John Greenleaf Whittier: His Life, Genius, and WritingsKennedy, William Sloane
General
John Greenleaf Whittier: His Life, Genius, and Writings
Kennedy, William Sloane
Abolitionists -- United States -- Biography; Poets, American -- 19th century -- Biography; Whittier, John Greenleaf, 1807-1892
disquisitions, and withal mighty in Scripture. He was thoroughly
independent; flattered nobody, cared for nobody, trusted nobody.
When invited to sit down at our dinner-table, he invariably took the
precaution to place his basket of valuables between his legs for
safe-keeping. 'Never mind thy basket, Jonathan,' said my father, 'we
shan't steal thy verses.' 'I'm not sure of that,' returned the
suspicious guest. 'It is written, Trust ye not in any brother.'"
* * * * *
"Thou, too, O Parson B.,--with thy pale student's brow and thy
rubicund nose, with thy rusty and tattered black coat, overswept by
white flowing locks, with thy professional white neckcloth
scrupulously preserved, when even a shirt to thy back was
problematical,--art by no means to be overlooked in the muster-roll
of vagrant gentlemen possessing the _entree_ of our farm-house. Well
do we remember with what grave and dignified courtesy he used to
step over its threshold, saluting its inmates with the same air of
gracious condescension and patronage with which in better days he
had delighted the hearts of his parishioners. Poor old man! He had
once been the admired and almost worshipped minister of the largest
church in the town, where he afterwards found support in the winter
season as a pauper. He had early fallen into intemperate habits, and
at the age of threescore and ten, when I remember him, he was only
sober when he lacked the means of being otherwise."
* * * * *
Among the books read by Whittier when a boy we must number the
"Pilgrim's Progress" of Bunyan.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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