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diff --git a/6982-h/6982-h.htm b/6982-h/6982-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..feb86f7 --- /dev/null +++ b/6982-h/6982-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9482 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Hawthorne and his Circle, by Julian Hawthorne + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Hawthorne and His Circle, by Julian Hawthorne + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Hawthorne and His Circle + +Author: Julian Hawthorne + +Release Date: April 2, 2009 [EBook #6982] +Last Updated: February 4, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAWTHORNE AND HIS CIRCLE *** + + + + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + HAWTHORNE AND HIS CIRCLE + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Julian Hawthorne + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION </a><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> I </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> II </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> III </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> IV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> V </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> VI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> VII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> VIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> IX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> X </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> XI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> XII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> XIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> XIV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> XV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> XVI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> XVII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> XVIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> XIX </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + ILLUSTRATIONS (not available to this edition) NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE (From + a crayon drawing by Samuel Rowse) <br /> BIRTHPLACE OF NATHANIEL + HAWTHORNE AT SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS <br /> HERMAN MELVILLE <br /> JAMES T. + FIELDS <br /> THE WAYSIDE (Showing Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife) + <br /> EDWIN P. WHIPPLE <br /> JAMES T. FIELDS, NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, AND + WILLIAM D. TICKNOR <br /> RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES <br /> ROBERT BROWNING + <br /> FRANCIS BANNOCH <br /> REV. WILLIAM HENRY CHANNING, 1855 <br /> + MARIA MITCHELL <br /> WILLIAM WETMORE STORY <br /> PENCIL SKETCHES IN + ITALY, BY MRS. NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE <br /> THE MARBLE FAUN <br /> HIRAM + POWERS <br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + INTRODUCTION + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Inheritance of friendships—Gracious giants—My own good + fortune—My father the central figure—What did his gift to + me cost him?—A revelation in Colorado—Privileges make + difficulties—Lights and shadows of memory—An informal + narrative—Contrast between my father's life and mine. +</pre> + <p> + The best use we can make of good fortune is to share it with our fellows. + Those to whom good things come by way of inheritance, however, are often + among the latest to comprehend their own advantage; they suppose it to be + the common condition. And no doubt I had nearly arrived at man's estate + before it occurred to me that the lines of few fishers of men were cast in + places so pleasant as mine. I was the son of a man of high desert, who had + such friends as he deserved; and these companions and admirers of his gave + to me in the beginning of my days a kindly welcome and encouragement + generated from their affection and reverence for him. Without doing a + stroke of work for it, I found myself early in the enjoyment of a + principality of good will and fellowship—a species of freemasonry, I + might call it, though the secret was patent enough—for the rights in + which, unaided, I might have contended my lifetime long in vain. Men and + women whose names are consecrated apart in the dearest thoughts of + thousands were familiars and playmates of my childhood; they supported my + youth and bade my manhood godspeed. But to me, for a long while, the favor + of these gracious giants of mind and character seemed agreeable indeed, + but nothing out of the ordinary; my tacit presumption was that other + children as well as I could if they would walk hand in hand with Emerson + along the village street, seek in the meadows for arrow-heads with + Thoreau, watch Powers thump the brown clay of the "Greek Slave," or listen + to the voice of Charlotte Cushman, which could sway assembled thousands, + modulate itself to tell stories to the urchin who leaned, rapt, against + her knees. Were human felicity so omnipresent as a happy child imagines + it, what a world would this be! + </p> + <p> + In time, my misapprehension was corrected, rather, I think, through the + application to it of cold logic than by any rude awakening. I learned of + my riches not by losing them—the giants did not withdraw their + graciousness—but by comparing the lot of others with my own. And + yet, to tell the truth—perhaps I might better leave it untold; only + in these chapters, especially, I will not begin with reserves—to say + truth, then, my world, during my father's lifetime, and afterwards for I + will not say how long, was divided into two natural parts, my father being + one of them, and everybody else the other. Hence I was led to regard the + parties of the latter part, rich or poor, giants or pygmies, as being, + after all, of much the same stature and value. The brightness (in the + boy's estimation) of the paternal figure rendered distinctions between + other brightnesses unimportant. The upshot was, in short, that I inclined + to the opinion that while compassion was unquestionably due to other + children for not having a father like mine, yet in other respects my + condition was not egregiously superior to theirs. They might not know the + Brownings or the Julia Ward Howes; but then, very likely, the Smiths and + the Joneses, whom they did know, were nearly as good. + </p> + <p> + After fifty years, of course, such prepossessions yield to experience. My + father was the best friend I ever had, and he will always stand in my + estimation distinct from all other friends and persons; but I can now + recognize that in addition to the immeasurable debt I owe him for being to + me what he was in his own person, he bestowed upon me a privilege also + immeasurable in the hospitality of these shining ones who were his + intimates. Did the gift cost him nothing? Nothing, in one sense. But, + again, what does it cost a man to walk upright and cleanly during the + years of his pilgrimage: to deal justly with all, and charitably: + diligently to cultivate and develop every natural endowment: always to + seek truth, tell it, and vindicate it: to discharge to the utmost of his + ability every duty that was intrusted to him: to rest content, in the line + of his calling, with no work inferior to his best: to say no word and do + no act which, were they known, might weaken the struggle against + temptation of any fellow-creature? These qualities were the price at which + Hawthorne bought his friends; and in receiving those friends from him, his + children could not but feel that the bequest represented his unfaltering + grasp upon whatever is pure, lofty, and generous in human life. + </p> + <p> + Yes, whatever it may cost a man of genius to be all his life a good man, + and to use and develop his genius to the noblest ends only, that my + father's friends cost him, and in that amount am I his debtor; and the + longer I myself live, and the more I see of other men, the higher and + rarer do I esteem the obligation. Moreover, in speaking of his friends, I + was thinking of those who personally knew him; but the world is full + to-day of friends of his who never saw him, to whom his name is my best + and surest introduction. Once, only three years since, in the remote heart + of the Colorado mountains, I chanced to enter the hut of an aged miner; he + sat in a corner of the little family room; on the wall near his hand was + fixed a small bookshelf, filled with a dozen dog-eared volumes. The man + had for years been paralyzed; he could do little more than to raise to + that book-shelf his trembling hand, and take from it one or other of the + volumes. When this helpless veteran learned my name, he uttered a strange + cry, and his face worked with eager emotion; the wife of his + broad-shouldered son brought me to him in his corner; his old eyes glowed + as they perused me. I could not gather the meaning of his broken, + trembling speech; the young woman interpreted for me. Was I related to the + great Hawthorne? "Yes; I am his son." "His son!" Seldom have I met a gaze + harder to sustain than that which the paralytic bent upon me. Would I + might have worn, for the time being, the countenance of an archangel, so + to fill out the lineaments, drawn during so many lonely years by his + imagination and his reverence, of his ideal writer! "The son of + Hawthorne!" He said no more, save by the strengthless pressure of his + hands upon my own; the woman told me how all the books on the little shelf + were my father's books, and for fifteen years the old man had read no + others. Helpless tears of joy, of gratitude, of wonder ran down the + furrows of his cheeks into his white beard. And how could I at whom he so + gazed help being moved: on that desolate, unknown mountain-side, far from + the world, the name which I had inherited was loved and honored! One does + not get one's privileges for nothing. My father gave me power to make my + way, and cast sunshine on the path; but he made the path arduous, too! + </p> + <p> + Be that as it may, I now ask who will to look in my mirror, and see + reflected there some of the figures and the scenes that have made my life + worth living. As I peer into the dark abysm of things gone by, many places + that seemed at first indistinct, grow clearer; but many more must remain + impenetrable. Upon the whole, however, I am surprised to find how much is + still discernible. Nearly a score of years ago I published, in the shape + of a formal biography of Hawthorne and his wife, the consecutive facts of + their lives, and numerous passages from their journals and correspondence. + My aim is different now; I wish to indite an informal narrative from my + own point of view, as child, youth, and man. There will be gaps in it—involuntary + ones; and others occasioned by the obligation to retain those pictures + only that seem likely to arouse a catholic interest. Yet there will be a + certain intimacy in the story; and some matters which history would omit + as trivial will be here adduced, for the sake of such color and character + as they may contain. I shall not stalk on stilts, or mouth phrases, but + converse comfortably and trustfully as between friends. If a writing of + this kind be not flexible, unpretending, discursive, it has no right to be + at all. Art is not in question, save the minor art that lives from line to + line. Gossip about men, women, and things—it can amount to little + more than that. + </p> + <p> + In the earlier chapters the dramatis personae and the incidents must + naturally group themselves about the figure of my father; for it was thus + that I saw them. To his boy he was the fountain of love, honor, and + energy; and to the boy he seemed the animating or organizing principle of + other persons and events. With his death, in my eighteenth year, the world + appeared disordered for a season; then, gradually, I learned to do my own + orientation. I was destined to an experience superficially much more + active and varied than his had been; and it was a world superficially very + different from his in which I moved and dealt There must follow a + corresponding modification in the character of the narrative; yet that, + after all is superficial, too. For the memory of my father has always been + with me, and has doubtless influenced me more than I am myself aware. And + certainly but for him this book would never have been attempted. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Value of dates—My aunt Lizzie's efforts—My father's + decapitation—My mother's strong-box—The spirit of The + Scarlet Letter—The strain of imaginative composition—My + grandmother Hawthorne's death—Infantile indifference to + calamity—The children's plays and books—The house on Mall + Street—Scarlet fever—The study on the third floor—The + haunted mahogany writing-desk—The secret drawers—The + upright Egyptian—Mr. Pickwick—My father in 1850—The + flowered writing-gown, and the ink butterfly—Driving the + quill pen—The occupants of the second floor—Aunt Louisa + and Aunt Ebe—The dowager Mrs. Hawthorne—I kick my aunt + Lizzie—The kittens and the great mystery—The greatest book + of the age. +</pre> + <p> + My maternal aunt, Miss Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, was a very learned woman, + and a great student of history, and teacher of it; and by the aid of huge, + colored charts, done by my uncle Nat Peabody and hung on the walls of our + sitting-room, she labored during some years to teach me all the leading + dates of human history—the charts being designed according to a + novel and ingenious plan to fix those facts in childish memory. But as a + pupil I was always most inapt and grievous, in dates and in matters + mathematical especially; so that I gave her inexhaustible patience many a + sad hour. To this day I cannot tell in what year was fought the battle of + Marathon, or when John signed Magna Charta; though the battle itself, and + the scene of the barons with menacing brows gathered about John, stood + clearly pictured in my imagination. Dates were arbitrary, and to my memory + nothing arbitrary would stick. Nevertheless, when I am myself constructing + a narrative, whether it be true or fictitious, I am wedded to dates, and + cannot be divorced from them. It must be set down precisely when the + events took place, in what years the dramatis personae were born, and how + old they were when each juncture of their fortunes came to pass. I can no + more dispense with dates than I can talk without consonants; they carry + form, order, and credibility. Or they are like the skeleton which gives + recognizable shape to men and animals. Nothing mortal can get on without + them.. + </p> + <p> + Whether this addiction be in the nature of a reaction from my childish + perversity, giving my erudite and beloved aunt Lizzie (as I called her) + her revenge so long after our lessons are over; or how else to explain it, + I know not; but it leads me to affirm here that the nadir of my father's + material fortunes was reached about the year 1849. At that time his age + was five-and-forty, and I was three. + </p> + <p> + The causes of this financial depression were several. One morning he awoke + to find himself deprived, by political chicanery, of the income of a + custom-house surveyorship which for some while past had served to support + his small family. Now, some men could have gone on writing stories in the + intervals between surveying customs, and have thus placed an anchor to + windward against the time when the political storm should set in; but + Nathaniel Hawthorne was devoid of that useful ability. Nor had he been + able to spend less than he earned; so, suddenly, there he was on his + beam-ends. Leisure to write, certainly, was now abundant enough; but he + never was a rapid composer, and even had he been so, the market for the + kind of things he wrote was, in the middle of the past century, in New + England, neither large nor eager. The emoluments were meagre to match; + twenty dollars for four pages of the Democratic Review was about the + figure; and to produce a short tale or sketch of that length would take + him a month at least. How were a husband and wife and their two children + to live for a month on the mere expectation of twenty dollars from the + Democratic Review—which was, into the bargain, terribly slow pay? + Such was the problem which confronted the dark-haired and grave-visaged + gentleman as he closed his desk in the Salem custom-house for the last + time, and put on his hat to walk home. + </p> + <p> + Thanks, however, to some divine foresight on my mother's part, aided by a + wonderful talent for practical economy, she had secretly contrived to + save, out of her weekly stipends, small sums which in the aggregate bulked + large enough to make an important difference in the situation. So when her + husband disclosed his bad news, she opened her private drawer and + disclosed her banknotes, with such a smile in her eyes as I can easily + picture to myself. Stimulated by the miracle, he remembered that the + inchoate elements of a story, in which was to figure prominently a letter + A, cut out of red cloth, or embroidered in scarlet thread, and affixed to + a woman's bosom, had been for months past rumbling round in his mind; now + was the time of times to shape it forth. Yonder upon the table by the + window stood the old mahogany writing-desk so long unused; here were his + flowered dressing-gown and slippers down-at-heel. He ought to be able to + finish the story before the miraculous savings gave out; and then all he + would have to do would be to write others. And, after all, to be rid of + the surveyorship was a relief. + </p> + <p> + But matters were not to be run off quite so easily as this. The Scarlet + Letter, upon coming to close quarters with it, turned out to be not a + story of such moderate caliber as Hawthorne had hitherto been used to + write, but an affair likely to extend over two or three hundred pages, + which, instead of a month or so, might not be completed in a year; yet it + was too late to substitute something more manageable for it—in the + first place, because nothing else happened to be at his disposal, and + secondly, because The Scarlet Letter took such intimate hold upon the + vitals of his heart and mind that he was by no means able to free himself + from it until all had been fulfilled. Only men of creative genius know in + what glorious and harrowing thraldom their creations hold them. Having + once been fairly begun, The Scarlet Letter must inevitably finish itself + for good or ill, come what might to the writer of it. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: BIRTHPLACE OF NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE AT SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS] + </p> + <p> + This is a story of people and events, not a study in literary criticism; + but the writing of The Scarlet Letter was an event of no trifling + importance in the story of its author's life. To read the book is an + experience which its readers cannot forget; what its writing must have + been to a man organized as my father was is hardly to be conveyed in + words. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth—he must live through + each one of them, feel their passion, remorse, hatred, terror, love; and + he must enter into the soul of the mysterious nature of Pearl. Such things + cannot with impunity be done by any one; the mere physical strain, all + conditions being favorable, would be almost past bearing. But my father, + though uniformly his bodily health was all his life sound, was never what + I would call a robust man; he was exquisitely balanced. At the time he + began his book he was jaded from years of office drudgery, and he was in + some anxiety as to the issue of his predicament. The house in which he + dwelt, small and ill-placed in a narrow side-street, with no possibility + of shutting out the noise of traffic and of domestic alarms, could not but + make the work tell more heavily upon him. But in addition to this there + were fortuitous occasions of emotional stress, all of which I shall not + mention; but among them were the distasteful turmoil aroused by his + political mishap; and, far more poignant, the critical illness of his + mother. Circumstances led to her being housed under his roof; there she + lingered long at death's door, and there at last she died. He profoundly + loved her; but deep-rooted, too, in both of them was that strange, New + England shyness, masking in visible ice the underlying emotion. Not since + his boyhood had their mutual affection found free, natural expression; and + now, in this final hour, that bondage of habit caused the words of + tenderness to stumble on their lips. The awful majesty of approaching + death, prompting them to "catch up the whole of love and utter it" ere it + be too late, wrought this involuntary self-repression into silent agony. + </p> + <p> + She died; his own health was shaken to its foundations; his children fell + ill, his wife underwent acute suffering; and through all this, and more, + The Scarlet Letter must be written. No wonder that, when he came to read + the story in manuscript to his wife, his voice faltered and broke; and she + slipped to her knees and hid her face on her arms in the chair. "I had + been suffering," he commentated, long afterwards, "from a great diversity + and severity of emotion." Great works of art—things with the + veritable spirit of enduring life in them—are destined to be born in + sore travail and pain. Those who give them birth yield up their own life + to them. + </p> + <p> + It was at this period—say, about 1850—that my own personal + recollections, in a shadowy and incoherent way, begin. The shadows are + exclusively of time's making; they were not of the heart. All through the + trials of my parents I retained a jocund equanimity (save for some + trifling childish ailments) and esteemed this world a friendly and + agreeable place. The Scarlet Letter dashed my spirits not a whit; I knew + not of its existence, by personal evidence, till full a dozen years later; + and even the death of my grandmother left me light of heart, for the + passing of the spirit from the body can but awaken the transient curiosity + of a child of four. For the rest, my physical environment, in itself + amusing and interesting enough to me, had its chief importance from the + material it afforded on which to construct the imaginary scenes and + characters of my play. My sister Una and myself were forever enacting + something or somebody not ourselves: childish egoism oddly decking itself + in the non-ego. We believed in fairies, in magic, in angels, in + transformations; Hans Christian Andersen, Grimm, The Black Aunt (oh, + delectable, lost volume) were our sober history-books, and Robinson Crusoe + was our autobiography. But I did occasionally take note of concrete + appearances, too; and some of them I remember. + </p> + <p> + The house—the third which we had inhabited since my father became + surveyor—was on Mall Street, and was three stories in height, with a + yard behind and at one end; this yard, which was of importance to my + sister and myself, had access to the street by a swinging gate. There were + three or four trees in it, and space for play. The house was but one room + deep, and lying as it did about north and south, the rooms were open to + both the morning and the afternoon sunshine. They opened one into the + other in a series; and when my father was safe up-stairs in his study, my + mother would open all the doors of the suite on the lower floor, and allow + the children to career triumphantly to and fro. No noise that we could + make ever troubled her nerves, unless it was the noise of conflict; the + shriek of joy, however shrill, passed by her harmless; but the lowest + mutter of wrath or discontent distressed her; for of such are the mothers + of the kingdom of heaven! And so zealous was our regard for her just and + gentle law that I really think we gave way as little as most children to + the latter. + </p> + <p> + Of course, whenever the weather permitted, we were out in the yard, or + even promenaded for short distances up and down the street. And once—"How + are you?" inquired a friend of the family, as he drove by in his wagon. + "Oh, we've got the scarlet fever!" we proudly replied, stepping out + gallantly along the sidewalk. For we were treated by a homoeopathic doctor + of the old school, who was a high-dilutionist, and mortal ills could never + get a firm grip on us. In winter we rejoiced in the snow; and my father's + story of the Snow Image got most of its local color from our gambols in + this fascinating substance, which he could observe from the window of his + study. + </p> + <p> + The study was on the third floor of the house, secluded from the turmoil + of earth, so far as anything could be in a city street. No one was + supposed to intrude upon him there; but such suppositions are ineffectual + against children. From time to time the adamantine gates fell ajar, and in + we slipped. It seemed a heavenly place, tenanted by a being possessed of + every attribute that our imaginations could ascribe to an angel. The room + and its tenant glimmer before me as I write, luminous with the sunshine of + more than fifty years ago. Both were equipped for business rather than for + beauty; furniture and garments were simple in those Salem days. A homely + old paper covered the walls, a brownish old carpet the floor. There was an + old rocking-chair, its black paint much worn and defaced; another chair + was drawn up to the table, which stood to the left of the eastern window; + and on the table was a mahogany desk, concerning which I must enter into + some particulars. It was then, and for years afterwards, an object of my + most earnest scrutiny. Such desks are not made nowadays. + </p> + <p> + When closed, it was an oblong mahogany box, two feet long by half that + width, and perhaps nine inches high. It had brass corners, and a brass + plate on the top, inscribed with the name, "N. Hawthorne." At one end was + a drawer, with a brass handle playing on a hinge and fitting into a groove + or socket when down; there was a corresponding handle at the other end, + but that was for symmetry only; the one drawer went clear through the + desk. I often mused over the ethics of this deception. + </p> + <p> + Being opened, the desk presented a sloping surface two feet square, + covered with black velvet, which had been cut here and there and pasted + down again, and was stiffened with many ink-spatterings. This writing + surface consisted of two lids, hinged at their junction in the centre; + lifting them, you discovered two receptacles to hold writing-paper and + other desk furniture. They were of about equal capacity; for although the + upper half of the desk was the more capacious, you must not forget that + two inches of it, at the bottom, was taken up by the long drawer already + mentioned. + </p> + <p> + But there was, also, a more interesting curtailment of this interior + space. Along the very top of the desk, as it lay open, was a narrow + channel, perhaps a couple of inches wide and deep, divided into three + sections; two square ones, at the opposite ends, held the ink-bottle and + the sand-bottle; the long central one was for quill pens. These, in the + aggregate, appeared to the superficial eye to account for all that + remained of the cubic contents of the structure; but the supreme mystery + and charm of the affair was that they did not! + </p> + <p> + No; there was an esoteric secret still in reserve; and for years it + remained a secret to me. The bottle-sockets and pen-tray did not reach + down to the level of the long drawer by nearly an inch. Measurement would + prove that; but you would have said that the interval must be solid wood; + for nothing but a smooth panel met the eye when you pulled aside the + sheets of writing-paper in their receptacle to investigate. But the lesson + of this world, and of the desk as a part of it, is that appearances are + not to be trusted. The guile of those old desk-makers passes belief. + </p> + <p> + I will expose it. In the pen-tray lay a sort of brass nail, as long as + your little finger, and blunt at the end. Now take the sand-bottle from + its hole. In one corner of the bottom thereof you will see a minute + aperture, just big enough to admit the seemingly useless brass nail. Stick + it in and press hard. With an abrupt noise that makes you jump, if you are + four or five years old, that smooth, unsuspected strip of panel starts + violently forward (propelled by a released spring) and reveals—what? + Nothing less than the fronts of two minute drawers. They fit in underneath + the pen-tray, and might remain undiscovered for a hundred years unless you + had the superhuman wit to divine the purpose of the brass nail. The + drawers contain diamonds, probably, or some closely folded document making + you the heir to a vast estate. As a matter of fact, I don't know what they + contained; the surprise of the drawers themselves was enough for me. I + need not add that I did not guess the riddle myself; but nothing that I + can call to mind impressed me more than when, one day, my father solved it + for me with his little brass wand. At intervals, afterwards, I was allowed + to work the miracle myself, always with the same thrill of mysterious + delight. The desk was human to me; it was alive. + </p> + <p> + There were little square covers for the ink and sand-bottles; and on the + under sides of these were painted a pair of faces; very ruddy in the + cheeks they were, with staring eyes and smiling mouths; and one of them + wore a pair of black side-whiskers. They were done by my father, with oil—colors + filched from my mother's paint-box. They seemed to me portraits of the + people who lived in the desk; evidently they enjoyed their existence + hugely. And when I considered that the desk was also somehow instrumental + in the production of stories—such as the Snow Image—of a + delectable and magical character, the importance to my mind of the whole + contrivance may be conceived. When I grew beyond child's estate, I learned + that it had also assisted at the composition of The Scarlet Letter. If + ever there were a haunted writing-desk, this should have been it; but the + ghosts have long since carried it away, whither I know not. + </p> + <p> + On the table were two ornaments; one, the finely moulded figure of an + Egyptian in bronze, the wide Egyptian head-dress falling on the shoulders, + the arms lying rigidly at the sides, with fists clinched. Generations of + handling had made it almost black, but the amiable expression of the + little countenance—the figure was about seven inches tall—greatly + endeared it to me. Its feet were pressed close together on a small round + stand; but one day somebody set it down on a hot stove, where it remained + without flinching till the feet were melted off. After some years my + mother had an ebony stump affixed to it, preserving the proportions of the + figure and setting it once more erect. He was of greater endurance and of + finer physical if not of moral development than the Tin Soldier of Hans + Christian Andersen. The other ornament, less than half the Egyptian's + size, and also made of bronze, was a warrior in mediaeval armor, whose + head lifted off, showing a sharp-pointed rod the sheath of which was the + body. Its use was to pick the wicks of the oil-lamps of that epoch, and + its name was Mr. Pickwick. When afterwards I became acquainted with the + world's Mr. Pickwick, I supposed his creator had adopted the name from our + bronze warrior; but the world's Pickwick was made of stuff more enduring + than bronze; he remains, but our little warrior has vanished. + </p> + <p> + I come now to the human occupant of this chamber of marvels. I see a tall, + strong man, whose wide-domed head was covered with wavy black hair, + bushing out at the sides. It thinned somewhat over the lofty crown and + brow; the forehead was hollowed at the temple and rounded out above, after + the Moorish style of architecture. Under heavy, dark eyebrows were eyes + deep-set and full of light, marvellous in range of expression, with black + eyelashes. All seemed well with me when I met their look. The straight, + rather salient nose had a perceptible cleft at the tip, which, I was told, + was a sign of good lineage; muddy-mettled rascals lacked it; so that I was + much distressed by the smooth, plebeian bluntness, at that time, of my own + little snub. The mouth, then unshaded by a mustache, had a slight upward + turn at the corners, indicative of vitality and good-humor; the chin + rounded out sharply convex from the lip. The round, strong column of the + neck well supported the head; my mother compared it with that of the + Apollo Belvedere, a bust of which stood in the corner of our sitting-room. + The head was deep—a great distance between the base of the ear and + the wing of the nostril—and was well filled out behind. Above the + blue of the shaven beard the complexion showed clear white and red, + announcing a strong heart and good digestion. My father shaved himself + daily; I was not permitted to see the operation, but I knew he lathered, + and wondered why. He was naturally athletic; broad-shouldered and deep in + the chest, lean about the loins, weighing never over one hundred and + eighty pounds; his height was five feet ten and three-quarter inches; his + legs and feet were slender and graceful, his gait long and springy, and he + could stand and leap as high as his shoulder. In the house he wore + slippers, which seemed always old and down-at-heel. + </p> + <p> + In the house, also, he wore a writing-gown, made for him some years before + by my mother; it reached nearly to his heels, and had been a gorgeous + affair, though now much defaced. The groundwork was purple, covered all + over with conventional palm-leaf in old-gold color; the lining was red. + This lining, under the left-hand skirt of the gown, was blackened with ink + over a space as large as your hand; for the author was in the habit of + wiping his pen thereon; but my mother finally parried this attack by + sewing in the centre of the place a penwiper in the shape of a butterfly. + </p> + <p> + While story-writing, the door of the study was locked against all the + world; but after noon he became approachable, except during The Scarlet + Letter period, when he wrote till evening. He did not mind my seeing him + write letters; he would sit with his right shoulder and head inclined + towards the desk; the quill squeaked softly over the smooth paper, with + frequent quick dips into the ink-bottle; a few words would be written + swiftly; then a pause, with suspended pen, while the next sentence was + forming in the writer's mind. When he miswrote, instead of crossing out + the word, he would smear it out with his finger, and rewrite over the + smear; so that his page had a mottled appearance. The writing was + accompanied by intermittent nods of the head, as one would say, "Sic + cogito!" So far as he is concerned, the shadows close in on me here. + </p> + <p> + But I have said that the house was of three stories, and I have accounted + for two of them only. The second was occupied by my grandmother Hawthorne + and her two daughters, Aunt Louisa and Aunt Ebe (the latter appellation + being an infantile version of her name invented by my father, who was her + junior, and used by us to distinguish between her and that other Elizabeth + who was Aunt Lizzie Peabody). Of my grandmother Hawthorne I have no + personal recollection at all; she was a Manning, a beautiful old lady, + whom her son resembled. She had been a recluse from society for forty + years; it was held to be good form, in that age and place, to observe such + Hindoo rites after the death of a husband; hers had died in his + thirty-fourth year in Surinam. But she had also insensibly fallen into the + habit of isolating herself in some degree from her own family; they were + all of them addicted to solitude of the body, though kindly enough + disposed in the abstract. When we went to live in the Mall Street house, + the old lady and her daughters uprooted themselves from their home of many + years in Herbert Street and dwelt with us; and that quaint crystallization + of their habits was in a measure broken up. But the dowager Mrs. + Hawthorne, it soon appeared, had come there to die; she was more than + seventy years old. My aunt Louisa I seem dimly to recall as a tall, + fragile, pale, amiable figure, not very effective. My aunt Ebe I + afterwards came to know well, and shall defer mention of her. So I was + encompassed by kindly petticoats, and was very happy, but might have been + better for a stout playmate of my own sex. I had a hobby-horse, which I + rode constantly to fairy-land in quest of treasure to bestow upon my + friends. I swung with Una on the gate, and looked out upon the wonder of + the passing world. The tragedy of my grandmother's death, which, as I have + said, interrupted the birth of The Scarlet Letter, passed me by unknowing, + or rather without leaving a trace upon my memory. On the other hand, I can + reconstitute vividly two absurd incidents, destitute of historical value. + After my grandmother Hawthorne's death I fell ill; but the night before + the disease declared itself, I was standing in a chair at the nursery + window, looking out at the street-lamp on the corner, and my aunt Lizzie + Peabody, who had just come on from Boston, was standing behind me, lest I + should fall off. Now, I was normally the most sweet-tempered little urchin + imaginable; yet suddenly, without the faintest warning or provocation, I + turned round and dealt my loving aunt a fierce kick in the stomach. It + deprived her of breath for a space; but her saintly nature is illustrated + by the fact that the very first use she made of her recovered faculties + was to gasp out, "Sophie, the child must be ill!" Fortunately for my + reputation, the illness was not long in arriving. The other episode must + have happened at about the same period, and is likewise concerned with + Aunt Lizzie. We had a cat, and the cat had had kittens a day or two + before. Aunt Lizzie came into the nursery, where Una and I were building + houses of blocks, and sat down in the big easy-chair. The cat was in the + room, and she immediately came up to my aunt and began to mew and to pluck + at her dress with her claws. Such attentions were rare on pussy's part, + and my aunt noticed them with pleasure, and caressed the animal, which + still continued to devote its entire attention to her. But there was + something odd in the sound of her mewing and in the intent regard of her + yellow eyes. "Can anything be the matter with pussy?" speculated my aunt. + At that moment my father entered the room, and my aunt rose to greet him. + Then the massacre was revealed, for she had been sitting upon the kittens. + Their poor mother pounced upon them with a yowl, but it was too late. My + dear aunt was rather a heavy woman, and she had been sitting there fifteen + minutes. We all stood appalled in the presence of the great mystery. + </p> + <p> + One day a big man, with a brown beard and shining brown eyes, who bubbled + over with enthusiasm and fun, made his appearance and talked volubly about + something, and went away again, and my father and mother smiled at each + other. The Scarlet Letter had been written, and James T. Fields had read + it, and declared it the greatest book of the age. So that was the last of + Salem. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Horatio Bridge's "I-told-you-so"—What a house by the sea + might have done—Unknown Lenox—The restlessness of youth— + The Unpardonable Sin and the Deathless Man—The little red + house—Materials of culture—Our best playmates—The mystery + of Mrs. Peter's dough—Our intellectual hen—Fishing for + poultry—Yacht-building—Swimming with one foot on the + ground—Shipwreck—Our playfellow the brook—Tanglewood— + Nuts—Giants and enchanters—Coasting—Wet noses, dark eyes, + ambrosial breath—My first horseback ride—Herman Melville's + stories—Another kind of James—The thunder-storm—Yearning + ladies and melancholy sinners—Hindlegs—Probable murder—"I + abominate the sight of it!"—The peril of Tanglewood—The + truth of fiction—An eighteen-months' work—We leave five + cats behind. +</pre> + <p> + Horatio Bridge, my father's college friend, was a purser in the navy and + lived in Augusta, Maine, his official residence being at Portsmouth. He + had kept in closer touch with the romancer than any of his other friends + had since their graduating days, and he had been from the first a believer + in his coming literary renown. So, when The Scarlet Letter shone eminent + in the firmament of book-land, it was his triumphant "I-told-you-so" that + was among the earliest to be heard. And when my father cast about for a + more congenial place than Salem to live in, it was to Bridge that he + applied for suggestions. He stipulated that the place should be somewhere + along the New England sea-coast. + </p> + <p> + Had this wish of his been fulfilled it might have made great differences. + Hawthorne had always dwelt within sight and sound of the Atlantic, on + which his forefathers had sailed so often between the Indies and Salem + port, and Atlantic breezes were necessary to his complete well-being. At + this juncture physical health had for the first time become an object to + him; he was run down by a year of suffering and hard work, and needed + nature's kindest offices. A suitable house of his own by the sea-side + would probably have brought him up to his best physical condition to begin + with, and kept him so; and it would so have endeared itself to him that + when, two or three years later, Pierce had offered him a foreign + appointment he might have been moved to decline it, and have gone on + writing American romances to the end—to the advantage of American + letters. Concord had its own attractions; but it never held him as the sea + would have done, nor nourished his health, nor stimulated his genius. A + house of his own beside the Atlantic might well have added twenty years to + his life. + </p> + <p> + But it was not upon the knees of the gods. + </p> + <p> + Bridge's zealous efforts failed to find a place available, and after an + uneasy interval, during which his friend wandered uncomfortably about + Boston and the neighborhood (incidentally noting down some side-scenes + afterwards to be incorporated in The Blithedale Romance), a cottage in the + Berkshire Hills was spoken of, and upon examination seemed practicable. + Lenox, at that time, was as little known as Mount Desert; it was not until + long afterwards that fashion found them out and made them uninhabitable to + any but fashionable folks. Moreover, my father had seen something of Lenox + a dozen years before. + </p> + <p> + A dozen years before he was not yet betrothed to Sophia Peabody; he + already loved her and she him; but her health seemed an insuperable + barrier between them. This and certain other matters were weighing heavily + upon his soul, and his future seemed dark and uncertain. He thought of + taking a voyage round the world; he thought of getting into politics; he + even thought—as young men full of life sometimes will—of + death. What he finally did, with native good sense, was to make a + two-months' trip in the mountainous region to the westward, to change the + scene and his state of mind, and to get what artists call a fresh eye. He + chose North Adams as his headquarters, and forayed thence in various + directions over a radius of twenty miles. He was then beginning to revolve + one of the two great romance themes that preoccupied his whole after-life, + neither of which was he destined to write. This was the idea of the + Unpardonable Sin; the other was the conception of the Deathless Man. The + only essay we have towards the embodiment of the first vision is the short + fragment published in Mosses from an Old Manse, called "Ethan Brand." The + other was attempted in various forms, of which Septimius, Dr. Grimshawe's + Secret, and The Dolliver Romance, all posthumously published, are the most + important. + </p> + <p> + But Stockbridge, Pittsfield, and Lenox had been included among his haunts + during the break-away above mentioned, and he remembered that the scenery + was beautiful, the situation remote, and the air noble. Next to the sea it + seemed an ideal place to recuperate and write in. Thither, at all events, + he resolved to go, and early in the summer of 1850 we arrived at the + little red house above the shores of Stockbridge Bowl, with bag and + baggage. Little though the house was, the bag and baggage were none too + much to find easy accommodation in it. + </p> + <p> + A fair-sized city drawing-room of these sumptuous contemporary days could + stow away in a corner the entire structure which then became our + habitation, and retain space enough outside it for the exploitation of + social functions. Nevertheless, by the simple expedient of making the + interior divisions small enough, this liliputian edifice managed to + contain eight rooms on its two floors (including the kitchen). One of the + rooms was, in fact, the entrance-hall; you stepped into it across the + threshold of the outer door, and the staircase ascended from it. It was + used as an extension of the drawing-room, which opened out of it. The + drawing-room adjoined the dining-room, with windows facing the west, with + a view of the mountains across the lake, and the dining-room communicated + with the kitchen. One of the western-looking up-stairs rooms served as my + father's study; my sister Una had her chamber, I mine (which was employed + as the guest-chamber upon occasion), and our parents the other. What more + could be asked? for when Rose was born, her crib stood beside her mother's + bedstead. + </p> + <p> + When we were not asleep—that is, during twelve hours out of the + twenty-four—Una's existence and mine were passed mainly in the outer + sitting-room and in the dining-room. There was plenty to entertain us. I + had my rocking-horse, which I bestrode with perfect fearlessness; my + porcelain lion, which still survives unscathed after the cataclysms of + half a century; my toy sloop, made for me by Uncle Nat; and a jack-knife, + all but the edge and point, which had been removed out of deference to my + youth. Una had a doll, a miniature mahogany centre-table and bureau, and + other things in which I felt no interest. In common, we possessed the box + of wooden bricks, and the big portfolio containing tracings by my mother, + exquisitely done, of Flaxman's "Outlines of the Iliad and Odyssey" and + other classic subjects. We knew by heart the story of all these + mythological personages, and they formed a large part of our life. They + also served the important use of suggesting to my father his Wonder-Book + and Tanglewood Tales stories, and, together with the figures of Gothic + fairy-lore, they were the only playmates, with the exception of our father + and mother, that we had or desired. + </p> + <p> + But our father and mother were, of course, the main thing, after all. She + was with us all day long; he, from the time he stopped writing, early in + the afternoon, till our bed-time. They answered all our questions about + things animate and inanimate, physical and metaphysical; and that must + have taken time, for our curiosity was magnificent; and "The Old Boy," my + father records, "asked me today what were sensible questions—I + suppose with a view to asking me some." They superintended our projections + of creation on the black-board—a great, old-fashioned black-board, + the like of which I have not since beheld; they read to us and told us + stories. Many of these stories were of incidents of their own child-life; + and there was also the narrative of our mother's voyage to Cuba and back, + and residence there when she was about eighteen or twenty—a + fascinating chronicle. Meal-times were delectable festivals, not only + because the bread-and-milk, the boiled rice and tapioca pudding, and eggs + and fruit tasted so good, but by reason of the broad outlook out of window + over the field, the wood, the lake, and the mountains; supper-time, with + the declining sun pouring light into the little room and making the + landscape glorious, was especially exhilarating. Ambrosial was the bread + baked by Mrs. Peters, the taciturn and serious religious person of color + who attended to our cooking; the prize morsels were the ends, golden brown + in hue, crunching so crisply between our teeth. I used to wonder how a + being with hands so dark as those of Mrs. Peters managed to turn out dough + so immaculate. She would plunge them right into the ivory-hued substance, + yet it became only whiter than before. But the life of life was, of + course, out-doors. There was a barn containing a hay-mow and a large + hen-coop, soon populous with hens and chickens, with an heroic snow-white + rooster to keep them in order. Hens are the most audacious and presuming + of pets, and they have strong individuality. + </p> + <p> + One of our brood was more intellectual and enterprising than the others; + she found a way of getting out of the coop, no matter how tightly it was + shut up; and she would jump in our laps as we sat eating a piece of bread + in the barn doorway and snatch it away from us; but I think we sometimes + sat there with the bread on purpose to have her do it. Once or twice—until + I was detected and stopped—I enjoyed the poignant delight of fishing + for hens out of the barn loft; my tackle consisted of a bent pin at the + end of a string tied to a stick. It was baited with a grain of corn, or a + bit of rag would do as well, for hens have no hereditary suspicion of + anglers, and are much more readily entrapped than fishes. Pulling them up, + squawking and fluttering, was thrilling, but, of course, it was wrong, + like other thrilling things, and had to be foregone. A less unregenerate + experiment was fastening two grains of corn to the ends of a long bit of + thread; two hens would seize each a grain and begin swallowing thread + until they interfered, with each other, when a disgorgement would take + place. It was an economical sport—the one bit of thread and the two + corn-grains would last all day—and, in view of the joy afforded to + the spectators, did not seem too unkind. My father had mechanical talent, + and with an old door-knob and some strips of shingle he would make a + figure of a man with a saw; you fixed it to the edge of a table, set the + door-knob swinging, and the creature would saw with the most absurd + diligence. From the same shingle he would construct a pugilist, who, being + set up where the wind played upon him, would swing his arms interminably. + It was yacht-building, however, that afforded us most entertainment. A + shingle was whittled to a point at one end; a stick with a square paper + slipped on it was stuck up in the middle, and a rudder made fast to the + stern; such a boat would sail boldly out upon the vastness of the lake, + till the eye could no longer follow the diminishing white speck. These + days beside the lake were full of good things. The water was clear, with a + white sand bottom; we were given swimming-lessons in the hot summer + weather; having waded in up to our middles, we faced towards the shore, + where sat our father with a long fishing-pole, the end of which he kept + within our reach, and bade us lean forward on the water and kick up our + feet. But, for my part, I kept one foot on the bottom. It was not till + years afterwards that I mustered courage to take it off, and that was in a + lake three thousand miles from Stockbridge Bowl, with the towers of the + castle of Chillon reflected in its calm surface. + </p> + <p> + We also made limited use of a leaky old punt, which one day capsized and + emptied its whole crew into the water, luckily close to shore. We fished + for gold carp for hours together, and during our two summers we caught a + couple of them; there were thousands of them swimming about; but a bent + pin with the bait washed off is not a good lure. In winter, the lake had + five feet of ice on it, which lasted far into the spring, and once or + twice we got aboard this great raft and tracked across it, with as much + awe and enthusiasm as ever Kane had felt in his arctic explorations. In + all, we became intimate friends with the lake idea, new to us then, but + never to grow stale; and our good fortune favored us during after-life + with many lovely lakes and ponds, including such gems as Rydal, Walden, + and Geneva. + </p> + <p> + Water, in another enchanting guise, dashed and gurgled for us in the brook + that penetrated like a happy dream the slumber of the forest that bordered + on the lake. The wooded declivity through which it went was just enough to + keep it ever vocal and animated. Gazing down upon it, it was clear brown, + with glancing gleams of interior green, and sparkles diamond white; tiny + fishes switched themselves against the current with quivering tails; the + shaggy margins were flecked with sunshine, and beautiful with columbines, + violets, arbutus, and houstonias. Fragments of rock and large pebbles + interrupted its flow and deepened its mellow song; above it brooded the + twilight of the tall pines and walnuts, responding to its merriment with + solemn murmurings. What playfellow is more inexhaustible than such a + brook, so full of life, of motion, of sound and color, of variety and + constancy. A child welcomes it as an answer to its own soul, with its + mystery and transparency, its bounded lawlessness, its love of earth and + its echoes of the sky. In winter our brook had a new charm: it ran beneath + a roof of ice, often mounded with snow; its voice sounding cheerful as + ever in those inscrutable caverns, as if it discoursed secret wonders of + fairy-land, and carried treasures of the elves and gnomes. Zero, with his + utmost rigors, could not still its speech for a day or fix his grip upon + those elastic limbs. Indeed, the frosty god conspired with it for our + delight; building crystal bridges, with tracery of lace delicater than + Valenciennes, and spangled string-pieces, and fretted vaultings, whimsical + sierras, stalactite and stalagmite. An icicle is one of those careless + toys of nature which the decorative art of man imitates in vain. They are + among the myriad decorations of children's palaces. + </p> + <p> + To Tanglewood, as we called it, at all seasons of the year, came Hawthorne + and his wife and children. In spring there was the issuing forth of the + new life from beneath the winter coverlid; the first discovery of sociable + houstonias, and the exquisite tints and fragrance of the mayflower on its + dark, bearded stalk. When June became perfect, and afterwards till nuts + were ripe, my father loved to lie at full length upon the mossy and + leaf-strewn floor, looking up at the green roof, the lofty + whispering-gallery of vaulted boughs, with its azure lattices and + descending sunlight-shafts; wrapped in imaginings some of which were + afterwards to delight the world; but many more of them, no doubt, were + fated to join the glorious company of untold tales. Beside him sat our + mother, on a throne which we had fashioned for her from the upright stump + of a tree; round about them played the little girl and boy. They brought + all the treasures which this wonderfully affluent world afforded: flowers + in all seasons; strawberries, small but of potent flavor, which the little + boy would gather with earnest diligence, and fetch to the persons he + loved, mashed into premature jam in his small fist; exciting turtles with + variegated carapaces, and heads and feet that went in and out; occasional + newts from the plashy places; and in autumn, hatfuls of walnuts. There + were chestnuts, too, upon whose prickly hulls the preoccupied children + would sometimes inadvertently plump themselves. Our father was a great + tree-climber, and he was also fond of playing the role of magician. "Hide + your eyes!" he would say, and the next moment, from being there beside us + on the moss, we would hear his voice descending from the sky, and behold! + he swung among the topmost branches, showering down upon us a hail-storm + of nuts. There was a big cavern behind the kitchen chimney, which + gradually became filled with these harvests, and on winter evenings they + were brought forth and cracked with a hammer on the hearth-stone. + </p> + <p> + The wide field, or croft, which sloped from the house to the wood was + thickly grown with mullein-stalks, against which I waged war with an upper + section of one of my father's old broken canes, for I took them for + giants, and stubborn, evil-minded enchanters. I slew them by scores; but I + could make no way against the grasshoppers, which jumped against my bare + legs and pricked them. There were wasps, too; one of them stung Una on the + lower lip as she was climbing over a rail-fence. Her lip at once assumed a + Bourbon contour, and I reached the conclusion, by some tacit syllogism of + infancy, that the rail-fence was at least half to blame for the + catastrophe, and always carefully avoided it. I likewise avoided the + wasps; a certain trick they have of giving a hitch to their after-parts as + they walk along always struck me as being obviously diabolical. + </p> + <p> + When the snows came, two and three feet deep, we got out the family sled + from its summer lodging in the barn and went forth, muffled in + interminable knit tippets and other woollen armor, to coast down the long + slope. Our father sat in front with the reins in his hands and his feet + thrust out to steer, and away we went clinging fast behind him. Sometimes + we swept triumphantly to the bottom; at other times we would collide with + some hidden obstacle, and describe each a separate trajectory into the + snow-banks. We made enormous snow-balls by beginning with a small one and + rolling it over and over in the soft snow till it waxed too vast for our + strength; two or three of these piled one on another would be sculptured + by the author of The Scarlet Letter into a snow-man, who would stand + stanch for weeks. Snow-storms in Lenox began early and lasted till far + into April. The little red house had all it could do, sometimes, to lift + its upper windows above them. In the front yard there was a symmetrical + balsam fir-tree, tapering like a Chinese pagoda. One winter morning we + found upon one of its lower boughs a little brown sparrow frozen stiff. We + put it in a card-board coffin, and dug out a grave for it beneath the fir, + with a shingle head-stone. The funeral ceremonies had for the two mourners + a solemnity such as is not always felt at such functions in later life. + </p> + <p> + Of the regular daily routine was the journey to Luther Butler's, quarter + of a mile up the road, for milk and butter. I generally accompanied my + father, and saw placid Luther's cows, placid as himself, with their broad, + wet noses, amiable dark eyes, questionable horns, and ambrosial breath. + Mr. Tappan, our landlord, had horses, and once he mounted me on the bare + back of one of the largest of these quadrupeds, which, to the stupefaction + of everybody, instantly set off at full gallop. Down the road we + thundered, the rider, with his legs sticking out at right angles, + screaming with joy, for this transcended any rocking-horse experiences. A + hundred yards away there was a bend in the road. Just at that point there + was a manure-pile, which had long bided its time. I had hold of a strand + of the horse's mane; but when he swerved at the bend I had to let go, and + after a short flight in air, the manure-pile received me in its soft + embrace. Looking up the road, I saw Mr. Tappan, with dilated eyes and a + countenance expressing keen emotion, coming towards me at a wonderful + pace, and my father and mother following him at a short distance. I did + not myself mind the smell of manure, and the others were glad to put up + with it in consideration of my having escaped broken bones. + </p> + <p> + We did not keep a dog, but Herman Melville, who often came over from + Pittsfield, had a large Newfoundland which he sometimes brought with, him, + and Mr. G. P. R. James, a novelist of the Walter Scott school, had + another, and I was permitted to bestride both of them; they were safe + enough, but they would turn back their heads and lay their cold noses on + my leg; I preferred the now-forbidden horse. But Melville himself made up + for everything by the tremendous stories he used to tell about the South + Sea Islands and the whale fishery. Normally he was not a man of noticeable + appearance; but when the narrative inspiration was on him, he looked like + all the things he was describing—savages, sea-captains, the lovely + Fayaway in her canoe, or the terrible Moby Dick himself. There was vivid + genius in this man, and he was the strangest being that ever came into our + circle. Through all his wild and reckless adventures, of which a small + part only got into his fascinating books, he had been unable to rid + himself of a Puritan conscience; he afterwards tried to loosen its grip by + studying German metaphysics, but in vain. He was restless and disposed to + dark hours, and there is reason to suspect that there was in him a vein of + insanity. His later writings were incomprehensible. When we were living in + England, he passed through the midst of us on one of his aimless, + mysterious journeys round the world; and when I was in New York, in 1884, + I met him, looking pale, sombre, nervous, but little touched by age. He + died a few years later. He conceived the highest admiration for my + father's genius, and a deep affection for him personally; but he told me, + during our talk, that he was convinced that there was some secret in my + father's life which had never been revealed, and which accounted for the + gloomy passages in his books. It was characteristic in him to imagine so; + there were many secrets untold in his own career. But there were few + honester or more lovable men than Herman Melville. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: HERMAN MELVILLE] + </p> + <p> + James (no relation of our distinguished contemporary) was a commonplace, + meritorious person, with much blameless and intelligent conversation; but + the only thing that recalls him personally to my memory is the fact of his + being associated with a furious thunder-storm. My father and I were alone + in the house at the time; my mother had gone to West Newton on a three + weeks' visit. In the midst of the thunder and lightning, the downpour and + the hurricane, the crash of matter and the wreck of worlds, our door burst + open, and behold! of all persons in the world to be heralded by such + circumstances, G. P. R. James! Not he only, but close upon his heels his + entire family, numerous, orthodox, admirable, and infinitely undesirable + to two secluded gentlemen without a wife and mother to help them out. But + it was a choice between murder and hospitality, and come in they must. + Never before or after did our liliputian drawing-room harbor so large an + assemblage. They dripped on the carpet, they were conventional and + courteous; we made conversation between us; but whenever the thunder + rolled, Mrs. James became ghastly pale. Mr. James explained that this was + his birthday, and that they were on a pleasure excursion. He conciliated + me by anecdotes of a pet magpie or raven who stole spoons. At last, the + thunder-storm and the G. P. R. Jameses passed off together. + </p> + <p> + There were many other visitors, not only old friends, but persons + attracted thither out of the void by the fame of the book "along whose + burning leaves," as Oliver Wendell Holmes sang of it, "his scarlet web our + wild romancer weaves." It was a novel experience for the man who had + become accustomed to regarding himself as the obscurest man of letters in + America. Lonely, yearning ladies came; enthusiastic young men; melancholy + sinners. The little red house was not a literary Mecca only, but a moral + one. The dark-browed, kindly smiling author received them all courteously; + he was invariably courteous. "I would not have a drunken man politer than + I," he once answered me, when I asked him why he had returned the + salutation of a toper. What counsel he gave to those who came to him as to + a father confessor of course I know not; but later, when I used to sit in + his office in the Liverpool consulate, I sometimes heard him speak plain + truths to the waifs and strays who drifted in there; and truth more plain, + yet bestowed with more humanity and brotherly purpose, I have never heard + since. It made them tremble, but it did them good. Such things made him + suffer, but he never flinched from the occasion by a hair's-breadth. He + must have loved his fellow-creatures. + </p> + <p> + Somebody gave me a rabbit, which I named Hind-legs. I was deeply + interested in him for a while, especially when I learned that he could not + drink water; but he lasted only two weeks, and I am under the impression + that I killed him. Not that I loved him less; but children are prone to + experiment with this singular thing called life when it is in their power. + They do not believe that death can be other than a transient phenomenon; + the lifeless body may puzzle, but it does not convince them. I was + certainly not a cruel urchin, and I can recall none but cordial sentiments + towards Hindlegs on my part. I remember no details of the murder, if + murder were done; but I do remember feeling no surprise when, one morning, + Hindlegs was found dead. After so many years, I will not bring against the + owner of Hindlegs a verdict of positive guilt; but I suspect him. + Hindlegs, at all events, achieved an immortality which can belong to few + of his brethren; for my father, after pooh-poohing the imbecile little + bundle of fur for a day or two, conceived an involuntary affection for + him, and reported his character and habits in his journal in a manner + which is likely to keep his memory alive long after the hand that + (perhaps) slew him is dust. + </p> + <p> + In default of dogs and Hindlegs, we had abundant cats. My father was + always fond of these mysterious deities of ancient Egypt, and they were + never turned away from our doors; but how so many of them happened to find + us out in this remote region I cannot explain. It seems as if goodwill + towards cats spontaneously generated them. They appeared, one after + another, to the number of five; but when the time came for us to leave the + red house forever, the cats would not and could not be packed up, and they + were left behind. In my mind's eye I still see them, squatting abreast, + silhouetted against the sky, on the brow of the hill as we drove down the + road; for they had scampered after our carry-all when we drove away. Cats + teach Americans what they are slow to learn—the sanctity and + permanence of home. + </p> + <p> + But Lenox could not be a home for us. It was, indeed, a paradise for the + children; but the children's father was never well there. He had a + succession of colds—as those affections are called; it was ascribed + to the variations of temperature during the summers; but the temperature + would not have troubled him had he not been hard hit before he went to + Berkshire. He got out of patience with the climate, and was wont to + anathematize it with humorous extravagance, as his way was: "It is + horrible. One knows not for ten minutes together whether he is too cool or + too warm. I detest it! I hate Berkshire with my whole soul. Here, where I + had hoped for perfect health, I have for the first time been made sensible + that I cannot with impunity encounter nature in all her moods." It was the + summers that disagreed with him. "Upon the whole," he said, "I think that + the best time for living in the country is the winter." It was during the + winter that he did most of his writing. The House of the Seven Gables was + written between September of 1850 and January or February of 1851. + </p> + <p> + But composition took more out of him than formerly. He admitted to his + sister Louisa that he was "a little worn down with constant work," and + added that he could not afford any idle time now, being evidently of the + opinion that his popularity would be short-lived, and that it behooved + him, therefore, to make the most of it. But "the pen is so constantly in + my fingers that I abominate the sight of it!" he exclaimed. This was after + he had transgressed his custom of never writing in the hot months. He + began in June and finished in forty days the whole volume of The + Wonder-Book. He also read the tales to his domestic audience as fast as + they were written, and benefited, perhaps, by the expert criticism of the + small people. Many passages in the intercalated chapters, describing the + adventures of Eustace Bright and the Tangle-wood children, are based on + facts well known to his own two youngsters. And when Eustace tells his + hearers that if the dark-haired man dwelling in the cottage yonder were + simply to put some sheets of writing-paper in the fire, all of them and + Tangle-wood itself would turn into cinders and vanish in smoke up the + chimney—even the present chronicler saw the point; though, at the + same time, he somehow could not help believing in the reality of Primrose, + Buttercup, Dandelion, Squash-blossom, and the rest. Thus early did he + begin to grasp the philosophy of the truth of fiction. + </p> + <p> + The House of the Seven Gables and The Wonder-Book were a fair + eighteen-months' work, and in addition to them Hawthorne had, before + leaving Lenox, planned out the story of The Blithedale Romance; so that + after we got to West Newton—our half-way station on the road to + Concord—he was prepared to sit down and write it. Long before we + left Concord for England he had published Tangle-wood Tales, not to + mention the biography of Franklin Pierce. Una and her brother knew nothing + about the romances; they knew and approved the fairy tales; but their + feeling about all their father's writings was, that he was being wasted in + his study, when he might be with them, and there could be nothing in any + books, whether his own or other authors', that could for a moment bear + comparison with his actual companionship. What he set down upon the page + was but a less free and rich version of the things that came from his + living mouth in our heedless playtimes. "If only papa wouldn't write, how + nice it would be!" And, indeed, a book is but a poor substitute for the + mind and heart of a man, and it exists only as one of the numberless sorry + makeshifts to which time constrains us, while we are waiting for eternity + and full communion. + </p> + <p> + It was a dreary day in the beginning of the second winter that we set out + on our eastward journey; but Hawthorne's face was brighter than the + weather warranted, for it was turned once more towards the sea. We were + destined, ere we turned back, to go much farther towards the rising sun + than any of us then suspected. We took with us one who had not been + present at our coming—a little auburn-haired baby, born in May. + Which are the happiest years of a man's life? Those in which he is too + much occupied with present felicity to look either forward or backward—to + hope or to remember. There are no such years; but such moments there may + be, and perhaps there were as many such moments awaiting Hawthorne as had + already passed. + </p> + <p> + His greatest work was done before he left his native land, and within a + year or two of his death he wrote to Richard Stoddard: "I have been a + happy man, and yet I cannot remember any moment of such happy conspiring + circumstances that I would have rung a joy-bell at it." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Chariots of delight—West Newton—Raw American life—Baby's + fingers—Our cousin Benjamin's untoward head—Our uncle + Horace—His vacuum—A reformer's bristles—Grace Greenwood's + first tears—The heralding of Kossuth—The decorated engine— + The chief incident of the reception—Blithedale and Brook + Farm—Notes from real life—Rough draughts—Paths of + composition—The struggle with the Pensioner—Hawthorne's + method—The invitation of Concord—Four wooden walls and a + roof—Mr. Alcott's aesthetic carpentering—Appurtenances of + "The Wayside"—Franklin Pierce for President"—The most + homeless people in the world." +</pre> + <p> + The sky that overhung Hawthorne's departure from Lenox was gray with + impending snow, and the flakes had begun to fall ere the vehicle in which + his family was ensconced had reached the railway station in Pittsfield. + Travel had few amenities in those days. The cars were all plain cars, with + nothing to recommend them except that they went tolerably fast—from + twenty to thirty miles an hour. They were chariots of delight to the + children, who were especially happy in occupying the last car of the + train, from the rear windows of which they could look down upon the + tracks, which seemed to slide miraculously away from beneath them. The + conductor collected the tickets—a mysterious rite. The gradually + whitening landscape fled past, becoming ever more level as we proceeded; + by-and-by there was a welcome unpacking of the luncheon-basket, and all + the while there were the endless questions to be asked and faithfully + answered. It was already dark by the time we were bundled out at the grimy + shed which was called the depot, at West Newton, where we were met by the + Horace Manns, and somehow the transit to the latter's house, which we were + to occupy for the winter, was made. The scene was gloomy and unpleasant; + the change from the mountains of the west depressing; and, for my part, I + cannot remember anything agreeable in this raw little suburb. American + life half a century ago had a great deal of rawness about it, and its + external aspect was ugly beyond present belief. We may be a less virtuous + nation now than we were then, but we are indescribably more good to look + at. And the West Newton of to-day, as compared with that of 1851, will + serve for an illustration of this truth. + </p> + <p> + Horace Mann's house was a small frame dwelling, painted white, with green + blinds, and furnished with a furnace stiflingly hot. One of the first + things the baby did was to crawl under the sofa in the sitting-room and + lay her small fingers against the radiator or register, or whatever it is + called, through which the heat came. She withdrew them with a bitter + outcry, and on the tip of each was a blister as big as the tip itself. We + had no glorious out-door playground in West Newton; it was a matter of + back yards and sullen streets. The snow kept piling up, week after week; + but there was no opportunity to put it to its proper use of coasting. The + only redeeming feature of the physical situation that I recall is the + momentous fact of a first pair of red-topped boots. They were very + uncomfortable, and always either wet or stiff as iron from over-dryness; + but they made their wearer as happy as they have made all other boys since + boots began. A boy of six with high boots is bigger than most men. + </p> + <p> + But if the outward life was on the whole unprepossessing, inward + succulence was not lacking. We had the Manns, to begin with, and the first + real acquaintance between the two sets of children opened here. Mary + Peabody, my mother's elder sister, had married Horace Mann, whose name is + honorably identified with the development in this country of common-school + education. They had three children, of about our age, all boys. A statue + in bronze of Horace Mann stands in front of the State-house in Boston, and + the memory of the strenuous reformer well merits the distinction. He took + things seriously and rather grimly, and was always emphatically in + earnest. He was a friend of George Combe, the phrenologist, after whom his + second boy was named; and he was himself so ardent a believer in the new + science that when his younger son, Benjamin, was submitted to him for + criticism at a very early age he declared, after a strict phrenological + examination, that he was not worth bringing up. But children's heads + sometimes undergo strange transformations as they grow up, and Benjamin + lived to refute abundantly his father's too hasty conclusion in his case. + He became eminent as an entomologist; George followed the example of his + father on educational lines. Horace, who died comparatively early, was an + enthusiastic naturalist, who received the unstinted praise and confidence + of the great Agassiz. My uncle Horace, as I remember him, was a very tall + man, of somewhat meagre build, a chronic sufferer from headaches and + dyspepsia. His hair was sandy, straight, rather long, and very thick; it + hung down uncompromisingly round his head. His face was a long square, + with a mouth and chin large and immitigably firm. His eyes were reinforced + by a glistening pair of gold-bowed spectacles. He always wore a + long-skirted black coat. His aspect was a little intimidating to small + people; but there were lovely qualities in his nature, his character was + touchingly noble and generous, and the world knows the worth of his + intellect. He was anxious, exacting, and dogmatic, and was not always able + to concede that persons who differed from him in opinion could be morally + normal. This was especially noticeable when the topic of abolition + happened to come up for discussion; Horace Mann was ready to out-Garrison + Garrison; he thought Uncle Tom's Cabin a somewhat milk-and-water tract. He + was convinced that Tophet was the future home of all slave-holders, and + really too good for them, and he practically worshipped the negro. Had he + occupied a seat in Congress at that juncture, it is likely that the civil + war might have been started a decade sooner than it was. My father and + mother were much more moderate in their view of the situation, and my + mother used to say that if slavery was really so evil and demoralizing a + thing as the abolitionists asserted, it was singular that they should + canonize all the subjects of the institution. But, as a rule, all + controversy with the indignant zeal of our relative was avoided; in his + eyes any approach to a philosophical attitude on the burning question was + a crime. Nor were his convictions less pronounced on the subject of total + abstinence from liquor and tobacco. Now, my father smoked an occasional + cigar, and it once came about that he was led to mention the fact in + Horace Mann's hearing. The reformer's bristles were set in a moment. "Do I + understand you to say, Mr. Hawthorne, that you actually use tobacco?" + "Yes, I smoke a cigar once in a while," replied my father, comfortably. + Horace Mann could not keep his seat; he started up and paced the room + menacingly. He had a high admiration for my father's genius, and a deep + affection for him as a man, and this infidelity to the true faith seemed + to him the more appalling. But he would be true to his colors at all + costs, and after a few moments he planted himself, tall and tragic, before + his interlocutor, and spoke, in a husky voice, to this effect: "Then, Mr. + Hawthorne, it is my duty to tell you that I no longer have the same + respect for you that I have had." Then he turned and strode from the room, + leaving the excommunicated one to his reflections. Faithful are the wounds + of a friend, and my father was as much touched as he was amused by this + example of my uncle's candor. Of course, there was a great vacuum in the + place where my uncle's sense of humor might have been; but there are a + time and place for such men as he, and more than once the men without + sense of humor have moved the world. + </p> + <p> + In addition to the Manns, there were visitors—the succession of + whom, indeed, was henceforth to continue till the end of my father's + earthly pilgrimage. Among the earliest to arrive was Grace Greenwood, + wading energetically to our door through the December snow. She was one of + the first, if not the first, of the tribe of women correspondents; she had + lately returned, I think, from England, and the volume of her letters from + that strange country was in everybody's hands. She was then a young woman, + large and handsome, with dark hair and complexion, and large, expressive + eyes, harmonious, aquiline features, and a picturesque appearance. She + wore her hair in abundant curls; she exhaled an atmosphere of romance, of + graceful and ardent emotions, and of almost overpowering sentiment. In + fact, she had a genuine gift for expression and description, and she made + an impression in contemporary letters. We might smile now—and, in + truth, we sometimes did then—over some of her pages; but much of her + work would still be called good, if resuscitated from the dusty + book-shelves of the past. I remember one passage in her English Letters + which was often quoted in our family circle as a typical illustration of + the intensity of the period: "The first tears," wrote Grace, "that I had + shed since leaving my dear native land fell fast into the red heart of an + English rose!" Nothing could be better than that; but the volume was full + of similar felicities. You were swimming in radiant tides of enthusiastic + appreciation, quotations from the poets and poetical rhapsodies; incidents + of travel, humorous, pathetic, and graphic; swirling eddies of + word-painting, of moral and ethical and historical reflection; withal, an + immense, amiable, innocent, sprawling temperament. And as was her book, so + was Grace herself; indeed, if any one could outdo the book in personal + conversation, Grace was that happy individual. What she accomplished when + she embarked, full-sailed, upon the topic of The Scarlet Letter and The + House of the Seven Gables may be pictured to themselves by persons endowed + with the rudiments of imagination; I must not attempt to adorn this sober + page with an attempted reproduction of the scene. Mortal language reeled + and cracked under the strain of giving form to her admiration; but it was + so honest and well meant that it could not but give pleasure even in the + midst of bewilderment. My father bowed his head with a painful smile; but + I dare say it did him good when the ordeal was over. + </p> + <p> + At this time the reverberations of the European revolutionary year, 1848, + were still breaking upon our shores. President Polk had given mortal + offence to Austria by sending over a special commissioner to determine + whether the seceding state of Hungary might be recognized as a + belligerent. In 1850 the Austrian representative, Baron Huelsmann, had + entered upon a correspondence with our own Daniel Webster. The baron + remonstrated, and Daniel mounted upon the national bird and soared in the + patriotic empyrean. The eloquence of the Secretary of State perhaps + aroused unwarranted expectations in the breasts of the struggling + revolutionists, and the Hungarian man of eloquence set out for the United + States to take the occasion by the forelock. Not since the visit of + Lafayette had any foreigner been received here with such testimonials of + public enthusiasm, or listened to by such applausive audiences: certainly + none had ever been sent home again with less wool to show for so much cry. + In 1851, the name of Kossuth was the most popular in the country, and when + it was learned that he had accepted an invitation to speak in our little + West Newton, we felt as if we were almost embarked upon a campaign—upon + an altruistic campaign of emancipation against the Hapsburg oppressor. The + excitement was not confined to persons of mature age and understanding; it + raged among the smaller fry, and every boy was a champion of Kossuth. The + train conveying the hero from New York to Boston (whence he was to return + to West Newton after the reception there) was timed to pass through our + midst at three o 'clock in the afternoon, and our entire population was at + the track-side to see it go by. After one or two false alarms it came in + sight round the curve, the smokestack of the engine swathed in voluminous + folds of Old Glory. The smoke-stacks of those days were not like our + scientific present-day ones; they were huge, inverted cones, affording + ample surface for decoration. The train did not stop at our station; but + Kossuth no doubt looked out of the window as he flew past and bowed his + acknowledgments of our cheers. He was to return to us the next day, and, + meanwhile, the town-hall, or the church, or whatever building it was that + was to be the scene of his West Newton triumph was put in order for his + reception. The person who writes these words, whose ears had eagerly + devoured the story of the Hungarian revolt, wished to give the august + visitor some personal assurance of his distinguished consideration, and it + was finally agreed by his indulgent parents that he should print upon a + card the legend, "GOD BLESS YOU, KOSSUTH," and be afforded an opportunity + personally to present it to the guest of the nation. Many cards had been + used and cast aside before the scribe, his fingers tremulous with emotion, + had produced something which the Hungarian might be reasonably expected to + find legible. Then, supported by his father and mother, and with his + uncles, aunts, and cousins doubtless not far off, he proceeded proudly but + falteringly to the scene of the presentation. He dimly recalls a large + interior space, profusely decorated with stars and stripes, and also the + colors of Hungary. At the head of the room was a great placard with + "WELCOME, KOSSUTH" inscribed upon it. There was a great throng and press + of men and women, a subdued, omnipresent roar of talk, and a setting of + the tide towards the place where the patriot stood to receive our personal + greetings. The scribe whom I have mentioned, being as yet brief of + stature, was unable to see anything except coat-tails and petticoats, + until of a sudden there was a breaking away of these obstacles and he + found himself in close proximity to a gentleman of medium height, strongly + built, with a mop of dark hair framing a handsome, pale, smiling face, the + lower parts of which were concealed by a thick brown beard. It was + Kossuth, and there was that in his countenance and expression which + satisfied all the dreams of his admirer. He was chatting and shaking hands + with the elder persons; and in a minute we were moving on again, and the + printed card, for which the whole function had been created, had not been + presented. At the last moment, in an agony of apprehension, the boy pulled + at his mother's skirt and whispered piteously, "But my card!" She heard + and remembered; but need was for haste; we had already passed the + vantage-point. She snatched it from the tightly gripping fingers of the + bearer, handed it to Kossuth, and at the same moment, with a gesture, + directed his attention to her small companion. The Hungarian read the + inscription at a glance, looked me in the eyes with a quick smile of + comprehension, and, stepping towards me, laid his hand upon my head. It + was a great moment for me; but as I went away I suddenly dissolved in + tears, whether from the reaction of emotion, or because I had not myself + succeeded in delivering my gift, I cannot now determine. But Kossuth + thereby became, and for years he continued to be, the most superb figure + in my political horizon. + </p> + <p> + All this while The Blithedale Romance was being written. Inasmuch as it + was finished on the last day of April, 1852, it could not have occupied + the writer more than five months in the composition. Winter was his best + time for literary work, and there was winter enough that year in West + Newton. In the middle of April came the heaviest snowstorm of the season. + Brook Farm (modified in certain respects to suit the conditions) was the + scene of the story, and Brook Farm was within a fair walk of West Newton. + I visited the place some thirty years later, and found the general + topographical features substantially as described in the book. In 1852 it + was ten years since Hawthorne had lived there, and though he might have + renewed his acquaintance with it while the writing was going on, there is + no record of his having done so; and considering the unfavorable weather, + and the fact that the imaginative atmosphere which writers seek is + enhanced by distance in time, just as the physical effect of a landscape + is improved by distance of space, makes it improbable that he availed + himself of the opportunity. His note-books contain but few comments upon + the routine of life of the community; his letters to his wife (then Sophia + Peabody) are somewhat fuller; one can trace several of these passages, + artistically metamorphosed, in the romance. The episode of the masquerade + picnic is based on fact, and the scene of the recovery of Zenobia's body + from the river is a tolerably close reproduction of an event in Concord, + in which, several years before, Hawthorne had been an actor. + </p> + <p> + The portrayal in the story of city life from the back windows of the + hotel, is derived from notes made just before we went to Lenox; there are + the enigmatic drawing-room windows, the kitchen, the stable, the spectral + cat, and the emblematic dove; the rain-storm; the glimpse of the woman + sewing in one of the windows. There is also a passage containing a sketch + of the personage who served as the groundwork for Old Moody. "An elderly + ragamuffin, in a dingy and battered hat, an old surtout, and a more than + shabby general aspect; a thin face and a red nose, a patch over one eye, + and the other half drowned in moisture. He leans in a slightly stooping + posture on a stick, forlorn and silent, addressing nobody but fixing his + one moist eye on you with a certain intentness. He is a man who has been + in decent circumstances at some former period of his life, but, falling + into decay, he now haunts about the place, as a ghost haunts the spot + where he was murdered. The word ragamuffin," he adds, with characteristic + determination to be exact, "does not accurately express the man, because + there is a sort of shadow or delusion of respectability about him, and a + sobriety, too, and a kind of dignity in his groggy and red-nosed + destitution." Out of this subtle correction of his own description arose + the conception of making Old Moody the later state of the once wealthy and + magnificent Fauntleroy. But one of the most striking and imaginative + touches in the passage, likening the old waif to a ghost haunting the spot + (Parker's liquor-bar) where he was murdered, is omitted in the book, + because, striking though it was, it was a little too strong to be in + keeping with the rest of the fictitious portrait. How many writers, having + hit upon such a simile, would have had conscience and self-denial enough, + not to mention fine enough artistic sense, to delete it! + </p> + <p> + The craftsman's workmanship may occasionally be traced in this way; but, + as a rule, it is difficult to catch a glimpse of him in his creative + moments. If he made rough draughts of his stories, he must have destroyed + them after the stories themselves were completed; for none such, in the + case of his finished products, was left. I have seen the manuscripts of + all his tales except The Scarlet Letter, which was destroyed by James T. + Fields's printers—Fields having at that time no notion of the fame + the romance was to achieve, or of the value that would attach to every + scrap of Hawthorne's writing. All the extant manuscripts are singularly + free from erasures and interlineations; page after page is clear as a page + of print. He would seem to have taught himself so thoroughly how to write + that, by the time the series of his longer romances began, he was able to + say what he wished to say at a first attempt. He had the habit, + undoubtedly, of planning out the work of each day on the day previous, + generally while walking in solitude either out-of-doors or, if that were + impracticable, up and down the floor of his study. It was this habit which + created the pathway along the summit of the ridge of the hill at Wayside, + in Concord; it was a deeply trodden path, in the hard, root-inwoven soil, + hardly nine inches wide and about two hundred and fifty yards in length. + The monotonous movement of walking seemed to put his mind in the receptive + state favorable for hearing the voices of imagination. The external + faculties were quiescent, the veil of matter was lifted, and he was able + to peruse the vision beyond. + </p> + <p> + [MAGE: JAMES T. FIELDS] + </p> + <p> + But there is an important exception to this rule to be noted in the matter + of his fictitious narratives which were posthumously published. These, as + I have elsewhere said, are all concerned with a single theme—the + never-dying man. There are two complete versions of Septimius, of about + equal length, and many passages in the two are identical. There is a short + sketch on somewhat different lines, called (by the editor) The Bloody + Footstep; and there is still another, and a much more elaborate attempt to + embody the idea in the volume which I have entitled Doctor Grimshawe's + Secret. All these, in short, are studies of one subject, and they were all + unsatisfactory to the author. The true vein of which he had been in search + was finally discovered in The Dolliver Romance, but the author's death + prevented its completion. + </p> + <p> + In this series of posthumous manuscripts there is a unique opportunity for + making a study of the esoteric qualities of my father's style and methods, + and on a future occasion I hope to present the result of my investigations + in this direction. There is, furthermore, in connection with them, a mass + of material of a yet more interesting and interior character. While + writing the Grimshawe, he was deeply perplexed by certain details of the + plot; the meaning of the Pensioner, and his proper function in the story, + was one of these stumbling-blocks. But the prosperity of the tale depended + directly upon the solution of this problem. Constantly, therefore, in the + midst of the composition, he would break off and enter upon a + wrestling-match with the difficulty. These wrestling-matches are of an + absorbing significance; they reveal to us the very inmost movements of the + author's mind. He tries, and tries again, to get at the idea that + continues to elude him; he forms innumerable hypotheses; he sets forth on + the widest excursions; he gets out of patience with himself and with his + Pensioner, and often damns the latter in good set terms; but he will not + give up the struggle; his resolve to conquer is adamantine, and the + conflict is always renewed. And there it all stands in black and white; + one of the most instructive chapters in literary criticism in the world—the + battle of a great writer with himself. The final issue, after all, was + hardly decisive, for although a tolerable modus vivendi was reached and a + truce declared, it is evident that Hawthorne regarded the entire scheme of + the story as a mistake, and it is concluded in a perfunctory and + indifferent manner. + </p> + <p> + But it may be doubted whether anything of this sort ever took place in the + making of any of the other stories. These depend but in a subordinate + degree upon what is called technically plot interest. The author's method + was to take a natural, even a familiar incident, and to transmute it into + immortal gold by simply elucidating its inner spiritual significance. The + Scarlet Letter is a mere plain story of love and jealousy; there is no + serious attempt to hide the identity of Roger Chillingworth or the guilt + of the minister. The only surprise in The House of the Seven Gables + consists in the revelation of the fact that Maule reappears after several + generations in the person of his modern descendant. The structure of The + Blithedale Romance appears more complicated; but that is mainly because, + in a masterly manner, the author keeps the structural lines out of sight + and concentrates attention upon the interplay of character. The + scaffolding upon which are hung the splendid draperies of The Marble Faun + is, again, of the simplest formation, though the nature of the materials + is unfamiliar. + </p> + <p> + This is a digression; the present volume, as I have already stated, is not + designed to include—except incidentally-anything in the way of + literary criticism. + </p> + <p> + Blithedale having been finished and published, the question of where to + settle down permanently once more came up for an answer. Of course, our + sojourn at Mr. Mann's house had been a temporary expedient only; and for + that matter, the Manns, following the example of most Americans before and + since, had rented the place merely as a stepping-stone to something else. + My father's eyes again turned with longing towards the sea-shore; but the + fitting nook for him there still failed to offer itself. People are + naturally disposed to return to places in which they have formerly lived, + and Concord could not but suggest itself to one who had passed some of the + happiest years of his life among its serene pastures and piney forests. + This suggestion, moreover, was supplemented by the urgent invitations of + his old friends there, and Mr. Emerson, who was a practical man as well as + a philosopher, substantiated his arguments by throwing into the scale a + concrete dwelling. It was an edifice which not even the most imaginative + and optimistic of house-agents would have found it easy to picture as a + sumptuous country-seat; it was just four wooden walls and a roof, and they + had been standing for a hundred years at least. The occupants of this + house had seen the British march past from Boston on the 19th of April, + 1775, and a few hours later they had seen them return along the same dusty + highway at a greatly accelerated pace and under annoying circumstances. + There was a legend that a man had once lived there who had announced that + death was not an indispensable detail of life, and that he for his part + intended never to die; but after many years he had grown weary of the + monotony of his success, or had realized that it would take too long a + time to prove himself in the right, and rather than see the thing through + he allowed himself to depart. The old structure, in its original state, + consisted of a big, brick chimney surrounded by four rooms and an attic, + with a kitchen tacked on at the rear. It stood almost flush with the + side-path along the highway; behind it rose a steep hill-side to a height + of about one hundred feet; in front, on the other side of the road, + stretched broad meadows with a brook flowing through the midst of them. + Such conditions would not seem altogether to favor a man wedded to + seclusion. + </p> + <p> + But the thing was not at this juncture quite so bad as it had been. Mr. + Alcott, whose unselfish devotion to the welfare of the human race made it + incumbent upon his friends to supply him with the means of earthly + subsistence, had been recently domiciled in the house by Mr. Emerson (how + the latter came into possession of it I have forgotten, if ever I knew), + and he had at once proceeded to wreak upon it his unique architectural + talent. At any rate, either he himself or somebody in his behalf had set + up a small gable in the midst of the front, thrown out a double + bow-window, and added a room on the west side. This interrupted the + deadly, four-square uniformity, and suggested further improvements. Mr. + Alcott certainly built the summer-house on the hill-side, and terraced the + hill, which was also planted with apple-trees. Another summer-house arose + in the meadow opposite, which went with the property, and rustic fences + separated the domain from the road. The dwelling was now fully as + commodious as the red house at Lenox, though it had no Monument Mountain + and Stockbridge Bowl to look out upon. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: THE WAYSIDE (Showing Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife)] + </p> + <p> + The estate, comprising, I think, forty-two acres, all told, including + upward of twenty acres of second-growth woodland above the hill, perfectly + useless except for kindling-wood and for the sea-music which the + pine-trees made, was offered to my father at a reasonable enough figure, + to be his own and his heirs' forever. He came over and looked at the + place, thought "The Wayside" would be a good name for it, and was perhaps + helped to decide upon taking it by the felicity of this appellation. It + was close upon the highway, undeniably; but then the highway was so little + travelled that it might almost as well not have been there. One might, + also, plant a high hedge in place of the fence and make shift to hide + behind it. One could enlarge the house as need demanded; an affluent + vegetable garden could be laid out in the meadow, and fruit and ornamental + trees could be added to the slopes of the hill-side. The village was + removed to a distance of a trifle over a mile, so that the roar of its + traffic would not invade this retreat; and Mr. Emerson sat radiating peace + and wisdom between the village and "The Wayside"; while Mr. Alcott shone + with ancillary lustre only a stone's-throw away. Thoreau and Ellery + Channing were tramping about in the neighborhood, and Judge Hoar and his + beautiful sister dispensed sweetness and light in the village itself. + Walden Pond, still secluded as when only the Indians had seen the sky and + the trees reflected in it, was within a two-mile walk, and the silent + Musketaquid stole on its level way beyond the hill on the other side. + Surely, a man might travel far and not find a spot better suited for work + and meditation and discreet society than Concord was. + </p> + <p> + But, of course, the necessity of settling down somewhere was a main + consideration. Concord, was inviting in itself, but it was also + recommended by the argument of exclusion; no other place so desirable and + at the same time so easy of attainment happened to present itself. It did + not lie within sound and sight of the ocean; but that was the worst that + could be urged against it. A man must choose, and Concord was, finally, + Hawthorne's choice. + </p> + <p> + At this epoch he had not contemplated, save in day-dreams, the possibility + of visiting the Old World. His friend, Franklin Pierce, had just become + President-elect, but that fact had not suggested to his mind the change in + his own fortunes which it was destined to bring about. He was too modest a + critic of his own abilities to think that his work would ever bring him + money enough for foreign travel, and, therefore, in accepting Concord as + his home, he believed that he was fixing the boundaries of his future + earthly experience. It was not his ideal; no imaginative man can ever hope + to find that; but as soon as we have called a place our Home, it acquires + a charm that has nothing to do with material conditions. The best-known + song in American poesy has impressed that truth upon Americans—who + are the most homeless people in the world. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + A transfigured cattle-pen—Emerson the hub of Concord—His + incorrigible modesty—Grocery-store sages—To make common + men feel more like Emerson than he did—His personal + appearance—His favorite gesture—A glance like the reveille + of a trumpet—The creaking boots—"The muses are in the + woods"—Emerson could not read Hawthorne—Typical versus + individual—Benefit from child-prattle—Concord-grape Bull— + Sounds of distant battle—Politics, sociology, and grape- + culture—The great white fence—Richard Henry Stoddard—A + country youth of genius—Whipple's Attic salt—An unwritten + romance—The consulship retires literature—Louisa's + tragedy—Hard hit—The spiritual sphere of good men—Nearer + than in the world—The return of the pilgrim. +</pre> + <p> + My father's first look at "The Wayside" had been while snow was still on + the ground, and he had reported to his wife that it resembled a + cattle-pen. + </p> + <p> + But the family advent was effected in June, and although a heavy rain had + fallen while the domestic impedimenta were in transit, wetting the + mattresses and other exposed furniture, yet when the summer sun came out + things began to mend. My mother and Una came a day ahead of the others, + and with the help of carpenters and upholsterers, and a neighboring + Irishman and his wife for cleaning and moving purposes, they soon got + human order into the place of savage chaos. The new carpet was down in the + study, the walls had been already papered and the wood-work grained, the + pictures were hung in their places, and the books placed on their shelves. + By the time the father, the boy, the baby, and the nurse drove up in the + hot afternoon a home had been created for their reception. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Emerson was, and he always remained, the hub round which the wheel of + Concord's fortunes slowly and contentedly revolved. He was at this time + between forty-five and fifty years old, in the prime of his beneficent + powers. He had fulfilled the promise of his unique youth—obeyed the + voice at eve, obeyed at prime. The sweet austerity of his nature had been + mellowed by human sorrows—the loss of his brothers and of his eldest + son; he had the breadth and poise that are given by knowledge of foreign + lands, and friendships with the best men in them; he had the unstained and + indomitable independence of a man who has always avowed his belief, and + never failed to be true to each occasion for truth; he had the + tranquillity of faith and insight, and he was alert with that immortal + curiosity for noble knowledge the fruit of which enriches his writings. + Upon his modestly deprecating brows was already set the wreath of a + world-wide fame, and yet every village farmer and store-keeper, and every + child, found in his conversation the wisdom and companionship suited to + his needs, and was made to feel that his own companionship was a valued + gift. Emerson becomes more extraordinary the further we get away from him + in years; illustrating the truth which Landor puts into the mouth of + Barrow in one of his Imaginary Conversations, that "No very great man ever + reached the standard of his greatness in the crowd of his contemporaries: + this hath always been reserved for the secondary." The wealth contained in + his essays has only begun to be put in general circulation, and the + harvest of his poetry is still more remote; while the sincere humility of + the man himself, who was the best incarnate example of many of his ideals, + still puzzles those critics who believe every one must needs be inferior + to his professions. + </p> + <p> + "Though I am fond of writing and of public speaking," said Emerson, "I am + a very poor talker, and for the most part prefer silence"; and he went on + to compare himself in this respect with Alcott, "the prince of + conversers." Alcott was undoubtedly the prince of fluency, and Emerson + rarely, in private dialogue, ventured to string together many consecutive + sentences; but the things he did say, on small occasion or great, always + hit the gold. On being appealed to, or when his turn came, he would hang a + moment in the wind, and then pay off before the breeze of thought with an + accuracy and force that gave delight with enlightenment. The form was + often epigrammatic, but the air with which it was said beautifully + disclaimed any epigrammatic consciousness or intention. It was, rather, "I + am little qualified to speak adequately, but this, at least, does seem to + me to be true." In the end, therefore, as the interlocutor thought it all + over, he was perhaps surprised to discover that, little in quantity as + Emerson may have said during the talk, he had yet said more than any one + else in substance. But it may be admitted that he was even better in + listening than in speech; his look, averted but attentive, with a smile + which seemed to postpone full development to the moment when his companion + should have uttered the expected apple of gold in the picture of silver, + was subtly stimulating to the latter's intellect, and prompted him to + outdo himself. His questions were often revelations, discovering truth + which the other only then perceived, and thus beguiling him into + admiration of his own supposed intelligence. In this, as in other things, + he acted upon the precept that it is more blessed to give than to receive + gratification; he never seemed to need any other happiness than that of + imparting it. And so selflessly and insensibly were the riches of his mind + and nature communicated to the community that innocent little Concord + could not quite help believing that its wealth and renown were somehow a + creation of its own. The loafers in Walcott & Holden's grocery store + were, in their own estimation, of heroic stature, because of the + unegoistic citizen who dwelt over yonder among the pines. Emerson was a + great man, no doubt; but then he was no more than their own confessed + equal, or inferior! + </p> + <p> + This will and power to secularize himself is perhaps Emerson's unique + attribute. It is comparatively easy to stand on mountain-tops and to ride + Pegasus; but how many of those competent to such feats could at the same + time sit cheek by jowl with hucksters and teamsters without a trace of + condescension, and while rubbing shoulders with the rabble of the street + in town-meeting, speak without arrogance the illuminating and deciding + word? This, at last, is the true democracy that levels up instead of down. + An Emerson who can make common men feel more like Emerson than he himself + did is the kind of man we need to bring America up to her ideals. + </p> + <p> + Emerson was ungainly in build, with narrow, sloping shoulders, large feet + and hands, and a projecting carriage of the head, which enhanced the + eagle-like expression of his glance and features. His head was small; it + was covered (in 1852) with light brown hair, fine and straight; he was + cleanshaven save for a short whisker; the peaked ends of an uncomfortable + collar appeared above the folds of a high, black silk stock. His + long-skirted black coat was commonly buttoned up; he wore, on different + occasions, a soft felt hat or a high silk one, the latter, from use, + having become in a manner humanized. On the street he kept his face up as + he walked along, and perceived the approach of an acquaintance afar off, + and the wise, slow smile gleamed about his mouth as he drew near. "How do + you do?" was sometimes his greeting; but more often, "Good-bye!" or + "Good-night!"—an original and more sensible greeting. Though + ungainly in formation, he was not ungraceful in bearing and action; there + was a fitness and harmony in his manifestations even on the physical plan. + On the lecture platform he stood erect and unadorned, his hands hanging + folded in front, save when he changed the leaf of his manuscript, or + emphasized his words with a gesture: his customary one, simple but + effective, was to clinch his right fist, knuckles upward, the arm bent at + the elbow, then a downward blow of the forearm, full of power bridled. It + was accompanied by such a glance of the eyes as no one ever saw except + from Emerson: a glance like the reveille of a trumpet. Yet his eyes were + not noticeably large, and their color was greenish-gray; but they were + well set and outlined in his head, and, more than is the case with most + men, they were the windows of his soul. Wendell Phillips had an eloquent + and intrepid eye, but it possessed nothing approaching the eloquence and + spiritual influence of Emerson's. In every Lyceum course in Concord, + Emerson lectured once or twice, and the hall was always filled. One night + he had the misfortune to wear a pair of abominably creaking boots; every + slightest change of posture would be followed by an outcry from the + sole-leather, and the audience soon became nervously preoccupied in + expecting them. The sublimest thoughts were mingled with these base + material accompaniments. But there was nothing to be done, unless the + lecturer would finish his lecture in his stocking-feet, and we were fain + to derive a fortuitous inspiration from observing the unfaltering meekness + with which our philosopher accepted the predicament. I have forgotten the + subject of the lecture on that occasion, but the voice of the boots will + always sound in my memory. + </p> + <p> + In his own house Emerson shone with essential hospitality, and yet he + wonderfully effaced himself; any one but he might hold the centre of the + stage. You felt him everywhere, but if you would see him, you must search + the wings. He sat in his chair, bending forward, one leg crossed over the + other, his elbows often supported on his knee; his legs were rather long + and slender, and he had a way, after crossing his leg, of hitching the + instep of that foot under the calf of the other leg, so that he seemed + braided up. He seldom stood in a room, or paced to and fro, as my father + was fond of doing. But the two men were almost equally addicted to outdoor + walking, and both preferred to walk alone. Emerson formed the habit of + betaking himself to Walden woods, which extended to within a mile or so of + his door; thence would he return with an exalted look, saying, "The muses + are in the woods to-day"; and no one who has read his Woodnotes can doubt + that he found them there. Occasionally Channing, Thoreau, or my father + would be his companion; Alcott preferred to busy himself about his rustic + fences and summer-houses, or to sit the centre of a circle and converse, + as he called it; meaning to soliloquize, looking round from face to face + with unalterable faith and complacency. + </p> + <p> + My father read Emerson with enjoyment; though more and more, as he + advanced in life, he was disposed to question the expediency of stating + truth in a disembodied form; he preferred it incarnate, as it appears in + life and in story. But he could not talk to Emerson; his pleasure in his + society did not express itself in that form. Emerson, on the other hand, + assiduously cultivated my father's company, and, contrary to his general + habit, talked to him continuously; but he could not read his romances; he + admitted that he had never been able to finish one of them. He loved to + observe him; to watch his silence, which was full of a kind of speech + which he was able to appreciate; "Hawthorne rides well his horse of the + night!" My father was Gothic; Emerson was Roman and Greek. But each was + profoundly original and independent. My father was the shyer and more + solitary of the two, and yet persons in need of human sympathy were able + to reach a more interior region in him than they could in Emerson. For the + latter's thought was concerned with types and classes, while the former + had the individual touch. He distrusted rules, but had faith in exceptions + and idiosyncrasies. Emerson was nobly and magnanimously public; my father, + exquisitely and inevitably private; together they met the needs of nearly + all that is worthy in human nature. + </p> + <p> + Emerson rose upon us frequently during our early struggles with our new + abode, like a milder sun; the children of the two families became + acquainted, the surviving son, Edward, two years my elder, falling to my + share. But Emerson himself also became my companion, with a humanity which + to-day fills me with grateful wonder. I remember once being taken by him + on a long walk through the sacred pine woods, and on another occasion he + laid aside the poem or the essay he was writing to entertain Una in his + study, whither she had gone alone and of her own initiative to make him a + call! It is easy to compliment a friend upon his children, but how many of + us will allow themselves to be caught and utilized by them in this + fashion? But Emerson's mind was so catholic, so humble, and so deep that I + doubt not he derived benefit even from child-prattle. His wife rivalled + him in hospitality, though her frail health disabled her from entering + into the physical part of social functions with the same fortitude; in + these first months we were invited to a party where we were fellow-guests + with all the other children of Concord. There they were, their mothers + with them, and everything in sight that a child at a party could require. + My new friend Edward mounted me on his pony, and his father was at hand to + catch me when I fell off. Such things sound incredible, but they are true. + A great man is great at all times, and all over. + </p> + <p> + Thoreau, Channing, and Alcott were also visible to us at this time, but of + none of them do I find any trace in my memory; though I know, as a matter + of fact, that Channing and my father once permitted me to accompany them + on a walk round the country roads, which inadvertently prolonged itself to + ten miles, and I knew what it was to feel foot-weary. But another neighbor + of ours, hardly less known to fame, though in a widely different line of + usefulness, makes a very distinct picture in my mind; this was Ephraim + Wales Bull, the inventor of the Concord grape. He was as eccentric as his + name; but he was a genuine and substantive man, and my father took a great + liking to him, which was reciprocated. He was short and powerful, with + long arms, and a big head covered with bushy hair and a jungle beard, from + which looked out a pair of eyes singularly brilliant and penetrating. He + had brains to think with, as well as strong and skilful hands to work + with; he personally did three-fourths of the labor on his vineyard, and + every grape-vine had his separate care. He was married and had three + children, amiable but less interesting than himself. He had, also, a + tremendous temper, evidenced by his heavy and high-arched eyebrows, and + once in a while he let slip upon his helpers in the vineyard this + formidable wrath, which could easily be heard in our peaceful precincts, + like sounds of distant battle. He often came over and sat with my father + in the summer-house on the hill, and there talked about politics, + sociology (though under some other name, probably), morals, and human + nature, with an occasional lecture on grape-culture. He permitted my + sister and me to climb the fence and eat all the grapes we could hold; it + seems to me he could hardly have realized our capacity. During our second + summer he built a most elaborate fence along the road-front of his estate; + it must have been three hundred yards long and it was as high as a man + could reach; the palings, instead of being upright, were criss-crossed + over one another, leaving small diamond-shaped interstices. The whole was + painted brilliant white, to match the liliputian cottage in which the Bull + family contrived (I know not how) to ensconce itself. When the fence was + built, Mr. Bull would every day come forth and pace slowly up and down the + road, contemplating it with the pride of a parent; indeed, it was no puny + achievement, and when I revisited Concord, thirty years later, the great + white fence was still there, with a few gaps in it, but still effective. + But the builder, and the grapes—where were they? Where are Cheops, + and the hanging gardens of Babylon? + </p> + <p> + Among many visitors came Richard Henry Stoddard, already a poet, but + anxious to supplement the income from his verses by a regular stipend from + the big pocket of Uncle Sam. His first coming was in summer, and he and my + father went up on the hill and sat in the summer-house there, looking out + upon the wide prospect of green meadows and distant woods, but probably + seeing nothing of them, their attention being withdrawn to scenes yet + fairer in the land of imagination and memory. Stoddard was then, as + always, a handsome man, strong and stanch, black-haired and black-bearded, + with strong eyes that could look both fierce and tender. He was masculine, + sensitive, frank, and humorous; his chuckle had infinite merriment in it; + but, as his mood shifted, there might be tears in his eyes the next + moment. He was at that time little more than five-and-twenty years old, + and he looked hardly that; he was a New England country youth of genius. + Nature had kindled a fire in him which has never gone out. Like my father, + he was affiliated with the sea, and had its freshness and daring, though + combined with great modesty, and he felt honored by the affection with + which he inspired the author of The Scarlet Letter. It was not until his + second visit, in the winter, that the subject of a custom-house + appointment for him came up; for my father, being known as a close friend + of the President, whose biography he had written for the campaign, became + the object of pilgrimages other than literary ones. He received sound + advice, and introductions, which aided him in getting the appointment, and + he held it for nearly twenty years—more to the benefit of the + custom-house than of poetry, no doubt, though he never let poetry escape + him, and he is to-day a mine of knowledge and wisdom on literary subjects. + There is an immense human ardor, power, and pathos in Stoddard; better + than any other American poet does he realize the conception of his great + English brother—the love of love, the hate of hate, the scorn of + scorn. The world has proved impotent to corrupt his heroic simplicity; he + loved fame much, but truth more. He is a boy in his heart still, and he + has sung songs which touch whatever is sweetest, tenderest, and manliest + in the soul of man. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: EDWIN P. WHIFFLE] + </p> + <p> + E. P. Whipple, essentially a man of letters, and famous in his day as a + critic of literature, appeared often in "The Wayside." His verdict on a + book carried weight; it was an era when literary criticism was regarded + seriously, and volumes devoted to critical studies had something more + than, a perfunctory vogue. He had written penetrating and cordial things + about my father's books, and foretold the high place which he would + ultimately occupy in our Pantheon. He was rich in the kind of Attic salt + which, was characteristic of Boston in the middle century; the product of + an almost excessive culture erected on sound, native brains. He had + abounding wit; not only wit of the sort that begets mirth, but that larger + and graver wit which Macaulay notices in Bacon's writings—a pure, + irradiating, intellectual light. It had often the effect of an actual + physical illumination cast upon the topic. He was magnificent as a + dinner-table companion. He was rather a short, thick-shouldered man, with + a big head on a short neck, a broad, projecting forehead, prominent eyes, + defended by shiny spectacles, and bushy whiskers. He is not remembered + now, probably because he never produced any organic work commensurate with + his huge talent. Analyses of the work of others, however just, useful, and + creative, do not endure unless they are associated with writing of the + independent sort. Whipple, with all his ability and insight, never entered + the imaginative field on his own account, and in the press of wits he + falls behind and is forgotten. + </p> + <p> + My father had come to Concord with the idea of a new romance in his mind; + he designed it to be of a character more cheerful than the foregoing ones. + It was never written, and but the slightest traces of what it might have + been are extant. Herman Melville had spent a day with us at Concord, and + he had suggested a story to Hawthorne; but the latter, after turning it + over in his mind, came to the conclusion that Melville could treat the + subject better than he could; but Melville finally relinquished it also. + It seems likely, however, that this projected tale was not the one which + Hawthorne had originally been meditating. At all events, it was postponed + in favor of a new book of wonder-stories from Greek mythology—the + first one having had immediate popularity, and by the time this was + finished, the occasion had arrived which led to the writing of Pierce's + biography. This, in turn, was followed by the offer by the President to + his friend of the Liverpool consulate, then the most lucrative appointment + in the gift of the administration; and Hawthorne's acceptance of it caused + all literary projects to be indefinitely abandoned. + </p> + <p> + But even had there been time for the writing of another book, the death of + Hawthorne's sister Louisa would doubtless have unfitted him for a while + from undertaking it. This was the most painful episode connected with his + life; Louisa was a passenger on a Hudson River steamboat which was burned. + She was a gentle, rather fragile woman, with a playful humor and a lovable + nature; she had not the intellectual force either of her brother or of her + sister Elizabeth; but her social inclinations were stronger than theirs. + She was a delightful person to have in the house, and her nephew and niece + were ardently in love with her. She was on her way to "The Wayside" when + the calamity occurred, and we were actually expecting her on the day she + perished. Standing on the blazing deck, with the panic and the + death-scenes around her, the gentle woman had to make the terrible choice + between the river and the fire. She was alone; there was none to advise or + help her or be her companion in inevitable death. Her thoughts must have + gone to her brother, with his strength and courage, his skill as a + swimmer; but he was far away, unconscious of her desperate extremity. She + had to choose, and the river was her choice. With that tragic conception + of the drowning of Zenobia fresh in his mind, the realization of his + sister's fate must have gained additional poignancy in my father's + imagination. He was hard hit, and the traces of the blow were manifest on + him. After about a month, he made a journey to the Isles of Shoals with + Franklin Pierce, and in that breezy outpost of the land he spent some + weeks, much to his advantage. This was in the autumn of 1852, and I recall + well enough the gap in things which his long absence made for me, and my + perfect joy when the whistle of the train at the distant railway station + signalled his return. Twenty minutes had to elapse before the railroad + carriage could bring him to our door; they were long and they were brief, + after the manner of minutes in such circumstances. He came, and there was + a moment of indescribable glory while he leaped from the carriage and + faced the situation on the doorstep of his home. His countenance was + glowing with health and the happiness of home-coming. I thought him, as I + always did, the most beautiful of human beings, by which I do not mean + beautiful in feature, for of that I was not competent to hold an opinion; + but beautiful in the feelings which he aroused in me beholding him. He was + beautiful to be with, to hear, touch, and experience. Such is the effect + of the spiritual sphere of good men, in whom nature and character are + harmonious. My father got his appointment from Washington in the following + March, 1853. His wife had but one solicitude in leaving America; her + mother was aged and in delicate health, and their parting might be forever + in this world. But a month before the appointment was confirmed, her + mother quietly and painlessly died. It was as if she had wished not to be + separated from her beloved daughter, and had entered into the spiritual + state in the expectation of being nearer to her there than she could be in + the world. My mother always affirmed that she was conscious of her + mother's presence with her on momentous occasions during the remainder of + her own life. + </p> + <p> + June came; the farewells were said, we were railroaded to Boston, embarked + on the Cunard steamship Niagara, Captain Leitch, and steamed out of Boston + Harbor on a day of cloudlessness and calm. Incoming vessels, drifting in + the smoothness, saluted us with their flags, and the idle seamen stared at + us, leaning over their bulwarks. The last of the low headlands grew dim + and vanished in the golden haze of the afternoon. "Go away, tiresome old + land!" sang out my sister and myself; but my father, standing beside us, + gazing westward with a serious look, bade us be silent. Two hundred and + twenty years had passed since our first ancestor had sought freedom on + those disappearing shores, and our father was the first of his descendants + to visit the Old Home whence he came. What was to be the outcome? But the + children only felt that the ocean was pleasant and strange, and they + longed to explore it. The future and the past did not concern them. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + A paddle-wheel ocean-liner—The hens, the cow, and the + carpenter—W. D. Ticknor—Our first Englishman—An + aristocratic acrobat—Speech that beggars eulogy—The boots + of great travellers—Complimentary cannon—The last + infirmity of noble republican minds—The golden promise: the + spiritual fulfilment—Fatuous serenity—Past and future—The + coquetry of chalk cliffs—Two kinds of imagination—The + thirsty island—Gloomy English comforts—Systematic + geniality—A standing puzzle—The respirator—Scamps, fools, + mendicants, and desperadoes—The wrongs of sailor-men—"Is + this myself?"—"Profoundly akin"—Henry Bright—Charm of + insular prejudice—No stooping to compromise—The battle + against dinner—"I'm glad you liked it!"—An English-, + Irish-, and Scotchman—An Englishman owns his country—A + contradiction in Englishmen—A hospitable gateway—Years of + memorable trifles. +</pre> + <p> + The steamship Niagara was, in 1853, a favorable specimen of nautical + architecture; the Cunard Company had then been in existence rather less + than a score of years, and had already established its reputation for + safety and convenience. But, with the exception of the red smoke-stack + with the black ring round the top, there was little similarity between the + boat that took us to England and the mammoths that do that service for + travellers now adays. The Niagara was about two hundred and fifty feet + long, and was propelled by paddle-wheels, upon the summits of whose + curving altitudes we were permitted to climb in calm weather. The interior + decorations were neat and pretty, but had nothing of the palatial and + aesthetic gorgeousness which educates us in these later ages. The company + of passengers was so small that a single cow, housed in a pen on deck, + sufficed for their needs in the way of milk, and there were still left + alive and pecking contentedly about their coop a number of fowls, after we + had eaten all we could of their brethren at the ten dinners that were + served during the voyage. The crew, from the captain down, were all able + seamen, friendly and companionable, and not so numerous but that it was + easy to make their individual acquaintance. The most engaging friend of + the small people was the carpenter, who had his shop on deck, and from + whom I acquired that passion for the profession which every normal boy + ought to have, and from the practice of which I derived deep enjoyment and + many bloody thumbs and fingers for ten years afterwards. + </p> + <p> + But we had companionship historically at least more edifying. William D. + Ticknor, the senior partner of my father's publishers, was the only figure + familiar at the outset. He was one of the most amiable of men, with thick + whiskers all round his face and spectacles shining over his kindly eyes; a + sturdy, thick-set personage, active in movement and genial in + conversation. It was James T. Fields who usually made the trips to + England; but on this occasion Fields got no farther than the wharf, where + the last object visible was his comely and smiling countenance as he waved + his adieux. Conspicuous among the group on the after-deck, as we glided + out of the smooth harbor of Boston, was an urbane and dignified gentleman + of perhaps sixty years of age, with a clean-shaven mouth and chin, finely + moulded, and with what Tennyson would call an educated whisker, short and + gray, defining the region in front of and below his ears. He spoke + deliberately, and in language carefully and yet easily chosen, with + intonations singularly distinct and agreeable, giving its full value to + every word. This was our first native Englishman; no less a personage than + Mr. Crampton, in fact, the British Minister, who was on his way to + Halifax. He had fine, calm, quietly observant eyes, which were pleasantly + employed in contemplating the beauty of that summer seascape—an + opalescent ocean, and islands slumbering in the July haze. Near him stood + a light-built, tall, athletic individual, also obviously English, but + thirty years younger; full, also, of artistic appreciation; this was Field + Talfourd, who was an artist, and many things besides; a man proficient in + all forms of culture. His features were high and refined, and, without + being handsome, irresistibly attractive. He turned out to be a delightful + playmate for the children, and astonished them and the rest of the company + by surprising gymnastic feats in the rigging. The speech of these two + Britishers gave the untravelled American a new appreciation of the beauty + and significance of the English language. Not all Englishmen speak good + English, but when they do, they beggar eulogy. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: JAMES T. FIELDS, NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, AND WILLIAM D. TICKNOR] + </p> + <p> + George Silsbee was likewise of our party; he was an American of the + Brahman type, a child of Cambridge and Boston, a man of means, and an + indefatigable traveller. He had the delicate health and physique of the + American student of those days, when out-door life and games made no part + of our scholastic curricula. He may have been forty years old, slight and + frail, with a thin, clean-shaven face and pallid complexion, but full of + mind and sensibility. We do not heed travellers now, and I am inclined to + think they are less worth heeding than they used to be. It is so easy to + see the world in these latter days that few persons see it to any purpose + even when they go through the motions of doing so. But to hear George + Bradford or Silsbee talk of England, France, and Italy, in the fifties, + was a liberal education, and I used sometimes to stare fascinated at the + boots of these wayfarers, admiring them for the wondrous places in which + they had trodden. Silsbee travelled with his artistic and historic + consciousness all on board, and had so much to say that he never was able + to say it all. + </p> + <p> + But to my father himself were accorded the honors of the captain's table, + and for him were fired the salutes of cannon which thundered us out of + Boston Harbor and into Halifax. These compliments, however, were paid to + him not as a man of letters, but as a political representative of his + country, and, let a man be as renowned as he will on his personal account, + he will still find it convenient, in order to secure smooth and agreeable + conditions on his way through the world, to supplement that distinction + with recommendations from the State Department. Respect for rank is the + last infirmity even of noble republican minds, and it oils the wheels of + the progress of those who possess it. An American widow of my later + acquaintance, a lady of two marriageable daughters and small social + pretensions in her own country, toured Europe with success and + distinction, getting all the best accommodations and profoundest + obeisances by the simple device of placing the word "Lady" before her + modest signature in the hotel registers. She was a lady, of course, and + had a right so to style herself, and if snobbish persons chose to read + into the word more than it literally meant, that was not Mrs. Green's + affair. + </p> + <p> + American commerce still existed in 1853, and the Liverpool consulate was + supposed to have more money in it than any other office in the gift of the + administration. As a matter of fact, several of my father's predecessors + had retired from their tenure of office with something handsome + (pecuniarily speaking) to their credit; whether the means by which it had + been acquired were as handsome is another question. Be that as it may, + Congress, soon after my father's accession, passed a law cutting down the + profits about three-fourths, and he was obliged to practise the strictest + economy during his residence abroad in order to come home with a few + thousand dollars in his pocket. Nevertheless, the dignity, in the official + sense, of this consular post was considerable, and it brought him, in + combination with his literary fame, a good deal more attention in England + than he well knew what to do with. But, in one way or another, he also + made friends there who remained to the end among the dearest of his life + and more than countervailed all the time and energy wasted on the + Philistines. + </p> + <p> + The Atlantic, all the way across, with the exception of one brief + emotional disturbance between lunch and dinner-time, wore a smile of + fatuous serenity. The sun shone; the vast pond-surface oilily undulated, + or lay in absolute flatness, or at most defiled under our eyes in endless + squadrons of low-riding crests. My mother, whose last experience of + sea-ways had been the voyage to Cuba, in which the ship was all but lost + in a series of hurricanes, was captivated by this soft behavior, and + enjoyed the whole of it as much, almost, as her husband, who expanded and + drank in delight like a plant in the rain. But, in truth, these must have + been blessed hours for them both. Behind them lay nearly eleven years of + married life, spent in narrow outward circumstances, lightened only + towards the last by the promise of some relaxation from strain, during + which they had found their happiness in each other, and in the wise and + tender care of their children, and in the converse of chosen friends. They + had filled their minds with knowledge concerning the beauties and + interests of foreign lands, with but a slender expectation of ever + beholding them with bodily sight, but none the less well prepared to + understand and appreciate them should the opportunity arrive. And now, + suddenly, it had arrived, and they were on the way to the regions of their + dreams, with the prospect of comparative affluence added. They had nearly + twelve years of earthly sojourn together before them, the afternoon + sunshine to be clouded a little near the close by the husband's failing + health, but glorified more and more by mutual love, and enriched with + memories of all that had before been unfulfilled imaginings. This voyage + eastward was the space of contemplation between the two periods, and the + balm of its tranquillity well symbolized the peace of soul and mind with + which they awaited what the horizons were to disclose. + </p> + <p> + The right way to approach England for the first time is not by the west + coast, but by the south, as Julius Caesar did, beckoned on by the ghostly, + pallid cliffs that seem to lift themselves like battlements against the + invader. It is historically open to question whether there would have been + any Roman occupation, or any Saxon or Norman one either, for that matter, + but for the coquetry of those chalk cliffs. An adventurer, sighting the + low and marshy shores of Lancashire, and muddying his prows in the yellow + waters of the Mersey, would be apt to think that such a land were a good + place to avoid. But the race of adventurers has long since died out, and + their place is occupied by the wide-flying cormorants of commerce, to whom + mud flats and rock deserts present elysian beauties, provided only there + be profit in them. One kind of imagination has been superseded by another, + and both are necessary to the full exploitation of this remarkable globe + that we inhabit. + </p> + <p> + But even the level capes of Lancashire were alluring to eyes that saw + England, our venerable mother, loom behind them, with her thousand years' + pageantry of warfare and civilization. The egregious little island is a + thirsty place; the land drinks rain as assiduously as do its inhabitants + beer and other liquors. Heavy mists and clouds enveloped it as we drew + near, and ushered us up the Mersey into a brown omnipresence of rain. The + broad, clear sunshine of the Atlantic was left behind, and we stood on wet + decks and were transported to sloppy wharfs by means of a rain-sodden and + abominably smoking little tug-boat—as the way was fifty years ago. + Liverpool was a gray-stone labyrinth open to the deluge, and its + inhabitants went to and fro with umbrellas over their heads and black + respirators over their mouths, looking as if such were their normal plight—as, + indeed, it was. Much of this was not needed to quench the enthusiasm of + the children. The Waterloo Hotel, to which, by advice of friends, we were + driven, seemed by its very name to carry out the idea of saturation, which + the activities of nature so insistently conveyed. It was intensely + discomfortable, and though the inside of the hotel was well supplied with + gloomy English comforts, and the solemn meals were administered with a + ceremonious gravity that suggested their being preliminaries to funerals, + yet it was hard to be light-hearted. The open-grate coal fires were the + most welcome feature of this summer season, and no doubt the wine list + offered the best available substitute for sunlight; but we had not been + trained to avail ourselves of it. We drank water, which certainly appeared + an idle proceeding in such a climate. In Liverpool, however, or in its + suburbs, we were to live for the better part of four years, and we must + make the best of it. And there is in English people, when rightly + approached, a steady and systematic geniality that not only makes handsome + amends for their weather, but also accounts for the otherwise singular + fact that the country is inhabited at all. A people with a smaller fund of + interior warmth could not have endured it. The French talk about + conquering England, but they could not hold it if they did, and it is one + of the standing puzzles of history how the Romans, an Italian race, were + able to maintain themselves under these skies during four centuries. It + may be objected that the present English population is not indigenous to + the island; but they are the survival of the fittest and toughest selected + from many aspirants. Nor can it be doubted that the British hunger for + empire in all parts of the world is due to nothing so much as to their + anxiety to have a plausible pretext for living elsewhere than at home. + </p> + <p> + My father took the rain, as he took everything that could not be helped, + philosophically, and it seemed to do him no harm; indeed, his health was + uniformly good all through his English residence. It did not suit so well + my mother, who was constitutionally delicate in the lungs; she was soon + obliged to adopt the English respirator, and finally was driven to take + refuge for the greater part of a year in Lisbon and Madeira, returning + only a little before the departure of the family for Italy in 1858. But + there must have been in him an ancestral power of resistance still + effective after more than two centuries of transplantation; he grew ruddy + and robust while facing the mist and mirk, and inhaling the smoky moisture + that did service for air. Nor was his health impaired by the long hours in + the daily consulate—a grimy little room barely five paces from end + to end, with its dusty windows so hemmed in by taller buildings that even + had there been any sunshine to make the attempt, it could never have + succeeded in effecting an entrance through them. Here, from ten in the + morning until four in the afternoon, he dealt with all varieties of scamps + and mendicants, fools and desperadoes, and all the tribe of piratical + cutthroats which in those days constituted a large part of the merchant + marine. Calamity, imbecility, and rascality were his constant companions + in that dingy little den; and the gloomy and sooty skies without but + faintly pictured the moral atmosphere which they exhaled; he entered + deeply into all their affairs, projects, and complaints, feeling their + troubles, probably, at least as keenly as they did themselves, and yet he + came out of it all with clear eyes and a sound digestion. I presume the + fact may have been that he unconsciously regarded the whole affair + somewhat as we do a drama in a theatre; it works upon our sensibilities, + and yet we do not believe that it is real. There was nothing in the + experience germane to his proper life; it could not become a part of him, + and therefore its posture towards him remained inveterately objective. The + only feature of it that quickened a responsive chord in him was the + revelation of the intolerable condition of the sailors in many of our + ships, and upon these abuses he enlarged in his communications to + Washington. Improvements were made in consequence of his remonstrances; + but the American merchant service had already begun its downward career, + and it is only very lately, owing to causes which are too novel and + peculiar to be intelligently discussed as yet, that our flag is once more + promising to compete against that of England. + </p> + <p> + It would be misleading to say, however, that my father was not interested + in his consulate work; there was a practical side in him which took hold + of the business in man-fashion, and transacted it so efficiently as to + leave no room for criticism, and nobody can produce voluntary effects + without feeling in himself a reaction from them. He had occasion to look + into the privacy of many human hearts, to pity them and advise them, and + from such services and insights he no doubt obtained a residue of wisdom + which might be applied to his own ulterior uses. These were indirect and + incidental issues; but from the consulate qua consulate Hawthorne was + radically alien, and when he quitted it, he carried away with him no taint + or trace of it. As he says in his remarks upon the subject, he soon came + to doubt whether it were actually himself who had been the incumbent of + the office at all. + </p> + <p> + But Providence does not deny manna to man in his extremity, and to my + father it came in the shape of a few English friends, and in occasional + escapes from the office into the outside England where, after the + centuries of separation, he found so much with which he could still feel + profoundly akin. His most constant friendly visitor was Henry A. Bright, a + university man, the son of a wealthy local merchant, who sent ships to + Australia, and was related (as most agreeable Englishmen are—though + there are shining exceptions) to the aristocratic class. Bright, at this + time, could not have been over thirty years of age; he was intensely + English, though his slender figure and mental vivacity might make him seem + near to the conventional American type. But through him, as through an + open window, Hawthorne was enabled to see far into the very heart of + England. Bright not merely knew England; he was England, and England at + its best, and therefore also at its most insular and prejudiced. It was + unspeakably satisfying and agreeable to encounter a man at once so + uncompromising and so amiable, so wrong-headed (from the American point of + view) and so right-hearted. He was drawn to my father as iron is drawn to + the magnet; on every outward point they fought each other like the knight + errants of old, while agreeing inwardly, beneath the surface of things, as + few friends are able to agree. Each admired the other's onslaughts and his + prowess, and, by way of testifying his admiration, strove to excel himself + in his counter attacks. The debate was always beginning, and in the nature + of things it could never end; the effect of their blows was only to hammer + each the other more firmly into his previous convictions. Probably all the + things that are English and all the things that are American never before + or since received such full and trenchant exposition as was given them by + Hawthorne and by Bright. The whole subject of monarchy and aristocracy as + against republicanism and democracy was threshed out to the last kernel by + champions each of whom was thoroughly qualified to vindicate his cause. + Each, constrained by the stress of battle to analyze and expound his + beliefs more punctually than ever before, thereby convinced himself while + leaving his adversary undaunted; and, of course, both were right. For this + world is so constituted that two things incompatible in outward + manifestation may in their roots be one and the same, and equally appeal + to the suffrages of honest men. England and America are healthy and + vigorous in proportion as they differ from each other, and a morbid and + vicious tendency in either is noticeable the moment either begins to take + a leaf from the other's book. My father and Bright could not have been the + lifelong friends that they were had either of them yielded his point or + stooped to compromise. + </p> + <p> + Apart from political matters, and such social themes as were nearly allied + to them, the two friends had many points of agreement and sympathy. Bright + had from the first been an ardent and intelligent admirer of the + romancer's writings, and though they might often differ in their estimates + of individual works, they were in hearty accord as to the principles which + underlie all literature and art. Upon matters relating to society, my + father was more apt to accept theories which Bright might propound than to + permit of their being illustrated in his own person; he would admit, for + example, that a consul ought to mingle socially with the people to whom he + was accredited; but when it came to getting him out to dinner, in evening + dress and with a speech in prospect, obstacles started up like the armed + progeny of the Dragon's Teeth. For, though no one enjoyed real society + more than he did, he was ardently averse from conversing as an official + with persons between whom and himself as a man there could be little + sympathy. Almost as much, too, did he dislike to meet the polite world + merely on the basis of the books that he had written, which his + entertainers were bound to praise whether or not they had read or + comprehended them, and to whose well-meant but inexpert eulogies he must + constantly respond with the threadbare and pathetic phrase, "I'm glad you + liked it." Bright, of course, insisted that fame and position carried + obligations which must be met, and he was constantly laying plots to + inveigle or surprise his friend into compliance. He often succeeded, but + he failed quite as frequently, so that, as a Mrs. Malaprop might have + said, Hawthorne as a social lion was a rara avis, from first to last. The + foible of artificial, as distinguished from spontaneous, society is that + it so seldom achieves simple human relations. + </p> + <p> + Another chief friend of his was Francis Bennoch. England would never have + seemed "our old home" to my father, without the presence and companionship + of these two men. Both had literary leanings, both were genial, true, and + faithful; but in other respects they were widely dissimilar. Bright was of + the pure Saxon type; Bennoch represented Great Britain at large; there + were mingled in him English, Irish, and Scotch ancestry. In himself he was + a superb specimen of a human being; broad-shouldered, straight, and + vigorous, massive but active, with a mellow, joyful voice, an inimitable + brogue, sparkling black eyes full of hearty sunshine and kindness, a broad + and high forehead over bushy brows, and black, wavy hair. He bubbled over + with high spirits, humor, and poetry, being, indeed, a poet in + achievement, with a printed and bound volume to show for it—songs, + lyrics, and narrative poems, composed in the spirit of Burns and Scott. He + was at this time one of the handsomest men in England, with a great heart, + warmer than any summer England ever knew, and a soul of ardor and courage, + which sent through his face continual flashes of sympathy and fellowship. + One naturally thought and spoke of him in superlatives; he was the + kindest, jolliest, most hospitable, most generous and chivalrous of men, + and his affection and admiration for my father were also of the + superlative kind. He had made a fortune in the wool business, and had an + office in Wood Street, London; but his affairs permitted him to make + frequent excursions to Liverpool, and to act as his American friend's + guide and cicerone to many places in England which would otherwise have + been unknown to him. My father enjoyed these trips immensely; Bennoch's + companionship gave the right keynote and atmosphere to the sights they + saw. A real Englishman owns his country, and does the honors of it to a + visitor as if it were his private estate. Discussions of politics and of + the principles of government never arose between these two, as they did + between my father and Bright; for Bennoch, though one of the most loyal + and enthusiastic of her Majesty's subjects, and full of traditional + respect for the British nobility, was by nature broadly democratic, and + met every man as an equal and a brother. One often finds this + contradiction in Englishmen; but it is such logically only. A man born to + the traditions of monarchy and aristocracy accepts them as the natural + background of his ideas, just as the English landscape is the setting of + his house and park; he will vindicate them if assailed; but ordinarily + they do not consciously affect his mental activities, and he will talk + good republicanism without being aware of it. The monarchy is a + decoration, a sentiment, a habit; as a matter of fact, England is more + democratic in many essentials than we have as yet learned how to be. + Bennoch was not a university man, and lacked the historical consciousness + that Bright so assiduously cultivated; he lived by feeling and intuition + more than by deliberate intellectual judgments. He was emotional; tears + would start to his eyes at a touch of pathos or pity, as readily as the + laughter of a moment before. So lovable, gallant, honest, boyish a man is + seldom born into this modern world-boyish as only the manliest men can be. + He died thirty years after the time I write of, the same fresh and ardent + character as ever, and loving and serving Hawthorne's children for + Hawthorne's sake. I shall have occasion to mention him hereafter; but I + have dwelt upon him here, both because he made it forever impossible for + any one who knew him well to do other than love the land which could breed + such a man, and because, for the American Hawthorne, he was as a + hospitable gate-way through which the England of his dreams and imaginings + was entered upon as a concrete and delightful reality. + </p> + <p> + With Bright and Bennoch on his right hand and on his left, then, my father + began his English experience. The two are frequently mentioned in his + English journals, and Bennoch figures as one of the subordinate characters + in the posthumous romance called Doctor Grimshawe's Secret. It is but a + sketch of him, however, and considerably modified from the brilliant and + energetic reality. Meanwhile the consul began to accustom himself to the + routine of the consulate, and his family, leaving the sombre + respectability of the Waterloo Hotel, moved, first, to the hospitable + boarding-house of Mrs. Blodgett, and afterwards to a private dwelling in + Rock Park, Rock Ferry, on the opposite side of the Mersey, where we were + destined to dwell for several years. They were years full of events very + trifling in themselves, but so utterly different from everything American + as to stamp themselves upon the attention and the memory. It is the + trifling things that tell, and give character to nations; extraordinary + things may occur anywhere, and possess little national flavor. In another + chapter I will attempt some portrayal of this English life of fifty years + since. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Patricians and plebeians—The discomforts of democracy— + Varieties of equality—Social rights of beggars—The coming + peril—Being dragged to the rich—Frankness of vulgarity and + hopelessness of destitution—Villages rooted in the + landscape—Evanescence of the spiritual and survival of the + material—"Of Bebbington the holy peak"—The Old Yew of + Eastham—Malice—prepense interest—History and afternoon + tea—An East-Indian Englishman—The merchantman sticks in + the mud—A poetical man of the world—Likeness to + Longfellow—Real breakfasts—Heads and stomachs—A poet- + pugilist—Clean-cut, cold, gentle, dry—A respectable female + atheist—The tragedy of the red ants—Voluptuous struggles— + A psalm of praise. +</pre> + <p> + In a country whose ruling principle is caste, it might be expected that + the line of cleavage between the upper and the lower grades would be + punctually observed. It is assumed that democracy levels and aristocracy + distinguishes and separates. My father was not long in remarking, however, + that there was a freedom of intercourse between the patrician and the + plebeian—between people of all orders—such as did not exist in + America. And the fact, once perceived, was not difficult of explanation. + In a monarchy of a thousand years' standing, every individual knows his + place in the social scale and never thinks of leaving it. He represents a + fixed function or element in the general organism, and holds to it as a + matter of course, just as, in the human body, the body does not aspire to + be the head, nor the liver or heart to take the place of lungs or stomach. + The laborer looks back upon an ancestry of laborers; the shopkeeper has + been a shopkeeper for unnumbered generations; the artisan on the bench + to-day does the same work that his father and grandfathers did before him; + the noble inherits his acres as inevitably as the sun rises, and sits in + the House of Lords by immemorial usage and privilege. Social position all + along the line being thus anchored in the nature of things, as it were, + there is no anxiety on any one's part as to maintaining his status. He is + secure where he is, and nothing and nobody can change him. There is no + individual striving to rise nor fear to fall. Consequently there can and + must be entire freedom of mutual conversation; the marquis with a revenue + of half a million a year meets as an equal his gardener who gets ten + pounds a month, and the tailor in his measuring-room offers a glass of + sherry to his noble patron who comes to him for a new coat. Each is at his + ease, conscious that he performs a use and fills a place which no one else + can fill or perform, and that nothing else matters. The population is a + vast mutual-benefit association, without envy on the one side or contempt + on the other. And social existence moves as smoothly as a well-oiled and + adjusted machine. + </p> + <p> + This agreeable condition is impossible in a democracy—at all events, + in a democracy like ours, which is based upon the assumption that all men + are equal. Nevertheless, we are on the right track, and the English are on + the wrong one; for the agreeable English system obstructs the insensible + infiltration of fresh material into old forms, which is essential to the + continued health of the latter; while the democracy, on the other hand, + will gradually learn that it is just as honorable and desirable to be a + good shoemaker, for example, as a good millionaire; that human life, in + short, is a complex of countless different uses, each one of which is as + important on its own plane as any of the others. But the intermediate + period is undeniably irksome. + </p> + <p> + So my father noticed, not without a certain satisfaction, that even + beggars, in England, are not looked down upon, and that their rights, such + as they are, are recognized. In the steamboat waiting-room at Rock Ferry, + and in the boats themselves, he saw tramps and mendicants take the best + place at the fire or on the companion-way without rebuke and without + consciousness of presumption, and he saw the landlord of a hotel, with a + fortune of six hundred thousand pounds, wait at table as deferentially as + any footman in his employ. He was struck by the contentment with which, in + winter, women went barefoot in the streets, and by the unpretentious + composure with which the common herd, on holidays, disported themselves in + public, not seeking to disguise their native vulgarity and shabbiness. At + the same time, he could not help a misgiving that the portentous + inequality between rich and poor must finally breed disaster; the secluded + luxury of the rich was too strongly contrasted with the desperate needs of + the poor. This contrast was very marked in England fifty years ago, and + was comparatively unknown in our own country—though to-day we can + hardly lay to our souls the nattering unction of such a difference. The + rage for wealth has done for us in a generation what caste did for England + in a thousand years. + </p> + <p> + My father, when opportunity offered, was always finding himself among the + poor and their dwellings; he had to be dragged to the rich, though among + them, too, he found, when brought in contact with them, many interesting + points of dissimilarity from ourselves. His office as consul naturally + took him often to the police courts, where magistrates passed upon the + squalid cases cited before them, and in the consulate itself he saw + specimens enough of human crime and misery. He visited the poor-house and + the insane asylum, he was approached by swindlers of all types, and often + he went to fairs and other resorts of public out-door amusement and + watched the unwashed populace at its play. Beggars followed him on the + streets, awaited him in their chosen coigns of vantage on the corners, or + haunted him on the ferry-boat that took him each day from his home to his + office. Wherever he encountered the forsaken of fortune, he found food for + sympathy, and, in spite of assurances that he was only encouraging + mendicancy, he often gave them money. It was hard for him to believe that + there could be abject poverty where there was work for all, and the appeal + of man in want to man in plenty was too strong for him easily to resist + it. He liked the very frankness of vulgarity and hopeless destitution of + these people, and was appalled by the simplicity with which they accepted + things as they were. There was no restlessness, as in America—no + protest against fate. It was harrowing enough to see conditions so + miserable; it was intolerable to see them acquiesced in by the victims as + inevitable. He learned, after a while, to harden himself somewhat against + manifest imposition; but the refusal to give cost him quite as much in + discomfort as giving did in purse. + </p> + <p> + The country villages and cottages, however, afforded him compensating + pleasure. In the neighborhood of Rock Ferry, on the shore of the Mersey + opposite from Liverpool, there were two or three ancient little + settlements which he loved to visit. The thatched and whitewashed + cottages, with their tiny gardens of hollyhocks and marigolds, seemed like + parts of the framework of the land; the passage of centuries only served + to weld them more firmly in their places. The villages were massed + together, each in a small space, instead of being dispread loosely over a + township, as in his native New England, and enduring stone and plaster + took the place of timber and shingles. But the churches, small and + fabulously ancient, affected him most. He placed his hand on stones which + had been set in place before William the Conqueror landed in England, and + this physical survival seemed to bring into his actual presence the long + succession of all the intervening ages. These structures, still so solid + and serviceable, had witnessed the passing of the entire procession of + English history; all the mighty men and events of her career had come and + gone while they remained unscathed. Under his feet were the graves of the + unknown dead; within the narrow precincts he inhaled that strange, antique + odor of mortality that made him feel as if he were breathing the air of + long-dead centuries. This apparent evanescence of the spiritual attested + by the survival of the material is one of the most singular and impressive + of sensations; it takes history out of the realm of the mind, and brings + it into sensible manifestation. It is almost as affecting as if the very + figures of departed actors of former ages were to reappear and rub + shoulders with us of today, and cast their shadows in the contemporary + sunshine. + </p> + <p> + On most of these walks in the neighborhood of Rock Ferry I was my father's + companion, but, though my legs could march beside his, my mental-equipment + could not participate in his meditations. He would occasionally make some + half-playful, imaginative remark, calculated to help me realize the + situation that was so vividly present to himself. His thoughts, however + deep, were always ready to break into playfulness outwardly. We often + walked through the village of Bebbington, whose church had a high stone + steeple, nearly to the summit of which the ancient ivy had clambered. And + as it came in view he would always say, in a sort of recitative, perhaps + reminiscent of Scott's narrative poems, which he was at that time reading + aloud to us, "There is of Bebbington the holy peak!" To which I would as + constantly rejoin, "'Of Bebbington the holy spire,' father!"—being + offended by his use of a word so unmusical as peak. He would only smile + and trudge onward. He was somewhat solicitous, I suspect, to check in his + son any tendency towards mere poetical sentiment; his own imaginative + faculty was rooted in common-sense, and he knew the value of the latter in + curbing undue excursions into the fanciful and transcendental. + </p> + <p> + In Eastham, on the village green, stood an old yew-tree which, six + centuries before, had been traditionally called The Old Yew of Eastham, + and was probably at least coeval with the village itself, which was one of + the oldest in England. It was of enormous girth, and was still in leaf; + but nothing but the bark was left of the great trunk; all the wood had + decayed away so long ago that the memory of man held no record of it. + There was a great conical gap in one side, like an open door, and it was + my custom—as it had doubtless been that of innumerable children of + ages gone—to enter this door and "play house" in the spacious + interior. Meanwhile my father would seat himself on the twisted roots + without, and let his thoughts drift back to the time when this huge hulk + had first cast a slender shadow over the greensward of primitive, Saxon + England. It was a massive tree before the Domesday Book was begun; Chaucer + would not be heard of for four hundred years to come; and where was + Shakespeare? What was suspected of America? Yet here was this venerable + vegetable, still with life enough left in it, perhaps, to see the end of + English monarchy. The yew was a fact; but the ghosts were the reality, + after all. + </p> + <p> + These obscure village antiquities, which had no special history attaching + to them, were in a way more impressive than the great ruins of England, + which had formed the scene and background of famous events. The latter had + become conventional sights, which the tourist felt bound to inspect under + the voluble and exasperating guidance of a professional showman; and this + malice-prepense sort of interest and picturesqueness always tried + Hawthorne's patience and sympathy a little. It is the unknown past that is + most fascinating, that comes home closest to the heart. The things told of + in history books are hackneyed, and they partake of the unreality inherent + in the descriptions of the writers. But the unrecorded things are virgin, + and enter into our most private sympathies and realization. My father + viewed and duly admired the great castles, palaces, and cathedrals of + England; but he loved the old villages and their appurtenances, and could + dream dreams more moving under the shadow of Eastham Yew than in + Westminster Abbey itself. + </p> + <p> + The historic houses and country-seats which were still inhabited were + still more difficult to get in touch with from the historic point of view; + the present dazzled the past out of sight. One was told who built this + facade, who added that wing, who was imprisoned in yonder tower; where + Queen Elizabeth slept, and the foot of what martyr imprinted the Bloody + Footstep on the threshold. + </p> + <p> + But you listened to these tales over a cup of tea in the drawing-room, or + between the soup and the roast beef at the dinner-table, and they were not + convincing. How were these ruddy-cheeked, full-bodied, hospitable + personages who sat about you to be held compatible with the romantic + periods and characters that they described? The duck and the green pease, + the plum-pudding and the port, the white neck-cloths and the bare necks + were too immediate and potent. In many cases, too, the denizens of the + ancient houses were not lineal descendants of the original founders; they + were interlopers, by purchase or otherwise. In themselves they were kind + and agreeable, their manners were excellent, they helped one to comprehend + the England of the passing moment; but they only clipped the wings of + imagination and retrospect. It was only after an interval of some years + that Hawthorne was able so far to recover from the effect of their + obtrusive existence as to be able to see through them and beyond them to + the splendid and gloomy vistas in front of which they were grouped. + </p> + <p> + Yet England, past and present, rich and poor, real and ideal, did somehow + enter into him and become a part of his permanent consciousness, and he + liked it better than anything else he had known. Even the social life, + though he came to it under some compulsion, rewarded him in the long run. + One of the first personal invitations was to the country-seat of the + Brights, where he met the family and relatives of his friend Henry Bright. + Bright's father was a remarkable figure; he resembled an East-Indian more + than an Englishman. He was dark, slender, courteous, and vivid; in long + after-years I saw Brahmins like him in India. I would liken him to a + rajah, except that rajahs of his age are commonly become gross and heavy + from indulgence, whereas he had an almost ascetic aspect. His manners were + singularly soft and caressing; he courted his wife, when he returned each + day from business, as if they were still in their honeymoon, and his + conduct towards all who surrounded him was similarly polished. He did not + in the least resemble his Saxon son; and for my part, looking at him from + the primitive boy stand-point, I never suspected that he was related to my + father's young friend. He had made a fortune in colonial trade, and may + possibly have been born in India. At this juncture the dealings of his + firm were chiefly with Australia, and the largest merchant steamship then + in the world had just been built for them, and Hawthorne was invited to + the launching. For a British merchant prince such an occasion could not + but be of supreme importance and pride. Mr. Bright's Oriental visage was + radiant; his white hair seemed to shine with an added lustre; the reserve + of the Englishman was forgotten, and he showed the excitement and emotion + that he felt. There was a distinguished company on the great deck to + witness his triumph and congratulate him upon it. All went well; at the + appointed signal the retaining obstructions were cut away, and the mighty + vessel began its descent into the waiting river. A lady of his family + smashed a bottle of wine over the graceful bows. For a few moments there + was a majestic, sweeping movement downward; then, of a sudden, it was + checked. It was as if a great life had been quenched at the instant when + its heart first began to throb. A murmur of dismay ran through the + assemblage; but it was in the face of Mr. Bright that the full tragedy of + the disaster was displayed. Never was seen a swifter change from the + highest exultation to the depths of consternation. The color left his + cheeks; heavy lines appeared about his handsome mouth; his eyes became + fixed, and seemed to sink into his head; his erect figure drooped like + that of one who has received a mortal blow. It was only that the ship had + stuck in the deep mud of the river bottom; but all ship-owners are + superstitious, and the old man foreboded the worst. The ship was floated + again some days later; but the omens were fulfilled; she was lost on her + first voyage. I do not remember seeing Mr. Bright after this event, but I + know he never again was the same man as before. + </p> + <p> + Richard Monckton Milnes, who was afterwards Lord Houghton, was greatly + attracted towards my father, who liked him; but circumstances prevented + their seeing much of each other. Milnes was then forty-five years old; he + was a Cambridge man, and intimate with Tennyson, Hallam, and other men of + literary mark, and he was himself a minor poet, and warm in the cause of + literature. During his parliamentary career, in 1837, he was instrumental + in passing the copyright act. He had travelled in Greece and Italy in his + twenties; was fond of society, and society of him. A more urbane and + attractive English gentleman did not exist; everything that a civilized + man could care for was at his disposal, and he made the most of his + opportunities. His manners were quiet and cordial, with a touch of romance + and poetry mingling with the man-of-the-world tone in his conversation, + and he was quite an emotional man. I have more than once seen tears in his + eyes and heard a sob in his voice when matters that touched his heart or + imagination were discussed. There was, indeed, a vein of sadness and + pessimism in Milnes, though only his intimates were aware of it; it was + the pessimism of a man who has too much leisure for intellectual analysis + and not enough actual work to do to keep him occupied. It lent a fine + flavor of irony to some of his conversation. He was liberal in politics + and liberal in his attitude towards life in general; but there was not + force enough in him, or, at any rate, not stimulus enough, to lift him to + distinction. Some of his poems, however, betrayed a deep and radical vein + of thought. He was of middle height, well made, light built, with a large + and well-formed head and wavy, dark hair. His likeness to Longfellow was + marked, though he was hardly so handsome a man; but the type of head and + face was the same—the forehead and brain well developed, the lower + parts of the countenance small and refined, though sensuous. His eyes were + dark, brilliant, and expressive. He, like the old poet Rogers, made a + feature of giving breakfasts to chosen friends, and as he had the whole + social world to choose from, and unfailing good taste, his breakfasts were + well worth attending. They were real breakfasts—so far as the hour + was concerned—not lunches or early dinners in masquerade; but wine + was served at them, and Milnes was very hospitable and had an Anacreontic + or Omar touch in him. To breakfast with him, therefore, meant—unless + you were singularly abstemious and strong-minded—to discount the + remaining meals of the day. But the amount of good cheer that an + Englishman can carry and seem not obscured by it surprises an American. A + bottle or so of hock of a morning will make most Americans feel that + business, for the rest of that day, is an iridescent dream; but an + Englishman does not seem to be burdened by it—at any rate, he did + not fifty years ago. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES] + </p> + <p> + Another hearty companion was Bryan Waller Procter, who, for literary uses, + anagrammed his name into Barry Cornwall, and made it famous, fifty years + ago, as that of the best song-writer in contemporary England. But he had + made a literary reputation before the epoch of his songs; there were four + or five dramatic and narrative poems to his credit published during the + first quarter of the last century. Procter was, indeed, already a veteran + in 1854, having been born in 1787, and bred to the bar, to which he was + admitted in 1831. But he spent the active thirty years of his life in the + discharge of that function which seems often sought by respectable + Englishmen-commissioner of lunacy. He sent my father a small volume + containing the Songs, and some fragments; they fully deserved their + reputation. The fragments were mostly scraps of dramatic dialogue, of + which one at least sticks in my memory: + </p> + <p> + "She was a princess; but she fell; and now Her shame goes blushing down a + line of kings." + </p> + <p> + As I recollect him, he may have looked like a commissioner of lunacy, but + he did not look like a poet; he was rather undersized, with a compact head + and a solemn face, and the quietest, most unobtrusive bearing imaginable. + He was a well-made little man, and he lived to a great age, dying some + time in the seventies, at the age of eighty-seven. He told my father that + after leaving Harrow School he was distinguished in athletics, and for a + time sparred in public with some professional bruiser. He had been a + school-mate of Byron and Sir Robert Peel, and had known Lamb, Kean, and + the other lights of that generation. He was a most likeable and + remunerative companion. His wife, who survived him (living, I think, to be + over ninety), was a woman of intellect and charm, and she retained her + attractiveness to the end of her life. There are poets who are consumed + early by their own fires, and others who are gently warmed by them beyond + the common span of human existence, and Barry Cornwall was one of these, + and transmitted his faculty, through sympathetic affection, to his wife. + </p> + <p> + Of renown not less than the song-writer's was the metaphysical theologian, + James Martineau, then in the Liverpool epoch of his career. He was a + clean-cut, cold, gentle, dry character, with a somewhat Emersonian cast of + countenance, but with the Emersonian humanity and humility left out. Like + Emerson, he had ascended a Unitarian pulpit, but, unlike Emerson, he + stayed there long after what he was pleased to regard as his convictions + had ceased to possess even a Unitarian degree of religious quality. He was + always apostolic in his manner, and his utterances were ex cathedra, and + yet his whole long life was a story of changing views on the subjects he + had chosen to be the theme of his career. + </p> + <p> + He was the great opponent of orthodoxy in his day, yet he led his + followers to no goal more explicit than might be surmised from a study of + Kant and Hegel. He was, however, sincere in his devotion to the + will-o'-the-wisp that he conceived to be the truth, and he was courageous + enough to admit that he never satisfied himself. There was chilly and + austere attraction about the man; he was so elevated and superior that one + could hardly help believing that he must know something of value, and this + illusion was the easier because he did know so much in the way of + scholarly learning. My father felt respect for his character, but was + bored by his metaphysics—a form of intellectual athletics which he + had exhausted while still a young man. James's sister Harriet was also of + the company. She was so deaf as to be obliged to use an ear-trumpet, and + she was as positive in her views (which had become avowedly atheistic) as + her brother, and whenever any one began to utter anything with which she + disagreed, she silenced him by the simple expedient of dropping the + ear-trumpet. In herself, she was an agreeable old lady; but she seldom let + her opinions rest long enough for one to get at her on the merely human + side, and she cultivated a retired life, partly on account of her + deafness, partly because her opinions made society shy of her, and partly + because she did not think society worth her time and attention. She was a + good woman, with a mind of exceptional caliber, but the world admired more + than it desired her. + </p> + <p> + As a relief from the consideration of these exalted personages, I am + disposed to relate a tragic anecdote about our friend Henry Bright. Early + in our Rock Ferry residence he came to dine with us—or I rather + think it was to supper. At any rate, it was an informal occasion, and the + children were admitted to table. My mother had in the cupboard a jar of + excellent raspberry jam, and she brought it forth for the delectation of + our guest. He partook of it liberally, and said he had never eaten any jam + so good; it had a particular tang to it, he declared, which outdid his + best recollections of all previous raspberry jam from his boyhood up. + While he was in the midst of these rhapsodies, and still consuming their + subject with enthusiasm, my mother, who had taken some of the jam on her + own plate, suddenly made a ghastly discovery. The jam-pot had been for + several days standing in the cupboard with its top off, or ajar, and an + innumerable colony of almost microscopic red ants had discovered it, and + launched themselves fervently upon it and into it; it had held them fast + in its sweet but fatal embrace, and other myriads had followed their + fellows into the same delicious and destructive abyss. What the precise + color of the ants may have been before they became incorporate with the + jam is not known; but as the case was, they could be distinguished from it + only by their voluptuous struggles in its controlling stickiness. Only the + keenest eye could discern them, and the eyes of Henry Bright were among + the most near-sighted in England. Besides, according to his custom, he was + talking with the utmost volubility all the time. + </p> + <p> + What was to be done? My father and mother stealthily exchanged an awful + look, and the question was settled. It was too late to recall the ants + which our friend had devoured by tens of thousands. It seemed not probable + that, were he kept in ignorance of his predicament, they would do him any + serious bodily injury; whereas, were he enlightened, imagination might get + in her fatal work. Accordingly, a rigorous silence upon the subject was + maintained, and the dear innocent actually devoured nearly that whole + potful of red ants, accompanying the meal with a continual psalm of praise + of their exquisite flavor; and never till the day of his death did he + suspect what the secret of that flavor was. I believe the Chinese eat ants + and regard them as a luxury. Very likely they are right; but at that + period of my boyhood I had not heard of this, and then and often + afterwards did I meditate with misgivings upon the predicament of Henry + Bright's stomach after his banquet. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Life in Rock Park—Inconvenient independence of lodgings— + The average man—"How many gardeners have you got?"— + Shielded by rose-leaves of culture and refinement—The + English middle class—Prejudice, complacency, and Burke's + Peerage—Never heard of Tennyson or Browning—Satisfaction + in the solid earth—A bond of fellowship—A damp, winding, + verdurous street—The parent of stucco villas—Inactivity of + individual conscience—A plateau and a cliff-dwelling—"The + Campbells are Coming!"—Sortes Virgiliance—A division in + the family—Precaution against famine—English praying and + card-playing—Exercise for mind and body—Knight-errantry— + Sentimentality and mawkishness—The policeman and the + cobbler—A profound truth—Fireworks by lamplight—Mr. + Squarey and Mrs. Roundey—Sandford and Merton—The ball of + jolly. +</pre> + <p> + That life at Rock Park had in it more unadulterated English quality than + any other with which we became conversant while in England. With the + exception of a short sojourn in Leamington, it was the only experience + vouchsafed us of renting a house. All the rest of the time we lived in + lodging or boarding houses, or in hotels. The boarding-houses of England + are like other boarding-houses; the hotels, or inns, in the middle of the + last century, were for the most part plain and homely compared with what + we have latterly been used to; but the English lodging-house system had + peculiarities. You enjoyed independence, but you paid for it with + inconveniences. The owner of the house furnished you with nothing except + the house, with its dingy beds, chairs, tables, and carpets. Everything + else necessary to existence you got for yourself. You made your own + contracts with butcher, baker, and grocer. You did your own firing and + lighting. Your sole conversation with the owner was over the weekly bill + for the rooms. You might cater to yourself to the tune of the prince or of + the pauper, as your means or your inclination suggested, but you must do + it upon the background of the same dingy rooms. Dingy or not so dingy, the + rooms, of course, never fitted you; they were a Procrustes bed, always + incompatible, in one way or in another, with the proportions which nature + had bestowed upon you. You wondered, in your misanthropic moments, whether + there ever was or could be any one whom English lodgings would exactly + fit. Probably they were designed for the average man, a person, as we all + know, who exists only in the imagination of statisticians. And if the + environment shows the man, one cannot help rejoicing that there is so + little likelihood of one's forming the average man's acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + There was nothing peculiar about rented houses in England beyond the + innate peculiarities attaching to them as English. If the house were + unfurnished, and you had leisure to pick and choose, you might suit + yourself tolerably well, always with the proviso that things English could + be suitable to the foreigner. And certainly, in the 1850's, the English + commanded living conditions more desirable, on the whole, than Americans + did. They understood comfort, as distinct from luxury—a pitch of + civilization to which we are even now but just attaining. There was not + then, and until the millennium there will probably never be, anything else + in the world which so ministered to physical ease and general satisfaction + as did the conditions of life among the English upper classes. Kublai + Khan, in Xanadu, never devised a pleasure-dome so alluring to mere human + nature-especially the English variety of it—as was afforded by an + English nobleman's country-seat. Tennyson's Palace of Art is very good in + poetry, but in real life the most imaginative and energetic real-estate + dealer could not have got so good a price for it as would gladly have been + paid for the dwelling of, for example, the Duke of Westminster. "How many + gardeners have you got?" asked an American Minister of the duke of the + period, after meeting a fresh gardener, during a long afternoon stroll + through the grounds, at each new turn of the path. "Oh, I don't know—I + fancy about forty," replied the duke, somewhat taken aback by this demand + for precise information concerning the facts of his own establishment, + which, until that moment, he probably supposed had been attended to by + Providence. And really, the machinery of life in such a place is so + hidden, it is so nearly automatic, that one might easily believe it to be + operated according to some law of nature. The servants are (or were) so + well trained, they did their jobs so well, that you were conscious only of + their being done; you never saw them a-doing. The thought happened to + cross your mind, of a morning, that you would like to take a drive at + eleven o'clock; you were not aware that you had mentioned the matter; but + at eleven o'clock the carriage was, somehow, at the door. At dinner, the + dishes appeared and disappeared, the courses succeeded one another, + invisibly, or as if by mere fiat of the will; you must be very wide-awake + to catch a footman or butler meddling with the matter. You went up to the + bedroom to change your dress; you came down with it changed; but only by + an effort could you recall the fact that a viewless but supremely + efficient valet had been concerned in the transaction. The coal fire in + the grate needed poking; you glanced away for a moment; when you looked at + the fire again it had been poked—had, to all appearance, poked + itself. And so in all relations; to desire was to get; to picture a + condition was to realize it. You were shielded on every side by + rose-leaves of culture and refinement; all you had to do was to allow your + mind to lapse from one conception to another, and then, lifting your + languorous eyelids, behold! there you were—as Mr. James would say. + </p> + <p> + But I set out to tell not of noblemen's country-seats, but of Rock Park. + Rock Park was one of the typical abodes of the English respectable + middle-class, and the English middle-class, respectable, or not altogether + respectable, is the substance of England. Not until you have felt and + smelt and tasted that do you know what England really is. Fifty years ago, + the people in question were dull, ignorant, material, selfish, prejudiced, + conventional; they were hospitable, on conventional lines; they were + affable and even social, so long as you did not awaken their prejudices; + they were confidential and communicative, if you conceded at the outset + that England was the best of all countries and the English the leading + nation of the world. They read a newspaper resembling in every particular + themselves; usually several of them united in a subscription to a single + copy, which passed solemnly from hand to hand. They were slow and + methodical, never taking short-cuts across lots; but they were punctual; + they knew their own business and business associates, their circle of + relatives, their dwelling and social place, and Burke's Peerage; but they + knew nothing else. In a group of intelligent persons of this degree, + question was raised, once upon a time, of two English poets; but not one + of the group had heard of either; the poets were Alfred Tennyson and + Robert Browning. This may seem merely absurd or apocryphal; but consider + the terrible power of concentration which it implies! And consider the + effect which the impact against such a clay wall must make upon a man and + an American like my father! + </p> + <p> + Well, the very surprise and novelty of the adventure amused and interested + him, and even won a good deal upon his sympathies. He loved the solid + earth as well as the sky above it, and he was glad of the assurance that + this people existed, though he might be devoutly thankful that two hundred + years of America had opened so impassable a gulf between him and them. + Indeed, the very fact of that impassability may have made his intercourse + with them the easier—at any rate, on his side. On their side, they + regarded him with a dim but always self-complacent curiosity; had he not + been a consul, they would probably not have regarded him at all. Of course + they—the Rock Park sort of people—had never read his books; + literary cultivation was not to be found in England lower down than the + gentleman class. My father, therefore, was never obliged to say, "I'm glad + you liked it" to them. And that relief, of itself, must have served as a + substantial bond of fellowship. + </p> + <p> + Rock Park, as I remember it, was a damp, winding, verdurous street, + protected at each end by a small granite lodge, and studded throughout its + length with stuccoed villas. The villas were mended-on to each other (as + one of the children expressed it) two and two; they had front yards filled + with ornamental shrubbery, and gardens at the back, an acre or two in + extent; they were fenced in with iron pickets, and there were gates to the + driveways, on which the children swung. Every normal child supposes that + gates are made for no other purpose. The trees were not large, but there + were many of them, and they were thick with leaves. There was a damp, + arboreal smell everywhere, mingled with the finer perfume of flowers and + of the hawthorns and yellow laburnums. Flowers, especially purple English + violets, grew profusely in the gardens, and gooseberry-bushes, bearing + immense gooseberries such as our climate does not nourish. There were also + armies of garden—snails, handsome gasteropods, which were of great + interest to me; for I was entering, at this period, upon a passionate + pursuit of natural history. For many years I supposed that the odor of the + violets proceeded from snails, and to this day I always associate snails + with violets, or vice versa. Una, Rose, and I were given each a section of + a garden-bed for our own; I cultivated mine so assiduously that it became + quite a deep hole; but I do not recall that anything ever grew in it. The + soil was a very rich loam, and ceaseless diligence must have been required + in me to keep it barren. + </p> + <p> + Gray skies, frequent showers, a cool or semi-chilly mildness, varied every + little while by the intrusion of a yellow fog from Liverpool, over the + river—such was the climate of Rock Park. There were occasional + passages of sunshine; but never, that I recollect, an entire day of it. + The stucco of the villas was streaked with green dampness, and peeling off + here and there. I suspect that the fashion of castellated, stuccoed villas + may have been set in the eighteenth century by Horace Walpole when he + built that marvellous edifice known as Strawberry Hill. I first saw that + achievement twenty years after the time of which I now write, and + recognized in it, as I thought, the parent of my former Rock Park home and + of innumerable of the latter's kindred. Strawberry Hill is sprawling and + vast, the progeny are liliputian, but the family likeness is striking. The + idea is to build something which shall seem to be all that it is not. The + gray-white stucco pretends to be stone, and the lines of the stone courses + are carefully painted on the roughened surface; but nobody, since Horace's + time, could ever have been deceived by them. The castellated additions and + ornamentation are all bogus, of the cheapest and vulgarest sort. It is + singular that a people so sincere and solid as the English are supposed to + be should adopt this fashion for their dwellings. But then they are used + to follow conventions and adopt fashions set them by those whom they + esteem to be their betters, without thought, or activity of individual + conscience. It is rather matter for wonder, remembering what rascals and + humbugs many of their "betters" have been, that middle-class England is + not more of a whited sepulchre than it is. I do not mean to cast any + reflections upon the admirable and beguiling Horace; but he was a highly + civilized person, and had a brother named Robert, and perhaps solid + sincerity should not be expected from such a combination. + </p> + <p> + Our villa, within, was close and comfortable enough, for its era and + degree; but the furniture was ponderous and ugly to the point of + nightmare. The chairs, tables, and sofas wore the semblance of solid + mahogany, twisted and tortured in a futile struggle to achieve elegance; + the carvings, or mouldings, were screwed or glued on, and the lines of + structure, intended to charm the eye, accomplished only the discomfort of + the body. The dining-table was like a plateau; the sideboard resembled a + cliff-dwelling. The carpets were of the Brussels ilk: acanthus-leaves and + roses and dahlias wreathed in inextricable convolutions, glowing with the + brightest and most uncompromising hues. The lace curtains were imitation + lace; the damask curtains were imitation damask. The bedsteads.... But + this is not a History of England. After all, we were snug and comfortable. + On the walls were portraits of the family whose house this was; by name, + Campbell; the house-painter, or wood-grainer, one would suppose, had a + leaning towards this branch of art. I never saw the originals of these + portraits, but, upon the assumption that they had been faithfully + interpreted by the artist, I used to think, in my childish folly, that the + refrain of the old song, "The Campbells are Coming," was meant as a phrase + or threat to frighten people. Who would not have run upon such an + announcement? As I have already made one confession in these pages not + reflecting credit upon myself, I may as well make another now. Just thirty + years after the events I am describing, somebody wrote to me from Rock + Park, stating that the local inhabitants were desirous of putting up on + the house which Hawthorne had occupied there a marble or bronze slab, + recording the fact for the benefit of pilgrims. The committee, however, + did not know which of three or four houses was the right one, and the + writer enclosed photographs of them all, and requested me to put a cross + over our former habitation. Now, all the houses in Rock Park had been + turned out of the same mould, and I knew no more than my interrogator + which was which. But I reflected that the committee had been put to + trouble and expense for photographs, postage-stamps, and what not, and + that all that was really wanted was something to be sentimental over. So, + rather than disappoint them, I resorted to a kind of sortes Virgillana; I + shut my eyes, turned round thrice, and made a mark at hazard on the line + of photographs. The chances against my having hit it right were only four + to one; the committee were satisfied, the pilgrims have been made happy, + and it is difficult to see where harm has been done. Nevertheless, the + matter has weighed somewhat on my conscience ever since, and I am glad to + have thus lightened myself of it. What would one better do in such + circumstances? Is history written in this way? + </p> + <p> + The custom of our family in America had been to take all our meals + together; but in England the elders take lunch at noon, tea at four or + five, and dinner at seven or eight, while the children dine at noon and + sup at six. This arrangement was adopted in Rock Park. My father used to + leave home for the consulate at nine, and return—unless kept away by + an official or social engagement—at five or six. There was appointed + for us children a nurse or governess, to oversee and administer our + supplies; our father and mother dining, with such guests as might happen + to be present, late in the evening. We were sometimes allowed to come in + at dessert, to eat a few nuts and raisins and exhibit our infantile good + manners. This domestic separation was a matter of much speculation and + curiosity to our immature minds; we used to haunt the hall through which + the servants carried the dishes, smoking and fragrant, from the kitchen to + the dining-room, and once in a while the too-indulgent creatures would + allow us to steal something. How ravishingly delicious things thus + acquired taste! And we, fancying, of course, that they must be not less + delicious for the folks at table, used to marvel how they could ever bear + to leave off eating. The dinners were certainly rather elaborate compared + with the archaic repasts of Salem or of Concord; but they were as far + inferior in grandeur and interminableness to the astonishing banquets at + which, in some great houses, our father and mother were present. Consider, + for example, this dinner, in no way remarkable among such functions, at + the Hollands's, about this time. There were twelve persons at table. The + service was of solid silver; two enormous covers were on the table before + the soup was served; being removed, they revealed turbot and fried fish. + Then followed boiled turkey and roast goose, and between them innumerable + smaller dishes, including chicken-pies, ragouts, cutlets, fricasees, + tongue, and ham, all being placed in their silver receptacles on the + table; on the sideboard was a vast round of boiled beef, as a precaution + against famine. With the sweets were served grouse and pheasants; there + were five kinds of wine, not including the champagne, which was consumed + as a collateral all the way along. The pudding which followed these + trifles was an heroic compound, which Gargantua might have flinched from; + then came the nuts and raisins, then the coffee, then the whiskey and + brandy. There were people in England, half a century ago, who ate this + sort of dinners six or seven times a week, and thought nothing of it. They + actually ate and drank them—did not merely glance at them and shake + their heads. The ancient Scandinavians, Gauls, Saxons, and Normans, of + whom they were descendants, could not have done more. One cannot help + respecting such prodigious trencher-men and women, or wonder that the + poverty-stricken class were ill-fed. Dinner in England had become a very + different thing when I lived there twenty years later, and though port and + Madeira were generally on the table, the only man whom I saw habitually + drink them was Robert Browning! Possibly this is the reason the British + got such a thrashing in South Africa the other day. + </p> + <p> + After dinner at Rock Park—or, if it were to be a late affair, before—we + would have family prayers, in which the servants joined. This was in + deference to English custom; not that we were irreligious, but we had not + before been accustomed to express our religious feelings in just that + manner. All being grouped in a semicircle, my father would open the Bible + and read a chapter; then he would take a prayer-book containing thirty or + forty well-considered addresses to the Almighty, and everybody would kneel + down and cover their eyes with their hands. The "Amen" having been + reached, and echoed by every one, all would rise to their former + positions, and the servants would file out of the room. It must have been + somewhat of an effort for my father to go through this ceremony; but I + think he did it, not only for the reason above mentioned, but also because + he thought it right that his children should have the opportunity of + gaining whatever religious sentiment such proceedings might inculcate. But + I do not think that he had much faith in the practice as an English + institution. Indeed, he has somewhere written that the English "bring + themselves no nearer to God when they pray than when they play cards." + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: ROBERT BROWNING] + </p> + <p> + I understood long afterwards, as I did not at the time, how closely my + father and mother studied in all things the welfare and cultivation of + their children. They were not formal or oppressive about it; all went + pleasantly and with seeming spontaneity, as if in accordance with our own + desire; but we were wisely and needfully guided. We were never sent to + school during our seven years in Europe; but either we were taught our + lessons by our parents at home or by governesses. In addition to the + constant walks which I took with my father, he encouraged me to join a + cricket club in the Park, and sent me to Huguenin's gymnasium in + Liverpool, to the Cornwallis swimming-baths, and to a dancing-academy kept + by a highly ornamental Frenchman, and he bought me an enormous steel hoop, + and set me racing after it at headlong speed. Nor did he neglect to + stimulate us in the imaginative and aesthetic side. From the date of our + settlement in England to the end of his life, he read aloud to us in the + evenings many of the classics of literature. Spenser's The Faerie Queene, + the Don Quixote of Cervantes, the poems and novels of Scott, Grimm's and + Andersen's Fairy Tales, much of Defoe and Swift, Goldsmith's Vicar of Wake + field, Coleridge's Ancient Mariner (he himself was very fond of that + poem), and many other things, and I cannot overestimate the good they did + me. His talks to me during our walks gave me, under the guise of + pleasantry, not so much specific information concerning things (though + that was not wanting), but—character; that is, the questions he put + to me, the remarks and comments he made, the stories he told, were all + calculated to give me a high idea of human duties and aspirations; to + encourage generosity, charity, courage, patriotism, and independence. From + the reading of The Faerie Queene and of Don Quixote I conceived a vehement + infatuation for mediaeval chivalry and knight-errantry; I adopted the + motto of the order, "Be faithful, brave, and true in deed and word"; and I + indulged in waking dreams of heroic adventures in quest of fair renown, + and to succor the oppressed. All this he encouraged and abetted, though + always, too, with a sort of twinkle of the eye, lest I should take myself + too seriously and wax priggish. He permitted me to have a breastplate and + a helmet with a golden dragon crest (made by our nurse out of pasteboard + covered with tinsel-paper), and he bought me a real steel sword with a + brass hilt wrought in open-work; I used to spend hours polishing it, and + picturing to myself the giants and ogres I would slay with it. Finally—with + that humorous arching of the eyebrow of his—he bade me kneel down, + and with my sword smote me on the shoulder, and dubbed me knight, saying, + "Rise up, Sir Julian!" It was worth many set moral homilies to me. He knew + the advantage of leading a boy to regard the practice of boyish and manly + virtues not as a burden but as a privilege and boon, and of making the + boy's own conscience his judge. His handling of the matter was, of course, + modified so as to reach the inner springs of my particular nature and + temperament, which he thoroughly understood. Withal, he never failed to + hold up to ridicule anything showing a tendency to the sentimental; he + would test me on this point in various ways, and always betrayed pleasure + when he found me quick to detect the sentimental or mawkish taint in + literature or life. I breathed a manly, robust, and bracing atmosphere in + his company, and when I reflect upon what were my proclivities to folly + during this impressionable period, I thank my stars for such a father. + </p> + <p> + There was abundant quiet and seclusion in Rock Park, and had my father + been able to do any writing, he could hardly have found a retreat more + suitable. The tradesmen called early at the houses in the Park, their + wagon-wheels making no sound upon the unpaved street, and the two + policemen, who lived in the stone lodges, kept the place free from beggars + and peddlers. These policemen, pacing slowly along in their uniforms, + rigid and dignified, had quite an imposing aspect, and it was some time + before we children discovered that they were only men, after all. Each had + a wife and children, who filled to overflowing the tiny habitations; when + their blue coats and steel-framed hats were off, they were quite humble + persons; one of them eked out his official salary by mending shoes. After + following with awe the progress along the sidewalk of the officer of + public order, stalking with solemn and measured gait, and touching his + hat, with a hand encased in a snow-white cotton glove, to such of the + denizens of the Park as he might encounter, it was quite like a fairy-tale + transformation to see him squatting in soiled shirt-sleeves on his + cobbler's bench, drawing waxed thread through holes in a boot-sole. I once + saw one of them, of a Sunday afternoon, standing at ease in the doorway of + his lodge, clad in an old sack-coat which I recognized as having been my + father's. I am constitutionally reverent of law and order; but the + revelation of the domestic lives of these policemen gave me an insight, + which I have never since lost, into the profound truth that the man and + the officer are twain. + </p> + <p> + There were perhaps twenty families living in the Park, of whom we became + acquainted with two only; the people who lived next door to us (whose name + I have forgotten), and Mr. and Mrs. Squarey, who dwelt higher up the + street. The people next door had two boys of about my own age, with whom I + played cricket, and it was from the back windows of their house that I saw + for the first time an exhibition of fireworks in their garden; I remember + that when, just before the show began, they put out the lamp in the room, + I asked to have it relighted, in order that I might see the as yet + unexperienced wonder. There are folks who go hunting for the sun with a + lantern. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Squarey was tall and stiff of figure, with a singularly square + countenance, with a short whisker on each side of it; but spiritually he + was most affable and obliging; so was his wife; but as she was short and + globular, my father was wont to refer to her, in the privacy of domestic + intercourse, as Mrs. Roundey. They were profuse in invitations to go with + us to places—to Chester, to the Welsh show-places, and so forth; and + although I think my father and mother would rather have gone alone, they + felt constrained to accept these suggestions. It was in their company, at + all events, that I first saw Chester "Rows"; and also, from some coign of + vantage on those delightful old walls, an English horse-race, with jockeys + in silk caps and jackets tinted like the rainbow. Mr. Squarey's demeanor + towards my sisters and myself was like that of the benevolent tutor in + Sandford and Merton, with which excellent work we were very conversant at + that time; as, likewise, with Edgeworth's Parents' Assistant, and with + still another engaging volume called, I think, the Budget of something; at + any rate, it had two or three little boys and girls in it, who were + anxious to acquire useful and curious information on many subjects, which + was afforded them in generous measure by their highly cultivated elders. + Such flower-garlanded instruction was the best specifically juvenile + literature which those primitive ages afforded. "Pray, mamma, why does the + sun rise in the east instead of in the west?" "Pray, papa, why was King + Alfred called 'The Good'?" Mrs. Markham's History of England was + constructed upon the same artless principle. What a distance we have + travelled since then! + </p> + <p> + But it was a good and happy life in Rock Park, and I think our father and + mother enjoyed it almost as much as we children did. They were meeting + people many of whom were delightful—I shall try to paint the + portraits of some of them in the next chapter—and they were seeing + towns and castles and places of historic and picturesque interest; and my + father was earning more money than ever before, though less than a quarter + as much as he would have earned had not Congress, soon after his accession + to office, cut down the emoluments. This was England; the Old Home, and + the Old World, for the understanding of which they had prepared themselves + all their lives previous. My father once said, "If England were all the + world, it would still have been worth while for the Creator to have made + it." The children were radiantly content with their lot; and it is on + record that the little boy once remarked, "I don't remember when I came + down from heaven; but I'm glad I happened to tumble into so good a + family." The same individual, rolling on the floor in excess of mirth over + some childish comicality, panted out, "Oh, mamma, my ball of jolly is so + big I can't breathe!" The ball of jolly became a household word for years + thereafter. It was well nourished in those days. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VIII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Cataclysmic adventures—On the trail of dazzling fortunes— + "Lovely, but reprehensible Madham"—The throne saves the + artist—English robin redbreast—A sad and weary old man— + "Most indelicate woman I've ever known"—Perfectly chaste— + Something human stirred dimly—"She loves me; she loves + me!"