[179]
Whereas, had he but once made tea in it,
His uncle's ear had had the flea in it,
There being not a cent of duty
On any pot that ever drew tea.1
There was Maria Chapman, too,
With her swift eyes of clear steel-blue,
The coiled — up mainspring of the Fair,
Originating everywhere
The expansive force without a sound
That whirled a hundred wheels around,
Herself meanwhile as calm and still
As the bare crown of Prospect Hill;2
A noble woman, brave and apt,
Cumaea's sybil not more rapt,
Who might, with those fair tresses shorn,
The Maid of Orleans' casque have worn,
Herself the Joan of our Ark,
For every shaft a shining mark.
And there, too, was Eliza Follen,
Who scatters fruit-creating pollen
Where'er a blossom she can find
Hardy enough for Truth's north wind,
Each several point of all her face
Tremblingly bright with the inward grace,
As if all motion gave it light
Like phosphorescent seas at night.
There jokes our Edmund, plainly son3
Of him who bearded Jefferson,—
This text is part of:
1 The tea-set was appraised at £ 40. Mr. Garrison's protest to the Collector of the port of Boston, on the ground of the obvious uncommercial nature of the entry, was disregarded (Lib. 16: 206; 17: 6). Had the service been imported (say) by Daniel Webster, under like circumstances, it is incredible that the duty would not have been remitted (Lib. 17.122). The sum extorted was refunded to Mr. Garrison by his female friends, through the exertions of Mrs. Eliza F. Meriam, daughter of Francis Jackson. In thanking one of the donors, Mr. Garrison wrote: ‘Next to a fort, arsenal, naval vessel, and military array, I hate a custom-house—not because of the tax it imposed on the friendly Scottish gift, but as a matter of principle. I go for free trade and free intercommunication the world over, and deny the right of any body of men to erect geographical or national barriers in opposition to these natural, essential, and sacred rights’ (M. S. July 30, 1847, to Mrs. Louisa Loring).
2 Somerville, Mass.
The Century Company. , 1885-1889.
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