, 1870-06-13
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PASSAGES FnoM TIE ESGL1sH NOTE BOOKS
or NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE Two vol
nnea Boston: FleldA, Oefood 4 Co Chicago:
western Ncws Company. .i6su.
Mesns- Fields, Oegood L Co. have closed
up their spring season Of publication with cue
Of the plsasantcst booka they havc ever Issued,
tho Passages from thu EnSssh Nnte Books
Of Nathaniel HaWthorne, ,"-pleasaot both be-
cause anything from the pen OF the great
ru1uancer ia acceptable, and because 1t Ia N
informal work It Is in respects book Tor
criticism because there is nothing in It to CRIT
eize. 1t is = book Of Impressions rather than
Of opiuions, or decisions and Impressions.
which we're written 1t The TINE fas noeyes but
tboee Of his own domestic circle. They ere
onlv the outlines Of the picture, and, Alas, tho
hand that eonld color and lone them has for
ever lost it's cunning. They should
In Rad only Is memoranda, raluA-
bic for their Impressions and quick
insishta, dashed OF in tho haste Of traTel, with
no thought OF tho critical decision; not as
immediate Interrogation, under these circun-
stAnces, which will arise ss to the cause Of
their publication. is stated by Mrs. Hawthorne
in the preface. MI Hawthorne was Away
znorbidly sensitive about having bis biography
written. The reserve Of fliA uatuts dhunned
The public gaze. II place, therefore, OF that
life which VIC would Ill Ike to road, MIA Haw-
tLorne has given the public these private
memoranda from his letters and 1ourns sls. be-
cause OF themselves they furnish tho clues to
the motives OF his life and the traits Of his
character, and to these his romhnces, espee-
i,lly, sour Old Home,' "The Scarlet Let
ter" and '4Ihe Marble Faun,'' and he ia dull
anaIvzer who cannot extract therofrom his whoae
inner life. Tho rpm8ncea furnish the deep
currents of the soul, the peculiariues Of his
srsthetic nature, and the peculiar gravity and
Tathos Of his Temperament, whilo these mem
oranda give you all hiH modes OF thought, his
1.eculiarities of action, and those distinctive
traits of character which wc deuominAte &C.
centricities in men Of genius. Aph7aical por-
trait might almost be painted from these
pages. ..-..-- .......-..
The d1st volume Is almost painful to rsa5, 1t
contains 60 many hints and cntrles which
might hare bcen worked up into polished
chaptcrs There arc thickly scatterod along
its psees mate1inl for ali sorts Of pleasant
stories and thoughts in tho rough, which only
nced the proper setting to make them glisten
With beauty. Here are some wo select Ut ran
dom: j,
.swisl,ing 10 send letter to dead man,
who may be Furposed to have gone to Tophet,
throw it into the fire. !;
"Nervous and e1citable parsons need t
tslk great deal, by way Of letting on Steam :
aWhat was the after lifc OF the young man,
nhom Jesus, looking, on Iovod,' and bade hin
sell all that be had, and give to the poor. aut
take up his crosa and follow him7 Something
very deep and beautiful might be made out O
this"
"Every Enclishrnan runs to tho Times witt
his little g1ieTance, ~ child runs to its moth
et"
'.H mankind wore all intellect they wonlt
bc continually changing, 20 thAt ono age woul'
bo sutircly unlike another- The IIsAt consoev
atiye IL tic heart, which ro:nains the same il
all ages; 20 that conmonptaccs Of = Thousand
<e1rs' standing arc % effective as eSer."
