. American lands and letters. BERKSHIRE VISITORS. 235 mountain fastnesses of the region, wlio liad jnstwon a baptism into the fold of popular authors,by the inspiriting fife and drum of his Napo-leon and of his Washington/ Her-man Melville * was anot-far-off neighbor,whose Typ ee andOmoo had delightedHawthorne as well as aworld of readers ; andwho at this ejjocli of hislife—distrained of ear-lier simplicities — wastorturing himself withthe metaphysic subtle-ties of Mohy Dich and whipping all the depths ofhis thought into turbulent and misty spray. The Hawthorne cottage was small, but themistre
. American lands and letters. BERKSHIRE VISITORS. 235 mountain fastnesses of the region, wlio liad jnstwon a baptism into the fold of popular authors,by the inspiriting fife and drum of his Napo-leon and of his Washington/ Her-man Melville * was anot-far-off neighbor,whose Typ ee andOmoo had delightedHawthorne as well as aworld of readers ; andwho at this ejjocli of hislife—distrained of ear-lier simplicities — wastorturing himself withthe metaphysic subtle-ties of Mohy Dich and whipping all the depths ofhis thought into turbulent and misty spray. The Hawthorne cottage was small, but themistress, by her winsome housekeepery, madeit charming; by simple rejMcas of tracery ordrawing, Michael Angel os Sybils and Prophets * Herman Melville, b. 1819; d. 1891. Typee, 1846; MohyDick, or the WJitte Whale, Herman Melville. From a photografh in the coUectiiRobert Coster, Esq. 236 AMERICAN LANDS &- LETTERS. preached from the walls ; and so did Raphael withsome Madonna or Transfiguration, and Cor-reggio with his clierub pieties; while the elfin chil-dren of the family disported with the householdpets, or wandered away with the master to thelake-side, where the five-year-old boy throws offhis line, and the girl cries out to the mountainshore, for * God to say the echo. What was written under those conditions shouldbe written well; and so it was. Many of the Wonder Stories grew there; and so did thatmore marvellous New-England prose poem, aboutthe stern Hepzibah and the blithe Phoebe, whichw^e know as the House of the Seven Gables ; if nothis best book (as the author thought it in hisserener moods), it is certainly next best. IfDante had ever told a story of the crime and mys-teries which saturated some old country houseupon the Euganean hills, I think it would havehad much of the color,
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