The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-12-14
WASHINGTON rRwNe's ROMANCE.

Cause of tie Famous Authors Life Long
SOrrOw-FrOm Private Notebook.
Hattie Tying GriswolI in Chicago Tribune
1t was during these years that he
made the acquaintance and learned to
love so deeply Matilda Holman. beau
tiful young girl, a daughter of one of
his older friends. She was a most lovely
person in body and mind, and in his eyes
the paragon of womanhood. He was
young, romantic, full of sensi-
bility, and his love for this
beautiful girl filled his whole life.
He was poor and could not marry, but
he had many arguments with himself
about the propriety of doing so even
without an income. Il think, he finally
writes, that these early and IMPROVE
dent marriages are too apt to break
down the spirit and energy of a young
man, and make him hard working,
half-starving, repining animal all his
days" And again: Young men in
our country think it a great extrava-
gance to set up a horse and carriage
without adequate means, but they make
no account of setting up wife and
family, which is far more expensive"
But while he was looking about on
every side for some way to better his
fortunes, that he might take to his home
this woman he loved so tenderly, her
health began to fail, and in a short time
he was deprived by death of her COM
panship. His sorrow was fe-lOng, and
it was a sorrow which he held sacredly
in his own heart He never mentioned
her name. even to family friends, and
they learned to avoid any allusion to
her, he was so overcome with emotion
when merely hearing her name spoken.
This was in his early youth, and
throughout long life he held himself
faithful to her memory; never, it is be-
lieved, WaVering once in his allegiance.
It was at this time that he was
writing the History of New York" He
wrote afterward: when l became
more calm and collected ! applied my
self by way of occupation to the finish
ing of my work. L brought it to close
as well as / could and published it; but
the time and circumstances In which 1t
was produced rendered me always I'M
able to look upon it with satisfaction.
His countenance long retained the
trace of his melancholy, and he was
ever after a more subdued and quiet
man. After his death beautiful pict-
ure and lock of hair were found among
his private papers marked in his hand
writing Matilda Hoffman. He also kept
by him through lie nef bIOIe anu
Prayer Book. He lay with them under
his pillow in the first days of his
anguish, and carried them with him
always in all lands to the end of his
life.
In little private notebook intended
for his own eye were found these words
after his death: ''She died in the beauty
of her youth, and in my memory she
will ever beyoung and beautiful. Truly
not an unhappy fate as the world goes
to live thus in the memory of such a
man. What would years and cares and
the commonplace of existence have done
for such love as this, we wonder? We
shall never know. But we have all seen
loves apparently as pure and as strong
worn away by the attritions of life-by
the daily labor for daily bread, by little
incessant worries, and faults, and
foibles upon the part of one or both
until there was nothing left of the early
color Of romance-only faded web of
life where once was cloth of gold. How
sweet to many a faded and careworn
woman would be the thought of being
always young and beautiful to the man
she loved. Fortunate Matilda Hoffman
of the Olden time