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Sarah Orne Jewett: Letters from
Europe
24 May-25 October, 1882
Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Fields
(82
I wonder if you will
get this! I had to send a little word to meet you over there
-- when you get it you & Pinny* will have passed all
that weltering brine & be so glad to be in that
wonderful new, old world -- I shall pine for the first word
from you & for all the words you can send me -- I know
you will write any odd moment, for you know how glad I shall
be to get any scrap, any word, any how! I shall miss
you so, you sweet darling. I shall think of you every day
& every hour. And I shall write every week. Do give my
love to Georgina Hogarth & Mrs Ritchie, if you see them,
& the Lowes Dickensons,* who love you & J. so much.
God Bless you & Pinny my sweet, dear precious, ever
beloved Annie.
Notes
Pinny: Thaxter is using an intimate nickname shared
among Jewett, Fields and herself. Pinny is Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Georgina Hogarth & Mrs Ritchie ... the Lowes
Dickensons: Wikipedia says: "Georgina Hogarth
(1827-1917) was the sister-in-law, housekeeper, and adviser
of English novelist Charles Dickens and the editor of two
volumes of his collected letters after his death."
Wikipedia also says: "Anne Isabella,
Lady Ritchie, née Thackeray (1837-1919), was an English
writer. She was the eldest daughter of William Makepeace
Thackeray. She was the author of several novels which were
highly regarded in their time, and a central figure in the
late Victorian literary scene. She is perhaps best
remembered today as the custodian of her father's literary
legacy, and for her short fiction placing traditional fairy
tale narratives in a Victorian milieu."
Lowes Cato Dickinson (1819-1908) was a
British portrait painter and Christian socialist, founder of
the Working Men's College of London. He married Margaret
Ellen Williams. Thaxter seems clearly to have spelled
the name "Dickenson."
J.: James T. Fields, Fields's deceased husband. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Boston Public
Library, Rare Books Department, Celia Thaxter correspondence
with Annie Fields, 1869-1893, MS C.1.38 Box 2 Folder
2(174-190)
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p168r
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[ 1882 ]*
[ Begin Letterhead ] THE ASSOCIATED CHARITIES OF BOSTON [ Deleted ]
____
President: Robert Treat Paine, Jr., 16 Pemberton Square.
Secretary: George A. Goddard, 50 Equitable Building.
Treasurer: Darwin E. Ware, 53 Devonshire Street.
Registrar and Ass't Treasurer: Zilpha D. Smith.
[5 Ave Hotel* handwritten to the right of the above list]
Central Office and Registration,
Room 41, Charity Building.
Boston, [Wednesday handwritten on blank line] 188
[Morning handwritten]
[ End letterhead ]
Dear O.P.*
[My corrected] dress and your letter came all right -- thank you ever so much. We were both awfully tired coming on and were glad to get here and go to bed though that is a splendid train. We have just come down to breakfast and are going to the steamer afterward. It is a lovely bright day and Mrs. Fields* and I both send love. I have only a stub of a pencil so can’t write much of a note. The leaves are all out here and it is quite summerlike.
Mrs. Burleigh is at the next table and Sally just came to speak to me. Mr. Rollins is with them. Good bye with lots of love for all -- from the Queen.*
Notes
1882: This date is added in another hand. The letter is composed in pencil. Even though the borrowed letterhead is from Boston, Jewett writes from New York City.
5 Ave Hotel: Wikipedia says: "The Fifth Avenue Hotel was a luxury hotel located at 200 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City from 1859 to 1908. It occupied the full Fifth Avenue frontage between 23rd Street and 24th Street, at the southwest corner of Madison Square."
O.P.: A Jewett nickname for Mary Rice Jewett.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields,
often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
The circled number 34
in pencil, apparently in another hand, appears at the bottom
left of page 1.
Mrs. Burleigh … Sally … Mr. Rollins … the
Queen:
Mrs. Burleigh may be South Berwick
neighbor Matilda Buffum (1823-1911), widow of John Holmes
Burleigh (1822-1877), a Maine congressman. See Wikipedia.
Sally probably is the Burleigh's
daughter, Sarah Elizabeth Burleigh Davidson
(1863-1929).
Mr. Rollins also is likely a South
Berwick neighbor, a member of the prominent Rollins
family. A short walk from her house took her to
Rollinsford, NH, named for the family. Jewett was
acquainted with Mrs. Ellen Augusta Lord Rollins (1835-1922)
who lived near her South Berwick home. However,
Jewett's letter from the Scythia, below, suggests that she
was not acquainted with this Mr. Rollins before this voyage.
The Queen of Sheba was a family
nickname for Jewett.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Caroline Frances Perry Jewett*
Scythia,* N.Y. Harbor
[1882 added in pencil]
Dear Mar!
This is for a last note -- you won’t get any later particulars until I get across. Mr. Rollins* is very nice tell Uncle Wm and Mr. Kidder of Kidder, Peabody & Co* is going
[ Page 2 ]
too and he is a great friend of Mrs. Fields* so we should be looked after all right. Love to everybody at our house & Caddie & to John & Ann* -- The steamer is splendid and I only [2 circled above only] hope it will be as nice
[ Page 3 ]
as this all the way! We have got to house keeping in our stateroom. They said the Bothnia* had a very smooth passage & she got in only yesterday -- Good by dear Mar. Thank you and Mary* so much for the [prisent so spelled]. It was nice
[ Page 4 ]
of Jim and Sadie* to come and Bill Flagg & his daughter.* Mr. Alden of Harper’s* came to see us off -- yours always lovingly,
Sarah
Mrs. Fields sends love --
Notes
Caroline Frances Perry Jewett: Jewett's
mother. See Theodore Herman Jewett in Key to Correspondents.
Scythia: The S. S. Scythia, sister ship to the Bothnia (see below), a Cunard Line passenger ship, went into service in 1874. Until 1884, the ship carried passengers between New York City and Liverpool, then changed its route to Boston and Liverpool.
Uncle Wm: William Durham Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Mr. Rollins ... Mr. Kidder of Kidder, Peabody & Co:
Mr.
Rollins
is
likely a South Berwick neighbor, a member of the prominent
Rollins family, but seems not to be among Jewett's familiar
acquaintance.
Wikipedia says: "Kidder, Peabody &
Co. was an American securities firm, established in
Massachusetts in 1865. Its operations included investment
banking, brokerage, and trading."
Wikipedia also says: "Henry Purkitt
Kidder (1823-1886) was an American bank founder born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. His parents were Thomas Kidder, a
Boston civil servant in charge of meat and fish inspection,
and Clarissa Purkitt. Henry Kidder was the founder of
investment bank Kidder Peabody and served on several
charitable boards."
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Caddie & to John & Ann: Carrie (sometimes called Caddie) Jewett Eastman and John Tucker. See Key to Correspondents. Ann was a Jewett family employee.
Bothnia: According to Wikipedia, the "SS Bothnia was a British steam passenger ship that sailed on the trans-Atlantic route between Liverpool and New York City or Boston. The ship was built by J & G Thomson of Clydebank, and launched on 4 March 1874 for the British & North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, which became the Cunard Line in 1879."
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Jim and Sadie: The identity of this couple is unknown. However, it is possible they are Jewett's cousins, Sarah (Sadie) Jane McHenry Howell and her brother, James Orne McHenry (1847-1933). See Key to Correspondents.
Bill Flagg & his daughter: These persons remain
unknown.
Mr. Alden of Harper’s: Henry Mills Alden. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Fields
1
Shoals.
May 24th 82
Your dear note, my Annie, & I am so
rejoicing that you & Pinny* have a bright day on which
to sail today-- it has been so long dark & drear -- I
imagine you on the great ship, with the bright tossing water
every where, far & near -- How gladly I would be there
too!
I am saddened by the news in yesterday's
mail, of George Folsom's death,* saddened for myself &
all my family, not for him -- He was every thing to Mr
Thaxter & the boys, the sweetest nature, adored in our
household: my big bearded boys when they rushed to welcome
him would clasp & kiss him like a girl -- He spent last
summer at the farm
2
a few weeks he was here with his mother, -- he was so dear a companion entering into everything going on at the farm, haying or hoeing or whatever, so delighted to help & so deep a scholar, knowing all sorts of things & ready with every possible information for everybody on any kind of subject -- the rarest creature! When I gave Karl* his father's letter he was so overpowered at the news it contained I thought he would have fallen from his chair -- It was real anguish. Then the tears rolled down. I said, "Poor Fossom!" That is what the boys called him when they were babies & they always have kept the name. "Poor Fossom!" he said -- "Poor us, you mean! He is all right & happy, but what shall we do without him?"
3
I would give the world to go to Mrs Potter* now! I had a letter from Rose with a message from W.M.H.* -- it was a most interesting letter -- I think Rose's experiences are more striking than any one's. She spoke of [ Mr corrected ] D.* & his joy in it all -- I am so glad they have this great comfort! W.'s message was Remember me to Celia -- I know how lonely how lost & how hungry she is, but she is going to have very near communication with her mother who is most anxious for it for her sake, not only intellectual communication such as you are having & she has had, but absolute, actual, tangible [ manifestation ? ] of her existence".
I have had a terrible note from Lizzie
Greene* entreating me to "escape from the contagion
of this thing"! "You cannot think seriously of it," she
says. {"}If you cannot say no, do not write to me at
all!" My devoted friend of years!
4
Well -- such is life. She does not know, that's all.
Dear Flower, dear owlet, I shall long to
hear from you! What a long time it must be first { -- } I
kiss you both & love you & bless you -- I am your
faithful
[ Initials C. and T.
superimposed ]
Notes
Pinny: Thaxter is using intimate nicknames shared
among Jewett, Fields and herself. Pinny and Owl/Owlet are
Jewett; Flower is Fields; Sandpiper is Thaxter. See Key to Correspondents.
George Folsom's death: George McKean Folsom (1837- 20 May
1882). Historian and clergyman, George Folsom had
served as a tutor to Thaxter's brothers, Oscar and Cedric.
See Report of the Class of 1857 in Harvard
College, pp. 46-51.
Mrs Potter: It seems very likely that Thaxter refers
to a public spirit medium then working in Boston, Jennie
Potter. Though little is known about her, several
others have recorded encounters with her. See Light 1:1 (1881), p. 78, and Facts 2-3 (1883) p. 164.
Rose ... W.M.H. ... D.: In her letter to Fields of 14 May, Thaxter said she was pleased that Fields had consulted Mrs. P., presumably Jennie Potter. In that letter, she reports receiving accounts of sittings with Potter from Jewett, Rose Lamb, and Robert Kendall Darrah (1818- 22 May 1885). Lamb has conveyed to Thaxter a message from the American artist William Morris Hunt (1824-1879), a deceased friend and mentor for Thaxter, Lamb and Darrah's wife, Ann Sophia Towne Darrah.
Lizzie Greene: Thaxter corresponded with a Lizzie/Lizzy Greene, but this person's identity is not yet known. There was a Lizzie Greene living in Boston at this time, Elizabeth Martha De Witt Wellington Greene (b. 1842). She was estranged from her second husband, Duff Greene.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Boston Public
Library, Rare Books Department, Celia Thaxter correspondence
with Annie Fields, 1869-1893, MS C.1.38 Box 2 Folder 2
(174-190)
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p172b
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Caroline Frances Perry Jewett
Dear Mother
I might have written sooner but I thought it would be fun not to write any letters for a week and I haven't touched a pen since I started -- I am afraid it will cause you a dreadful disappointment, but I have not been seasick at all! Two very rough days I felt disposed to keep still! and all the time I have been as lazy as a 'Mahon Soldier'* but we have both kept very well and have eaten all our meals, which sometimes were very well helped out with lunches in between and suppers before we went to bed! I didn't know how tired I was until I really had nothing
to do, and we stay on deck all day long in the sun and wind and hate to go down into the stuffy staterooms. The moonlight nights are perfectly beautiful and some days the sea has been lovelier than you can imagine particularly while we were in the Gulf Stream [ where corrected ] water was so blue and the waves so white that they dazzled your eyes. We are having a very long passage because the Captain was so afraid of running into icebergs and steered south a hundred and fifty miles -- We saw two icebergs after all and wished they had been a little nearer though I could get a pretty good idea of what they are
like. Before we caught sight of them we got into their trail of fog and after we passed that the air was bitter cold for an hour or two -- Once in a while we pass a streamer and the first three or four days we saw a good many ships and barks under full sail and I do think a big ship on the 'high seas' is a splendid sight. The steamers never stop now to speak them as they used. We have had head winds all the time and the Scythia is not a fast sailer so with all this and the southerly course we shall not get in until Saturday -- We are going to Killarny to spend Sunday -- and have decided not
to try to get to London before the 12th or 13th which will give us quite enough time in Ireland. Liza* has been so nice and you would think she had been round the world two or three times she takes to travelling so well. We see a good deal of Mr. Kidder* who is very nice and so is Mr. Rollins, and Mrs Burleigh and there is a Miss Dayton and her brother who is going out as a Minister to the Hague, whom we like very much, and we have got acquainted with a good many people more or less interesting. Two or three times a day we go to walk up and down the deck and it is fun to see the steerage passengers -- though
[ 3 corrected ]
there are never very many going this way you know -- The Scythia is about five hundred feet long so one can get a good deal of exercise particularly if the sea is running high! You wouldn't think the waves could stir such a great thing, but it rolls about sometimes like a chip! I dont know that there is anything more to offer at this time -- but I can hardly wait to get ashore. I hear we shall get into Queenstown early in the morning and how lovely it will be! I think of you all so much and tell John Mrs. Fields* and I were saying yesterday it would
be good fun if we could have Sheila* and a little dry land and go to ride! Love to Taddy and Uncle William and Ann and Dora and tell Ann I am going to look for a fourleaved shamrock as soon as I go ashore{.} You dont know how lovely Mrs. Fields is -- and always doing things for me -- She has been reading aloud a good deal while we sit on deck -- Some of the people are too lazy to live! [ Three and a half deleted lines ] I hope you dont hate this writing as much as I hate the pen* but there is nothing better. Lots of love to you & O.P. Remember me to Mr. Eastman -- and tell him I dont
think I want to go on a voyage round the Horn -- though I have proved a good sailor so far! No more at present from (the Queen*
[ 2 June 1882 ]
I am going to [ telegraph corrected ] when we get in to Queenstown. I told Cora* I should ^send it to Boston^ for they would not know the rates to Berwick and Cora will [ send corrected from sent ] it right on. We are delayed by the fog and head wind -- and it has been a tiresome sort of voyage though anything is better than being knocked about and seasick - Last night there was a lovely sunset -- I hope (with the difference in time) you will get the [ telegram corrected ] early tomorrow. Tell Uncle William how much I like Mr. Rollins as he thought I would -- he has been most attentive and kind, and we have had a great deal of fun*
Notes
"Mahon Soldier": The proverbial phrase "as lazy as a Mahon soldier," appears somewhat frequently in 19th-century writing. A Notes and Queries piece of 29 September 1900 explains that a "Mahon soldier" was "an Indian Mohammedan soldier, whose physical energy was not so great as that of a British soldier" (p. 253). This suggests an origin in British colonial rule in India.
Liza: Liza was Fields's Irish-born personal servant, who accompanied the women on their travels in Europe.
Mr. Kidder ... Mr. Rollins ... Mrs Burleigh: Mr. Rollins is likely a South Berwick neighbor, a member of the prominent Rollins family, but seems not to be among Jewett's familiar acquaintance.
Wikipedia says: "Kidder, Peabody & Co. was an American securities firm, established in Massachusetts in 1865. Its operations included investment banking, brokerage, and trading."
Wikipedia also says: "Henry Purkitt Kidder (1823-1886) was an American bank founder born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His parents were Thomas Kidder, a Boston civil servant in charge of meat and fish inspection, and Clarissa Purkitt. Henry Kidder was the founder of investment bank Kidder Peabody and served on several charitable boards."
Matilda Buffum Burleigh (1823-1911) was the widow of John H. Burleigh (1822-1878), the Maine congressman from South Berwick.
Miss Dayton ... the Hague: William Lewis Dayton, Jr. (1839-1897) was an American lawyer, judge and diplomat. He was Minister to the Netherlands 1882-1885. Wikipedia. His surviving sister was Anna L. Dayton (1836-1924). Find a Grave.
John Mrs Fields: John Tucker and Annie Adams Fields. Key to Correspondents.
Sheila: Jewett's riding horse.
Taddy and Uncle William and Ann and Dora: Taddy is Theodore Jewett Eastman and Uncle William is William Durham Jewett. Ann probably is Jewett family employee, Annie Collins. Key to Correspondents. Dora is likely to be another Jewett employee, but she has not yet been identified.
pen: Jewett's handwriting is light enough that it appears to be in pencil.
O.P.: Mary Rice Jewett. Key to Correspondents.
Queen: A family nickname for Jewett, the Queen of Sheba.
Cora: Cora Lee Clark Rice. Key to Correspondents.
fun: Bottom left of this page is a circled numeral 6. It is not clear whether this is in Jewett's hand.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 6, Item 263: Six letters to Caroline Frances Perry Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Imperial Hotel – Cork*
3rd June [ -- 1882 added in pencil]
Dear O. P.* I think I never felt happier in my life than when I was fairly at home and indeed when I came on deck that morning (awfully early you may be sure!) and saw the land and the green fields and the trees! We got off the Scythia* about half past eight or nine and came up Queenstown Harbour* on the tug and landed about eleven. No trouble getting through the custom house and then we started for ‘Corruk’ by rail and Mrs. Fields* and I laughed like two children all the way we were so delighted
[ Page 2 ]
with everything. Having left such early Spring behind you can imagine the pleasure of getting into the middle of Summer the fields greener than you ever dreamed of greenness and the buttercups, and daisies & new kinds of flowers, beside all in bloom The trees are beautifully thick-leaved and the park and "gentlemen's pla_ces" were splendid to look at. I wanted to lie down and roll in the grass. Mrs. Fields picked me a dandelion at Queenstown and I never enjoyed a flower more. Anything funnier than the people and the beggars and the houses
[ Page 3 ]
you never saw. We were in such gales of laughter over everything. The nice cabins and the pigs and the flock of sheep in the fields and the donkey carts and the old women with [ cap borders ? ] and the blessings that were showered on us were all such fun. You wait until you have been sleeping in a state room ten nights! We meant to go to Killarney for Sunday but the train by the pleasantest route had already gone and I said at once we had better stay here and go on
[ Page 4 ]
Monday morning. So we shall get rested you know and start fair and we have quite time enough. Tomorrow we mean to drive out to see Blarney Castle* and the bells of Shandon* and the Country about Cork. Beside Cork itself is very quaint and interesting. How I wish I could show you the people I saw just driving up from the station, but it is no use telling. I have read and read about them but I had to see them -- In the cars there were some nice looking people who were chattering
[ Page 5 ]
all the way so we have seen all kinds of life. I
believe I thought I should eat all I could see
at lunch time! It was in the coffee room and there was cold
beef, the most delicious you ever saw and other cold meats,
and salad and oh such bread and butter!! and I wound
up with some cheese and crackers -- and the cheese was so
good! I am going to have some milk as soon as I can
-- it must be surprising milk that makes
such cheese and butter. You see we got
[ Page 6 ]
so tired of the things on the steamers -- they tasted as if they had been kept in bureau drawers, the last two or three days. I hope you have got my telegram by this time and know we are all right. I got on very well with the new fashions of travelling and though it gives more trouble than our way, still I shall soon get used to it. You dont have checks, but must go and pick out your
[ Page 7 ]
trunks and give orders about them, when they go into the car and come out! Only eight people can sit in a car, but they are very comfortable. you get in on the side. I shall want to be writing you all the time, but I am going so send two letters a week. Tell Taddy* I thought of her when I saw the daisies staring at me! I didn’t know they had daisies here. Ask Ann*
[ Page 8 ]
what the bushes are that grow all on the hills, covered with bright yellow flowers. It is furze or gorse I don’t know which, but it is so pretty. I have seen the old fellows just like David* by the dozen, and I have seen donkeys that would make John* choke himself laughing -- about as big as dogs in large ramshackle carts. Goodbye for this time with love to all. I wish you would send this to Cora* when you have read it for I am too tired to write
[ Up the left margin of page 5 ]
any more. Tell Ann Ireland is splendid.
Notes
Imperial Hotel, Cork: The Imperial has been a major hotel in Cork, Ireland since 1813.
O.P.: A Jewett nickname for Mary Rice Jewett.
Scythia: The S. S. Scythia, sister ship to the Bothnia (see below), a Cunard Line passenger ship, went into service in 1874. Until 1884, the ship carried passengers between New York City and Liverpool, then changed its route to Boston and Liverpool.
Queenstown Harbour: Queenstown is now named Cobh, and is a major tourist seaport town in County Cork, Ireland.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Blarney Castle: Wikipedia says:"Blarney Castle ... is a medieval stronghold in Blarney, near Cork, Ireland, and the River Martin. Though earlier fortifications were built on the same spot, the current keep was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, a cadet branch of the Kings of Desmond, and dates from 1446. The Blarney Stone is among the machicolations of the castle."
bells of Shandon: Wikipedia says: "Shandon (Irish: An Seandún meaning "the old fort") is a district in Cork city noted for The Bells of Shandon, a song celebrating the bells of the Church of St Anne written by Francis Sylvester Mahony under the pen name of 'Father Prout'."
Taddy: Other letters confirm that Taddy is female; I have assumed she is Jewett's younger sister, Caroline/Caddie Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
Ann: Ann was a Jewett family employee.
old fellows just like David: The identity of David is not known.
John: John Tucker. See Key to Correspondents.
Cora: Cora Clark Rice. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Enniskillen*
8th June 1882
Dear O.P.*
I have been telling Mrs. Fields* that it seemed as if I wrote very seldom! but the truth is, instead of its being four or five days since we landed I keep thinking it is four or five weeks -- it is all so new and strange and we have seen so much. I posted my last letter at Glengarriff* day before yesterday morning. And we left there at half past nine, hoping with all [ all written twice] our hearts we may see the Eccles Hotel* again, for a more lovely place isn’t in the world!
[ Page 2 ]
We happened to wake up very early, so we went up the hill again among the cabins and met old Mrs. Casey* with whom we had made friends the night before. She was so much like old Mrs. Drinan* and we gossipped with her awhile and picked some roses out of the hedges and some daisies and then came down again. Mrs. Fields gave her some money and the good little old soul fell on her knees among the daisies to give us a blessing and wish us a safe return. She was so old-fashioned and solemn and funny about it, and we watched her go off among the furze
[ Page 3 ]
driving a calf to pasture and I suppose she would stop at the first best bit of green grass and knit and keep company with the calf. We were dying to see the inside of her cabin but she was already beyond it when we saw her. We got good looks into some of them and I can tell you they aren’t crowded with furniture, but they are as pretty to look at and picturesque as some kind of a bird’s nest always provided you aren’t too near! They are apt to have mud puddles in front at least where ducks and geese enjoy themselves. And when you only see the thatched roofs and white washed walls among the trees the effect is charming --
[ Page 4 ]
We were driving most of the day we left Glengarriff through a wonderfully beautiful country, first among farms and then up over the mountains of Killarney.* In the highest part of the hills, just before we began to descend into the Killarney Valley the view was wilder and finer than any mountain view I had ever seen. The roads are the best I ever saw, perfectly smooth and hard and the bridges are all of stone with lovely arches. I counted forty brooks and small streams within not a very great distance. When we were near Killarney we go into a lovely fertile region again and the ivy and honeysuckle were
[ Page 5 ]
2
tangled over everything. I do wish mother could see all the honeysuckle growing wild, and just now it is coming into full bloom. Killarney is beautiful of course and the Royal Victoria Hotel* was very pleasant near the shore of the prettiest lake, and kept as beautifully is its park and flower gardens as if it were some private residence. We came the last of the forty miles on a jaunting car which I like better and better to ride on. Next day (yesterday) we came to Dublin and it is altogether the handsomest and most interesting city
[ Page 6 ]
I ever saw{.} The public buildings, the custom house,
Trinity College [two deleted words] are finely carved
and decorated. And the river goes right through the heart of
the town crossed every little way by handsome great-arched
bridges. We took a little stroll I in in the evening
up and down one or two streets, and though St. Stephen’s
Green, a small park on which the hotel fronts. We had a
dinner of nine courses at the Shelbourne* and it was so good
we are glad to be going back there for Monday night. We came
[ Page 7 ]
by Phoenix Park where the murder was.* Every body is still excited over it, but we were told that the murderer will never be found, for the secret society could put the informer to death in a jiffy. All round the city we saw the placard "Ten thousand pounds reward."
The country was all very interesting coming from Killarney. We saw some great ruined castles and abbeys and I hardly know what to tell you about first -- everything interests me so much and I learn so much every day. The peat bogs and the cabins and the bridges
[ Page 8 ]
the railway-stations and every thing about the trains, and all the towns and people keep me staring and thinking every minute. I get into such frolics over the donkeys and the rooks! These solemn birds are so much funnier than our crows, for they are a good deal shorter and stouter and seem to make a great piece of work about flying as if they were nice old black silk pincushions trying to waggle up into the air!!
Today we came across country again to the northward and were so much
[ Page 9 ]
3
interested in three young Irish ladies who were in the same carriage (or car). They seemed to like so much to talk with us and one of them was so much like Clara Potter of New York.* They lived way out in the country beyond here and I wish we had a chance to see them again. They went off with a man in livery. Two of them were Dublin girls and the other was their cousin & they were going to make her a long visit. They seemed so troubled about the state of things,* and so anxious, and said all these commotions made them such worry and discomfort,
[ Page 10 ]
for lots of people have nearly all their incomes cut off, even after they do the best they can for their tenants. Many of them are shiftless and dont like new cabins so well at the old ramshackle ones, and these wild rascals are stirring up the tenants all the time and nobody knows what the end will be. There are four regiments of soldiers now in Dublin barracks, ready to come out at a minute’s warning to put down the mob that may appear any day. Yet everything on the surface is quiet and it is hard to realize, going
[ Page 11 ]
about as we all do, what a volcano is ready to break out. Of course, as in all such questions there is wrong on both sides, but the Irish mob is a crazy headed one, we all know that!
Enniskillen is a charming old place at the head of a long, narrow pair of lakes (lower and upper Lough [deleted word] Erne). The town is on an island, and late in the afternoon we took a boat and were rowed about two miles to see some curious old ruins, one of the famous Irish round towers* which nobody
[ Page 12 ]
has ever found out the history of. Nobody knows when they were built or why. Coming back we came around the barracks and [deleted words] just on the river side a fragment of an old castle make parts of the building. It was so lovely, with the old gray crumbling stone battlements and an English soldier in his bright red coat leaning over the tower wall. Liza* has gone out into the country to find her friends. She charted a 'car' and went off beaming with delight -- We shall be here until day after tomorrow
[ Up the left margin of page 9 ]
and then go up to Giants Causeway* for Sunday.
[ Up the left margin and down from the left across the top margin of page 1 ]
Love to all and please send this to Cora* after you have read it. Mrs. Fields sends love. Tell Ann tomorrow I am going to ride a donkey! And I think it will be better than a "jaunting" car. Love to all, from Sarah
Notes
Enniskillen ... Glengarriff ... the Eccles Hotel: Enniskillen now is in Northern Ireland, Glengarriff, the location of the historic Eccles Hotel, is in County Cork in Ireland.
O.P .: A Jewett nickname for Mary Rice Jewett.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
old Mrs. Casey … old Mrs. Drinan: The identities of these two women are as yet unknown. However, Mrs. Drinan may be a relative, perhaps the mother, of a Jewett family employee, Catherine/Katy Drinan. See Key to Correspondents.
Royal Victoria Hotel: From about 1835 into the 20th Century, the Royal Victoria (since replaced by Castlerosse Hotel) in Killarney was one of the grand hotels of Ireland.
Trinity College ... the Shelbourne: Wikipedia says: "Trinity College ... is the sole constituent college of the University of Dublin, a research university in Ireland. The college was founded in 1592 as the "mother" of a new university, modeled after the collegiate universities of Oxford and of Cambridge, but, unlike these, only one college was ever established; as such, the designations 'Trinity College' and 'University of Dublin' are usually synonymous for practical purposes. It is one of the seven ancient universities of Britain and Ireland, as well as Ireland's oldest university."Wikipedia also says: "the Shelbourne Hotel was founded in 1824 by Martin Burke, a native of Tipperary, when he acquired three adjoining townhouses overlooking Dublin's St. Stephen's Green -- Europe's largest garden square. Burke named his grand new hotel The Shelbourne, after William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne."
Phoenix Park where the murder was: Wikipedia says: "The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings on 6 May 1882 in the Phoenix Park in Dublin of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke. Cavendish was the newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Burke was the Permanent Undersecretary, the most senior Irish civil servant. The assassination was carried out by members of the 'Irish National Invincibles'."
Clara Potter of New York: It seems likely Jewett refers to the painter Clara Sidney Potter Davidge (1858-1921), the daughter of Episcopal Bishop of New York, Henry Codman Potter. Late in her life, she married the painter Henry Fitch Taylor (1853-1925).
troubled about the state of things: Presumably they
refer to the fears associated with the recent murders and
with the tensions about Irish home rule during this period.
round towers: The round towers of Ireland now are believed to be bell towers of medieval Christian origin.
Liza: Personal servant of Annie Fields, who accompanied the pair on this trip.
Giants Causeway: Wikipedia says: "The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption ... It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills."Cora: Cora Clark Rice. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Fields
My dear Annie:
I imagine you settled at Manchester & I trust last nights rainbow means sunshine for us all, for such consecutive weeks of rain I have seldom known, too much even for the thin soil of island gardens -- How is your flower plot? Indeed I will try hard for a night at Manchester, dear Annie, -- I love to go, & always have such a beautiful time with you in that dear familiar house. I have had a lovely, hardworking spring, out of doors all day doing the things I love best to do & sleeping soundly at night & better in body than for years,
for which I am most grateful. The dear seeds you sent I am eagerly watching for. I planted them at once. The slugs [ plague corrected ] me sadly still, & my magnificent hollyhocks, scores & scores of them, are seized by the hollyhock pest which came over from England after laying almost all the family low over there, & how does it get here to my island! It spreads on the under side of the big broad leaves, a yellow crust, beginning with small yellow spots, a fungus, not an insect, & there's an end of the plant; it covers all of it, stems & all & devours its life -- I wonder if it has reached you. The birds & slugs have fairly beat me on mignonette this year. I have planted a whole solid ounce & what the birds left in the ground the slugs devoured the moment it lifted its head above the ground. And I fear the carnation twitter* will cut me off from pinks. My carnations warn me he has come; & for the poor little
margarets, I know they won't leave me a plant, they didn't last year. If they only will spare the rose Campion bed, it grows with the same habit as pinks & yesterday I found one stalk pierced its whole length with the wriggling worm. It is detestable! But oh, my larkspurs and lilies! such masses of rich green, strong growth! As yet nothing has meddled with them, but I hardly dare breathe as much aloud! Not a sunflower will birds & slugs allow me. I have planted pints of seeds, & not an aster of the hundreds of fine plants I have set out from boxes but the slugs have gobbled. To keep them I put a little pot upside down over each, & often when I lift the pot there is nothing underneath but a slug! the whole green plant vanished, tho I have ground the pot deep into the earth to prevent his getting in. But the Shirley poppies are simply glorious in their growth.
I am dreading people after all this peace & old clothes & informal existence -- I mean all kinds of indifferent folk that infest the premises, you know! I wish summer could go on all through thus peacefully.
My love to dear Pinny* -- I wonder if the hollyhock pest has struck South Berwick too -- Do tell me of your welfare on the hilltop.* My white Rose Rugosa is twelve feet high & has hundreds of little [ boughs ? ] with a [ unrecognized word ] at every end -- You must have a Clematis Paniculate it covers itself with white fragrant blossoms & stays all summer, is perfectly hardy, & grows like wild fire. With dear love yours
Notes
84: This letter was edited for inclusion in Letters of Celia Thaxter by her friends A.F. and R.L. (Annie Fields and Rose Lamb).
The manuscript includes a number of marks and notes, presumably by Fields and Lamb to guide the publication. These are not included in this transcription.
carnation twitter: When Thaxter wrote this letter, she thought the attackers of her carnations and Dianthus probably were Carnation Twitters, which we now know is caused by an infestation of thrips. Thaxter sent specimens to an entomologist as was reported in Insect Life (USDA), 5 (September 1892-July 1893):
We have recently received an inquiry from Mrs. Celia Thaxter of Isle of Shoals, concerning a new disease of her Carnation plants. An examination of specimens showed that the trouble was caused by an Anthomyiid larva working in the stems of the plants near the ground. Many plants were killed and we are now endeavoring to rear the adult insect ....Thaxter's trouble, then, was not Carnation Twitter, but a stem and root feeding maggot which is the larva of a fly, Family: Anthomyiidae, Genus: Delia, species unknown. (Research: Richard Roehrdanz (USDA retired).
Pinny: A nickname for Sarah Orne Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
hilltop: Fields's summer home in Manchester by the Sea was (and still is) located on Thunderbolt Hill.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Huntington Library, San Marino, California: James Thomas Fields Papers and Addenda (1767-1914), mss FI 1-5637, Box 63 FI 1- 4216. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Fields and Lamb Transcription for Letters of Celia Thaxter
I have had a lovely, hard-working spring, out of doors all day doing the things I love best to do, and sleeping soundly at night, and better in body than for years, for which I am most grateful. The dear seeds you sent I am eagerly watching for. I planted them at once. The slugs plague me sadly still, and my magnificent hollyhocks, scores and scores of them, are seized by the hollyhock pest, which came over from England after laying almost all the family low over there, and how does it get here to my island! It spreads on the under side of the big, broad leaves a yellow crust, beginning with small yellow spots, a fungus, not an insect, and there's an end of the plant; it covers all, of it, stems and all, and devours its life. I wonder if it has reached you. The birds and slugs have fairly beaten me on mignonette this year. I have planted a whole solid ounce, and what the birds left the slugs devoured the moment it lifted its head above the ground. And I fear the carnation enemy will cut me off from pinks. My carnations warn me he has come; and for the poor little margarets, I know they won't leave me a plant; they didn't last year. If they only will spare the rose campion bed! it grows with the same habit as pinks; and yesterday I found one stalk pierced its whole length with the wriggling worm. It is detestable! But oh, my larkspurs and lilies! such masses of rich, green, strong growth! As yet, nothing has meddled with them, but I hardly dare breathe as much aloud! Not a sunflower will birds and slugs allow me. I have planted pints of seeds, and not an aster of the hundreds of fine plants I have set out from boxes but the slugs have gobbled. To keep them, I put a little pot upside down over each, and often when I lift the pot there is nothing underneath but a slug! the whole green plant vanished, though I have ground the pot deep into the earth to prevent his getting in. But the sturdy poppies are simply glorious in their growth.
I am dreading people, after all this peace, and old clothes, and informal existence.
I wish summer could go on all through thus peacefully.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Caroline Frances Perry Jewett
1882*
Dear Mother
So much happens every day that the days each seem a week long. I sent the last letter just as we got to Enniskillen. We really did have a beautiful time there! In the first place we lived on trout chiefly, and one whole day we spent out at Blacklion where Liza's* family live -- We took a drive round Robin Hood's barn* to get there, seeing all the country as we went along, and going through Lord Enniskillen's beautiful park "Florence court" for one thing -- The house is a perfect palace -- we walked about a little but it was
raining fast all the early part of the day so we had to keep as dry as we could in the covered car -- we meant to go out in a jaunting car which would have been a great deal better fun -- Liza's people were very well today and we were most joyfully entertained and they were such nice [ deletion ] kindhearted souls! The Uncle is the parish schoolmaster and they have a farm beside and live high up on the side of a hill -- It was a thatched [ deletion] cabin though it was larger than most ^with a delightful peat fire!^ and had rooms upstairs which is unusual -- We were treated
with great ceremony and feasted at intervals all the afternoon on the [ most corrected ] delicious milk and oatcake and little roasted chickens about as big as partridges and cakes and something to take! I had every privilege of riding a donkey which was the jolliest fun that ever was -- and I wish you could have seen Mrs. Fields* laugh! It was only a middlesized donkey -- and it was a good deal like riding a dog! We came into Enniskillen in the cars and Liza did not appear until next day. She had nearly three days and it
was a beautiful visit -- She went stravaging all over the country -- I wish you had seen her two cousins coming out to meet us -- with their hands crossed in front of them and when they got near us they dropped a courtesy exactly together as if they had been practising it -- Saturday was fair day which was great luck -- and the country people were going down the street past the hotel all the morning -- some of them much excited* -- and they were driving cattle and horses and making a
2
great day of it -- We left at eleven, and went to Londonderry where we drove across the city (tell Ann.) and I think it is a beautiful place. I picked a sprig of hawthorne (or may) for her there -- and I wish you would tell her that I had a big shamrock all ready to send her when I was in Cork and it got thrown away by mistake, and I was ever so sorry -- I thought I should get one in the North then, but they weren't in bloom except some I saw one day when it was raining too hard for me to get out for them -- I hope she will like this piece of a hedge
^I send it in a newspaper.^
just as well and some little flowers I picked in the North, a bit of gorse and some daisies -- I had primrose too, but they wizzled all up. I didn't go very near where Ann lived, but you must tell her how much I like the country -- The hedges are just coming into bloom and the gorse is in bloom and the farms looked splendidly --
-- We went to Portrush Saturday night and found it bleak and cold then with the wind blowing off the sea, and Sunday we drove out to the
Giants Causeway -- about seven miles -- stopping on the way at Dunluce Castle -- which is said to be one of the most interesting ruins in the island{.} Nobody knows how old it is, but it is a great castle on a high craggy rock over the sea -- the cliffs go straight down between one and two hundred feet, or more than that in some places -- There are immense rooms in it with great fireplaces and dungeons and stairways in the walls -- The grass and daisies grow all through it and the sheep feed in it, and it is such a contrast to the [ day ? ]
[ Page 9 ]
3
It stretches three or four miles along the coast (that is, the cliffs do) though the causeway proper covers only a half mile perhaps -- The stones are fitted together, you would think, and are just as regular as a piece of honey comb -- in some places -- I am sorry it has been so cold and rainy these last few days though I have no doubt we have seen quite enough -- The wind blew so we were glad to get away from Portrush which is a fashionable watering place though it is so bleak
now -- We thought it better to come to Belfast and spend the night, as by doing so we could reach Dublin much earlier in the day. I wish you had seen Mrs. Fields & Liza & me on a jaunting car last night scurrying [ deletion ] ^through^ Belfast* just as the people were going to church -- You would die laughing for we were going as if the [ Divil so spelled ] were after us -- but the 'car' is the proper vehicle here and nobody takes it into their heads to laugh at you, however you laugh at yourself! We are back at the Shelbourne here which we like so much -- and are
4
resting after a beautiful good lunch before we go to drive. It pours every little while.
Tomorrow morning early we start for London, reaching there in time for dinner tomorrow night -- I shall be so glad to get some letters -- We have had a most delightful time in Ireland -- a thousand times better than I dreamed it could be, and we have seen a great deal of the country -- Love to all and here we go for a last ride on the
"side-car-r-r" ----- so no more at present from the Queen* --
We had a lovely drive to [ Phenix Park so spelled ] (where the murder was!) and to the old St. Patrick's Cathedral where Dean Swift is buried, and there is a great deal else very interesting -- but I am too tired to do any more --
Notes
1882: The year seems to be in different ink from the rest of the letter, but this is not certain.
Liza's: Liza was Fields's Irish-born personal servant, who accompanied the women on their travels in Europe.
Robin Hood's barn: Perhaps it is obvious that this was a proverbial saying in the 19th century, indicating taking the long way to a destination. Some say that the famed outlaw's "barn" was Sherwood Forest.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. Key to Correspondents.
excited: Beneath this word is a deleted insertion.
Belfast: Jewett seems to have underlined this word decoratively, with several horizontal lines.
Queen: A family nickname for Jewett, the Queen of Sheba.
Phenix Park where the murder was: Wikipedia says: "The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings on 6 May 1882 in the Phoenix Park in Dublin of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke. Cavendish was the newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Burke was the Permanent Undersecretary, the most senior Irish civil servant. The assassination was carried out by members of the 'Irish National Invincibles'."
Dean Swift: Wikipedia says: "Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet and cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin."
