No word has ever been published from which
we can infer how the grievance between them originated, but it is
morally certain that there was a grievance of some kind, and as
Hawthorne was the most inoffensive of men, it is not likely that he was
responsible for it.
Now in regard to what follows, it is well to carry in mind two important
points. In the first place, a writer of fiction acquires a habit, very
naturally, of dealing with all tales and anecdotes as if they were
subjects for his art, and is not therefore so accurate a judge of their
veracity as a lawyer or a critic might be. Whatever holds together as a
story is to him as good as true. The second point is that although
Hawthorne understood human nature better than the rest of us, it is
nevertheless with certain limitations. His romance characters are of a
rare sort and are well sustained, but they form a group by themselves.
He has not the range of Scott, Thackeray, or Goethe. There is not the
slightest evidence that he appreciated the character of Emerson; and if
so, he would not be likely to appreciate Emerson's intimate friends. A
man like John Brown, always ready to rush upon destruction for an idea,
must have been an inexplicable riddle to him. Yet John Brown was the
only American who could match Hawthorne in ideality--totally different
as they were in other respects.
Twelve years later, while Hawthorne was in Rome, he became acquainted
with a sculptor named Mosier, who gave him a most disparaging account of
Margaret Fuller's marriage to Count D'Ossoli.
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