| CALK ORNIA 
 
 W S ...iEGO
 
 Publisher s Notice. 
 
 Mr. Clark requests that this book be sold at the 
 advertised price, one dollar and a half. 
 
 The following errata may be noted : 
 P. 36, 1. 8, Alcotts should read Alcotts . 
 P. 38, 1. 6, Orasmus should read Orsamus. 
 P. 41, 1. 9, from bottom, grape[e~\s should read grap[e~]s.
 
 The Alcotts in Harvard
 
 THE ALCOTTS 
 IN HARVARD 
 
 BY 
 
 ANNIE M. L. CLARK 
 
 LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS, U. S. A. 
 
 J. C. L. CLARK 
 
 1902
 
 Copyright, 1902, 
 By ANNIE M. L. CLARK
 
 L. M. A
 
 NOTE 
 
 A part of these reminiscences having already appeared 
 in the New England Magazine, I beg to thank the pub 
 lishers of that periodical for leave to reprint. To the 
 following persons also I am cordially grateful for informa 
 tion and illustrative matter: MRS FRANKLIN WYMAN, 
 of Worcester; DR. THOMAS PALMER, of Fitchburg; DR. 
 W. O. JOHNSON, of Clinton; and my son, MR. J. C. L. 
 CLARK. The books by which I have been chiefly aided 
 are the Life of Alcott by Messrs. Sanborn and Harris, 
 Mrs. Cheney s Biography of Miss Alcott, and L. M. 
 A. s own "Transcendental Wild Oats." 
 
 A. M. L. C. 
 
 LANCASTER, Spring, 1902.
 
 The Alcotts in Harvard 
 
 ARLY in the summer of 1843, curios 
 ity and interest were aroused in the 
 minds of the inhabitants of the quiet town 
 of Harvard, Massachusetts, by the advent 
 among them of a small colony of that class 
 of high thinkers who had received the name 
 of Transcendentalists. The little colony, 
 sixteen in all, comprised Bronson Alcott 
 and nine other men, Mrs. Alcott, r Miss Anna 
 Page, and the four Alcott children. This 
 somewhat incongruous family located itself 
 on a picturesque sidehill farm in the school 
 district of Harvard known as Still River 
 North, but often referred to by the less 
 elegant name of Hog Street. 
 
 The founders of this little community 
 were actuated by high and noble motives; 
 and the story of their plans and failures
 
 cannot but be of interest to thoughtful 
 minds. It would be pertinent to trace the 
 mental and moral training and the early 
 homes and environments of the various 
 members; but, as that is not possible, we 
 will, instead, turn a backward glance at the 
 parentage and early lives of those who were 
 the soul and centre of the enterprise. 
 
 Amos Bronson Alcott was born in Wol- 
 cott, Connecticut, 29 November, 1799, at the 
 foot of Spindle Hill. The family name was 
 originally Alcocke, and is often found in 
 English history. Mention is made that 
 about 1616 a coat -of -arms was granted to 
 Thomas Alcocke, the device being three 
 cocks, emblematic of watchfulness, with 
 the appropriate motto, Semper vigilans. One 
 writer says : "Mr. Alcott s ancestors on both 
 sides had been substantial people of respect - 
 able position in England, and were con 
 nected with the founders and governors of 
 the chief New England colonies." 
 
 Brought up on a farm, Alcott has given 
 the story of his quaint, rustic life in the 
 simple verse of "New Connecticut," while 
 Louisa has reproduced it in "Eli s Educa-
 
 tion," one of her Spinning Wheel Stories, 
 which is said to be a very true picture of 
 her father s early days. His mother was a 
 gentle, refined woman, who had strong faith 
 in her boy, and lived to see him the accom 
 plished scholar he had vowed in boyhood to 
 become. In Louisa Alcott s journal occurs 
 this mention of her grandmother : 
 
 "Grandma Alcott came to visit us. A 
 sweet old lady. I am glad to know her and 
 see where Father got his nature. As we 
 sat talking over Father s boyhood, I never 
 realised so plainly before how much he has 
 done for himself. His early life sounded 
 like a pretty, old romance, and Mother 
 added the love passages." 
 
 From her conversations with her grand - 
 mother, Miss Alcott got, as she says, "a hint 
 for a story ; and this story was to be called 
 "The Cost of an Idea." It was to relate 
 "the trials and triumphs of the Pathetic 
 Family," with chapters entitled, "Spindle 
 Hill," "Temple School," "Fruitlands," 
 "Boston," and "Concord." I believe the 
 fear of seeming to present her father s 
 characteristics to ridicule kept her from
 
 fulfilling this purpose; at least, only the 
 Fruitlands chapter "Transcendental Wild 
 Oats" ever saw the light. 
 
 Mrs. Alcott Abba May was the twelfth 
 and youngest child of Colonel Joseph May, 
 of Boston, her mother being Dorothy 
 Sewall. Miss May was visiting her brother, 
 the Rev. Samuel J. May, minister over a 
 Unitarian church in Brooklyn, Connecticut, 
 when she met her future husband. They 
 were married by her brother 23 May, 1830, 
 in King s Chapel, where the bride had been 
 baptised in infancy. It is said that Mrs. 
 May was a woman of rare and charming 
 character, and any one who ever saw Mrs. 
 Alcott can readily believe what she herself 
 wrote of her mother: "She never said great 
 things, but did ten thousand generous 
 ones." 
 
 Alcott was farmer boy, peddler, and 
 teacher by turns. In 1832 he was teaching 
 in Grermantown, Pennsylvania, where on 
 his thirty -third birthday was born his sec 
 ond daughter, Louisa, whose feet were to 
 mount the ladder of fame higher than his 
 own .
 
 Louisa Alcott s character, which united 
 many of the traits of both parents, may, I 
 think, be aptly described in this quatrain of 
 the great Groethe : 
 
 "Vom Vater hub ich die Statur, 
 
 Des Lebens ernstes f iihren ; 
 Vom Mutterchen die Frohnatur, 
 Die Lust zu fabulieren." 
 
 From Grermantown to Boston arid the 
 famous Temple School; and here Alcott 
 was gradually formulating the plan which 
 led to the settlement of Fruitlands, and also 
 strenously carrying out his conviction that 
 the simplest food was alone conducive to 
 high and lofty thinking and living. We 
 are told that the children grew very tired of 
 rice without sugar, and Graham meal with 
 out either butter or molasses. 
 
 He was, this high priest of high ideas, 
 very critical in religious matters, writing 
 thus: U I am dissatisfied with the general 
 preaching of every sect and with the indi 
 viduals of any sect." Some one has said 
 that he seemed to have adopted what Sir 
 William Davenant called an "ingenuous 
 Quakerism." Soon the title of philosopher 
 
 13
 
 was added to that of teacher; and he be 
 came known as a bright and shining light 
 among the visionary but earnest company 
 of Transcendentalists. 
 
 Going to England, he found there con 
 genial spirits, and in October, 1842, he came 
 home, accompanied by three of these new 
 friends, Charles Lane and his son, William, 
 and Henry C. Wright. 
 
