, 1877-11-18
"Reminiscences Of Charles Sumner.
His Life aud Letters,



Of this week. up at the old familiar place 0.
Club for this season came OF And goodl,
meeting it was. Let us look at tho audience
ard count faces that are known to the world
There Is DR.. Bartol, Mr.. Weiss, and Atr. Wassou
Col. Mgginson, Prof Everett OF Harvard, Pres
ident Warren Of the Boston UniYersit,
and Prof. Wright Of Andoyer Prof
Howison OF tic School of Technology,
tho Rev. Air. Chaunlug of England, James
Freeman Clarke, the Rev. Francis Peabody, ant
last but rarer presence here than all the rest
JOHN q. WHITTIER, THE QUAKER POET.
This array docs not look as If the Radica
Club vas, IN comparison to the rest OF Boston
according to Mr.. Cook, "likc the Mcrrimac tt
the ttssissippi.' And il it were dead. certainl,
iyeIicr lot Of distinguished ghosts were neye,
gathered before. Mrs. Sargent had invited Dr.
Bartol, as tho k1nsulan and dear friend Of he,
deceased husband, to take his place as Chairman
OF the meeting. DR.. Bartol, Oh rising, alluded
with great tenderness to the great honor which
Mrs. Sargent had done him by this invitation,
and then spoke briefly Of the history Of the Club,
saving, amongst other effects, that it had c4cr-
cised an important influence on the Unitarian
denomination. lie also read q passage from all
unpublished article OF 31r- Sargents which de-
sc1ibed the Clubs foundation. Mr. Channing
then made an address commemorative of Mr.
Sargent, speaking OF him in his boyhood,
and early manhood, and later maturity, With
great tenderness and regard, as always tue gen
tleman anu true man. Mr. Channiug also read
poem Of MI. SarSent's. and told the story Of
his early acceptance Of liberalism, and the re-
forms Of the hour which were Directly 10 antas-
ori5n with the class in which he Was born. To
all outcasts, to the poor aud the negro in his
nf eli fafT hc14 H.;
hand. In conclusion, Mr.. Chanuing summed
up with much feTyor BY saying that our dead
host was not dead but risen. Prof. UoWisou
was the essayist Of the day. His paper was
\ DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY
aud an cxauination ot its proper methods. But
in the c1ld, So profound was it that the discus
sion. though waxing warm, was not the kind
t1la; is interesting when reported. Indeed rs
some one said, nobody present seemed quite to
hate agreed in definition OF I'ruf. Ho1yisost's
definitions. At the closing Of the meeting DR..
Bartol asked Mr.. Whittier to give tho Club his
bencdic:ion, hut the poet shook his head, and
sat u serene Quaker silence, which was perhaps
Hieginson e1aciously remarked il the pause
that Mr.. Whitticr's presence brought the BENG
diction OF itself.
&.Lookng orer tho large asscsnblage of dis
tingutshcd persons that morning,'' said q
friend to me, II thought OF one who, like Mr.,
Sargent, has risen and gone before, who oncc
think only once, sat like giant in one OF the
front scats, and, like Mr.. Whittier. modcstly
declined to speak, when, like Alr. Whittier, he
VAS the most celebrated person present. This
was Mr.. sumner
too recall that morning,-it was six or seven
years aGo. think But Mr.. Sumner replied,
not in Quaker silence, but in lew well-choscn
words. that be belonged only to the rear guard
on that occasion, and should not think Of
intruding his words. We all smiled at this. be-
cause each one OF us would have been rclolced
to have heard the words Of Charles Sumner.
Rtpf 3%ar Ep-tEn n r fhf
phy and theology were not in Mr. Summers
line. and he knew it,
THERE WAS ANOTHER EPISODE
OF this far away morning which is 50 Intimately
serves place here ln this reference to him. It
WAS just alter the Club had adjourned, and the
few who remained by invitation to lunch were
cnnverslng IN the parlor. ~ these we're Cnaries
Sumner and Wendell PHILLIPS. As they we're
standing apart at one mo1nent taking together,
M-. Sargent passing them, stopped second
or two, and MS lace lighting up with lore and
nd!a1ratio1l' he put hanu upon tne arm OF eac1
anu, LOOKING up 1T IAem. SAD, "1tn sthAe anu
all air OF playfulncss, something like
this: that here were his Two heroes.
Both Sumner and Phillips smiled IN
response, anu sccneu 70 appreciate tne unuer-
current OF love and 1alth That rcasly Iaoveu tue
apparently playful remark. This remlnsccuce
OF Mr.. Sumner comes in very pertincntiy when
the two volumes OF his lie aud letters are Just
now opening anc" the interest which everybody
once felt about everything concerning Charles
Sumner. These books, which are as interesting
as the Harriet Alart1Ncau memoirs, can never Dc
found fault with. as these have been, by
THE MOST cAPfioTs CRITIC,
as being 'lt~natu!cd or severe tcrtalhiF, IL VIC
may Gather anyf'ng 15oq hares as cs5rxpone
The record Of i,1,alteraby high thought aud pure
asniration. wbicl, constantly naces. bY natural
i!!sttue', LAe T' sol sI'utou 1. .e aIf
stsMt p1lneiple? cons'ane3 supo'u.1'.es @ @ seli