Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1884-02-13
Another Interesting Boston Letter from
Miss Alice Shultes.
Boston, MASS.

Miss Alice Shultes.
BosToN, MASS.
Dear Trnnscript:-The letter which l
have SO long purposed writing you, re-
fuses longer to be suppressed, and SO
lay aside the thousand and one pressing
duties, and open to you the storehousc
of my experience and observation.
Alas, must hurry over all my blessed
vacation jottings. Cannot give you the
picture of my rare summer retreat in
one of
NEW ENGLAND's LOvEL1EsT SPOTS;
of my daily walks over ground hallowed
by the footsteps of Washington and
Warren of the old churchyard, with
headstones gray and moss grown, that
mark the spot where the congress was
assembled, from which Gen. Warren pas
sed to his patriotic death at the battle of
Bunker Hill. and later, James Russell
Lowell lived among the same scenes,
many of which form the subject of
POEMS written by him. During my own
sojourn there the presence of
WENDELL PHILLIPS
gave an added interest TO the place
Daily he passed and repassed, and once,
oh happy time, he called. How l would
like to tell you of the two hours during
which drank in the flow of his charm
ing conversation of the wide range If
subjects he touched upon; of his choice
language; of his ease, elegance, and fine
facet Though past seventy years of age,
he seemed strong and we'll. and in full
possession of his rare oratorica) powers,
having almost wholly withdrawn from
public life, devoting himself to the care of
his invalid wife.
Another chapter of my vacation notes
that can only mention, Is my pilgrimage
to the
CONCORD SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY.
AS look back upon that day and visit,
it does not seem possible that it was l,
the writer of these words, that sat in the
midst of the philosophers that lovely
summer day, listening attentively to the
intricate reasoning of DR.. Harris as he
presented the subject of The Absolute q
Personal Reason" and to the lively dis
cussion that followed. involving such
hair-splitting distinctions between 4
priorn and p oxteriorn, Aristotelian phi
losophy and "Plato's insight" that utter
bewilderment possessed my unphiloso.
phic mind. And at the close of the ses-
sion, could it have been that was pre-
sented to DR.. Harris, Miss Peabody and
Othera-presented moreover by no less a
parsonage than Prof. Denton J. Snider,
the well-known Shakespeare scholar2
Yes, it was l, for l have not forgotten
the feeling of insigniicance that posses
sed me, and how blundered and STAN
mered when tried to speak, and how
h1aaoo1 NV Of tbot T xroo f~.>,~> h:n~o
sofa. Shall tell you why7 Well,
strange as it may seem, that name has
served me as talisman in many, many
cases. Somehow many people seem more
interested in me when they learn whence
/ came. ! sometimes think that they
look upon me with the same curiosity
that they would native of Alaska. Be
that as it may, l have always found PEG.
pie anxious to talk about that PARKWAY
state, and have reason to feel that it has
been q passport to me into many choice
places. And SO the philosophers. some
of them, descend from their lofty flights
of transcendentalism, to be very kind and
courteous to the western stranger within
their gates.
And l must pass over the description
of the Hall of Philosophy and the grounds
around it, SO rich in natural beauty. ID
is situated in the same yard with the
Alcott homestead, and what nature has
omitted, the taste and refinement vi
Bronson Alcott has supplied, until the
spot is one of marked beauty; quiet
dreamy. rural. And oh! for pen that
could portray the feelings inspired, and
the impression imprinted upon my heart
when, accompanied by one of the lady
philosophers, (who reminded me 90 much
of Miss Ellis that felt acquainted with
her immediately visited
THE HOMES OF HAWTHORNE AND EMERSON
"Waysids." as Hawthorne's home is cal
led, is just beyond the Alcott place on thu
same side Of the road, though y jutting bill
screens it from view till close upon it.
The most noticeable feature of the house il
the tower, in which was the study Of tn,
charming novelist, and where most Of
his stories were written. Emerson'I
house 10 about quarter OF Z mile from
either OF these, and on the opposite sid
OF the road, not street. for you mus
know that these famous men all live
short distance from Concord, on what il
called the Lexington road" Emer
son lived In communicating whit'
house.. shut in by pine trees. Tn
gate always stands invitingly open, An,
81! are Hospitality received who seek I'D
mlttance. Later in the day. in the sam
delightful company, visited the oil
Manse, which was the scene of HeW
thorne's "Mssses from an Old Mapse."
little way beyond 10 the Battle Grouu
%akh u 9ss1pd BY twv ms11nsata on