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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: A Book of Autographs + +Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne + + +Release Date: November, 2005 [EBook #9250] +First Posted: September 25, 2003 +Last Updated: April 3, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BOOK OF AUTOGRAPHS *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger and Al Haines. + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h4> + THE DOLIVER ROMANCE AND OTHER PIECES<br /> + </h4> + <h4> + TALES AND SKETCHES<br /> + </h4> + <h3> + By Nathaniel Hawthorne<br /> + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + A BOOK OF AUTOGRAPHS<br /> + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + We have before us a volume of autograph letters, chiefly of soldiers and + statesmen of the Revolution, and addressed to a good and brave man, + General Palmer, who himself drew his sword in the cause. They are + profitable reading in a quiet afternoon, and in a mood withdrawn from too + intimate relation with the present time; so that we can glide backward + some three quarters of a century, and surround ourselves with the ominous + sublimity of circumstances that then frowned upon the writers. To give + them their full effect, we should imagine that these letters have this + moment been brought to town by the splashed and way-worn postrider, or + perhaps by an orderly dragoon, who has ridden in a perilous hurry to + deliver his despatches. They are magic scrolls, if read in the right + spirit. The roll of the drum and the fanfare of the trumpet is latent in + some of them; and in others, an echo of the oratory that resounded in the + old halls of the Continental Congress, at Philadelphia; or the words may + come to us as with the living utterance of one of those illustrious men, + speaking face to face, in friendly communion. Strange, that the mere + identity of paper and ink should be so powerful. The same thoughts might + look cold and ineffectual, in a printed book. Human nature craves a + certain materialism and clings pertinaciously to what is tangible, as if + that were of more importance than the spirit accidentally involved in it. + And, in truth, the original manuscript has always something which print + itself must inevitably lose. An erasure, even a blot, a casual + irregularity of hand, and all such little imperfections of mechanical + execution, bring us close to the writer, and perhaps convey some of those + subtle intimations for which language has no shape. + </p> + <p> + There are several letters from John Adams, written in a small, hasty, + ungraceful hand, but earnest, and with no unnecessary flourish. The + earliest is dated at Philadelphia, September 26, 1774, about twenty days + after the first opening of the Continental Congress. We look at this old + yellow document, scribbled on half a sheet of foolscap, and ask of it many + questions for which words have no response. We would fain know what were + their mutual impressions, when all those venerable faces, that have since + been traced on steel, or chiselled out, of marble, and thus made familiar + to posterity, first met one another's gaze! Did one spirit harmonize them, + in spite of the dissimilitude of manners between the North and the South, + which were now for the first time brought into political relations? Could + the Virginian descendant of the Cavaliers, and the New-Englander with his + hereditary Puritanism,—the aristocratic Southern planter, and the + self-made man from Massachusetts or Connecticut,—at once feel that + they were countrymen and brothers? What did John Adams think of Jefferson?—and + Samuel Adams of Patrick Henry? Did not North and South combine in their + deference for the sage Franklin, so long the defender of the colonies in + England, and whose scientific renown was already world-wide? And was there + yet any whispered prophecy, any vague conjecture, circulating among the + delegates, as to the destiny which might be in reserve for one stately + man, who sat, for the most part, silent among them?—what station he + was to assume in the world's history?—and how many statues would + repeat his form and countenance, and successively crumble beneath his + immortality? + </p> + <p> + The letter before us does not answer these inquiries. Its main feature is + the strong expression of the uncertainty and awe that pervaded even the + firm hearts of the Old Congress, while anticipating the struggle which was + to ensue. "The commencement of hostilities," it says, "is exceedingly + dreaded here. It is thought that an attack upon the troops, even should it + prove successful, would certainly involve the whole continent in a war. It + is generally thought that the Ministry would rejoice at a rupture in + Boston, because it would furnish an excuse to the people at home" [this + was the last time, we suspect, that John Adams spoke of England thus + affectionately], "and unite them in an opinion of the necessity of pushing + hostilities against us." + </p> + <p> + His next letter bears on the superscription, "Favored by General + Washington." The date is June 20, 1775, three days after the battle of + Bunker Hill, the news of which could not yet have arrived at Philadelphia. + But the war, so much dreaded, had