The Project Gutenberg EBook of Memories grave and gay, by Florence Howe Hall This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: Memories grave and gay Author: Florence Howe Hall Release Date: March 17, 2019 [EBook #59083] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMORIES GRAVE AND GAY *** Produced by WebRover, Peter Vachuska, Chuck Greif, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net MEMORIES GRAVE AND GAY ❦ Florence Howe Hall MEMORIES GRAVE AND GAY BY FLORENCE HOWE HALL Frontispiece portrait Harper & Brothers Publishers New York and London Memories Grave and Gay Copyright, 1918, by Harper & Brothers Printed in the United States of America Published November, 1918 TO MY SONS AND MY DAUGHTER SAMUEL PRESCOTT HALL CAROLINE MINTURN BIRCKHEAD HENRY MARION HALL JOHN HOWE HALL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express her cordial thanks to Messrs Houghton and Mifflin for their courtesy in allowing her to quote from the “Reminiscences” of Julia Ward Howe (published by them in 1899) and from “Julia Ward Howe” (published by them in 1916). She also desires to thank Mrs. Laura E. Richards for her kind permission to quote from “The Journals and Letters of Samuel Gridley Howe” (published by Dana Estes & Company in 1906). CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Introductory The Romance of Philanthropy Causes the First Meeting of Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe and Julia Ward.—Letter of Congratulation from the Poet Longfellow.—The “Chevalier.”—The Wedding-tour in Europe.—The Eldest Daughter, Julia Romana, Is Born in Rome. Why She Was “Mary” and I Was “Martha.” 1 II. Stories Told Us by Our Parents The Alarming Three Bears of the Howe Coat-of-arms.— Brutality at the Old Boston Latin School.—Boyish Mischief.—Papa’s Church.— Grandmother Cutler Rebukes the Biographer of Washington and Marion.—Grandfather Ward, His Liberality and His Stern Calvinism. 4 III. Memories of Early Childhood The Perkins Institution for the Blind.—South Boston in the ’Fifties and ’Sixties. Migratory Habits of the Howe Family.—“Cliff House” at Newport.— George William Curtis and the Howe Children.—A Children’s Party at the Longfellow Mansion.—Professor “Stubby” Child Plays with Us in the Hay. 12 IV. Our Early Literary Activities The Howe Children Invent a “Patagonian Language,” Edit a Newspaper The Listener, Write Plays and Songs. They Give “Parlor Concerts” and Take Part in Tableaux and Private Theatricals.—William Story and Thackeray. 30 V. Under the Shadow of Byron’s Helmet Echoes of the Greek Revolution.—The Enchanted Garden.—“Green Peace” an International Resort.—Political Exiles. Teach Us Foreign Languages and the Love of Freedom.—Louis Kossuth. 40 VI. Noted Visitors at “Green Peace” Charles Sumner and His Brother.—Edwin P. Whipple— James T. Fields.—Doctor Kane.—Rev. Thomas Starr King.—Prof. Cornelius C. Felton. —Arthur Hugh Clough.—Frederika Bremer.—Laura Bridgman. 50 VII. Young America Goes to School Our Schools and Teachers.—The South Boston Omnibus.— A Grand School Sleigh-ride.—Memories of the Adams Family.—A Picnic on the State House Steps. 68 VIII. The Agassizes and Their School Professor and Mrs. Louis Agassiz.—Prof. Alexander Agassiz.—Papanti’s Dancing-school.—I Invent Fancy Dances.—We Swim, Skate, and Ride on Horseback.—Boston’s Purple-glass Windows. 79 IX. Edwin Booth and Charlotte Cushman Why They Did Not Act My Mother’s Play, “Hippolytus.”—A Bundle of Old Playbills.—Letters from Edwin and Mary Booth.—Mrs. Frances Ann Kemble.—Statue of Horace Mann.—My Father Introduces Written Examinations into the Public Schools, amid Angry Protests from the Masters. 92 X. Lawton’s Valley, Our Summer Home The Beautiful Valley.—The Crawford Children. —“Yeller’s Day.”—“Vaucluse” and the Hazards.—The Midshipmen Visit Us.—Dances on Board the Frigate Constitution.—Parties in the Valley.—George Bancroft.—A Party at His House.—Rev. Charles T. Brooks. 110 XI. Anti-Slavery and Civil War Memories Deep Interest of My Parents in the Anti-Slavery Movement and in the Civil War.—We Learn the Evil of Compromise.—A Trip to Kansas. —Manners on the Mississippi Steamboats.—Fort Sumter Is Attacked.—Mother’s Poems of the War.—Father’s Work on the Sanitary Commission.—How the Flag Was Treated at Newport.—We Ride in the “Jeff Davis.” Knitting and Scraping Lint.—Sewing-circles.— Fairs for the Army and the Navy.—“The Boatswain’s Whistle.”—Visiting the Camp at Readville.