Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1892-11-10
STORIES OF WHITTIER.
Group OF Pleasant Anecdotes About a

STORIES OF WHITTIER.
Group Of Pleasant Anecdotes About the
Good Poet.
In John G.. Whittier's house the fam
lily saw good deal Of compartments
atquarterly meeting, literary comrades,
publishers, interviewers and bores The
latter were diminished in number, as
Elizabeth Whittier used to admit, be-
cause Of the distance from Boston; but
when they came, as she justly pointed
out, they stayed much longer for that
same reason. One OF the most amusing
family traditions was that OF two writers
who did not belong TO that class; tho
two sisters Cary, Alice and Phoebe,
then known only as 1.-TWO Sisters Of the
West" and authors of volume of
the most gloomy and elegiac poetry.
Mrs. Whittier being alone at home, re-
ceived them at the door, and found
them two uncommonly hearty and
buNom damsels, who looked as II they
had never shed tear Having Just ar
rived from their western abode, they
FASTENED to wait on Whittier; but he,
unluckily, was absent elias he gone
farP' they asked "He Is in Boston"
Then we will come in and wait for his
return" But he may not be back for
n week.. mo matter, we can wait"
In they marched, in their cordial way,
asking no moro hospitality than they
would freely have given, but quite TO
the dismay of the poets mother, though
she was relieved by her sons return
next day.
During the winters he was at the
Winthrop Mr.. Whittier's favorite way
of getting about was in herdic. They
were mot pretty" but they "lsnew the
way to places" Politicians used to 20
there to see him and try TO get him to
banquets. But his lifelong avoidance
of politics in the minor sense made him
easily resist their wiles. ~ have seen
Mr.. - Ia well-lSnown name) come
here and just about go down on his
knees to get Mr.. Whittier TO speak, OF
even to come to a banquet" says tho
landlord (who is by the way, an old
time character, worthy of novelist's
penn, "but Mr.. Whittier would Just sit
there-right in that chair you're in
and kind of smilc,to himself, as II TO say,
oh, your talk doesn't amount TO any
thingr Well, once Mr. came here
and stayed and stayed attacking and
persuading, and gave Mr.. Whittier an
earache, II ever man had one. But he
didn't make anything by it, although
he 5ually had to take bed and stay all
night"
Two little boys came one day, saying
that they had recently called on Prof.
Longfellow, and, as he had died very
soon after, they thought IL best in
Whittiers case to lose no time, lest IL
should be too late. So numerous were
these interruptions from strangers that
good woman who at one time kept
1 house for the poet grew very impatient
about It, She had as little knowledge
that her employer wrote poetry rs had
some Of Wordsworth's neighbors in his
case; and she asked severely whether
these were all relatives or came on
business When both explanations
were negatived, she said that in that
case she did not see what they came for
and the poet slyly added in telling
the story: "Neither did l."
A gifted vocalist had just sung ut q
reunion OF Haverhill academy gradu-
ates composition prepared for that
day, and Mr. Whittier, turning 10 her,
said: Friend, wish that could write
q song for thee 10 sing" An elocution-
list of note read aloud one Of tho au-
thor's poems He listened eagerly, as
II II was wholly new to him, and little
mist gathered in those deep, dreamy
eyes at the lines beginning;
Imourn no more my vanished years,
but there was an answering CLEAN at
the words:
The windows OF my soul throw
Wide open 10 the sun
The story has been told before OF
visitor TO Oak Knoll once praising
Hannah Binding Shoes" TO Mr.. Whit
tier, with the comment that the speaker
always liked that best of your poems,
Mr.. Whittier" With a sparkle Of mer-
riment in those keen, dark eyes (he was
color-blind, by the way), he said no adj
mired the poem very much himself.
After exhibiting an amount of interest
in the poem surprising TO the visitor,
who had heard that Whittier was mod.
est about his poetry, the poet called in
Miss Lucy Larcom, who CHANGED 10 be
a visitor in the house, and said: "Thee
will like TO meet the author OF Han
nah Binding Shoes" and introduced
her.-Boston Advertiser.