On the other
hand, his is a far richer and less debased nature than that of
Portsoaken. Hawthorne appears subsequently to have divided him,
straining off from the rank sediments which settle into the character of
Dr. Portsoaken the clear sweetness of good Grandsir Dolliver. This "grim
doctor," as he is almost invariably styled in the manuscript, seems to
have originated in Hawthorne's knowledge of a Mr. Kirkup, painter,
spiritualist and antiquarian, of Florence, [Footnote: French and Italian
Note-Books, Vol. II.] who also probably stood as a model for Grandsir
Dolliver. Not that either of these personages is copied from Mr. Kirkup;
but the personality and surroundings of this quaint old gentleman had
some sort of affinity with the author's idea, which led him to maintain
a certain likeness between him and his own fictitious persons. As in the
case of the Florentine antiquary, a little girl dwells in the house of
the doctor, her chief playmate being, like that of Mr. Kirkup's adopted
daughter, a very beautiful Persian kitten. There is much about her like
Pansie, of the "Dolliver" fragment, but she is still only dimly brought
out. The boy is described as of superior nature, but strangely addicted
to revery. Though his traits are but slightly indicated, he suggests in
general the character of Septimius, and may very easily have grown into
him, at a later period. At first he is much neglected by the doctor, but
afterwards, by resolute and manly behavior in questioning his mysterious
guardian as to his own origin, and the connection subsisting between
them, he secures greater consideration.
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