christianity. A remedy applied to these two evils alone +would commence the amelioration of their sad condition. We appeal to +you then, as sisters, as wives, and as mothers, to raise your voices +to your fellow-citizens, and your prayers to God, for the removal of +this affliction and disgrace from the Christian world. + +"We do not say these things in a spirit of self-complacency, as though +our nation were free from the guilt it perceives in others. + +"We acknowledge with grief and shame our heavy share in this great +sin. We acknowledge that our fore-fathers introduced, nay compelled +the adoption, of slavery in those mighty colonies. We humbly confess +it before Almighty God; and it is because we so deeply feel and +unfeignedly avow our own complicity, that we now venture to implore +your aid to wipe away our common crime and our common dishonor." + +This address, splendidly illuminated on vellum, was sent to our shores +at the head of twenty-six folio volumes, containing considerably more +than half a million of signatures of British women. It was forwarded +to me with a letter from a British nobleman, now occupying one of the +highest official positions in England, with a request on behalf of +these ladies that it should be in any possible way presented to the +attention of my countrywomen. + +This memorial, as it now stands in its solid oaken case, with its +heavy folios, each bearing on its back the imprint of the American +eagle, forms a most unique library, a singular monument of an +international expression of a moral idea. No right-thinking person can +find aught to be objected against the substance or form of this +memorial. It is temperate, just, and kindly; and on the high ground of +Christian equality, where it places itself, may be regarded as a +perfectly proper expression of sentiment, as between blood relations +and equals in two different nations. The signatures to this appeal are +not the least remarkable part of it; for, beginning at the very steps +of the throne, they go down to the names of women in the very humblest +conditions in life, and represent all that Great Britain possesses, +not only of highest and wisest, but of plain, homely common sense and +good feeling. Names of wives of cabinet ministers appear on the same +page with the names of wives of humble laborers,--names of duchesses +and countesses, of wives of generals, ambassadors, savants, and men of +letters, mingled with names traced in trembling characters by hands +evidently unused to hold the pen, and stiffened by lowly toil. Nay, so +deep and expansive was the feeling, that British subjects in foreign +lands had their representation. Among the signatures are those of +foreign residents, from Paris to Jerusalem. Autographs so diverse, and +collected from sources so various, have seldom been found in +juxtaposition. They remain at this day a silent witness of a most +singular tide of feeling which at that time swept over the British +community and _made_ for itself an expression, even at the risk +of offending the sensibilities of an equal and powerful nation. + +No reply to that address, in any such tangible and monumental form, +has ever been possible. It was impossible to canvass our vast +territories with the zealous and indefatigable industry with which +England was canvassed for signatures. In America, those possessed of +the spirit which led to this efficient action had no leisure for it. +All their time and energies were already absorbed in direct efforts to +remove the great evil, concerning which the minds of their English +sisters had been newly aroused, and their only answer was the silent +continuance of these efforts. + +From the slaveholding States, however, as was to be expected, came a +flood of indignant recrimination and rebuke. No one act, perhaps, ever +produced more frantic irritation, or called out more unsparing abuse. +It came with the whole united weight of the British aristocracy and +commonalty on the most diseased and sensitive part of our national +life; and it stimulated that fierce excitement which was working +before, and has worked since, till it has broken out into open war. + +The time has come, however, when such an astonishing page has been +turned, in the anti-slavery history of America, that the women of our +country, feeling that the great anti-slavery work to which their +English sisters exhorted them is almost done, may properly and +naturally feel moved to reply to their appeal, and lay before them the +history of what has occurred since the receipt of their affectionate +and Christian address. + +Your address reached us just as a great moral conflict was coming to +its intensest point. The agitation kept up by the anti-slavery portion +of America, by England, and by the general sentiment of humanity in +Europe, had made the situation of the slaveholding aristocracy +intolerable. As one of them at the time expressed it, they felt +themselves under the ban of the civilized world. Two courses only were +open to them: to abandon slave institutions, the sources of their +wealth and political power, or to assert them with such an +overwhelming national force as to compel the respect and assent of +mankind. They chose the latter. + +To this end they determined to seize on and control all the resources +of the Federal Government, and to spread their institutions through +new States and Territories until the balance of power should fall into +their hands and they should be able to force slavery into all the free +States. + +A leading Southern senator boasted that he would yet call the roll of +his slaves on Bunker Hill; and for a while the political successes of +the slave-power were such as to suggest to New England that this was +no impossible event. + +They repealed the Missouri Compromise, which had hitherto stood like +the Chinese wall, between our Northwestern Territories and the +irruptions of slaveholding barbarians. + +Then came the struggle between freedom and slavery in the new +territory; the battle for Kansas and Nebraska, fought with fire and +sword and blood, where a race of men, of whom John Brown was the +immortal type, acted over again the courage, the perseverance, and the +military-religious ardor of the old Covenanters of Scotland, and like +them redeemed the ark of Liberty at the price of their own blood, and +blood dearer than their own. + +The time of the Presidential canvass which elected Mr. Lincoln was the +crisis of this great battle. The conflict had become narrowed down to +the one point of the extension of slave territory. If the slaveholders +could get States enough, they could control and rule; if they were +outnumbered by free States, their institutions, by the very law of +their nature, would die of suffocation. Therefore Fugitive Slave Law, +District of Columbia, Inter-State Slave-trade, and what not, were all +thrown out of sight for a grand rally on this vital point. A President +was elected pledged to opposition to this one thing alone,--a man +known to be in favor of the Fugitive Slave Law and other so-called +compromises of the Constitution, but honest and faithful in his +determination on this one subject. That this was indeed the vital +point was shown by the result. The moment Lincoln's election was +ascertained, the slaveholders resolved to destroy the Union they could +no longer control. + +They met and organized a Confederacy which they openly declared to be +the first republic founded on the right and determination of the white +man to enslave the black man, and, spreading their banners, declared +themselves to the Christian world of the nineteenth century as a +nation organized with the full purpose and intent of perpetuating +slavery. + +But in the course of the struggle that followed, it became important +for the new confederation to secure the assistance of foreign powers, +and infinite pains were then taken to blind and bewilder the mind of +England as to the real issues of the conflict in America. + +It has been often and earnestly asserted that slavery had nothing to +do with this conflict; that it was a mere struggle for power; that the +only object was to restore the Union as it was, with all its abuses. +It is to be admitted that expressions have proceeded from the national +administration which naturally gave rise to misapprehension, and +therefore we beg to speak to you on this subject more fully. + +And first the declaration of the Confederate States themselves is +proof enough, that, whatever may be declared on the other side, the +maintenance of slavery is regarded by them as the vital object of +their movement. + +We ask your attention under this head to the declaration of their +Vice-President, Stephens, in that remarkable speech delivered on the +21st of March, 1861, at Savannah, Georgia, wherein he declares the +object and purposes of the new Confederacy. It is one of the most +extraordinary papers which our century has produced. I quote from the +_verbatim_ report in the "Savannah Republican" of the address as +it was delivered in the Athenćum of that city, on which occasion, says +the newspaper from which I copy, "Mr. Stephens took his seat amid a +burst of enthusiasm and applause such as the Athenćum has never had +displayed within its walls within the recollection 'of the oldest +inhabitant,'" + +Last, not least, the new Constitution has put at rest _forever_ +all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution,-- +African slavery as it exists among us, the proper _status_ of +the negro in our form of civilization. _This was the immediate cause +of the late rupture and present revolution_. Jefferson, in his +forecast, had anticipated this as the "rock upon which the old Union +would split." He was right. What was a conjecture with him is now a +realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great truth upon +which that rock _stood_ and _stands_ may be doubted. + +_The prevailing ideas entertained by him, and most of the leading +statesmen at the time of the formation of the old Constitution were, +that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of +nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and +politically._ + +In the mean while, during the past year, the Republican +administration, with all the unwonted care of organizing an army and +navy, and conducting military operations on an immense scale, have +proceeded to demonstrate the feasibility of overthrowing slavery by +purely constitutional measures. To this end they have instituted a +series of movements which have made this year more fruitful in anti- +slavery triumphs than any other since the emancipation of the British +West Indies. The District of Columbia, as belonging strictly to the +national government and to no separate State, has furnished a fruitful +subject of remonstrance from British Christians with America. We have +abolished slavery there, and thus wiped out the only blot of +territorial responsibility on our escutcheon. + +By another act, equally grand in principle, and far more important in +its results, slavery is forever excluded from the Territories of the +United States. + +By another act, America has consummated the long-delayed treaty with +Great Britain for the suppression of the slave-trade. In ports whence +slave vessels formerly sailed with the connivance of the port +officers, the administration has placed men who stand up to their +duty, and for the first time in our history the slave-trader is +convicted and hung as a pirate. This abominable secret traffic has +been wholly demolished by the energy of the Federal Government. + +Lastly, and more significant still, the United States government has +in its highest official capacity taken distinct anti-slavery ground, +and presented to the country a plan of peaceable emancipation with +suitable compensation. This noble-spirited and generous offer has been +urged on the slaveholding States by the chief executive with +earnestness and sincerity. But this is but half the story of the anti- +slavery triumphs of this year. We have shown you what has been done +for freedom by the simple use of the ordinary constitutional forces of +the Union. We are now to show you what has been done to the same end +by the constitutional war-power of the nation. + +By this power it has been this year decreed that every slave of a +rebel who reaches the lines of our army becomes a free man; that all +slaves found deserted by their masters become free men; that every +slave employed in any service for the United States thereby obtains +his liberty; and that every slave employed against the United States +in any capacity obtains his liberty; and lest the army should contain +officers disposed to remand slaves to their masters, the power of +judging and delivering up slaves is denied to army officers, and all +such acts are made penal. + +By this act the Fugitive Slave Law is for all present purposes +practically repealed. With this understanding and provision, wherever +our armies march they carry liberty with them. For be it remembered +that our army is almost entirely a volunteer one, and that the most +zealous and ardent volunteers are those who have been for years +fighting, with tongue and pen, the abolition battle. So marked is the +character of our soldiers in this respect, that they are now +familiarly designated in the official military dispatches of the +Confederate States as "the Abolitionists." Conceive the results when +an army so empowered by national law marches through a slave +territory. One regiment alone has to our certain knowledge liberated +two thousand slaves during the past year, and this regiment is but one +out of hundreds. + +Lastly, the great decisive measure of the war has appeared,--_the +President's Proclamation of Emancipation_. + +This also has been much misunderstood and misrepresented in England. +It has been said to mean virtually this: Be loyal and you shall keep +your slaves; rebel and they shall be free. But let us remember what we +have just seen of the purpose and meaning of the Union to which the +rebellious States are invited back. It is to a Union which has +abolished slavery in the District of Columbia, and interdicted slavery +in the Territories; which vigorously represses the slave-trade, and +hangs the convicted slaver as a pirate; which necessitates +emancipation by denying expansion to slavery, and facilitates it by +the offer of compensation. Any slaveholding States which should return +to such a Union might fairly be supposed to return with the purpose of +peaceable emancipation. The President's Proclamation simply means +this: Come in and emancipate peaceably with compensation; stay out and +I emancipate, nor will I protect you from the consequences. + +Will our sisters in England feel no heartbeat at that event? Is it not +one of the predicted voices of the latter day, saying under the whole +heavens, "It is done; the kingdoms of this world are become the +kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ"? + +And now, sisters of England, in this solemn, expectant hour, let us +speak to you of one thing which fills our hearts with pain and +solicitude. It is an unaccountable fact, and one which we entreat you +seriously to ponder, that the party which has brought the cause of +freedom thus far on its way, during the past eventful year, has found +little or no support in England. Sadder than this, the party which +makes slavery the chief corner-stone of its edifice finds in England +its strongest defenders. + +The voices that have spoken for us who contend for liberty have been +few and scattering. God forbid that we should forget those few noble +voices, so sadly exceptional in the general outcry against us! They +are, alas! too few to be easily forgotten. False statements have +blinded the minds of your community, and turned the most generous +sentiments of the British heart against us. The North are fighting for +supremacy and the South for independence, has been the voice. +Independence? for what? to do what? To prove the doctrine that all men +are _not_ equal; to establish the doctrine that the white may +enslave the negro! + +In the beginning of our struggle, the voices that reached us across +the water said: "If we were only sure you were fighting for the +abolition of slavery, we should not dare to say whither our sympathies +for your cause might not carry us." Such, as we heard, were the words +of the honored and religious nobleman who draughted this very letter +which you signed and sent us, and to which we are now replying. + +When these words reached us we said: "We can wait; our friends in +England will soon see whither this conflict is tending." A year and a +half have passed; step after step has been taken for liberty; chain +after chain has fallen, till the march of our armies is choked and +clogged by the glad flocking of emancipated slaves; the day of final +emancipation is set; the border States begin to move in voluntary +consent; universal freedom for all dawns like the sun in the distant +horizon, and still no voice from England. No voice? Yes, we have heard +on the high seas the voice of a war-steamer, built for a man-stealing +Confederacy, with English gold, in an English dockyard, going out of +an English harbor, manned by English sailors, with the full knowledge +of English government officers, in defiance of the Queen's +proclamation of neutrality! So far has English sympathy overflowed. We +have heard of other steamers, iron-clad, designed to furnish to a +slavery-defending Confederacy their only lack,--a navy for the high +seas. We have heard that the British Evangelical Alliance refuses to +express sympathy with the liberating party, when requested to do so by +the French Evangelical Alliance. We find in English religious +newspapers all those sad degrees in the downward-sliding scale of +defending and apologizing for slaveholders and slave-holding, with +which we have so many years contended in our own country. We find the +President's Proclamation of Emancipation spoken of in those papers +only as an incitement to servile insurrection. Nay, more,--we find in +your papers, from thoughtful men, the admission of the rapid decline +of anti-slavery sentiments in England. + +This very day the writer of this has been present at a solemn +religious festival in the national capital, given at the home of a +portion of those fugitive slaves who have fled to our lines for +protection,--who, under the shadow of our flag, find sympathy and +succor. The national day of thanksgiving was there kept by over a +thousand redeemed slaves, and for whom Christian charity had spread an +ample repast. Our sisters, we wish _you_ could have witnessed the +scene. We wish you could have heard the prayer of a blind old negro, +called among his fellows John the Baptist, when in touching broken +English he poured forth his thanksgivings. We wish you could have +heard the sound of that strange rhythmical chant which is now +forbidden to be sung on Southern plantations,--the psalm of this +modern exodus,--which combines the barbaric fire of the Marseillaise +with the religious fervor of the old Hebrew prophet:-- + + "Oh, go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land! + Tell King Pharaoh + To let my people go! + Stand away dere, + Stand away dere, + And let my people go!" + +As we were leaving, an aged woman came and lifted up her hands in +blessing. "Bressed be de Lord dat brought me to see dis first happy +day of my life! Bressed be de Lord!" In all England is there no Amen? + +We have been shocked and saddened by the question asked in an +association of Congregational ministers in England, the very blood +relations of the liberty-loving Puritans,--"Why does not the North let +the South go?" + +What! give up the point of emancipation for these four million slaves? +Turn our backs on them, and leave them to their fate? What! leave our +white brothers to run a career of oppression and robbery, that, as +sure as there is a God that ruleth in the armies of heaven, will bring +down a day of wrath and doom? Remember that wishing success to this +slavery-establishing effort is only wishing to the sons and daughters +of the South all the curses that God has written against oppression. +_Mark our words!_ If we succeed, the children of these very men +who are now fighting us will rise up to call us blessed. Just as +surely as there is a God who governs in the world, so surely all the +laws of national prosperity follow in the train of equity; and if we +succeed, we shall have delivered the children's children of our +misguided brethren from the wages of sin, which is always and +everywhere death. + +And now, sisters of England, think it not strange if we bring back the +words of your letter, not in bitterness, but in deepest sadness, and +lay them down at your door. We say to you, Sisters, you have spoken +well; we have heard you; we have heeded; we have striven in the cause, +even unto death. We have sealed our devotion by desolate hearth and +darkened homestead,--by the blood of sons, husbands, and brothers. In +many of our dwellings the very light of our lives has gone out; and +yet we accept the life-long darkness as our own part in this great and +awful expiation, by which the bonds of wickedness shall be loosed, and +abiding peace established, on the foundation of righteousness. +Sisters, what have _you_ done, and what do you mean to do? + +We appeal to you as sisters, as wives, and as mothers, to raise your +voices to your fellow-citizens, and your prayers to God for the +removal of this affliction and disgrace from the Christian world. + +In behalf of many thousands of American women. + +HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. + +WASHINGTON, _November_ 27, 1862. + +The publication of this reply elicited the following interesting +letter from John Bright:-- + +ROCHDALE, _March_ 9, 1863. + +DEAR MRS. STOWE,--I received your kind note with real pleasure, and +felt it very good of you to send me a copy of the "Atlantic Monthly" +with your noble letter to the women of England. I read every word of +it with an intense interest, and I am quite sure that its effect upon +opinion here has been marked and beneficial. It has covered some with +shame, and it has compelled many to think, and it has stimulated not a +few to act. Before this reaches you, you will have seen what large and +earnest meetings have been held in all our towns in favor of abolition +and the North. No town has a building large enough to contain those +who come to listen, to applaud, and to vote in favor of freedom and +the Union. The effect of this is evident on our newspapers and on the +tone of Parliament, where now nobody says a word in favor of +recognition, or mediation, or any such thing. + +The need and duty of England is admitted to be a strict neutrality, +but the feeling of the millions of her people is one of friendliness +to the United States and its government. It would cause universal +rejoicing, among all but a limited circle of aristocracy and +commercially rich and corrupt, to hear that the Northern forces had +taken Vicksburg on the great river, and Charleston on the Atlantic, +and that the neck of the conspiracy was utterly broken. + +I hope your people may have strength and virtue to win the great cause +intrusted to them, but it is fearful to contemplate the amount of the +depravity in the North engendered by the long power of slavery. New +England is far ahead of the States as a whole,--too instructed and too +moral; but still I will hope that she will bear the nation through +this appalling danger. + +I well remember the evening at Rome and our conversation. You lamented +the election of Buchanan. You judged him with a more unfriendly but a +more correct eye than mine. He turned out more incapable and less +honest than I hoped for. And I think I was right in saying that your +party was not then sufficiently consolidated to enable it to maintain +its policy in the execution, even had Frémont been elected. As it is +now, six years later, the North but falteringly supports the policy of +the government, though impelled by the force of events which then you +did not dream of. President Lincoln has lived half his troubled reign. +In the coming half I hope he may see land; surely slavery will be so +broken up that nothing can restore and renew it; and, slavery once +fairly gone, I know not how all your States can long be kept asunder. + +Believe me very sincerely yours, + +JOHN BRIGHT. + +It also called forth from Archbishop Whately the following letter:-- + +PALACE, DUBLIN, _January_, 1863. + +DEAR MADAM,--In acknowledging your letter and pamphlet, I take the +opportunity of laying before you what I collect to be the prevailing +sentiments here on American affairs. Of course there is a great +variety of opinion, as may be expected in a country like ours. Some +few sympathize with the Northerns, and some few with the Southerns, +but far the greater portion sympathize with neither completely, but +lament that each party should be making so much greater an expenditure +of life and property than can be compensated for by any advantage they +can dream of obtaining. + +Those who are the least favorable to the Northerns are not so from any +approbation of slavery, but from not understanding that the war is +waged in the cause of abolition. "It was waged," they say, "ostensibly +for the restoration of the Union," and in attestation of this, they +refer to the proclamation which announced the confiscation of slaves +that were the property of secessionists, while those who adhered to +the Federal cause should be exempt from such confiscation, which, they +say, did not savor much of zeal for abolition. And. if the other +object--the restoration of the Union--could be accomplished, which +they all regard as hopeless, they do not understand how it will tend +to the abolition of slavery. On the contrary, "if," say they, "the +separation had been allowed to take place peaceably, the Northerns +might, as _we_ do, have proclaimed freedom to every slave who set +foot on their territory; which would have been a great check to +slavery, and especially to any cruel treatment of slaves." Many who +have a great dislike to slavery yet hold that the Southerns had at +least as much right to secede as the Americans had originally to +revolt from Great Britain. And there are many who think that, +considering the dreadful distress we have suffered from the cotton +famine, we have shown great forbearance in withstanding the temptation +of recognizing the Southern States and to break the blockade. + +Then, again, there are some who are provoked at the incessant railing +at England, and threats of an invasion of Canada, which are poured +forth in some of the American papers. + +There are many, also, who consider that the present state of things +cannot continue much longer if the Confederates continue to hold their +own, as they have done hitherto; and that a people who shall have +maintained their independence for two or three years will be +recognized by the principal European powers. Such appears to have been +the procedure of the European powers in all similar cases, such as the +revolt of the Anglo-American and Spanish-American colonies, of the +Haytians and the Belgians. In these and other like cases, the rule +practically adopted seems to have been to recognize the revolters, not +at once, but after a reasonable time had been allowed to see whether +they could maintain their independence; and this without being +understood to have pronounced any decision either way as to the +justice of the cause. + +Moreover, there are many who say that the negroes and people of color +are far from being kindly or justly treated in the Northern States. An +emancipated slave, at any rate, has not received good training for +earning his bread by the wages of labor; and if, in addition to this +and his being treated as an outcast, he is excluded, as it is said, +from many employments, by the refusal of white laborers to work along +with him, he will have gained little by taking refuge in the Northern +States. + +I have now laid before you the views which I conceive to be most +prevalent among us, and for which I am not myself responsible. + +For the safe and effectual emancipation of slaves, I myself consider +there is no plan so good as the gradual one which was long ago +suggested by Bishop Hinds. What he recommended was an _ad valorem +tax_ upon slaves,--the value to be fixed by the owner, with an +option to government to purchase at that price. Thus the slaves would +be a burden to the master, and those the most so who should be the +most valuable, as being the most intelligent and steady, and therefore +the best qualified for freedom; and it would be his interest to train +his slaves to be free laborers, and to emancipate them, one by one, as +speedily as he could with safety. I fear, however, that the time is +gone by for trying this experiment in America. + +With best wishes for the new year, believe me + +Yours faithfully, + +Rd. Whately. + +Among the many letters written from this side of the Atlantic +regarding the reply, was one from Nathaniel Hawthorne, in which he +says:-- + +I read with great pleasure your article in the last "Atlantic." If +anything could make John Bull blush, I should think it might be that; +but he is a hardened and villainous hypocrite. I always felt that he +cared nothing for or against slavery, except as it gave him a vantage- +ground on which to parade his own virtue and sneer at our iniquity. + +With best regards from Mrs. Hawthorne and myself to yourself and +family, sincerely yours, + +NATH'L HAWTHORNE. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +FLORIDA, 1865-1869. + + +LETTER TO DUCHESS OF ARGYLL.--MRS. STOWE DESIRES TO HAVE A HOME AT THE +SOUTH.--FLORIDA THE BEST FIELD FOR DOING GOOD.--SHE BUYS A PLACE AT +MANDARIN.--A CHARMING WINTER RESIDENCE.--"PALMETTO LEAVES."--EASTER +SUNDAY AT MANDARIN.--CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR. HOLMES.--"POGANUC +PEOPLE."--RECEPTIONS IN NEW ORLEANS AND TALLAHASSEE.