The sun., 1907-11-03
ATLANTIC DINNERS.
NEF. Arthur Glman's McullnAsoem0sB ~ q /
ROSeNn lmStlomeAam.

BOscSn lnstlautA9n.
FyOm ihs AGlaatie Monthly.
Before the Atldntic was begun. before any
one knew that Il was TO be. there was notable
dinner. given by che publishers. &C the now
hotel Of Harvey D. Parker on school street.
In Boston. A dozen literary gentlemen had
been asked 20 come, and aE tho head Of the
table sat Mr.. Phillips OF tho publishing nrm-
At the foot was Mr.. Underwood. literary
adviser who had pressed the matter to .
fruitful issue. Mr.. LOnRfelE0w. then 1fty
years Of age: DR.. Holmes. two years younger:
the historian Motley. i've years younger:
Mr.. Lowell. only thirty-eight: Ralph Waldo
Emerson. and John Eliot Cabot were there.
MFR. Underwood told me that Harriet Beecher
stowe was the person whose urgency had
effectually influenced Mr.. Phillips. but neither
she nor any other lady was present at this
initial dinner.
After the dinner came to an end there was
serious discussion OF the Embellishments Of
an organ" worthy Of BostOn's reputation.
Had not New York bOasted it's genial KRiek-
srboeksT. It's worthy HSyper's. In whose Easy
Chair BOstOn's Curtis long afterward sat.
and PutnGm's. with . growing reputation
well sustainedp Boston had long sustained
its North American RevisV. which had alb
Sorbed Tudor's Monthly ANTHOLOGY: and
there had been a succession OF POiyaNthusss,
and OrdsGls. and Monthly Chronicles. and
there was once upon a time the Dial with
Mr.. Emerson. Mr.. Alcott and Margaret Fuller
at the helm. Mr.. Lowell. Edward Everett
Hale. W. W. Story and Il. p Whipple had
found place for their literary output" In the
Boston MisesLldHy. magazine about the siEo
OF HdYper's. with a dark and repellent choco-
lats cover. Bunker Hill Monument was
roughly depicted on IL. and in the foreground
was a comfortably dressed Cupid. who had
Just thrown aside his bow and arrows. while
the meaning OF which no seemed unable to
guess. Lowell had himself edited. with Rob-
eTt Carter. the Pioneer: and Charles Hale
had tried to establish a literary journal en-
titled To-day five years before the Atlantic
began; but none Of these satisfied Boston.
and so this dinner and this discussion.
Unexpectedly TO himself. Mr.. Lowell was
now nominated as editor Of the magazine to
be, but he accepted the responsibility with
several provisos, He demanded that DR..
Holmes should contribute. that George
Nichols OF Cambridge should read proofs
and that did not mean what is usually meant
when prOOfreading is spoken Of. for Nichols,
publisher OF LOwell's early poems. careful
successor Of Charles Folsom. could correct
authors who misGuoted authorities or fell into
any other inaCcuracy. MIR. Lowell meant to
secure vivaCity and correctness. Next he
asked that LOngfellow. Motley. Emerson
Whittier and others whose names "blazOn our
provincial scroll. as Holmes says. should
support him. and this of course meant that
the publishers should support them! Thus
the first dinner ended in complete harmony
and a nameless magazine was Insured.
- The magazine was namelesss though Mr.:
Emerson thought il might be called ToSen ard
but none had proved at once satisfactory.
DR., Holmes told me that one day. after he
had retired TO his vlrtuOus couch. ne sud-
denly reused himself and exclaimed to his
wire; have u. IL shall be called the
S aS Sn1. M%yng crying m@S%Sne SSb soon you'll near
your Atlantic, 'HGHftr, UIRtIc. UGRtic.'
Atlantic il became but the publishers dropped
upbraded by the word mOngers for their
stupldlty W making 4 noun OF an adjective.
land perhaps for a hundred years in the same
After the Magazine had been launched.
in discussing Emersons "Brahma." which
appeared IN the first number some Of the
SSontSTl6ntSrs GO. Tribute conceived The idea Of dining
They chose for the purpose POrter's Tavern
IN Cambridge, situated not too far from Har-
ward square and the college, suitable walk
for n literary man before or after dinner. H.
was place that Mr.. Lowell once told me was
the best IN the world for q good dinner and
IN, Holmes n.sured me that N Ioweii thougbt
d. the best place " certainly was, for" he
sdded Lowell knows" The third number
Of December. 1857. Mr.. Emerson was present.
lie was older than the others. ifty-fOur.
" NOulu not 40 70 give Inauguration plaV
and picture 10 ourselves the scene and the
flow Of wit. DR.. Holmes gives us the only
light on the subject that ! know Of With his
help Ne may, indeed, lima gine the scene and
listen to the conversation. The avenue on
which Porter's Tavern was situated runs
from Harvard Square to Lexington, and at
the time was called North " I'm respect to the
direction that u TOOK when H. left the vicinity
Of the college. u has since been greatly
heightened, and ont Of respect to Ghe State
Ia called Massachusetts The evenings in
December are cool. and slight fall OF snow
whiteued the sidewalk as the diners sat
ance. n slight man, one Of the old time hosts
who used 10 cut the Joint themselves stand
behind the chairs Of the guests. and ask them
VI he game was rightly cooked. He had
u in Hphorisms. He was accustomed to tell
his guests that game to be properly cooked
should he carried slowly through warm
kitchen, and when asked what was the best
You may as well give the rest to the poor"
There was lively conversation at This din
ner. Doubtless there was game on the table,
and there may have been some sort Of spiritu-
no license city. The following year the
AutoCrat made some remarks on the subject
Q! temperance that seem to hear on his ex-
perienoe that December evening. believe
abstinence, as rule, for healthy people.
trust l practise both. But let me tell you
there are companies OF men OF genius in
which ! sometimes 90 where the atmosphere
stimulating than alcohol that If Thought
At to taxi wine IL would be to keep me sober"
Or. Holmes raCollected that particular din
ner so well that he testified years afterward
that some Of the tracks made in the snow on
the way to Harvard Square late that evening
were not in lines that the mathematical pro-
lessor At Harvard would have called straight.
The conclusion is forced upon us that there
was M wine on the table and that the eassnca