The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1877-07-06

A widely-received opinion of the day
is that the marriages of literary folks
are generally unhappy in the end, if
they are not in the beginning, partieu-
larry when only one of the partners is
afflicted with the inky disease.
But are literary alliances more pro-
ductive of discord than alliances of any
other kind? Undeniably when they
turn out i'll everybody knows it, owing
10 the prominence of the parties while
the connubial disagreements of plain
Mr.. and Mrs. Black or Mr.. and Mrs.
Brown are likely to pass unnoticed. No
doubt many marriages of which author
ship forms a part prove unhappy. This
is not because of authorship, but because
OF marriage, which is far from being,
necessarily, a state of felicity. When
we talk of the dissensions of a poetess
and her husband, of a historian and his
wife, of two welded novelists, we seem
to infer that other couples do not have
dissensions. The conjugal strife of those
who are known to the world becomes
the theme Of general gossip, comment
and exaggeration, while the wars of the
unknown have no chrOnieler and no in
terest.
Byron's separation from his wife took
place sixty years ago, and speculation
as to its cause is still nimble. The Bull
wers were divorced forty years since;
the subject is not quite buried to this
day, and Lady Bulwer did her best to
keep the thing alive by writing novels
of a misanthropic and misogamic cast
Dickens troubles with Mrs. Dickens
set the English-speaking world by the
ears, and echoes of the estrangement
and its consequence are yet heard. Wal
ter Scott, Wordsworth, Browning, and
dozens of authors have enjoyed their
dOmesticity; but for that very reason
their domesticity is never mentioned
Every authors hymeneal woes, ven-
ture to say, might be offset by a score
of merchants, lawyers, and doctors
home tragedies that are never bruited.
The best way to judge of anything is
to take examples we are personally ac-
quainted with. How is it with Ameri-
can writers? Are they unfortunately
married? Do they beat their breasts
and tear their hair by the hearth-stone
because they have made fatal blunders
in nuptial selection2 Do they keep con-
jugal skeletons in every closet? Let US
see.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, the most
original of living thinkers, has had for
JColo eho oOAAEhbLuA q lOLAlC al
Concord, Mass, as can be found any
where. He has been twice married ;
when he was twenty-seven and when
he was thirty-two. His first wife, who
was Ellen Louisa Tucker, of Boston,
lived but few months, and his second
wife, Lidian Jackson, of Plymouth,
Mass, has borne him three children,
two girls aud one boy, all living, and
ranging from twenty-eight to thirty-ive
in age. Although one of the severest Oi
students and most abstract of philoso-
pliers, he always emerges from his IL
brary to the family circle with evident
satisfaction. Notwithstanding a GER
tain gravity of manner, he is full oi
geniality and bonhomie, and is never
more eloquent and charming than when
away from his books and manuscripts
He is very fond of children and young
people; loves to talk and walk with
them, and listens to them as if they
were revealing the oracles of the gods
No man in Concord is more popular, OF
more accessible, than he. He is fully
in sympathy with the old town; he re-
veres and honors it, and says he would
not exchange it for New York, Athens,
Rome, or Paris. To get clear and ade-
quate conception of Emerson, one should
see him at home, in undress, so to speak,
if he may be considered as ever in uni
form who is the soul of simplicity and
sincerity.
He is the kindest of husbands, the
most eonsiderate of fathers. 1t is re-
lated of him that when any thought
strikes him, when any suggestion oc-
ours, or any pet quotation is recalled,
he invariably stops the thing he is do.
ing and jots down the thought or sug.
gestiOn for future use or reference
Even in the middle of the night he OBJ.
serves his habit, knowing that a good
thing may be lost forever unless re.
corded.
Before his second wife got used to hi!
ways, she would ask him, when ht
arose to strike a light, "Are you ill
husband?" mo, my dear" he woulC
reply, "only an idea"
The late Nathaniel Hawthorne, al
though extremely shy and retiring, al
most a recluse, indeed, was never un
pleasant at home. He was often taci
turn, thoughtful, dreamy, though neve
rude, inattentive, or sullen. Often b.
was talkative, interested in everything
full of sunshine, and in such moods b.
was fascinating companion. Then b.
abounded in sly, quiet humOr, and hi
elOquence of speech surpassed anythin,
he has written. Occasionally he woul,
read his MSS. to the members of hi
family, and they enjoyed it immensely
He solicited their criticism, and re
ceived it with gladness and gratitude
the freer it was the better. His wifi
and children idoliZed him; the void hi
death left in their hearts can never b
filled.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, al
ways kind and gentle, is especially s.
in the bosom of his family, consistini
of two sons and three daughters. On
of the children is the product of his frs
marriage, the other four of the second
He has been for some years widowe
again; his second wife, who was Mis-
Appleton, a lovely and accomplished
lady, having lost her life under mos
distressing circumstances.
She had dressed for an evening party
and, while awaiting the carriage, sh
amused two of her little girls by light
ing wax, and dropping it on paper +,
make seals. So engaged, a bit of tn
lighted wax fell upon her gown, of thin
gauzy stuff, and in moment she wa
wrapped in flames. Her screams ant
the cries of her daughters brought he
terrified husband into the room imme
diately; but, before the fire could be ex
tinguished, she was so frightfully burnet
that, after lingering for a few hours
she died in great agony. The seem