The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-05-09

an angry political dispute with him
which will separate them for time and
leave Nathaniel more hours to think of
her. For ''peace overfiows from your
heart to mine" He cautions her against
walking with his robust sister Eliza
beth because ''she is interchangeable and
wants to walk half round the world
when once out doors"- He assures her
that although he loves her deeply he is
in awe of her. II suppose I should
have pretty much the same feeling if
an angel were to come from Heaven
and be my dearest friend-only the an.
gel could not have the tenderest of hui
man natures, too, the sense of which is
mingled with this sentiment" He can
not understand the mystery of his awe
and love; ''methinks it converts my
love into religion" And he never read
letter from her without first washing
his hands
As time passessand their personal in
terests become more intermingled he
assumes that right to guide, moderate
and restrain her feelings which it was
inevitable he should assume even to
the angel. IT, however, he becomes
ways, he also becomes more caressing
He is sure he might have written poetry
since he was in love il. he had only the
gift of making rhymes. He is sure she
IS poem. EpicP No. A sonnetP
No, ''for that is too labored and artif-
cial." She was ''sort of sweet, SIM
pie, gay, pathetic ballad, which nature
is singing sometimes with tears, some
times with smiles,n and sometimes
with both. After this frenzy of the
gods had existed between them for a
year, she defined beauty with all the
gravity of Burke my definition of
beauty is that it is love, and. therefore,
includes both truth and good" Sus-
pic;ous Of the logic of her philosophy,
she adds: "But those only who love as
we do can feel the significance and
force of this. The last day of the year
she sends him a delicious message
''God bless you this night of the old
year. 1t has proved the year of our
nativity. Has not the old earth passed
away from US? Are not all things
new?"
She has hurt finger; he warns her
that if it is not well soon he will send
her the best surgeon in Boston. She
paints; the pictures will be more pre-
cious to him ethan all the productions
of all the painters since Apelles!" She
painted him and her in little land
scape, and he goes into raptures over
tiny figures doubtless looking as much
like Sancho Panza and Guienevere as
like that of Nathaniel and ''his own
Sophie" He would not hang the pre-
c;ous things on the wall for fear of dust
and the fingers of the chambermaid.
Indeed, he was the maddest of lovers,
if ever one were madden than another.
He closes one letter with "Belovedest,
| love thee very especially much to-day.
But now it is breakfast time, and" =
alas! even Love must eat-"'and have
an appetite" That makes her break
fast of the tenderest Importance.
"What did you. eat for breakfast But
l know very well that you never eat
anything but bread and and chick
ems" A good enough diet for Love.
Still he would know something more:
''Do you love pigeons in pieP'
From Brook Farm Hawthorne wrote
his dearest unutterablyn very plain
matters-about blowing and planting
and manuring and milking; while the
"thin frock you made for me" is con-
sidered ga most excellent article" 1t
might even attain the dignity of becom-
ing the summer uniform of the COM
munity. He assured her that he had
also a warm frock, though rather de-
ticient in grace, and that he wore a
tremendous pair of cow-hide boots with
soles two inches thick. These realities
are charmingly sprinkled with the
daintiest and sweetest of tid-bits of de-
votion, all spooned out as it were with
the grace of cavalier and the softness
of nurse coaXing frail child to try to
eat and be good and get well, for
Sophia Peabody was an invalid all this
time. No proof of her lovers affection
could be more explicit than his assur-
anee that he would rather she should
never paint or sculpture, if her health
was to be in the least injured by the
effort. at would be no trouble to me
if you should never touch clay or can
vas again.
The sad sarcasm we have had of late
on such love-the Bulwer Lytton let.
tiers, of similar intensity and surpass.
ing ardor, but lacking the dignity and
nobleness of these-happily finds nc
corresponding sequel in the welded life
of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia
Peabody. There was no disenchantment
Faithful and fond to the end, they made
life blissful for each other, and the per
fume of the roses of their courtship wa,
scattered over their graves. year by
year we shall grow closer to each other
and thousand ages hence we shall b.
only in the honeymoon of our mar
rage" Twenty-Five years of domestic
life never surprised shadow on thu
heart of either to the other, and whel
death claimed the widow she anticipat
ed his summons as if she saw the hant
of her husband reckoning in the visit;
of the thousand ages of happiness O
which the lover had written.