 Miss Alcott, in "Transcendental Wild- 
 Oats," which she further entitles a chapter 
 from an unwritten romance, writes as 
 follows : 
 
 "On the first day of June, 1843, a large 
 wagon, drawn by a small horse and con 
 taining a motley load, went lumbering over 
 certain New England hills, with the pleasing 
 accompaniments of wind, rain and hail. A 
 serene man with a serene child upon his 
 knee was driving, or rather being driven, 
 for the small horse had it all his own way. 
 Behind a small boy, embracing a bust of 
 Socrates, was an energetic looking woman, 
 with a benevolent brow, satirical mouth and 
 eyes full of hope and courage. A baby 
 reposed upon her lap, a mirror leaned 
 
 14
 
 against her knee, a h:tsk<-i uf provisions 
 danced about her fe j i,;iu.i -he struggled 
 with a iJiruv. unruly ui! f <> ; . with which 
 sjif ?!.<! i.o cover every t;i;t herself. 
 
 * tran to fall, and -ain came 
 
 iti a despondent -lri/7?* . Ut? t} ;( > c a jm 
 Hu-n ^a?;ed as tranquillv int.. ;-* f<,.g as if 
 lu- r>f-htrld a radiant bow of r = a- s.jian- 
 iiing th(- gray sky." Tim.** can- j :J -. ?iew 
 Adam and Eve into their >jof^ r Kl,->. 
 
 One of the band who wep- R t- make 
 4 the wilderness blossom lik* :!u- n>se" 
 wrote thus of Fruit lands. (lie 
 
 name they decided to give :h -n . h -.u-H/: 
 It is very remotely sit*it*- withouf a 
 road, but snrrouiKled by it * rt.fii?ui jjn^n 
 Lan<lscaj)e of fields and wot*K. .Nothing 
 could have been more roinauti* than th* 
 site ch<8en--a iel<I of about a innulred acres 
 on a Ivjii [* , sloping to the river, with the 
 most lovely views of Waehusett and Monad - 
 iiock to th* west, the intervening stretches 
 dotted with towns and villages, while in the 
 background rose 
 of Prospect IJ 
 
 JOT
 
 
 ON THE BOAD TO PBOSPECT HILL. 
 From a photograph by J. C. L. Clark.
 
 against her knee, a basket of provisions 
 danced about her feet, and she struggled 
 with a large, unruly umbrella, with which 
 she tried to cover every one but herself. 
 Twilight began to fall, and the rain came 
 down in a despondent drizzle, but the calm 
 man gazed as tranquilly into the fog as if 
 he beheld a radiant bow of promise span 
 ning the gray sky." Thus came this new 
 Adam and Eve into their hoped for Eden. 
 
 One of the band who were here to make 
 "the wilderness blossom like the rose" 
 wrote thus of Fruitlands, which was the 
 name they decided to give their new home : 
 "It is very remotely situated, without a 
 road, but surrounded by a beautiful green 
 landscape of fields and woods." Nothing 
 could have been more romantic than the 
 site chosen a field of about a hundred acres 
 on a hillside, sloping to the river, with the 
 most lovely views of Wachusett and Monad - 
 nock to the west, the intervening stretches 
 dotted with towns and villages, while in the 
 background rose the tree -crowned summit 
 of Prospect Hill. 
 
 Here gathered the little band, and began 
 
 15
 
 the work of forming "a family in harmony 
 with the primitive instincts of man." No 
 meat was to be eaten, nor were fish, butter, 
 cheese, eggs, or milk allowed nothing that 
 in the taking would cause pain or seem like 
 robbing any animal ; besides, animal food, 
 if only approximately animal, as milk and 
 butter, would corrupt the body and through 
 that the soul! Tea, coffee, molasses, and 
 rice, were forbidden for two reasons be 
 cause they were in part foreign luxuries, 
 and in part the product of slave labour. 
 Water alone for drink, fruit in plenty, and 
 some vegetables, were permitted; but in 
 these last a distinction was made between 
 those which grow in the air and those 
 which grow downward, like potatoes and 
 others which form underground . The latter 
 were less suited for what these visionaries 
 termed a "chaste supply" for their bodily 
 needs. Louisa Alcott says that ten ancient 
 apple trees were all the "chaste supply" 
 the place afforded. Salt was another article 
 forbidden, it is hard to see why. Maple 
 syrup and sugar were to be abundant in 
 time, and bayberry tallow was to furnish 
 
 1C
 
 ORCHARD AT " FRUITLANDS." 
 From a photograph by J. C. L. Clark.
 
 the work of forming %i a family in harmony 
 with the primitive instincts of man. No 
 meat was to be eaten, nor were fish, butter, 
 cheese, eggs, or miJk allowed nothing that, 
 in the taking would <?<iuse pain or seem like 
 robbing any animal : besides, animal food, 
 it only approximately animal, as milk and 
 butter, would corrupt the body and through 
 that the soul! Tea. coffee, molasses, and 
 rice, were forbidden for two reasons be 
 cause they were in part foreign luxuries, 
 and in part the product of slave labour. 
 Water alone for drink, fruit hi plenty, and 
 some vegetables, were permitted; but- in 
 these last a distinction was made between 
 those which grow in the air and those 
 which grow downward, like potatoes and 
 others w hich form underground . The latter 
 were less suited for what these visionaries 
 termed a u chaste supply" for their bodily 
 ie*(ls. Louisa Alcott says that ten ancient 
 *P!>i.e trees were all the "chaste supply 1 
 Jfe**? piace afforded. Salt was another article 
 rbMden. it is hard to see why. Maple 
 
 -.gkrtiA aTitfa-s " TA< (tai&o W >r li * * } 
 
 i-UliO i J .0 .1 Vf dqjnaoJBdq WW3T I
 
 light, when anything but the inner light 
 was required. All this was to elevate and 
 purify the body and bring about a state of 
 perfection in body, mind, and soul. 
 
 The following are some of the principles 
 upon which their habits of life were to rest : 
 "We must ignore laws which ignore holi 
 ness; our trust is in purity; with pure 
 beings will come pure habits ; a better being 
 shall be built up from the orchard and the 
 garden ; the outward form shall beam with 
 soul." "From the fountain we will slake 
 our thirst, and our appetite shall find sup 
 ply in the delicious abundance which Po - 
 mona offers. Flesh and blood we will 
 reject as the accursed thing. A pure mind 
 has no faith in them." 
 
 Certain ideas called "no government 
 theories" held sway in Alcott s breast, 
 which just before his going to Harvard led 
 to his arrest by the deputy sheriff, Sam Sta 
 ples, for refusing to pay his taxes, on the 
 ground that he would "not support a 
 government so false to the law of love." 
 And here I must digress to tell what 
 Thoreau calls a good anecdote. Miss Helen 
 
 17
 
 Thoreau asked Sheriff Staples what he 
 thought Mr. Alcott s idea was; and he 
 answered, with hearty if inelegant empha 
 sis, "I vum, I "believe it was nothing but 
 principle, for I never heard a man talk hon- 
 ester." Even those who most thoroughly 
 disbelieved in the practicability of the re - 
 former s views were ready to concede his 
 entire honesty of purpose. Emerson called 
 Alcott "a nineteenth century Simon Styl- 
 ites." 
 
