New-York tribune., 1903-04-17

criticism and he was closely occupied with ner-
camille business; and their conversations when
they met at the Greeley farm or elsewhere were
continued commented upon and explained in
letters dashed off late at night early In the
morning and delivered by messenger MI
Nathan's replies have not been preserved, ana
their form and spirit can only be known as re-
fected in the polished surface of her own Candid
unaffected letters. She thirty-four and ne
a year younger when they met. and. while intel
Iectual afinities and tastes made them close
companions they were also ardent lovers, al
though kept apart and IN the end separated per-
manently by barriers which are hinted at out
not clearly revealed. in the correspondence HIS
reserve respecting something which he pre-
ferred to leave unexplained piQued her curiosity
and she could not rest until she shared his con-
fdence, for hers a nature that required ao-
solute trutafulness and direct response to
every questioning glance and word When her
gentle reproaches for his half truths were fol-
lowed by frankress happily without the neces-
sity for the avowal of error in the past, she had
a cold fafntness at the heart, but rejoiced be-
cause at last he could conf1de fully In her The
strange wooing went until he sailed for Eu-
rope, and then the correspondence, instead OF in
creasing in warmth and interest, when he was in
Italy revelling in high art planning journey
in Egypt and Asia Minor. suffered from neglect
and delay his part. Her last letter, written
when she was herself on the OF departure
for Europe expresses the hope Of seeing him III
London, or at least Of hearing from him there
The romance however had ended. They never
met again. In London she received letters from
him. but the correspondence seems to have been
suspended by mutual consent. Mr.. Nathan did
not destroy her letters and his son has now
allowed them to pass into publishers hands
It is hardly worth while TO inquire too closely
into the mysteries which are veiled in these love
letters 1t is an easy conjecture that the final
separation was caused by the announcement of
Mr. Nathan's impending marriage of which she
probably received word in London The penalty
which she paid for the loss of his intellectual
conpan.onship was not apparently heavier than
she could easily bear. for when she had made
her triumphant progress among literary celeb
rites in Edinburgh London. Paris and Rome
she fell in love with the Marchese Ossol, and
was secretly married to him; and when the
revolutionary days of storm and stress were
over, and her husband was no longer on duty
with the Civic Guard. and she and her child
were released from concealment in mountain
village she could feel in her own words chosen
among women" and remained one of the hap
plest among them laboring strenuously for
those she loved. until the final catastrophe off
Fire Island. when all perished together. Since
the veil was drawn between lovers once ardent
but critical and exacting. and each had been
reconciled other ties. it would be proftless to
read between the lines of these letters and to at
tempt to explain the close questioning between
them. the inconpatiblities of temperament and
the causes Of disappointment and estrangement
The sweet fragrance and tender grace of these
love letters ought TO exercise the evil spirit of
prurient curiosity.
There is evidence IN these letters Of q love Of
x-hIc WAS hTp3 0f q 2
alted nature; of faith IN the regeneration Of So
ciety inspired by loving heart, rather than the
dry rraxims Of Fourier repeated at Brook Farm;
OF profound religious feeling, broad enough for
the needs of humanity. yet not uncolored by my
ticism nor Unillumined by poetic intimations Of
immortality; Of enthusiasm for intellectual life
and noble ideals. and Of a sensitveness to
beauty exquisite that she seemed to offer in
cense like a priestess. to every radiant flower of
the spring, and to hear in the falling raindrops
Of the still night an echo of heavenly music
All the characteristic qualities of New-England
TranscendeataIisrn, with its elevation Of mind
and aff1uence of sentiment. are to be found in
these letters; and the eager desire TO be helpful
to q companion and the unceasing search for
sympathy and intellectual appreciation are also
revealed. Her love of children-anong them the
boy of whom Mr.. Greeley wrote to her when she
was in Italy the pathetic words: "Ah, Margaret
the world grows dark with US! You grieve for
Rome is fallen: I mourn, for Pickle is deadp'-
shines out in many passages; and the ineffable
sweetness Of a serene nature is exhaled by every
letter in the faded yellow packet. The author
of these American love letters may have been a
prodigy of talents and d sibyl speaking with
rhythmic charm at Brook Farm, but in the old
Greeley farm out Cato Road she woman
with a tender heart. I. n. F.