Among the artifacts associated with Swift in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin is a monument bust of Dean Swift.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 6, Item 263: Six letters to Caroline Frances Perry Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to William Perry
Dublin
12 June [ 1882 ]
Dear Grandpa
This is only a note to tell you
how well we are getting on and what a good time I am having
-- It is worth crossing the sea if it were twice as wide,
just to have had these ten days in Ireland -- and Mrs
Fields* and I have enjoyed every day and only wish we could
stay longer -- I was so much
interested in seeing more of Dublin today than we had time for when we were here last week, and it certainly is a beautiful old city. The colleges and hospitals are splendid buildings. I think a doctor would be very proud of them -- We went to
have been at Cork, Glengariff, Killarney, Enniskillen, Portrush, and the Giants Causeway* and a night in Belfast beside two nights here -- To-morrow we go to London where I am hoping to have a very good time indeed -- but I cant have the delight and strangeness of this week but once. I write long letters home and after I get settled down a little I hope to write to my other friends, but of course a good deal had to be crowded into this week, and I have been too tired to touch a pen at night -- I am learning so
much every day, and I am so glad I am here -- It is late and I will send you more love than letter, and say good night, and promise to do better [ next corrected ] time.
Love to Uncle Will and Aunty and Fanny* and much for
yourself from Sarah
Tell Elizabeth* I liked Enniskillen very much. It is really
a most beautiful place.
Notes
Dean Swift's monument: Wikipedia says: "Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet and cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin .... Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729)."
Among the artifacts associated with Swift in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin is a monument bust of Dean Swift.
Giants Causeway: Wikipedia says: "The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption ... It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills."
Uncle Will and Aunty and Fanny: In her
maternal grandfather's family, Uncle Will would be Dr.
William G. Perry (1823-1910) and his wife Lucretia Fisk
Perry (1826-1896); their daughter was Frances Perry
(1861-1953).
Elizabeth: Richard Cary says: "Elizabeth Watkin was Dr. Perry's cook, one of a long succession of native Irish housemaids who served in the Perry and Jewett homes."
This letter is held by Colby College Special Collections,
Waterville, Maine: JEWE.1. It was originally transcribed,
edited and annotated by Richard Cary for Sarah Orne
Jewett Letters. This new transcription with
additional and revised notes is by Terry Heller, Coe
College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
326 Regent St. London!*
Thursday 15 June
[1882 added in pencil]
Dear O. P.*
Sister is no sense at all she is having that beautiful of a time. Tuesday we came across from Dublin travelling all day from seven in the morning until six at night. All the morning we were crossing from Kingstown to Holyhead in Wales, and any hopes Mother may have had blighted in regard to my being seasick coming from Ameriky were gratified, for sister expects to be in the better for that v'yge for the rest of the summer, and was very low in her mind. Perhaps she had too good a
[ Page 2 ]
time in ould Ireland. It was a very rainy day, a steady down pour, and Wales looked so prim and gray and different, that is, what I could see of it, for the mist was very thick. By the time we got to Chester and as far away as Rugby it was lighter and though it rained, still we could see the country very well and it was most beautiful. When we reached Brown’s Hotel* we found that they had not kept our room after the eighth though we told them to [deleted word] and we were disappointed
[ Page 3 ]
at first, but we came over to Regent St. and are
delightfully settled in much pleasanter rooms than the
others. We would not take keep the ones they had for
us instead of ours at Brown’s -- You don’t know how lovely
it is here! I really shall hate to go away which I suppose
we shall do next week. We have a nice bedroom and a parlour
where there is a square table for our dinners, and we have
all our meals by our
[ Page 4 ]
selves, served beautifully -- Every morning I make out our
bill of fare for the day, and somethings we get ourselves
when we are out. To-day we went right after breakfast to
Covent Garden Market* and it is the most fascinating place
you ever saw. Perfect crowds of flowers and the most
magnificent flo fruit. Mrs. Fields* bought such a
lot of flowers, some she sent to Mrs. Lowell* who is very
sick again, and we put a great
[ Page 5 ]
many in the room here and some we took to Westminster Abbey this afternoon to put on Dickens’s tomb.* I didn’t know what to say when I found myself in that place, and I really had to come away after I had only seen a small part of it. The roof is so high and it seems as if you could look a mile down through the arches -- and the great stained glass windows and the carvings and the great bells ringing over head are all so
[ Page 6 ]
wonderful and beautiful that it fairly upsets you. Just within a dozen or two feet from Dickens’s tomb are Chaucer’s and Thackeray's and Sheridan’s and Milton’s and Goldsmith’s.* Oh I can’t begin to tell you about it. It made all the great men so much more real somehow, and it was so familiar because I had read about it and longed to see it over and over again ever since I was a little girl.
[ Page 7 ]
We shall go again several times.
The streets all seem so familiar too -- Piccadilly and Pall Mall and Hanover Square and all of them. I feel as if I were somebody in an English novel! ---- Yesterday we drove about a little and went into some shops. They were very fascinating, but one needs a mint of money to live in London. Mrs. Fields says London itself is more fascinating than any thing in it! To-night Susy Travers* dined with us
[ Page 8 ]
and we went afterward to a lovely concert and saw such interesting people. We are going often if we don’t get too tired in the day times for there is a great deal of fine music just now --
Tomorrow morning we go to the Royal Academy* to see pictures and afterward to the Grosvenor Gallery* if we can to look at one or two we wish to see there particularly. Several people have been to see Mrs. Fields and she seems very well and bright though I know
[ Page 9 ]
in one way it makes her very sad to be here. Lowell was here to-day but I didn’t see him as he is in great trouble about his wife. [deleted words] – I wish you could see the flowers and fruit we got today. Apricots and plums and strawberries and cherries -- and we had early gooseberry and plum tart that we bought at a cake shop. Oh Purssell’s* is nothing to the London cake shops! Sister is distracted with London! Mrs. Fields is lovely and I grow fonder of
[ Page 10 ]
her every day. She is always thinking about what I must do, and nobody could be more thoughtful and kind. Liza has every kind of skipping about -- and is so funny, and keeps everything in such nice train for us. I must say goodnight for it is so late. I wish you could see the great splendid place. Yesterday I saw Hyde Park* and today I went down to the city to Barings* to draw money & saw St. Paul’s* & no end of other things. I get tired to death driving
[ Page 11 ]
down the streets there is such a world of things to see. We shall be here ten days & go away to Devonshire for ten and then come back again. I have such nice letters from you & Cora* besides Mother & Carrie’s* & lots of others. I shall not try to write so much except home & to Cora. Two or three letters are all most people can have from dear sister because she gets tired and wants to go to bed instead of writing. Mrs. Fields sends love to you and so do I -- Yours always
Sarah --
Notes
326 Regent St. London: Which hotel was located at 326 Regent St. in 1882 has not been discovered.
O.P .: A Jewett nickname for Mary Rice Jewett.
Brown's hotel: Wikipedia says: "Brown's Hotel ... in London, established in 1837 and owned by Rocco Forte Hotels since 3 July 2003."
Covent Garden Market: A partially covered general market in the Covent Garden district at east the side of London's West End.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Lowell: The American poet and editor, James Russell Lowell (1819-1891), was American minister to England 1880-1885. He and his second wife, Frances Dunlap (d. February 1885), were close friends of Annie Fields and of Jewett.
Westminster Abbey … Dickens’s tomb … Chaucer’s and
Thackeray's and Sheridan’s and Milton’s and Goldsmith’s:
Wikipedia says: "Westminster Abbey,
formally titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at
Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the
City of Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace
of Westminster. It is one of the United Kingdom's most
notable religious buildings and the traditional place of
coronation and burial site for English and, later, British
monarchs."
Wikipedia also says: "Poets' Corner is
the name traditionally given to a section of the South
Transept of Westminster Abbey because of the high number of
poets, playwrights, and writers buried and commemorated
there."
The British novelist, Charles Dickens
(1812-1870) was a much beloved friend of Annie Fields.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400),
author of The Canterbury Tales, was the first poet
to be buried in Westminster.
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)
was a novelist, the author of Vanity Fair.
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan
(1751-1816) Wikipedia says, was a British
satirist; a playwright and poet, and long-term owner of the
London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane." Among his
best-known plays are The Rivals and The School
for Scandal.
John Milton (1608-1674) was the author of
Paradise Lost.
Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), according
to Wikipedia, was an Irish novelist,
playwright and poet, who is best known for his novel The
Vicar of Wakefield (1766), his pastoral poem The
Deserted Village (1770), and his plays The
Good-Natur'd Man (1768) and She Stoops to Conquer
(1771, first performed in 1773)."
Royal Academy: Wikipedia says: "The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. It has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects; its purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts through exhibitions, education and debate."
Grosvenor Gallery: Wikipedia says: "The Grosvenor Gallery was an art gallery in London founded in 1877 by Sir Coutts Lindsay and his wife Blanche. Its first directors were J. Comyns Carr and Charles Hallé. The gallery proved crucial to the Aesthetic Movement because it provided a home for those artists whose approaches the more classical and conservative Royal Academy did not welcome, such as Edward Burne-Jones and Walter Crane."
Purssells: The Purssell family established popular bakery shops in London and after 1859 in New York City.
Hyde Park: Wikipedia says: "Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in London and one of its Royal Parks." The park includes extensive gardens and various monuments.
Barings to draw money: Wikipedia says: "Barings Bank was a
British merchant bank based in London, and the world's
second oldest merchant bank (after Berenberg Bank). It was
founded in 1762 and was owned by the German-originated
Baring family of merchants and bankers.
"The bank collapsed in 1995 after
suffering losses of £827 million ($1.3 billion) resulting
from poor speculative investments, primarily in futures
contracts, conducted by an employee named Nick Leeson
working at its office in Singapore."
St. Paul’s: Wikipedia says: "St Paul's Cathedral, London, is an Anglican cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London and the mother church of the Diocese of London. It sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London."
Cora: Cora Clark Rice. See Key to Correspondents.
Carrie’s: Caroline Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Bertha Freiin, Baronesse von Bülow-Wendhausen to Sarah Orne Jewett
Baroness von Bülow-Wendhausen
Dresden
1882: Wikipedia says that Baroness Bertha von Marenholtz-Bülow (1810-1893) "was a German noblewoman and educator noted for her work in spreading the kindergarten concept through Europe." A more detailed account of her life and career appears in German Wikipedia.
This card is problematic in two main ways. No recipient is named and no date specified.
Jewett is not known to have visited Dresden during the baroness's lifetime. They would have had to meet elsewhere in Europe in 1882 or 1892. Annie Adams Fields, however, may have met the baroness before she traveled with Jewett, during trips to Europe with her husband.
That the card is among Jewett's letters suggests that Jewett or Fields received it in 1882 or 1892. I have placed the letter in 1882, assuming that if the card is addressed to Jewett, it is more likely that the meeting took place when the baroness was younger and probably in London or Paris, or perhaps in Italy.
The manuscript of this card is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 1, Item 32 I. Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
London 16 June 1882
Dear O. P.*
Sister having forgotten to mention that she had privileges of seeing the Prince of Wales* at the concert last night is obliged to begin another letter. There were four or five others of the Royal Family and when they came in she stood up politely with the rest of the company, but could get no good sight at them, though she knew the Prince of Wales from his pictures. It was a lovely concert.*
[ Page 2 ]
I wrote you so late last night that I was tired and forgot about everything I meant to say. Just after breakfast this morning who should come to call but Mrs. Craik* (Miss Muloch you know) and when we come back from Devonshire we have promised to go to lunch with her. She lives just out of London and it will be so nice. It was nice of her to come right in to see us. Mr. Craik who was with her and who was very pleasant, stayed with Mrs. Fields* at Manchester
[ Page 3 ]
once. He was with Black.* "Miss Muloch" is much older than
I supposed and she has such a sweet face. I was very glad to
see her. How many books do you think she has written? Forty
and she says she is going to stop now! and John
Halifax* was n't the first by any means and that must have
been published more than twenty years ago, a good deal. We
have been so lucky in having good weather in London. One
doesn’t mind the little showers and the sun is out most of
the day. Sister
[ Page 4 ]
has had the side cars superseded in her affections by the Hansom cabs which are truly lovely. We have nice open fires (at one and sixpence) and sister is that contented she is ashamed of herself -- and tuppence will buy her raspberry tarts that make her forget all troubles of mind and body and tomorrow is market day again at Covent Garden.* To-day she is going everywhere! The only misery being there is so much to do and see [deleted word] and I can only be
[ Page 5 ]
in one place at a time.
= Sunday -- After I finished those remarks I went to the Royal Academy* to see the pictures and spent a delightful morning. The pictures were very fine and it is great fun to see the people. After lunch we stayed in until six and then went to Tavistock Square to call on the Bennochs,* some old friends of Mrs. Fields’s,* and afterward we drove down to the Temple Church* -- and had a beautiful walk through the cloisters and ^by^ the temple gardens. It was where Charles Lamb and Dr. Johnson lived, and Goldsmith
[ Page 6 ]
in different ‘courts’ of the Temple,* and I was so glad to see the old houses where so many interesting things have happened. It is a lovely place there too. You go in through a narrow court and suddenly come out into an open space with this beautiful old church and the little park and the old houses crowded together around. All the houses are filled with lawyers offices, it is where a great many young men read law -- [ two deleted words ] It was so nice to be there late as we were when everything is quiet. Yesterday we went down to Covent Garden again
[ Page 7 ]
and then to Macmillans the publisher’s,* and then to get tickets to see Irving and Ellen Terry the great actors in Romeo & Juliet on Wednesday night.* Did I tell you you have to go to the concerts & theatres here in evening dress as if it were a party? Without a bonnet for they won’t let you in with one on! It makes very fine audiences -- it really was splendid to see the people the other night. Yesterday afternoon we drove down the Thames Embankment to Chelsea to see Mrs. Merritt* and
[ Page 8 ]
had such a good time. It was the Queen’s Drawing Room, and the Prince of Wales* received and all the gentlemen were going in full uniform and the streets were full of carriages. We [came corrected] ] by Hyde Park* as we came back and you never saw anything so beautiful as the horses and carriages not to speak of the coachmen & foot men in liveries more lovely to behold. Sister had privileges of seeing the Lord Mayor’s carriage* -- and it was just like the one on the picture book we used to have! At night we went to dine at the Bennoch’s
[ Page 9 ]
which was very pleasant. Mr. Bennoch had been at the drawing room. He is such a nice old gentleman and the house is full of interesting things. He was a great friend of Hawthorne’s.
Today we are going to hear Canon Farrar preach at St. Margaret’s* next Westminsters Abbey, and perhaps we shall go in then a little while afterward – I am going to dine with Susy Travers* tonight and tomorrow we dine with
[ Page 10 ]
Miss Hogarth and the Dickens’s* -- I haven’t been to the shops much, though I got a pretty ^black^ jacket trimmed with and lace. I think the prices of things are quite as high as at home, but most of the shops I have been in have been the very swell ones. I will bid you all good morning, it being church time. Love to all from
Sarah.
Mrs. Ole* telegraphed us that she sailed Wednesday on the
Gallia.
Notes
O.P .: A Jewett nickname for Mary Rice Jewett.
Prince of Wales: In 1882, the British Prince of Wales was George Frederick Ernest Albert (1865-1936), grandson of Queen Victoria. After her death and that of his father, King Edward VIII, he became King George V.
concert: While it is difficult to be sure at which concert Jewett and Fields observed members of the royal family on the evening of June 15, 1882, according to the Musical Times v. 23, p. 291, the 1882 season of Symphony Concerts at St. James Hall included a performance on June 15, conducted by Charles Hallé, proceeds going to the Royal College of Music.
Mrs. Craik: Wikipedia says: "Dinah Maria Craik (born Dinah Maria Mulock, also often credited as Miss Mulock or Mrs. Craik) (1826-1887) was an English novelist and poet." Her husband was "George Lillie Craik a partner with Alexander Macmillan in the publishing house of Macmillan & Company.... In 1857 she published the work by which she will be principally remembered, John Halifax, Gentleman, a presentation of the ideals of English middle-class life."
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Black: Whom Jewett refers to here is mysterious. Possibly this is George Nixon Black, Jr. (1842-1928), who in 1883 began building an impressive home, Kragsyde, in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.
Covent Garden: Covent Garden is a district at the east side of London's West End.
Royal Academy: Wikipedia says: "The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. It has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects; its purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts through exhibitions, education and debate."
on the Bennochs: Julian Hawthorne (1846-1934) was the son of the American author, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864). Julian and his first wife, Minnie Amelung Hawthorne (1848-1925), named their first son John Francis Bennoch Hawthorne (1872-1960), after Francis Bennoch, a friend of the two families during their residences in London. Bennoch was head of a wholesale silk business, a member of parliament, and a patron of authors and literature. See also The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Volume 33 (1887), p. 897.
Temple Church: Wikipedia says: "The Temple Church is a late 12th-century church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters." The Temple area of London according to Wikipedia, is one of the main legal districts of London. Located near the center of the city, the area includes the Inns of Court. Each Inn has its own gardens.
Charles Lamb and Dr. Johnson lived, and Goldsmith:
Charles Lamb (1775-1834) was a British
essayist. a member of the circle of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
and William Wordsworth.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
"often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English writer who
made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet,
essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and
lexicographer."
Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) "was an
Irish novelist, playwright and poet, who is best known for
his novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), his
pastoral poem The Deserted Village (1770), and his
plays The Good-Natur'd Man (1768) and She Stoops
to Conquer (1771, first performed in 1773)."
Macmillans the publisher’s: Wikipedia says that this British publishing firm was founded in 1843 by Daniel and Alexander Macmillan, who published many of the major British novelists and poets of the Victorian period. An American division was established in New York and sold in 1896.
Irving and Ellen Terry: Wikipedia says: "Sir Henry Irving
(1838-1905), born John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J.
H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era,
known as an actor-manager because he took complete
responsibility (supervision of sets, lighting, direction,
casting, as well as playing the leading roles) for season
after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and
his company as representative of English classical theatre.
"
Wikipedia also says: "Dame Alice Ellen
Terry, (1847-1928), known professionally as Ellen Terry, was
an English stage actress who became the leading
Shakespearean actress in Britain."
In the 1882 season of the Lyceum,
Irving's company produced Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet,
with Irving (age 44) and Terry (age 35) playing the teenage
lovers. One of the most successful of their
Shakespeare productions, the play had 108 consecutive
performances, according to The Literary Digest, Volume 44
(1912), p. 118n.
Thames Embankment to Chelsea: Wikipedia says: "Chelsea Embankment is
part of the Thames Embankment, a road and walkway along the
north bank of the River Thames in central London, England.
"The western end of Chelsea Embankment,
including a stretch of Cheyne Walk, is in the Royal Borough
of Kensington and Chelsea; the eastern end, including
Grosvenor Road and Millbank, is in the City of Westminster."
Mrs. Merritt: Wikipedia says: "Anna Massey Lea Merritt (1844–1930) was an American painter. She painted portraits, landscapes and religious scenes and etchings. She was born in Philadelphia but lived and worked in England for most of her life. Merritt worked as a professional artist for most of her adult life, 'living by her brush' before her brief marriage to Henry Merritt and after his death."
the Queen’s Drawing Room ... Prince of Wales: West of Chelsea, where Jewett and Fields called upon Mrs. Merritt is Hampton Court Palace in Richmond upon Thames. Probably this was the location of the Queen's Drawing Room Reception headed by then Prince of Wales, George Frederick Ernest Albert (1865-1936), grandson of Queen Victoria.
Hyde Park: Wikipedia says: "Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in London and one of its Royal Parks." The park includes extensive gardens and various monuments.
Lord Mayor’s carriage: Wikipedia says: "The Lord Mayor of
London is the City of London's mayor and leader of the City
of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is
accorded precedence over all individuals except the
sovereign and retains various traditional powers, rights and
privileges, including the title and style The Right
Honourable Lord Mayor of London.
"This office differs from the Mayor of
London, which is a popularly elected position and covers the
much larger Greater London area."
The Wikipedia entry on the Lord Mayor
includes a photograph of the carriage. In the 19th
century, the title was conferred annually; in 1882, the Lord
Mayor was Sir Henry Knight.
Canon Farrar ... St. Margaret’s: Wikipedia says: "The Church of St
Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is situated in the grounds of
Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, and is the Anglican
parish church of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
in London."
Wikipedia also says: "Frederic William
Farrar (Bombay, 7 August 1831-Canterbury, 22 March 1903) was
a cleric of the Church of England (Anglican), schoolteacher
and author." He was Canon of Westminster (1876-1895)
and eventually became Dean of Canterbury.
Susy Travers: Susan Travers. See Key to Correspondents.
Miss Hogarth and the Dickens’s: Miss Hogarth is Georgina Hogarth, (1827-1917), "the
sister-in-law, housekeeper, and adviser of English novelist
Charles Dickens and the editor of two volumes of his
collected letters after his death."
Annie Fields and her husband, James T.
Fields, had become close friends of the British novelist, Charles Dickens (1812-1870), and his
family. Charles Dickens married "Catherine Thomson
Hogarth (1816–1879), the daughter of George Hogarth, editor
of the Evening Chronicle." They had 10
children.
Though this is not certain, it seems
likely that Jewett and Fields visit the family of Dickens's
oldest son, Charles Culliford Boz Dickens (1837
-1896); "A failed businessman, he became the editor of his
father's magazine All the Year Round, and a
successful writer of dictionaries. He is now most remembered
for his two 1879 books, Dickens's Dictionary of London
and Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames....
"In 1861, he married Elisabeth Matilda
Moule Evans, daughter of Frederick Mullett Evans, his
father's former publisher. They had eight children...."
Mrs. Ole … on the Gallia: Mrs. Ole Bull. See Key to Correspondents.
Completed in 1878, the S. S. Gallia was a Cunard steamer
connecting New York and Boston to Liverpool.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
London 20 June
Dear Mary
Sister forgot to bespeak the birthday* but she hopes you will forgive her, and in case that Mother could not remember where the dressing case is she will now state that it is on the floor under her desk and she hopes you will find it convenient. Yesterday evening we went to dine with Mrs. Dickens and Miss Hogarth.* Young
[ Page 2 ]
Mr. Harry Dickens and his wife* were there too and they were all very pleasant and nice and I enjoyed the evening very much. We had a very good dinner. Mrs. Dickens reminds Mrs. Fields* very much of her father, and she certainly looks like C. D’s pictures. We had a very busy day. We went in the morning to see the National Gallery,* and though I wish we had twice or twenty times the time for it, still I saw it very well. The best pictures
[ Page 3 ]
of the best English artists are there, and many of the best of the old Italian masters, and French and Dutch. Nearly all Turners and Sir Edwin Landseers are there. Rosa Bonheur’s Horse Fair which is finer than you could have the least idea -- as for the Sir Joshua Reynolds pictures and Gainsboroughs and all the rest I have seen copies of them of one kind and another all my life, but nothing is like the original! There
[ Page 4 ]
are pictures by Guido and Raphael and Murillo and all the famous masters.* Of course in different places in Europe there are wonderful single pictures but this is considered the best collection in the world. I learned more in three hours than I could learn in America in three years, just by looking at them for myself. In the afternoon we went out to make some calls and do some errands and
[ Page 5 ]
had a drive through the park coming home, and then went out to dinner, and so it was a very nice day. Today dear old Mrs. Bennoch* came in early, and afterward we started out afoot and poked into some nice shops, where you would be much happier if you could buy everything you saw! We didn’t come home to lunch, but took some tarts to keep us alive at a nice French shop way down Regent St. Then we skipped in a Hansom cab of extra speed to a charity
[ Page 6 ]
meeting at over in St. Mary-le Bone road (which
you were to mention as Merril-bun if you mentioned it
properly!) It was very interesting and we didn’t stay so
long as I should have liked. They were talking over various
‘cases’ and they were very edifying. We came home just in
time to see Miss Octavia Hill* whose coming gave Mrs. Fields
no end of pleasure, for she is the head and front of
charioteering and a most lovely woman. It was really a great
thing
[ Page 7 ]
to have met her. I have seen some very pleasant people. By the way James Freeman Clarke is here and we are seeing him. Mrs. Clarke was so nice Sunday, -- we met them at St. Margaret’s Church.* This afternoon late we went to see old Mrs. Procter, Adelaide Procter’s mother and widow of "Barry Cornwall,"* and she was a delightfully bright and funny old lady. They all seem so glad to see Mrs. Fields
[ Page 8 ]
but it brings up so many old associations. I couldn’t help thinking how sad it was for her at the Dickens last night,* but nobody would ever know, she is so lovely and thoughtful for other people. She looks so much better, and really has some colour, and we are both as hungry as we can be. We are at home tonight for a wonder -- and had such a nice dinner -- a sole which is a delicious fish like a flounder, and a duckling which mother would delight in. The London ducklings
[ Page 9 ]
are so tender and delightful and seem to have no relation to the old ducks we are usually acquainted with. We also had a cherry tart which is a pie if it is big enough and this was and sister eated all she could of it on account of its being good -- We are going to stay here until Saturday
[ Page 10 ]
for we have some pleasant things to do. Thursday we are
asked to dine at Sydenham* and to a garden party there
Saturday also which we shall miss & Friday we are going
to George MacDonald's.* We mean now to spend Sunday at
the [deleted word] ^Salisbury^* -- going to
the cathedral in the morning & driving to Stonehenge* in
the afternoon. I don’t believe that’s true about Mr. Rollins
& Mrs. Burleigh.* I saw no sign of it on board ship.
We met her yesterday
[ Up the left margin, then down across the top margin of page 1 ]
though I supposed she had gone to Milan -- Nelly* was with her, and she isn't half so nice looking as she used to be, though she had taken cold she said and was not feeling well. I had a very pleasant letter from Mr. Rollins today -- Poor Mary Esther! I did feel very sorry to hear of her death
[ Up the left margin of page 2 ]
and was so surprised -- What a loss she will be to them
[ Up the left margin of page 3 ]
and Berwick will seem strange without her. Mrs. Fields
[ Up the left margin and down across the top margin of page 4 ]
sends love -- She enjoys your letters so much -- I am so glad Carrie* is so pleasantly settled -- Goodnight from the Queen* with lots of love
Notes
birthday: Mary Rice Jewett's birthday was June 18.
Mrs. Dickens and Miss Hogarth: Miss Hogarth is Georgina Hogarth, (1827-1917), "the
sister-in-law, housekeeper, and adviser of English novelist
Charles Dickens and the editor of two volumes of his
collected letters after his death."
Annie Fields and her husband, James T.
Fields, had become close friends of the British novelist, Charles Dickens (1812-1870), and his
family. Charles Dickens married "Catherine Thomson
Hogarth (1816–1879), the daughter of George Hogarth, editor
of the Evening Chronicle." They had 10
children.
Though this is not certain, it seems
likely that Jewett and Fields visit the family of Dickens's
oldest son, Charles Culliford Boz Dickens (1837
-1896); "A failed businessman, he became the editor of his
father's magazine All the Year Round, and a
successful writer of dictionaries. He is now most remembered
for his two 1879 books, Dickens's Dictionary of London
and Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames...."
Harry Dickens and his wife: Wikipedia says: "Sir Henry Fielding
Dickens, KC (1849-1933) was the eighth of ten children born
to English author Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine.
The most successful of all of Dickens's children, he was a
barrister, a KC and Common Serjeant of London, a senior
legal office which he held for over 15 years. He was also
the last surviving child of Dickens....
"Henry 'Harry' Dickens married Marie
Roche (1852–1940), the daughter of Monsieur Antonin Roche,
on 25 October 1876 in Portman Square in London; they had
four sons and three daughters together. Within the Dickens
family the couple were known as 'The Guvnor' and 'The
Mater'. "
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
National Gallery … Turners and Sir Edwin Landseers … Rosa Bonheur’s Horse Fair … Sir Joshua Reynolds and Gainsboroughs ... Guido and Raphael and Murillo: Wikipedia says: "The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900."
According to Wikipedia, "Joseph Mallord William Turner, RA (1775-1851) was an English Romanticist landscape painter. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivaling history painting." In 2016, The National Gallery held 10 of Turner's paintings.
"Sir Edwin Henry Landseer RA (1802- 1873) was an English painter, well known for his paintings of animals -- particularly horses, dogs and stags. However, his best known works are the lion sculptures in Trafalgar Square.... Landseer was a notable figure in 19th-century British art, and his works can be found in Tate Britain, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Kenwood House and the Wallace Collection in London." Wikipedia
"Rosa Bonheur, born Marie-Rosalie Bonheur, (1822-1899) was a French artist, an animalière (painter of animals) and sculptor, known for her artistic realism. Her most well-known paintings are Ploughing in the Nivernais, first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1848, and now at Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and The Horse Fair (in French: Le marché aux chevaux), which was exhibited at the Salon of 1853 (finished in 1855) and is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City. Bonheur is widely considered to be the most famous female painter of the nineteenth century." Wikipedia
"The
Horse Fair"
Rosa Bonheur
Courtesy of Wikipedia
"Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (1723-1792) was an influential eighteenth-century English painter, specialising in portraits. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, and was knighted by George III in 1769." Wikipedia. In 2016, the National Gallery held 6 paintings by Reynolds.
"Thomas Gainsborough FRSA (1727-1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. He surpassed his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds to become the dominant British portraitist of the second half of the 18th century." Wikipedia. In 2016, the National Gallery held 11 paintings by Gainsborough.
"Guido Reni (1575-1642) was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style." Wikipedia. In 2016, the National Gallery held 12 paintings by Guido.
"Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (1483- 1520), known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period." Wikipedia. In 2016, the National Gallery held 13 paintings by Raphael.
"Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617- 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children. These lively, realist portraits of flower girls, street urchins, and beggars constitute an extensive and appealing record of the everyday life of his times." Wikipedia. In 2016, the National Gallery held 10 paintings by Murillo.
Mrs. Bennoch: Francis Bennoch and his wife were London friends of the Hawthorne family. Bennoch was head of a wholesale silk business, a member of parliament, and a patron of authors and literature. See Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Volume 33 (1887), p. 897.
charity meeting at over in St. Mary-le Bone road
... Miss Octavia Hill … charioteering: Wikipedia says: "Octavia Hill (1838-
1912) was an English social reformer, whose main concern was
the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London,
in the second half of the nineteenth century....
"Hill was a moving force behind the development
of social housing ....
" Another of Hill's concerns was the
availability of open spaces for poor people. She campaigned
against development on existing suburban woodlands, and
helped to save London's Hampstead Heath and Parliament Hill
Fields from being built on. She was one of the three
founders of the National Trust, set up to preserve places of
historic interest or natural beauty for the enjoyment of the
British public. She was a founder member of the Charity Organisation Society (now the
charity Family Action) which organised charitable grants and
pioneered a home-visiting service that formed the basis for
modern social work."
Hill resided in Marylebone.
"Charioteering" is a fanciful name Jewett
sometimes gave to the social casework in which Annie Fields
was deeply involved in Boston, which was modeled after
Hill's work in London.
James Freeman Clarke … St. Margaret’s Church: Wikipedia says: "James Freeman Clarke
(1810-1888) was an American theologian and author."
After serving in the Unitarian ministry in Louisville, KY,
"in 1839 he returned to Boston where he and his friends
established (1841) the Church of the Disciples which brought
together a body of people to apply the Christian religion to
social problems of the day." Chief among these social
problems was the abolition of slavery.
He married Anna Huidekoper of
Meadville, PA in 1839; they had four children. See
also Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist
Biography.
Wikipedia says: "The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, and is the Anglican parish church of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in London."
Mrs. Procter, Adelaide Procter’s mother and widow of "Barry Cornwall": Wikipedia says: "Adelaide Anne Procter (1825-1864) was an English poet and philanthropist. She worked prominently on behalf of unemployed women and the homeless, and was actively involved with feminist groups and journals." Her parents were the poet Bryan Waller Procter and Anne Skepper Proctor. Bryan Proctor (1787-1874) wrote under the pseudonym, "Barry Cornwall." Wikipedia
how sad it was for her at the Dickens last night: Fields would be sad at the Dickens's because she would be reminded of her transAtlantic friendship with Charles Dickens (1812-1870) that blossomed during her marriage to publisher James T. Fields. Jewett has hoped that this travel together in Europe would help Annie to deal with her grief over James's death on 24 April 1881.
Sydenham: This letter and that of Friday 23 June indicate that Jewett and Fields visit the home of Henry Littleton, Westwood House, in the London suburb of Sydenham. Littleton "had made his fortune from Novello’s the music publisher and Westwood House and its Music Room played host to the musical stars of the Crystal Palace. Dvorak and Liszt both stayed and played at Westwood House."
George MacDonald's: Wikipedia says: "George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll."
Salisbury .. cathedral … Stonehenge: The town of Salisbury in south central Great Britain is home to the Salisbury Cathedral. Nearby is Stonehenge, which according to Wikipedia is "a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, 2 miles (3 km) west of Amesbury and 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. Stonehenge's ring of standing stones [is] set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds."
Mr. Rollins & Mrs. Burleigh … Nelly ... Poor Mary
Esther: The identities of Mr. Rollins and Mary Esther
are not yet known. Mr. Rollins may be a South Berwick
neighbor, a member of the prominent Rollins family. A
short walk from her house took her to Rollinsford, NH, named
for the family. Jewett was acquainted with Mrs. Ellen
Augusta Lord Rollins (1835-1922) who lived near her South
Berwick home. However, Jewett's letter from 1882 the
Scythia suggests that she was not acquainted with this Mr.
Rollins before this voyage. It appears this Mr.
Rollins currently is also in Europe.
Jewett was acquainted with Matilda
Buffum (Mrs. John H.) Burleigh (b. 823), a South Berwick
neighbor, the widow of a mill owner and Maine congressman. Wikipedia says "John Holmes Burleigh
(1822-1877) was a nineteenth-century politician, sailor,
manufacturer and banker from Maine. He was the son of the
former U.S. representative from Maine."
However, this Mrs. Burleigh had
neither a daughter nor a sister named Nelly. The
identities of both of these women, therefore, remains
uncertain.
Carrie: Caroline Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
the Queen: The Queen of Sheba was a family nickname for Jewett.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Annie Adams Fields to Judy / Louisa Adams Beal*
Dearest Judy and all;
We have had a beautiful summer day under the shadow of the old Cathedral and at Stonehenge -- England is in perfection now with its hedges of roses and honeysuckle and plenty of strawberries for hungry out-of-door appetites. We have been at the Isle of Wight for two or three days where we have seen Mr. & Mrs Tennyson.* Farringford is just as beautiful as it was twelve years ago, with its noble cedar of Lebanon, its glimpses of the sea and [ stone ? ] between the rich foliage, and its walks over shaven green avenues among the old trees. The home stands far away from the road and the stillness yesterday was very impressive there. No wind was stirring, the
I fear I have not had time to tell you half of our doings in London -- George Macdonald* is there for six weeks in a very pleasant house in Harley St. belonging to the Spanish Minister, where he is giving lectures and plays. We passed a most interesting afternoon & evening there{,} hearing first a lecture on Robert Browning's "Saul"* and after-
Mrs Mary Cowden Clarke and her sister Miss Sybilla Novello* are also at Sydenham. Think of this dear old lady of 80 years and one journeying from Genoa to London to hear Gounod's Requiem* given by & by at Birmingham. We were invited down to see her at the beautiful place where she is visiting -- the house of Mr. Henry Littleton.* We could see the fireworks from The Crystal Palace* across the lawn after dinner and in the evening tell Willy* we had music in a great music room, as tall as a house, & as large [ two unrecognized words sunset city ? ] house and a young girl, a pupil of the famous Joachim* opened the concert by playing a concerto --
Here we had the famous White bait at
dinner which Sarah* had not seen before, beside other unusual luxuries and splendors.
Our old friends Mr. & Mrs Bennoch* are quite well and kinder than I can express. They did not wish to let us go out of their home, but of course it was better for us to be independent, time in London is so valuable and runs on both feet at such a rate! I can't remember if I ever told you that [our ?] rooms [ may have written room's ] at Brown's hotel were taken when we put in our tardy appearance and that in distress we put in at the Langham* and that caravansary also being crowded they recommended us to lodgings just opposite{,} where we were most comfortable ^they^ being central, clean and roomy.
I am sorry to send off such fragmentary little letters but we are really very tired after these long summer days of travelling.
Ever most lovingly to you all
Notes
Judy [Mrs. James] Beal: The addressee of this letter is somewhat problematic. The envelope associated with it is addressed to Mrs. James H. Beal, who is Annie Field's sister, Louisa Jane Adams (1836-1920), who became the second wife of James Henry Beal (1823-24 June 1904). There was a Judith living in the household, one of the two unmarried daughters of Mr. Beal's first marriage (See Back Bay Houses). Perhaps Louisa was nicknamed "Judy," or perhaps Fields addressed her letter to the step-daughter rather than the sister. The former seems somewhat more likely, for in a letter to Fields of 6 July 1899, Sarah Orne Jewett seems to refer to Louisa as Judy.
Tennyson ... Farringford: Wikipedia says: Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) "was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular British poets." He married Emily Sellwood (1813-1896). Their two sons were Hallam and Lionel. After residing at Farringford House on the Isle of Wight, the family moved to a more secluded home, Aldworth in West Sussex. However, the family regularly returned to Farringford to spend winters.
George Macdonald: Wikipedia says: "George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll."
Robert Browning's "Saul": Wikipedia says that the British poet and playwright, Robert Browning (1812-1889) published his poetry collection, Men and Women, in 1855. In the collection was his poem, "Saul."
Twelfth Night: Wikipedia says that William Shakespeare's comedy of disguise and misdirected love probably was written in 1601-2.
Mrs Mary Cowden Clarke and her sister Miss Sybilla Novello: Mary Victoria (Novello) Cowden Clarke (1809-1898) was a British author and Shakespeare scholar. She and her sister, Sabilla Novello (1821-1904), a vocalist and teacher, were daughters of Vincent Novello (1781-1861), British organist, composer and musical arranger. See Portrait of the Novello Family and The Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 22, pp. 453-4.
Gounod's Requiem: Charles Gounod (1818-1893) was a French composer. He composed two requiems, a Requiem Mass in 1842, and his final work, Requiem (1893).
Sydenham ... the Littletons: Jewett and Fields visited the home of Henry Littleton (1823-1888), Westwood House, in the London suburb of Sydenham. Littleton "had made his fortune from Novello’s the music publisher, and Westwood House and its Music Room played host to the musical stars of the Crystal Palace. Dvorak and Liszt both stayed and played at Westwood House."
According to the Musical Times (June 1, 1911), pp. 365-6, Alfred Henry Littleton succeeded Alfred Novello as head of Novello & Co.
Crystal Palace: "The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and plate-glass structure originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1936. The Times of London, page 1, announced on Thursday June 22, 1882: "Crystal Palace this day, great firework display."
Willy: Louisa Beal's son, William (b. 1870).
Joachim: Presumably this is Joseph Joachim (1831-1907), the Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher.
Sarah: Sarah Orne Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Mr. & Mrs Bennoch: Julian Hawthorne (1846-1934) was the son of the American author, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864). Julian and his first wife, Minnie Amelung Hawthorne (1848-1925), named their first son John Francis Bennoch Hawthorne (1872-1960), after Francis Bennoch, a friend of the two families during their residences in London. Bennoch was head of a wholesale silk business, a member of parliament, and a patron of authors and literature. See also The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Volume 33 (1887), p. 897.
Brown's hotel ... the Langham: Wikipedia says: "Brown's Hotel ... in London, established in 1837 and owned by Rocco Forte Hotels since 3 July 2003." The Langham Hotel, a large "grand hotel," also in central London was built 1863-1865.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Massachusetts Historical Society in Annie Fields papers, 1847-1912, MS. N-1221, "Loose Letters, 1852-1916." This transcription is from a microfilm, available courtesy of the University of Kansas Libraries, Lawrence Kansas: Annie Adams Fields Papers 1852-1912. Folio PS 1669.F5 Z462 1986, Reel 3.
Ellen Terry to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 21 June 1882 ]*
Welcome to town! I'm sure Mrs Fields* is glad you are back again = I enclose the box for Friday & am delighted you each come = With my love to Mrs Fields
Ellen Terry = ( a tired woman! )
1882: Dating this note is not easy. The most likely date seems to be June of 1882, when Jewett and Fields were in London and wrote of seeing Terry perform. Second most likely is January 1894, when Terry was performing in Boston with Henry Irving; Jewett wrote of meeting her with Annie Fields. Also possible is September 1898, when Jewett and Fields were again in London, though neither mentions meeting Terry or seeing her perform. The main problem in choosing among these is that on none of these occasions is there confirmation that Jewett was separated from Fields before a Terry performance.
