The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-04-30
LITERARY POWER NOURIsHED BE
STRC(ifs

~~"AeAONS va SAHOtAOHs VIM sA0S 1880
much in it Of the depth and sweetness Of
Whittier's best strains. This woman's
stock and her life struggle illustrate the
soundness of the view that LITERARY power.
as rule, is the voice Of men and women
who have been 'furnaced in the blast OF .
life that has struggled in earnest" Men
and women born to the purple no matter
how much of culture they get through
books and travel. seldom produce any
literary fruit that rises above the utter
ances Of weil-bred meo iocrity.
Like Hawthorne, Lucy Larcenf came OF
seafaring stock. Her father was . sea
captain, who died when she vas q child.
leaving her mother with eight young chill.
dren. The widow KEEP, a boarding house
in Lowell; the daughter went 40 the gram
mar school and then entered e cotton mill
as 'bobbn girl" She was a factory girl
ten years. finally risin g to the position Of
bookkeeper in the cloth roons. The fac
tory girls of New England fifty years ago
were the children Of poor but intelligent,
seif-respecting parents. and in their
leisure they fed on every COOS book that
came in their wav. and this gifted
factory girl in her hours Of leis.
ure from labor read Bryent. Emer.
son, Lowell and Whittier; she studied
at every spare moment mathematics.
grammar, English and German literature.
At 16 she had manifested superior literary
powers, both i'll prose and verse. and in
lS45, when 10 years o. age. she vent to the
then Far West of Illinois AID taught
school in a log cabin for two years. Then
she attended the Monticello Hsrnale SEMI
nary for two years and then returned to her
birth place Of Beverly, Mass, where she
made her home for the res. Of her life.
Her vocation was that of teacher, but
the voice Of her sonl found lts outlet in
literature; she wrote for the 4Atlantic, for
tho Independent, fer Our Youmc Folks and
for other religious and literary papers and
magazines.
The superior poetic power Of this woman
Is seen in her "Ross EnthrSpsd," "Han-
nah Binding Shoes" and "a Loyal Wom-
ans No." one Of the remark able poems Of
sensational in this admiranls woman's
life; she is a factory girl for len years; she
fitted herself for q teacher, she was q
teacher all her days: she cultivated the
best that she was capsule of. and
she succeeded. The daughter Of the
poor sailor. the hard working factory
girl cultivated her precious gifts 90
conscientiously that her lyrical work
is part Of our best American litera-
ture. The determin alton of this humble.
born woman to make her own day aud
generation hear ard hail her a. q true
singer. and do it by the power Of her own
hand and heart, with no aid from ad.
ventitious circumstances ct wealth or
early culture, makes her Of kin to far more
famous workers for honoraols fame and
utterance.
The story of the stern u!,w ard struggle
OF men like Lincoln in Asncrica, of Car
lyle in English iiiesature. .of Dsraeli in
English politics. is an eloquent, pathetic
and fascinating tale, and set it probably
stands for no more heroic: endeavor and
secret spiritual suffering tkan that of the
gifted, poor factory girl wh.s felt from her
youngest hour tina: there vas something
which God had given Lucy Larcom of pre-
cious power which ne had nof given to all
HIS creatures: size felt tha. she had a true
singers gift. aud she was bound to work
her way out of the factory into an atmos-
phere where there vas the iif;mitable sun.
shine of human nature foF her song and
full freedom for her wings Lincoln was
not ashamed Of splitting rails He was
proud of il, but he thought he
could do some other ts,Ings that all
rail split,ers cannot 90. SO he
cultivated that unearths fire God Lii
within his bosom until a, lsst he famed
into great welcoming high. that was a
pillar OF fire in ths night al war and dis
aster that beat u9on our lsnd. So with
this lesser figure. this little woman that
was a bobbin girl in Lowell factory
fifty years ago; she was 30: ashamed Of
her work, but sae wanted a chance To
sing. and room Tor her @jugs. and she
finally flew out of the factors window and
never returned TO 4. She lAd earned her
freedom for both her voice and her wings
and now that size had lance 10 fly at
will up and down in the or,or air she was
ready to take her chance q: 10 whether She
could make the y )rld ston and listen TO
her song. She faiy'y succeeded in her struc.
gle; she never hal - fy back
10 the factory, and yet doubtless
all her slow life G! struggle through the
factory 10 the larger freedcat of sky and
sunshine for her digit ARA song touched
al her otes wits greater i 9TH and sweet
ness. She had ited sonsthirq: she had
spiritually AZ lea; suilere.l much, and be-
cause she had here wax Infinite soul. II
not high art. n her saug. And this
is, X We only cocid read i. the pathetic
story Of every Ia or vaflan that evpr
spoke with a v1ie that bad any eenuios
soul IN il - Arrest tie ear II their time
they mus: have lived so-:.etainc and suf-
fered much; tee expesla;.ce may havs
been obscure. she lie qu.e.; ,hc sutre-iny
endured in sller e. bnt bs a Of every mar,
or woman WIN aSs anyt-tsC n say with
soul in ii lies a life OF sir-n exne-is,c.
genuine suffering, sirug$.e and CONQUEST
Men and women, born - the rurr.e sci.
dom iire anything OF slernly searching
experience, seii3m endure the severity of
spiritual Suffering that l. associated win
aspiration. Effort and toit up the battle
sleeps Of struege. Whet4e, man writes
with po,ser f,r evil o. - good, he sure