davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-11-07

The hypophosphites of
lime and soda combined with
Cod-liver oil in SCOTS Emul-
sion improve the appetite,
promote digestion, and in
crease the weight.
They are thought by some
to be food; but this is not
proved. They are tones;
this is admitted by all.
Cod-liver oil is mainly a
food, but also a tonic.
In SCOTS Emulsion the
cod-liver oil and hypophos-
phites are so combined as to
get the full advantage of both.
Let US send you a book on
CAREFUL LIVING ; free.
SCOTT & BowNH, Chemists, I,s South sth Avenue.
New York.
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28

the Merrimsc and NJ and down the coast.
lie votes IN Amesbury-votes every time.
too-and owns I house there. judge Gate
ana his family tall ravensl occupy the
house, and Mr.. Whittier lives much of the
tame with them. HIS room and his study
are always kept In readiness for him. tor
he comes and goes according to his within.
Tn the easterly side small porch is let
In under the main part of the house. 4
door with glass panels opens from this
porch into Mr.. Whittier's study. Here he
keeps his small store of books. and here
he has written the greater part OF his lat
ter year poetry. Sometimes he mas sat
under the trees back of the house and
thought out his verses. Frequently he
has stood at the glass door looking out,
but seeing nothing but the pictures that
were forming in his imagination.
But his bed Is his best work bench. He
IS light sleeper, and if you should sit by
his door and listen you would be likely in
the stu OF the night 20 hear him recitinS
and changing and repeating verses when
on the morrow would be put on paper for
the generations to read. Often, too. when
he IS not composing new verses he recites
his old ones aloud in bed.
He did not offer any explanation of this
to me, but he aid say in response To a
question that none of his poems is his
favorite, because none of them are what
they should be, and Dr. Garland inter
posed the significant remark that in each
new edition of Mr.. Whittier's works almost
every poem is altered in some manner.
though no preface by the author ever men
tions this.
Another of the poets homes is at Dan
vers. spacious, old-fashioned house, set
on a hill, III broad grounds amply shaded
by many trees aud enclosed by n low,
rough stone wall. This is Oak Knoll,
about wilic', eNourh t,as i>eov written, ~
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28

Mr.. Whittier is not very fond Of pie-not
very. lie merely sometimes digs out the
in ards OF u and eats that, and there - no.
body 10 pass structures upon this extrava-
gance and warn him. as our good mothers
used to warn us. that the day may come
when he will wish he had the crust he now
rejects.
1t was at Dr. Cartland's home that Mr..
Whittier passed his last birthday and re-
ceiyed so many OF his old friends. Ii was
there too, that he was soon aiterward at-
tackled hy the grin 80 mali gnantly that for
a long time il was thought he could not
recover. Since that time last winter he
has aged very RAPIDLY. He is still very
straight, and his mind Is as keen As ever,
but his step is uncertain, his ears are not
quick TO catch words, his eyes although
bright and clear. are troublesome to one
who likes 70 read a. much As he does, and
he has 20 be guarded ali the time against
fatigue. A. very little mental exert.0n
proyOkes headache. so Dr. Garland. who
is always faithfully on guard, imDiorcS all
visitors not 10 talk much 10 the poet ana
not - excite him TO ia. 4 much.
a characteristic and sometimes amusing
feature OF his deafness is that Mr.. Whittier
never takes the trouble to tell anybody
about il. If he does not understand WHAT
is being said 10 him be simply lets II pass
he never asks anybody 20 speak louder or
10 repeat what has been said. IL he thinks
he understands he answers according to
that understanding, and sometimes his
answers are so aInuslng!y irrelevant a. 20
start laugh ali around, he himself sinH-
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28

