The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1893-11-01

There are not many people living
At the present time who had an inti-
mate acquaintance with Nathaniel
Hawthorne. and when one gets an
opportunity to talk with such a per-
son one is apt to grasp it eagerly.
In Salem, the home OF Haw thorne.
and the place where he did the most
of his writing, there is now living a
man who enjoyed close friendship
with him for about thirty-six years
The man is Horace Ingersoll.
When the Boston Transcript writer
called upon him and asked him if he
would tell some of his "reminiscences
for publication he willingly complied.
Al guess | can tell you as much as
anyone about him." he said, .'for l
knew him as well as anyone. I was
born here and Hawthorne was born
here. but strange to say did not be-
come acquainted with him in Salem.
met him down in New Haven when
went there in 1925 to enter Yale
college. The Saturday after ar
rived ! was feeling little homesick,
80 took walk down to about the
only hotel there was in the place at
that time. 1t was sort of hotel
and general stage office. and while
looking over the register in the
mN8ca came across the names of
lan;ef Manning and Nathaniel Haw-
thorue of alem
.Iwas nerSpnalIy acquainted with
Manning and I'D often heard cf
Hawthorne. so I sent ny name to
their room and asked to see them.
They both came dawn in few mo-
ments, and there was where / first
met Nathaniel Hawthorne. He was
q slip of young man at that time.
and it did not take as very long to
become pretty well acquainted. l
found in him a jolly companion for
that day; we went about the college
buildings and he showed me some
places about town that he had visited
previously"
There are few houses in the coun-
try moro famed than the House of
the Seven Gables On Turner street
Salem. Although Hawthorne's son
and son-in-law say that the house
cannot be identified and exists only
in the novelist's imagination, Mr. In
gersoll affirms that he himself owned
it at the time Hawthorne wrote upon
it, but it has since passed out of his
possession. He became the owner of
it through the death of distant rel
native and kept it until some time
after the, great Boston fire in 1870,
swhen it was sold.
When MIR. .Ingersoll was asked why
b had never written the story of his
luaintance with Hawthorne he re-
ed:
Many years ago | started to write
story of Hawthorne's life in Salem
and did considerable work on it, but
about that time some other person
came out with book with the facts
So mixed that l became disgusted
and gave 1t up. / have had a notion
since then to tell how Hawthorne
missed writing ii novel on Longfel-
Flows 'Evangeline,' but have never
got around to it. "
The facts of this story were origin
lilly told to Mr.. Ingersoll by Mrs.
Halliburton, who lived in South Bos-
ton. He told the story to Hawthorne
One day while they were walking
Over what is now Lafayette street in
Salem. and Hawthorne said he would
write a novel about it. AS the time
passed on he neglected to keep his
promise. and six years later Inger-
soil gave the story to Longfellow at
his home IL Cambridge, and from this
the famous poem was written. Mr..
Ingersoll recalls with some amuse-
hnent that at the time he gave the
6tory to Longiellow, he attempted to
tell him how it should be written.
lis Instructions were not followed
Fery closely. but he was perfectly
satisfied with the result after the
york had been completed, In his
hary at the present time Mr.. Inger-
Oil hal the copy OF ''Evangel1ne,
bresenHed to him by Longfellow with
In autograph inscription on the fly
leaf.
..W&ll, after that book came out
YOU Ought to have seen Hawthorne
rave. T said IngersolL s'He was so
mad with himself and with me
becau Sc he had not written the
novel that he did not get over it for
. some time. do not think he ever
fully forgave me for telling the story
to Lougfellow.
Nj Ingersoll recalls, that although
Hawthorne often lost control of his
MEMBER. they managed to get along
faiuE well together, ard the friend
shi1 between them strengthened as
Ahekears went by. From the time
az Ehe meeting in New Haven in
8 until the death of Hawthorne
1864, they were close friends and
re never parted for long at time.