--LAST WINTER AT +MANDARIN. + +In 1866, the terrible conflict between the North and South having +ended, Mrs. Stowe wrote the following letter to the Duchess of +Argyll:-- + +HARTFORD, _February_ 19, 1866. + +MY DEAR FRIEND,--Your letter was a real spring of comfort to me, +bringing refreshingly the pleasant library at Inverary and the lovely +days I spent there. + +I am grieved at what you say of your dear mother's health. I showed +your letter to Mrs. Perkins, and we both agreed in saying that +_we_ should like for a time to fill the place of maid to her, as +doubtless you all feel, too. I should so love to be with her, to read +to her, and talk to her! and oh, there is so much that would cheer and +comfort a noble heart like hers that we could talk about. Oh, my +friend, when I think of what has been done these last few years, and +of what is now doing, I am lost in amazement. I have just, by way of +realizing it to myself, been reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin" again, and +when I read that book, scarred and seared and burned into with the +memories of an anguish and horror that can never be forgotten, and +think it is all over now, all past, and that now the questions debated +are simply of more or less time before granting legal suffrage to +those who so lately were held only as articles of merchandise,--when +this comes over me I think no private or individual sorrow can ever +make me wholly without comfort. If my faith in God's presence and +real, living power in the affairs of men ever grows dim, this makes it +impossible to doubt. + +I have just had a sweet and lovely Christian letter from Garrison, +whose beautiful composure and thankfulness in his hour of victory are +as remarkable as his wonderful courage in the day of moral battle. His +note ends with the words, "And who but God is to be glorified?" +Garrison's attitude is far more exalted than that of Wendell Phillips. +He acknowledges the great deed done. He suspends his "Liberator" with +words of devout thanksgiving, and devotes himself unobtrusively to the +work yet to be accomplished for the freedmen; while Phillips seems +resolved to ignore the mighty work that has been done, because of the +inevitable shortcomings and imperfections that beset it still. We have +a Congress of splendid men,--men of stalwart principle and +determination. We have a President [Footnote: Andrew Johnson] honestly +seeking to do right; and if he fails in knowing just what right is, it +is because he is a man born and reared in a slave State, and acted on +by many influences which we cannot rightly estimate unless we were in +his place. My brother Henry has talked with him earnestly and +confidentially, and has faith in him as an earnest, good man seeking +to do right. Henry takes the ground that it is unwise and impolitic to +endeavor to force negro suffrage on the South at the point of the +bayonet. His policy would be, to hold over the negro the protection of +our Freedman's Bureau until the great laws of free labor shall begin +to draw the master and servant together; to endeavor to soothe and +conciliate, and win to act with us, a party composed of the really +good men at the South. + +For this reason he has always advocated lenity of measures towards +them. He wants to get them into a state in which the moral influence +of the North can act upon them beneficially, and to get such a state +of things that there will be a party _at the South_ to protect +the negro. + +Charles Sumner is looking simply at the abstract _right_ of the +thing. Henry looks at actual probabilities. We all know that the state +of society at the South is such that laws are a very inadequate +protection even to white men. Southern elections always have been +scenes of mob violence _when only white men voted_. + +Multitudes of lives have been lost at the polls in this way, and if +against their will negro suffrage was forced upon them, I do not see +how any one in their senses can expect anything less than an immediate +war of races. + +If negro suffrage were required as a condition of acquiring political +position, there is no doubt the slave States would grant it; grant it +nominally, because they would know that the grant never could or would +become an actual realization. And what would then be gained for the +negro? + +I am sorry that people cannot differ on such great and perplexing +public questions without impugning each other's motives. Henry has +been called a backslider because of the lenity of his counsels, but I +cannot but think it is the Spirit of Christ that influences him. +Garrison has been in the same way spoken of as a deserter, because he +says that a work that _is_ done shall be called done, and because +he would not keep up an anti-slavery society when slavery is +abolished; and I think our President is much injured by the abuse that +is heaped on him, and the selfish and unworthy motives that are +ascribed to him by those who seem determined to allow to nobody an +honest, unselfish difference in judgment from their own. + +Henry has often spoken of you and your duke as pleasant memories in a +scene of almost superhuman labor and excitement. He often said to me: +"When this is all over,--when we have won the victory,--_then_ I +will write to the duchess." But when it was over and the flag raised +again at Sumter his arm was smitten down with the news of our +President's death! We all appreciate your noble and true sympathy +through the dark hour of our national trial. You and yours are almost +the only friends we now have left in England. You cannot know what it +was, unless you could imagine your own country to be in danger of +death, extinction of nationality. _That_, dear friend, is an +experience which shows us what we are and what we can feel. I am glad +to hear that we may hope to see your son in this country. I fear so +many pleasant calls will beset his path that we cannot hope for a +moment, but it would give us _all_ the greatest pleasure to see +him here. Our dull, prosy, commonplace, though good old Hartford could +offer few attractions compared with Boston or New York, and yet I hope +he will not leave us out altogether if he comes among us. God bless +him! You are very happy indeed in being permitted to keep all your +dear ones and see them growing up. + +I want to ask a favor. Do you have, as we do, _cartes de visite_? +If you have, and could send me one of yourself and the duke and of +Lady Edith and your eldest son, I should be so very glad to see how +you are looking now; and the dear mother, too, I should so like to see +how she looks. It seems almost like a dream to look back to those +pleasant days. I am glad to see you still keep some memories of our +goings on. Georgie's marriage is a very happy one to us. They live in +Stockbridge, the loveliest part of Massachusetts, and her husband is a +most devoted pastor, and gives all his time and property to the great +work which he has embraced, purely for the love of it. My other +daughters are with me, and my son, Captain Stowe, who has come with +weakened health through our struggle, suffering constantly from the +effects of a wound in his head received at Gettysburg, which makes his +returning to his studies a hard struggle. My husband is in better +health since he resigned his professorship, and desires his most +sincere regards to yourself and the duke, and his profound veneration +to your mother. Sister Mary also desires to be remembered to you, as +do also my daughters. Please tell me a little in your next of Lady +Edith; she must be very lovely now. + +I am, with sincerest affection, ever yours, + +H. B. STOWE. + +Soon after the close of the war Mrs. Stowe conceived the idea of +making for herself and her family a winter home in the South, where +she might escape the rigors of Northern winters, and where her +afflicted son Frederick might enjoy an out-of-door life throughout the +year. She was also most anxious to do her share towards educating and +leading to a higher life those colored people whom she had helped so +largely to set free, and who were still in the state of profound +ignorance imposed by slavery. In writing of her hopes and plans to her +brother Charles Beecher, in 1866, she says:-- + +"My plan of going to Florida, as it lies in my mind, is not in any +sense a mere worldly enterprise. I have for many years had a longing +to be more immediately doing Christ's work on earth. My heart is with +that poor people whose cause in words I have tried to plead, and who +now, ignorant and docile, are just in that formative stage in which +whoever seizes has them. + +"Corrupt politicians are already beginning to speculate on them as +possible capital for their schemes, and to fill their poor heads with +all sorts of vagaries. Florida is the State into which they have, more +than anywhere else, been pouring. Emigration is positively and +decidedly setting that way; but as yet it is mere worldly emigration, +with the hope of making money, nothing more. + +"The Episcopal Church is, however, undertaking, under direction of the +future Bishop of Florida, a wide-embracing scheme of Christian +activity for the whole State. In this work I desire to be associated, +and my plan is to locate at some salient point on the St. John's +River, where I can form the nucleus of a Christian neighborhood, whose +influence shall be felt far beyond its own limits." + +During this year Mrs. Stowe partially carried her plan into execution +by hiring an old plantation called "Laurel Grove," on the west side of +the St. John's River, near the present village of Orange Park. Here +she established her son Frederick as a cotton planter, and here he +remained for two years. This location did not, however, prove entirely +satisfactory, nor did the raising of cotton prove to be, under the +circumstances, a profitable business. After visiting Florida during +the winter of 1866-67, at which time her attention was drawn to the +beauties and superior advantages of Mandarin on the east side of the +river, Mrs. Stowe writes from Hartford, May 29, 1867, to Rev. Charles +Beecher:-- + +My dear Brother,--We are now thinking seriously of a place in Mandarin +much more beautiful than any other in the vicinity. It has on it five +large date palms, an olive tree in full bearing, besides a fine orange +grove which this year will yield about seventy-five thousand oranges. +If we get that, then I want you to consider the expediency of buying +the one next to it. It contains about two hundred acres of land, on +which is a fine orange grove, the fruit from which last year brought +in two thousand dollars as sold at the wharf. It is right on the +river, and four steamboats pass it each week, on their way to Savannah +and Charleston. There is on the place a very comfortable cottage, as +houses go out there, where they do not need to be built as +substantially as with us. + +I am now in correspondence with the Bishop of Florida, with a view to +establishing a line of churches along the St. John's River, and if I +settle at Mandarin, it will be one of my stations. Will you consent to +enter the Episcopal Church and be our clergyman? You are just the man +we want. If my tasks and feelings did not incline me toward the +Church, I should still choose it as the best system for training +immature minds such as those of our negroes. The system was composed +with reference to the wants of the laboring class of England, at a +time when they were as ignorant as our negroes now are. + +I long to be at this work, and cannot think of it without my heart +burning within me. Still I leave all with my God, and only hope He +will open the way for me to do all that I want to for this poor +people. + +Affectionately yours, + +H. B. STOWE. + +Mrs. Stowe had some years before this joined the Episcopal Church, for +the sake of attending the same communion as her daughters, who were +Episcopalians. Her brother Charles did not, however, see fit to change +his creed, and though he went to Florida he settled a hundred and +sixty miles west from the St. John's River, at Newport, near St. +Marks, on the Gulf coast, and about twenty miles from Tallahassee. +Here he lived every winter and several summers for fifteen years, and +here he left the impress of his own remarkably sweet and lovely +character upon the scattered population of the entire region. + +[Illustration: THE HOME AT MANDARIN, FLORIDA.] + +Mrs. Stowe in the mean time purchased the property, with its orange +grove and comfortable cottage, that she had recommended to him, and +thus Mandarin became her winter home. No one who has ever seen it can +forget the peaceful beauty of this Florida home and its surroundings. +The house, a story and a half cottage of many gables, stands on a +bluff overlooking the broad St. John's, which is five miles wide at +this point. It nestles in the shade of a grove of superb, moss-hung +live-oaks, around one of which the front piazza is built. Several fine +old orange trees also stand near the cottage, scenting the air with +the sweet perfume of their blossoms in the early spring, and offering +their golden fruit to whoever may choose to pluck it during the winter +months. Back of the house stretches the well-tended orange grove in +which Mrs. Stowe took such genuine pride and pleasure. Everywhere +about the dwelling and within it were flowers and singing birds, while +the rose garden in front, at the foot of the bluff, was the admiration +of all who saw it. + +Here, on the front piazza, beneath the grand oaks, looking out on the +calm sunlit river, Professor Stowe enjoyed that absolute peace and +restful quiet for which his scholarly nature had always longed, but +which had been forbidden to the greater part of his active life. At +almost any hour of the day the well-known figure, with snow-white, +patriarchal beard and kindly face, might be seen sitting there, with a +basket of books, many of them in dead and nearly forgotten languages, +close at hand. An amusing incident of family life was as follows: Some +Northern visitors seemed to think that the family had no rights which +were worthy of a moment's consideration. They would land at the wharf, +roam about the place, pick flowers, peer into the house through the +windows and doors, and act with that disregard of all the proprieties +of life which characterizes ill-bred people when on a journey. The +professor had been driven well-nigh distracted by these migratory +bipeds. One day, when one of them broke a branch from an orange tree +directly before his eyes, and was bearing it off in triumph with all +its load of golden fruit, he leaped from his chair, and addressed the +astonished individual on those fundamental principles of common +honesty, which he deemed outraged by this act. The address was +vigorous and truthful, but of a kind which will not bear repeating, +"Why," said the horror-stricken culprit, "I thought that this was Mrs. +Stowe's place!" "You thought it was Mrs. Stowe's place!" Then, in a +voice of thunder, "I would have you understand, sir, that I am the +proprietor and protector of Mrs. Stowe and of this place, and if you +commit any more such shameful depredations I will have you punished as +you deserve!" Thus this predatory Yankee was taught to realize that +there is a God in Israel. + +In April, 1869, Mrs. Stowe was obliged to hurry North in order to +visit Canada in time to protect her English rights in "Oldtown Folks," +which she had just finished. + +About this time she secured a plot of land, and made arrangements for +the erection on it of a building that should be used as a schoolhouse +through the week, and as a church on Sunday. For several years +Professor Stowe preached during the winter in this little schoolhouse, +and Mrs. Stowe conducted Sunday-school, sewing classes, singing +classes, and various other gatherings for instruction and amusement, +all of which were well attended and highly appreciated by both the +white and colored residents of the neighborhood. + +Upon one occasion, having just arrived at her Mandarin home, Mrs. +Stowe writes:-- + +"At last, after waiting a day and a half in Charleston, we arrived +here about ten o'clock Saturday morning, just a week from the day we +sailed. The house looked so pretty, and quiet, and restful, the day +was so calm and lovely, it seemed as though I had passed away from all +trouble, and was looking back upon you all from a secure resting- +place. Mr. Stowe is very happy here, and is constantly saying how +pleasant it is, and how glad he is that he is here. He is so much +improved in health that already he is able to take a considerable walk +every day. + +"We are all well, contented, and happy, and we have six birds, two +dogs, and a pony. Do write more and oftener. Tell me all the little +nothings and nowheres. You can't imagine how they are magnified by the +time they have reached into this remote corner." + +In 1872 she wrote a series of Florida sketches, which were published +in book form, the following year, by J. E. Osgood & Co., under the +title of "Palmetto Leaves." May 19, 1873, she writes to her brother +Charles at Newport, Fla.:-- + +"Although you have not answered my last letter, I cannot leave Florida +without saying good-by. I send you the 'Palmetto Leaves' and my +parting love. If I could either have brought or left my husband, I +should have come to see you this winter. The account of your roses +fills me with envy. + +"We leave on the San Jacinto next Saturday, and I am making the most +of the few charming hours yet left; for never did we have so delicious +a spring. I never knew such altogether perfect weather. It is enough +to make a saint out of the toughest old Calvinist that ever set his +face as a flint. How do you think New England theology would have +fared if our fathers had been landed here instead of on Plymouth Rock? + +"The next you hear of me will be at the North, where our address is +Forest Street, Hartford. We have bought a pretty cottage there, near +to Belle, and shall spend the summer there." + +In a letter written in May of the following year to her son Charles, +at Harvard, Mrs. Stowe says: "I can hardly realize that this long, +flowery summer, with its procession of blooms and fruit, has been +running on at the same time with the snowbanks and sleet storms of the +North. But so it is. It is now the first of May. Strawberries and +blackberries are over with us; oranges are in a waning condition, few +and far between. Now we are going North to begin another summer, and +have roses, strawberries, blackberries, and green peas come again. + +"I am glad to hear of your reading. The effect produced on you by +Jonathan Edwards is very similar to that produced on me when I took +the same mental bath. His was a mind whose grasp and intensity you +cannot help feeling. He was a poet in the intensity of his +conceptions, and some of his sermons are more terrible than Dante's +'Inferno.'" + +In November, 1874, upon their return to Mandarin, she writes: "We have +had heavenly weather, and we needed it: for our house was a cave of +spider-webs, cockroaches, dirt, and all abominations, but less than a +week has brought it into beautiful order. It now begins to put on that +quaint, lively, pretty air that so fascinates me. Our weather is, as I +said, heavenly, neither hot nor cold; cool, calm, bright, serene, and +so tranquillizing. There is something indescribable about the best +weather we have down here. It does not debilitate me like the soft +October air in Hartford." + +During the following February, she writes in reply to an invitation to +visit a Northern watering place later in the season: "I shall be most +happy to come, and know of nothing to prevent. I have, thank goodness, +no serial story on hand for this summer, to hang like an Old Man of +the Sea about my neck, and hope to enjoy a little season of being like +other folks. It is a most lovely day to-day, most unfallen Eden-like." + +In a letter written later in the same season, March 28, 1875, Mrs. +Stowe gives us a pleasant glimpse at their preparations for the proper +observance of Easter Sunday in the little Mandarin schoolhouse. She +says:-- + +"It was the week before Easter, and we had on our minds the dressing +of the church. There my two Gothic fireboards were to be turned into a +pulpit for the occasion. I went to Jacksonville and got a fiveinch +moulding for a base, and then had one fireboard sawed in two, so that +there was an arched panel for each end. Then came a rummage for +something for a top, and to make a desk of, until it suddenly occurred +to me that our old black walnut extension table had a set of leaves. +They were exactly the thing. The whole was trimmed with a beading of +yellow pine, and rubbed, and pumice-stoned, and oiled, and I got out +my tubes of paint and painted the nail-holes with Vandyke brown. By +Saturday morning it was a lovely little Gothic pulpit, and Anthony +carried it over to the schoolhouse and took away the old desk which I +gave him for his meeting-house. That afternoon we drove out into the +woods and gathered a quantity of superb Easter lilies, papaw, +sparkleberry, great fern-leaves, and cedar. In the evening the girls +went over to the Meads to practice Easter hymns; but I sat at home and +made a cross, eighteen inches long, of cedar and white lilies. This +Southern cedar is the most exquisite thing; it is so feathery and +delicate. + +"Sunday morning was cool and bright, a most perfect Easter. Our little +church was full, and everybody seemed delighted with the decorations. +Mr. Stowe preached a sermon to show that Christ is going to put +everything right at last, which is comforting. So the day was one of +real pleasure, and also I trust of real benefit, to the poor souls who +learned from it that Christ is indeed risen for them" + +During this winter the following characteristic letters passed between +Mrs. Stowe and her valued friend, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, called +forth by the sending to the latter of a volume of Mrs. Stowe's latest +stories:-- + +Boston, _January_ 8, 1876. + +My dear Mrs. Stowe,--I would not write to thank you for your most +welcome "Christmas Box," + + "A box whose sweets compacted lie," + +before I had read it, and every word of it. I have been very much +taken up with antics of one kind and another, and have only finished +it this afternoon. The last of the papers was of less comparative +value to me than to a great fraction of your immense parish of +readers, because I am so familiar with every movement of the Pilgrims +in their own chronicles. + +"Deacon Pitkin's Farm" is full of those thoroughly truthful touches of +New England in which, if you are not unrivaled, I do not know who your +rival may be. I wiped the tears from one eye in reading "Deacon +Pitkin's Farm." + +I wiped the tears, and plenty of them, from both eyes, in reading +"Betty's Bright Idea." It is a most charming and touching story, and +nobody can read who has not a heart like a pebble, without being +melted into tenderness. + +How much you have done and are doing to make our New England life +wholesome and happy! If there is any one who can look back over a +literary life which has pictured our old and helped our new +civilization, it is yourself. Of course your later books have harder +work cut out for them than those of any other writer. They have had +"Uncle Tom's Cabin" for a rival. The brightest torch casts a shadow in +the blaze of a light, and any transcendent success affords the easiest +handle for that class of critics whose method is the one that Dogberry +held to be "odious." + +I think it grows pleasanter to us to be remembered by the friends we +still have, as with each year they grow fewer. We have lost Agassiz +and Sumner from our circle, and I found Motley stricken with +threatening illness (which I hope is gradually yielding to treatment), +in the profoundest grief at the loss of his wife, another old and dear +friend of mine. So you may be assured that I feel most sensibly your +kind attention, and send you my heartfelt thanks for remembering me. + +Always, dear Mrs. Stowe, faithfully yours, + +O. W. HOLMES. + +To this letter Mrs. Stowe replied as follows:-- + +MANDARIN, _February_ 23, 1876. + +DEAR DOCTOR,--How kind it was of you to write me that very beautiful +note! and how I wish you were just where I am, to see the trees laden +at the same time with golden oranges and white blossoms! I should so +like to cut off a golden cluster, leaves and all, for you. Well, +Boston seems very far away and dreamy, like some previous state of +existence, as I sit on the veranda and gaze on the receding shores of +the St. John's, which at this point is five miles wide. + +Dear doctor, how time slips by! I remember when Sumner seemed to me a +young man, and now he has gone. And Wilson has gone, and Chase, whom I +knew as a young man in society in Cincinnati, has gone, and Stanton +has gone, and Seward has gone, and yet how lively the world races on! +A few air-bubbles of praise or lamentation, and away sails the great +ship of life, no matter over whose grave! + +Well, one cannot but feel it! To me, also, a whole generation of +friends has gone from the other side of the water since I was there +and broke kindly bread with them. The Duchess of Sutherland, the good +old duke, Lansdowne, Ellesmere, Lady Byron, Lord and Lady Amberly, +Charles Kingsley, the good Quaker, Joseph Sturge, all are with the +shadowy train that has moved on. Among them were as dear and true +friends as I ever had, and as pure and noble specimens of human beings +as God ever made. They are living somewhere in intense vitality, I +must believe, and you, dear doctor, must not doubt. + +I think about your writings a great deal, and one element in them +always attracts me. It is their pitiful and sympathetic vein, the pity +for poor, struggling human nature. In this I feel that you must be +very near and dear to Him whose name is Love. + +You wrote some verses once that have got into the hymn-books, and have +often occurred to me in my most sacred hours as descriptive of the +feelings with which I bear the sorrows and carry the cares of life. +They begin,-- + + "Love Divine, that stooped to share." + +I have not all your books down here, and am haunted by gaps in the +verses that memory cannot make good; but it is that "Love Divine" +which is my stay and comfort and hope, as one friend after another +passes beyond sight and hearing. Please let me have it in your +handwriting. + +I remember a remark you once made on spiritualism. I cannot recall the +words, but you spoke of it as modifying the sharp angles of +Calvinistic belief, as a fog does those of a landscape. I would like +to talk with you some time on spiritualism, and show you a collection +of very curious facts that I have acquired through mediums _not_ +professional. Mr. Stowe has just been wading through eight volumes of +"La Mystique," by Goerres, professor for forty years past in the +University of Munich, first of physiology and latterly of philosophy. +He examines the whole cycle of abnormal psychic, spiritual facts, +trances, ecstasy, clairvoyance, witchcraft, spiritualism, etc., etc., +as shown in the Romish miracles and the history of Europe. + +I have long since come to the conclusion that the marvels of +spiritualism are natural, and not supernatural, phenomena,--an +uncommon working of natural laws. I believe that the door between +those _in_ the body and those _out_ has never in any age +been entirely closed, and that occasional perceptions within the veil +are a part of the course of nature, and therefore not miraculous. Of +course such a phase of human experience is very substantial ground for +every kind of imposture and superstition, and I have no faith whatever +in mediums who practice for money. In their case I think the law of +Moses, that forbade consulting those who dealt with "familiar +spirits," a very wise one. + +Do write some more, dear doctor. You are too well off in your palace +down there on the new land. Your Centennial Ballad was a charming +little peep; now give us a full-fledged story. Mr. Stowe sends his +best regards, and wishes you would read "Goerres." [Footnote: Die +Christliche Mystik, by Johann Joseph Gorres, Regensburg, 1836-42.] It +is in French also, and he thinks the French translation better than +the German. + +Yours ever truly, + +H. B. STOWE. + +Writing in the autumn of 1876 to her son Charles, who was at that time +abroad, studying at Bonn, Mrs. Stowe describes a most tempestuous +passage between New York and Charleston, during which she and her +husband and daughters suffered so much that they were ready to +forswear the sea forever. The great waves as they rushed, boiling and +seething, past would peer in at the little bull's-eye window of the +state-room, as if eager to swallow up ship and passengers. From +Charleston, however, they had a most delightful run to their journey's +end. She writes:--"We had a triumphal entrance into the St. John's, +and a glorious sail up the river. Arriving at Mandarin, at four +o'clock, we found all the neighbors, black as well as white, on the +wharf to receive us. There was a great waving of handkerchiefs and +flags, clapping of hands and cheering, as we drew near. The house was +open and all ready for us, and we are delighted to be once more in our +beautiful Florida home." + +In the following December she writes to her son: "I am again entangled +in writing a serial, a thing I never mean to do again, but the story, +begun for a mere Christmas brochure, grew so under my hands that I +thought I might as well fill it out and make a book of it. It is the +last thing of the kind I ever expect to do. In it I condense my +recollections of a bygone era, that in which I was brought up, the +ways and manners of which are now as nearly obsolete as the Old +England of Dickens's stories is. + +"I am so hampered by the necessity of writing this story, that I am +obliged to give up company and visiting of all kinds and keep my +strength for it. I hope I may be able to finish it, as I greatly +desire to do so, but I begin to feel that I am not so strong as I used +to be. Your mother is an old woman, Charley mine, and it is best she +should give up writing before people are tired of reading her. + +"I would much rather have written another such a book as 'Footsteps of +the Master,' but all, even the religious papers, are gone mad on +serials. Serials they demand and will have, and I thought, since this +generation will listen to nothing but stories, why not tell them?" + +The book thus referred to was "Poganuc People," that series of +delightful reminiscences of the New England life of nearly a century +ago, that has proved so fascinating to many thousands of readers. It +was published in 1878, and, as Mrs. Stowe foresaw, was her last +literary undertaking of any length, though for several years +afterwards she wrote occasional short stories and articles. + +In January, 1879, she wrote from Mandarin to Dr. Holmes:-- + +DEAR DOCTOR,--I wish I could give to you and Mrs. Holmes the exquisite +charm of this morning. My window is wide open; it is a lovely, fresh, +sunny day, and a great orange tree hung with golden balls closes the +prospect from my window. The tree is about thirty feet high, and its +leaves fairly glisten in the sunshine. + +I sent "Poganuc People" to you and Mrs. Holmes as being among the few +who know those old days. It is an extremely quiet story for these +sensational days, when heaven and earth seem to be racked for a +thrill; but as I get old I do love to think of those quiet, simple +times when there was not a poor person in the parish, and the changing +glories of the year were the only spectacle. We, that is the professor +and myself, have been reading with much interest Motley's Memoir. That +was a man to be proud of, a beauty, too (by your engraving), I never +had the pleasure of a personal acquaintance. + +I feel with you that we have come into the land of leave-taking. +Hardly a paper but records the death of some of Mr. Stowe's +associates. But the river is not so black as it seems, and there are +clear days when the opposite shore is plainly visible, and now and +then we catch a strain of music, perhaps even a gesture of +recognition. They are thinking of us, without doubt, on the other +side. My daughters and I have been reading "Elsie Venner" again. Elsie +is one of my especial friends,--poor, dear child!