begun, on the quiet banks of Concord + River; an army of twenty thousand men was beleaguering Boston; and here + was Washington journeying northward to take the command. It seems to place + us in a nearer relation with the hero, to find him performing the little + courtesy of leaving a letter between friend and friend, and to hold in our + hands the very document intrusted to such a messenger. John Adams says + simply, "We send you Generals Washington and Lee for your comfort"; but + adds nothing in regard to the character of the Commander-in-Chief. This + letter displays much of the writer's ardent temperament; if he had been + anywhere but in the hall of Congress, it would have been in the + intrenchment before Boston. + </p> + <p> + "I hope," he writes, "a good account will be given of Gage, Haldiman, + Burgoyne, Clinton, and Howe, before winter. Such a wretch as Howe, with a + statue in honor of his family in Westminster Abbey, erected by the + Massachusetts, to come over with the design to cut the throats of the + Massachusetts people, is too much. I most sincerely, coolly, and devoutly + wish that a lucky ball or bayonet may make a signal example of him, in + warning to all such unprincipled, unsentimental miscreants for the + future!" + </p> + <p> + He goes on in a strain that smacks somewhat of aristocratic feeling: "Our + camp will be an illustrious school of military virtue, and will be + resorted to and frequented, as such, by gentlemen in great numbers from + the other colonies." The term "gentleman" has seldom been used in this + sense subsequently to the Revolution. Another letter introduces us to two + of these gentlemen, Messrs. Acquilla Hall and Josias Carvill, volunteers, + who are recommended as "of the first families in Maryland, and possessing + independent fortunes." + </p> + <p> + After the British had been driven out of Boston, Adams cries out, + "Fortify, fortify; and never let them get in again!" It is agreeable + enough to perceive the filial affection with which John Adams, and the + other delegates from the North, regard New England, and especially the + good old capital of the Puritans. Their love of country was hardly yet so + diluted as to extend over the whole thirteen colonies, which were rather + looked upon as allies than as composing one nation. In truth, the + patriotism of a citizen of the United States is a sentiment by itself of a + peculiar nature, and requiring a lifetime, or at least the custom of many + years, to naturalize it among the other possessions of the heart. + </p> + <p> + The collection is enriched by a letter dated "Cambridge, August 26, 1775" + from Washington himself. He wrote it in that house,—now so venerable + with his memory,—in that very room, where his bust now stands upon a + poet's table; from this sheet of paper passed the hand that held the + leading-staff! Nothing can be more perfectly in keeping with all other + manifestations of Washington than the whole visible aspect and embodiment + of this letter. The manuscript is as clear as daylight; the punctuation + exact, to a comma. There is a calm accuracy throughout, which seems the + production of a species of intelligence that cannot err, and which, if we + may so speak, would affect us with a more human warmth, if we could + conceive it capable of some slight human error. The chirography is + characterized by a plain and easy grace, which, in the signature, is + somewhat elaborated, and becomes a type of the personal manner of a + gentleman of the old school, but without detriment to the truth and + clearness that distinguish the rest of the manuscript. The lines are as + straight and equidistant as if ruled; and from beginning to end, there is + no physical symptom—as how should there be?—of a varying mood, + of jets of emotion, or any of those fluctuating feelings that pass from + the hearts into the fingers of common men. The paper itself (like most of + those Revolutionary letters, which are written on fabrics fit to endure + the burden of ponderous and earnest thought) is stout, and of excellent + quality, and bears the water-mark of Britannia, surmounted by the Crown. + The subject of the letter is a statement of reasons for not taking + possession of Point Alderton; a position commanding the entrance of Boston + Harbor. After explaining the difficulties of the case, arising from his + want of men and munitions for the adequate defence of the lines which he + already occupies, Washington proceeds: "To you, sir, who are a well-wisher + to the cause, and can reason upon the effects of such conduct, I may open + myself with freedom, because no improper disclosures will be made of our + situation. But I cannot expose my weakness to the enemy (though I believe + they are pretty well informed of everything that passes), by telling this + and that man, who are daily pointing out this, and that, and t' other + place, of all the motives that govern my actions; notwithstanding I know + what will be the consequence of not doing it,—namely, that I shall + be accused of inattention to the public service, and perhaps of want of + spirit to prosecute it. But this shall have no effect upon my conduct. I + will steadily (as far as my judgment will assist me) pursue such measures + as I think conducive to the interest of the cause, and rest satisfied + under