Bennoch's sudden aspect of dramatic rage was as suddenly
dropped, and he blazed once more with broad smiles, chuckling. I will
insert here a letter written by this dear friend in 1861:--
80 WOOD STREET, LONDON.
MY DEAR HAWTHORNE,--A few lines just received from Mr. Fields remind
me of my too long silence. Rest assured that you and yours are never
long out of our thoughts, and we only wish you were here in our
peaceful country, far removed from the terrible anxieties caused by
wicked and willful men on one side, and on the other permitted by the
incompetents set over you. How little you thought, when you suggested
to me the propriety of old soldiers only going into battle, that you
should have been absolutely predicting the unhappy course of events!
Do you remember adding that "a premium should be offered for men of
fourscore, as, with one foot in the grave, they would be less likely
to run away"? I observe that the "Herald" advises that "the
guillotine should be used in cropping the heads of a lot of the
officers, beginning at the city of Washington, and so make room for
the young genius with which the whole republic palpitates." . . .
Truly, my dear Hawthorne, it is a melancholy condition of things. Let
us turn to a far more agreeable subject! It is pleasant to learn that,
amid all the other troubles, your domestic anxieties have passed away
so far as the health of your family is concerned. The sturdy youth
will be almost a man, and Una quite a woman, while Rosebud will be
opening day by day in knowledge and deep interest.
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