--and all your +theology in that book I subscribe to with both hands. + +Does not the Bible plainly tell us of a time when there shall be no +more pain? That is to be the end and crown of the Messiah's mission, +when God shall wipe all tears away. My face is set that way, and +yours, too, I trust and believe. + +Mr. Stowe sends hearty and affectionate remembrance both to you and +Mrs. Holmes, and I am, as ever, truly yours, + +H, B, STOWE. + +About this time Mrs. Stowe paid a visit to her brother Charles, at +Newport, Fla., and, continuing her journey to New Orleans, was made to +feel how little of bitterness towards her was felt by the best class +of Southerners, In both New Orleans and Tallahassee she was warmly +welcomed, and tendered public receptions that gave equal pleasure to +her and to the throngs of cultivated people who attended them. She was +also greeted everywhere with intense enthusiasm by the colored people, +who, whenever they knew of her coming, thronged the railway stations +in order to obtain a glimpse of her whom they venerated above all +women. + +The return to her Mandarin home each succeeding winter was always a +source of intense pleasure to this true lover of nature in its +brightest and tenderest moods. Each recurring season was filled with +new delights. In December, 1879, she writes to her son, now married +and settled as a minister in Saco, Me.:-- + +DEAR CHILDREN,--Well, we have stepped from December to June, and this +morning is sunny and dewy, with a fresh sea-breeze giving life to the +air. I have just been out to cut a great bunch of roses and lilies, +though the garden is grown into such a jungle that I could hardly get +about in it. The cannas, and dwarf bananas, and roses are all tangled +together, so that I can hardly thread my way among them. I never in my +life saw anything range and run rampant over the ground as cannas do. +The ground is littered with fallen oranges, and the place looks +shockingly untidy, but so beautiful that I am quite willing to forgive +its disorder. + +We got here Wednesday evening about nine o'clock, and found all the +neighbors waiting to welcome us on the wharf. The Meads, and Cranes, +and Webbs, and all the rest were there, while the black population was +in a frenzy of joy. Your father is quite well. The sea had its usual +exhilarating effect upon him. Before we left New York he was quite +meek, and exhibited such signs of grace and submission that I had +great hopes of him. He promised to do exactly as I told him, and +stated that he had entire confidence in my guidance. What woman +couldn't call such a spirit evidence of being prepared for speedy +translation? I was almost afraid he could not be long for this world. +But on the second day at sea his spirits rose, and his appetite +reasserted itself. He declared in loud tones how well he felt, and +quite resented my efforts to take care of him. I reminded him of his +gracious vows and promises in the days of his low spirits, but to no +effect. The fact is, his self-will has not left him yet, and I have +now no fear of his immediate translation. He is going to preach for us +this morning. + +The last winter passed in this well-loved Southern home was that of +1883-84, for the following season Professor Stowe's health was in too +precarious a state to permit him to undertake the long journey from +Hartford. By this time one of Mrs. Stowe's fondest hopes had been +realized; and, largely through her efforts, Mandarin had been provided +with a pretty little Episcopal church, to which was attached a +comfortable rectory, and over which was installed a regular clergy- +man. + +In January, 1884, Mrs. Stowe writes:-- + +"Mandarin looks very gay and airy now with its new villas, and our new +church and rectory. Our minister is perfect. I wish you could know +him. He wants only physical strength. In everything else he is all one +could ask. + +"It is a bright, lovely morning, and four orange-pickers are busy +gathering our fruit. Our trees on the bluff have done better than any +in Florida. + +"This winter I study nothing but Christ's life. First I read Farrar's +account and went over it carefully. Now I am reading Geikie. It keeps +my mind steady, and helps me to bear the languor and pain, of which I +have more than usual this winter." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +OLDTOWN FOLKS, 1869. + + +PROFESSOR STOWE THE ORIGINAL OF "HARRY" IN "OLDTOWN FOLKS."--PROFESSOR +STOWE'S LETTER TO GEORGE ELIOT.--HER REMARKS ON THE SAME.--PROFESSOR +STOWE'S NARRATIVE OF HIS YOUTHFUL ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF SPIRITS. +--PROFESSOR STOWE'S INFLUENCE ON MRS. STOWE'S LITERARY LIFE.--GEORGE +ELIOT ON "OLDTOWN FOLKS." + +This biography would be signally incomplete without some mention of +the birth, childhood, early associations, and very peculiar and +abnormal psychological experiences of Professor Stowe. Aside from the +fact of Dr. Stowe's being Mrs. Stowe's husband, and for this reason +entitled to notice in any sketch of her life, however meagre, he is +the original of the "visionary boy" in "Oldtown Folks;" and "Oldtown +Fireside Stories" embody the experiences of his childhood and youth +among the grotesque and original characters of his native town. + +March 26, 1882, Professor Stowe wrote the following characteristic +letter to Mrs. Lewes:-- + +MRS. LEWES,--I fully sympathize with you in your disgust with Hume and +the professing mediums generally. + +Hume spent his boyhood in my father's native town, among my relatives +and acquaintances, and he was a disagreeable, nasty boy. But he +certainly has qualities which science has not yet explained, and some +of his doings are as real as they are strange. My interest in the +subject of spiritualism arises from the fact of my own experience, +more than sixty years ago, in my early childhood. I then never thought +of questioning the objective reality of all I saw, and supposed that +everybody else had the same experience. Of what this experience was +you may gain some idea from certain passages in "Oldtown Folks." + +The same experiences continue yet, but with serious doubts as to the +objectivity of the scenes exhibited. I have noticed that people who +have remarkable and minute answers to prayer, such as Stilling, +Franke, Lavater, are for the most part of this peculiar temperament. +Is it absurd to suppose that some peculiarity in the nervous system, +in the connecting link between soul and body, may bring some, more +than others, into an almost abnormal contact with the spirit-world +(for example, Jacob Boehme and Swedenborg), and that, too, without +correcting their faults, or making them morally better than others? +Allow me to say that I have always admired the working of your mind, +there is about it such a perfect uprightness and uncalculating +honesty. I think you are a better Christian without church or theology +than most people are with both, though I am, and always have been in +the main, a Calvinist of the Jonathan Edwards school. God bless you! I +have a warm side for Mr. Lewes on account of his Goethe labors. + +Goethe has been my admiration for more than forty years. In 1830 I got +hold of his "Faust," and for two gloomy, dreary November days, while +riding through the woods of New Hampshire in an old-fashioned +stagecoach, to enter upon a professorship in Dartmouth College, I was +perfectly dissolved by it. + +Sincerely yours, + +C. E. STOWE. + +In a letter to Mrs. Stowe, written June 24, 1872, Mrs. Lewes alludes +to Professor Stowe's letter as follows: "Pray give my special thanks +to the professor for his letter. His handwriting, which does really +look like Arabic,--a very graceful character, surely,--happens to be +remarkably legible to me, and I did not hesitate over a single word. +Some of the words, as expressions of fellowship, were very precious to +me, and I hold it very good of him to write to me that best sort of +encouragement. I was much impressed with the fact--which you have told +me--that he was the original of the "visionary boy" in "Oldtown +Folks;" and it must be deeply interesting to talk with him on his +experience. Perhaps I am inclined, under the influence of the facts, +physiological and psychological, which have been gathered of late +years, to give larger place to the interpretation of vision-seeing as +subjective than the professor would approve. It seems difficult to +limit--at least to limit with any precision--the possibility of +confounding sense by impressions derived from inward conditions with +those which are directly dependent on external stimulus. In fact, the +division between within and without in this sense seems to become +every year a more subtle and bewildering problem." + +In 1834, while Mr. Stowe was a professor in Lane Theological Seminary +at Cincinnati, Ohio, he wrote out a history of his youthful adventures +in the spirit-world, from which the following extracts are taken:-- + +"I have often thought I would communicate to some scientific physician +a particular account of a most singular delusion under which I lived +from my earliest infancy till the fifteenth or sixteenth year of my +age, and the effects of which remain very distinctly now that I am +past thirty. + +"The facts are of such a nature as to be indelibly impressed upon my +mind they appear to me to be curious, and well worth the attention of +the psychologist. I regard the occurrences in question as the more +remarkable because I cannot discover that I possess either taste or +talent for fiction or poetry. I have barely imagination enough to +enjoy, with a high degree of relish, the works of others in this +department of literature, but have never felt able or disposed to +engage in that sort of writing myself. On the contrary, my style has +always been remarkable for its dry, matter-of-fact plainness: my mind +has been distinguished for its quickness and adaptedness to historical +and literary investigations, for ardor and perseverance in pursuit of +the knowledge of facts,--_eine verständige Richtung_, as the +Germans would say,--rather than for any other quality; and the only +talent of a higher kind which I am conscious of possessing is a turn +for accurate observation of men and things, and a certain broad humor +and drollery. + +[Illustration: C. Z. Stowe] + +"From the hour of my birth I have been constitutionally feeble, as +were my parents before me, and my nervous system easily excitable. +With care, however, I have kept myself in tolerable health, and my +life has been an industrious one, for my parents were poor and I have +always been obliged to labor for my livelihood. + +"With these preliminary remarks, I proceed to the curious details of +my psychological history. As early as I can remember anything, I can +remember observing a multitude of animated and active objects, which I +could see with perfect distinctness, moving about me, and could +sometimes, though seldom, hear them make a rustling noise, or other +articulate sounds; but I could never touch them. They were in all +respects independent of the sense of touch, and incapable of being +obstructed in any way by the intervention of material objects; I could +see them at any distance, and through any intervening object, with as +much ease and distinctness as if they were in the room with me, and +directly before my eyes. I could see them passing through the floors, +and the ceilings, and the walls of the house, from one apartment to +another, in all directions, without a door, or a keyhole, or crevice +being open to admit them. I could follow them with my eyes to any +distance, or directly through or just beneath the surface, or up and +down, in the midst of boards and timbers and bricks, or whatever else +would stop the motion or intercept the visibleness of all other +objects. These appearances occasioned neither surprise nor alarm, +except when they assumed some hideous and frightful form, or exhibited +some menacing gesture, for I became acquainted with them, as soon as +with any of the objects of sense. As to the reality of their existence +and the harmlessness of their character, I knew no difference between +them and any other of the objects which met my eye. They were as +familiar to me as the forms of my parents and my brother; they made up +a part of my daily existence, and were as really the subjects of my +consciousness as the little bench on which I sat in the corner by my +mother's knee, or the wheels and sticks and strings with which I +amused myself upon the floor. I indeed recognized a striking +difference between them and the things which I could feel and handle, +but to me this difference was no more a matter of surprise than that +which I observed between my mother and the black woman who so often +came to work for her; or between my infant brother and the little +spotted dog Brutus of which I was so fond. There was no time, or +place, or circumstance, in which they did not occasionally make their +appearance. Solitude and silence, however, were more favorable to +their appearance than company and conversation. They were more pleased +with candle-light than the daylight. They were most numerous, +distinct, and active when I was alone and in the dark, especially when +my mother had laid me in bed and returned to her own room with the +candle. At such times, I always expected the company of my serial +visitors, and counted upon it to amuse me till I dropped asleep. +Whenever they failed to make their appearance, as was sometimes the +case, I felt lonely and discontented. I kept up a lively conversation +with them,--not by language or by signs, for the attempt on my part to +speak or move would at once break the charm and drive them away in a +fret, but by a peculiar sort of spiritual intercommunion. + +"When their attention was directed towards me, I could feel and +respond to all their thoughts and feelings, and was conscious that +they could in the same manner feel and respond to mine. Sometimes they +would take no notice of me, but carry on a brisk conversation among +themselves, principally by looks and gestures, with now and then an +audible word. In fact, there were but few with whom I was very +familiar. These few were much more constant and uniform in their +visits than the great multitude, who were frequently changing, and too +much absorbed in their own concerns to think much of me. I scarcely +know how I can give an idea of their form and general appearance, for +there are no objects in the material world with which I can compare +them, and no language adapted to an accurate description of their +peculiarities. They exhibited all possible combinations of size, +shape, proportion, and color, but their most usual appearance was with +the human form and proportion, but under a shadowy outline that seemed +just ready to melt into the invisible air, and sometimes liable to the +most sudden and grotesque changes, and with a uniform darkly bluish +color spotted with brown, or brownish white. This was the general +appearance of the multitude; but there were many exceptions to this +description, particularly among my more welcome and familiar visitors, +as will be seen in the sequel." + +"Besides these rational and generally harmless beings, there was +another set of objects which never varied in their form or qualities, +and were always mischievous and terrible. The fact of their appearance +depended very much on the state of my health and feelings. If I was +well and cheerful they seldom troubled me; but when sick or depressed +they were sure to obtrude their hateful presence upon me. These were a +sort of heavy clouds floating about overhead, of a black color, +spotted with brown, in the shape of a very flaring inverted tunnel +without a nozzle, and from ten to thirty or forty feet in diameter. +They floated from place to place in great numbers, and in all +directions, with a strong and steady progress, but with a tremulous, +quivering, internal motion that agitated them in every part. + +"Whenever they appproached, the rational phantoms were thrown into +great consternation; and well it might be, for if a cloud touched any +part of one of the rational phantoms it immediately communicated its +own color and tremulous motion to the part it touched. + +"In spite of all the efforts and convulsive struggles of the unhappy +victim, this color and motion slowly, but steadily and uninteruptedly, +proceeded to diffuse itself over every part of the body, and as fast +as it did so the body was drawn into the cloud and became a part of +its substance. It was indeed a fearful sight to see the contortions, +the agonizing efforts, of the poor creatures who had been touched by +one of these awful clouds, and were dissolving and melting into it by +inches without the possibility of escape or resistance. + +"This was the only visible object that had the least power over the +phantoms, and this was evidently composed of the same material as +themselves. The forms and actions of all these phantoms varied very +much with the state of my health and animal spirits, but I never could +discover that the surrounding material objects had any influence upon +them, except in this one particular, namely, if I saw them in a neat, +well furnished room, there was a neatness and polish in their form and +motions; and, on the contrary, if I was in an unfinished, rough +apartment, there was a corresponding rudeness and roughness in my +aerial visitors. A corresponding difference was visible when I saw +them in the woods or in the meadows, upon the water or upon the +ground, in the air or among the stars." + +"Every different apartment which I occupied had a different set of +phantoms, and they always had a degree of correspondence to the +circumstances in which they were seen. (It should be noted, however, +that it was not so much the place where the phantoms themselves +appeared to me to be, that affected their forms and movements, as the +place in which I myself actually was while observing them. The +apparent locality of the phantoms, it is true, had some influence, but +my own actual locality had much more.)" + +"Thus far I have attempted only a general outline of these curious +experiences. I will now proceed to a detailed account of several +particular incidents, for the sake of illustrating the general +statements already made. I select a few from manifestations without +number. I am able to ascertain dates from the following +circumstances:-- + +"I was born in April, 1802, and my father died in July, 1808, after +suffering for more than a year from a lingering organic disease. +Between two and three years before his death he removed from the house +in which I was born to another at a little distance from it. What +occurred, therefore, before my father's last sickness, must have taken +place during the first five years of my life, and whatever took place +before the removal of the family must have taken place during the +first three years of my life. Before the removal of the family I slept +in a small upper chamber in the front part of the house, where I was +generally alone for several hours in the evening and morning. +Adjoining this room, and opening into it by a very small door, was a +low, dark, narrow, unfinished closet, which was open on the other side +into a ruinous, old chaise-house. This closet was a famous place for +the gambols of the phantoms, but of their forms and actions I do not +now retain any very distinct recollection. I only remember that I was +very careful not to do anything that I thought would be likely to +offend them; yet otherwise their presence caused me no uneasiness, and +was not at all disagreeable to me. + +"The first incident of which I have a distinct recollection was the +following:-- + +"One night, as I was lying alone in my chamber with my little dog +Brutus snoring beside my bed, there came out of the closet a very +large Indian woman and a very small Indian man, with a huge bass-viol +between them. The woman was dressed in a large, loose, black gown, +secured around her waist by a belt of the same material, and on her +head she wore a high, dark gray fur cap, shaped somewhat like a lady's +muff, ornamented with a row of covered buttons in front, and open +towards the bottom, showing a red lining. The man was dressed in a +shabby, black-colored overcoat and a little round, black hat that +fitted closely to his head. They took no notice of me, but were rather +ill-natured towards each other, and seemed to be disputing for the +possession of the bass-viol. The man snatched it away and struck upon +it a few harsh, hollow notes, which I distinctly heard, and which +seemed to vibrate through my whole body, with a strange, stinging +sensation The woman then took it and appeared to play very intently +and much to her own satisfaction, but without producing any sound that +was perceptible by me. They soon left the chamber, and I saw them go +down into the back kitchen, where they sat and played and talked with +my mother. It was only when the man took the bow that I could hear the +harsh, abrupt, disagreeable sounds of the instrument. At length they +arose, went out of the back door, and sprang upon a large heap of +straw and unthreshed beans, and disappeared with a strange, rumbling +sound. This vision was repeated night after night with scarcely any +variation while we lived in that house, and once, and once only, after +the family had removed to the other house. The only thing that seemed +to me unaccountable and that excited my curiosity was that there +should be such a large heap of straw and beans before the door every +night, when I could see nothing of it in the daytime. I frequently +crept out of bed and stole softly down into the kitchen, and peeped +out of the door to see if it was there very early in the morning. + +"I attempted to make some inquiries of my mother, but as I was not as +yet very skillful in the use of language, I could get no satisfaction +out of her answers, and could see that my questions seemed to distress +her. At first she took little notice of what I said, regarding it no +doubt as the meaningless prattle of a thoughtless child. My +persistence, however, seemed to alarm her, and I suppose that she +feared for my sanity. I soon desisted from asking anything further, +and shut myself more and more within myself. One night, very soon +after the removal, when the house was still, and all the family were +in bed, these unearthly musicians once made their appearance in the +kitchen of the new house, and after looking around peevishly, and +sitting with a discontented frown and in silence, they arose and went +out of the back door, and sprang on a pile of cornstalks, and I saw +them no more. + +"Our new dwelling was a low-studded house of only one story, and, +instead of an upper chamber, I now occupied a bedroom that opened into +the kitchen. Within this bedroom, directly on the left hand of the +door as you entered from the kitchen, was the staircase which led to +the garret; and, as the room was unfinished, some of the boards which +inclosed the staircase were too short, and left a considerable space +between them and the ceiling. One of these open spaces was directly in +front of my bed, so that when I lay upon my pillow my face was +opposite to it. Every night, after I had gone to bed and the candle +was removed, a very pleasant-looking human face would peer at me over +the top of that board, and gradually press forward his head, neck, +shoulders, and finally his whole body as far as the waist, through the +opening, and then, smiling upon me with great good-nature, would +withdraw in the same manner in which he had entered. He was a great +favorite of mine; for though we neither of us spoke, we perfectly +understood, and were entirely devoted to, each other. It is a singular +fact that the features of this favorite phantom bore a very close +resemblance to those of a boy older than myself whom I feared and +hated: still the resemblance was so strong that I called him by the +same name, Harvey. + +"Harvey's visits were always expected and always pleasant; but +sometimes there were visitations of another sort, odious and +frightful. One of these I will relate as a specimen of the rest." + +"One night, after I had retired to bed and was looking for Harvey, I +observed an unusual number of the tunnel-shaped tremulous clouds +already described, and they seemed intensely black and strongly +agitated. This alarmed me exceedingly, and I had a terrible feeling +that something awful was going to happen. It was not long before I saw +Harvey at his accustomed place, cautiously peeping at me through the +aperture, with an expression of pain and terror on his countenance. He +seemed to warn me to be on my guard, but was afraid to put his head +into the room lest he should be touched by one of the clouds, which +were every moment growing thicker and more numerous. Harvey soon +withdrew and left me alone. On turning my eyes towards the left-hand +wall of the room, I thought I saw at an immense distance below me the +regions of the damned, as I had heard them pictured in sermons. From +this awful world of horror the tunnel-shaped clouds were ascending, +and I perceived that they were the principal instruments of torture in +these gloomy abodes. These regions were at such an immense distance +below me that I could obtain but a very indistinct view of the +inhabitants, who were very numerous and exceedingly active. Near the +surface of the earth, and as it seemed to me but a little distance +from my bed, I saw four or five sturdy, resolute devils endeavoring to +carry off an unprincipled and dissipated man in the neighborhood, by +the name of Brown, of whom I had stood in terror for years. These +devils I saw were very different from the common representations. They +had neither red faces, nor horns, nor hoofs, nor tails. They were in +all respects stoutly built and well-dressed gentlemen. The only +peculiarity that I noted in their appearance was as to their heads. +Their faces and necks were perfectly bare, without hair or flesh, and +of a uniform sky-blue color, like the ashes of burnt paper before it +falls to pieces, and of a certain glossy smoothness." + +"As I looked on, full of eagerness, the devils struggled to force +Brown down with them, and Brown struggled with the energy of +desperation to save himself from their grip, and it seemed that the +human was likely to prove too strong for the infernal. In this +emergency one of the devils, panting for breath and covered with +perspiration, beckoned to a strong, thick cloud that seemed to +understand him perfectly, and, whirling up to Brown, touched his hand. +Brown resisted stoutly, and struck out right and left at the cloud +most furiously, but the usual effect was produced,--the hand grew +black, quivered, and seemed to be melting into the cloud; then the +arm, by slow degrees, and then the head and shoulders. At this instant +Brown, collecting all his energies for one desperate effort, sprang at +once into the centre of the cloud, tore it asunder, and descended to +the ground, exclaiming, with a hoarse, furious voice that grated on my +ear, 'There, I've got out; dam'me if I haven't!' This was the first +word that had been spoken through the whole horrible scene. It was the +first time I had ever seen a cloud fail to produce its appropriate +result, and it terrified me so that I trembled from head to foot. The +devils, however, did not seem to be in the least discouraged. One of +them, who seemed to be the leader, went away and quickly returned +bringing with him an enormous pair of rollers fixed in an iron frame, +such as are used in iron-mills for the purpose of rolling out and +slitting bars of iron, except instead of being turned by machinery, +each roller was turned by an immense crank. Three of the devils now +seized Brown and put his feet to the rollers, while two others stood, +one at each crank, and began to roll him in with a steady strain that +was entirely irresistible. Not a word was spoken, not a sound was +heard; but the fearful struggles and terrified, agonizing looks of +Brown were more than I could endure. I sprang from my bed and ran +through the kitchen into the room where my parents slept, and +entreated that they would permit me to spend the remainder of the +night with them. After considerable parleying they assured me that +nothing could hurt me, and advised me to go back to bed. I replied +that I was not afraid of their hurting me, but I couldn't bear to see +them acting so with C. Brown. 'Poh! poh! you foolish boy,' replied my +father, sternly. 'You've only been dreaming; go right back to bed, or +I shall have to whip you.' Knowing that there was no other +alternative, I trudged back through the kitchen with all the courage I +could muster, cautiously entered my room, where I found everything +quiet, there being neither cloud, nor devil, nor anything of the kind +to be seen, and getting into bed I slept quietly till morning. The +next day I was rather sad and melancholy, but kept all my troubles to +myself, through fear of Brown. This happened before my father's +sickness, and consequently between the four and six years of my age." + +"During my father's sickness and after his death I lived with my +grandmother; and when I had removed to her house I forever lost sight +of Harvey. I still continued to sleep alone for the most part, but in +a neatly furnished upper chamber. Across the corner of the chamber, +opposite to and at a little distance from the head of my bed, there +was a closet in the form of an old-fashioned buffet. After going to +bed, on looking at the door of this closet, I could see at a great +distance from it a pleasant meadow, terminated by a beautiful little +grove. Out of this grove, and across this meadow, a charming little +female figure would advance, about eight inches high and exquisitely +proportioned, dressed in a loose black silk robe, with long, smooth +black hair parted up her head and hanging loose over her shoulders. +She would come forward with a slow and regular step, becoming more +distinctly visible as she approached nearer, till she came even with +the surface of the closet door, when she would smile upon me, raise +her hands to her head and draw them down on each side of her face, +suddenly turn round, and go off at a rapid trot. The moment she turned +I could see a good-looking mulatto man, rather smaller than herself, +following directly in her wake and trotting off after her. This was +generally repeated two or three times before I went to sleep. The +features of the mulatto bore some resemblance to those of the Indian +man with the bass-viol, but were much more mild and agreeable." + +"I awoke one bright, moonlight night, and found a large, full-length +human skeleton of an ashy-blue color in bed with me! I screamed out +with fright, and soon summoned the family around me. I refused to tell +the cause of my alarm, but begged permission to occupy another bed, +which was granted. + +"For the remainder of the night I slept but little; but I saw upon the +window-stools companies of little fairies, about six inches high, in +white robes, gamboling and dancing with incessant merriment. Two of +them, a male and female, rather taller than the rest, were dignified +with a crown and sceptre. They took the kindest notice of me, smiled +upon me with great benignity, and seemed to assure me of their +protection. I was soothed and cheered by their presence, though after +all there was a sort of sinister and selfish expression in their +countenances which prevented my placing implicit confidence in them. + +"Up to this time I had never doubted the real existence of these +phantoms, nor had I ever suspected that other people had not seen them +as distinctly as myself. I now, however, began to discover with no +little anxiety that my friends had little or no knowledge of the +aerial beings among whom I have spent my whole life; that my allusions +to them were not understood, and all complaints respecting them were +laughed at. I had never been disposed to say much about them, and this +discovery confirmed me in my silence. It did not, however, affect my +own belief, or lead me to suspect that my imaginations were not +realities. + +"During the whole of this period I took great pleasure in walking out +alone, particularly in the evening. The most lonely fields, the woods, +and the banks of the river, and other places most completely secluded, +were my favorite resorts, for there I could enjoy the sight of +innumerable aerial beings of all sorts, without interruption. Every +object, even every shaking leaf, seemed to me to be animated by some +living soul, whose nature in some degree corresponded to its +habitation. I spent much of my life in these solitary rambles; there +were particular places to which I gave names, and visited them at +regular intervals. Moonlight was particularly agreeable to me, but +most of all I enjoyed a thick, foggy night. At times, during these +walks, I would be excessively oppressed by an indefinite and deep +feeling of melancholy. Without knowing why, I would be so unhappy as +to wish myself annihilated, and suddenly it would occur to me that my +friends at home were suffering some dreadful calamity, and so vivid +would be the impression, that I would hasten home with all speed to +see what had taken place. At such seasons I felt a morbid love for my +friends that would almost burn up my soul, and yet, at the least +provocation from them, I would fly into an uncontrollable passion and +foam like a little fury. I was called a dreadful-tempered boy; but the +Lord knows that I never occasioned pain to any animal, whether human +or brutal, without suffering untold agonies in consequence of it. I +cannot, even now, without feelings of deep sorrow, call to mind the +alternate fits of corroding melancholy, irritation, and bitter remorse +which I then endured. These fits of melancholy were most constant and +oppressive during the autumnal months. + +"I very early learned to read, and soon became immoderately attached +to books. In the Bible I read the first chapters of Job, and parts of +Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation, with most