Melville in His Own Time: A Biographical Chronicle of His Life, Drawn from Recollection, Interviews, and Memoirs by Family, Friends, and Associates
240
Melville in His Own Time: A Biographical Chronicle of His Life, Drawn from Recollection, Interviews, and Memoirs by Family, Friends, and Associates
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Overview
Melville’s mastery of the English language and heterodox views made him a source of both controversy and fascination to western readers, until his increasing commitment to artistry and contempt for artificial conventions led him to write Moby-Dick (1851) and its successor Pierre (1852). Although the former is considered his masterwork today, the books offended mid-nineteenth-century cultural sensibilities and alienated Melville from the American literary marketplace. The resulting eclipse of his popular reputation was deepened by his voluntary withdrawal from society, so that obituaries written after his death in 1891 frequently expressed surprise that he hadn’t died long before.
With most of his personal papers and letters lost or destroyed, his library of marked and annotated books dispersed, and first-hand accounts of him scattered, brief, and frequently conflicting, Melville’s place in American literary scholarship illustrates the importance of accurately edited documents and the value of new information to our understanding of his life and thought. As a chronologically organized collection of surviving testimonials about the author, Melville in His Own Time continues the tradition of documentary research well-exemplified over the past half-century by the work of Jay Leyda, Merton M. Sealts, and Hershel Parker. Combining recently discovered evidence with new transcriptions of long-known but rarely consulted testimony, this collection offers the most up-to-date and correct record of commentary on Melville by individuals who knew him.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781609383343 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Iowa Press |
| Publication date: | 06/01/2015 |
| Series: | Writers in Their Own Time |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 240 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Melville in His Own Time
A Biographical Chronicle of His Life, Drawn from Recollections, Interviews, and Memoirs by Family, Friends, and Associates
By Steven Olsen-Smith
University of Iowa Press
Copyright © 2015 University of Iowa PressAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60938-334-3
CHAPTER 1
[Selected Remarks by Melvill(e) Family Members, 1819–1840]
* * *
The family of Allan and Maria Gansevoort Melvill (the terminal e was not consistently used by members until the early 1830s) consisted of ten members at the time of Allan Melvill's death on 28 January 1832: himself and Maria, and their children in order of age, Gansevoort, Helen, Herman, Augusta, Catherine, Allan, Frances, and Thomas. The family enjoyed a privileged lifestyle in New York City until the failure of Allan Melvill's importing business in 1830, at which point they fled the city to be near Maria's family connections in Albany. Following Allan's death, Maria struggled to keep her husband's creditors at bay while borrowing new sums to finance her son Gansevoort's efforts to support the family as a hatter and furrier. Gansevoort's venture failed in the midst of a nationwide depression in 1837, and Maria moved the family to cheaper living conditions in the nearby village of Lansingburgh in 1838. From there Gansevoort left for New York City to pursue a career in law. Herman had been put to work early on at the New York State Bank by his maternal uncle Peter Gansevoort, who served on the bank's board of directors, and he had also worked as a clerk at Gansevoort's fur and cap store. Following a number of efforts at schoolteaching, his journey on a merchant ship to Liverpool, and his journey west to Illinois and back, Herman signed aboard the whaleship Acushnet at the end of 1840 and, aside from a handful of letters he is known to have sent home, was out of contact with his family until he returned to the United States in October 1844. The following excerpts from family letters are based on transcriptions made by Hershel Parker for the forthcoming New Melville Log.
* * *
Allan Melvill to Peter Gansevoort, 2 August 1819
With a grateful heart I hasten to inform you of the birth of another Nephew, which joyous event occurred at 1/2 past 11 last night — our dear Maria displayed her accustomed fortitude in the hour of peril, & is as well as circumstances & the intense heat will admit — while the little Stranger has good lungs, sleeps well & feeds kindly, he is in truth a chopping Boy.
Maria Melvill to Peter Gansevoort, 29 December 1824
Herman & Augusta improve apace as to growing & talking — The former attends school regularly but does not appear so fond of his Book as to injure his Health — He has turned into a great tease, & daily puts Gansevoorts Patience to flight, who cannot bear to be "plagued by such a little Fellow."
