THE STORY OF PHILLIS WHEATLEY

Phillis Wheatley was a young and tragic Negro poet who lived in Boston of the American Revolutionary period. The biographer has described with deep feeling her entrance into Boston harbor on a slaver, her subsequent sale to the wife of a well-to-do merchant, who was quick to recognize her good mind, the imaginative quality of her expression, and who saw to it that she received an education far better than most women of her day. So great was her poetic gift that it had recognition of cultured Boston, and of George Washington as well. She travelled abroad and was entertained by the nobility, but with the coming of the war came ruin and death to her benefactors, while an unfortunate early marriage resulted in her own tragic death. A fascinating story, which should have wide appeal for sensitive readers of any age. Selections from her writings are included.