any obloquy that shall be thrown, conscious of having discharged my + duty to the best of my abilities." + </p> + <p> + The above passage, like every other passage that could be quoted from his + pen, is characteristic of Washington, and entirely in keeping with the + calm elevation of his soul. Yet how imperfect a glimpse do we obtain of + him, through the medium of this, or any of his letters! We imagine him + writing calmly, with a hand that never falters; his majestic face neither + darkens nor gleams with any momentary ebullition of feeling, or + irregularity of thought; and thus flows forth an expression precisely to + the extent of his purpose, no more, no less. Thus much we may conceive. + But still we have not grasped the man; we have caught no glimpse of his + interior; we have not detected his personality. It is the same with all + the recorded traits of his daily life. The collection of them, by + different observers, seems sufficiently abundant, and strictly harmonizes + with itself, yet never brings us into intimate relationship with the hero, + nor makes us feel the warmth and the human throb of his heart. What can be + the reason? Is it, that his great nature was adapted to stand in relation + to his country, as man stands towards man, but could not individualize + itself in brotherhood to an individual? + </p> + <p> + There are two from Franklin, the earliest dated, "London, August 8, 1767," + and addressed to "Mrs. Franklin, at Philadelphia." He was then in England, + as agent for the colonies in their resistance to the oppressive policy of + Mr. Grenville's administration. The letter, however, makes no reference to + political or other business. It contains only ten or twelve lines, + beginning, "My dear child," and conveying an impression of long and + venerable matrimony which has lost all its romance, but retained a + familiar and quiet tenderness. He speaks of making a little excursion into + the country for his health; mentions a larger letter, despatched by + another vessel; alludes with homely affability to "Mrs. Stevenson," + "Sally," and "our dear Polly"; desires to be remembered to "all inquiring + friends"; and signs himself, "Your ever loving husband." In this conjugal + epistle, brief and unimportant as it is, there are the elements that + summon up the past, and enable us to create anew the man, his connections + and circumstances. We can see the sage in his London lodgings,—with + his wig cast aside, and replaced by a velvet cap,—penning this very + letter; and then can step across the Atlantic, and behold its reception by + the elderly, but still comely Madam Franklin, who breaks the seal and + begins to read, first remembering to put on her spectacles. The seal, by + the way, is a pompous one of armorial bearings, rather symbolical of the + dignity of the Colonial Agent, and Postmaster General of America, than of + the humble origin of the Newburyport printer. The writing is in the free, + quick style of a man with great practice of the pen, and is particularly + agreeable to the reader. + </p> + <p> + Another letter from the same famous hand is addressed to General Palmer, + and dated, "Passy, October 27, 1779." By an indorsement on the outside it + appears to have been transmitted to the United States through the medium + of Lafayette. Franklin was now the ambassador of his country at the Court + of Versailles, enjoying an immense celebrity, caressed by the French + ladies, and idolized alike by the fashionable and the learned, who saw + something sublime and philosophic even in his blue yarn stockings. Still, + as before, he writes with the homeliness and simplicity that cause a human + face to look forth from the old, yellow sheet of paper, and in words that + make our ears re-echo, as with the sound of his long-extinct utterance. + Yet this brief epistle, like the former, has so little of tangible matter + that we are ashamed to copy it. + </p> + <p> + Next, we come to the fragment of a letter by Samuel Adams; an autograph + more utterly devoid of ornament or flourish than any other in the + collection. It would not have been characteristic, had his pen traced so + much as a hair-line in tribute to grace, beauty, or the elaborateness of + manner; for this earnest-hearted man had been produced out of the past + elements of his native land, a real Puritan, with the religion of his + forefathers, and likewise with their principles of government, taking the + aspect of Revolutionary politics. At heart, Samuel Adams was never so much + a citizen of the United States, as he was a New-Englander, and a son of + the old Bay Province. The following passage has much of the man in it: "I + heartily congratulate you," he writes from Philadelphia, after the British + have left Boston, "upon the sudden and important change in our affairs, in + the removal of the barbarians from the capital. We owe our grateful + acknowledgments to Him who is, as he is frequently styled in Sacred Writ, + 'The Lord of Hosts.' We have not yet been informed with certainty what + course the enemy have steered. I hope we shall be on our guard against + future attempts. Will not care be taken to fortify the harbor, and thereby + prevent the entrance of ships-of-war hereafter?" + </p> + <p> + From Hancock, we have only the envelope of a document "on public