The Life and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne

style and probably of the same age as the Old Manse at Concord, but somewhat smaller, with only a single window on either side of the doorway-five windows in all on

bject for a sketching class. It did not belong to Hawthorne's father, after all, but to the widow of the bold Daniel, It was

l out of the harbor on his last voyage; and here she watched day after day for its return, only to bring a life-long sorrow with it. The life of a sea-captain's wife is always a half-widowhood, but Mrs. Hathorne was left at twe

sions of their own childhood. The instructor cannot place himself in the position of the pupil. A naturalist will spend years with a microscope studying the development of a plant from the seed, but no one has ever applied a similar process to the budding of genius or even of ordinary intellect. We have the autobiography of one of the greatest geniuses, written in the calm and stillness of old age, wh

n: WINDOW OF

ng man, immediately took Mrs. Hathorne and her three children into his house on Herbert Street, and made it essentially a home for them afterward. To the fatherless boy he was more than his own father, away from home ten months of the year, ever

she could be helpful in various matters, large and small; but the mental occupation which comes from the oversight and direction of household affairs, and which might have served to divert her mind from sorrowful memories, was now gone from her. Her widowhood separated her from the outside world and from all society, excepting a few devoted friends, {Footnote: Wide Awake

Mannin

ere children, for she took great pains to please us and to give us nice things to eat. Her daughter Elizabeth resembled her in that respect. In old letters and in the journal of another aunt, which has come into our possession, we read

bsented herself from the table, as Elizabeth Peabody states, {Footn

again, could have written as well as he did, and although we have no palpable evidence of this-and the letter which she wrote Elizabeth Peabody does not indicate it,-we are willing to take his word for it. With the shyness and proud reserve which he inherited from his mother, there also came that e

have of him. When we consider what a beautiful boy he must have been, with his wavy brown hair, large wistful eyes and vigorous figure, without doubt he was a pleasure to look upon. We do not hear of him again until November 10, 1813, when he injured his foot in some unknown manner while at play,

rsday, Dece

R UN

e will do some good, for Doctor Barstow has not, and I don't know as Doctor Kitridge will. It is about 4 weeks yesterday since I have been to school, and I don't know but it will be 4 weeks longer before I go again. I have been out of the office two or three times and have set down on th

fectiona

IEL HAT

th Manning in Wide

e have given a clearer account of himself and his situation at the time, without one word of complaint? It

be recorded for its novelty. He directed Nathaniel to project his naked foot out of a sitting-room window, while he poured cold water on it from the story abov

to seek the comfort of life from internal sources. There were excellent books in the house,-Shakespeare and Milton, of course, but also Pope's "Iliad," Thomson's "Seasons," the "Spectator," "Pilgrim's Progress," and the "Faerie Queene," and the time had now come when these would be serviceable to him. He was not the only boy that has enjoyed Shakespeare at the age of ten, but that he should have found interest in Spenser's "Fa

person could have written it. Not so poetic as it is philosophical, it is valuable as indicating that the boy had already formed a moral axis for himself,-a lif

RATE

unruffled, unta

my life le

y nature are c

are but fol

ugh infinite tr

heir labou

t is truly del

if they plea

NIEL H

ebruary 1

e; but after he entered Bowdoin College he dropped the practice altogether and never resumed it, although one would suppose that Longfellow's example would have stimulated him to better efforts. Neither does he appear to have tried his hand in writing tales, as boys who have no thought of literary d

driving or riding. He was more fond of playing upon the wharves, a good healthy place,-and watching the great ships sailing forth to far-off lands, and returning with their strange cargoes,-enough to stimulate

erty. In 1817 Mrs. Hathorne also went there, taking her children with her, and remaining, with some intermissions, until 1822. Meanwhile the Mannings sold some thousands of acres of land, although not, as we may suppose, at very good prices, and the name of Elizabeth Hathorne was repeatedly attached to the deeds of conveyance. The house that Robert built was the plainest sort of structure, of only two stories, and with no appear

place. His good uncle supplied him with a boat and a gun, and he enjoyed the small shooting, fishing, sailing and skating that the place afforded; but in later years he wrote to Bridge, "It was at Sebago that I learned my cursed habit of solitude," and this pursued him through life like

ive in a modest, humble manner, in order that their children may have better advantages, deserve the highest commendation, but in this respect good instruction is less important than favorable associations. From fourteen to twenty-one is the formative period of character, and the influences which may be brought to bear on the growing mind are of the highest importance. Lake Se

and painted great warlike figures, whose significance is now known to no one. It is said that Hawthorne frequently sailed or rowed to Indian Rock, and to a sort of grotto there which was large enough for his boat to enter. Both the rock and the Manning house are now difficult of access. Longfellow wrote a pretty descriptive poem of a voyage on Sebago, and it is remarkable how he has made use of every feature of the lan

ymmes afterwards became a sailor, and continued in that vocation until the Civil War, when he went to live in Alexandria, Va. In 1870 he published in the Portland Transcript what pretended to be a series of extracts from a diary which young Hawthorne had k

he not return it to its rightful owner; or, if he felt ashamed of his original abstraction, why did not Symmes restore it to the Hawthorne family after Hawthorne's death, when every newspaper in the country was celebrating Hawthorne's genius? It also might have occurred to one of them that such property would have a marketable value, and could be disposed of at a high price to some coll

iously calculated. In a case like the present, there could be no predicting it; and it is possible that this mulatto valued the diary above all

ngly in its favor as to be almost conclusive.