—The Prince of Wales and half-a-crown—Portentous and + thundering title—Honest English simplicity—"The spirit + lacking"—Abelard, Isaac Newton, and Ruskin—A famous and + charming woman of genius—Deep and wide well of human + sympathy—The whooping-cough. +</pre> + <p> + In the spring of 1854 we were visited by John O'Sullivan, his wife and + mother, and a young relative of theirs, Miss Ella Rogers. O'Sullivan had + been appointed Minister to the Court of Portugal, and was on his way + thither. He was a Democrat of old standing; had edited the Democratic + Review in 1837, and had made my father's acquaintance at that time through + soliciting contributions from him; later they became close friends, and + when my sister Una was born, he sent her a silver cup, and was ever after + called "Uncle John" in the family, and, also, occasionally, "the Count"—a + title which, I believe, had some warrant in his ancestry. For, although an + American, Uncle John was born at sea off the coast of Spain, of an Irish + father and a mother of aristocratic connections or extraction (I am a + little uncertain, I find, on this point); I think her parents were + Italian. Uncle John had all the charming qualities of the nations + mentioned, and none of their objectionable ones; though this is not to say + that he was devoid of tender faults, which were, if anything, more lovable + than his virtues. Beneath a tranquil, comely, and gentle exterior burned + all the fire and romance of the Celt; his faith and enthusiasm in + "projects" knew no bounds; he might be deceived and bankrupted a hundred + times, and would toe the mark the next time with undiminished confidence. + He was continually, and in the quietest way, having the most astonishing + and cataclysmic adventures; he would be blown up, as it were, by a + dynamite explosion, and presently would return from the sky undisturbed, + with only a slight additional sparkle in his soft eyes, and with the lock + of hair that fell gracefully over his forehead only a trifle disordered. + The most courteous and affectionate of men, with the most yielding and + self-effacing manners, he had the spirit of a paladin, and was afraid of + nothing. He would empty his pockets—or if, as too often happened, + they were already empty, he would pledge his credit to help a friend out + of a hole; and, on the other hand, he was always hot upon the trail of a + dazzling fortune, which, like Emerson's Forerunners, never was overtaken. + It would not long have availed him, had it been otherwise, for never was + there a Monte Cristo who lavished wealth as O'Sullivan habitually did in + anticipation, and would undoubtedly have done in fact had the opportunity + been afforded him. He was gifted with a low, melodious, exquisitely + modulated voice, and a most engaging and winning manner, and when he set + out to picture the simple and easy methods whereby he proposed to make + millions, it was next to impossible to resist him. He was like a + beautiful, innocent, brilliant child, grown up, endowed with an + enchanter's wand, which was forever promising all the kingdoms of the + earth to him, but never (as our modern phrase is) delivered the goods. He + regarded my father as a king of men, and he had, times without number, + been on the very edge of making him, as well as himself, a multifold + millionaire. However, President Pierce did what he could for him by giving + him the Portuguese mission (after first offering it to my father), and + O'Sullivan did excellent work there. But he became interested—abstractly—in + some copper-mines in Spain, which, as he clearly demonstrated, could be + bought for a song, and would pay a thousand per cent, from the start. + Partly to gratify him, and partly with the hope of at least getting his + money back, my father finally, in 1858 or 1859, advanced him ten thousand + dollars to finance the scheme. I saw the dear old gentleman, a generation + later, in New York; he had the same clear, untroubled, tranquil face as of + old; his hair, though gray, was as thick and graceful as ever; his manner + was as sweet and attractive; but though, in addition to his other + accomplishments, he had become an advanced spiritualist, he had not yet + coined into bullion his golden imagination. He had forgotten the Spanish + copper-mines, and I took care not to remind him of them. Peace to his + generous, ardent, and loving soul! + </p> + <p> + Uncle John's wife was a good mate for him, in her own way as brilliant and + fascinating as he and with an unalterable belief in her husband's destiny. + She was a tall, slender woman, with kindling eyes, a lovely smile, and a + wonderful richness and vivacity of conversation; nor have I ever since + known so truly witty a woman. But she lacked the delightful mellowness and + tenderness for which Uncle John was so remarkable. The mother, Madame + O'Sullivan, as she was called, was a type of the finegrained, gently bred + aristocrat, every outline softened and made gracious by the long lapse of + years through which she had lived. She sat like a picture of reverend but + still animated age, with white, delicate lace about her pale cheeks and + dark, kindly, weary eyes, and making a frost-work over her silvery hair. + As for Miss Ella Rogers, it is with some embarrassment that I refer to + her; inasmuch as I fell violently in love with her at first sight, and I + have reason to think that she never fully appreciated or adequately + responded to my passion, though, at the time, I was nearly one-third of + her age—she being five-and-twenty. She was a dark and lively beauty, + thoroughly self-possessed, and versed in social accomplishments, and + gifted with dramatic talent. She afterwards made a great impression in the + court of the Portuguese monarch, and more than once the King himself chose + her as his partner in the ball. Reports of these gayeties came to my ears; + and I found the other day part of a letter which I addressed to her, + remonstrating against these royal flirtations. It is written in pencil, + upon the blue office-paper of the consulate, and I can recall distinctly + the small, indignant boy and knight-errant, sitting at the desk opposite + his hugely diverted father, and beginning his epistle thus: "Lovely, but + reprehensible Madham!" I suspect that I consulted my father as to the + spelling of the second adjective, for it shows signs of having been + overhauled; but after that my feelings became too strong for me, and the + remainder of the letter is orthographically so eccentric that it was + probably cast aside and a copy made of it. But the rough draught, by some + inconceivable chance, was kept, and turns up now, after half a century, + with a strange thread of pathos woven by time into the texture of its + absurdity. Poor, little, lovely reprehensible Madham! Her after-career was + not a happy one. + </p> + <p> + These agreeable persons filled our stuccoed villa full, and gave poignant + addition to the quiet, gray beauty of that English spring. A year or so + later, when my mother's health compelled her to escape to a warmer climate + from fog-ridden Liverpool, she went with my sisters to Lisbon, where the + O'Sullivans were by that time established, and spent several months with + them, and saw all the splendors of the naive but brilliant little court of + Dom Pedro V. She brought home a portfolio of etchings presented to her, + and done by his youthful Majesty; which indicate that his throne, little + as he cared for it, preserved him from the mortification of failing as an + artist. + </p> + <p> + Early in the winter of the following year (1855), Mr. James Buchanan, + appointed Minister to the Court of St. James, found his way to my father's + retreat in Rock Park. The English winter was a mild affair compared with + our recent experiences of the arctic snows of Lenox; there was no + coasting, and not much snow-balling; but we had the pleasure of making + friends with the English robin-redbreast, a most lovable little creature, + who, every morning, hopped confidingly on our window-sill and took + bread-crumbs almost from our hands. The old American diplomatist and + President that was to be (though he vehemently disclaimed any such + possibility) distracted our attention from robin for a day or two. He had + the aspect, perhaps cultivated for political and democratic purposes, of a + Pennsylvania farmer; he was, I believe, born on a farm in Franklin County, + in that State, at the beginning of the last decade of the eighteenth + century. He was tall and ungainly in figure, though he bore himself with a + certain security and dignity; his head was high and thinly covered with + gray hair; he carried it oddly, a little on one side; it was said at the + time that this was due to his having once attempted suicide by cutting his + throat. His visage—heavy, long, and noticeable—had the typical + traits of the American politician of that epoch; his eyes were small, + shrewd, and twinkling; there was a sort of professional candor in his + bearing, but he looked like a sad and weary old man. He talked somewhat + volubly to my father, who kept him going by a question now and then, as + his way generally was with visitors. There was a flavor of rusticity in + his speech; he was not a man of culture or polish, though unquestionably + of great experience of the world. He was dressed in a wide-skirted coat of + black broadcloth, and wore a white choker put on a little askew. The + English, who were prone to be critical of our representatives, made a good + deal of fun of Mr. Buchanan, and told anecdotes about him which were + probably exaggerated or apocryphal. It was alleged, for example, that, + speaking of the indisposition of a female relative of his, he had observed + that it was due to the severity of the English climate. "She never enjoyed + delicate health at home," he had declared; "in fact, she was always one of + the most indelicate women I've ever known." And it was asserted that he + had been admonished by the Lord High Chamberlain, or by the Gold + Stick-in-Waiting, for expectorating upon the floor of her Majesty's palace + at a levee. Such ribaldries used to be popular in English mouths + concerning American visitors before the war; they were all of similar + tenor. Mrs. Abbott Lawrence was described as having bought a handsome + shawl at a shop on Lord Street, in Liverpool, and to have walked down that + populous thoroughfare with her new purchase on her shoulders, ignorant + that it bore the legend, inscribed on a white card, which the salesman had + neglected to remove, "Perfectly chaste." The same lady was reported as + saying, in asking an invitation to a ball on behalf of Mrs. Augustus + Peabody, of Boston, "I assure you, on our side of the water, Mrs. Peabody + is much more accustomed to grant favors than to ask them." Such anecdotes + seem to bear upon them the stamp of the British manufacturer. There would + not seem to be much harm in them, yet it is such things that sometimes + interfere most acutely with the entente cordials between nations. We had + another glimpse of Mr. Buchanan, in London, about a year later, and he + then remarked to my mother, indirectly referring to such reports, that the + Queen had treated him very kindly. For the present, he faded from the Rock + Park horizon, and we returned to the robin; nor have I been able to + understand how it happened that he made so distinct an impression upon my + memory. But a child's memory is unaccountable, both in what it loses and + in what it retains. + </p> + <p> + One Sunday forenoon, when it was not too cold for the young folks to be + swinging on that gate which has been mentioned, and the elders were + in-doors, enjoying the holiday in their own way, we descried an old + gentleman approaching up the winding street. As he drew nearer he + presented rather a shabby, or, at least, rusty appearance. His felt hat + was not so black as it had been; his coat was creased and soiled; his + boots needed a blacking. He swung a cane as he stumped along, and there + was a sort of faded smartness in his bearing and a knowingness in his grim + old visage, indicating some incongruous familiarity with the manners of + the great world. He came to a halt in front of the house, and, after + quizzing it for a moment, went up the steps and beat a fashionable tattoo + with the knocker. + </p> + <p> + Summoned in-doors soon afterwards, we found this questionable personage + sitting in the drawing-room. His voice was husky, but modulated to the + inflections of polite breeding; he used a good many small gestures, and + grinned often, revealing the yellow remains of his ancient teeth; he + laughed, too, with a hoarse sound in his throat. There was about him an + air of determined cheerfulness and affability, though between the efforts + the light died down in his wrinkled old eyes and the lines of his face + sagged and deepened. He offered to kiss my sisters, but they drew back; he + took my hand in his own large, dry one with its ragged nails and swollen + joints. At length he inveigled my younger sister to his knee, where she + sat gazing unflinchingly and solemnly into him with that persistence which + characterizes little girls of four or five who are not quite sure of their + ground. Her smooth, pink-and-white cheeks and unwinking eyes contrasted + vividly with his seamed yellowness and blinking grin; for a long time he + coquetted at her, and played peep-bo, without disturbing her gravity, + making humorous side comments to the on-lookers meanwhile. There was a + ragged and disorderly mop of gray hair on his head, which showed very + dingy beside the clear auburn of the child's. One felt a repulsion from + him, and yet, as he chatted and smirked and acted, there was a sort of + fascination in him, too. Some original force and fire of nature still + glowed and flickered in his old carcass; something human stirred dimly + under the crust of self-consciousness and artificiality. Rose's adamantine + seriousness finally relaxed in a faint smile, upon which he threw up his + hands, emitted a hoarse cackle of triumph, and exclaimed, "There—there + it is! I knew I'd get it; she loves me—she loves me!" He then + permitted her to slip down from his knee and withdraw to her mother, and + resumed the talk which our entrance had interrupted. It was chiefly about + people of whom we youngsters knew nothing—though our ignorance only + argued ourselves unknown, for he named persons all famous in their day. He + had seen George IV., Napoleon, Talleyrand, Wellington; he had been + intimate with Coleridge, De Quincey, Wordsworth, Lamb, Monk Lewis; he was + a sort of elder brother or deputy uncle to Tennyson, Browning, Dickens; he + had quaffed mountain-dew with Walter Scott and had tramped the moors + shoulder to shoulder with Kit North; the courts of Europe were his + familiar stamping-grounds; he had the nobility and gentry at his + finger-ends; he was privileged, petted, and sought after everywhere; if + there were any august door we wished to enter, any high-placed personage + we desired to approach, any difficult service we wanted rendered, he was + the man to help us to our object. Who, then, was he? He has long been + utterly forgotten; but he was well known, or notorious, during the first + half of the last century; he was such a character as could flourish only + in England. His name was William Jerdan; he was born in 1785, and was now, + therefore, about seventy years old. He had started in life poor, with no + family distinction, but with some more or less useful connections either + on the father's or the mother's side. He had somehow got an English + education, and he had pursued his career on the basis of his native wits, + his indomitable effrontery and persistence, his faculty of familiarity, + his indifference to rebuffs, his lack of shame, conscience, and morality. + How he found the means to live nobody could tell, but he uniformly lived + well and had enjoyed the good things of the world. After maintaining his + ground during the first twenty or thirty years, it had probably been + easier for him to forge along afterwards, for he could impose upon the new + generation with his stories of success in the former one. Uncouth and ugly + though he was by nature, the external polish and trick of good form which + he had acquired, and, no doubt, some inner force of social genius in him, + had influenced men to tolerate and often to like him, and had given him + extraordinary good-fortune with women. He had not only been twice married, + and had many children born in wedlock, but his intrigues and liaisons had + been innumerable, and they had by no means been confined to the lower + ranks of society. That he was a practised liar there can be no doubt, but + he had the long memory which the proverb recommends to liars, and he was + so circumspect that few of his claims and pretensions lacked solid basis + enough to make them pass current in a hurrying and heedless world. Now, + however, in his age, he was wellnigh at the end of his tether; what we + should call his "pull" was losing its efficiency; he was lapsing to the + condition where he would offer to introduce a man to the Prince of Wales + or to Baron Rothschild, and then ask him for the loan of five pounds—or + half a crown, as the case might be. He was a character for Thackeray. He + haunted my father for a year or two more, and then vanished I know not + where. + </p> + <p> + Poor, dingy old Jerdan purported to be himself a literary man, though the + only thing of his that I ever heard of was a work in four pretentious + volumes of "wretched twaddle"—as my father called them—which + he published under the title of My Autobiography. It contained a long + array of renowned names, with passages appended of perfectly empty and + conventional comment. + </p> + <p> + But other men crossed our path who had much sounder claims to renown in + literature; among them Samuel Warren, author of half a dozen books, two of + which are still sometimes heard of—<i>The Diary of a Late Physician</i> + and <i>Ten Thousand a Year</i>. He lived upon the reputation which these + brought him, though they were published, the first as long ago as 1830 and + the other only ten years later. Like many other authors, he fancied + himself capable of things far better than belonged to his true metier; and + among the books in my father's library is one called <i>The Moral and + Intellectual Development of the Present Age</i>—a thin volume, + despite its portentous and thundering title—it carries the gloss, in + Warren's handwriting, "the fruit of many a long year's reflection." So + does every light comedian imagine that he can play Hamlet. Of Warren + himself I barely recall a slight, light figure with a sharp nose and a + manner lacking in repose; indeed, he was very much like a light comedian + in light comedy, eager to hold the centre of the stage, full of small + movements and remarks, and—which more interested us children—with + a gift for turning himself into other people by slight contortions of + countenance and alterations of voice. The histrionic abilities of Dickens + probably affected the social antics of many writers at this epoch. Warren + also told stories in a vivacious and engaging manner, though, as they were + about things and people out of the sphere of his younger auditors, I + remember only the way of the telling, not what was told. I recalled, + later, his anecdotes of Kit North, who was a friend of his, on account of + the contrast between the stalwart proportions of that old worthy and the + diminutive physique of the novelist; they must have looked, together, like + a bear and a monkey. Warren was born in Wales, though whether of Welsh + ancestry I know not. + </p> + <p> + When we saw him he was only a trifle over five-and-forty years of age, so + his famous books must have been written when he was hardly more than a + boy. + </p> + <p> + As for Layard, eminent in his time for his work in Nineveh and Babylon, + and afterwards as a statesman, he did not, I think, come to Rock Park, nor + am I sure that I ever saw him. And yet it seems to me that I have the + picture in my mind of a vigorous, frank, agreeable personage who was he; + not a large man, still less a handsome one, but full of life, manliness, + and honest English simplicity. He was at this time, like so many of his + countrymen, very anxious concerning the Crimean War, then in its first + stages, and vehemently opposed to the policy which had brought it about, + for, up to that time, England and Russia had been on friendly terms, and + Layard could see no promising or useful future for the Turk. My father + shared his views, and he wrote the following passage in commenting upon + the general European situation of that day and the prospects for England. + It has never been printed, because it stood only for the sentiment of the + moment, but may be opportunely quoted now that the aspect of European + politics shows symptoms of soon undergoing vital changes. "The truth is," + wrote my father, "there is a spirit lacking in England which we in America + do not lack; and for the want of it she will have to resign a foremost + position among the nations, even if there were not enough other + circumstances to compel her to do so. Her good qualities are getting out + of date; at all events, there should be something added to them in the + present stage of the world." England has a good deal changed since those + words were written, and the changes have probably been mainly for the + better, though all the important ones have caused our old mother + discomfort and embarrassment. The medicine of a new age, the subtle + infiltration of anti-insular ideas, the slow emergence of the democracy + have given her many qualms, but they are wholesome ones. Her best and most + cultivated minds are now on the side of progress, instead of holding by + the past, and, should the pinch come, these may avail to save her better + than martinet generals or unwieldy fleets. The "spirit lacking" in her in + 1855 may, perhaps, be found in them. Whether the spirit in question be as + conspicuous with us as it used to be is another matter. + </p> + <p> + Henry Bright was still our most frequent visitor, and he brought us the + news and gossip of the world. It was in 1855 that Millais married the lady + who had been Mrs. Ruskin. English society was much fluttered by this + event, and many of Ruskin's friends cut him for a time in consequence of + it. Ruskin was a man of a rare type, not readily understood in England, + where a man is expected, in the fundamental qualities of his nature at + least, to be like everybody else. There are two noted characters in + history with whom, in some respects, he might be compared, Isaac Newton + being one and Abelard the other. All three were men in whom, owing to + causes either natural or accidental, the intellect was able to absorb all + the energies of the nature. The intellect thus acquired extraordinary + power and brilliance, and appropriated to itself, in a sort of image, as + it were, the qualities which no longer possessed manifestation on the + material plane. Nothing out of the way would, therefore, be noticed, + unless or until some combination of circumstances should bring the + exceptional condition into every-day light. This happened with Ruskin, and + he was, of course, unable to regard the matter in the same light as his + critics did. He viewed his wife's disinclination towards him by the light + of mere cold logic; and the reason his friends were alienated from him + was, not that her grounds of objection to him were justifiable, but that + Ruskin (according to the common report of the time, as quoted by Mr. + Bright) did not see why he and she and Millais should discontinue their + life in common as before. Neither Millais nor Mrs. Ruskin would, of + course, accede to this proposition, and the divorce was accordingly + obtained. Ruskin intended simply to show magnanimity, and in the course of + years this was recognized and he was forgiven, just as we forgive a person + for being color-blind. In our present stage of civilization we must, in + certain matters, follow strict convention on peril of ostracism, and + nothing is less readily condoned in a man's conduct than any suspicion of + complaisance. I did not see either Ruskin or Millais until 1879 or 1880, + of which beholding I will speak when the time comes. + </p> + <p> + But we had with us for a short time a famous and charming woman of genius, + who made me for a season forget my infatuation for the beautiful Ella + Rogers. This was Charlotte Cushman. The acquaintance then begun was + renewed in Italy, and maintained till the end of her life. Such is the + power of the spiritual in nature and character to dominate and even render + invisible the physical, that I was astonished, in after years, to hear + Charlotte referred to as a woman of plain or unattractive features. To me, + won from the first by the expression, the voice, the sphere, the warmth, + strength, and nobility of her presence, she had always seemed one of the + handsomest as well as most delightful of women. She was in her fortieth + year, but she had already announced her purpose of retiring from the + stage. Some of her best work was done in the following twenty years. + Critics might call her face plain, or ugly, if they chose, but there was + no doubt that its range of expression was vast and poignant, that it could + reflect with immense energy the thoughts of the mind, and could radiate + the very soul of tragedy. Her figure was tall and superb and her carriage + stately without any stiffness, and appalling though she was as Lady + Macbeth or Meg Merrilies, in our little drawing-room she was only simple, + sincere, gentle, and winning. Born actress though she was, her horizon was + by no means restricted to things histrionic; she talked well on many + subjects, and was at no loss for means to entertain even so small and + inexperienced a person as myself. I had never seen a theatre, and did not + know what an actress was, but I loved her, and she was good to me. It was + not the interest of the stories she told me, so much as the personal + influence that went with them, that entranced me. I was sensible of her + kindness, and of the hearty good-will with which she bent her great and + gracious self to the task of making me happy. That wonderful array of tiny + charms on her watch-chain was beautiful and absorbing, owing less to + anything intrinsic in themselves than to some sparkling and lovable + communication from their wearer. If a woman be only large enough and + vigorous enough to begin with, the stage seems to develop her as nothing + else could—to bring out the best in her. It was perhaps the deep and + wide well of human sympathy in Charlotte Cushman that was at the bottom of + her success in her profession, though, of course, she was greatly aided by + her mental and physical gifts. I suppose there may be women now capable of + being actresses as great as she was, but the audience to call forth their + latent powers and ambition seems, just at present, to be lacking. + </p> + <p> + Our social diversions at Rock Park were interrupted, at about this period, + by the whooping-cough, which seized upon all of us together, and I well + remember my father almost climbing up the wall of the room in some of his + paroxysms; but he treated it all as a joke, and was always ready to laugh + as soon as he got through coughing. It left no ill effects except upon my + mother, who had bronchial trouble which, as I have intimated, finally led + to the breaking-up of our household. She was not made for England. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IX + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Two New England consciences—Inexhaustible faith and energy— + Deep and abiding love of England—"How the Water Comes Down + at Lodore"—"He took an' he let go"—Naked mountains—The + unsentimental little quadruped—The human element in things + sticks—The coasts of England—A string of sleepy donkeys— + Unutterable boy-thoughts—Grins and chuckles like an ogress— + Hideous maternal parody—The adorable inverted bell-glass— + Strange things happen in the world—An ominous clouding of + the water—Something the world has never known—Overweening + security—An admonition not to climb too high—How vice may + become virtue by repetition—Corporal Blair's chest—Black- + Bottle Cardigan—Called to Lisbon. +</pre> + <p> + Emerson, as a matter of principle, was rather averse from travel, though + he made the trip to England twice; but he fortified his theory by his + practice of searching out great men rather than historic or picturesque + places. Ruskin's Modern Painters had not been written when Emerson first + left home, and I doubt if he read it at any time. He found his mountain + scenery in Carlyle and his lakes and vales elsewhere among agreeable + people. My father's conscience worked in a different way; he thought + himself under obligations to see whatever in the way of towns, ruins, + cathedrals, and scenery was accounted worthy a foreigner's attention; but + I think he would have enjoyed seeing them much more had that feeling of + obligation not been imposed upon him. Set sights, as he often remarked, + wearied him, just because they were set; things that he happened upon + unpremeditatedly, especially if they were not described in guide-books, + pleased him more and tired him less. It can hardly be affirmed, however, + that he would have missed the set sights if he could have done so, and no + doubt he was glad, after the job was done, that he had done it. And he was + greatly helped along by the inexhaustible faith and energy in such matters + of his wife; she shrank from no enterprise, and seemed always in precisely + the right mood to appreciate whatever she beheld. She could go day after + day to a picture-gallery, and stay all day long; she would make herself as + familiar with churches, castles, and cathedrals as she was with her own + house; she would wander interminably and delightedly about old towns and + cities, or gaze with never-waning joy upon lakes and mountains, and my + father, accompanying her, was, in a measure, recuperated and strengthened + by her enthusiasm. In the end, as is evidenced by Our Old Home and The + Marble Faun, he got a good deal out of Europe. On the other hand, he + seemed to think himself justified in avoiding persons as much as he + decently might, even the most distinguished; and if he had not been a + consul, and a writer of books that had been read, I doubt if he would have + formed any acquaintances during his foreign residence, and he would + thereby have missed one of the greatest and most enduring pleasures of + memory that he took back with him. For no one cared more for a friend, or + was more stimulated and emancipated by one, than he. It may have been that + he had passed the age of youthful buoyancy, of appetite for novelties; + that he had begun to lack initiative. "I have seen many specimens of + mankind," he wrote down, in a mood of depression, in one of his + note-books, "but come to the conclusion that there is little variety among + them all." That was scarcely a full thought, and he would never have let + it pass in one of his considered books. He made and published many other + remarks on similar subjects of quite an opposite tenor, and these more + truly represented his true feeling. But he did flag a little, once in a + while, and the deep and abiding love of England which was his final + sentiment had somewhat the appearance of having been forced upon him + against his inclination. We may surmise that he feared disappointment more + than he craved gratification. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: FRANCIS BANNOCH] + </p> + <p> + From Liverpool we explored the strangeness of the land in all directions. + Bennoch or Bright sometimes took off my father alone; sometimes my father + and mother would go with me, leaving my sisters at home with the + governess. Once in a while we all went together, as, for example, to the + Isle of Man or to Rhyl. So far as practicable, we children were made + acquainted with the literature of places we were to visit before going + there. Thus, before journeying to the Lakes and Scotland, I had by heart a + good deal of Wordsworth, Southey, Burns, and Walter Scott, and was able, + standing amid the lovely uproar of Lodore, to shout out the story of how + the water comes down there; and, again, on the shores of Loch Katrine, at + sunset, after spending a long hour on the little white beach opposite + Ellen's Isle, I ran along the road in advance of my parents, and, climbing + a cliff, saw the breadth of the lake below me, golden under the sunset + clouds, and very aptly recited, as they came up, Sir Walter's descriptive + verse: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "One burnished sheet of living gold, + Loch Katrine lay, beneath him rolled!" +</pre> + <p> + But I was not always so well attuned to the environment. I had got hold of + a hook and line at some hotel on the Lakes, and the old passion for + fishing, which had remained latent since Lenox days for lack of + opportunity, returned upon me with great virulence. So, one day, when we + had set out in a row-boat to visit Rob Roy's cave, I requested, on + arriving there, to be permitted to stay in the boat, moored at the foot of + the cliff, while the others climbed up into the cave, and, as soon as they + had disappeared, I pulled out my line, with a dried-up worm on the hook, + and cast it over the side. I wanted to see the cave, but I wanted to catch + a fish more. Up to that time, I think, I had caught nothing in all our + pilgrimages. If ever Providence is going to give me success (I said to + myself, devoutly), let it be now! Accordingly, just before the others came + back, I felt a strong pull on my line and hauled in amain. In a moment the + fish, which may have been nine inches long, but which seemed to me + leviathan himself, broke the surface, wriggling this way and that + vigorously; but that was the extent to which my prayer was granted, for, + in the words of a rustic fisherman who related his own experience to me + long afterwards, "Just as I was a-goin' to land 'im, sir, he took an' he + let go!" My fish not only took and let go, but he carried off the hook + with him. + </p> + <p> + I remember wandering with my father through a grassy old church-yard in + search of Wordsworth's grave, which we found at last, looking quite as + simple as his own most severely unadorned pastoral; but I had not attained + as yet to the region of sentiment which makes such things impressive. The + bare mountains, the blue lakes, and the gray ruins filled me with riotous + intoxication. The North of England and Scotch mountains were much more + effective in their nakedness than the wooded hills I had seen in Berkshire + of Massachusetts, and their contours were more sharply modelled and + various. They were just large enough to make their ascent seem easy until + you undertook it, then those seemingly moderate slopes lengthened out + unaccountably. The day we reached the hotel at the base of Helvellyn, I + started, nothing doubting, to climb to its summit before supper; the + weather was clear, the top looked close at hand, and I felt great surprise + that the young gentleman mentioned in Scott's poem ("I climbed the dark + brow of the mighty Helvellyn," etc.) should have allowed himself to be + lost. But after a breathless struggle of fifteen or twenty minutes, + finding myself apparently no nearer my goal than at first, I thought + differently. Mr. Bright told my father, by-the-way, that the legend of the + fidelity of the dead adventurer's little dog, "who scared the hill-fox and + the raven away," was far from being in accordance with the prosaic facts. + This unsentimental little quadruped had, in truth, eaten up a large part + of her master by the time his remains were discovered, and had, + furthermore, brought into the world a litter of pups. Well, nothing can + deprive us of the poem; but it is wholesome to face realities once in a + while. + </p> + <p> + Unless one have a vein of Ruskin in him, one does not recollect scenery, + however enchanting, with the same particularity as persons. It is the + human element in things that sticks to us. Scenes are more punctually + recalled in proportion as they are steeped in historic or personal + interest. The thatched cottages of Burns and of Shakespeare stand clear in + my memory; I recall our ramble over the battlements of Carlisle, where + imprisoned Queen Mary had walked three centuries before; I remember the + dark stain on the floor of the dark room in which one of her lovers was + slain; I can see the gray towers of Warwick rising above the green trees + and reflected in the still water; and, entering the keep of the castle, I + behold myself again trying on the ponderous helmet of the gigantic Guy, + and climbing into his monstrous porridge-pot. But vain would be the + attempt to marshal before my mind's eye the glorious pageantry of the + Trosachs, though, at the time of its actual revelation, it certainly + seemed to make a far more vivid impression. The delight and exhilaration + which such magnificence inspired are easily summoned back, but not the + incarnate features of them. Wild nature takes us out of ourselves and + refreshes us; but she does not reveal her secret to us, or ally herself + with anything in us less deep than the abstract soul—which also is + beyond our reach. + </p> + <p> + I am not sure that my father did not like the seaside sojourns as well as + anything else, apart from the historical connections; for the spirits of + many seafaring forefathers murmured in his heart. But he did not so much + care for the soft, yielding, brown sands on which the sea-waves broke. The + coasts to which he had been used in his youth were either rocky or firm as + a macadamized road. Nor was he beguiled into forgetting the tedium of + walking over them, as his companion was, by the fascination of the shells + and sea curiosities to be picked up on them. Many a mile have I trotted + along beside him or behind him, gathering these treasures, while he strode + forward, abstracted, with his gaze fixed towards the long ridge of the + horizon. The sands at Rhyl, near which Milton's friend was said to have + been lost, were like a rolling prairie; at low tide the white fringe of + the surf could scarcely be descried at their outermost verge, yet within a + few hours it would come tumbling back, flowing in between the higher + levels, flooding and brimming and overcoming, till it broke at our feet + once more. Behind us rose the tumultuous curves and peaks of the Welsh + hills; before us, but invisible across the Irish Channel, the black coast + of rainy Ireland. One night, during a gale, a ship came ashore, so far out + that it still seemed, in the morning, to be at sea, except for its + motionlessness, and the drenched and draggled crew came straggling in—or + some of them. At Southport the beach was narrower and the little sea-side + settlement larger and livelier; a string of sleepy donkeys always waited + there, with the rout of ragged and naughty little boys with sticks to + thrash them into a perfunctory and reluctant gallop for their riders. + There was always one boy, larger and also naughtier than the rest, who + thrashed the thrashers and took their pennies away from them. The + prevailing occupation of the children at these places, as on all civilized + shores, apparently, was the building of sand-mountains and the digging of + pits with their little wooden spades. One day an elderly gentleman, with a + square, ruddy face, edged with gray whiskers, who had stood observing my + labors in this kind for a long time, stepped up to me as I paused, and + said, with a sort of amused seriousness, "You'll do something when you + grow up, my little lad; your hill is bigger than any of the others'." He + nodded kindly to me and walked off, and I sat down beside my mountain and + watched the tide come up and level it, thinking unutterable boy-thoughts. + </p> + <p> + The only approach to sea-side cliffs that we saw was at Whitby, on the + Yorkshire coast, where the abbey of St. Hilda stood, after whom the + American maiden in The Marble Faun was named. But the German Ocean was + bleak and cold, and my experiences in it were even more harrowing than + elsewhere; I can imagine nothing more dispiriting to a small boy than to + be dragged down over a harsh beach in an old-fashioned British + bathing-machine, its damp floor covered with gritty sand, with a tiny + window too high up for him to look out of; undressing in the cold + draughtiness and trying to hang up his clothes on pegs too high for him to + reach; being tossed from side to side, and forward and backward, + meanwhile, by the irregular jerking and swaying of the dismal contrivance, + drawn by the amphibious horses of the region; until at last he hears the + waves begin to dash against it, and it comes to a pause in a depth which + he feels must be fathomless. Then comes a thumping at the door, and he + knows that the bathing-woman is hungrily awaiting his issuing forth. + Nothing else is so terrible in the world—nothing even in Alice in + Wonderland—to a small, naked, shivering boy as the British + bathing-woman. There she stands, waist-deep in the swelling brine; she + grins and chuckles like an ogress; her red, grasping hands stretch forth + like the tentacles of an octopus; she seizes her victim in an irresistible + embrace, and with horrid glee plunges him head-under the advancing wave. + Ere he can fetch his breath to scream, down again he goes, and yet again. + The frigid, heavy water stings his cowering body; he has swallowed quarts + of it; his foot has come in contact with a crab or a starfish; before him + rolls the tumultuous expanse of desolation, surging forward to take his + life; behind him are the rickety steps of the bathing-machine, which, but + now a chamber of torture, has become his sole haven of refuge. Buffeted by + the billows, he makes shift at last frantically to clamber back into it; + he snatches the small, damp towels, and attempts to dry his shivering + limbs; his clothes have fallen on the wet floor; he cannot force his blue + toes into his oozy socks. At the moment he is attempting to wriggle + himself into his trousers the horse is hitched-to again, and the jerky and + jolty journey back up the beach begins. If the hair of a boy of ten could + turn white in a single morning, there would be many a hoary-headed + youngster in British watering-places. John Leech, in Punch, used to make + pictures of the experiences I have outlined, and I studied them with deep + attention and sympathy. The artist, too, must have suffered from the + sea-ogresses in his youth, else he could not have portrayed the outrage so + vividly. The mock-cheerfulness and hideous maternal parody of their "Come, + my little man!" has no parallel in life or fiction. Nevertheless, such is + the fortunate recuperative faculty of boyhood that day after day I would + forget the horrors of that hour, and be happy in climbing over the decayed + chalk acclivities of Whitby, picking up the fossil shells that nestle + there. Yonder on my table, as I write, lies a coiled ammonite found there; + it had been there ten thousand years or ages before I detached it from its + bed, and, for aught I know, my remotest posterity may use it, as I have + done, for a paper-weight. Thanks to eternal justice, the bathing-machines + and the bathing-women will have gone to their place long ere then! + </p> + <p> + My father had given me a book called The Aquarium, written by Philip Henry + Gosse (father of the present poet, essayist, and critic), illustrated with + pictures of sea-anemones and other marine creatures done from his own + drawings in color, and so well done that nothing which has been done since + in the way of color-reproductions surpasses them. It was delightfully + written, and I absorbed it into my very soul, and my dreams by night and + longings by day were for an aquarium of my own. At last—I think this + was at Southport—a glass jar was given me; it was an inverted + bell-glass, mounted on a wooden stand, and it cost ten shillings. I wonder + if men often love their wives or children with the adoring tenderness that + I lavished upon that bell-glass and its contents! I got sand and covered + the bottom; I found two jagged stones and leaned them against each other + on the sand; I gathered fronds of ulva latissima; I persuaded a boatman to + bring me a bucket of salt-water from beyond the line of breakers, and I + poured it carefully into the jar. During the next twenty-four hours I + waited impatiently for the water to settle and clear; then I began to + introduce the living inmates. I collected prawns and crabs and sea-snails, + and a tiny sole or two, a couple of inches long, and by good chance I + found a small sepiola, or cuttle-fish, as big as a beetle, which burrowed + in the sand and changed color magically from dark brown to faintest buff. + I also had a pair of soldier-crabs, which fought each other continually. + When the sunlight fell on my aquarium, I saw the silver bubbles of oxygen + form on the green fronds of the sea-weed; the little snails crawled along + the sides of the glass, sweeping out their tiny, scythelike tongues at + every step; the prawns hovered in the shade of the stones or darted back + and forward light as thoughts; the soles scuffled over the surface of the + sand or hid themselves in it from the stalking, felonious crabs. But I had + no sea-anemones; they are not found on sandy coasts, and without + sea-anemones my felicity could not be complete. + </p> + <p> + But strange things happen in this world occasionally, good as well as bad. + There came up a heavy storm, and the next morning, walking with my father + on the beach, strewn with deep-sea flotsam and jetsam, we came upon the + mast of a ship, water-logged till it had the weight of iron; it might have + been, as my father remarked, a relic of the Spanish Armada. And it was + covered from end to end with the rarest and most beautiful species of + sea-anemones! + </p> + <p> + This was fairy-land come true. I chipped off a handkerchiefful of the best + specimens, wishing I could take them all, and carried them to my aquarium. + I deposited them, each in a coign of vantage, and in the course of an hour + or two they had swelled out their tinted bodies and expanded their lovely + tentacles, and the cup of my joy was full. This prosperity continued for + near a week, during which I remained with my nose against the glass, as + the street boys of Liverpool held theirs against the windows of + pastry-cooks' shops. At length I noticed an ominous clouding of the water, + which, as Mr. Gosse had forewarned me, signified disaster of some sort, + and, searching for the cause, I finally discovered the body of the little + sepiola, which had died without being missed, and was contaminating with + his decay the purity of the aquarium. The water must be changed at once. I + sent out the servant for a fresh bucketful from the sea, while I poured + the polluted liquid from the jar. + </p> + <p> + Presently the bucket of water was brought in. It was unusually clear. I + filled the jar with it, and then, as bedtime was near, I left the aquarium + to settle down to business again. The next morning I hastened to it in my + night-gown, and was confronted by a ghastly spectacle. The crabs lay dead + on the bottom, stomachs upward; the prawns hung lifeless and white from + the rocks; the soldier-crabs were motionless, half out of their shells; + the sea-anemones had contracted themselves into buttons, and most of them + had dropped from their perches. Death had been rampant during the night; + but what could be the cause? + </p> + <p> + A sudden suspicion caused me to put a finger in the water and apply it to + my tongue. It was not salt-water at all, but had been taken fresh from the + cistern. That traitress servant-girl, to save her indolence a few steps, + had destroyed my aquarium! + </p> + <p> + I was too heart-broken to think of killing her; but she had killed + something in me which does not readily grow again. My trust in my + fellow-creatures was as shrunken and inanimate as the sea-anemones. We + left Southport soon after, and that was my last aquarium. + </p> + <p> + Let us turn to lighter matters. I accompanied my father and mother on that + pilgrimage to Old Boston which is described in Our Old Home. The world + does not know that it is to my presence on the little steamer on the trip + down the level river, through the Lincolnshire fens, with nothing but the + three-hundred-foot tower of St. Botolph's Church, in the extreme distance, + to relieve the tedium of a twenty-four-mile journey made at the rate of + never more than six miles per hour—it is not known, I say, that to + that circumstance is due my father's description of the only incident + which enlivened the way—the tragedy, namely, of the duck family. For + it was that tragedy which stood out clearest in my memory, and when I + learned, in Concord, that my father was preparing his paper about Old + Boston for the Atlantic Monthly, I besought him to insert an account of + the episode. The duck and her five ducklings had probably seen the steamer + many times before, and had acquired a contempt for its rate of + progression, imagining that it would always be easy to escape from it. + But, somehow, in their overweening security, they lingered on this + occasion a little too long, and we succeeded in running them down. Even + then, as my father notes, it was only one of them that was carried under; + but the shock to the nerves of the other youngsters must have stunted + their growth, and the old bird cannot but have suffered tortures from + anxiety and remorse. + </p> + <p> + The sadness caused by this event, added to the chilliness of the sea-wind + which blew against us all the way down the river, rendered my first + impressions of the ancient town, which had given its name to the one I was + born in, somewhat gloomy. But the next morning it brightened up, and our + own spirits were correspondingly improved; insomuch that I struck my head + a violent blow against the stone roof of the topmost pinnacle of St. + Botolph's tower, such was the zeal of my ascent into it. All this happened + two years after the aquarium, in 1857, when I was older and wiser, but had + not yet outgrown the ambition to climb to the top of all high places; this + bump may have been an admonition not to climb too high. We went down and + strayed into Mr. Porter's little book-shop, and he transformed himself + into a new and more genial proprietor of a virtuoso's collection, and + showed us treasures, some of which his predecessor in Mosses from an Old + Manse might not have despised. I have never since then heard of his + portrait in crayon of the youthful Sterne; it would be worth a good deal + to any latter-day publisher of his works in a de luxe edition. As for the + green tassel from the bed of Queen Mary, in Holyrood House, there is a + passage in my father's description of it in his journal which, out of + regard, doubtless, for the feelings of Mr. Porter, he forbore to quote in + his published article; but as the good old gentleman (unless he has lived + to be more than one hundred and twenty years old) must have gone to the + place where treasures are indestructible, I will reproduce it now. "This + tassel," says my father, "Mr. Porter told us (with a quiet chuckle and + humorous self-gratulation), he had personally stolen, and really, for my + part, though I hope I would not have done it myself, I thought it no sin + in him—such valuables being attracted by a natural magnetism towards + such a man. He obeys, in stealing them, a higher law than he breaks. I + should like to know precisely what portion of his rich and rare collection + he has obtained in a similar manner. But far be it from me to speak + unkindly or sneeringly of the good man; for he showed us great kindness, + and obliged us so much the more by being greatly and evidently pleased + with the trouble that he took on our behalf." It may be added that each + new stealing enhances the value of all the previous ones, and therefore + creates an obligation to steal yet more. Thus does an act which would, + standing by itself, be criminal, become a virtue if often enough repeated. + </p> + <p> + I am not arranging this narrative in chronological sequence; but I think + it was in this year that we went to Manchester to see the exposition. The + town itself was unlovely; but, as we had Italy in prospect, it was deemed + expedient to accustom ourselves in some measure to the companionship of + works of art, and the exhibition professed to contain an exceptionally + fine and catholic collection of them. My father made a thorough study of + them, going to learn and not to judge, and he learned much, though not + quite to believe in Turner or to like the old masters. For my own part, + when not taken on these expeditions, I busied myself with the building of + a kite six feet high, of engineer's cambric, with a face painted on it, + and used to go out and fly it on a vacant lot in the rear of our lodgings, + accompanied by a large portion of the unoccupied population of Manchester. + The kite broke its string one day, and I saw it descend over the roofs of + a remote slum region towards the south, and I never recaptured it. But my + chief energies were devoted to acquiring the art of fencing with the + small-sword from one Corporal Blair, of the Fourth Dragoon Guards—a + regiment which had distinguished itself in the Crimean War. The corporal + was a magnificent-looking creature, and he was as admirable inwardly as + outwardly—the model of an English non-commissioned officer. He used + to come to our lodgings in his short scarlet jacket and black trousers, + and my father once asked him, remarking the extraordinary prominence of + his chest, what kind of padding was used to produce so impressive a + contour. "There's nothing here but my linen, sir," answered the corporal, + modestly, and blushing a good deal; a fact which I, having often taken my + lessons at the barracks, in the private quarters of the corporal, where he + permitted himself to appear in his shirt-sleeves, already knew. My + experience of the British army not being so large as that of some other + persons, I am unable to say whether there were many other soldiers in it + fit to be compared with Blair; but my acquaintance with mankind in general + would lead me to infer that there could not have been then, and that there + are still less of such to-day. An army of six—footers like him, with + his intelligence, instincts of discipline, capacity and expertness, + physical strength and activity, and personal courage, would easily account + for more than all of England's warlike renown and success; the puzzle is, + how to account for anything but disaster without them—though, to be + sure, other armies might be equally lacking in Blairs. He was well + educated, modest, and moral; he was a married man, with a wife who was the + model of a soldier's consort, and two or three little sons, all of them + experts with the foils and the broadsword. It was against the regulations + of the service for privates or non-commissioned officers to have families, + and, when Blair's connubial condition became known to the authorities, he + was degraded in rank from sergeant to corporal, though he wore the + Balaklava medal; for he had taken part in that immortal charge, and I only + wish I could recall the story of it as he told it to me. His regiment had + been under the command of Lord Cardigan—"Black-Bottle Cardigan," as + he was nicknamed in the army, on account of the well-known (real or + apocryphal) incident. It was my good—fortune, by-the-way, once to + see this eminent captain. I was taking my lesson at the barracks, when + Blair told me that his lordship was expected to visit them that afternoon. + The hour appointed was three o'clock. Punctually at three o'clock a + carriage drove rapidly through the gates of the barracks, and the guard + turned out on the run and lined up to salute the noble occupant. But, much + to their disgust, the occupant turned out to be some one else, not + meriting a salute. The men returned to the guard-room feeling as men do + when they have been betrayed into exertion and enthusiasm for nothing. + However, in about ten minutes more, another carriage drove up, and out + came the guard again and ranged themselves smartly, to please the eye of + their martinet commander, when lo! they had again been deceived. Again + they retired with dark looks, not being at all in a mood to recognize the + humor of the situation. This same thing actually occurred twice more, by + which time it was near four o'clock, and the men were wellnigh mutinous, + and it became evident that, for some reason, Cardigan had been prevented + from coming. Such being the case, the approach of still another carriage + attracted no attention whatever, until it came to a half-pause, and I saw, + thrust out of the window, a stern, dark, warlike, soldierly face, full of + surprise and indignation—and this was Cardigan himself. The unhappy + guard tumbled over themselves in vain efforts to get into form; it was too + late, and the haughty and hot-tempered commander drove on without his + salute. Blair, not being on guard duty, had no part in this catastrophe, + but I well remember his unaffected sorrow over it. He was a grave man, + though of an equable and cheerful temper, and he felt his comrades' + misfortune as his own. But I never heard that any casualties occurred in + consequence of the mishap. + </p> + <p> + I have left two years of our English sojourn unaccounted for. In the + summer of 1855, my father nearly made up his mind to resign his consulship + (since it had become hardly worth keeping from the money point of view), + and, after making a visit to Italy, going back to Concord. This plan + seemed the more advisable, because my mother's lungs could not endure the + English climate. But while he was weighing the matter, John O'Sullivan + wrote from Lisbon, urgently inviting my mother and sisters to come out and + spend a few months with him and his family there. The Lisbon climate was a + specific for bronchial disease; my father could complete his term, and we + could go to Italy the following year. There was only one objection to this—it + involved the parting of my father from my mother, a thing which had never + before happened. But it did not take him long to decide that it would be a + good thing for her, and, therefore, in the long run, for him. Each loved + the other unselfishly, and had the courage of such love. Liverpool without + my mother would be a dismal trial for him to face; Lisbon without my + father would be tenfold an exile for her. But they made up their minds, + each for the other's sake, to undergo the separation, and accordingly, in + the autumn of the year, she and my sisters sailed from Southampton, and my + father and I went back to Liverpool. How we fared there shall be told in + the next chapter. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + X + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + If there were boarding-houses in paradise—Blodgett, the + delight of mankind—Solomon foresaw her—A withering retort— + A modest, puny poise about her—Hidden thoughts derived + from Mother Eve and Grecian Helen—The feminine council that + ruled the Yankee captains—Bonds of fraternity, double- + riveted and copper-fastened—Through the looking-glass—Men + only of the manliest sort—The lady-paramount—Hands which + were true works of art—Retained his dignity without putting + it on—Sighed heavily over my efforts—Unctuous M. Huguenin— + "From dawn to eve I fell"—The multum-in-parvo machine— + "Beauty and the Beast"—Frank Channing—"Blood-and water!"— + A lapful of Irish stew. +</pre> + <p> + It was observed a little way back that English boarding-houses were much + like other boarding-houses in the civilized world. The rule is proved by + the exception of Mrs. Blodgett's establishment. There never was such + another; there never will be; it was unique. It has vanished from earth + long since; but if there were boarding-houses in paradise, I should + certainly expect it to be found again there. Who was Mrs. Blodgett? Save + that she was a widow of the British middle class, I doubt if any one of + her boarders knew. She had once been rich, and had lived at Gibraltar. I + have often meditated with fruitless longing about what manner of man Mr. + Blodgett could have been. He must have been, like the Emperor Titus, the + delight of mankind in his day. He was a man, we must surmise, whose charms + and virtues were such that his wife, having felt the bliss and privilege + of knowing and living with him, registered a vow over his bier that she + would devote her future career to the attempt to make others as happy as + he had made her; that she would serve others as faithfully and generously + as she had served him. It was a lofty and beautiful conception, for she + must have perceived that only in that way could she keep his blessed + spirit near her; that the little heaven she would make in Duke Street, + Liverpool, would attract him from the kindred heaven above; that he would + choose to hover, invisible, above her plenteous table, inhaling the + grateful aromas that arose from it as from a savory sacrifice, basking in + the smiles and sympathizing in the satisfaction of the fortunate guests, + triumphing in their recognition of his beloved consort as a queen among + women. One might almost fancy that the steam arising from the portly + soup-tureen assumed as it arose something suggesting a human form; that + from its airy and fragrant mistiness a shadowy countenance beamed down + upon the good lady in black, with the white cap, who ladled out the + delicious compound to her waiting devotees. The murmur of the tea-urn + would seem to fashion itself into airy accents, syllabling, "Mary, thy + Blodgett is here!" His genial spirit would preside over her labors in the + kitchen, suggesting ever more delightsome dishes and delicate desserts. He + would warn her against undesirable inmates and intractable servants, and + would inspire her tradesmen to serve her with the choicest comestibles and + to temper their bills to the unprotected widow. At night he would bless + her lonely pillow with peace, and would gently rouse her in the morning to + a new day of beneficences. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Blodgett was about five feet four inches high, and may have weighed + twelve stone; into such limits were her virtues packed. She was perhaps in + the neighborhood of her fiftieth year; her dark hair was threaded with + honorable gray. Her countenance was rotund and ruddy; it was the flower of + kindness and hospitality in full bloom; but there was also power in the + thick eyebrows and in the massy substance of the chin—of the chins, + indeed, for here, as in other gifts, nature had been generous with her. + There was shrewdness and discernment in the good-nature of her eyes; she + knew human nature, although no one judged it with more charity than she. + Her old men were her brothers, her young men were her sons, all children + were her children. Solomon foresaw her in the most engaging of his + Proverbs. Her maid-servants arose at six in the morning and called her + blessed, for though her rule was strict it was just and loving. She was at + once the mistress and the friend of her household; no Yankee captain so + audacious that he ventured to oppose her law; no cynic so cold as not to + be melted by her tenderness. She was clad always in black, with a white + cap and ribbons, always spotless amid the grime of Liverpool; in her more + active moments—though she was always active—she added a white + apron to her attire. She was ever anywhere where she was needed; she was + never anywhere where she could be dispensed with. Wherever she went she + brought comfort and a cheerful but not restless animation. Her boarders + were busy men, but it was always with an effort that they wrenched + themselves from her breakfast-table, and they sat down to dinner as one + man. She made them happy, but she would not spoil them. "You're a pretty + young man!" she said, severely, to complacent Mr. Crane, when, one + morning, he came late to breakfast. "I always knew that," returned he, + reaching self-satisfiedly for the toast-rack. "Well, I'm sure your glass + never told you so!" was the withering retort. Mr. Crane did not lift his + neck so high after that. The grin that went round the table was too + crushingly unanimous. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Blodgett was helped in her duties by her niece, Miss Maria, and by + her sister, Miss Williams. Miss Maria was a little wisp of a woman; I do + not know her age then, but I think, were she alive today, she would + confess to about eighty-three. She wore ringlets, after the fashion of the + early nineteenth-century books of beauty. Her face was thin and narrow, + and ordinarily pale; but when Miss Maria had been a little while in + conversation with one or more of the gallant Yankee captains you might see + in the upper corner of each cheek a slight touch of red. For though I + would not call the little lady coquettish—that is too coarse and + obvious a word—yet there was in her that inalienable consciousness + of maidenhood, that sentiment, at once of attraction and of recoil, + towards creatures of the opposite sex, that gentle hope of pleasing man, + that secret emotion of being pleased by him, that tremor at the idea of + being desired, and that flush at the thought of being desirable, which, I + suppose, may animate the mystic sensibilities of spinsterhood. She was + anything but aggressive and confident, yet there was a modest, puny poise + about her; she was like a plant that has always lived in a narrow, city + flower-pot, at a window too seldom visited by the sun, which has never + known the freedom of the rain, but has been skimpingly watered out of a + toy watering-pot; which has never so much as conceived of the daring and + voluptuous charms of its remote sisters of the forest and garden, but has + cherished its rudimentary perfume and its incipient tints in a light + reflected from brick walls and in the thin, stale atmosphere of rear + sitting-rooms. Yet it knows that it is a flower, and that it might, + somehow, fulfil its destiny and be beautiful. So Miss Maria had, no doubt, + hidden thoughts remotely derived from Mother Eve and from Grecian Helen; + she was aware of the potentiality in herself of all virgin privileges and + powers, and assumed thereupon her own little dignity. Never but once did I + see a masculine arm round Miss Maria's trig, stiff little waist, and that + was at Christmas-time, when there were sprigs of mistletoe over every + doorway; but, mistletoe or not, the owner of that arm, if he did succeed + in ravishing a kiss, got his ears smartly boxed the next moment. I don't + know precisely what was Miss Maria's function in the economy of the + household; I can fancy her setting the table, and adding touches of + neatness and prettiness; dusting the ornaments and fine china on the + shelves of the whatnot; straightening the frames of the pictures on the + walls; and, in her less romantic moments, hemming towels or sheets, or + putting up preserved fruits. I know she was always amiable and obliging + and that everybody loved her. + </p> + <p> + Miss Williams was a good deal the elder of her sister, and was of a clear + white pallor and an aged delicacy and shyness that were very captivating. + She had judgment and a clear, dispassionate brain, and I presume she acted + the part in the little firm of a sort of court of appeals and final + adviser and referee. She talked little and had little to do with outward + affairs, but she sat observant and penetrating and formed conclusions in + her mind. There had been no brother of The Blodgett to induce her to + change her maidenly state, but I think there must have been a quiet, + touching romance somewhere hidden in the shadows of the previous forty or + fifty years. She admired and delighted in her energetic, practical sister + as much as the latter adored her for her serenity and wisdom. There was + between them an intimacy, confidence, and mutual understanding that were + charming to behold. When the blessed Blodgett had died, one can imagine + the vital support and consolation which Miss Williams had been able to + afford to her afflicted sister. Each of them seemed, in some way, to + explain and enlarge one's conception of the other. Widely different as + they appeared outwardly, there was a true sisterly likeness deep down in + them. Such was the feminine council that ruled the destinies of the Yankee + captains and of their consul. + </p> + <p> + These captains and this consul formed nine-tenths of the population of the + house, and such other denizens as it had were at least Americans. I never + learned the cause of this predilection for representatives of the great + republic and for the seafaring variety of them in particular. Be that as + it might (and it is an interesting inquiry in itself), it can be readily + understood that it worked out well as a business idea. There were no + quarrels or heart-burnings among the jolly occupants of Mrs. Blodgett's + table; first, because they were all Americans in the country of their + hereditary enemies, and, secondly, because they were all men of the same + calling, and that calling the sea. The bonds of fraternity between them + were double-riveted and copper-fastened. Thus all who had experienced the + Blodgett regime proclaimed its excellence far and wide, and the number of + applicants always exceeded the accommodations; in fact, during this year + 1855-56, our hostess was compelled to buy the house adjoining her own, and + I had the rare delight of watching every stroke of work done by the + carpenters and bricklayers who had the job of cutting a doorway through + the wall from the old house to the new one. There was something magical + and adventurous in stepping through that opening for the first time—crossing + a boundary which had maintained itself so long. Probably the sensation + resembled that which Alice afterwards experienced when she stepped through + the looking-glass into the room on the other side. The additional + accommodations were speedily filled; but after the first fascination had + worn off nobody regarded the new house as comparable with the old one, and + the people who roomed in it were looked down upon by their associates of + the original dwelling. They were, I believe, as much alike as two houses + could be, and that is saying much in this age, but the feeling was + different, and the feeling is everything if you have a soul. + </p> + <p> + If the Blodgett house, or houses, were unique, so were the Yankee + boarders. The race of our merchant-marine captains disappeared with their + ships, and they will return no more. The loss is irretrievable, for in + many respects they held the ideal of patriotic and energetic Americanism + higher than it is likely to go again. When at sea, in command of and + responsible for their ships and cargoes, they were, no doubt, upon + occasion, despots and slave-drivers; but their crews were often recruited + from among the dregs of men of all nations, who would interpret kindness + as timidity and take an ell where you gave them an inch. No doubt, too, + there were incarnate devils among these captains—actual monomaniacs + of cruelty and viciousness—though none of these were known at Mrs. + Blodgett's. Round her board sat men only of the manliest sort. They had + the handiness and versatility of the sailor, wide and various knowledge of + all quarters of the globe and of types of mankind, though, to be sure, + their investigations did not proceed far beyond their ports, and you were + sometimes more astonished at what they did not know than at what they did. + They had the self-poise and self-confidence of men who day by day and + month by month hold their lives in their hands, and are practised in + finding a way out of danger and difficulty. They had a code of good + manners and polite behavior which was not highly refined, but contained + the sound, essential elements of courtesy; not expressed in fancy, but + honest and solid. They had great shrewdness, and were capable of really + fine diplomacy, for the school they attended demanded such proficiency. + They had a dry, chuckling humor; a homely philosophy, often mingled with + the queerest superstitions; a racy wit, smacking somewhat, of course, of + the quarter-deck, or even of the forecastle; a seemingly incongruous + sensibility, so that tears easily sprang to their eyes if the right chord + of pathos were touched; a disposition to wear a high-colored necktie and a + broad, gold watch-chain, and to observe a certain smartness in their boots + and their general shore rigging; a good appetite for good food, and not a + little discernment of what was good; a great and boylike enjoyment of + primitive pleasures; a love of practical jokes and a hearty roar of + laughter for hearty fun; a self-respecting naturalness, which made them + gentlemen in substance if not in all technical details; a pungent contempt + for humbug and artifice, though they might not mind a good, swaggering lie + upon occasion; a robust sense of honor in all matters which were trusted + to their honorable feeling; and, to make an end of this long catalogue, a + practical command of language regarded as a means of expressing and + communicating the essential core of thoughts, though the words might not + always be discoverable in Johnson's dictionary or the grammatical + constructions such as would be warranted by Lindley Murray. They were, + upon the average, good-looking, active, able men, and most of them were on + the sunny side of forty. They were ready to converse on any subject, but + if left to themselves they would choose topics proper to their + calling-ships and shipwrecks, maritime usages of various countries, of + laws of insurance, of sea-rights, of feats of seamanship, of luck and ill + luck, and here and there a little politics of the old-fashioned, + elementary sort. They boasted themselves and their country not a little, + and criticised everybody else, and John Bull especially, very severely + often, but almost always very acutely, too. They would play euchre and + smoke cigars from nine o'clock till eleven, and would then go to bed and + sleep till the breakfast-bell. Altogether, they were fine company, and + they did me much good. Such were the captains of our merchant marine about + the middle of the last century. + </p> + <p> + Some of them would bring their wives with them for the voyage; uniformly + rather pretty women, a trifle dressy, somewhat fragile in appearance, but + really sound enough; naive, simple, good souls, loving their husbands and + magnifying them, and taking a vicarious pride in their ships and + sea-craft. The lady-paramount of these, in my estimation, was the wife of + old Captain Howes, the inventor of Howes' patent rig, which he was at that + time perfecting. He would sometimes invite me up to his room to see the + exquisitely finished model which he had made with his own hands. He was + the commodore of the captains, the oldest, wisest, and most impressive of + them; a handsome, massive, Jovelike old gentleman, with the gentlest and + most indulgent manners, and a straightforward, simple mariner withal. He + had ceased to make voyages, and was settled, for the time being, in + Liverpool. Mrs. Howes seemed, to my boyish apprehension, to be a sort of + princess of exquisite and gracious refinement; I could imagine nothing in + feminine shape more delicate, of more languid grace, of finer patrician + elegance. She was certainly immensely good-natured and indulgent towards + me, and, in the absence of my mother, tried to teach me to be less of an + Orson; she had hands which were true works of art, flexible, fine-grained, + taper-fingered, and lily-white; these she used very effectively, and would + fain have induced me to attempt the regeneration of my own dirty and + ragged little fists. She would beseech me, also, to part my hair straight, + to forbear to soil my jacket, and even to get my shoes blacked. I was + thankful for these attentions, though I was unable to profit by them. + Sometimes, at table, I would glance up to find her eyes dwelling with mild + reproach upon me; doubtless I was continually perpetrating terrible + enormities. Had she herself been less perfect and immaculate, I might have + felt more hopes of my own amendment; but I felt that I was not in her + class at all, and I gave up at the start. She was a wonderful human + ornament, the despair, I thought, of all pursuit, not to mention rivalry. + Beside the heroic figure of her captain, she looked like a lily mated with + an oak; but they were as happy a pair, and as well mated, as one could + hope to see. + </p> + <p> + I was, perhaps, more in my proper element among the captains down in the + smoking-room, which was at the back of the house, at the end of the + hallway, on the left. My father sat there foot to foot with them, played + euchre with them, listened to their yarns, laughed at their jokes, and + felt, probably, the spirit of his own old sea-captain ancestors stirring + within him. Some of them were a little shy of his official position at + first, and indeed he was occasionally constrained to adopt towards one or + another of them, in the consulate, a bearing very different from the easy + comradeship of the Blodgett evenings; but in process of time they came to + understand him, and accepted him, on the human basis, as a friend and + brother. My father had the rare faculty of retaining his dignity without + putting it on. No one ever took liberties with him, and he took none with + anybody; yet there was no trace in his intercourse of stiffness or pose; + there did not need to be, since there was behind his eye that potentiality + of self—protection which renders superfluous all outward + demonstration of personal sanctity. On the other hand, he obviously + elevated the tone of our little society; the stout captains, who feared + nothing else, feared their worser selves in his presence. None of them + knew or cared a straw for his literary genius and its productions; but + they were aware of something in him which they respected as well as liked, + and there was no member of the company who was more popular or + influential. + </p> + <p> + Without letting me feel that I was the object of special solicitude or + watchfulness, my father knew all that I did, and saw to it that my time + was decently occupied. In addition to the dancing-lessons already + mentioned (in which I became brilliantly proficient, and achieved such + feats in the way of polkas, mazurkas, hornpipes, and Scotch reels as + filled my instructor and myself with pride)—in addition to this, I + was closeted twice a week with a very serious and earnest drawing-master, + who taught me with infinite conscientiousness, and sighed heavily over the + efforts which I submitted to him. The captains, who were my champions and + abettors in all things, might take in their large hands a drawing of mine + and the copy by the master which had been my model, and say, one to the + other, "Well, now, I couldn't tell which was which—could you?" But + the master could tell, and the certainty of it steeped his soul in + constant gloom. I doubt if he recovered from the pangs I gave him. The + fact was, I thought an hour of dancing with lovely Mary Warren was worth + all the art in the world. Another instructor to whom I brought honor was + thick-shouldered, portly, unctuous M. Huguenin, a Swiss, proprietor of the + once-famous gymnasium which bore his name. He so anointed me with praise + that I waxed indiscreet, and one day, as I was swinging on the rings, and + he was pointing out to some prospective patrons my extraordinary merits, + my grasp relaxed at the wrong moment and I came sailing earthward from on + high. It seemed to me that, like Milton's Lucifer, "from dawn to eve I + fell," M. Huguenin sprinting to intercept my fall; but I landed on a mat + and was little the worse for it. I fear the prospective patrons were not + persuaded, by my performance, of the expediency of gymnastic training. On + the other hand, M. Huguenin managed to dispose to my father of one of his + multum-in-parvo exercising-machines, on the understanding that it was to + be taken back at half-price on the expiration of our stay in Liverpool; + but, when that time came, M. Huguenin failed to remember having been a + party to any such understanding; so the big framework was boxed up, and + finally was resurrected in Concord, where I labored with it for seven or + eight years more during my home-comings from Harvard. + </p> + <p> + In the intervals of my other pursuits, I was, at this period, sent into + society. The society at Mrs. Blodgett's was, indeed, all that I desired; + but it was doubtless perceived that it was not all that my polite + development required; my Orsonism was too much indulged. I was sent alone + to Sandheys, the Brights' and Heywoods' place, where I was moderately ill + at ease; and also to the house of a lady in town, who received a good deal + of company, and there I was, at first, acutely miserable. The formalities + of the drawing-room and the elegant conversation overwhelmed me with the + kind of torture which Swedenborg ascribes to those spirits of the lower + orders who are admitted temporarily into the upper heavens. Unlike these + unfortunates, however, I presently got acclimated; other boys of my age + appeared, and numbers of little girls (Mary Warren among them), and now + society occupied all my thoughts. The lady of the house got up private + theatricals—"Beauty and the Beast" was the play. I was cast for the + parts of the Second Sister and of the Beast; Mary Warren was the Beauty. I + got by heart not only my own lines, but those of all the other performers + and the stage directions. The play was received with applause, and after + it was done the actors were feted; my father was not present, but he + appeared greatly diverted by my account of the proceedings. He was + probably testing me in various ways to see what I was made of, and whether + anything could be made of me. He encouraged my predilection for natural + history by getting me books on conchology and taking me to museums to + study the specimens and make pencil drawings of them. In these avocations + I was also companioned by Frank Channing, whose specialty was ornithology, + and who was making a series of colored portraits of the birds in the + museum, very cleverly done. