Show r Hawthorne's Li Life e at Concord I r IT 1 WAS with the highest anticipations of pleasure that Hawthorne began h his s life in the blissful seclusion of the Old ri M Manse Manse se Although the life at Boston and Brook Farm had not been particularly tt distasteful to him the solitary habits formed in his youth always directed him away from the haunts of men The Old Manse lies apart from the village on r that slumberous slum berous stream the Concord The ash trees of the avenue which are shadowy with solemn thoughts and rustling rustling rustling rust rust- ling leaves shade the moss-grown moss building building building build build- ing and give to it a peaceful subdued appearance It was not alone for the seclusion seclusion I sion of the situation that the Old Manse was chosen as a home it could be rented at a reasonable figure and Hawthorne Hawthorne Haw Haw- th thorne rne at that time had neither fame or fortune in abundance When he came to the new home he came not alone It was here his marII married married mar mar- II 1 ried life began a life in in which he was J I. I 1 z supremely happy happ Under the influence of his companions companion's deep sympathy and appreciation for him his life was ennobled ennobled ennobled enno enno- bled and exalted He returned his wife's affection with sincere and lasting devo devo- tion The bride in some of her letters to her sister tells how they together watched the beauty of the sunset how they rowed on the river in summer and how in winter when the ice was good they went to the river Hawthorne to skate and his wife to watch him or run and slide along the ice With such a anoble anoble anoble noble companion in his wife Hawthorne had little need to to seek the society of the village His little circle of friends included included included in in- Emerson Thoreau Channing and Alcott But the conversation of such men was tasteful to our author only when they were away from the restraints of society On one occasion it is is' related JiEm Emerson and Thoreau came to to pay a call They were formally received and ushered into the little parlor but conversation conversation conversation con con- deserted all and the visit was wasa a failure It would have been quite different different different dif dif- ferent had they been on the banks of the the- river or exploring the meadows in search of Indian relics There their talk would have gushed up like the bubble Dubble of a fountain revealing amid the evanescent spray hidden lumps of gold To the inhabitants of Concord the in inmates inmates inmates in- in mates of the Old Manse seemed shrouded in mystery They never mingled with their neighbors and the spell which they seemed to have thrown over their home defied intrusion Many wild stories were told concerning Hawthorne and his Some thought him harmlessly insane One young man was inclined to disbelieve this but observed Hawthorne Hawthorne Hawthorne Haw Haw- thorne one day standing with his hands clasped behind him gazing at the ground He paid no particular attention to this but thought it strange that he should be standing in the same position and attitude two hours later The master of the Old Manse was wassel- wassel sel- sel 4 wJ f i J l iL 1 7 1 ii dom seen in the daytime but in the su summer mer evenings he was always lYs on the river At such times though often accompanied accompanied ac ac- companied he seldom spoke but his companion felt that not a single change in the beauty of the day had escaped his notie notice words would mar such sympathy At home our authors author's time was di divided divided divided di- di vided between the garden and the delightful delightful delightful de little nook of a study He f. f looked upon writing as a profession which should only be followed through necessity and ald he advised his son never to become a writer of books Of the literary works produced at the theOld theOld Old Manse none are indebted to Concord for their setting Here the facts were gathered that formed the basis for the ther r flowers of fancy that bloomed in later ater r years The surroundings of writers can r l o only y be put into literature when time timer t. t has partly obscured them by a veil of change and growth But in this fairy fairyland fairyland r land the poetical qualities of character alone were developed the practical were neglected And so when the workmen workmen workmen work work- men came as forerunners of the owner bestrewing the lawn with shavings and tearing away the clinging vines perhaps J. J Hawthorne was not displeased when he gathered up his household goods drank a farewell cup of tea in his pleasant pleas pleas- ant little J breakfast room and passed forth between between the tall stone gate gateposts gateposts gateposts posts as uncertain as the wandering Arab where his own tent might next be pitched Through the gay whirl of London life and distinction and the beauty of an Italian winter the sweet memories of New England's rugged hills and smiling meadows gleamed clearly And again the are at Concord but not at the Old Manse They had indeed been wanderers and their present home was but one of the many resting places so it was called the Wayside This house formerly belonged belonge to a man of peculiar habits Ophic Alcott While I in his possession he built terraces s up the side hill-side at the back and rustic arbor out of the boughs of the apple trees But these structures were frail and soon fell to ruins His study here was in addition to the theold theold theold old house and although he professed that he liked it hi his fam family y knew that his ideal was far different 1 As before much of his time was spent in the contemplation of nature At the rear of the house is a rising hill covered with pines lo locusts and apple trees In this grove he would walk for hours and the path he gradually wore is still traceable in the long grass During the last summer of his life Hawthorne and his wife walked the trodden path r rand and when they re reached ched the summit of the ridge conversed converged in low sympathetic tones From their position they commanded commanded commanded com com- an unobstructed view of meadow meadowlands meadowlands lands broken only by small hillock and unrelieved by any glimmer of lake or river The family experienced some sadness in returning to America Their old friends were ere all there but they had been changed by time and the nation was in inthe inthe inthe the of war But Hawthorne could never enjoy the same seclusion at Wayside that he found at the Old Manse He was now a a. a distinguished author and andas as such he must receive and go into society Age and the unhealthful situation of Wayside were slowly undermining undermining undermining under under- mining his constitution and he traveled much with his friends to benefit his failing failing failing fail fail- ing health His spirit was wanting a change of scene that this earth did not afford It was with strange that his family took their leave of him when he set out for the hills of New Hampshire with President ex-President Pi Pierce That farewell was th the last In the little New Hampshire town his spirit took its flight as peacefully as he had lived What heart that had known him did not mourn and what reader has not felt that t hi his own life has been bettered because t he had lived Th The birds sang in every i I tree the blossoms apple-blossoms shed hed their soft a f beauty along the way as he was borne t to the Sleepy Hollow cemetery Nature t a f by her radiance and beauty soothed and v 5 sympathized with the sorrowing hearts c 6 They placed the flower laden coffin in a aI I grave underneath the pines pines a a retired spot like his favorite walk at Wayside Mary Alary Boberg r |