The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-12-10

a. mystery. mere Is an OIlSinti VI NttseS,
which believe are the very last ones on
which he was engaged. Some OF the
lines are found In the Holmes birthday
testimonial. al least.t here is a suggestion
OF the same idea In them. l will give you
the lines; perhaps. somewhere. some adj
mirer OF Whittier may be able to study
them out"
took I'm my hand a mere fragment Of a
sheet or note paper. l studied the we'll
nigh illegible scrawl, and unused for
long time on its message, coming as It did
| like a voice from the grave-the sweet.
kind voice Of master-singer whose harp
ing is dumb in death.
They rest in Gods peace. taken from
work.
The vacant place is filed"
Was my translation correct as far as It
/ went? / looked up from my work The
| niece OF the poet had gone into another
| room. a light was kindled where one had
not been before. and its soft illumination
shed a star-like luster upon a grand. old
/ oil painting Of John Greenleaf Whittier.
Singing softly to herself, the good woman
was arranging. in vase underneath
the portrait, some bright, golden chrysan-
| themums. IL was a picture whose ten
derness and beauty will not soon fade from
| follows:
"Wll I try to transcribe the bits of
| poetry | find I'm Whittiers papers? For
my own interest-yes: but for publication
| no. why should /? | have the poets
lnJuncuons as TO what / am to print
| and these must be scrupulously followed
He himself has cautioned me to print
nothing further in the poetic line! He
might have done so In his own life had he
chosen. There are. / might say. without
exaggeraiion, many hundred unfinished or.
AT least, unpublished verses among his
papers and memoranda. But he in his
lifetime, decided that he had printed all
ne cared TO. His decision IS final"
DO you find. among the papers, any
| thlng as TO the poets last and highest
dreams and ambitions?"
res; and supplemented by what he
told me, L would NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
| the Well-rouuded success that our friend
| achieved he still had ambitions unsatis-
hed, ana fancied a time when thew
might be fulnlled. What were these
! Well, he wished TO write a history Of
the Anti-slavery cause, through which
he hoped to conciliate. once and for all
the North and the South This he
thought OF doing in the form OF some
novel or lengthy historical romance.
I some
one long poem, after the fashion of
Snow Bound" You know. aside from
this. he wrote nothing OF any great
length. In the end. too. believe. il is
| for Snow Bound that Whittier will be
| remembered"
| DO the letters In your possession show
that Whittier was happy in his life
work."
Most assuredly; why should he not
! be? He lived a plain, frugal life: he
accumulated more Of this worlds goods
| than ever he needed he scattered the
| sunshine of life around him. All the
smile that would light up his face when
a friend came TO him! II was something
which once seen was never 10 be forgot
! ten. 1t was the sweetest smile / have
ever seen on the face Of man. In re-
! pose his face was by many considered
| stern and hard; but his heart was one
! Of simple goodness itself
| whittier was very domestic I'm his
habits. He lived with his friends He
cared little for money. He never specu-
| lated in any way What he accumulated
he obtained through "A long series of
| years, and through his homely econo-
mics. He invested his money in bonds.
Brokers had the highest opinion OF his
! judgment in financial matters and
often used to visit him. seeking advice.
This he freely gave, although he never
| profted by any speculatons which his
rare financial ability instinctively taught
| him 10 recognize Up TO 1866. ne was n
poor man. He made no money. on the
other hand, he never fell in debt. lie
| just made enough to live on-and that
was all. His publishers gave him
twenty-five cents for every copy OF
Snow Bound that was sold, and this
| gave him his first good start. The larg-
est price he ever received for poem was
one thousand dollars, paid by Mr.. Bon
ner. for ninety-sX lines, entitled The
| Captains Well
John Greenleaf Whittier, whose mem
DRY lives in the hearts OF a grateful
people, sleeps In the little half-acre OF
| the Friend beside his Uncle Moses
his Aunt Mercy. his sisters Mary and
Lizzy, and his father and his mother"
Il wanted to give him an imposing
tombstone" said his niece 20 me, but
that would be contrary 10 the customs
Of the Friends. l have just erected over
his grave plain white marble slab.