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: WILLIAM HENRY CHANNING, 1855] + </p> + <p> + Frank was the son of the Rev. William Henry Channing, who was pastor of a + Unitarian church in Liverpool; he had brought his family to England at + about the same time that we came. He was a nephew, I believe, of the + William Ellery Channing who was one of the founders of American + Unitarianism, and the brother, therefore, of the Ellery Channing of + Concord. Frank inherited much of the talent of his family. He was + afterwards sent to Oxford, where he took the highest honors. All + intellectual operations came easy to him. He also showed a strong + proclivity to art, and he was wonderfully clever in all kinds of fine + handwork. He was at this time a tall and very handsome boy, about two + years my senior. He was, like myself, fanatically patriotic, an American + of Americans, and this brought us together in a foreign land; but, aside + from that, I have seldom met a more fascinating companion. I followed him + about with joy and admiration. He used to make for me tiny little + three-masted ships, about six inches long, with all the rigging complete; + they were named after the famous American clippers of the day, and he + painted microscopic American flags to hoist over the taff-rail. He tried + to teach me how to paint in water-colors, but I responded better to his + eloquence regarding the future of our country. He proved to me by a + mathematical demonstration, which I accepted without in the least + understanding it, that in fifty years New York would be larger and more + populous than London at the end of the same period. This brilliant boy + seemed fitted for the highest career in his native country; his father did + not contemplate a permanent stay in England, and in after years I used to + look for his name in our Senate, or among the occupants of the Supreme + Bench. But, as it turned out, he never revisited America, except for short + periods. His father was induced to remain abroad by the success of his + preaching, and Frank, after his career at Oxford, was overpowered by the + subtle attractions of English culture, and could not separate himself from + the old country. I saw him once while I was at Harvard. He was an + Englishman in all outward respects, and seemed to be so inwardly likewise. + The other day I heard of a Frank Channing in Parliament; probably the same + man. But either the effect upon him of his voluntary expatriation—his + failure to obey at eve the voice obeyed at prime—or some other + cause, has prevented him from ever doing anything to attract attention, or + to appear commensurate with his radiant promise. Henry James is the only + American I know who has not suffered from adopting England; and even he + might have risen higher than he has done had he overcome his distaste to + the external discomforts of the democracy and cast in his lot with ours. + </p> + <p> + Frank's father was a tall, intellectual, slender Yankee, endowed with + splendid natural gifts, which he had improved by assiduous cultivation. In + the pulpit he rose to an almost divine eloquence and passion, and a light + would shine over his face as if reflected from the Holy Spirit itself. My + father took a pew in his church, and sent me to sit in it every Sunday; he + never went himself. He was resolved, I suppose, if there was any religion + in me, to afford it an opportunity to come out. Now, I had a religious + reverence for divine things, but no understanding whatever of dogma of any + sort. I never learned to repeat a creed, far less to comprehend its + significance. I was moved and charmed by Mr. Channing's discourses, but I + did not like to sit in the pew; I did not like "church." I remember + nothing of the purport of any of those sermons; but, oddly enough, I do + recall one preached by a gentleman who united the profession of preacher + with that of medicine; he occupied Channing's pulpit on a certain + occasion, and preached on the text in John xix., 34: "But one of the + soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood + and water." The good doctor, drawing on his physiological erudition, + demonstrated at great length how it was possible that blood should be + mingled with the water, and showed at what precise point in Christ's body + the spear must have entered. I seem to hear again his mellifluous voice, + repeating at the close of each passage of his argument, "And forthwith + came thereout blood-AND WATER!" I did not approve of this sermon; I was + not carried to heaven in the spirit by it, as by Channing's; but somehow + it has stuck in my memory all these forty-eight years. + </p> + <p> + Often I stayed for a few days at a time at Channing's house; his wife was + a handsome, delicate, very nervous woman; his daughter Fanny was a beauty, + and became still more beautiful in after years; she was married, when past + her first youth, to Edwin Arnold, author of "The Light of Asia," and of + many rhetorical leading articles in the London Telegraph. She died a few + years ago. They were, all of them, kind to me. I did the best I could to + be a good little boy there; but I recollect Mrs. Channing's face of sorrow + and distress when, one day at dinner, I upset into my lap my plate, which + she had just filled with Irish stew—one of my best-loved dishes. + "Frank never does that," she murmured, as she wiped me up; "never-never!" + Nobody looked cheerful, and I never got over that mortification. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XI + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Bennoch and Bright like young housekeepers—"What did you + marry that woman for?"—"Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures"— + "The worst book anybody ever wrote"—"Most magnificent eye I + ever saw"—A great deal of the feminine in Reade—Fire, + pathos, fun, and dramatic animation—A philosophical library + in itself—Amusing appanage of his own book—Oily and + voluble sanctimoniousness—Self-worship of the os-rotundus + sort—Inflamed rather than abated by years—"Every word of + it true; but—"—Better, or happier, because we had lived— + Appropriated somebody else's adventure—Filtering remarks + through the mind of a third person—A delightful Irishman— + Unparalleled audacity—An unregenerate opinion—The whole + line of Guelphs in it—"Oh, that somebody would invent a new + sin!"—"The Angel in the House"—Very well dressed— + Indomitable figure, aggressively American—Too much of the + elixir of life—A little strangeness between us—Sunshine + will always rest on it. +</pre> + <p> + The central event of 1856 was the return from Lisbon and Madeira of my + mother and sisters. Measuring time, as boys do (very sensibly), not by the + regulated pace of minutes, but by the vast spaces covered by desire, it + appeared to me, for some decades, that they had been absent in those + regions for years—two years at least; and I was astonished and + almost incredulous when dates seemed to prove that the interval had been + six or eight months only. It was long enough. + </p> + <p> + In the course of the previous spring my father made two or three little + excursions of a few days or a week or so in various directions, commonly + convoyed by Bright or Bennoch, who were most enterprising on his behalf, + feeling much the same sort of ambition to show him all possible of England + and leading English folk that a young housekeeper feels to show her + visiting school-friend her connubial dwelling and its arrangements, and to + take her up in the nursery and exhibit the children. Had my father + improved all his opportunities he would have seen a great deal, but the + consulate would have been administered by the clerks. He took trips + through Scotland and the north of England, and south to London and the + environs; dined at the Milton Club and elsewhere, visited the Houses of + Parliament, spent a day with Martin Farquhar Tupper, author of Proverbial + Philosophy, and still was not remarkably absent from the dingy little + office down by the docks, or from the euchre games in Mrs. Blodgett's + smoking-room. For the most part, I did not accompany him on these + excursions, being occupied in Liverpool with my pursuit of universal + culture; yet not so much occupied as to prevent me from feeling insolvent + while he was away, and rich as Aladdin when he got back. For his part, he + struggled with low spirits caused by anxiety lest the next mail from + Portugal should bring ill news of the beloved invalid there (instead of + the cheerful news which always did come); his real life was suspended + until she should return. Partings between persons who love each other seem + to be absolute loss of being; but that being revives, with a new spiritual + strength, when all partings are over. + </p> + <p> + Of the people whom he met on these sallies, I saw some, either then or + later: Disraeli, Douglas Jerrold, Charles Reade, Tom Taylor, Bailey, the + author of that once-famous philosophic poem, "Festus"; Samuel Carter Hall, + and a few more. Disraeli, in 1856, had already been chancellor of the + exchequer and leader of the house, and was to hold the same offices again + two years later. He had written all but two of his novels, and had married + the excellent but not outwardly attractive lady who did so much to sustain + him in his career. At a dinner of persons eminent in political life, about + this juncture, Mr. and Mrs. Disraeli were present, and also Bernal + Osborne, a personage more remarkable for cleverness and aggressiveness, in + the things of statesmanship, than for political loyalty or for a sense of + his obligations to his associates. This gentleman had drunk a good deal of + wine at dinner, and had sat next to Mrs. Disraeli; when the ladies had + left the table he burst out, with that British brutality which often + passes for wit, "I say, Disraeli, what on earth did you marry that woman + for?" All talk was hushed by this astounding query, and everybody looked + at the sallow and grim figure to whom it was addressed. Disraeli for some + moments played with his wineglass, apparently unmoved; then he slowly + lifted his extraordinary black, glittering eyes to those of his + questioner. "Partly for a reason," he said, measuring his words in the + silence, "which you will never be capable of understanding—gratitude!" + The answer meant much for both of them; it was never forgotten, and it + extinguished the clever and aggressive personage. It was ill crossing + swords with Disraeli. + </p> + <p> + Douglas Jerrold was at the height of his fame and success in this year; he + died, I think, the year following, at the age of fifty-four. He was very + popular during his later lifetime, but he seems to have just missed those + qualities of the humorist which insure immortality; he is little more than + a name to this generation. He was the son of an actor, and had himself + been on the stage; indeed, he had tried several things, including a short + service as midshipman in his Majesty's navy. He wrote some two-score + plays, and was a contributor to Punch from its outset; there are several + books to his credit; and he edited Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, which was + first called by his own name. But people who have read or heard of nothing + else of his, have heard of or read "Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures." + Douglas Jerrold, however, is by no means fully pictured by anything which + he wrote; his charm and qualities came out in personal intercourse. Nor + does the mere quotation of his brightnesses do him justice; you had to + hear and see him say them in order to understand them or him. He was + rather a short man, with a short neck and thick shoulders, much bent, and + thick, black hair, turning gray. His features were striking and pleasing; + he had large, clear, prominent, expressive black eyes, and in these eyes, + and in his whimsical, sensitive mouth, he lived and uttered himself. They + took all the bitterness and sting out of whatever he might say. When he + was about to launch one of his witticisms, he fixed his eyes intently on + his interlocutor, as if to call his attention to the good thing coming, + and to ask his enjoyment of it, quite apart from such application to + himself as it might have. It was impossible to meet this look and to + resent whatever might go with it. Thus a friend of his, who wished to + write telling books but could not quite do it, came to him in haste one + day and exclaimed, aggrievedly, "Look here, Douglas, is this true that was + told me—that you said my last book was the worst I'd ever written?" + Douglas gazed earnestly into the flushed and troubled face, and said, in + his softest tones, "Oh no, my dear fellow, that isn't what I said at all; + what I did say was that it was the worst book anybody ever wrote." Such a + retort, so delivered, could not but placate even an outraged author. + </p> + <p> + Of Charles Reade my father saw little, and was not impressed by what he + saw; but Reade, writing of him to my sister Una, five-and-twenty years + after, said, "Your father had the most magnificent eye that I ever saw in + a human head." Reade was just past forty at the time he met my father, and + had just published <i>It Is Never Too Late to Mend</i>—the first of + his great series of reform novels. Christie Johnstone and Peg Woffington + were very clever, and written with immense vigor and keenness, but did not + give the measure of the man. I doubt if my father had as yet read any of + them; but later he was very fond of Reade's writings. Certainly he could + not but have been moved by The Cloister and the Hearth, the greatest and + most beautiful of all historical novels. He saw in him only a tall, + athletic, light-haired man with blue eyes. I was more fortunate. I not + only came to know Reade in 1879, but also knew several persons who knew + him intimately and loved and admired him prodigiously; they were all in + one story about him. He was then still tall and athletic, but his wavy + hair and beard were gray; his face was one of the most sensitive men's + faces I ever saw, and his forehead was straight and fine, full of + observation and humor; his eyes were by turns tender and sparkling. There + was a great deal of the feminine in Reade, together with his robust and + aggressive masculinity. The fault of his head was its lack of depth; there + was not much distance from the ear to the nostril, and the backhead was + deficient. It was high above. There was a discord or incongruity in his + nature, which made his life not what could be called a happy one. He had + the impulses of the radical and reformer, but not the iron or the + impassivity which would have enabled him to endure unmoved the attacks of + conservatism and ignorance. He kicked against the pricks and suffered for + it. He was passionate, impatient, and extreme; but what a lovely, + irresistible genius! He was never a society figure, and withdrew more and + more from personal contact with people; but he kept up to the last the + ardor of his attack upon the abuses of civilization—or what he + deemed to be such. He fell into some errors, but they were as nothing to + the good he effected even in external conditions; and the happiness and + benefit he brought to tens of thousands of readers by the fire, pathos, + fun, sweetness, and—dramatic animation of his stories, and by the + nobility and lovableness of many of the characters drawn in them, are + immeasurable, and will touch us and abide with us again when the welter of + the present transition state has passed. His devotion to the drama injured + his style as a novelist, and also led him to adopt a sort of staccato + manner of construction and statement which sometimes makes us smile. But + upon the ground proper to his genius Reade had no rival. A true and full + biography of him, by a man bold enough and broad enough to write it, would + be a stirring book. + </p> + <p> + Bailey, the amiable mystical poet, whom my father mildly liked, was + another man my glimpses of whom came at a date much later than this. He + was a small, placid, gently beaming little philosopher, with a large beard + and an oval brow, and though he wrote several things besides "Festus," + they never detached themselves in the public mind from the general theme + of that production. Bailey himself seemed finally to have recognized this, + and he spent his later years (he lived to a great age) in issuing + continually fresh editions of his book, with expansions and later + thoughts, until it got to be a sort of philosophical library in itself. He + appeared in society in order to give his admirers opportunity to offer up + their grateful homage, and to settle for them all questions relative to + the meaning of man and of religion. No misgivings troubled him; his smile + was as an unintermittent summer noonday. He was accompanied by his wife, + with whom he seemed to be, as Tennyson says, "twinned, like horse's ear + and eye." She relieved him from the embarrassing necessity of saying + illuminative and eulogistic things about himself and his great work. The + book, upon its first publication, was really read by appreciable numbers + of persons; later, I think, "Festus Bailey" came to be, to the general + mind, an amusing kind of appanage of his own work, which was now taken as + read, but ceased to have readers. How happy a little imperviousness may + make a good man! + </p> + <p> + Tom Taylor, the dramatist, Punch contributor, and society wit, I remember + only as a pale face and a black beard. His wit had something of a + professional tang. There are many like him in club-land and hanging about + the stage; they catch up and remember all the satirical sayings, the + comicalities, and quips that they hear, and they maintain a sort of + factory for the production of puns. Their repartee explodes like an + American boy's string of toy crackers, and involves, to set it going, no + greater intellectual effort. They are not, in their first state, less + intelligent than the common run of men—rather the contrary; but as + soon as they have gone so far as to acquire a reputation for wit, their + output begins to betray that sad, perfunctory quality which we find in + wound-up music-boxes, and that mechanical rattle makes us forget that they + ever had brains. However, Tom Taylor, with his century of plays and + adaptations—among them "Our American Cousin," which the genius of an + actor, if not its own merit, made memorable—should not be deemed + unworthy of the reputation which, in his time and place, he won. He was at + his best when, stimulated by applause and a good dinner, he portrayed + persons and things with a kind of laughable extravagance, in the mode + introduced by Dickens. Men of his ilk grow more easily in our soil than in + the English, and are much less regarded. + </p> + <p> + Henry Stevens—"the man of libraries," as my father calls him—was + a New-Englander, born in Vermont; he took betimes to books, came abroad, + and was employed by the British Museum in getting together Americana, and + by various collectors as an agent to procure books, and in these innocent + pursuits his amiable life was passed. He had a pleasing gift of drollery, + which made his companionship acceptable at stag-parties and in the + smoking-room of the clubs, and he had also a fund of special information + on literary subjects which was often of value. I met him in after-life—twenty-five + years after—and age had not altered him, though, perhaps, custom had + somewhat staled his variety. He was of medium stature, dark haired and + bearded. With him was often seen the egregious Mr. Pecksniff (as Samuel + Carter Hall was commonly known to his acquaintances since the publication + of Martin Chuzzlewit ten years before). Hall was a genuine comedy figure. + Such oily and voluble sanctimoniousness needed no modification to be + fitted to appear before the footlights in satirical drama. He might be + called an ingenuous hypocrite, an artless humbug, a veracious liar, so + obviously were the traits indicated innate and organic in him rather than + acquired. Dickens, after all, missed some of the finer shades of the + character; there can be little doubt that Hall was in his own private + contemplation as shining an object of moral perfection as he portrayed + himself before others. His perversity was of the spirit, not of the + letter, and thus escaped his own recognition. His indecency and falsehood + were in his soul, but not in his consciousness; so that he paraded them at + the very moment that he was claiming for himself all that was their + opposite. No one who knew him took him seriously, but admired the ability + of his performance, and so well was he understood that he did little or no + harm beyond the venting of a spite here and there and the boring of his + auditors after the absurdity of him became tedious. Self-worshippers of + the <i>os-rotundus</i> sort are seldom otherwise mischievous. He may be + sufficiently illustrated by two anecdotes. + </p> + <p> + They both occurred at a dinner where I was a guest, and Bennoch sat at the + head of the table. Hall sat at Bennoch's left hand, and my place was next + to Hall's. The old gentleman—he was at this period panoplied in the + dignity of a full suit of snow-white hair, and that unctuous solemnity and + simpering self-complacency of visage and demeanor which were inflamed + rather than abated by years—began the evening by telling in + sesquipedalian language a long tale of an alleged adventure of his with my + father, which, inasmuch as there was no point to it, need not be rehearsed + here; but I noticed that Bennoch was for some reason hugely diverted by + it, and found difficulty in keeping his hilarity within due bounds of + decorum, Hall's tone being all the while of the most earnest gravity. + Later I took occasion to ask Bennoch the secret of his mirth; was the tale + a fiction? "Not a bit of it," Bennoch replied; "it's every word of it + true; but what tickled me was that it was myself and not Hall who was in + the adventure with your father; but Hall has been telling it this way for + twenty years past, and has long since come to believe that his lie is the + truth." So ended the first lesson. + </p> + <p> + The second was administered shortly before the company dispersed. Mr. Hall + again got the floor to deliver one of his more formal moral homilies. + "And, my dear friends—my very dear friends," he went on, resting his + finger-ends upon the table, and inclining his body affectionately towards + his auditors, "may I, as an old man—I think the oldest of any of you + here present—conclude by asking your indulgence for an illustration + from the personal experience and custom of one who may, I think—who + at least has ever striven to be, a humble Christian gentleman—may I, + my dear friends, cite this simple example of what I have been attempting + to inculcate from my own personal practice, and that of my very dear and + valued wife, Mrs. Hall? It has for very many years been our constant + habit, before seeking rest at night, to kneel down together at our + bedside, and to implore, together, the Divine blessing upon the efforts + and labors of the foregoing day. And before offering up that petition to + the Throne of Grace, my friends "—here the orator's voice vibrated a + little with emotion—"we have ever been sedulous to ask each other, + and to question our own hearts, as to whether, during that day, some human + fellow-creature had been made better, or happier, because we had lived. + And very seldom has it happened—very seldom, indeed, my dear + friends, has it happened—that we were unable to say to ourselves, + and to each other, that, during that day, some fellow-creature, if not + more than one, had had cause for thankfulness because we had lived. And + now I will beg of you, my dear friends," added Mr. Hall, producing his + large, white pocket-handkerchief and patting his eyes with it, "to pardon + a personal allusion, made in fulness of heart and brotherly feeling, and + if there be found in it anything calculated to assist any of you towards a + right comprehension of our Christian responsibilities towards our + fellow-man, I entreat that you take it into your hearts and bosoms, and + may it be sanctified unto you. I have done." + </p> + <p> + This report may be relied upon as substantially accurate, for the reporter + made a note of the apologue and exhortation soon afterwards. Mrs. Hall, + like her husband, was of Irish birth, and an agreeable and clever woman. + They were both born in 1800, and died, she in her eighty-second, he in his + ninetieth year. He remained the same Hall to the very end of his long + chapter, and really, if no one was the better because he had lived, I + don't know that any one was the worse, in the long run, either; and there + have been Pecksniffs of whom as much could hardly be affirmed. There is, + however, an anecdote of Hall which my father tells, and seems to have + credited; if it be true, it would appear that once at least in his life he + could hardly have implored the Throne of Grace for a blessing on the deeds + of the day. "He told me," writes my father, "(laughing at the folly of the + affair, but, nevertheless, fully appreciating his own chivalry) how he and + Charles Lever, about ten years since, had been on the point of fighting a + duel. The quarrel was made up, however, and they parted good friends, + Lever returning to Ireland, whence Mr. Hall's challenge had summoned him." + I suspect good Mr. Hall must have once more appropriated somebody else's + adventure; it was not in the heat of youth that the bloody-minded and + unchristian episode is supposed to have occurred, but when Mr. Hall was in + his forty-seventh year. + </p> + <p> + Durham, the sculptor, was a lifelong friend of Bennoch's, and was often in + my father's company, and he manifested a friendly feeling towards my + father's son long afterwards. He was a man of medium height, compactly + built, with slightly curling hair, and a sympathetic, abstracted + expression of countenance. He was at this time making a bust of Queen + Victoria, and he told us that it was contrary to court etiquette for her + Majesty, during these sittings, to address herself directly to him, or, of + course, for him directly to address her; they must communicate through the + medium of the lady-in-waiting. The Queen, however, said Durham, sometimes + broke through this rule, and so did the sculptor, the democracy of art, it + would seem, enabling them to surmount the obligation to filter through the + mind of a third person all such remarks as they might wish to make to each + other. Durham also said that when the bust was nearly finished the Queen + proposed that a considerable thickness of the clay should be removed from + the model, which was done. The bust, as an ideal work, was thereby much + improved, but the likeness to her Majesty was correspondingly diminished. + Years afterwards I was talking with W. G. Wills, the painter and + dramatist, a delightful Irishman of the most incorrigibly republican and + bohemian type. He had, a little while before, been giving lessons in + painting to the Princess Louise, who married the Marquis of Lorne, and who + was, herself, exceptionally emancipated for a royal personage. One day, + said Wills (telling the story quite innocently), the Princess was + prevented from coming as usual to his studio, and he received a message + from Windsor Castle, where the Princess and the Queen were staying, from + the Queen's secretary, commanding his presence there to give the Princess + her lesson, and to spend the night. This would be regarded by the ordinary + British subject not only as an order to be instantly and unhesitatingly + obeyed, but as a high honor and distinction. "But the fact is," said + Wills, with his easy smile, "I'd promised to be at my friend Corkran's + reception that evening, and, of course, I couldn't think of disappointing + him; there was no time to write, so I just sent a telegram to the castle + saying I was engaged." Probably English society history does not contain a + parallel to this piece of audacity, and one would have liked to see the + face of the private secretary of her Majesty when he opened the telegram. + But Wills could not be made to recognize anything singular in the affair. + </p> + <p> + Commenting in one of his private note-books, at this time, upon the + subject of modern sculpture in general, my father utters one of his + unregenerate opinions. "It seems to me," he says, "time to leave off + sculpturing men and women naked; such statues mean nothing, and might as + well bear one name as another; they belong to the same category as the + ideal portraits in books of beauty or in the windows of print-shops. The + art does not naturally belong to this age, and the exercise of it, I + think, had better be confined to manufacture of marble fireplaces." As we + shall see, he modified this radical view before he left Italy; but there + is some ground of truth in it, nevertheless. + </p> + <p> + Here is another bit of art criticism. He has been giving a detailed + description of the sitting-room in one of our lodgings, and of the objects + contained in it, evidently as a part of his general practice to record the + minor facts of English life, to serve as a background for the English + romance he hoped to write afterwards. "On the mantle-piece," he writes, + "are two little glass vases, and over it a looking-glass (not flattering + to the beholder), and above hangs a colored view of some lake or seashore, + and on each side a cheap colored print of Prince Albert and one of Queen + Victoria. And, really, I have seen no picture, bust, or statue of her + Majesty which I feel to be so good a likeness as this cheap print. You see + the whole line of Guelphs in it—fair, blue-eyed, shallow-brained, + commonplace, yet with a simple kind of heartiness and truth that make one + somewhat good-natured towards them." + </p> + <p> + "I must see Dickens before I leave England," he wrote, commenting upon the + various tales he heard of him from henchmen and critics; but he never did + see him, nor Thackeray either, whom he perhaps wished still more to meet. + Thackeray visited America while we were abroad; and when Dickens came to + Boston to read, my father was dead. Nor did he see Bulwer, an apostrophe + by whom he quotes: "Oh, that somebody would invent a new sin, that I might + go in for it!" Tennyson he saw, but did not speak with him. He sat at + table, on one occasion, with Macaulay, and remarked upon the superiority + over his portraits of his actual appearance. He made the acquaintance, + which ripened into friendship, in Italy, of Robert Browning and his wife, + and of Coventry Patmore, the author of "The Angel in the House," a poem + which he greatly liked. But, upon the whole, he came in contact with the + higher class of literary men in England less than with others, whom he was + less likely to find sympathetic. + </p> + <p> + One afternoon, when I had accompanied him to the consulate, there entered + a tall, active man, very well dressed, with black, thick-curling hair and + keen, blue eyes. He seemed under thirty years of age, but had the + self-confident manner of a man of the world, and a great briskness of + demeanor and speech. He sat down and began to tell of his experiences; he + had been all over the world, and knew everything about the world's + affairs, even the secrets of courts and the coming movements of + international politics. He was a striking, handsome, indomitable figure, + and aggressively American. When he went away, he left with my father a + book which he had written, with an engraved portrait of the author for + frontispiece. This volume, faded and shelf-worn, but apparently unread, + bound in the execrable taste of a generation and a half ago, I recently + found among my father's volumes. It bore on the title-page the dashing + signature of George Francis Train. Train saw things in the large—in + their cosmic relations; from us he was going forth to make a fortune + compared with which that of Monte Cristo would be a trifle. He did make + fortunes, I believe; but there seems to have been in his blood a little + too much of the elixir of life—more than he could thoroughly digest. + His development was arrested, or was continued on lines which carried him + away from practical contact with that world which he believed he held in + the hollow of his hand. My father suspected his soundness; but in 1856 + there seemed to be no height to which he might not rise. The spiritual + steam-engine in him, however, somehow got uncoupled from the mass of the + machinery of human affairs, and has been plying in vacua, so to say, ever + since. On the 9th of June came a telegram from Southampton; my mother and + sisters had arrived from Madeira. My father and I left Liverpool the next + day, feeling that our troubles were over. In the afternoon we alighted at + the little seaport and took a cab to the Castle Hotel, close to the water. + My father, with a face full of light, sprang up-stairs to the room in + which my mother awaited him; I found myself with my sisters and Fannie + Wrigley, the faithful nurse and companion who had accompanied them on + their travels. How tall and mature Una was! What a big girl baby Rose had + become! There was a little strangeness between us, but great good-will; we + felt that there were a great many explanations to be made. In a few + minutes I was called up-stairs to my mother. At the first glance she + seemed smaller than formerly; her face appeared a little different from my + memory of it; I was overcome by an odd shyness. She smiled and held out + her arms; then I saw my beloved mother, and a great passion of affection + poured through me and swept me to her. I was whole again, and + indescribably happy. + </p> + <p> + There was never such another heavenly room as that parlor in the Castle + Hotel; never another hotel so delightful, or another town to be compared + with Southampton. I was united to all I loved there, and in my thoughts + sunshine will always rest on it. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Talked familiarly with kings and queens—Half-witted girl + who giggled all the time—It gnawed me terribly—A Scotch + terrier named Towsey—A sentiment of diplomatic etiquette— + London as a physical entity—Ladies in low-necked dresses— + An elderly man like a garden-spider—Into the bowels of the + earth—The inner luminousness of genius—Isolated and tragic + situation—"Ate ever man such a morsel before!"—The great, + wild, mysterious Borrow—Her skeleton, huddled, dry, and + awful—"Ma'am, you expose yourself!"—Plane, spokeshave, + gouge, and chisel—"I-passed-the-Lightning"—Parallel-O- + grams-A graduate of Antioch—"Continual cursing"—A + catastrophe—"Troubles are a sociable sisterhood"—"In truth + I was very sorry"—He had dreamed wide—awake of these + things—A friend of Emerson and Henry James—Embarked at + Folkestone for France. +</pre> + <p> + We spent our first reunited week at the Castle Hotel, which was founded on + an ancient castle wall, or part of it; traces of it were shown to guests. + The harbor lapped the sea-wall in front; the Isle of Wight, + white-ramparted, gleamed through the haze in the offing. I suppose, during + that week, we were enough employed in telling one another our histories + during our separation; and naturally that of my mother and sisters filled + the larger space. They had brought home words and phrases in a foreign + tongue, which made me feel very ignorant; they had talked familiarly with + kings and queens; they had had exciting experiences in Madeira; they + brought with them photographs and colored prints of people and places, + unlike anything that I had seen. My mother, who was an unsurpassed + narrator of events, gave us wonderful and vivid accounts of all they had + seen and done, which I so completely assimilated that to this day I could + repeat a great deal of them; my father listened with eyes like stars (as + my mother would have said), and with a smile in the corners of his mouth. + It was glorious weather all the time, or so it seems to have been to me. + My sisters and I renewed our acquaintance, and found one another none the + worse. Nobody called on us except a Mrs. Hume, with whom a stay of a + fortnight was projected; she kept a girls' school, and, this being + vacation, she would take us as boarders. We were starved there, as only a + pinching, English, thin-bread-and-butter housekeeper can starve people; + and my sisters and I had for our playmate a half-witted girl who was + staying over the vacation, and who giggled all the time. Mrs. Hume had + aroused my enthusiasm by telling me that there were endless sea-anemones + along the coast; but Providence seemed hostile to my sea-anemone + proclivities; for it turned out that what Mrs. Hume understood by + sea-anemones was a small, white-flowering weed that grew on the low bluff + beside the water. I never told her my disappointment, imagining that it + would distress her; but it gnawed me terribly, and she did not merit such + forbearance. + </p> + <p> + We would much better have stayed at the hotel, only that they charged us + fourteen dollars a day, which was considered exorbitant in those days. + There were seven of us, including Fanny, the nurse. What an age, when two + dollars a head was exorbitant! What Mrs. Hume charged us I know not, but + it is only just to admit that it must have been a good deal less than one + hundred dollars a week; though, again, it must not be forgotten that + translucent bread-and-butter is not expensive. We were sent there, I + suppose, in order to remind us that this was still the world that we were + living in, after all, and not yet Paradise. We came out from her sobered + and chastened, but cheerful still; and meanwhile we visited Stonehenge and + other local things of beauty or interest. Then Mr. Bennoch (who, to tell + the truth, had introduced Mrs. Hume to us) invited us to spend a month at + his house in Blackheath, while he and his wife were making a little tour + in Germany, and we arrived at this agreeable refuge during the first half + of July. My father records that he was as happy there as he had ever been + since leaving his native land. It was a pleasant little house, in a + semi-countrified spot, and it contained, besides the usual furniture + proper to an English gentleman and his wife of moderate fortune, a little + Scotch terrier named Towsey, who commanded much of the attention of us + children, and one day inadvertently bit my thumb; and I carry the scar, + for remembrance, to this day. + </p> + <p> + Many well-known persons passed across our stage here; and London, with all + its wonders, was at our doors, the wide expanse of its smoke-piercing + towers visible in our distance. All the while my father kept the official + part of himself at Liverpool, where his consular duties still claimed his + attention; he went and came between Mrs. Blodgett's and Black-heath. The + popularity of the incomparable boarding-house in Duke Street had continued + to increase, and he was obliged to bestow himself in a small room at the + back of the building, which was reputed to be haunted by the spirit of one + of his predecessors in office, who had not only died in it, but had often + experienced there the terrors of delirium tremens; but the ghost, perhaps + from a sentiment of diplomatic etiquette, never showed itself to my + father. Or it may have been that the real self of him being in Blackheath, + what remained was not sufficient to be conscious of a spiritual presence. + He came and went, like sunlight on a partly cloudy day. I recollect taking + a walk over the Heath at evening with him and the doctor who was attending + my mother; Mr. Bennoch was with us; it must have been just before he and + his wife went to the Continent. After walking some distance (the gentlemen + chatting together, and I gambolling on ahead) we came to the summit of a + low rise, from which we beheld London, flung out, all its gloomy length, + before us; and in all my thoughts of London as a physical entity the + impression then received of it returns to me. It lay vast, low, and + obscure in front of the dull red of the sunset, with dim lights twinkling + dispersedly throughout it, and the dome of St. Paul's doubtfully defining + itself above the level. There is no other general view of London to be + compared with this, seen under those conditions. Soon after, we came to + some ridges and mounds, which, said Bennoch, marked the place where were + buried the heaps of the slain of some great prehistoric battle—one, + at least, which must have taken place while the Romans yet ruled Britain. + It was a noble scene for such an antique conflict, when man met man, foot + to foot and hand to hand, with sword and spear. My mind was full of King + Arthur and his Round-Table knights of the Pendragonship, and I doubted not + that their mightiest fight had been fought here. + </p> + <p> + There were many walks in London itself. One day, going west along the + Strand, we found ourselves drawn into the midst of a vast crowd near + Charing Cross; some royal function was in progress. Threading our way + slowly through the press, we saw a troop of horsemen in steel + breastplates, with nodding plumes on their helmets, and drawn swords + carried upright on their thighs—the famous Horse Guards; and farther + on we began to see carriages with highly ornamental coachmen and footmen + passing in dilatory procession; within them were glimpses of ladies in + low-necked dresses, feathers in their hair, and their necks sparkling with + jewels. + </p> + <p> + At length we turned off towards the north, and by-and-by were entering a + huge building of gray stone, with tall pillars in front of it, which my + father told me was the British Museum. What a place for a boy! Endless + halls of statues; enormous saloons filled with glass-cases of shells; + cases of innumerable birds; acres of butterflies and other insects; + strange objects which I did not understand—magic globes of shining + crystal, enormous masses of iron which were said to have fallen from the + sky; vases and jewels; and finally, at the farther end of a corridor, a + small door, softly opening, disclosed a circular room of stupendous + proportions, domed above, the curving walls filled with myriads of books. + In the centre was a circular arrangement of desks, and in the midst of + these an elderly man, like a garden-spider in his web; but it was his duty + to feed, not devour, the human flies who sat or walked to and fro with + literary meat gathered from all over the world. It was my first vision of + a great library. + </p> + <p> + Another time we went—all of us, I think—to the Tower of + London. I vibrated with joy at the spectacle of the array of figures in + armor, and picked out, a score of times, the suit I would most gladly + choose to put on. Here were St. George, King Arthur, Sir Scudamour, Sir + Lancelot—all but their living faces and their knightly deeds! Then I + found myself immured in dungeons with walls twenty feet thick, darksome + and low-browed, with tiny windows, and some of them bearing on their + stones strange inscriptions, cut there by captives who were nevermore to + issue thence, save to the block. Here the great Raleigh had been confined; + here, the lovable, rash-tempered Essex; here, the noble Sir Henry Vane, + who had once trod the rocky coast of my own New England. Everywhere stood + on the watch or paced about the Beef-eaters in their brilliant + fifteenth-century motley. I have never since then passed the portals of + the Tower, nor seen again the incomparable gleam of the Koh-i-noor—if + it were, indeed, the Koh-i-noor that I saw, and not a glass model foisted + on my innocence. + </p> + <p> + Again, I followed my father down many flights of steps, into the bowels of + the earth; but there were lights there, and presently we passed through a + sort of turnstile, and saw lengthening out before us two endless open + tubes, of diameter twice or thrice the height of a man, with people + walking in them, and disappearing in their interminable perspective. We, + too, entered and began to traverse them, and after we had proceeded about + half-way my father told me that the river Thames was flowing over our + heads, with its ships on its surface, and its fishes, and its bottom of + mud and gravel—under all these this illuminated corridor, with + ourselves breathing and seeing and walking therein. Would we ever again + behold the upper world and the sky? The atmosphere was not pleasant, and I + was glad to find myself climbing up another flight of stairs and emerging + on the other side of the river, which we had crossed on foot, dry-shod. + </p> + <p> + Of the famous personages of this epoch I did not see much; only I remember + that a woman who seemed taller than common, dressed in a dark silk gown, + and moving with a certain air of composure, as if she knew she was right, + and yet meant to be considerate of others; whose features were plain, and + whose voice had a resonance and modulation unlike other voices, was spoken + of in my hearing as bearing a name which I had heard often, and which had + a glamour for my boyish imagination—Jenny Lind. There also rises + before me the dark, courteous visage and urbane figure of Monckton Milnes; + but there was something more and better than mere courtesy and urbanity + about him; the inner luminousness, I suppose, of what was nearly genius, + and would have been altogether that but for the swaddling-clothes of rank + and society which hampered it. My father thought him like Longfellow; but + there was an English materialism about Milnes from which the American poet + was free. Henry James told me long afterwards a comical tale of how, being + left to browse in Mimes's library one afternoon, he strayed into an alcove + of pretty and inviting volumes, in sweet bindings, mellowed by age, and + was presently terrified by the discovery that he was enmeshed in the toils + of what bibliophiles term, I think, "Facetiae"—of which Milnes had a + collection unmatched among private book-owners. Milnes's social method was + The Breakfast, which he employed constantly, and nothing could be more + agreeable—in England; we cannot acclimate it here, because we work + in the afternoon. Of Miss Bacon, of the Bacon-wrote-Shakespeare theory, I + saw nothing, but heard much, for a time, in our family circle; my father + seemed to have little doubt of her insanity, and absolute certainty of the + despotic attitude she adopted towards her supporters, which was far more + intolerable than the rancor which she visited on those who disregarded her + monomaniacal convictions. My mother, out of pure compassion, I believe, + for the isolated and tragic situation in which the poor woman had placed + herself, tried with all her might to read the book and believe the theory; + she would take up the mass of manuscript night after night, and wade + through it with that truly saintlike self-abnegation which characterized + her, occasionally, too, reading out a passage which struck her. The result + was that she could not bring herself to disbelieve in Shakespeare, but she + conceived a higher admiration than ever of Bacon; and that, too, was + characteristic of her. + </p> + <p> + We made several incursions into the surrounding country. One was to + Newstead, where, from the talkative landlady of the hotel, we heard + endless stories about Byron and his wife; this was before Mrs. Harriet + Beecher Stowe published her well-intended but preposterous volume about + the poet. Then we visited Oxford, and were shown about by the mayor of the + town, and by Mr. S. C. Hall, and were at one moment bathed in the light + emanating from Lady Waldegrave, of which interview my father, in his + private note-book, speaks thus: "Lady Waldegrave appeared; whereupon Mr. + Speirs (the mayor) instantly was transfigured and transformed—like + the English snob he is, worthy man—and looked humbler than he does + in the presence of his Maker, and so respectful and so blest that it was + pleasant to behold him. Nevertheless, she is but a brummagem kind of + countess, after all, being the daughter of Braham, the famous singer, and + married first to an illegitimate son of an Earl Waldegrave—not to + the legitimate son and possessor of the title (who was her first love)—and + after the death of these two to the present old Mr. Harcourt. She is still + in her summer, even if it be waning, a lady of fresh complexion and light + hair, a Jewish nose (to which her descent entitles her), a kind and + generous expression of face, but an officer-like figure and bearing. There + seems to be a peculiarity of manner, a lack of simplicity, a + self-consciousness, which I suspect would not have been seen in a lady + born to the rank which she has attained. But, anyhow, she was kind to all + of us, and complimentary to me, and she showed us some curious things + which had formerly made part of Horace Walpole's collection at Twickenham—a + missal, for instance, splendidly bound and beset with jewels, but of such + value as no setting could increase, for it was exquisitely illuminated by + the own hand of Raphael himself! I held the precious volume in my grasp, + though I fancy (and so does my wife) that the countess scarcely thought it + safe out of her own hands. In truth, I suppose any virtuoso would steal it + if he could; and Lady Waldegrave has reason to look to the safe-keeping of + her treasures, as she exemplified by telling us a story while exhibiting a + little silver case. This once contained a portion of the heart of Louis + XII. (how the devil it was got I know not), and she was showing it one day + to Strickland, Dean of Westminster, when, to her horror and astonishment, + she saw him open the case and swallow the royal heart! Ate ever man such a + morsel before! It was a symptom of insanity in the dean, and I believe he + is since dead, insane." It was after this interview with the countess that + we visited Old Boston, and when my parents told old Mr. Porter about the + missal his jolly eyes took on a far-away expression, as if he saw himself + in the delightful act of purloining it, "in obedience to a higher law than + that which he broke." + </p> + <p> + The man who, of all writing men, was nearest to my heart in those years, + and long after, was George Borrow, whose book, Lavengro, I had already + begun to read. The publication of this work had made him famous, though he + had written two or three volumes before that, and was at this very time + bringing out its sequel, Romany Rye. But Borrow was never a hanger-on of + British society, and we never saw him. One day, however, Mr. Martineau + turned up, and, the conversation chancing to turn on Borrow, he said that + he and George had been school-mates, and that the latter's gypsy + proclivities had given him a singular influence over other boys. Finally, + he had persuaded half a dozen of them to run away from the school and lead + a life of freedom and adventure on the roads and lanes of England. To this + part of Mr. Martineau's tale I lent an eager and sympathetic ear; but the + narrator was lowered in my estimation by the confession that he himself + had not been a member of Borrow's party. He went on to say that the + fugitives had been pursued and captured and brought back to bondage; and + upon Borrow's admitting that he had been the instigator of the adventure, + he was sentenced to be flogged, and that it was on the back of this very + Martineau that he had been "horsed" to undergo the punishment! Imagine the + great, wild, mysterious Borrow mounted upon the ascetic and precise cleric + that was to be, and the pedagogue laying on! My father asked concerning + the accuracy of some of Borrow's statements in his books, to which + Martineau replied that he could not be entirely depended on; not that he + meant to mislead or misrepresent, but his imagination, or some + eccentricity in his mental equipment, caused him occasionally to depart + from literal fact. Very possibly; but Borrow's imagination brought him + much nearer to essential truth than adherence to what they supposed to be + literal facts could bring most men. + </p> + <p> + One of the most interesting expeditions of this epoch—though I + cannot fix the exact date—was to an old English country-seat, built + in the time of Henry VIII., or earlier, and added to from age to age since + then, until now it presented an irregularity and incongruousness of plan + which rendered it an interminable maze of delight to us children wandering + through it. We were taken in charge by the children of the family, of whom + there were no fewer than fourteen, all boys, with only twelve years + between the eldest and the youngest (some of them being twins). + Hide-and-seek at once suggested itself as the proper game for the + circumstances, but no set game was needed; the house itself was + Hide-and-seek House; you could not go twenty feet without getting lost, + and the walls of many of the rooms had sliding panels, and passages + through the thickness of them, and even staircases, so that when one of us + went into a room there was no predicting where he would come out. Finally + they brought us to a black, oaken door with a great, black lock on it, and + bolts at the top and bottom; it was near the end of a corridor, in the + oldest wing of the building. The door, in addition to its native + massiveness, was studded with great nails, and there were bands of iron or + steel crossing it horizontally. When we proposed to enter, our friends + informed us that this door had been closed one hundred and eighty years + before and had never been opened since then, and that it had shut in a + young woman who, for some reason, had become very objectionable or + dangerous to other persons concerned. The windows of the room, they added, + had been walled up at the same time; so there this unhappy creature slowly + starved to death in pitch darkness. There, doubtless, within a few feet of + where we stood, lay her skeleton, huddled, dry, and awful in the garments + she wore in life. Sometimes, too, by listening long at the key-hole, you + could hear a faint sound, like a human groan; but it was probably merely + the sigh of the draught through the aperture. This story so horrified me + and froze my young blood that the fancies of Mrs. Radcliffe and Edgar + Allan Poe seemed like frivolous chatter beside it. + </p> + <p> + About the middle of September the Bennochs returned from the Continent, + and we made ready to transfer ourselves to the lodgings in Southport which + had been prepared for us. Bennoch, who was soon to meet with the crucial + calamity of his career, was in abounding spirits, and he told my father an + anecdote of our friend Grace Greenwood, which is recorded in one of the + private note-books. "Grace, Bennoch says," he writes, "was invited to a + private reading of Shakespeare by Charles Kemble, and she thought it + behooved her to manifest her good taste and depth of feeling by going into + hysterics and finally fainting away upon the floor. Hereupon Charles + Kemble looked up from his book and addressed himself to her sternly and + severely. 