''the mouth of the river of death, " and It
is place inseparabiy connected with the
several conflicts that have occurred be-
tween the arms of France and the duskv
hordes Of Dahomey. Here the hottest
fight in the campaign Of 1890 took place
upon the 18th day OF March. Had it not
been for the intrepid bravery of I.ieuten-
ant Comperat, a young officer OF marines.
the entire French force would have
been annihilatcd. During the night
of the 81 of March and the early
morning OF the 9TH, under cover of
the intense darkness and the addi-
tionally tayorablea circumstance of a
violent storm, King Behanz;n decided to
make a move upon the French camp. The
attack was well planned. and every care
taken 10 insure the probability of success.
Without noise. or lights. and in careful
military order. the forces of Dahomey took
up their position in a forest situated about
200 yards from the French lines Here
they rested. awaiting the arrival OF dawn
with the intention of commencing HOSTILE
ties at cockcrow. The French force was
composed OF 500 tiraiileurs of the ma
tive Senegalese infantry and troops from
the Gaboon country, and it was hilleted III
the factories OF Messrs. Regis and Fahre.
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28
THE WARM DAHOMEY
Germans Drill the Sayages and
Furnish Them Rifles.
THE AMAZONS IN BATTLE.
Female Soldiers Who Fight Like De-
In the Campaign OF 1890.

The tri-color is waving in Dahomey, on
the west coast of Africa, where the war
like hosts of France have again invaded
the country of King Behanzin. This saw
age potentate has gone back to his old
trick of violating treaties. and has thus
drawn down upon his head for the second
time within two years the naval and mill
tary vengeance of the Republic. have
been requested to give some personal &C
count OF that strange country, gained dur
ing the campaign of 1890. during which l
served as an infantry officer. In view Of
the great seriousness of the present COM
plications-which may indirectly result in
a collision between Germany and France
and the general public interest they
have aroused, think I can give the
reader some timely and amusing informa-
ton about war in Dahomey, and the true
inwardnes5 OF the present situation.
Dahomey Is an extraordinary land, peo-
pied by still more extraordinary race of
semi-naked savages. Its seaboard is al
most UNMARRIED in its barren monotony of
rugged mountain. scarcely diversified by
bay or Inlet or the encouraging vista of q
seaport town. The eye. wearied in its eff
forts to pierce the blue haze of tropical
horizon, sees everywhere monotonous
coast expanse OF dense green brushwood,
glitterng beneath the merciless rays of
vertical sun. Upon rounding the coast of
Guinea. the voyager is pleased to leave be-
hind him country which even repealed
the ocean pirates of the past, and has long
been forsaken by the most adventurous
colonists.
Casting anchor at last before Kotonou,
We see on the shore settlement of wooden
houses painted blue and score of straw
matched cabins in the foggy distance.
From the top of a lofty pole the flag of
France Is flying and Senegalese tirailleur
PAGES to and fro, evidencing by his jaunty
and soldierlike mlen the utter contempt he
feels tor the savage denizens whom his
allegiance TO France causes him to regard
as deadly foes. We reach the shore by
means of surf boat. the crew of which,
entirely naked, sing in chorus propitia-
tory song to Avrekete, the Dahomeyan
genius of the sea- Bending to the
oars with strong arms and set teeth,
the sturdy blacks, directed by the
pilot i'll strident voice, make the
boat or pirogue-skim over the summit
OF the white-capped waves with a swift
ness that nearly takes away our breath.
When the boat CRATES upon the beach We
are carried ashore In the arms of stalwart
negroes. The curious bar of sand which
here extends along the entire Bay of
Benin Is cause by the strong southwestern
currents. and for nine months out of
twelve it is considered dangerous to at
tempt landing anywhere near Kotonou,
Whydah or Grand-Popo. Persons disem-
barking have frequently been upset and
fallen victims to the numerous sharks in
Testing these waters.
kotonou, where we have now succeeded
in efiecting our landing upon Dahomeyan
terra iirma, signifies, in the Fon language,
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28
ng without knowing just why and with.

