The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-12-13

twelve wide, containing, should
| think, perhaps two hundred musty
leaves. This book was crowded from
end to end with the discarded verses
to which the speaker had just alluded.
They were written in a beautiful old
fashioned style of penmanship, as fine
and as clear as copper plate. Not
letter was missing. Not a line be-
trayed haste. Not word was sighted
nor slurred There it was, page on
page, in it's artistic showing, silent
rebuke from generation gone to the
needless, rushing men and women OF
the present, who never would take the
time to copy whole book with such
scrupulous fidelity. Then an idea
came to me.
1T is beautiful! But who did this?''
''Ah, Philadelphia friend: lady"
Il wish" said, "you would tell me
the last literary work done by Whit
tier"
1.-THE very last thing written by
Whittier must always remain riddle,
for the reason that it would take the
voice of the dead to set Us right, and
our beloved friends lips are sealed in
eternal silence. He wrote, few
weeks before he died. three letters on
the same day; but which one he wrote
first have no way of knowing. All
can say is that I found them among
his papers after the funeral, when we
laid him away in the Friends little
half-acre beside his family"
But his last poem9"
A look Of sadness came into the
hosts face, and wa. reflected in the
quick chances of his wife. l felt sure
that something Of extraordinary inter
est was about to be revealed. With de-
liberation, worthy of the theme. the
conservator Of the literary relics OF the
venerable bard said:
THE last poem written by Whittier
was penned in August, 1892. about
four weeks before he died. 1t is to
Oliver Wendell Holmes, = birthday Of
fering. and begins thus:
Among the Thousands whos with han
and cheer,
WIN welcome thy new year:
How few OF ali hath passed. as you ana I.
SO many mile stones by
This poem. the original of which /
will now show you, is almost Ilegible,
because Whittier's hand trembled SO
when he penned 1t: aud. additionally,
from the fact that he composed, erased
and inserted, again aid again, line on
line, so that it is very badly cut up.
However, q version Of IL hAa been
studied ont. and is now to be found In
his latest editions
10 he Last q
ical work of Whittier must always re-
main mystery, Here il an original
OF verses which believe are the very
last ones on which he was engaged.
Some OF the lines are found in the
Holmes birthday testimonial, ct least
there is a suggestion of the same idea
in them. / will give you the lines;
perhaps. somewhere. some admirer Of
Whittier may be able 70 study them
out"
took in my hand mere fragment
of sheet of note paper. studied the
wen-nigh ulegible scrawl, and unused
for long time on lis message, coming
as itdid like voice from the grave
the sweet, kind voice of master
singer whose ha-ping il dumb IN death
" TheF rest IL CscG's peace. taken from ~er<.
The vacant Place Is aIsa--'
Was my translation correct so far a.
il went? | looked mp from uay' WORK
The niece Of the poet had gone into an
other room 4 light was kinaled
where ore had not been before, and its
sot; illumination she'd p sSar-like igs-
ter upon the grand Old oil painting Of
j ohm freeniesf Whittier. Singing
softly 20 herself, the good woman was
arranging in a vase underneath the
portrait some b-iyh golden cflrysau
thenuns- It was picture whose ten
aeruess and beautr viii no. soon fade
from memory
John Greeniea. Whittier whose
memory lives in the heart. of CRATE
ful pcorle, sleeps in the little hsit-se-s
o. the Friends, beside his Uncle Moss.
his Aunt Hercv. bis sisters MARI AID
rizyy ard his father aud his mother