 With these qualities, he set out for Fruit - 
 lands the name, like everything else fine 
 about these plans, but a prophecy. The pro 
 jects of these people were, as Emerson was 
 fond of describing them, "without feet or 
 hands." Ordinary farming was not part of 
 their plan of life . No ploughs were to be used 
 because they would require the aid of cattle ; 
 the spade and the pruning -knife were to be 
 all-sufficient. None of the company was 
 used to the labour required, and of course 
 blistered hands and intense weariness were 
 common ; but the All -soul disciples struggled 
 bravely on for a few months, yielding at last 
 so far to the inevitable as to allow a yoke of 
 
 18
 
 cattle to be used in performing the hardest 
 tasks. In the half droll, half pathetic pages 
 of "Transcendental Wild Oats, it is asserted 
 that one of the supposititious oxen was a cow, 
 and that the owner used to take long 
 draughts at the milking pail in the privacy 
 of the barn. The truth is that Joseph Pal 
 mer, a member of the community, of whom 
 I shall have something to tell later, brought 
 from his home in Leominster a cow and a 
 bull, which he had trained to work together. 
 He was the original of Moses White in Miss 
 Alcott s story, in which, with a decorous 
 alteration, this incident figures. It is said 
 that some others of the family were glad to 
 share the less frugal meals of kindly neigh 
 bours, though this was probably never true 
 of Alcott. 
 
 Their dress was another matter held of 
 great importance. Cotton was largely the 
 product of slave labour, and wool came from 
 robbing the sheep, so linen w T as as far as 
 possible to form the material of their gar 
 ments. One cannot help but wonder how 
 men with any common sense could dream 
 of living through our New England year
 
 clad in linen. While summer and summer 
 warmth lasted, many deprivations could be 
 overlooked, though even then Mrs. Alcott s 
 shoulders must have found heavy burdens 
 for their upholding. The rest might be 
 seeking the All -soul; but to her fell the 
 task, often almost beyond her powers, of 
 providing for their physical needs, which 
 even with their high philosophy could not 
 be wholly overlooked. 
 
 The education of the children was not 
 neglected. Miss Page gave them music les 
 sons ; and Louisa frankly declares she hated 
 the lady, she was "so fussy." From their 
 father and Mr. Lane they had instruction 
 in various branches. Louisa in her diary 
 tells of things pleasant and the reverse ; how 
 she tried to be good, and how she failed ; of 
 a visit from Parker Pillsbury, and his talk 
 about the poor slaves ; of their dinners of 
 bread and fruit; how they played in the 
 woods and were fairies, and how she "flied" 
 the highest of all; and of a corn -husking in 
 the barn, with the somewhat unusual inci 
 dent, if one may judge by its being recorded, 
 that they had lamps. Indeed, a kinswoman 
 
 20
 
 VIEW FROM PROSPECT HILL. 
 From a photograph by F. T. Harvey.
 
 Had in linen. While summer ami summer 
 warmth lasted, marry deprivations could be 
 overlooked, though even th^n Mrs. Alcutt s 
 shoulders must have found heavy burdens 
 for their upholding. The rest might be 
 seeking the All -soul; but to her fell the 
 task, often almost beyond her powers, of 
 providing for their physical needs, whieh 
 even with their high philosophy could u >t 
 he wholly overlooked. 
 
 The education of the children was not 
 neglected. Miss Page gave them music les 
 sons ; and Louisa frankly declares she hated 
 the lady, she was kl so fussy/ From their 
 father and Mr. Lane they had instruction 
 in various branches. Louisa in her diary 
 tells of things pleasant and the reverse ; how 
 she tried to be good, and how she failed ; of 
 a visit from Parker Pillsbury. arid his talk 
 about the poor slaves ; of their dinners of 
 "bread and fruit: how they played in the 
 woods and were fairies, and how she 4 flied" 
 the highest of all ; and of a corn-husking in 
 *if barn, with the somewhat unusual iiiCi- 
 
 if one may judge bv its being recorded, 
 Toataoa? MPSI waiv,
 
 of Mrs. Alcott s tells me that her occasional 
 insistence on ordinary means of lighting 
 (bayberry tallow not being as yet available) 
 called forth much reproachful opposition. 
 Louisa writes of a visit from Professor Wil 
 liam Russell, and a Sunday s tramp in the 
 woods for moss to adorn a bower their 
 father was making, in which Mr. Emerson 
 was to be honoured. Louisa wrote little 
 poems and read and listened to various 
 books. Mrs. Child s "Philothea" was a 
 great favourite with the little girls, so much 
 so that they made a dramatic version 
 of it, which they acted under the trees. 
 That the father encouraged his children in 
 their innocent gayety is shown by the f am - 
 ily habit of celebrating birthdays. Thus, 
 when May was three years old, 28 July of 
 the summer spent at Fruitlands, the whole 
 family met under the trees of a neighbouring 
 grove, and, crowning the little girl with 
 flowers, Mr. Alcott read an ode celebrating 
 the day in the child s honour, and as the 
 dawn of their opening paradise. 
 
 Emerson s ideas had been an incentive 
 in the establishment of the community ; but 
 
 21
 
 much as he sympathised with the pure 
 idealism of their plans, he never seemed to 
 believe in their practical value, and, again, 
 called Alcott "a tedious archangel," and 
 said that Alcott and Lane were "always 
 feeling of their shoulders to see if their 
 wings were sprouting." Hawthorne wrote 
 of Alcott: "One might readily conceive his 
 Orphic sayings to well up from a fountain 
 in his breast which communicated with the 
 infinite Abyss of thought." His English 
 friend, Mr. Wright, soon pronounced him 
 impractical. Thoreau, with many kindred 
 beliefs, was sometimes vexed with him ; and 
 Lowell, as if in prophecy, wrote : 
 
 "Our nipping climate hardly suits 
 The ripening of ideal fruits, 
 His theories vanquish us all summer, 
 But winter makes him dumb and dumber." 
 
 Some of the members of the family went 
 visiting at Brook Farm, and came home 
 shocked at the luxury and epicureanism 
 they found. Young Isaac Hecker came 
 to Fruitlands from the larger community, 
 as he wished to lead a more self-denying 
 life. After a stay of two weeks, however.
 
 he departed, still unsatisfied, to enter at 
 last the Catholic priesthood.* People of 
 strange dress and stranger ideas came and 
 went, largely drones in the world s work 
 aday hive; and the Newness, the All- 
 soul, must have been written in other 
 words for overworked, tired Mrs. Alcott. 
 Alcott and Lane went to New York to hold a 
 discussion withW.H. Channing. LydiaMa- 
 ria Child, who was a dear personal friend of 
 the Alcotts, gives a somewhat amusing ac 
 count of the matter. Mr. Child and John 
 Hopper had been to hear the discussion, and 
 Mrs. Child asked what had "been talked 
 about. Mr. Child said : "Mr. Lane divided 
 man into three states, the disconcious, the 
 conscious, and the unconscious ; thediscon- 
 scious is the state of a pig, the conscious is 
 the baptism by water, and the unconscious 
 is the baptism by fire. And as for myself," 
 he added, "when I had heard them talk for 
 
 * In August, 1844, Father Hecker, then a Catholic convert, 
 visited Harvard with Emerson, and seems to have called on 
 Alcott, at Still River, and on Charles Lane, who was probably 
 still with the Harvard Shakers. For Lane s unselfishness and 
 singleness of character Hecker always retained admiration. His 
 comments on Alcott, made late in life to his biographer, Father 
 Elliott, are more amusing than complimentary. 
 
