Herman Melville, Mariner and Mystic
any letter--even the shortest and most hurried is acceptable and
better than none--though I must confess my prejudice sins in favour
of _long_ ones--but I am glad to hear _anything_ from home. You
addressed my last letter just right and it came very straight--but
Allan’s name is spelt with an ‘a’ instead of an ‘e’--as Allan--not
Allen--different names, you see--I am hoping that sometime or other
father will find time to write to me--though I know he is so much
occupied with other matters.
“Thank you for your kindness about the picture box--as I do not need
any article at present, I will keep the dollar till I do--it will be
the same thing, you know, and I have already got such a New Year’s
present in the big box upstairs--by the way, in about a week more, it
will be time to open it. Oh, what do you think about my calling on
Mrs. Joe Henshaw and Josephine--they are living here and came here
after I did, so perhaps I ought to call first if it is best for me
to visit them--being connected with the Haywoods perhaps it would be
better to renew the acquaintance. What do you think about it? Please
tell me when you write, and get their address from Aunt Haywood, if
you think I had better call. I am afraid you are tired of this long
letter; but I have done now. Good-bye, and love to all.
“Affectionately yours,
“ELIZABETH S. MELVILLE.
“P. S. I have a letter from Mrs. Warpwell a few days since--I didn’t
know she had lost one of her twins before. Why didn’t you tell me? My
love to Mrs. Sullivan. I hope she is quite well again. Tell Lem we
expect him next month in his mention to make us a visit.”
“NEW YORK, Feb. 4th, 1848.
“103 Fourth Avenue.
“MY DEAR MOTHER:
“Every day for the last week I have been trying to write to you,
but have been prevented. I received your letter by Lemuel with much
pleasure and the next time you write I want you to tell me more about
Carrie--how she and the small baby are getting along--and whether she
took ether when she was sick and if so, with what effect. What they
have decided to name the baby and all about it. Your presents were
very acceptable--Herman was much gratified with your remembrance to
him--and intends to make his acknowledgment for himself. You forgot
Kate in the multitude of Melvilles--so I just gave her my share of
the bill you enclosed without saying anything about it--knowing you
would not intentionally leave her out--or rather I gave the bill to
Helen for herself, Fanny and Kate, as she could get what they most
wanted better than I--so it’s all right now, and I will take the will
for the deed and thank you all the same.
“The key of the basket that you wanted me to send--you know--I have
_no bills_ there whatever--you have them all. I only have an account
of the expenditure and a memorandum of the bills that were paid--not
the item of the bills. If you have an opportunity where it will come
safe I should like to have you send me that basket very much.
“You speak of a Mr. Crocker whom you wish me to receive. If he will
call I shall be very happy to see him. You know we are recently
renumbered and our address now is ‘No. 103 Fourth Avenue’, ‘between
11th & 12th Streets’--it is safer to add for a time.
“Lem seems to be enjoying himself highly with the amusements out of
doors, and the society within. Last night he went to a masked ball,
under the auspices of Mrs. Elwell, through Aunt Marat’s kindness,
and a very fine appearance he presented, I can assure you, in an
old French court dress--with a long curled horse-hair wig, chapeau
bras--knee breeches, long stockings, buckles, snuff box and all--it
was a very becoming dress to him, and exactly suited to his carriage
and manners--I wish you could have seen him. We went to a party
ourselves last evening, but we had a deal of fun helping him to
dress--he went masked of course, but being introduced by Mrs. Elwell
was very kindly received--taking Mrs. Dickinson (the hostess) down
to supper, and doing the polite thing to the nine Misses Dickinson.
He enjoyed it much, as you may suppose, and did not get home till
four o’clock in the morning, and even then the ball had not broken
up. At this present moment--11 o’clock--I believe he is dozing on the
parlour sofa--to gain strength to go to the opera this evening.
“We have been very dissipated this week for us, for usually we are
very quiet. Wednesday evening we passed at Mrs. Thurston’s and were
out quite late--last night at a party--a very pleasant one too, where
by the way--I passed off for Miss Melville and as such was quite a
belle!! And to-night in honour of our guest, we go to the Opera. We
have resolved to stop after this though and not go out at all for
while Herman is writing the effect of keeping late hours is very
injurious to him--if he does not get a full night’s rest or indulges
in a late supper, he does not feel right for writing the next day.
And the days are too precious to be thrown away. And to tell the
truth I don’t think he cares _very_ much about parties either, and
when he goes it is more on my account than his own. And it’s no
sacrifice to me, for I am quite as contented, and more--to stay at
home so long as he will stay with me. He has had communications from
London publishers with very liberal offers for the book in hand--and
one from Berlin to translate from the first sheets into German--but
as yet he has closed with none of them, and will not in a hurry.
“I believe I forgot in my last to acknowledge the receipt of a paper
from father--I was very glad of it--please present my thanks--I
have intended to write to father for a good while--but I like to
have answers to my letters--so if father has not time to write in
reply, you must write for him. Give my love to him and to all the
family--and when you see Susan Morton ask her to write to me.
