VISITS TO SANTO DOMINGO
In the year 1872, Dr. Howe was appointed one of three commissioners to
report upon the advisability of annexing Santo Domingo to the United
States. The two other commissioners were Hon. Benjamin F. Wade of Ohio,
and Hon. Andrew D. White. A government steamer was placed at the
disposal of the commissioners, and a number of newspaper correspondents
accompanied them. Prominent among these was William Henry Hurlburt, at
that time identified with the "New York World." Before taking leave of
his family, Dr. Howe said, "Remember that you cannot hear from us sooner
than a month under the most favorable circumstances, so do not be
frightened at our long silence." I have never heard an explanation of
the motives which led the press in general to speak slightingly of the
Tennessee, the war steamer upon which the commission embarked for Santo
Domingo. Scarcely a week after her departure, a sensational account was
published of a severe storm in the southern seas, and of a large steamer
seen in unavailing struggle with the waves. "The steamer was probably
the Tennessee, and it is most likely that she foundered in the storm and
went down with all on board."
In spite of my husband's warning, I could not but feel great anxiety in
view of this statement. The days of suspense that followed it were dark
indeed and hard to live through. In due time, however, came intelligence
of the safe arrival of the Tennessee, and of the good condition of all
on board.
It happened that I had gone out for a walk on the morning when this good
news reached Boston. On my return I found Dr. Dix waiting, his eyes full
of tears, to tell me that the Tennessee had been heard from. The
numerous congratulations which I now received showed how general had
been the fear of the threatened mishap, and how great the public
interest in Dr. Howe's safety.
In later years, I made the acquaintance of Hon. Andrew D. White and his
most charming wife. Though scarcely on the verge of middle age, her
beautiful dark hair had turned completely white, in the unnecessary
agony which she suffered in the interval between her husband's departure
and the first authentic news received of the expedition.
It was a year later than this that Dr. Howe was urged by parties
interested to undertake a second visit to Santo Domingo, with the view
of furthering the interests of the Samana Bay Company. He had been so
much impressed with the beauty of the island that he wished me to share
its enchantments with him. We accordingly set sail in a small steamer,
the Tybee, in February of the year 1873. Our youngest daughter, Maud,
went with us, and our party consisted of Maud's friend, Miss Derby, now
Mrs. Samuel Richard Fuller, my husband's three nieces, and Miss Mary C.
Paddock, a valued friend. Colonel Fabens, a man much interested in the
prospects of the island, also embarked with us. The voyage was a stormy
one, the seas being exceeding rough, and the steamer most uneasy in her
action. After some weary days and nights, we cast anchor in the harbor
of Puerta Plata, and my husband came to the door of my stateroom
crying, "Come out and see the great glory!" I obeyed, and beheld a scene
which amply justified his exclamation. Before us, sheer out of the
water, rose Mount Isabel, clothed with tropical verdure. At its foot lay
the picturesque little town. Small carts, drawn each by a single
bullock, were already awaiting the unloading of the cargo. We were soon
on shore, and within the shelter of a tolerable hotel, where fresh
fruits and black coffee restored our sea-worn spirits. The day was
Sunday, and I managed to attend a Methodist service held in a commodious
chapel. The aspect of the little town was very cheerful and friendly.
Negro women ran about the streets, with red turbaned heads and clad in
trailing gowns of calico. The prancing little horses delighted me with
their swift and easy motion. On the day subsequent to our landing, we
accepted an invitation to breakfast at a sugar plantation, not very far
from the town. A cart drawn by a bullock furnished the only vehicle to
be had in the place. Our entertainers were a young Cuban and his
American wife. They had embarked a good deal of capital in machinery; I
regretted to learn later that their enterprise had not been altogether
successful.
The merchants in Puerta Plata were largely Germans and Jews. They were
at heart much opposed to the success of the Samana Bay enterprise,
fearing that it would build up Samana at the expense of their own town.
So, a year later, their money was used to inaugurate a revolution, which
overthrew President Baez, and installed in his place a man greatly his
inferior in talent, but one who could be made entirely subservient to
the views of the Puerta Plata junta.
