The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-10
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10. 1898

insuch language as you would expect from
ahighiy poetic Imagination.
"Will the letters, or any of them, be in
your compilation!"
NO" said the gentlemen, quietly,
''they will not; there is a very good Tea-
son for this; indeed, 1 might say, a num-
Der of reasons"
what are the reasons!'' said, merci-
lessly
"Weu-the ladies are still alive! You
see, it would be bad taste Mrs. Pickard,
is it's it not warm here"
Another interesting incident as to the
poets characteristics discovered by the
remains, is the fact that Whittier invited
corrections to his poems, and gladly en-
Orac6u every opportunity to better his
lines Thus it is that there is such a
marked difference in the same verses,
Outlines, III the several editions Whit
tier was a merciless foe of the proof
slips, and used his blue pencil with decis-
ion and with force! His expression ito
mend or mar" in the Lucy Larcom letter,
was one of the strongest of the animal
ing influences of his literary life. He
seldom left a poem as he wrote it, and
after writing it over, would simply write
1t over aud over again, in his tireless search
for beauty and form and idea. His one re-
gretted was that he had published too
much in his youth! His Oft-repeated
injunction to young men was not
to write unanimously, but to
do what little they tried, well Yet, of
the hundred of poems in the book of
the Philadelphia friend, he selected
poem entitled IAN Outdoor Recep-
ton. " twelve years before it was pub
lished. He used to set in the Solemn
Friend meetings and think out his
work He never took notes. The
copies Of the poems are, in the main,
complete drafts. If there are to be
any changes, they will come later, but
will be left in such way as to be
easy tracable to the original for in
Whittier's life was order and business
like care, which had place for every
thing, and put everything IN its proper
place. Then, too, he used to compose
in bed. He was a light sleeper. Be-
fore he dozed it was common to hear
him reciting the verses that were run
ming in his mind, so that he might get
their sound; the next day, possibly
there would be more corrections made
at the little cherry desk, at which he
wrote 50 many years. The letters show
that MIR. James G. Blaine once suggested
a correction to Whittier, and the latter
accepted it quickly. II was the change of
a line in the poem Among the Hills
Whittier wrote:-
Not beautiful alone. in curve and line,
But something more and letter;
The secret charm, eludtng art,
Its spirit, not its letter"
Mr. Blaine changed not only the form
but the sense, which was accepted by
Whittier, as follows:
Not fair alone in curve and line,
But something more and better;
The secret charm, eludiug art,
It's spirit, not its letter"
The one grand discovery of the literary
fragments of Whittier, according to MIR
Packard, the conservator. is the extraor-
binary interest manifested by the poet in
politics. 1t was known during his life
that he took part in elections and in poll
tics in general, for il was his custom to
cast his vote at Amesbury with unfailing
regularity; but it was never suspected
that Whittier's influence extended as
widely as 1t did, and that he was, in his
sphere, a power at the polls. He kept up
an unfailing correspondence with many
party leaders, and even with those in
private life, noticea5Iy with Charles
Sumner, Bayard Taylor, Mrs. Lydia H.
Sigourney. and Robert RautOne, of Sa-
lem. First he was a whig, then of the
liberty party, and, finally, republican.
The letters show that Whittier elected
Sumner to the senate This was accom-
alitiOn" with the democrats, a move
worthy of the shrewdest politician of
the hour. Whittier likewise used his
influence to elect Morton governor of
Massachusetts. This. again, was &C
complished by his favorite coalition
which, it is not at all unlikely, he had
learned from that great compromiser,
Henry Clay, for whom Whittier's praises
were the highest up to the time that Clay
iOinaA tho lihaVfNr no 1sft plainn XAThfffTa,.
always thought greater even than Clay.
Cleveland he esteemed 1.-THE best of the
democrats. D." The poet believed fully in
protection When his letters are finally
and fully known, as they will be, through
the compilation of Mr.. Pickard. there is
no doubt that the poet Whittier will be
widely esteemed for his sagacity in fore
telling events in politics. As an illustra-
ton. in several of his letters he speaks
with great interest of the then probable
outcome of the last campaign he was ever
to witness. the presidential contest be-
tween Harrison and Cleveland, in 1892
Mr.. Whittier predicted the victory of
Cleveland long before the election was
held, though the poet finally died before
his judgment could be verified.
A pleasing feature of the Whittier
memoranda is the humorous" poems, of
which there are many specimens. 1t
NdS bIG UOEl = CuStOu 70 RdtuGI his
friends about him, on picnic occasions,
and compose eXtemporaneous verses,
hitting OF the oddities, conceits and fol-
bles of those present, in the best natural
way.
Here is the humorous verse on 'one of
the Signers, ~ said Mr.. Packard, taking a
musty looking sheet out of his black box
1T was written on the dedication of the
Joshua Bartlett statue at Amesbury.
Whittier was invited to be present, but
was prevented by sickness. So he wrote
a long story about it, in which he bur
lesqued his friends. I will read you
a verse or two to show you how he opens
fire:
" Around the Hampshire democrats stand,
Stand looking glum and grim;
That thing the Kingston doctor?
Do they call that critter him?
The pesky. black republicans
Have gone and changed his figure;
We buried him white man,
They dug him up-a nigger:'
'In explanation of this 1 would say
that the statue was of very dark bronze.
so that it presented the subject in a de-
cidedly coffee-colored tinge. This is
what what Whittier means by the last
lines just read, Well, there are dozen