The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-07-10
AN AFTERNOON WITH WHITTIER.
What the Quaker Poet Said to His Roman
IN Visitor.

AN AFTERNOON WITH WHITTIER.
What the Quaker Poet Said to His Roman
Catholic Visitor.
A little Catholic schoolgirl conducted Ne
thither. There's Whittier's house." she
said. eagerly, az we came ont through q
shady lane near st. Joseph's and ON to a
shady, quiet street. Its cream-colored
now; il used to be white" There it was,
with its broad front and the neat Did
fashioned do0r.Rarden between IL ano the
street.
We soon found ourselves in o pleasant
little sitting-room filled with suggestive
pictures and books, and presently the VEN
cradle poet himself entered with kindly
greeting. He is tall, erect. with heavy
under the heavy. white brows, are black,
piercing and luminous. He carries MS
eighty three years we'll, age seeming with
HIM, as 1t so often seems with men OF intel
lectual and ascetic life. an even wearing
away of the mortal v~esture. rather than .
process of visible decay ami decrepltude.
knowing that the Pilots representative
had been for many years O friend ana an
associate of John Boyle, O'Reilly., be was
doubly cordial. He spoke first of the la,
mented dead, whose poetry no admired
much, and with whom or many subjects
he was in strong sympathy. as
THAT was a beautiful light. too early
ouenched." he said. But later he spoke Of
the beauty of dying. even prematurely,
while ones record is fair. and the sadness
of living to make some error or blunder
which furnishes q noble past. :.
"Ah, you are thinking OF now.
we said, having in mind his poem of that
name. suggested by the retrogradlpg on
ire slavery question of Daniel Webster.
He was silent for a moment. Then. mus
inqly: Webster hurt himself by aspiring
A. Il. una a aAd
The Office could have added nothing to
him. He was too great for that"
Then. reverting to Boyle OReiliy. he
praised especially his poems,
Phillips" and "Crispus Attucks."
lyon sympathize. l take II, with OReii-
ly's feeling to Attacks rather than with
that Of the Massachusetts Historical So
cietyF"
Nor would, perhaps, that criticised
1.-THE bluest blood is putrid blood, the peoples
blood is red;-
have shocked your tastew
He applauded O'Reilly's thought. and
showed himself especially moved by the re-
membrance of this Catholic lrishman's
work for the negro.
We touched presently on Cardinal Law.
Igerie's crusade against the slave traffic in
equatorial Africa.
Il am thankful for Lavigerie's work" he
said, adding. however. that in the old
American slave days all the churches had
been too slow to move against slavery.
You forget" we ventured. that Catho-
lies were very few in the bulk of the slave
infexible word on the indissolubilty of
marriages among the slaves. would hardly
get a candid welcome on the average plan
tation."
communities Of negro nuns founded In
Maryland and Louisiana long before the
abolition of slavery. He recalled. also. the
-pronouncement of IN early Pope against
slavery.
Matha." "You had to come to the old
church for q patron saint for your aboli-
tionists." "Yes." he added, I'VE have our
debt to our saints. and to the old church
for her antagOnism TO slavery. Thee knows,
perha ps, my poem. The Men of Old whore
/ spoke of ST. Anselm melting down the
sacred vessels to make coin for the redemp-
tion of captives."
Church property was used in the early
Irish Church, too, as far back as the time of
st. Patrick, for the redemption of slaves"
we rejoined. not willing to give Italy ell
the glory.
81 remember that. too" he said: '.but not
all the Irish OF a later day felt kindly to
the negroes. / knew an Irishman in Ames-
bury" he said. his eyes %twinkling at the re-
membrance, who was very much opposed
to social equality for the negro. l said to
him: But there are many Catholic negroes
in Brazil, the West Indies and other places.
Thy church accounts Of them as it does of
thee. And theell have to come to it in
heaven. TheeIl have to meet the negroes
there on equal terms"
81 thought" he continued, that / had
silenced him with an unanswerable argu-
ment. He sat musing for q moment, then
looking up at me.
land can't the Lord make them white in
heaven, Mr.. Whittleri"
IT, pna< 1nuUhn1 hoorf;lu a< <ho -
membrance of this sally OF his ready Irish
friend.
Presently we recalled q number of poems
besides The Men of Old" in which he
Catholic spirit and s%ympathy with it.
w Catholics appreciate these poems"
We said.
But there are some of my poems you
Catholics don't like SO WE'LL"
Certainly there are" We said: "but they
do not hinder US from approaching those OF
o different spirit"
"My Female Martyr" he said, twas IN
spired by the death of q sister of charity
nurse of tSe cholera patiepts.v =
Further on be spoke of his love for tho
writings of ST. Thomas Kempis.
We quoted:
The Cross, if rightly borne, shall be
No burden but support to thee;
SO, moved in all time, for our sake,
The holy monk OF kempen spake.
"Thee remem bers my poems better than
/ do myself" said the venerable poet, who
seemed ~indisposed to touch on and work of
his own. except where il served an Illus
tratIve purpose.
With more pleasure he turned to remi-
niscences of the other men who made the
golden age of Boston's literary supremacy
Emerson. Holmes, Wendell Phillips and
tho rest.
Emerson was q sweet spirit"
We asked him If he had noted the collec-
ton of Wendell Phillips's speeches, just
issued by Lee & Sheppard. of Boston.
IL heard Wendell Phillips" he said. in O
tone of citation and affectionate pride. But
ne had looked with pleasure at the collec-
ton we had referred to.
tic invited Us To u glimpse at his study.
with its pleasant outlook on the we'll
shaded back garden. Here are the books
nxua auua Nm a NJ n liz a.