After a day and a night in Puerta Plata we returned to our steamer,
which was now bound for Samana Bay, and thence for the capital, Santo
Domingo. Let me say in passing that it is quite incorrect to speak of
the island as "San Domingo," This might be done if Domingo were the name
of a saint, but Santo Domingo really means "Holy Sunday," and is so
named in commemoration of the first landing of Columbus upon the island.
Of Samana itself I will speak hereafter. After two more days of rough
sea travel we were very glad to reach the capital, where the Palacio
Nacional had been assigned as our residence.
This was a spacious building surrounding a rectangular court. A guard of
soldiers occupied the lower story, and the whole of the second floor was
placed at our disposal. Furniture there was little or none, but we had
brought with us a supply of beds, bedding, and articles necessary for
the table. The town afforded us chairs and tables, and with the help of
our friend, Miss Paddock, we were soon comfortably installed in our new
quarters. The fleas at first gave us terrible torment, but a copious
washing of floors and the use of some native plant, the name of which I
cannot remember, diminished this inconvenience, to which also we
gradually became accustomed.
The population of Santo Domingo is much mixed, and I could not see that
the blacks were looked down upon by the whites, the greater part of whom
gave evidence of some admixture of African blood. In the harbor of the
capital, before leaving the steamer, I had had some conversation with
one Francois, a man of color, who had come on board to secure the
services of one of our fellow-passengers, an aged clergyman, for his
church. The old gentleman insisted that he was past preaching, on
account of his age and infirmities. I began to question Francois about
his church, and found that it consisted of a small congregation of very
poor colored people, all Americans by birth or descent. They held their
services only on Sunday evenings, having neither clothes nor shoes fit
for appearance in the daytime. Their real minister had died, and an
elder who had taken his place was too lame to cross the river in order
to attend the services, so they had to do without preaching. I cannot
remember just how it came about, but I engaged to hold service for them
on Sunday evenings during my stay at the capital.
Behold me then, on my first Sunday evening, entering the little wooden
building with its mud floor. It boasted a mahogany pulpit of some size,
but I took my seat within the chancel rail and began my ministration. I
gave out the hymns, and the tattered hymn-books were turned over. I soon
learned that this was a mere form, few of those present being able to
read. They knew the hymns by heart and sang them with a will. I had
prepared my sermon very carefully, being anxious really to interest
these poor shepherdless sheep. They appeared to listen very thankfully,
and I continued these services until nearly the time of my departure
from the island. I had not brought any written sermons with me, nor had
I that important aid in sermonizing, a concordance. A young daughter of
Colonel Fabens, a good Bible scholar, used to find my texts for me. I
remember that, after my first preaching, a young woman called upon me
and quoted some words from my sermon, very much in the sense of the old
anecdote about "that blessed word Mesopotamia."
When Good Friday and Easter came my colored people besought me to hold
extra services, in order that their young folks might understand that
these sacred days were of as much significance to them as to the
Catholics, by whom they were surrounded. I naturally complied with their
request, and arranged to have the poor little place decorated with palms
and flowers for the Easter service. I have always remembered with
pleasure one feature of my Easter sermon. In this I tried to describe
Dante's beautiful vision of a great cross in the heavens, formed of
clusters of stars, the name of Christ being inscribed on each cluster.
The thought that the mighty poet of the fourteenth century should have
had something to impart to these illiterate negroes was very dear to me.
As soon as the report of my preaching became noised abroad, the aged
elder, whose place I had taken, bestirred himself and managed to put in
an appearance at the little church. He mounted the stairs of the
mahogany pulpit, and seemed to keep guard over the congregation, while I
continued to speak from the chancel. I invited him to give out the
hymns, which he did, mentioning also the page on which they would be
found. He afterwards told me that his wife, who could read, had taught
him those hymns. "I never could do nothing with books," he said.
