I hope I may be able to finish it, as I greatly
desire to do so, but I begin to feel that I am not so strong as I used
to be. Your mother is an old woman, Charley mine, and it is best she
should give up writing before people are tired of reading her.
"I would much rather have written another such a book as 'Footsteps of
the Master,' but all, even the religious papers, are gone mad on
serials. Serials they demand and will have, and I thought, since this
generation will listen to nothing but stories, why not tell them?"
The book thus referred to was "Poganuc People," that series of
delightful reminiscences of the New England life of nearly a century
ago, that has proved so fascinating to many thousands of readers. It
was published in 1878, and, as Mrs. Stowe foresaw, was her last
literary undertaking of any length, though for several years
afterwards she wrote occasional short stories and articles.
In January, 1879, she wrote from Mandarin to Dr. Holmes:--
DEAR DOCTOR,--I wish I could give to you and Mrs. Holmes the exquisite
charm of this morning. My window is wide open; it is a lovely, fresh,
sunny day, and a great orange tree hung with golden balls closes the
prospect from my window. The tree is about thirty feet high, and its
leaves fairly glisten in the sunshine.
I sent "Poganuc People" to you and Mrs. Holmes as being among the few
who know those old days.
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