n woods and waters are to be
found in his histories. If any fault is to be found with his books,
indeed, it is that their picturesqueness and "fine writing" are a
little in excess.

The political literature of the years from 1837 to 1861 hinged upon the
antislavery struggle. In this "irrepressible conflict" Massachusetts
led the van. Garrison had written in his _Liberator_, in 1830, "I will
be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice. I am in
earnest; I will not equivocate; I will not excuse; I will not retreat a
single inch; and I will be heard." But the Garrisonian abolitionists
remained for a long time, even in the North, a small and despised
faction. It was a great point gained when men of education and social
standing like Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), and Charles Sumner
(1811-1874), joined themselves to the cause. Both of these were
graduates of Harvard and men of scholarly pursuits. They became the
representative orators of the antislavery party, Phillips on the
platform {508} and Sumner in the Senate. The former first came before
the public in his fiery speech, delivered in Faneuil Hall December 8,
1837, before a meeting called to denounce the murder of Lovejoy, who
had been killed at Alton, Ill., while defending his press against a
pro-slavery mob. Thenceforth Phillips's voice was never idle in behalf
of the slave. His eloquence was impassioned and direct, and his
English singularly pure, simple, and nervous. He is perhaps nearer to
Demosthenes than any other American orator. He was a most fascinating
platform speaker on themes outside of politics, and his lecture on the
_Lost Arts_ was a favorite with audiences of all sorts.

Sumner was a man of intellectual tastes, who entered politics
reluctantly, and only in obedience to the resistless leading of his
conscience. He was a student of literature and art; a connoisseur of
engravings, for example, of which he made a valuable collection. He
was fond of books, conversation, and foreign travel, and in Europe,
while still a young man, had made a remarkable impression in society.
But he left all this for public life, and in 1851 was elected, as
Webster's successor, to the Senate of the United States. Thereafter he
remained the leader of the Abolitionists in Congress until slavery was
abolished. His influence throughout the North was greatly increased by
the brutal attack upon him in the Senate chamber in 1856 by "Bully
Brooks" of South Ca