We found but little English spoken at the capital except among the
colored people. I always recall with amusement a bit of conversation
which I had with one of the merchants who was fond of speaking our
language. He had sent his errand boy to us with a message. Meeting him
later in the day, I said, "I saw your servant this morning." "Yes, ze
nigger. He mudder fooley in St. Thomas." I made some effort to ascertain
what were the educational advantages afforded in the capital. I found
there a school for boys, under the immediate charge of the Catholic
clergy. Hearing also of a school for girls, founded and administered by
a young woman of the city, I called one day to find out what I could of
her and of her work. She was the daughter of a woman physician who had
much reputation in the place. Her mother had received no technical
medical education, but had practiced nursing under the best doctors, and
had also acquired through experience a considerable understanding of the
uses of herbs. She was a devout Catholic, and having once been
desperately ill, had vowed her infant daughter to the Virgin in case of
her recovery. The daughter had not entered a convent, but had devoted
herself to the training of young girls. She appeared to be a very modest
and simple person, and was pleased to have me inspect the needlework,
maps, and copy books of her pupils.
"At any rate, I keep them out of the street," she said. Francois, my
first colored acquaintance at the capital, had spoken to me of a Bible
society formed there. It was a secret association, and he told me
several times that its members earnestly desired to make my
acquaintance. I finally arranged with him to attend one of their
meetings, and went, in his company, to a building in which an inner room
was set apart for their use. I was ushered into this with some ceremony,
and found a company of natives of various shades of color. On a raised
platform were seated the presiding officers of the occasion. Presently
one of these rang his bell and began to address me in a rather
high-flown style, assuring me that my noble works were well understood
by those present, and that they greatly desired to hear from me. I was
much puzzled at this address, feeling almost certain that nothing that I
had ever done would have been likely to penetrate the atmosphere of this
isolated spot. The speech was in Spanish and I was expected to reply in
the same language. This I was not able to do, my knowledge of Spanish
being limited to a few colloquial phrases. The French language answered
pretty well, however, and in this I managed to express my thanks for the
honor done me and my sincere interest in the welfare of the island. All
present had risen to receive me. There seemed to be nothing further for
me to do, and I took leave, followed by clapping of hands. To this day I
have never been able to understand the connection of this association
with any Bible society, and still less the flattering mention made of
some supposed merits on my part. Francois warned me that this meeting
was not to be generally spoken of, and I endeavored to preserve a
discreet silence regarding it.
On another evening we were all invited to attend the public exercises of
a debating club of young men. The question to be argued was whether it
is permissible to do evil in view of a supposed good result. The debate
was a rather spirited one. The best of the speakers, who had been
educated in Spain, had much to say of the philosopher Balmes, whose
sayings he more than once quoted. The question having been decided in
the negative, the speaker who had maintained the unethical side of the
question explained that he had done this only because it was required of
him, his convictions and sympathies being wholly on the other side.
President Baez had received us with great cordiality. He called upon us
soon after our arrival, having previously sent us a fine basket of
fruit. He seemed an intelligent man, and my husband's estimate of him
was much opposed to that conveyed in Mr. Sumner's invective against "a
traitor who sought to sell his own country." Baez had sense enough to
recognize the security which annexation to the United States would give
to his people.
The English are sometimes spoken of as "a nation of shopkeepers." Santo
Domingo might certainly be called a city of shopkeepers. When we visited
it, all of the principal families were engaged in trade. When daughters
were considered of fit age to enter society, they made their debut
behind the counter of their father or uncle.
My husband decided, soon after our arrival, to invite the townspeople to
a dance. In preparation for this festivity, the largest room in the
palace was swept and garnished with flowers. A native band of musicians
was engaged, and a merry and motley throng invaded our sober premises.
The favorite dances were mostly of the order of the "contradanza," which
I had seen in Cuba. This is a slow and stately measure, suited to the
languor of a hot climate. I ventured to introduce a Virginia Reel, which
was not much enjoyed by the natives. President Baez did not honor us
with his presence, but his brother Damian and his sister Rosita were
among our guests. A United States warship was in the harbor, and its
officers were a welcome reinforcement to our company. Among these was
Lieutenant De Long, well remembered now as the leader of the ill-fated
Jeannette expedition.