Fields: Annie Adams Fields. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Miller Library, Special Collections, Colby College, Waterville, ME: JEWE.1.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Friday 23 June
London
Dear O.P.*
I am snatching a fearful joy
while Mrs. Fields* is finishing her breakfast. I seem to
have a better time every day -- Day before yesterday after I
wrote you we went to view St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower
of London* -- which were both very full of interesting
things. St. Pauls is perfectly immense with an enormously
high arched roof -- We didn’t climb into the ball and the
whispering gallery as "Rollo" did* -- but contented
ourselves with walking about the floor -- There are a great
many fine statues and
[ Page 2 ]
and memorials, -- but the great building itself is most interesting outside and in -- though I care much less for it than for Westminster Abbey.* I suppose every one does -- As for the Tower we were both very glad we went there -- it is the very oldest and most worn building you ever imagine, the great stones of the pavement worn deep down where so many feet have trodden for centuries. It was too horrid (even for me!) to see the block where
[ Page 3 ]
peoples heads were cut off with the axe marks in them and all the armor with holes knocked through and the horrid dungeons way down underneath the ground. We couldn’t get into the State prison as they are restoring it -- where Lady Jane Grey* was confined and so many other people -- The old chapel is beautiful -- and we saw where the princes were buried who were smothered in the Tower* and all sorts of things. It took us a good while to go through. Part of it is an armory. Yesterday we
[ Page 4 ]
went to Westminster Abbey again for we saw nothing of the
historical part of it the other day. Henry the Seventh’s
Chapel* is the most beautiful place. I could not believe the
roof was stone for the carving is like lace almost and all
the knight’s banners and coats of arms are around the walls.
Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth are buried there in
gallant big tombs and Dean Stanley’s tomb tomb* is
there too, but all the rest are very old.
[ Page 5 ]
Last night we went to Sydenham to dine at the Littletons
where Mrs. Cowden-Clarke* is staying, and it was a most
beautiful place, a regularly English place in a park
and about thirty people sat down to dinner and we had some
music afterward in a big music room that was half
nearly as large as our church. I had a very nice time. It
was a beautiful night and we were only a little way from the
Crystal Palace* and there were splendid fireworks in the
evening which we
[ Page 6 ]
could see. We went out in a train. Mrs. Clarke was such a charming little old lady. She is the famous Shakespeare scholar, and lives in Genoa but is here now on a visit and we shall see her when we go there. The dinner was a most elegant one a great many courses -- and one was whitebait those famous little fish that cost so much. They are about an inch
[ Page 7 ]
and a half long and perfectly delicious. It is so funny, nobody drinks water at all, and you don’t even see tumblers on the dinner table, only the wine glasses -- I dont feel thirsty here as I do at home -- and I dont know when I have touched water. I suppose because it is a so much damper climate. I feel so much better than I have for a great while before, in spite of all I have done -- and I sleep like a top. We
[ Page 8 ]
hardly ever get through breakfast before sometime after ten. The day begins later here. I have just come in from dinner at the MacDonald’s* and it was after half past ten and the sunset was not all gone in the west. It was George Macdonald’s and they all were charming people, he is like his best books. We spent the morning at the South Kensington Museum* and it has been a good deal of a day, for the museum is a good like the Centennial* and nearly as large. Tomorrow we go down to the Isle of Wight* for Sunday and shall not be back here for ten days. I am sorry to write in such a hurry, but it will give
[ Up the left margin of page 5 ]
you some idea what I am doing. Mrs. Fields sends love. Yours always, Sarah
Notes
O.P .: A Jewett nickname for Mary Rice Jewett.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London: Wikipedia says of these London landmarks:"St Paul's Cathedral, London, is an Anglican cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London and the mother church of the Diocese of London. It sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London." The Tower of London "is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London.... It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 ... until 1952...."
the ball ... the whispering gallery as "Rollo" did: Wikipedia says that Jacob Abbott (1803-1879) was a Maine writer of children's books, a graduate of Bowdoin College, like Jewett's father. Among his famous series of "Rollo" books is Rollo in London (1859). In Chapter 9, Rollo and his family tour St. Paul's Cathedral, including the Whispering Gallery and the golden ball at its highest point open to the public.
Westminster Abbey: Wikipedia says: "Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs."
Lady Jane Grey: Wikipedia says: "Lady Jane Grey
(1536/1537-1554) ... was an English noblewoman and de facto
monarch of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July
1553.
"The great-granddaughter of Henry VII
through his younger daughter Mary, Jane was a first cousin
once removed of Edward VI. ..... When the 15-year-old king
lay dying in June 1553, he nominated Jane as successor to
the Crown in his will, thus subverting the claims of his
half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth under the Third Succession
Act. Jane was imprisoned in the Tower of London when the
Privy Council decided to change sides and proclaim Mary as
queen on 19 July 1553. Jane was convicted of high treason in
November 1553, which carried a sentence of death, although
her life was initially spared. Wyatt's rebellion of January
and February 1554 against Queen Mary I's plans to marry
Philip of Spain led to the execution of both Jane and her
husband."
princes ... were smothered in the Tower: King Richard III of England is believed to have murdered two young sons of his brother, Edward V, who were potential rivals for the throne. Wikipedia says that whether Richard was directly responsible for their deaths is uncertain.
Henry the Seventh’s Chapel: Wikipedia says: "The Henry VII Lady Chapel, now more often known just as the Henry VII Chapel, is a large Lady chapel at the far eastern end of Westminster Abbey, paid for by the will of Henry VII.... The tombs of several monarchs including Henry VII, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, Mary I, James I, Charles II and Mary, Queen of Scots are found in the chapel."
Dean Stanley: Wikipedia says: "Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, FRS (1815-1881), known as Dean Stanley, was an English churchman and academic. He was Dean of Westminster from 1864 to 1881.... He was buried in Henry VII's chapel, in the same grave as his wife."
Sydenham to dine at the Littletons ... Mrs.
Cowden-Clarke: Jewett and Fields visit the home
of Henry Littleton (1823-1888), Westwood House, in the London suburb
of Sydenham. Littleton "had made his fortune from Novello’s
the music publisher and Westwood House and its Music Room
played host to the musical stars of the Crystal Palace.
Dvorak and Liszt both stayed and played at Westwood House."
Wikipedia say that Vincent Novello
(1781-1861), was English organist, music teacher, and
conductor. His children included Mary Victoria and
Alfred Novello, who founded a music publishing business,
Novello & Co.
Wikipedia says "Mary Victoria Cowden
Clarke (1809-1898) was an English author. She was the eldest
daughter of Vincent Novello. In 1828, she married her
brother Alfred's business partner, Charles Cowden Clarke,
and worked with him on Shakespeare studies."
According to the Musical Times (June 1, 1911),
pp. 365-6, Henry Littleton succeeded Alfred Novello as head
of Novello & Co.
the Crystal Palace … splendid fireworks: Wikipedia says: "The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and plate-glass structure originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1936. The Times of London, page 1, announced on Thursday June 22, 1882: "Crystal Palace this day, great firework display."
George Macdonald's: Wikipedia says: "George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll."
South Kensington Museum: Wikipedia says: "The Victoria and Albert Museum ... London, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.... [It] has its origins in the Great Exhibition of 1851, with which Henry Cole, the museum's first director, was involved in planning; initially it was known as the Museum of Manufactures, first opening in May 1852 at Marlborough House, but by September had been transferred to Somerset House. At this stage the collections covered both applied art and science. Several of the exhibits from the Exhibition were purchased to form the nucleus of the collection. By February 1854 discussions were underway to transfer the museum to the current site and it was renamed South Kensington Museum.... The laying of the foundation stone of the Aston Webb building (to the left of the main entrance) on 17 May 1899 was the last official public appearance by Queen Victoria. It was during this ceremony that the change of name from the South Kensington Museum to the Victoria and Albert Museum was made public."
like the Centennial: Wikipedia says: "The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia."
Isle of Wight: Wikipedia says: "The Isle of Wight ... is ...the largest and second-most populous island in England. It is located in the English Channel, about 4 miles (6 km) off the coast of Hampshire, separated by the Solent. The island has resorts that have been holiday destinations since Victorian times, and is known for its mild climate, coastal scenery, and verdant landscape...."
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Newport, Isle of Wight*
Sunday June 25th
Dear Mary
I think I never had a lovelier day than this has been. We spent last night at Ventnor* a most picturesque and lovely place and this morning started for a long drive across the island. We stopped at the little St. Lawrence church* which was the smallest in the world and having had a large addition put on is only forty feet long now! It is very small and low and stands in an old church yard and is a good deal { like ? } the old church of Bonchurch that we saw yesterday near Shanklin, that was built last in 1040! and John Sterling* is buried in the churchyard
We drove along
[ Page 2 ]
all this morning through lovely English lanes with the
hedgerows full of sweet briar and honeysuckle* and smaller
flowers at the foot of the hedges, and lovely bits of woods
and some times we went past park gates and caught glimpses
of beautiful country places beyond. We drove at the foot of
the cliffs for a good while and at last came out high up on
the downs, great open pastures that slope to the sea, with
flocks of sheep dotted all about, and the fields
greatest quantity of poppies, bright red as they can be and
white daisies and such lovely flowers growing in the grass,
and larks* going straight up into the
[ Page 3 ]
air, singing as only larks can sing. We were close by the sea for eight or ten miles. Oh, more than that I should think we drove more than twenty for we went from Ventnor way over to the Needles.* Exactly the other end of the island, and most of it was on the high cliffs, looking first over the fields and little thatch-roofed villages and gray church towers and then out over the blue sea, all streaked with shadows and colors from the clouds. I think the air never was sweeter, it was sweet as it could be, and full of the fragrance of the
[ Page 4 ]
new cut grass, and the honeysuckle and the rest of the flowers. We had a very comfortable landau* with our boxes fastened on behind, and a nice young fellow to drive, and he and Liza were mounted on the box in great majesty. Now I wish I could tell you about the best of it for I really have seen Tennyson!* We were not sure whether he was here or in Surrey, but Mrs. Fields* said she would certainly see if they were here, for it would not do for her to go by their gates, though
[ Page 5 ]
I know she hated to go there after -- it would
call up to many old associations.* They were at home and
were perfectly delighted to see her, giving her a most
lovely welcome and they were so nice to me. They wished us
to stay, and asked us to come see them later in Surrey. Both
Tennyson and his wife are very feeble and seem old and
broken. It is a most beautiful house, and while Mrs. Fields
and Tennyson walked on further his son
[ Page 6 ]
who was very nice took me back to the house and up to his
fa Tennyson’s study, which of course was most
interesting. It is a very great thing to have been there for
so few people are received even when Tennyson is well, or
when he was younger. I don’t think any thing could have
given me more satisfaction. I must go to bed. Mrs. Fields
has gone and we have to be up early in the morning. You
never heard such a lovely (chime?) of bells as on
Carisbrooke Church* here.
[ Top left margin of page 1 ]
This is heather* from the Isle of Wight -- from the downs.
Notes
Isle of Wight: Wikipedia says: "The Isle of Wight ... is ...the largest and second-most populous island in England. It is located in the English Channel, about 4 miles (6 km) off the coast of Hampshire, separated by the Solent. The island has resorts that have been holiday destinations since Victorian times, and is known for its mild climate, coastal scenery, and verdant landscape...."
Ventnor: Wikipedia says: "Ventnor ... is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England."
St. Lawrence church: Wikipedia says that a 12th-century church in the village of St. Lawrence, near Ventnor, is one of the smallest ever built to be a parish church.
church of Bonchurch ... near Shanklin ... John Sterling:
Wikipedia says that Old St. Boniface
Church, Bonchurch, near Ventnor, dates from the 11th
century. The village of Shanklin is about four miles
north of Bonchurch and Ventnor.
According to The Stirlngs of Keir: and their Family
Papers (1858) pp. 163-4 by Sir William Fraser,
John Sterling (1806-1844) was a Scottish author. He
died at Ventnor and was buried at Bonchurch. See also Wikipedia.
sweet briar and honeysuckle: Wikipedia says: "Rosa rubiginosa [or sweet briar] ...is a species of rose native to Europe and western Asia." Wikipedia also says "Honeysuckles (Lonicera ...) are arching shrubs or twining bines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere."
larks: According to Wikipedia, there are several varieties of European larks. It is probable that Jewett refers to skylarks.
the Needles: Wikipedia says: "The Needles is a row of three distinctive stacks of chalk that rise out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight, UK, close to Alum Bay. The Needles Lighthouse stands at the outer, western end of the formation."
landau: Wikipedia says: "A landau is a coach-building term for a type of four-wheeled, convertible carriage.[1] See also Landau (automobile). It was a city carriage of luxury type. The low shell of the landau made for maximum visibility of the occupants and their clothing,..."
Tennyson: "Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson,
FRS (1809-1892) was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and
Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains
one of the most popular British poets." Tennyson's
wife was Emily Sarah Sellwood (1813-1896), a
composer who set some of his lyrics to music. They had
two sons, Hallam and Lionel.
Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
(1852-1928) became the second Governor-General of Australia
and wrote an authorized biography of his father in
1897. However, it is not clear which of the sons
Jewett and Fields meet.
The Tennysons maintained twos
homes: Farringford House in the village of
Freshwater, Isle of Wight, and Aldworth House in Haslemere, Surrey.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
many old associations: Visiting the Tennysons would be troubling to Fields because she would be reminded of her transAtlantic friendship with Tennyson that began during her marriage to publisher James T. Fields. Jewett has hoped that this travel together in Europe would help Fields to deal with her grief over James's death on 24 April 1881.
Carisbrooke Church: St. Mary's Church (Church of England) in Carisbrooke, new Newport, Isle of Wight, is noted for its bells. The Norman church tower contains a ring of 10 bells, which first were rung in 1777. By 1912, they were no longer usable. Eight were replaced in 1921 and the final two in 2002.
heather: Wikipedia says: "Calluna vulgaris (known as common heather, ling, or simply heather) is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub...." with mauve summer flowers.
The
manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of
Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909.
Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters;
1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence,
1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and
annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance
from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Lundie Bruen*
[ 1882 ]*
My dear Miss Bruen
I am ready to give myself no end of a scolding for not having written to you sooner to thank you for your most kind thought of me in sending the little vinaigrette* which is my constant companion and delight. It is such a pretty thing! and I have not been separated from it yet, though you will be glad to know
that I was quite independent of it on the voyage over. I need not tell you how much I have enjoyed these first
we like it well enough -- I am in a constant state of delight -- everything has gone forward in most delightful fashion and every day is better than the one before. We go back to London the 3rd and shall be very busy for a few days longer before we go to the north. I seem to get everything done but my letters, and as for those, I find it hard to get a chance to write home! I usually [ state ? ]
the time in London where I came in late in the evening. I began a letter to you, which I could not finish, but I have thought of your kindness and my own apparent ungratefulness ever so many times --
This has been a [ deleted word ] perfect day: the weather was wonderful, and I have been out to see Stonehenge and have wandered through the quaint little streets here, and all about the Cathedral* -- Yesterday we [deleted word ] were at Farringford* which is a delightful thing to remember. It
seems already as if I had spent a whole summer this side the sea.
Mrs. Fields* is so much better than when we came away and so am I for that matter! She sends you her kindest remembrance. Please thank [ Miss or Mrs ? ] Perkins* for her kind message and give her my love. And believe that I am yours most affectionately
Notes
Miss Bruen: This identification is very uncertain. It seems likely that Annie Fields would have been acquainted with the Bostonian Mary Anne Davenport Bruen (1793-1892), the widow the Rev. Mathias Bruen (1793-1829). Mrs. Bruen corresponded with Fields's friend, the British poet, Matthew Arnold. Her daughter is a likely recipient of this letter: Mary Lundie Bruen (1828-1886).
1882: The travel itinerary in this letter matches that of Jewett's 1882 trip to Europe.
vinaigrette: a small ornamental bottle for holding smelling salts,"a pungent substance sniffed as a restorative in cases of faintness or headache, typically consisting of ammonium carbonate mixed with perfume."
Dawlish: A seaside resort down in Devon, in southwest England.
Stonehenge ... Cathedral: Stonehenge is a prehistoric ring of standing stones in Wiltshire, England. Salisbury Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a 13th-century Anglican cathedral.
Farringford: Farringford House was the home of the British poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892).
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Miss or Mrs Perkins: If Jewett has written "Mrs. Perkins," then it is likely she refers to the presumed recipient's sister, Frances Davenport Bruen Perkins (1825-1909).
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Caroline Jewett Eastman
27 June 1882
[ I am in ? ] such a pretty place and I wish you could see it! I sent you some little photographs which give you a faint idea of the height of the cliffs and the steepness of the town in general. We are staying at the New Inn* which is about as old as anything can be, and it is on the main street of the town. You will see the width of the thoroughfare in the pictures but the steepness and crookedness of it are far beyond the power of my pen to describe -- It has been very famous since Kingsley wrote Westward Ho!* and I once read a sketch of it that was written for an English magazine and have been dying to see it ever since. Beside, it is on our way to Morwenstow where we are going tomorrow! though we think we may stay here afterward until Saturday or Sunday. We drove over from Bideford today and the hills kept getting higher and higher until we came out on the edge of some splendid
cliffs high above the sea and there was Clovelly way down on the shore like a [ lot of ? ] dolls houses that had been spilled over! It looked so little and white and funny, with its little pier running out into the water, and fishing boats like toy boats scattered about. How we ever were going to get down to it I couldn't imagine, but after awhile the driver stopped, and said he couldn't drive down any nearer and an old man appeared and leaned over a railing and looked down at the village and gave a war whoop and we started to walk down a [ deleted word ] ^winding^ pavement of cobblestones, laughing as hard as we could at such a town. After awhile we met two little boys with a donkey, which carried a wooden rack going up for the two little chests. We were much pleased with the New Inn, and we went down and down and down to the water's edge before we had dinner -- gossiping with old [ fishermen corrected from fisherman ] and old women --
all the way -- Every where they can catch hold the brightest flowers are [ deleted word ] -- [ growing corrected ] -- the pictures do not give you the least idea of the quaintness and picturesqueness of Clovelly. The windows open like doors as they do in Quebec -- and the sills are full of geraniums -- Sister loves it! but she is discontented on account of seeing the Red Lion Inn* close by the water's edge at the shore end of the pier -- very little Carrie Jewett* and looking very clean. Mrs. Fields* says it is better to be here on account of being half way to the top -- and the New Inn is also a marvel of cleanness and obligingness. I wish the cliffs looked higher in the picture but you can see how little the long pier looks and judge something by that.
I have had a perfectly beautiful time all this week. Sunday we drove across the Isle of Wight starting at [ deleted word ] Ventnor* -- I had a lovely day that day if ever I did in my life. We
stayed some time at the Tennysons* which was most interesting and delightful in every way. I think it is something well worth remembering to have seen the great poet himself and his son took me up into the study which was a fascinating place -- They were all delighted to see Mrs Fields and wanted us to stay and to come again to see them in Surrey later on -- but I am afraid we cannot -- It was such a beautiful day. The larks were singing so and oh Taddy you ought to see the poppies -- a perfect blaze of red growing all along the sides of the road in [ among ? ] the fields -- sometimes there would be blue cornflowers or [ deleted word ] [ greenery ? ] and daisies and poppies as thick as [ spatters ? ] all together -- Monday ^Sunday night^ we spent at Newport near Carisbrooke church and castle* and the [ bells corrected ] there were even sweeter than the Shandon bells* -- Monday we were at Salisbury which is a very curious old place a dear old town as ever was! and the cathedral is magnificent -- two
thirds as high as Agamenticus* to the top of the spire! but I didn't climb high{er} than the floor of it! We went to Stonehenge* and those old stones are the most impressive things I ever saw in my whole life -- The road to it was over Salisbury plain -- a great wide stretch of country that made you think of the sea -- and it was growing late in the afternoon and the shadows were growing long though there were not many trees to make shadows. Once in a while there would be a sort of valley with a little village -- a few houses and an old [ grey or gray corrected ] stone church with some old graves round it -- Coming in we went through more villages and passed some beautiful old houses -- and the sunset was more splendid than any I have seen for a great while -- all the
fields were covered with yellow light and one that was very thick with poppies blazed like a bonfire. Yesterday we came to Exeter, and happened to have to wait for a train so we drove about a little, and were just in time to go to afternoon service at the cathedral. I like the interior of Exeter Cathedral better than Salisbury though the outside and the town itself were not so interesting. You should have seen the little chorister boys go in two by two -- any number of them with voices as sweet as blackbirds -- (you ought to hear the blackbirds that sing here!) We spent the night at Dawlish but though it is a pretty place I didn't care to stay longer -- we are in such a hurry to [ deleted word ] get to this part of Devon. I have hardly room to send my love to you and [ hope corrected ] you are getting better fast. I wonder if you ^will^ be in Boston but please let Cora* read this at any rate -- Aren't
you and Eva* great spoons though! Sister thinking she would like to have something the matter with her and stay at St. Margarets* -- not very much the matter you know! I only wish I had made a business of getting better. Mrs. Fields sends her love -- Sister saw a block
in the Tower* that heads were chopped off on. She thought you love to
know it -- Sister sends her hope that your appetite remains as good as her own at the present though she has a good cold though she thinks it may come from so many roses in the hedges
and so much hay being down. Give my love to all at home not forgetting [ unrecognized name ] [ and ? ] the baby.
Always yours [ most lovingly ? ]
S. O. J.
Notes
New Inn: "The New Inn Hotel has welcomed visitors since the 17th century. It lies at the heart of Clovelly, half way down the famous cobbled street. Rebuilt and refurbished over the years, it is decorated in the Arts and Crafts style, and is a popular choice with day visitors and for North Devon holidays and short breaks."
Jewett indicates she included with this letter a photograph of this inn.
Note a
donkey like the one Jewett describes as carrying their
luggage.
Penciled on the back of this
photograph: The place I put a mark by is one of our
parlor windows ! ! !
[See the X next to the second story balcony of the New
Inn.]
This photograph is from the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (items 147-152).
Kingsley
... Westward Ho: British author and clergyman, Charles
Kingsley (1819-1875) may be best remembered for The
Water Babies (1863); Westward Ho! (1885) was
one of his historical novels.
Red Lion
Inn: Now the Red
Lion Hotel in Clovelly.
Carrie Jewett: Carrie Jewett Eastman, Theodore's mother. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Isle of
Wight ... Ventnor: Wikipedia says: "Ventnor ... is a
seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian
era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England."
Tennysons:
"Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson,
FRS (1809-1892) was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and
Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains
one of the most popular British poets." Tennyson's
wife was Emily Sarah Sellwood (1813-1896), a
composer who set some of his lyrics to music. They had
two sons, Hallam and Lionel.
Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
(1852-1928) became the second Governor-General of Australia
and wrote an authorized biography of his father in
1897. However, it is not clear which of the sons
Jewett and Fields meet.
Carisbrooke
church
and castle: The Church
of
St
Nicholas
in
Castro is the chapel of Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle
of Wight.
Shandon bells: St. Mary's Church (Church of England)
in Carisbrooke, new Newport, Isle of Wight, is noted for its
bells. The Norman church tower contains a ring of 10
bells, which first were rung in 1777. By 1912, they
were no longer usable. Eight were replaced in 1921 and the
final two in 2002.
Wikipedia says: "Shandon (Irish: An
Seandún meaning "the old fort") is a district in Cork city
noted for The Bells of Shandon, a song celebrating the bells
of the Church of St Anne written by Francis Sylvester Mahony
under the pen name of 'Father Prout'."
Agamenticus:
Mount
Agamenticus, east of Jewett's home town, South
Berwick, ME and visible from high points in and near the
town is 692 feet above sea level. The tower and spire
together of Salisbury
Cathedral are about 630 feet.
Stonehenge: The town of Salisbury in south central Great Britain is home to the Salisbury Cathedral. Nearby is Stonehenge, which according to Wikipedia is "a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, 2 miles (3 km) west of Amesbury and 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. Stonehenge's ring of standing stones [is] set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds."
Cora: Cora Clark Rice. See Key to Correspondents.
Eva: Eva von Blomberg and Cora Clark Rice. See Key to Correspondents.
St. Margaret’s: Wikipedia says: "The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, and is the Anglican parish church of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in London."the Tower: Presumably Jewett refers to the Tower of London. An execution block is on display in the Royal Armories at the Tower.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Eastman, Caroline Augusta (Jewett) 1855-1897, recipient 4 letters; 1882-[1897] & [n.d.]. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (253). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Fields
[ 1882 ]*
So delighted to get your letter from
Dublin & to hear that you had such a nice time with all
the quaintnesses of that experience with Lisa's* people
-- what fun! How I wish I had been there! Thank you
for writing to me all about it! It is so lovely to have your
dear letters! I heard from Mrs Cowden Clarke* yesterday --
She was expecting to see you{.}
28th And Mr Whittier
came today with Phoebe & two cousins* & oh, but he
was charming! I told him all my tale -- "Ah," he said, "I
knew something beautiful would happen to thee"! And his eyes
were wet -- The dear sweet soul that he is! What a pleasure
it was to talk to him! He could not hear enough -- he was so
eager for every word -- "I am so glad, so glad!" he
[ Page 2 ]
kept saying
Evening. And all the long evening
he has been here & we have talked again all the evening
& he has just gone -- O so much of you ^& owlet*^
& with so much affection! Your dear dainty [ ears corrected
] must have burned all that long way off. I have been so
happy with it all! I had a dear note from
poor Hattie Lowes Dickinson* telling me of her mother's
death, poor child -- I wonder if you are in London & if
you have my letters -- Rose* is arriving Saturday -- that is
almost here -- we are going to sit together -- I dare say
nothing will come. -- but W.* told her he could come very
near if we sat together in the little room I had fixed;
& he danced for joy that she was coming here!
Dear J. comes now & then rushing flying
[ Page 3 ]
from you for a moment to tell us you are well or whatever (he told us of the [ space or span ? ] of discomfort you had on the steamer) but never can stop more than a minute, grudging any time taken from you.
I am going to write soon as Rose comes.
Mr D.* is coming too. This is only ^a^ word to send you Mr
Whittier's love & mine, to you & [owlit so
spelled ] dear.
Your faithful C.
O my garden! ablaze with gold lilies & the first poppy
out I put in for owlet!
Notes
1882: This date is confirmed by Thaxter hearing
from Fields and Jewett in Ireland, during their 1882 trip to
Europe.
Lisa's: Lisa or Liza was Fields's Irish-born personal servant, who accompanied the women on their travels in Europe.
Mrs. Cowden Clarke: Mary Victoria (Novello) Cowden Clarke (1809-1898), British author and Shakespeare scholar.
28th ...Mr Whittier ... Phoebe
& two cousins: For John Greenleaf Whittier, see Key to Correspondents. Joseph
Cartland (1810-1898) and Whittier's cousin Gertrude Cartland
(1822-1911) accompanied Whittier on his summer vacations,
and Whittier lived in their home at Newburyport,
Massachusetts most of his last fifteen winters.
Phebe Woodman (1869-1953) was the adopted
daughter of Whittier's cousin Abby Johnson Woodman
(1828-1921). See Letters of John Greenleaf
Whittier v. 1, p. 337.
Beginning with "28th" Thaxter
changes to darker ink.
Owlet: Thaxter is using intimate nicknames shared
among Jewett, Fields and herself. Owl/Owlet and Pinny are
Jewett; Flower is Fields; Sandpiper is Thaxter. See Key to Correspondents.
Hattie Lowes Dickinson: Probably Hester Fanny Dickinson (1865-1954), daughter of Lowes Cato Dickinson (1819-1908), British portrait painter and Christian socialist, founder of the Working Men's College of London. He married Margaret Ellen Williams (1824-1882).
Rose: Rose Lamb. See Key to Correspondents.
When Thaxter says they will "sit
together," she means that they will attempt to contact
spirits of the dead. She goes on to recount Lamb's
report that in recent "sittings" she has heard from "W." who
is probably American artist William Morris Hunt (1824-1879) and J.
who is James T. Fields, Fields's deceased husband.
Thaxter seems to say that she and Lamb
will make this attempt without the aid of a spirit
medium. In Thaxter's letters to Fields of May 1882,
she reports the results of sittings in Boston with the
medium, Jennie Potter, where both Hunt and Mr. Fields
communicate "from beyond."
Mr D.: Robert Kendall Darrah (1818- c. December 1885), whom Annie Fields memorialized in an obituary. During May 1882, Mr. Darrah and Rose Lamb regularly joined Thaxter at sittings.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Boston Public Library, Rare Books Department, Celia Thaxter correspondence with Annie Fields, 1869-1893, MS C.1.38 Box 2 Folder 2(174-190)https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p1780
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
John Greenleaf Whittier to Annie Adams Fields
6th Mo, 30, 1882
My dear friend
Celia Thaxter* is writing thee, and offers to enclose a note of [ mine corrected ]. I was very glad to hear from you, in the Green Island, and while you were waiting at your uncomfortable hotel at Enniskillen,* for 'Lisa to conduct you to her old house. Mrs T. has just read me thy letter telling of your delightful visit and story-telling by the peat-fire, and the donkey ride of Sarah Jewett.* I hope to hear her account of it. I wish I could have had your glimpses of the
Round towers, as they loomed before you through the veil of rain. I have often wondered about those towers, but not supposed that they are of [ Phenician so written ] origin; and connected in some way with the old Pagan worship of Baal!* I am spending two or three days here;* the weather is fine, and the island is green & flower sprinkled. I cannot tell thee how interested I have been in Celia's accounts of the wonderful spiritual [ intimacies or intimations ? ]. We have had long talks on the subject. She is very happy in the full belief that
dear hands of love have reached out to her from "the abode where the immortals are."*
I wish thee and dear Sarah could have been with us at Mrs Stowe' birth-day oration.* It was a great gathering and Mrs Stowe [ bore ? ] herself very quietly & modestly. Mrs Claflin* did her part, as might be expected, admirably.
Celia Thaxter has written two songs which I am sure thee would like. She has done nothing sweeter than these singing lines.
I suppose you are now in England or Scotland{.} The troubles of Ireland must
have made the beautiful island ^seem^ almost a cruel mockery of the misery of its people: what can be done* to make them better?
I am glad to hear of our dear Sarah Jewett's health & hearty enjoyment of all she sees. Give my love to her, and believe me ever & truly thy affectionate friend.
________ John G. Whittier
My cousins are here, with Phebe* and some Amesbury friends. Phebe is enjoying herself so heartily that it is a real pleasure to see & hear her. She is busy sailing and rowing,* and it all seems like a new world to her.
Mrs Child's Letters* and my biographical introduction have gone to the printers.
Tell Sarah Jewett that her paper in the Atlantic* is excellent { -- } nothing truer, finer than her bereaved old woman sitting by ^the^ gravestone of her lover whose body had slept for years in the sea.
Celia Thaxter: See Key to Correspondents.
Enniskillen: In the left margin, next to the name of this northern Irish town, appears an X, probably not in Whittier's hand.
'Lisa or Liza was Fields's Irish-born personal servant, who accompanied the women on their travels in Europe.
Sarah Jewett: See Key to Correspondents.
Baal: The exclamation point after this word is somewhat ambiguous. Whittier may have intended a question mark.
The notion that the round towers of Ireland were pre-Christian is no longer accepted; rather they are bell towers of medieval Christian origin.
days here: In the left margin next to this line appears an X. At the end of this sentence, the word "sprinkled" is partly underlined. Probably neither mark was made by Whittier.
the immortals are: In this phrase, "the" is underlined, probably not by Whittier.
Whittier quotes from British Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), from his ode on the death of fellow poet, John Keats, "Adonais." However, Whittier quotes the apparently altered final line of the poem. Shelley wrote:
The soul of Adonais, like a star,The version Whittier presents may have originated in an essay on Alfred Lord Tennyson by Richard Hazlitt in A New Spirit of the Age (1844) v. 1. p. 195, where the final lines are given:
Beacons from the abode where the Eternal are.
Mrs Stowe' birth-day oration: In the left margin next to this line appears an X, probably not by Whittier. In 1882, American author Harriet Beecher Stowe celebrated her 71st birthday, which actually fell on 1 July.The soul of Adonais, like a star,
Beacons from the abode where the immortals are.
The garden party reception to celebrate her birthday was held in June 1882 at the home of former Massachusetts Governor William Claflin. This was Stowe's last public appearance. See Ruth B. MacArthur, The Story of Harriet Beecher Stowe (1922), p. 52 and a report in the August 1882 Atlantic Monthly. As several people gave speeches and presentations, it is not clear whether Whittier intends to single out just one orator. Main speakers included publisher Henry Houghton and Stowe herself, as well as her brother, the well-known clergyman, Henry Ward Beecher.
For Stowe, Claflin, and Houghton, see Key to Correspondents.
can be done: It is not clear whether Whittier himself underlined "can."
cousins ... Phebe: Phebe Woodman (1869-1953), adopted daughter of Whittier's cousin Abby Johnson Woodman (1828-1921).
rowing: After this word, Whittier changes from pen to pencil for the rest of the letter.
Mrs Child's Letters: Whittier refers to his partnering with others to produce Letters of Lydia Maria Child (1883). Lydia Maria Francis Child (1802-1880) was an American abolitionist, civil rights activist, novelist, and journalist.
her paper in the Atlantic: Whittier refers to Jewett's "The Mate of the Daylight," which appeared in Atlantic in July 1882.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, in the James T. Fields collection: mss FI 71-4804. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Lynton North Devon
The Royal Castle Hotel!*
2 July 1882
A few words from Sister on the subject of an afternoon in the [ Perrish so spelled] of Morwenstow* may be found of interest… It was of a Thursday morning that we thought we would go and we bespoke a conveyance of the landlady of the New Inn at Clovelly,* and she proffered the services of the basket carriage* and the mule, and a neighbor’s boy to drive (sister being strange to the roads.) [ two deleted words ] at an expense of seven shillings and a trifle for John ^h'^Oak.* So, we climbed to the top of the
[ Page 2 ]
lane and nearly went into fits at the sight of the mule which proved to be the same size as a donkey and John [ hOak so spelled] also as small for a boy as the mule was for a member of its species! The basket carriage was a first-rate one being low and long and the whole turn out was a scene for a painter. A. F.* and I sat up in state and majesty when we could stop laughing and the mule went skipping off. John Oak took to beating it so hard that we were afraid it might never live to get home, and when he got down from his perch to ease
[ Page 3 ]
the load, (weighing about as much as a sparrow) we lighted down too, and walked a good part of the way, so we didn’t get to Morwenstow until between five and six. I kept stepping in and out of the chariot as it moved along, and pulling down long wisps of honeysuckle out of the hedgerows and handfuls of sweet-briar.* There is another wild rose that I like very much, a white one, and it is all in bloom now. The honeysuckle makes me think of mother always for she would delight in it so and I daresay I write about it in every letter for I think of it so much and wish I
[ Page 4 ]
could throw her a great bunch of it every time I pick one.
The fuchsias look so bright and pretty too. Only the smaller
red ones grow wild but they are in such full flowers that
they are very graceful and handsome hedges. Then
there is a red foxglove, or ‘lady-finger’* as they call it
here, that grows wild and is so bright, great tall stalks of
it with bells you can put your two fingers in sometimes and
always one finger! Sister would like to mention that snails
live in the hedges Mary, and take their walks abroad with
[ Page 5 ]
2
their houses on their backs and very nice houses they are
with such pretty shells, and of great size and very
slow travelers along a leaf. Also black slugs as long as
your finger if they have luck in growing, come out under the
hedges in the ditch when the dew falls and sister hates and
despises them. She would now end this passage on little
beasts (except the mule of which she has more to say) with
the information that fleas eats she shameful --
and let A. F. alone except once or twice when they have lost
their way to me. John H. Oak clubbed the mule
[ Page 6 ]
along toward Morwenstow and we began to think we never
should get there when suddenly we caught sight of the old
church tower in a cleft ^high^ between two hills,
looking out to sea, and the churchyard round it, and the
rectory a little lower on the slope of the hill. It is a
beautiful lovely place. There was a big farm house not far
away where we left Johnny and the beast of burden and that
and another farm a mile or two away on the downs were the
only buildings in sight. In the churchyard we found all the
graves of
[ Page 7 ]
the wrecked sailors whom he used to bring ashore and bury,
and on one grave was the figurehead of a ship and on another
pieces of wreck wood that had come ashore. One was the [bows
so spelled ] of a boat, and part of the churchyard
was thick with these unknown graves. The old church itself
dates back eight or nine hundred years and there are
beautiful carvings both in wood and stone. We met the
present rector vicar and didn’t like him a bit, and
in the course of a talk with the Sexton who
[ Page 8 ]
was also the vicar’s servant-man we discovered that there was a jealousy of the old Parson’s fame and that they weren’t inclined to give him much credit either for taking more care of the church and spending more money than he could afford on it, or for his great genius. So we praised him up to the skies and mentioned ourselves to be American pilgrims to that shrine. There is no tablet or anything to him in the church. You know he lost his mind and became a Roman Catholic and both
[ Page 9 ]
3
these failings seem to have dimmed his fame, but he
preserved the Cornish history which might have been lost,
and made that little church famous for all they may say.
Don’t you remember in the history Life, it speaks of
his taking such care to teach the parish children? We were
quite touched because to this day they all bow and courtesy
to you, as you drive by. The older people in Devonshire all
give you a nod or touch their hats and say good day to a
stranger, and it is very pleasant, but it was so nice to see
the children
[ Page 10 ]
at Morwenstow so mannerly and old-fashioned. At the farm house they gave me some questions Parson Hawker had written once for the catechising. Wasn’t that nice? We were starving to death (as usual!) and after we were done looking at the church we went up to the house and asked for some milk and were asked in and had a beautiful time. It was just the kind of old-fashioned English farm house I have been hoping I should see, with a great settle in front of the fireplace and a
[ Page 11 ]
flagstoned floor and beams across the ceiling. I wish you could have seen us eating the bread and butter and milk, for there never was any better in the world and we were so hungry. We talked a while with the people and then we came away. Mother would have thought it was as nice as I did. There was a big walled garden and it was all so pleasant. We didn’t get home until ten o’clock we stayed so long, but it was quite light you know, and the minute that little rat of
[ Page 12 ]
these things were much disapproved a mule found we
were going home it took to its heels and went like a spider,
and we were destroyed with rage because it toiled so going
over as if it could hardly get along, and John [hoak so
written ] grinned at us as if he knew what he
was about and had a right to expect, when he whacked her [x
x meaning an ellipsis ?] Clovelly [church poorly
written] ^church^ was lovely too, and we stayed in
Clovelly to the last minute and shall always like to think
of it. We came here yesterday, driving most of the day but
going from Bideford to
[ Page 13 ]
4
Ilfracombe* by rail. It was foggy so we lost some fine views which Mrs. Fields* wanted me to see, but now we are at Lynton over Sunday and it is more beautiful than I can tell you. Like of bit of Switzerland dropped down by the sea as Mrs. Fields says. There are enormous cliffs, and just below Lynton is Lynmouth in the valley, a little fishing town, and we can look out of our windows right down on it, and the houses look like those in Noah’s ark* they are so far below us, and the little bright gardens are like dots of red and yellow. I send Mother a little picture
[ Page 14 ]
of one of the Clovelly cottages so she can see how things
grow here. Mrs. Fields sends love to you both. We wish this
Sunday was a week long at least but tomorrow we must go to
London where we shall see the Duchess!* and where we have
already made ever so many engagements for this coming week.
And on the [ twelfth eleventh so written ] we go to
Norway, so I shall be there perhaps when you get this
letter. I think it will be very pleasant. When we come back
we are going to Edinboro* but it will only be for a day or
two. I have always meant to ask you to tell Mrs. Doe* how
much I used the ^[ hood ?]^
[Up the left margin and down the top margin of page 14]
on shipboard -- it was really a great delight and I used
it every day. Good by with love to Uncle William* John &
Ann. From Sarah.
Notes
Lynton North Devon ... The Royal Castle Hotel: The Royal Castle Hotel in Lynton, on the north coast of Devon, Great Britain, opened in 1810 and later expanded, though by the 21st century, much of it had been demolished.
the Perrish of Morwenstow: Wikipedia says: "Morwenstow is the most northerly parish in Cornwall…. Morwenstow is the one-time home of the eccentric vicar and poet Robert Stephen Hawker (1803–1875), the writer of Cornwall's anthem Trelawny." Jewett imitates Hawker's style.
the New Inn at Clovelly: The New Inn Hotel has welcomed visitors
since the 17th century. It lies at the heart of Clovelly,
half way down the famous cobbled street. Rebuilt and
refurbished over the years, it is decorated in the Arts and
Crafts style, and is a popular choice with day visitors and
for North Devon holidays and short breaks."
See Sarah Orne Jewett to Theodore
and Carrie Jewett Eastman of 27 June for a photo Jewett
included in one of her letters.
basket carriage: Wikipedia says that a Phaeton was sometimes called a basket phaeton. This type of "sporty open carriage" was considered "fast and dangerous," though perhaps not when a mule pulls it.
