 | [Poems by Whittier in] A Study of Whittier's Apprenticeship as a Poet |  |
125
THE QUAKER
Who comes with his hat-brim resembling the wing
Of the bird which old Sinbad the mariner saw?
Such hats must be surely admirable things,
The wearer to shield from the elements' war.
Of the bird which old Sinbad the mariner saw?
Such hats must be surely admirable things,
The wearer to shield from the elements' war.
And his coat! view it and you ever will know it;
In its roundabout fashion how oddly it suits!
His vest with long pocket flaps hanging below it,
With drab-colored breeches and old-fashioned boots!
In its roundabout fashion how oddly it suits!
His vest with long pocket flaps hanging below it,
With drab-colored breeches and old-fashioned boots!
Me, from such strange beings may Providence save—
I tell you, Horatio, he seems to my view,
Like one of our ancestors crept from his grave,
The fashions prevailing in old times to shew;
I tell you, Horatio, he seems to my view,
Like one of our ancestors crept from his grave,
The fashions prevailing in old times to shew;
For I'm certain no rational man would have crowded
Himself into notice exciting our gaze
When in such unseemly habiliments shrouded;
Save one of the gentry of primitive days.
Himself into notice exciting our gaze
When in such unseemly habiliments shrouded;
Save one of the gentry of primitive days.
Beware, my good friend, and revile not too rashly
A person you know not, because of his dress;
For, believe me, the man you have pictured so harshly,
Does many a noble endowment possess.
A person you know not, because of his dress;
For, believe me, the man you have pictured so harshly,
Does many a noble endowment possess.
True, he has not decked out his humble exterior
In those fast varying fashions of vanity born—
To such idle allurements his mind is superior
'Tis his mind, not his person he seeks to adorn.
In those fast varying fashions of vanity born—
To such idle allurements his mind is superior
'Tis his mind, not his person he seeks to adorn.
He stands in the vortex of folly and fashion,
A mark for the sneers of the vulgar and rude,
Yet beholding them all with the eye of compassion,
And lamenting that pride was their reason subdued.
A mark for the sneers of the vulgar and rude,
Yet beholding them all with the eye of compassion,
And lamenting that pride was their reason subdued.
Then let him pass on with his broad slouching hat,
His roundabout coat and his boots of old fashion;
Since his heart is adorned, notwithstanding all that,
With the bright gems of meekness, of truth and compassion.
His roundabout coat and his boots of old fashion;
Since his heart is adorned, notwithstanding all that,
With the bright gems of meekness, of truth and compassion.
Haverhill Gazette, March 17, 1827
| [Poems by Whittier in] A Study of Whittier's Apprenticeship as a Poet | |