service," + directed to "The Hon. the Assembly, or Council of Safety of New + Hampshire," and with the autograph affixed, that, stands out so + prominently in the Declaration of Independence. As seen in the engraving + of that instrument, the signature looks precisely what we should expect + and desire in the handwriting of a princely merchant, whose penmanship had + been practised in the ledger which he is represented as holding, in + Copley's brilliant picture, but to whom his native ability, and the + circumstances and customs of his country, had given a place among its + rulers. But, on the coarse and dingy paper before us, the effect is very + much inferior; the direction, all except the signature, is a scrawl, large + and heavy, but not forcible; and even the name itself, while almost + identical in its strokes with that of the Declaration, has a strangely + different and more vulgar aspect. Perhaps it is all right, and typical of + the truth. If we may trust tradition, and unpublished letters, and a few + witnesses in print, there was quite as much difference between the actual + man, and his historical aspect, as between the manuscript signature and + the engraved one. One of his associates, both in political life and + permanent renown, is said to have characterized him as a "man without a + head or heart." We, of an after generation, should hardly be entitled, on + whatever evidence, to assume such ungracious liberty with a name that has + occupied a lofty position until it, has grown almost sacred, and which is + associated with memories more sacred than itself, and has thus become a + valuable reality to our countrymen, by the aged reverence that clusters + round about it. Nevertheless, it may be no impiety to regard Hancock not + precisely as a real personage, but as a majestic figure, useful and + necessary in its way, but producing its effect far more by an ornamental + outside than by any intrinsic force or virtue. The page of all history + would be half unpeopled if all such characters were banished from it. + </p> + <p> + From General Warren we have a letter dated January 14, 1775, only a few + months before he attested the sincerity of his patriotism, in his own + blood, on Bunker Hill. His handwriting has many ungraceful flourishes. All + the small d's spout upward in parabolic curves, and descend at a + considerable distance. His pen seems to have had nothing but hair-lines in + it; and the whole letter, though perfectly legible, has a look of thin and + unpleasant irregularity. The subject is a plan for securing to the + colonial party the services of Colonel Gridley the engineer, by an appeal + to his private interests. Though writing to General Palmer, an intimate + friend, Warren signs himself, most ceremoniously, "Your obedient servant." + Indeed, these stately formulas in winding up a letter were scarcely laid + aside, whatever might be the familiarity of intercourse: husband and wife + were occasionally, on paper at least, the "obedient servants" of one + another; and not improbably, among well-bred people, there was a + corresponding ceremonial of bows and courtesies, even in the deepest + interior of domestic life. With all the reality that filled men's hearts, + and which has stamped its impress on so many of these letters, it was a + far more formal age than the present. + </p> + <p> + It may be remarked, that Warren was almost the only man eminently + distinguished in the intellectual phase of the Revolution, previous to the + breaking out of the war, who actually uplifted his arm to do battle. The + legislative patriots were a distinct class from the patriots of the camp, + and never laid aside the gown for the sword. It was very different in the + great civil war of England, where the leading minds of the age, when + argument had done its office, or left it undone, put on their steel + breastplates and appeared as leaders in the field. Educated young men, + members of the old colonial families,—gentlemen, as John Adams terms + them,—seem not to have sought employment in the Revolutionary army, + in such numbers as night have been expected. Respectable as the officers + generally were, and great as were the abilities sometimes elicited, the + intellect and cultivation of the country was inadequately represented in + them, as a body. + </p> + <p> + Turning another page, we find the frank of a letter from Henry Laurens, + President of Congress,—him whose destiny it was, like so many + noblemen of old, to pass beneath the Traitor's Gate of the Tower of + London,—him whose chivalrous son sacrificed as brilliant a future as + any young American could have looked forward to, in an obscure skirmish. + Likewise, we have the address of a letter to Messrs. Leroy and Bayard, in + the handwriting of Jefferson; too slender a material to serve as a + talisman for summoning up the writer; a most unsatisfactory fragment, + affecting us like a glimpse of the retreating form of the sage of + Monticello, turning the distant corner of a street. There is a scrap from + Robert Morris, the financier; a letter or two from Judge Jay; and one from + General Lincoln, written, apparently, on the gallop, but without any of + those characteristic sparks that sometimes fly out in a hurry, when all + the leisure in the world would fail to elicit them. Lincoln