John h'Oak: Jewett seems to make a joke of their young driver's name, spelling it in a variety of ways throughout this letter, possibly because though it was written "Oak," local pronunciation added the "h" sound at the beginning.
A. F.: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
honeysuckle… sweet-briar: Wikipedia says: "Rosa rubiginosa [or sweet briar] ... is a species of rose native to Europe and western Asia." Wikipedia also says "Honeysuckles (Lonicera ...) are arching shrubs or twining bines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere."
fuchsias: Wikipedia says that the many varieties of fuchsia are native to Central and South America. They attract hummingbirds to pollinate.
a red foxglove, or ‘lady-finger ’: Wikipedia says that the Foxglove is Digitalis, a popular ornamental plant with blooms of varying colors.
Bideford: Wikipedia says Bideford is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge, about 30 miles west of Lynton, in north Devon, south-west England. Between them, on the coast is the resort town of Ilfracombe. Lynmouth and Lynton are neighboring coastal towns.
the Duchess: The identity of the Duchess is unknown. However, Jewett and Fields were friends of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Aldrich, whom they fondly called the Duke and Duchess of Ponkapog. See Key to Correspondents.
Edinboro: A month later, on August 2, Jewett writes to Mary from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Mrs. Doe: Edith Bell Haven (Mrs. Charles Cogwell)
Doe. According to her "Find-a-Grave" page, "Edith
belonged to a reading group that included Georgina
Halliburton, Celia Thaxter, Mary and Sarah Orne Jewett."
Uncle William. John & Ann: William Durham Jewett and John Tucker. See Key to Correspondents. Ann was a Jewett family employee.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Fields
Shoals 2nd July (82 --
Rose & her brother* came last night to my great joy -- It was a stormy N. Easterly passage, but she stood it pretty well. She brought me so many messages. O dear, I wish there were nobody here but us two! -- She said dear J.* always comes, hurrying from afar, from you, to say a word & flit again -- She said my mother* wanted the 'boys" to realise how she was here just the same as ever [ only corrected ] she could walk about now & go every where & it was so beautiful! "Couldn't she walk?" asked Rose. "Not for years before she died, except from her chair to her bed", I answered -- "Was she very stout?" asked Rose, "Because she ^said^ she no longer had the weariness of it to bear & that heavy body no longer [ troubled corrected ] her -- {"} Now how should Rose or Mrs P.* know any thing about all that? Had it been me, the doubters might have said "it was in your mind"-- [ Neither corrected ] of those women knew about it. She said she was laughing & sympathising just as ever, only we could not see her, but her presence was as real a fact -- I do believe it!
4th July.
Rose & I sit together as we were bid -- O Annie, we feel them, -- we are sure of it as if we saw them! Rose did not till last night, here in this little parlor, it was full of them, just as they said they would come -- I felt them all the evening while I was talking to various people, all the time these touches like cool flame crept all round & over my hands & arms: there wasn't a whisper of air stirring outside, & nothing open except the door with the tall screen before it. After all the people had gone I said to Rose how strong it was, never so strong before. "I wish I could feel it," she said, so wistfully, but she never had. It grew so intense with me that the tears rushed into my eyes. Suddenly Rose said, "it has come! it has come to me too!" & we stood together & just let the luxury of it overflow us -- O Annie it was too heavenly! We are so happy -- Rose's brother said to her this morning, "I think it is
doing you so much good here, I dont see why you shouldnt stay here another week"-- That's what they told her she had better do, stay longer, & she said, "but I cant --" "Don't bother your little head," they said, "we will arrange it -- " And she is so pleased at this, &, of course, so am I! Mr Darrah* wrote last night that Mrs Wild,* Hamilton's mother was very low, going -- & so he could not come down till the last of the week, -- but if Rose stays still another after this, we shall have our good time together in spite of fate.
I do not feel as if J. were here, much, I am sure he is with you. But there are such troops! Till we went to sleep last night we felt them. Rose
sends her love to you. She wrote to you did not she, of J.s speaking through Sarah?* to you!
I hope to hear every day. Dearest love to Sarah -- sent her a poppy -- & last time a letter from Mr Whittier* to you{.} Goodbye dear --
C.
Notes
Rose & her brother: Rose and Horatio Lamb.
See Key to Correspondents.
J.: James T. Fields, Fields's deceased husband.
mother: Thaxter's mother, Eliza Rhymes
Laighton, died in 1877.
Mrs P.: Probably Thaxter refers to a public
medium then working in Boston, Jennie Potter. Though
little is known about her, several others have recorded
encounters with her. See Light 1:1 (1881), p. 78, and Facts 2-3 (1883) p. 164.
Rose Lamb's "messages," then, have come
during her sittings with Mrs. Potter.
Mr Darrah: Robert Kendall Darrah (1818- c.
December 1885), whom Annie Fields memorialized in an
obituary. During May 1882, Mr. Darrah and Rose Lamb
regularly joined Thaxter at sittings.
Mrs. Wild: Hamilton Gibbs Wild (1827-1884) was an
American portrait and landscape painter. His mother was Hannah Hall Robinson Gibbs Wild (1803-
20 July 1882).
Sarah: Sarah Orne Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Boston Public
Library, Rare Books Department, Celia Thaxter correspondence
with Annie Fields, 1869-1893, MS C.1.38 Box 2 Folder
2(174-190)
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p1844
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller,
Coe College.
John Greenleaf Whittier to Sarah Orne Jewett
My dear Friend
I am delighted to see thy hand writing again, and to know that [ unrecognized word ] the new and engrossing wonders of [ deleted word the ? ] a strange land, thy old friend is not forgotten. I was at the Shoals last week; and, looking over the grey waste of waters between me and the old world, I wondered where you were, and what you were doing and seeing, and wished I were twenty years younger and with you.
I found Celia Thaxter* a great deal interested in her spiritualistic experiences. I hope
{she} [ will not be ? ] too much so. She feels certain that her mother lives and loves her. I hope she will be satisfied to rest there, and not [ pursue ? ] investigations which cannot help her in this life. We can safely trust our Heavenly Father in [ regard ? ] to the conditions of the future life, if we are [ blest ? ] with the assurance that a future life really awaits us. For myself I am content to wait during the little time allotted me.
Did C.T. tell thee about her visit to what is called a "materializing medium"?* It seems she saw, or seemed to see, a dear friend of mine, & an acquaintance of hers Horace Currier* of the law firm of Hutchins & Wheeler of Boston
who died two years ago. She is very positive as to the identity. He had a remarkable face & head, and I cannot conceive of anyone being able to counterfeit it. She had no thought of him at the time, and when he came toward her she trembled from head to foot, & cried "Why! Horace Currier!" The figure bowed its head twice in assent. It is very strange but it passes my capacity of belief.
Leaving this ghostly subject I must tell thee that I read thy last story* with a satisfaction only second to that of seeing the writer. The old stranded skippers sitting in council on fish-barrels; and the lone woman [ standing ? ] by the head stone of her lost lover, and gazing
wistfully over the cruel sea which had for long years rolled remorselessly over him, recall the best things in "Deephaven," and "By ways."*
It was very kind in thee and dear Annie Fields* to write me for I know you have little leisure for letter-writing, and correspondents who have stronger claims than mine{.} But somehow I always get more and better than I deserve; and I take with thankfulness the good things which come to me.
I wonder where this letter will find you. You seem to be doubtful about hunting up King Arthur & his Round Table, and "the holy house of Amesbury" where the hapless Queen fled.* Perhaps you are in the midst of the holy Druid [ temple ? ] of Stonehenge,* or watching the clouds drifting over Skiddaw.* Wherever you are Lord bless you! Ever affectionately thy friend
Notes
Celia Thaxter: See Key to Correspondents.
materializing medium: In the 19th Century, spirit mediums were central to Spiritualist practice. A spirit medium facilitated communication between the spirits of the dead and living people. Materializing mediums went a step further, bringing the dead into the presence of the living as quasi-material presences, making the dead visible and even allowing physical contact with the spirits of the dead.
Horace Currier: This transcription is uncertain, and this person has not yet been identified. The Hutchins & Wheeler law firm has worked in Boston since the 19th Century. See The American Bar (1928), pp. 430-1.
last story: Jewett's story "The Mate of the Daylight" appeared in Atlantic Monthly in July 1882.
"Deephaven," and "By ways": Jewett's novel Deephaven (1877) and her story collection, Country By-Ways (1881).
Annie Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
King Arthur ... hapless Queen: In the legends of King Arthur and the Round Table, his Queen Guinevere is sometimes said to have been banished to the convent at Amesbury in Wiltshire, England.
Stonehenge: Historians no longer believe the ancient monument near Amesbury, England, in Wiltshire, was a Druid temple.
Skiddaw: A mountain in England's lake district.
The manuscript of this letter is held by Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA: John Greenleaf Whittier Letter and Photographs, July 3, 1882, MS 20.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Caroline Frances Perry Jewett
[ 1882 ]*
My dear Mother
It is several days since I have written but on coming back to London we found so many engagements (and had made so many plans ourselves, as we shall not be here again except for a day or two perhaps.) that the time has fairly flown --
find us, but had been disappointed, and had gone to bed sick with a dreadful cold. However, they were going across to Paris in the morning at seven. So we had a good time with him, but did not see the Duchess at all. They are hurrying on to Russia.
-- Tuesday we went down to Baring's* and to Cook's to see about Norway tickets and then we came home for a little while and in the evening we went to George MacDonald's* to see some lovely
theatricals -- They played Twelfth Night -- and we both enjoyed it very much{.} Yesterday we went to a garden party at Mrs. Winkworth's -- a perfectly beautiful place where [ Macauley so spelled ]* used to live. Before that we were at Miss Christina Rossetti's* and I like her so much -- Last night we went to see Patience which Mrs Fields* was delighted with and I enjoyed more than [ she ? ] -- To-day I went
all over Bartholomew's Hospital -- and it was such a great place -- you know that is one of the oldest and best colleges & hospitals in the world & a most interesting place to me --
am sorry to send such a hurried letter but I want it to go by this mail & it is getting late.
Mrs. Ole* has come -- & we have had dinner ^since I began --^ I will write again before we go to Norway -- we go to Oxford and Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon ^for^ Saturday Sunday and Monday -- love to all & Mrs. Fields sends love to you -- Yours most lovingly
Mrs. Ole says "Have you told your mother how much better you are!"
Notes
1882: This letter was composed during Jewett's 1882 trip to Europe.
Aldrich: Thomas Bailey Aldrich. Key to Correspondents. Lilian Aldrich's nickname was the Duchess of Ponkapog.
Baring's: Wikipedia says: "Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London, and the world's second oldest merchant bank (after Berenberg Bank). It was founded in 1762 and was owned by the German-originated Baring family of merchants and bankers." Jewett and Fields used this bank during their travels.
Thomas Cook and Son was a British travel agency.
George MacDonald's: Wikipedia says: "George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll."
Winkworth's ...Macauley: Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) was a British historian and politician. Wikipedia.
Silk merchant Stephen Dickenson Winkworth and his wife, Emma, resided in Campden Hill in London. See The Holland Park Circle: Artists and Victorian Society (1999) by Caroline Dakers, p. 257.
Christina Rossetti's: Key to Correspondents.
Patience: Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride, is a comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1881.
Fields: Annie Adams Fields. Key to Correspondents.
Miss Hogarth ... Edwin Booth: Wikipedia says: "Georgina Hogarth (1827-1917) was the sister-in-law, housekeeper, and adviser of English novelist Charles Dickens and the editor of two volumes of his collected letters after his death."
American actor, Edwin Thomas Booth (1833-1893). Wikipedia.
Mrs. Perugini's: Catherine Elizabeth Macready Perugini (1839-1929) was an English painter and a daughter of British author Charles Dickens (1812-1870). Wikipedia.
Jean Ingelow's: British author, Jean Ingelow (1820-1897). Wikipedia.
Mrs. Ole: Sara Chapman Thorp Bull. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 6, Item 263: Six letters to Caroline Frances Perry Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Red Horse Inn!
Stratford-on-Avon*
9 July 1882
Dear Mary
I am afraid I shall not get time to write again before I reach Norway so I will send you a letter from here. We left London yesterday morning coming to Oxford which of course I enjoyed immensely. We came on a fast train but it was nothing to the one called the Flying Dutchman* on which we came up from Devonshire a week ago, for that makes sixty miles an hour, and goes like lightning as you may imagine! We had our lunch and then went on driving for an hour or two to see the outside of the colleges. Afterward we went to Magdalen* (or Maudlin as they call it) for Mrs. Fields* wished
[ Page 2 ]
to see Charles Reade* who is one of the fellows. While she
went up to his rooms Mrs. Ole* and I scurried all about
through the cloisters and halls and the lovely gardens.
Anything more beautiful than these old college buildings you
can’t conceive. The stonework is very much worn most of them
are so old and each has a beautiful chapel [may be
spelled chaple] with a tower and part of the
buildings are for the most part arranged in squares so there
are open quadrangles or "quads" which have walks across them
and flowers growing about and you look up at the old walls
and windows and roofs and towers and there are no end of
bells with nineteen colleges* which mostly have chimes,
sweeter than any you ever heard, and
[ Page 3 ]
2
they strike the quarter hours -- Mrs. Fields came down
with Mr. Reade and he was very nice and showed us all about.
We went into a student’s room which was a great pleasure
& to the chapel and all round. There is a lovely park
with [ deer partially blotted ] in it and such
gardens, with turf like velvet. Then we went to the Ruskin
Museum and then to Christ church college chapel, which is
the finest and largest here, very old and beautiful. We were
just in time for service and such cloister boys you never
heard in all your days. The hotel next place was the
[ Page 4 ]
Bodleian Library* and you may be sure I was glad to see that famous place. We stayed there a long time looking over the old books and manuscripts and famous portraits. This morning we walked all about again and went into [ Queen's ? ] College which was lovely. Oxford is very quiet now for it is the long vacation and all the students have gone, but occasionally we saw an Oxford cab scurrying down the street. This afternoon we came here and had time to drive to Anne Hathaway’s*
[ Page 5 ]
3
cottage where Shakespeare used to go courting, & which is much the same now it was then -- a dear old place. As we came back to Stratford (it is only two miles) we caught site of a lot of little boats in the Avon and I proposed to take "the [ deleted word ] company" out and so we hopped out of the carriage and into a nice boat and I rowed off up the river which goes close by the church where Shakespeare is buried. Mrs. Fields seemed to enjoy it very much, and I’m sure I did. We stayed out an hour or two, going under
[ Page 6 ]
the arches of old stone bridges and under the shadow of the trees. Stratford has probably changed very little since Shakespeare was alive, and it makes him much more real to have seen it. The houses look very old. We went to service in the church which was very pleasant, though it was a high church service which somehow seemed odd there, though I don’t know why it should! We saw Shakespeare’s grave & the tablet on the wall above,* & early tomorrow we are going to the house, which was not open to-day. -- After-
[ Page 7 ]
4
ward we are going to Warwick & Kenilworth, and hope to get round by Haddon Hall on our way to Hull, as we can’t very well do anything at sightseeing in this region again. Except to go to York Minster as we come down from [Edinboro so spelled ]. Goodnight for I must follow the others to bed. There are so many things I want to tell you about these later days. With ever so much love from
"The Queen"*
Notes
Red Horse Inn! Stratford-on-Avon: Stratford-upon-Avon is in
Warwickshire, England, on the River Avon, about 100 miles
northwest from London, and about 40 miles northeast of
Oxford. It is now most famous as the birthplace and
sometime home of William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
The Red Horse Inn was known to Jewett and
her family from a chapter on "Stratford-Upon-Avon" in The
Sketch
Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., (1819-20) by the
American author Washington Irving (1783-1859).
the Flying Dutchman: Wikipedia says that the Flying Dutchman was an express train between Exeter and London.
Magdalen: Wikipedia says: "Magdalen College ... is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford.... Magdalen stands next to the River Cherwell and has within its grounds a deer park and Addison's Walk. The large, square Magdalen Tower is an Oxford landmark."
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Charles Reade: Wikipedia says: "Charles Reade (1814-1884) was an English novelist and dramatist, best known for The Cloister and the Hearth."
Mrs. Ole: Sarah Chapman Bull. See Key to Correspondents.
with nineteen colleges: In the early 19th century, Oxford University included 10 colleges. By the 21st century there were 38.
Ruskin Museum ... Christ church college chapel ... Bodleian Library: There was no Ruskin Museum in Oxford in 1882. Perhaps Jewett refers to the Ruskin School of Drawing, founded in 1871 by John Ruskin as an Oxford University art school.Christ Church is one of the constituent colleges of Oxford University. Christ Church Cathedral (Church of England) serves as chapel for the college
Wikipedia says that the Bodleian Library is "the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 12 million items, it is the second largest library in Britain after the British Library.... Whilst the Bodleian Library, in its current incarnation, has a continuous history dating back to 1602, its roots date back even further."
Anne Hathaway’s: Anne Hathaway (1555/56-1623)
was the wife of the English playwright, William Shakespeare.
Wikipedia says: "Anne Hathaway's
Cottage is a twelve-roomed farmhouse where Anne Hathaway,
the wife of William Shakespeare, lived as a child in the
village of Shottery, Warwickshire, England, about 1 mile
(1.6 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon."
Shakespeare’s grave & the tablet on the wall above: Wikipedia says: "Shakespeare was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church two days after his death. The epitaph carved into the stone slab covering his grave includes a curse against moving his bones....Sometime before 1623, a funerary monument was erected in his memory on the north wall, with a half-effigy of him in the act of writing. Its plaque compares him to Nestor, Socrates, and Virgil."
Warwick & Kenilworth … Haddon Hall … Hull … York
Minster … Edinboro: Jewett and Fields have planned
their travel to the Port of Hull through the two historic
towns of Warwick and Kenilworth. Their interest in
Kenilworth may stem in part from the1821 novel of that title
by Sir Walter Scott.
Wikipedia says: "Haddon Hall is an
English country house on the River Wye at Bakewell,
Derbyshire, one of the seats of the Duke of Rutland."
On their return to London from Edinburgh,
they plan to see "The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of
Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster."
Jewett regularly spells, Edinburgh,
the capital of Scotland, phonetically.
the Queen: The Queen of Sheba was a family nickname for Jewett.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Tuesday 4 o’clock
[Begin letterhead with blank spaces for the date]
Royal Station Hotel
Hull _____ 188 __
[End letterhead; Jewett has completed the date]
11 July 1882
Dearest Mary,
I have only time to send you a few lines. We have just had supper and are going to the steamer presently. We get in on Friday morning so it is quite a voyage. I must wait to tell you about these three last lovely days until
[ Page 2 ]
I get to Norway. And only tell you I have been at Warwick and Kenilworth and the Peacock inn at Rowsley* (such a dear old place built in 1652, and kept in the old fashion.) and at Chatsworth and Haddon Hall* which is perfectly charming. All these since Stratford*
[ Page 3 ]
from which place I sent you a letter. We have gone about in a carriage most of the time and it is such a pleasant way to travel. We left Liza at Leamington and went whisking off one day and [ two unrecognized words ] the little [ chists ? ]. I hoped I should find a letter waiting here but it will be nice to have it waiting in Bergen, Kenilworth was a splendid
[ Page 4 ]
old place. I do want to tell you all about it; [but ? ] I was disappointed in both Warwick & Chatsworth. The latter is a splendid palace of a place, and there were such flocks of deer in the park! Stoneleigh was another place I drove through on the way from Warwick to Leamington, and it was your ideal English novel country place. We couldn’t stop to see much of the
[ Page 5 with the Royal Station Hotel letterhead at the top ]
house and the old abbey near it. Susy Travers was at the Peacock Inn* which was very pleasant. Mother will say this is written very far apart and very little news but I wanted to gallop through some kind of a note because it would make it so long
[ Page 6 ]
before you heard, at least several days longer than usual. Sister has come into a windmill country today, and there is a kind on a stalk like this that is a great pleasure* to me Goodnight and ever so much love to all from your loving
Queen*
[ Page 7 ]
I had a nice long letter from Carrie* from [unrecognized name ] a few days ago. I get flowers and leaves to send mother almost every day and then they all crumple up before I know it, but I think of her all the same --
[ Page 8 ]
This little rose I have had all day in my button hole,
from Rowsley near Haddon Hall.*
Notes
Royal Station Hotel, Hull: The Royal Station Hotel opened in 1851 near the 1846 train station in Hull, a port city in Yorkshire, England; its full name is Kingston upon Hull.
a great pleasure: Jewett has drawn a windmill on this page, writing her text around it.
Warwick and Kenilworth and the Peacock inn at Rowsley:
Warwick and Kenilworth are towns of historic interest in
Warwickshire. Jewett's interest in Kenilworth may stem
in part from the1821 novel of that title by Sir Walter Scott.
The Peacock Inn at Rowsley dates from 1652, but became a
hotel in the 1830s.
Chatsworth and Haddon Hall: Wikipedia says: "Chatsworth House ...
is a stately home in Derbyshire, England. It is in the
Derbyshire Dales, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-east of
Bakewell and 9 miles (14 km) west of Chesterfield.... It is
the seat of the Duke of Devonshire and has been home to the
Cavendish family since 1549."
Wikipedia also says: "Haddon Hall is
an English country house on the River Wye at Bakewell,
Derbyshire, one of the seats of the Duke of Rutland."
Stratford: Stratford-Upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare.
Liza: Liza is a servant of Annie Fields, who accompanied the pair on this trip.
Stoneleigh ... Leamington: The village of Stoneleigh is near Stoneleigh Abbey and Stoneleigh park in Warwickshire. This is north of Leamington Spa.
Susy Travers: Susan Travers. See Key to Correspondents.
Carrie: Caroline Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
Queen: The Queen of Sheba was a family nickname for Jewett.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
John Greenleaf Whittier to Annie Adams Fields
7th Mo, 14, 1882
My dear Friend,
Thy dear letter comes to me here, and I have read it where this beautiful but unhistoric lake stretches away before me, green-gemmed with islands, until it loses itself in the purple haze of the Gunstock [ deleted letters ] mountains, whose summits redden [ in corrected ] the setting sun. How can I thank thee for the graphic description of your visit to the Isle of Wight, and strange and picturesque [ Clovelly so spelled ], and the venerable Morwenstow, with its Norman tower looking as the rare, old vicar* did, into the ocean's mystery. Since reading it, I seem to have been with you all the way. Did John Oak* or his mule seem aware that they were carrying a third passenger, like the boat
man in Uhland's ballad,* and did you pay "double fee" on my account? It was very kind in thee to take so much time from thy needed rest and give me this great pleasure.
I left Amesbury yesterday in a hot southerly rain storm, but just as we reached Alton Bay the wind shifted to the N. N. West, and blew a gale, scattering the clouds, and by the time our steamer passed out of the Bay into the Lake, the water was white-capped, and waves broke heavily on the small islands, flinging their foam and spray against the green foliage of the shores. It was pleasant to see again the rugged mass of Ossipee loom up before us -- and the familiar shapes of the long Sandwich range come slowly into view. To-day the weather is perfect -- clear, keen sunshine & cool-bracing wind. The season is rather late, and the sweet-brier roses are still in bloom and these often-parched hill-slopes are now green as your English downs. But, I wish I could have been with you at Alum Bay, as you laid down on the green sward, & heard the bells of Carisbroke Castle.*
I shall always be glad to hear from our beloved Sarah Jewett,* but she must not write letters when she ought to rest. Don't try to see & do too much. Sarah Jewett is not an experienced traveller
If you visit London or Rochdale, again, you may [ possibly ? ] like to meet John Bright,* & I enclose a note to him, if you have no better introduction, which you can use or not as suits your convenience. If you go {to} Italy, you will see our friends the Alexanders* at Florence, and will take with you my love to them.
I suppose before this thee and Sarah have had my letters. The one to thee was written at the "Shoals" and kindly enclosed in Celia Thaxter's.*
With a great deal of love to Sarah Jewett, and with thanks for thy kindness, I am gratefully and affectionately thy friend
Notes
old vicar: Wikipedia says: "Morwenstow is the most northerly parish in Cornwall…. Morwenstow is the one-time home of the eccentric vicar and poet Robert Stephen Hawker (1803-1875), the writer of Cornwall's anthem Trelawny." Whittier, Jewett and Fields all admired The Vicar of Morwenstow: A Life of Robert Stephen Hawker, M. A. (1880) by S. Baring-Gould.
John Oak: Jewett's letter to Mary Rice Jewett of 2 July 1882 recounts the story of their trip to Morwenstow, in which they took a basket carriage pulled by a donkey, with the boy John Oak as driver.
Uhland's ballad: Whittier refers to "Neckar, The River: The Passage" by the German author, Johann Ludwig Uhland (1787-1862), in which the narrator crosses a river with two invisible passengers: "... Invisible to thee, Spirits twain have crossed with me."
Carisbroke Castle: Alum Bay is on the west coast of the Isle of Wight, while Carisbrooke Castle is medieval and partly a ruin. Whittier seems clearly to have spelled "Carisbroke."
Page 3: This page also appears on Senter House letterhead.
Sarah Jewett: See Key to Correspondents.
John Bright: Wikipedia says: John Bright (1811-1889) was a British Radical, a Quaker, and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. He was born in Rochdale, Lancashire.
Jewett's letter to Mary Rice Jewett of 6 August 1882 indicates that they failed to meet Mr. Bright.
the Alexanders: Frances / Fanny "Francesca" Alexander (1837-1917) was an American illustrator, author, and translator. Her mother was Lucia Gray Swett (Mrs. Francis) Alexander (1814-1916), also a translator from Italian to English. Francesca's father was the American portrait painter, Francis Alexander (1800-1880). In the 1850s, they moved from Boston to Florence. In 1882 Francesca met John Ruskin, becoming his friend and correspondent until his death in 1900.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, in the James T. Fields collection: mss FI 71-4800. New transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
This letter has been transcribed previously by Pickard, Letters of John Greenleaf Whittier. v. 3.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Caroline Jewett Eastman
[ 16 July 1882 ]*
Oh Taddy I wish you could see Iohanna Carolina Haldor's* [ deleted word ] ^datter^ and Lina some thing or other, Haldor's [ deleted word ] ^datter^ who have just come up in full glory of Sunday togs! They [ are corrected ] as solemn and old fashioned with hair as yellow as a guinea*
a ten ore* piece which is about this size O in silver, and they stepped down the hill again after shaking hands with Sister and saying "Tak --" If you give anybody anything here they say Tak, and shake hands. "Haldor's [ deleted word tachters ?] ^datters^" are no size at all but with every excellent behavior. I meant to write a long letter but a large dinner party came out from town. We saw the big boat coming over the fiord* and sighted the company. We have had a very good time. I like the Norwegian people ever so much. There is
{an} old gentleman staying here now, one of Ole Bull's brothers* and we are great friends. He cant speak a bit of English but we drink each other's health as often as possible and make no end of elegant bows and I say all the Norwegian words I have learned and so we are very intimate. He plays beautifully on the organ and piano both, and it is so pleasant to watch him. He is such a handsome old grayheaded man -- and never
done any business Mrs. Ole says ^but^ disporting himself comfortably and reading and playing !! ^They have great fun with him.^ He came out from Bergen yesterday to spend Sunday [ deleted insertion ] -- I never get tired of watching the people and listening to them. Six came in the big boat and we have been feasting in great state. Sister will speak of some dishes when she sees you and be hungry at the very thought of them.
to dine and stay to supper both being included in dining out and the supper being about as elaborate as the dinner. Yesterday we started to row round the islands and were caught in a shower. Mrs. Ole formally presented me with a little bit of an island with a pine tree on it and I went ashore to take possession and we had great fun. It was one big rock and some
heather and two or three little bits of birches -- and so we joke about 'the Estate' a good deal. Oh I shall miss the mountains so much! I like to see them in the night for it never gets very dark you know -- and you can hear all the brooks running over the cliffs -- I shall have to say good-bye now because 'Herr Lund'* is
going to take our letters to the post -- I have [ lots corrected ] of fun with Mrs. Fields* because she hoards her pincushion and uses mine all the time because hers is so beautiful! She is so nice. I cant tell you how much pleasanter every thing has been because I am with her. Sister wishes she could put Johanna Carolina Haldor's 'datter' into this letter
to let you see her! Last [ deleted word ] summer one of them got into the duckhouse to play and was stuck there {-- } it was so little, Carrie,* and there was a great time Mrs. Ole says! Remember me to Mr Eastman -- I long to hear you tell every particular about the sisters in Louisburg Sq.* I hope you are getting along nicely -- Remember me to Mary and Jennie* and to everybody. I meant to send loves but I sometimes forget it!
I wish I could have sent you a better letter but I will try to make up next time -- from your loving Sister, the [ healer ? ] -- You know Mrs. Fields called me Pinny. Sister is now Frökin" (Frukin) Pinny,* 'which is same as [ unrecognized word miss ?] '
I have sent a note to 'O'* which I have long meant to do -- I hope it was a good one but I was tired when I wrote it --
Notes
16 July 1882: This dating is supported by Jewett's letter of Sunday 20 July, where she writes of a return visit made on 19 July in response to the visit of the Lysökloster people she describes in this letter.
Iohanna
Carolina Haldor's: In Ole Bull: A Memoir (1882), Sara
Chapman Thorp Bull identifies Mr. Haldor as her family
servant (p. 309). Further identifying the individuals within
the family has proven difficult.
For Mrs. Ole see Key to Correspondents.
Reading Jewett's spelling of "datter,"
Norwegian for daughter, is difficult. She may have
written "dotter," which would be phonetic. Jewett seems also
to use two spellings for Johanna/Iohanna.
yellow as
a guinea: Presumably, Jewett refers to the British
gold
coin,
ten ore: In 2020, 50 Norwegian øre are worth about 8
U.S. cents.
fiord:
Jewett appears to have used this spelling rather than
"fjord."
Ole Bull's brothers: Ole Bull had several living brothers in 1882. It is not certain which one Jewett met. Jens Munthe Bull (1815-1905) resided in Bergen at the time of his death.
Lysökloster: Wikipedia says: "Lyse Abbey or Saint Mary's Abbey, Lyse (Norwegian: Lyse kloster, Lyse Mariakloster) is a now-ruined Cistercian monastery in the municipality of Os in the county of Hordaland in south-western Norway." In Ole Bull: A Memoir (1882), Sara Chapman Thorp Bull describes her husband's beloved home on nearby Lysö, "the island of light" (pp. 306-13).
'Herr
Lund': This person has not yet been identified.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Carrie: Carrie Jewett Eastman, Theodore's mother. See Key to Correspondents.
Louisburg
Sq.: Louisburg
Square
is a private square in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of
Boston, MA, not far from the home of Annie Fields.
Which sisters Carrie Eastman would visit there is not yet
known.
Mary and
Jennie: Mary is almost certainly Mary Rice Jewett. See
Key to Correspondents. Jennie has not
yet been identified, but probably she is an Eastman family
employee, mentioned in a few other letters as late as 12
July 1894..
"Frökin" (Frukin) Pinny: In Norwegian, "Frökin" means "Miss." For Pinny as a Jewett nickname, see Jewett in Key to Correspondents.
"O": This could be Olive Grant. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Eastman, Caroline Augusta (Jewett) 1855-1897, recipient 4 letters; 1882-[1897] & [n.d.]. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (253).Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Fields
[ 16 July 1882 ]
Sunday morning -- At breakfast -- six oclock & nobody up. O such a morning! Still warm, cloudless -- Last night Tom & his wife came in as I was writing -- they send their love to you -- They look very happy -- They go to Nahant early in the week -- They reported Louisa* as well & flourishing -- Tom looks a little delicate, I think -- had been having a sore throat -- I hear Jo Burnett* is to come here -- My poor Roland* is still laid up with his knee -- creeps about a little on crutches -- this is heaviness for me -- He graduated honorably, with flattering mention in Natural History & English composition, but he was too lame to be at Class day or take any share in the [ life corrected ] & [ motion or emotion ? ] of the time.
The Paines* are a great pleasure,
paradoxical as it may appear -- I'd rather hear him play
than Joseffy* -- tho' he [ doest intending doesn't
? ] pretend to play -- All the Anderson [ paty intending
party ? ] [ wear corrected ] India
[ Page 2 ]
shawls that remind me of yours -- of course they came from
the same source.
17th
O dear -- there is no time except
in the dictionary! My dear dear love to you & owlet!*
This rose just opened, wild, outside, for you & owlet
Yrs ever & ever
Notes
16 July 1882: This date was assigned the
letter by the Boston Public Library. It is probably
correct. Other Thaxter letters from this time report on her
son, Roland, dealing with his injured knee. In 1882,
July 16 fell on a Sunday.
Tom & his wife ... Louisa: These people have not
yet been identified.
Jo Burnett: Probably this is Josephine Cutter Burnett (1830-1906), mother Edward Burnett, who married James Russell Lowell's daughter, Mabel Lowell. The Lowells were friends and correspondents of Fields and Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Roland: Thaxter's youngest son.
Paines: John Knowles Paine (1839-1906), an American composer who also served as professor of music at Harvard University. His musician wife was Mary Elizabeth Greeley (1836-1920). Both were regular summer visitors at the Isles of the Shoals.
Joseffy: Rafael Joseffy (1852-1915) was a
Slovakian pianist, teacher and composer. He immigrated to
New York City in 1879 and quickly became famous as a concert
performer with major orchestras. Whether Thaxter ever
heard him play is not yet known.
Anderson: There is reason to believe that the
Andersons are the family of Larz Anderson (1845-1902). His
wife, Emma Mendenhall Anderson (1847-1934),
appears in The Heavenly Guest (1935), a posthumous
collection of Thaxter's uncollected writing and of other
materials, including "Celia Thaxter and her Gardens," by
Mrs. Larz Anderson. This essay consists of notes by Emma
Anderson from her 8 seasons at Appledore. Mrs. Larz Anderson
probably is author and philanthropist, Isabel Weld Perkins (1876-1948). Her
husband was American diplomat Larz Anderson (1866-1937), a nephew of
Emma Anderson.
owlet: Thaxter is using an intimate nickname shared
among Jewett, Fields and herself. Owlet is Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p195n
With this manuscript, the library also holds the pressed rose mentioned at the end of this letter.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Lysö 20 July 1882
Dearest Mary
We have just got home from two days spent in Bergen* and I am so glad to get back to the island. There is so much I want to tell you that I hardly know where to begin. I thought I should have no end of time for writing while I was here but I seem to have less than ever. We are out of doors a great deal and the air here makes me sleepy so I usually turn in for a nap in the afternoon and that cuts into the time! as you can tell from Sunday afternoon experiences. I had a beautiful time Saturday. We
[ Page 2 ]
went across the fjord to a place called Lysökloster* to
return a ceremonious visit which had been paid us by some of
Mrs. Ole’s* friends a day or two before. The house was
is quite a little distance from the shore so we all three
got into a gig which is a two-wheeled vehicle in which two
can fit looking forward and one keeps watch astern. It was a
little yellow horse with a mane like a big dust brush, and I
drove and the crop neck shied and we clipped it to
Lysokloster with no accident [unrecognized word ] and
were received with much state and majesty. Anything more
different than an English country place and a Norwegian one,
it would be hard to imagine. The house itself
[ Page 3 ]
is built around three sides of a square which makes a courtyard and there is a high fence and a big gate in it on the open side. The house is one story and a little half, but there are no end of big rooms and the wide windows make them very pleasant. You cut across the courtyard instead of going round (which would really be a good way at Lysökloster!) and there are ever so many doors. This is one of the old estates which has been handed down with little change for hundreds of years. The tenants wear a dress which is very pretty & seen nowhere else in Norway, but the house servants, some of them came from another province and were "togged out" in
[ Page 4 ]
a most surprising fashion. I have seen very few men in peasant dress which is too bad for it is so handsome. I suppose the ready-made clothing business has driven out the silver buttons and red and green waistcoats. We marched in to the Nicolaisons* and talked as well as we could; there were two funny old ladies from Christian^a visiting^ (Sister loves to talk about Christian sand,* more than any place in Norway!) and two young ladies who could speak a little English that pieced out our rags of Norwegian, beside Mrs. (Nicolaison?) and her daughter Wibeke, which they call Vebekka so I suppose it meant for Rebecca! She is just as nice as she can be, and a great
[ Page 5 ]
2
crony of Mrs. Ole’s. We were promptly invited to tea, and said we should be delighted to stay, and then we started out after a proper time to see the place. A little river runs in front of the house at the end of a funny old garden and beyond that there is an old church which belongs to the family. ^There were some old pictures on the walls{.}^ The altar piece is carved and then painted and there was an excellent collection of apostles and saints. Clothed in blue and red and much decked out with faded gilt and trumpets. The other carving was very rude and a droller little church you never saw. A maid in gallant array had fetched the keys which were about a foot long, (more or less) and it was inquired
[13 circled in pencil in another hand appears above the word array.]*
[ Page 6 ]
if we would like to see the other wing of the church where the family [was written over were ] buried, and we said we should be pleased, so the doors were opened and to our astonishment instead of -- I don’t know what! we saw long rows of huge oak coffins with here and there a little one, all stowed away. Some of them had iron flowers on the top, and I suppose you think it was dreadful, but it wasn’t! and we walked round and read the dates some of which were very old and tried to read the great brass plates. I almost laughed out loud there was something so funny about the ship’s company after all. Nobody seemed afflicted among the live ones and you were not
[ Page 7 ]
reminded of the next world particularly. It seemed as if the departed Formans* and Nicolaisons felt a good deal of pride in their excellent coffins, and some rivalry about who had the best one! There is something solemn and quaint about all the Norwegians, they are grave, simple people and every body does as his grandfather did before him, and yet they read a great deal and are quite up with the times too, in many ways. We shut the door after we had made this remarkable call and felt as if it had been kind to let in the sun for a little while. The room was plainly finished in unpainted wood like
[ Page 8 ]
the peasants’ houses and one door opened out doors and one
into the church. Then we went off to see some ruins out in a
field where there was once an old convent founded in 1106 by
some monks who came from England and stayed here until
thirteen or fourteen hundred and something and then were
driven off, and burnt the 'Kloster' before they started. The
Nicolaisons set some men to work a few years ago and dug out
a lot some new rooms and the whole place is very
curious and interesting. They found some stone coffins that
must be very old indeed, and the cells [large ink blot]
and the chapel were very well-preserved that
[ Page 9 ]
3
is the walls were, so you could make out the plan very well indeed. Then we mounted into two gigs. Wiebeke and Mrs. Ole & A. F.* and I, and drove up on the hills to see the sunset and it was beautiful. I don’t mean that we watched the whole sunset which takes some hours at this season of the year, but we saw the late afternoon light on some snow covered mountains. There was a regiment of soldiers in camp where we stopped on a little plain, and their tents looked very pretty. You will be amused when I tell you they had to come way down (or rather up) there from Bergen, more than twenty miles, to get
[ Page 10 ]
a place large enough for a parade ground. Everything is all up and down hill in Norway. The soldiers had gone by a day or two before up the fjord in steamers, and as they passed the house the bands played some of Ole Bull’s music and they were waving handkerchiefs and saluting Mrs. Ole, and she had both the big flags out as quick as she could. All the people who can have a flag here to put up before the house. The music sounded finely from the water, and it is really most touching to see how much the country people seem to
[ Page 11 ]
have loved Ole Bull.* They even called him their king sometimes, for he was a great politician and through him they gained a great deal beside the music he gave them. It is beautiful to see the way everybody treats Mrs. Ole. I did pity her so much the other day when the bands were playing, she seeming to feel so badly. The Norwegian airs are very plaintive at any rate -- -- But I must tell you about the supper at Lysökloster which was very good indeed, [deleted word] for we had two kinds of bread with caraway seed and two without, and salad
[ Page 12 ]
and a kind of herring that is the best little fish you ever saw, smoked a little with juniper twigs, and salmon cured in a way that would make you try to eat the whole one, and there were ‘kinds’ of preserve and kinds of cheese and kinds of cake and you never saw such delicious things. A Norwegian tea is a good meal, but when it comes to a supper, words fail me! Really the cooking is something wonderful, and you get so hungry in the long days and with the
[ Page 15 ]
fresh air and being on the water so much. After supper we each went solemnly to Mrs. Nicolaison and said "Tak for maden" which means thanks for the meal, and she mentioned we were quite welcome -- Wilkommen, and we shook hands -- and then we all shook hands with each other and said "Tak for gud scheloska" which means thanks for your good company, and then we went back to the parlour, and about ten it still being late in the afternoon we ‘clipped it’ back to the shore with the yellow horse and Haldor* was there with the boat and we rowed
[ Page 16 ]
over to Lysö. Lyso-kloster^-house^ looks like a village.