ing without knowing just why and with
OUT ever inquiring.
MIR. Whittier'S smile, by the way. is the
sweetest smile | have ever seen on the face
of man. IL seems almost 10 be made of
yeritabie lights and shadows. In rsnosa
his tace is almost stern, but when any,
thing amuses him you see a light dance
for IN instant in his eyes and then is seen
slowly 20 expand over his face rs a
circiing wave expands upon the surface Of
a placid pool. There is an appreciabie
time between the smiles appearance in
his eyes and the slow parting of his lips,
and there Is something so gentle in il all
that it reminds one Of nothing else so
much as the beatic smile of sweet old
motheFiv mother.
He smiles frequently, too. for he is al
WAYS awake To the humorous side of
things, and you cannot entertain him in
any way more certainly than by telling
HIM bright. witty stories. He catches the
point instantly and eagerly. But the wit
must be OF quiet order; no registering for
himl
In his time Mr.. Whittier has written
many private" poems. These are nearly
all humorous. Ii he attended picnic or
had any kind OF outing with congenial
spirits, he was pretty sure To write poem
about il, PLAYING on the humorous aspect
of the incidents and introducing the
names and peculiarities of all the persons
of the party. Many such poems are in
existence now, scattered about among his
intimates, but neither love nor money
could purchase one OF them for publics-
ton.
Until his illness last winter, Mr.. Whit.
tier carried on all his own correspondence.
but now he uses his pen very little. He
has no private secretary, but his young
friends here and there do most of his writ
'"e"- He enjoys the society If vounc peo.
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28
years; at Lynn, five; at Rochester, twenty

years az Lynn, ave 1T IOCnesler, twenty
five.
II was first married fifty-four years
ago. said Mr.. Douglass. my first wife
died ten years ago, and two years there
after married my present wife, The fact
is, look upon nav life, as a whole. Willie
it has, some rough places in it, as having
been sngulariy happy"
Mr.. Douglass Is somewhat of n violinist.
lie learned to manipulate the instrument
in his yodth. When the young folks of
Washington City gather about hun at his
Cedar Hill home, as they often do. he fire.
quendy accompanies some expert pianist
o! them with the violin, to the general
satisfaction of his guests. Mr. Douglass
is very fond Of younl, people and their
society. His grandson, Joseph, inherits
Mr.. Douglass musical gifts, and is not
only professional violinist but has
written some excellent scores. Joseph is
Mr. Douglass favorite grandcni!d.
Mr.. Douglass laughingly acknowledged
that in his youth his was guilty of per-
petrating some verse all of winch was de-
stroyed when the flies of his paper We're
burned. in the white heat Of the anti
slavery agitation he wrote a poem, only
one stanza Of which he could recall. This
he recited to me in a voice and accentua-
ton which made it sound grand and
heroic. | give the stanza here:
The pathway 90 tyrants Is over volcanoes;
The very air they breathe is heavy with sorrows;
Agounug heart thfobs conyuse them while
seepiag,
And the wiad whispers death while over them
sweeping.
In his extensive and select library | saw
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28
FAC-SIMILE A BIT WHITTIER

''Oh. yes" he insisted, II dashed of q
great many things when | was young. and
| am sorry for IL now. When man is
young and has plenty Of time before him
he should never dash anything off,"
ON the whole Mfr. Whittier seems to
think lac has not done much that is worth
while. When he speaks of his literary
work 1t IS always with regret that IL was
not better done.
Never until this year has the old aboli-
zionist shown any want of interest in poll
ties. Nov he says:
There Is 80 issue that ! care anything
about. II is all tariff. tariff and finances.
don't care about those things"
The so-called force bili' -
There is 40 such thing as force BILL"
he sid.
You object to that designations of it
perhaps" / suggested
But there Is no such issue at sill. said
he. There IS 40 such bill now. Nothing
vii be done abont that. The Democrats
surely are no. going 20 do ans thing. and
ithe Ecpublicans-are not either. There IS
no issue RON bat tie tariff, and am not
interested III that"
The most successful OF Mfr. Whittier's
works. from u financial point O. view
which = the Vieg lac never takes--i4
.'Snow bound" Untii this Sas published
ne had received very ijisie money for has
poems. but the publishers gave bin q
cents tor every copy OF .Saogbound" that
was sold. and unier this rarely generous
arrangement the poet received several
thousand dollars. Since that time Mr..
Whittier has received aigh prices Tor has
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28