 2:?
 
 a few moments, I didn t know whether I 
 had any mind or not." Hopper declared 
 that while Channing thought there was 
 some connection between mind and body, 
 Alcott and Lane seemed to think the body 
 a sham. 
 
 In Louisa s diary we find what she calls 
 a "sample of the vegetable wafers we used 
 at Fruitlands:" 
 
 "Vegetable diet and sweet repose; ani 
 mal food and nightmare." 
 
 "Apollo eats no flesh and has no beard; 
 his voice is melody itself." 
 
 "Pluck your body from the orchard, do 
 not snatch it from, the shambles." 
 These are a few of the oracular instructions 
 the children received from the philosophers. 
 
 As cool weather came on, times grew 
 harder. We find in Louisa s diary, under 
 one date : "More people coming to live with 
 us; I wish we could be together, and no 
 one else. I don t see who is to feed and 
 clothe us all, when we are so poor now. I 
 was very dismal, and then went out to walk, 
 and made a poem." This poem is entitled 
 "Despondency;" it is interesting, denoting, 
 
 24
 
 as it does, the loving trust which showed 
 itself in the young heart thus early learning 
 of life s burdens, a trust which is again 
 shown in the record, of a little later date, 
 when she tells of going under the forest trees 
 and coming out into the sunshine, and of the 
 strange and solemn feeling that came over 
 her that she, as she expresses it, "felt Grod 
 as never before, and prayed that she might 
 keep that happy sense of nearness all her 
 life . This is the poem . Surely these lines 
 are good for a girl not quite eleven years 
 old: 
 
 Silent and sad 
 
 When all is glad 
 And the earth is dressed in flowers ; 
 
 When the gay birds sing 
 
 Till the forests ring 
 As they rest in woodland bowers. 
 
 "Oh, why these tears 
 
 And these idle fears 
 For what may come to-morrow? 
 
 The birds find food 
 
 From God so good, 
 And the flowers know no sorrow. 
 
 "If He clothes these, 
 
 And the leafy trees, 
 Will He not cherish thee? 
 
 Why doubt His care? 
 
 It is everywhere, 
 Though the way we may not see. 
 
 25
 
 "Then why be sad 
 
 When all is glad 
 And the world is full of flowers? 
 
 With the gay birds sing, 
 
 Make life all spring, 
 And smile through the darkest hours." 
 
 One after another those who had com 
 posed the family departed, Lane and his son 
 going to the Shakers for a while, and con 
 siderably later returning to England. Alcott 
 also, I believe, was inclined to join the fol 
 lowers of Mother Ann Lee ; but to this his 
 wife utterly refused to agree . An old neigh - 
 bour once told me that Mrs. Alcott said her 
 hope for her daughters was that they should 
 become wives and mothers ; and life among 
 the Shakers was apparently not likely to 
 bring about that happy result. Alcott grew 
 more and more discouraged. As his daugh 
 ter says, he lay down upon his bed and 
 turned his face to the wall, refusing food 
 and drink, and there waited for death to 
 end the struggle. For a while tears and 
 pleading from the faithful wife were of no 
 avail, and she could only cling to the words 
 which expressed the belief of her devout but 
 incapable husband, "The Lord will pro- 
 
 26
 
 vide." It would seem that at last some 
 kind angel brought the stricken man to see 
 the selfishness of yielding to despair, when 
 his wife and children were alike suffering 
 and it was his duty to care for them. Some 
 arrangements were made; and one cold 
 December day the little family left Fruit - 
 lands which the mother suggested might 
 more appropriately have been called "Apple 
 Slump" for a home in the village of Still 
 River, in a part of the house known as the 
 Brick Ends, then owned and in part occu - 
 pied by J. W. Lovejoy.* It is comforting to 
 recall that, although Alcott, brave in his 
 convictions, withstood the wintry blasts in 
 his customary linen leggings, the broad - 
 brimmed hats and linen tunics of the little 
 girls gave way to warmer garments sent by 
 friends and relatives. Still more delightful 
 is it to know that Mrs. Alcott, like many 
 another weary woman, found comfort in 
 "cups that cheer but not inebriate," and 
 now and then went to a sympathetic neigh 
 bour s to make herself a cup of tea. 
 
 * It is now the home of Mr. Harvey Keyes. Its brick ends 
 on the north and south were long ago replaced by wood. 
 
 27
 
 Of course queer stories had come to the 
 villagers regarding the Transcendentalists ; 
 so when one Sunday a long-haired man 
 walked into the Still River (Baptist) church, 
 interrupting the service to proclaim himself 
 the Angel Grabriel, I think the incident 
 seemed, though unfortunate, not altogether 
 out of character. Gabriel, however, may 
 have made Fruitlands his headquarters af 
 ter the place had passed into the hands of 
 Joseph Palmer, who, because of his im 
 mense beard, when full beards were very 
 rarely seen, was known as the "Old Jew." 
 
 Palmer s maternal grandfather was Cap 
 tain Noah Wiswall, of Newton. His son 
 and daughter having married children of a 
 Mr. Palmer, said to have been a school 
 master, Wiswall presented the two young 
 couples with adjoining farms in the unin 
 corporated tract called Not own. These two 
 farms were part of a military grant inherited 
 by Captain Wiswall. The daughter s por 
 tion was later joined to Leoniinster. She 
 had fourteen children, of whom Joseph was 
 the youngest. To him was left the Leoniin 
 ster farm, and from him it descended to his 
 
 28
 
 >TT -p AT 1lrt r> TT^rx "> 
 
 From a photograph by J. C. L. Clark.
 
 Of eours<- queer stories had come to the 
 villagers regarding the Transeendentatists ; 
 HO when one Sunday a long-haired man 
 walked into the Still River (Baptist) church, 
 interrupting the service to proclaim himself 
 the Angel Gabriel. I think the incident 
 seemed, though unfortunate, not altogether 
 out of character. Gabriel, however, may 
 have made Fruitlands his headquarters af 
 ter the place had passed into the hands of 
 Joseph Palmer, who. because of his im 
 mense beard, when fuii beards were very 
 rarely seem, was known as the "Old Jew," 
 Palmer s maternal grandfather was Cap 
 tain Noah Wiswall, of Newton. His son 
 and daughter having married children of a 
 Mr. Palmer, said to have been a school 
 master, Wiswall presented the two young 
 couples with adjoining farms in the unin 
 corporated tract called Notown. These two 
 
 forms were part < >f a military grant inherited 
 r Captain Wiswall. The daughter s por- 
 
 !-! was later joim/d to Leomiiister. She 
 fourteen children, >f whom Joseph was
 
 son, Dr. Thomas Palmer, a noted dentist of 
 Fitchburg, now over eighty years old. The 
 cottage built in the eighteenth century by 
 Dr. Palmer s grandfather is yet standing 
 near the doctor s modern summer residence. 
 Joseph married Nancy Thompson, of Ster 
 ling, whose father, Benjamin Thompson, 
 was a cousin of Benjamin Thompson, Count 
 Bumford, originally of Woburn. 
 