—Governor N. P. Banks.—Governor John A. Andrew.—Parade of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery 128 XII. Work for the Soldiers The Ancient and Honorable Artillery.—Death of Little Sammy.— Assassination of Lincoln.—My Father Serves on the Freedmen’s Commission. 141 XIII. The Brighter Side of Life in the Civil War How We Dressed and Danced in the ’Sixties.— War Prices.—Mrs. Jared Sparks.—Visit of the Russian Fleet.—The Brain Club.—Oliver Wendell Holmes.—Ralph Waldo Emerson.—William R. Alger.—William M. Hunt. —“Mamma’s Owls,” William and Henry James.—A Clever Group of Society Women.—A Historic Nose-pulling. 155 XIV. Our Labors in Behalf of Crete Removal to Boylston Place.—W. D. Howells.—Marion Crawford as a Boy.—The Romance of a Fire.—The Cretan Insurrection.—Sisters Julia and Laura Accompany Our Parents to Greece.—A Grim Passenger.—A Price Is Set on My Father’s Head.—Our Cretan Sewing-Circle and Concert.—Over-modest Amateurs. —The Sumner Bronzes. 180 XV. Married Life in New York and New Jersey Nursery Days.—The Family of a New Jersey Commuter.—Sorrows of the Country Housekeeper.—Death of My Father.—A Memorial Meeting.—The Story of Sister Constance.—A Division of Heirlooms. 205 XVI. Reconstructing a New Jersey Village The Mutual Admiration Society of Scotch Plains.—My Husband Becomes a Leader in Local Politics and Activities.—The Passing of the Mossbacks.—How We Gained a Public Library, a New School-house and a New Truck- house.—An Overseer of the Poor with Peculiar Methods. 220 XVII. “I Take My Pen in Hand” Following the Family Tradition.—Demorest’s and “Jennie June.”— Marion Crawford and the Little Green Parlor.—Town and Country Club.—Charles Dudley Warner.—How I Came to Write about Manners.—Life of Laura Bridgman.—Helen Keller at the Perkins Institution. A Luncheon at “Boothden,” the Home of Edwin Booth.—Joseph Jefferson and William Warren. 233 XVIII. Our Children at Home, School, and College An Attic Fairy.—Our Child Artist Grinds Her Own Paints.—Scholarships and Athletics at Harvard University.—Our Youngest Wins an “H.”—American Girls’ Club in Paris.—Caroline’s Pictures Exhibited in the New Salon. 250 XIX. The Club and Suffrage Movements Enthusiasm of the Pioneer Clubwomen.—Early Conventions of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.—Work as President of New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association.—We Visit the Legislature.—Campaign for School Suffrage.—Formation of New Leagues.—Lucy Stone and Her Baby’s Cradle.—Rev. Samuel Smith, Author of “America.” 258 XX. Joys and Sorrows of the Lecturer The Treatment of “Talent”—Visits to New England and to the West.—My Mother’s Seventieth Birthday.—The papeterie Club.—Elizabeth Stewart Phelps.—Thomas Nelson Page. 276 XXI. Darby and Joan on Their Travels A Cathedral Pilgrimage.—Visit to a French Country House. —Madame Blanc.—Cathedrals of Rheims, Chartres, Rouen, Beauvais, Amiens.—English Hospitality.—Visit to Florence Nightingale. 286 XXII. “Wander-Years” Michael Anagnos, His Romantic Yet Practical Career.—Death of My Husband.—Return to New York.—My Daughter’s Exhibitions.—High Bridge, a Quaint Old Jersey Town.—Leader Twelfth Assembly District of Manhattan.—Suffrage-worker at Newport, Rhode Island.—The Delights of Canvassing and Out-of-door Speaking. 308 XXIII. Unto the Third and Fourth Generation My Mother’s Beautiful Old Age.—How It Feels to be an Ancestor.—Grandmotherhood in the Twentieth Century.—Keeping Alive the Sacred Fires of Noble Tradition.—Handing on the Lighted Torch. 332 FOREWORD It has been a pleasure for me to recall, at the kind request of the Messrs. Harper & Brothers, the memories of a lifetime, even though some sad thoughts have mingled with the happy ones. So many bright shapes have risen out of the past at my bidding that the difficulty of selection has been great. Beloved faces seem to look out at me and say, “Why did you leave me out?” The ghosts of noble deeds, the memories of stirring scenes sweep softly by me, murmuring: “Are we not worthy of mention?” Indeed and indeed you are, bright spirits of the past and of the present also, but in my small mosaic all the precious stones would not fit. For the rest, if the store of my childhood’s early memories seems to be unduly large, it must be whispered that when, some twenty-five years ago, I began to record my reminiscences, a good fairy, my mother, helped me. MEMORIES GRAVE AND GAY MEMORIES GRAVE AND GAY