Julia Ward Howe, 1819-1910Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe
History
Julia Ward Howe, 1819-1910
Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe
Authors, American -- 19th century -- Biography; Feminists -- United States -- Biography; Howe, Julia Ward, 1819-1910
Children were not the only guests at Green Peace. Some of us remember
Kossuth's visit; our mother often told of the day when John Brown
knocked at the door, and she opened it herself. To all of us, Charles
Sumner and his brothers, Albert and George, Hillard, Agassiz, Andrew,
Parker were familiar figures, and fit naturally into the background of
Green Peace.
Of these Charles Sumner, always the Doctor's closest and best-beloved
friend, is most familiarly remembered. We called him "the harmless
giant"; and one of us was in the habit of using his stately figure as a
rule of measurement. Knowing that he was just six feet tall, she would
say that a thing was so much higher or lower than Mr. Sumner. His deep
musical voice, his rare but kindly smile, are not to be forgotten.
We do not remember Nathaniel Hawthorne's coming to the house, but his
shy disposition is illustrated by the record of a visit made by our
parents to his house at Concord. While they were in the parlor, talking
with Mrs. Hawthorne, they saw a tall, slim man come down the stairs, and
Mrs. Hawthorne called out, "Husband! Husband! Dr. Howe and Mrs. Howe are
here!" Hawthorne bolted across the hall and out through the door without
even looking into the parlor.
Of Whittier our mother says:--
"I shall always be glad that I saw the poet Whittier in his youth and
mine. I was staying in Boston during the winter of 1847, a young mother
with two dear girl babies, when Sumner, I think, brought Whittier to our
rooms and introduced him to me. His appearance then was most striking.
His eyes glowed like black diamonds--his hair was of the same hue,
brushed back from his forehead. Several were present on this occasion
who knew him familiarly, and one of these persons bantered him a little
on his bachelor state. Mr. Whittier said in reply: 'The world's people
have taken so many of our Quaker girls that there is none left for me.'
A year or two later, my husband invited him to dine, but was detained so
late that I had a tête-à-tête of half an hour with Mr. Whittier. We sat
near the fire, rather shy and silent, both of us. Whenever I spoke to
Whittier, he hitched his chair nearer to the fire. At last Dr. Howe came
in. I said to him afterwards, 'My dear, if you had been a little later,
Mr. Whittier would have gone up the chimney.'"
The most welcome visitor of all was Uncle Sam Ward. He came into the
house like light: we warmed our hands at his fire and were glad. It was
not because he brought us peaches and gold bracelets, Virginia hams (to
be boiled after his own recipe, with a bottle of champagne, a wisp of
new-mown hay and--we forget what else!), and fine editions of Horace: it
was because he brought himself.
"I disagree with Sam Ward," said Charles Sumner, "on almost every known
topic: but when I have talked with him five minutes I forget everything
save that he is the most delightful companion in the world!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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