When we crossed the threshold of the house or trod the thronged
pavements of a city, still the leaves of the trees that overhang the
Assabeth were whispering to us, 'Be free! Be free.'"
These volumes entitle Hawthorne to be ranked among the greatest of
short-story writers. Like Irving, Hawthorne did not take the air line
directness of narration demanded by the modern short story; but the moral
truth and beauty of his tales will long prove their elixir of life, after
the passing of many a modern short story which has divested itself of
everything except the mere interest in narration.
CHILDREN'S STORIES.--Hawthorne's _Grandfather's Chair_ (1841) is a series
of simple stories of New England history, from the coming of the Mayflower
to the death of Samuel Adams in 1803. Hawthorne's greatest success in
writing for children is to be found in his _A Wonder Book_ (1851) and
_Tanglewood Tales_ (1853). In these volumes he has adapted the old
classical myths to the tastes of American children. His unusual version of
these myths meets two supreme tests. Children like it, and are benefited by
it. Many would rejoice to be young enough again to hear for the first time
the story of _The Golden Touch_,--how Midas prized gold above all things,
how he secured the golden touch, and how the flies that alighted on his
nose fell off little nuggets of gold.
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