In the family all this great new poetry was read aloud--which is indeed the best and only way to get the good of poetry. And though Harriet’s father was necessarily most interested in theological argument and discussion, he, too, was fond of poetry and read it with wonderful expression. Harriet thought it the greatest possible treat to hear him read passages from that world-poem, “Paradise Lost.” Especially was she moved when he read the account of _Satan’s_ marshaling of his forces of fallen angels. The courage and fortitude of Milton’s _Satan_ enlisted her in his favor, and when her father came to the passage beginning Millions of spirits for his fault amerced Of Heaven, and ending with the lines, Attention held them mute. Thrice he essay’d, and thrice, in spite of scorn, Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth, her father himself burst into tears and the reading was ended for that day. Perhaps that poem was a favorite with Dr. Beecher because Milton’s confessed object in writing had been to “justify the ways of God to man,” and this was a theme that would appeal strongly to the great preacher. Of course, if one were to speak of the books that were read by the future author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” one would have to name first and foremost the one that was the daily and almost hourly study and reading and talk of all members of the Beecher home, the Bible. What Harriet Beecher Stowe thought of that book is written at large in all her works. Especially in the novel, “My Wife and I,” she takes occasion to speak of what she thinks it means to a young man to have a thorough knowledge in the mind and the heart of that world-embracing book. It may be said also that her own books express in their content the spirit of the Bible. When later in life Mrs. Stowe traveled in the mountains of Switzerland, she said that she rejoiced every hour while among those scenes in her familiarity with the language of the Bible, for there alone could she find vocabulary and images to express her feelings of wonder and awe! CHAPTER VI DRAMATIC VENTURES