Stowe's purity of motive and nobility of intention in bringing this
painful matter into notice.
While she was being on all hands effectively, and evidently in some
quarters with rare satisfaction, roundly abused for the article, and
her consequent responsibility in bringing this unsavory discussion so
prominently before the public mind, she received the following letter
from Dr. 0. W. Holmes:--
BOSTON, _September_ 25, 1869.
MY DEAR MRS. STOWE,--I have been meaning to write to you for some
time, but in the midst of all the wild and virulent talk about the
article in the "Atlantic," I felt as if there was little to say until
the first fury of the storm had blown over.
I think that we all perceive now that the battle is not to be fought
here, but in England. I have listened to a good deal of talk, always
taking your side in a quiet way, backed very heartily on one occasion
by one of my most intellectual friends, reading all that came in my
way, and watching the course of opinion. And first, it was to be
expected that the Guiccioli fanciers would resent any attack on Lord
Byron, and would highly relish the opportunity of abusing one who,
like yourself, had been identified with all those moral enterprises
which elevate the standard of humanity at large, and of womanhood in
particular. After this scum had worked itself off, there must
necessarily follow a controversy, none the less sharp and bitter, but
not depending essentially on abuse.
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