At two o'clock in the morning my husband showed signs of extreme
fatigue. I felt that the gayeties must cease, and was obliged to say to
some of the older guests that Dr. Howe's health would not permit him to
entertain them longer. It seemed like sending children home from a
Christmas party, the dancers appeared so much taken aback. They had
expected to dance until day dawn. Still they departed without objecting.
The next day those of us who visited the principal street of the city
saw the beaux of the night before busy in their shops, some of them in
shirt-sleeves.
Our days passed very quietly. Dr. Howe took his accustomed ride before
breakfast. One feature of this meal consisted of water-cocoanuts,
gathered while the night dew was on them, and of a delicious coolness.
The water having been poured out, the nuts were thrown into the court
below, where the soldiers of the guard ate them greedily. The rations
served out to these men consisted simply of strips of sugar cane. Their
uniforms were of seersucker, and the homely palm-leaf hat completed
their costume.
After breakfast I usually sat at my books, often preparing my Sunday
sermon. A siesta followed the noonday repast, and after this the
greatest amusement of the day began. The little, fiery steeds were
brought into the courtyard, and I rode forth, followed by my young
companions and escorted by the assistant secretary of the treasury.
Several of the young gentlemen of the town who could command the use of
a horse would join our cavalcade, as we swept out of the city limits and
into the beautiful regions beyond. The horses have a peculiarly easy
gait, and are yet very swift and gentle. As the season advanced, and the
spring showers began to fall, we were sometimes glad to take refuge
under a mango tree, its spreading branches and thick foliage sheltering
us like a tent. Our cavaliers, in view of this emergency, were apt to
provide themselves with umbrellas, to the opening and shutting of which
the horses were well accustomed. In case of any chill "a little rum" was
always recommended. The careless mention of this typical beverage amused
and almost frightened me, accustomed to hear rum spoken of with bated
breath, as if unfit even for mention.
The besetting evil of the island seemed to be lockjaw. I was told that
the smallest wound or scratch, or even a chill, might produce it. I
distinctly remember having several times felt an unusual stiffness of
the lower jaw, consequent upon a slight check of perspiration.
I cannot imagine a more delightful winter climate than that of Santo
Domingo. Dr. Howe used sometimes to come to my study and ask, "Are you
comfortable?"
"Perfectly comfortable. Why do you ask?"
"Because the thermometer stands at 86 deg. Fahrenheit." A delicious
sea-breeze blew in at the wide open window, and we who sat in it had no
feeling of extreme heat.
I remember a little excursion which we made on horseback to a village
some twelve miles distant from the capital. We started in the very early
morning, wishing to reach the place of our destination before the
approach of noon. It was still quite dark when we mounted our horses,
with a faithful escort of Dominican friends.
"_Sabrosa manana!_" exclaimed the assistant secretary of the treasury,
who rode beside me.
Our road lay through a beautiful bit of forest land. The dawn found us
at a pretty and primitive ferry, which we crossed without dismounting.
The beauty of the scenery was beyond description. The air was refreshed
by a succession of little mountain streamlets, which splashed with a
cool sound about our horses' feet. Arriving at the village we found a
newly erected _bohio_, or hut of palm-wood strips, prepared for us. It
was hung with hammocks and furnished with rockingchairs, with a clean
floor of sand and pebbles. At a neighboring _fonda_ luncheon was served
to our party. We returned to our _bohio_ for a much needed siesta,
reserving the afternoon for a ramble. A service was going on at the
village church. After a late dinner we went to visit the priest. His
servant woman appeared reluctant to admit us. This we understood when
the old gentleman came forward to receive us, dressed like a peasant,
and wearing a handkerchief tied about his head in peasant fashion. To
me, as the senior lady of the party, he offered a cigar.
He took pains to return our visit the next day, but came to our _bohio_
in full canonicals. He was anxious to possess a certain Spanish work on
botany, and offered me a sum of money in prepayment of its price. This I
declined to receive, feeling that the chances were much against my ever
being able to fulfill his commission.
Immediately after his visit we mounted our steeds and rode back to the
capital, which we reached after the great gate had been closed for the
night, a narrow postern opening to admit our party one by one.