'Ma'am,' said he, 'this won't do! Ma'am, you disturb the + company! Ma'am, you expose yourself!'" + </p> + <p> + This last hit had the desired effect, for poor Grace probably thought that + her drapery had not adjusted itself as it ought, and that perhaps she was + really exposing more of her charms than were good to be imparted to a + mixed company. So she came to herself in a hurry, and, after a few + flutterings, subsided into a decorous listener. Bennoch says he had this + story from an eye-witness, and that he fully believes it; and I think it + not impossible that, betwixt downright humbug and a morbid exaggeration of + her own emotions, Grace may have been betrayed into this awful fix. I + wonder how she survived it! + </p> + <p> + At Southport we remained from the middle of September to the following + July, 1857. In addition to my aquarium, I was deeply involved in the + ship-building industry, and, the more efficiently to carry out my designs, + was apprenticed to a carpenter, an elderly, shirt-sleeved, gray-bearded + man, who under a stern aspect concealed a warm and companionable heart. + There were boys at the beach who had little models of cutters and yachts, + and I conceived the project of making a sail-boat for myself. My father + seems to have thought that some practical acquaintance with the use of + carpenter's tools would do me no harm—by adding a knowledge of a + handicraft to my other culture—so he arranged with Mr. Chubbuck that + I should attend his work-shop for instruction. Mr. Chubbuck, accordingly, + gave me thorough lessons in the mysteries of the plane, the spokeshave, + the gouge, and the chisel, and finally presented me with a block of white + pine eighteen inches long and nine wide, and I set to work on my sloop. He + oversaw my labors, but conscientiously abstained from taking a hand in + them himself; the model gradually took shape, and there began to appear a + bluff-bowed, broad-beamed craft, a good deal resembling the French + fishing-boats which I afterwards saw off the harbors of Calais and Havre. + The outside form being done, I entered upon the delightful and exciting + work of hollowing it out with the gouge, narrowly avoiding, more than + once, piercing through from the hold into the outer world. But the little + ship became more buoyant every day, and finally stood ready for her deck. + This I prepared by planing down a bit of plank to the proper thickness—or + thinness—and carefully fitted it into its place, with companionways + fore and aft, covered with hatches made to slide in grooves. Next, with + chisel, spoke-shave, and sand-paper, I prepared the mast and fitted a + top-mast to it, and secured it in its place with shrouds and stays of + fine, waxed fishing-line. The boom and gaff were then put in place, and + Fanny Wrigley (who had aforetime made my pasteboard armor and helmet) now + made me a main-sail, top-sail, and jib out of the most delicate linen, + beautifully hemmed, and a tiny American flag to hoist to the peak. It only + remained to paint her; I was provided with three delectable cans of + oil-paint, and I gave her a bright-green under-body, a black upper-body, + and white port-holes with a narrow red line running underneath them. Thus + decorated, and with her sails set, she was a splendid object, and the boys + with bought models were depressed with envy, especially when I called + their attention to the stars and stripes. This boat-building mania of mine + had originated while we were at Mrs. Blodgett's, where the captain of one + of the clippers gave me a beautiful model of his own ship, fully rigged, + and perfect in every detail; only it would not sail, being solid. + Concerning his clipper, by-the-way, I once overheard a bit of dialogue in + Mrs. Blodgett's smoking-room between my captain and another. "Do you mean + to say," demanded the latter, "that you passed the Lightning?" To which my + captain replied, in measured and impressive tones, + "I-passed-the-Lightning!" The Lightning, it may be remarked, was at that + time considered the queen of the Atlantic passage; she had made the trip + between Boston and Liverpool in ten days. But my captain had once shown + her his heels, nevertheless. I wanted to christen my sloop The Sea Eagle, + but my father laughed so much at this name that I gave it up; he suggested + The Chub, The Mud-Pout, and other ignoble titles, which I indignantly + rejected, and what her name finally was I have forgotten. She afforded me + immense happiness. + </p> + <p> + At Southport we had a queer little governess, Miss Brown, who came to us + highly recommended both as to her personal character and for ability to + instruct us in arithmetic and geometry, geography, English composition, + and the rudiments of French. She was barely five feet in height, and as + thin and dry as an insect; and although her personal character came up to + any eulogium that could be pronounced upon it, her ignorance of the + "branches" specified was, if possible, greater than our own. She was + particularly perplexed by geometry; she aroused our hilarity by always + calling a parallelogram a parallel-O-gram, with a strong emphasis on the + penultimate syllable; and she spent several days repeating over to + herself, with a mystified countenance, the famous words, "The square of + the hypothenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the two legs." What + were legs of a triangle, and how, if there were any, could they be square? + She never solved this enigma; and although we liked little Miss Brown very + much, she speedily lost all shadow of control over us; we treated her as a + sort of inferior sister, and would never be serious. "English governess" + became for us a synonym for an amiable little nonentity who knew nothing; + and I was surprised to learn, later, from the early works of Miss Rhoda + Broughton, that they could be beautiful and intelligent. Miss Brown did + not outlast our residence in Southport. + </p> + <p> + From Southport we removed to Manchester, and thence, after exhausting the + exposition, to Leamington, where we spent September and October of 1857. + We expected to proceed direct from Leamington to France and Italy, but we + were destined to be delayed in London till January of 1858. + </p> + <p> + It was in Leamington that we were joined by Ada Shepard. She was a + graduate of Antioch, a men-and-women's college in Ohio, renowned in its + day, when all manner of improvements in the human race were anticipated + from educating the sexes together. Miss Shepard had got a very thorough + education there, so that she knew as much as a professor, including—what + would be of especial service to us—a knowledge of most of the modern + European languages. What seemed, no doubt, of even more importance to her + was her betrothal to her classmate, Henry Clay Badger; they were to be + married on her return to America. Meanwhile, as a matter of mutual + convenience (which rapidly became mutual pleasure), she was to act as + governess of us children and accompany our travels. Ada (as my father and + mother presently called her) was then about twenty-two years old; she had + injured her constitution—never robust—by addiction to + learning, and had incidentally imbibed from the atmosphere of Antioch all + the women's-rights fads and other advanced opinions of the day. These, + however, affected mainly the region of her intellect; in her nature she + was a simple, affectionate, straightforward American maiden, with the + little weaknesses and foibles appertaining to that estate; and it was + curious to observe the frequent conflicts between these spontaneous + characteristics and her determination to live up to her acquired views. + But she was fresh-hearted and happy then, full of interest in the wonders + and beauties of the Old World; she wrote, weekly, long, criss-crossed + letters, in a running hand, home to "Clay," the king of men; and + periodically received, with an illuminated countenance, thick letters with + an American foreign postage-stamp on them, which she would shut herself + into her chamber to devour in secret. She was a little over the medium + height, with a blue-eyed face, not beautiful, but gentle and expressive, + and wearing her flaxen hair in long curls on each side of her pale cheeks. + She entered upon her duties as governess with energy and good-will, and we + soon found that an American governess was a very different thing from an + English one (barring the Rhoda Broughton sort). Her special aim at present + was to bring us forward in the French and Italian languages. We had + already, in Manchester, made some acquaintance with the books of the + celebrated Ollendorff; and my father, who knew Latin well, had taught me + something of Latin grammar, which aided me in my Italian studies. I liked + Latin, particularly as he taught it to me, and it probably amused him, + though it must also often have tried his patience to teach me. I had a + certain aptitude for the spirit of the language, but was much too prone to + leap at conclusions in my translations. I did not like to look out words + in the lexicon, and the result was sometimes queer. Thus, there was a + sentence in some Latin author describing the manner in which the Scythians + were wont to perform their journeys; relays of fresh horses would be + provided at fixed intervals, and thus they were enabled to traverse + immense distances at full speed. The words used were, I think, as follows: + "Itaque conficiunt iter continuo cursu." When I translated these, "So they + came to the end of their journey with continual cursing," I was astonished + to see my father burst into inextinguishable laughter, falling back in his + chair and throwing up his feet in the ebullience of his mirth. I heard a + good deal of that "continual cursing" for some years after, and I believe + the incident prompted me to pay stricter attention to the dictionary than + I might otherwise have done. + </p> + <p> + However, what with Ollendorff and Miss Shepard, we regarded ourselves, by + the time we were ready to set out for the Continent, as being in fair + condition to ask about trains and to order dinner. My mother, indeed, had + from her youth spoken French and Spanish fluently, but not Italian; my + father, though he read these languages easily enough, never attained any + proficiency in talking them. After he had wound up his consular affairs, + about the first week in October, we left Leamington and took the train for + a few days in London, stopping at lodgings in Great Russell Street, close + to the British Museum. + </p> + <p> + We were first delayed by friendly concern for the catastrophe which at + this moment befell Mr. Bennoch. He was a wholesale silk merchant, but his + literary and social tendencies had probably led him to trust too much to + the judgment and ability of his partners; at all events, on his return + from Germany he had found the affairs of his establishment much involved, + and he was now gazetted a bankrupt. In the England of those days + bankruptcy was no joke, still less the avenue to fortune which it is + sometimes thought to be in other countries; and a man who had built up his + business during twenty years by conscientious and honorable work, and who + was sensitively proud of his commercial honor, was for a time almost + overwhelmed by the disaster. My father felt the most tender sympathy and + grief for him, and we were additionally depressed by a report, + circumstantially detailed (but which proved to be unfounded), that Mrs. + Bennoch had died in childbirth—they had never had children. + "Troubles," commented my father "(as I myself have experienced, and many + others before me), are a sociable sisterhood; they love to come + hand-in-hand, or sometimes, even, to come side by side, with + long-looked-for and hoped-for good-fortune." He was doubtless thinking of + that dark and bright period when his mother lay dying in his house in + Salem and The Scarlet Letter was waiting to be born. + </p> + <p> + A few days later he went by appointment to Bennoch's office in Wood + Street, Cheapside, and I will quote the account of that interview for the + light it casts on the characters of the two friends: + </p> + <p> + "When I inquired for Bennoch, in the warehouse where two or three clerks + seemed to be taking account of stock, a boy asked me to write my name on a + slip of paper, and took it into his peculiar office. Then appeared Mr. + Riggs, the junior partner, looking haggard and anxious, poor man. He is + somewhat low of stature, and slightly deformed, and I fancied that he felt + the disgrace and trouble more on that account. But he greeted me in a + friendly way, though rather awkwardly, and asked me to sit down a little + while in his own apartment, where he left me. I sat a good while, reading + an old number of Blackwood's Magazine, a pile of which I found on the + desk, together with some well-worn ledgers and papers, that looked as if + they had been pulled out of drawers and pigeon-holes and dusty corners, + and were not there in the regular course of business. By-and-by Mr. Riggs + reappeared, and, telling me that I must lunch with them, conducted me + up-stairs, and through entries and passages where I had been more than + once before, but could not have found my way again through those extensive + premises; and everywhere the packages of silk were piled up and ranged on + shelves, in paper boxes, and otherwise—a rich stock, but which had + brought ruin with it. At last we came to that pleasant drawing-room, hung + with a picture or two, where I remember enjoying the hospitality of the + firm, with their clerks all at the table, and thinking that this was a + genuine scene of the old life of London City, when the master used to feed + his 'prentices at a patriarchal board. After all, the room still looked + cheerful enough; and there was a good fire, and the table was laid for + four. In two or three minutes Bennoch came in—not with that broad, + warm, lustrous presence that used to gladden me in our past encounters—not + with all that presence, at least—though still he was not less than a + very genial man, partially be-dimmed. He looked paler, it seemed to me, + thinner, and rather smaller, but nevertheless he smiled at greeting me, + more brightly, I suspect, than I smiled back at him, for in truth I was + very sorry. Mr. Twentyman, the middle partner, now came in, and appeared + as much or more depressed than his fellows in misfortune, and to bear it + with a greater degree of English incommunicativeness and reserve. But he, + too, met me hospitably, and I and these three poor ruined men sat down to + dinner—a good dinner enough, by-the-bye, and such as ruined men need + not be ashamed to eat, since they must needs eat something. It was roast + beef, and a boiled apple-pudding, and—which I was glad to see, my + heart being heavy—a decanter of sherry and another of port, remnants + of a stock which, I suppose, will not be replenished. They ate pretty + fairly, but scarcely like Englishmen, and drank a reasonable quantity, but + not as if their hearts were in it, or as if the liquor went to their + hearts and gladdened them. I gathered from them a strong idea of what + commercial failure means to English merchants—utter ruin, present + and prospective, and obliterating all the successful past; how little + chance they have of ever getting up again; how they feel that they must + plod heavily onward under a burden of disgrace—poor men and hopeless + men and men forever ashamed. I doubt whether any future prosperity (which + is unlikely enough to come to them) could ever compensate them for this + misfortune, or make them, to their own consciousness, the men they were. + They will be like a woman who has once lost her chastity: no after-life of + virtue will take out the stain. It is not so in America, nor ought it to + be so here; but they said themselves they would never again have put + unreserved confidence in a man who had been bankrupt, and they could not + but apply the same severe rule to their own case. I was touched by nothing + more than by their sorrowful patience, without any fierceness against + Providence or against mankind, or disposition to find fault with anything + but their own imprudence; and there was a simple dignity, too, in their + not assuming the aspect of stoicism. I could really have shed tears for + them, to see how like men and Christians they let the tears come to their + own eyes. This is the true way to do; a man ought not to be too proud to + let his eyes be moistened in the presence of God and of a friend. They + talked of some little annoyances, half laughingly. Bennoch has been dunned + for his gas-bill at Blackheath (only a pound or two) and has paid it. Mr. + Twentyman seems to have received an insulting message from some creditor. + Mr. Riggs spoke of wanting a little money to pay for some boots. It was + very sad, indeed, to see these men of uncommon energy and ability, all now + so helpless, and, from managing great enterprises, involving vast + expenditures, reduced almost to reckon the silver in their pockets. + Bennoch and I sat by the fireside a little while after his partners had + left the room, and then he told me that he blamed himself, as holding the + principal position in the firm, for not having exercised a stronger + controlling influence over their operations. The two other men had + recently gone into speculations, of the extent of which he had not been + fully aware, and he found the liabilities of the firm very much greater + than he had expected. He said this without bitterness, and said it not to + the world, but only to a friend. I am exceedingly sorry for him; it is + such a changed life that he must lead hereafter, and with none of the + objects before him which he might heretofore have hoped to grasp. No doubt + he was ambitious of civic, and even of broader public distinction; and not + unreasonably so, having the gift of ready and impressive speech, and a + behavior among men that wins them, and a tact in the management of + affairs, and many-sided and never-tiring activity. To be a member of + Parliament—to be lord mayor—whatever an eminent merchant of + the world's metropolis may be—beyond question he had dreamed + wide-awake of these things. And now fate itself could hardly accomplish + them, if ever so favorably inclined. He has to begin life over again, as + he began it twenty-five years ago, only under infinite disadvantages, and + with so much of his working-day gone forever. + </p> + <p> + "At parting, I spoke of his going to America; but he appeared to think + that there would be little hope for him there. Indeed, I should be loath + to see him transplanted thither myself, away from the warm, cheerful, + juicy English life into our drier and less genial sphere; he is a good + guest among us, but might not do well to live with us." + </p> + <p> + Bennoch was never lord mayor or member of Parliament; I do not know that + he cared to be either; but he lived to repay all his creditors with + interest, and to become once more a man in easy circumstances, honored and + trusted as well as loved by all who knew him, and active and happy in all + good works to the end of his days. There could be no keeping down such a + man, even in England; and when I knew him, in after years, he was the + Bennoch of yore, grown mellow and wise. + </p> + <p> + We were now ready for the Continent, when symptoms of some malady began to + manifest themselves among the younger persons of the family, which + presently culminated in an attack of the measles. It was six weeks before + we were in condition to take the road again. Meanwhile we were + professionally attended by Dr. J. J. Garth Wilkinson, a homoeopathist, a + friend of Emerson and of Henry James the elder, a student of Swedenborg, + and, at this particular juncture, interested in spiritualism. In a + biography of my father and mother, which I published in 1884, I alluded to + this latter circumstance, and some time afterwards I received from his + wife a letter which I take this opportunity to print: + </p> + <p> + "4 FINCHLEY ROAD, N. W., June 19, 1885. + </p> + <p> + "DEAR SIR,—May I beg of you in any future edition of the Life of + your father to leave out your passage upon my husband and spiritualism? He + is utterly opposed to it now. On Mr. Home's first appearance in England + very remarkable things did occur; but from the first I was a most decided + opponent, and by my firmness I have kept all I know and love from having + anything to do with it for at least thirty-five years. You may imagine, + therefore, I feel hurt at seeing so spiritually minded a man as my husband + really is to be mixed up with so evil a thing as spiritism. You will + pardon a faithful wife her just appreciation of his character. One other + author took the liberty of using his name in a similar way, and I wrote to + him also. Believe me, + </p> + <p> + "Yours faithfully, + </p> + <p> + "E. A. WILKINSON." + </p> + <p> + The good doctor and his wife are now, I believe, both of them in the world + where good spirits go, and no doubt they have long ere this found out all + about the rights and wrongs of spiritism and other matters, but there is + no doubt that at the time of my father's acquaintance with him the doctor + was a very earnest supporter of the cult. He was a man of mark and of + brains and of most lovable personal quality; he wrote books well worth + deep study; Emerson speaks of "the long Atlantic roll" of their style. + Henry James named his third son after him—the gentle and brave + "Wilkie" James, who was my school-mate at Sanborn's school in Concord + after our return to America, and who was wounded in the fight at Fort + Fisher while leading his negro soldiers to the assault. But for the + present, Dr. Wilkinson, so far as we children knew him, was a delightful + and impressive physician, who helped us through our measles in masterly + style, under all the disadvantages of a foggy London winter. + </p> + <p> + On the 5th of January, 1858—we were ready to start the next day—Bennoch + came to take tea with us and bid us farewell. "He keeps up a manly front," + writes my father, "and an aspect of cheerfulness, though it is easy to see + that he is a very different man from the joyous one whom I knew a few + months since; and whatever may be his future fortune, he will never get + all the sunshine back again. There is a more determinate shadow on him + now, I think, than immediately after his misfortunes; the old, equable + truth weighs down upon him, and makes him sensible that the good days of + his life have probably all been enjoyed, and that the rest is likely to be + endurance, not enjoyment. His temper is still sweet and warm, yet, I half + fancy, not wholly unacidulated by his troubles—but now I have + written it, I decide that it is not so, and blame myself for surmising it. + But it seems most unnatural that so buoyant and expansive a character + should have fallen into the helplessness of commercial misfortune; it is + most grievous to hear his manly and cheerful allusions to it, and even his + jokes upon it; as, for example, when we suggested how pleasant it would be + to have him accompany us to Paris, and he jestingly spoke of the personal + restraint under which he now lived. On his departure, Julian and I walked + a good way down Oxford Street and Holborn with him, and I took leave of + him with the truest wishes for his welfare." + </p> + <p> + The next day we embarked at Folkestone for France, and our new life began. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Old-Homesickness—The Ideal and the Real—A beautiful but + perilous woman with a past—The Garden of Eden a Montreal + ice-palace—Confused mountain of family luggage—Poplars for + lances—Miraculous crimson comforters—Rivers of human gore— + Curling mustachios and nothing to do—Odd behavior of grown + people—Venus, the populace, and the MacDaniels—The + happiness to die in Paris—Lived alone with her + constellations—"O'Brien's Belt"—A hotel of peregrinations— + Sitting up late—Attempted assassination—My murderer—An + old passion reawakened—Italian shells and mediaeval sea- + anemones—If you were in the Garden of Eden—An umbrella + full of napoleons—Was Byron an Esquimau? +</pre> + <p> + No doubt my father had grown fond of England during his four years' + residence there. Except for its profits he had not, indeed, liked the + consular work; but even that had given zest to his several excursions from + it, which were in themselves edifying and enjoyable. The glamour of + tradition, too, had wrought upon him, and he had made friends and formed + associations. Such influences, outwardly gentle and unexacting, take + deeper hold of the soul than we are at the time aware. They show their + strength only when we test them by removing ourselves from their physical + sphere. + </p> + <p> + Accordingly, though he looked forward with pleasure to leaving England for + the Continent, he was no sooner on the farther side of the narrow seas + than he began to be conscious of discomfort, which was only partly bodily + or sensible. An unacknowledged homesickness afflicted him—an + Old-Homesickness, rather than a yearning for America. He may have imagined + that it was America that he wanted, but, when at last we returned there, + he still looked back towards England. As an ideal, America was still, and + always, foremost in his heart; and his death was hastened partly by his + misgiving, caused by the civil war, lest her best days were past. But + something there was in England that touched a deep, kindred chord in him + which responded to nothing else. America might be his ideal home, but his + real home was England, and thus he found himself, in the end, with no home + at all outside of the boundaries of his domestic circle. A subconscious + perception of this predicament, combined with his gradually failing + health, led him to say, in a moment of frank self-communion, "Since this + earthly life is to come to an end, I do not try to be contented, but weary + of it while it lasts." + </p> + <p> + It is true that Rome, vehemently as at first he rebelled against it, came + at last to hold a power over him. Rome, if you give it opportunity, subtly + fastens its grasp upon both brain and heart, and claims sympathies which + are as undeniable as our human nature itself. Yet there is something + morbid in our love for the mystic city, like a passion for some beautiful + but perilous woman with a past—such as Miriam in The Marble Faun, + for example. Only an exceptionally vigorous and healthy constitution can + risk it without danger. Had my father visited Rome in his young manhood, + he might have both cared for it less and in a sense have enjoyed it more + than he did during these latter years of his life. + </p> + <p> + But from the time we left London, and, indeed, a little before that, he + was never quite himself physically. Our departure was made at the most + inclement moment of a winter season of unusual inclemency; they said (as + they always do) that no weather to be compared with it had been known for + twenty years. We got up before dawn in London, and after a dismal ride in + the train to Folkestone, where the bitter waves of the English Channel + left edgings of ice on the shingle beach where I went to pick up shells, + we were frost-bitten all our two-hours passage across to Boulogne, where + it became cold in dead earnest, and so continued all through Paris, Lyons, + and Marseilles, and down the Mediterranean to Genoa and Civita Vecchia, + and thence up the long, lonely, bandit-haunted road to Rome, and in Rome, + with exasperating aggravations, right up to April, or later. My own first + recollection of St. Peter's is that I slid on the ice near one of the + fountains in the piazza of that famous edifice; and my father did the + same, with a savage satisfaction, no doubt, at thus proving that + everything was what it ought not to be. Either in London, or at some + intermediate point between that and Paris, he caught one of the heaviest + colds that ever he had; and its feverish and debilitating effects were + still perceptible in May. "And this is sunny Italy—and this is + genial Rome!" he wrathfully exclaims. It was like looking forward to the + Garden of Eden all one's life, and going to vast trouble and expense to + get there, and, on arriving, finding the renowned spot to be a sort of + Montreal ice-palace. The palaces of Rome are not naturally fitted to be + ice-palaces, and the cold feels all the colder in them by consequence. + </p> + <p> + But I am going too fast. The first thing my father did, after getting on + board the little Channel steamer, was to go down in the cabin and drink a + glass of brandy-and-water, hot, with sugar; and he afterwards remarked + that "this sea-passage was the only enjoyable part of the day." But the + wind cut like a scimitar, and he came on deck occasionally only—as + when I came plunging down the companion-way to tell him, with the pride of + a discoverer, that France was broad in sight, and the sun was shining on + it. "Oh!" exclaimed my mother, looking up from her, pale + discomfortableness on a sofa, with that radiant smile of hers, and + addressing poor Miss Shepard, who was still further under the sinister + influence of those historic alpine fluctuations which have upset so many. + "Oh, Ada, Julian says the sun is shining on France!" Ada never stirred. + She was the most amiable and philosophic of young ladies; but if thought + could visit her reeling brain at that moment, she probably wondered why + Providence had been so inconsiderate as to sever Britain from its Gallic + base in those old geologic periods before man was yet born to + sea-sickness. + </p> + <p> + Sunshine on the pale, smooth acclivities of France, and half a dozen + bluff-bowed fishing-boats, pitching to the swell, were all that was + notable on our trip across; and of Boulogne I remember nothing, except the + confused mountain of the family luggage on the pier, and afterwards of its + being fed into the baggage-car of the train. Ollendorff abandoned me thus + early in my travels; nor was my father much better off. But Miss Shepard, + now restored to life, made amends for her late incompetence by discoursing + with excited French officials with what seemed to me preternatural + intelligence; indeed, I half doubted whether there were not some + conspiracy to deceive in that torrent of outlandish sounds which she and + they were so rapidly pouring forth to one another. However, all turned out + well, and there we were, in a compartment of a French railway-train, + smelling of stale tobacco, with ineffective zinc foot-warmers, and an + increasing veil of white frost on the window-panes, which my sisters and + myself spent our time in trying to rub off that France might become + visible. But the white web was spun again as fast as we dissipated it, and + nothing was to be seen, at all events, but long processions of poplars, + which interested me only because I imagined myself using them as lances in + some romantic Spenserian adventure of knight-errantry—for the spell + of that chivalric dream still hung about me. So we came to Amiens, a + pallid, clean, chilly town, with high-shouldered houses and a tall + cathedral, and thence went on to Paris at five o'clock. It was already + dusk, and our transit to the Hotel de Louvre in crowded cabs, through + streets much unlike London, is the sum of my first impressions of the + wonderful city. + </p> + <p> + Then, marshalled by princely yet deferential personages in rich costumes, + we proceeded up staircases and along gilded corridors to a suite of + sumptuous apartments, with many wax candles in candelabra, which were + immediately lighted by an attendant, and their lustre was reflected from + tall mirrors which panelled the rooms. The furniture thus revealed was + costly and elegant, but hardly comfortable to an English-bred sense; the + ceilings were painted, the floor rich with glowing carpets. But the glow + of color was not answered by a glow of any other sort; a deadly chill + pervaded this palatial place, which fires, as big as one's fist, kindled + in fireplaces as large as hall bedrooms, did nothing to dissipate. + Hereupon our elders had compassion on us, and, taking from the tall, awful + bedsteads certain crimson comforters, they placed each of us in an + easy-chair and tucked the comforters in over us. These comforters, covered + with crimson silk, were of great thickness, but also of extraordinary + lightness, and for a few minutes we had no confidence in their power to + thaw us. But they were filled with swan's-down; and presently a novel and + delightful sensation—that of warmth—began to steal upon us. It + steadily increased, until in quarter of an hour there might be seen upon + our foreheads and noses, which were the only parts of us open to view, the + beads of perspiration. It was a marvellous experience. The memory of the + crimson comforters has remained with me through life; light as sunset + clouds, they accomplished the miracle of importing tropic warmth into the + circle of the frozen arctic. I think we must have been undressed and + night-gowned before this treatment; at any rate, I have forgotten how we + got to bed, but to bed we somehow got, and slept the blessed sleep of + childhood. + </p> + <p> + The next morning my father, apparently as an accompaniment of his cold, + was visited by a severe nosebleed; no importance was attached to it, + beyond its preventing him from going forth to superintend the examination + of our luggage at the custom-house—the mountain having been + registered through from London. This duty was, therefore, done by Miss + Shepard and my mother. The next day, at dinner, the nosebleeding began + again. "And thus," observed my father, "my blood must be reckoned among + the rivers of human gore which have been shed in Paris, and especially in + the Place de la Concorde, where the guillotines used to stand"—and + where our restaurant was. But these bleedings, which came upon him at + several junctures during his lifetime, and were uniformly severe and + prolonged, probably had a significance more serious than was supposed. The + last one occurred not many weeks before his death, and it lasted + twenty-four hours; he was never the same afterwards. He joked about it + then, as now, but there was the forewarning of death in it. + </p> + <p> + But that day lies still unsuspected in the future, six years away. For the + present, we were in splendid Paris, with Napoleon III. in the Tuileries, + and Baron Haussmann regnant in the stately streets. For a week we went to + and fro, admiring and—despite the cold, the occasional icy rains, + and once even a dark fog—delighted. In spirit and in substance, + nothing could be more different from London. For my part, I enjoyed it + without reservation; the cold, which depressed my sick father, exhilarated + me. For Notre Dame, the Tuileries, the Louvre, the Madeleine, the + pictures, and the statues, I cared little or nothing; I hardly even heeded + the column of the Place Vendome or the mighty mass of the Arc de Triomphe. + But the Frenchiness of it all captivated me. The throngs in the streets + were kaleidoscopic in costume and character: priests, soldiers, gendarmes, + strange figures with turbans and other Oriental accoutrements; women gayly + dressed and wearing their dresses with an air; men with curling + mustachios, and with nothing to do, apparently, but amuse themselves; + romantic artists with soft felt hats and eccentric beards; grotesque + figures of poverty in rags and with ominous visages, such as are never + seen in London; martial music, marching regiments, with gorgeous generals + on horseback, with shining swords; church processions; wedding pageants + crowding in and out of superb churches; newspapers, shop-signs, and + chatter, all in French, even down to the babble of the small children. And + the background of this parade was always the pleasant, light-hued + buildings, the majority of them large and of a certain uniformity of + aspect, as if they had been made in co-operation, and to look pretty, + instead of independently and incongruously, as in England. These people + seemed to be all playing and prattling; nobody worked; even the + shopkeepers held holiday in their shops. Such was my boyish idea of Paris. + Napoleon had been emperor only five or six years; he had been married to + Eugenie only four or five; and, so far as one could judge who knew nothing + of political coups d'etat and crimes, he was the right man in the right + place. Moreover, the French bread was a revelation; it tasted better than + cake, and was made in loaves six feet long; and the gingerbread, for sale + on innumerable out-door stalls, was better yet, with quite a new flavor. I + ate it as I walked about with my father. He once took a piece himself, + and, said he, "I desired never to taste any more." How odd is, sometimes, + the behavior of grown-up people! + </p> + <p> + But even my father enjoyed the French cookery, though he was in some doubt + whether it were not a snare of the evil one to lure men to indulgence. We + dined in the banquet-hall of our hotel once or twice only; in general we + went to neighboring restaurants, where the food was just as good, but cost + less. I was always hungry, but hungrier than ever in Paris. "I really + think," wrote my father, "that Julian would eat a whole sheep." In his + debilitated state he had little appetite either for dinners or for works + of art; he looked even upon the Venus of Milo with coldness. "It seemed," + wrote he, speaking of the weather one morning, "as if a cold, bitter, + sullen agony were interposed between each separate atom of our bodies. In + all my experience of bad atmospheres, methinks I never knew anything so + atrocious as this. England has nothing to compare with it." The "grip" was + a disease unnamed at that epoch, but I should suppose that it was very + vividly described in the above sentence. He had the grip, and for nearly + six months he saw everything through its medium. + </p> + <p> + Besides the Venus and the populace, we saw various particular persons. I + went with my father to the bank, and saw a clerk give him a long roll of + bright gold coins, done up in blue paper; and we visited, or were visited + by, a Miss MacDaniel and her mother, two Salem women, "of plain, New + England manners and appearance," wrote my father, "and they have been + living here for nearly two years. The daughter was formerly at Brook Farm. + The mother suffered so much from seasickness on the passage that she is + afraid to return to America, and so the daughter is kept here against her + will, and without enjoyment, and, as I judge, in narrow circumstances. It + is a singular misfortune. She told me that she had been to the Louvre but + twice since her arrival, and did not know Paris at all." This looks like a + good theme for Mr. Henry James. + </p> + <p> + We called on the American minister to Paris, Judge John Young Mason, a + simple and amiable personage. He was rubicund and stolid, and talked like + a man with a grievance; but, as my father afterwards remarked, it was + really Uncle Sam who was the aggrieved party, in being mulcted of + seventeen thousand dollars a year in order that the good old judge should + sleep after dinner in a French armchair. The judge was anticipating being + superseded in his post, but, as it turned out, was not driven to seek + second-rate employment to support himself in his old age; he had the + happiness to die in Paris the very next year. + </p> + <p> + But the most agreeable of our meetings was with Miss Maria Mitchell, the + astronomer, who, like ourselves, was stopping a few days in Paris on her + way to Rome. She desired the protection of our company on the journey, + though, as my father remarked, she looked well able to take care of + herself. She was at this time about forty years old; born in Nantucket; + the plainest, simplest, heartiest of women, with a face browned by the + sun, of which she evidently was accustomed to see as much as of the other + stars in the heavens. Her mouth was resolute and full of expression; but + her remarkable feature was her eyes, which were dark and powerful, and had + the kindest and most magnetic look of comradeship in them. Her dark hair + was a little grizzled. She was dressed in plain gray, and was active and + energetic in her movements. She was, as the world knows, a woman of + unusual intellect and character; but she had lived alone with her + constellations, having little contact with the world or practical + knowledge of it, so that in many respects she was still as much a child as + I was, and I immediately knew her for my friend and playmate and loved her + with all my heart. There was a charming quaintness and innocence about + her, and an immense, healthy curiosity about this new old world and its + contents. She had a great flow of native, spontaneous humor, and could say + nothing that was not juicy and poignant. She was old-fashioned, yet full + of modern impulses and tendencies; warmhearted and impulsive, but rich in + homely common-sense. Though bold as a lion, she was, nevertheless, beset + with the funniest feminine timidities and misgivings, due mainly, I + suppose, to her unfamiliarity with the ways of the world. There was + already a friendship of long standing between her and Miss Shepard, and + they did much of their sightseeing during the coming year together, and + debated between themselves over the statues and pictures. Her talk with us + children was of the fine, countrified, racy quality which we could not + resist; and in the evenings, as we journeyed along, she told us tales of + the stars and gave us their names. On the steamer going to Genoa, one + night, she pointed out to me the constellation Orion, then riding high + aloft in glittering beauty, and I kindly communicated to my parents the + information that the three mighty stars were known to men as O'Brien's + Belt. This was added to the ball of jolly as a household word. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: MARIA MITCHELL] + </p> + <p> + Miss Mitchell's trunk was contributed to our mountain, when we set out + anew on our pilgrimage, with a result at first deplorable, for the number + of our own pieces of luggage being known and registered in the official + documents, it turned out, at our first stopping-place, that the trunk of + our new companion had been substituted for one of our own, which, of + course, was left behind. It was ultimately recovered, I believe, but it + seemed as if the entire world of French officialdom had to be upheaved + from its foundations in order to accomplish it. + </p> + <p> + Our route lay through Lyons to Marseilles. At Lyons I remember only the + enormous hotel where we slept the first night, with corridors wandering + like interminable streets, up-stairs and down, turning corners, extending + into vistas, clean-swept, echoing, obscure, lit only by the glimmering + candle borne by our guide. We seemed to be hours on our journey through + these labyrinths; and when at last we reached our rooms, they were so cold + and so unwarmable that we were fain to journey back again, up and down, + along and athwart, marching and countermarching past regiments of closed + doors, until at length we attained the region of the hotel dining-saloon, + where it was at least two or three degrees less cold than elsewhere. After + dinner we had to undertake a third peregrination to bed, and a fourth the + next morning to get our train. The rooms of the hotel were on a scale + suited to the length of the connecting thoroughfares, and the hotel itself + stood hard by a great, empty square with a statue in the middle of it. But + the meals were not of a corresponding amplitude. And I think it was at the + railway station of this town that the loss of the trunk was discovered. + </p> + <p> + The region from Lyons to Marseilles, along the valley of the Rhone, with + the lower ranges of the Alps on our left hand, was much more picturesque + than anything France had shown us hitherto. Ancient castles crowned many + of the lower acclivities; there were villages in the vales, and presently + vineyards and olive groves. The Rhone, blue and swift as its traditions + demanded, kept us close company much of the way; the whole range of + country was made for summer, and the wintry conditions under which we saw + it seemed all the more improper. It must have been near midnight when our + train rolled into the station at Marseilles, and my pleasure in "sitting + up late" had long become stale. + </p> + <p> + The sun shone the next morning, and, being now in the latitude of Florence + and such places, it could not help being hot, though the shaded sides of + the streets were still icy cold; and most of the streets were so narrow + that there was a great deal of shade. The whole population seemed to be + out-of-doors and collecting in the sun, like flies, a very animated and + voluble population and of a democratic complexion; the proportion of poor + folks was noticeable, and the number of women, who seemed to camp out in + the squares and market-places, and there gossip and do their knitting, as + other women might at their firesides; but here the sun is the only fire. + But a good deal of the bustle this morning was occasioned by the news from + Paris that an attempt to assassinate Napoleon III. had been made the day + before; had we remained one day longer in Paris we might have assisted at + the spectacle. The Marseilles people seemed to take it comfortably; nobody + was very sorry that the attempt had been made, nor very glad that it had + not succeeded. It was something to talk about. It was ten years more + before the French got thoroughly used to the nephew of his uncle and + decided that he was, upon the whole, a good thing; and soon after they + lost him. And for a decade after Sedan, chatting with the boulevardiers in + Paris, they would commonly tell me that they wished they had the empire + back again. Perhaps they will have it, some day. + </p> + <p> + There was a great deal of filth in Marseilles streets and along her + wharves and in the corners of her many public squares; and even our hotel, + the "Angleterre," was anything but clean; it was a tall, old rookery, from + the windows of our rooms in which I looked down into an open space between + the strange, old buildings, and saw a juggler do his marvels on a bit of + carpet spread on the pavement, while a woman handed him the implements of + magic out of a very much travelled and soiled deal-box. Later in the day, + when the place was deserted, I heedlessly flung out of the window the + contents of a glass of water, and, looking after it in its long descent, I + was horrified to see approaching a man of very savage and piratical + aspect, with a terrible black beard and a slouch hat. As luck would have + it, the water struck him full on the side of the face, probably the first + time in many a year that he had felt the impact of the liquid there. I + withdrew my head from the window in alarm, mingled with the natural joy + that a boy cannot help feeling at such a catastrophe; and by-and-by, when + I felt certain that he must have passed on, I peeped out again, but what + were my emotions at beholding him planted terribly right under the window + where he had been baptized, and staring upward with a blood-thirsty + expression. I immediately drew back again, but too late—our eyes had + met, and he had made a threatening gesture at me. I now felt that a very + serious thing had happened, and that if I ventured out upon the streets + again I should assuredly be assassinated; that it would be no mere + attempt, as in the case of the Emperor, but a pronounced success. I did + not tell my fears to any of my family—I had not, to say the truth, + informed any of them of the incident which had imperilled my life, but I + no longer felt any curiosity to see more of Marseilles, and was sincerely + thankful when I found myself, betimes next morning, on board the + Calabrese, bound for Genoa. I never saw my murderer again, but I could + make a fair likeness of him, I believe, to-day. The trip to Genoa, and + onward to Civita Vecchia, lasted two or three days, the steamer generally + pursuing her course by night and laying up by day. + </p> + <p> + The first morning, soon after sunrise, found us approaching the bay of + Genoa, with the sun rising over the Mediterranean on our right and + throwing its light upon the curving acclivity on which the city stands. + The water had a beautiful blue-green color and was wonderfully clear, so + that, looking down through it over the ship's side, as we glided slowly to + our moorings, I saw sea-weeds and blocks of marble and other marine + curiosities which reawakened my old passion for aquariums. Indeed, to be + candid with the reader—as is my study throughout this narrative—nothing + in Genoa the Superb itself has, I find, remained with me so distinctly as + that glimpse of the floor of the bay through the clear sea-water. I did + not care to go up into the town and see the palaces and churches; I wanted + to stay on the beach and hunt for shells—Italian shells—and + classical or mediaeval sea-anemones. Of course, I had to go up into the + town; and I saw, no doubt, the churches and the palaces, with their rooms + radiant with the mellow brilliance of precious marbles and painted + ceilings, and statues and pictures, under the personal conduct of no less + an individual than Salvator Rosa himself—for that was the name of + our guide—and for years afterwards I never doubted that he was the + creator of the paintings which, in Rome and elsewhere, bore his signature. + I say I must have seen these things, but in memory I cannot disentangle + them from the innumerable similar objects which I beheld, later, in other + Italian cities; their soft splendor and beautiful art could not hold their + own for me beside that cool translucence of the Mediterranean inlet, with + its natural marvels dimly descried as'I bent over the boat's side. It was + for that, and not for the other, that my heart yearned, and that became a + part of me, all the more, no doubt, that it was denied me. Our aim in the + world is beauty and happiness; but we are late in learning that they exist + in the will and imagination, and not in this or that accredited and + venerable thing or circumstance that is mechanically obtruded on our + unready attention. If you were put down in the Garden of Eden, and told + that you might stay there an hour and no more, what would you do? How + would you "improve" your time? Would you run to and fro, and visit the + spot where Adam first stood erect, and the place where he sat when he + named the animals, and the thymey bank on which he slept while Eve was + taking form from his rib, and the tree on which grew the fruit of the + knowledge of good and evil, and the precise scene of the temptation and + the fall, and the spot on which stood the altars on which Cain and Abel + offered their sacrifices, and where, presently, wrathful Cain rose up + against his brother and slew him? Would you make sure of all these set + sights in order that you might reply satisfactorily to the cloud of + interviewers awaiting you outside the Garden? Or would you simply throw + yourself down on the grass wherever the angel happened to leave you, and + try to see or to realize or to recall nothing, but passively permit your + soul to feel and experience and grow what way it would, prompted by the + inner voice and guided by the inner light, heedless of what the + interviewers were expecting and of what duty and obligation and the unique + opportunity demanded? It is worth thinking about. It may be conceded that + there is some risk to run. + </p> + <p> + I next find myself in a coach, with four horses harnessed to it, trundling + along the road from Civita Vecchia to Rome; for of Monaco I recall + nothing, nor of Leghorn; and though we passed within sight of Elba, I saw + only a lonely island on our starboard beam. As for the coach, it was a + necessity, if we would continue our journey, for the railroad was still in + the future in 1858. The coach-road was not only as rugged and uneasy as it + had been any time during the past three hundred years, but it was + outrageously infested by banditti; and, indeed, a robbery had taken place + on it only a week or two before. For miles and miles on end it was totally + destitute of dwellings, and those that we saw might well have been the + harboring-places of iniquity. Moreover, we were so long delayed in making + our start that it was already afternoon before we were under way, and + finally one of our horses gave out ere we were many miles advanced, + compelling us to hobble along for the remainder of the trip at reduced + speed. As the shades of evening began to fall, we saw at intervals sundry + persons lurking along the roadway, clad in long cloaks and conical hats, + with the suggestion of the barrel of a musket about them, and it is + probable that we were preserved from a tragic fate only by the fortunate + accident that we were just behind the mail-coach and might theoretically + have hailed it for help had we been attacked. Meanwhile, my father, with + ostensible pleasantry, suggested that we should hide our gold coin (of + which we carried a considerable store) in various queer, out-of-the-way + receptacles. I remember that an umbrella was filled with a handful or two + of the shining pieces, and stuck with studied carelessness through the + straps in the roof of the vehicle. This was regarded by us children as + excellent sport, though I think there was a lingering feeling of + apprehension in the bottom of my soul. My father kept a moderate sum in + napoleons in his pockets, so that, should the worst happen, the bandits + might fancy it was our all. But then there was our mountain of luggage, + incredibly strapped on the top of the conveyance, and behind it, and no + reasonable bandits, one would suppose, could have failed to be satiated + with that. However, it was written that we were to reach Rome unscathed, + albeit long after dark, and though we did not get past the Porta del + Popolo without suffering legalized robbery on the part of the custom-house + officials. But by that time we were so weary, downcast, and chilled that + depredation and outrage could not rouse or kindle us. + </p> + <p> + We ended, at last, in one of those refrigerator hotels to which our + travels had made us accustomed, in one of the hollow, dull, untoward + caverns of which I was presently put to bed and to sleep. "Oh, Rome, my + country, City of the Soul!" Oh, Byron, were you an Esquimau? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIV + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Our unpalatial palace—"Cephas Giovanni"—She and George + Combe turned out to be right—A rousing temper—Bright + Titian hair—"All that's left of him"—The pyramidal man of + destiny—The thoughts of a boy are long, long thoughts— + Clausilia Bubigunia—Jabez Hogg and the microscope—A + stupendous surprise—A lifetime in fourteen months—My + father's jeremiades—"Thank Heaven, there is such a thing as + whitewash!"—"Terrible lack of variety in the old masters"— + "The brazen trollop that she is!"—Several distinct phases + of feeling—Springs of creative imagination roused—The + Roman fever—A sad book—Effects of the death-blow—The rest + is silence. +</pre> + <p> + We arrived in Rome on the 17th of January, 1858, at eleven o'clock at + night. After a day or two at Spillman's Hotel, we moved into lodgings in + the Via Porta Pinciana, the Palazzo Larazani. The street extended just + below the ridge of the Pincian Hill, and was not far from the broad flight + of steps mounting upward from the Piazza d' Espagna, on the left as you go + up. In spite of its resounding name, our new dwelling had not a palatial + aspect. It was of no commanding height or architectural pretensions; a + stuccoed edifice, attached on both sides to other edifices. The street, + like other Roman streets, was narrow; it was dirty like them, and, like + them, was paved with cobble-stones. The place had been secured for us by + (I think) our friends the Thompsons; Mr. Thompson—the same man who + had painted my father's portrait in 1853—had a studio hard by. The + Thompsons had been living in Rome for five years or more, and knew the + Roman ropes. They were very comfortable people to know; indeed, Rome to me + would have been a very different and less delightful place without them, + as will hereafter appear. The family consisted of Cephas Giovanni + Thompson, the father and artist; his wife and his two sons and one + daughter. "Cephas Giovanni," being interpreted, means plain Peter John; + and it was said (though, I believe, unjustifiably) that Peter John had + been the names originally given to Thompson by his parents at the + baptismal-font, but that his wife, who was a notable little woman, a + sister of Anna Cora Mowatt, the actress, well known in America and England + seventy years ago, had persuaded him to translate them into Greek and + Italian, as more suitable to the romantic career of an artist of the + beautiful. I fancy the story arose from the fact that Mrs. Thompson was a + woman who, it was felt, might imaginably conceive so ambitious a project. + She was small, active, entertaining, clever, and "spunky," as the + New-Englanders would have said; indeed, she had a rousing temper, on + occasion. Her husband, on the other hand, had the mildest, wisely smiling, + philosophic air, with a low, slow voice, and a beard of patriarchal + fashion and size, though as yet it was a rich brown, with scarcely a + thread of silver in it. Brown and abundant, also, was his hair; he had + steady, bright, brown eyes, and was rather under the average height of + Anglo-Saxon man. But for all this mild-shining aspect of his, his dark + eyebrows were sharply arched, or gabled rather; and my mother, who had + absorbed from her former friend, George Combe, a faith in the betrayals of + phrenology, expressed her private persuasion that good Mr. Thompson had a + temper, too. She and George Combe turned out to be right in this instance, + though I am not going to tell the tale of how we happened to be made + acquainted with the fact. Little thunder-storms once in a while occur in + human skies as well as in the meteorological ones; and the atmosphere is + afterwards all the sweeter and softer. No people could be more good, + honest, and kind than the Thompsons. + </p> + <p> + There was no other artist in Rome who could paint as well as Mr. Thompson. + That portrait of my father, to which reference has been made, which now + hangs in my house, looks even better, as a painting, to-day than it did + when it was fresh from his easel. Rubens could not have laid on the colors + with more solidity and with truer feeling for the hues of life. But the + trouble with Thompson was that he had never learned how to draw correctly; + and this defect appeared to some extent in his portraits as well as in his + figures. The latter were graceful, significant, full of feeling and + character; but they betrayed a weakness of anatomical knowledge and of + perspective. They had not the conventional incorrectness of the old + masters preceding Raphael, but an incorrectness belonging personally to + Thompson; it was not excessive or conspicuous to any one, and certainly + not to Thompson himself. But his color redeemed all and made his pictures + permanently valuable. He was at this time painting a picture of Saint + Peter being visited by an angel, which was rich and beautiful; and he had + some sketches of a series based on Shakespeare's Tempest; and standing on + one side in the studio was a glowing figure of a woman in Oriental + costume, an odalisque, or some such matter, which showed that his sympathy + with life was not a restricted one. Later in our acquaintance he fell in + love with the bright Titian hair of my sister Rose, and made a little + portrait of her, which was one of his best likenesses, apart from its + admirable color; it even showed the tears in the child's eyes, gathering + there by reason of her antipathy to posing. + </p> + <p> + Cora Thompson, the daughter, was the most good-natured and sunny-tempered + of girls; she may have been fifteen at this time; she inherited neither + the handsomeness of her father nor the sharp-edged cleverness of her + mother; but she was lovable. Of the two boys, the younger was named + Hubert; he was about ten years old, small of his age, and not robust in + make or constitution. He was, however, a smart, rather witty youth, a + little precocious, perhaps, and able to take care of himself. Some five + and twenty years after the date of which I am now writing I was at a large + political dinner in New York and was there introduced to a Mr. Thompson, + who was the commissioner of public works, and a party boss of no small + caliber and power. He was an immense personage, physically likewise, + weighing fully three hundred pounds, and, though not apparently advanced + in years, a thorough man of the world and of municipal politics. After we + had conversed for a few minutes, I was struck by a certain expression + about my interlocutor's eyebrows that recalled long-forgotten days and + things. I remembered that his name was Thompson, and had an impression + that his initials were H. O. "Are you little Hubert Thompson?" I suddenly + demanded. "Why, of course I am—all that's left of him!" he replied, + with a laugh. So this was the boy whom, a quarter of a century before, I + could have held out at arm's-length. We talked over the old days when we + played together about the Roman streets and ruins. Nothing more reveals + the essential strangeness of human life than this meeting after many years + with persons we have formerly known intimately, who are now so much + changed in outward guise. We feel the changes to be unreal, and yet, there + they are! Grover Cleveland was being groomed for his first Presidential + term then; Hubert was one of his supporters in New York, and he presented + me to the pyramidal man of destiny. Poor Hubert died, lamentably, not long + after. He was a good and affectionate son. He was perhaps too kind-hearted + and loyal for the political role which he enacted. + </p> + <p> + The elder Thompson boy was called Edmund, or, in my vernacular, Eddy. + There were in his nature a gravity, depth, and sweetness which won my + heart and respect, and we became friends in that intimate and complete way + that seems possible only to boys in their early teens. For that matter, + neither of us was yet over twelve; I think Eddy was part of a year my + junior. But you must search the annals of antiquity to find anything so + solid and unalterable as was our friendship. He was the most absolutely + good boy I ever knew, but by no means goody-goody; he had high principles, + noble ambitions, strong affections, the sweetest of tempers; his + seriousness formed a healthy foil to my own more impetuous and hazardous + character. "The thoughts of a boy are long, long thoughts"; and not in + many long lifetimes could a tithe of the splendid projects we resolved + upon have been carried out. We were together from morning till night, + month after month; we walked interminably about Rome and frequented its + ruins, and wandered far out over the Campagna and along the shores of + famous Tiber. We picked up precious antique marbles, coins, and ancient + curiosities of all sorts; we hunted for shells and butterflies and + lizards; our hearts were uplifted by the martial music of the French army + bands, which were continually resounding throughout Rome; and we admired + the gleaming swords of the officers and the sharp, punctual drill and + marching of the red-legged rank and file. We haunted the lovely Villa + Borghese, the Pincian Hill, the Villa Pamphili Doria; we knew every nook + and cranny of the Palace of the Csesars, the Baths of Caracalla, the Roman + Forum, the Coliseum, the Egerian Grove; we were familiar with every gate + that entered Rome; we drank at every fountain; we lingered through the + galleries of the Vatican and of the Capitol; we made St. Peter's Church + our refuge in inclement weather; we threaded every street and by-way of + the city; we were on friendly and confidential terms with the custode of + every treasure. And all the time we talked about what we thought, what we + felt, what we would do; there is no looking backward in boys' confidences; + they live in the instant present and in the infinite future. Eddy and I + arranged to spend one lifetime in Central Africa, in emulation of the + exploits of David Livingstone; there, freed from all civilized burdens, we + would live, and we would run, catch the wild goat by the hair, and hurl + our lances in the sun. At another epoch of our endless lives we would + enter the army and distinguish ourselves in heroic war; we would have + swords like sunbeams and ride steeds like Bucephalus. Then, and + interleaved with all this, as it were, there was an immense life of + natural history; we would have a private museum to rival the famous ones + of nations. Eddy was especially drawn towards insects, while my own + predilection was still for conchology; and both of us spent hours every + week in classifying and arranging our respective collections, not to speak + of the time we devoted to hunting for specimens. Eddy had a green net at + the end of a stick, and became very skilful in making his captures; and + how we triumphed over a "swallow-tail," so difficult to catch, or an + unfamiliar species! Eddy had his pins and his strips of cork, and paper + boxes; and his collections certainly were fairer to look upon, to the + ordinary view, than mine; moreover, his was the more scientific mind and + the nicer sense of order. For the display of my snail-shells I used bits + of card-board and plenty of gum-arabic; and I was affluent in + "duplicates," my plan being to get a large card and then cover it with + specimens of the shell, in serried ranks. I also called literature to my + aid, and produced several little books containing labored descriptions of + my collection, couched, so far as possible, in the stilted and formal + phraseology of the conchological works to which I had access, but with + occasional outbursts after a style of my own. Here is a chapter from one + of them; a pen-and-ink portrait of the shell is prefixed to the original + essay: + </p> + <p> + "CLAUSILIA BUBIGUNIA + </p> + <p> + "This handsome and elegant little shell is found in mossy places, or in + old ruins, such as the Coliseum—where it is found in immense numbers—or + the Palace of the Caesars. But in Italy it is common in any mossy ruin, in + the small, moss-covered holes, where it is seen at the farthest extremity. + After a rain they always crawl out of their places of concealment in such + numbers that one would think it had been raining clausilias. The shell, in + large and fine specimens, is five-eighths of an inch in length. The young + are very small and look like the top part of the spire of the adults. This + shell is also largest in the middle, shaped something like a grain of + wheat. It has nine whorls, marked by small white lines, which look like + fine white threads of sewing-cotton; and just below them are marks which + look like very fine and very small stitches of white cotton. The color of + the shell, down to next to the last whorl, is a brown color, but the very + last whorl is a little lighter. The shell is covered all over with fine + lines, but they need to be looked at through a magnifying-glass, they are + so fine. The lip is turning out, and very thin; inside there are three + ridges, two on the top part of the mouth, and the other, which is very + small, is below. The shell, when the animal is out of it, is + semi-transparent, and the little colomella, or pillar, can be indistinctly + seen through." + </p> + <p> + There follows a detailed and loving description of the animal inhabiting + the shell, which I must reserve for a future edition. Of another species + of snail, Helix strigata, our learned author observes that "This shell is, + when dead, one of those which is found on the banks of the Tiber. It is a + strange circumstance that, although it is a land shell, it should be found + more on the banks of a river than anywhere else, and also only on the + banks of the Tiber, for it is not found on the banks of any other river. + Any one would think that dead shells were gifted with the power of walking + about, for certainly it is an inexplicable wonder how they got there." Of + Helix muralis we are informed that "The Romans eat these snails, not the + whole of them, but only their feet. In ancient times the most wealthy + people used to eat snails, and perhaps they ate the very ones which the + poorest people eat nowadays. It is most probable, for there are a great + many different kinds of snails round Rome, and the Romans would probably + select the best." I may perhaps be permitted to remark that the correct + orthography of this writer fills me with astonishment, inasmuch as in + later life I have reason to know that he often went astray in this + respect. Of the uniform maturity of the literary style, I have no need to + speak. + </p> + <p> + Eddy's father was in the habit of giving him an income of two or three + pauls a week, dependent on his good behavior and punctual preparation of + his lessons; and since Eddy was always well behaved and faithful in his + studies, the income came in pretty regularly. Eddy saved up this revenue + with a view to buying himself a microscope, for the better prosecution of + his zoological labors; being, also, stimulated thereto by the fact that I + already possessed one of these instruments, given me by my father a year + or two before. Mine cost ten shillings, but Eddy meant to get one even + more expensive. I had, too, a large volume of six hundred pages on The + Microscope, Its History, Construction, and Uses, by Jabez Hogg, the + contents of which I had long since learned by heart, and which I gladly + communicated to my friend. At length Eddy's economies had proceeded so far + that he was able to calculate that on his twelfth birthday he would + possess a fortune of five scudi, and he decided that he would buy a + microscope at that figure; it is needless to add that the microscope had + long since been selected in the shop, and was decidedly superior to mine. + We could hardly contain our impatience to enter upon the marvellous world + whereof this instrument was the key; that twelfth birthday seemed long in + coming, but at last it came. + </p> + <p> + I was to go with my friend to the shop to see him make the purchase; and I + was at his house betimes in the morning. But what a stupendous surprise + awaited me! Eddy was too much excited to say anything; with a face beaming + with emotion, he led me into the sitting-room, and there, upon the table, + was a microscope. But such a microscope! It was of such unheard-of + magnificence and elaborateness that it took my breath away, and we both + stood gazing at it in voiceless rapture. It was tall and elegant, shining + with its polished brass and mirrors, and its magnifying powers were such + as to disclose to us the very heart of nature's mystery. It was quiet Mr. + Thompson's birthday present to his son. That gentleman sat smiling in his + armchair by the window, and presently he said, with a delightful archness, + "Well, Eddy, I suppose you are ready to give me back all that money you've + been collecting?" Eddy grinned radiantly. He spent his savings for + microscope-slides and other appurtenances, and for weeks thereafter he + could hardly take his eye away from the object-lens. He was luminous with + happiness, and I reflected his splendor from my sympathetic heart. Dear + old Eddy! In after years he entered West Point and became a soldier, and + he died early; I never saw him after parting from him in Italy in 1859. + But he is still my first friend, and there has been no other more dear. + </p> + <p> + I am not aware that Rome has ever been described from the point of view of + a twelve-year-old boy, and it might be worth doing; but I have delayed + attempting it somewhat too long; the moving pictures in my mind have + become too faded and confused. And yet I am surprised at the minuteness of + some of my recollections; they have, no doubt, been kept alive by the + numerous photographs of Rome which one carries about, and also by the + occasional perusal of The Marble Faun and other Roman literature. But much + is also due to the wonderful separateness which Rome retains in the mind. + It is like nothing else, and the spirit of it is immortal. It seems as if + I must have lived a lifetime there; and yet I cannot make out that our + total residence in the city extended over fourteen months. Certainly no + other passage of my boyhood time looms so large or is rooted so deep. + </p> + <p> + But the passion for Rome (unless one be a Byron) is not a plant of sudden + growth, and I dare say that, during those first frigid weeks, I may have + shared my father's whimsical aversion to the city. He has described, in + his journals, how all things seemed to be what they should not; and he was + terribly disgusted with the filth that defiled the ruins and the street + corners. He was impressed by the ruins, but deplored their nakedness. "The + marble of them grows black or brown, it is true," says he, "and shows its + age in that way; but it remains hard and sharp, and does not become again + a part of nature, as stone walls do in England; some dry and dusty grass + sprouts along the ledges of a ruin, as in the Coliseum; but there is no + green mantle of ivy spreading itself over the gray dilapidation." We + stumbled upon the Fountain of Trevi in one of our early rambles, not + knowing what it was. "One of these fountains," writes my father, referring + to it, "occupies the whole side of a great edifice, and represents Neptune + and his steeds, who seem to be sliding down with a cataract that tumbles + over a ledge of rocks into a marble-bordered lake, the whole—except + the fall of water itself—making up an exceedingly cumbrous and + ridiculous affair." He goes to St. Peter's, and "it disappointed me + terribly by its want of effect, and the little justice it does to its real + magnitude externally; as to the interior, I am not sure that it would not + be even more grand and majestic if it were less magnificent, though I + should be sorry to see the experiment tried. I had expected something dim + and vast, like the great English cathedrals, only more vast and dim and + gray; but there is as much difference as between noonday and twilight." + The pictures, too, were apt in these first days to go against the grain + with him. Contemplating a fresco representing scenes in purgatory, he + broke forth: "I cannot speak as to the truth of the representation, but, + at all events, it was purgatory to look at this poor, faded rubbish. Thank + Heaven, there is such a thing as whitewash; and I shall always be glad to + hear of its application to old frescoes, even at the sacrifice of remnants + of real excellence!" Such growlings torture the soul of the connoisseur; + but the unregenerate man, hearing them, leaps up and shouts for joy. He + found the old masters, in their sacred subjects, lacking in originality + and initiative; and when they would represent mythology, they engendered + an apotheosis of nakedness. His conclusion was that "there is something + forced, if not feigned, in our taste for pictures of the old Italian + school." Of the profane subjects, he instances the Fornarina, "with a deep + bright glow on her face, naked below the waist, and well pleased to be so, + for the sake of your admiration—ready for any extent of nudity, for + love or money—the brazen trollop that she is! Raphael must have been + capable of great sensuality to have painted this picture of his own + accord, and lovingly." These are the iconoclasms of the Goth and Vandal at + their first advent to Rome. They remained to alter their mood, and extol + what they had before assaulted; and so did my father, as we shall see + presently. But at first he was sick and cold and uncomfortable; and he + consoled himself by hitting out at everything, in the secret privacy of + his diary, since opened to the world. With warmer weather came equanimity + and kinder judgments; but there is a refreshing touch of truth and justice + even in these mutterings of exasperation. + </p> + <p> + It was not so much, I suppose, that Rome was cold as that my father had + expected it to be otherwise. When one is in a place where tradition and + association invite the soul forth to be warmed and soothed and rejoiced, + and the body, venturing out, finds nothing but chill winds and frigid + temperature and discomfort, the shock is much greater and more + disagreeable than if one had been in some northern Canada or Spitzbergen, + where such conditions are normal. Ice in the arctic circle is all right + and exhilarating, but in the Piazza of St. Peter's it is an outrage, and + affects the mind and heart even more than the flesh. + </p> + <p> + Circumstances caused my father to pass through several distinct phases of + feeling while he was in Rome. First, his own indisposition and the + inclement weather depressed and exasperated him. + </p> + <p> + Time, in due course, brought relief in these respects, and he began to + enjoy himself and his surroundings. Anon, the springs of creative + imagination, long dormant in him, were roused to activity by thoughts + connected with the Faun of Praxiteles in the Capitol. He now became happy + in the way of his genius and immediately took a new interest in all + things, looking at them from the point of view of possible backgrounds or + incidents for the romance which had begun to take form in his mind. He + describes what he saw con amore, and all manner of harmonious ideas bloom + through his thoughts, like anemones and other flowers in the Villa + Pamphili and the Borghese. This desirable mood continued until, after our + return to Rome from the Florentine visit, my sister caught the Roman + fever. She lay for weeks in danger of death; and her father's anxiety + about her not only destroyed in him all thoughts of literary production + and care for it, but made even keeping his journal no longer possible for + him. That strain, so long continued, broke him down, and he never + recovered from it so as to be what he had been before. Nevertheless, when + she became convalescent, the reaction from his dark misgivings made him, + for a time, as light-hearted as a boy; and, the carnival happening to be + coincident with her recovery, he entered into the fun of it with a zest + and enjoyment that surprised himself. But, again, it presently became + evident that her recovery was not complete, and probably never would be + so; the injury to her health was permanent, and she was liable to + recurrences of disease. His spirits sank again, not so low as before, but, + on the other hand, they never again rose to their normal level. It was in + this saddened mood that he once more took up the Roman romance and + finished it; it is a sad book, and when there is a ray of sunshine across + the page, it has a melancholy gleam. After we returned to Concord, his + apprehensions concerning Una's unsound condition were confirmed; and, in + addition, the bitter cleavage between North and South inspired in him the + gloomiest forebodings. A wasting away of his whole physical substance + ensued; and he died, almost suddenly, while in years he might be + considered hardly past the prime of his life. A sensitive eye can trace + the effects of the death-blow all through The Marble Faun, and still more + in Septimius and Grimshawe, published after his death. In The Dolliver + Romance fragment, which was the last thing he wrote, there is visible once + more some reminiscence of the old sunshine of humor that was so often + apparent in his time of youth and vigor; but it, too, has a sad touch in + it, such as belongs to the last rays of the star of day before it sinks + below the horizon forever. Night follows, and the rest is silence. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XV + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The Roman carnival in three moods—Apples of Sodom—Poor, + battered, wilted, stained hearts—A living protest and + scourge—Dulce est desipere in loco—A rollicking world of + happy fools—Endless sunshine of some sort—Greenwich Fair + was worth a hundred of it—They thundered past, never + drawing rein—"Senza moccolo!"—Nothing more charming and + strange could be imagined—Girls surprised in the midst of + dressing themselves—A Unitarian clergyman with his fat + wife—Apparent license under courteous restraint—He laughed + and pelted and was pelted—William Story, as vivid as when I + saw him last—A too facile power—A deadly shadow gliding + close behind—Set afire by his own sallies—"Thy face is + like thy mother's, my fair child!"