The servants live in a house by themselves near the big one
except the housekeeper perhaps, and all the barns and
storehouses are small and grouped together. When they want
more room they build one, never [deleted word] it
on to the ^enlarge the^ first! ("put on twenty-fort to
the barn")
Monday we went to
Bergen on the steamer by a roundabout way through the fjords
which was very pleasant. We drove about a good deal there
and went to some shops and saw some pleasant people, one
being Mr. Grieg* the famous composer. Today we
came out most of
[Up the left margin of page 11 and down the top margin]
the way in three carrioles* with a stalwart peasant on the perch behind each one! It was great fun. Good by with lots of love to all, from Sarah.
[Up the left margin of page 1 and down the top margin]
You don’t know what a blessing the lace you gave me has been, and I like it better and better. Mrs. Fields was so pleased with your letter.
I am so glad to hear all the news from home but I have so much to tell I never stop to talk about it when I write --
[Up the left margin of page 16]
Love to Cora.* I have had to write her little bits of letters lately, but you must let her see these.
Notes
Bergen: Bergen, on the west coast, is the second largest city in Norway.
Lysökloster: Wikipedia says: "Lyse Abbey or Saint Mary's Abbey, Lyse (Norwegian: Lyse kloster, Lyse Mariakloster) is a now-ruined Cistercian monastery in the municipality of Os in the county of Hordaland in south-western Norway." In Ole Bull: A Memoir (1882), Sara Chapman Thorp Bull describes her husband's beloved home on nearby Lysö, "the island of light" (pp. 306-13).
Mrs. Ole: Mrs. Ole Bull. See Key to Correspondents.
the Nicolaisons: Nicolay Nicolaysen (1804-1875) married Anna Dorthea Nagel (1822-1905), his second wife, and was the father of Wibecke Nicolaysen (1846-1930). They lived on a large farm at Lyse Kloster and were close friends with Ole Bull, according to Trond Indahl. This is not Nicolay Nicolaysen (1817-1911) the famous Norwegian archaeologist.
Christian sand: Wikipedia says: "Kristiansand ... historically Christiansand, is a city and municipality in Norway. It is the fifth largest city in Norway.
the departed Formans and Nicolaisons: Henrik H. Formann (1800-1871) was a farmer and property owner at Lyse Abbey. According to Trond Indahl, Formann was the owner of the island that Ole Bull bought after Formann's death, on which to build his villa. Presumably Formann and his ancestors, along with the Nicolaysens are the main families buried in this crypt.
A. F .: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
loved Ole Bull: In Ole Bull: A Memoir (1882), Sara Chapman Thorp Bull describes a similar musical tribute during her husband's final illness (p. 313).
Haldor: In Ole Bull: A Memoir (1882), Sara Chapman Thorp Bull identifies Haldor as her family servant (p. 309).
carrioles: A cariole (also spelled carriole) was a type of carriage used in the 19th century. It was a light, small, two- or four-wheeled vehicle, open or covered, drawn by a single horse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cariole
Cora: Cora Clark Rice. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Fields and Sarah Orne Jewett
My dear ones, your notes from Clovelly! O the dear pictures! I am so delighted with them! What fascinating places! how did you come to go there? I am so pleased -- & last night came the pretty Patience* [ programme corrected ]: the band is playing Patience while I write in this snatched moment before the dinnerbell rings. A Mrs. Foote from Springfield* has been here this [ morng ? ]. She knows owlet. Stephen Wheatland's wife* just went out. There are heaps of lovely people. O my garden! You never saw the like! [ Blaze or Blare ? ] doesnt express it. "Kinnie" Kerly & Jo Burnett are here. Jo is so handsome, sweet, graceful, distinguished, charming! -- How I wish I had been with you when we went to the theatre! Quawk? I shd. think so! It's lucky I wasn't there for the police would certainly have been obliged to take me in hand.
Rose* & I sit every day & are very
happy -- conscious of soft hands about us in the darkness & silence. We never are ready to leave the charmed darkness -- it is too sweet. Rose thrives: she looks so well & happy. Mr. Darrah still lingering with the Wilds -- I hear from Lucy Derby at Campobello, she likes it.
21st Early in [morng ? ]. Must send this poor word by early boat. Will write to Owlet if can, today or tomorrow. Such poppies, tell her! I can't tell you how I love those little photos & [ pore corrected from pour ? ] over them & enjoy them. Clovelly must be the prettiest place that ever was.
We are having the divinest days, soft refreshing showers, hot bright calms, just perfect summer weather -- I think & talk of you every day & love you always, dear owl & flower!
Notes
Pin: Thaxter is using intimate nicknames shared among Jewett, Fields and herself. Pinny and Owl/Owlet are Jewett; Flower is Fields; Sandpiper is Thaxter. Jewett announced the adoption of this Pinny Lawson nickname to her sister, Mary, in a letter of 3 September. It appears she told Thaxter of this event before 20 July. See Key to Correspondents.
Clovelly: In letter of 2 July 1882, Jewett reports staying at the New Inn in Clovelly (Devon), and may have included a photo of the inn with a 27 June letter to Theodore and Caroline Jewett Eastman.
Patience: Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride, is a comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1881.
Mrs. Foote from Springfield: Jewett and Fields were acquainted with Kate Foote. See Key to Correspondents. However, she is not known to have resided at Springfield, MA.
Stephen Wheatland's wife: Stephen Goodhue Wheatland (1824-1892) was a Massachusetts politician who served in several capacities including in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. His wife was Ann Maria Pingree (1846-1927). Wikipedia.
"Kinnie"Kerly & Jo Burnett: This transcription is uncertain. Rosamond Thaxter names Kennie Kerly as a regular Appledore visitor, but this person has not yet been identified further (Sandpiper, Randall 1963, 1999 p. 200).
Rosamond Thaxter also quotes a letter to Annie Fields in which Thaxter identifies Jo Burnett as being a grand-child of Grandfather Burnett and a child of Mabel.
Grandfather Burnett is American educator and businessman, Dr. Joseph Burnett (1820-1894). His son, Edward Burnett (1849-1925), who served in Congress, married Mabel Lowell (1847-1898), the daughter of American poet, James Russell Lowell.
Though Thaxter's spelling suggests that Jo may be female, in fact Mabel Burnett's oldest son was Joseph Burnett (1873-1909).
Rose: Rose Lamb. See Key to Correspondents.
Thaxter refers to Spiritualist sittings in which she and Rose Lamb engaged, as reported in other Thaxter letters of this summer. As they employed no medium, their experiences were limited to non-verbal contact. See, for example, Thaxter to Fields of 23 July.
Mr Darrah ... the Wilds: In 1886, Annie Fields wrote an obituary piece on Robert K. Darrah (1818-1885), who, according to Memorial Biographies of the New England Historical Society, was a Boston merchant who became appraiser at the Custom House in 1861 (p. 211).
Hamilton Gibbs Wild (1827-1884) was an American portrait and landscape painter. His mother was Hannah Hall Robinson Gibbs Wild (1803- 20 July 1882).
Lucy Derby at Campobello: Probably this is Lucy Derby (1851-1925), who in 1895 married Rev. Samuel Richard Fuller.
Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada, was a summer tourist resort, like the Isles of the Shoals.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Boston Public Library, Rare Books Department, Celia Thaxter correspondence with Annie Fields, 1869-1893,
MS C.1.38 Box 2 Folder 2 (174-190). https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p2034
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Fields
23rd July.
[ 1882 ]
Yesterday Mr Burnett ^grandfather^ came
down bringing one of Mabel's children, Jo,* the second boy,
the image of his mother, & so picturesque that he was a
fascinating object to behold. No end of yachts came sailing
down the coast in the afternoon & anchored in the Roads,
as they call the space 'twixt this & Star,* & lots
of people came down to meet them, or their friends who sail
in them rather, in the night boat -- It was all very gay
& charming -- Ellen & Robert Bancroft, friends of
Rose's,* came last night too, from Beverly -- very nice. The
Osgoods* prolong their stay-- they are a great addition
-- Mrs O. ornamental & pleasant -- Mr O's voice
always ready & lovely -- There is a Dr Keating* here, I
think from Philadelphia -- he is, as the girls say, "just
too charming for anything" -- French, about sixty,
distinguished looking & with his national charm of
manner, old & young, the female sex acknowledge his
fascination. He is rich in many years of close observation
& experience, his conversation is most
interesting & delightful. He is a
[ Page 2 ]
friend I think, of the Dr Fords* but of very different caliber -- they are so heavy & pompous -- hopeless bores, begging Ida's* pardon!
Rose & I have wonderful times with
our experiences, at all hours, under all circumstances -- We
find ourselves touched in all sorts of ways, sometimes so
startling that we pause in the midst of rapid talk in a room
full of people & are hardly able to speak another word.
This happened so impressively to Rose last night
when she was saying some thing about the [ Swedenborgians* corrected
] who never mourn for their dead, feeling they are
always near -- "I wish I felt as sure as they" she said. At
once her hand was clasped so distinctly that she lost her
head entirely & did not know one word of what she was
saying, whether it was sense or [ nonsense corrected
] -- Tho' it happens every day we never get used to it -- it
is just as delicious & wonderful every time -- Various
people have said to me "I hear you have altered your opinion
about Hunt's death* & no longer imagine it to have been
voluntary -- Is it so? & why then have you changed your
mind?"
[ Page 3 ]
Then I sound them, & if I find I can tell them, I do it -- I have not the least wish to evade the declaration of my belief, but you know how it is -- I told Mrs Bowditch* & Jo Burnett of my own personal experiences & found them intensely interested & quite ready to accept it. Of course if I hadn't known they [ unrecognized mark ] [ would corrected ] be I should not have told them -- I wish I could get hold of Lowes Dickinson* -- Miss Kate Fox* is in London. I have a friend here who is personally acquainted with her{.}
24th July.
Again at breakfast one word -- Burnett
brought Mabel's Joe down the other day & they are still
here -- such a picturesque & pretty creature, the child!
The image of his mother -- My poor old farmer John* came
over from the farm to spend Sunday -- Last night Mr Osgood
sang the solo in the Greek Chorus* -- The fine notes drew
all the people across the
[ Page 4 ]
lawn & they crowded all round my quarters, piazza,
garden, everything full. Rose & I are going over
to the farm presently. I dread it, tho' only for a day -- [
Jo corrected ] Burnett calls Dr. Keating "the Heart
breaker" -- He is so charming!
[ O corrected ] what poor
scrawls I send you! Hardly better than nothing at all
-- Only my dear love to you both* -- My garden is
beyond ----! All the new yellow flowers so heavenly --
Goodbye with blessings on you both
Your
C.
Notes
1882: This letter continues discussion of the
paranormal experiences Thaxter and Rose Lamb shared during
Lamb's stay at the Isles of the Shoals during the summer of
1882.
See also, Terry Heller, "Communing with
the Dead: Celia Thaxter, John Greenleaf Whittier, Sarah Orne
Jewett, Annie Adams Fields." SOJTP 2020.
Mr. Burnett: Grandfather Burnett is Joseph Burnett (1820-1894). His
wife, mentioned later in the letter is Jo / Josephine Cutter Burnett
(1830-1906). They were the parents of Edward Burnett (1849-1925), who
married James Russell Lowell's daughter, Mabel Lowell. The
Lowells were friends and correspondents of Fields and
Jewett. See Key to Correspondents. Edward
and Mabel Burnett were the parents of at least 8 children.
Their second son was Joseph Burnett (1874-1909).
Star: One of the islands of the Shoals.
Thaxter writes from Appledore, another of the islands.
Ellen & Robert Bancroft ... Rose: For Rose
Lamb, see Key to Correspondents.
Ellen Bancroft (1838-1912) and Robert
Hale Bancroft (1843-1918) were the surviving children of
cotton merchant Thomas Poynton Bancroft. (1798-1852)
and Hannah Putnam (1799-1872). According Back Bay Houses, Robert was an
insurance broker who retired in the 1870s, thereafter
traveling abroad several times with his sister. He
married in 1891. The Bancrofts had a summer home in Beverly,
MA.
Osgoods: Probably Thaxter refers to George Laurie Osgood (1844-1922) a
Boston performer, voice teacher, composer and conductor. In
1883, he was married to his first wife, Jeannette Cabot (d.
1888). See also The National Cyclopaedia of American
Biography, p. 436.
Dr Keating: Almost certainly, Thaxter refers to
Philadelphia physician Dr. William Valentine Keating
(1823-1894). In 1883, he was a 60-year-old widower. While he
was not born in France, his grandfather immigrated from
France. See also "Memoir of John M. Keating, M.D." (his son)
in Transactions of the College of Physicians
of Philadelphia 16 (1894), p. xxxv.
Dr. Ford has not been identified.
Dr. Keating had some association with Dr. William H. Ford (1839-1897) of
Philadelphia. Whether he married is not yet known.
Ida also has not been identified, though
as Thaxter refers to her by first name, she may be Ida
Gertrude Beal, step-daughter of Field's sister, Louisa
Jane Beal. See Fields in Key to Correspondents.
Swedenborgians: Lamb refers to the New Church (Swedenborgian), based upon
the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772),
particularly, perhaps, the doctrine of an intermediary stage
after death and before a final judgment that determines
one's eternal destiny.
Hunt's death: American artist William Morris Hunt (1824-1879) was
believed to have drowned himself in a pond on
Appledore. Thaxter discovered his body.
Mrs Bowditch: Dr. Henry Ingersoll Bowditch (1808-1892), owned a cottage on Appledore. His wife was, Olivia Jane Yardley (1816-10 December 1890).
Lowes Dickinson ... Miss Kate Fox: Lowes Cato Dickinson (1819-1908) was a
British portrait painter and Christian socialist, founder of
the Working Men's College of London. He married Margaret
Ellen Williams.
Possibly Kate Fox is Catherine Fox
(1837-1892), youngest of the notorious Fox sisters who are credited with the
founding of Spiritualism, the belief system to
which Thaxter at this time was deeply committed.
In 1882, this Kate Fox was living in
London; she was then the widow of H. D. Jencken.
John: Thaxter's middle son. See Key to Correspondents.
the Greek Chorus: Thaxter seems to refer to a
specific musical work, but which one is not yet known.
both: Thaxter writes to Fields and Sarah Orne Jewett, who are traveling together in Europe at the time of this letter.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Boston Public Library, Rare Books Department, Celia Thaxter correspondence with Annie Fields, 1869-1893, MS C.1.38 Box 2 Folder 2(174-190)https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p209s
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Lysö 27 July [ 1882]
Dear O.P.*
This is the last letter you will
get from Norway, for tomorrow we are going down to Bergen
and Saturday we take the steamer back to Hull.* I am so
sorry to leave Lysö, but there is always so much to leave
look forward to this summer that I can’t help being in
hurries to see the places ahead. It has been beautiful
weather the last few days and the mountains are magnificent.
Sometimes we walk and sometimes go off in a boat. While it
[ Page 2 ]
was so damp I had the rheumatism a little but I am getting over it now. It rained a good deal, but it was so pleasant in the house with bright birch wood fires in all the fireplaces that we did not mind it. All the company have departed, and for two days we have not had any body to dinner but for several days big boat loads would be seen crossing the fjord, and then there would be such a feasting! It is the proper thing for
[ Page 3 ]
them to come to visit Frӓ Ole.* One day she and Mrs. Fields* had gone off for a long walk and I looked out and saw six friends approaching and you would have laughed to hear me try to be polite. I got Martha the housekeeper and some of them know a little English and two I had seen before, so I got along beautifully, and they were in full feather when Mrs. Ole came back. I got your letter of the fourth
[ Page 4 ]
of July today, and I was so glad to hear so many particulars. Mrs. Fields had the Advertiser* sent her so I keep up with the news after a fashion. I was sorry to see that Governor Goodwin* had died. Mrs. Fields enjoys your letters so much. She and I have just been across the fjord with Haldor the best man to get Liza’s* valise mended. You see there are no villages and so you go down the fjord to the shoemaker’s and up the fjord to the carpenter’s and the time taken in
[ Page 5 ]
going shopping in this way is very considerable. We sat on a big rock while Haldor trotted up to the house with the bag. We meant to go too for we like so much to see the insides of the peasant’s houses but there seemed to be a swamp just above the shore, so we gave it up, and sat in the sun. I don’t feel as if I had seen any summer yet, for there is no such heat as we have at home, and I like it better. The climate is ever so much better in England I think
[ Page 6 ]
than anywhere I have been, and I shall be glad to have a few more days there. We have a good deal to do in London. Sister is dying to see Holland! We mean now to stop in Antwerp over next Sunday and then go to Amsterdam and then down the Rhine. We mean to be at Montreux or Interlaken in Switzerland the tenth of August. I like to tell you where I am going to be so you will know [where corrected] to think of me [14 circled in pencil in another hand ] sometimes! With love to all
[yours corrected] the Queen*
Notes
Lysö: In Ole Bull: A Memoir (1882), Sara Chapman Thorp Bull describes her husband's beloved home on Lysö, "the island of light" (pp. 306-13).
O.P .: A Jewett nickname for Mary Rice Jewett.
Hull: A port city in Yorkshire, England; its full name is Kingston upon Hull.
Frӓ Ole: Sara Chapman Thorp Bull. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Advertiser: Wikipedia says: "The Boston Daily Advertiser (est. 1813) was the first daily newspaper in Boston, and for many years the only daily paper in Boston."
Governor Goodwin: Wikipedia says: "Ichabod Goodwin
(October 8, 1794 - July 4, 1882) was the 27th governor of
the state of New Hampshire from 1859 to 1861."
"Goodwin was born at North Berwick, Maine
and educated in South Berwick. He became a merchant in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire working in the counting house of
Samuel Lord, becoming master and part owner of several
ships, and eventually the owner of two railroads, two banks,
and a textile factory. In 1827 he married Sarah Parker Rice.
Their daughter Susan married Admiral George Dewey."
Haldor: In Ole Bull: A Memoir (1882), Sara Chapman Thorp Bull identifies Haldor as her family servant (p. 309).
Liza: Personal servant of Annie Fields, who accompanied the pair on this trip.
the Queen: The Queen of Sheba was a family nickname for Jewett.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
The North Sea!
Thursday -- [1882 penciled in another hand]
Dear O. P.*
I have grabbed some paper to tell you that the voyage is nearly at an end, for we have come in sight of land this afternoon and shall put into port at Stavanger* early this evening. Mrs Ole* says the steamer always [stops corrected] there several hours, and so we can go ashore and have supper & a drive. Then we come on board again and shall get into Bergen some time tomorrow morning
[ Page 2 ]
but we are on smooth water all the time unless the wind should come up very much. It has been very smooth for the North Sea but that isn’t saying it was like a river! However by keeping quiet we have been comfortable and none of us have been sick though there were one or two times of uncertainty!! The coast looks barren and rocky and there is a row of great mountains all along -- -- I never thought to tell you that one day driving in Hyde Park in London I had several good looks at the Princess of
[ Page 3 ]
[of repeated] Wales and her little girls and quite fell in love with her she is so lovely. Wasn’t it too bad Miss Thackeray/Mrs. Ritchie has been out of town both times we have been in London, and just the day we were coming away she heard of our being there and wrote such a charming letter to ask us to come to her. I do hope we shall get time, but we shall be in a hurry when we go back, [deleted mark ] and may have to go right through to the continent.* Goodbye with love from
Notes
O.P .: A Jewett nickname for Mary Rice Jewett.
Stavanger: Stavanger, Norway, is a short distance from Lyse, about 200 km from Bergen.
Mrs. Ole: Sara Chapman Thorp Bull. See Key to Correspondents.
continent: 14 is circled in pencil above this word in another hand.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Edinburgh 2 August
Dear Mary
We had so little time that we
gave up seeing any thing of Scotland, but I couldn’t bear
not to see Edinburgh at all so I have scooted up here
(with Liza* for protector!) just for a day or two. and
I am so glad I did, for it is a great satisfaction to have
seen the beautiful old city where so many men and women
have lived whom I have known in books. I got here too late
today to see Holyrood Palace where Mary Queen of Scots
lived,* but I shall have time to go there to-morrow. I
have
[ Page 2 ]
been driving all about the old town and new town this
afternoon, and anything more quaint and curious than the
old city you never saw! Some of the houses I saw are
twelve stories high and as they were built before the days
of elevators{.} I should think the people who lived in the
top-lofts must have had a struggle for existence!! I saw
John Knox’s house and the Burns monument and the beautiful
Scott Monument* which is very near the hotel -- indeed I
have taken a good look at the outside of the
Edinburgh and tomorrow I am going
[ Page 3 ]
into Holyrood and the castle. It brings back Scott’s
novels and "Rab and his friends" and every thing about
Burns and Christopher North* and so many other people, to
be here. The names of the streets are all so familiar and
I would almost as soon have missed seeing London as this
Edinburgh. Mrs. Ole and A. F.* went down to London when I
came here and I am to join them late tomorrow night. We
had a very good passage from Norway, the days went very
fast, and very comfortably. Except one when I turned in at
night
[ Page 4 ]
in a very shaky state, but I was not seasick -- I don’t know what has come over me! but I suppose I shall catch it crossing the channel Saturday! We landed in Hull early yesterday morning and came to York to spend the night leaving there early to day. The Old York of all is a most amusing place and the original York Minster* is more beautiful than any words of mine can describe. I meant to get some pictures of it, but none of them did it any justice. The arches are so high that
[ Page 5
Letterhead ]
The Windsor Hotel,
Edinburgh
[End letterhead
Jewett has written from the top of the page, around the letterhead.]
2
you look up and up and up at their beautiful curves and they seem to go almost to the sky itself. We drove about the curious crooked old town for an hour or two and then went to service and the music was most beautiful. Flocks of little white-surpliced chorister boys come down the aisles two by two with the men singers and the clergymen following, and they sing like angels, and the organ music is wonderfully beautiful too. It does seem so silly to mock such a service in little wooden churches. After you have
[ Page 6 ]
heard the chanting in a great cathedral, you like to
think of it, but you don’t care much for the church of the
Advent proceedings! The cathedral was first built in 600,
just think of it! and I went down into the crypt (or under
the lower arches below the floor) and saw a piece of the
old wall. We The stained-glass windows are the
finest in England and perfectly beautiful, so rich and
dim, and the light in the minster is most lovely. On the
way here
[ Page 7 ]
I came through Durham and saw Durham Cathedral and castle,* both of which are very near the railroad. I should like to go in! but it is some thing to have seen the outside. I came through Berwick-on-Tweed* too, and a gray-looking timeworn place it is. Down near Newcastle you don’t know what a desolate looking country there is, all among the collieries, the soil is so black and everything is grimy. It really was delightful just to know I had crossed the line and was in Scotland, and
[ Page 8 ]
in fact it was happiness enough just to get back to England. Norway was as charming as it could be, but when we got out into the country from Hull, I felt as if I were getting home after a visit. I am afraid I shall have to give up the pleasure of bringing so many things home as I hoped and planned, for it takes my hoard pretty fast just to go about. I suppose it will be different at the countryside but the shops here are pretty much like those at home and things are no cheaper. I must say goodnight
[Up the left margin of page 5]
with love to all of you. Yours always lovingly, Sarah.
Notes
Liza: Liza is a servant of Annie Fields, who accompanied the pair on this trip.
Holyrood Palace ... Mary Queen of Scots: Wikipedia says: "The Palace of Holyroodhouse..., commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. The 16th century Historic Apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots and the State Apartments, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public throughout the year, except when members of the Royal Family are in residence." Mary Stuart was Queen of Scots from 1542 to 1567, when she was forced to abdicate. In 1587, Queen Elizabeth I of England, seeing her as a threat to the English throne had her executed.
John Knox’s house and the Burns monument and the
beautiful Scott Monument: Wikipedia says:" John Knox (c.
1513-1572) was a Scottish minister, theologian, and writer
who was a leader of the Reformation and is considered the
founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland." He
lived his final years at what is now the John Knox House in Edinburgh.
Wikipedia also says: Robert Burns
(1759-1796), ... was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is
widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland....
"
The Burns monument in Edinburgh is one of dozens throughout the world.
Wikipedia also says: "Sir Walter
Scott, 1st Baronet, FRSE (1771-1832) was a Scottish
historical novelist, playwright and poet....
"In Edinburgh, the 61.1-metre-tall
Victorian Gothic spire of the Scott Monument was designed
by George Meikle Kemp. It was completed in 1844, 12 years
after Scott's death, and dominates the south side of
Princes Street."
"Rab and his friends" ... Christopher North:
Wikipedia says: "John Brown ...
(1810-1882) was a Scottish physician and essayist best
known for his 3-volume collection Horae Subsecivae
(Leisure Hours, 1858), which included essays and
papers on art, medical history and biography.... His dog
story, "Rab and his Friends" (1859), and his essays "Pet
Marjorie" (1863), on Marjorie Fleming, ten-year-old
prodigy and "pet" of Walter Scott, "Our Dogs",
"Minchmoor", and "The Enterkine" are the most notable."
Wikipedia also says: "John Wilson of
Elleray ... (1785-1854) was a Scottish advocate, literary
critic and author, the writer most frequently identified
with the pseudonym Christopher North of Blackwood's
Edinburgh Magazine. He was professor of Moral
Philosophy at Edinburgh University (1820-1851)."
Mrs. Ole and A. F .: Sara Chapman Thorp Bull and Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents. "The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York is commonly known as York Minster."
Durham Cathedral and castle: Wikipedia says that Durham is a historic city in northeast England. "The city lies on the River Wear, to the west of Sunderland, south of Newcastle upon Tyne and to the north of Darlington. Founded over the final resting place of St Cuthbert, its Norman cathedral became a centre of pilgrimage in medieval England. The cathedral and adjacent 11th-century castle were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. The castle has been the home of Durham University since 1832."
Berwick-on-Tweed: Wikipedia says that Berwick-upon-Tweed is the northenmost town in England, just 2.5 miles from the Scottish border. Jewett was particularly interested in this town from which she believed her home town of South Berwick, ME took its name. South Berwick sits near the border between Maine and New Hampshire.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Celia Thaxter to Sarah Orne Jewett and Annie Adams Fields
It is longer than usual since I heard from you, dear travellers twain. The last letter from Oxford & Stratford. I hope you get my letters, -- poor scraps, but constant.
The summer scampers -- Mr. Darrah went yesterday, full of enthusiasm about our cherished secrets. Rose* had a letter extending her absence to the 15th! She laughed -- it has been the queerest thing how the whole matter has been quietly managed. She has not lifted a finger -- meant to stay here 3 or 4 days at most, & see how everything arranged itself.
5th August. It is harder for me to find an instant to write than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven!*
This is a hot, bright Sunday morning, & we have been six weeks without a drop of rain! My garden dies daily, for I may not water it, the supply is so short that we fear having to send to the land for water for this great family of five hundred more or less.
O where to begin! Did I say I had been over to the farm & got my poor Roland* over here{?}
Yesterday two surgeons examined his knee, Drs Keating & Gross* & said it was doing well & I am hoping for the best -- They are famous men & ought to know -- I am so grateful -- I sit at my painting table at work & he lies outside in a couch with pillows, within reach of my hand, & he hears all the lovely music, for Mr. Eichberg & Paine
3
^ & Van Raalte^ & William Mason & Frank Jackson's tenor voice* all combine & give wonderful mornings and evenings of delight. Such Bach trios! Such Beethoven Sonatas! Such wonders of heavenly sound! And! Lony's ears listening too -- I am so grateful. Mr. Thaxter is here of course reading the Red Cotton Nightcap to Mrs. Silsbee,* if you please, & otherwise making himself agreeable. Piles of lovely people. Aunty Reed & Eva, the Appleton Browns & Mrs. Eichberg coming next week -- Joe Burnett goes tomorrow -- I have enjoyed so much her stay -- she is beautiful --
Monday
O dear -- for a chance to write! Did I say Cora* came over from York, brown as a berry & full of spirits? Frank Jackson up this a.m. & breakfasts with me so can't write! Last night twixt 12 & 1, midnight was wrastling with hose, trying to save my garden with a little drop. No rain for six weeks!
Roland is really improving{.} Got him just in time to save him from a stiff knee for life. Dearest love to you [ both ? ]
Notes
Mr. Darrah ... Rose: In 1886, Annie Fields wrote an obituary piece on Robert K. Darrah (1818-1885), who, according to Memorial Biographies of the New England Historical Society, was a Boston merchant who became appraiser at the Custom House in 1861 (p. 211).
For Rose Lamb, see Key to Correspondents.
kingdom of heaven: See the Bible, Matthew 19:24.
Roland: Nicknamed "Lony," Roland was Thaxter's youngest son; born in 1858, he was about 24 at the time of this letter. See Key to Correspondents.
Drs Keating & Gross: It is difficult to be certain about these physicians. One likely possibility for Dr. Gross is Samuel D. Gross (1805-1884), a Philadelphia surgeon immortalized in Thomas Eakins's painting "The Gross Clinic."
In a letter to Annie Fields, quoted by Rosamond Thaxter (Randall 1963,1999, p 200), Thaxter identifies Dr. Keating as also from Philadelphia. It is likely that she refers to author and physician, Dr. John Marie Keating (1852-1893).
Thaxter writes from the Appledore resort, where, she reports, there are currently about 500 guests.
Mr. Eichberg & Paine ... Van Raalte & William Mason & Frank Jackson's:
Julius Eichberg (1824-1893) was a German-born composer, musical director and educator in Boston. His wife was author, Sophie Mertens (d. 1927).
John Knowles Paine (1839-1906) was an American composer who also served as professor of music at Harvard University.
William Mason (1829-1908) was an American composer and pianist.
Frank Jackson (1850-1921) was a graduate of Harvard, who became a traveler and scholar. See The Harvard Graduates' Magazine 30 (1922), p. 106.
Van Raalte is almost certainly Albert Joseph Van Raalte (1859-1919), a business-man and musician in Boston, the son of Dutch (possibly Jewish) immigrants, Joël Joseph van Raalte (1832-1885) and Frances/Fanny Abrahams (1834-1902). His obituary in Billboard (Cincinnati) 31:16 (April 19, 1919) pp. 82-3, says that he "died April 1 at the Eliot Hospital, Back Bay, Boston, from injuries received in an automobile accident a few days previous. Mr. Van Raalte was engaged in the insurance business in Boston for fifteen years, but he was best known as a musician, having been first violin with the Boston Symphony Orchestra during its first two seasons. He was born in England sixty years ago and came to the United States as a child. In addition to his connection with the Symphony Orchestra he was for many years a teacher and professional player."
A student of Julius Eichberg, Van Raalte was active in various aspects of musical life in Boston, including performing with the Harvard Glee Club. See also Geneanet.org.
Red Cotton Nightcap to Mrs. Silsbee: Red Cotton Night-Cap Country, or Turf and Towers (1873) is a narrative poem by British poet Robert Browning (1812-1889).
Mrs. Silsbee probably is Marianne Cabot Devereux Silsbee. See Key to Correspondents.
Aunty Reed & Eva: Aunty Reed has not yet been identified. Fields was acquainted with two men named Reed. Sampson Reed (1800-1880), was a Swedenborgian writer; neither he nor his wife were living in 1882. Henry Hope Reed (1846-1896) was a Philadelphia lawyer, judge, and author. His mother, Elizabeth White Bronson Reed (1812-1899) and his wife, Sarita Elizabeth Bond Reed Potter (1862-1941), both were living in 1882.
Probably, Thaxter refers to Eva Channing, the daughter of American inventor, William Francis Channing (1820-1901) and Susan Burdick, and granddaughter of American Unitarian preacher, William Ellery Channing (1780-1842). Eva Channing (1854-1930) was an author and, like her mother, a suffragist. In Sandpiper ((Randall 1963,1999, p. 200) Rosamond Thaxter mentions that Eva Channing was a regular summer visitor at Appledore.
Appleton Browns: See John Appleton Brown and Agnes Bartlett Brown in Key to Correspondents.
Joe Burnett: Identifying this person is complicated.
In Sandpiper (Randall 1963, 1999 p. 200), Rosamond Thaxter quotes a letter to Annie Fields in which Thaxter identifies Jo Burnett as being a grand-child of Grandfather Burnett and a child of Mabel.
Grandfather Burnett is American educator and businessman, Dr. Joseph Burnett (1820-1894). His son, Edward Burnett (1849-1925), who served in Congress, married Mabel Lowell (1847-1898), the daughter of American poet, James Russell Lowell.
Though Thaxter's spelling in that letter suggests that Jo may be female, in fact Mabel Burnett's oldest son was Joseph Burnett (1873-1909).
In this letter, though Thaxter has spelled the name as "Joe," she here seems to identify the person as female. Possibly, then, this time she refers to young Joseph's grandmother, Josephine Cutter Burnett (1830-1906), wife of Dr. Joseph Burnett (1820-1894). See also Find a Grave.
However, Mrs. Josephine Burnett also had a daughter named Josephine Burnett Kidder (1857-1937), who seems to have been unmarried at this time.
Cora: Probably Cora Lee Clark Rice, whom Rosamond Thaxter mentions as a regular summer visitor to Appledore (p. 200). See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Boston Public Library, Rare Books Department, Celia Thaxter correspondence with Annie Fields, 1869-1893,
MS C.1.38 Box 2 Folder 2 (174-190). https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p220s
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Antwerp ----- 6 August 1882
Dear [ deleted word ] Mary
I started to write a letter to somebody
else, meaning to write two or three and to write yours
afterward but I concluded I was too sleepy! I am glad we
are well across the channel but it is too nasty for
anything and I am glad we shall have only the short
passage (from Calais to Dover) to take when we are coming
back in October. We were an hour late getting into Ostend
and then after we had our trunks examined we came
[ Page 2 ]
straight on here without stopping at either Bruges, Ghent or Brussels [though corrected, perhaps inserted ] we had meant to stay at the latter place. Antwerp is much more interesting and we have had a lovely day here. It is so nice to have had a Sunday to begin with, for the people are all out and it was the day too to see the great pictures in the Cathedral and museum by Van dyke and Rubens.* They are astonishingly beautiful. Do you remember that little coloured print of the Descent from the Cross that Mrs. [Nedick ? ]* brought mother years ago? I saw the original of that, one of the most splendid pictures in the
[ Page 3 ]
world! and I was surprised to find how well the little picture was coloured. But people may talk about good copies -- nothing gives you any idea of the beauty of the pictures themselves, and the colors are so rich, and the faces look down at you from the wall as if they were [ deleted word ] alive The hotel where [we corrected] are is close to the Cathedral and we hear the bells chiming every few minutes. Only think of a chime of ninety bells! You never heard more lovely music than they make
[ Page 4 ]
and there is one old fellow it takes sixteen men to ring. I wonder what Walton Bell* would have to offer on that subject? The spire is more than four hundred feet high and carved in gray stone until it looks like lacework. Most of the shops were open when we started for mass this morning, and we were tempted by some wooden spoons in one window. (Price seven cents.) Tomorrow late in the morning we are going to Rotterdam and we shall spend the night in either the Hague or Amsterdam, probably the latter. Every thing is so different here from England, the men in blouses
[ Page 5 ]
and wooden shoes and the women in flapping lace caps. I thought first I would get some lace here [ deleted word ] in Brussels, but Paris is the best place now for all such things. Though I may go out early tomorrow to some shops Jim McHenry* told me about, and see if there is any thing I want and if I can get it at a decent price. I always had an idea you could get things cheaper in England but my experience is that they are quite as much and oftener more. Travelling is more expensive there than any where else, and some days money fairly flew out of my pocket for carriage, and hotels and
[ Page 6 ]
porters &c. But I must say one thing, that I never felt so certain of getting my money’s worth and that’s the main point! I only hope you won’t be disappointed because I shall have so few things to bring home. As for many pictures and curiosities and things of that kind, I found they were going to be pretty much out of the question if I wanted to see the places we had started for, and I do think that is the most importance [so written]. I would rather see Antwerp Cathedral than have any good clothes I ever saw! I can see Mother laugh and say she supposes the Queen is
[ Page 7 ]
running ashore! but such is not the case quite yet. Only she was moved to make the foregoing reflections on the vanity of riches that you bring abroad . . . . .
I did not have time to write at all while I was in London this last time but I got there all [ right corrected ] from Edinburgh and found Mrs. Fields* waiting up for me with a delicious little supper. Plums are now ripe, and such big sweet plums as you never saw! We are always going head first into a bag full of them and we often have some rolls and fruit for lunch and like nothing better. The fruit is so rich
[ Page 8 ]
and sweet here, not like the tasteless out-west fruit.
Mrs. Fields and I got a lot of letters in London which was
pleasant enough, and Mr. Whittier sent us a letter of
introduction to John Bright which we left at his house in
Piccadilly* but too late for any good to come of it though
^for^ he sent a note asking us to come there the
morning we left. We have had charming letters from thy
friend all the way along and Mrs. Fields has written him
several times but I have only managed to send two letters.
I must tell you of the most beautiful day Mrs. Fields and
I had. We went part way up the Thames by boat and part by
train to
[ Page 9 ]
Richmond where we had a lovely drive and lunched at the "Star and Garter" like people in novels.* It is a beautiful hotel on the hill overlooking the Thames and the view is perfectly exquisite across the country. You know what a celebrated place it is? We saw Pope’s Villa at Twickenham and drove along near the river and through Bushey Park.* I wish you could see one avenue, a mile long and horse Chestnut trees five in a row on each side as big as that one by Mr. Hobbs’s.* You can’t think how beautiful it is to look in among them* as you drive along. We
[ Page 10 ]
were on our way to Hampton Court Palace, which was even
more beautiful than I imagined. It isn’t a royal palace
any more, but old ladies live there, who are [ are repeated
] very poor and of very high degree and there
were the brass door plates of Lady this and that,
^scrubbed^ very bright, fastened up by the entrances -- It
is getting too late to write any more, but you may expect
to have advices from Holland very soon. Sister has seen
sights of windmills already. She said good-by to Mrs. Ole*
in London but perhaps she will join us in Switzerland. We
weren’t sick on the Channel! Farewell! from Sarah
Notes
Antwerp… pictures in the Cathedral and museum by Van
dyke and Rubens … Descent from the Cross: The Cathedral of Our Lady, a Roman
Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. The largest
bell in the church's tower requires sixteen ringers.
Among three paintings by Peter
Paul Rubens in the cathedral is "The Descent from the Cross"
(1612-14), which is the central panel of a tryptych. Wikipedia says: "Sir Peter Paul
Rubens ... (1577 -1640) was a Flemish Baroque
painter. A proponent of an extravagant Baroque style that
emphasized movement, colour, and sensuality, ..."
Wikipedia says: Sir Anthony van
Dyck... (1599-1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who
became the leading court painter in England, after
enjoying great success in Italy and Flanders. He is most
famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his
family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was
to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting
for the next 150 years...."
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp
holds a number of paintings by both Rubens and Van Dyck.
Mrs. [Nedick ? ]: This transcription is uncertain and the person unknown.
Walton Bell: This reference is
uncertain. Perhaps Jewett refers to the bells of St.
Mary's and St. John's at Walton-on-Thames in the United
Kingdom, though it is not known how she was acquainted
with this church. One of the bells in this church, labeled
"the Walton bell," was cast by William Carter in the early
17th century. See Surrey Bells and London Bell Founders
(1884) p. 95.
Jim McHenry: This is likely to be James Orne McHenry (1847-1943), a Jewett cousin from Philadelphia, PA., brother of Jewett correspondent Sarah (Sadie) Jane McHenry Howell. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Mr. Whittier ... John Bright: John Greenleaf
Whittier, "the Quaker poet." See Key to Correspondents. Fields and
Jewett affectionately referred to the American poet as
"thy friend."
Wikipedia says: John Bright
(1811-1889) was a Quaker and a British Radical and Liberal
statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation
and a promoter of free trade policies.
Richmond … "Star and Garter": Wikipedia says: "The Star and Garter Hotel ... was ... located in the London countryside (later suburbs) on Richmond Hill overlooking the Thames Valley, on the site later occupied by the Royal Star and Garter Home, Richmond. The first establishment on the site, an inn built in 1738, was relatively small. This was followed by several other buildings of increasing size and varied design as the site changed from family ownership to being run by a limited company." Literary figures who frequented the establishment included Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and William Makepeace Thackeray, and the inn appeared in several Victorian novels.
Pope’s Villa at Twickenham ... Bushey Park: Wikipedia says: "Alexander Pope
(1688-1744) was an 18th-century English poet. He is best
known for his satirical verse, as well as for his
translation of Homer. Famous for his use of the heroic
couplet, he is the second-most frequently quoted writer in
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after
Shakespeare....
