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Show AT WHITTIER'S CRAVE. In the beautiful valley of the Merri-mac, Merri-mac, which he rendered immortal by his verse, the body of the brave and gentle Whittier was today laid to rest. The minds of the many thousand Americans who in the years of the past have visited the poet's home, as in other lands the people goto kneel at a shrine, will turn today to this typical New England valley and will pass lovingly down its length, from Haverhill to Newburyport, lingering on each landmark land-mark and each bit of scenerv which he ha s painted in those marvelous word pictures, and which will live as long as the Merrimac river flows to the sea. We believe the haunts of Whittier will become as famous as those of Bcrss. or Shell Ei", or Byron. His modest life was circumscribed within narrow limits, but there is scarcely a square mile within those limits which was not illuminated by his song. Most of our other poets have been travelers and have tasted the sweets of cosmopolitan life and a wide range of intellectual experience. Whittieb was born on his father's farm in Haverhill. He passed nearly all his life there and in Danvers and Ameabury. He sleeps in the old Quaker burial ground of the latter town: - If all th4 hearts that have responded to the music of Whittier's flute had stood today by his open grave, how vast a throng tbey would have made! There would have been men of all nations,' and men and women from every walk of life. There would have been barefooted boys, ship-builders, shoemakers ' and many other men from the shops. . There would bavs baeh'"'the emancipated slave with , his family of children, educated edu-cated in the public schools. There would have been tbv poor man and the aristocrat, -the high and the low, the scholar and the very ignorant. For the songs of Whittier have rung in the ears of all these classes, and he has been the special champion of several of them. There ara many promising poets in this country" today, but Whittier had no predecessor in English literature, and the most sanguine prophet would hardly dare to predict that be will have a successor very soon. Nor is it necessary. neces-sary. The printing press survives the poet. Countless editions of his worka will be published in the years to come, and Whittier will remain a living influence influ-ence just as vital and real as when he watched the sunset from under the trees of Oak Knoll, or tbe summit of Indian Hill. 'iThe poet was buried today, to-day, but tbeysoDgs he sung will go ringing through the centuries. |