The Portland daily press., 1864-03-26
Saturday Morning, March 26, 1864
From Ma cmiilan's Mdgazine
Robert Gould Shaw.
BY MRS. GasKELL.

BY MRS. GAsKELL.
should like some of the readers of .Macma-
Ian to remember the name of the late Colonel
Robert Gould Shaw, as the name of one who
gave up his life for what he believed to be right
deliberately risked and cheerfully laid down a
prosperous, happy, beloved and loving life.
Forgive me, dear American friends, if seem
to trench little too much ON what is personal
Before | end my narrative | think you will un-
derstand why | do it.
My first acquaintance with the Shaw family
was in Paris, in the year 1885. Mrs. Shaw and
her young daughters were spending the winter
there; Mr.. Shaw had gone to America to super
intend the building of large family house on
Staten Island, the pleasant suburb of New
York. There was only one son, Robert Gould
Shaw, and he was absent from Paris at this time
studying in Germany, I~think. The family
had been for nearly five years in Europe, travel
ing in Italy and Egypt, and stopping where they
liked, after the manner of wealthy Americans,
and educating their children not after the usual
manner of wealthy people | remember the
large, pleasant suite of rooms, looking into the
Tuileries gardens, occupied by Mrs. Shaw and
her daughters; the pretty, thoughtful, original
girls, clustering around their sweet, loving
mother; the birds and pet animals which she
taught them to care for and attend to- L recol-
lect scraps of the conversation of those days;
how Mrs. Shaw spoke of her husband as the
true and faithful descendant of one of the Pill
sciences sake; how anxious she was that, while
her daughters benefited in every way by the
real advantages which Paris offered in the way
of intellectual education, they should not be
tainted by the worldlness and the love of dress
so often fostered by residence there. She spoke
of the pity it was that the American girls in
general were so encouraged by the wealth of
their parents, to spend great sums of money on
themselves, 50 that this habit OF expenditure
always produced a self-indulgent character, and
1lxr
true love; and then she went on to say how she
an a her husband feared the adoption of riches
as a comparative standard of worth. But again,
she was fully alive to the real advantages that
might We derived from wealth. One of her
daughters drew well, and loved animals; she
had lessons from Rosa Bonheur. The house at
Staten Island was to be home not merely for
their children, but for their children's friends;
each child was to have sitting-room and bed
room, and an extra bedroom opening into the
sitting-room for a friend These plans came
lightly to the surface of conversation, and every
now and then had glimpses unconsciously to
my friend, of what she and her husband felt to
be the deeper responsibilities of their position.
Well, this happy, prosperous family retu rned
TO America the next year. From time to time |
gave English friends going to New York intro
ductions TO the Shaws; and one and all spoke of
the kind hospitality which was shown to them
the bright home, full treasures of European art,
collected during their five years travel; the up
eldest daughter now married and living at home
N 18th her husband-U thought how well the ed
uca ton had answered that had led to 'mar-
riape of true minds, - to which no want of riches
on the distinguished husbands part had proved
an ssImp ediment'' the pretty, elegant daugh-
ters playl ug at croquet ON the lawn, before
the game rs so common in Eagland-the noble
handsome, oily son, with both his parents
character blended in his, and a sunny life of
prosperity befor him.
That was the last picture / had of the home
on Staten Island before the war broke out
knew that my friends were deeply impressed
with the SIN of slavery; they were thoughtful
Abolitionists, and had taken part in all political
questions bearing upon the subjects both before
and after their residence in Europe. had letters
on the subject of the likely to affect slav-
ery within month or two after the affair at
Fort Sumter. They we're not the fanatical let
ters of new converts to an opinion; still less
were they the letters OF people taking up a great
moral question as party cry. They were the
letters of men and women deeply impressed
with the sense of great national sin, in which
they themselves were to a certain degree impli-
Gated; and, without too much casting stones at
others, they spoke of slavery as a crime which
must be done away with, and for the doing away
of which they were not merely willing, but de-
sirous, to make their own personal sacrifices.
The sacrifice has been made, and is accepted of
God
Presently heard that Robert Gould Shaw the
only son, had entered the 7th New York Lam
GERS, the crack regiment into which all the young
men of the upper ten thousand entered;
dashing corps, splendidly horsed and arrayed.
/ remember well how | used to look for any
mention of this 7th Lancersl By-and-by, per-
haps before the war had deepened to grim, ter
ribly earnest, Mrs. Shaw sent me word how, un-
able almost to bear the long separation from her
only boy, she and his sisters had gone to camp
I forget where) to see him. And then he was
hnn audt ha rod
sweet, pretty young lady; and then = he had
left the gay regiments of the 7th Lancers, and
had gone to live with, and train and teach, the
poor forlorn colored people, "niggers," who
were going to fight for the freedom of their
brothers in the South. The repugnance of the
Northerners to personal contact with black or
eolored people has been repeatedly spoken ofby
MI travellers in America. Probably Colonel
Shaw had less of this feeling than n Northener
would have had who had been entirely brought
up in America; but still it must have required
that deep root of willingness TO do Gods will
out of which springs the truest moral courage,
to have enabled him TO march out of New York
at the head of the Massachusetts, 54th, all black
or colored men, amidst the jeers and scofings of
the ssroughs," and the eontemptuous pity of
many who should have known better Yet this
did Colonel Shaw, one day last spring. with
brave trustful heart, leaving mother, leaving
new-made wife, to go forth and live amongst his
poor despised men, the first regimentof niggers
called into the neld ANA 10 snare their hardshlps
and to teach them the deepest and most precious
knowledge that he had himself
Two months afterwards he was with them be-
fore Fort Wagner, "sitting on the ground and
talking to his men, says an eyewitness, "yery
familiarity and kindly He told them how the
eyes of thousands would look ON the nights
work which they were about to enter; and he
said, "Now, boys, want you to be men !, He
would walk along the line, and speak words Of
cheer to his men. We could see that he was a
man Who had counted the cost of the undertak-
ing before him, for his words were spoken SC
ominously, (remember the Confederates had
openly threatened to make an especial aim OF
every white officer leading colored troops), his
lips were compressed, and now and then there
was visible Slight twitcbing of the corners Of
the mouth, like one bent on accomplishing OF