"The money made from his translation of
Homer allowed Pope to move in 1719 to a villa at
Twickenham, where he created his now famous grotto and
gardens. The serendipitous discovery of a spring during
the subterranean retreat's excavations enabled it to be
filled with the relaxing sound of trickling water, which
would quietly echo around the chambers.... Although the
house and gardens have long since been demolished, much of
this grotto still survives. The grotto now lies beneath
Radnor House Independent Co-ed School, and is occasionally
opened to the public."
Presumably, Jewett refers to Bushy
Park, of which Wikipedia says: "Bushy Park in the
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second
largest of London's Royal Parks .... The park, most of
which is open to the public, is immediately north of
Hampton Court Palace and Hampton Court Park and is a few
minutes' walk from the north side of Kingston
Bridge." Among the features of the park was the main
thoroughfare, a Chestnut Avenue, "designed by Sir
Christopher Wren as a grand approach to Hampton Court
Palace."
Mr. Hobbs’s: It is difficult to know to which Mr. Hobbs Jewett refers. There were at least two houses near to the Jewett houses in South Berwick that were occupied by members of the Hobbs family in 1882: the Cushing Mansion and the Charles E. Hobbs house, home of a local grocer.
them: The number 17 is circled in pencil in another hand above this word.
Mrs. Ole:The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Amsterdam
7 August 1882
Dear Mary
We have had a most beautiful occasion here. We fell so deep in love with the place that we have stayed over another day and only wish it were a week. We did not stay long in Rotterdam because we were told that there was not much to see and it would be more satisfactory to spend the extra time here. [ deleted word ] So we were only there two or three hours -- long enough to drive about. We thought
[ Page 2 ]
that was a curious old place enough, but it is nothing to this! The canals intersect the city in every direction and you walk across little foot bridges and drive across larger ones. The ships come right into the heart of the city and you are forever kept waiting because the draw is up -- The houses are very high with such funny gables in all sorts of fancy patterns, and most of the houses are almost black with the window sashes and trimmings painted white and they look as old as the hills. One old coop leans out into the street and one settles backward and it is very odd
[ Page 3 ]
2
and funny. The women wear all sorts of queer headdresses. This afternoon we did a lovely thing. We took a little steamer and went down one of the canals to Zaandam where Peter the Great* lived once in disguise and learned shipbuilding, and we went into his little house which is taken great care of now and has another house built over it. Then we went off in a carriage ten or twelve miles to Broek a famous little village which is supposed to be the cleanest town in the world. We went through three or four other Dutch villages on the way, and were driving on the top of the dykes
[ Page 4 ]
which are broad enough to make splendid roads. They are very high so we could see the canals with all their boats and the great sea-canal which is ever so many feet higher than the land. (I mean the fields) The ships come through that way now from the Channel and the North Sea to Amsterdam instead of going up around the North of Holland. Uncle [William corrected]* will know about it. You never saw anything stranger than looking up from the fields and seeing the ships perched up so high. Holland is lower than the sea, which gives you some idea of the patience of these people in the
[ Page 5 ]
building the dykes and keeping the water out and reclaiming so much land from the sea. They are always working like ants in a hill. The land is really beautiful, and the farms so green and flourishing, and the black and white Dutch cattle look so pretty scattered through the fields. There is only a quarter or half an acre in a piece and a wide ditch all round out it, and little bridges from one field to another -- I counted 126 big windmills this after
[ Page 6 ]
noon from the deck of the steamer in a few minutes. There were [groves corrected] of them around Zaandam. We went into a big dairy and cheese house at [ Broak so spelled, meaning Broek ] and all over the house. The cattle live in one end and there are muslin curtains at the little windows that light their stalls!!! It was a charming afternoon. I am so delighted to have seen Holland. Mrs. Fields has gone to bed and so must I, for we have to be up early. Tell John* I don’t know
[ Up the left margin and down the top margin of page 5 ]
when I have had a letter that pleased me more that his. It was so nice and I hope he will write soon again. Give my love to him and to Anna and
[ Up the left margin and down the top margin of page 6 ]
William -- Mrs. Fields* sends love to all & so do I. Your loving Queen.*
[ Up the left margin and down the top margin of page 1.
It is not clear at what point Jewett meant this to be read. ]
Do give my love to Annie Barker.* We go to Cologne
tomorrow afternoon -- Sister loves Amsterdam --
Notes
Zaandam … Peter the Great: Wikipedia says: "Zaandam ...
is a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North
Holland. ...
"In 1697 the Czar Peter I of Russia spent
some time in Zaandam, studying shipbuilding. The house
where he stayed is preserved as a museum, the Czar Peter
House."
Jewett seems consistently to write
Zaardam rather than Zaandam, but it is difficult to be
certain.
Broek: Wikipedia says: "Broek in Waterland is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland .... In the 17th and 18th century, the town was a popular residence for merchants and seafarers from Amsterdam."
Uncle William: William Durham Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
John & Anna: John Tucker. See Key to Correspondents. Anna was a
Jewett family employee.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Queen: The Queen of Sheba was a family nickname for Jewett.
Annie Barker: Paula Blanchard in Sarah Orne Jewett (2002) identifies Barker as a Jewett friend and neighbor (p. 45). She is mentioned frequently in Jewett's 1869 diary.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
[It is unclear how the following pages relate to the other letters from Jewett's time in Europe. They consist of pencil notes and drawings, very light and difficult to transcribe.]
[ Page 1]
Zaandam. Enormous lumber centre. immense no. of wind mills mostly sawing 3 [unrecognized word -- gang saws?] each. Almost afloat. 41 mills in sight on one side of train. land [unrecognized word -- left?]
Sheep
Showers instantaneous
A drawing of a windmill fills the lower left quarter of the page.
[ Page 2 ]
Beyond [ unrecognized name ] great stretches of meadow dotted with the whitest of [sheep ?]. & Holstein cattle. Fine storks flying
just before Hoorn ran along just under lee of great dikes on other side of wh. was ZyderZee --
[ On the left side of this page is a drawing of a building with a steep thatched roof, labeled: Stable Hoorn. Below the drawing is a circled number, 18, which probably is by another hand.]
Beyond Hoorn elm trees begin. Also many willows. Houses brick, blue or white stripe 2' high around bottom. Tree trunks blue sometimes -- Broad daylight at 8 o-clock
Many very high peaked thatched roofs
[ Page 3 ]
[ Left top corner of left section of a page that was folded contains a drawing of a house with two chimneys and a high, steep roof. At the peak is a flat space that is labeled: Storks nest].
[Unrecognized word or abbreviation -- St. ?]
Beyond Hoorn.
Storks all out in fields for supper.
[ Page 4
Not clear that this page belongs with the previous pages.]
[ Written down the right side of an otherwise blank page]
E. L. P. New Eng. fr. Liv. 17th.
Notes
Hoorn:
Hoorn is a town in northern
Netherlands.
The
manuscript of these notes is held by the Houghton Library
of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[Postkarte addressed to Miss Mary R. Jewett. South Berwick, Maine, U.S.A.
Text appears on the message side. ]
Interlaken. Sunday 13th August.
_______
We reached here last night and I meant to send you a letter but I am pretty tired and am going to get rested before I even [ unreadable word written over another ] my letters. It is more lovely here than you can possibly imagine, and the mountains are all in full view. This week on our way from Amsterdam we have stopped at Cologne, -- & Heidelberg and Lucerne, and I shall have so much to tell you about when I write which will be tomorrow or next day. I have been going farther away which makes the letters longer in getting
[Written up the right margin and upside down on in the top margin]
to you. I was so delighted to get Mother’s letter. With love, [signature obscured by a tear]
The manuscript of this card is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
John Greenleaf Whittier to Annie Adams Fields
Danvers 8th Mo, 14 1882*
My dear Mrs Fields
I have just recd thy graphic & beautiful letter of the 2d inst. only a few days before I got dear Sarah's* from Lysö dated the 20th of June! There must have been a mistake on the date I suppose. I enjoyed both letters -- the pictures they gave of the enchanted island -- a spot made ever memorable by the great genius of Ole Bull,. -- was so fascinating that I almost complained of the Fates that made it impossible for me to be with you. But on second thought, I feel that I have no reason for repining, for am I not travelling by proxy, seeing with your
eyes & hearing with your ears, lacking only your fatigue, and small discomforts, such as Irish inns, and Norwegian thunder and hail-storms? You are my travellers!
Thee speak of feeling summer for the first time on your arrival in London. We have felt it to our sorrow: for the last five weeks we might as well have been in Zanzibar as in New England. For days the thermometer has been higher in Boston than in Savannah or Pensacola. Finding Centre Harbor too hot, I went up to the Asquam House* on a hill 800 feet high & nearly surrounded by the
Squam or Asquam lake, with a mountain horizon all round; and found it comparatively cool. There was a pleasant company there -- three Yale professors among them. We staid two weeks, &, supposing the heated [ term ? ]* over, returned to Amesbury & Oak Knoll to endure the very hottest week of the season. For four nights in succession I could not sleep. For the last two or three days there has been a sea-breeze, & we hope the weather will be more endurable.
I have just been to see my brother* who is at Lynn beach, and has been again very ill. He will have to resign his place in the Naval Office, where he has been for 20 years. He feels it
necessary, but he says it is signing his death-warrant. He has been a hard worker & does not know how to rest. He has only been able to support his family, and he hates dependency, though he knows how willing I shall be to share what I have with him.
Where will you be now? In Paris?, Switzerland? -- Italy? Dont go to Egypt & fall into the hands of Arabi!* It would be sad to hear of you "the unspeakable Turk's" prisoners. Don't wander alone in rural Italy, & fall a prey to the brigands. Above all, and seriously, don't stay too long in malarial Rome. Take care of your dear and precious selves, for the sake of all of us who wait for your return. And -- don't take the time when you should rest for writing. I am selfishly glad to get your letters
but, when I think of your rapid travelling & [ much / such ? ] sight-seeing I know they have cost you too much. Just write a brief note & tell me where you are and of your well-being -- and leave the details until you come back, though you cannot tell how pleasant your long letters are, to me. I shall write to S. O. J. in {a} day or two. I hope you have seen John Bright.* In Florence you will see Mrs. Alexander & her daughter Francesca and Mrs. Jackson, & Preston Powers* and other friends of mine if they are "in town" this summer.
Do you know that Julian Hawthorne* professes to have found a manuscript novel of his fathers, and is to publish it? -- I am reading
"Natural Religion" by Prof Seeley* -- the author of "Ecce Homo" -- a suggestive, and able book, which will rank with his first remarkable publication.* Dr. Cullis* of the "Faith-Cure" has been working Protestant miracles at Old Orchard Beach -- and the lame walk & the deaf hear,* under his manipulation and holy oil. There seems no doubt that cases of nervous diseases are really some times affected. And I believe in the efficacy of prayer -- the nearer we are drawn to Him who is the source of all life, the better it must be for soul & body.
But my letter must close. I have not half expressed my thanks for thine. With love to [ our corrected ] dear S. I am heartily & gratefully thy friend. John G Whittier
Notes
1882: Penciled marks on this MS include the numeral 8 at the top of page 1, two Xs before and after "I suppose" on page 1, and an X before "Where will you be" on page 4
Sarah's: Sarah Orne Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Lysö: Whittier has placed a mark near the "o," but it appears as an apostrophe after the letter. The correct spelling is given here.
In Ole Bull: A Memoir (1882), Sara Chapman Thorp Bull (see Key to Correspondents) describes her husband's beloved home on Lysö, "the island of light" in the county of Hordaland in south-western Norway (pp. 306-13). In his notes for this letter, Pickard says: "Ole Bull (1810-1880), a Norwegian violinist, played hundreds of concerts in England and Ireland and made five tours of the United States. Whittier met Bull at the Appledore House on the Isles of Shoals. Annie Fields and Sarah Orne Jewett spent two weeks with Mrs. Bull in Norway."
Asquam House: Now called Squam Lake, Lake Asquam is "in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, United States, south of the White Mountains, straddling the borders of Grafton, Carroll, and Belknap counties. The largest town center on the lake is Holderness." Richard Cary notes of Holderness: "A summer resort village in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Whittier was staying at a new hotel on the peak of Shepard Hill which afforded a magnificent view of the several lakes in its vicinity. The scene inspired his poems "The Hill-Top" and "Storm on Lake Asquam."
heated term: Whittier has not crossed his "t's" in either word, rendering the second word even less certain.
brother: Whittier's brother, Matthew, died on 7 January 1883.
Arabi: Whittier writes of Colonel Ahmed 'Urabi (1841-1897, spellings vary), who was a leader of an Egyptian nationalist revolt against the Anglo-French supported administration during 1879-1882.
The phrase "unspeakable Turk" has been used in reference to a number of Muslim leaders in history. Whittier's punctuation is unclear. He seems to have written "the unspeakable Turk'"s prisoners."
John Bright: John Bright (1811-1889) was a British Quaker statesman considered "one of the greatest orators of his generation." Jewett and Fields were not able to meet Mr. Bright.
Mrs. Alexander & her daughter Francesca ... Mrs. Jackson ... Preston Powers: Frances / Fanny "Francesca" Alexander (1837-1917) was an American illustrator, author, and translator. Her mother was Lucia Gray Swett (Mrs. Francis) Alexander (1814-1916), also a translator from Italian to English. Francesca's father was the American portrait painter, Francis Alexander (1800-1880). In the 1850s, they moved from Boston to Florence.
Pickard in his notes identifies Mrs. Jackson as the American author Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885). who is remembered especially for her advocacy on behalf of Native Americans.
Preston Powers (1843-1931), son of sculptor, Hiram Powers, also was a sculptor who came to work in Italy.
Julian Hawthorne: Nathanial Hawthorne's son, Julian Hawthorne (1846-1934), also an author, edited his father's unpublished novel, Doctor Grimshawe's Secret: A Romance (1883).
Prof Seeley: John Robert Seeley (1834-1895) was a British historian and author. His first book was Ecce Homo: A Survey in the Life and Work of Jesus Christ (1865). His Natural Religion appeared in 1882.
Dr. Cullis: Dr. Charles Cullis (1833-1892) was a homeopathic physician who became a founder of the North American Divine Healing Movement. See The Ministry of Healing, Or, Miracles of Cure in All Ages (1882) by Adoniram Judson Gordon, pp. 205-9.
lame walk & the deaf hear: In the Bible, Jesus often heals the sick, including the lame and the blind. See for example, Matthew 11:5 and Luke 7:22.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, in the James T. Fields collection: mss FI 71-4779. New transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
This letter has been transcribed previously by Pickard, Letters of John Greenleaf Whittier. v. 3.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Caroline Frances Perry Jewett
14 August
[ 1882 ]*
Dearest Mother
I was so glad to get your nice long letter and I only hope this will give you half as much pleasure as that [ gave corrected ] me. I have not sent anything but a postal card since I was in Amsterdam for I was travelling fast and we usually got to our stopping place at night and then took the morning for sight seeing -- [ We corrected ] left Amsterdam with great sorrow for we both enjoyed it with our whole hearts. I wish I could tell you how [ deletion ] amusing it is -- there is something very handsome too, about the tall houses, and there are trees planted alongside the canals, and queer old fashioned boats going and coming. The Dutch people are so kind and good-natured, and as for their language -- it would
amuse you beyond everything. I think it is the funniest looking language in the world. I sent Mary* a Rotterdam newspaper which I hope will edify her mind -- There are words half a yard long! We left Amsterdam early one morning and were six hours on our way to Cologne. That part of Holland is all farming land (and water!) and there was not much to see that side of Cologne -- We stayed over night and went to the splendid cathedral and spent so much time there that it was dark before we knew it and we were obliged to omit going to see the church of St. Ursula* and viewing the bones of the eleven thousand virgins ( ! ! ) which are on exhibition there. Mrs. Fields* said from her recollection of the
show it was no great loss, still I think of it with deep sorrow, for the bones are put up in patterns and it does not take away from my interest because I have heard that they helped out the exhibition with sheep bones! There are more Cologne shops in [ the corrected ] city than you can shake a stick at -- each claiming to be the original Farina* -- We went to one we were told was the best and I didn't like it very well, and so I didn't get any -- oh one bottle which I will try to bring home to you if I don't use it [ up -- first! So it appears ] for the sake of the sentiment -- The shop where they make the kind I like was at some distance, and I thought I wouldn't [ bother corrected ] I had only my little trunk and it was
pretty full already -- Next day we went to Heidelberg where we stayed at a charming hotel and had a beautiful drive to the top of a high hill where we could see way up the valleys of the Rhine and Neckar -- and a little lower down as we came back, we went to see the Castle of Heidelberg which is a most famous and splendid great ruin. While we were there it was [ sunset corrected ] and we thought there never had been a more beautiful place or a better time to see it -- [ I ? ] bought a nice photograph of the castle -- so you will see it -- All that day we were coming up the Rhine, we meant of course to come by boat, but it takes a great deal
2
longer and it did not look like a pleasant day at all so we changed our tickets and came by rail{,} saving ourselves a good deal of time and tiredness. The railway is just on the bank of the river so you get the views almost exactly as well -- and the old castles were most picturesque and beautiful, but I cant say I [ lost corrected ] my head over that days sight-seeing -- It wasn't a part of
as the hop-gardens in Kent -- and the grapevines* have small leaves and are all tied to poles, so you are constantly reminded of beans! I laughed right out loud at one place and Mrs. Fields wished to know what the matter was, and I told her about "Bin-jin* on the Rhine!" to her great amusement. We stopped there, you know, and I suddenly thought of you and of the 'piece' at the Academy* -- and I got into a great gale, thinking how you would laugh if you knew I was there just then -- From Heidelberg we came to Luzerne -- but through most beautiful scenery as we came nearer to the Alps -- We had such a pleasant experience
there. We had telegraphed for rooms but when we reached the hotel, the landlord told us with many regrets that he had been obliged to give us a room in a private house nearby -- so over we went grumbling a little because we were tired. The porter went first and led us in through a gateway and [ deletion ] a lovely garden and into an old house where a woman met us and showed us into the most charming chamber all wainscotted with oak-walls and ceiling and filled with exquisite furniture { -- } cabinets and [ deletion ] desk etc and with most imposing family portraits on the panels -- We didn't know what to think of it, but we 'turned in' delightedly and the fountain in the garden
was splashing all night, and we took a good look at everything when we waked up in the morning{.} There were lovely china things on the old cabinets -- vases and everything of that sort and it was a most beautiful place to be in really -- The family were all away -- and an old woman had charge of us -- who used to be ladies maid in England, and she was very [ cheerful ? ] and hobnobbed with Liza* delightedly being very proud of her command of English -- I dont know how it happened that the room was
3
peak at the head of the valley fairly frightens you -- I really cant look at it much it is so awful -- reaching way up into the sky and shining and dazzling at you with its ice and snow -- It has been very clear every morning -- and cool and cloudy in the afternoon -- but the night we reached here there was the most beautiful sunset and the way in which the peaks changed colour is something I never shall forget -- Long after dark you could look away up at the Jungfrau and see it as bright as a great flame
in the sky -- Nobody knows anything about Switzerland until they see it for themselves -- Next week we are going to take some little excursions but now we [ deletion ] are tired and are going to rest -- Mrs. Fields and I have our breakfast [ deletion ] in our room and I dont get up until late and if I dont feel too sleepy we read and talk and the windows are open so I can lie in bed and look up at the mountains -- I think we have the best room in the house -- and are most
delightfully situated in every way -- I only wish I could whisk you and O.P. through the air this minute -- Miss Adams* was waiting for us here and I am enjoying her so much -- She and Mrs. Fields had not seen each other for five years -- and you can imagine their pleasure -- Miss Adams is like Mrs. Beal,* and it seems as if I had always known her. I am looking anxiously for Taddy's* letter but it did not come with yours and Mary's. I got one from O.P. which had been to Norway and back! -- Mrs. Fields sends her dear love to you both -- and so do I. I was so much
amused about Kate and Mrs. Thaxter* -- for Mrs. Thaxter didn't mean that I wrote{,} only that she head from me. [ unrecognized mark ] Mrs. Fields writes her very often so I send messages and have only sent her two or three
notes since I have been away! It's just as well though! Now I am here I am going to do better but I am sure people understand why I don't write. Love [ to ? ] Taddy. I had such a nice letter from Eva,* yesterday. Love to Uncle William and John and Ann.* Tell Ann she ought to see the peasant girls in
their Sunday clothes going to mass. I was so glad to hear about Sheila* looking so fine. I wish I had her here to drive. Goodby dear Mar from your loving Sarah.
Notes
1882: This letter was composed during Jewett's 1882 trip to Europe.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. Key to Correspondents. Later referred to as O.P.
St. Ursula: Wikipedia says that Saint Ursula is a legendary saint from Roman Britain, said to have been martyred near Cologne along with her 11 thousand handmaids.
Fields: Annie Adams Fields. Key to Correspondents.
Farina: Italian-born German perfumier Johann Maria Farina (1685-1766) is credited with developing the original Eau de Cologne. Wikipedia.
can: Jewett appears to have written "cant" and then perhaps rubbed out the final letter.
grapevines: Jewett wrote "grapes," then deleted the "s" and inserted "vines."
"Bin-jin on the Rhine" ... Academy: Probably, Jewett refers to the poem by British author and social reformer, Caroline Elizabeth Norton (1808-1877), "Bingen on the Rhine." Bingen is a town along the Rhine, west of Frankfurt, where Fields and Jewett may have stopped during their train journey to Heidelberg. The poem was set to music in 1847 by German-American composer Herrman S. Saroni (1824-1900). Wikipedia.
It appears that Jewett and her family attended a performance of the song at the Berwick Academy in South Berwick.
Liza: Liza was Fields's Irish-born personal servant, who accompanied the women on their travels in Europe.
Lion of Lucerne: Jewett varies her spelling at this point. The Lion Monument is a rock relief in Lucerne, designed by the Danish-Icelandic sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844). Wikipedia.
Miss Adams: Sarah Holland Adams, Fields's sister. See Fields in Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Beal: Fields's sister Louisa Jane Beal. See Fields in Key to Correspondents.
Taddy's: Theodore Jewett Eastman. Key to Correspondents.
Kate ... Mrs. Thaxter: Which "Kate" Jewett means has not yet been determined. Mrs. Thaxter is Celia Laighton Thaxter. Key to Correspondents.
Eva: Eva von Blomberg. Key to Correspondents.
Uncle William and John and Ann: William Durham Jewett, John Tucker, and Annie Collins. Key to Correspondents.
Sheila: Jewett's horse.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 6, Item 263: Six letters to Caroline Frances Perry Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Fields
[ 1882 ]*
Dearest Annie:
Again your dear note & Pinny's* from Edinburgh -- And you got the poppy! Alas for the little garden wherein it grew! No rain for more than six weeks & a burning drought. Every thing dies, the sun flowers fall in failing ranks [ ink blot ] the sweet peas gasp & are not -- -- Rose Campion in a little [ clump corrected ] continually watered, blushes still, but my splendid marigolds are set like glowing suns, they went quite out -- And the water is so short I must not use a drop except for what I get from the rooms in the house, -- that won't save them -- I've a pot of sweet Basil in bloom on the step [ & within a light ink blot ] a glorious Rudbeckia in a pot too.
2Mr, Ware* is here -- he told me what I thought lavender
was really sweet Basil. I thought 'twas queer
lavender{.} He is so nice -- but he is really sick with [
nose looks like rose ? ] cold, & all
worn out with it -- "Pourquoi?" Why [ nose*
looks like rose ? ] cold? Why should it
exist to torment us, I wonder! ---- I am on my
way this morning, to make Emily De Normandie* a call
between my boats -- I am torn between my friends who all
hold me with such loving hands, & cry out upon me when
I leave them, but poor Emily needs me most just now. Rose*
is just staying on, but must soon go now, dear child that
she is!
Every one grows so fond of her, &
as for me I quite lost my heart long ago. She has only
tried two sketches since she came, but they are
delightful, so warm & alive{.}
3
But she has not tried to do any thing but rest, & I am [ so ? ] glad -- She looks so brown & well it is a pleasure to see her. And I think she has thoroughly enjoyed it.
I am sure I wrote to you how Aunty Lunt* died Sat. & I went to the funeral on Monday. It was so beautiful that she could go -- she was so tired. But poor Emily is just about heart broken. She never has known any other mother.
-----
O my dreadful pen has got an abundant fit, & writes like Niagara falls!*
This page was [ written ? ] in steamer.
[ 4 written over 3 ]
And now it is Thursday [ morng so written ] & the Paines* & Rose are going off. O such a fog yesterday & today! I don't know what I shall do without Rose, I heard from farm yesterday that Roland* is getting on nicely with his knee. I am so grateful! Judge Cox of Guiteau fame* was here yesterday. He looked as if he had been thro' a mill. Eva & Cora* were to have come out yesterday, but the fog prevented. E. is spending a week in [ York ? ] with Cora, & then returns here for a week. The family here is five hundred, more or less -- Expect Mrs Angier & Joanne Rotch* today, to take Paine's room -- I shall try to write to Pinny today. I hardly know which end I am on I am so busy -- It was so nice to hear about Norway & the Viking ship!*
With a kiss for you & Owl Your C.
Notes
1882: This date is confirmed by Thaxter's references to Fields and Jewett traveling in Europe, as they were in the summer of 1882.
Mr Ware: Mr. Ware's identity is uncertain, but it
is likely he is one of two people.
Darwin Franklin Ware (1831-1890) of
Shelburne, MA, seems the less likely. Little is
known of him. He is a candidate because Thaxter
reports in a letter to Annie Adams Fields in Letters
of Celia Thaxter, dated 21 April 1891, that Mr. Ware
has recently died and that she misses him. Assuming
the letter is correctly dated, this makes this Mr. Ware a
strong candidate.
Darwin Erastus Ware (1831- 2 April
1897) would seem to be a stronger candidate, though his
death date would call into question the dating of the
letter to Fields from Letters of Celia Thaxter.
He is a strong candidate because he lived in Boston, was
well-known to Fields as a local lawyer and politician who
served on the board of the Associated Charities of Boston.
His wife was Adelaide Frances Dickey (probable life dates:
1844-1920).
nose: This word is underlined twice. Thaxter has asked "why?" in French, concerning the existence of nose colds. While in both instances, "nose" looks very much like "rose," it seems clear that she refers to nose colds.
Pinny's: Thaxter is using intimate nicknames
shared among Jewett, Fields and herself. Pinny and Owl are
Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Emily De Normandie: Emily. F. de Normandie (1836-1916). Her husband was a Unitarian minister, James de Normandie (1836-1924). See Men of Progress p. 360.
Rose: Rose Lamb. See Key to Correspondents.
Aunty Lunt: Aunty Lunt probably is a relative of Mrs. De Normandie's grandmother, Ann Lunt Jones.
Niagara falls: Part of a New York state park
since 1885, the Niagara Falls near Buffalo, NY,
drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario. It has the
highest flow rate of any waterfall in North America.
Paines: John Knowles Paine (1839-1906), an American composer who also served as professor of music at Harvard University. His musician wife was Mary Elizabeth Greeley (1836-1920). Both were regular summer visitors at the Isles of the Shoals.
Roland: Thaxter's youngest son. See Key to Correspondents.
Judge Cox of Guiteau fame: Walter Smith Cox (1826-1902) was an
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of
Columbia at the time of the assassination of U.S.
President James Abram Garfield (1831-19 September
1881). Cox presided over the trial of the assassin,
Charles Julius Guiteau (1841-June
30, 1882).
Eva & Cora: Eva von Blomberg and Cora Clark
Rice. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Angier & Joanne Rotch: Joanna Rotch (1826-1911) of Milton,
MA., was an associate member of the American Society for Psychical Research
in 1885-9. Her sister was Elizabeth Rotch Angier (1815-1884).
Viking ship: Fields and Jewett were in Norway
during late July of 1882.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Boston
Public Library, Rare Books Department, Celia Thaxter
correspondence with Annie Fields, 1869-1893, MS C.1.38 Box
2 Folder 2 (174-190)
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p2301
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Interlaken
17 August 1882
Dear Mary
I haven’t a great deal to tell you for we are leading a very quiet life! It has rained nearly every afternoon and nobody has cared, for it is so pleasant here in our rooms looking up the valley and seeing the clouds blowing about among the mountains. We read aloud a good deal and talk a good deal more! and Mrs. Fields* and I have great fun studying
[ Page 2 ]
Italian. She knows it very well and I am beginning to stumble along pretty well with it already though not very far in a day. The pleasant days we go out to walk and to drive and I like Interlaken better every day. This morning the Grangers* came for [us corrected ] to go to drive, but I wasn’t up, and so A. F. went off with them by herself. They were up here first and we had a very nice time. They are such charming people, two girls and their mother, & we met them the other day coming down from Luzern & have seen a good
[ Page 3 ]
deal of them since. Mrs. Fields has always been fond of the eldest girl. They are nieces of Mrs. Winthrop and she has been here too until yesterday. Poor Adele Thayer* looks to me as if she wouldn’t live a great while. They were both very nice -- poor things! They started yesterday to drive to Chamouny* and it must have poured most of the day for it certainly did here, though people say it often is bad weather in one of these deep valleys and fine weather in the next. You never saw anything so lovely as the little farms are high up
[ Page 4 ]
on the sides of the mountains. The little bright green fields are such a contrast to the black pines and gray rocks. I don’t see how the people get up and down for some of them are nearly as high as the sky, ^and look as if they were hung on a wall.^ It is so lovely looking out of the window this morning, and where we were at breakfast we had to be looking out every minute. I like breakfast time better than any time in the day,^ for once in my life!^ We have it up here and always the same things -- coffee that is more delicious than any I ever saw and delightful bread and butter and honey. Every body eats a great deal of "Swiss honey" which is clear, and has the most delicious flavor you can imagine. Then we have a big dish of plums
[ Page 5 ]
some being greengages of a description! and some being little and very yellow and some being large and blue. We have no end of flowers and it is so pleasant that I hate to think of going away though we shall be here two weeks longer I think and then travel a little in Switzerland before we go down to the Italian Lakes, and from there to Venice. We shall be there about the fourth or fifth of September and I really long to see Venice. Miss Adams* is very pleasant, but she seems more like Mrs. Fields’s aunt than
[ Page 6 ]
her sister. She has so many ^amusing^* stories to tell of her German life and we all have great fun sometimes. She is quite lame and she likes to go out to walk early in the day so she and Liza parade over into the village and come home with no end of plunder and news. The shops here are filled with carved things and jewelry made of the Swiss crystals, the amethysts &c.* I always thought the carvings cost little or nothing, but it is quite the contrary, though somebody told me you can get everything much cheaper at Lauterbrunnen and some of the higher-up villages.
[ Page 7 ]
Sister has every account to give of remarkable things she has to eat, and one of the table d’hote dinners is too funny for anything. It takes forever to serve it, there are so many courses, and you have a course of beans and a course of cauliflower and a course of little cakes and a course of chops with a sauce or gravy [ deleted word ] which is indeed a mystery, and there are nice flaky tarts stuffed with lobster with a seasoning that makes you cry for more. Dear me I am always wanting to tell you things, and then
[ Page 8 ]
when I come to write I forget them. Sister must now rise and shine and take her walks abroad, so no more at present. I will answer Carrie’s* letter next ^time^{.} I wish you would tell me if she wanted any wide Roman sash -- I can’t remember, and do tell me over again if there was anything you wanted, for I should be so sorry if I forget. Mrs. Fields would send you a great deal of love if she were {here}. She said "dear Mary" the other day, all out of clear sky! and demanded whether I always sent her love. If you tell me any more about Princess* you will see me come riding down from the
[ Up the left margin and down the top margin of page 5 ]
pasture bareback. They put sleigh bells on all the Swiss
horses, and there is such a jingling you would think it
was midwinter. So no more at present from the Queen of
Sheby.*
Notes
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Grangers ... Mrs. Winthrop ...
Adele Thayer: Jewett was acquainted with
Cornelia Adeline "Adele" Granger (1819/20-1892), widow of
John Eliot Thayer (1803-1857), who
was the third wife of Robert Charles Winthrop, an American
lawyer, politician, and philanthropist. Representing
Massachusetts, he was Speaker of the House of
Representatives, 1847-49. Her parents were the
politician Francis Granger and Cornelia Rutson Van
Rensselaer. Adele Thayer has not been identified;
presumably she would be a child of one of John Eliot
Thayer's brothers, Rev. Christopher Toppan Thayer
(1805-1880) or Nathaniel Thayer (1808-1883), but they are
not known to have had a daughter named Adele. Though
I have established no relationship between these Thayers
and Adele Thayer, spouse of James E.
Thayer, of New York state, it may not be mere coincidence
that she died in April 1883. See also Wikipedia.
Chamouny: It appears that the Grangers have
departed from Interlaken, on their way to Chamonix in
France, which is about 250 km from Interlaken.
Miss Adams: Sarah Holland Adams (1823-1916) had
moved to Europe after her mother's death in 1877, where
she settled in Germany and became the translator into
English of the works of Hermann Grimm. See Annie Fields in
Key to Correspondents.
Liza is the servant of Annie Fields,
who accompanied the women during their travels.
amusing: Jewett appears to have first inserted "amusing" in the fold between pages 6 and 7, then deleted it and inserted it instead in the left margin of page 6, just before "stories."
Swiss crystals, the amethysts &c: Wikipedia says that quartz or "rock
crystals" are common near alpine glaciers throughout
Europe and Asia. Carving such crystals has long been
an income source for those living in the Alps.
Carrie's: Caroline Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
Princess: A Jewett family horse. See
Blanchard, Sarah Orne Jewett (2002), p. 117.
Queen of Sheby: The Queen of Sheba was a family nickname for Jewett.
John Greenleaf Whittier to Sarah Orne Jewett
8 Mo. 17 1882
My dear Sarah Jewett,
My great pleasure in reading thy letter from "Norroway over the Foam,"* was marred by thy reflection that it was written when thee should have been resting. I am afraid that you work too hard and see too much, and, in addition to this, that you write your kind letters home, when you should be asleep. Of course, we dearly love to get them.
I wish I could have sat with you on the cliff-side of Lynton, that Sabbath day* looking off over the immeasurable sea! or driven with you over the lovely Ex-moor, or rambled with you through the venerable classic [ streets ? ] of Oxford,* and where are you now! -- Wherever you are be thankful you are not in the more than tropical
heat of our NE. summer. We are roasted and done in the intolerable sun. But we are glad to feel that the spell is broken. Yesterday we had a shower and anybody & everything is happier for it.
I found a cool place for a fortnight at the Asquam House,* in the midst of the three Asquam lakes in Holderness, N.H. The outlook is rarely beautiful -- water on three sides & mountain horizon all round.
Unfortunately I returned too soon, to encounter the hottest weather of the season & have suffered in consequence. For four nights in succession I could not sleep, and I thought of going to [ Elizth so written] Phelps'* place in Gloucester, and watching the stars with her!
My brother's illness continues.* He is about to resign his place in the U.S. Naval Office, and I am studying how to make him as comfortable as possible.
Let me hear from thee but only write a few words to tell how & where you are.
Notes
8 Mo. 17: Whittier uses the Quaker dating system, giving the day and the number of the month.
"Norroway over the Foam": During their first European trip together in 1882, Jewett and Fields visited Ole Bull's home in Norway. See Sarah Chapman Thorp Bull in Key to Correspondents.
The quotation is from an English ballad, "Sir Patrick Spence."
cliff-side of Lynton: Jewett and Fields stayed at the Royal Castle Hotel in Lynton, on the north coast of Devon near the beginning of July 1882. They were touring Oxford about a week later.
Asquam House: Now called Squam Lake, Lake Asquam is "in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, United States, south of the White Mountains, straddling the borders of Grafton, Carroll, and Belknap counties. The largest town center on the lake is Holderness." Richard Cary notes of Holderness: "A summer resort village in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Whittier was staying at a new hotel on the peak of Shepard Hill which afforded a magnificent view of the several lakes in its vicinity. The scene inspired his poems "The Hill-Top" and "Storm on Lake Asquam."
Phelps ... Gloucester: Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (Ward). See Key to Correspondents. She had a summer home in the seaside town of Gloucester, MA.
brother's illness: Whittier's brother, Matthew, died on 7 January 1883.
Mrs. F: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the South Berwick Public Library, South Berwick, ME. Transcription by John Richardson. Annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
An Edelweis from Sister
24 August
Dear Taddy
I quite gave up hopes of ever getting your letter for Mother announced it and it didn't really come for two or three mails afterward. I dont know why it loitered on the way but some times one of the letters will -- I was so glad to have all the particulars -- We have been very quiet most of the time here -- We have lovely drives almost every day -- there are so many interesting places to see in the neighborhood of Interlaken and when it has been clear
it has been very clear and all the mountains stand up high against the blue sky -- The town is very curious and old and just across the river Aar is Unterseen which is much funnier than Interlaken. The towns are on a meadow between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz and the water of these lakes is just the color of Chrysophrase* (the green ring !!!) when the sun is out, and so are ^the water of^ the two rivers that rush through the valley -- They come down from the glaciers up above, and are nothing but snow water. -- I have been in a great state to put my hand in -- ever since I was told they are awfully cold. There are
scars all down the sides of the mountains where the
then begin again for this spray lower down gets heavy and is water again and splashes off in a brook. You never saw any thing more beautiful. As it hangs in the air the wind will blow it to and fro like a ^piece of ^ gauze -- and then it is swaying and smoking and there is one place where you can hardly see either spray or water at all. The cliff opposite on the other side of the valley is even higher I think -- a great wall of solid stone and the little town of Lauterbrunnen is between them as if it were at the bottom of a cellar a thousand feet deep -- The people sell carved things (and ask all creation for
most of them!) and the men are guides and most of the women make lace, but isn't very pretty like Torchon lace* -- The drive to Lauterbrunnen is most beautiful all up the valley from Interlaken and the mountains get closer and closer until you come to the Jungfrau and the Monk and the Eiger which stands at the head. The Jungfrau is the middle one of the three in the picture I send you -- It is the view we have from two of our windows only the Pension Ober is where I have put the mark and from it you see only the Jungfrau which looks much [ finer ? ] than it does here -- but I happened to have this little photograph and thought it
would give you some idea --
Yesterday we went to Geissbach and 'passed the day' -- that is about as high a fall only it is broken -- with ever so many cascades -- and comes down tumbling and dashing over the rocks from the top of the
[ unrecognized word cut ? ] -- and you see avalanches and the air is beautiful -- Of course it is only going over a spur of a mountain so as to get a good look at the snow heights and the glaciers, but it is a hard day even to do that. I can tell you it is no joke to spend a summer in travelling -- We have done it comfortably as possible, but it is very hard work at best, and a great deal of bother and care -- But to see the wonderful sights and have the pleasures you are more than willing to take the pains -- I am thankful I could come and I am perfectly satisfied with the time I have had in places and dont want to go back Except to Amsterdam.
Sister is all the time quawking to go back to Amsterdam!
I have been keeping quiet here every morning ^ -- and am getting well rested^ and now I have another month in Italy and two weeks in Paris and some days in London and then I shall becoming home -- I meant to tell you about some of the people in the Pension here (or the hotel I ought to say){.} They are all foreigners & English and some of them are interesting -- It is a lovely place to stay anyway. I am glad you are getting on so nicely and I hope the weather got cooler long ago -- Mrs. Fields* sends love -- I wish you could have seen an old "Father of the Carmelite order" I saw one day in Belgium and
you would shut up on Father Grafton* -- Mrs Fields is always
were here you and I would have punched each other [ blotted word black ? ] and blue long ago. Remember me to Mr. E* -- I expect to see the baby in a fall hat when I get home
from your account of him -- I [ will corrected ] bid ye all good evening [ unrecognized word ] the Queen.*
Notes
Chrysophrase: This is Jewett's spelling of Chrysoprase, a green gemstone.
Torchon lace: A bobbin flax or cotton lace, home made and typically inexpensive, a cottage industry in much of Europe.
Staubbach ... Agamenticus: The Staubbach Falls above Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland is 974 feet. Mount Agamenticus, a high point near South Berwick, ME is 692 feet. Geissbach Falls also is a Swiss tourist destination.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Father of the Carmelite order: A Roman Catholic religious order, originally the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.
Charles Chapman Grafton (1830-1912) at the time of this letter was rector of the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Boston.
