The Wayside was, perhaps, so named in remembrance of the time when its
owner had "sat down by the wayside like a man under enchantment." It
characterized well, too, his mental attitude in maturity; though the
spell that held him now was charged with happiness. The house itself was
small, but the proprietor might have carved on his lintel the legend
over Ariosto's door, _Parva, sed apta mihi_. In October, 1852, he
wrote to Bridge that he intended to begin a new romance within a day or
two, which he should make "more genial" than the last. What design this
was cannot now be even conjectured. Hawthorne had written, in the
preceding year, "I find that my facility of labor increases with the
demand for it"; and he always felt that an unlimited reserve of
invention and imagination awaited his drafts upon it, so that he could
produce as many books as he might have time for writing. But
circumstances again called him away from ideal occupations. Just as he
was preparing to write the "Tanglewood Tales," as a sequel to the
"Wonder-Book," General Pierce, the Democratic nominee for President,
urged him to write his biography, as a "campaign" measure. "I have
consented to do so," wrote Hawthorne, to his publisher; "somewhat
reluctantly, however, for Pierce has now reached that altitude where a
man careful of his personal dignity will begin to think of cutting his
acquaintance. But I seek nothing from him, and therefore need not be
ashamed to tell the truth of an old friend.
Pages:
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282