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Fanny Longfellow to Mary Greenleaf, 20 December 1843
Manuscript letter
Craigie House. Dec 20th 1843.
Dear Mary,
We were delighted, indeed, to hear last week, that you had safely arrived within sight of land after your long & boisterous voyage over a wintry sea. Mrs Greenleaf was kind enough to send us your letters, and although I have never undergone the miseries of sea-sickness I can easily conjecture how prostrating they must be, & give you my hearty sympathy for your unhappy experience in that way, & also in your pleasure in settling your foot upon terra firma. The lovely South, with its balmy breath of roses & orange-buds, must seem doubly fair after such a passage, & I trust your strength is fully restored under its gentle influence. We had become very impatient to hear from you when this welcome news arrived, & it has taken a weight of anxiety from all our hearts, & put us in the right condition to make merry over Christmas & New Year. Henry & I have just returned to our own hearth having [crossed out: broken] eaten our Xmas dinner in town. We remained the next day also & have driven home in a gentle, [crossed out: but] beautiful snow-storm which is ‘knitting up the ravelled sleeve’ of Mother Earth’s robe de nuit [p. 2] & giving her a very cheerful aspect. It will seem to you mockery perhaps, as it certainly would to my cold-hating cousin Jewett, to speak of the beauty of a snow-storm, but since we cannot bury the dead summer, as you do, under roses a decent shroud is better than the display of mouldering bones. I have been a good deal confined to the house of late as thaws have rendered the walking intolerable, and find my piazza a great comfort as I can pace there in nearly all weather with dry feet. I think of inventing india-rubber gaiters for country wear, or of adopting the ballet style of petticoat, as long skirts are a very abominable fashion for country ladies. They have kept me from seeing as much of Mrs Greenleaf as I have wished since you left, - or to speak more truly they have not enabled me to see her at all, for we have constantly missed visits as yet, much to my regret as I felt so deeply for her in losing you & James that I desired to cheer & comfort her if possible. We had a very pleasant visit from Alick which we persuaded him to prolong, after your departure, until he was summoned home. He aided Henry with his engineer skill in drawing maps of our estate which we decorated with rustic bridges, summer houses & groves à discretion! They contrived together to plant a linden avenue in which my poet intends to pace in his old age & compose under its shade, resigning to me all the serpentine walks, where, in the abstraction [p. 3] of inspiration, he might endanger his precious head against a tree. This runs along the northern boundary & it is to be hoped will be useful, moreover, in screening from us any unsightly building Mr Wyeth may adorn his ground with. Henry has ventured to transplant four very sizable elms, to replace the murdered ones in front, & I hope they will take kindly to the soil & be pleased with their new prospects. Out-of-door work is sealed by the frosts until Spring, & consequently within doors it begins to flourish. Henry is very busy with his work of Translations from 10 nations, & I enjoy greatly aiding him therein. My eyes & fingers thus far take the place of his, and I trust they will answer for the whole book, unless he is restored to his natural rights. Dr Elliott, we hear, is to be in Boston next week, & I am i[m]patient to know his present opinion & his pro[m]ises for the future. We have indulged in two Concerts, of late, beside the Academy’s. Castellan’s rich voice recalled my Parisian delights, & Vieuxtemps’ violin-playing pleased us as the perfection of artistical skill, but lacked a soul which I am confident we shall find only in Ole Bull’s. We have been allowed a full enjoyment of Mr Allston [sic] great picture as a [crossed out: great] favour, & altho’ it was sad to me to intrude, as it were, within his sanctum & miss the gentle presence & heavenly voice which hallowed it. I was deeply stirred by the grandeur of this picture, excelling all his others in power & conception despite its unfinished state in parts. We passed X mas evening [p. 4 bottom] at Mrs Ticknors at a large family party where was displayed a beautiful Christmas tree decorated with presents from one relation to another. As it was the first I had seen I was as much excited as the children when the folding-doors opened, & the pyramid of lights sparkled from the dark boughs of a lofty pine – Dec 28th I have just been to see Mrs Greenleaf, dear Mary, & was very glad to find her countenance heightened by another letter from you. Your quieter ar [p. 4 top] rangement must be much more agreeable I should think, after my Astor experience, & it is very pleasant to us to picture you at your own snug tea-table with James as if in a house of your own. At least I enjoy my tête à têtes of that kind so much that I cannot fancy any splendor can repay one for losing them.
With much love from us both to James & yourself, & our warmest warmest wishes for a happy New Year ever yr affte Fanny L.
[p. 1 cross] I console with you for not hearing from Portland; what can it mean? Henry had a letter yesterday from Stephen & all were well.
Remember us to Jewett when you see him & thank him please for his letter.
[pencil notes on figures and sums]
ADDRESSED: JAMES GREENLEAF ESQ - / CARE OF HARROD, DARLING & CO / NEW ORLEANS
POSTMARK: CAMBRIDGE / DEC 20 / MS.