was the type + of a New England soldier; a man of fair abilities, not especially of a + warlike cast, without much chivalry, but faithful and bold, and carrying a + kind of decency and restraint into the wild and ruthless business of arms. + </p> + <p> + From good old Baron Steuben, we find, not a manuscript essay on the method + of arranging a battle, but a commercial draft, in a small, neat hand, as + plain as print, elegant without flourish, except a very complicated one on + the signature. On the whole, the specimen is sufficiently characteristic, + as well of the Baron's soldier-like and German simplicity, as of the + polish of the Great Frederick's aide-de-camp, a man of courts and of the + world. How singular and picturesque an effect is produced, in the array of + our Revolutionary army, by the intermingling of these titled personages + from the Continent of Europe, with feudal associations clinging about + them,—Steuben, De Kalb, Pulaski, Lafayette!—the German + veteran, who had written from one famous battle-field to another for + thirty years; and the young French noble, who had come hither, though yet + unconscious of his high office, to light the torch that should set fire to + the antiquated trumpery of his native institutions. Among these + autographs, there is one from Lafayette, written long after our + Revolution, but while that of his own country was in full progress. The + note is merely as follows: "Enclosed you will find, my dear Sir, two + tickets for the sittings of this day. One part of the debate will be on + the Honors of the Pantheon, agreeably to what has been decreed by the + Constitutional Assembly." + </p> + <p> + It is a pleasant and comfortable thought, that we have no such classic + folly as is here indicated, to lay to the charge of our Revolutionary + fathers. Both in their acts, and in the drapery of those acts, they were + true to their several and simple selves, and thus left nothing behind them + for a fastidious taste to sneer at. But it must be considered that our + Revolution did not, like that of France, go so deep as to disturb the + common-sense of the country. + </p> + <p> + General Schuyler writes a letter, under date of February 22, 1780, + relating not to military affairs, from which the prejudices of his + countrymen had almost disconnected him, but to the Salt Springs of + Onondaga. The expression is peculiarly direct, and the hand that of a man + of business, free and flowing. The uncertainty, the vague, hearsay + evidence respecting these springs, then gushing into dim daylight beneath + the shadow of a remote wilderness, is such as might now be quoted in + reference to the quality of the water that supplies the fountains of the + Nile. The following sentence shows us an Indian woman and her son, + practising their simple process in the manufacture of salt, at a fire of + wind-strewn boughs, the flame of which gleams duskily through the arches + of the forest: "From a variety of information, I find the smallest + quantity made by a squaw, with the assistance of one boy, with a kettle of + about ten gallons' capacity, is half a bushel per day; the greatest with + the same kettle, about two bushels." It is particularly interesting to + find out anything as to the embryo, yet stationary arts of life among the + red people, their manufactures, their agriculture, their domestic labors. + It is partly the lack of this knowledge—the possession of which + would establish a ground of sympathy on the part of civilized men—that + makes the Indian race so shadow-like and unreal to our conception. + </p> + <p> + We could not select a greater contrast to the upright and unselfish + patriot whom we have just spoken of, than the traitor Arnold, from whom + there is a brief note, dated, "Crown Point, January 19, 1775," addressed + to an officer under his command. The three lines of which it consists can + prove bad spelling, erroneous grammar, and misplaced and superfluous + punctuation; but, with all this complication of iniquity, the ruffian + General contrives to express his meaning as briefly and clearly as if the + rules of correct composition had been ever so scrupulously observed. This + autograph, impressed with the foulest name in our history, has somewhat of + the interest that would attach to a document on which a fiend-devoted + wretch had signed away his salvation. But there was not substance enough + in the man—a mere cross between the bull-dog and the fox—to + justify much feeling of any sort about him personally. The interest, such + as it is, attaches but little to the man, and far more to the + circumstances amid which he acted, rendering the villainy almost sublime, + which, exercised in petty affairs, would only have been vulgar. + </p> + <p> + We turn another leaf, and find a memorial of Hamilton. It is but a letter + of introduction, addressed to Governor Jay in favor of Mr. Davies, of + Kentucky; but it gives an impression of high breeding and courtesy, as + little to be mistaken as if we could see the writer's manner and hear his + cultivated accents, while personally making one gentleman known to + another. There is likewise a rare vigor of expression and pregnancy of + meaning, such as only a man of habitual energy of thought could have + conveyed into so commonplace a thing as an introductory