I shall first speak of Mr. Pierce as an author. His Life of Sumner it
seems to me is an excellent biography, and the third and fourth volumes
of it are an important contribution to the history of our country. Any
one who has gone through the original material of the period he embraces
must be struck not only with the picture of Sumner, but with the skill
of the biographer in the use of his data to present a general historical
view. The injunction of Cicero, "Choose with discretion out of the
plenty that lies before you," Mr. Pierce observed. To those who know how
extensive was his reading of books, letters, newspaper files, how much
he had conversed with the actors in those stirring scenes--and who will
take into account the mass of memories that crowd upon the mind of one
who has lived through such an era--this biography will seem not too long
but rather admirable in its relative brevity. In a talk that I had with
Mr. Pierce I referred to the notice in an English literary weekly of his
third and fourth volumes which maintained that the biography was twice
too long, and I took occasion to say that in comparison with other
American works of the kind the criticism seemed unjust. "Moreover," I
went on, "I think you showed restraint in not making use of much of your
valuable material,--of the interesting and even important unprinted
letters of Cobden, the Duke of Argyll, and of John Bright." "Yes,"
replied Mr. Pierce, with a twinkle in his eye, "I can say with Lord
Clive, 'Great Heavens, at this moment I stand astonished at my own
moderation.'"
Any one who has studied public sentiment in this country for any period
knows how easy it is to generalize from a few facts, and yet, if the
subject be more thoroughly investigated, it becomes apparent how
unsatisfactory such generalizations are apt to be; not that they are
essentially untrue, but rather because they express only a part of the
truth. If a student should ask me in what one book he would find the
best statement of popular opinion at the North during the Civil War, I
should say, Read Sumner's letters as cited in Mr. Pierce's biography
with the author's comments. The speeches of Sumner may smell too much of
the lamp to be admirable, but the off-hand letters written to his
English and to a few American friends during our great struggle are
worthy of the highest esteem. From his conversations with the President,
the Cabinet ministers, his fellow-senators and congressmen, his
newspaper reading,--in short, from the many impressions that go to make
up the daily life of an influential public man,--there has resulted an
accurate statement of the popular feeling from day to day. In spite of
his intense desire to have Englishmen of power and position espouse the
right side, he would not misrepresent anything by the suppression of
facts, any more than he would make a misleading statement. In the
selection of these letters Mr. Pierce has shown a nice discrimination.
Sumner, whom I take to have been one of the most truthful of men, was
fortunate in having one of the most honest of biographers. Mr. Pierce
would not, I think, have wittingly suppressed anything that told against
him. I love to think of one citation which would never have been made by
an idolizing biographer, so sharply did it bring out the folly of the
opinion expressed. Sumner wrote, May 3, 1863: "There is no doubt here
about Hooker. He told Judge Bates ... that he 'did not mean to drive the
enemy but to bag him.' It is thought he is now doing it." The
biographer's comment is brief, "The letter was written on the day of
Hooker's defeat at Chancellorsville."
It seems to me that Mr. Pierce was as impartial in his writing as is
possible for a man who has taken an active part in political affairs,
who is thoroughly in earnest, and who has a positive manner of
expression. It is not so difficult as some imagine for a student of
history whose work is done in the library to be impartial, provided he
has inherited or acquired the desire to be fair and honest, and provided
he has the diligence and patience to go through the mass of evidence.
His historical material will show him that to every question there are
two sides. But what of the man who has been in the heat of the conflict,
and who, when the fight was on, believed with Sumner that there was no
other side? If such a man displays candor, how much greater his merit
than the impartiality of the scholar who shuns political activity and
has given himself up to a life of speculation!
I had the good fortune to have three long conversations with the Hon.
Robert C. Winthrop, the last of which occurred shortly after the
publication of the third and fourth volumes of the Life of Sumner.
"What," said Mr. Winthrop to me, "do you think of the chapter on the
Annexation of Texas and the Mexican War?" "I think," was my reply, "that
Mr. Pierce has treated a delicate subject like a gentleman." "From what
I have heard of it," responded Mr. Winthrop, earnestly, "and from so
much as I have read of it, that is also my own opinion." Such a private
conversation I could, of course, repeat, and, somewhat later the
occasion presenting itself, I did so to Mr. Pierce. "That is more
grateful to me," he said, almost with tears in his eyes, "than all the
praise I have received for these volumes."
Mr. Pierce had, I think, the historic sense. I consulted him several
times on the treatment of historical matters, taking care not to trench
on questions where, so different was our point of view, we could not
possibly agree, and I always received from him advice that was
suggestive, even if I did not always follow it to the letter. I sent to
him, while he was in London, my account of Secretary Cameron's report
proposing to arm the slaves and of his removal from office by President
Lincoln. Mr. Pierce thought my inferences were far-fetched, and wrote:
"I prefer the natural explanation. Horace says we must not introduce a
god into a play unless it is necessary."
As a friend, he was warm-hearted and true. He brought cheer and
animation into your house. His talk was fresh; his zeal for whatever was
uppermost in his mind was contagious, and he inspired you with
enthusiasm. He was not good at conversation, in the French sense of the
term, for he was given to monologue; but he was never dull. His
artlessness was charming. He gave you confidences that you would have
shrunk from hearing out of the mouth of any other man, in the fear that
you intruded on a privacy where you had no right; but this openness of
mind was so natural in Mr. Pierce that you listened with concern and
sympathized warmly. He took interest in everything; he had infinite
resources, and until his health began to fail, enjoyed life thoroughly.
He loved society, conversation, travel; and while he had no passion for
books, he listened to you attentively while you gave an abstract or
criticism of some book that was attracting attention. In all intercourse
with him you felt that you were in a healthy moral atmosphere. I never
knew a man who went out of his way oftener to do good works in which
there was absolutely no reward, and at a great sacrifice of his time--to
him a most precious commodity. He was in the true sense of the word a
philanthropist, and yet no one would have approved more heartily than
he this remark of Emerson: "The professed philanthropists are an
altogether odious set of people, whom one would shun as the worst of
bores and canters."
His interest in this Society the published Proceedings will show in some
measure, but they cannot reflect the tone of devotion in which he spoke
of it in conversation, or exhibit his loyalty to it as set forth in the
personal letter. It was a real privation that his legislative duties
prevented his attending these meetings last winter.
Of Mr. Pierce as a citizen most of you, gentlemen, can speak better than
I, but it does appear to me an instance of rare civic virtue that a man
of his age, political experience, ability, and mental resources could
take pride and pleasure in his service in the House of Representatives
of his Commonwealth. He was sixty-eight years old, suffering from
disease, yet in his service last winter he did not miss one legislative
session nor a day meeting of his committee. His love for his town was a
mark of local attachment both praiseworthy and useful. "I would rather
be moderator of the Milton town-meeting," he said, "than hold any other
office in the United States."