Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-24
THE roEr WHITTIER.
An EnClishman's visit to His Old
Fashioned New England Home.

From the PGN AFif trt1atic.
Amesbury is a little town on the north
.pru edge Of the state Of Massachusetts,
distant two hours by rail from Boston.
ON winters day the journey is dreary
sone. through Salem, whose custom house
once distanced Boston in its record OF
trade to and from All parts Of the world
bat is now almost deserted, and remem-
Fbered oftenest only because Nathaniel
Hawthorne was its collector; past tracts
OF so-called farming land, winch recalls
EmersOn's sayiul that the lnnaOilaute
had 10 plant their seeds IN the creVlces OF
the rocks while holding on tae bushes lor
fear they should be translated, so right
cons were they: where every irost brings
up new crop or stones 10 the surface
and where the dimlnutiye haystachs-
propped up on scafoiding 10 keep them
iron the frozen foods ofwinter. are passed
at about the rate Of one 10 the
square mile. Ii is Journey which throws
much light on the painful genesis OF the
New England character, and as such IL Is
IAN excellent preparation for visit TO MT.
Whittier, who Is. both as man and poet,
the most typical New Englander OF
America. The streets Of Amesbury diner
pnly in name. and as one OF them IS called
Friends street, it is naturally there that
Quaker poet. Forty-fOur years ago. when
Mr.. Whittier came 10 Amesbury because
lbs mother wished TO be near the Friends
fIneetug-hOuse there. which is the Oldest
1n America, The place was little village,
difficult OF access, and his home, which is
now one in q row. stood by itself IN the
country. 1t is an oblOng house. with WIN
dow on each side OF a small doorway, bulls
rot wood. like all the other houses IN the
~ -rra n. a inf al
the wooden blinds 70 each window, which
are bright green. Is is entirely destitute
OF decoration. and this is the only respect
IN Wbichit differs materially from Is more
-moderR neighbors.
Unlike the homes OF his cOmpeers in
American literature, LOngfellow, Emer-
son and Lowell. who lived among books
,and pictures aud memorials Of fellow
workers in many lands, there is nothing
In W hIttieT's house TO suggest the poet
and the man OF letters. The small parlOr
iat0 which the visitor is shown Is fur
uished with the dTeary and prim common
places Of horsehair upholstery and the
+old-fashiOned conventional ornaments
under glass shades. IL might be a dis
seutlug minister front room IN some pro-
vincial English town, ike Leicester or
northampton, not yet reached by the
5cCn0clasm OF modern Istheticism. But
co thee do: Pm glad 10 see thee,' dis
uels al surprise. by recalling the fact that
be Is not only New Highlander which
1eans simple living from necessity, but
also Quaker. which means simple living
from cAOiCe-a coincidence sufficient to
explain even an asceticism in which
510rseaair should play a much more OBJ
arusiye part. He is man Of slight build
and medium height. with thin, gray hair,
and a white beard around his shaven
lips. but with scarcely any other OF the
common signs Of great age. Although he
IS on the eve Of his 18Th birthday, his steD
IS almost as quick and his grasp as firm
IS they were half century ago, and the
soft dark ewes tor which his family has
been noted for generations are still un-
uimmed, and flash with the old fire when
he tells Of the stirring times in which his
chief work was done. Mr.. Whituer's
study ie a small square room at the back
of the house, heated by an iron stove, and
Furnished even more simply than the
other rooms. Three portraits are con-
spicuOus on the walls. The first is a large
portrait Of Thomas Starr King, the IN
spired young Boston preacher, whose
eloquence carried all California be-
fore it at the outbreak of the War Of
the rebellion. Ale and the Pacific rail
road saved the West for the Union" is
Mr.. WhittiePs comment. The others are
the large Halves photograph Of Emerson,
and proof engraving OF Abraham Lin
coin. On one side of the study is a book
case containing some scores Of books
old ones; and on the other a small desk, at
(which the poet does all his writing. My
letters average twenty-five and thirty a
day" he says, 'and when I'm sick they
accumulate, and then when l get well 1
make myself sick again trying to catch
up with my answers to them"-too many,
1t is to be feared, being requested for auto
everything else. in the Now England
fashion, familiarity, even carelessly, with
"A fine Democratic indifference to elegan-
cies OF pronunciation and finished periods
NrYKTNC TaEp0oTSDpv