It is a very successful departure from New England
life and scenery, and shows that Sarah is as much at home in Ireland
and on the Carolina Sea Islands as in Maine or Massachusetts. I am
very proud that I was one of the first to discover her." This
predisposition to think well of the work of others gave him the happy
opportunity in more than one instance of bringing authors of real
talent before the public who might otherwise have waited long for
general recognition.
This was especially the case with one of our best beloved New England
writers, Lucy Larcom. As early as 1853 he wrote a letter to his
publisher introducing her work to his notice. "I inclose," he says,
"what I regard as a very unique and beautiful little book in MS. I
don't wish thee to take my opinion, but the first leisure hour thee
have, read it, and I am sure thee will decide that it is exactly the
thing for publication.... The little prose poems are unlike anything
in our literature, and remind me of the German writer Lessing. They
are equally adapted to young and old.... The author, Lucy Larcom, of
Beverly, is a novice in writing and book-making, and with no ambition
to appear in print; and were I not perfectly certain that her little
collection is worthy of type, I would be the last to encourage her to
take even this small step to publicity. Read 'The Impression of
Rain-drops,' 'The Steamboat and Niagara,' 'The Laughing Water,' 'My
Father's House,' etc.
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