The
sonnets from Shakespeare and many others, were of her selection. The art
of poetry came so naturally to Whittier, that he said he could not
understand why every one did not write it as well as or better than he
could.
At the time of Hawthorne's last visit to the Isles of Shoals in company
with his friend the ex-President, there was also a party of business men
from Concord, New Hampshire, who tried to make his acquaintance, but
without much success. Afterwards we went to Portsmouth with the same
party and were becalmed on the way for nearly four hours, so that we had
an excellent chance to become acquainted with our fellow passengers. One
of them said:--"Nathaniel Hawthorne was a very reserved man. There's
Franklin Pierce: he has been President of the United States, and yet
anyone can go up and speak to him; but we found Hawthorne very
different." Of course we had to tell this on our return, and Whittier
laughed heartily. Mrs. Thaxter said, "Reserved was no word for it;" and
Whittier added, "Hawthorne was a strange puzzle. I never felt quite sure
whether I knew him or not. He never seemed to be doing anything, and yet
he did not like to be disturbed at it." He disliked to hear people say
that Hawthorne wrote the life of General Pierce for the sake of a
government office. They were old college friends, and without doubt he
would have obtained the office whether he wrote it or not.
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