Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-07-02

storm was brewing. Mrs Stowe, as she |
must now be called, had already written |
some articles of merit when the contro: |
versy Of slavery began to agitate the ma |
ton.
OF HER GREAT BOOK. |
What Yves Said of It by the Writer'S
Friends and Foes.
Her brother Edward had associated with |
the Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy, who was slain |
by a mob at Alton, Ills, and her friend,
John Y. Fee, q student at Lane had been
driven from his home in Kentucky for
abolition speeches" Another Kentuck-
and established refuge for fugitives in
Ohio He appears in her great work as
John Van Tromp. She and her husband
had assisted fugitives in escaping. Still
she was not radical" In fact she criti-
cised the methods of the Abolitionists
with some severity. But in 1850 the fugi-
tive slave law was enacted, and on the eth
of March that year Daniel Webster made
his famous speech in support Of it.
In many New England Family his por-
trait was removed from the wall, and John
G. Whittier in his 'Ichabod," voiced the
common feeling as to Webster. Out Of
that years agony "Uncle Toms Cabin
was wrought. Henceforth the woman is
merged in the book, and ut this point the
purely personal narrative appropriately
ends.
On June 5, 1851, The Nanonal Era, an
anti-slavery journal publi3ied in WASH
ington city by DIR. Gamaliel Bailey, con-
tanned the first number of serial story
which was announced as by the author
of 'Mayflower,'" etc. So far as can now
be known no one was specially interested
| in it till the third and fourth numbers had
approximation readers multiplied and
critics found it ''full of racy character
| sketches" A little later politicians began
to notice it. April 1, 1852, the last num-
Der appeared in The Era, on the Goth of
the preceding month the book was issued,
and on tho day that Pierce gained such a
wonderful victory and the Wing party
was annihilatcd it was announced that
nearly 200, 600 copies had been sold.
"Tell us how you wrote it," was one re-
quest of Mrs. Stowe in her last interview
| with journalist.
81 did not write it," she replied, with
great sOlemnity. God wrote it. I was
only an instrument in his hands,"
Not very long after the work appeared
the Rev. f. ]. StOarns, southern man,
",c'o ->o'es on Cnoio ,oha C"o'n'
wnion purPor'eo W Nc ioSicoi answer
us "iies",ions anu ihie,enGcs "eainS'
slavery as an institution. ne took up
'he iheri's Vi .he DION az" work y. arr,
ana viewing IL as such SAID: VI an
wo,hs oi hc.ioh l ren,eihper 10 nave mel
viii ~, 50 lar as uni's Vi "c.ion Is Son-
cerHet'' Is .he n.os' sio.e"iS pu. 'oSe,her'
IT'S oniy pohu Oh unit! is an eAternai one,
.ne tnreao anu p!s.e Oh ,he Dinuer. ouc
Mr. SteaIhs aun,ie.eu Una! II was hVe
DooA anu io"nu us iiie III i's ur"ina'is
n, ~. o.h,r h,na :, ,r,,o c,or,,,
Sud hor,a,f ,-ro., ,,,ro,;s. ho ;,,tro-
-, ~ T- - e ..1-.,. ~,
uu,tu WY .eon e"i'ioi VI ooio I'm
o.uiii " 'ie peopic vi ilahoo, w &c.
r..,o, n, run que Muose ~ hF''n.es "ele
WIN MIS- stowe upon .he quIs.ioh uis.
cusseu III tne "orh criV'ciseu' = 'ne pes'
} euloSy which one can hahe ol 'no au
.noI' sie S!s' 70 iuNe ncr, INC .rues'
.u'' one c"h in,sAe y, ,he pooN - W iose
us iaults; ihese oe,ects eAis'
on! IN reiasion TO the conventional ruIe'
! vi ur,' WHICH neNer nave oseh anu hcNe,
VIII pe absolute. ns Juu9es, possesseu
, with the love OF what they call artistic
work, find unskillful treatment in the
book, look well to them to see if theil
eyes are dry when they are reading this or
that chapter
western and southern readers who have
not completely surrendered toAhe Illusion
indulge i'll broad smile when they read
OF Classy, the quadroon, travelling as a
Spanish lady, and Nine. DE Thoux, thu
quadroon sister of George Harris, being ;
favorite cabin passenger on an elegant
steamboat, no one noticing their color. i
is barely possible that New Englande
might be thus deceived, if very young ant
ignorant, but surely no southerner evel
mistook quadroon for a white lady
Such are few of the grave error of tn,
, work: all the more must we recognize tn
snite Of them
The details of the authors life since 1s5
e are too many to relate here She receives
: the plaudits of all the literary world ant
: enjoyed the personal friendship of man
! l H. II,