snjendia husts OF Feuerhach and Strauss.
One OF the most striking engravIngs on the
walls Of the library Is one of Joseph
Cincuue h., chief of the Amlsiad Captlves.
An etching nj Wendell Phillips when he
was young man Ia much priced by Mr..
Douglass as 4 personal gait from the great
orator. \ steel engraving OF William
Liov,i Garrison at ~. and Charles Summer
AZ ~ attract the eye at once. a. does also
one al James g. Blrney. the ioreruuner of
Jonn &. Fremont aud Abraham Lincoln.
A has relief of Dante oyerlo0ks all the pic-
lures on the wall. including one Of Eliza
beth Cadv stanton. bearing = striking re-
sembtance ~ the FIST Lord Chatham. Mr..
Douglass was particular 70 point ont u me
n rich hat modest picture of the home OF
John G. Whittier At Haverhlil
"pon't forget Peters picture, exclaimed
Mr.. Douglass.
Which retsr?" asked.
why. Peer Jackson. of course" said
Mr.. Douglass gazing admirinEly upon the
massive proportions OF the AFRO Austria
lian pugiljsi. II consider hsm one of the
best missionaries abroad
A the silver moon lifted her horns above
the romantic hills al Maryland. | turned
away from the delightful Arcadia nf the
sage Of Auaco$ta AMI soon buried myself
in the heat ana the frullle~s ambitions of
the nations capltai. marye.Ing whether
the repoSe Of old 1ge he not preferable 10
the feverish aspirations ot selfish or Of
patriotic maturity
+. THOMAS FORTUNE
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28

warrant me now In passing hurriedly by
it. Mr. Whittier spends some of his time
here with an elderly maiden niece and her
elderly maiden companion.
Still another of his homes is on High
street, in Newburyport. This is the home,
too of DR.. Garland. and you would never
know from him whether he or Mr.. Whit
tier owns it, Nor does 1t matter. Both are
equally at home there.
Mr.. Whittier and DR.. Garland have been
bosom friends ever since they were bows
ana nothing could he more beautiful than
the tender, more than brotherly regard
these two old men show for one another
DIR. Garland, being the younger seems 10
hold the dear old poet as his special charge
and the tact that he and his good wife EN-
ploy in ascertaining and gratifying Mr..
Whittier's every whIm is n charming les
son in self-etfacement. They stand be-
tween the old poet and the curious and
prying world from which he strives so
earnestly To hide himself-and if he were
not guarded by some good friends, we out
siders would doubtless poster him beyond
endurance. For we are perverse lot, we
humans There are hundreds of struggling
young poets standing around under foot,
praying that somebody will see them and
talk about them, but we run from them
and leave them forlorn, while we pursue
some dear old man who has done his work
and earned our love and asks only, in the
name of mercy. to be left alone to enjoy III
quietude the peaceful twilight of long
and useful life.
Therefore, here am ct Hampton Falls,
n H.. little place five or six miles from
Amesbury, away from railways. cut off
from the world-a place to which Mr.
Whittier and DR.. and Mrs. Garland fled
in the middle of July. thinking that here
they would be out of the reach OF the rest
of US. But, don't you know, some aspir-
ing journalist recently set atioat the start.
of pie; and, don't you know, these i'm
portant rumors must be verified or ex-
ploded.
You may imagine then with what great
expectations | came here, and with what
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28
THE POETOFLIBERTY
John G. Whittier's Many Homes
and Host of Friends.
THE RAVENS HAVE FED HIM.
He Has No Regular Method OF Compost
sion-Famous Poems Written on the
Backs OF Old Envelopes.

Some sixty years ago good old Quaker
doctor said to tall. frail-looking young
man. "Greenleaf. thee must take care of
thyself!' To the young mans friends the
old doctor said, ''Greenleaf is not long for
this world. He will never pass his
forties,'
The good old Quaker doctor has been
dust these fifty years. Even his winsome
daughter, she of the dancing eyes, has
stumbled in her dotage and fallen into an
old wonan's grave. Hawthorne. Bryant,
Emerson, Longfellow, Lowell--all in their
time have sadly shaken their heads and
said poor Whittier could not last much
longer. They are all gone. yet Whittier
remains. still tall, still frail-looking, al
most 50. Nor was the good old Quaker
doctor right even in supposing that
Whittier must take care of himself. That
has been done for him by those who loved
him Trrc No hos vrisIod tho=a var;o.,e
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28
BY strategy.

