Writings by Susan Dickinson: Annals of the Evergreens

"Wisdom shows a narrow path",

the melody run-
ning too high for the superanuated Village soprano, she dropped off in a
cracked sudsidence from the key, leaving base-viol to moan in harrowing
discord, rejoining it again, after an interval, in the fourth line, where
they each, somewhat spent, strove to deepen gloom, of

"Here and there a traveler"- ^!

the viol quite outstripping its rival,
and prolonging the last notes in such grating woe, that I remember in the
old days, the little boys used to look 'round furtively after sitting down to
the prayer, to see if anything was the matter, with the good old man, who bul-
lied this kingly, misplaced instrument. The imitation was a most remarkable
artistic performance on your Aunt's part, arousing such applause that your
Father's bell rang, requesting ^us to remember that it was Sunday.
The suggestion of unmusical quavering voices was remarkable ^{in the imitation,} without the aston-
ishing reproduction of the sullen base-viol.

[written in margin: Six months in Italy Hillard]

"Mr. Hillard, whom your Grandfather brought to see us about this time
seems really to group with Judge Lord. We had grown into an admiration for
him through his "Six months in Italy", and unconciously had idelaized him
I suppose, so that when we found him, a veritable Dryasdust, in the parlor,
we were shockingly disappointed; even at the distance of years, the dry
dreary impression, ² is vivid as then, ¹of his call. I even have a distinct
impression of everything he wore, the color of his waistcoat, the cut of his
collar, a particular slant of light, falling accross [sic] the parlor carpet ^{marking[?] his call[?]}, veri-
fying the truth of DeQuincey's suggestion, "That a sharp mental impression
naturally associates with itself a keen sense perception.

Gov. Bullock, and Geo. W. Gurtis [sic; Curtis], were a refreshing contrast to these


	Image reproduced by permission of the Houghton Library, Harvard University. Not to be reproduced in whole or in part without permission. Transcription and commentary copyright 1998 by Martha Nell Smith, Laura Elyn Lauth, and Lara Vetter, all rights reserved Maintained by Rebecca Mooney <rnmooney@umd.edu> Last updated on January 23, 2008