Before our departure from the island, President Baez invited us to a
state dinner at his residence. The appointments of the table were
elegant and tasteful. The repast was a long one, consisting of a great
variety of Dominican dishes, which appeared and disappeared with great
celerity. Before the dessert was served, we were requested to leave the
table and return to the sitting-room. Presently we came back to the
table, and found it spread with fruits and sweets innumerable.
Two years after this time, my husband's health required a change of
climate. He decided to visit Santo Domingo once more, and was anxious
that I should accompany him. I was rather unwilling to do so, being much
engaged at home. Wishing to offer me the greatest inducement, he said,
"You shall preach to your colored folks as much as you like." In March
of 1875, accordingly, we set sail in the same Tybee which had carried us
on our first voyage to the beautiful island. The political situation
meantime had greatly changed. The revolution already spoken of had
expelled President Baez, and had put in his place a man devoted to the
interests of Puerta Plata, as opposed to the growth of Samana.
We landed at the capital, and as we walked up the street to our hotel
familiar forms emerged from the shops on the right and on the left.
These friends all accosted us with eager questions:--
"Addonde estan las muchachas?" (Where are the girls?)
"Addonde esta Maud?"
"Addonde esta Lucia?"
We were obliged to say that they were not with us, and the blank,
disappointed faces showed that we, the elders, counted for little in the
absence of "metal more attractive."
After a short stay at the capital, we reembarked for Samana, where we
passed some weeks of delightful quiet in a pretty cottage on the
outskirts of the little town. On the evening of our taking possession, I
stood at the door of our new abode, watching the moon rise and overtop
two stately palms which formed the immediate foreground of our
landscape. On the left was the pretty crescent-shaped beach, and beyond
it the lights of the town shone brightly. This was a foretaste of many
delightful hours in which my soul was fed with the beauty of my
surroundings.
Our cottage was distant about a mile from the town, which my husband
liked to visit every morning. It was possible to go thither by the
beach, but he preferred to take a narrow bridle path on the side of a
very steep hill. I had never been a bold rider, and I must confess that
I suffered agonies of fear in following him on these expeditions. If I
lagged behind, he would cry, "Come on! it's as bad as going to a funeral
to ride with you." And so, I suppose, it was. I remember one day when a
great palm branch had fallen across our path. I thought that my horse
would certainly slip on it, sending me to depths below. Fortunately he
did not. That very day, while Dr. Howe was taking his siesta, I went to
the place where this impediment lay, and with a great effort threw it
over the steep mountain-side. The whole neighborhood of Samana is very
mountainous, and I sometimes found it impossible to obey the word of
command. One day my husband spurred his horse and made a gallant dash at
a very steep ascent, ordering me to follow him. I tried my best, but
only got far enough to find myself awkwardly at a standstill, and unable
to go either backward or forward. The Doctor was obliged to dismount and
to lead my horse down to the level ground. This, he assured me, was a
severe mortification for him.
Dr. Howe desired at this time to make a journey on horseback to a part
of the interior which he had not visited. He engaged as a guide a man
familiar with the region and able on foot to keep pace with any ordinary
horse. I remember that this man asked for a warning of some days, in
order that he might purchase his _combustibles_, meaning comestibles.
This journey, often talked of, was never undertaken. We sometimes varied
the even tenor of our days in Samana by a sail in the pretty steam
launch belonging to the Samana Bay Company. On one occasion we took a
rowboat and went to visit an English carpenter who had built himself a
hut in the forest not far from the shore. We found his wife surrounded
by her young family. The cabin was provided with berths for sleeping
accommodation. The household work was done mostly in the open air. On a
rude table I found some Greek books. "Whose are those?" I asked. "Oh,
they belong to my husband. He studies Greek in order to understand the
New Testament." Yet this man was so illiterate as to allow some pupils
of his to use a small i for our personal pronoun. In spite of my
husband's permission, I did not preach very much during this visit to
Samana. I found there a Methodist church with a settled pastor. I did
take part in an open-air service one Sunday afternoon. The place chosen
was well up on the side of a mountain, the assembly consisting entirely
of colored people. I arrived a little after time and found a zealous
elder speaking. When he saw me he said, "And now dat de lady hab come I
will _obdunk_ [abdicate] from de place."
