AKER POET AS A HYMN-WRITER

Of all American poets, there is none who is so genuinely loved as John
Greenleaf Whittier. A man of the people, a true American, and full of the
milk of human kindness, Whittier's poetry reflects so much of his own
character that it will never lose its singular charm and beauty.

Whittier's life is a story of struggle. He was born of humble Quaker
parents at Haverhill, Mass., December 17, 1807. Instead of receiving the
advantages of an education, he knew of nothing but drudgery and hard work
throughout his childhood. But the poetic spark was in him even as a
child. One day, when a small boy, he sat before the kitchen fire and
wrote on his slate:

And must I always swing the flail
And help to fill the milking pail?
I wish to go away to school;
I do not wish to be a fool.

No doubt it was the memory of these childhood experiences that later
inspired him to write with such depth of feeling and understanding the
lines of "The Barefoot Boy":

Blessings on thee, little man,
Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan!
With thy turned-up pantaloons,
And thy merry whistled tunes;
With thy red lips, redder still
Kissed by strawberries on the hill;
With the sunshine on thy face,
Through thy torn brim's jaunty grace:
From my heart I give thee joy--
I was once a barefoot boy!

Through hard work he managed to save enough to attend Haverhill academy
two seasons. Though this was the extent of his scholastic training, he
never ceased to be a student.

A wandering Scotchman who chanced to visit the quiet Quaker home and sang
such rollicking (!) lyrics as "Bonny Doon," "Highland Mary," and "Auld
Lang Syne" kindled the boy's imagination. He immediately borrowed a copy
of Burns' poems from the village schoolmaster, and now for the first time
he seriously began to think of becoming a poet.

When he was only twenty-five years old he had already begun to attract
attention by his poetry. He had also achieved some success in politics
and was planning to run for Congress. Soon, however, came the call of the
Abolition movement, and Whittier, always true to his Quaker conception of
"the inner voice," determined to sacrifice all of his political ambitions
to become a champion of the slaves.

It was not long before he was recognized as preeminently the poet of
anti-slavery, as Phillips was its orator, Mrs. Stowe its novelist, and
Sumner its statesman. The fervo