However, Whittier was well
prepared for the work, for he had become acquainted with the leaders and
with the chief interests of the Whig party while editing the
_Manufacturer_, and was himself an enthusiastic follower of Clay. His
common sense and shrewd but kindly reading of human nature, united with
a high sense of honor and justice, enabled him to fill this responsible
position with marked success until his failing health forced him to give
it up in January, 1832.

There was much reason for Whittier to look for success in political
life, for his editorial work had made him widely known as a man of sane
and practical views, and he was so highly regarded in the district where
he lived that had he reached the required age of twenty-five, he would
in all probability have been made a candidate for Congress in 1832. Thus
it was that although he had published more than a hundred favorably
received poems between 1828 and 1832, he wrote in the latter year: "My
prospects are too good to be sacrificed for any uncertainty. I have done
with poetry and literature."

A far nobler mission, however, and greater usefulness than he could have
planned for himself lay before Whittier. It was not political success
that was to draw forth the greatness of his nature. The strong and
fearless interest with which his friend Garrison had begun to champion
the abolition of slavery in the United States appealed to him, he felt
with all his heart that the cause was right, and, closing his eyes to
the bright promise of political success, he chose to unite himself with
the scorned and mistreated upholders of freedom. After thorough
consideration and study, he wrote and published in 1833 the pamphlet
_Justice and Expediency_, in which he set forth fully the arguments
against slavery. This was the first of his strong and stirring protests
against oppression. From that time until the close of the Civil War his
fervent, fearless love of liberty voiced itself through ringing verses,
in constant appeals to the conscience of the nation. The greatness of
this influence, as it worked silently in men's hearts, who can estimate?

[Illustration: JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER
1807-1892]

Whittier's part in the anti-slavery struggle was not always a quiet one.
On one occasion, when in company with a famous but unpopular English
reformer he was to address an audience on the subject of abolition, he
was attacked by a mob while passing quietly along the street with a