A little school kept by the carpenter was not far from this spot. It
occupied a shed in a region magnificent with palms. I went one day, by
special arrangement, to speak to the pupils, who were of both sexes. The
ascent was so steep that I was glad to avail myself of the offer of a
steer with a straw saddle on his back, led by a youth of the
neighborhood. From the school I went to the hut of a colored woman, who
had requested the honor of entertaining me at lunch, and who waited upon
me with great good-will. While I was still resting in the shade of the
cabin a man appeared, leading two saddle horses and bearing a missive
from Dr. Howe, requesting my immediate return. I have elsewhere alluded
to this and to Dr. Howe's touching words, "Our dear, noble Sumner is no
more. Come home at once. I am much distressed."
My husband had been greatly chagrined by Mr. Sumner's conduct with
regard to the proposed annexation of Santo Domingo. The death of his
lifelong friend seemed to bring back all his old tenderness and he
grieved deeply over his loss.
Of the longevity of the negro population of Santo Domingo we heard
wonderful accounts. I myself, while in Samana, saw and spoke with a
colored woman who was said to have reached the age of one hundred and
thirty years. She was a native of Maryland, and had become a mother and
a grandmother before leaving the United States. In Samana she married
again and had a second set of children and grandchildren. These
particulars I learned from a daughter of her second marriage, herself a
woman of forty. The aged mother and grandmother came up to Samana during
my stay there to make some necessary purchases. Her figure was slender
and, as the French say, "_bien-prise_." Her only infirmity appeared to
be her deafness.
A curious custom in this small community was the consecration of all
houses as soon as completed. This was usually made the occasion of what
we term a house-warming. Friends were invited, and were expected to make
contributions of cake. The priest of the parish offered prayer and
sprinkled the premises with holy water, after which the festivities
commenced. The music consisted of a harmonicon and a notched gourd,
which was scraped with an iron rod to mark the time. Cakes and lemonade
were handed about in trays. Grandmothers sat patient with their
grandbabes on their laps while the mothers danced to their hearts'
content.
It chanced one day that I attended one of these merry-makings. While the
dance was in progress a superbly handsome man, bronze in complexion and
very polite in manner, commanded from the musicians, "Una polka por
Madama Howe." I had neither expected nor desired to dance, but felt
obliged to accept this invitation.
A large proportion of the Dominicans, be it said in passing, are of
mixed race, the white element in them being mostly Spanish. This last so
predominates that the leading negro characteristics are rarely observed
among them. They are intelligent people, devout in their Catholicism and
generally very honest. Families of the wealthier class are apt to send
their sons to Spain for education.
Quite distinct from these are the American blacks, who are the remnant
and in large part the descendants of an exodus of free negroes from our
Middle States, which took place in the neighborhood of the year 1840.
These people are Methodists, but are, for some reason, entirely
neglected by the denomination, both in England and in America. They are
anxious to keep their young folks within the pale of Protestantism. Of
such was composed my little congregation in the city of Santo Domingo.
In the place last named I made the acquaintance of a singular family of
birds, individuals of which were domesticated in many houses. These
creatures could be depended upon to give the household warning of the
approach of a stranger. They also echoed with notes of their own the
hourly striking of the city clocks, and zealously destroyed all the
insects which are generated by the heat of a tropical climate. The _per
contra_ is that they themselves are rather malodorous.
During my stay in Samana a singular woman attached herself to me. She
was a mulatto, and her home was on a mountain side in the neighborhood
of the school of which I have just spoken. Here she was rarely to be
found; and her husband bewailed her frequent absences and consequent
neglect of her large family. She had some knowledge of herbs, which she
occasionally made available in nursing the sick. She one day brought her
aged mother to visit me, and the elder woman, speaking of her, said,
"Oh, yes! Rosanna's got edication." Of this "edication" I had a specimen
in a letter which she wrote me after my departure, and which began thus,
"Hailyal [hallelujah], Mrs. Howe, here's hopin."
