File:Frances (Appleton) Longfellow to Emmeline (Austin) Wadsworth, 19 July 1850 (8485204c-a929-4db1-8645-1c632623b079).jpg

Manuscript letter

Archives Number: 1011/002.001-020#024

Nahant. Friday July 19th
1850.
Dearest darling,
Seeing here, as I do daily, so many acquaintances & friends I all the more long to find you among them, & could so well enjoy you darling this time of perfect leisure, but I am glad to know you are cheerful & contented where you are & can draw pleasure from shadows as well as sunshine.
Henry has left me today, with his brother Sam, for a day’s visit to Portland, & as the wind & rain for the first time since we have been here imprison me to the house I cannot resist scribbling to you, altho’ my back will pay for it. I have felt much stronger since I came, for tho’ we have had warm weather, the south wind, so weakening inland, is here from the water & a very refreshing one. I get a walk to the nearest rocks twice a day generally, but envy the other visitors [p. 2] who all have carriages of their own & can drive daily on the beach. We have a tolerable barouche at our need, but I so long for such a little phaeton as yours, low & easy, to skim along upon the level sands. Cora Shaw has one Marianne Greene occupies the next house to ours, & she offers, very civilly, to give me the benefit of her voiture, but has too much use for it to be able to be very liberal. She is not yet strong enough to walk even to our door, & has strained herself lifting a window which confines her to her couch at present. Copley, faithful to his duties, goes to Waltham every Sunday to attend to a Sabbath Class. He seems to be very amiable & kind & most domestic in his ways. Sarah Lawrence, looking lovelier than ever, has driven over to see us with her sister Mrs Wm Lawrence who has a house upon Little Nahant. Joe has quite a mansion beyond Sarah’s & there is now a continuous line of fine houses to Swampscot.
Mrs Paige’s is to me as charming as any her with its nice lawn in front & terraces of flowers behind, with extensive view [p. 3] of the sea. I dined there a few days since with a party of gentlemen, Isaac P., Wm Boott, young Wormley &c & had, as usual, a very excellent repast. Her centre ornament on the table was very cooling & pretty. A gigantic glass goblet filled with a huge mass of ice (to drive away the flies) * sprinkled with bright green lettuce had a very simple but picturesque effect, surrounded by dishes of fruit only – raspberries, cherries, grapes & fine apple. The talk was chiefly of wines, Mr Paige producing one kind choicer than another, & I found my neighbor Wm B. more knowing than I supposed on such matters, but wished he had made himself agreeable on a more interesting topic. He criticized things too in not a very civil way, beginning by abusing the display of silver as not proper for Nahant, all which his host took very good naturedly. After dinner we strolled in the garden & some of the gentlemen were rather lively from the effects of so much good wine or sea-air but I must not imbibe this air of scan[p. 4] dal. Wicket Tom, who cannot be trusted with any thing, told Mrs P. next day I remarked upon the gentlemen’s behavior which he no doubt exaggerated in a way to make her think I gave a shocking report. Tom is almost the only beau here, & visits the damsels pretty freely, but came back indignant, yesterday, at Lizzie P’s fastidiousness & abuse of his friends. He says she & her set talked one of the Miss Peabodys out of a liking for Payson, who wished to marry her, & deserved to succeed. He challenges them to show a more gentlemanly – cultivated, well-bred youth. They are foolishly critical, which is well enough in old maids but very unpleasing in young ones. There is hardly a nobleman in England Miss Lizzy would not probably condemn for some trifling defect – if it were of character I would not quarrel with her but it is usually some trifle of manner that offends her Ladyship. Cora Shaw has the Robbins cottage, & it is said will produce a statuette in the autumn, which, if true, will I hope break up the nonsense of that girlish clique. Poor little Louly Per [p. 5] Perkins is now here with her mother Mrs Chadwick, but has really deserved sympathy for the trial she was subjected to. She lived, you know, with her mother-in-law Mrs P. who became so insane that she was the terror of her life, used to wander into her bed room at night, &c – but at last was sent to the Hospital. Is not this a sad end for such a pleasing little woman as she once was. George Cabots death is very shocking tho’ not supposed intentional. It was his habit after a debauch to quiet his nerves with laudanum, & this once took too much was found insensible & taken to his father’s house, where he died. Tis a dreadful termination of a life, once so promising, still to his father it must be a cessation of constant shame & anxiety. Mrs Kirkland, who was very fond of him, takes it more to heart I hear than even her husband’s death. The Lawrence pamphlet is another matter of gossip, all agreeing it was too bad to be published, & that Bigelow L. was not blameless in thinking it in the hands of editors [p. 6] even for his own justification as he says, tho’ not wishing it printed, in detail. What a specimen of Western manners & education – what a mother! I can well believe Mrs Abbot must have been aggravating enough to such a woman. Could anything be more unfortunate than bringing such a spoiled belle to Boston! I am afraid their shame at this exposure will be swallowed up in indignation at the unmanliness of publishing private letters. It is a sad scandal to go to England. Sumner was here last Sunday (having come down to pass it with Mrs Story, but dining with us) & showed me a letter from Howe written just before arriving. He lamented Miss Wadsworths sufferings, & seemed to think she had been advised to take too much medicine. He tried going without any, & with great care in diet & was perfectly well tho’ usually a victim. He quite disenchanted poor Sumner about Miss Hays by saying she smoked, drank brandy & water (but so do many fair [p. 7] ladies at sea & English everywhere) & worse than all showed herself rather unamiable, taking up Twizzleton in a sharp way! I never thought her quite a lady, tho’ very clever & handsome and have observed a tinge of bitterness, perhaps from loss of fortune & consequently loss of caste in England. Sumner said the cigars & brandy he could endure, but not the tart temper. Mary was to leave London for Wales, but as we have not yet heard of her doing so I hope Lizzy found her there. Such a passage must have been very dismal upon the sadness with which she left, & I long to hear her after-experiences were more cheerful. I have not yet seen Mary (Tom) Dwight but intend very soon when I return calls at her end of the promontory, to visit her. I feel deeply for her unspeakable affliction. How every door is marked with a cross as Morgiana marked them in the Early [???], or for a less vulgar simile the angel of death, as in Egypt, bears away a child from every household. Opposite [p. 8] me is another mourning matter, Maria Austin that was, with one little girl left. There are 8 children in the house where she is. Charles Masons & Mrs Robert Appleton’s who has one named Fanny Elizabeth, a repetition of me which I hope will improve upon the original. Mrs Charles Amory is looking as fresh & young as ever, but her youngest boy has already outgrown his curls & short trousers, & her eldest is talking of a frock coat! To see the children here one feels aged indeed. Mrs Sam Ward is just upon the beach, too far for me to walk, so I have not seen much of her. Mrs Felton’s younger sister Carry Cary is engaged to Pelham Custis – so she has escaped a Professor, her great dread.
What a gossipy letter I have written! I believe there is something in this atmosphere after all. One grows too lazy for anything deeper or higher –
With kind love to Wm & remembrances to Mrs James, ever thy fond & true
Fanny E L
I will send for the basket cover when I return.
[p. 1 cross] Mary Parkman is gaining steadily I believe Mrs Eliot says she never lost her strength as was represented.

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