 When the community was started, the 
 farm in Harvard, with its buildings, was 
 purchased of one Maverick Wyman. The 
 money for the land was contributed chiefly 
 by Charles Lane. The buildings were 
 bought by Joseph Palmer, who was in sym 
 pathy with the Transcendentalists and glad 
 to aid in the scheme. 
 
 After the collapse of the community, the 
 trusteeship of the land, which had been held 
 for Charles Lane by the Rev. Samuel J. 
 May, Mrs. Alcott s brother, was transferred 
 to K. W. Emerson (March, 1845) . In Aug 
 ust, 1846, the land was deeded by Emerson, 
 as trustee, to Palmer, "in consideration of 
 seventeen hundred dollars," although the 
 purchase money was in great part secured 
 
 20
 
 to Lane by mortgage. The land carried 
 also a mortgage of three hundred dollars, 
 held by one Godfrey Sparrow. By 1852 the 
 place was cleared of all incuinbrances by 
 Palmer s son, Dr. Thomas Palmer. It was 
 the home of the "Old Jew" and of a daugh 
 ter, Mrs. Holman, to the end of their lives. 
 Since Mrs. Holman s death, the property 
 has been sold by her sons to Mr. Abel Wil- 
 lard, whose farm it adjoined. Mr. Palmer 
 is buried in the large cemetery at Leomin- 
 ster, his monument bearing his portrait in 
 relief, beneath which are the words : "Per 
 secuted for wearing the beard." 
 
 With the spring the Still River little 
 folks found their new neighbours a welcome 
 accession. A May party, with queen and 
 maypole, was, I think, an idea of the young 
 Alcotts, whose knowledge of historic cus 
 toms was greater than that possessed by the 
 rest of us. A recent writer has called them 
 "sad -faced children." That is a great mis 
 take. Whatever they may have lacked in 
 everyday comforts, they never could have 
 been rightly described by such a term. As 
 sure as the sun shone and skies were blue, 
 
 30
 
 Page, reduced, of mortgage, showing signatures of R. W. Emerson 
 and Charles Lane, and mortgage note signed by Joseph Palmer. 
 By courtesy of Dr. Thomas Palmer
 
 to Lane by mortgage. The land carried 
 also a mortgage of three hundred dollars. 
 held by one Godfrey Sparrow. By 18512 the 
 place was cleared of all incunibrances by 
 Palmer s son, Dr. Thomas Palmer. It was 
 the home of the "Old Jew 1 and of a daugh 
 ter, Mrs. Holman, to the end of their lives. 
 Since Mrs. Holman \s death, the property 
 has been sold by her sons to Mr. Abel Wil- 
 lard, whose fami it adjoined. Mr. Palmer 
 is buried -in the large cemetery at Leomin- 
 ster, his monument bearing his portrait in 
 relief, beneath which are the words: "Per 
 secuted for wearing the besird. 1 
 
 With the spring the Still River little 
 folks found their new neighbours a welcome 
 accession. A May party, with queen and 
 maypole, was, I think, an idea of the young 
 Alcotts, whose knowledge of historic cus 
 toms was greater than that possessed by the 
 rest of us. A recent writer has called them 
 * sad - fa ed children ." That is a great mis - 
 take. Whatever they may have lacked in 
 
 ! V * 
 
 isnitel aamorfT .ta lo,ve*Joo YQ i -. 
 
 ure as the sun shone ana sloes were blue
 
 just so sure was the afternoon gathering on 
 the grass plot in front of the "Brick Ends," 
 and all of us enjoyed jumping rope, tossing 
 ball and rolling hoop (so it seems to me 
 now) as never before. Mrs. Alcott was 
 like the guardian angel of the merry com 
 pany, often taking her seat in our midst 
 and smiling benignly upon our gay pranks. 
 
 In the bright days of summer came the 
 birthday of Lizzie, the "Beth" of "Little 
 Women ; and never shall I forget the proud 
 gladness which filled my childish heart as I 
 went to the party given in honour of the day. 
 Mrs. Love joy s kitchen was set about with 
 evergreens, and otherwise rendered a fitting 
 stage for the evening s entertainment. Her 
 sitting-room was the dress circle, while the 
 Alcott sitting-room was ornamented by a 
 small tree, from the boughs of which hung 
 gifts, not only for our small hostess, but for 
 each little friend present. In the adjoining 
 kitchen a table was abundantly laden with 
 little cakes and luscious cherries, with a big 
 birthday cake in the centre. 
 
 I cannot recall all the dramatic scenes 
 enacted that evening, to me so memorable. 
 
 31
 
 There was part of an old English play given 
 by the older of the happy party, members 
 of the Alcott and the neighbouring Gardner 
 families. Then there were songs ; and Anna 
 Alcott appeared as a Scotch laddie, in bonnet 
 and plaid. What she recited I have forgot 
 ten, though I remember how pretty she 
 looked. But Louisa was the star of the 
 evening. Her mother had stained her face, 
 arms, neck and ankles to the ruddy hue of 
 an Indian girl ; her dress seemed made all 
 of feathers ; feathers, too, crowned her head. 
 Three times she made her appearance. 
 Once, according to her own recollection, 
 she sang the then popular song, "Wild roved 
 an Indian girl, bright Alfarata." Then 
 erect, solemn as her merry face could be 
 come, she strode forward, bearing a large 
 shield, and in almost blood-curdling accents 
 as an old schoolmate describes them 
 repeated the passage from Ossian begin 
 ning, "0 thou that rollest above, round as 
 the shield of my fathers ; and again, in ten - 
 derer, softer accents, a poem from one of 
 the school readers :
 
 "Geehale An Indian Lament. 
 
 The blackbird is singing on Michigan s shore 
 As sweetly and gaily as ever before ; 
 For he knows to his mate he, at pleasure, can hie, 
 And the dear little brood she is teaching to fly ; 
 The sun looks as ruddy, and rises as bright, 
 And reflects o er our mountains as beamy a light 
 As it ever reflected, or ever expressed, 
 When my skies were the bluest, my dreams were the best. 
 The fox and the panther, both beasts of the night, 
 Ketire to their dens on the gleaming of light, 
 And they spring with a free and a sorrowless track, 
 For they know that their mates are expecting them back. 
 Each bird and each beast, it is blessed in degree ; 
 All nature is cheerful, all happy, but me. 
 
 I will go to my tent, and lie down in despair ; 
 
 I will paint me with black, and will sever my hair; 
 
 I will sit on the shore, where the hurricane blows, 
 
 And reveal to the god of the tempest my woes ; 
 
 I will weep for a season, on bitterness fed, 
 
 For my kindred are gone to the hills of the dead; 
 
 But they died not by hunger, or lingering decay ; 
 
 The steel of the white man hath swept them away. 
 This snake-skin, that once I so sacredly wore, 
 
 I will toss, with disdain, to the storm-beaten shore; 
 
 Its charms I no longer obey, or invoke ; 
 
 Its spirit hath left me, its spell is now broke. 
 
