August 20th 1857 —
I left the Exhibition at three o’clock [on the 19th], and went to Manchester, where I sought out Mr. C S — — — - in his little office.
[Mr C S — — — - is Charles Swain, born 1801 in Every Street, Manchester
Hawthorne had met Swain on a previous trip to Manchester in 1855. Here is his description:
. . . a middle-aged, dark man, of pleasant aspect, with black hair, black eyebrows, and bright, dark eyes came in, limping a little, but not much.
He seemed not quite a man of the world, a little shy in manner, yet he addressed me kindly and sociably.
I guessed him to be Mr. Charles Swain, the poet,
He greeted me warmly, and at five we took the omnibus for his house, about four miles from town. He seems to be on pleasant terms with his neighbors, for almost everybody that got into the omnibus exchanged kindly greetings with him, and indeed his kindly, simple, genial nature comes out so evidently that it would be difficult not to like him.
His house stands, with others, in a green park, — a small, pretty, semi-detached suburban residence of brick, with a lawn and garden round it. In close vicinity, there is a deep clough or dell, as shaggy and wild as a poet could wish, and with a little stream running through it, as much as five miles long. The interior of the house is very pretty, and nicely, even handsomely and almost sumptuously, furnished; and I was very glad to find him so comfortable.
His recognition as a poet has been hearty enough to give him a feeling of success, for he showed me various tokens of the estimation in which he is held, — for instance, a presentation copy of Southey’s works, in which the latter had written “Amicus amico, — poeta poetae.” [A friend to a friend, a poet to a poet]
He said that Southey had always been most kind to him… . There were various other testimonials from people of note, American as well as English.
In his parlor there is a good oil-painting of himself, and in the drawing-room a very fine crayon sketch, wherein his face, handsome and agreeable, is lighted up with all a poet’s ecstasy; likewise a large and fine engraving from the picture.
The government has recognized his poetic merit by a pension of fifty pounds, — a small sum, it is true, but enough to mark him out as one who has deserved well of his country… .
The man himself is very good and lovable… . I was able to gratify him by saying that I had recently seen many favorable notices of his poems in the American newspapers; an edition having been published a few months since on our side of the ocean. He was much pleased at this, and asked me to send him the notices… .
Nathaniel Hawthorne Old TraffordHere's Julian Hawthorne's take of the first time his father met Charels Swain in May 1855, from one of his biographies Hawthorne and His Wife:
A few days after his return, he dined with Bennoch in Manchester, meeting Mr. Ireland, editor of the "Manchester Examiner;" Mr. Watson, a merchant; and the poet Swain. The latter impressed Hawthorne pleasantly; he says that he had simplicity, feeling,
"no great energy, good sense, of which latter quality he makes perhaps but little use in his own behalf. Not that I take him for one of those literary men who make their very moderate talent an excuse for immoderate self-indulgence. I think him an irreproachable man, but probably a very inefficient one. He is an engraver, I believe, by profession; and as to his poetry, I had the volume, but I do not well recollect the contents. Mr. Ireland saw Mr. Emerson on his first visit to Europe, and directed him how to find Carlyle. When Emerson was again here, he spent some time as Ireland's guest. Ireland is one of the few men who have read Thoreau's books; and he spoke of Margaret Fuller, and of the 'Dial.' But, on the whole, I think the English Conservatives are the men best worth knowing. The Liberals, with all their zeal for novelty, originate nothing; and one feels a little disgusted to find them setting forth their poor little views of progress, especially if one happens to have been a Brook-Farmer! The best thing a man born in this island can do is, to eat his beef and mutton and drink his porter, and take things as they are; and think thoughts that shall be so beefish, muttonish, portish, and porterish, that they shall be matters rather material than intellectual. In this way an Englishman is natural, wholesome, and good; a being fit for the present time and circumstances, and entitled to let the future alone!"
He wandered about Manchester the next day, and saw, among other things, "the new picture by Millais, the distinguished Pre-Raphaelite artist," of "The Huguenots."
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