Select Item below to DOWNLOAD - Once item is selected, right click and choose 'save as'
cf18fad8-4241-4cc5-b1f5-3c96452a4a03
Frances (Appleton) Longfellow to Zilpah (Wadsworth) Longfellow, 16 June 1846
Manuscript letter
Cambridge June 16th
Dear mother,
By what excuse shall I bridge over my long silence? I fear I must leave the void to be filled up by such forgiving thoughts as suggest themselves to your kind heart. May days have been so consumed this winter by nursery cares & household duties, & my evenings by readings aloud that my pen has grown thoroughly musty, & unless Sam has been more faithful you have great reason to complain of us.
I leap over these obstacles now because I must tell you how happy Sam’s preaching here, Sunday before last, made us. I had read some of his sermons with great delight, but it was another thing to hear them [p. 2] from his own lips. His prayers & preaching were so fervent, so Apostolic, that most delicious tears ran from my eyes all the while, & it seemed to me there could be nothing more angelic on earth than such a loving & tender, yet firm & courageous spirit as his uttering itself forth in words of such moving eloquence. He must do great good if he goes on as he has begun fearlessly yet gently reproving public as well as private sin. His voice was stronger & clearer than I expected, & he only needs to get his sermons more by heart, that he can speak freely without referring too often to his manuscript to be still more effective.
Mr Ware here told Mr Sumner he [p. 3] considered him the best preacher in his class, every one was delighted with him, except one unfortunate [???] whose conscience was troubled by his prayer for “our country in this hour of her shame” & was driven by it out of church.
It is very encouraging to me to see the phalanx of young clergymen that are coming forward to speak boldly for the right, & lead, not follow, their congregations.
I wish you could have been here to see Charlie’s birthday fête. He had more children than last year, & the older boys, Willy Everett (our President’s youngest & a prodigy) among them, had a fine frolic in the hay cocks, then all danced on the piazza, & afterwards supped. Charlie took very little notice of his guests, but [p. 4] trundled his wheelbarrow about in the most independent manner, although at the end he began to kiss the little girls with great zeal. he says many words & phrases now. One of his drollest is when you succeed in any thing, from tying his shoes to flying his kite: “there you are.” “Where is the papa”? is often heard resounding through the entries, & “where is the barrow” his next adoration. If he strikes his head “boke” (broke) he exclaims fitfully & “Mamma boke” if I hit anything.
We are now looking for Mary. They were to leave N.O. on the 5th of June so must soon be here. We have had very little warm weather as yet, but our roses are now blooming abundantly. Mrs Appleton is quite ill from a sudden chill received in an east wind after returning from Washington [p. 5] where the weather was almost tropical. I have not yet thought of straw carpets, partly because my aunt has been suffering all spring with a severe cough.
We had quite a charming pic nic lately in the woods near Fresh Pond, near an antique mill assisting the picturesque effect of the grouping with its broken rafters & falling stream. But I dare say Sam has given you a complete account of the whole. A still more beautiful fete champetre we saw upon Jamaica pond, or lake as it should be called. It was given by young Perkins, a very wealthy youth, just married to a very lovely damsel. His place is called Pine Bank, & has upon it a pine bank & a charming little cottage, both of which [p. 6] were open & illuminated, & [??]ded with flowers & rich furniture. We went in the afternoon, & there was dancing on the velvety turf overlooking the lake, then a superb collation in a huge tent which held the 500 people present with ease, then the fire rockets, & to crown all the glorious full moon. I never saw a more fairy like scene with the many lights flickering through the trees &c &c.
Little Erny grows apace & contrives to be the best of babies. I only wish I was a better nurse, but alas the bottle is more welcome, I fear, than his mamma & will soon drive me out of the field. We have fortunately a fine new cow, who gives abundance of milk, & we make butter & ice cream & feel as if we had quite a dairy.
[p. 7] By a singular, yet very natural, coincidence my cook is one who lived many years with my father, through much of my child hood, & my old nurse has lately taken a boarding house here next Judge Fay’s, so that I feel as if I were surrounded by home associations. They are both excellent women, & for auld lang syne & a kind heart I put up with many imperfections in the former.
I trust the Spring is dealing gently with you & you have not been imprisoned by such chilling east winds as we have had. What is Annie about now the awful responsibility of the Fair has fallen from her shoulders? I was delighted to hear of its success & to read her graphic account of it. I hope she has [p. 8] secured some children’s aprons for me, or any thing else it would be a charity to take off her hands.
Give much love to Father, who is we hope as comfortable as he can be, to Aunt Lucia, Marianne & the busy lady above mentioned. Henry & Sam send also much to yourself & all. Can I do any thing for you in Boston, or are you not thinking of paying us a visit to meet Mary?
ever affly yrs
Fanny L.
Dear mother,
By what excuse shall I bridge over my long silence? I fear I must leave the void to be filled up by such forgiving thoughts as suggest themselves to your kind heart. May days have been so consumed this winter by nursery cares & household duties, & my evenings by readings aloud that my pen has grown thoroughly musty, & unless Sam has been more faithful you have great reason to complain of us.