intense delight, and with +such frequency that I could repeat large portions from memory long +before the age at which boys in the country are usually able to read +plain sentences. The first large book besides the Bible that I +remember reading was Morse's 'History of New England,' which I +devoured with insatiable greediness, particularly those parts which +relate to Indian wars and witchcraft. I was in the habit of applying +to my grandmother for explanations, and she would relate to me, while +I listened with breathless attention, long stories from Mather's +'Magnalia' or (Mag-nilly, as she used to call it), a work which I +earnestly longed to read, but of which, I never got sight till after +my twentieth year. Very early there fell into my hands an old school- +book, called 'The Art of Speaking,' containing numerous extracts from +Milton and Shakespeare. There was little else in the book that +interested me, but these extracts from the two great English poets, +though there were many things in them that I did not well understand, +I read again and again, with increasing pleasure at every perusal, +till I had nearly committed them to memory, and almost thumbed the old +book into nonenity. But of all the books that I read at this period, +there was none that went to my heart like Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's +Progress.' I read it and re-read it night and day; I took it to bed +with me and hugged it to my bosom while I slept; every different +edition that I could find I seized upon and read with as eager a +curiosity as if it had been a new story throughout; and I read with +the unspeakable satisfaction of most devoutly believing that +everything which 'Honest John' related was a real verity, an actual +occurrence. Oh that I could read that most inimitable book once more +with the same solemn conviction of its literal truth, that I might +once more enjoy the same untold ecstacy! + +"One other remark it seems proper to make before I proceed further to +details. The appearance, and especially the motions, of my aerial +visitors were intimately connected, either as cause or effect, I +cannot determine which, with certain sensations of my own. Their +countenances generally expressed pleasure or pain, complaisance or +anger, according to the mood of my own mind: if they moved from place +to place without moving their limbs, with that gliding motion +appropriate to spirits, I felt in my stomach that peculiar tickling +sensation which accompanies a rapid, progressive movement through the +air; and if they went off with an uneasy trot, I felt an unpleasant +jarring through my frame. Their appearance was always attended with +considerable effort and fatigue on my part: the more distinct and +vivid they were, the more would my fatigue be increased; and at such +times my face was always pale, and my eyes unusually sparkling and +wild. This continued to be the case after I became satisfied that it +was all a delusion of the imagination, and it so continues to the +present day." + +It is not surprising that Mrs. Stowe should have felt herself impelled +to give literary form to an experience so exceptional. Still more must +this be the case when the early associations of this exceptional +character were as amusing and interesting as they are shown forth in +"Oldtown Fireside Stories." + +None of the incidents or characters embodied in those sketches are +ideal. The stories are told as they came from Mr. Stowe's lips, with +little or no alteration. Sam Lawson was a real character. In 1874 Mr. +Whittier wrote to Mrs. Stowe: "I am not able to write or study much, +or read books that require thought, without suffering, but I have Sam +Lawson lying at hand, and, as Corporal Trim said of Yorick's sermon, +'I like it hugely.'" + +The power and literary value of these stories lie in the fact that +they are true to nature. Professor Stowe was himself an inimitable +mimic and story-teller. No small proportion of Mrs. Stowe's success as +a literary woman is to be attributed to him. Not only was he possessed +of a bright, quick mind, but wonderful retentiveness of memory. Mrs. +Stowe was never at a loss for reliable information on any subject as +long as the professor lived. He belonged, to that extinct species, the +"general scholar." His scholarship was not critical in the modern +sense of the word, but in the main accurate, in spite of his love for +the marvelous. + +It is not out of place to give a little idea of his power in +character-painting, as it shows how suggestive his conversation and +letters must have been to a mind like that of Mrs. Stowe:-- + +NATICK, _July_ 14, 1839. + +I have had a real good time this week writing my oration. I have +strolled over my old walking places, and found the same old stone +walls, the same old footpaths through the rye-fields, the same bends +in the river, the same old bullfrogs with their green spectacles on, +the same old terrapins sticking up their heads and bowing as I go by; +and nothing was wanting but my wife to talk with to make all complete. +. . . I have had some rare talks with old uncle "Jaw" Bacon, and other +old characters, which you ought to have heard. The Curtises have been +flooding Uncle "Jaw's" meadows, and he is in a great stew about it. He +says: "I took and tell'd your Uncle Izic to tell them 'ere Curtises +that if the Devil did n't git 'em far flowing my medder arter that +sort, I didn't see no use o' havin' any Devil." "Have you talked with +the Curtises yourself?" "Yes, hang the sarcy dogs! and they took and +tell'd me that they'd take and flow clean up to my front door, and +make me go out and in in a boat." "Why don't you go to law?" "Oh, they +keep alterin' and er tinkerin'-up the laws so here in Massachusetts +that a body can't git no damage fur flowing; they think cold water +can't hurt nobody." + +Mother and Aunt Nabby each keep separate establishments. First Aunt +Nabby gets up in the morning and examines the sink, to see whether it +leaks and rots the beam. She then makes a little fire, gets her little +teapot of bright shining tin, and puts into it a teaspoonful of black +tea, and so prepares her breakfast. + +By this time mother comes creeping down-stairs, like an old tabby-cat +out of the ash-hole; and she kind o' doubts and reckons whether or no +she had better try to git any breakfast, bein' as she 's not much +appetite this mornin'; but she goes to the leg of bacon and cuts off a +little slice, reckons sh'll broil it; then goes and looks at the +coffee-pot and reckons sh'll have a little coffee; don't exactly know +whether it's good for her, but she don't drink much. So while Aunt +Nabby is sitting sipping her tea and munching her bread and butter +with a matter-of-fact certainty and marvelous satisfaction, mother +goes doubting and reckoning round, like Mrs. Diffidence in Doubting +Castle, till you see rising up another little table in another corner +of the room, with a good substantial structure of broiled ham and +coffee, and a boiled egg or two, with various et ceteras, which Mrs. +Diffidence, after many desponding ejaculations, finally sits down to, +and in spite of all presentiments makes them fly as nimbly as Mr. +Ready-to-Halt did Miss Much-afraid when he footed it so well with her +on his crutches in the dance on the occasion of Giant Despair's +overthrow. + +I have thus far dined alternately with mother and Aunt Susan, not +having yet been admitted to Aunt Nabby's establishment. There are now +great talkings, and congresses and consultations of the allied powers, +and already rumors are afloat that perhaps all will unite their forces +and dine at one table, especially as Harriet and little Hattie are +coming, and there is no knowing what might come out in the papers if +there should be anything a little odd. + +Mother is very well, thin as a hatchet and smart as a steel trap; Aunt +Nabby, fat and easy as usual; for since the sink is mended, and no +longer leaks and rots the beam, and she has nothing to do but watch +it, and Uncle Bill has joined the Washingtonians and no longer drinks +rum, she is quite at a loss for topics of worriment. + +Uncle Ike has had a little touch of palsy and is rather feeble. He +says that his legs and arms have rather gi'n out, but his head and +pluck are as good as they ever were. I told him that our sister Kate +was very much in the same fix, whereat he was considerably affected, +and opened the crack in his great pumpkin of a face, displaying the +same two rows of great white ivories which have been my admiration +from my youth up. He is sixty-five years of age, and has never lost a +tooth, and was never in his life more than fifteen miles from the spot +where he was born, except once, in the ever-memorable year 1819, when +I was at Bradford Academy. + +In a sudden glow of adventurous rashness he undertook to go after me +and bring me home for vacation; and he actually performed the whole +journey of thirty miles with his horse and wagon, and slept at a +tavern a whole night, a feat of bravery on which he has never since +ceased to plume himself. I well remember that awful night in the +tavern in the remote region of North Andover. We occupied a chamber in +which were two beds. In the unsuspecting innocence of youth I +undressed myself and got into bed as usual; but my brave and +thoughtful uncle, merely divesting himself of his coat, put it under +his pillow, and then threw himself on to the bed with his boots on his +feet, and his two hands resting on the rim of his hat, which he had +prudently placed on the apex of his stomach as he lay on his back. He +wouldn't allow me to blow out the candle, but he lay there with his +great white eyes fixed on the ceiling, in the cool, determined manner +of a bold man who had made up his mind to face danger and meet +whatever might befall him. We escaped, however, without injury, the +doughty landlord and his relentless sons merely demanding pay for +supper, lodging, horse-feed, and breakfast, which my valiant uncle, +betraying no signs of fear, resolutely paid. + +Mrs. Stowe has woven this incident into chapter thirty-two of "Oldtown +Folks," where Uncle Ike figures as Uncle Jacob. + +Mrs. Stowe had misgivings as to the reception which "Oldtown Folks" +would meet in England, owing to its distinctively New England +character. Shortly after the publication of the book she received the +following words of encouragement from Mrs. Lewes (George Eliot), July +11, 1869 :-- + +"I have received and read 'Oldtown Folks.' I think that few of your +readers can have felt more interest than I have felt in that picture +of an elder generation; for my interest in it has a double root,--one +in my own love for our old-fashioned provincial life, which had its +affinities with a contemporary life, even all across the Atlantic, and +of which I have gathered glimpses in different phases from my father +and mother, with their relations; the other is my experimental +acquaintance with some shades of Calvinistic orthodoxy. I think your +way of presenting the religious convictions which are not your own, +except by the way of indirect fellowship, is a triumph of insight and +true tolerance. . . . Both Mr. Lewes and I are deeply interested in +the indications which the professor gives of his peculiar +psychological experience, and we should feel it a great privilege to +learn much more of it from his lips. It is a rare thing to have such +an opportunity of studying exceptional experience in the testimony of +a truthful and in every way distinguished mind." + +"Oldtown Folks" is of interest as being undoubtedly the last of Mrs. +Stowe's works which will outlive the generation for which it was +written. Besides its intrinsic merit as a work of fiction, it has a +certain historic value as being a faithful study of "New England life +and character in that particular time of its history which may be +called the seminal period." + +Whether Mrs. Stowe was far enough away from the time and people she +attempts to describe to "make (her) mind as still and passive as a +looking-glass or a mountain lake, and to give merely the images +reflected there," is something that will in great part determine the +permanent value of this work. Its interest as a story merely is of +course ephemeral. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE BYRON CONTROVERSY, 1869-1870. + + +MRS. STOWE'S STATEMENT OF HER OWN CASE.--THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH +SHE FIRST MET LADY BYRON.--LETTERS TO LADY BYRON.--LETTER TO DR. +HOLMES WHEN ABOUT TO PUBLISH "THE TRUE STORY OF LADY BYRON'S LIFE" IN +THE "ATLANTIC."--DR. HOLMES'S REPLY.--THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER. + +It seems impossible to avoid the unpleasant episode in Mrs. Stowe's +life known as the "Byron Controversy." It will be our effort to deal +with the matter as colorlessly as is consistent with an adequate +setting forth of the motives which moved Mrs. Stowe to awaken this +unsavory discussion. In justification of her action in this matter, +Mrs. Stowe says:-- + +"What interest have you and I, my brother and my sister, in this short +life of ours, to utter anything but the truth? Is not truth between +man and man, and between man and woman, the foundation on which all +things rest? Have you not, every individual of you, who must hereafter +give an account yourself alone to God, an interest to know the exact +truth in this matter, and a duty to perform as respects that truth? +Hear me, then, while I tell you the position in which I stood, and +what was my course in relation to it. + +"A shameless attack on my friend's memory had appeared in the +'Blackwood' of July, 1869, branding Lady Byron as the vilest of +criminals, and recommending the Guiccioli book to a Christian public +as interesting from the very fact that it was the avowed production of +Lord Byron's mistress. No efficient protest was made against this +outrage in England, and Littell's 'Living Age' reprinted the +'Blackwood' article, and the Harpers, the largest publishing house in +America, perhaps in the world, republished the book. + +"Its statements--with those of the 'Blackwood,' 'Pall Mall Gazette,' +and other English periodicals--were being propagated through all the +young reading and writing world of America. I was meeting them +advertised in dailies, and made up into articles in magazines, and +thus the generation of to-day, who had no means of judging Lady Byron +but by these fables of her slanderers, were being foully deceived. The +friends who knew her personally were a small, select circle in +England, whom death is every day reducing. They were few in number +compared with the great world, and were silent. I saw these foul +slanders crystallizing into history, uncontradicted by friends who +knew her personally, who, firm in their own knowledge of her virtues, +and limited in view as aristocratic circles generally are, had no idea +of the width of the world they were living in, and the exigency of the +crisis. When time passed on and no voice was raised, I spoke." + +It is hardly necessary to recapitulate, at any great length, facts +already so familiar to the reading public; it may be sufficient simply +to say that after the appearance in 1868 of the Countess Guiccioli's +"Recollections of Lord Byron," Mrs. Stowe felt herself called upon to +defend the memory of her friend from what she esteemed to be +falsehoods and slanders. To accomplish this object, she prepared for +the "Atlantic Monthly" of September, 1869, an article, "The True Story +of Lady Byron's Life." Speaking of her first impressions of Lady +Byron, Mrs. Stowe says:-- + +"I formed her acquaintance in the year 1853, during my first visit to +England. I met her at a lunch party in the house of one of her +friends. When I was introduced to her, I felt in a moment the words of +her husband:-- + + "'There was awe in the homage that she drew; + Her spirit seemed as seated on a throne.'" + +It was in the fall of 1856, on the occasion of Mrs. Stowe's second +visit to England, as she and her sister were on their way to Eversley +to visit the Rev. C. Kingsley, that they stopped by invitation to +lunch with Lady Byron at her summer residence at Ham Common, near +Richmond. At that time Lady Byron informed Mrs. Stowe that it was her +earnest desire to receive a visit from her on her return, as there was +a subject of great importance concerning which she desired her advice. +Mrs. Stowe has thus described this interview with Lady Byron:-- + +"After lunch, I retired with Lady Byron, and my sister remained with +her friends. I should here remark that the chief subject of the +conversation which ensued was not entirely new to me." + +"In the interval between my first and second visits to England, a lady +who for many years had enjoyed Lady Byron's friendship and confidence +had, with her consent, stated the case generally to me, giving some of +the incidents, so that I was in a manner prepared for what followed." + +"Those who accuse Lady Byron of being a person fond of talking upon +this subject, and apt to make unconsidered confidences, can have known +very little of her, of her reserve, and of the apparent difficulty she +had in speaking on subjects nearest her heart. Her habitual calmness +and composure of manner, her collected dignity on all occasions, are +often mentioned by her husband, sometimes with bitterness, sometimes +with admiration. He says: 'Though I accuse Lady Byron of an excess of +self-respect, I must in candor admit that, if ever a person had excuse +for an extraordinary portion of it, she has, as in all her thoughts, +words, and deeds she is the most decorous woman that ever existed, and +must appear, what few I fancy could, a perfectly refined gentlewoman, +even to her _femme de chambre_.' + +"This calmness and dignity were never more manifested than in this +interview. In recalling the conversation at this distance of time, I +cannot remember all the language used. Some particular words and forms +of expression I do remember, and those I give; and in other cases I +give my recollection of the substance of what was said. + +"There was something awful to me in the intensity of repressed emotion +which she showed as she proceeded. The great fact upon which all +turned was stated in words that were unmistakable." + +Mrs. Stowe goes on to give minutely Lady Byron's conversation, and +concludes by saying:-- + +Of course I did not listen to this story as one who was investigating +its worth. I received it as truth, and the purpose for which it was +communicated was not to enable me to prove it to the world, but to ask +my opinion whether she should show it to the world before leaving it. +The whole consultation was upon the assumption that she had at her +command such proofs as could not be questioned. Concerning what they +were I did not minutely inquire, only, in answer to a general +question, she said that she had letters and documents in proof of her +story. Knowing Lady Byron's strength of mind, her clear-headedness, +her accurate habits, and her perfect knowledge of the matter, I +considered her judgment on this point decisive. I told her that I +would take the subject into consideration and give my opinion in a few +days. That night, after my sister and myself had retired to our own +apartment, I related to her the whole history, and we spent the night +in talking it over. I was powerfully impressed with the justice and +propriety of an immediate disclosure; while she, on the contrary, +represented the fatal consequences that would probably come upon Lady +Byron from taking such a step. + +Before we parted the next day, I requested Lady Byron to give me some +memoranda of such dates and outlines of the general story as would +enable me better to keep it in its connection, which she did. On +giving me the paper, Lady Byron requested me to return it to her when +it had ceased to be of use to me for the purpose intended. +Accordingly, a day or two after, I inclosed it to her in a hasty note, +as I was then leaving London for Paris, and had not yet had time fully +to consider the subject. On reviewing my note I can recall that then +the whole history appeared to me like one of those singular cases +where unnatural impulses to vice are the result of a taint of +constitutional insanity. This has always seemed to me the only way of +accounting for instances of utterly motiveless and abnormal wickedness +and cruelty. These, my first impressions, were expressed in the hasty +note written at the time:-- + +LONDON, _November_ 5,1856. + +DEAREST FRIEND,--I return these. They have held mine eyes waking. How +strange! How unaccountable! Have you ever subjected the facts to the +judgment of a medical man, learned in nervous pathology? Is it not +insanity? + + "Great wits to madness nearly are allied, + And thin partitions do their bounds divide." + +But my purpose to-night is not to write to you fully what I think of +this matter. I am going to write to you from Paris more at leisure. + +(The rest of the letter was taken up in the final details of a charity +in which Lady Byron had been engaged with me in assisting an +unfortunate artist. It concludes thus:) + +I write now in all haste, _en route_ for Paris. As to America, +all is not lost yet. Farewell. I love you, my dear friend, as never +before, with an intense feeling that I cannot easily express. God +bless you. + +H. B. S. + +The next letter is as follows:-- + +PARIS, _December_ 17, 1856. + +DEAR LADY BYRON,--The Kansas Committee have written me a letter +desiring me to express to Miss ---- their gratitude for the five +pounds she sent them. I am not personally acquainted with her, and +must return these acknowledgments through you. + +I wrote you a day or two since, inclosing the reply of the Kansas +Committee to you. + +On that subject on which you spoke to me the last time we were +together, I have thought often and deeply. I have changed my mind +somewhat. Considering the peculiar circumstances of the case, I could +wish that the sacred veil of silence, so bravely thrown over the past, +should never be withdrawn during the time that you remain with us. I +would say then, leave all with some discreet friends, who, after both +have passed from earth, shall say what was due to justice. I am led to +think this by seeing how low, how unworthy, the judgments of this +world are; and I would not that what I so much respect, love, and +revere should be placed within reach of its harpy claw, which pollutes +what it touches. The day will yet come which will bring to light every +hidden thing. "There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, +neither hid that shall not be known;" and so justice will not fail. + +Such, my dear friend, are my thoughts; different from what they were +since first I heard that strange, sad history. Meanwhile I love you +forever, whether we meet again on earth or not. + +Affectionately yours, + +H. B. S. + +Before her article appeared in print, Mrs. Stowe addressed the +following letter to Dr. Holmes in Boston:-- + +HARTFORD, _June_ 26,1869. + +DEAR DOCTOR,--I am going to ask help of you, and I feel that +confidence in your friendship that leads me to be glad that I have a +friend like you to ask advice of. In order that you may understand +fully what it is, I must go back some years and tell you about it. + +When I went to England the first time, I formed a friendship with Lady +Byron which led to a somewhat interesting correspondence. When there +the second time, after the publication of "Dred" in 1856, Lady Byron +wrote to me that she wished to have some private confidential +conversation with me, and invited me to come spend a day with her at +her country-seat near London. I went, met her alone, and spent an +afternoon with her. The object of the visit she then explained to me. +She was in such a state of health that she considered she had very +little time to live, and was engaged in those duties and reviews which +every thoughtful person finds who is coming deliberately, and with +their eyes open, to the boundaries of this mortal life. + +Lady Byron, as you must perceive, has all her life lived under a +weight of slanders and false imputations laid upon her by her husband. +Her own side of the story has been told only to that small circle of +confidential friends who needed to know it in order to assist her in +meeting the exigencies which it imposed on her. Of course it has +thrown the sympathy mostly on his side, since the world generally has +more sympathy with impulsive incorrectness than with strict justice. + +At that time there was a cheap edition of Byron's works in +contemplation, meant to bring them into circulation among the masses, +and the pathos arising from the story of his domestic misfortunes was +one great means relied on for giving it currency. + +Under these circumstances some of Lady Byron's friends had proposed +the question to her whether she had not a responsibility to society +for the truth; whether she did right to allow these persons to gain +influence over the popular mind by a silent consent to an utter +falsehood. As her whole life had been passed in the most heroic self- +abnegation and self sacrifice, the question was now proposed to her +whether one more act of self-denial was not required of her, namely, +to declare _the truth_, no matter at what expense to her own +feelings. + +For this purpose she told me she wished to recount the whole story to +a person in whom she had confidence,--a person of another country, and +out of the whole sphere of personal and local feelings which might be +supposed to influence those in the country and station in life where +the events really happened,--in order that I might judge whether +anything more was required of her in relation to this history. + +The interview had almost the solemnity of a deathbed confession, and +Lady Byron told me the history which I have embodied in an article to +appear in the "Atlantic Monthly." I have been induced to prepare it by +the run which the Guiccioli book is having, which is from first to +last an unsparing attack on Lady Byron's memory by Lord Byron's +mistress. + +When you have read my article, I want, _not_ your advice as to +whether the main facts shall be told, for on this point I am so +resolved that I frankly say advice would do me no good. But you might +help me, with your delicacy and insight, to make the _manner of +telling_ more perfect, and I want to do it as wisely and well as +such story can be told. + +My post-office address after July 1st will be Westport Point, Bristol +Co., Mass., care of Mrs. I. M. Soule. The proof-sheets will be sent +you by the publisher. + +Very truly yours, H. B. STOWE. + +In reply to the storm of controversy aroused by the publication of +this article, Mrs. Stowe made a more extended effort to justify the +charges which she had brought against Lord Byron, in a work published +in 1869, "Lady Byron Vindicated." Immediately after the publication of +this work, she mailed a copy to Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, accompanied +by the following note:-- + +BOSTON, _May_ 19, 1869. + +DEAR DOCTOR,--. . . In writing this book, which I now take the liberty +of sending to you, I have been in . . . a "critical place." It has +been a strange, weird sort of experience, and I have had not a word to +say to anybody, though often thinking of you and wishing I could have +a little of your help and sympathy in getting out what I saw. I think +of you very much, and rejoice to see the _hold_ your works get on +England as well as this country, and I would give more for your +opinion than that of most folks. How often I have pondered your last +letter to me, and sent it to many (friends)! God bless you. Please +accept for yourself and your good wife, this copy. + +From yours truly, + +H. B. STOWE. + +Mrs. Stowe also published in 1870, through Sampson Low & Son, of +London, a volume for English readers, "The History of the Byron +Controversy." These additional volumes, however, do not seem to have +satisfied the public as a whole, and perhaps the expediency of the +publication of Mrs. Stowe's first article is doubtful, even to her +most ardent admirers. The most that can be hoped for, through the +mention of the subject in this biography, is the vindication of Mrs. +Stowe's purity of motive and nobility of intention in bringing this +painful matter into notice. + +While she was being on all hands effectively, and evidently in some +quarters with rare satisfaction, roundly abused for the article, and +her consequent responsibility in bringing this unsavory discussion so +prominently before the public mind, she received the following letter +from Dr. 0. W. Holmes:-- + +BOSTON, _September_ 25, 1869. + +MY DEAR MRS. STOWE,--I have been meaning to write to you for some +time, but in the midst of all the wild and virulent talk about the +article in the "Atlantic," I felt as if there was little to say until +the first fury of the storm had blown over. + +I think that we all perceive now that the battle is not to be fought +here, but in England. I have listened to a good deal of talk, always +taking your side in a quiet way, backed very heartily on one occasion +by one of my most intellectual friends, reading all that came in my +way, and watching the course of opinion. And first, it was to be +expected that the Guiccioli fanciers would resent any attack on Lord +Byron, and would highly relish the opportunity of abusing one who, +like yourself, had been identified with all those moral enterprises +which elevate the standard of humanity at large, and of womanhood in +particular. After this scum had worked itself off, there must +necessarily follow a controversy, none the less sharp and bitter, but +not depending essentially on abuse. The first point the recusants got +hold of was the error of the two years which contrived to run the +gauntlet of so many pairs of eyes. Some of them were made happy by +mouthing and shaking this between their teeth, as a poodle tears round +with a glove. This did not last long. No sensible person could believe +for a moment you were mistaken in the essential character of a +statement every word of which would fall on the ear of a listening +friend like a drop of melted lead, and burn its scar deep into the +memory. That Lady Byron believed and told you the story will not be +questioned by any but fools and malignants. Whether her belief was +well founded there may be positive evidence in existence to show +affirmatively. The fact that her statement is not peremptorily +contradicted by those most likely to be acquainted with the facts of +the ease, is the one result so far which is forcing itself into +unwilling recognition. I have seen nothing, in the various hypotheses +brought forward, which did not to me involve a greater improbability +than the presumption of guilt. Take that, for witness, that Byron +accused himself, through a spirit of perverse vanity, of crimes he had +not committed. How preposterous! He would stain the name of a sister, +whom, on the supposition of his innocence, he loved with angelic ardor +as well as purity, by associating it with such an infamous accusation. +Suppose there are some anomalies hard to explain in Lady Byron's +conduct. Could a young and guileless woman, in the hands of such a +man, be expected to act in any given way, or would she not be likely +to waver, to doubt, to hope, to contradict herself, in the anomalous +position in which, without experience, she found herself? + +As to the intrinsic evidence contained in the poems, I think it +confirms rather than contradicts the hypothesis of guilt. I do not +think that Butler's argument, and all the other attempts at +invalidation of the story, avail much in the face of the acknowledged +fact that it was told to various competent and honest witnesses, and +remains without a satisfactory answer from those most interested. + +I know your firm self-reliance, and your courage to proclaim the truth +when any good end is to be served by it. It is to be expected that +public opinion will be more or less divided as to the expediency of +this revelation. . . . + +Hoping that you have recovered from your indisposition, + +I am Faithfully yours, + +0. W. HOLMES. + +While undergoing the most unsparing and pitiless criticism and brutal +insult, Mrs. Stowe received the following sympathetic words from Mrs. +Lewes (George Eliot):-- + +THE PRIORY, 21 NORTH BANK, _December_ 10, 1869. + +MY DEAR FRIEND,--. . . In the midst of your trouble I was often +thinking of you, for I feared that you were undergoing a considerable +trial from the harsh and unfair judgments, partly the fruit of +hostility glad to find an opportunity for venting itself, and partly +of that unthinking cruelty which belongs to hasty anonymous +journalism. For my own part, I should have preferred that the Byron +question should never have been brought before the public, because I +think the discussion of such subjects is injurious socially. But with +regard to yourself, dear friend, I feel sure that, in acting on a +different basis of impressions, you were impelled by pure, generous +feeling. Do not think that I would have written to you of this point +to express a judgment. I am anxious only to convey to you a sense of +my sympathy and confidence, such as a kiss and a pressure of the hand +could give if I were near you. + +I trust that I shall hear a good account of Professor Stowe's health, +as well as your own, whenever you have time to write me a word or two. +I shall not be so unreasonable as to expect a long letter, for the +hours of needful rest from writing become more and more precious as +the years go on, but some brief news of you and yours will be +especially welcome just now. Mr. Lewes unites with me in high regards +to your husband and yourself, but in addition to that I have the +sister woman's privilege of saying that I am always + +Your affectionate friend, + +M. H. LEWES. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +GEORGE ELIOT. + + +CORRESPONDENCE WITH GEORGE ELIOT.--GEORGE ELIOT'S FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF +MRS. STOWE.--MRS. STOWE'S LETTER TO MRS. FOLLEN.--GEORGE ELIOT'S +LETTER TO MRS. STOWE.--MRS. STOWE'S REPLY.--LIFE IN FLORIDA.--ROBERT +DALE OWEN AND MODERN SPIRITUALISM.--GEORGE ELIOT'S LETTER ON THE +PHENOMENA OF SPIRITUALISM.--MRS. STOWE'S DESCRIPTION OF SCENERY IN +FLORIDA.--MRS. STOWE CONCERNING "MIDDLEMARCH."--GEORGE ELIOT TO MRS. +STOWE DURING REV. H. W. BEECHER'S TRIAL.--MRS. STOWE CONCERNING HER +LIFE EXPERIENCE WITH HER BROTHER, H. W. BEECHER, AND HIS TRIAL.--MRS. +LEWES' LAST LETTER TO MRS. STOWE.--DIVERSE MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF +THESE TWO WOMEN.--MRS. STOWE'S FINAL ESTIMATE OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. + +It is with a feeling of relief that we turn from one of the most +disagreeable experiences of Mrs. Stowe's life to one of the most +delightful, namely, the warm friendship of one of the most eminent +women of this age, George Eliot. + +There seems to have been some deep affinity of feeling that drew them +closely together in spite of diversity of intellectual tastes. + +George Eliot's attention was first personally attracted to Mrs. Stowe +in 1853, by means of a letter which the latter had written to Mrs. +Follen. Speaking of this incident she (George Eliot) writes: "Mrs. +Follen showed me a delightful letter which she has just had from Mrs. +Stowe, telling all about herself. She begins by saying, 'I am a little +bit of a woman, rather more than forty, as withered and dry as a pinch +of snuff; never very well worth looking at in my best days, and now a +decidedly used-up article.' The whole letter is most fascinating, and +makes one love her." [Footnote: George Eliot's Life, edited by J. W. +Cross, vol. i.] + +The correspondence between these two notable women was begun by Mrs. +Stowe, and called forth the following extremely interesting letter +from the distinguished English novelist:-- + +THE PRIORY, 21 NORTH BANK, _May_ 8,1869. + +MY DEAR FRIEND,--I value very highly the warrant to call you friend +which your letter has given me. It lay awaiting me on our return the +other night from a nine weeks' absence in Italy, and it made me almost +wish that you could have a momentary vision of the discouragement,-- +nay, paralyzing despondency--in which many days of my writing life +have been passed, in order that you might fully understand the good I +find in such sympathy as yours, in such an assurance as you give me +that my work has been worth doing. But I will not dwell on any mental +sickness of mine. The best joy your words give me is the sense of that +sweet, generous feeling in you which dictated them. I shall always be +the richer because you have in this way made me know you better. I +must tell you that my first glimpse of you as a woman came through a +letter of yours, and charmed me very much. The letter was addressed to +Mrs. Follen, and one morning I called on her in London (how many years +ago!); she was kind enough to read it to me, because it contained a +little history of your life, and a sketch of your domestic +circumstances. I remember thinking that it was very kind of you to +write that long letter, in reply to inquiries of one who was +personally unknown to you; and, looking back with my present +experience, I think it was kinder than it then appeared, for at that +time you must have been much oppressed with the immediate results of +your fame. I remember, too, that you wrote of your husband as one who +was richer in Hebrew and Greek than in pounds or shillings; and as an +ardent scholar has always been a character of peculiar interest to me, +I have rarely had your image in my mind without the accompanying image +(more or less erroneous) of such a scholar by your side. I shall +welcome the fruit of his Goethe studies, whenever it comes. + +I have good hopes that your fears are groundless as to the obstacles +your new book ("Oldtown Folks") may find here from its thorough +American character. Most readers who are likely to be really +influenced by writing above the common order will find that special +aspect an added reason for interest and study; and I dare say you have +long seen, as I am beginning to see with new clearness, that if a book +which has any sort of exquisiteness happens also to be a popular, +widely circulated book, the power over the social mind for any good +is, after all, due to its reception by a few appreciative natures, and +is the slow result of radiation from that narrow circle. I mean that +you can affect a few souls, and that each of these in turn may affect +a few more, but that no exquisite book tells properly and directly on +a multitude, however largely it may be spread by type and paper. +Witness the things the multitude will say about it, if one is so +unhappy as to be obliged to hear their sayings. I do not write this +cynically, but in pure sadness and pity. Both traveling abroad and +staying at home among our English sights and sports, one must +continually feel how slowly the centuries work toward the moral good +of men, and that thought lies very close to what you say as to your +wonder or conjecture concerning my religious point of view. I believe +that religion, too, has to be modified according to the dominant +phases; that a religion more perfect than any yet prevalent must +express less care of personal consolation, and the more deeply awing +sense of responsibility to man springing from sympathy with that which +of all things is most certainly known to us,--the difficulty of the +human lot. Letters are necessarily narrow and fragmentary, and +when one writes on wide subjects, are likely to create more +misunderstanding than illumination. But I have little anxiety in +writing to you, dear friend and fellow-laborer; for you have had +longer experience than I as a writer, and fuller experience as a +woman, since you have borne children and known a mother's history from +the beginning. I trust your quick and long-taught mind as an +interpreter little liable to mistake me. + +When you say, "We live in an orange grove, and are planting many +more," and when I think you must have abundant family love to cheer +you, it seems to me that you must have a paradise about you. But no +list of circumstances will make a paradise. Nevertheless, I must +believe that the joyous, tender humor of your books clings about your +more immediate life, and makes some of that sunshine for yourself +which you have given to us. I see the advertisement of "Oldtown +Folks," and shall eagerly expect it. That and every other new link +between us will be reverentially valued. With great devotion and +regard, + +Yours always, + +M. L. LEWES. + +Mrs. Stowe writes from Mandarin to George Eliot:-- + +MANDARIN, _February_ 8, 1872. + +DEAR FRIEND,--It is two years nearly since I had your last very kind +letter, and I have never answered, because two years of constant and +severe work have made it impossible to give a drop to anything beyond +the needs of the hour. Yet I have always thought of you, loved you, +trusted you all the same, and read every little scrap from your +writing that came to hand. + +One thing brings you back to me. I am now in Florida in my little hut +in the orange orchard, with the broad expanse of the blue St. John's +in front, and the waving of the live-oaks, with their long, gray +mosses, overhead, and the bright gold of oranges looking through dusky +leaves around. It is like Sorrento,--so like that I can quite dream of +being there. And when I get here I enter another life. The world +recedes; I am out of it; it ceases to influence; its bustle and noise +die away in the far distance; and here is no winter, an open-air +life,--a quaint, rude, wild wilderness sort of life, both rude and +rich; but when I am here I write more letters to friends than ever I +do elsewhere. The mail comes only twice a week, and then is the event +of the day. My old rabbi and I here set up our tent, he with German, +and Greek, and Hebrew, devouring all sorts of black-letter books, and +I spinning ideal webs out of bits that he lets fall here and there. + +I have long thought that I would write you again when I got here, and +so I do. I have sent North to have them send me the "Harper's Weekly," +in which your new story is appearing, and have promised myself +leisurely to devour and absorb every word of it. + +While I think of it I want to introduce to you a friend of mine, a +most noble man, Mr. Owen, for some years our ambassador at Naples, now +living a literary and scholar life in America. His father was Robert +Dale Owen, the theorist and communist you may have heard of in England +some years since. + +Years ago, in Naples, I visited Mr. Owen for the first time, and found +him directing his attention to the phenomena of spiritism. He had +stumbled upon some singular instances of it accidentally, and he had +forthwith instituted a series of researches and experiments on the +subject, some of which he showed me. It was the first time I had ever +seriously thought of the matter, and he invited my sister and myself +to see some of the phenomena as exhibited by a medium friend of theirs +who resided in their family. The result at the time was sufficiently +curious, but I was interested in his account of the manner in which he +proceeded, keeping records of every experiment with its results, in +classified orders. As the result of his studies and observations, he +has published two books, one "Footfalls on the Boundary of Another +World," published in 1860, and latterly, "The Debatable Land Between +this World and the Next." I regard Mr. Owen as one of the few men who +are capable of entering into an inquiry of this kind without an utter +drowning of common sense, and his books are both of them worth a fair +reading. To me they present a great deal that is intensely curious and +interesting, although I do not admit, of course, all his deductions, +and think he often takes too much for granted. Still, with every +abatement there remains a residuum of fact, which I think both curious +and useful. In a late letter to me he says :-- + +"There is no writer of the present day whom I more esteem than Mrs. +Lewes, nor any one whose opinion of my work I should more highly +value." + +I believe he intends sending them to you, and I hope you will read +them. Lest some of the narratives should strike you, as such +narratives did me once, as being a perfect Arabian Nights' +Entertainment, I want to say that I have accidentally been in the way +of confirming some of the most remarkable by personal observation. + +. . . In regard to all this class of subjects, I am of the opinion of +Goethe, that "it is just as absurd to deny the facts of spiritualism +now as it was in the Middle Ages to ascribe them to the Devil." I +think Mr. Owen attributes too much value to his facts. I do not think +the things contributed from the ultra-mundane sphere are particularly +valuable, apart from the evidence they give of continued existence +after death. + +I do not think there is yet any evidence to warrant the idea that they +are a supplement or continuation of the revelations of Christianity, +but I do regard them as an interesting and curious study in +psychology, and every careful observer like Mr. Owen ought to be +welcomed to bring in his facts. With this I shall send you my +observations on Mr. Owen's books, from the "Christian Union." I am +perfectly aware of the frivolity and worthlessness of much of the +revealings purporting to come from spirits. In my view, the worth or +worthlessness of them has nothing to do with the question of fact. + +Do invisible spirits speak in any wise,--wise or foolish?--is the +question _a priori_. I do not know of any reason why there should +not be as many foolish virgins in the future state as in this. As I am +a believer in the Bible and Christianity, I don't need these things as +confirmations, and they are not likely to be a religion to me. I +regard them simply as I do the phenomena of the Aurora Borealis, or +Darwin's studies on natural selection, as curious studies into nature. +Besides, I think some day we shall find a law by which all these facts +will fall into their places. + +I hope now this subject does not bore you: it certainly is one that +seems increasingly to insist on getting itself heard. It is going on +and on, making converts, who are many more than dare avow themselves, +and for my part I wish it were all brought into the daylight of +inquiry. + +Let me hear from you if ever you feel like it. I know too well the +possibilities and impossibilities of a nature like yours to ask more, +but it can do you no harm to know that I still think of you and love +you as ever. + +Faithfully yours, + +H. B. STOWE. + +THE PRIORY, 21 NORTH BANK, REGENT'S PARK, _March_ 4, 1872. + +DEAR, FRIEND,--I can understand very easily that the two last years +have been full for you of other and more imperative work than the +writing of letters not absolutely demanded either by charity or +business. The proof that you still think of me affectionately is very +welcome now it has come, and more cheering because it enables me to +think of you as enjoying your retreat in your orange orchard,--your +western Sorrento--the beloved rabbi still beside you. I am sure it +must be a great blessing to you to bathe in that quietude, as it +always is to us when we go out of reach of London influences and have +the large space of country days to study, walk, and talk in. . . . + +When I am more at liberty I will certainly read Mr. Owen's books, if +he is good enough to send them to me. I desire on all subjects to keep +an open mind, but hitherto the various phenomena, reported or attested +in connection with ideas of spirit intercourse and so on, have come +before me here in the painful form of the lowest charlatanerie. . . . + +But apart from personal contact with people who get money by public +exhibitions as mediums, or with semi-idiots such as those who make a +court for a Mrs. ----, or other feminine personages of that kind, I +would not willingly place any barriers between my mind and any +possible channel of truth affecting the human lot. The spirit in which +you have written in the paper you kindly sent me is likely to touch +others, and arouse them at least to attention in a case where you have +been deeply impressed. . . . + +Yours with sincere affection, + +M. L. LEWES. + +(Begun April 4th.) + +MANDARIN, FLORIDA, _May_ 11,1872. + +MY DEAR FRIEND,--I was very glad to get your dear little note,--sorry +to see by it that you are not in your full physical force. Owing to +the awkwardness and misunderstanding of publishers, I am not reading +"Middlemarch," as I expected to be, here in these orange shades: they +don't send it, and I am too far out of the world to get it. I felt, +when I read your letters, how glad I should be to have you here in our +Florida cottage, in the wholly new, wild, woodland life. Though +resembling Italy in climate, it is wholly different in the appearance +of nature,--the plants, the birds, the animals, all different. The +green tidiness and culture of England here gives way to a wild and +rugged savageness of beauty. Every tree bursts forth with flowers; +wild vines and creepers execute delirious gambols, and weave and +interweave in interminable labyrinths. Yet here, in the great sandy +plains back of our house, there is a constant wondering sense of +beauty in the wild, wonderful growths of nature. First of all, the +pines--high as the stone pines of Italy--with long leaves, eighteen +inches long, through which there is a constant dreamy sound, as if of +dashing waters. Then the live-oaks and the water-oaks, narrow-leaved +evergreens, which grow to enormous size, and whose branches are draped +with long festoons of the gray moss. There is a great, wild park of +these trees back of us, which, with the dazzling, varnished green of +the new spring leaves and the swaying drapery of moss, looks like a +sort of enchanted grotto. Underneath grow up hollies and ornamental +flowering shrubs, and the yellow jessamine climbs into and over +everything with fragrant golden bells and buds, so that sometimes the +foliage of a tree is wholly hidden in its embrace. + +This wild, wonderful, bright and vivid growth, that is all new, +strange, and unknown by name to me, has a charm for me. It is the +place to forget the outside world, and live in one's self. And if you +were here, we would go together and gather azaleas, and white lilies, +and silver bells, and blue iris. These flowers keep me painting in a +sort of madness. I have just finished a picture of white lilies that +grow in the moist land by the watercourses. I am longing to begin on +blue iris. Artist, poet, as you are by nature, you ought to see all +these things, and if you would come here I would take you in heart and +house, and you should have a little room in our cottage. The history +of the cottage is this: I found a hut built close to a great live-oak +twenty-five feet in girth, and with overarching boughs eighty feet up +in the air, spreading like a firmament, and all swaying with mossy +festoons. We began to live here, and gradually we improved the hut by +lath, plaster, and paper. Then we threw out a wide veranda all round, +for in these regions the veranda is the living-room of the house. Ours +had to be built around the trunk of the tree, so that our cottage has +a peculiar and original air, and seems as if it were half tree, or a +something that had grown out of the tree. We added on parts, and have +thrown out gables and chambers, as a tree throws out new branches, +till our cottage is like nobody else's, and yet we settle into it with +real enjoyment. There are all sorts of queer little rooms in it, and +we are accommodating at this present a family of seventeen souls. In +front, the beautiful, grand St. John's stretches five miles from shore +to shore, and we watch the steamboats plying back and forth to the +great world we are out of. On all sides, large orange trees, with +their dense shade and ever-vivid green, shut out the sun so that we +can sit, and walk, and live in the open air. Our winter here is only +cool, bracing out-door weather, without snow. No month without flowers +blooming in the open air, and lettuce and peas in the garden. The +summer range is about 90°, but the sea-breezes keep the air +delightfully fresh. Generally we go North, however, for three months +of summer. Well, I did not mean to run on about Florida, but the +subject runs away with me, and I want you to visit us in spirit if not +personally. + +My poor rabbi!--he sends you some Arabic, which I fear you cannot +read: on diablerie he is up to his ears in knowledge, having read all +things in all tongues, from the Talmud down. . . . + +Ever lovingly yours, + +H. B. STOWE. + +BOSTON, _September_ 26, 1872. + +MY DEAR FRIEND,--I think when you see my name again so soon, you will +think it rains, hails, and snows notes from this quarter. Just now, +however, I am in this lovely, little nest in Boston, where dear Mrs. +Field, like a dove, "sits brooding on the charmed wave." We are both +wishing we had you here with us, and she has not received any answer +from you as yet in reply to the invitation you spoke of in your last +letter to me. It seems as if you must have written, and the letter +somehow gone astray, because I know, of course, you would write. +Yesterday we were both out of our senses with mingled pity and +indignation at that dreadful stick of a Casaubon,--and think of poor +Dorothea dashing like a warm, sunny wave against so cold and repulsive +a rock! He is a little too dreadful for anything: there does not seem +to be a drop of warm blood in him, and so, as it is his misfortune and +not his fault, to be cold-blooded, one must not get angry with him. It +is the scene in the garden, after the interview with the doctor, that +rests on our mind at this present. There was such a man as he over in +Boston, high in literary circles, but I fancy his wife wasn't like +Dorothea, and a vastly proper time they had of it, treating each other +with mutual reverence, like two Chinese mandarins. + +My love, what I miss in this story is just what we would have if you +would come to our tumble-down, jolly, improper, but joyous country,-- +namely, "jollitude." You write and live on so high a plane! It is all +self-abnegation. We want to get you over here, and into this house, +where, with closed doors, we sometimes make the rafters ring with fun, +and say anything and everything, no matter what, and won't be any +properer than we's a mind to be. I am wishing every day you could see +our America,--travel, as I have been doing, from one bright, thriving, +pretty, flowery town to another, and see so much wealth, ease, +progress, culture, and all sorts of nice things. This dovecot where I +now am is the sweetest little nest imaginable; fronting on a city +street, with back windows opening on a sea view, with still, quiet +rooms filled with books, pictures, and all sorts of things, such as +you and Mr. Lewes would enjoy. Don't be afraid of the ocean, now! I +'ve crossed it six times, and assure you it is an overrated item. +Froude is coming here--why not you? Besides, we have the fountain of +eternal youth here, that is, in Florida, where I live, and if you +should come you would both of you take a new lease of life, and what +glorious poems, and philosophies, and whatnot, we should have! My +rabbi writes, in the seventh heaven, an account of your note to him. +To think of his setting-off on his own account when I was away! + +Come now, since your answer to dear Mrs. Fields is yet to come; let it +be a glad yes, and we will clasp you to our heart of hearts. + +Your ever loving, H. B. S. + +During the summer of 1874, while Mrs. Stowe's brother, the Rev. Henry +Ward Beecher, was the victim of a most revolting, malicious, and +groundless attack on his purity, Mrs. Lewes wrote the following words +of sympathy:-- + +MY DEAR, FRIEND,--The other day I had a letter from Mrs. Fields, +written to let me know something of you under that heavy trouble, of +which such information as I have had has been quite untrustworthy, +leaving me in entire incredulity in regard to it except on this point, +that you and yours must be suffering deeply. Naturally I thought most +of you in the matter (its public aspects being indeterminate), and +many times before our friend's letter came I had said to Mr. Lewes: +"What must Mrs. Stowe be feeling!" I remember Mrs. Fields once told me +of the wonderful courage and cheerfulness which belonged to you, +enabling you to bear up under exceptional trials, and I imagined you +helping the sufferers with tenderness and counsel, but yet, +nevertheless, I felt that there must be a bruising weight on your +heart. Dear, honored friend, you who are so ready to give warm +fellowship, is it any comfort to you to be told that those afar off +are caring for you in spirit, and will be happier for all good issues +that may bring you rest? + +I cannot, dare not, write more in my ignorance, lest I should be using +unreasonable words. But I trust in your not despising this scrap of +paper which tells you, perhaps rather for my relief than yours, that I +am always in grateful, sweet remembrance of your goodness to me and +your energetic labors for all. + +It was two years or more before Mrs. Stowe replied to these words of +sympathy. + +Orange-blossom time, MANDARIN, _March_ 18, 1876, + +My Dear Friend,--I always think of you when the orange trees are in +blossom; just now they are fuller than ever, and so many bees are +filling the branches that the air is full of a sort of still murmur. +And now I am beginning to hear from you every month in Harper's. It is +as good as a letter. "Daniel Deronda" has succeeded in awaking in my +somewhat worn-out mind an interest. So many stories are tramping over +one's mind in every modern magazine nowadays that one is macadamized, +so to speak. It takes something unusual to make a sensation. This does +excite and interest me, as I wait for each number with eagerness. I +wish I could endow you with our long winter weather,--not winter, +except such as you find in Sicily. We live here from November to June, +and my husband sits outdoors on the veranda and reads all day. We +emigrate in solid family: my two dear daughters, husband, self, and +servants come together to spend the winter here, and so together to +our Northern home in summer. My twin daughters relieve me from all +domestic care; they are lively, vivacious, with a real genius for +practical life. We have around us a little settlement of neighbors, +who like ourselves have a winter home here, and live an easy, undress, +picnic kind of life, far from the world and its cares. Mr. Stowe has +been busy on eight volumes of Görres on the mysticism of the Middle +Ages. [Footnote: _Die Christliche Mystik_.] This Görres was +Professor of Philosophy at Munich, and he reviews the whole ground of +the shadow-land between the natural and the supernatural,--ecstacy, +trance, prophecy, miracles, spiritualism, the stigmata, etc. He was a +devout Roman Catholic, and the so-called facts that he reasons on seem +to me quite amazing; and yet the possibilities that lie between inert +matter and man's living, all-powerful, immortal soul may make almost +anything credible. The soul at times can do anything with matter. I +have been busying myself with Sainte-Beuve's seven volumes on the Port +Royal development. I like him (Sainte-Beuve). His capacity of seeing, +doing justice to all kinds of natures and sentiments, is wonderful. I +am sorry he is no longer our side the veil. + +There is a redbird (cardinal grosbeak) singing in the orange trees +fronting my window, so sweetly and insistently as to almost stop my +writing. I hope, dear friend, you are well--better than when you wrote +last. + +It was very sweet and kind of you to write what you did last. I +suppose it is so long ago you may have forgotten, but it was a word of +tenderness and sympathy about my brother's trial; it was womanly, +tender, and sweet, such as at heart you are. After all, my love of you +is greater than my admiration, for I think it more and better to be +really a woman worth loving than to have read Greek and German and +written books. And in this last book I read, I feel more with you in +some little, fine points,--they stare at me as making an amusing +exhibition. For, my dear, I feel myself at last as one who has been +playing and picnicking on the shores of life, and waked from a dream +late in the afternoon to find that everybody almost has gone over to +the beyond. And the rest are sorting their things and packing their +trunks, and waiting for the boat to come and take them. + +It seems now but a little time since my brother Henry and I were two +young people together. He was my two years junior, and nearest +companion out of seven brothers and three sisters. I taught him +drawing and heard his Latin lessons, for you know a girl becomes +mature and womanly long before a boy. I saw him through college, and +helped him through the difficult love affair that gave him his wife; +and then he and my husband had a real German, enthusiastic love for +each other, which ended in making me a wife. Ah! in those days we +never dreamed that he, or I, or any of us, were to be known in the +world. All he seemed then was a boy full of fun, full of love, full of +enthusiasm for protecting abused and righting wronged people, which +made him in those early days write editorials, and wear arms and swear +himself a special policeman to protect the poor negroes in Cincinnati, +where we then lived, when there were mobs instigated by the +slaveholders of Kentucky. + +Then he married, and lived a missionary life in the new West, all with +a joyousness, an enthusiasm, a chivalry, which made life bright and +vigorous to us both. Then in time he was called to Brooklyn, just as +the crisis of the great anti-slavery battle came on, and the Fugitive +Slave Law was passed. I was then in Maine, and I well remember one +snowy night his riding till midnight to see me, and then our talking, +till near morning, what we could do to make headway against the horrid +cruelties that were being practiced against the defenseless blacks. My +husband was then away lecturing, and my heart was burning itself out +in indignation and anguish. Henry told me then that he meant to fight +that battle in New York; that he would have a church that would stand +by him to resist the tyrannic dictation of Southern slaveholders. I +said: "I, too, have begun to do something; I have begun a story, +trying to set forth the sufferings and wrongs of the slaves." "That's +right, Hattie," he said; "finish it, and I will scatter it thick as +the leaves of Vallambrosa," and so came "Uncle Tom," and Plymouth +Church became a stronghold where the slave always found refuge and a +strong helper. One morning my brother found sitting on his doorstep +poor old Paul Edmonson, weeping; his two daughters, of sixteen and +eighteen, had passed into the slave warehouse of Bruin & Hill, and +were to be sold. My brother took the man by the hand to a public +meeting, told his story for him, and in an hour raised the two +thousand dollars to redeem his children. Over and over again, +afterwards, slaves were redeemed at Plymouth Church, and Henry and +Plymouth Church became words of hatred and fear through half the +Union. From that time until we talked together about the Fugitive +Slave Law, there was not a pause or stop in the battle till we had +been through the war and slavery had been wiped out in blood. Through +all he has been pouring himself out, wrestling, burning, laboring +everywhere, making stump speeches when elections turned on the slave +question, and ever maintaining that the cause of Christ was the cause +of the slave. And when all was over, it was he and Lloyd Garrison who +were sent by government once more to raise our national flag on Fort +Sumter. You must see that a man does not so energize without making +many enemies. Half of our Union has been defeated, a property of +millions annihilated by emancipation, a proud and powerful slave +aristocracy reduced to beggary, and there are those who never saw our +faces that, to this hour, hate him and me. Then he has been a +progressive in theology. He has been a student of Huxley, and Spencer, +and Darwin,--enough to alarm the old school,--and yet remained so +ardent