"a woman chastity consists, like IN onion
of q series Of coatB- You may st11p on th
outer ones without doing much mischief, per
llaps, none at al; hut you keep talins oi
ere after another, in expectation Of coming t
lie inner nucleus, including the whnle valu
Of tho matter. It proyes, however, that ther
is no such nucleus. and that chastity Is dill
fused through tic whole eeries Of coats,
1ceeened with the removal Of each, and val
ishes with tho final onc, WHICH you suppose
would introduce you the hidden pear"
It's pleasant to ramble with 3Ir. Hawthorn
amidst nature, among ruins and through Il
rllis, that, and tho other. Els provcrbiAl me
aucholy disappears, and he becom'
tie most social and entertaining
guides, but he is tho mo
at home and the most delightful WHOM telli1
5ou Of men and women, for the hna1ysis ar
Ekctching Of whom he had an intuitiVc /
ttiuct. OF tho great novelist, whose deaI
Las Just plunged the literary world into Grie
10 las but little to say, as he did not come
contact with him. He only speaks Of him
tle following paragraph:
"spealing Of dickens last evening, n
- mentioned his domestic tastes,-how
Erefe1Ted home enjeyments to all others, II
cid not willingly go much inlo society. Nj
-, too, the other day, told us OF his taki1
on himself al possible trouble as reganls i
domestic aGaira. There is great variety
testimony, various and var1cd, ns to the cha
ecter Of Dickens. must 500 him before
finally leaye England"
But there wero many othera whom he
meet, and he has fairly painted them on p
rcr. At repast Of tha Reform Club hc N
Douglas Jcrrold, and gives us the folio nix
graphic sketch:
'fDesceading again to the basement hall,
elderly gentsenan came in, and vas MA n
r1n, hut with breadth enough, and back @
c.ssively bent-bowed almost to defornit
Very cray hAir, aud face and expression
remarkable briskneas and intelligence
I.roflle came out pretty boldly, and his ey
had tho prominence that Indicates, be1iey
vp!ubihty OF speech. nor did ho fail to Il
from the instant Of lis appearance; and il 4
tone Of his voice, and in the whole man, the
Eas something racy-a flavor of tho humo1i
His ttcp YVES that Ct all aged man, Al
he put his stick down very decided
at every football; though, "a he sft:
In nj hn F1Ttft r
need not yet have been initH. But pathal
lc has lati tho gout; his feet, however, !
9.y no mems swollen, bat unusually sI1a
Dr. introduced him as a1r. Doug1
Je1pld: and we went into the cotfec.room
dine. The cotrec-room occupies the whole si
Of the eaifce, aud is provided with gro
many tables, calculated for throa or four p,
sons to dine 1t; and We sat down st one
these, and DR.. - orisered souac mullis
t:sny soup, and bottle Of white French vii
meroda, and mat OF them dressed in tho |
cry. of tho clus, COMPRISING plush broeed
aud wllite tilk stockings; for those Er
lish rcformers do not seem to include reput
can simplicity Of manners in their syste
Neither, pcrhhpa, il it anyuise essentiA
AFTER the soup, we had turbot, Ana by Al
by q bottle Of Chateau1 Margau1. very {
lectable; and then rome lambs feet, de
catcly done, and come outlets Of know r
what peculiar type; and finally ptarmigs
u
ernuso. but feeds high up towards tho su
E,its Of tho Scotch mountains. Then soI
cheese, untf bottle of Chambertin. Il VA.
very pleasant dinner, and my companic
were both very agreeable men !: both taxing
ehlcud, sz,1ical, yet not ll-natured, view
liic and people, aud as FOR alr. Douglas J
rul3t lie Often reminded mo of E-Q-
III the richer veins OF the latter, both by
f.ce and expression, and by tnctare Of 70.
thing at once wise aud hunosousls absurd
w. r n H..
E1o1c genial, Wholcsonar nature than E.
End under very thin crust OF outward 1e
1ltv grew scnsible OF very warn heart, =.
even of much simplicity OF character Ii I
n'D, h91n in IL London and accustomed a."
to61Gnaon 1n aonrla life, :, .hs or.,,nr or~o,a -,
with high appreciation OF Emerson and
Iungfcl'ow. whose Hiawatha' ho considerc
wonderful performance; and OF Lowell, viii
Fable foE Critics he especially admired
mentioned ThoHeau, and proposed to send
10 Tetks ;;,.,;; to Dr.; who, being connected =
might be inclined 10 draw attention to the
Dougtas 3crrold naked vhv hc ehouid not b,
them, too. I hesitated' little, bnt a.
pressed me, and would have m auswcr, I 8
that did not feel quito 10 saro Of his lin
Judgment On Thoreaus books {; and It
Glanced that used tho word 'acrid, for /
OF better, in endearorinE to express my i
OF JetTolds WAY OF looking at men and Doc
It WAS not quito Whist meanti but, in Fl
lie often is acrid, and has written pases
vo:umcs Of aeridity. though, no doubt, '
IN hnucst purpose. and from 4 m,
t,ieEust ut the cant and huubug Of the NO
Jcrru1d said no more, and went talkiug
Dr.--; but, in n minute or t~o, boca
nasso that something had gone wrong, /
looking at Douglas Jcrruli. thers WAS IN
I:ression Of pain and emotion upon his 4
1:y this time second bottle Of Burgundy
teen opened tClcs Nouycot, tho best tho {
could p1udpce, aud far richer than the Ch
l'cTtin), and that warm and potent wine
have had something to do with the depth