relentlessly, but men and women
laughed through their indignation. There were some who rebelled at the
coarseness of the satire, but all recognized that the author, whoever
he might be, was a scholar, a man of thought, and a genuine
philanthropist, who could not be put down. Volunteers were wanted, and
Boston was asked to raise her quota. But Hosea Biglow, in his
charmingly scornful way said:--

"Thrash away, you'll _hev_ to rattle
On them kittle-drums o' yourn,--
'Taint a knowin' kind o' cattle
Thet is ketched with mouldy corn.

Put in stiff, you fifer feller,
Let folks see how spry you be,--
Guess you'll toot till you are yaller
'Fore you git ahold o' me!"

The parson adds a note, sprinkled with Latin and Greek sentences, as
is his wont. The letters from the first page to the last, in the
collected papers, are amazingly clever. The reverend gentleman who
edits the series is a type himself, full of pedantic and pedagogic
learning, anxious always to show off his knowledge of the classics,
and solemn and serious ever as a veritable owl. His notes and
introductions, and scrappy Latin and Greek, are among the most
admirable things in the book. Their humor is delicious, and the mock
criticisms and opinions of the press, offered by Wilbur on the work of
his young friend, and his magnificent seriousness, which constantly
shows itself, give a zest to the performance, which lingers long on
the mind. The third letter contains the often-quoted poem, "What Mr.
Robinson Thinks."

"Gineral C. is a dreffle smart man:
He's ben on all sides that give place or pelf;
But consistency still wuz a part of his plan,--
He's ben true to _one_ party,--an' thet is himself:--
So John P.
Robinson, he
Sez he shall vote for Gineral C.

* * * * *

Parson Wilbur sez _he_ never heerd in his life
That th' Apostles rigged out in their swaller tail coats,
An' marched round in front of a drum an' a fife,
To get some on 'em office, an' some on 'em votes;
But John P.
Robinson, he
Says they didn't know everything down in Judee."

Despite the sometimes harsh criticism which the Biglow papers evoked,
Mr. Lowell kept on sending them out at regular intervals, knowing that
every blow struck was a blow in the cause of right, and every attack
was an attack o