ENDORSED: JAN 10 / FANNY – CAME DEC. 30/43
Dear Mary,
We were delighted, indeed, to hear last week, that you had safely arrived within sight of land after your long & boisterous voyage over a wintry sea. Mrs Greenleaf was kind enough to send us your letters, and although I have never undergone the miseries of sea-sickness I can easily conjecture how prostrating they must be, & give you my hearty sympathy for your unhappy experience in that way, & also in your pleasure in settling your foot upon terra firma. The lovely South, with its balmy breath of roses & orange-buds, must seem doubly fair after such a passage, & I trust your strength is fully restored under its gentle influence. We had become very impatient to hear from you when this welcome news arrived, & it has taken a weight of anxiety from all our hearts, & put us in the right condition to make merry over Christmas & New Year. Henry & I have just returned to our own hearth having [crossed out: broken] eaten our Xmas dinner in town. We remained the next day also & have driven home in a gentle, [crossed out: but] beautiful snow-storm which is ‘knitting up the ravelled sleeve’ of Mother Earth’s robe de nuit [p. 2] & giving her a very cheerful aspect. It will seem to you mockery perhaps, as it certainly would to my cold-hating cousin Jewett, to speak of the beauty of a snow-storm, but since we cannot bury the dead summer, as you do, under roses a decent shroud is better than the display of mouldering bones. I have been a good deal confined to the house of late as thaws have rendered the walking intolerable, and find my piazza a great comfort as I can pace there in nearly all weather with dry feet. I think of inventing india-rubber gaiters for country wear, or of adopting the ballet style of petticoat, as long skirts are a very abominable fashion for country ladies. They have kept me from seeing as much of Mrs Greenleaf as I have wished since you left, - or to speak more truly they have not enabled me to see her at all, for we have constantly missed visits as yet, much to my regret as I felt so deeply for her in losing you & James that I desired to cheer & comfort her if possible. We had a very pleasant visit from Alick which we persuaded him to prolong, after your departure, until he was summoned home. He aided Henry with his engineer skill in drawing maps of our estate which we decorated with rustic bridges, summer houses & groves à discretion! They contrived together to plant a linden avenue in which my poet intends to pace in his old age & compose under its shade, resigning to me all the serpentine walks, where, in the abstraction [p. 3] of inspiration, he might endanger his precious head against a tree. This runs along the northern boundary & it is to be hoped will be useful, moreover, in screening from us any unsightly building Mr Wyeth may adorn his ground with. Henry has ventured to transplant four very sizable elms, to replace the murdered ones in front, & I hope they will take kindly to the soil & be pleased with their new prospects. Out-of-door work is sealed by the frosts until Spring, & consequently within doors it begins to flourish. Henry is very busy with his work of Translations from 10 nations, & I enjoy greatly aiding him therein. My eyes & fingers thus far take the place of his, and I trust they will answer for the whole book, unless he is restored to his natural rights. Dr Elliott, we hear, is to be in Boston next week, & I am i[m]patient to know his present opinion & his pro[m]ises for the future. We have indulged in two Concerts, of late, beside the Academy’s. Castellan’s rich voice recalled my Parisian delights, & Vieuxtemps’ violin-playing pleased us as the perfection of artistical skill, but lacked a soul which I am confident we shall find only in Ole Bull’s. We have been allowed a full enjoyment of Mr Allston [sic] great picture as a [crossed out: great] favour, & altho’ it was sad to me to intrude, as it were, within his sanctum & miss the gentle presence & heavenly voice which hallowed it. I was deeply stirred by the grandeur of this picture, excelling all his others in power & conception despite its unfinished state in parts. We passed X mas evening [p. 4 bottom] at Mrs Ticknors at a large family party where was displayed a beautiful Christmas tree decorated with presents from one relation to another. As it was the first I had seen I was as much excited as the children when the folding-doors opened, & the pyramid of lights sparkled from the dark boughs of a lofty pine – Dec 28th I have just been to see Mrs Greenleaf, dear Mary, & was very glad to find her countenance heightened by another letter from you. Your quieter ar [p. 4 top] rangement must be much more agreeable I should think, after my Astor experience, & it is very pleasant to us to picture you at your own snug tea-table with James as if in a house of your own. At least I enjoy my tête à têtes of that kind so much that I cannot fancy any splendor can repay one for losing them.
With much love from us both to James & yourself, & our warmest warmest wishes for a happy New Year ever yr affte Fanny L.
[p. 1 cross] I console with you for not hearing from Portland; what can it mean? Henry had a letter yesterday from Stephen & all were well.
Remember us to Jewett when you see him & thank him please for his letter.
[pencil notes on figures and sums]
ADDRESSED: JAMES GREENLEAF ESQ - / CARE OF HARROD, DARLING & CO / NEW ORLEANS
POSTMARK: CAMBRIDGE / DEC 20 / MS.
ENDORSED: JAN 10 / FANNY – CAME DEC. 30/43
Archives Number: 1011/002.001-013#035
U. S. National Park Service
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Courtesy of National Park Service, Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site; Archives Number 1011/002.001-013#035
Public domain
Correspondence (1011/002), (LONG-SeriesName)
, Letters from Frances Longfellow (1011/002.001), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, 1843 (1011/002.001-013), (LONG-FileUnitName)
, Letters from Frances Longfellow (1011/002.001), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, 1843 (1011/002.001-013), (LONG-FileUnitName)
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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
Unknown
12/20/1843
Manuscript letter in Frances Appleton Longfellow Papers, Series II. Correspondence, A. Outgoing, 1843. (1011/002.001-013#035)
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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
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