and familiar with the localities mentioned, at dates so long ago as 1816 to 1

. It is quite possible that there is more of it than Hawthorne ever wrote, but that does not prevent us from having faith in the larger portion of it. The purity of its diction, the nice adaptation of each word to its purpose, and the accuracy of detail are much in its favor; besides which, the personal reflections in it are exactly like Hawthorne. The published portion of the diary in Mr. Pickard's book makes about fifty rather small pages, but no dates are gi

iary is quoted by Lathrop, and

have taken possession of the territory from the great pond to the small one, and goes out to war with every fish-hawk that flies from one to the othe

he boy Hawthorne would probably have noticed that the kingbirds' powers of flight are so superior that all other birds are practically at their mercy. This fix

out to the Dingley Islands and to the Images. He was also kind enough to say that I might go, with my mother's consent, which she gave after much coaxing. Since the loss of my father, she dreads to have an

nd his school-boy argument against it. In h

d not hit the mark, and am not sure that I saw it at the time the gun went off,

gunner, and that now, with a very heavy charge,

ospective analysis is the foundation of all true mental power, and Hawthorne might

ale was suggested by some pretty school-girl who made an impression on him, only to disappear in a tantalizing manner. It is to be presumed that he returned to his mother at Raymond, for Christmas; and at that time he heard a story of how an Otisfield man named Henry Turner had killed three hibernating bears which he discovered in a cave near Moose Pond, not a difficult feat when one comes upon them in that torpid condition. This would place th

ort anthropomorphic romance concerning a badly treated horse, full of genuine pathos and kindly sympathy,-more sy

I am hungry, have had no breakfast and stand here tied by the head while they are grinding the corn, and until master drinks two or three glasses of rum at the store, and then

If Hawthorne could write with such perspicuity at fourteen, why are there

t is of his mother's position toward her only son. He had been invited by a party of their neighbors to go on an all-day excursion,

r bait, and with a fabulous number of biscuit, split in the middle, the insides well buttered, then skilfully put together again, and all stowed in sister's large work-bag, and

that Nathaniel returned to his studies at Stroudwater the following month, for we do not hear of him again at Raymond-or in Salem, either-until March 24, when he writes to his uncle, Robert

nd the other kept for the milk. I have shot a partridge and a hen-hawk and caught eighteen large trout {probably

have his fine nephew where he could personally supervise his goings and comings. Accordingly, on July 26 we find Nathaniel attending school in Salem,-a most unu

lfare; soon after this we hear that dictionary Worcester is his chief instructor. He could not have found a more amiable or painstaking pedagogue; nor is it likely that the fine qualities of his teacher were ever better appreciated. Hawthorne himself says nothing of this, for it was not his way to express admiration for man or woman, but we can believe that he felt the same affection for the doctor that well-behaved boys commonly do for their old masters. It

nionship in Salem as he did in that wilderness,-the natural effect of such a life. He may have been acquainted with half the boys in Salem, but he did not make any warm friends among them. His sister Louisa, who was a more vivacious person than Elizabeth, was his chief companion and comfort. Seated at the window with her on summer evenings, he elaborated the plan of an imaginary

there was only one copy of each number. He continued this through five successive issues, and we trace in its pages the commencement of H

is the present predicament with our own) filled with emptiness. Since commencing this paper, we have received no communication of any kind, so that the

ast editor to whom the statement has applied. His difficulties

er numbe

readers will excuse our not inserting any. The law which prohibit

eople of Maine for having separated themse

. Potatoes could not be procured in some places. When children break their leading strings, and run away from th

igh universal, and it makes little difference now to which of the various forms of Calvinistic worship the Manning family subscribed. That you

roamed in

ajestic roc

tern, magnif

ocean's ste

seen the

s veil from

at shine so fa

solemn, si

seen the sto

sh the whirl

soul in tra

od, in Heave

nuine piety is hardly to be expected, and not greatly to be desired, in a boy of that ag

ge,-a decision which he afterwards adhered to with inflexible determination, in spite of the mo

getate forever in one place, and to live and die as tranquil as-a puddle of water. As to lawyers, there are so many of them already that one-half of them (upon a moderate calculation) are in a state of actual starvation. A physician, then, seems to be 'Hobson's choice'; but yet I should not like to live by the diseases and infirmities of my fellow-creatures. And it would weigh very har

bition for public distinction, nor a vain grasping at the laur