Mr. E: Edward Eastman, Theodore's father. Though the opening of the letter is addressed to Theodore, the latter part seems clearly addressed to his mother, Caroline Jewett Eastman. Possibly, therefore, the "baby" to which Jewett refers is 4-year-old Theodore. See Key to Correspondents.
the
Queen: One of Jewett's nicknames at home was the
Queen of Sheba. See Key to Correspondents.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Georgina Halliburton
24 August [ 1882 ]
the little I saw of Germany half so much as I have some other parts of the world. Though Cologne Cathedral was superb and the Castle at Heidelberg* a most beautiful old ruin with a lovely view from its walls. But oh Georgie if you could only spend a day or two in Lucerne and then come down here or up here! among the mountains! if I could show you the Jungfrau from my windows and drive you up the valley to Lauterbrunnnen* I dont
With this page is the pressed stem and blossom of edelweiss.]
know what you would say! I fairly long to have you see it all -- It seems quite selfish to be seeing it and write to you -- I do think I can't be thankful enough for coming over this summer -- and while I haven't the least desire to live in Europe but think more and more of my going home, and of my stories, and Berwick and Boston, and my own dear friends -- [Still corrected ] I shall think of all this summer's experience every day and ^with^ more and more pleasure --
It is nice to have Mrs. Fields always, with all her kindness and loveliness, and she is always teaching me many things in many ways -- You dont know how fond I grow of her every day -- and I shall miss her so much when I go back.
I wish I could send you a handful of pink anemones (like the Roman anemones, & just in bloom here) for they are just the shade of pink you like and always make me think of you. I send you an Edelweis* [ so spelled ] however as that
will bear crushing in a letter much better.
With ever so much [ unfinished line? ]
this a little one-winged bird of a letter
from
Sarah
Notes
Cologne Cathedral ... Castle at Heidelberg: The gothic Cathedral Church of St. Peter in Cologne, Germany. "Heidelberg Castle ... ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps."
Jungfrau ... Lauterbrunnen: The Jungfrau ("maiden, virgin") at 13,642 ft, is one of the main summits of the Swiss Alps, located near Interlaken. Lauterbrunnen is a village in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Edelweis: " Leontopodium nivale, commonly called edelweiss ... is a well-known mountain flower, belonging to the Asteraceae (daisy or sunflower family)."
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA: Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (260).
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Interlaken
28 August
Dear Mary
I wish you could have seen and heard the laugh we had over your last letter and its comment on the Norway pleasuring. It was so funny about the departed Normans coming to return our call! We have had two or three rainy days and have not been out much except for little walks. Last night it really seemed fallish, and I suppose it will soon be getting cold here for though we are in a valley it is a good way above the sea, as you will know by strawberries still being in season though I dare say they are brought down from the little farms higher up on the mountains. You don’t know how pretty it is to see them, with the houses peeping down. Some of them stand on such steep
[ Page 2 ]
places that I should think if a baby fell over the
doorstep it wouldn’t stop rolling till it got down to
Interlaken. Don’t you remember the little Swiss cottage
Carrie* used to have in a box? The houses look just like
it, and are so picturesque and pretty, and it is charming
the way the country people’s lives go on just as [as repeated
] they [ it has so written] for so many
years, in spite of the swarm of strangers from every
country that pass through here every summer. The other day
we were driving and heard the sound of bells and looked up
the road to see a great flock of goats coming, such
beauties with their jingling little bells and brown and
white coats and sharp little black horns. The people keep
them instead of cows and drive them to
[ Page 3 ]
pasture, but I had not happened to see a whole flock coming home. [Together corrected ] there must have been a hundred. We leave here on Wednesday and shall only be in Switzerland two days longer after that, as we reach Italy Friday if all goes well. Sunday is my birthday and we shall spend it in Milan and go to Venice on Monday. I am crazy to see Venice! I can hardly wait to get there. We go over the St. Gothard Pass, and the scenery is magnificent, so every body says. We shall not go over it by carriage as Mrs. Fields did before, but most of the way by train, which gives much the same view and is much quicker, though one tunnel is nine miles long! We shall spend Thursday night at Andermatt, on
[ Page 4 ]
top of the tunnel,* and then go down and go through. It must be delightful, the change from the bleak mountains to the lovely Italian valleys, all in one day, but I would rather tell you all this after I have seen it, instead of expatiating beforehand. Wednesday we travel part of the day by steamer and the rest by diligence which will be great fun. Miss Adams* leaves us that night to go to Lucerne and we shall miss her very much. She is very nice. She spent all last winter in Italy so of course she doesn’t care to go right back again to travel hurriedly, as we shall have to do. We shall make the longest stay in Rome, but we can have a full month and see a good deal in that time. I was
[ Up the left margin and down the top margin of page 1 ]
Sorry to hear just now from Cora* that Mrs. Mary Barrell* is sick. I should feel dreadfully if any thing happens to her. Mrs. Fields* sends love to you. So give my love to all, Your loving sister
Sarah
Notes
Carrie: Caroline Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
St. Gothard Pass ... Andermatt on top of the tunnel:
According
to Wikipedia, Andermatt, Switzerland is
a crossroads town, connected to four passes through the
Alps. Before the opening of the St. Gotthard railway
tunnel in 1881, the town was a popular resort.
Building the tunnel under the town took Andermatt off the
main travel route.
Miss Adams: Sarah Holland Adams (1823-1916)
moved to Europe after her mother's death in 1877, where
she settled in Germany and became as translator into
English of the works of Hermann Grimm.
Mrs. Mary Barrell: Mary Barrell (c.
1804-1889), lived in what is now the Sayward-Wheeler House
in York Harbor, ME. for much of the 19th century.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Lugano
3rd September
Dear Mary
I am here on our way to Milan,
in a most beautiful place on one of the Italian Lakes. We
had a delightful journey over the Alps, and beautiful
weather. We came ^to Alpnach first &^ to Bellinzona
the first ^second^ night from Lucerne, and it is
such a quaint place & the first where we heard
[ Page 2 ]
the people speaking Italian which seemed very nice. I never heard any thing more lovely than the sound of the bells that the cattle and goats wore round their necks, and they were always going through the streets in flocks =* we thought it was some of the peasants music at first and rushed to the window to listen. It is really worth while to
[ Page 3 ]
come over the St. Gothard Pass if only to see the engineering of the railroad which is perfectly marvellous. To look upon those enormous mountains you would not believe that cars could ever climb them. There is one tunnel nine miles long and any number of shorter ones, but the cars are well lighted and you don’t mind them so very much. When you come out there are the most superb views you can imagine. We were sorry to
[ Page 4 ]
leave Miss Adams* in Lucerne but she met some friends which made it pleasanter. We shall get to either Como or Milan tonight and I shall have enough to tell you in my first letter. It is like midsummer here after our thinking it was getting along in the fall at Interlaken! The grapes are getting ripe, & there is delicious fruit everywhere of every kind, even figs which I don’t care a great deal about. Mrs. Fields sends love. I shall get my letters at Venice. Much love from
Sarah*
[ Up the left margin and down the top margin of page 1]
Sister’s birthday! She gets gifts later, in Italy from Mrs. Fields but Liza* gave me such a pretty handkerchief that she finished weaving. She found a better work bag in Interlaken with this in it. I must
[ Up the left margin and down the top margin of page 2]
tell you that Mrs. Fields has taken to calling me Pinny Lawson now because I must be a child [deleted word] of Sam’s. You know Mrs. Stowe’s Sam Lawson!*
[ Page 5 ]
Milan, Monday -- I must add a word or two to my letter which didn’t get posted. We have come down to the Lake of Como today & it was lovely, and we have been to the great Cathedral of Milan just before dark but that is too beautiful and too big! to write about now -- Tomorrow we go to Venice but not until we see some famous pictures. The Last Supper &c.*
[ Page 6 ]
I never saw any thing like Italy. The olive trees and fig trees are growing every where, and great oleanders all in full bloom as big as lilacs in the gardens. I want to tell you every thing and to have you see every thing!
[ Page 7 ]
I must go to bed now, so good night with much love,
From the Queen*
Notes
=: Jewett occasionally uses an = sign where one might expect a dash.
Miss Adams: Sarah Holland Adams (1823-1916) moved to Europe after her mother's death in 1877, where she settled in Germany and became as translator into English of the works of Hermann Grimm.Mrs. Fields … Liza: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. Mrs. Fields's personal Irish maid, frequently mentioned by Miss Jewett in her letters home on the 1882 trip. See Key to Correspondents.
Sarah: This letter is in pencil through this signature, then switches to ink for the final two pages.
Pinny Lawson … Mrs. Stowe’s Sam Lawson: Jewett's
report creates a problem difficult to resolve.
Jewett suggests here that the name derives from Sam
Lawson, a rural raconteur in two works of fiction by the
American author, Harriet
Beecher
Stowe (1811-1896): Oldtown
Folks (1869) and Oldtown
Fireside
Stories (1872).
The problem is that she seems to imply
that this nickname is new in September of 1882.
However, Celia Thaxter began using this nickname in her
letters as early as January of 1882. Thaxter refers to
Jewett as Pinny in earlier letters during their current
European tour.
It is not perfectly clear then, when
this nickname originates.
the Last Supper: Wikipedia says that "The Last
Supper" (c. 1496), a mural by Leonardo
da
Vinci (1452-1519), in the refectory of the Convent
of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, is one of the most
famous paintings in the world. It depicts the
Christian gospel story (John 13.21) of Jesus's last meal
with his disciples.
the Queen: The Queen of Sheba was a family nickname for Jewett.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Venice 6 September*
Dear Mary
I never enjoyed an evening in all my life better than I did this. You know how I have been longing to get here, but Venice is more beautiful than any thing I ever dreamed of, and really it is more like a dream or a story than an actual every-day city. We got here last night about eight after a long hot dusty ride in the cars from Milan. I saw some beautiful pictures there in the morning -- the Last Supper,* for one, and though I never have cared at all for any copy of it that I ever saw the original is wonderfully
[ Page 2 ]
lovely the faces are all living, though they are so defaced by time. You never can guess at it, by seeing a copy. That is the real satisfaction of coming abroad =* you can’t think what a difference the touch of the master’s own hand makes between the picture and its copy. Sometimes there will be five copies for sale near these great pictures and they will be correct enough in one way, but like a wax flower beside a real one after all.
"You ought to have been here to give one of your yips! for me when I got out of the car ^last night^ and instead of scurrying after
[ Page 3 ]
the hotel omnibus or a cab to have the porter of the hotel ask if it were Madame Fields* and march us down the station steps into a gondola. It had been so hot all day and we were about as tired and dusty as we could be, but there we sat on the cushions and waited for the men to bring our baggage and the salt sea air was just cool enough to make us comfortable without being chilly. There was a great flock of gondolas with red and white lights all about us and it was such fun to hear the men chaff each
[ Page 4 ]
other. I really learned a good deal of Italian while I was at Interlaken so I can catch some words here and there. Mrs. Fields always can get along every where we go -- only in Dutch, and you don’t know what a difference it makes in our comfort = We got the trunks and started off down the canal and came at last to the hotel, which is the nicest one yet, we think. Then I found your letter and I was glad enough to get it, for though I heard a week ago it seemed a good deal longer. It was that nice letter ^written^
[ Page 5 ]
just the time Harry Barber* had come, and we both enjoyed it so much. There was a lovely long one from Miss Woolsey, and such a dear long one to A.F. and me from Thy Friend,* one of the most beautiful letters I ever read.
Today we didn’t get up until late and then we went to St. Mark’s and Sister ate two ices & A.F. ate one at Florian’s, the famous café,* and we trotted all about the square. St. Marks is so rich and splendid, all mosaic and red and gold. Milan Cathedral was so splendidly high and such a huge world
[ Page 6 ]
[ deleted word ] of a place and I saw it so lately, that this seemed small and I had to stay in it some time before I could really take in the magnificence of it, but I did, in good season too. I know you would like it, and the great column with the winged lion on top, and the high bell tower and all the rest! The pigeons fly about in clouds and every thing makes you sure you are in Italy. As for the shops, they bewitch you, and are perfectly fascinating. I do wish photographs were given away! I don’t mean little ones, but the large one{s}
[ Page 7 ]
which are really so well worth having -- They are cheaper here than in England, but are apt to be a good deal when they are [big corrected ] and handsome{.}
-- We came home and ate
no end of grapes and peaches -- the grapes are like honey
and you can buy enough to be 'make' (wine of) for
half a franc or ^half^ a lira which is the same. Then we
rested until half past five and took a gondola and were
gone until nearly eight out to the Lido across the harbor,
and up the Grand Canal.* There was the most beautiful
sunset, and you never
[ Page 8 ]
saw such colors! And after a while* the lamps of the gondolas were all lit and they went about like fireflies on the water. After we had come a little way up the Grand Canal there were some people in a boat singing Venetian songs and I thought I should die of it. There was a guitar, and they sang and sang and it broke my heart to come away from them, only we are not going away from here until next week, it being so hot every where else and so lovely here, and we are going out in a gondola every night of our lives.
I did wish Mother was here to-night, and you and Taddy*
[ Up the left margin and overwritten down the top of page 8 ]
It pays a thousand times over for all the journey here to have a day [in?] Venice. Ever so much love from
Sarah
[ Up the left margin of page 4 ]
I don’t believe you got all of my Norway letters, did you?
Notes
6 September: Jewett's "6" looks rather like
a "5." But later letters confirm that she and Fields
arrived in Venice on Tuesday 5 September.
the Last Supper: Wikipedia says that "The Last Supper" (c. 1496), a mural by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, is one of the most famous paintings in the world. It depicts the Christian gospel story (John 13.21) of Jesus's last meal with his disciples.
=: Jewett occasionally uses an = sign where one
might expect a dash.
Madame Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Harry Barber … Woolsey … Thy Friend: The
identity of Harry Barber is unknown. It appears he
is a visitor in South Berwick.
Miss Woolsey is probably Sarah
Chauncey
Woolsey (1835-1905), who wrote children's literature
under the name of Susan Coolidge.
Thy friend is John Greenleaf
Whittier. See Key to Correspondents.
Florian’s: Wikipedia says: "Caffè Florian is a
coffee house situated in the Procuratie Nuove of Piazza
San Marco, Venice. It was established in 1720, and is the
oldest coffee house in continuous operation (with Café
Procope in Paris)."
Grand Canal: It is unclear whether Jewett has capitalized these words here, though she does later in the letter.
a while: Jewett may have written "awhile."
Taddy: Other letters confirm that Taddy is female;
I have assumed she is Jewett's younger sister,
Caroline/Caddie Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Fields
Shoals. Sept 7th -- (82
My darling Annie:
Again a dear letter
from Interlaken, the [2d corrected ] from there,
telling me of the lovely time at Lucerne -- how charming
it must all have been & how dear of you to think of
your Sandpiper* & look for her towers! Was there ever
anything quainter than these! But when are you coming
home? Not one word of this do [ deleted comma ] I
hear! I think this is my last day here this season, if it
does not storm tomorrow -- I have been waiting to get some
china fired & sent [ off corrected ] from here
before going to the farm where I can get neither to
express nor Post office nor any other civilized
institution -- -- some china already paid for, &
weighing on my mind like pigs of lead* -- Today I hope to
have it back & be off tomorrow. I have been
decorating a pitcher all over blue cornflowers [ for Helen
corrected ] Bell who wished to give it to Bertha
Schlesinger* -- Baermann* did not get here after all --
Annie Eichberg* writes me that the crowd for [ Henschel's
? ] tickets* is not to be described, people waiting
all night before the doors to get their tickets.
[ Page 2 ]
It has been a lovely summer here, but I have missed you
& owlet from the land. For* eight weeks not one drop
of rain -- day after day of glorious weather, each more
beautiful than the last -- The people who have given me
the greatest pleasure are the S. G. Wards ^of Baring
Bros*^ -- Mr Ward an artist himself -- what pleasure I
took in his society! & he did take such pleasure in my
little room & all my flowers. "Every separate vase is
a study" he said, "& you ought to go about & teach
the world to do it --" and as he has been all his life
doing it I valued his criticism. Of course I say the
Wards after my dear Rose Lamb.* Mrs W. was most charming,
but a desperate invalid, Miss Howard who lives with them,
[has or had ? ] a splendid contralto voice
& sang delightfully. Mr Ward made some charming
sketches{.} His grand daughter Loulou Thoron, just ^out^
of a French Convent, is the most exquisite piece of
maidenhood it has been my lot to see for many a year. They
are enchanted with the place & mean to come next year
-- "Next year"! And who shall dare make plans for "next
year"! Not I -- I wish you & dear Pinny could see how
my room blazes with sunflowers this morning, & has for
weeks, the smaller kind with dark centres, [ they corrected
from these ? ] are so effective! & such
purple & crimson banks of sweet peas, bowls
& baskets full, with the light green festal clusters
of the hop vine to set off their vivid hues. I must
enclose in this letter a flower of the yellow Venidium,
quite a new plant, which has been a great success this
summer -- 'tis so very beautiful & grows so sturdily,
but 'twill give you no idea, I fear, of its splendor -- It
is like a little sun --
I shall write from the farm when we get over there -- My Roland* is getting on so far nicely with his knee. Shall write again in a few days. With dearest love to both. Your Sandpiper
Do you know if Browning will marry Mrs Elizabeth Bloomfield Moore?* I hope you will see the mystic people* in London!
E. C. Stedman came here yesterday & I did not see him
-- too bad
Notes
Sandpiper: Thaxter is using intimate nicknames
shared among Jewett, Fields and herself. Owlet and Pinny
are Jewett; Flower is Fields; Sandpiper is Thaxter. See Key to Correspondents.
pigs of lead: Thaxter refers not to animals,
but to ingots of lead.
Helen Bell ... Schlesinger ... Baermann ...
Eichberg: For Helen Choate Bell. See Key
to Correspondents.
Bertha Schlesinger: This person has not
yet been identified.
Baermann: Probably, this
is Carl Baermann (1839-1913), a classical pianist and
composer who immigrated to the Boston area from Germany in
1881. In addition to performing, he also was a successful
teacher. See the Wikipedia article on his father, also
named Carl Baermann.
Annie Eichberg: author Annie Eichberg Lane (d. 1927), was
the daughter of Julius Eichberg (1824-1893), a
German-born composer, musical director and educator in
Boston. His wife was author, Sophie Mertens (1828-1921).
Henschel's tickets: This transcription is
uncertain, but it seems likely that Eichberg refers to Georg Henschel (1850-1934), the
German-born musician, who was the first conductor of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra. At the time of this
letter, tickets would be available for the opening concert
of his second season with the BSO on
7 October 1882.
For: After this word, Thaxter shifts to a
lighter ink.
S. G. Wards ... Miss Howard ... Loulou Thoron:
Financier and poet Samuel Gray Ward (1817-1907) was a
founder and trustee of New York's Metropolitan Museum of
Art. Before moving to New York, he headed the Boston
Agency of Baring Brothers Bank. His wife was
Anna Hazard Barker (1813-1900). Their eldest
daughter, Anna Barker Ward (1841-1875) married Joseph
Marie Antoine Thoron, a French merchant. Their daughter
was Louise Thoron Endicott
(1864-1958). Two portraits of Louise Endicott by
John Singer Sargent may be viewed at her husband's
Wikipedia page: William Crowninshield Endicott.
Miss Howard may be Ada Howard (1829-1907), who became
the first woman president of Wellesley College in 1875,
then resigned in 1882 for health reasons. See Fields to
Eben Norton Horsford of 19 July 1885. She may be a
relative of the Samuel G. Ward's daughter-in-law,
Sophia Read Howard (1848-1918), who married their only
son, Thomas Wren Ward (1844-1940).
See also Samuel Gray Ward at Find a Grave.
Rose Lamb: See Key to Correspondents.
Robert Browning ... Elizabeth Bloomfield Moore:
After
the
1861
death
of
his
wife, poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, British poet Robert Browning (1819-1889) formed a
friendship with an American widow from Philadelphia then
residing in Europe, Elizabeth Bloomfield Moore.
They did not marry.
Presumably, Mrs. Bloomfield Moore was the
American philanthropist and author, Clara Sophia Jessup Moore
(1824-1899), widow of Bloomfield Haines Moore. She was
residing in London in 1882 and was acquainted with Robert
Browning.
the mystic people: Thaxter refers to British Spiritualists. In her 23 July letter to Fields, Thaxter had mentioned, for example, Kate Fox, who probably was Catherine Fox (1837-1892), youngest of the notorious Fox sisters who are credited with the founding of Spiritualism, the belief system to which Thaxter at this time was deeply committed. In 1882, this Kate Fox was living in London, and was a widow of H. D. Jencken.
E. C. Stedman: Edmund Clarence Stedman. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Boston
Public Library, Rare Books Department, Celia Thaxter
correspondence with Annie Fields, 1869-1893, MS C.1.38 Box
2 Folder 2(174-190)
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p241j
Transcription and notes by Terry
Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to John Greenleaf Whittier
!Venice!
9 September [ 1882 ]*
We have had the best time in the world here -- I think I must send you a little back chapter of Milan first, and tell you that we spent Monday night there, and saw the marvelous Last Supper* -- and the huge, high-arched great world of a cathedral, and some splendid pictures at the [ Brera corrected ]* -- then on Tuesday we took the train at noon and were until eight o’clock coming here in the blazing heat and dust. But imagine our joy when we felt a great wind of salt air blow into the car, and in a few minutes afterward were in a gondola swinging about on the water with red and white lights like fire-flies all about us -- waiting for our boxes to
be brought down the station steps. There never was anything like it, you know! And we found the hotel the best we have got into on the Continent, and we said at once that we would stay three days longer than
-- I do wish you were here, you should see how pleasant this room is and you should laugh at T. L.* who stands in the middle of the window and throws peachstones into the canal as if they were flowers to her subjects{.}
Now this gives me three ‘heads’ for a discourse -- T. L. andthe peachstones and the subjects not of T. L. but of Queen Margaret of Italy* who came to Venice yesterday in the most obliging way --
--- T. L. stands for a very good name I gave Mrs. A. F.
long ago, and which I mean to tell you when I get home, it
being a great secret. -- As for the peachstones,
they made me think of all the [ peaches corrected
] and grapes and figs which are just now ripe and it is
worth while to come to Italy just to see the fruit and eat
it. As we came over the ‘great Lombard plain’ on
Tuesday the vines were fairly
loaded down with blue and green clusters -- It is all
very well for people to talk about Italy in winter, but it
is really a great pleasure to be seeing it at the vintage
time -- We came very near the battle field of Solferino*
-- and the fortifications are all along the line of the
railway dismantled and grass-grown.
We have spent a great deal of time in gondolas = it is perfectly beautiful to be out late in the afternoon and at sunset -- and the first night we came we went over to the Lido --* not going into the old Armenian convent* but only walking up the shore
for awhile and thinking a great deal about Shelley and Byron* who also liked that shore -- The gondolier was sent to get his supper at a little shop and we walked to and fro and the sunset began to flame out more and more until nobody but Turner* ever thought of its like, and all the harbour between us and Venice was smooth as glass and the bell towers and domes caught the light, and were built of pale fires themselves -- All the way back to the city this color was slowly fading and we watched it as we went along -- and at last as
we came in to the Grand Canal the [ gondola corrected ] lights were out again like fire-flies and some people in boats with coloured lanterns were singing Venetian songs, and at that I thought nobody had ever had such a good time in this world, and the stars were bright and the people looked down from the windows, and it was enough to made you cry!
We have been to see St. Mark’s and the Doges’ palace and no end of churches, for the sake of their pictures chiefly, though they are full of treasures -- And last night, the Queen came to Venice
as I told you and we went scooting through the side canals a good deal to get the best place on the great one and succeeded in getting caught at last in a great snarl and crowd of gondolas and being close to the royal gondola as it rushed by and others after it with officers in gay uniforms and fluttering plumes -- All the boats followed in procession and the bells were ringing and red lights and fireworks going off and people on the shore cheering and it was something like the old days, only the great palaces held back their heads as if they meant to say it was all very dull compared to things they had seen. To-day the flags are flying [ everywhere written over gayly ].
think of the grandeur and pride of the old Venice and the
Notes
Jewett has written !Venice! in extra large cursive.
In the upper left corner of page 1, Jewett has written: This is a feather than belonged to one of the pigeons in St. Mark's square". She has left a space between "belonged" and "to" where she may have fastened the feather.
Page 1 of this letter contains several notes in another hand, indicating that the letter is by Jewett and speculating that it was written in 1892. A similar note appears at the top right of page 5.
A.F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
the Last Supper: Wikipedia says that "The Last Supper" (c. 1496), a mural by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, is one of the most famous paintings in the world. It depicts the Christian gospel story (John 13.21) of Jesus's last meal with his disciples.
the Brera: In Milan's Palazzo Brera is the Pinacoteca di Brera, an art gallery.
T. L.: As Jewett explains, this is a "secret" nickname Jewett has given to Fields. As of this writing, only a few instances of her using it are known and its meaning remains a mystery, though it superficially resembles a nickname Fields has given Jewett: P.L. standing for Pinny Lawson, which connects Jewett with Harriet Beecher Stowe's raconteur from Oldtown Fireside Stories (1881).
Queen Margaret of Italy: Princess Margherita of Savoy (1851-1926) became Queen consort of Italy when she married the king, Umberto I, in January 1878.
battle field of Solferino: The Battle of Solferino took place in June of 1859, during the Second Italian War of Independence, near the village of Solferino in the then Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.
Lido ... the old Armenian convent: The Lido of Venice is a long sand-bar beach across the lagoon, southeast of the city. A small island off the Lido is San Lazzaro degli Armeni, (St. Lazarus of the Armenians). Begun as a leper colony, the island became an Armenian Catholic monastery in the early 18th century.
Shelley and Byron: The British Romantic poets, Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) and George Gordon Lord Byron (1788-1824) were together in Venice in 1818.
Turner: The British painter, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), is remembered as "the painter of light." He spent a good deal of time in Venice early in his life.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, Pickard-Whittier papers I. Letters to John Greenleaf Whittier Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. 17 letters; [1882]-1883., [1882]-1883. Box: 3 Identifier: MS Am 1844, (169).
Another slightly different transcription is held in transcriptions from mixed repositories, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, folder 63, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. New transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Venice
11 September
Dear Mary I have had the loveliest time in the world here, and the best of weather. We have been out on the water the greater part of every day and evening and it is quite breaking our hearts to go away. The other night the Queen* came to Venice very obligingly! And we were in the thick of the crowd of gondolas you may be sure!! All the gondolas followed hers down the Grand Canal and there were fireworks and all the bells were ringing and the people cheering and it was almost
[ Page 2 ]
like taking a sight at Venice in the days of its glory. We fairly bumped against the Queen’s boat. We got so close to her and I was very glad to see her! She is a very handsome young woman and the people seem very fond of her and ever since she came to the palace the flags are flying all over the city and make it look brighter and gay. We have been in the Doges Palace and in ever so many churches and the pictures and carvings are beautiful as Venice itself! This morning we
[ Page 3 ]
are going to Florence to be there a few days, and then to Rome. I send you some little photographs* which I think you will like to look at. They are just big enough to remind me of the places. Mrs. Fields* sends love, and I will write again as soon as possible after I get to Florence.
Yours lovingly Sarah
Liza* says Venice is terrible splendid -- but as for those Germans they have no talk at all; it is the chuckling of ducks! [ deleted word ]
Notes
the Queen: Wikipedia says that Princess Margherita of Savoy (Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna) 1851-1926), was the Queen consort of the Kingdom of Italy by marriage to King Umberto I. She became queen when he succeeded to the throne of Italy in 1878. little photographs: Jewett
indicates that she has included photographs with this
letter. In the Houghton Library collection from
which this letter comes (see note below), there is a set
of three photographs, though they do not appear adjacent
to this letter. They are items
147-152
in
this
collection. Though in 2016 the Houghton
identifies all three as Venetian scenes, in fact only two
of these are of Venice. The third is of the New Inn
at Clovelly, Devonshire, England. It appears with
Jewett's letter to Theodore and Caroline Jewett Eastman of
27 June.
Handwritten on the back of this
photo: Pillars by St.Mark [in pen]
L. Giovanni D'acri [in pencil]
Houghton identification: Pillars of St. Mark's photograph.
Handwritten on the back of this photo: Canale Grande
[in pencil]
23 [circled in pencil, probably in
another hand]
Grand Canal [in ink]
Houghton identification: Grand Canal Photograph.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Field
[ 12 September 1882 ]*
Annie! I have felt & seen my mother's hands. I have been clasped by her, she lifted & rustled the long heavy satin ribbons I wore at my throat, her hands stole round my neck up to my head & on my forehead I felt her beautiful soft fingers, palpable, distinct. -- I wept -- I could have died of joy! I did -- almost! My last doubt is blown to limitless nothing -- J.* wrote "Tell my dear wife, tell her I wait to lay my hand upon her, bring her here --" O Annie how to begin to tell you! Let me try to gather my wits together -- Last week in the tremendous pour I went out to 25 Mt Pleasant Avenue to find Mrs Philbrick* [ to corrected ] whom
I had been told to go: found a nice house, superior to Appleton St, & a gentle, lady-like, quiet person answered to the name of Mrs Philbrick, again an improvement on Appleton St. It was too late that aft. so I said I'd come next day between nine & ten. At the [ minute corrected ] I was there -- [ we corrected from I ] went up stairs to a little attic guest-chamber, all furnished in blue, she drew out a little common pine table -- she had half a dozen light large [ states intending slates ]. We sat down, two hands holding each other, two holding the slate* -- In a moment, raps! of all sorts each as different as human voices, all over the table. I thrilled -- I was bidden [ ask corrected ] questions, by the raps they were answered -- who was there, -- then writing on the slate began vehemently, & no pencil in the room! [ Furious ? ] writing & when it was ended [ the corrected ] slate was pushed to me by no visible hands. It was from J. W.* he said I was one of his dearest friends & helpers & that the great charity I had for him did him a world of good"* & so on. He touched me strongly on both arms & [forehead corrected ] & with an inexpressibly solemn & beautiful gesture bowed my head forward laying his whole hand upon it heavily{.}
He said he depended on me to help him still, some one to dare to speak & help this truth that should so illuminate the world -- that he regretted hedging up the pathway with his cold investigations, &c -- &c -- oh, more than I can tell you -- my dear, dear Annie -- I cannot tell you half -- I cannot wait till I see you! I was almost wild with excitement -- Mrs P. had to beg me to be calm, me!!! But they* were as excited as I: it was all tremendous --- when I left after two hours of that pressure, I felt as if {I} had died or been born or something as wonderful -- I walked on air, -- oh it was indescribable! I could not wait for Rose* -- she was at Nonquit* -- she came yesterday -- I rushed for her & made an appointment for this [ morng ? ]. She was not prepared for what happened, tho' I had told her all -- Wm came -- my mother & Wm & Mr W* -- all touched us together, we not only felt but saw their hands & arms! -- Rose was frightened, oh so very much! She cried out, "O I cannot bear it, I cannot bear it" -- We saw them plainly. The writing was splendid -- I save it all to show you -- so characteristic{.} Rose's mother, so sweet! & Sophia D. & Lucretia Mott* & some strangers --
Mr W. said, when he first came, "Wm is here" but he always feels the cold wave on which he went out whenever he comes near the earth" -- Now isn't it strange, they seem to come back thro' the same door thro' which they went away. "Then* Wm said," I shall never forget the Isles of Shoals & that cold wave on which I went out!" I always feel it when I come near you, every time" -- The time before, the first time I went I begged Mr Weiss* over & over to tell me the old name he used to call me, but he did not. The first thing today which he said was this -- "I was so eager, so earnest the other day I could not stop to notice what you asked; I had forgotten that old time levity & that I used to call you grandmother, ha, ha, Celia! I knew you would come again. I have so much to say to you. Wm is here & must speak" & so on. O dear, it was all so [ real corrected ]! I said, "Where are you, grandfather, what are you?" The answer written swift as lightning, "The same spirit that went away clothed upon with a new body which I shall not abuse as I did the one I left."! We said, Rose & I, tell us what to do -- "[ deleted word ] Dare to speak for us, for the truth you
know" was the answer, "help us to let this light on the world, this happiness, Dare to do it" -- I said, shaken to my very heart, "I dare. I will bring every one, speak to every possible one" -- my arm was struck several times so strongly we all heard it & it tingled for a long time -- & oh [ gloriously ? ] the touches came all about me! "[ That corrected ] same unhindered, unlimited, strength & power you put into all your work, that I call for from my new home & claim your aid & your love --" I said "& you shall have it!" It went on, the writing -- "Now you know, grandmother you sometimes used strong language, sometimes would roll out swear words{.} But I like your courage!" O Annie it is impossible to tell you in any kind of sequence -- I mix everything up -- I cannot express to you my joy -- my delight, the peace, the rapture of it all. -- I said
"It is rapture", & it was written "And Rose is afraid! Well, I will [ wait corrected ] till she can bear it." That was about the touches --
Mr Whittier is at the Winthrop house for the winter with his cousins.* I am going to dine with Eva & Cora* on Thursday -- day after [ tomorrow ?].
Dear love, goodbye!
I have been a fortnight looking for houses -- not one to be found at West end -- I think we'll have to take South end -- I suppose I shall not write again -- Kiss Pinny* for me. Cant stop to read what I've written. Cant wait to see you. God "bless you, dear.
Your
C.T.
Notes
12 September 1882: This letter belongs with a series of letters from 1882 in which Thaxter reports on the events at Spiritualist sittings, when she believes she receives communications from the dead.
Thaxter dated this letter from Boston on 26 September, but that date is problematic.
She appears to have dated it after composing it; the location and date are written diagonally to the right in the top margin. Though the hand is hers and the ink apparently the same as the rest of the letter, there is reason to believe that she may have added this date long after composing the letter.
The problem is that she reports here her first two consultations with the medium, Mrs. Philbrick. In a letter to Fields of 18 September 1882, she seems to report a subsequent meeting with Philbrick. It is likely, therefore, that this letter was composed before 18 September.
I speculate that she writes on Tuesday 12 September. She reports planning to dine with Eva and Cora on Thursday, "day after tomorrow." On the following Monday, then, she would go again to Mrs. Philbrick.
J.: James T. Fields, deceased spouse of Annie Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs Philbrick: This identification is purely speculative. Mrs. Philbrick may be Mary Hinds Stevens Philbrick (1833-1906). She became a disciple of Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910) in 1884, during the early years of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Her husband was George Albert Philbrick (1832-1917). Her association with Christian Science was not without controversy.
It appears that previous to Mrs. Philbrick, Thaxter had been visiting a medium on Appleton Street in Boston, but this person's identity also is not yet known.
the slate: A more detailed description of Mrs. Philbrick's method appears in Some Reminiscences of a Long Life (1899) by John Hooker, p. 252.
A few years ago I went with a friend in Boston (a Congregational clergyman, who was much interested in the investigation of spiritualistic phenomena) to a Mrs. Philbrick, a woman in whom he had confidence, and who seemed to me to be trust-worthy, who was, however, a public medium. I was introduced to her by my friend, but she knew nothing whatever of me except my name thus given her. In this case I used her slates. An open slate, with a bit of pencil on it, was held under the top of the table, she holding it on one side of the table and I on the other, her other hand laid on the table, and my other hand on hers. The gas was turned wholly off, or so nearly so that the room was dark. Soon the scratching was heard. After it stopped and the gas was turned on, we found a long message, nearly filling the slate, addressed to my wife by her first name, and signed "P. W. D," the initials of the name of a dear friend of hers who had died a year or two before. What is noteworthy here is, that while the communication seemed to come almost certainly from Mrs. D., it yet stated that a certain person (whose name she gave) would soon come over. This person has since died, but not till nearly ten ,years after this. After this we took other slates and in the same way got several messages from departed friends, another to my wife, one to myself signed by a familiar name, and I think two to my friend. Those intended for myself or my wife were characteristic, and alluded to incidents that a stranger could have known nothing of. I could fill many pages with such statements. There would be none, however, more striking than these. I have regarded the theories of mind-reading and of fraud as entirely at fault as explanations of these phenomena. If the matter written had been in my mind, so that the medium could have read it all there, how could it have been got upon the slate? But the matter, so far from being in my mind, was every time a surprise to me.For an explanation of how slate writing may be accomplished, see Spirit Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena (1898) by Chung Ling Soo.
J.W.: American clergyman and author, John Weiss (1818-1879), was a Thaxter family friend as was William Morris Hunt. It seems likely Thaxter refers to Hunt as one of the spirit visitors at this sitting. She also refers to Mr. Weiss, and probably this is the person she also calls Mr. W. See also "Digital Library of Unitarian Universalism."
good": It is not clear where Thaxter intended to open the quotation.
they: Thaxter seems clear on the point that the only living persons at this first sitting were herself and Mrs. Philbrick. "They," therefore, must be the spirits with whom she communicates.
Rose: Rose Lamb. See Key to Correspondents.
Her mother was Hannah Dawes Eliot Lamb (1809-1879).
Nonquit: A section of South Dartmouth, MA.
mother & Wm: Thaxter's mother was Eliza Rymes Laighton (1804-1877).The context of the letter seems to make clear that William is American artist William Morris Hunt (1824-1879).
Sophia D. & Lucretia Mott: Sophia D. probably is the American painter, Ann Sophia Towne Darrah (1819- 24 December 1881), wife of a mutual friend, Robert Kendall Darrah (1818-1885), whom Annie Fields memorialized in an obituary. He sometimes attended "sittings" with Thaxter.
Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880) was a prominent American Quaker social reformer, particularly involved with the abolition of slavery and with women's rights.
"Then: Presumably the quotation mark here was not intended.
Mr. Whittier ... Winthrop house ... cousins: For John Greenleaf Whittier, see Key to Correspondents. Whittier often stayed at the Winthrop House hotel on Bowdoin Street in Boston, a quiet and inexpensive hotel also used by other literary visitors to Boston. Joseph Cartland (1810-1898) and Whittier's cousin Gertrude Cartland (1822-1911) accompanied Whittier on his summer vacations, and Whittier lived in their home at Newburyport, Massachusetts most of his last fifteen winters.
Eva & Cora: Eva von Blomberg and Cora Clark Rice. See Key to Correspondents.
Pinny: Thaxter is using intimate nicknames shared among Jewett, Fields and herself. Pinny is Jewett; Flower is Fields; Sandpiper is Thaxter. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Boston Public Library, Rare Books Department, Celia Thaxter correspondence with Annie Fields, 1869-1893, MS C.1.38 Box 2 Folder 3 (191-209).
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p2565
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Florence 14 September
Dear Mary
I am really quite homesick to go back to Venice, it was so lovely there, and it has been bad weather in Florence ever since we came. Mrs. Fields* has not been quite well and I am thinking seriously about not going any further south. We are not going to Naples now anyway, but we do not mean to give up Rome if we can help it. The air was so bracing and fine in Venice that it makes the inland towns seem close, though today is much cooler. It is lovely all about Florence
[ Page 2 ]
and we have had a lovely drive out to San Miniato and Bellos-Guardo.* Miss Preston* is here and is very pleasant, and we have seen her twice, and also the Princess d’Istria* who is more than nice! I never saw such a welcome as she gave Mrs. Fields. I thought she never would get done hugging her! Her house is lovely, and she gave us the most beautiful flowers the day we were there. Florence is full of pictures and one needs to be here six months instead of six days, to see the half of them. I like the olive
[ Page 3 ]
groves on the hills as well as anything, you don’t know how beautiful they are -- something like willows but even softer looking, and when the wind blows they turn over and show their silver undersides. Sister saw nothing but mulberry trees from Milan to Venice and from Venice here and has ceased to wonder where all the silk comes from, silk things are about as high here as anywhere else in spite of every thing. I suppose because the manufactured goods have to come from a long distance. I have not said a word about the beautiful old churches
[ Page 4 ]
and bell towers here, all built of black and white marble. The baptistery is very fine, and I saw yesterday the famous bronze doors of it but just as we were looking at them the rain began to pour down and we had to scud -- I am just as sleepy as I can be though it isn't very late, and so I will close and say "to be continued".----
With love to all Sarah
Notes
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
San Miniato and Bellos-Guardo: Almost
certainly, Jewett refers to San
Miniato
al Monte, a hilltop basilica in Florence.
Bellosguardo, in this instance, almost certainly is one of
the hills forming the basin of the Arno river valley, in
which Florence is situated.
Miss Preston: Harriet Waters Preston. See Key to Correspondents.
Princess d’Istria: Wikipedia says: "Dora d'Istria
(January 22, 1828, Bucharest - November 17, 1888,
Florence) was the pen-name of duchess Helena
Koltsova-Massalskaya. Born Elena Ghica, she was a
Wallachian-born Romantic writer and feminist of
Romanian-Albanian descent....