slavery convention he spoke as one hav-
Ing authorlty-as one into whose soul had
entered the steel OF unutterabe sorrows.
As freeman and citizen the respect of
mankind has been hcaped upon his head
ami public trusts of great honor have
been laid in his lap by a grateful party
and sanctioned by the approving amens of
great nation: il his old age. with his
wife and children and grandchildren
about him, he rests III the evening of his
lie from his labors, "a one who has borne
the heat aud the burden Of the day, in
villa that Is one of the finest and most de
sTaoie IN the republic. villa whose orig
maj PROPRIETOR stipulated in the deed of
NanSier that the property should never he
owned by descendant of the African
race.
Fred Dou glass is venerable, a PFC
mresque and an historic character, in
whom the general public will always have
acertain interest
~ am an old man now" said Mr..
douglass As he looked aiar over the navy
yard and rested his vision on the tower
hs SHAFT ot the Washington monument
outlined against the Southern sky. From
.als vantage groand have a magnificent
View OF the most magnificent city on the
continent, and | view, also, the history
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28

pie, and always manages to have some Of
them about him.
When / became convinced that Mr..
Whittier positively could not tell me any
thing about his methods of composition, I
appealed TO DIR. Garland.
WELL" said he, che composes many of
his verses in bed, but l think he composes
many also in meeting--in our Friends
meetings, when there is no speaking. He
sits there and thinks in silence, and is
very likely, when he comes home, to go at
once to his desk and. write n few verses.
lie never makes notes OF his thoughts
either In meeting or in bed, but carries
them In his mind until he reaches his
desk"
He is utterly careless what he writes
upon. Some of his most famous poems
were written on scraps of paper, the backs
of Old envelopes and such things. and they
are crossed and criss-crossed until they are
hardly legible. His niece, Mrs. s. r.
Pickard. wife of the editor of the Portland
Transcript, has many of these interesting
originals and many of his other writings
not intended for publication. She lived
with Mr.. Whittier for many years, and
during that time seldom let q sheet of his
manuscript reach the waste basket to
which the poet sought to doom it. Ii Mr..
Whlttier's literary executors should ever
publish all that is being preserved, the
public Will be greatly surprised by the
amount and the versatile character of il.
When Mr.. Whittier was informed that
had recently visited General Lew Wallace
ut his home in Indiana, he manifested
deep interest in the author Of 'Ben Hur."
and General Wallace's ears must have
tingled at the good things that were said
of his writings. When I told him how
very painstaking General Wallace il in
his literary work, the old poets face bright
ened, and he said:
That is the way to write; that Is the
only way To write. Nobody can dash off
good literary work" And then, after q
moments reflection. he added, as il speak
ing to himself. or thinking aloud: 81 wish
/ had never dashed anything off,"
Your work doesn't look as IL ft had
been dashed Off," / said.
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28
old FRED DOUGLASS.
How the Ex-Slaye Lives in His
Washington City Villa.
ms LABOR FOR ABOLITION.
Peter Jackson's Picture Hangs on tho
wail-Romantic Career OF the Great
Negro Orator and Agitator.

Just beyond the Eastern branch. on thu
outskirts OF Washington, empowered in a
magnificent cluster of oaks which have
vithstood the fierce tempesrs of MANY
winters, is the home of Frederick Doug
isss.
Few names in American history are sur-
rounded with more of the romance that
delights the youthful and instructs the old
than that of this man, born slave on the
eastern shore of Maryland three-auarters
Of o century ago. He has been the center
of every vicissitude. The coniidanse of
William Lloyd Garrison, he was none the
less the peer of Wendell Phillips in the
oratory which aroused the public con-
science to its sense of duty and led uIti.
mateiy to the enfranchisement of q race.
He was present, practically. at the birth of
aggressive anti-slavery agitation: he
watched with interest the birth of the Free
eoil party, and when the Republican
party first saw the light OF day, with its
face set firmly against the further extern
son of slave territory and the insolent
domination Of the slave power, he clapped
The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28

t u pets. Shakespeare, Byron. Burns.
bfyant, Whittier and Longfellow: among
prJse writers; Hugo. especially Les Mis-
80. abu Ihe Toiiers of the Sea- the
ivanhoe;' Charlotte Bronte and Alexan-
Ger gumas. especially The Musketeer,
ana The Count Of Monte Cristo.' I have
fehch edition of the latter in three vol
w. which very much prize. / regard
4. theodore ID. Yields Slavery As II Is as
we most powerful work of its kind written
IN .,ie q ahti-siavery cause. OF course, also
Icau those things in current literature of