letter. This + autograph is a graceful one, with an easy and picturesque flourish beneath + the signature, symbolical of a courteous bow at the conclusion of the + social ceremony so admirably performed. Hamilton might well be the leader + and idol of the Federalists; for he was pre-eminent in all the high + qualities that characterized the great men of that party, and which should + make even a Democrat feel proud that his country had produced such a noble + old band of aristocrats; and he shared all the distrust of the people, + which so inevitably and so righteously brought about their ruin. With his + autograph we associate that of another Federalist, his friend in life; a + man far narrower than Hamilton, but endowed with a native vigor, that + caused many partisans to grapple to him for support; upright, sternly + inflexible, and of a simplicity of manner that might have befitted the + sturdiest republican among us. In our boyhood we used to see a thin, + severe figure of an ancient mail, timeworn, but apparently indestructible, + moving with a step of vigorous decay along the street, and knew him as + "Old Tim Pickering." + </p> + <p> + Side by side, too, with the autograph of Hamilton, we would place one from + the hand that shed his blood. It is a few lines of Aaron Burr, written in + 1823; when all his ambitious schemes, whatever they once were, had been so + long shattered that even the fragments had crumbled away, leaving him to + exert his withered energies on petty law cases, to one of which the + present note refers. The hand is a little tremulous with age, yet small + and fastidiously elegant, as became a man who was in the habit of writing + billet-doux on scented note-paper, as well as documents of war and state. + This is to us a deeply interesting autograph. Remembering what has been + said of the power of Burr's personal influence, his art to tempt men, his + might to subdue them, and the fascination that enabled him, though cold at + heart, to win the love of woman, we gaze at this production of his pen as + into his own inscrutable eyes, seeking for the mystery of his nature. How + singular that a character imperfect, ruined, blasted, as this man's was, + excites a stronger interest than if it had reached the highest earthly + perfection of which its original elements would admit! It is by the + diabolical part of Burr's character that he produces his effect on the + imagination. Had he been a better man, we doubt, after all, whether the + present age would not already have suffered him to wax dusty, and fade out + of sight, among the mere respectable mediocrities of his own epoch. But, + certainly, he was a strange, wild offshoot to have sprung from the united + stock of those two singular Christians, President Burr of Princeton + College, and Jonathan Edwards! + </p> + <p> + Omitting many, we have come almost to the end of these memorials of + historical men. We observe one other autograph of a distinguished soldier + of the Revolution, Henry Knox, but written in 1791, when he was Secretary + of War. In its physical aspect, it is well worthy to be a soldier's + letter. The hand is large, round, and legible at a glance; the lines far + apart, and accurately equidistant; and the whole affair looks not unlike a + company of regular troops in marching order. The signature has a + point-like firmness and simplicity. It is a curious observation, sustained + by these autographs, though we know not how generally correct, that + Southern gentlemen are more addicted to a flourish of the pen beneath + their names, than those of the North. + </p> + <p> + And now we come to the men of a later generation, whose active life + reaches almost within the verge of present affairs; people of dignity, no + doubt, but whose characters have not acquired, either from time or + circumstances, the interest that can make their autographs valuable to any + but the collector. Those whom we have hitherto noticed were the men of an + heroic age. They are departed, and now so utterly departed, as not even to + touch upon the passing generation through the medium of persons still in + life, who can claim to have known them familiarly. Their letters, + therefore, come to us like material things out of the hands of mighty + shadows, long historical, and traditionary, and fit companions for the + sages and warriors of a thousand years ago. In spite of the proverb, it is + not in a single day, or in a very few years, that a man can be reckoned + "as dead as Julius Caesar." We feel little interest in scraps from the + pens of old gentlemen, ambassadors, governors, senators, heads of + departments, even presidents though they were, who lived lives of + praiseworthy respectability, and whose powdered heads and black + knee-breeches have but just vanished out of the drawing-room. Still less + do we value the blotted paper of those whose reputations are dusty, not + with oblivious time, but with present political turmoil and newspaper + vogue. Really great men, however, seem, as to their effect on the + imagination, to take their place amongst past worthies, even while walking + in the very sunshine that illuminates the autumnal day in which we write. + We look, not without curiosity, at the small, neat hand of Henry Clay, + who, as he remarks with his habitual deference to the wishes of the fair, + responds to a young lady's request for his seal; and we dwell longer over + the torn-off conclusion of a note from Mr. Calhoun, whose words are + strangely dashed off without letters, and whose name, were it less + illustrious, would be unrecognizable in his own autograph. But of all + hands that can still grasp a pen, we know not the one, belonging to a + soldier or a statesman, which could interest us more than the hand that + wrote the following: + </p> + <p> + "Sir, your note of the 6th inst. is received. I hasten to answer that + there was no man 'in the station of colonel, by the name of J. T. Smith,' + under my command, at the battle of New Orleans; and am, respectfully, + </p> + <p class="noindent"> + "Yours, ANDREW JACKSON.