a supernaturalist as equally to repel the radical +destructionists in religion. He and I are Christ-worshippers, adoring +Him as the Image of the Invisible God and all that comes from +believing this. Then he has been a reformer, an advocate of universal +suffrage and woman's rights, yet not radical enough to please that +reform party who stand where the Socialists of France do, and are for +tearing up all creation generally. Lastly, he has had the misfortune +of a popularity which is perfectly phenomenal. I cannot give you any +idea of the love, worship, idolatry, with which he has been +overwhelmed. He has something magnetic about him that makes everybody +crave his society,--that makes men follow and worship him. I remember +being at his house one evening in the time of early flowers, and in +that one evening came a box of flowers from Maine, another from New +Jersey, another from Connecticut,--all from people with whom he had no +personal acquaintance, who had read something of his and wanted to +send him some token. I said, "One would think you were a _prima +donna_. What does make people go on so about you?" + +My brother is hopelessly generous and confiding. His inability to +believe evil is something incredible, and so has come all this +suffering. You said you hoped I should be at rest when the first +investigating committee and Plymouth Church cleared my brother almost +by acclamation. Not so. The enemy have so committed themselves that +either they or he must die, and there has followed two years of the +most dreadful struggle. First, a legal trial of six months, the +expenses of which on his side were one hundred and eighteen thousand +dollars, and in which he and his brave wife sat side by side in the +court-room, and heard all that these plotters, who had been weaving +their webs for three years, could bring. The foreman of the jury was +offered a bribe of ten thousand dollars to decide against my brother. +He sent the letter containing the proposition to the judge. But with +all their plotting, three fourths of the jury decided against them, +and their case was lost. It was accepted as a triumph by my brother's +friends; a large number of the most influential clergy of all +denominations so expressed themselves in a public letter, and it was +hoped the thing was so far over that it might be lived down and +overgrown with better things. + +But the enemy, intriguing secretly with all those parties in the +community who wish to put down a public and too successful man, have +been struggling to bring the thing up again for an ecclesiastical +trial. The cry has been raised in various religious papers that +Plymouth Church was in complicity with crime,--that they were so +captivated with eloquence and genius that they refused to make +competent investigation. The six months' legal investigation was +insufficient; a new trial was needed. Plymouth Church immediately +called a council of ministers and laymen, in number representing +thirty-seven thousand Congregational Christians, to whom Plymouth +Church surrendered her records,--her conduct,--all the facts of the +case, and this great council unanimously supported the church and +ratified her decision; recognizing the fact that, in all the +investigations hitherto, nothing had been proved against my brother. +They at his request, and that of Plymouth Church, appointed a +committee of five to whom within sixty days any one should bring any +facts that they could prove, or else forever after hold their peace. +It is thought now by my brother's friends that this thing must finally +reach a close. But you see why I have not written. This has drawn on +my life--my heart's blood. He is myself; I know you are the kind of +woman to understand me when I say that I felt a blow at him more than +at myself. I, who know his purity, honor, delicacy, know that he has +been from childhood of an ideal purity,--who reverenced his conscience +as his king, whose glory was redressing human wrong, who spake no +slander, no, nor listened to it. + +Never have I known a nature of such strength, and such almost +childlike innocence. He is of a nature so sweet and perfect that, +though I have seen him thunderously indignant at moments, I never saw +him fretful or irritable,--a man who continuously, in every little act +of life, is thinking of others, a man that all the children on the +street run after, and that every sorrowful, weak, or distressed person +looks to as a natural helper. In all this long history there has been +no circumstance of his relation to any woman that has not been worthy +of himself,--pure, delicate, and proper; and I know all sides of it, +and certainly should not say this if there were even a misgiving. +Thank God, there is none, and I can read my New Testament and feel +that by all the beatitudes my brother is blessed. + +His calmness, serenity, and cheerfulness through all this time has +uplifted us all. Where he was, there was no anxiety, no sorrow. My +brother's power to console is something peculiar and wonderful. I have +seen him at death-beds and funerals, where it would seem as if hope +herself must be dumb, bring down the very peace of Heaven and change +despair to trust. He has not had less power in his own adversity. You +cannot conceive how he is beloved, by those even who never saw him, +--old, paralytic, distressed, neglected people, poor seamstresses, +black people, who have felt these arrows shot against their benefactor +as against themselves, and most touching have been their letters of +sympathy. From the first, he has met this in the spirit of Francis de +Sales, who met a similar plot,--by silence, prayer, and work, and when +urged to defend himself said "God would do it in his time." God was +the best judge how much reputation he needed to serve Him with. + +In your portrait of Deronda, you speak of him as one of those rare +natures in whom a private wrong bred no bitterness. "The sense of +injury breeds, not the will to inflict injuries, but a hatred of all +injury;" and I must say, through all this conflict my brother has been +always in the spirit of Him who touched and healed the ear of Malchus +when he himself was attacked. His friends and lawyers have sometimes +been aroused and sometimes indignant with his habitual caring for +others, and his habit of vindicating and extending even to his enemies +every scrap and shred of justice that might belong to them. From first +to last of this trial, he has never for a day intermitted his regular +work. Preaching to crowded houses, preaching even in his short +vacations at watering places, carrying on his missions which have +regenerated two once wretched districts of the city, editing a paper, +and in short giving himself up to work. He cautioned his church not to +become absorbed in him and his trials, to prove their devotion by more +faithful church work and a wider charity; and never have the Plymouth +missions among the poor been so energetic and effective. He said +recently, "The worst that can befall a man is to stop thinking of God +and begin to think of himself; if trials make us self-absorbed, they +hurt us." Well, dear, pardon me for this outpour. I loved you--I love +you--and therefore wanted you to know just what I felt. Now, dear, +this is over, don't think you must reply to it or me. I know how much +you have to do,--yes, I know all about an aching head and an overtaxed +brain. This last work of yours is to be your best, I think, and I hope +it will bring you enough to buy an orange grove in Sicily, or +somewhere else, and so have lovely weather such as we have. + +Your ancient admirer, [Footnote: Professor Stowe.] who usually goes to +bed at eight o'clock, was convicted by me of sitting up after eleven +over the last installment of "Daniel Deronda," and he is full of it. +We think well of Guendoline, and that she isn't much more than young +ladies in general so far. + +Next year, if I can possibly do it, I will send you some of our +oranges. I perfectly long to have you enjoy them. Your very loving + +H. B. STOWE. + +P. S. I am afraid I shall write you again when I am reading your +writings, they are so provokingly suggestive of things one wants to +say + +H. B. S. + +In her reply to this letter Mrs. Lewes says, incidentally: 'Please +offer my reverential love to the Professor, and tell him I am +ruthlessly proud of having kept him out of his bed. I hope that both +you and he will continue to be interested in my spiritual children.' + +After Mr. Lewes's death, Mrs. Lewes writes to Mrs. Stowe:-- + +The Priory, 21 North Bank, _April_ 10, 1879. + +My Dear Friend,--I have been long without sending you any sign (unless +you have received a message from me through Mrs. Fields), but my heart +has been going out to you and your husband continually as among the +chief of the many kind beings who have given me their tender fellow- +feeling in my last earthly sorrow. . . . When your first letter came, +with the beautiful gift of your book, [Footnote: Uncle Tom's Cabin, +new edition, with introduction.] I was unable to read any letters, and +did not for a long time see what you had sent me. But when I did know, +and had read your words of thankfulness at the great good you have +seen wrought by your help, I felt glad, for your sake first, and then +for the sake of the great nation to which you belong. The hopes of the +world are taking refuge westward, under the calamitous conditions, +moral and physical, in which we of the elder world are getting +involved. . . . + +Thank you for telling me that you have the comfort of seeing your son +in a path that satisfies your best wishes for him. I like to think of +your having family joys. One of the prettiest photographs of a child +that I possess is one of your sending to me. . . . + +Please offer my reverential, affectionate regards to your husband, and +believe me, dear friend, + +Yours always gratefully, + +M. L. Lewes. + +As much as has been said with regard to spiritualism in these pages, +the subject has by no means the prominence that it really possessed in +the studies and conversations of both Professor and Mrs. Stowe. + +Professor Stowe's very remarkable psychological development, and the +exceptional experiences of his early life, were sources of +conversation of unfailing interest and study to both. + +Professor Stowe had made an elaborate and valuable collection of the +literature of the subject, and was, as Mrs. Stowe writes, "over head +and ears in _diablerie_." + +It is only just to give Mrs. Stowe's views on this perplexing theme +more at length, and as the mature reflection of many years has caused +them to take form. + +In reference to professional mediums, and spirits that peep, rap, and +mutter, she writes:-- + +"Each friend takes away a portion of ourselves. There was some part of +our being related to him as to no other, and we had things to say to +him which no other would understand or appreciate. A portion of our +thoughts has become useless and burdensome, and again and again, with +involuntary yearning, we turn to the stone at the door of the +sepulchre. We lean against the cold, silent marble, but there is no +answer,--no voice, neither any that regardeth. + +"There are those who would have us think that in _our_ day this +doom is reversed; that there are those who have the power to restore +to us the communion of our lost ones. How many a heart, wrung and +tortured with the anguish of this fearful silence, has throbbed with +strange, vague hopes at the suggestion! When we hear sometimes of +persons of the strongest and clearest minds becoming credulous +votaries of certain spiritualist circles, let us not wonder: if we +inquire, we shall almost always find that the belief has followed some +stroke of death; it is only an indication of the desperation of that +heart-hunger which in part it appeases. + +"Ah, _were_ it true! Were it indeed so that the wall between the +spiritual and material is growing thin, and a new dispensation +germinating in which communion with the departed blest shall be among +the privileges and possibilities of this our mortal state! Ah, were it +so that when we go forth weeping in the gray dawn, bearing spices and +odors which we long to pour forth for the beloved dead, we should +indeed find the stone rolled away and an angel sitting on it! + +"But for us the stone must be rolled away by an _unquestionable_ +angel, whose countenance is as the lightning, who executes no doubtful +juggle by pale moonlight or starlight, but rolls back the stone in +fair, open morning, and sits on it. Then we could bless God for his +mighty gift, and with love, and awe, and reverence take up that +blessed fellowship with another life, and weave it reverently and +trustingly into the web of our daily course. + +"But no such angel have we seen,--no such sublime, unquestionable, +glorious manifestation. And when we look at what is offered to us, ah! +who that had a friend in heaven could wish them to return in such wise +as this? The very instinct of a sacred sorrow seems to forbid that our +beautiful, our glorified ones should stoop lower than even to the +medium of their cast-off bodies, to juggle, and rap, and squeak, and +perform mountebank tricks with tables and chairs; to recite over in +weary sameness harmless truisms, which we were wise enough to say for +ourselves; to trifle, and banter, and jest, or to lead us through +endless moonshiny mazes. Sadly and soberly we say that, if this be +communion with the dead, we had rather be without it. We want +something a little in advance of our present life, and not below it. +We have read with some attention weary pages of spiritual +communication purporting to come from Bacon, Swedenborg, and others, +and long accounts from divers spirits of things seen in the spirit +land, and we can conceive of no more appalling prospect than to have +them true. + +"If the future life is so weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable as we +might infer from these readings, one would have reason to deplore an +immortality from which no suicide could give an outlet. To be +condemned to such eternal prosing would be worse than annihilation. + +"Is there, then, no satisfaction for this craving of the soul? There +is One who says: "I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am +alive for evermore, and I have the keys of hell and of death;" and +this same being said once before: "He that loveth me shall be loved of +my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself unto him." +This is a promise direct and personal; not confined to the first +apostles, but stated in the most general way as attainable by any one +who loves and does the will of Jesus. It seems given to us as some +comfort for the unavoidable heart-breaking separations of death that +there should be, in that dread unknown, one all-powerful Friend with +whom it is possible to commune, and from whose spirit there may come a +response to us. Our Elder Brother, the partaker of our nature, is not +only in the spirit land, but is all-powerful there. It is he that +shutteth and no man openeth, and openeth and no man shutteth. He whom +we have seen in the flesh, weeping over the grave of Lazarus, is he +who hath the keys of hell and of death. If we cannot commune with our +friends, we can at least commune with Him to whom they are present, +who is intimately with them as with us. He is the true bond of union +between the spirit world and our souls; and one blest hour of prayer, +when we draw near to Him and feel the breadth, and length, and depth, +and heighth of that love of his that passeth knowledge, is better than +all those incoherent, vain, dreamy glimpses with which longing hearts +are cheated. + +"They who have disbelieved all spiritual truth, who have been +Sadduceeic doubters of either angel or spirit, may find in modern +spiritualism a great advance. But can one who has ever really had +communion with Christ, who has said with John, "Truly our fellowship +is with the Father and the Son,"--can such an one be satisfied with +what is found in the modern circle? + +"For Christians who have strayed into these inclosures, we cannot but +recommend the homely but apt quotation of old John Newton:-- + + "'What think ye of Christ is the test + To try both your word and your scheme.' + +"In all these so-called revelations, have there come any echoes of the +_new song_ which no man save the redeemed from earth could learn; +any unfoldings of that love that passeth knowledge,--anything, in +short, such as spirits might utter to whom was unveiled that which eye +hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath entered the heart of man to +conceive? We must confess that all those spirits that yet have spoken +appear to be living in quite another sphere from. John or Paul. + +"Let us, then, who long for communion with spirits, seek nearness to +Him who has promised to speak and commune, leaving forever this word +to his church:-- + +"'I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you.'" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +CLOSING SCENES, 1870-1889. + + +LITERARY LABORS.--COMPLETE LIST OF PUBLISHED BOOKS.--FIRST READING +TOUR.--PEEPS BEHIND THE CURTAIN.--SOME NEW ENGLAND CITIES.--A LETTER +FROM MAINE.--PLEASANT AND UNPLEASANT READINGS.--SECOND TOUR.--A +WESTERN JOURNEY.--VISIT TO OLD SCENES.--CELEBRATION OF SEVENTIETH +BIRTHDAY.--CONGRATULATORY POEMS FROM MR. WHITTIER AND DR. HOLMES.-- +LAST WORDS. + +Besides the annual journeys to and from Florida, and her many +interests in the South, Mrs. Stowe's time between 1870 and 1880 was +largely occupied by literary and kindred labors. In the autumn of 1871 +we find her writing to her daughters as follows regarding her work:-- + +"I have at last finished all my part in the third book of mine that is +to come out this year, to wit 'Oldtown Fireside Stories,' and you can +have no idea what a perfect luxury of rest it is to be free from all +literary engagements, of all kinds, sorts, or descriptions. I feel +like a poor woman I once read about,-- + + "'Who always was tired, + 'Cause she lived in a house + Where help wasn't hired,' + +and of whom it is related that in her dying moments, + + 'She folded her hands + With her latest endeavor, + Saying nothing, dear nothing, + Sweet nothing forever.' + + "I am in about her state of mind. I luxuriate in laziness. I do not +want to do anything or go anywhere. I only want to sink down into lazy +enjoyment of living." + +She was certainly well entitled to a rest, for never had there been a +more laborious literary life. In addition to the twenty-three books +already written, she had prepared for various magazines and journals +an incredible number of short stories, letters of travel, essays, and +other articles. Yet with all she had accomplished, and tired as she +was, she still had seven books to write, besides many more short +stories, before her work should be done. As her literary life did not +really begin until 1852, the bulk of her work has been accomplished +within twenty-six years, as will be seen from the following list of +her books, arranged in the chronological order of their publication:-- + + 1833. An Elementary Geography. + 1843. The Mayflower. + 1852. Uncle Tom's Cabin. + 1853. Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin. + 1854. Sunny Memories. + 1856. Dred. + 1858. Our Charley. + 1859. Minister's Wooing. + 1862. Pearl of Orr's Island. + 1863. Agnes of Sorrento. + 1864. House and Home Papers. + 1865. Little Foxes. + 1866. Nina Gordon (Formerly "Dred"). + 1867. Religious Poems. + 1867. Queer Little People. + 1868. The Chimney Corner. + 1868. Men of Our Times. + 1869. Oldtown Folks. + 1870. Lady Byron Vindicated. + 1871. The History of the Byron Controversy (London). + 1870. Little Pussy Willow. + 1871. Pink and White Tyranny. + 1871. Old Town Fireside Stories. + 1872. My Wife and I. + 1873. Palmetto Leaves. + 1873. Library of Famous Fiction. + 1875. We and Our Neighbors. + 1876. Betty's Bright Idea. + 1877. Footsteps of the Master. + 1878. Bible Heroines. + 1878. Poganuc People. + 1881. Dog's Mission. + +In 1872 a new and remunerative field of labor was opened to Mrs. +Stowe, and though it entailed a vast amount of weariness and hard +work, she entered it with her customary energy and enthusiasm. It +presented itself in the shape of an offer from the American Literary +(Lecture) Bureau of Boston to deliver a course of forty readings from +her own works in the principal cities of the New England States. The +offer was a liberal one, and Mrs. Stowe accepted it on condition that +the reading tour should be ended in time to allow her to go to her +Florida home in December. This being acceded to, she set forth and +gave her first reading in Bridgeport, Conn., on the evening of +September 19, 1872. + +The following extracts from letters written to her husband while on +this reading tour throw some interesting gleams of light on the scenes +behind the curtain of the lecturer's platform. From Boston, October +3d, she writes: "Have had a most successful but fatiguing week. Read +in Cambridgeport to-night, and Newburyport to-morrow night." Two weeks +later, upon receipt of a letter from her husband, in which he fears he +has not long to live, she writes from Westfield, Mass:-- + +"I have never had a greater trial than being forced to stay away from +you now. I would not, but that my engagements have involved others in +heavy expense, and should I fail to fulfill them, it would be doing a +wrong. + +"God has given me strength as I needed it, and I never read more to my +own satisfaction than last night. + +"Now, my dear husband, please do _want_, and try, to remain with +us yet a while longer, and let us have a little quiet evening together +before either of us crosses the river. My heart cries out for a home +with you; our home together in Florida. Oh, may we see it again! Your +ever loving wife." + +From Fitchburg, Mass., under date of October 29th, she writes:-- + +"In the cars, near Palmer, who should I discover but Mr. and Mrs. J. +T. Fields, returning from a Western trip, as gay as a troubadour. I +took an empty seat next to them, and we had a jolly ride to Boston. I +drove to Mr. Williams's house, where I met the Chelsea agent, who +informed me that there was no hotel in Chelsea, but that they were +expecting to send over for me. So I turned at once toward 148 Charles +Street, where I tumbled in on the Fields before they had got their +things off. We had a good laugh, and I received a hearty welcome. I +was quickly installed in my room, where, after a nice dinner, I curled +up for my afternoon nap. At half-past seven the carriage came for me, +and I was informed that I should not have a hard reading, as they had +engaged singers to take part. So, when I got into the carriage, who +should I find, beshawled, and beflowered, and betoggled in blue satin +and white lace, but our old friend ---- of Andover concert memory, now +become Madame Thingumbob, of European celebrity. She had studied in +Italy, come out in Milan, sung there in opera for a whole winter, and +also in Paris and London. + +"Well, she sings very sweetly and looks very nice and pretty. Then we +had a little rosebud of a Chelsea girl who sang, and a pianist. I read +'Minister's Housekeeper' and Topsy, and the audience was very jolly +and appreciative. Then we all jogged home." + +The next letter finds Mrs. Stowe in Maine, and writing in the cars +between Bangor and Portland. She says:-- + +MY DEAR HUSBAND,--Well, Portland and Bangor are over, and the latter, +which I had dreaded as lonesome and far off, turned out the +pleasantest of any place I have visited yet. I stayed at the Fays; he +was one of the Andover students, you remember; and found a warm, cosy, +social home. In the evening I met an appreciative audience, and had a +delightful reading. I read Captain Kittridge, apparently to the great +satisfaction of the people, who laughed heartily at his sea stories, +and the "Minister's Housekeeper" with the usual success, also Eva and +Topsy. + +One woman, totally deaf, came to me afterwards and said: "Bless you. I +come jist to see you. I'd rather see you than the Queen." Another +introduced her little girl named Harriet Beecher Stowe, and another, +older, named Eva. She said they had traveled fifty miles to hear me +read. An incident like that appeals to one's heart, does it not? + +The people of Bangor were greatly embarrassed by the horse disease; +but the mayor and his wife walked over from their house, a long +distance off, to bring me flowers, and at the reading he introduced +me. I had an excellent audience notwithstanding that it rained +tremendously, and everybody had to walk because there were no horses. +The professors called on me, also Newman Smith, now a settled minister +here. + +Everybody is so anxious about you, and Mr. Fay made me promise that +you and I should come and spend a week with them, next summer. Mr. +Howard, in Portland, called upon me to inquire for you, and everybody +was so delighted to hear that you were getting better. + +It stormed all the time I was in Portland and Bangor, so I saw nothing +of them. Now I am in a palace car riding alongside the Kennebec, and +recalling the incidents of my trip. I certainly had very satisfactory +houses; and these pleasant little visits, and meetings with old +acquaintance, would be well worth having, even though I had made +nothing in a pecuniary sense. On the whole it is as easy a way of +making money as I have ever tried, though no way of making money is +perfectly easy,--there must be some disagreeables. The lonesomeness of +being at a hotel in dull weather is one, and in Portland it seems +there is nobody now to invite us to their homes. Our old friends there +are among the past. They have gone on over the river. I send you a bit +of poetry that pleases me. The love of the old for each other has its +poetry. It is something sacred and full of riches. I long to be with +you, and to have some more of our good long talks. + +The scenery along this river is very fine. The oaks still keep their +leaves, though the other trees are bare; but oaks and pines make a +pleasant contrast. We shall stop twenty minutes at Brunswick, so I +shall get a glimpse of the old place. + +Now we are passing through Hallowell, and the Kennebec changes sides. +What a beautiful river! It is now full of logs and rafts. Well, I must +bring this to a close. Good-by, dear, with unchanging love. Ever your +wife. + +From South Framingham, Mass., she writes on November 7th:-- + +Well, my dear, here I am in E.'s pretty little house. He has a pretty +wife, a pretty sister, a pretty baby, two nice little boys, and a +lovely white cat. The last is a perfect beauty! a Persian, from a +stock brought over by Dr. Parker, as white as snow, with the softest +fur, a perfect bunch of loving-kindness, all purr and felicity. I had +a good audience last evening, and enjoyed it. My audiences, +considering the horse disease and the rains, are amazing. And how they +do laugh! We get into regular gales. + +E. has the real country minister turn-out: horse and buggy, and such a +nice horse too. The baby is a beauty, and giggles, and goos, and +shouts inquiries with the rising inflection, in the most inspiring +manner. + +_November_ 13. Wakefield. I read in Haverhill last night. It was +as usual stormy. I had a good audience, but not springy and +inspiriting like that at Waltham. Some audiences seem to put spring +into one, and some to take it out. This one seemed good but heavy. I +had to lift them, while in Framingham and Waltham they lifted me. + +The Lord bless and keep you. It grieves me to think you are dull and I +not with you. By and by we will be together and stay together. Good-by +dear. Your ever loving wife, + +H. B. S. _November_ 24. "I had a very pleasant reading in +Peabody. While there visited the library and saw the picture of the +Queen that she had painted expressly for George Peabody. It was about +six inches square, enameled on gold, and set in a massive frame of +solid gold and velvet. The effect is like painting on ivory. At night +the picture rolls back into a safe, and great doors, closed with a +combination lock, defend it. It reminded me of some of the foreign +wonders we have seen. + +"Well, my course is almost done, and if I get through without any +sickness, cold, or accident, how wonderful it will seem. I have never +felt the near, kind presence of our Heavenly Father so much as in +this. 