In these days the brilliant scheme of the Samana Bay Company came to its
final failure. The Dominican government now insisted that the flag of
the company should be officially withdrawn. The Tybee having departed on
her homeward voyage, the one warship of the republic made its appearance
in the harbor, a miserable little schooner, but one that carried a gun.
On the morrow of her arrival, a scene of some interest was enacted. The
employees of the company, all colored men, marched to the building over
which the flag was floating. Every man carried a fresh rose at the end
of his musket. Dr. Howe made a pathetic little speech, explanatory of
the circumstances, and a military salute was fired as the flag was
hauled down. A spiteful caricature appeared in a paper published, I
think, at the capital, representing the transaction just mentioned, with
Dr. Howe in the foreground in an attitude of deep dejection, Mrs. Howe
standing near, and saying, "Never mind."
* * * * *
From my own memoir of Dr. Howe I quote the following record of his last
days on earth.
"The mild climate and exercise in the open air had done all that could
have been expected for Dr. Howe, and he returned from Santo Domingo much
improved in health. The seeds of disease, however, were still lurking in
his system, and the change from tropical weather to our own uncertain
spring brought on a severe attack of rheumatism, by which his strength
was greatly reduced. He rallied somewhat in the autumn, and was able to
pass the winter in reasonable comfort and activity.
"The first of May, 1875, found him at his country seat in South
Portsmouth, R. I., where the planting of his garden and the supervision
of his poultry afforded him much amusement and occupation. In the early
summer he was still able to ride the beautiful Santo Domingo pony which
President Baez had sent him three years before. This resource, however,
soon failed him, and his exercise became limited to a short walk in the
neighborhood of his house. His strength constantly diminished during the
summer, yet he retained his habits of early rising and of active
occupation, as well as his interest in matters public and private. He
returned to Boston in the autumn, and seemed at first benefited by the
change. He felt, however, and we felt, that a change was impending.
"On Christmas day he was able to dine with his family, and to converse
with one or two invited guests. On the first of January he said to an
intimate friend: 'I have told my people that they will bury me this
month.' This was merely a passing impression, as in fact he had not so
spoken to any of us. On January 4th, while up and about as usual, he was
attacked by sudden and severe convulsions, followed by insensibility;
and on January 9th he breathed his last, surrounded by his family, and
apparently without pain or consciousness. Before the end Laura Bridgman
was brought to his bedside, to touch once more the hand that had
unlocked the world to her. She did so, weeping bitterly."
A great mourning was made for Dr. Howe. Eulogies were pronounced before
the legislature of Massachusetts, and resolutions of regret and sympathy
came to us from various beneficent associations. From Greece came back a
touching echo of our sorrow, and by an order, sent from thence, a floral
tribute was laid upon the casket of the early friend and champion of
Greek liberties. A beautiful helmet and sword, all of violets, the
parting gift of the household, seemed a fitting recognizance for one
whom Whittier has named "The Modern Bayard."
Shortly after this sad event a public meeting was held in Boston Music
Hall in commemoration of Dr. Howe's great services to the community. The
governor of Massachusetts (Hon. Alexander H. Rice) presided, and
testimonials were offered by many eminent men.
Poems written for the occasion were contributed by Oliver Wendell
Holmes, William Ellery Channing, and Rev. Charles T. Brooks. Of these
exercises I will only say that, although my husband's life was well
known to me, I listened almost with amazement to the summing up of its
deeds of merit. It seemed almost impossible that so much good could be
soberly said of any man, and yet I knew that it was all said truthfully
and in grave earnest.
My husband's beloved pupil, Laura Bridgman, was seated upon the
platform, where a friend interpreted the proceedings to her in the
finger language. The music, which was of a high order, was furnished by
the pupils of the institution for the blind at South Boston.
The occasion was one never to be forgotten. As I review it after an
interval of many years, I find that the impression made upon me at the
time does not diminish. I still wonder at the showing of such a solid
power of work, such untiring industry, such prophetic foresight and
intuition, so grand a trust in human nature. These gifts were well-nigh
put out of sight by a singularly modest estimate of self. Truly, this
was a knight of God's own order. I cannot but doubt whether he left his
peer on earth.