<br /> "OCT. 19th, 1833." + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p> + The old general, we suspect, has been insnared by a pardonable little + stratagem on the part of the autograph collector. The battle of New + Orleans would hardly have been won, without better aid than this + problematical Colonel J. T. Smith. + </p> + <p> + Intermixed with and appended to these historical autographs, there are a + few literary ones. Timothy Dwight—the "old Timotheus" who sang the + Conquest of Cancan, instead of choosing a more popular subject, in the + British Conquest of Canada—is of eldest date. Colonel Trumbull, + whose hand, at various epochs of his life, was familiar with sword, pen, + and pencil, contributes two letters, which lack the picturesqueness of + execution that should distinguish the chirography of an artist. The value + of Trumbull's pictures is of the same nature with that of daguerreotypes, + depending not upon the ideal but the actual. The beautiful signature of + Washington Irving appears as the indorsement of a draft, dated in 1814, + when, if we may take this document as evidence, his individuality seems to + have been merged into the firm of "P. E. Irving & Co." Never was + anything less mercantile than this autograph, though as legible as the + writing of a bank-clerk. Without apparently aiming at artistic beauty, it + has all the Sketch Book in it. We find the signature and seal of Pierpont, + the latter stamped with the poet's almost living countenance. What a + pleasant device for a seal is one's own face, which he may thus multiply + at pleasure, and send letters to his friends,—the Head without, and + the Heart within! There are a few lines in the school-girl hand of + Margaret Davidson, at nine years old; and a scrap of a letter from + Washington Allston, a gentle and delicate autograph, in which we catch a + glimpse of thanks to his correspondent for the loan of a volume of poetry. + Nothing remains, save a letter from Noah Webster, whose early toils were + manifested in a spelling-book, and those of his later age in a ponderous + dictionary. Under date of February 10, 1843, he writes in a sturdy, + awkward hand, very fit for a lexicographer, an epistle of old man's + reminiscences, from which we extract the following anecdote of Washington, + presenting the patriot in a festive light:— + </p> + <p> + "When I was travelling to the South, in the year 1783, I called on General + Washington at Mount Vernon. At dinner, the last course of dishes was a + species of pancakes, which were handed round to each guest, accompanied + with a bowl of sugar and another of molasses for seasoning them, that each + guest might suit himself. When the dish came to me, I pushed by me the + bowl of molasses, observing to the gentlemen present, that I had enough of + that in my own country. The General burst out with a loud laugh, a thing + very unusual with him. 'Ah,' said he, 'there is nothing in that story + about your eating molasses in New England.' There was a gentleman from + Maryland at the table; and the General immediately told a story, stating + that, during the Revolution, a hogshead of molasses was stove in, in West + Chester, by the oversetting of a wagon; and a body of Maryland troops + being near, the soldiers ran hastily, and saved all they could by filling + their hats or caps with molasses." + </p> + <p> + There are said to be temperaments endowed with sympathies so exquisite, + that, by merely handling an autograph, they can detect the writer's + character with unerring accuracy, and read his inmost heart as easily as a + less-gifted eye would peruse the written page. Our faith in this power, be + it a spiritual one, or only a refinement of the physical nature, is not + unlimited, in spite of evidence. God has imparted to the human soul a + marvellous strength in guarding its secrets, and he keeps at least the + deepest and most inward record for his own perusal. But if there be such + sympathies as we have alluded to, in how many instances would History be + put to the blush by a volume of autograph letters, like this which we now + close! + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Book of Autographs, by Nathaniel Hawthorne + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BOOK OF AUTOGRAPHS *** + +***** This file should be named 9250-h.htm or 9250-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/9/2/5/9250/ + +Produced by David Widger and Al Haines. + +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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