'He giveth strength to the faint, and to them of no might He +increaseth strength.' I have found this true all my life." + +From Newport she writes on November 26th:-- + +"It was a hard, tiring, disagreeable piece of business to read in New +London. Had to wait three mortal hours in Palmer. Then a slow, weary +train, that did not reach New London until after dark. There was then +no time to rest, and I was so tired that it did seem as though I could +not dress. I really trembled with fatigue. The hall was long and dimly +lighted, and the people were not seated compactly, but around in +patches. The light was dim, except for a great flaring gas jet +arranged right under my eyes on the reading desk, and I did not see a +creature whom I knew. I was only too glad when it was over and I was +back again at my hotel. There I found that I must be up at five +o'clock to catch the Newport train. + +"I started for this place in the dusk of a dreary, foggy morning. +Traveled first on a ferry, then in cars, and then in a little cold +steamboat. Found no one to meet me, in spite of all my writing, and so +took a carriage and came to the hotel. The landlord was very polite to +me, said he knew me by my trunk, had been to our place in Mandarin, +etc. All I wanted was a warm room, a good bed, and unlimited time to +sleep. Now I have had a three hours' nap, and here I am, sitting by +myself in the great, lonely hotel parlor. + +"Well, dear old man, I think lots of you, and only want to end all +this in a quiet home where we can sing 'John Anderson, my Jo' +together. I check off place after place as the captive the days of his +imprisonment. Only two more after to-night. Ever your loving wife." + +Mrs. Stowe made one more reading tour the following year, and this +time it was in the West. On October 28, 1873, she writes from +Zanesville, Ohio, to her son at Harvard:-- + +You have been very good to write as often as you have, and your +letters, meeting me at different points, have been most cheering. I +have been tired, almost to the last degree. Read two successive +evenings in Chicago, and traveled the following day for thirteen +hours, a distance of about three hundred miles, to Cincinnati. We were +compelled to go in the most uncomfortable cars I ever saw, crowded to +overflowing, a fiend of a stove at each end burning up all the air, +and without a chance to even lay my head down. This is the grand route +between Chicago and Cincinnati, and we were on it from eight in the +morning until nearly ten at night. + +Arrived at Cincinnati we found that George Beecher had not received +our telegram, was not expecting us, had no rooms engaged for us, and +that we could not get rooms at his boarding-place. After finding all +this out we had to go to the hotel, where, about eleven o'clock, I +crept into bed with every nerve aching from fatigue. The next day was +dark and rainy, and I lay in bed most of it; but when I got up to go +and read I felt only half rested, and was still so tired that it +seemed as though I could not get through. + +Those who planned my engagements failed to take into account the +fearful distances and wretched trains out here. On none of these great +Western routes is there a drawing-room car. Mr. Saunders tried in +every way to get them to put one on for us, but in vain. They are all +reserved for the night trains; so that there is no choice except to +travel by night in sleeping cars, or take such trains as I have +described in the daytime. + +I had a most sympathetic audience in Cincinnati; they all seemed +delighted and begged me to come again. The next day George took us for +a drive out to Walnut Hills, where we saw the seminary buildings, the +house where your sisters were born, and the house in which we +afterwards lived. In the afternoon we had to leave and hurry away to a +reading in Dayton. The next evening another in Columbus, where we +spent Sunday with an old friend. + +By this time I am somewhat rested from the strain of that awful +journey; but I shall never again undertake such another. It was one of +those things that have to be done once, to learn not to do it again. +My only reading between Columbus and Pittsburgh is to be here in +Zanesville, a town as black as Acheron, and where one might expect to +see the river Styx. + +Later. I had a nice audience and a pleasant reading here, and to-day +we go on to Pittsburgh, where I read to-morrow night. + +I met the other day at Dayton a woman who now has grandchildren; but +who, when I first came West, was a gay rattling girl. She was one of +the first converts of brother George's seemingly obscure ministry in +the little new town of Chillicothe. Now she has one son who is a judge +of the supreme court, and another in business. Both she and they are +not only Christians, but Christians of the primitive sort, whose +religion is their all; who triumph and glory in tribulation, knowing +that it worketh patience. She told me, with a bright sweet calm, of +her husband killed in battle the first year of the war, of her only +daughter and two grandchildren dying in the faith, and of her own +happy waiting on God's will, with bright hopes of a joyful reunion. +Her sons are leading members of the Presbyterian Church, and most +active in stirring up others to make their profession a reality, not +an empty name. When I thought that all this came from the conversion +of one giddy girl, when George seemed to be doing so little, I said, +"Who can measure the work of a faithful minister?" It is such living +witnesses that maintain Christianity on earth. + +Good-by, We shall soon be home now, and preparing for Florida. Always +your own loving mother, + +H. B. S. + +Mrs. Stowe never undertook another reading tour, nor, after this one, +did she ever read again for money, though she frequently contributed +her talent in this direction to the cause of charity. + +The most noteworthy event of her later years was the celebration of +the seventieth anniversary of her birthday. That it might be fittingly +observed, her publishers, Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. of Boston, +arranged a reception for her in form of a garden party, to which they +invited the _literati_ of America. It was held on June 14, 1882, +at "The Old Elms," the home of Ex-Governor Claflin of Massachusetts, +in Newtonville, one of Boston's most beautiful suburbs. Here the +assembly gathered to do honor to Mrs. Stowe, that lovely June +afternoon, comprised two hundred of the most distinguished and best +known among the literary men and women of the day. + +From three until five o'clock was spent socially. As the guests +arrived they were presented to Mrs. Stowe by Mr. H. 0. Houghton, and +then they gathered in groups in the parlors, on the verandas, on the +lawn, and in the refreshment room. At five o'clock they assembled in a +large tent on the lawn, when Mr. Houghton, as host, addressed to his +guest and her friends a few words of congratulation and welcome. He +closed his remarks by saying:-- + + "And now, honored madam, as + "'When to them who sail + Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past + Mozambic, off at sea northeast winds blow + Sabean odors from the spicy shore + Of Arabie the blest,' + + +so the benedictions of the lowly and the blessings of all conditions +of men are brought to you to-day on the wings of the wind, from every +quarter of the globe; but there will be no fresher laurels to crown +this day of your rejoicing than are brought by those now before you, +who have been your co-workers in the strife; who have wrestled and +suffered, fought and conquered, with you; who rank you with the +Miriams, the Deborahs, and the Judiths of old; and who now shout back +the refrain, when you utter the inspired song:-- + + "'Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously.' + * * * * * + The Almighty Lord hath disappointed them by the hand of a woman.'" + +In reply to this Mrs. Stowe's brother, Henry Ward Beecher, said: "Of +course you all sympathize with me to-day, but, standing in this place, +I do not see your faces more clearly than I see those of my father and +my mother. Her I only knew as a mere babe-child. He was my teacher and +my companion. A more guileless soul than he, a more honest one, more +free from envy, from jealousy, and from selfishness, I never knew. +Though he thought he was great by his theology, everybody else knew he +was great by his religion. My mother is to me what the Virgin Mary is +to a devout Catholic. She was a woman of great nature, profound as a +philosophical thinker, great in argument, with a kind of intellectual +imagination, diffident, not talkative,--in which respect I take after +her,--the woman who gave birth to Mrs. Stowe, whose graces and +excellences she probably more than any of her children--we number but +thirteen--has possessed. I suppose that in bodily resemblance, +perhaps, she is not like my mother, but in mind I presume she is most +like her. I thank you for my father's sake and for my mother's sake +for the courtesy, the friendliness, and the kindness which you give to +Mrs. Stowe." + +The following poem from John Greenleaf Whittier was then read:-- + + "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,-- + North, South, and East and West, made all + The common air electrical, + Until the o'ercharged bolts of heaven + Blazed down, and every chain was riven! + + "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; + + 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; + To her who keeps, through change of place + And time, her native strength and grace, + Alike where warm Sorrento smiles, + Or where, by birchen-shaded isles + Whose summer winds have shivered o'er + The icy drift of Labrador, + She lifts to light the priceless Pearl + Of Harpswell's angel-beckoned girl. + To her at threescore years and ten + Be tributes of the tongue and pen, + Be honor, praise, and heart thanks given, + The loves of earth, the hopes of heaven! + + "Ah, dearer than the praise that stirs + The air to-day, our love is hers! + She needs no guaranty 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." + +It was followed by a few words from Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who +also read the subjoined as his contribution to the chorus of +congratulation:-- + + "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." + + "Briton and Frenchman, Swede and Dane, + Turk, Spaniard, Tartar of Ukraine, + Hidalgo, Cossack, Cadi, + High Dutchman and Low Dutchman, too, + The Russian serf, the Polish Jew, + Arab, Armenian, and Mantchoo + Would shout, 'We know the lady.'" + + "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." + + "When Archimedes, long ago, + Spoke out so grandly, '_Dos pou sto_,-- + Give me a place to stand on, + I'll move your planet for you, now,'-- + He little dreamed or fancied how + The _sto_ at last should find its _pou_ + For woman's faith to land on." + + "Her lever was the wand of art, + Her fulcrum was the human heart, + Whence all unfailing aid is; + She moved the earth! Its thunders pealed. + Its mountains shook, its temples reeled, + The blood-red fountains were unsealed, + And Moloch sunk to Hades." + + "All through the conflict, up and down + Marched Uncle Tom and Old John Brown, + One ghost, one form ideal; + And which was false and which was true, + And which was mightier of the two, + The wisest sibyl never knew, + For both alike were real." + + "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. + 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." + +Poems written for the occasion by Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney, Miss +Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Mr. J. T. Trowbridge, Mrs. Allen (Mrs. +Stowe's daughter), Mrs. Annie Fields, and Miss Charlotte F. Bates, +were also read, and speeches were made by Judge Albion W. Tourgee and +others prominent in the literary world. + +Letters from many noted people, who were prevented from being present +by distance or by other engagements, had been received. Only four of +them were read, but they were all placed in Mrs. Stowe's hands. The +exercises were closed by a few words from Mrs. Stowe herself. As she +came to the front of the platform the whole company rose, and remained +standing until she had finished. In her quiet, modest, way, and yet so +clearly as to be plainly heard by all, she said:-- + +"I wish to say that I thank all my friends from my heart,--that is +all. And one thing more,--and that is, if any of you have doubt, or +sorrow, or pain, if you doubt about this world, just remember what God +has done; just remember that this great sorrow of slavery has gone, +gone by forever. I see it every day at the South. I walk about there +and see the lowly cabins. I see these people growing richer and +richer. I see men very happy in their lowly lot; but, to be sure, you +must have patience with them. They are not perfect, but have their +faults, and they are serious faults in the view of white people. But +they are very happy, that is evident, and they do know how to enjoy +themselves,--a great deal more than you do. An old negro friend in our +neighborhood has got a new, nice two-story house, and an orange grove, +and a sugar-mill. He has got a lot of money, besides. Mr. Stowe met +him one day, and he said, 'I have got twenty head of cattle, four head +of "hoss," forty head of hen, and I have got ten children, all +_mine, every one mine_.' Well, now, that is a thing that a black +man could not say once, and this man was sixty years old before he +could say it. With all the faults of the colored people, take a man +and put him down with nothing but his hands, and how many could say as +much as that? I think they have done well. + +"A little while ago they had at his house an evening festival for +their church, and raised fifty dollars. We white folks took our +carriages, and when we reached the house we found it fixed nicely. +Every one of his daughters knew how to cook. They had a good place for +the festival. Their suppers were spread on little white tables with +nice clean cloths on them. People paid fifty cents for supper. They +got between fifty and sixty dollars, and had one of the best frolics +you could imagine. They had also for supper ice-cream, which they made +themselves. + +"That is the sort of thing I see going on around me. Let us never +doubt. Everything that ought to happen is going to happen." + +Mrs. Stowe's public life ends with the garden party, and little more +remains to be told. She had already, in 1880, begun the task of +selection from the great accumulation of letters and papers relating +to her life, and writes thus to her son in Saco, Maine, regarding the +work:-- + +_September_ 30, 1880. + +MY DEAR CHARLEY,--My mind has been with you a great deal lately. I +have been looking over and arranging my papers with a view to sifting +out those that are not worth keeping, and so filing and arranging +those that are to be kept, that my heirs and assigns may with the less +trouble know where and what they are. I cannot describe (to you) the +peculiar feelings which this review occasions. Reading old letters-- +when so many of the writers are gone from earth, seems to me like +going into the world of spirits--letters full of the warm, eager, +anxious, busy life, that is _forever_ past. My own letters, too, +full of by-gone scenes in my early life and the childish days of my +children. It is affecting to me to recall things that strongly moved +me years ago, that filled my thoughts and made me anxious when the +occasion and emotion have wholly vanished from my mind. But I thank +God there is _one_ thing running through all of them from the +time I was thirteen years old, and that is the intense unwavering +sense of Christ's educating, guiding presence and care. It is +_all_ that remains now. The romance of my youth is faded, it +looks to me now, from my years, so _very_ young--those days when +my mind only lived in _emotion_, and when my letters never were +dated, because they were only histories of the _internal_, but +now that I am no more and never can be young in this world, now that +the friends of those days are almost all in eternity, what remains? + + Through life and through death, through sorrowing, through sinning, + Christ shall suffice me as he hath sufficed. + Christ is the end and Christ the beginning, + The beginning and end of all is Christ. + +I was passionate in my attachments in those far back years, and as I +have looked over files of old letters, they are all gone (except one, +C. Van Rensselaer), Georgiana May, Delia Bacon, Clarissa Treat, +Elisabeth Lyman, Sarah Colt, Elisabeth Phenix, Frances Strong, +Elisabeth Foster. I have letters from them all, but they have been +long in spirit land and know more about how it is there than I do. It +gives me a sort of dizzy feeling of the shortness of life and nearness +of eternity when I see how many that I have traveled with are gone +within the veil. Then there are all my own letters, written in the +first two years of marriage, when Mr. Stowe was in Europe and I was +looking forward to motherhood and preparing for it--my letters when my +whole life was within the four walls of my nursery, my thoughts +absorbed by the developing character of children who have now lived +their earthly life and gone to the eternal one,--my two little boys, +each in their way good and lovely, whom Christ has taken in youth, and +my little one, my first Charley, whom He took away before he knew sin +or sorrow,--then my brother George and sister Catherine, the one a +companion of my youth, the other the mother who assumed the care of me +after I left home in my twelfth year--and they are gone. Then my +blessed father, for many years so true an image of the Heavenly +Father,--in all my afflictions he was afflicted, in all my +perplexities he was a sure and safe counselor, and he too is gone +upward to join the angelic mother whom I scarcely knew in this world, +who has been to me only a spiritual presence through life. + +[Illustration: THE LATER HARTFORD HOME.] + +In 1882 Mrs. Stowe writes to her son certain impressions derived from +reading the "Life and Letters of John Quincy Adams," which are given +as containing a retrospect of the stormy period of her own life- +experience. + +"Your father enjoys his proximity to the Boston library. He is now +reading the twelve or fourteen volumes of the life and diary of John +Q. Adams. It is a history of our country through all the period of +slavery usurpation that led to the war. The industry of the man in +writing is wonderful. Every day's doings in the house are faithfully +daguerreotyped,--all the mean tricks, contrivances of the slave-power, +and the pusillanimity of the Northern members from day to day +recorded. Calhoun was then secretary of state. Under his connivance +even the United States census was falsified, to prove that freedom was +bad for negroes. Records of deaf, dumb, and blind, and insane colored +people were distributed in Northern States, and in places where John +Q. Adams had means of _proving_ there were no negroes. When he +found that these falsified figures had been used with the English +embassador as reasons for admitting Texas as a slave State, the old +man called on Calhoun, and showed him the industriously collected +_proofs_ of the falsity of this census. He says: 'He writhed like +a trodden rattlesnake, but said the census was full of mistakes; but +one part balanced another,--it was not worth while to correct them.' +His whole life was an incessant warfare with the rapidly advancing +spirit of slavery, that was coiling like a serpent around everything. + +"At a time when the Southerners were like so many excited tigers and +rattlesnakes,--when they bullied, and scoffed, and sneered, and +threatened, this old man rose every day in his place, and, knowing +every parliamentary rule and tactic of debate, found means to make +himself heard. Then he presented a petition from _negroes_, which +raised a storm of fury. The old man claimed that the right of petition +was the right of every human being. They moved to expel him. By the +rules of the house a man, before he can be expelled, may have the +floor to make his defense. This was just what he wanted. He held the +floor for _fourteen days_, and used his wonderful powers of +memory and arrangement to give a systematic, scathing history of the +usurpations of slavery; he would have spoken fourteen days more, but +his enemies, finding the thing getting hotter and hotter, withdrew +their motion, and the right of petition was gained. + +"What is remarkable in this journal is the minute record of going to +church every Sunday, and an analysis of the text and sermon. There is +something about these so simple, so humble, so earnest. Often +differing from the speaker--but with gravity and humility--he seems +always to be so self-distrustful; to have such a sense of sinfulness +and weakness, but such trust in God's fatherly mercy, as is most +beautiful to see. Just the record of his Sunday sermons, and his +remarks upon them, would be most instructive to a, preacher. He was a +regular communicant, and, beside, attended church on Christmas and +Easter,--I cannot but love the old man. He died without seeing even +the dawn of liberty which God has brought; but oh! I am sure he sees +it from above. He died in the Capitol, in the midst of his labors, and +the last words he said were, 'This is the last of earth; I am +content.' And now, I trust, he is with God. + +"All, all are gone. All that raged; all that threatened; all the +cowards that yielded; truckled, sold their country for a mess of +pottage; all the _men_ that stood and bore infamy and scorn for +the truth; all are silent in dust; the fight is over, but eternity +will never efface from their souls whether they did well or ill-- +whether they fought bravely or failed like cowards. In a sense, our +lives are irreparable. If we shrink, if we fail, if we choose the +fleeting instead of the eternal, God may forgive us; but there must be +an eternal regret! This man lived for humanity when hardest bestead; +for truth when truth was unpopular; for Christ when Christ stood +chained and scourged in the person of the slave." + +In the fall of 1887 she writes to her brother Rev. Dr. Edward Beecher +of Brooklyn, N. Y.:-- + +49 FOREST STREET, HARTFORD, CONN., _October_ 11, 1887. + +Dear Brother,--I was delighted to receive your kind letter. _You_ +were my earliest religious teacher; your letters to me while a school- +girl in Hartford gave me a high Christian aim and standard which I +hope I have never lost. Not only did they do me good, but also my +intimate friends, Georgiana May and Catherine Cogswell, to whom I read +them. The simplicity, warmth, and childlike earnestness of those +school days I love to recall. I am the _only one living_ of that +circle of early friends. _Not one_ of my early schoolmates is +living,--and now Henry, younger by a year or two than I, has gone--my +husband also. [Footnote: Professor Stowe died August, 1886.] I often +think, _Why_ am I spared? Is there yet anything for me to do? I +am thinking with my son Charles's help of writing a review of my life, +under the title, "Pebbles from the Shores of a Past Life." + +Charlie told me that he has got all written up to my twelfth or +thirteenth year, when I came to be under sister Catherine's care in +Hartford. I am writing daily my remembrances from that time. You were +then, I think, teacher of the Grammar School in Hartford. . . . + +So, my dear brother, let us keep good heart; no evil can befall us. +Sin alone is evil, and from that Christ will keep us. Our journey is +_so_ short! + +I feel about all things now as I do about the things that happen in a +hotel, after my trunk is packed to go home. I may be vexed and annoyed +. . . but what of it! I am going home soon. + +Your affectionate sister, + +Hattie. + +To a friend she writes a little later:-- + +"I have thought much lately of the possibility of my leaving you all +and going home. I am come to that stage of my pilgrimage that is +within sight of the River of Death, and I feel that now I must have +all in readiness day and night for the messenger of the King. I have +sometimes had in my sleep strange perceptions of a vivid spiritual +life near to and with Christ, and multitudes of holy ones, and the joy +of it is like no other joy,--it cannot be told in the language of the +world. What I have then I _know_ with absolute certainty, yet it +is so unlike and above anything we conceive of in this world that it +is difficult to put it into words. The inconceivable loveliness of +Christ! It seems that about Him there is a sphere where the enthusiasm +of love is the calm habit of the soul, that without words, without the +necessity of demonstrations of affection, heart beats to heart, soul +answers soul, we respond to the Infinite Love, and we feel his answer +in us, and there is no need of words. All seemed to be busy coming and +going on ministries of good, and passing each gave a thrill of joy to +each as Jesus, the directing soul, the centre of all, 'over all, in +all, and through all," was working his beautiful and merciful will to +redeem and save. I was saying as I awoke:-- + + "''T is joy enough, my all in all, + At thy dear feet to lie. + Thou wilt not let me lower fall, + And none can higher fly.' + +"This was but a glimpse; but it has left a strange sweetness in my +mind." + + + + +INDEX + +ABBOTT, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob + +Aberdeen, reception in, + +Abolition, English meetings in favor of, + +Abolition sentiment, growth of, + +Abolitionism made fashionable + +Adams, John Quincy, crusade of, against slavery, holds floor of +Congress fourteen days, his religious life and trust, died without +seeing dawn of liberty, life and letters of, + +"Agnes of Sorrento," first draft of, date of, Whittier's praise of, + +"Alabama Planter," savage attack of, on H. B. S. + +Albert, Prince, Mrs. Stowe's letter to, his reply, meeting with, +death, + +America, liberty in, Ruskin on, + +American novelist, Lowell on the + +Andover, Mass., beauty of, Stowe family settled in, + +Anti-slavery cause: result of English demonstrations, letters to +England, feeling dreaded in South, movement in Cincinnati, in Boston, +Beecher family all anti-slavery men, + +"Arabian Nights," H. B. S.'s delight in, + +Argyll, Duke and Duchess of, warmth of, H. B. S. invited to visit, +death of father of Duchess, + +Argyll, Duchess of, letter from H. B. S. to, on England's attitude +during our Civil War, on _post bellum_ events, + +"Atlantic Monthly," contains "Minister's Wooing," Mrs. Stowe's address +to women of England, "The True Story of Lady Byron's Life," + +BAILEY, Gamaliel, Dr., editor of "National Era," + +Bangor, readings in + +Bates, Charlotte Fiske, reads a poem at Mrs. Stowe's seventieth +birthday, + +Baxter's "Saints' Rest," has a powerful effect on H. B. S. + +Beecher, Catherine, eldest sister of H. B. S., her education of H. B. +S., account of her own birth, strong influence over Harriet, girlhood +of, teacher at New London, engagement, drowning of her lover, soul +struggles after Prof. Fisher's death, teaches in his family, publishes +article on Free Agency, opens school at Hartford, solution of doubts +while teaching, her conception of Divine Nature, school at Hartford +described by H. B. S., doubts about Harriet's conversion, hopes for +"Hartford Female Seminary,", letter to Edward about Harriet's doubts, +note on Harriet's letter, new school at Cincinnati, visits Cincinnati +with father, impressions of city, homesickness, at water cure, a +mother to sister Harriet, letters to H. B. S. to, on her religious +depression, on religious doubts. + +Beecher, Charles, brother of H. B. S., in college, goes to Florida, +letters from H. B. S., on mother's death. + +Beecher, Edward, Dr., brother of H. B. S., influence over her, +indignation against Fugitive Slave Act, efforts to arouse churches, +letters from H. B. S. to, on early religious struggles, on her +feelings, on views of God, on death of friends and relatives and the +writing of her life by her son Charles. + +Beecher, Esther, aunt of H. B. S. + +Beecher family, famous reunion of, circular letter to. + +Beecher, Frederick, H. B. S.'s half-brother, death of. + +Beecher, George, brother of H. B. S., visit to, enters Lane as student +music and tracts, account of journey to Cincinnati, sudden death, H. +B. S. meets at Dayton one of his first converts, his letters +cherished. + +Beecher, George, nephew of H. B. S., visit to, + +Beecher, Mrs. George, letter from H. B. S. to, describing new home. + +Beecher, Harriet E. first; death of, second; (H. B. S.) birth of. + +Beecher, Mrs. Harriet Porter, H. B. S.'s stepmother; personal +appearance and character of; pleasant impressions of new home and +children; at Cincinnati. + +Beecher, Henry Ward, brother of H. B. S., birth of; anecdote of, after +mother's death; first school; conception of Divine Nature, in +college; H. B. S. attends graduation; editor of Cincinnati "Journal,"; +sympathy with anti-slavery movement; at Brooklyn; saves Edmonson's +daughters; H. B. S. visits; views on Reconstruction; George Eliot on +Beecher trial; his character as told by H. B. S.; love for Prof. +Stowe; his youth and life in West; Brooklyn and his anti-slavery +fight; Edmonsons and Plymouth Church; his loyalty and energy; his +religion; popularity and personal magnetism; terrible struggle in the +Beecher trial; bribery of jury, but final triumph; ecclesiastical +trial of; committee of five appointed to bring facts; his ideal purity +and innocence; power at death-beds and funerals; beloved by poor and +oppressed; meets accusations by silence, prayer, and work; his thanks +and speech at Stowe Garden Party; tribute to father, mother, and +sister Harriet; death. + +Beecher, Isabella, H. B. S.'s half-sister, birth of; goes to +Cincinnati. + +Beecher, James, H. B. S.'s half-brother; goes to Cincinnati, 53; +begins Sunday-school. + +Beecher, Rev. Dr. Lyman, H. B. Stowe's father; "Autobiography and +Correspondence of,"; verdict on his wife's remarkable piety; pride in +his daughter's essay; admiration of Walter Scott; sermon which +converts H. B. S.; accepts call to Hanover Street Church, Boston; +president of Lane Theological Seminary; first journey to Cincinnati; +removal and westward journey, et seq.; removes family to Cincinnati,; +Beecher reunion; powerful sermons on slave question; his sturdy +character, H. W. Beecher's eulogy upon; death and reunion with H. B. +S's mother. + +Beecher, Mary, sister of H. B. S.; married; letter to; accompanies +sister to Europe; letters from H. B. S. to, on love for New England; +on visit to Windsor. + +Beecher, Roxanna Foote, mother of H. B. S.; her death; strong, +sympathetic nature; reverence for the Sabbath; sickness, death, and +funeral; influence in family strong even after death; character +described by H. W. Beecher; H. B. S.'s resemblance to. + +Beecher, William, brother of H. B. S.; licensed to preach. + +Bell, Henry, English inventor of steamboat. + +Belloc, Mme., translates "Uncle Tom." + +Belloc, M., to paint portrait of H. B. S.. + +Bentley, London publisher, offers pay for "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +"Betty's Bright Idea," date of. + +Bible; Uncle Tom's; use and influence of. + +"Bible Heroines," date of. + +Bibliography of H. B. S. + +Biography, H. B. S.'s remarks on writing and understanding. + +Birney, J. G., office wrecked, _et seq._; H. B. S.'s sympathy +with. + +Birthday, seventieth, celebration of by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + +Blackwood's attack on Lady Byron. + +Blantyre, Lord. + +Bogne, David. + +Boston opens doors to slave-hunters. + +Boston Library, Prof. Stowe enjoys proximity to. + +Bowdoin College calls Prof. Stowe. + +Bowen, H. C. + +Bruce, John, of Litchfield Academy, H. B. S.'s tribute to; lectures on +Butler's "Analogy." + +Brigham, Miss, character of. + +Bright, John, letter to H. B. S. on her "Appeal to English Women." + +Brooklyn, Mrs. Stowe's visit to brother Henry in; visit in 1852, when +she helps the Edmonson slave family; Beecher, H. W. called to; Beecher +trial in. + +Brown and the phantoms. + +Brown, John, bravery of. + +Browning, Mrs., on life and love. + +Browning, E. B., letter to H. B. S.; death of. + +Browning, Robert and E. B, friendship with. + +Brunswick, Mrs. Stowe's love of; revisited. + +Buck, Eliza, history of as slave. + +Bull, J. D. and family, make home for H. B. S. while at school in +Hartford. + +Bunsen, Chevalier. + +Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress," Prof. Stowe's love of. + +Burritt, Elihu, writes introduction to "Uncle Tom's Cabin;" calls on +Mrs. Stowe. + +Butler's "Analogy," study of, by H. B. S. + +"Byron Controversy," 445; history of; George Eliot on; Dr. Holmes on. + +Byron, Lady; letters from; makes donation to Kansas sufferers; on +power of words; death of; her character assailed; her first meeting +with H. B. S.; dignity and calmness; memoranda and letters about Lord +Byron shown to Mrs. Stowe; solemn interview with H. B. S.; letters to +H. B. S. from,; on "The Minister's Wooing;" farewell to; her +confidences; Mrs. Stowe's counsels to. + +Byron, Lord, Mrs. Stowe on; she suspects his insanity; cheap edition +of his works proposed; Recollections of, by Countess Guiecioli; his +position as viewed by Dr. Holmes; evidence of his poems for and +against him. + +"CABIN, The," literary centre. + +Cairnes, Prof., on the "Fugitive Slave Law." + +Calhoun falsifies census. + +Calvinism, J. R. Lowell's sympathy with. + +Cambridgeport, H. B. S. reads in. + +Carlisle, Lord, praises "Uncle Tom's Cabin;" Mrs. Stowe's reply; +writes introduction to "Uncle Tom," 192; H. B. S. dines with; farewell +to; letter from H. B. S. to on moral effect of slavery; letter to H. +B. S. from. + +Gary, Alice and Phoebe. + +Casaubon and Dorothea, criticism by H. B. S. on. + +Catechisms, Church and Assembly, H. B. S.'s early study of. + +Chapman, Mrs. Margaret Weston. + +Charpentier of Paris, publishes "Uncle Tom's Cabin;" eulogy of that +work. + +Chase, Salmon P. + +Chelsea, H. B. S. reads in. + +Chicago, readings in. + +Children of H. B. S., picture of three eldest; appeal to, by H. B. S.; +described by H. B. S.; letters to, from H. B. S. on European voyage +and impressions; on life in London; on meeting at Stafford House; on +Vesuvius. + +"Chimney Corner, The," date of. + +Cholera epidemic in Cincinnati. + +Christ, life of, little understood; communion with Him possible; love +and faith in; study of his life; his presence all that remains now; +his promises comfort the soul for separations by death. + +"Christian Union," contains observations by H. B. S. on spiritualism +and Mr. Owen's books. + +Christianity and spiritualism. + +Church, the, responsible for slavery. + +Cincinnati, Lyman Beecher accepts call to; Catherine Beecher's +impressions of; Walnut Hills and Seminary; famine in; cholera; +sympathetic audience in. + +Civil War, Mrs. Stowe on causes of. + +Clarke & Co. on English success of "Uncle Tom's Cabin;" offer author +remuneration. + +Clay, Henry, and his compromise. + +Cogswell, Catherine Ledyard, schoolfriend of H. B. S. + +College of Teachers. + +Collins professorship. + +Colored people, advance of. + +Confederacy, A. H. Stephens on object of. + +Courage and cheerfulness of H. B. S. + +Cranch, E. P. + +Cruikshank illustrates "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +"DANIEL DERONDA," appears in "Harper's;" his nature like H. W. +Beecher's; admiration of Prof. Stowe for. + +Da Vinci's Last Supper, H. B. S.'s impressions of. + +Death of youngest-born of H. B. S.; anguish at. + +Death, H. B. S. within sight of the River of, + +"Debatable Land between this World and the Next," + +Declaration of Independence, H. B. S.'s feeling about, death-knell to +slavery, + +Degan, Miss, + +Democracy and American novelists, Lowell on, + +"De Profundis," motive of