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Frances (Appleton) Longfellow to Emmeline (Austin) Wadsworth, 11 July 1847
Manuscript letter
Craigie House July 11th 1847.
I was rejoiced to welcome your note beloved, but grieved to find, by it, that your depression continues despite the change of air. It cannot be helped I know, which is the more trying, but when one is convinced it is purely physical it can be borne as any other malady, though very wearisome. I was peculiarly miserable last summer, & well remember the sinking of heart & general gloom which oppressed me in defiance of my solid happiness. There is no nepenthe for this strange condition of being through its various stages, & I was amused by a doctor telling me, lately, some women refused to take ether for extracting teeth, or any thing, thinking it wicked to evade the discipline of life, of which phys [p. 2] ical pain is a part. As if, with all the etherial relief, there was not suffering enough left in the world, not to speak of the kind no gas can reach. There is no lack of discipline if we will only accept it with a teachable spirit, & at times, it seems as if there were nothing else, as I feel in my own nursery when it is all “dont do this,” & “dont do that.” A person that talks so about this great blessing can never have sounded the truth, it seems to me, that God is emphatically our Father, & is bringing the world nearer & nearer home to him, not to love it more, but if it proves worthy, to discipline it less. This discovery certainly seems a direct gift from his hand.
You must find the French people very entertaining guests, & you are well stored against a rainy day by so many agreeable successors. Motley & his wife leave on Wednesday for Niagara, & are urging Tom [p. 3] to go there, but he has almost decided to accompany us the next day to Martin’s Point. He will not remain, he says, but wishes to look in upon the Newport whirl & so flit about where he likes. I do fervently hope you can come to us, for I long, my darling, to have you by me & pet you & love you all day long, & brace your nerves with sea air & bathing, & show you the charming drives in that neighborhood, & make both our husbands so jealous that they will have to make love to each other for consolation. You will much enjoy Mary Dwight’s visit, doubtless. Pray give her my love & desire to see her whenever she comes near me.
I send your cuffs at last hoping they will satisfy you. They are not quite so open as mine but are the best he has. Cheney, I am sorry to say, is out of town, so I must postpone sitting till the Autumn.
Good bye, dearest, with much love to all your household. I will write as soon as I get to Portland. We shall [p. 1 cross] remain there through the vacation so you can choose your own time for coming.
ever thy loving
Fan.
I was rejoiced to welcome your note beloved, but grieved to find, by it, that your depression continues despite the change of air. It cannot be helped I know, which is the more trying, but when one is convinced it is purely physical it can be borne as any other malady, though very wearisome. I was peculiarly miserable last summer, & well remember the sinking of heart & general gloom which oppressed me in defiance of my solid happiness. There is no nepenthe for this strange condition of being through its various stages, & I was amused by a doctor telling me, lately, some women refused to take ether for extracting teeth, or any thing, thinking it wicked to evade the discipline of life, of which phys [p. 2] ical pain is a part. As if, with all the etherial relief, there was not suffering enough left in the world, not to speak of the kind no gas can reach. There is no lack of discipline if we will only accept it with a teachable spirit, & at times, it seems as if there were nothing else, as I feel in my own nursery when it is all “dont do this,” & “dont do that.” A person that talks so about this great blessing can never have sounded the truth, it seems to me, that God is emphatically our Father, & is bringing the world nearer & nearer home to him, not to love it more, but if it proves worthy, to discipline it less. This discovery certainly seems a direct gift from his hand.
You must find the French people very entertaining guests, & you are well stored against a rainy day by so many agreeable successors. Motley & his wife leave on Wednesday for Niagara, & are urging Tom [p. 3] to go there, but he has almost decided to accompany us the next day to Martin’s Point. He will not remain, he says, but wishes to look in upon the Newport whirl & so flit about where he likes. I do fervently hope you can come to us, for I long, my darling, to have you by me & pet you & love you all day long, & brace your nerves with sea air & bathing, & show you the charming drives in that neighborhood, & make both our husbands so jealous that they will have to make love to each other for consolation. You will much enjoy Mary Dwight’s visit, doubtless. Pray give her my love & desire to see her whenever she comes near me.
I send your cuffs at last hoping they will satisfy you. They are not quite so open as mine but are the best he has. Cheney, I am sorry to say, is out of town, so I must postpone sitting till the Autumn.
Good bye, dearest, with much love to all your household. I will write as soon as I get to Portland. We shall [p. 1 cross] remain there through the vacation so you can choose your own time for coming.
ever thy loving
Fan.
Archives Number: 1011/002.001-017#017
U. S. National Park Service
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Correspondence (1011/002), (LONG-SeriesName)
, Letters from Frances Longfellow (1011/002.001), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, 1847 (1011/002.001-017), (LONG-FileUnitName)
, Letters from Frances Longfellow (1011/002.001), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, 1847 (1011/002.001-017), (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
2016-01-30
07/11/1847
Manuscript letter in Frances Appleton Longfellow Papers, Series II. Correspondence, A. Outgoing, 1847. (1011/002.001-017#017)
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 6:13:50 PM
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 6:13:50 PM
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