The Washington herald., 1914-12-09
HISTORY BUILDERS.
A Concord Estimate of Thoreau
the Man.
Written Expressly for The HerahJ
BY DIR. L. J. EDWARDS.

Mr.. James Gull, a citizen Of Concord,
Mass, whom met there some years ago
and whom found to be fairly saturated
with information associated with the
prominent men and women OF Concord,
was, discovered, disposed TO be some
what irritated II any one suggested to
him that Thoreau was a cynic. a misan-
thrope, a recluse who constantly Stunned
association with his fellows. and was,
In fact, something like a human bear.
Mr. Gull went to Concord to live a
year or two after Thoreau's death, in
1862 For that reason he never saw
Thoreau, but he established a warm
friendship With Thoreau's sister. Sophia,
and had many pleasant conversations
with her, almost all OF which brought
out some new incident associated with
Thoreau's life in Concord.
It's all wrong" he said to me. this
impression which is SO widespread that
Thoreau was an unErateful. disagreeable
and altogether unpleasant man to have
anything 70 do with. He was, 1t is true,
somewhat peculiar. but his sister told
me that that simply reflected his habit OF
mediation. In the home he was the
kindest and most cOnsiderate of sons
and brothers. Sophia told me that her
brother Henry almost died OF a broken
heart, when his brother John fell VIC
tim to loCkjaw. The two brothers were
inseparable and II was impossible for a
greater degree OF fraternal attachment to
he established between two brothers
than that between Henry and John
Thoreau.
There are quite a number OF people
now living in Concord who knew Henry
Thoreau. You won't hear any OF them
speak of him without feeling that they
remember him with respect and admira-
ton and often with the most tender
feelings. Almost all OF these were chill
dren when they knew ThOreau. Now. II
you want to know what men or women
really are you should observe them in
their relations with children. There
wasn't a child in Concord who wasn't
devotedly attached 10 Thoreau. He
made friends with them, got up excur-
sions for them and was the Joy OF their
lives, and l have heard some of them
say that it was a very happy day
when Thoreau took them out yonder in
the fields to pick hUCkleberries. He often
sang for them. He was very skilful
with his penknifA and he cut willow
whistles for them and made bows and
arrows.
Some Of the big men of the town
were also NtlN lOlli VI iOl tdh- " lltAA
he was dying OF consumption Judge
Hoar. who lived across the street. used
frequently to take flowers TO him, and
l have heard the judges brother. who
is United States Senator now, say that
the common impression of ThOrCau was
entirely wrong. and George Hoar ought
TO know, for he went to school with
Thoreau. and after Thoreau became a
teacher was one Of his scholars.
at Thoreau's funeral almost every
body in town was present and the bells
tolled for him for over an hour. This
is the best kind of proof of what Thoreau
really was. For do you suppose chill
dren would have nestled up TO him or
the townspeople shown him every cOur-
tesy when he was sick and attended his
funeral practically in a body If he had
been really the kind of man so many peO-
pie who don't live in Concord think he
was? The reason for this mistaken impress
sion was that Thoreau was never a fat
terer. always spoke the truth when no
spoke at all and was sometimes a little
impatient with people and always had a
profound contempt for bores. But he
would pass hours in conversation with
men who were original and were per
fectly natural and frank"
Copyright, 1914. by E. J. Edwards. All
rights reserved)
Tomorrow Dr. Edwards will tell Of IAN
Eccentric Lawyer of the Last Century"