Page images
PDF
EPUB
[merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

FROM THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY HELD OCTOBER 30, 1901

Worcester, Mass., U. S. A.
PRESS OF CHARLES HAMILTON,

311 MAIN STREET.

REMINISCENCES OF JOHN FISKE.'

MANY years ago, when sitting at the graduates' table of a well known boarding-house in Cambridge, I used to hear much talk about a promising young man who sat at the undergraduates' table in another room, who was a devoted student and at that time absorbed in the study of mythology. Persons having rooms in the house were witnesses on the piazza, in the evening, of an interchange of expressions of tender interest between that undergraduate, John Fiske, and a charming young lady who had come to Cambridge on a visit and sat at the graduates' table. That interest ripened into something deeper, and before long two happy souls were united in marriage.

In later life I became somewhat intimate with Mr. Fiske.

1 Among articles regarding Mr. Fiske and his work which have come under my notice, the following are especially worthy of attention:

As giving estimates of him as an historian, the remarks of James Schouler, in the Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, October, 1901; Albert Bushnell Hart in a portion of a paper entitled, American School of Historians, in the International Monthly, Vol. 2, pp. 294-322, and at length in a paper, since Mr. Fiske's death, in the same periodical, October, 1901, pp. 558-569, entitled, The Historical Service of John Fiske; Lyman Abbott, in an article entitled, John Fiske's Histories, in The Outlook for Nov. 16, 1901, p. 709.

As giving an estimate of the position of Mr. Fiske as a psychologist and philosopher, John Fiske as a Thinker, by Josiah Royce, in the Boston Evening Transcript, for July 13, 1901. This article, in a revised form, appeared as a paper in the Harvard Graduates' Magazine, September, 1901, pp. 23-33.

As of especial interest, John Fiske, by William D. Howells, in Harper's Weekly, July 20, 1901, p. 732; John Fiske, Popularizer, in the New York Nation, July 11, 1901, pp. 26, 27.

For sketches of Mr. Fiske's life, one by William Roscoe Thayer, in the Harvard Graduates' Magazine, Sept., 1901, pp. 33-38; The Critic, Vol. 26 (Jan.-June, 1895), an article entitled, A Well-Equipped Historian (a copy of a leaflet sent out on request by Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co.); The Bookman, article entitled, Some Fiske Anecdotes, Sept., 1901, pp. 10, 11; American Monthly Review of Reviews, Vol. 24, pp. 175-178 (giving portraits of Mr. Fiske at the ages of 8 and 25 years), an article by John Graham Brooks.

For additional matter of interest, Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 88, pp. 282-284; The Critic, Vol. 39, pp. 117, 118, John Fiske by George L. Beer; the Cambridge Tribune, Aug. 3, 1901, John Fiske's Library.

He often came to Worcester, and when there was always, I believe, the guest of my brother and myself. In speaking of him, I hope not to repeat anything that has been said in print regarding him. After making one or two disconnected remarks respecting him, I wish to say a few words about a feature in the order of his studies, and glance at one of his mental traits.

Mr. Fiske's writings will always give a great deal of trouble to librarians. He was intensely interested in current events, and often alluded to them or used them in the way of illustrations. Our accomplished State librarian, Mr. C. B. Tillinghast, tells me that he spent many hours in finding out what Mr. Fiske referred to as the Texas Seed Bill.

In several of the sketches of Mr. Fiske which have appeared since his death, especial mention is made of his sweetness of disposition, geniality of manner and modesty in demeanor. I was particularly struck by his patience. When I first knew him he was tall and slender, but, as all know, he had, in later years, to carry about a ponderous weight of flesh. I have seen him as he tried to climb a hill, and walked by his side as he went up stairs, but, annoying as it was for him to do these things and difficult. though it was for him to breathe, I never heard him utter a word of complaint.

I said to him once: "It is hard for you to go up stairs." He answered pleasantly, "The doctor says that no vital organ is affected, and the trouble is only that the diaphragm is too near the breathing apparatus.”

Mr. Fiske's patience showed itself noticeably in conversation. The words which he used in regard to his intimate friend (my friend, too), Chauncey Wright, are applicable to him. In speaking of Mr. Wright's absolute freedom from egotism, he says: "The patient deference with which he would answer the silly remarks of stupid or conceited people was as extraordinary as the untiring interest with

which he would seek to make things plain to the least cultivated intelligence. This kind of patient interest, joined with his sweetness of disposition and winning simplicity of manner, made him a great favorite with children."

A recent writer 2 states that in his opinion Mr. Fiske would never have entered the field of history if it had not been necessary for him to earn a living. A gentleman who has been constantly in close contact with him tells me that that is his belief also. On the other hand, Mr. Fiske told me, in answer to a question as to how it came about that he developed such an interest in the philosophy of Herbert Spencer, that he studied the philosophy of evolution in order that he might understand history. Whatever the fact may be, however, it is very evident that his profound and comprehensive knowledge of the principles of evolution and their applications in the fields of natural history, the science of man, sociology and other divisions of knowledge, greatly enriched his historical work.

It has been truly said of Hume and Robertson that in their historical writings they have given us only "graceful summaries of superficial knowledge."3 This never can be said of Mr. Fiske.

Our late associate, Justin Winsor, told me that when Mr. Fiske became interested in some period of American history it was his custom to ask him to send to him the best books which treated debated questions from different points of view. Mr. Fiske certainly reproduced the contents of these and other works in a clear and very charming narrative. His judgments regarding matters in controversy were also very sensible. This was not all, however. He had besides a remarkable insight into the connection between events. While not predominantly a historian of

1 Darwinism and other essays (1885), p. 108.

2 George L. Beer, The Critic, Vol. 39, p. 118.

* See Leslie Stephen's English Thought in the 18th Century, V. 1, p. 378.

« PreviousContinue »