Mrs. Browning's, + +De Staël, Mme., and Corinne, + +Dickens, first sight of, J. E. Lowell on, + +"Dog's Mission, A," date of, + +Domestic service, H. B. S.'s trouble with, + +Doubters and disbelievers may find comfort in spiritualism, + +Doubts, religious, after death of eldest son, + +Douglass, Frederick, letters from H. B. S. to, on slavery, + +Drake, Dr., family physician, one of founders of "College of +Teachers," + +"Dred," Sumner's letter on, Georgiana May on, English edition of, +presented to Queen Victoria, her interest in, demand for, in Glasgow, +Duchess of Sutherland's copy, Low's sales of, "London Times," on, +English reviews on, severe, "Revue des Deux Mondes" on, Miss Martineau +on, Prescott on, Lowell on, now "Nina Gordon," publication of, + +Dudevant, Madame. See Sand, George. + +Dufferin, Lord and Lady, their love of American literature, + +Dundee, meeting at, + +Dunrobin Castle, visit to, + +E---, letter from H. B. S. to, on breakfast at the Trevelyans', + +"Earthly Care a Heavenly Discipline," + +East Hampton, L. I., birthplace of Catherine Beecher, + +Eastman, Mrs., writes a Southern reply to "Uncle Tom's Cabin," + +Edgeworth, Maria, + +Edinburgh, H. B. S. in, return to, + +Edmonson slave family; efforts to save, Mrs. Stowe educates and +supports daughters, raises money to free mother and two slave +children, + +Edmonson, death of Mary, + +Education, H. B. S.'s interest in, + +Edwards, Jonathan, the power of, his treatise on "The Will," refuted +by Catherine Beecher, + +Eliot, George, a good Christian, on psychical problems, on "Oldtown +Folks," her despondency in "writing life" and longing for sympathy, on +power of fine books, on religion, desires to keep an open mind on all +subjects, on impostures of spiritualism, lack of "jollitude" in +"Middlemarch," invited to visit America, sympathy with H. B. S. in +Beecher trial, proud of Stowes' interest in her "spiritual children," +on death of Mr. Lewes and gratitude for sympathy of H. B. S., a "woman +worth loving," H. B. S.'s love for greater than her admiration, +letters from H. B. S. to, on spiritualism, describes Florida nature +and home, reply to letter of sympathy giving facts in the Beecher +ease, from Professor Stowe on spiritualism, letter to H. B. S. from, +with sympathy on abuse called out by the Byron affair, on effect of +letter of H. B. S. to Mrs. Follen upon her mind, on joy of sympathy, +reply to letter on spiritualism, sympathy with her in the Beecher +trial, + +Elmes. Mr., + +"Elms, The Old," H. B. S.'s seventieth birthday celebrated at, + +"Elsie Vernier," Mrs. Stowe's praise of, + +Emancipation, Proclamation of, + +Emmons, Doctor, the preaching of, + +England and America compared, + +England, attitude of, in civil war, grief at, help of to America on +slave question, + +English women's address on slavery, H. B. S.'s reply in the "Atlantic +Monthly," + +Europe, first visit to, second visit to, third visit to, + +Faith in Christ, + +Famine in Cincinnati, + +Fiction, power of, + +Fields, Mrs. Annie, in Boston, her tribute to Mrs. Stowe's courage and +cheerfulness, George Eliot's mention of, her poem read at seventieth +birthday, + +Fields. Jas. T., Mr. and Mrs., visit of H. B. S. to, + +Fisher, Prof. Alexander Metcalf, engagement to Catherine Beecher, +sails for Europe, his death by drowning in shipwreck of Albion, +Catherine Beecher's soul struggles, over his future fate, influence of +these struggles depicted in "The Minister's Wooing," + +Florence, Mrs. Stowe's winter in, + +Florida, winter home in Mandarin, like Sorrento, wonderful growth of +nature, how H. B. S.'s house was built, her happy life in, longings +for, her enjoyment of happy life of the freedmen in, + +Flowers, love of, painting, + +Follen, Mrs., letter from H. B. S. to, on her biography, + +Foote, Harriet, aunt of H. B. S., energetic English character, teaches +niece catechism, + +Foote, Mrs. Roxanna, grandmother of H. B. S., first visit to, visit to +in 1827, + +"Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World," + +"Footsteps of the Master," published, + +"Fraser's Magazine" on "Uncle Tom's Cabin," Helps's review of "Uncle +Tom's Cabin," + +"Free Agency," Catherine Beecher's refutation of Edwards on "The +Will," + +French critics, high standing of, + +Friends, love for, death of, death of old, whose letters are +cherished, death of, takes away a part of ourselves, + +Friendship, opinion of, + +Fugitive Slave Act, suffering caused by, Prof. Cairnes on, practically +repealed, + +Future life, glimpses of, leave strange sweetness, + +Future punishment, ideas of, + +Garrison, W. L., to Mrs. Stowe on "Uncle Tom's Cabin," in hour of +victory, his "Liberator," sent with H. W. Beecher to raise flag on +Sumter, letters to H. B. S. from, on "Uncle Tom's Cabin," on slavery, +on arousing the church, + +Gaskell, Mrs., at home, Geography, school, written by Mrs. Stowe, +note, + +Germany's tribute to "Uncle Tom's Cabin," + +Gladstone, W. E., + +Glasgow, H. B. S. visits, 210; Anti-slavery Society of. + +Glasgow Anti-slavery Society, letter from H. B. S. to. + +God, H. B. S.'s views of; trust in; doubts and final trust in; his +help in time of need. + +Goethe and Mr. Lewes; Prof. Stowe's admiration of. + +Goldschmidt, Madame. See Lind, Jenny. + +Görres on spiritualism and mysticism. + +Grandmother, letter from H. B. S. to, on breaking up of Litchfield +home; on school life in Hartford. + +Granville, Lord. + +"Gray's Elegy," visit to scene of. + +Guiccioli, Countess, "Recollections of Lord Byron." + +HALL, Judge James. + +Hallam, Arthur Henry. + +Hamilton and Manumission Society. + +Harper & Brothers reprint Guieeioli's "Recollections of Byron." + +Hartford, H. B. S. goes to school at; the Stowes make their home at. + +Harvey, a phantom. + +Hawthorne, Nathaniel; letter on; on slavery; letter to H. B. S. on, +from English attitude towards America. + +Health, care of. + +Heaven, belief in. + +Helps, Arthur, on "Uncle Tom's Cabin;" meets H. B. S., letter from H. +B. S. to, on "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +Henry, Patrick, on slavery. + +Hentz, Mrs. Caroline Lee. + +Higginson, T. W., letter to H. B. S. from, on "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +"History, The, of the Byron Controversy." + +Holmes, O. W., correspondence with, _et seq_.; attacks upon; H. +B. S. asks advice from, about manner of telling facts in relation to +Byron Controversy; sends copy of "Lady Byron Vindicated" to; on facts +of case; on sympathy displayed in his writings; poem on H. B. S.'s +seventieth birthday; tribute to Uncle Tom; letters from H. B. S. to; +on "Poganue People;" asking advice about Byron Controversy and article +for "Atlantic Monthly;" letters to H. B. S. from; on facts in the +Byron Controversy. + +Houghton, Mifflin & Co., celebrate H. B. S.'s seventieth birthday. + +Houghton, H. 0., presents guests to H. B. S., on celebration of +seventieth birthday, 500; address of welcome by. + +"House and Home Papers" published. + +Howitt, Mary, calls on H. B. S. + +Human life, sacredness of. + +Human nature in books and men. + +Hume and mediums. + +Humor of Mrs. Stowe's books, George Eliot on. + +Husband and wife, sympathy between. + +IDEALISM _versus_ Realism, Lowell on. + +"Independent," New York, work for; Mrs. Browning reads Mrs. Stowe in. + +Inverary Castle, H. B. S.'s. visit to. + +Ireland's gift to Mrs. Stowe. + +JEFFERSON, Thomas, on slavery. + +Jewett, John P., of Boston, publisher of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +KANSAS Nebraska Bill; urgency of question. + +"Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin" projected; written; contains facts; read by +Pollock; by Argyll; sickness caused by; sale; facts woven into "Dred;" +date of in chronological list. + +Kingsley, Charles, upon effect of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," 196; visit to; +letters to H. B. S. from, on "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +Kossuth, on freedom; Mrs. Stowe calls upon. + +LABOUCHERE, Lady Mary, visit to. + +"Lady Byron Vindicated;" date. + +Letters, circular, writing of, a custom in the Beecher family; H. B. +S.'s love of; H. B. S.'s peculiar emotions on re-reading old. + +Lewes, G. H., George Eliot's letter after death of. + +Lewes, Mrs. G. H. See Eliot, George. + +"Library of Famous Fiction," date of. + +"Liberator," The; and Bible; suspended after the close of civil war. + +Lincoln and slavery; death of. + +Lind, Jenny, liberality of; H. B. S. attends concert by; letter to H. +B. S. from, on her delight in "Uncle Tom's Cabin;" letters from H. B. +S. to, with appeal for slaves. + +Litchfield, birthplace of H. B. S.; end of her child-life in; home at +broken up. + +Literary labors, early; prize story; club essays; contributor to +"Western Monthly Magazine;" school geography; described in letter to a +friend; price for; fatigue caused by; length of time passed in, with +list of books written. + +Literary work _versus_ domestic duties, _et seq_.; short +stories--"New Year's Story" for "N. Y. Evangelist;" "A Scholar's +Adventures in the Country" for "Era." + +Literature, opinion of. + +"Little Pussy Willow," date of. + +Liverpool, warm reception of H. B. S. at. + +London poor and Southern slaves. + +London, first visit to; second visit to. + +Longfellow, H. W., congratulations of, on "Uncle Tom's Cabin;" letter +on; Lord Granville's likeness to; letters to H. B. S. from, on "Uncle +Tom's Cabin." + +Love, the impulse of life. + +Lovejoy, J. P., murdered; aided by Beechers. + +Low, Sampson, on success of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" abroad. + +Low, Sampson & Co. publish "Dred;" their sales. + +Lowell, J. R., Duchess of Sutherland's interesting; less known in +England than he should be; on "Uncle Tom;" on Dickens and Thackeray; +on "The Minister's Wooing;" on idealism; letter to H. B. S. from, on +"The Minister's Wooing." + +MACAULAY. + +McClellan, Gen., his disobedience to the President's commands. + +"Magnalia," Cotton Mather's, a mine of wealth to H. B. S; Prof. +Stowe's interest in. + +Maine law, curiosity about in England. + +Mandarin, Mrs. Stowe at; like + +Sorrento, how her house was built, her happy out-door life in, +relieved from domestic care, longings for home at, freed-men's happy +life in South, + +Mann, Horace, makes a plea for slaves, + +Martineau, Harriet, letter to H. B. S. from, + +May, Georgiana, school and life-long friend of H. B. S., Mrs. Sykes, +her ill-health and fare-well to H. B. S., letters from H. B. S. to, +account of westward journey, on labor in establishing school, on +education, just before her marriage to Mr. Stowe, on her early married +life and housekeeping, on birth of her son, describing first railroad +ride, on her children, her letter to Mrs. Foote, grandmother of H. B. +S., letters to H. B. S. from, + +"Mayflower, The," revised and republished, date of, + +Melancholy, a characteristic of Prof. Stowe in childhood, + +"Men of Our Times," date of, + +"Middlemarch," H. B. S. wishes to read, character of Casaubon in, + +Milman, Dean, + +Milton's hell, + +"Minister's Wooing, The," soul struggles of Mrs. Marvyn, foundation of +incident, idea of God in, impulse for writing, appears in "Atlantic +Monthly," Lowell, J. R. on, Whittier on, completed, Ruskin on, +undertone of pathos, visits England in relation to, date of, "reveals +warm heart of man" beneath the Puritan in Whittier's poem, + +Missouri Compromise, repealed, + +Mohl, Madame, and her _salon_, + +Money-making, reading as easy a way as any of, + +Moral aim in novel-writing, J. R. Lowell on, + +"Mourning Veil, The," + +"Mystique La," on spiritualism, + +NAPLES and Vesuvius, + +"National Era," its history, work for, + +Negroes, petition from, presented by J. Q. Adams, + +New England, Mrs. Stowe's knowledge of, in "The Minister's Wooing," +life pictured in "Oldtown Folks," + +New London, fatigue of reading at, + +Newport, tiresome journey to, on reading tour, + +Niagara, impressions of, + +Normal school for colored teachers, + +"North American Review" on "Uncle Tom's Cabin," + +North _versus_ South, England on, + +Norton, C. E., Ruskin on the proper home of, + +"OBSERVER, New York," denunciation of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," + +"Oldtown Fireside Stories," strange spiritual experiences of Prof. +Stowe, Sam Lawson a real character, relief after finishing, date of in +chronological list, in Whittier's poem on seventieth birthday "With +Old New England's flavor rife," + +"Oldtown Folks," Prof. Stowe original of "Harry" in, George Eliot on +its reception in England, picture of N. E. life, date of, Whittier's +praise of, "vigorous pencil-strokes" in poem on seventieth birthday, + +Orthodoxy. + +"Our Charley," date of. + +Owen, Robert Dale, his "Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World" +and "The Debatable Land between this World and the Next;" H. B. S. +wishes George Eliot to meet. + +PALMERSTON, Lord, meeting with. + +"Palmetto Leaves" published; date. + +Papacy, The. + +Paris, first visit to; second visit. + +Park, Professor Edwards A. + +Parker, Theodore, on the Bible and Jesus. + +Paton, Bailie, host of Mrs. Stowe. + +Peabody, pleasant reading in; Queen Victoria's picture at. + +"Pearl of Orr's Island, The;" first published; Whittier's favorite; +date of. + +"Pebbles from the Shores of a Past Life," a review of her life +proposed to be written by H. B. S. with aid of son Charles. + +Phantoms seen by Professor Stowe. + +Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart, writes poem on H. B. S.'s seventieth +birthday. + +"Philanthropist, The," anti-slavery paper. + +Phillips, Wendell, attitude of after war. + +"Pink and White Tyranny," date of. + +Plymouth Church, saves Edmonson's daughters; slavery and; clears Henry +Ward Beecher by acclamation; calls council of Congregational ministers +and laymen; council ratifies decision of Church; committee of five +appointed to bring facts which could be proved; missions among poor +particularly effective at time of trial. + +"Poganuc People;" sent to Dr. Holmes; date of. + +Pollock, Lord Chief Baron. + +Poor, generosity of touches H. B. S. + +Portland, H. B. S.'s friends there among the past; her readings in. + +Portraits of Mrs. Stowe; Belloc to paint; untruth of. + +Poverty in early married life. + +Prescott, W. H., letter to H. B. S. from, on "Dred." + +"Presse, La," on "Dred." + +Providential aid in sickness. + +"QUEER Little People." + +READING and teaching. + +Religion and humanity, George Eliot on. + +"Religious poems," date of. + +"Revue des Deux Mondes" on "Dred." + +Riots in Cincinnati and anti-slavery agitation. + +Roenne, Baron de, visits Professor Stowe. + +Roman polities in 1861. + +Rome, H. B. S.'s journey to; impressions of. + +Ruskin, John, letters to H. B. S. from, on "The Minister's Wooing;" on +his dislike of America, but love for American friends. + +Ruskin and Turner. + +SAINT-BEUVE, H. B. S.'s liking for. + +Sales, Francis de, H. W. Beecher compared with. + +Salisbury, Mr., interest of in "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +Salons, French. + +Sand, George, reviews "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +Scotland, H. B. S.'s first visit to. + +Scott, Walter, Lyman Beecher's opinion of, when discussing novel- +reading, 25; monument in Edinburgh. + +Sea, H. B. S.'s nervous horror of. + +Sea-voyages, H. B. S. on. + +Semi-Colon Club, H. B. S. becomes a member of. + +Shaftesbury, Earl of, letter of, to Mrs. Stowe. + +Shaftesbury, Lord, to H. B. S., letter from; letter from H. B. S. to; +America and. + +Skinner, Dr. + +Slave, aiding a fugitive. + +Slave-holding States on English address; intensity of conflict in. + +Slavery, H. B. S.'s first notice of; anti-slavery agitation; death- +knell of; Jefferson, Washington, Hamilton, and Patrick Henry on; +growth of; résumé of its history; responsibility of church for; Lord +Carlisle's opinion on; moral effect of; sacrilege of; its past and +future; its injustice; its death-blow; English women's appeal against; +J. Q. Adams' crusade against; gone forever. + +Slaves, H. B. S.'s work for and sympathy with; family sorrows of. + +Smith, Anna, helper to Mrs. S.; _note_. + +Soul, immortality of, H. B. S.'s essay written at age of twelve: first +literary production; Addison's remarks upon; Greek and Roman idea of +immortality; light given by Gospel; Christ on. + +South, England's sympathy with the. + +South Framingham, good audience at reading in. + +"Souvenir, The." + +Spiritualism, Mrs. Stowe on; Mrs. Browning on; Holmes, O. W., on; "La +Mystique" and Görres on; Professor Stowe's strange experiences in; +George Eliot on psychical problems of; on "Charlatanerie" connected +with; Robert Dale Owen on; Goethe on; H. B. S.'s letter to George +Eliot on; her mature views on; a comfort to doubters and disbelievers; +from Christian standpoint. + +Stafford House meeting. + +Stephens, A. H., on object of Confederacy. + +Storrs, Dr. R. S. + +Stowe, Calvin E.; death of first wife; his engagement to Harriet E. +Beecher; their marriage; his work in Lane Seminary; sent by the +Seminary to Europe on educational matters; returns; his Educational +Report presented; aids a fugitive slave; strongly encourages his wife +in her literary aspirations; care of the sick students in Lane +Seminary; is "house-father" during his wife's illness and absence; +goes to water cure after his wife's return from the same; absent from +Cincinnati home at death of youngest child; accepts the Collins +Professorship at Bowdoin; gives his mother his reasons for leaving +Cincinnati; remains behind to finish college work, while wife and +three children leave for Brunswick, Me.; resigns his professorship at +Bowdoin, and accepts a call to Andover; accompanies his wife to +Europe; his second trip with wife to Europe; sermon after his son's +death; great sorrow at his bereavement; goes to Europe for the fourth +time; resigns his position at Andover; in Florida; failing health; his +letter to George Eliot; H. B. S. uses his strange experiences in youth +as material for her picture of "Harry" in "Oldtown Folks;" the +psychological history of his strange child-life; curious experiences +with phantoms, and good and bad spirits; visions of fairies; love of +reading; his power of character-painting shown in his description of a +visit to his relatives; George Eliot's mental picture of his +personality; enjoys life and study in Florida; his studies on Prof. +Görres' book, "Die Christliche Mystik," and its relation to his own +spiritual experience; love for Henry Ward Beecher returned by latter; +absorbed in "Daniel Deronda;" "over head and ears in +_diablerie_;" fears he has not long to live; dull at wife's +absence on reading tour; enjoys proximity to Boston Library, and "Life +of John Qniney Adams;" death and _note_; letters from H. B. S. +to; on her illness; on cholera epidemic in Cincinnati; on sickness, +death of son Charley; account of new home; on her writings and +literary aspirations; on success of "Uncle Tom's Cabin;" on her +interest in the Edmonson slave family; on life in London; on visit to +the Duke of Argyle; from Dunrobin Castle; on "Dred;" other letters +from abroad; on life in Paris; on journey to Rome; on impressions of +Rome; on Swiss journey; from Florence; from Paris; on farewell to her +soldier son; visit to Duchess of Argyle; on her reading tour; on his +health and her enforced absence from him; on reading, at Chelsea; at +Bangor and Portland; at South Framingham and Haverhill; Peabody; +fatigue at New London reading; letters from to H. B. S. on visit to +his relatives and description of home life; to mother on reasons for +leaving the West; to George Eliot; to son Charles. + +Stowe, Charles E., seventh child of H. B. S., birth of; at Harvard; at +Bonn; letter from Calvin E. Stowe to; letter from H. B. S. to, on her +school life; on "Poganuc People;" on her readings in the West; on +selection of papers and letters for her biography; on interest of +herself and Prof. Stowe in life and anti-slavery career of John Quincy +Adams. + +Stowe, Eliza Tyler (Mrs. C. E.), draft of: twin daughter of H. B. S. + +Stowe, Frederick William, second son of H. B. S.; enlists in First +Massachusetts; made lieutenant for bravery; mother's visit to; +severely wounded; subsequent effects of the wound, never entirely +recovers, his disappearance and unknown fate; ill-health after war, +Florida home purchased for his sake. + +Stowe, Georgiana May, daughter of H. B. S., birth of; family happy in +her marriage; letter from H. B. S. to. + +Stowe, Harriet Beecher, birth and parentage of; first memorable +incident, the death of her mother; letter to her brother Charles on +her mother's death, incident of the tulip bulbs and mother's +gentleness, first journey a visit to her grandmother, study of +catechisms under her grandmother and aunt, early religious and +Biblical reading, first school at the age of five, hunger after mental +food, joyful discovery of "The Arabian Nights," in the bottom of a +barrel of dull sermons, reminiscences of reading in father's library, +impression made by the Declaration of Independence, appearance and +character of her stepmother, healthy, happy child-life, birth of her +half-sister Isabella and H. B. S.'s care of infant, early love of +writing, her essay selected for reading at school exhibitions, her +father's pride in essay, subject of essay, arguments for belief in the +Immortality of the Soul, end of child-life in Litchfield, goes to +sister Catherine's school at Hartford, describes Catherine Beecher's +school in letter to son, her home with the Bulls, school friends, +takes up Latin, her study of Ovid and Virgil, dreams of being a poet +and writes "Cleon," a drama, her conversion, doubts of relatives and +friends, connects herself with First Church, Hartford, her struggle +with rigid theology, her melancholy and doubts, necessity of cheerful +society, visit to grandmother, return to Hartford, interest in +painting lessons, confides her religious doubts to her brother Edward, +school life in Hartford, peace at last, accompanies her father and +family to Cincinnati, describes her journey, yearnings for New England +home, ill-health and depression, her life in Cincinnati and teaching +at new school established by her sister Catherine and herself, wins +prize for short story, joins "Semicolon Club," slavery first brought +to her personal notice, attends Henry Ward Beecher's graduation, +engagement, marriage, anti-slavery agitation, sympathy with Birney, +editor of anti-slavery paper in Cincinnati, birth of twin daughters, +of her third child, reunion of the Beecher family, housekeeping +_versus_ literary work, birth of second son, visits Hartford, +literary work encouraged, sickness in Lane Seminary, death of brother +George, birth of third daughter, protracted illness and poverty, +seminary struggles, goes to water cure, returns home, birth of sixth +child, bravery in cholera epidemic, death of youngest child Charles, +leaves Cincinnati, removal to Brunswick, getting settled, husband +arrives, birth of seventh child, anti-slavery feeling aroused by +letters from Boston, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," first thought of, writings +for papers, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" appears as a serial, in book form, its +wonderful success, praise from Longfellow, Whittier, Garrison, +Higginson, letters from English nobility, _et seq._; writes "Key +to Uncle Tom's Cabin," visits Henry Ward in Brooklyn, raises money to +free Edmondson family, home-making at Andover, first trip to Europe, +wonderful success of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" abroad, her warm reception at +Liverpool,; delight in Scotland; public reception and teaparty at +Glasgow; warm welcome from Scotch people; touched by the "penny +offering" of the poor for the slaves; Edinburgh soirée; meets English +celebrities at Lord Mayor's dinner in London; meets English nobility; +Stafford House; breakfast at Lord Trevelyan's; Windsor; presentation +of bracelet; of inkstand; Paris, first visit to; _en route_ for +Switzerland; Geneva and Chillon; Grindelwald to Meyringen; London, +_en route_ for America; work for slaves in America; +correspondence with Garrison, _et. seq_.; "Dred"; second visit to +Europe; meeting with Queen Victoria; visits Inverary Castle; Dunrobin +Castle; Oxford and London; visits the Laboucheres; Paris; _en +route_ to Rome; Naples and Vesuvius; Venice and Milan; homeward +journey and return; death of oldest son; visits Dartmouth; receives +advice from Lowell on "The Pearl of Orr's Island"; "The Minister's +Wooing"; third trip to Europe; Duchess of Sutherland's warm welcome; +Switzerland; Florence; Italian journey; return to America; letters +from Ruskin, Mrs. Browning, Holmes; bids farewell to her son; at +Washington; her son wounded at Gettysburg; his disappearance; the +Stowes remove to Hartford; Address to women of England on slavery; +winter home in Florida; joins the Episcopal Church; erects schoolhouse +and church in Florida; "Palmetto Leaves"; "Poganuc People"; warm +reception at South; last winter in Florida; writes "Oldtown Folks"; +her interest in husband's strange spiritual experiences; H. B. S. +justifies her action in Byron Controversy; her love and faith in Lady +Byron; reads Byron letters; counsels silence and patience to Lady +Byron; writes "True Story of Lady Byron's Life"; publishes "Lady Byron +Vindicated"; "History of the Byron Controversy"; her purity of motive +in this painful matter; George Eliot's sympathy with her in Byron +matter; her friendship, with George Eliot dates from letter shown by +Mrs. Follen; describes Florida life and peace to George Eliot; her +interest in Mr. Owen and spiritualism; love of Florida life and +nature; history of Florida home; impressions of "Middlemarch"; invites +George Eliot to come to America; words of sympathy on Beecher trial +from George Eliot, and Mrs. Stowe's reply; her defense of her +brother's purity of life; Beecher trial drawn on her heart's blood; +her mature views on spiritualism; her doubts of ordinary +manifestations; soul-cravings after dead friends satisfied by Christ's +promises; chronological list of her books; accepts offer from N. E. +Lecture Bureau to give readings from her works; gives readings in New +England; warm welcome in Maine; sympathetic audiences in +Massachusetts; fatigue of traveling and reading at New London; Western +reading tour; "fearful distances and wretched trains"; seventieth +anniversary of birthday celebrated by Houghton, Mifflin & Co.; H. 0. +Houghton's welcome; H. W. Beecher's reply and eulogy on sister; +Whittier's poem at seventieth birthday; Holmes' poem; other poems of +note written for the occasion; Mrs. Stowe's thanks; joy in the future +of the colored race; reading old letters and papers; her own letters +to Mr. Stowe and letters from friends; interest in Life of John Quincy +Adams and his crusade against slavery; death of husband; of Henry Ward +Beecher; thinks of writing review of her life aided by son, under +title of "Pebbles from the Shores of a Past Life"; her feelings on the +nearness of death, but perfect trust in Christ; glimpses of the future +life leave a strange sweetness in her mind. + +Stowe, Harriet Beecher, twin daughter of H. B. S. + +Stowe, Henry Ellis, first son of H. B. S.; goes to Europe; returns to +enter Dartmouth; death of; his character; his portrait; mourning for. + +Stowe, Samuel Charles, sixth child of H. B. S., birth of; death of; +anguish at loss of; early death of. + +Study, plans for a. + +Sturge, Joseph, visit to. + +Suffrage, universal, H. W. Beecher advocate of. + +Sumner, Charles, on "Uncle Tom's Cabin"; letter to H. B. S. from. + +Sumter, Fort, H. W. Beecher raises flag on. + +"Sunny Memories"; date of. + +Sutherland, Duchess of; friend to America; at Stafford House presents +gold bracelet; visit to; fine character; sympathy with on son's death; +warm welcome to H. B. S.; death of; letters from H. B. S. to, on "Key +to Uncle Tom's Cabin"; on death of eldest son. + +Sutherland, Lord, personal appearance of. + +Swedenborg, weary messages from spirit-world of. + +Swiss Alps, visit to; delight in. + +Swiss interest in "Uncle Tom". + +Switzerland, H. B. S. in. + +Sykes, Mrs. See May, Georgiana. + +Talfourd, Mr. Justice. + +Thackeray, W. M., Lowell on. + +Thanksgiving Day in Washington, freed slaves celebrate. + +"Times, London," on "Uncle Tom's Cabin"; on Mrs. Stowe's new dress; on +"Dred"; Miss Martineau's criticism on. + +Titcomb, John, aids H. B. S. in moving. + +Tourgée, Judge A. W., his speech at seventieth birthday. + +Trevelyan, Lord and Lady; breakfast to Mrs. Stowe. + +Triqueti, Baron de, models bust of H. B. S. + +Trowbridge, J. T., writes on seventieth birthday. + +"True Story of Lady Byron's Life, The," in "Atlantic Monthly". + +Tupper, M. F., calls on H. B. S. + +"Uncle Tom's Cabin," description of Augustine St. Clair's mother's +influence a simple reproduction of Mrs. Lyman Beecher's influence; +written under love's impulse; fugitives' escape, foundation of story; +popular conception of author of; origin and inspiration of; Prof. +Cairnes on; Uncle Tom's death, conception of, letter to Douglas about +facts, appears in the "Era,", came from heart, a religious work, +object of, its power, begins a serial in "National Era," price paid by +"Era," publisher's offer, first copy of books sold, wonderful success. +praise from Longfellow, Whittier, Garrison, and Higginson, threatening +letters, Eastman's, Mrs., rejoinder to, reception in England, "Times," +on, political effect of, book tinder interdict in South, "Key to Uncle +Tom's Cabin," Jenny Lind's praise of, attack upon, Sampson Low upon +its success abroad, first London publisher, number of editions sold in +Great Britain and abroad, dramatized in U. S. and London, European +edition, preface to, fact not fiction, translations of, German tribute +to, George Sand's review, remuneration for, written with heart's +blood, Swiss interest in, Mme. Belloe translates, "North American +Review" on, in France, compared with "Dred," J. R. Lowell on, Mrs. +Stowe rereads after war, later books compared with, H. W. Beecher's +approval of, new edition with introduction sent to George Eliot, date +of, Whittier's mention of, in poem on seventieth birthday, Holmes' +tribute to, in poem on same occasion, + +Upham, Mrs., kindness to H. B. S., visit to, + +Venice, + +Victoria, Queen, H. B. S.'s interview with, gives her picture to Geo. +Peabody, + +Vizetelly, Henry, first London publisher of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," + +WAKEFIELD, reading at, + +Walnut Hills, picture of, and old home revisited, + +Waltham, audience inspires reader, + +Washington, Mrs. Stowe visits soldier son at, + +Washington on slavery, + +Water cure, H. B. S. at, + +"We and our Neighbors," date of, + +Webster, Daniel, famous speech of, + +Weld, Theodore D. in the anti-slavery movement, + +Western travel, discomforts of, + +Whately, Archbishop, letter to H. B. S. from, + +Whitney, A. D. T., writes poem on seventieth birthday, + +Whitney, Eli, and the cotton gin, + +Whittier's "Ichabod," a picture of Daniel Webster, + +Whittier, J. G., letter to W. L. Garrison from, on "Uncle Tom's +Cabin," letter to H. B. S. from, on "Uncle Tom's Cabin," on "Pearl of +Orr's Island," on "Minister's Wooing," poem on H. B. S's. seventieth +birthday, + +Windsor, visit to, + +Womanhood, true, H. B. S. on intellect _versus_ heart, + +Woman's rights, H. W. Beecher, advocate of, + +Women of America, Appeal from H. B. S. to, + +Women's influence, power of, + +ZANESVILLE, description of, + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe +by Charles Edward Stowe + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF HARRIET BEECHER STOWE *** + +This file should be named hbstw10.txt or hbstw10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, hbstw11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, hbstw10a.txt + +Produced by Steve Schulze, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. +This file was produced from images generously made available +by the CWRU Preservation Department Digital Library + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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