I leap over these obstacles now because I must tell you how happy Sam’s preaching here, Sunday before last, made us. I had read some of his sermons with great delight, but it was another thing to hear them [p. 2] from his own lips. His prayers & preaching were so fervent, so Apostolic, that most delicious tears ran from my eyes all the while, & it seemed to me there could be nothing more angelic on earth than such a loving & tender, yet firm & courageous spirit as his uttering itself forth in words of such moving eloquence. He must do great good if he goes on as he has begun fearlessly yet gently reproving public as well as private sin. His voice was stronger & clearer than I expected, & he only needs to get his sermons more by heart, that he can speak freely without referring too often to his manuscript to be still more effective.
Mr Ware here told Mr Sumner he [p. 3] considered him the best preacher in his class, every one was delighted with him, except one unfortunate [???] whose conscience was troubled by his prayer for “our country in this hour of her shame” & was driven by it out of church.
It is very encouraging to me to see the phalanx of young clergymen that are coming forward to speak boldly for the right, & lead, not follow, their congregations.
I wish you could have been here to see Charlie’s birthday fête. He had more children than last year, & the older boys, Willy Everett (our President’s youngest & a prodigy) among them, had a fine frolic in the hay cocks, then all danced on the piazza, & afterwards supped. Charlie took very little notice of his guests, but [p. 4] trundled his wheelbarrow about in the most independent manner, although at the end he began to kiss the little girls with great zeal. he says many words & phrases now. One of his drollest is when you succeed in any thing, from tying his shoes to flying his kite: “there you are.” “Where is the papa”? is often heard resounding through the entries, & “where is the barrow” his next adoration. If he strikes his head “boke” (broke) he exclaims fitfully & “Mamma boke” if I hit anything.
We are now looking for Mary. They were to leave N.O. on the 5th of June so must soon be here. We have had very little warm weather as yet, but our roses are now blooming abundantly. Mrs Appleton is quite ill from a sudden chill received in an east wind after returning from Washington [p. 5] where the weather was almost tropical. I have not yet thought of straw carpets, partly because my aunt has been suffering all spring with a severe cough.
We had quite a charming pic nic lately in the woods near Fresh Pond, near an antique mill assisting the picturesque effect of the grouping with its broken rafters & falling stream. But I dare say Sam has given you a complete account of the whole. A still more beautiful fete champetre we saw upon Jamaica pond, or lake as it should be called. It was given by young Perkins, a very wealthy youth, just married to a very lovely damsel. His place is called Pine Bank, & has upon it a pine bank & a charming little cottage, both of which [p. 6] were open & illuminated, & [??]ded with flowers & rich furniture. We went in the afternoon, & there was dancing on the velvety turf overlooking the lake, then a superb collation in a huge tent which held the 500 people present with ease, then the fire rockets, & to crown all the glorious full moon. I never saw a more fairy like scene with the many lights flickering through the trees &c &c.
Little Erny grows apace & contrives to be the best of babies. I only wish I was a better nurse, but alas the bottle is more welcome, I fear, than his mamma & will soon drive me out of the field. We have fortunately a fine new cow, who gives abundance of milk, & we make butter & ice cream & feel as if we had quite a dairy.
[p. 7] By a singular, yet very natural, coincidence my cook is one who lived many years with my father, through much of my child hood, & my old nurse has lately taken a boarding house here next Judge Fay’s, so that I feel as if I were surrounded by home associations. They are both excellent women, & for auld lang syne & a kind heart I put up with many imperfections in the former.
I trust the Spring is dealing gently with you & you have not been imprisoned by such chilling east winds as we have had. What is Annie about now the awful responsibility of the Fair has fallen from her shoulders? I was delighted to hear of its success & to read her graphic account of it. I hope she has [p. 8] secured some children’s aprons for me, or any thing else it would be a charity to take off her hands.
Give much love to Father, who is we hope as comfortable as he can be, to Aunt Lucia, Marianne & the busy lady above mentioned. Henry & Sam send also much to yourself & all. Can I do any thing for you in Boston, or are you not thinking of paying us a visit to meet Mary?
ever affly yrs
Fanny L.
Archives Number: 1011/002.001-016#009
U. S. National Park Service
Permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this website.
Courtesy of National Park Service, Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters of National Historic Site
Public domain
Correspondence (1011/002), (LONG-SeriesName)
, Letters from Frances Longfellow (1011/002.001), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, 1846 (1011/002.001-016), (LONG-FileUnitName)
, Letters from Frances Longfellow (1011/002.001), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, 1846 (1011/002.001-016), (LONG-FileUnitName)
Image
Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Code: LONG
Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Latitude: 42.3769989013672, Longitude: -71.1264038085938
Latitude: 42.3769989013672, Longitude: -71.1264038085938
NPS Museum Number Catalog : LONG 20257
Title: Finding Aid to the Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow (1817-1861) Papers, 1825-1961 (bulk dated: 1832-1861)
URL: https://www.nps.gov/long/learn/historyculture/archives.htm#FEAL
URL: https://www.nps.gov/long/learn/historyculture/archives.htm#FEAL
2016-01-30
06/16/1846
Manuscript letter in Frances Appleton Longfellow Papers, Series II. Correspondence, A. Outgoing, 1846. (1011/002.001-016#009)
Public Can View
Organization: Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site
Address: 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Email: LONG_archives@nps.gov
Address: 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Email: LONG_archives@nps.gov
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 6:22:51 PM
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 6:22:51 PM
1011-02-01-16-09 p6+7.jpg
jpg
1.1 MB
Historic