Nathaniel Hawthorne, ca. 1851

HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel (1804-1864). Autograph quotation from "The Chimæra," n.p., ca 1851.

One page, 169 x 187mm (wax mounting remnants on verso, irregularly cut at lower margin); with a signature ("Nathl Hawthorne") affixed with archival tape at lower margin, dated Lenox, 2 October 1851 (a few light spots of toning from glue remnants on verso).

Quoting a passage from A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys. Headed, "A copy from a proof sheet, which happens to be at hand." Hawthorne takes time to copy a passage from his version of the Greek myth of the Chimæra, which was published in his Wonder Book For Girls and Boys, published in 1851. In full: "'This is very delicious water,' said Bellerophon to the to the maiden as he rinsed and filled her pitcher, after drinking out of it. 'Will you be kind enough to tell me whether the fountain has any name?' 'Yes; it is called the Fountain of Pirene,' answered the maiden; and then she added, 'My grandmother has told me that this clear fountain was once a beautiful woman; and when her son was killed by the arrows of the huntress Diana, she melted all away into tears. And so the water, which you find so cool and sweet, is the sorrow of that poor mother's heart!'" Provenance: Skinner, 18 November 2018, Lot 24.