 I will raise up my voice to the source of the light; 
 
 I will dream on the wings of the bluebird at night ; 
 
 I will speak to the spirits that whisper in leaves, 
 
 And that minister balm to the bosom that grieves; 
 
 And will take a new Mauito such as shall seem 
 
 To be kind and propitious in every dream. 
 Oh! then I shall banish these cankering sighs, 
 
 And tears shall no longer gush salt from my eyes ; 
 
 33
 
 I shall wash from my face every cloud-coloured stain, 
 
 Red, red shall, alone, on my visage remain ! 
 
 I will dig up my hatchet, and bend my oak bow ; 
 
 By night and by day I will follow the foe ; 
 
 Nor lakes shall impede me, nor mountains, nor snows; 
 
 His blood can, alone, give my spirit repose. 
 
 "They came to my cabin, when heaven was black ; 
 I heard not their coming, I knew not their track ; 
 But I saw, by the light of their blazing fusees, 
 They were people engendered beyond the big seas : 
 My wife, and my children, oh spare me the tale ! 
 For who is there left that is kin to GEEHALE? " 
 
 It was all so wonderful to us little ones ; 
 and I well remember how the next day we 
 looked to see if any remnant of the paint 
 was left on Louisa s pretty neck and arms. 
 
 Miss Louisa Chase, who taught the vil 
 lage school that summer, was fairly en 
 shrined in the hearts of her pupils ; and the 
 rides and picnics in which Miss Chase and 
 Mrs. Alcott watched over, and shared in, 
 the happiness of the little people I shall 
 never forget. Hay r - carts would be provided 
 with seats and trimmed with evergreen ; and 
 carefully stowing away our luncheon -bask 
 ets, we one by one would take our seats in 
 the rustic omnibuses, and start away, sing 
 ing and laughing, for a long day s pleasure. 
 
 Mr. Alcott was too much engaged in 
 
 34
 
 "BRICK ENDS." 
 From a photograph by J. C. L. Clark.
 
 [ shall wash from iny face every cloud-colonrcd stair. 
 
 Ked, red shall, ft Ion:. 1 , on ray visage remain! 
 
 I will dig up my hatchet, and beud my oak bov, ; 
 
 By night and by day / wi!l follow the foe; 
 
 Nor lakes shall imp-di- rne, nor mountains, nor snows; 
 
 His blood can, alone, ,jriv my spirit repose. 
 
 "They came to my cabin, when heaven was black; 
 I heard not their coming. I knew not their track; 
 But I saw, by the light of their blazing fusees, 
 They were people engendered beyond the big seas : 
 My wife, and my children, oh spare 7ue the tale! 
 For who is there left that is kin to GEEHALK? " 
 
 It was all su wonderful to us little cues ; 
 and 1 well remember how the next day w- 
 looked to see if any remnant of the paint 
 was left on Louisa s pretty rie^k and arms. 
 
 Miss Louisa Chase, who taught the* vil 
 lage school that summer, was fairly en 
 shrined in the hearts of her pupils; ami the 
 rides and picnics in which Miss Chase and 
 Mrs. Alcott watched over, and shared in, 
 thf happiness of the little people I shall 
 iicv:.T forget. Hay-carts would be provided 
 with seats and trimmed with evergreen; and 
 carefully stowing away our luncheon -bask 
 ets, wv -.-lie by one would take our seats in 
 
 the rustic omnibuses, and start away, sing- 
 
 ".afitia xojaa-, -. 
 
 \tMPfi &.iWttrfiyW 
 
 Mr. Alcott v\as
 
 philosophising and gardening to share in 
 such merry-makings; but a lady, who was 
 in those days one of the Still River school 
 girls, tells me of one occasion when he did 
 attend a picnic at the school -house. I have 
 an impression that it was held on the Fourth 
 of July, and very likely Mr. Alcott had been 
 asked to speak. One can well believe that 
 the doughnuts, cold meat, pickles, cakes, and 
 pies, usually served on such occasions, were 
 little to his taste ; and, indeed, when there 
 were passed to him some delicate cookies, 
 contributed by the minister s wife, by whose 
 side, unfortunately, he was sitting, the phi 
 losopher declined them with a wave of the 
 hand, and the words, "Vanity, and worse 
 than vanity ! 
 
 Of the merry Alcott group and their inti 
 mates, Louisa was the ring -leader when 
 ever and wherever there was a chance to 
 "have some fun." She often, as she says, 
 "got mad;" but her anger went as quickly 
 as it came. Still she could be severe. One 
 day the neighbours were astonished to see a 
 chair suspended from one of the "Brick 
 Ends" windows. It appeared that Louisa, 
 
 35
 
 while "cleaning house" with great energy, 
 had "bumped" herself against a chair, 
 whereupon that devoted article of furniture 
 was arraigned, found guilty, and immedi 
 ately hanged ! 
 
 Another tale is related by the school 
 mate who was Louisa s most intimate Still 
 River friend. Calling at the Alcott s one 
 day, she found Louisa in a little hall cham 
 ber, where she had been sentenced to re 
 main till she was sorry for speaking disre 
 spectfully to her mother; at present, she 
 was not sorry. She confided to her friend, 
 who remarked a peculiar odour, that, as she 
 must stay there, she had thought it a good 
 time to oil her hah , which she had been 
 doing, most lavishly, with some of poor 
 Mrs. Alcott s whale-oil! A recollection 
 caused the prisoner shortly to declare she 
 could stay indoors no longer. Deaf to her 
 visitor s remonstrances, she explained that 
 the day before she had accidentally killed a 
 spider in the pasture, and must needs go 
 and look at his monument, which she had 
 erected. So the two little girls crept softly 
 down stairs and out through the garden,
 
 successfully avoiding the notice of Mr. Al- 
 cott, who was busy hoeing. The monument 
 proved to be a shingle fixed in the ground, 
 bearing an epitaph appropriate to the un 
 fortunate spider . * All this seems very much 
 like a chapter from one of Miss Alcott s 
 stories. 
 
 Well do I remember my childish distress 
 over an incident at school. Miss Chase, 
 doubtless weary of the mending of some 
 forty quills, had gladly welcomed the inno 
 vation of steel pens. I was very proud of 
 the one she had given me; but one day, 
 alas ! Louisa in a spirit of mischief seized 
 the quill -handle into which my pen was 
 fitted, and threw it into the middle of the 
 floor, spoiling the point, and filling my little 
 heart with pain. A pleasanter recollection 
 is of the first banana I ever tasted, one 
 which Lizzie Alcott shared with me, and 
 which I remember she called "bread fruit." 
 
 * The same friend tells me that a certain large rock on the 
 border of lovely Bear Hill Pond was named by Louisa " Spider- 
 land," and that from this favourite resort she used to write notes 
 to her friends. Her evident regard for these creepy insects are 
 they, indeed, insects? reminds one of George Macdonald s story 
 of "The Giant s Heart." 
 
 37
 
 Sweet, clever Anna Alcott "Meg" 
 used to write little stories in a blank book ; 
 and I can fancy myself now walking very 
 slowly home from school, along the broad 
 green sidewalk between the corner and Mr. 
 Orasmus Willard s, with my dear playmates, 
 Lizzie Alcott and Helen Lovejoy, while 
 Anna read to us what seemed very wonder 
 ful tales. 
 
