His the primal language, his
The eternal silences."


Mr. Whittier always goes to this meeting when he is well enough. The May
Quarterly Meetings of the Society of Friends are held at Amesbury. There
are a good many members of this Society in the town, and there is among
them a hospitality, a kindness, and a cordiality that added to their
quiet ways and the refined dress of the women makes them interesting.

It goes without saying that Amesbury has also the allotment of churches
of other denominations usual to New England towns.

Thirty years ago and more, the Amesbury and Salisbury Mills were two
distinct companies. The agent of the former mills, Mr. Joshua Aubin,
was a gentleman of fine presence. After he left Amesbury, he sent to
the town as a gift the nucleus of its present Public Library, which,
although not absolutely free has only a nominal subscription to pay the
services of the librarian, and for keeping the books in order.

[Illustration: John G. Whittier]

Mr. James Horton, agent of the Salisbury mills, was more of the
rough-and-ready type of man, a little bluff, but frank and kind-hearted.
Both gentlemen as it happened, lived in Amesbury and were of one mind in
regard to the character of their operatives. It was before the influx
of foreign labor, and the men and women in the mills belonged to
respectable, often well-to-do American families. Rowdyism was a thing
unknown to them, and as to drunkenness, if that fault was found once in
an operative, he was reprimanded; if it occurred again, he was at once