"She published a number of works that
not only showed her proficiency in Romanian, Italian,
German, French, Latin, Ancient and Modern Greek, and
Russian, but also her knowledge of scientific topics, her
liberal views on religious and political topics, as well
as a talent for presenting her points. Her general world
view was cosmopolitan, but she also worked hard to bring
the resources and technologies available in Western Europe
to Eastern Europe, and worked towards the emancipation of
her gender."
During the last decade of her life, she
resided mainly in Florence.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Rome 18 September
Dear Mary
When I wrote Rome just now at the head of the letter it seemed so funny that I should be here that I stopped to look at it! We seem to have fallen on a rainy time in Italy, yet when the sun comes out it is most lovely, the sky is so clear and blue. Neither of us felt well in Florence; the hotel was dark and damp and too near the Arno.* I suppose you will say we took a strange cure, when we started for Rome of all places! at this time of the year, but we thought we would try it. Some things about Florence were charming. I saw ever so many lovely pictures and churches, and then it was nice to see Miss Preston*
[ Page 2 ]
And the Princess* was too funny and delightful for anything. I should think she had just hopped out of a novel. One day she came to [deleted words] ask us out to drive in the Cascine (which is a lovely great park just out of Florence)* and you never saw such majesty as it was! She had such funny old man-servants and all the pomp and ceremony you can imagine. She is very well known in Florence and from the moment she made her appearance the way the hotel people scuttled round was amazing. They had been scuttling to a proper extent before but there was nothing like it afterward and I told Mrs. Fields* there was no knowing how much longer our bill would be! -- I found some
[ Page 3 ]
of her cards before we came away and I must send you one for it is quite imposing. We were going to see a good deal more of Her Highness sooner than we had planned.
-- We meant to go to Perugia (as Mrs. F. remembered it was a lovely old place) and spend Sunday, but when we reached the station we found we could only get as far as Arezzo, 55 miles -- [ deleted word ] so we set sail for Arezzo and were five hours on the way as there had been a grand review of Italian troops and they were all coming back that day and so delayed all the other trains. When we had got to our journey’s end we found it such a funny
[ Page 4 ]
little old city on the top of a hill with a very old
cathedral in which were some of the most beautiful glass
windows I ever saw. There was more real country-town life
than we have had much chance to see before and we were in
a most entertaining old hotel. Altogether we quite enjoyed
Arezzo. They had just been dedicating a new statue and the
whole town was hung with flags and garlands.
-- Yesterday we started for Rome from there, and got here between three and four. It has been a damp showery day and we could only be out driving for two hours but in that time we went both to St. Peter’s and the Colosseum. St. Peter’s looks, as it really is, the most
[ Page 5 ]
enormous building ^church^ in the world. It
is six or [seven written over several?]
hundred feet long, some books say much more than
that and the great roof and dome of it seem about as high
as the sky. It breaks your neck to look up at it! It isn't
half so beautiful as the Cathedral at Milan, for the
inside decorations are tawdry, but nothing can really
spoil the great proportions of it or make it anything but
the greatest church in the world in size! As for the
Colosseum I never had any idea of the grandeur of it, and
the sight of it is something I never shall forget. St.
Peter’s with all its statues and colored marbles is a very
cheap thing compared with the wonderful great ruin, with
its empty arches
[ Page 6 ]
and crumbling seats. It used to hold 87,000 people; wasn’t that a circus indeed! We shall only be here a few days and then when we leave Rome we shall be all the time going home, as this is the farthest point of the journey. We had a splendid mail waiting here. I had four letters from you all beautiful lettys,* and so full of pleasant things. I am going to have Mary Harriet* make me a visit when I get back and turn you out of the house. Give my love to Taddy and tell her I will pen her a line soon in return for her part of the mail ^( -- two lettys)^ and that I will get the right gowns when I get to Paris. I hope you and Uncle William* had a nice time up the lake. Love to him and to all the rest. I hope Mrs. Ann is a friend
[Up the left margin and down the top margin of page 6]
to Roger* -- !!!!!! (Raj-jers) Your sister eats sights of figs, there are kinds of figs green and purple and she can eat most of the green. No more at this time from the Queen.*
[Up left margin of page 1 ]
you needn’t write me after the 10th of October.
Notes
Arno: The river that flows through Florence.
Miss Preston: Harriet Waters Preston. See Key to Correspondents.
the Princess: Probably, Jewett refers to
the Princess d’Istria. Wikipedia says: "Dora d'Istria
(January 22, 1828, Bucharest-November 17, 1888, Florence)
was the pen-name of duchess Helena Koltsova-Massalskaya.
Born Elena Ghica, she was a Wallachian-born Romantic
writer and feminist of Romanian-Albanian descent....
"She published a number of works that
not only showed her proficiency in Romanian, Italian,
German, French, Latin, Ancient and Modern Greek, and
Russian, but also her knowledge of scientific topics, her
liberal views on religious and political topics, as well
as a talent for presenting her points. Her general world
view was cosmopolitan, but she also worked hard to bring
the resources and technologies available in Western Europe
to Eastern Europe, and worked towards the emancipation of
her gender."
During the last decade of her life, she
resided mainly in Florence.
Cascine: Wikipedia says: "The Parco delle Cascine (Cascine Park) is a monumental and historical park in the city of Florence."
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields,
often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
lettys: Jewett often uses this alternate
word for "letters."
Mary Harriet: The identity of this person is
unknown.
Taddy: Other letters confirm that Taddy is female; I have assumed she is Jewett's younger sister, Caroline/Caddie Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
Uncle William: William Durham Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Ann ... Roger: Ann was a Jewett family employee; Roger was a Jewett dog.
the Queen: The Queen of Sheba was a family nickname for Jewett.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Celia Thaxter to Annie Adams Fields
Sept 18th (82
My dearest:
James* asked me to write to you again. I saw Mrs P.* yesterday. He said, "It is yet some weeks before they return = write to her, won't you? & tell her how well I am satisfied with all that has been done, that they have both gained so much in many ways, & all is as I wished, that the homecoming will be safe & well," & he laid particular stress on this, "Tell her I have continually spoken to her through Sarah,* that I still do so, -- she doesn't realise it, but it is the greatest pleasure to me that I have been able to do it --" And he talked a great deal about it. They all came with such a rush! Mother bringing Aunty Lunt who was full of solicitude about "Emily{,}"*
Wm* saying how delighted he was with our summer & its results, how faithful we had been sitting as he bade us, & saying, "I heard you when you called me, Celia, so often, & I was delighted"-- Now that is a fact -- I called him aloud when I was alone, for it seemed to me he was nearest (after my [ mother corrected ] ) there -- He said it couldn't be told how much good it had done, though we perceived so little result from our patience & perseverance. "You have been so patient," he said -- O & so much more! It was just as breathlessly interesting as ever -- The "lady Darrah" & Mr Longfellow & J. W.* who talked most solemnly to me -- J. said "give my love to my dear
wife, & you are going to be nearer together than ever before, & it will be such a comfort to you both" -- wasn't it sweet, dear?
I write in bed early Monday [ morng. ? ] in the twilight -- I am so busy househunting -- Yesterday a lady answered my advertisement in [ Transcript corrected ]* & came to see me about the house Jenny Hunt* had, in Chas St. If the rooms are not too expensive, it would do nicely for us -- Saw Mrs Vincent* in the horse car who asked most affectionately for you: when you were coming home &c, said she wished she could know day & hour to have some flowers to [ welcome corrected ] you. Mr W.M.H.* is coming to Boston to build a house on Marlboro St. & live in it! So I am told -- Went to see Mrs Pitblado* -- O what an empty sound the bell made when it rang! She came to the door, polite & pleased to see me -- There was a mountain of mail for you in the chair. She said you wd sail for home on the 25th. I was so glad!
I hope you can see those mystic people* in London!
Goodbye, my darling -- it will soon be welcome! Kiss & hug that dearest dear Pinny* for me.
[ Signature appears to be C and T. superimposed. ]
Notes
James: James T. Fields, Fields's husband, who died on 24 April 1881. Later in the letter, she refers to him again as J.
The first part of this letter recounts the results of a series of Spiritualist "sittings" in which Thaxter participated during the time Fields and Sarah Orne Jewett traveled together in Europe.
All of the people Thaxter names presumably were dead, except for the "medium,"Mrs P. Though Thaxter speaks of them as mutual acquaintances, identifying them is a challenge.
Mrs P: This should be Mrs. Philbrick, a spiritualist medium whom Thaxter consults during 1882. Mrs. Philbrick may be Mary Hinds Stevens Philbrick (1833-1906). She became a disciple of Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910) in 1884, during the early years of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Her husband was George Albert Philbrick (1832-1917). Her association with Christian Science was not without controversy.
This identification is speculative, and it is problematic because Thaxter records her first meetings with Philbrick in a letter to Fields that she dates 26 September. I believe that she mistakenly dated the later letter well after composing it, and I have changed that date to 12 September. But of course I could be wrong.
Sarah: Mr. Fields has communicated that he wants his wife to know that since his death, he now speaks to her through Sarah Orne Jewett.
Mother ... Aunty Lunt ... "Emily": Thaxter's mother was Eliza Rymes Laighton (1804–1877). "Emily" almost certainly is Emily. F. de Normandie (1836-1916). Her husband was a Unitarian minister, James de Normandie (1836-1924). See Men of Progress p. 360. Perhaps her name appears in quotation marks because she is a living person, about whom the deceased Aunt Lunt expresses concern. Aunty Lunt probably is a relative of Mrs. De Normandie's grandmother, Ann Lunt Jones.
Wm: Perhaps most prominent among deceased Thaxter friends addressed as William would be American artist William Morris Hunt (1824-1879).
"lady Darrah" & Mr Longfellow & J. W.: "lady Darrah" is probably the American painter, Ann Sophia Towne Darrah (1819- 24 December 1881), deceased wife of a mutual friend, Robert Kendall Darrah (1818-1885). Annie Fields memorialized Mr. Darrah in an obituary. He sometimes attended "sittings" with Thaxter.
American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who died 24 March 1882. See Key to Correspondents.
J.W. probably is American clergyman and author, John Weiss (1818-1879), a Thaxter family friend as was William Morris Hunt. See also "Digital Library of Unitarian Universalism."
Transcript: The Boston Evening Transcript.
Jenny Hunt: Thaxter probably refers to Jane Hunt (1822-1907), the only sister of her friend and mentor, American artist William Morris Hunt (1824-1879).
W.M.H.: William Morris Hunt is deceased. Presumably, then, she refers to someone else. Hunt's son, Morris, was born in 1856.
Mrs Vincent: This could be Mary Ann Farlin Vincent (1818-1887), a British born Irish-American actor.
Mrs Pitblado: It seems likely this is Euphemia Wilson Pitblado (1849-1928), an American social reformer and writer, active in Woman Suffrage, Temperance, and missionary support. However, it appears that she is staying at Fields's home in Boston, and about this nothing is yet known.
mystic people: Thaxter refers to Spiritualist celebrities then in London.
Pinny: Thaxter is using intimate nicknames shared among Jewett, Fields and herself. Pinny is Jewett; Flower is Fields; Sandpiper is Thaxter. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Boston Public Library, Rare Books Department, Celia Thaxter correspondence with Annie Fields, 1869-1893, MS C.1.38 Box 2 Folder 3 (191-209)
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/qb98p248g
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to William Perry
[ 1882 ]*
Dear Grandpa
I was 'led to think' of you at once the night I reached here, for a bell began to ring near by which sounded exactly like the lower church bell in Exeter at nine o'clock! ----- I never heard two bells that were more alike and it amused me very much, but I found Rome a very different place in the morning from any of my towns at home. Since we have been here we have been constantly on the go, and I think I shall remember what I have seen here very well -- I cant begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed
every-thing from the rivers down to the chestnuts, and I shall have no end of things to tell you when I get home -- I am always looking forward to that for it is little use to try to write -- In the first place there is no time but evenings, and then I get tired and sleepy --
-- I suppose you have [ kept corrected ] the [ news ? ] of me very well from the people at home, but I am always wanting to say how much I like Venice and how glad I am that I went there -- I think it is the most interesting place (always except London) on this side of the sea -- and I am so glad that we had so
much time there and such good weather -- It is perfectly delightful to be in Italy in the fruit season and the sights of the great vineyards and the ripe grapes is really most beautiful -- Most people come here in the spring and miss all that so I am lucky -- We meant to go down to Naples, but it is still too warm for us to go farther south with much comfort -- and it was better to have the extra time here and in Venice -- When we leave here tomorrow we shall be turning our faces home-
I have seen so much that I feel sometimes as if I had been away a great while longer -- I cant tell you what a pleasure it has been to be with Mrs Fields,* and it seems to me nobody could be so good a travelling companion in every way -- you dont know what a lovely summer I have had -- Of course travelling is often very hard work and I have often been tired and uncomfortable, but it seems very ungrateful to think of that side of it, and I dont mean to -- I think we have had as few uncomfortable days as one has
the least right to expect and when I think I have been in Ireland and England and Scotland and Norway and Holland and Germany and Switzerland and Italy and in a few days, in France I think I have made a good use of the time --
Almost everywhere we have had as much time as we really wanted -- I must say good-night: I don't mean this for any account of my travels, [ deletion ] for I would rather wait and talk about them as I told you, but I wanted to tell you how often I think of you, and how much
Give ever so much love to Uncle Will and Aunty and Fanny,* and with much for yourself I am
Sarah --
Notes
1882: Jewett describes her 1882 travels in Europe.
Fields: Annie Adams Fields. Key to Correspondents.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. Key to Correspondents.
Miss Gardner: Probably this is Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau (1837-1922). This is somewhat confusing, however, as Jewett refers to "Mrs." Gardner elsewhere, as in her letter to Mary Rice Jewett of 18 October.
Uncle Will ... Aunty ... Fanny: The family of William Gilman Perry.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 6, Item 273.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Genoa 25 September
Dear Mary
I really didn’t have a chance to write you again in Rome, for I got tired and went to bed so early every night! I am glad we are away from there it seemed so hot and close, but I am thankful that I really have been there. Here in Genoa it is lovely. We have such a beautiful view of the harbour from our big front windows and the Mediterranean all colours of the rainbow but chiefly bluer than any blue in the world. All day yesterday
[ Page 2 ]
it was lovely. We left Rome the day before and came to
Pisa, and yesterday morning we came drove all
about and I went up into the leaning tower and was very
much afraid that it would tumble over on me as every body
else has been for several hundred years! That and the
cathedral and the baptistery all stand together and are
all mosaic and white marble and look so beautiful against
the bright Italian sky. Most of yesterday and the day
[ Page 3 ]
before we were within sight of the sea and it was very comfortable in the cars. We shall have three long days journeys between here and Paris and I wish they were over with, but we shall stop every night which will rest us. [ Only corrected ] four weeks now before I start for home and though nobody ever enjoyed ‘Europe’ more, you don’t know how glad I shall be. I really don’t want to spend the winter though so many people prophesied that I should. I shall be so glad to see you [ deleted word ] and all my friends, and to go on with my writing and my own affairs. I can’t [ deleted word ]
[ Page 4 ]
imagine how people get discontented and want to come back. It seems to me I have been growing fonder of home all the time and I have had twice as good a time here this summer as most people have, I know! I like the dome of Boston state house* better than the dome of St. Peters, if it is smaller! and Agamenticus* is a very good little hill if it isn’t as high as the Alps. But (not to joke any more) I think one can learn and enjoy a great deal more in some ways here than in America, and I have tried to get all the advantages that I could. It was splendid
[ Page 5 ]
to see the old statues in Rome and I think there is no way to study history like going to these oldest cities. Seeing other countries makes you understand your own better ---
-- What a good time you must have had up the lake! The last letter I had was just as you were starting for York and I hope that trip was a cheerful one too. I had such a laugh over [Shual ? ], but I think she is a great loss! I am afraid you will think I might have written a better letter, but I will bid you all good evening because I am quite tired, and I will have every particular next time.
From your
loving Sarah
Notes
dome of the Boston state house: The
Massachusetts state
capital
building.
Agamenticus: Mount
Agamenticus, east of Jewett's home town, South
Berwick, ME and visible from high points in and near the
town is 692 feet above sea level.
Shual: This transcription is uncertain and the name unknown.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Paris 29 September
Dear Mary
I have much as [ever or even ? ]* got to Paris so you needn’t expect to hear anything about it, and you might make believe I wrote the letter on the road. We came right up from Turin without stopping at Dijon as we first planned and are so relieved that the long journey is over. We had a splendid day for coming across the Alps and through the Mont Cenis tunnel* (as if weather made any difference in that!) The mountains were covered with snow and the leaves were changed (I mean the lower mountains which were bare
[ Page 2 ]
when we were in Switzerland before) and it was such a contrast to Italy. The trees had changed colour and we had the car windows open so the breeze came through and it really seemed like fall weather at home, and I must say I had enough of the Italian summer lovely as it was to see, and to eat the fruits of. We have got such a nice place to stay, Mrs. Fields* has had a good deal of experience in living in Paris and she says she doesn’t think we can do better. It is the Hotel St. Petersbourg in the Rue Caumartin* and we have a nice bedroom and parlor
[ Page 3 ]
and room for Liza* all on the first floor which means here, up one flight of stairs. I have sent a note to ‘Julie’* and am waiting with great impatience to see her. I think it will be great fun. Mrs. Fields has some friends here whom she will want to see as much as she can, and I mean to make Julie go cruising. You don’t know how lovely and kind dear Mrs. Fields is. I can’t tell you how many nice things she is always doing for me, and how much pleasanter it has made the summer to have her to see things with. I always mean to do every thing I can for her and to be with her all the time I can spare and that I don’t owe to my other friends.
[ Page 4 ]
I do feel as if she needed me too and I really hate to think of her going home to be all alone while I go off to see all of you. I think if I don’t get up very early in the morning, I shall go home with her and spend the night, for it will be pleasanter ^for her^. We are so used to being together now --
-- -- We have been out cruising all the afternoon and had great luck. I really had come to rags, and I got a little waist to wear with my short black silk and now I can live on that. You somehow have a feeling as if you could pick up good clothes in the[ Page 5 ]
streets in Paris, but the truth is it is just about like going shopping in New York and not a bit easier or much cheaper. There are neat lovely shops for fancy things, and knickknacks and I wish I had all the money I started with so I could buy everything I saw for half a day! Paris is awfully nice and bright and amusing. I believe I always like the last place best. I mean the last very nice place. Sister wants to live in Venice and have crabs in she’s front door steps. [a short wavy line ]
I got your last two letters here and I am so sorry I didn’t
[ Page 6 ]
know about Taddy’s* wanting the Roman sash, but she wrote me when I was there that she wanted me to use the ten dollars she gave me for night-gowns so of course I thought she had changed her mind about the sash. I think they are lovely, but I don’t think they are very useful things. If I come across one here at any decent price I will get it, but as they were five dollars in Rome, I suppose here they would be nearly double. I should be so glad to get a thousand pretty things for all of you, but I had to get my winter clothes, and Mrs. Fields kept
[ Page 7 ]
laughing and at last made me keep some money for them and it is a mercy sister being now in rags. Mrs. Ole* told us of such a nice dress maker and today we went to view her with great satisfaction. I am going to have a very dark red for my winter suit, about the colour of that wine coloured thibet* I used to have & like so much when I was much as ever growed up. Good-night and Mrs. Fields sends a great deal of love and I wish Mother could see the Bon Marché. Jordan and
[ Page 8 ]
Mash* are quite put out both as to size and glory. Sister to kite every place to Kirk Sessions* tomorrow it being Sunday.
[ No signature ]
Notes
Mount Cenis tunnel: Wikipedia says: "The Fréjus Rail Tunnel (also called Mont Cenis Tunnel) is a rail tunnel of 13.7 km (8.5 mi) length in the European Alps, carrying the Turin-Modane railway through Mount Cenis to an end-on connection with the Culoz-Modane railway and linking Bardonecchia in Italy to Modane in France." l
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Hotel St. Petersbourg in the Rue Caumartin: The Hotel St. Petersbourg Opéra remains at 35 Rue Caumartin in 2016.
Liza: Personal servant of Annie Fields, who
accompanied the pair on this trip.
'Julie': The identity of Julie remains
unknown. It appears that she may be a singer,
living in France but known to Jewett before Fields.
In a letter of Mary Rice Jewett of 10
October 1882, Jewett indicates the Julie is well-known to
the entire Jewett family. This suggests that she may refer
to Stella Louise Walworth (Mrs. Wallace) Pierce. As
seen in Anna Laurens Dawes to Jewett of May 26, 1876, Miss
Walworth was familiarly known by her nickname,
Lulie. While it appears that Jewett has written
'Julie' usually in quotation marks in every instance in
these letters of 1882, perhaps she actually wrote
'Lulie.' See Ella Walworth in Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Ole: Sara Chapman Thorp Bull. See Key to Correspondents.
thibet: Thibet is a fine wool fabric used
for dresses and also for coats in the 19th century.
Bon Marché …. Jordan and Mash: Wikipedia says: "Le Bon Marché ...
is a department store in Paris. Founded in 1852 by
Aristide Boucicaut, it was the first ever modern
department store.
Wikipedia also says that Jordan
Marsh & Company was a Boston department store which
became a regional chain in New England. Eben Dyer
Jordan opened a dry goods store in 1841; he eventually
partnered with Benjamin L. Marsh as he expanded his
business.
kite every place to Kirk Sessions: Jewett indicates that she will be attending church, apparently in more than one place.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton
Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne,
1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930,
recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d.
Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am
1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry
Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart
and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Paris 8 October
Dear Mary
How perfectly dreadful it was about Ralph Doe!* I sent Mrs. Doe a letter, but I could not say much of anything except how sorry I was for her, it must have been a dreadful shock. I hope to hear more about it in a day or two for I get your letters regularly now and it is so nice.
-- We are getting on beautifully today and yesterday, and have started some frocks -- and I have ordered a nice big coat trimmed with fur which I have been setting my heart on all the time and meant to have if I had nothing else.
[ Page 2 ]
I am going to have a dark red dress for my street suit ^I told you once though!^ and wear it under the cloak which throws off easily -- for you need not have a little outside coat to match your dress anymore. For instance you can wear your black plush jacket with anything. Dark blue and dark green and dark red all seem to be worn and braiding has come back. I wish if you have kept the braided pieces that were on the blue broadcloth dress you would have them put on again round the bottom of the petticoat &c over the plush. I’ll show you how I mean when I get home for it is new and very stylish and will make you as lovely a
[ Page 3 ]
dress as you will want. I have got three dresses, a reddish silk for a dinner dress, and the darker red dress I told you about, and a light thin one for next summer. Even if I could afford it I think those are all I really need. It is a great temptation to get things here, they are so pretty. We are staying in today because Mrs. Fields* has somehow taken an awful cold and we are dwelling by the fire joyfully. Our rooms are so pretty and pleasant and it is such fun to see the people in the street. I must go out pretty soon to try on my dresses and I wish it was over
[ Page 4 ]
with. Do tell Miss Grant* that the lop-over ruffles have been all the fashion this summer just as she said, and I am a little more reconciled to them than at first but not much. We have not done much sightseeing yet for we were so busy yesterday and day before. Mrs. Fields sends love and I will write again in a day or two. I have not seen Julie* yet, she is still in the country --
Yours lovingly
S.O.J.
Notes
Ralph Doe: Edith Bell Haven (Mrs. Charles Cogwell) Doe. According to her "Find-a-Grave" page, "Edith belonged to a reading group that included Georgina Halliburton, Celia Thaxter, Mary and Sarah Orne Jewett." Her son, Ralph Doe (1886-1882) died on 17 September in Nebraska at the age of 16. His death record indicates that he was working in the cattle business near North Platte and died from injuries in a prairie fire.
Miss Grant: Olive Grant, South Berwick dress-maker. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Julie: The identity of Julie remains
unknown. It appears that she may be a singer,
living in France but known to Jewett before Fields.
In a letter to Mary Rice Jewett of 10
October 1882, Jewett indicates the Julie is well-known to
the entire Jewett family. This suggests that she may refer
to Stella Louise Walworth (Mrs. Wallace) Pierce. As
seen in Anna Laurens Dawes to Jewett of May 26, 1876, Miss
Walworth was familiarly known by her nickname,
Lulie. While it appears that Jewett has written
'Julie' usually in quotation marks in every instance in
these letters of 1882, perhaps she actually wrote
'Lulie.' See Ella Walworth in Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Paris 10 October
Dear Mary
I have been on the wing all day for Paris is growing more delightful every day, and we find more to do. First came your nice letter and Carrie’s* which is the nicest one I have had from her since I came away and I mean to write her soon as I can. After we had read ‘the mail’ and had breakfast we went to the Louvre* as we have been taking that in installments. Today we saw the last of the pictures and we had left some of the statuary and we wound up with a view of the Venus de Milo,* which is really more
[ Page 2 ]
beautiful twice over than any of the copies -- I think usually the casts are as good as the originals, it isn’t like pictures which always seem to keep the life of the painter’s touch, and to lose it in a copy. Mrs. Fields* laughs because in Milan and Venice I fell dead in love with some pictures by an artist of the fifteenth century called Gentile Bellini. You pronounce him genteely Belleny, and he is very much to be admired but you can’t help laughing at his pictures, too. I found there were two of his works in the Louvre and have hunted
[ Page 3 ]
and hunted until today I found them -- Then we went to the banker and then came home to lunch and found ‘Julie’* here and we had great fun and gossiped a good while and then she and I went out together and I went to see the apartment of four rooms she has taken for the winter. She is still in the country. Mrs. Fields has asked her in for Friday night and we are going to the opera and then I am going out in the country to spend the day with her. I have only seen her once
[ Page 4 ]
before as she has been in Normandy and was detained there by the floods.* We are so lucky to have been in Italy. I mean in the region of Venice just when we were for if we had been a week later we should have had a very bad time. Julie looks just the same and is very bright and pleasant and she and Mrs. Fields get on together amazingly. Mrs. Fields has great fun with her and seems so much amused with her. We had her singing today and it seemed so much like old times. I am glad Mrs. F. does
[ Page 5 ]
like her and see her ‘good side’ -- The Grangers* whom we saw so much in Interlaken are here too and we are very glad -- Thursday we mean to go to Versailles and I shall enjoy that very much. In the evenings we have been reading a book about the French Revolution* which makes Paris twice as interesting. Goodnight with ever so much love from the Q of Sheby* --
Tell mother Julie looks just like the little owl!!
Notes
Carrie's: Caroline Jewett Eastman. See Correspondents. See Key to Correspondents.
Louvre: The world's largest art museum in Paris.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Correspondents.
'Julie': this person remains unknown. It appears that she may be a singer, living in France but known to Jewett before Fields. However, in this letter, Jewett indicates the Julie is well-known to the entire Jewett family. This suggests that she may refer to Stella Louise Walworth (Mrs. Wallace) Pierce. As seen in Anna Laurens Dawes to Jewett of May 26, 1876, Miss Walworth was familiarly known by her nickname, Lulie. While it appears that Jewett has written 'Julie' usually in quotation marks in every instance in these letters of 1882, perhaps she actually wrote 'Lulie.' See Ella Walworth in Normandy … the floods: Normandy is a region of
northwest France.
There were major floods in both Europe
and the United States during 1882. According to memoranda
of "John Davies Mereweather, " "In September 1882, during
the reign of King Umberto I, north-eastern Italy suffered
from heavy rains which, together with melting snow from
the Alps, caused disastrous inundations. The Adige burst
its banks, and large areas were flooded. Verona, in
particular, suffered serious damage. Communication between
that city and Venice was entirely cut off. Mereweather
reports to English newspapers that the 'misery, ruin, and
suffering are widespread and painful to
contemplate'. And 'scantily-dressed men, women, and
children may be seen gazing in dumb despair on the ruins
of the dwellings from which they escaped as these crumbled
and dissolved amid the surging waters'. According to the
Italian consul in Manchester, nearly 200,000 persons were
rendered homeless. In November, Mereweather writes, 'a
fresh series of storms swept over this unfortunate country
and made matters infinitely worse'.
There also were floods in much of
France during the autumn of 1882. Before 2016, the
worst flooding in Paris had taken place in December 1882.
the Grangers: The identities of these persons is unknown.
French Revolution: Wikipedia says: "The French
Revolution ... was a period of far-reaching social and
political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until
1799, and was partially carried forward by Napoleon during
the later expansion of the French Empire. The Revolution
overthrew the monarchy, established a republic,
experienced violent periods of political turmoil, and
finally culminated in a dictatorship under Napoleon that
rapidly brought many of its principles to Western Europe
and beyond."
Q of Sheby: The Queen of Sheba was a family nickname for Jewett.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Sunday 15th October
Dear O. P.*
Only think, when you get this letter I shall be already on the sea! Every body has had a good voyage lately that I have heard of and I hope we shall. I can’t write much today for we are going to Mrs. Greene’s* to dine and I shall have to dress pretty soon. Did I tell you how much I had enjoyed her? She is a sister of Mr. Quincy Shaw’s and it was her daughter Bessie who was lost on the Schiller at the time Dr. Susan Dimoch was lost.* -- She is a lovely woman
[ Page 2 ]
and one of Mrs. Fields’s best friends but they had not seen each other for five years. She has been so nice ever since we have been here. I must tell you about our day at Versailles which was perfectly delightful. It was a real Indian summer day* and the park was more beautiful than any I have ever seen, full of magnificent trees. The elms grow on either side of the avenues and are trained and trimmed so they make the loveliest great arches like those in Milan Cathedral. Then there are rows of poplars very
[ Page 3 ]
long and stiff and splendid, and great gardens and fountains and clipped hedges all most beautifully kept. The Palace is crammed with pictures and just to walk through all the rooms takes several hours for the buildings cover ever so many acres. I don’t dare to tell you how many! You can see where Marie Antoinette* lived and all her furniture and many things left there when they were mobbed and brought into Paris. The King’s apartments were beautiful, and it is such a beautiful place altogether. We went to the Little Trianon*
[ Page 4 ]
where the King and Queen used to go for pleasure and even the Queen’s piano was there and ever so many things in her bedroom as if she had just gone away yesterday, poor creature. Of course there were others living at Versailles before them but nobody since -- I do want to tell you all about it when I get home. Yesterday I went to the country to spend the day with Julia* and had a very nice time and a splendid breakfast! Mrs. Fields was going too (Julia came in Friday and spent the night.) but it rained and she did not feel as if it were safe, as her cold isn’t well yet. Julia really is going to have a beautiful place
[ Page 5 ]
out there, and though I couldn’t see as much of the outside ^as^ I wished, I still could see a good deal. Her gardens must have been beautiful earlier in the season. She is coming into Paris very soon now for the winter. She has ever so much land on the place she has bought, and is so interested in it and I do think it is a capital thing for her and that she is much happier than ever she was in Washington. -----
I must say good-bye, and do a little packing before I [dare ?] to go* out. I don’t know which
[ Page 6 ]
^way^ we shall turn tomorrow there are so many things we
want to do. You don’t know how glad I am to be going back
to London! Love to Mother and all from Sarah.
Notes
O.P.: A Jewett nickname for Mary Rice Jewett.
Mrs. Greene ... a sister of Mr. Quincy Shaw’s
... her daughter Bessie ... lost on the Schiller ... Dr.
Susan Dimoch: Wikipedia says: "SS Schiller
was a 3,421 ton German ocean liner, one of the largest
vessels of her time. Launched in 1873, she plied her trade
across the Atlantic Ocean, carrying passengers between New
York and Hamburg for the German Transatlantic Steam
Navigation Line. She became notorious on 7 May 1875, while
operating on her normal route, when she hit the Retarrier
Ledges in the Isles of Scilly [in the English Channel],
causing her to sink with the loss of most of her crew and
passengers, totaling 335 fatalities."
Wikipedia also says: "Susan Dimock
M.D. (April 24, 1847 - May 7, 1875) was a pioneer in
American Medicine who received her qualification as a
doctor from the University of Zurich in 1871 and was
subsequently appointed resident physician of the New
England Hospital for Women and Children in 1872. The
hospital, now known as the Dimock Community Health Center,
was renamed in her honor after her tragic drowning in
1875. Dimock was traveling to Europe for pleasure and
profession when she died in the shipwreck of the SS
Schiller off the coast of the Scilly Isles. She is also
remembered for becoming the first woman member of the
North Carolina Medical Society."
According to Wikipedia, Quincy Adams Shaw
(1825-1908) of Boston inherited great wealth and spent
much of his life engaged in various business and
philanthropic activities. He traveled in the West
with his cousin, Francis Parkman, Jr., who dedicated his
book, The Oregon Trail, to Shaw. Members of
his family were active in abolition and the Civil
War. He married Pauline Agassiz, daughter of the
Harvard biologist, Louis Agassiz.
Shaw's sister, Anna
Blake Shaw (1817-1901), married the minister and
activist, William Batchelder Greene
(1819-1878). Their daughter, Elizabeth (Bessie,
1846-1875), who became a benefactor of the New England
Hospital for Women and Children and was lost with the Schiller.
See also Wikipedia and The
Fiftieth
Anniversary
of
the
New
England
Hospital
for Women and Children (1913 ) pp. 48-9.
The circled number 31 in pencil, apparently in another hand, appears above the final "lost" in the sentence the above note explains.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
Indian summer day: In the northern hemisphere,
an unseasonably warm spell between late September and
early November, usually after the first killing frost.
Marie Antoinette: Wikipedia says: "Marie Antoinette
... born Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna (1755-1793), was
the last Queen of France prior to the French
Revolution....
"After a two-day trial begun on 14
October 1793, Marie Antoinette was convicted by the
Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason, and executed by
guillotine on Place de la Révolution on 16 October 1793."
little Trianon: Wikipedia says: "Petit Trianon ...
built between 1762 and 1768 during the reign of Louis XV,
is a small château located on the grounds of the Palace of
Versailles in Versailles, France. The park of the Grand
Trianon includes the Petit Trianon."
Julia: It seems likely this is the same
person who is referred to in other 1882 letters from
Europe as "Julie." The identity of Julie remains
unknown. It appears that she may be a singer,
living in France but known to Jewett before Fields.
In a letter of Mary Rice Jewett of 10
October 1882, Jewett indicates the Julie is well-known to
the entire Jewett family. This suggests that she may refer
to Stella Louise Walworth (Mrs. Wallace) Pierce. As
seen in Anna Laurens Dawes to Jewett of May 26, 1876, Miss
Walworth was familiarly known by her nickname,
Lulie. While it appears that Jewett has written
'Julie' usually in quotation marks in every instance in
these letters of 1882, perhaps she actually wrote
'Lulie.' See Ella Walworth in Key to Correspondents.
go: The circled number 31 in pencil, apparently in another hand, appears beneath "go."
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Mary Rice Jewett 1847-1930, recipient, 40 letters; 1877-1892 & n.d. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College, with assistance from Tanner Brossart and Linda Heller.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
10 Clarges St.
London
18 October
[1882]
Dear O.P.*
[ Page 2 ]
[ Page 3 ]
[ Page 4
]
[ Page 5 ]
She says that we couldn’t get a good stateroom on the
Cephalonia -- and on the Parthia* we have the best, so we
shall sail the 25th. Love to all from the
Queen --*
10 Clarges Street: Which
hotel was located at this London Mayfair address is not
yet known.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as A.F. See Key to Correspondents.
tired: The circled
number 32 in pencil, apparently in another hand, appears
above "tired."
Liza: Personal servant
of Annie Fields, who accompanied the pair on this
trip.
Mrs. Gardner … a picture of
Evangeline: Probably this is Elizabeth Jane
Gardner Bouguereau (1837-1922). Wikipedia says she was "an American
academic and salon painter, who was born in Exeter, New
Hampshire. She was an American expatriate who died in
Paris where she had lived most of her life. She studied in
Paris under the figurative painter Hugues Merle
(1823-1881), the well-known salon painter Jules Joseph
Lefebvre (1836- 1911), and finally under William-Adolphe
Bouguereau (1825- 1905). After Bouguereau's wife died,
Gardner became his paramour and after the death of his
mother, who bitterly opposed the union, she married him in
1896. She adopted his subjects, compositions and even his
smooth facture, channeling his style so successfully that
some of her work might be mistaken for his."
Probably, Jewett refers to her as "Mrs.
Gardner" because at this time, she was living with, but
not married to Mr. Bouguereau.
No painting of hers
entitled "Evangeline" has yet been located. It seems
likely that the subject of such a painting would be Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow's character in his narrative poem, Evangeline
(1847), which recounts the sad love story of an Acadian
woman.
Queen: The Queen of Sheba was
a family nickname for Jewett.
The
circled number 32 in pencil, apparently in another hand,
appears beneath at the bottom left of this page.
Sarah Orne Jewett to John Greenleaf Whittier
London
10 Clarges Street*
October 19, [1882]
My dear Friend:
Mrs.
Fields* has gone out alone to do some pleasant things we
planned to do together, for just before we left Paris I
took an enormous cold which doubled itself, as it crossed
the Channel, so in these last dear days in London I must
stay in the house. It is a great pity! but I am the last
person who ought to grumble, for I have been so fortunate
all this summer long. How soon I shall be seeing you! and
telling you stories so long that you will be tired of
listening! I have had such a good time and I am so glad I
need not stay away from home all winter!!
We are
perfectly delighted to find that you are really going to
spend the winter in town and Mrs. Fields says she is going
to try to make you promise to come one certain day every
week to breakfast (besides every other day you can!) and
then we shall be sure of you. I say "we" because I hope I
shall be at 148 Charles St. very often indeed. What times
there will be at the Winthrop House1 with you
and "The Sandpiper"* both under its roof. Something may
happen to the roof, for all I know! Now goodbye and God
bless you, and if you don't find any news in this letter
you will find my love and A. F.'s beside.
Yrs ever, S. O. J.
Oh -- "Asquam Lake"2 was perfectly
beautiful. Mrs. Fields found it copied into a paper, and
we guawked* over it as even the Sandpiper never could! and
were so proud. It was fresh and strong and carried us
straight there to see it too.
Richard Cary's Notes
1. The Winthrop Hotel on Bowdoin Street
in Boston was a frequent retreat for Mrs. Thaxter when the
winters on the Isles of Shoals became too rigorous.
Whittier spent the winter of 1882-1883 at the hotel to be
near his dying brother.
2. "Storm on Lake Asquam," dated "7th
mo., 1882," was first published in the Atlantic
Monthly, L (October 1882), 463, and collected in The
Bay
of
Seven
Islands,
and Other Poems (1883).
Additional editor's notes
10 Clarges Street: Which hotel was located at this London Mayfair address is not yet known.
Parthia: Wikipedia says that the Cunard steamship line was a leading North Atlantic passenger steam-ship line in the 1880s. The SS Parthia was in service from 1870 to 1884.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams
Fields, often referred to in Jewett's letters as
A.F. She resided at 148 Charles St. in Boston.
See Key
to Correspondents.
The Sandpiper: A nickname given to Celia Thaxter by her closest friends. See Key to Correspondents.
guawked: Thaxter usually
rendered this probable "Sandpiper" sound as "quawk."
This letter was transcribed and
annotated by Richard Cary, and first published in
"'Yours Always Lovingly': Sarah Orne Jewett to John
Greenleaf Whittier," Essex Institute Historical
Collections 107 (1971): 412-50. This article was reprinted
at the Sarah Orne Jewett Text Project by permission of the
library of the American Antiquarian Society and the
Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
10 Clarges St.*
Monday 23
[October, 1882]
Dear Mary
[ Page 2 ]
[ Up the left margin of page 2 ]
[ Up the left margin of page 1]
Notes
10 Clarges Street: Which hotel was located at this London Mayfair address is not yet known.
Mrs. Ritchie: Wikipedia says: "Anne Isabella, Lady Ritchie, née Thackeray (1837-1919), was an English writer. She was the eldest daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray. She was the author of several novels which were highly regarded in their time, and a central figure in the late Victorian literary scene. She is perhaps best remembered today as the custodian of her father's literary legacy, and for her short fiction placing traditional fairy tale narratives in a Victorian milieu."
Mrs. Smalley’s ... Mrs. Huxley:
Mrs.
Smalley
is
Phoebe
Garnaut
(d.
1923)
whose husband, George
Washburn
Smalley (1833-1916), was war and foreign
correspondent for the New York Tribune.
Mrs. Huxley is Julia Arnold
(1862-1908), daughter of British literary scholar Tom
Arnold and niece of the poet Matthew Arnold. She
was the first wife of the British educator Leonard
Huxley (1860-1933), who was the son of the famous
zoologist and defender of Charles Darwin, Thomas Henry
Huxley. Leonard and Julia were the parents of two
especially distinguished sons, biologist Julian and
writer Aldous.
Q of S: The Queen of Sheba was
a family nickname for Jewett.
Edited by Terry Heller, Coe College.
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