 Taught that the eating of meat was 
 wrong, the Alcott children looked, of course, 
 upon any form of butchering as a veritable 
 crime, and many were the spirited debates 
 which Lizzie and I had on the subject. 
 Fruits, grains, and vegetables made up the 
 sum of their home diet ; but, like some of 
 the older Fruitlanders, they were not averse 
 from sharing more varied food, provided at 
 picnics and other rural festivities. Kind 
 friends and relatives, as I have mentioned, 
 sent them, besides baskets of fruit, many 
 articles of clothing ; and it would seem as if 
 this brief, bright summer must have been a 
 welcome relief to Mrs. Alcott from the toil 
 and care with which she had been burdened 
 at Fruitlaiids. 
 
 38
 
 V 
 
 \ 
 
 * 
 
 V 3 
 
 7^ 
 
 5 
 
 X 
 
 \ 
 
 & 
 
 \ 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 r>x 
 4 
 
 \s 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 5k. 
 
 H 
 
 ^ 
 
 t 
 
 i
 
 uLc/ -^txvc. ^t-- 
 
 ii- 
 
 J^ 
 T^- 
 
 ^c"" ^ - 
 
 
 ^C 
 
 
 / 
 
 X 
 
 
 
 _vC^-^ 
 
 / 
 
 st ~ 
 
 y
 
 An anecdote of Mrs. Alcott s Still River 
 life well illustrates her generous nature. In 
 the same village was a lady of ample means, 
 and possessing true refinement, who paid 
 little or no attention to prevailing styles. 
 While of excellent materials, her clothes 
 were, indeed, far enough from the fashion. 
 Among a quantity of garments sent to Mrs. 
 Alcott by friends were several bonnets, and 
 great was Mrs. s good-humoured aston 
 ishment when Mrs. Alcott, in the most del 
 icate manner, offered one of them to her! 
 Although the bonnet was not accepted, I 
 have no doubt that these two good women 
 were drawn closer by an incident which, if 
 shared by less noble characters, might have 
 ended unhappily. 
 
 We were all very sorry when our beloved 
 playmates went back to Concord. Once, not 
 many years later, Louisa was so anxious to 
 see Still River again that she walked from 
 Concord to visit the Gardners . She often 
 thought of the summer spent in Still River, 
 as is shown by the use in her stories of the 
 names of people she had known there, and 
 by some of her letters. In one here repro- 
 
 39
 
 duced, which was written to me more than 
 thirty years ago, she speaks of the "old Still 
 River days" as "jolly times," and describes 
 a mock wedding in the woodshed, in which 
 she took the part of bride. The friend I 
 have referred to so often, Sophia (Gardner) 
 Wyinan, says that this ceremony was con 
 ducted after the gipsy manner, the bride 
 and groom jumping together over a broom 
 stick which was held by S. and another 
 playmate. 
 
 The second letter which I give in f ac - 
 simile, written fifteen years later, expresses 
 kindly approbation of a Wide Awake story of 
 mine relating to "Beth s" birthday party, 
 and alludes to the happy days spent at Still 
 River. These two letters show the great 
 change which took place in Miss Alcott s 
 handwriting, the result, I believe, of writ 
 er s cramp. 
 
 Another letter, which Mrs. Wyman has 
 kindly allowed me to copy, was written the 
 year after the Alcotts removal from Still 
 River. It evidently refers in part to the 
 return from a visit to the Gardners, on 
 which occasion Anna very likely accompa- 
 
 40
 
 fc- > 
 
 > 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 A A- 
 
 r 
 
 w 
 
 
 ^L M L 
 
 j^/^-^-^ ^-- / J X 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 
 
 >^ 
 
 a 
 
 
 m 
 
 X. 
 
 V ^ 
 
 > 
 
 
 > ^ ^ 
 
 -5 _ 
 
 Ex_jijrV 
 
 ->^^ 
 
 L^ 
 
 X s ? \ 
 
 *f-*r^\ 
 
 
 
 a ^ 
 
 - i_ 
 
 
 -^ 
 
 S 
 
 ^SL^-A. 
 
 Oo ^ 
 
 K vX ^v 
 
 -v 
 
 s 
 
 
 w 
 
 \ 
 
 
 vs 
 
 o-3l3^_^- x^_ \^T^_ ->><3r-^v^ 
 
 
 Dswnng ann sin^ng nse crany TOIKS. resiernay we wenx o 
 
 41
 
 V* 
 
 Cll UUCaaJA-Hl -LJL. 
 
 40
 
 8^. 
 
 nawnng ana singing IIKC crazy IOIKS. I esteraay we went ove 
 
 41
 
 Ixxm Tj^vcioj-v^
 
 nied Louisa. The "P. S." and "N. B." re 
 mind one of Tommy Bangs s letter to his 
 grandmother in "Little Men." I have fol 
 lowed the original verbatim et litteratim, but 
 not quite punctuatim. 
 
 "CONCORD, Tuesday, 23[d]. 
 ".Dear Sophia: 
 
 "I bad nothing to do, so I thought I would scribble a 
 few lines to my dear Fire, as Abby still calls you. I have just 
 
 written a long letter to L all myself, for mother is too buisy 
 
 and Anna to[o] lazy. I snpose M will schold if I call Anna 
 
 lazy, but she is to[o] lazy to do any thing but drum on the 
 Seraphine till we are all stuned with her noise. I need not tell 
 you we are all alive and kicking, most of our family, that is; 
 
 Miss F and S are going away, so I shan t have to be 
 
 fussed any more with them, for Miss F is particular and 
 
 S is cross. I have not forgotten the ten matches we lit on 
 
 a certain night, and my head and bones still shake after the beat 
 ing they got when I was at Harvard. O, if you had only been 
 with us when we came home! a stage full of bawling babies 
 and nervious marms to take care of the little dears. I had to be 
 perched on top of the stage, and pitched up and down like butter 
 in a churn. I had a beautiful walk the other day with my gov 
 erness and the children to a pond called Finch pond, there we 
 found lots of grape[e]s and some lovely flowers ; and now, if 
 you won t laugh, I ll tell you something if you will believe it, 
 
 Miss F and all of us waded across it, a great big pond a 
 
 mile long and half a mile wide, we went splashing along making 
 the fishes run like mad before our big claws, when we got to 
 the other side we had a funny time getting on our shoes and un 
 mentionables, and we came tumbling home all wet and muddy ; 
 but we were happy enough, for we came through the woods 
 bawling and singing like crazy folks. Yesterday we went over 
 
