He took a deep interest in his literary
advancement, and considered "Lars" his finest poem. Certainly no one
knew Taylor's work better, or brought a deeper sympathy into his
reading of it. "I love him too well to be a critic of his verse," he
says in one of his letters. "But what a brave worker he was!"
The reading of good books was, very late in life, as it had been very
early, his chief pleasure. His travels, his romance, his friendships,
were indulged in chiefly by proxy of the printed page. "I felt very
near Dr. Mulford through his writings," he said. "He was the strongest
thinker of our time, and he thought in the right direction. 'The
Republic of God' is intellectually greater than St. Augustine's 'City
of God,' and infinitely nearer the Christian ideal."
"That must be a shrewd zephyr," Charles Lamb used to say, speaking of
his Gentle Giantess, "that can escape her." And so we may say of
Whittier and a book. "Has thee seen the new book by the author of 'Mr.
Isaacs'?" he asked (having sent me "Mr. Isaacs" as soon as it
appeared, lest I should miss reading so novel and good a story). In
the same breath he adds: "I have been reading 'The Freedom of Faith,'
by the author of 'On the Threshold,' just published by Houghton & Co.
It is refreshing and tonic as the northwest wind. The writer is one of
the leaders of the new departure from the ultra-Calvinism. Thank thee
just here for the pleasure of reading Annie Keary's biography.
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