Good-by, We shall soon be home now, and preparing for Florida. Always
your own loving mother,
H. B. S.
Mrs. Stowe never undertook another reading tour, nor, after this one,
did she ever read again for money, though she frequently contributed
her talent in this direction to the cause of charity.
The most noteworthy event of her later years was the celebration of
the seventieth anniversary of her birthday. That it might be fittingly
observed, her publishers, Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. of Boston,
arranged a reception for her in form of a garden party, to which they
invited the _literati_ of America. It was held on June 14, 1882,
at "The Old Elms," the home of Ex-Governor Claflin of Massachusetts,
in Newtonville, one of Boston's most beautiful suburbs. Here the
assembly gathered to do honor to Mrs. Stowe, that lovely June
afternoon, comprised two hundred of the most distinguished and best
known among the literary men and women of the day.
From three until five o'clock was spent socially. As the guests
arrived they were presented to Mrs. Stowe by Mr. H. 0. Houghton, and
then they gathered in groups in the parlors, on the verandas, on the
lawn, and in the refreshment room. At five o'clock they assembled in a
large tent on the lawn, when Mr. Houghton, as host, addressed to his
guest and her friends a few words of congratulation and welcome. He
closed his remarks by saying:--
"And now, honored madam, as
"'When to them who sail
Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past
Mozambic, off at sea northeast winds blow
Sabean odors from the spicy shore
Of Arabie the blest,'
so the benedictions of the lowly and the blessings of all conditions
of men are brought to you to-day on the wings of the wind, from every
quarter of the globe; but there will be no fresher laurels to crown
this day of your rejoicing than are brought by those now before you,
who have been your co-workers in the strife; who have wrestled and
suffered, fought and conquered, with you; who rank you with the
Miriams, the Deborahs, and the Judiths of old; and who now shout back
the refrain, when you utter the inspired song:--
"'Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously.
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