 41
 
 a little way from our house into some great big fields full of 
 apple-trees, which we climed, tearing our clothes off our backs 
 (luckly they were old) and breaking our bones [!]. playing tag 
 and all sorts of strange things. We are dreadfull wild people 
 here in Concord, we do all the sinful things you can think of. I 
 have got some hous[e] plants; one of them is called a Crab 
 Cactus, the flower looks like a toad and the leaves look as if they 
 were joined together by a very fine thread. The folks were very 
 much pleased with my fruit, but the grapes were crushed some 
 in tumbling in and out of the cars.* I have been pressing col 
 oured leaves, they look very pretty when they are arranged 
 prettly on white paper. I go to school every day to Mr. Lane, but 
 do not have half so good a time as I did at Miss Chase s school ; 
 the summer I went there was the happiest summer I ever spent 
 in the country, there was such a lot of jolly girls to play and 
 blab with, and we used to have such good times though we 
 did used to get mad now and then, it did not last long. I went 
 to court and heard William Whyman acquitted. I hopped right 
 up out of my seat when the foreman said Not Guilty. Poor Mr. 
 Whyman ! he cried right out, he was so glad ; his trial has lasted 
 three years and the poor man s hair has turned gray, though it 
 was black at first, they have plagued him so.f What a silly fool 
 I am to be talking to you about things you do not care about 
 hearing, so I will stop. I shall make you a visit next summer, 
 if you will not come down and see me. Mother said she would 
 pay the postage, so I will scribble with all my might. Our gar 
 den looks dreadful shabby, for Father has been gone to New 
 York for a long time and Mr. Lane does not under stand garden 
 ing very well. I must say good by now, for I must go and prac- 
 
 * The little girls no doubt went by stage as far as Littleton, continuing 
 their journey to Concord by the then new and wonderful Fitchburg Railroad. 
 
 t The case against William Wyman for embezzlement grew out of the 
 failure in 184 - of the Phcenix Bank of Charlestown, of which Wyman was 
 president. He would appear to have been acquitted of a portion of the charges 
 against him before the Court of Common Pleas at Concord in June, 1845. The 
 case was finally "non pressed" at Cambridge the following February. 
 
 42
 
 MABM WEBBER S COTTAGE. 
 From a photograph by J. C. L. Clark.
 
 a little way from our house into some great big fields full of 
 apple-trees, which we ciimed, tearing oar clothes <>lt our hacks 
 (luckly they wore old) and breaking our bones j~ !~i, playing lug 
 and all sorts of strange tilings. We are dreadful] wild peoplo 
 here in Concord, we do all the .sinful things you can think of. 1 
 have got some hous[ej plants; one of them is e.alk:d a Crab 
 Cactus, the flower looks like a toad and the leaves look as if they 
 were joined together by a very tine thread. The folks were very 
 much pleased with my fruit, but the grapes were crushed some 
 in tumbling in and out of the ears.* 1 have been pressing col 
 oured leaves, the} look very pretty when they are arranged 
 prettiy on white paper. \ go to school every day to Mr. Lane, but 
 do not have half so good a time as I did at. Miss Chad s <diool; 
 the summer I went there was the happiest summer I e\<.-r spent 
 in the country, there was such a lot of jolly girls to play and 
 blab with, and we used to have such good times though \v 
 did used to get mad no\\ and then, il JK1 not la*t long I \\cnt 
 to court and heard William Why man acquitted. I hopped right 
 up out of my seat when the foreman said Nut Gu:;ty. Poor M>. 
 Whyman! he cried right out, lie was so ;.>lad ; hi.- trial hs lasted 
 three years and the poor man s hair has turned gray, though it 
 was black at first, they have plagued hh.i M>.i What a hilly fool 
 j am to be talking to you about, things you do r,ol, cure aSout 
 hearing, so I will stop. I shall niitke you a visit nevl ^tnnnirr, 
 il you will not come down and see me. Mother said slu \vould 
 pay the postage, so I will scribble with all my might. Out :rur- 
 den looks dreadful shabby, for .Father has been gone to New 
 York for a long time and Mr Laue does not under stand garden 
 ing very well. I must say good by now, for I. nwst go and prac- 
 
 *The litt u- girls no doubt went by stage as lar AS Littleton, continuing 
 their journey to Concord by the then iv.w and %vonderful I itcl.-burg Railroad. 
 
 * The case against Wiiliara Wyrnan f.T embezzlement grew rut c>f the 
 f/uiure in 1*1. of the t h^nix Hank oi Liiarlestown, uf which \Vyrrr:vL %vs 
 
 e would ap.-.-^otAaxroo. -afaflaaaw^fttaAJflon of the 
 
 ^itt-ikld . J ityil : ^rf rf<j*T^O*Oifq J : riiol ? " 
 cas<; was finally non prosed" :t Camurids^e t!i: id k.wiK^ Fvbru.iry. 
 
 4 .
 
 tise for an hour, farewell. Mother sends her love to all the dear 
 
 folks, and Anny lots to G ; by, by, dear childer, 
 
 "the lord [st c] bless you, 
 
 u from your affectionate 
 
 "friend LOUISA. 
 
 " P. S. If you and M will come down and see us, I will 
 
 light ten matches for you, and you shall have a nice big room 
 if you will only come without delay, for our lives depend upon 
 it, so come with the greatest possible despatch ; bring little 
 
 P two [too] for Abby ; my respects to Walter, and tell him 
 
 my finger is better and I hope his is too ; hope A is better, 
 
 tell her to get well as fast as she can and come with you ; I hope 
 Betty G. won t turn her nose up at me the next time I come, for 
 it most broke my heart, it was so affecting; good by, L. M. A. 
 " N. B. Now I have written you a long letter, and you must 
 
 answer it, M must not write a word in it, must be all for 
 
 me.* I pray and beg you will not show this to any body and 
 [willj excuse all mistakes, for I am in a hurry; did you ever see 
 the time when I was not? 
 
 "L. M. A. 
 " I won t say any more now, my dear S." 
 
 To one who knows the destitute circum 
 stances of the Alcott family at this period, 
 the little Louisa s somewhat airy references 
 to summers in the country and "my govern 
 ess" may afford innocent mirth. 
 
 In the chapter of "Little Men" where 
 Dan tells the story of "Marm Webber," 
 
 * That is to say, if Margaret wrote, it would be to Anna. The little Al- 
 cotts intimacies were, like most children s, formed through similarity of age: 
 Margaret Gardner "went with Anna Alcott; Sophy Gardner with Louisa; to 
 Helen Lovejoy and me Lizzie was our dearest friend; and Louisa conjures 
 Sophy to bring Polly for little Abba May.
 
 Miss Alcott was portraying a Still River 
 character. On the slope of Prospect Hill 
 there actually lived a Mrs. Webber, whose 
 house was a hospital for homeless and un 
 fortunate cats. Whatever were the old 
 dame s faults of temper, she was a true 
 friend to her feline pets, although her put 
 ting the hopeless invalids out of their misery 
 with ether is a touch of Miss Alcott s fancy, 
 since, I believe, that anaesthetic had not 
 been invented in the real Marm Webber s 
 time. 
 
 I well remember how great was the in 
 terest felt by old Still River schoolmates 
 when, in the Saturday Evening Gazette, arti 
 cles began to appear written by the merry 
 girl who had left so strong an impression on 
 our minds. Right proud were we when 
 "Little Women" followed the pathetic pages 
 of "Hospital Sketches;" and loyal hearts 
 rejoiced in each later success, and mourned 
 when the life lived so faithfully for others 
 ended so early. 
 
 of W. J. Coulter, Clinton, Ma
 
 9 
 
 9Q 
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 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
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