“Tell Aunt Lucretia I was delighted to get her note, and I will write
to her.
“Now I have written you a famous long letter and I hope you will
write me as long a one very soon, for I have not heard from home for
more than a week now--not since Lem came.
“Give my love to Mrs. Sullivan, and believe me as ever truly yours,
“E. S. MELVILLE.”
“NEW YORK, May 5th, 1848.
“MY DEAR MOTHER:
“I am very much occupied to-day but I snatch a few moments to reply
to your letter which though rather tardy in forthcoming was very
acceptable. But you did not tell me what I most wanted to know--about
Sam. And your indefinite allusion to it, when we were all waiting to
hear, was rather tantalising. Does ‘this season’ means _now_ in his
present vacation, or sometime in the course of the year? I suppose
his vacation has already commenced if he is out at Milton, then why
not let him come immediately and make his visit, because if he waits
till warm weather it will not be nearly so pleasant or so beneficial
for him. Maria Percival writes me that she is coming on soon and he
might come with her. Please write me something _definite_ about it,
as soon as you can, and do let him come. We want him to very much,
and the sooner the better.
“You ask about our coming to Boston but I guess the house will be
ready to _clean again_ by that time--for it will not be before
July, perhaps August. Herman of course will stick to his work till
‘the book’ is published and his services are required till the last
moment--correcting proof, etc. The book is done now, in fact (you
need not mention it) and the copy for the press is in progress, but
when it is published on both sides of the water a great deal of delay
is unavoidable and though Herman will have some spare time after
sending the proof sheets to London which will be next month sometime
probably he will not want to leave New York till the book is actually
on the book-sellers’ shelves. And then I don’t care about leaving
home till my cold is over because I could not enjoy my visit so much.
So though I am very impatient for the time to come I must e’en wait
as best I may and enjoy the anticipation.
“We are looking out for Tom to return every day, his ship has been
reported in the papers several times lately as homeward bound and
Herman wrote to the owner at Westport and received answer that he
looked for the ship the first of May. That has already past and we
are daily expecting a letter to announce her actual arrival. Then
Herman will have to go over to Westport for Tom and see that he is
regularly discharged and paid, and bring him home. As yet he, Tom,
is in entire ignorance of the changes that have taken place in his
family and of their removal to New York. So he will be much surprised
I think. As you may suppose, Mother is watching and counting the days
with great anxiety for he is the baby of the family and his mother’s
pet.
“Augusta is going to Albany in a few days to visit the Van
Renssalaers. They have been at her all winter to go up the river but
she would not, and now Mr. Van Renssalaer is in town and will not go
back without her. And in a few weeks Helen is going to Lansingburgh
to visit Mrs. Jones.
“I should write you a longer letter but I am very busy to-day copying
and cannot spare the time so you must excuse it and all mistakes. I
tore my sheet in two by mistake thinking it was my copying (for we
only write on one side of the page) and if there is no punctuation
marks you must make them yourself for when I copy I do not punctuate
at all but leave it for a final revision for Herman. I have got so
used to write without (.) I cannot always think of it.
“Please write me _very soon_ this week--if only a few lines and tell
me about Sam’s coming.
“My love to all, to father when you write and to Sue Morton if she is
at our house, Mrs. Hawes etc. and believe me as ever your affectionate
“E. S. MELVILLE.
“Miss Savage & Miss Lincoln called to see me a day or two ago.
“Please spell Allan’s name with an A, not E. _Allan_, not _Allen_.”
During this period, the household at 103 Fourth Avenue was busy getting
_Redburn_ and _Mardi_ ready for the press. Melville’s sister Augusta
seems to have been exhaustless in copying manuscript. Melville’s
mother-in-law reports “Miss Augusta is all energy, united with much
kindness.” Augusta also evinced a strong religious bent, and during
song services--which she loved to attend--she used to grip her hymnal
athletically, and beat time with an aggressive rhythm. Her Hymn Book
survives, pasted up with dozens of clippings of hymns and prayers, a
“selection” entitled _The Sinner’s Friend_, and the vivacious couplet:
“Jesus, mine’s a pressing case.
Oh, more grace, _more grace, MORE GRACE_!”
But song-services, and copying manuscript, were not enough to fill
Augusta’s busy days. In January, 1848, she was commissioned to find
a name satisfactory for Melville’s first child. Mrs. Herman Melville
was in Boston to be with her mother and family at the time of the
childbirth. On January 27, 1849, Augusta wrote from New York to “My
dear Lizzie, My sweet Sister,” reporting that she had been “searching
the Genealogical Tree” with designs upon an ancestor with a choice
name: and she spends two very diverting and animated pages recounting
her adventures among the branches. Her search was rewarded to her
satisfaction: “_Malcolm Melville!_ how easily it runs from my pen; how
sweetly it sounds to my ear; how musically it falls upon my heart.
Malcolm Melville! Methinks I see him in his plaided kilts, with his