The times., 1897-05-09
be selected for her, and it requires a nice
discrimination to make choice of books


| discrimination TO make choice of books.
Rose Hawthorne Lothrop, in her memories
of her father, Nathaniel Hawthorne, pub
lished by Houghton, Mifflin & Co, gives
some interesting accounts of his manner of
working. There is something frresstibly
fascinating about an intimate glance into
the personal characteristics of our writer's.
and what she tells is received at this value
Hawthorne wrote principally in the
morning, with that absorption and regular
ity which characterizeth Iaborof men who
are remembered. When his health began to
show signs of giving away in 1851 it was
suggested by relative, whose intellect,
strength of will and appetite for theories
were OF equally splendid proportions, that
he only needed high desk at which 10
stand when writing to be restored to all
his pristine vigor. With his usual toler-
ance OF possible wisdom, he permitted
such a desk to be arranged in the tower
study at the Wayside, but, with his in
exorable contempt for mistakes of judg-
ment, he never, after a brief trial. used
it for writing.
Upon bis simple desk of walnut wood,
of which he had nothing to Complain, al
though 1T barely served its purpose, like
most of the inexpensive objects about him,
was charming Italian bronze-Hercules
In the act of ofstrangling goose-in friendly
aid of drivers of the quill He wrote with
gold pen. He leaned very much upon his
left arm while writing, often holding the
Top OF the manuscript book lovingly with
his left hand, quite in the ttitude Of "A boy.
AT the end of d sentence or two ne would
sometimes unconsciously bow his head, a
If bidding goodbye TO a thought well rid Of
for the present in its new garb of ink.
In writing he little carefor paper and
Ink To be sure, his large, square manu-
script was firmly bound into covers, and the
paper was usually OF neutral blue, and
when one says he had little care for his me-
chanical materials it is meant that he had
no seryfle anxiety as to how they locked
to another person, for that he loved
his manuscript books There was q certain
air or humorous respect about the titles,
which he wrote with flourish, as COM
pared with the involved minuteDess of the
rest of the script, and the latter covers
every limit of the page in a devoted way
His letters were formed Obscurely, though
most stfascinatingly, and he was almost frolic-
some in his indifference to the comfort of
the compositor
Still he had none of the frantic recon
siderations of Scott or Balzac II he made
q change in word, 1t was while it was
fresh, and no one could obliterate what
he had written with more fearless blot
OF the finger, or one which looked more
earnest and interesting. There was no
scratching or quidding in the manner with
which he fought for his art. Each day he
thought out the problems he had set him.
self before beginning to write, and if
word offended him, as he recorded the re-
suit, he thrust it back into chaos before
the lux had dried. He sometimes destroyed
first drafts, of which his family knew moth
ing. Indeed, they have his own word for
1t that he passed the day in writing
stories and the night in burning them''
Nevertheless, his tendency is known to
have been that Of thinking out his plots
and scenes and characters, and transcrib-
ing them rapidly without further change.