Actors
sometimes studied with him to learn a good pronunciation and dramatic
effect. His partiality for Browning's poetry is quite generally known.
He first read it to his friends; then in private companies; and finally
in public halls. When in 1882 he went to Philadelphia to read Browning
there he created such enthusiasm for the subject that the libraries and
bookstores were quickly exhausted and fresh copies of Browning had to be
sent for from other cities to supply the demand. He considered Browning,
Aeschylus and Shakespeare the three most dramatic writers. All the
Browning clubs that have nourished so extensively for many years past
might be considered Levi Thaxter's lineal descendants.
His conversation on art and literature was often so interesting that it
is a pity his occasional bursts of eloquence could not have been
preserved. But the important matter at this moment is that he fell in
love with Celia Laighton, married her and carried her off to the
environs of Boston, where she made valuable friends and met with larger
opportunities for intellectual development.
Hawthorne came to the Shoals on the thirtieth of August, 1852, and has
given a full account of his visit in his usual minute and pictorial
manner. He left Franklin Pierce, who was then candidate for the
presidency, in Concord, New Hampshire, and embarked at Portsmouth in a
small schooner which was then the only mode of conveyance,---and often a
very dilatory one.
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