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Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864

"Passages from the American Notebooks, Volume 1"


Remarkable items: the observation of Mons. S------ when B------ was
saying something against the character of the French people,--"You ought
not to form an unfavorable judgment of a great nation from mean fellows
like me, strolling about in a foreign country." I thought it very noble
thus to protest against anything discreditable in himself personally
being used against the honor of his country. He is a very singular
person, with an originality in all his notions;--not that nobody has ever
had such before, but that he has thought them out for himself. He told
me yesterday that one of his sisters was a waiting-maid in the Rocher de
Caucale. He is about the sincerest man I ever knew, never pretending to
feelings that are not in him,--never flattering. His feelings do not
seem to be warm, though they are kindly. He is so single-minded that he
cannot understand badinage, but takes it all as if meant in earnest,--a
German trait. He values himself greatly on being a Frenchman, though all
his most valuable qualities come from Germany. His temperament is cool
and pure, and he is greatly delighted with any attentions from the
ladies.


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