New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-13
THOREAU'S CONCORD.
VOTES OF A HAsTY PILGRIMAGE TO
WALDEN POND.
-.,oyr,1 PENCILS AND OTHER RELICs--soME
CURIOUS DATA AS TO THE FIRST
EDITION OF THE WEEK"

o.,oord-the Concord Of Emerson and Thoreau ana
.i,o,i-was the Mecca toward which scores anu
,reds Of serious minded Pilgrims turned their
Ter. The little town of haliowed memories Is so
~ the modern Athens. not an hour away. that AZ
As always easy. and is still. TO get out there ana
~ in the course Of the afternoon: but. according
" ,oool report there are fewer Pilgrims than years
- Concord's celebrities being now found in It's
,.vely cemetery. Those who make the Journey find
:. ,aeal New England village. with fine elms'
..oad houses and streets full of peace and dignity
With regard to Walden Pond. there Is something
-, shock in store for the Thoreau lover. The
s,.,or gets a glimpse CT Walden Pond just before
ia train reaches Concord Probably he mas car
id IN his mind for years some fancy picture OF
,s ooud perhaps that Of n mountain lake. woodet
40 all sides and utterly lonely. the dweiIing-place or
Alan spirits and complaining looms. lie probably
-, derived his impressions from walden lie
.,rr he happy. therefore. when the train stops
- ,,s vav to Concord at the edge of pretty pond.
,,ch some gaudy signs proclaim as walden
and hundreds Of children and young people,
- remhers Of some church picnic party. CLIMB
~-d with much shouting and noise. while as
O., more people stand upon the edge OF sort "f
t,s n,atform erected by the man who keeps a
ua ,e- restaurant nj the Jake" and watch the
~, start This is an everyday occurrence. One
us" uho witnessed It on fine evening this
' ,urned for information to n woman with
80, intelligent face who was marching Sun
,..hool class. lie asked whether Walden Lake
~ ,.allv ThCreau's Walden Pond.
g" ,salv don't know" the woman said. after
rs.,.su's name had been repeated. II live at
,,.,,h Acton six miles further along the line and
~, know much about these parts, or who lives
-" Such ia fame. at all events. Thoreaus
fame. us trump - "o' "e"'u '' IMAM On ~
away. o..
!, vii be some comfort to the visitor to get TO
c',c,ri and be directed TO the Thoreau House as
80 he's, inn in the town pleasanter. more rest
mi stroll than that from the little station TO the VII
I.ss green upon which the Thoreau House faces.
cannot be imagined. There some New-Ensland
,ouns with even finer elms than Concord boasts,
cd some with more elaborate houses and more per-
,c, rardens but for quiet dignity, for homes that
ssrest peace and thoughtful living and gentle man
ners Concord need fear comparison. Apparently
there Is a new Concord well as the Concord OF
p-srs,n and Alcott There are the venerable houses
h,oaa and white and gambre-roofed. with picket
fences and straight walks bordered with box and
alongside OF these one may the most modern Of
Queen Anne structures built and occupied by Bos-
ton business men. 1t Is but fair TO say that the new
hsrmonizes extremely well with the old
II Thoreaus fame has not yet reached North Acton
s.x miles beyond Concord, the pilgrim cannot COM
plain that the village where he was born and where
hs died and which he helped make famous by his
books has forgotten him. 1t will surprise most
readers TO learn that in the Concord OF to-day one
secs and hears far more OF Thoreau than or either
Emerson or Hawthorne In almost every little shop
there is some reminder OF the hermt-either his pct-
IRE or sketch OF his hut at Walden One enter
pr.sng tradesman has invested In plates and ink
sands and papercutters Of Delftware, bearing pct-
ures OF the Walden hut of the cairn OF stones that
row marks the spot where the hut once stood. one
pleasant woman who keeps a milliner's shop sells
more photographs OF Thoreau than OF either En-
erson or Hawthorne. One OF his manuscripts. that
OF his lecture on Walking, is one or the cniei
treasures OF the pretty library.
As may be imagined. several Of Concord's citizens
have helped 70 foster the Thoreau cult by carefully
preserving the few relics that remain OF the poet
naturalist. One resident, whose name Is not given
hce for fear that future pilgrims might make his
Ne burden. has a fine collection OF these relics
among other things the inkstand Thoreau used, the
chair he used to sit In OF the pencils he made
md piece Of the studding from the hut at walden
This enthusiast boy when Thoreau died ana
lived In another part CT the town. But score OF
years ago he became interested in walden and
aking up the search for accurate information con-
,erning Thoreau his homes his portraits and manu-
scripts, he found the fad grow upon him. His COL
ection OF Thoreau literature grew to small libra
" Nothing pertaining TO Thoreau fails 10 interest
lin: his bookshelves hold every volume published
bout the writer. and his scrapbooks all that news
aper and magazine scrbblers have had 10 say upon
ne Thoreau question.
The famous hut carried away bodily by a
e.ghboring farmer in 1865 and served for nearly
wcnty years corncrib In 1856 II torn
own TO make room for a new barn. and the lum-
or thrown into a corner from which this gentle
nan fshed a piece soon after. Next in Importance
n the collection are the Thoreau pencils stamped
With the name: j. Thoreau Son. Concord.
iass" As most readers will remember Thoreau,
f,er his fathers death In 1851 took up the family
rade that Of matchmaking. and carried II on IN
4 falling health compelled him to stop work. His
wo books A Week on the Concord and Merri-
nae Rivers and Walden" had brought him in
comparatively nothing. while his magazines and
ac,ures hardly did more. Editors Of an orthodox
urn Of mind were afraid OF the materialistic or
antheistc tone Of his writings 1t Is said that
ne noted editor begged Emerson 10 persuade
'horeau TO write an article containing no allusion
Cod In 1855 when at Emerson's suggestion he
ontributed his paper on "Chesuncock, reprinted
The Maine Woods" to THE Atlantic Month
J." OF which Lowell was then editor, a sentence
n which Thoreau had spoken in his idealistc
lyle OF the living spirit Of the pine tree Cit ls
S Immortal as am. and perchance will go to as
irh q heaven there TO tower above me suII)
gas struck out by the editor without permission or
he author This was an indignity which Thoreau
cSened and he sent nothing more 10 Inc Az
ante" while Lowell remained In the eoi'orlai
hair. Neither Thoreau favorlte Win NO'
Ire agents. one Of whom complained mat ne ue
yered hi. lectures very much as id"''i 'e
ubm dry brief without eloquence or ihds
ctsm. Literature failing 10 supply bread anu
ut;er for the needs OF his sister he MADE pehciS'
nd very good ones Some ten years ago. whcn
ne garnet Of the Thoreau house was overha"eo'
few boxes OF these pencils. all slightly de'ec'iVe
nd probably rejected for that reason were us
ove'ed and distributed among Thoreaus irienus
n Concord
Any talk about Thoreau Is certain soon OF H,c
to touch upon the utter indifference win ""ch "'
mrs, book "A Week on the Concord ana 1"c'
nnac Rivers" was received. and the "l''e, per
ss'ence in scribbling on in face OF such oiscou,
dsement. In connection with THE Week, the foi-
rowing Information has probably not yet appe"'eo
!" PRINT II seems that those who are lor 'u'id'e
enough 20 possess a copy OF the so-caHcu s'oo'u
'p''on OF THE Week" have not only really Il "'o'
union Of the book but that the volume mas sun
uftner value The Week" was prih'ou' ~