—Cleopatra in the clay— + "War nie sein Brod mit thranen ass." +</pre> + <p> + THE Roman carnival opened about a month after our arrival in Rome. The + weather was bad nearly all the time, and my father's point of view was + correspondingly unsympathetic. The contrast between his mood now and a + year later, when he was not only stimulated by his daughter's recovery + from illness, but, also, was looking at everything rather as the romancer + than as the man, is worth bringing out. My father likewise describes the + carnival in the romance; there we see it in a third phase—as art. + But the passages in the note-books are written from the realistic + stand-point. In her transcriptions of the journals for the press my mother + was always careful to omit from the former everything that had been "used" + in the book; the principle, no doubt, was sound, but it might be edifying + for once, in a way, to do just the opposite, in order to mark, if we + choose to take the trouble, what kind of changes or modifications + Hawthorne the romancer would make in the work of my father the observer of + nature. Take your Marble Faun and turn to two of the latter chapters and + compare them with the corresponding pages in my excerpts from the journals + in the Biography. In the latter you will find him always in a critical and + carping humor; seeing everything with abundant keenness, but recognizing + nothing worth while in it. The bouquets, he noticed, for example, were + often picked up out of the street and used again and again; "and," he + adds, "I suppose they aptly enough symbolized the poor, battered, wilted, + stained hearts that had flown from one hand to another along the muddy + pathway of life, instead of being treasured up in one faithful bosom. + Really, it was great nonsense." + </p> + <p> + It is true—such uncongenial interpretation—if you feel that + way about it. And I remember, in my rambles along the famous thoroughfare, + seeing a saturnine old fellow in a dingy black coat and slouch hat, with a + sour snarl on his unprepossessing features, who made it his business, all + day, to cuff and kick the little boys whom he caught throwing confetti, or + picking up the fallen bouquets, and to shove the latter down into the + sewer which ran beneath the street, through the apertures opening + underneath the curb. He seemed to have stationed himself there as a living + protest and scourge against and of the whole spirit of the carnival; to + hate it just because the rest of the world enjoyed it, and to wish that he + might make everybody else as miserable and uncharitable as he was. He was + like a wicked and ugly Mrs. Partington, trying to sweep back the Atlantic + of holiday merriment with his dirty mop. But this crabbed humor of his, + while it made him conspicuous against the broad background of gayety, of + course had no effect on the gayety itself. The flood of laughter, + jocundity, and semi-boisterous frolic continued to roll up and down the + Corso all day long, never attempting to be anything but pure nonsense, + indeed, but achieving, nevertheless, the wise end of nonsense in the right + time and place—that of refreshing and lightening the mind and heart. + Dulce est desipere in loco—that old saw might have been made + precisely to serve as the motto of the Roman carnival; and very likely it + was actually suggested to its renowned author by some similar sport + belonging to the old Roman days, before Christianity was thought of. The + young fellows—English, American, or of whatever other nationality—would + stride up and down the overflowing street hour after hour, clad in linen + dust-coats down to their heels, with a bag of confetti slung on one side + and another full of bouquets on the other; and they would plunge a warlike + hand into the former and hurl ammunition at their rivals; or they would, + pick out a bunch of flowers from the latter for a pretty girl—not + that the flowers were worth anything intrinsically, nor was that their + fault—but just to show the fitting sentiment. There was only one + rule, the unwritten one that everybody was to take everything that came + with a smile or a laugh, and never get angry at anything; and this + universal good-humor lifted the whole affair into a wholesome and + profitable sphere. Then there was the double row of carriages forever + moving in opposite directions, and passing within easy arm's-reach of each + other; and the jolly battle was waged between their occupants, with side + conflicts with the foot-farers at the same time. And as the same carriages + would repass one another every forty minutes or so, the persons in them + would soon get to recognize one another; and, if they were of the sterner + sex, they would be prepared to renew desperate battle; or if there was a + pretty girl or two in one of them, she would be the recipient of a deluge + of flowers or of really pretty bonbons. It was all play, all laughter, all + a new, rollicking world of happy fools, of comic chivalry, of humorous + gallantry. For my part, I thought it was the world which I had been born + to live in; and I was too happy in it to imagine even that anybody could + be less happy than I was. My sole grief was when my supply of confetti had + given out, and I had no money to buy more. I used to look at those great + baskets at the street-corners, filled with the white agglomeration, with + longing eyes, and wish I had it all in my pockets. I picked up the fallen + bouquets, muddy or not, with no misgiving, and flung them at the girls + with the unquestioning faith of boyhood. I looked up at the people in the + windows and on the draped balconies with romantic emotions, and exchanged + smiles and beckonings with them. The February days were never long enough + for me; I only wished that the whole year was made up of those days; if it + rained, or was cold, I never knew it. There was an endless sunshine of + some sort which sufficed for me. But my father, at this epoch, could catch + not a glimpse of it. "I never in my life knew a shallower joke than the + carnival at Rome; such a rainy and muddy day, too; Greenwich Fair (at the + very last of which I assisted) was worth a hundred of it." + </p> + <p> + The masking day, and the ensuing night of the moccolo, were the + culminating features of the carnival; and it was on the afternoon of this + day, I think, that the horse-race, with bare-backed horses, took place. + The backs of these horses, though bare of riders, had attached to them by + strings little balls with sharp points in them, which, as the horses ran, + bobbed up and down, and did the office of spurs. The race was preceded by + a thundering gallop of cavalry down the whole length of the Corso (the + street having been cleared of carriages beforehand), ostensibly to prevent + anybody from being run over by the race-horses; but, as a matter of fact, + if any one were killed, it was much more likely to be by the ruthless + riding of these helmeted dragoons than by the riderless steeds. They + thundered past, never drawing rein, no matter what stood or ran in their + way; and then, after an interval, during which the long crowds, packed + back on the opposite sidewalks, craned forward as far as they dared to see + them, came the eight or ten racers at a furious pace. They were come and + gone in a breath; and finally, after the body of them were passed, came a + laggard, who had been left at the post, and was trying to make up for lost + time. I believe it was this horse who actually killed somebody on the + course. The race over, back into the street thronged the crowd, filling it + from wall to wall; then there was a gradual thinning away, as the people + went home for supper; and finally came the night and the moccoli, with the + biggest crowd of all. I was there with my twist of moccolo and a box of + matches; except the moccoli, there was no other illumination along the + length of the Corso. But their soft lights were there by myriads, and made + a lovely sight, to my eyes at least. "Senza moccolo!" was the universal + cry; young knights-errant, singly or in groups, pressed their way up and + down, shouting the battle-cry, and quenching all lights within reach, + while striving to maintain the flame of their own; using now the whisk of + a handkerchief, now a puff of breath, now the fillip of a finger; + contriving to extinguish a fair lady's taper with the same effusion of + vain words wherewith they told her of their passion. Most of the ladies + thus assailed sat in the lower balconies, elevated only a foot or two + above the level of the sidewalk; but those in the higher retreats made war + upon one another, and upon their own cavaliers; none was immune from + peril. The cry, uttered at once by such innumerable voices far and near, + made a singular murmur up and down the Corso; and the soft twinkling of + the lights, winking in and out as they were put out or relighted, gave a + singular fire-fly effect to the whole illumination. It seemed to me then, + and it still seems in the retrospect, that nothing more charming and + strange could be imagined; and through it all was the constant blossoming + of laughter, more inextinguishable than the moccoletti themselves. The + colors of the tapestries and stuffs dependent from the windows and + balconies glowed out in light, or were dimmed by shadow; and the faces of + the thousandfold crowd of festival-makers glimmered forth and were lost + again on the background of the night, like the features of spirits in the + glimpses of a dream. How long it all lasted I know not; but it had its + term, like other mortal things, even in this fairyland of carnival; and + when the last light was out the carnival was no more, and Lent, unawares, + had softly settled down upon us with the darkness. + </p> + <p> + But let us now listen to my father when, for the second time, he made + proof of the carnival in the year following our return from Florence, and + after Una had left her sick-room and could be at his side. "The weather + has been splendid," he writes, "and the merriment far more free and + riotous than as I remember it in the preceding year. Tokens of the + festival were seen in flowers on street-stands, or borne aloft on people's + heads, while bushels of confetti were displayed, looking like veritable + sugarplums, so that a stranger might have thought that the whole commerce + and business of stern old Rome lay in flowers and sweets. One wonders, + however, that the scene should not be even more rich and various when + there has been so long a time (the immemorial existence of the carnival) + to prepare it, and adorn it with shapes of gayety and humor. There was an + infinite number of clowns and particolored harlequins; a host of white + dominoes; a multitude of masks, set in eternal grins, or with monstrous + noses, or made in the guise of monkeys, bears, dogs, or whatever beast the + wearer chooses to be akin to; a great many men in petticoats, and almost + as many girls and women, no doubt, in breeches; figures, too, with huge, + bulbous heads and all manner of such easy monstrosities and + exaggerations.. It is strange how the whole humor of the thing, and the + separate humor of each individual character, vanishes the moment I try to + grasp it and describe it; and yet there really was fun in the spectacle as + it flitted by—for instance, in the long line of carriages a company + of young men in flesh-colored tights and chemises, representing a party of + girls surprised in the midst of dressing themselves, while an old nurse in + the midst of them expressed ludicrous horror at their predicament. Then + the embarrassment of gentlemen who, while quietly looking at the scene, + are surrounded by groups of maskers, grimacing at them, squeaking in their + ears, hugging them, dancing round them, till they snatch an opportunity to + escape into some doorway; or when a poor man in a black coat and cylinder + hat is whitened all over with a half-bushel of confetti and lime-dust; the + mock sympathy with which his case is investigated by a company of maskers, + who poke their stupid, pasteboard faces close to his, still with the + unchangeable grin; or when a gigantic female figure singles out some shy, + harmless personage, and makes appeals to his heart, avowing her passionate + love in dumb show, and presenting him with her bouquet; and a hundred + other nonsensicalities, among which the rudest and simplest are not the + least effective. A resounding thump on the back with a harlequin's sword, + or a rattling blow with a bladder half full of dried pease or corn, + answers a very good purpose. There was a good deal of absurdity one day in + a figure in a crinoline petticoat, riding on an ass and almost filling the + Corso with the circumference of crinoline from side to side. Some figures + are dressed in old-fashioned garbs, perhaps of the last century, or, even + more ridiculous, of thirty years ago, or in the stately Elizabethan (as we + should call them) trunk hose, tunics, and cloaks of three centuries since. + I do not know anything that I have seen queerer than a Unitarian clergyman + (Mr. Mountford), who drives through the Corso daily with his fat wife in a + one-horse chaise, with a wreath of withered flowers and oak leaves round + his hat, the rest of his dress remaining unchanged, except that it is well + powdered with the dust of confetti. That withered wreath is the absurdest + thing he could wear (though, perhaps, he may not mean it to be so), and + so, of course, the best. I can think of no other masks just now, but will + go this afternoon and try to catch some more." You see, he has that + romance in view again. "Clowns, or zanies," he resumes, after fresh + inspection, "appear in great troupes, dancing extravagantly and scampering + wildly; everybody seems to do whatever folly comes into his head; and yet, + if you consider the matter, you see that all this apparent license is kept + under courteous restraint. There is no rudeness, except the authorized + pelting with confetti or blows of harlequins' swords, which, moreover, are + within a law of their own. But nobody takes rough hold of another, or + meddles with his mask, or does him any unmannerly violence. At first sight + you would think that the whole world had gone mad, but at the end you + wonder how people can let loose all their mirthful propensities without + unchaining the mischievous ones. It could not be so in America or in + England; in either of those countries the whole street would go mad in + earnest and come to blows and bloodshed were the populace to let + themselves loose to the extent we see here. All this restraint is + self-imposed and quite apart from the presence of the soldiery." + </p> + <p> + This mood, we see, is far more gentle and sympathetic than the former one; + there is sunshine within as well as without; and, indeed, I remember with + what glee my father took part in the frolic, as well as looked on at it; + he laughed and pelted and was pelted; he walked down the Corso and back + again; he drove to and fro in a carriage; he mounted to Mr. Motley's + balcony and took long shots at the crowd below. The sombre spirit of + criticism had ceased, for a time, to haunt him. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: WILLIAM WETMORE STORY] + </p> + <p> + We went quite often to the studio of William Story, whom my father had + slightly known in Salem before he became a voluntary exile from America. + Mr. Story was at this time a small, wiry, nervous personage, smiling + easily, but as much through nervousness as from any inner source or + outward provocation of mirth, and as he smiled he would stroke his cheeks, + which were covered with a short, brown beard, with the fingers and thumb + of his right hand, while wrinkles would appear round his bright, brown + eyes. "He looks thin and worn already," wrote my father; "a little bald + and a very little gray, but as vivid as when I saw him last; he cannot, + methinks, be over thirty-seven." He was thirty-nine in 1858. "The great + difficulty with him, I think, is a too facile power," my father goes on; + "he would do better things if it were more difficult for him to do merely + good ones. Then, too, his sensibility is too quick; being easily touched + by his own thoughts, he cannot estimate what is required to touch a colder + and duller person, and so stops short of the adequate expression." He + commented on the vein of melancholy beneath the sparkle of his surface, as + if, in the midst of prosperity, he was conscious of a "deadly shadow + gliding close behind." Boys of twelve are not troubled with insight, + unless of that unconscious, intuitive kind that tells them that a person + is likeable, or the reverse, no matter what the person may do or say. I + liked Mr. Story, and thought him as light of spirit as he seemed; not that + he was not often earnest enough in his talks with my father, to whom he + was wont to apply himself with a sort of intensity, suggesting ideas, and + watching, with his nervous smile, my father's reception of them; plunging + into deep matters, beyond my comprehension, dwelling there a few minutes, + and then emerging again with a sparkle of wit; he was certainly very + witty, and the wit was native and original, not memorized. When he got + into the current of drollery, he would, as it were, set himself afire by + his own sallies, and soar to astonishing heights, which had an + irresistible contagion for the hearers; and he would sometimes, sitting at + a table with pen and paper at hand, illustrate his whimsicalities with + lightning sketches of immense cleverness, considering their impromptu + character. I have preserved a sheet of letter-paper covered with such + drawings. The conversation had got upon Byron, whom Mr. Story chose to + ridicule; as he talked, he drew a head of "Byron as he thought he was," + followed by one of "Byron as he was," and by another of "Byron as he might + have been," showing a very pronounced negro type. Then he made a portrait + of "Ada, sole daughter of my house and heart," and wrote under it, "Thy + face was like thy mother's, my fair child!" a hideous, simpering miss, + with a snub nose and a wooden mouth—"A poet's dream!" He also showed + the appearance of the Falls of Terni, "as described by Byron," and added + studies of infant phenomena, mother's darlings, a Presidential candidate, + and other absurdities, accompanying it all with a running comment and + imaginative improvisations which had the charm of genius in them, and made + us ache with laughter, young and old alike. Such a man, nervous, + high-strung, of fine perceptions and sensibilities, must inevitably pass + through rapid and extreme alternations of feeling; and, no doubt, an hour + after that laughing seance of ours, Mr. Story was plunged deep in + melancholy. Yet surely his premonitions of evil were unfulfilled; Story + lived long and was never other than fortunate. Perhaps he was unable to + produce works commensurate with his conceptions; but unhappiness from such + a cause is of a noble sort, and better than most ordinary felicities. + </p> + <p> + I remember very well the statue of Cleopatra while yet in the clay. There + she sat in the centre of the large, empty studio, pondering on Augustus + and on the asp. The hue of the clay added a charm to the figure which even + the pure marble has not quite maintained. Story said that he never was + present while the cast of one of his statues was being made; he could not + endure the sight of the workmen throwing the handfuls of plaster at the + delicate clay. Cleopatra was substantially finished, but Story was + unwilling to let her go, and had no end of doubts as to the handling of + minor details. The hand that rests on her knee—should the forefinger + and thumb meet or be separated? If they were separated, it meant the + relaxation of despair; if they met, she was still meditating defiance or + revenge. After canvassing the question at great length with my father, he + decided that they should meet; but when I saw the marble statue in the + Metropolitan Museum the other day I noticed that they were separated. In + the end the artist had preferred despair. Such things indicate the man's + character, and, perhaps, explain his failure to reach the great heights of + art. He could not trust a great idea to manage itself, but sought subtler + expression through small touches, and thus, finally, lost the feeling of + the larger inspiration. A little more of the calm, Greek spirit would have + done him good. + </p> + <p> + He had many projects for other statues, which he would build up in fancy + before my father and discuss with him. His words and gestures made the + ideas he described seem actual and present, but he seldom got them into + marble; he probably found, upon trial, that they did not belong to + sculpture. He had the ambition to make marble speak not its own language + merely, but those of painting and of poetry likewise; and when this proved + impossible he was unhappy and out of conceit with himself, On the other + hand, he did good work in poetry and in prose; but neither did these + content him. After all, my father's observation hit the mark; things came + too easy to him. Goethe speaks the word for him: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Wer nie sein Brod mit thranen ass, + Er kennt euch nicht, ihr ewige Machte!" +</pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVI + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Drilled in Roman history—Lovely figures made of light and + morning—What superb figures!—The breath and strength of + immeasurable antiquity—Treasures coming direct from dead + hands into mine—A pleasant sound of coolness and + refreshment—Receptacles of death now dedicated to life—The + Borghese is a forest of Ardennes—Profound and important + communings—A smiling deceiver—Of an early-rising habit— + Hauling in on my slack—A miniature cabinet magically made + Titanic—"If I had a murder on my conscience"—None can tell + the secret origin of his thoughts—A singularly beautiful + young woman—She actually ripped the man open—No leagues of + chivalry needed in Rome—A resident army—Five foot six— + Corsets and padding—She was wounded in the house of her + friends. +</pre> + <p> + We children had been drilled in Roman history, from Romulus to Caesar, and + we could, and frequently did, repeat by heart the Lays of Ancient Rome by + Macaulay, which were at that period better known, perhaps, than they are + now. Consequently, everything in Rome had a certain degree of meaning for + us, and gave us a pleasure in addition to the intrinsic beauty or charm + that belonged thereto. Our imagination thronged the Capitol with senators; + saw in the Roman Forum the contentions of the tribunes and the patricians; + heard the populus Romanus roar in the Coliseum; beheld the splendid + processions of victory wind cityward through the Arch of Titus; saw Caesar + lie bleeding at the base of Pompey's statue; pondered over the fatal + precipice of the Tarpeian Rock; luxuriated in the hollow spaces of the + Baths of Caracalla; lost ourselves in gorgeous reveries in the palace of + the Caesars, and haunted the yellow stream of Tiber, beneath which lay + hidden precious treasures and forgotten secrets. And we were no less + captivated by the galleries and churches, which contained the preserved + relics of the great old times, and were in themselves so beautiful. My + taste for blackened old pictures and faded frescoes was, indeed, even more + undeveloped than my father's; but I liked the brilliant reproductions in + mosaic at St. Peter's and certain individual works in various places. I + formed a romantic attachment for the alleged Beatrice Cenci of Guido, or + of some other artist, and was very sorry that she should be so unhappy, + though, of course, I was ignorant of the occasion of her low spirits. But + I liked much better Guide's large design of Aurora, partly because I had + long been familiar with it on the head-board of my mother's bedstead. + Before her marriage she had bought a set of bedroom furniture, and had + painted it a dull gold color, and on this surface she had drawn in fine + black lines the outlines of several classical subjects, most of them from + Flaxman; but in the space mentioned she had executed an outline of this + glorious work of the Italian artist. I knew every line of the composition + thoroughly; and, by-the-way, I doubt if a truer, more inspired copy of the + picture was ever produced by anybody. But the color had to be supplied by + the observer's imagination; now, for the first time, I saw the hues as + laid on by the original painter. In spite of time, they were pure and + exquisite beyond description; these lovely figures seemed made of light + and morning. Another favorite picture of mine was the same artist's + "Michael Overcoming the Evil One," and I even had the sense to like the + painting better than the mosaic copy. Raphael's "Transfiguration" I also + knew well from the old engraving of it that used to hang on our parlor + wall from my earliest recollections; it still hangs yonder. But I never + cared for this picture; it was too complicated and ingenious—it + needed too much co-operation from the observer's mind. Besides, I had + never seen a boy with anything approaching the muscular development of the + epileptic youth in the centre. The thing in the picture that I most + approved of was the end of the log in the little pool, in the foreground; + it looked true to life. + </p> + <p> + But my delight in the statues was endless. It seems to me that I knew + personally every statue and group in the Vatican and in the Capitol. Again + and again, either with my parents, or with Eddy, or even alone, I would + pass the warders at the doors and enter those interminable galleries, and + look and look at those quiet, stained-marble effigies. My early studies of + Flaxman had, in a measure, educated me towards appreciation of them. I + never tired of them, as I did of the Cleopatras and the Greek Slaves. What + superb figures! What power and grace and fleetness and athletic loins! The + divine, severe Minerva, musing under the shadow of her awful helmet; the + athlete with the strigil, resting so lightly on his tireless feet; the + royal Apollo, disdaining his own victory; the Venus, half shrinking from + the exquisiteness of her own beauty; the swaying poise of the Discobulus, + caught forever as he drew his breath for the throw; the smooth-limbed, + brooding Antinous; the terrible Laocoon, which fascinated me, though it + always repelled me, too; the austere simplicity of the Dying Gladiator's + stoop to death—the most human of all the great statues; the heads of + heroic Miltiades, of Antony, of solitary Caesar, of indifferent Augustus; + the tranquil indolence of mighty Nile, clambered over by his many children—these, + and a hundred others, spoke to me out of their immortal silence. I can + conceive of no finer discipline for a boy; I emulated while I adored them. + Power, repose, beauty, nobility, were in their message: "Do you, too, + possess limbs and shoulders like ours!" they said to me; "such a bearing, + such a spirit within!" I cannot overestimate even the physical good they + did me; it was from them that I gained the inspiration for bodily + development and for all athletic exercise which has, since then, helped me + over many a rough passage in the path of life. But they also awoke higher + ambitions and conferred finer benefits. + </p> + <p> + From these excursions into the ideal I would return to out-of-doors with + another inexhaustible zest. That ardent, blue Roman sky and penetrating, + soft sunshine filled me with life and joy. The breath and strength of + immeasurable antiquity emanated from those massive ruins, which time could + deface but never conquer. Emerald lizards basked on the hot walls; flowers + grew in the old crevices; butterflies floated round them; they were + haunted by spirits of heroes. There is nothing else to be compared with + the private, intimate, human, yet sublimated affection which these antique + monuments wrought in me. They were my mighty brothers, condescending to my + boyish thoughts and fancies, smiling upon me, welcoming me, conscious of + my love for them. Each ruin had its separate individuality for me, so that + to-day I must play with the Coliseum, to-morrow with the Forum, or the + far-ranging arches of the Aqueduct, or the Temple of Vesta. Always, too, + my eyes were alert for treasures in the old Roman soil, coming, as it + seemed, direct from the dead hands of the vanished people into mine. I + valued the scraps that I picked up thus more than anything to be bought in + shops or seen in museums. These bits of tinted marble had felt the touch + of real Romans; their feet had trodden on them, on them their arms had + rested, their hands had grasped them. Two thousand years had dulled the + polish of their surfaces; I took them to the stone-workers, who made them + glow and bloom again—yellow, red, black, green, white. They were + good-natured but careless men, those marble-polishers, and would sometimes + lose my precious relics, and when I called for them would say, every day, + "Domane—domane," or try to put me off with some substitute—as + if a boy could be deceived in such a matter! I once found in the + neighborhood of a recent excavation a semi-transparent tourmaline of a + cool green hue when held to the light; it had once been set in the ring of + some Roman beauty. It had, from long abiding in the earth, that wonderful + iridescent surface which ancient glass acquires. Rose, my sister, picked + up out of a rubbish heap a little bronze statuette, hardly three inches + high, but, as experts said, of the best artistic period. Such things made + our Roman history books seem like a tale of yesterday, or they transported + us back across the centuries, so that we trod in the footsteps of those + who had been but a moment before us. + </p> + <p> + In those warm days, after our walks and explorations, Eddy and I, and + little Hubert, who sometimes was permitted to accompany us, though we + deemed him hardly in our class, would greatly solace ourselves with the + clear and gurgling fountains which everywhere in Rome flow forth into + their marble and moss-grown basins with a pleasant sound of coolness and + refreshment. Rome without her fountains would not be Rome; every memory of + her includes them. In the streets, in the piazzas, in the wide pleasaunces + and gardens, the fountains allure us onward, and comfort us for our + weariness. In the Piazza d' Espagna, at the foot of the famous steps, was + that great, boat-shaped fountain whose affluent waters cool the air which + broods over the wide, white stairway; and not far away is the mighty + Trevi, with its turmoil of obstreperous figures swarming round bragging + Neptune, and its cataract of innumerable rills welling forth and plunging + downward by devious ways to meet at last in the great basin, forever + agitated with baby waves lapping against the margins. These, and many + similar elaborate structures, are for the delight of the eye; but there + are scores of modest fountains, at the corners of the ways, in shady or in + sunny places, formed of an ancient sarcophagus receiving the everlasting + tribute of two open-mouthed lion-heads, or other devices, whose arching + outgush splashes into the receptacle made to hold death, but now + immortally dedicated to the refreshment of life. It was at these minor + fountains that we quenched our boyish thirst, each drinking at the mouth + of a spout; and when we discovered that by stopping up one spout with our + thumb the other would discharge with double force, we played roguish + tricks on each other, deluging each other at unawares with unmanageable + gushes of water, till we were forced to declare a mutual truce of honor. + But what delicious draughts did we suck in from those lion-mouths into our + own; never elsewhere did water seem so sweet and revivifying. And then we + would peer into the transparent depths of the old sarcophagus, with its + fringes of green, silky moss waving slightly with the movement of the + water, and fish out tiny-spired water-shells; or dip in them the bits of + ancient marbles we had collected on our walk, to see the hues revive to + their former splendor. Many-fountained Rome ought to be a cure for + wine-bibbers; yet I never saw an Italian drink at these springs; they + would rather quaff the thin red and white wines that are sold for a few + baiocchi at the inns. + </p> + <p> + The Pincian Hill and the adjoining grounds of the Borghese Palace came at + length to be our favorite haunts. The Borghese is a delectable spot, as my + father remarks in one of those passages in his diary which was afterwards + expanded into the art-picture of his romance. "Broad carriageways," he + says, "and wood-paths wander beneath long vistas of sheltering boughs; + there are ilex-trees, ancient and sombre, which, in the long peace of + their lifetime, have assumed attitudes of indolent repose; and stone-pines + that look like green islands in the air, so high above earth are they, and + connected with it by such a slender length of stem; and cypresses, + resembling dark flames of huge, funereal candles. These wooded lawns are + more beautiful than English park scenery; all the more beautiful for the + air of neglect about them, as if not much care of men were bestowed upon + them, though enough to keep wildness from growing into deformity, and to + make the whole scene like nature idealized—the woodland scenes the + poet dreamed of—a forest of Ardennes, for instance. These lawns and + gentle valleys are beautiful, moreover, with fountains flashing into + marble basins, or gushing like natural cascades from rough rocks; with + bits of architecture, as pillared porticos, arches, columns, of marble or + granite, with a touch of artful ruin on them; and, indeed, the pillars and + fragments seem to be remnants of antiquity, though put together anew, + hundreds of years old, perhaps, even in their present form, for weeds and + flowers grow out of the chinks and cluster on the tops of arches and + porticos. There are altars, too, with old Roman inscriptions on them. + Statues stand here and there among the trees, in solitude, or in a long + range, lifted high on pedestals, moss-grown, some of them shattered, all + grown gray with the corrosion of the atmosphere. In the midst of these + sunny and shadowy tracts rises the stately front of the villa, adorned + with statues in niches, with busts, and ornamented architecture blossoming + in stone-work. Take away the malaria, and it might be a very happy place." + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: PENCIL SKETCHES IN ITALY, BY MRS. NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE] + </p> + <p> + Here was a playground for boys of imaginative but not too destructive + proclivities, such as the world hardly furnishes elsewhere. But much of my + enjoyment of it I ascribe to my friend Eddy. My conversation with no + person since then has rivalled the profundity and importance of my + communings with his sympathetic soul. We not only discussed our future + destinies and philosophical convictions, but we located in these delicious + retreats the various worlds which we purposed to explore and inhabit + during the next few hundred years. Here we passed through by anticipation + all our future experiences. Sometimes we were accompanied by other boys; + but then our visits lost their distinction; we merely had good times in + the ordinary way of boys; we were robber barons, intrenched in our + strongholds, and attacked by other robbers; or we ran races, or held other + trials of strength and activity, or we set snares for the bright-colored + fishes which lurked in some of the fountains. The grounds were + occasionally invaded by gangs of Italian boys, between whom and ourselves + existed an irreconcilable feud. We could easily thrash them in the + Anglo-Saxon manner, with nature's weapons; but they would ambush us and + assail us with stones; and once one of them struck at me with a knife, + which was prevented from entering my side only by the stout leather belt + which I chanced to wear. We denounced these assassins to the smiling + custode of the grounds, and he promised, smilingly, to bar the entrance to + them thenceforth; but he was a smiling deceiver; our enemies came just the + same. After all, we would have regretted their absence; they added the + touch of peril to our chronic romance which made it perfect. It is + forty-four years since then. Are there any other Borghese Gardens to come + for me in the future, I wonder? There was a rough pathway along the banks + of the Tiber, extending up the stream for two or three miles, as far as + the Ponte Molle, where the corktrees grew, and farther, for aught I know. + This was a favorite walk of mine, because of the fragments of antique + marbles to be found there, and also the shells which so mysteriously + abounded along the margin, as shown by the learned conchological author + hereinbefore cited. And, being of an early rising habit, it was my wont to + get up long before breakfast and tramp up and down along the river for an + hour or two, thinking, I suppose, as I gazed upon the turbulent flood, of + brave Horatius disdainfully escaping from the serried hosts of Lars + Porsena and false Sextus, or of Caesar and Cassius buffeting the torrent + on a "dare," and with lusty sinews flinging it aside. There were also + lovely effects of dawn upon the dome of St. Peter's, and the redoubtable + mass of St. Angelo, with its sword-sheathing angel. Moreover, sunrise, at + twelve years of age, is an exhilarating and congenial phenomenon. And I + painted my experiences in colors so attractive that our Ada Shepard was + inflamed with the idea of accompanying me on my rambles. She was a child + in heart, though so mature in intellect, and her spirit was valiant, + though her flesh was comparatively infirm. It was my custom to set out + about five o'clock in the morning, and Miss Shepard promised to be ready + at that hour. But after keeping awake most of the night in order not to + fail of the appointment, she fell asleep and dreamed only of getting up; + and, after waiting for her for near an hour, I went without her. She was + much mortified at her failure, and suggested a plan to insure her + punctuality, in which I readily agreed to collaborate. When she went to + bed she attached a piece of string to one of her toes, the other end of + the filament being carried underneath doors and along passages to my own + room. I was instructed to haul in on my slack at the proper hour; and this + I accordingly did, with good-will, and was at once made conscious that I + had caught something, not only by the resistance which my efforts + encountered, but by the sound of cries of feminine distress and + supplication, heard in the distance. However, my companion appeared in due + season, and we took our walk, which, she declared, fulfilled all the + anticipations which my reports had led her to form. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, I cannot remember that we ever again made the expedition + together; it is a mistake to try to repeat a perfect joy. + </p> + <p> + It seems to me that I must have been a pretty constant visitor at St. + Peter's. The stiff, heavy, leathern curtain which protects the entrance + having been strenuously pushed aside (always with remembrance of Corinne's + impossible act of grace and courtesy in holding it aside with one hand for + Lord Neville), the glorious interior expanded, mildly radiant, before me. + As has been the case with so many other observers, the real magnitude of + the spectacle did not at first affect me; the character of the decoration + and detail prevented the impression of greatness; it was only after many + times traversing that illimitable pavement, and after frequent comparisons + with ordinary human measurements of the aerial heights of those arches and + that dome, that one conies to understand, by a sort of logical compulsion, + how immense it all is. It is a miniature cabinet magically made titanic; + but the magic which could transform inches into roods could not + correspondingly enlarge the innate character of the ornament; so that, + instead of making the miniature appear truly vast, it only makes us seem + unnaturally small. Still, after all criticisms, St. Peter's remains one of + the most delightful places in the world; its sweet sumptuousness and + imperial harmonies seem somehow to enter into us and make us harmonious, + rich, and sweet. The air that we inhale is just touched with the spirit of + incense, and mellowed as with the still memories of the summers of five + hundred years ago. The glistening surfaces of the colored marbles, dimmed + with faint, fragrant mists, and glorified with long slants of brooding + sunshine, soothe the eye like materialized music; and the soft twinkle of + the candles on the altars, seen in daylight, has a jewel-like charm. As I + look back upon it, however, and contrast it with the cathedrals of + England, the total influence upon the mind of St. Peter's seems to me + voluptuous rather than religious. It is a human palace of art more than a + shrine of the Almighty. A prince might make love to a princess there + without feeling guilty of profanation. St. Peter himself, sitting there in + his chair, with his highly polished toe advanced, is a doll for us to play + with. On one occasion I was in the church with my father, and the great + nave was thronged with people and lined with soldiers, and down the midst + went slowly a gorgeous procession, with Pope Pio Nono borne aloft, + swayingly, the triple crown upon his head. He blessed the crowd, as he + passed along, with outstretched hand. One can never forget such a + spectacle; but I was not nearly so much impressed in a religious sense as + when, forty years later, I stood in the portals of a Mohammedan mosque in + Central India and saw a thousand turbaned Moslems prostrate themselves + with their foreheads in the dust before a voice which proclaimed the + presence of the awful, unseen God. + </p> + <p> + My father enjoyed the church more after each visit to it. But it was the + confessionals and their significance that most interested him. "What an + institution the confessional is! Man needs it so, that it seems as if God + must have ordained it." And he dwells upon the idea with remarkable + elaboration and persistence. Those who have followed the painful + wanderings of heart-oppressed Hilda to the carven confessional in the + great church, where she found peace, will recognize the amply unfolded + flower of this seed. What I supposed to be my notion of St. Peter's + looking like the enlargement of some liliputian edifice is also there, + though I had forgotten it till I myself reread the pages. In this book of + my memories, which is also the book of my forgettings, I must walk to and + fro freely, if I am to walk at all. None can tell the secret origin of his + thoughts. + </p> + <p> + Besides the monumental and artistic features of Rome, the human side of it + appealed to me. There was something congenial in the Romans, and, indeed, + in the Italians generally, so that I seemed to be renewing my acquaintance + with people whom I had partly forgotten. I picked up the conversational + language with unusual ease, perhaps owing to the drilling in Latin which + my father had given me; and I liked the easy, objectless ways of the + people, and the smiles which so readily took the place of the sallow + gravity which their faces wore in repose. But it was the Transteverini + women who chiefly attracted me; they wore an antique costume familiar + enough in paintings, and they claimed to be descendants of the ancient + race; they had the noble features and bearing which one would have looked + for in such descendants, at all events. Looking in their dark, haughty + eyes, one seemed to pass back through the terrible picturesqueness of + mediaeval Italy, with its Borgias and Bella Donnas, its Lorenzos and + Fornarinas, to the Rome of Nero, Augustus, Scipio, and Tarquin. Eddy and I + would sometimes make excursions across the river to Transtevere, and + stroll up and down those narrow streets, imagining all manner of suitable + adventures and histories for the inhabitants, stalking there in their + black and scarlet and yellow habiliments, and glancing imperially from + under the black brows of their dark countenances. One afternoon during the + carnival I was in a dense crowd in the piazza, towards the lower end of + the Corso, and found myself pushed into the neighborhood of a singularly + beautiful young woman of this class, dressed in the height of her fashion, + who was slowly making her way in my direction through the press. All at + once a man, smartly clad in the garb of recent civilization, stepped in + front of her and said something to her; what it was I knew not. She drew + herself back, as from something poisonous or revolting, and the expression + of her face became terrible. At the same time her right hand went swiftly + to the masses of her sable hair, and as swiftly back again, armed with the + small, narrow dagger which these women wear by way of hair-pin. Before the + unhappy creature who had accosted her knew what was happening, she thrust + the dagger, with a powerful movement—while her white teeth showed, + set edge to edge, through her drawn lips—deep into his body. As he + collapsed forward she drew the weapon upward, putting the whole strength + of her body into the effort, and actually ripped the man open. Down he + fell at her feet. There was a score or more of Roman citizens within + arm's-reach of her at the moment; no one spoke, still less attempted to + restrain her. On the contrary, as she turned they respectfully opened a + way for her through the midst of them, and none made an offer to assist + the dying wretch who lay writhing and faintly coughing on the cobble-stone + pavement of the piazza. I was soon elbowed quietly away from the spot + where he lay; I caught a glimpse of the crimson head-dress of his slayer + passing away afar amid the crowd; presently the cocked hat of a gendarme + appeared from another direction, advancing slowly against manifest + obstructions; everybody seemed to get in his way, without appearing to + intend it. Such was the attitude towards assassination of the Roman people + in those days. I have often thought over the incident since then. Their + sympathy is with private vengeance, never with ordained statute law. They + love to use the poniard and to see it used, and will do their best to + shield the users. Pity for the victim they have none; they assume that he + has his deserts. For that matter, my own sympathies, filled though I was + with horror at the spectacle of actual murder done before my eyes, were + wholly with the savage beauty, and not with the fatuous creature who had + probably insulted her. It is needless to say that the women of Transtevere + were not so often called upon to resent insults as are the ladies of New + York and other American cities. They did not wait for policemen or for + "leagues of chivalry" to avenge them. + </p> + <p> + Towards the French soldiers I was cordially disposed. Their dark-blue + tunics and baggy, red peg-tops were never out of sight, and though I had + seen troops in England, and had once observed the march of a British + regiment in Liverpool going to embark for the Crimea (whence, I believe, + very few of this particular regiment returned), yet the conception of a + resident army first came to me in Rome. About the French army of those + days still hovered the lustre bestowed upon it by the deeds of the great + Napoleon, which their recent exploits in the Crimea had not diminished. + There were among them regiments of fierce and romantic looking zouaves, + with Oriental complexions and semi-barbaric attire, marching with a long + swing, and appearing savage and impetuous enough to annihilate anything; + and there was also a brigade, the special designation of which I have + forgotten, every man of which was a trained athlete, and whose drill was + something marvellous to witness. But the average French soldier was simply + a first-class soldier, good-natured, light-hearted, active, trim, and + efficient; in height averaging not more than five foot six; carrying + muskets which seemed out of proportion large, though they handled them + lightly enough, and wearing at their sides a short sword, like the sword + of ancient Rome, which was also used as a bayonet. There was always a + drill or a march in progress somewhere, and sentinels paced up and down + before the palaces. The officers were immensely impressive; the young ones + had wasp waists, surpassing those of the most remorseless belles of + fashion; and the old ones were, en revanche, immensely stout in that + region, as if outraged nature were resolved to assert herself at last. + But, young or old, their swords were sun-bright and lovely to behold—I + used to polish my own little weapon in vain in the attempt to emulate + them. Hopelessly envious was I, too, of the heroic chests of these + warriors (not knowing them to be padded, as the waists were corseted), and + I would swell out my own little pectoral region to its utmost extent as I + walked along the streets, thereby, though I knew it not, greatly + benefiting my physical organism. Of course I had no personal commerce with + the officers, but the rank and file fraternized with me and my companions + readily; there was always a number of them strolling about Rome and its + environs on leave, in pairs or groups, and they were just as much boys as + we were. They would let me heft their short, strong swords, and when they + understood that I was gathering shells they would climb lightly about the + ruins, and bring me specimens displayed in their broad, open palms. Our + conversation was restricted to few words and many grunts and gestures, but + we understood one another and were on terms of gay camaraderie. A dozen + years afterwards, when there was war between France and Germany, my + sympathies were ardently with the former, and great were my astonishment + and regret at the issue of the conflict. Man for man, and rightly led and + managed, I still believe that Gaul could wipe up the ground with the + Teuton, without half trying. But there were other forces than those of + Moltke and Bismarck fighting against poor France in that fatal campaign. + She was wounded in the house of her friends. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Miss Lander makes a bust—The twang of his native place— + Wholly unlike anybody else—Wise, humorous Sarah Clarke— + Back to the Gods and the Fleas—Horace Mann's statue—Miss + Bremer and the Tarpeian Rock—"I was in a state of some + little tremor"—Mrs. Jameson and Ruskin—Most thorough-going + of the classic tragedies—A well-grown calf—An adventure in + Monte Testaccio—A vision of death—A fantastic and + saturnine genius—A pitch-black place—Illuminations and + fireworks—The Faun-Enjoying Rome—First impressions— + Lalla's curses. +</pre> + <p> + While my father was conscientiously making acquaintance with the + achievements of old-time art, modern artists were trying to practise their + skill on him; he had already sat to Cephas Giovanni Thompson, and he was + now asked to contribute his head to the studio of a certain Miss Lander, + late of Salem, Massachusetts, now settled, as she intended, permanently in + Rome. "When I dream of home," she told him, "it is merely of paying a + short visit and coming back here before my trunk is unpacked." Miss Lander + was not a painter, but a sculptor, and, in spite of what my father had + said against the nude in sculpture, I think he liked clay and marble as a + vehicle of art better than paint and canvas. At all events, he consented + to give her sittings. He was interested in the independence of her mode of + life, and they got on very comfortably together; the results of his + observation of her appear in the references to Hilda's and Miriam's + unhampered ways of life in The Marble Faun. She had, as I recall her, a + narrow, sallow face, sharp eyes, and a long chin. She might have been + thirty years old. Unlike Miss Harriet Hosmer, who lived not far away, Miss + Lander had no attractiveness for us children. I have reason to think, too, + that my father's final opinion of her was not so favorable as his first + one. Except photographs, no really good likeness of my father was ever + taken; the portrait painted in Washington, in 1862, by Leutze, was the + least successful of them all. The best, in my opinion, was an exquisitely + wrought miniature of him at the age of thirty, which I kept for a long + time, till it was stolen by a friend in London in 1880. + </p> + <p> + Paul Akers, a Maine Yankee, with the twang of his native place still + strong in him after ten years in Rome, was another sculptor of our + acquaintance; he was very voluble, and escorted us about Rome, and + entertained us at his own studio, where he was modelling his best group, + "The Drowned Fisher-boy," as he called it. The figure is supposed to be + lying at the bottom of the sea, face upward, with a fragment of rock + supporting on its sharp ridge the small of the back—a most painful + and uncomfortable attitude, suggesting that even in death there could be + no rest for the poor youth. Mr. Akers was rather sharply critical of his + more famous brother-artists, such as Greenough and Gibson, and was accused + by them, apparently not wholly without justification, of yielding too much + to the influence of other geniuses in the designing of his groups. But he + was a sensible and obliging little personage, and introduced us to the + studios of several of his fellow-artists in Rome, some of which were more + interesting than his own. + </p> + <p> + Bright little Miss Harriet Hosmer, with her hands in her jacket-pockets, + and her short hair curling up round her velvet cap, struts cheerfully + forth out of the obscurity of the past in my memory; her studio, I think, + adjoined that of Gibson, of whom I remember nothing whatever. Her most + notable production at that time was a Puck sitting on a toadstool, with a + conical shell of the limpet species by way of a cap; he somehow resembled + his animated and clever creator. Miss Hosmer's face, expressions, + gestures, dress, and her manifestations in general were perfectly in + keeping with one another; there never was a more succinct and distinct + individuality; she was wholly unlike anybody else, without being in the + least unnatural or affected. Her social manner was of a persistent + jollity; but no doubt she had her grave moments or hours, a good and + strong brain, and a susceptibility to tragic conceptions, as is shown by + the noble figure of her Zenobia. This figure I saw in clay in her studio + during our second season in Rome. Miss Hosmer's talk was quick, witty, and + pointed; her big eyes redeemed her round, small-featured face from + triviality; her warm heart glowed through all she said and did. Her studio + was a contrast to the classicality of Gibson's, whose influence, though + she had studied under him during her six years' residence in Rome, had + affected her technique only, not her conceptions or aims in art. We all + liked her much. She was made known to us, I believe, through the medium of + grave, wise, humorous Sarah Clarke, the sister of the James Freeman Clarke + who married my mother to my father, and who, twenty-two years later, read + over my father the burial service. Sarah Clarke was often abroad; she was + herself an admirable artist in water-color, and was always a dear friend + of my mother's. After we had returned to Concord, in 1860, Miss Hosmer + wrote to us, and one of her letters has been preserved; I quote it, + because it is like her: + </p> + <p> + "MY DEAR MRS. HAWTHORNE,—It is not unlikely that you may be somewhat + surprised to hear from me; but after you have received the four dozen + letters which, sooner or later, I intend writing you, you will cease to be + so. I begin at the present moment with the first of the forty-eight, + partly for business and partly for pleasure. Reversing, then, the order of + things which some unknown but well-regulated-minded individual considered + to be correct, I will go in for pleasure first, under which head I seek + information respecting the health and well-being of all members of your + family. It seems cruel that you should go off to the glorious Republic + when there are other places in Rome besides the Piazza Poli. Now that you + are safely out of it, I must try to persuade you that it was the most + unhealthy place in the whole city, not only because I really believe it to + be so, but that malaria may not be mingled and cherished with every + remembrance of this delicious, artistic, fleay, malarious paradise. But I + suppose little short of a miracle would transport you here again, not only + because Una is probably becoming the size of Daniel Lambert, in her native + air, but because Julian is probably weaving a future President's chair out + of the rattans he is getting at school. However that may be, the result is + the same, I fear, as to your getting back to the Gods and the Fleas; and I + must look forward to a meeting in America. Well, as that carries me over + the ocean, in my mind's eye, Mrs. Hawthorne, the business clause of my + epistle is suggested—and it is this: I have just had a letter from + my best of friends, Mr. Crow, of St. Louis [she had studied anatomy in St. + Louis before coming to Rome], who has been passing the summer in New York + and Boston, and he writes: 'They are talking in Boston of a monument to + the memory of Mr. Horace Mann, and I have said to one of the active men + engaged in it that if you could have the commission I would subscribe + handsomely towards it.' Now, it occurred to me that perhaps you or yours + might have an opportunity of saying a good word for me, in which case I + would have you know how pleased and grateful I should be. You may not have + the occasion offered you, but if it chances, I commend myself to you + distintamente, and trust to your good-nature not to consider me pushing + for having suggested it. I send this through our well-beloved Sarah + Clarke, and hope it will arrive before 1861. When you have nothing better + to do, pray give me a line, always in care of Pakenham & Hooker. + Good-bye, dear Mrs. Hawthorne—my best love to Mr. Hawthorne and the + chicks—and the best wish I can make is that you are all as fat as + yours always affectionately, + </p> + <p> + "HARRIET HOSMER." + </p> + <p> + All the influence which my father and mother possessed was given to Miss + Hosmer's cause, but some other person got the commission. I remember, too, + that my mother, at Mrs. Mann's request, was at great pains to make + drawings for the face of the statue which now confronts from the slopes of + Beacon Hill the culture and intelligence of Boston, which Horace Mann did + so much to promote. But he was not a subject which accommodated itself + readily to the requirements of plastic art. There is a glimpse of Miss + Hosmer in one of my father's diaries, which I will reproduce, for the sake + of indicating his amused and benevolent attitude towards her. "She had + on," says he, "a neat little jacket, a man's shirt-bosom, and a cravat + with a brooch in it; her hair is cut short, and curls jauntily round her + bright and smart little physiognomy; and, sitting opposite me at table, I + never should have imagined that she terminated in a petticoat any more + than in a fish's tail. However, I do not mean to speak disrespectfully of + Miss Hosmer, of whom I think very favorably; but, it seems to me, her + reform of the female dress begins with its least objectionable part, and + is no real improvement." + </p> + <p> + One evening we visited Miss Bremer, the novelist, of Sweden, who was then + near the end of her foreign travels, which had begun with her visit to + America in 1849. She had met my father in Lenox, and had written of him in + the book of her travels. She was a small woman, with a big heart and broad + mind, packed full of sense, sentiment, and philanthropy. She had an + immense nose, designed, evidently, for some much larger person; her + conversation in English, though probably correct, was so oddly accented + that it was difficult to follow her. She was a very lovable little + creature, then nearing her sixtieth year. Most of her voluminous literary + work was done. Her house in Rome was near the Capitol and the Tarpeian + Rock; and after we had forgathered with her there for a while, she + accompanied us forth—the moon being up—to see the famous + precipice. It was to this incident that we owe the scene in The Marble + Faun, the most visibly tragic in my father's writings. "The court-yard," + he writes in his notes, "is bordered by a parapet, leaning over which we + saw a sheer precipice of the Tarpeian Rock, about the height of a + four-story house; not that the precipice was a bare face of rock, but it + appeared to be cased in some sort of cement, or ancient stone-work, + through which the primeval rock, here and there, looked grimly and + doubtfully. Bright as the Roman moonlight was, it would not show the front + of the wall, or rock, so well as I should have liked to see it, but left + it pretty much in the same degree of dubiety and half-knowledge in which + the antiquarians leave most of the Roman ruins. Perhaps this precipice may + have been the Traitor's Leap; perhaps it was the one on which Miss + Bremer's garden verges; perhaps neither of the two. At any rate, it was a + good idea of the stern old Romans to fling political criminals down from + the very height of the Capitoline Hill on which stood the temples and + public edifices, symbols of the institutions which they sought to + violate." But there was no tragic suggestion in our little party, + conducted about by the prattling, simple, affectionate little woman, so + homely, tender, and charitable. "At parting," wrote my father, "she kissed + my wife most affectionately on each cheek, 'because,' she said, 'you look + so sweetly'; and then she turned towards myself. I was in a state of some + little tremor, not knowing what might be about to befall me, but she + merely pressed my hand, and we parted, probably never to meet again. God + bless her good heart, and every inch of her little body, not forgetting + her red nose, big as it is in proportion to the rest of her! She is a most + amiable little woman, worthy to be the maiden aunt of the whole human + race!" + </p> + <p> + Venerable Mrs. Jameson, author of a little library of writings on Italian + art, was likewise of our company occasionally; and she evinced a marked + liking for my father, which was remarkable, inasmuch as he was able to + keep no sort of pace with her in her didactic homilies, which were + delivered with a tranquil, ex-cathedra manner, befitting one who was the + authority on her subject; one would no more have thought of questioning + her verdicts than those of Ruskin; but I should have liked to see the + latter and her together, with a difference between them. Her legs were + less active than her mind, and most of our expeditions with her were made + in carriages, from which she dispensed her wisdom placidly as we went + along, laying the dust of our ignorance with the droppings of her + erudition, like a watering-cart. However, she so far condescended from her + altitudes as to speak very cordially of my father's books, for which he + expressed proper acknowledgment; and she had a motherly way of holding his + hand in hers when he took leave of her, and looking maternally in his + face, which made him somewhat uneasy. "Were we to meet often," he + remarked, + </p> + <p> + "I should be a little afraid of her embracing me outright—a thing to + be grateful for, but by no means to be glad of!" We drove one day to some + excavations which had just been opened near the tomb of Cecilia Metella, + outside the walls of Rome. Both Christian and Roman graves had been found, + and they had been so recently discovered that, as my father observed, + there could have been very little intervention of persons (though much of + time) between the departure of the friends of the dead and our own visit. + The large, excavated chambers were filled with sarcophagi, beautifully + sculptured, and their walls were ornamented with free-hand decoration done + in wet plaster, a marvellous testimony to the rapid skill of the artists. + The sarcophagi were filled with the bones and the dust of the ancient + people who had once, in the imperial prime of Rome, walked about her + streets, prayed to her gods, and feasted at her banquets. My father + remarked on the fact that many of the sarcophagi were sculptured with + figures that seemed anything but mournful in their demeanor; but Mrs. + Jameson said that there was almost always, in the subject chosen, some + allusion to death, instancing the story of Meleager, an Argonaut, who, I + think, slew the Calydonian boar, and afterwards his two uncles, who had + tried to get the boar's hide away from Meleager's beloved Atalanta; + whereupon the young hero was brought to death by his mother, who in turn + killed herself. It is one of the most thoroughgoing of the classic + tragedies, and was a favorite theme for the sculptors of sarcophagi. + Certainly, in the sarcophagi of the Vatican the bas-reliefs are often + scenes of battle, the rush of men and horses, and the ground strewn with + dead; and in others, a dying person seems to be represented, with his + friends weeping along the sides of the sarcophagus; but often, too, the + allusion to death, if it exists at all, is very remote. The old Romans, + like ourselves, had individual ways of regarding the great change; + according to their mood and faith, they were hopeful or despairing. But + death is death, think of it how we will. + </p> + <p> + I think it was on a previous occasion that I went with my father, afoot, + along this same mighty Appian Way, beside which rise so many rounded + structures, vast as fortresses, containing the remains of the dead of long + ago, and culminating in the huge mass of the Cecilia Metella tomb, with + the mediaeval battlements on its summit. And it was on that walk that we + met the calf of The Marble Faun: "A well-grown calf," my father says in + his notes, "who seemed frolicsome, shy, and sociable all at the same time; + for he capered and leaped to one side, and shook his head, as I passed + him, but soon came galloping behind me, and again started aside when I + looked round." How little I suspected then (or the bull-calf either, for + that matter) that he was to frolic his way into literature, and go + gambolling down the ages to distract the anxious soul of the lover of + Hilda! Another walk of ours was to the huge, green mound of the Monte + Testaccio; it was, at that period, pierced by numerous cavities, in the + dark coolness of which stores of native wines were kept; and they were + sold to customers at the rude wooden tables in front of the excavations, + in flasks shaped like large drops of water, protected with plaited straw. + When, nowadays, in New York or other cities here, I go to an Italian + restaurant, I always call for one of these flasks, and think, as I drink + its contents, of that afternoon with my father. It was the first time I + had been permitted to taste a fermented liquor. I liked it very much, and + got two glasses of it; and when we rose to depart I was greatly perplexed, + and my father was vastly tickled, to discover a lack of coherence between + my legs and my intentions. It speedily passed off, for the wines are of + the lightest and airiest description; but when, a little later on in life, + I came to read that Horatian verse describing how, turning from barbaric + splendors such as the Persians affect, he binds his brows with simple + myrtle, and sips, beneath the shadow of his garden bower, the pure vintage + of the native grape, I better appreciated the poetry of the theme from + having enjoyed that Testaccionesque experience. + </p> + <p> + It was in Rome, too, that I first came in contact with death. It aroused + my liveliest curiosity, but, as I remember, no alarm; partly, I suspect, + because I was unable to believe that there was anything real in the + spectacle. The scene has been woven into the texture of the Italian + romance; it is there described almost as it actually presented itself to + the author's observation. A dead monk of the Capuchin order lay on a bier + in the nave of their church, and while we looked at him a stream of blood + flowed from his nostrils. We went down afterwards, I recollect, into the + vaults, and saw the fine, Oriental loam in which the body was to lie; and + it seems to me there were arches and other architectural features composed + of skulls and bones of long-dead brothers of the order. He must have been + a fantastic and saturnine genius who first suggested this idea. + </p> + <p> + Another subterranean expedition of ours was to the Catacombs, the midnight + passages of which seemed to be made of bones, and niches containing the + dust of unknown mortality, which were duskily revealed in the glimmer of + our moccoli as we passed along in single file. Sometimes we came to + chambers, one of which had in it a bier covered with glass, in which was a + body which still preserved some semblance of the human form. There were + occasional openings in the vaulted roof of the corridors, but for the most + part the darkness was Egyptian, and for a few moments a thrill of anxiety + was caused by the disappearance either of my sister Una or of Ada Shepard; + I forget which. They were soon found, but the guide read us a homily upon + the awful peril of lifelong entombment which encompassed us. But the air + was dry and cool, and the whole adventure, from my point of view, + enjoyable. + </p> + <p> + Again, we went down a long flight of steps somewhere near the Forum, till + we reached a pitch-black place, where we waited till a guide came up from + still lower depths, down into which we followed him—each with a + moccolo—till we felt level earth or stone beneath our feet, and + stood in what I suppose is as lightless a hole as can exist in nature. It + was wet, too, and the smell of it was deadly and dismal. This, however, + was the prison in which the old Romans used to confine important + prisoners, such as Jugurtha and the Apostle Peter; and here they were + strangled to death or left to starve. It was the Mamertine Prison. I did + not like it. I also recall the opening of an oubliette in the castle of + San Angelo, which affected me like a nightmare. Before leaving Concord, in + 1853, I had once tumbled through a rotten board into a well, dug by the + side of the road ages before, and had barely saved myself from dropping to + the bottom, sixty feet below, by grabbing the weeds which grew on the + margin of the hole. I was not much scared at the moment; but the next day, + taking my father to the scene of the accident, he remarked that had I + fallen in I never could have got out again; upon which I conceived a + horror of the well which haunts me in my dreams even to this day. Only a + tuft of grass between me and such a fate! I was, therefore, far from + comfortable beside the oubliette, and was glad to emerge again into the + Roman sunshine. + </p> + <p> + One night we climbed the Pincian Hill, and saw, far out across Rome, the + outlines of St. Peter's dome in silver light. While we were thinking that + nothing could be more beautiful, all of a sudden the delicate silver + bloomed out into a golden glory, which made everybody say, "Oh!" Was it + more beautiful or not? Theoretically, I prefer the silver illumination; + but, as a matter of fact, I must confess that I liked the golden + illumination better. We were told that the wonder was performed by + convicts, who lay along the dome and applied their matches to the lamps at + the word of command, and that, inasmuch as the service was apt to prove + fatal to the operators, these convicts were allowed certain alleviations + of their condition for doing it. I suppose it is done by electricity now, + and the convicts neither are killed nor obtain any concessions. Such are + the helps and hindrances of civilization! + </p> + <p> + Shortly after this, on a cool and cloudy night, I was down in the Piazza, + del Popolo and saw the fireworks, the only other pyrotechnic exhibition I + had witnessed having been a private one in Rock Park, which, I think, I + have described. This Roman one was very different, and I do not believe I + have ever since seen another so fine. The whole front of the Pincian was + covered with fiery designs, and in the air overhead wonderful fiery + serpents and other devices skimmed, arched, wriggled, shot aloft, and + detonated. A boy accepts appearances as realities; and these fireworks + doubtless enlarged my conceptions of the possibilities of nature, and + substantiated the fables of the enchanters. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: THE MARBLE FAUN] + </p> + <p> + The Faun of Praxiteles, as the world knows, attracted my father, though he + could not have visited it often; for both in his notes and in his romance + he makes the same mistake as to the pose of the figure: "He has a pipe," + he says in the former, "or some such instrument of music in the hand which + rests upon the tree, and the other, I think, hangs carelessly by his + side." Of course, the left arm, the one referred to, is held akimbo on his + left hip. That my father's eyes were, however, already awake to the + literary and moral possibilities of the Faun is shown by his further + observations, which are much the same as those which appear in the book. + "The whole person," he says, "conveys the idea of an amiable and sensual + nature, easy, mirthful, apt for jollity, yet not incapable of being + touched by pathos. The Faun has no principle, nor could comprehend it, yet + is true and honest by virtue of his simplicity; very capable, too, of + affection. He might be refined through his feelings, so that the coarser, + animal part of his nature would be thrown into the background, though + liable to assert itself at any time. Praxiteles has only expressed the + animal part of the nature by one (or, rather, two) definite signs—the + two ears, which go up in a little peak, not likely to be discovered on + slight inspection, and, I suppose, they are covered with downy fur. A tail + is probably hidden under the garment. Only a sculptor of the finest + imagination, most delicate taste, and sweetest feeling would have dreamed + of representing a faun under this guise; and, if you brood over it long + enough, all the pleasantness of sylvan life, and all the genial and happy + characteristics of the brute creation, seem to be mixed in him with + humanity—trees, grass, flowers, cattle, deer, and unsophisticated + man." This passage shows how much my father was wont to trust to first + impressions, and even more on the moral than on the material side. He + recognized a truth in the first touch—the first thought—which + he was wary of meddling with afterwards, contenting himself with slightly + developing it now and then, and smoothing a little the form and manner of + its presentation. The finest art is nearest to the most veritable nature—to + such as have the eye to see the latter aright. Rome, like other ancient + cities which have fallen from the positive activity of their original + estate, has one great advantage over other places which one wishes to see + (like London, for instance), that the whole business of whoever goes + there, who has any business whatever, is to see it; and when the + duty-sights have been duly done, the sight-seer then first begins to live + his true life in independence and happiness, going where he lists, staying + no longer than he pleases, and never knowing, when he sallies forth in the + morning, what, or how many, or how few things he will have accomplished by + nightfall. + </p> + <p> + The duty to see is indeed the death of real vision; the official cicerone + leads you anywhere but to the place or thing that you are in the mood to + behold or understand. But with his disappearance the fun and the pageant + begin; one's eyes are at last opened, and beauty and significance flow in + through every pore of the senses. It is in this better phase of his Roman + sojourn that I picture my father; he trudges tranquilly and happily to and + fro, with no programme and no obligations, absorbing all things with that + quiet, omnivorous glance of his; pausing whenever he takes the fancy, and + contemplating for moments or minutes whatever strikes his fancy; often + turning aside from egregious spectacles and giving his attention to + apparent trifles, to the mere passing show; pondering on the tuft of + flowers in a cranny of the Coliseum wall, on the azure silhouette of the + Alban Mountains, on the moss collected on the pavement beneath the + aperture in the roof of the Pantheon, on the picturesque deformity of old, + begging Beppo on the steps of the Piazza, d' Espagna. I am trudging + joyously beside him, hanging on to his left hand (the other being occupied + with his hook-headed cane), asking him innumerable questions, to which he + comfortably, or abstractedly, or with humorous impatience, replies; or I + run on before him, or lag behind, busy with my endless occupation of + picking up things to me curious and valuable, and filling with them my + much-enduring pockets; in this way drinking in Rome in my own way, also, + and to my boyish advantage. He tells me tales of old Rome, always apposite + to the occasion; draws from me, sometimes, my private views as to persons, + places, and scenes, and criticises those views in his own terse, arch, + pregnant way, the force and pertinency whereof are revealed to me only in + my later meditations upon them. It is only after one has begun to deal in + this way with Rome that its magic and spell begin to work upon one; and + they are never to be shaken off. Anxiety and pain may be mingled with + them, as was the case with my father before we said our final farewell to + the mighty city; but it is thereby only the more endeared to one. Rome is + one of the few central facts of the world, because it is so much more than + a fact. Byron is right—it is the city of the soul. + </p> + <p> + On one of the last evenings of our first season we went to the Thompsons', + and were there shown, among other things, a portfolio of sketches. There + is in The Marble Faun a chapter called "Miriam's Studio," in which occurs + a reference to a portfolio of sketches by Miriam herself; the hint for it + may have been taken from the portfolio of Mr. Thompson, though the + sketches themselves were of a very different quality and character. The + latter collection pleased me, because I was just beginning to fill an + album of my own with such lopsided attempts to represent real objects, and + yet more preposterous imaginative sallies as my age and nature suggested. + My father was interested in them on account of the spiritual vigor which + belongs to the artist's first vision of his subject. In their case, as + well as in his own, he felt that it was impossible, as Browning put it, to + "recapture that first, fine, careless rapture." But the man of letters has + an advantage over the man of paint and canvas in the matter of being able + to preserve the original spirit in the later, finished design. + </p> + <p> + Towards the close of this first season in Rome the Bryants came to town, + and the old poet, old in aspect even then, called on us; but he was not a + childly man, and we youngsters stood aloof and contemplated with awe his + white, Merlin beard and tranquil but chilly eyes. Near the end of May + William Story invited us to breakfast with him; the Bryants and Miss + Hosmer and some English people were there; and I understood nothing of + what passed except the breakfast, which was good, until, at the end of the + session, my father and Story began to talk about the superstition as to + Friday, and they agreed that, of course, it was nonsense, but that, + nevertheless, it did have an influence on both of them. It probably has an + influence on everybody who has ever heard of it. Many of us protest + indignantly that we don't believe in it, but the protest itself implies + something not unlike believing. + </p> + <p> + Finally, on the 24th of May, we left our Pincian palace, and got into and + on the huge <i>vettura</i> which was to carry us to Florence, a week's + journey. It was to be one of the most delightful and blessed of our + foreign experiences; my father often said that he had enjoyed nothing else + so much, the vetturino (who happened to be one of the honestest and + sweetest-tempered old fellows in Italy) taking upon himself the entire + management of everything, down to ordering the meals and paying the tolls, + thus leaving us wholly unembarrassed and free from responsibility while + traversing a route always historically and generally scenically charming. + But we were destined, on the threshold of the adventure, to undergo one of + those evil quarters of an hour which often usher in a period of special + sunshine; for we were forced into a desperate conflict with our + servant-girl, Lalla, and her mother over a question of wages. The girl had + done chores for us during our residence at the Palazzo Larazani, and had + seemed to be a very amiable little personage; she was small, slim, and + smiling, and, though dirty and inefficient, was no worse, so far as we + could discover, than any other Roman servant-girl. When we had fixed on + the date of our departure, Lalla had been asked how much warning she + wanted; she replied, a fortnight; which, accordingly, was given her, with + a few days thrown in for good measure. But when the day arrived she + claimed a week's more pay, and her old mother had a bill of her own for + fetching water. According to my observation, travelling Americans have + little or no conscience; to avoid trouble they will submit to imposition, + not to mention their habit of spoiling tradesmen, waiters, and other + foreign attendants by excessive tips and payments. But my father and + mother, though apt enough to make liberal bargains, were absolutely + incorruptible and immovable when anything like barefaced robbery was + attempted upon them; and they refused to present Lalla and her mother with + a single baioccho more than was their due. Moreover, the patrone, or + proprietor, of the Palazzo had mulcted them some six scudi for Lalla's + profuse breakages of glass and crockery during our stay. + </p> + <p> + It was early morning when we set out, and only the faithful Thompsons were + there to bid us farewell. Lalla and her tribe, however, were on hand, and + violently demanded the satisfaction of their iniquitous claims. "No!" said + my father, and "No!" said my mother, like the judges of the Medes and + Persians. Thereupon the whole House of Lalla, but Lalla and her mother + especially, gave us an example of what an Italian can do in the way of + cursing an enemy. Ancient forms of malediction, which had been current in + the days of the early Roman kings, were mingled with every damning + invention that had been devised during the Middle Ages, and ever since + then; and they were all hurled at us in shrill, screaming tones, + accompanied by fell and ominous gestures and inarticulate yells of + superheated frenzy. Nothing could surpass the volubility of this cursing, + unless it were the animosity which prompted it; no crime that anybody, + since Cain slew Abel, had or could have committed deserved a tenth part of + the calamities and evil haps which this preposterous family called down + upon our heads, who had committed no crime at all, but quite the contrary. + When, in after-years, I heard Booth, as Richelieu, threaten "the curse of + Rome" upon his opponents, I shuddered, wondering whether he had any notion + what the threat meant. Through it all my mother's ordinarily lovely and + peaceful countenance expressed a sad but unalterable determination; and my + father kept smiling in a certain dangerous way that he sometimes had in + moments of great peril or stress, but said nothing; while Mr. Thompson + indignantly called upon the cursers to cease and to beware, and my dear + friend Eddy looked distressed to the verge of tears. He squeezed my hand + as I got into the <i>vettura</i>, and told me not to mind—the Lalla + people were wicked, and their ill-wishes would return upon their own + heads. A handful of ten-cent pieces, or their Roman equivalent, would have + stopped the whole outcry and changed it into blessings; but I think my + father would not have yielded had the salvation of Rome and of all Italy + depended upon it. His eyes gleamed, as I have seen them do on one or two + other occasions only, as we drove away, with the screams pursuing us, and + that smile still hovered about his mouth. But we drove on; Gaetano cracked + his long whip, our four steeds picked up their feet and rattled our + vehicle over the Roman cobble-stones; we passed the Porta del Popolo, and + were stretching along, under the summer sunshine, upon the white road that + led to Florence. It was a divine morning; the turmoil and the strife were + soon forgotten, and for a week thenceforward there was only unalloyed + felicity before us. Poor, evil-invoking Lalla had passed forever out of + our sphere. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVIII + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + In Othello's predicament—Gaetano—Crystals and snail- + shells—Broad, flagstone pavements—Fishing-rods and blow- + pipes—Ghostly yarns—Conservative effects of genius—An + ideal bust and a living one—The enigma of spiritualism—A + difficult combination to overthrow—The dream-child and the + Philistine—Dashing and plunging this way and that—Teresa + screamed for mercy—Grapes and figs and ghostly voices—My + father would have settled there—Kirkup the necromancer—A + miraculous birth—A four-year-old medium—The mysterious + touch—An indescribable horror—Not even a bone of her was + left—Providence takes very long views. +</pre> + <p> + The railroad which now unites Rome with Florence defrauds travellers of + some of the most agreeable scenery in Italy, and one of the most + time-honored experiences; and as for the beggars who infested the route, + they must long since have perished of inanition—not that they needed + what travellers gave them in the way of alms, but that, like Othello, + their occupation being gone, they must cease to exist. Never again could + they look forward to pestering a tourist; never exhibit a withered arm or + an artistic ulcer; never mutter anathemas against the obdurate, or call + down blessings upon the profuse. What was left them in life? And what has + become of the wayside inns, and what of the vetturinos? A man like + Gaetano, by himself, was enough to modify radically one's conception of + the possibilities of the Italian character. In appearance he was a + strong-bodied Yankee farmer, with the sun-burned, homely, kindly, shrewd + visage, the blue jumper, the slow, canny ways, the silent perception and + enjoyment of humorous things, the infrequent but timely speech. It was + astonishing to hear him speaking Italian out of a mouth which seemed + formed only to emit a Down-East drawl and to chew tobacco. In disposition + and character this son of old Rome was, so far as we, during our week of + constant and intimate association with him, could judge, absolutely + without fault; he was mild, incorruptible, and placid, as careful of us as + a father of his children, and he grew as fond of us as we were of him, so + that the final parting, after the journey was done, was really a moving + scene. I have found the tribe of cabbies, in all countries, to be, as a + rule, somewhat cantankerous and sinister; but Gaetano compensated for all + his horse-driving brethren. To be sure, <i>vettura</i> driving is not like + cabbing, and Gaetano was in the habit of getting out often and walking up + the hills, thus exercising his liver. But he must have been born with a + strong predisposition to goodness, which he never outgrew. + </p> + <p> + Save for a few showers, it was fine weather all the way, and a good part + of the way was covered on foot by my father and me; for the hills were + many, and the winding ascents long, and we would alight and leave the + slow-moving vehicle, with its ponderous freight, behind us, to be + overtaken perhaps an hour or two later on the levels or declivities. + Gaetano was a consummate whip, and he carried his team down the descents + and round the exciting turns at a thrilling pace, while the yards of + whiplash cracked and detonated overhead like a liliputian thunder-storm. + On the mountain-tops were romantic villages, surrounding rock-built + castles which had been robber strongholds centuries before, and we + traversed peaceful plains which had been the scenes of famous Roman + battles, and whose brooks had run red with blood before England's history + began. We paused a day in Perugia, and received the Bronze Pontiff's + benediction; the silent voices of history were everywhere speaking to the + spiritual ear. Meanwhile I regarded the trip as being, primarily, an + opportunity to collect unusual snail-shells; and we passed through a + region full of natural crystals, some of them of such size as to prompt my + father to forbid their being added to our luggage. I could not understand + his insensibility. Could I have had my way, I would have loaded a wain + with them. I liked the villages and castles, too, and the good dinners at + the inns, and the sound sleeps in mediaeval beds at night; but the + crystals and the snail-shells were the true aim and sustenance of my life. + My mother and sister sketched continually, and Miss Shepard was always + ready to tell us the story of the historical features which we + encountered; it astounded me to note how much she knew about things which + she had never before seen. One afternoon we drove down from surrounding + heights to Florence, which lay in a golden haze characteristic of Italian + Junes in this latitude. Powers, the sculptor, had promised to engage + lodgings for us, but he had not expected us so soon, and meanwhile we put + up at a hotel near by, and walked out a little in the long evening, + admiring the broad, flagstone pavements and all the minor features which + made Florence so unlike Rome. The next day began our acquaintance with the + Powers family, who, with the Brownings, constituted most of the social + element of our sojourn. Powers had an agreeable wife, two lovely + daughters, and a tall son, a few years older than I, and a pleasant + companion, though he could not take the place of Eddy Thompson in my + heart. He was clever with his hands, and soon began to make fishing-rods + for me, having learned of my predilection for the sport. There were no + opportunities to fish in Florence; but the rods which Bob Powers produced + were works of art, straight and tapering, and made in lengths, which + fitted into one another—a refinement which was new to me, who had + hitherto imagined nothing better than a bamboo pole. Bob finally confided + to me that he straightened his rods by softening the wood in steam; but I + found that they did not long retain their straightness; and, there being + no use for them, except the delight of the eye, I presently lost interest + in them. Then Bob showed me how to make blow-pipes by pushing out the pith + from the stems of some species of bushy shrub that grew outside the walls. + He made pellets of clay from his father's studio; and I was deeply + affected by the long range and accuracy of these weapons. We used to + ensconce ourselves behind the blinds of the front windows of Powers's + house, and practise through the slats at the passers-by in the street. + They would feel a smart hit and look here and there, indignant; but, after + a while, seeing nothing but the innocent fronts of sleepy houses, would + resume their way. Bob inherited his handiness from his father, who seemed + a master of all crafts, a true Yankee genius. He might have made his + fortune as an inventor had he not happened to turn the main stream of his + energy in the direction of sculpture. I believe that the literary art was + the only one in which he did not claim proficiency, and that was a pity, + because Powers's autobiography would have been a book of books. He was a + Swedenborgian by faith, but he also dabbled somewhat in spiritualism, + which was having a vogue at that time, owing partly to the exploits of the + American medium Home. Marvellous, indeed, were the ghostly yarns Powers + used to spin, and they lost nothing by the physical appearance of the + narrator, with his tall figure, square brow, great, black eyes, and + impressive gestures; his voice, too, was deep and flexible, and could sink + into the most blood-curdling tones. My recollection is that Powers was + always clad in a long, linen pinafore, reaching from his chin to his feet, + and daubed with clay, and on his head a cap made either of paper, like a + baker's, or, for dress occasions, of black velvet. His homely ways and + speech, which smacked of the Vermont farm as strongly as if he had just + come thence, whereas in truth he had lived in Florence, at this time, + about twenty years, and had won high fame as a sculptor, tempted one to + suspect him of affectation—of a pose; and there is no doubt that + Powers was aware of the contrast between his physical presentment and his + artistic reputation, and felt a sort of dramatic pleasure in it. + Nevertheless, it would be unjust to call him affected; he was a big man, + in all senses of the term, and his instinct of independence led him to + repudiate all external polish and ear-marks of social culture, and to say, + as it were, "You see, a plain Vermont countryman can live half a lifetime + in the centre of artificial refinement and rival by the works of his + native genius the foremost living artists, and yet remain the same simple, + honest old sixpence that he was at home!" It was certainly a more manly + and wholesome attitude than that of the ordinary American foreign + resident, who makes a point of forgetting his native ways and point of + view, and aping the habits and traits of his alien associates. And, + besides, Powers had such an immense temperament and individuality that + very likely he could not have modified them successfully even had he been + disposed to do so. + </p> + <p> + [IMAGE: HIRAM POWERS] + </p> + <p> + His daughters, as I have said, were lovely creatures. Powers was at this + time modelling an ideal bust of a woman, and one day I went into his + studio expecting to find Bob there, but the studio was empty but for the + bust, which I now had an opportunity to contemplate at my ease for the + first time. I thought it very beautiful, and there was something about the + face which reminded me of somebody, I could not decide who. Just then a + portiere in the doorway parted, and in came a living bust, a reality in + warm flesh and blood, compared with which the ideal seemed second-rate. It + belonged to one of Powers's daughters, who had come for a sitting; she was + serving as her father's model. Upon seeing the unexpected boy, fixed there + in speechless admiration, the young lady uttered a scream and vanished. I + now knew whom the face of the clay effigy reminded me of, and afterwards + when I saw beautiful statues I thought of her, and shook my head. + </p> + <p> + My father and Powers took a strong fancy to each other, and met and talked + a great deal. As I just said now, spiritualism was a fad at that time, and + Powers was pregnant with marvels which he had either seen or heard of, and + which he was always ready to attempt to explain on philosophical grounds. + My father would listen to it all, and both believe it and not believe it. + He felt, I suppose, that Powers was telling the truth, but he was not + persuaded that all the truth was in Powers's possession, or in any one + else's. Powers also had a great deal to say concerning the exoteric and + esoteric truths of sculpture; his racy individuality marked it all. He + would not admit that there was any limit to what might be done with + marble; and when my father asked him one day whether he could model a + blush on a woman's cheek, he said, stoutly, that the thing was possible. + My father, as his manner was with people, went with the sculptor as far as + he chose to carry him, accepting all his opinions and judgments, and + becoming Powers, so far as he might, for the time being, in order the + better to get to the root of his position. And then, afterwards, he would + return to his own self, and quietly examine Powers's assertions and + theories in the dry light. My father was two men, one sympathetic and + intuitional, the other critical and logical; together they formed a + combination which could not be thrown off its feet. + </p> + <p> + We had already met the Brownings in London; but at this period they + belonged in Italy more than anywhere else, and Florence formed the best + setting for the authors both of Aurora Leigh and of Sordello. They lived + in a villa called Casa Guidi, and with them was their son, a boy younger + than myself, whom they called Pennini, though his real name was something + much less fastidious. Penni, I believe, used to be an assistant of Raphael + early in the sixteenth century, and Pennini may have been nicknamed after + him. His mother, who was an extravagant woman on the emotional and + spiritual plane, made the poor little boy wear his hair curled in long + ringlets down his back, and clad him in a fancy costume of black velvet, + with knickerbockers and black silk stockings; he was homely of face, and + looked "soft," as normal boys would say. But his parents were determined + to make an ideal dream-child of him, and, of course, he had to submit. I + had the contempt for him which a philistine boy feels for a creature whom + he knows he can lick with one hand tied behind his back, and I had nothing + whatever to say to him. But Pennini was not such a mollycoddle and ass as + he looked, and when he grew up he gave evidence enough of having a mind + and a way of his own. My mother took him at his mother's valuation, and + both she and my father have expressed admiration of the whole Browning + tribe in their published journals. Mrs. Browning seemed to me a sort of + miniature monstrosity; there was no body to her, only a mass of dark curls + and queer, dark eyes, and an enormous mouth with thick lips; no portrait + of her has dared to show the half of it. Her hand was like a bird's claw. + Browning was a lusty, active, energetic person, dashing and plunging this + way and that with wonderful impetus and suddenness; he was never still a + moment, and he talked with extraordinary velocity and zeal. There was a + mass of wild hair on his head, and he wore bushy whiskers. He appeared + very different twenty years later, when I met him in London, after his + wife's death; he was quiet and sedate, with close-cut silvery hair and + pointed beard, and the rather stout, well-dressed figure of a British + gentleman of the sober middle class. It is difficult to harmonize either + of these outsides with the poet within—that remarkable imagination, + intellect, and analytical faculty which have made him one of the men of + the century. There was a genial charm in Browning, emphasized, in this + earlier time, with a bewildering vivacity and an affluence of courtesy. In + his mature phase he was still courteous and agreeable when he chose to be + so, but was also occasionally supercilious and repellent, and assiduously + cultivated smart society. I once asked him, in 1879, why he made his + poetry so often obscure, and he replied, frankly, that he did so because + he couldn't help it; the inability to put his thoughts in clear phrases + had always been a grief to him. This statement was, to me, unexpected, and + it has a certain importance. + </p> + <p> + After a few weeks in Casa Bella, opposite Powers's house, Florence grew so + hot that we were glad of an opportunity to rent the Villa Montauto, up on + the hill of Bellosguardo, less than a mile beyond the city gate. The + villa, with two stories and an attic, must have been nearly two hundred + feet long, and was two or three rooms deep; at the hither end rose a tower + evidently much older than the house attached to it. Near the foot of the + tower grew an ancient tree, on a projecting branch of which we soon had a + swing suspended, and all of us children did some very tall swinging. There + was a little girl of ten belonging to the estate, named Teresa, an + amiable, brown-haired, homely little personage. We admitted her to our + intimacy, and swung her in the swing till she screamed for mercy. The road + from Florence, after passing our big iron gate on the east, continued on + westward, beneath the tower and the parapet of the grounds; beyond + extended the wide valley of the Arno, with mountains hemming it in, and to + the left of the mountains, every evening, Donati's comet shone, with a + golden sweep of tail subtending twenty degrees along the horizon. The + peasant folk regarded it with foreboding; and I remember seeing in the + book-shops of Rome, before we left, pamphlets in both Italian and English, + with such titles as "Will the great comet, now rapidly approaching, strike + the earth?" It did not strike the earth, but it afforded us a magnificent + spectacle during our stay in Montauto, and the next year it was followed + by war between Austria and France and the evacuation of Venice. + </p> + <p> + The elevation of Bellosguardo sloped from the villa north and east, and + this declivity was occupied by a podere of some dozen acres, on which grew + grape-vines, olive and fig trees. Every morning, about ten o'clock, the + peasants on the estate would come in loaded with grapes, which they piled + up on a large table in the reception-hall on the ground floor. We ate them + by handfuls, but were never able to finish them. Between times we would go + out among the fruit trees and devour fresh figs, luscious with purple + pulp. I had three or four rooms to myself at the western extremity of the + house; they were always cool on the hottest days. There I was wont to + retire to pursue my literary labors; I was still writing works on + conchology. My sister Una had rooms on the ground floor, adjoining the + chapel. They were haunted by the ghost of a nun, and several times the + candle which she took in there at night was moved by invisible hands from + its place and set down elsewhere. Ghostly voices called to us, and various + unaccountable noises were heard now and then, both within and without the + house; but we children did not mind them, not having been bred in the fear + of spirits. Indeed, at the instance of Mrs. Browning, who was often with + us, we held spirit seances, Miss Shepard being the medium, though she + mildly protested. Long communications were written down, but the sceptics + were not converted, nor were the believers discouraged. "I discern in the + alleged communications from my wife's mother," wrote my father, "much of + her own beautiful fancy and many of her preconceived ideas, although + thinner and weaker than at first hand. They are the echoes of her own + voice, returning out of the lovely chambers of her heart, and mistaken by + her for the tones of her mother." + </p> + <p> + Almost every day some of us made an incursion into Florence. The town + itself seemed to me more agreeable than Rome; but the Boboli Gardens could + not rival the Borghese, and the Pitti and Uffizi galleries were not so + captivating as the Vatican and the Capitol. However, the Cascine and the + Lung' Arno were delightful, and the Arno, shallow and placid, flowing + through the midst of the city, was a fairer object than the muddy and + turbulent Tiber. Men and boys bathed along the banks in the afternoons and + evenings; and the Ponte Vecchio, crowded with grotesque little houses, was + a favorite promenade of mine. There was also a large marketplace, where + the peasant women sold the produce of their farms. My insatiable appetite + for such things prompted me often to go thither and eat everything I had + money to buy. One day I consumed so many fresh tomatoes that I had a + giddiness in the back of my head, and ate no more tomatoes for some years. + But the place I best liked was the great open square of the Palazzo + Vecchio, with the statues of David and of Perseus under the Loggia dei + Lanzi, a retreat from sun and rain; and the Duomo and Giotto's Campanile, + hard by. The pavements of Florence, smooth as the surface of stone canals, + were most soothing and comfortable after the relentless, sharp + cobble-stones of Rome; the low houses that bordered them seemed to slumber + in the hot, still sunshine. What a sunshine was that! Not fierce and + feverish, as in the tropics, but soft and intense and white. Who would not + live in Florence if he could? I think my father would have settled there + but for his children, to whom he wished to give an American education. The + thought was often in his mind; and he perhaps cherished some hope of + returning thither later in life, and letting old age steal gently upon him + and his wife in the delicious city. But the Celestial City was nearer to + him than he suspected. + </p> + <p> + There was a magical old man in Florence named Kirkup, an Englishman, + though he had dwelt abroad so many years that he seemed more Florentine + than the Florentines themselves. He had known, in his youth, Byron, + Shelley, Hunt, and Edward Trelawney. After that famous group was + disparted, Kirkup, having an income sufficient for his needs, came to + Florence and settled there. He took to antiquarianism, which is a sort of + philtre, driving its votaries mildly insane, and filling them with + emotions which, on the whole, are probably more often happy than grievous. + But Kirkup, in the course of his researches into the past, came upon the + books of the necromancers, and bought and studied them, and began to + practise their spells and conjurations; and by-and-by, being a great + admirer and student of Dante, that poet manifested himself to him in his + lonely vigils and told him many unknown facts about his career on earth, + and incidentally revealed to him the whereabouts of the now-familiar + fresco of Dante on the wall of the Bargello Chapel, where it had been + hidden for ages beneath a coat of whitewash. In these occult researches, + Kirkup, of course, had need of a medium, and he found among the Florentine + peasants a young girl, radiantly beautiful, who possessed an extraordinary + susceptibility to spiritual influences. Through her means he conversed + with the renowned dead men of the past times. But one day Regina (such was + the girl's name), much to the old man's surprise, gave birth to a child. + She herself died, in Kirkup's house, soon after, and on her death-bed she + swore a solemn oath on the crucifix that the baby's father was none other + than Kirkup himself. The poor old gentleman had grown so accustomed to + believing in miracles that he made little ado about accepting this one + also; he received the child as his daughter, and made provision for her in + his will. No one had the heart or thought it worth while to enlighten him + as to certain facts which might have altered his attitude; but it was well + known that Regina had a lover, a handsome young Italian peasant, much more + capable of begetting children than of taking care of them afterwards. + </p> + <p> + These interesting circumstances I did not learn until long after Florence + had receded into the distance in my memory. But one afternoon, with my + father and mother, I entered the door of a queer old house close to the + Ponte Vecchio; I was told that it had formerly been a palace of the + Knights Templars. We ascended a very darksome flight of stairs, and a door + was opened by a strange little man. He may have been, at that time, some + seventy years my senior, but he was little above my height; he had long, + soft, white hair and a flowing white beard; his features bore a + resemblance to those of Bulwer Lytton, only Bulwer never lived to anything + like Mr. Kirkup's age. Old as he was, our host was very brisk and polite, + and did the honors of his suite of large rooms with much grace and + fantastic hospitality. Dancing about him, and making friends freely with + us all meanwhile, was the little girl, Imogen by name, who was accredited + as the octogenarian's offspring. She was some four or five years of age, + but intellectually precocious, though a complete child, too. Mr. Kirkup + said that she, like her beautiful mother, was a powerful medium, and that + he often used to communicate through her with her mother, who would seem + to have kept her secret even after death. The house was stuffed full of + curiosities, but was very dirty and cobwebby; the pictures and the books + looked much in need of a caretaker. The little child frolicked and flitted + about the dusky apartments, or seated herself like a butterfly on the + great tomes of magic that were piled in corners. Nothing could be stronger + or stranger than the contrast between her and this environment. My father + wrote it all down in his journal, and it evidently impressed his + imagination; and she and Kirkup himself—<i>mutatis mutandis</i>—appear + in Dr. Grimshawe's Secret, and again, in a somewhat different form, in The + Dolliver Romance. There was even a Persian kitten, too, to bear little + Imogen company. But no fiction could surpass the singularity of this + withered old magician living with the pale, tiny sprite of a child of + mysterious birth in the ghost-haunted rooms of the ancient palace. + </p> + <p> + It seemed as if the world of the occult were making a determined attack + upon us during this Florentine sojourn; whichever way we turned we came in + contact with something mysterious. In one of my father's unpublished + diaries he writes, in reference to the stories with which he was being + regaled by Powers, the Brownings, and others, that he was reminded "of an + incident that took place at the old manse, in the first summer of our + marriage. One night, about eleven o'clock, before either my wife or I had + fallen asleep (we had been talking together just before), she suddenly + asked me why I had touched her shoulder? The next instant she had a sense + that the touch was not mine, but that of some third presence in the + chamber. She clung to me in great affright, but I got out of bed and + searched the chamber and adjacent entry, and, finding nothing, concluded + that the touch was a fancied one. My wife, however, has never varied in + her belief that the incident was supernatural and connected with the + apparition of old Dr. Harris, who used to show himself to me daily in the + reading-room of the Boston Athenaeum. I am still incredulous both as to + the doctor's identity and as to the reality of the mysterious touch. That + same summer of our honeymoon, too, George Hillard and his wife were + sitting with us in our parlor, when a rustling as of a silken robe passed + from corner to corner of the room, right among my wife and the two guests, + and was heard, I think, by all three. Mrs. Hillard, I remember, was + greatly startled. As for myself, I was reclining on the sofa at a little + distance, and neither heard the rustle nor believed it." + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, such things affect one in a degree. Here is a straw to show + which way the wind of doctrine was blowing with my father: We were in + Siena immediately after the date of our Florentine residence, and he and + I, leaving the rest of the family at our hotel, sallied forth in quest of + adventures. "We went to the cathedral," he writes, "and while standing + near the entrance, or about midway in the nave, we saw a female figure + approaching through the dimness and distance, far away in the region of + the high altar; as it drew nearer its air reminded me of Una, whom we had + left at home. Finally, it came close to us, and proved to be Una herself; + she had come, immediately after we left the hotel, with Miss Shepard, and + was looking for objects to sketch. It is an empty thing to write down, but + the surprise made the incident stand out very vividly." Una was to pass + near the gates of the next world a little while later, and doubtless my + father often during that dark period pictured her to himself as a spirit. + To make an end of this subject, I will quote here my father's account of a + story told him by Mrs. Story when we were living in Rome for the second + time. The incident of the woman's face at the carriage window reappears in + The Marble Faun. "She told it," he says, "on the authority of Mrs. + Gaskell, to whom the personages were known. A lady, recently married, was + observed to be in a melancholy frame of mind, and fell into a bad state of + health. She told her husband that she was haunted with the constant vision + of a certain face, which affected her with an indescribable horror, and + was the cause of her melancholy and illness. The physician prescribed + travel, and they went first to Paris, where the lady's spirits grew + somewhat better, and the vision haunted her less constantly. They purposed + going to Italy, and before their departure from Paris a letter of + introduction was given them by a friend, directed to a person in Rome. On + their arrival in Rome the letter was delivered; the person called, and in + his face the lady recognized the precise reality of her vision. + By-the-bye, I think the lady saw this face in the streets of Rome before + the introduction took place. The end of the story is that the husband was + almost immediately recalled to England by an urgent summons; the wife + disappeared that very night, and was recognized driving out of Rome, in a + carriage, in tears, and accompanied by the visionary unknown. It is a very + foolish story, but told as truth. Mrs. Story also said that in an Etruscan + tomb, on the Barberini estate, the form and impression, in dust, of a + female figure were discovered. Not even a bone of her was left; but where + her neck had been there lay a magnificent necklace, all of gold and of the + richest workmanship. The necklace, just as it was found (except, I + suppose, for a little furbishing), is now worn by the Princess Barberini + as her richest adornment. Mrs. Story herself had on a bracelet composed, I + think, of seven ancient Etruscan scorabei in carnelian, every one of which + has been taken from a separate tomb, and on one side of each was engraved + the signet of the person to whom it had belonged and who had carried it to + the grave with him. This bracelet would make a good connecting link for a + series of Etruscan tales, the more fantastic the better!" + </p> + <p> + On the first day of October, 1859, we left Florence by railway for Siena + on our way back to Rome. There had been no drawbacks to our enjoyment of + the city and of our villa and of the people we had met. We departed with + regret; had we stayed on there, instead, and not again attempted the fatal + air of the Seven Hills, our after chronicles might have been very + different. But we walk over precipices with our eyes open, or pass safely + along their verge in the dark, and only the Power who made us knows why. + Providence takes very long views. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIX + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Burnt Sienna—The Aquila Nera—A grand, noble, gentle + creature—The most beautiful woman in the world—Better + friends than ever—A shadow brooded—Boys are whole-souled + creatures—Franklin Pierce—Miriam, Hilda, Kenyon, + Donatello—The historian of the Netherlands—When New + England makes a man—The spell of Trevi—An accession of + mishaps—My father's mustache—Three steps of stone, the + fourth, death—Havre, Redcar, Bath, London, Liverpool. +</pre> + <p> + Siena is distant from Florence, in a direct line, not more than fifty + miles, but the railway turns the western flank of the mountains, and kept + us full three hours on the trip. I had long been familiar with a paint in + my color-box called Burnt Sienna, and was now much interested to learn + that it was made of the yellow clay on which the city of Siena stands; and + when I discovered for myself that this clay, having formed the bed of some + antediluvian ocean, was full of fossil shells, I thought that Siena was a + place where I would do well to spend one of my lifetimes. The odd, + parti-colored architecture of the town did not so much appeal to me, and + certainly the streets and squares were less attractive in themselves than + either the Roman or the Florentine ones. The shells were personally ugly, + but they were shells, and fossils into the bargain, and they sufficed for + my happiness. + </p> + <p> + The Storys had a villa in Siena, and my father certainly had in the back + part of his mind an idea of settling there, or elsewhere in Italy, now or + later; but after ten days we were on our travels again. There were no + ruins to be seen, that I remember, but many churches and frescoes and old + oil-paintings, which I regarded with indifference. Mediaeval remains did + not attract me like classic ones. It was here that Story drew the + caricatures which I have already spoken of, and from the windows of the + room, as the twilight fell, we could see the great comet, then in its + apogee of brilliance. Where will the world be when it comes again? We had + rooms at the Aquila Nera, looking out on the venerable, gray Palazzo + Tolomei. The narrow streets were full of people; the steepness and + irregularity of the thoroughfares of the city produced a feeling of energy + and activity in the midst of the ancient historic peace. Siena is, I + believe, built about the crater of an extinct volcano. The old brick wall + of the city was still extant, running up hill and down, and confining the + rusty heaps of houses within its belt. There were projecting balconies, + crumbling with age, and irregular arcades, resembling tunnels hewn out of + the solid rock. From the windows of our sitting-room in the hotel we + commanded the piazza, in front of the Palazzo Tolomei, with a pillar in + the midst of it, on which was a group of Romulus and Remus suckled by the + wolf, the tradition of the city being that it was founded during the epoch + of the Roman kings. My mother made a sketch of this monument in her little + sketch-book, and my father, according to a common custom of his, sat for + an hour at the window one day and made a note of every person who passed + through the little square, thus getting an idea of the character of the + local population not otherwise obtainable. I can imagine that, were one + born in Siena, one might conceive an ardent affection for it; but, in + spite of its picturesqueness, it never touched my heart like Rome or + Florence, or even London or Paris. I left it without regret, but with + specimens of its fossils in my pockets. + </p> + <p> + It often happens with miracles that they occur in doubles or trebles, in + order, I suppose, to suggest to us that they may be simply instances of an + undiscovered law. Gaetano was a miracle, and he was followed by + Constantino, who, though of an altogether different human type, was of no + less sweet and shining a nature than the other. He was a grand, noble, + gentle creature, and my mother soon dubbed him "The Emperor," though it + may be doubted whether the original emperor of that name was as good a man + as ours; he was certainly not nearly so good-looking. He was only the + driver of our <i>vettura</i> from Siena to Rome, but there was a princely + munificence in his treatment of us that made us feel his debtors in an + indefinitely greater sum than that which technically discharged our + obligations. He was massive, quiescent, oxlike, with great, slow-moving, + black eyes. He had the air of extending to us the hospitalities of Italy, + and our journey assumed the character of a royal progress. He was + especially devoted to my small sister Rose, and often, going up the hills, + he would have her beside him on foot, one of his great hands clasping + hers, while with the other he wielded the long whip that encouraged the + horses. His garments were of the humblest fashion, but he so wore them as + to make them seem imperial robes. My mother caught an excellent likeness + of him as he sat before her on the driver's seat. The second trip was as + enjoyable as the first, though it was two or three days shorter. The route + was west of our former one, passing through Radicofani, incrusted round + its hill-top; and Bolsena, climbing backward from the poisonous shore of + its beautiful lake; and Viterbo, ugly and beggar-ridden, though famous + forever on account of the war for Galiana waged between Viterbo and Rome. + In the front of an old church in the town I saw the carved side of her + sarcophagus, incorporate with the wall. She was the most beautiful woman + in the world in her day, and in the fight for the possession of her her + townsmen overcame the Romans, but the latter were permitted, as a salve + for their defeat, to have one final glimpse of Galiana as they marched + homeward without her. From a window in a tower of one of the gates of the + city, therefore, her heavenly face looked forth and shed a farewell gleam + over the dusty, defeated ranks of Rome as they filed past, up-looking. The + tale is as old as the incident itself, but I always love to recall it; + there is in it something that touches the soul more inwardly than even the + legend of Grecian Helen. + </p> + <p> + By the middle of October we were back again in Rome, and though we were + now in new lodgings, the feeling was that of getting home after travels. + The weather was fine, and we revisited the familiar ruins and gardens, and + renewed our acquaintance with our favorite statues and pictures with fresh + enjoyment. Eddy Thompson and I found each other better friends than ever—we + had written each other laborious but sincerely affectionate letters during + our separation—and he and I, with one or more favored companions + sometimes, perambulated Rome incessantly, and felt that the world had + begun again. But by the 1st of November there came to pass an untoward + change, and our rejoicing was changed to lamentation. First, my father + himself had a touch of malaria, which clouded his view of all outward + things; and then my sister Una, disregarding the law which provides that + all persons must be in-doors in Rome by six o'clock in the evening, caught + the veritable Roman fever, and during four months thereafter a shadow + brooded over our snug little lodgings in the Piazza, Poli. "It is not a + severe attack," my father wrote at the beginning, "yet it is attended by + fits of exceeding discomfort, occasional comatoseness, and even delirium + to the extent of making the poor child talk in rhythmic measure, like a + tragic heroine—as if the fever lifted her feet off the earth; the + fever being seldom dangerous, but is liable to recur on slight occasion + hereafter." But, as it turned out, Una's attack was of the worst kind, and + she sank and sank, till it seemed at last as if she must vanish from us + altogether. Eddy and I held melancholy consultations together, for Eddy, + besides being my special crony and confidant, had allowed himself to + conceive a heroic and transcendental passion for my sister—one of + the antique, Spenserian sort—and his concern for her condition was + only less than mine. So we went about with solemn faces, comforting each + other as best we might. I remember, when the crisis of the fever was + reached, taking him into a room and closing the door, and there imparting + to him the news that Una might not recover. We stared drearily into each + other's faces, and felt that the world would never again be bright for us. + Boys are whole-souled creatures; they feel one thing at a time, and feel + it with their might. + </p> + <p> + However, Una safely passed her crisis, thanks mainly to the wonderful + nursing of her mother, and by carnival-time was able to be out again and + to get her share of sugar-plums and flowers. But my mother was exhausted + by her ceaseless vigils in the sick-room, and my father, as I have before + intimated, never recovered from the long-drawn fear; it sapped his + energies at the root, and the continued infirmity of Una's health + prevented what chance there might have been of his recuperation. Yet for + the moment he could find fun and pleasure in the carnival, and he felt as + never before the searching beauty of the Borghese, the Pincian, and the + galleries. He was also comforted by the companionship of his friend + Franklin Pierce, who, his Presidential term over, had come to Europe to + get the scent of Washington out of his garments. There was a winning, + irresistible magnetism in the presence of this man. Except my father, + there was no man in whose company I liked to be so much as in his. I had + little to say to him, and demanded nothing more than a silent recognition + from him; but his voice, his look, his gestures, his gait, the spiritual + sphere of him, were delightful to me; and I suspect that his rise to the + highest office in our nation was due quite as much to this power or + quality in him as to any intellectual or even executive ability that he + may have possessed. He was a good, conscientious, patriotic, strong man, + and gentle and tender as a woman. He had the old-fashioned ways, the + courtesy, and the personal dignity which are not often seen nowadays. His + physical frame was immensely powerful and athletic; but life used him + hard, and he was far from considerate of himself, and he died at + sixty-five, when he might, under more favorable conditions, have rounded + out his century. + </p> + <p> + My father had written nothing, not even his journal, during the period of + Una's illness; but he began to work again now, being moved thereto not + only as a man whose nature is spontaneously impelled to express itself on + the imaginative side, but also in order to recoup himself for some part of + the loss of the ten thousand dollars which he had loaned to John + O'Sullivan, which, it was now evident, could never be repaid. His first + conception of the story of The Marble Faun had been as a novelette; but he + now decided to expand it so as to contain a large amount of descriptive + matter; and although the strict rules of artistic construction may have + been somewhat relaxed in order to admit these passages, there is no doubt + that the book gained thereby in value as a permanent addition to + literature, the plot, powerful though it is, being of importance secondary + to the creation of an atmosphere which should soften the outlines and + remove the whole theme into a suitable remoteness from the domain of + matter-of-fact. The Eternal City is, after all, as vital a portion of the + story as are the adventures of Miriam, Hilda, Kenyon, and Donatello. They + could not have existed and played their parts in any other city of the + world. + </p> + <p> + In selecting local habitations for the creatures of his imagination, he + strolled into the Via Portoghese, and there found the "Virgin's Shrine," + which, with minor modifications, was to become the home of Hilda. I quote + from his journal the description of the actual place as he saw it. "The + tower in the Via Portoghese," he says, "has battlements and + machicolations, and the upper half of it is covered with gray, + ancient-looking stucco. On the summit, at one corner, is the shrine of the + Virgin, rising quite above the battlements, and with its lamp before it. + Beneath the machicolations is a window, probably belonging to the upper + chamber; and there seems to be a level space on the top of the tower. + Close at hand is the facade of a church, the highest pinnacle of which + appears to be at about the same level as the battlements of the tower, and + there are two or more stone figures (either angels or allegorical) + ornamenting the top of the facade, and, I think, blowing trumpets. These + personages are the nearest neighbors of any person inhabiting the upper + story of the tower, and the sound of their angelic trumpets must needs be + very loud in that close vicinity: The lower story of the palace extends + out and round the lower part of the tower, and is surrounded by a stone + balustrade. The entrance from the street is through a long, arched doorway + and passage, giving admittance into a small, enclosed court; and deep + within the passage there is a very broad staircase, which branches off, + apparently, on one side, and leads to the height of the tower. At the base + of the tower, and along the front of the palace, the street widens, so as + to form something like a small piazza, in which there are two or three + bakers' shops, one or two shoe-shops, a lottery-office, and, at one + corner, the stand of a woman who sells, I think, vegetables; a little + further, a stand of oranges. Not so many doors from the palace entrance + there is a station of French soldiers and a sentinel on duty. The palace, + judging from the broad staircase, the balustraded platform, the tower + itself, and other tokens, may have been a grand one centuries ago; but the + locality is now a poor one, and the edifice itself seems to have fallen to + unaristocratic occupants. A man was cleaning a carriage in the enclosed + court-yard, but I rather conceive it was a cab for hire, and not the + equipage of a dweller in the palace." + </p> + <p> + John Lothrop Motley, the historian of the Netherlands, had come to Rome + this winter and brought his family with him. I believe my father had met + Motley in America; at all events, we saw a good deal of him now. He was an + exceedingly handsome man, not only on account of the beauty of physical + features which marked him, but in the sensitiveness and vividness of + expression which constantly illuminated them. He was at this time about + five-and-forty years of age, and lacked a couple of inches of six feet in + height. His hair, a dark, chestnut brown, had the hyacinthine wave through + it, and was slightly streaked with gray; his beard, which was full and + rather short, was likewise wavy; he was quietly and harmoniously dressed, + but the artistic temperament declared itself in a touch of color in his + cravat. His voice was melodious and finely modulated; his bearing gravely + cheerful and very courteous. No type of man finer than Motley's has + existed in modern times; all the elements of the best and purest society + were illustrated in him. He had the depth of the scholar, the breadth and + self-poise of the man of the world, the genial warmth of the human + fellow-creature, and, over all, the harmonizing, individualizing charm of + the artist. When New England gathers her resources to make a man she + achieves a result hardly to be surpassed. + </p> + <p> + The Storys were also in Rome during these last months of our stay, and + Miss Mitchell, I think, still lingered in her little lodgings in the Via + Bocca di Leone. Miss Cushman likewise reappeared for a time, with all her + former greatness and fascination, and many other friends, new and old, + made that spring season memorable. As the moment for our departure drew + near, the magical allurement of Rome laid upon us a grasp more than ever + potent; it was impossible to realize that we were leaving it forever. On + the last evening we walked in the moonlight to the fountain of Trevi, near + our lodgings, and drank of the water—a ceremony which, according to + tradition, insures the return of the drinker. It was the 25th of May, + forty-four years ago. None of us has gone back since then, and, of the + five who drank, three have passed to the country whence no traveller + returns. For my own part, as a patriotic American nearly thirteen years + old, I had no wish ever again to see Rome, and declared myself glad to + turn my back upon it, not that I had any fault to find with it—I had + always had a good time there—but my imagination was full of my + native land, with which nothing else could be comparable. I did not learn + of the fabled spell of Trevi until afterwards; then I scoffed at and + defied it, and possibly Rome may have decided that it could do without me. + </p> + <p> + The railway to Civita Vecchia had just been completed, and we passed + swiftly over the route which had been so full of dangers and discomforts + eighteen months before. Embarking on the steamer for Marseilles, we kept + on thence to Avignon, where we spent about a week. This venerable town had + few attractions for me; I did not much care for the fourteenth-century + popes, nor for the eighteenth-century silks, nor even for Petrarch and + Laura; and the architecture of the palace, after I had tried to sketch it, + ceased to exhilarate me. My father was in no mood for sight-seeing, + either, but he went through it all conscientiously. My mother, of course, + enjoyed herself, but she met with an accident. While sketching some + figures of saints and monsters that adorned the arch of the northern + portal of the palace, she made an incautious movement and sprained her + ankle. The pain was excessive for the moment, but it soon passed off, so + as to enable her to limp back to our hotel. But the next day the pain was + worse; my father had a headache, a rare affliction with him; I had caught + a bad cold from swimming in the arrowy Rhone, and Una and Miss Shepard + were both in a state of exhaustion from sight-seeing; and in this + condition the journey to Geneva had to be made. We had intended to remain + there but a day, but we stayed longer, breathing the pure air from the + Alps, and feeling better as we breathed. I stood on a bridge and looked + down at that wonderful azure water rushing into the lovely lake; I looked + up and beheld those glorious mountains soaring into the sky, and I forgot + Rome and Florence, and almost America, in my joy. Everything that life + needs for life seemed present there. + </p> + <p> + We got into a little steamer and made the trip up the lake, the mountains + all about us. Up to this time I had imagined that the acclivities in the + north of England and in Scotland were mountains. We sat on deck, in the + stern of the steamer, my father gazing out and up from beneath the rim of + his soft felt hat, with his dark cloak over his shoulders. He looked + revived and vigorous again. Shortly before we left Rome he had ceased to + shave his upper lip, for what reason I know not; I think it was simply + indisposition to take that trouble any longer. My mother had at first + gently protested; she did not want his upper lip and mouth to be hidden. + But as the brown mustache, thick and soldier-like, appeared, she became + reconciled, and he wore it to the end of his life. "Field-Marshal + Hawthorne" James T. Fields used to call him after we got home. Owing to + the preponderance of expression of the upper part of his head, the + addition did not change his look as much as might have been expected; we + soon got used to it, and, inasmuch as all his photographs were taken after + the mustache was established, the world does not know him otherwise. + </p> + <p> + The view became more and more enchanting as we penetrated farther into the + depths of the embrace of the mountains, and at last, at its most ravishing + point, the lake ceased, and the lonely little pile of dingy white masonry, + which is Chillon, appeared. Few works of man have a more romantic interest + than this castle; but, seen from the lake, its environment was too much + for it. Had it plunged downward into the smooth waters and vanished, its + absence would not have been marked in that stupendous landscape. But it + improved greatly upon closer acquaintance; and when we stood in its + vaults, and saw the pillar to which the prisoner was chained, and the hole + in the floor, with its three steps of stone, and the fourth of death, we + felt that Chillon was not unequal to its reputation. + </p> + <p> + After leaving Chillon and Geneva our faces were turned homeward, and we + hastened our steps. My father wrote to England to engage our passage for + the first of August. We were now at midsummer. We returned to Paris, and + after a few days there proceeded to Havre, in order to see Ada Shepard + safe on board her steamer for home; her Wanderjahre was over, and she was + now to be married to Henry Clay Badger. We were sorry to say good-bye to + her; she had been a faithful and valuable element in our household, and + she had become a dear friend and comrade. She stood waving her + handkerchief to us as her steamer slipped away down the harbor. She, too, + was sorry for the parting. She once had said to me: "I think your father + is the wisest man I ever knew; he does not seem ever to say much, but what + he does say is always the truest and best thing that could be said." + </p> + <p> + From Havre we crossed the Channel to Southampton, and were soon in London. + Boston and Concord were only six weeks distant. Such, at any rate, had + been the original design. But after we reached London the subject of the + English copyright of The Marble Faun came up for discussion. Henry Bright + introduced Mr. Smith, of the firm of Smith, Elder & Company, who made + such proposals for the English publication of the book as were not to be + disregarded; but, in order to make them available, it was necessary that + the manuscript should be completed in England. Nothing but the short + sketch of it was as yet in existence; it could not be written in much less + than a year; either the English offer must be rejected, or we must stay + out that year in her Majesty's dominions. My father decided, not + altogether unwillingly, perhaps, to stay. He had written in his journal a + few weeks before: "Bennoch and Henry Bright are the only two men in + England to whom I shall be much grieved to say farewell; but to the island + itself I cannot bear to say that word as a finality. I shall dreamily hope + to come back again at some indefinite time, rather foolishly, perhaps, for + it will tend to take the substance out of my life in my own land. But + this, I suspect, is apt to be the penalty of those who stay abroad and + stay too long." + </p> + <p> + But my father could not write in London, and, casting about for a fitting + spot, he finally fixed upon the remote hamlet of Redcar, far up on the + bleak coast of Redcar, in Yorkshire. It was not far from Whitby, where we + had been two or three years before. The gray German Ocean tumbled in there + upon the desolate sands, and the contrast of the scene with those which we + had been of late familiar with made the latter, no doubt, start forward + intensely in the romancer's imagination. So there he wrote and wrote; and + he walked far along the sands, with his boy dogging his steps and stopping + for shells and crabs; and at a certain point of the beach, where the waves + ran over a bar and formed a lake a few feet in depth, he would seat + himself on a tussock of sand-grass, and I would undress and run into the + cold water and continue my swimming-lessons, which had been begun in + Stockbridge Bowl, continued in Lake Leman, and were now brought to a + satisfactory conclusion. Both my feet were finally off the bottom, and I + felt the wonderful sensation of the first cousin to flying. While I + floundered there my father looked off towards the gray horizon, and saw + the visions of Hilda, Miriam, Kenyon, and Donatello which the world of + readers was presently to behold through his eyes. As we walked home in the + twilight, the dull-red glow of the sunset would throw the outlines of the + town into dark shadows, and shed a faint light on the surf roaming in from + the east. I found, in my old album, the black silhouette of the scene + which I made one day. The arms of an old mill are flung appealingly + upward, the highest object of the landscape, above the irregular sky-line + of the clustering houses. There is also, on the next page, a water-color + drawing of a sailor in a blue jersey and a sou'wester, standing, with his + hands in his pockets, on the beach beside one of the boats of the region—a + slender, clipper-built craft, painted yellow below and black above, good + for oars or sail. Her bow rests on a shaft connecting two wheels, for + convenience of running her down into the water. There was a dozen or more + of these boats always ready on the beach in front of our lodgings. These + lodgings were just back of the esplanade, which, during our sojourn, was + treated to a coat of tar from end to end—a delightful entertainment + for us children—and I have loved the smell of tar ever since. There + is little else that I remember about Redcar, except that, in the winter, + there was skating on a part of the beach; but it was "salt ice," and not + to be compared with the skating I was to enjoy a year or two later in + Concord, which I shall describe if ever I come to that epoch in my + narrative. + </p> + <p> + From Redcar, with the romance more than half done, we went south to our + old Leamington, which seemed half like home; and there the loveliness of + an English spring at its best came to greet us, and there the book was + finished, and sent to the printer. We spent a month or two at Bath, and + found it very pleasant; my father rested from his labors, except the + proof-reading; and I was instructed in the use of the broadsword by an old + Peninsular officer, Major Johnstone, who had fought at Waterloo, and had + the bearing of such majors as Thackeray puts into Vanity Fair. I once + asked him whether he had ever killed a man; it was on the day when he + first allowed me to use a real broadsword in our lesson. "Well," replied + the major, hesitatingly, "I was riding in a charge, and there came a + fellow at me, with his sword up, and made a swing for my head. I dodged, + and his blade just grazed me; but I let him have it, downright, at the + same moment, and I caught him where the neck joins the shoulder, and he + went down, and I went on, and what became of him I don't know; I hope + nothing serious!" The major sighed and looked serious himself. "And was + this the sword?" I demanded, balancing the heavy weapon in my hand. "No—no—it + wasn't that one," said the major, hastily. "I've never used the other + since! Now, then, sir, if you please, on guard!" + </p> + <p> + We went to London, and there were our old friends Bright and Bennoch, and + the Motleys appeared from Italy, and a book called (by the publishers) + Transformation came out in three volumes, being the latest romance by the + author of The Scarlet Letter. The title was not bestowed with my father's + consent. He had, at the publishers' request, sent them a list of several + titles, beginning with The Marble Faun, and among others on the list was + "The Faun's Transformation." The publishers took the "Transformation," and + left out "The Faun." My father laughed, but let it go. The book was to + come out under its proper title in America, and he was indifferent as to + what they called it in England. + </p> + <p> + The end of our tarrying in the Old World was now at hand. Seven years had + we lived there, and we were eager and yet loath to go. My father's friends + gathered about him, men who had hardly so much as heard his name a little + while ago, but who now loved him as a brother. For a few days Mrs. + Blodgett's hospitable face glowed upon us once more, and pale Miss + Williams, and trig little Miss Maria, and many of the old captains whom we + had known. It was the middle of June, and the sun shone even in Liverpool. + Our red-funnelled steamer lay at her moorings in the yellow Mersey, with + her steam up. It was not The Niagara, but on her bridge stood our handsome + little Captain Leitch, with his black whiskers, smiling at us in friendly + greeting. How much had passed since we had seen him last! How much were we + changed! What experiences lay behind us! What memories would abide with us + always! My father leaned on the rail and looked across the river at the + dingy, brick building, near the wharves, where he had spent four wearisome + but pregnant years. The big, black steamer, with her little, puffing tug, + slipped her moorings, and slid slowly down the stream. After a few miles + the hue of the water became less turbid, the engines worked more rapidly + and regularly. Liverpool was now a smoky mass off our starboard quarter. + It sank and dwindled, till the smoke alone was left; the blue channel + spread around us; we were at sea, and home lay yonder, across three + thousand miles of tumbling waves. But my father still leaned on the rail, + and looked backward towards the old home that he loved and would never see + again. It was the hour for good-bye; there would come another hour for the + other home and for welcome. + </p> + <p> + THE END <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Hawthorne and His Circle, by Julian Hawthorne + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAWTHORNE AND HIS CIRCLE *** + +***** This file should be named 6982-h.htm or 6982-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/9/8/6982/ + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer, and David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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