With Garrison himself he always remained the best of friends;
but after the Kansas troubles began he did not continue to look upon him
as a leader, and in 1872 they were in political antagonism, Whittier
endorsing Sumner, and Garrison supporting Grant.
Perhaps the writing of "Ichabod" and Webster's subsequent death gave an
indication to Whittier of deeper life currents than he had known before;
for about that time, it seems to have dawned on him that didactic poetry
was not after all the best kind of poetry, and a work of art to be pure
and holy, must exist for its own sake, and be justified by its own
excellence. He refers to this intellectual change, not only in the lines
already quoted, but in a sort of confession, written at an earlier
period. He says--
"Art's perfect forms no moral need,
And beauty is its own excuse,"
and regrets that the highest reward of merit will never come to him on
this account. He realizes now that he belongs to a party and has been
looking at the world from the stand-point of party interest. In devoting
himself more closely to his vocation as a poet he acquired that moral
repose and better mental balance with which alone it is possible to see
things as they are. From this time forward the quality of his verses
shows a steady improvement.
The man possessed a deep nature and true breadth of character in spite
of the limitations of his environment; yet there were certain prejudices
and antipathies that adhered to him still.
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