Allan Melvill to Peter Gansevoort, 10 August 1826
I wrote you yesterday explanatory of Walkers detention, under whose immediate charge, I now consign to your especial care & patronage, my beloved Son Herman, an honest hearted double rooted Knickerbocker of the true Albany stamp, who I trust will do equal honour in due time to his ancestry parentage & Kindred — he is very backward in speech & somewhat slow in comprehension, but you will find him as far as he understands men & things both solid & profound, & of a docile & aimiable disposition — if agreeable, he will pass the vacation with his Grandmother & yourself, & I hope he may prove a pleasant auxiliary to the Family Circle — I depend much on your kind attention to my dear Boy who will be truly grateful for the least favour — let him avoid green Fruit & unseasonable exposure to the Sun & heat, but having taken such good care of Gansevoort last Summer, I commit his Brother to the same hands with unreserved confidence.
Allan Melvill to Peter Gansevoort, 12 September 1826
We expect Gansevoort on Sunday, at fartherest, when we wish Herman also to be here, that they may recommence their studies together on Monday next, with equal chances of preferment, & without any feelings of jealousy or ideas of favoritism — besides they may thus acquire a practical moral lesson whose influence may endure forever, for if they understand early, that inclination must always yield to Duty, it will become a matter of course when the vacations expire, to bid a fond adieu to Friends & amusements, & return home cheerfully to their Books, & they will consequently imbibe habits of Order & punctuality, which bear sweet blossoms in the dawn of life, golden fruits in "the noon of manhood," & a rich harvest for the garners of old age.
Allan Melvill to Peter Gansevoort, 17 September 1827
Tuesday's Boat brought us our beloved Gansevoort in charming spirits at the recollection of his visit to Albany, which will doubtless leave many agreeable traces in his tenacious memory & glowing fancy; — his more sedate but not less interesting Brother returned to us on Monday, & though less buoyant in mind, was equally delighted with his jaunt to Boston, where he became also a great favorite with the whole Family.
Allan Melvill to Peter Gansevoort, 23 February 1828
You will be as much surprised as myself to know, that Herman proved the best Speaker in the introductory Department, at the examination of the High School, he has made rapid progress during the 2 last quarters.
Allan Melvill to Peter Gansevoort, 26 September 1829
Herman returned this morng in charming health & spirits after a delightful visit which was equally agreeable to his friends — my Father says "Herman has been an uncommon good Boy, & is a great favorite with us all" which commendation is fully confirmed by his Grand Mother & Aunts.
Allan Melvill to Thomas Melvill Sr., 20 May 1830
Herman I think is making more progress than formerly, & without being a bright Scholar, he maintains a respectable standing, & would proceed further, if he could be induced to study more — being a most amiable & innocent child, I cannot find it in my heart to coerce him, especially as he seems to have chosen Commerce as a favorite pursuit, whose practical activity can well dispense with much book knowledge.
Maria Melville to Augusta Melville, 25 September 1837
I have just written Herman a few lines, his conduct delights me, he has shown himself to possess an independant spirit not deficient in enterprise and willing to exert himself when necessary. I shall be delighted to see him once more, before we leave Albany.
Maria Melville to Gansevoort Melville, 1 June 1839
Your letter of yesterday was received & preparation forthwith commenced. Herman is happy but I think at heart he is rather agitated. I can hardly believe it & cannot realize the truth of his going both my boys gone in one week.
How uncertain & changing are all things here below — but no more of this or you will stop reading. I have put up all I had for Herman that I thought would be useful, endeavour to secure for him every thing within the range of his means that will make him comfortable, write me where his vessel is bound, and the probable time of his Sailing.
Maria Melville to Allan Melville Jr., 25 September 1839
I should have written you last week, that we had receive'd a letter from Herman, dated Liverpool 9th July — he writes that he is well, very anxious to see home, and to prove it, says he would give all the sights of Liverpool to see a corner of home — he appears to think the St Lawrence will not return to New York — this trip, but put Sail for Charleston, or one of the New England ports, it was still unsettled, depending on their Cargo.
Maria Melville to Allan Melville Jr., 7 December 1839
I feel cheered by Hermans prospects — he appears to be interested in his occupation — he has a great charge, & deep responsibility is attached to the education of 60 Scholars, which I understand is the number usual during the greater part of the year —
Gansevoort Melville to Allan Melville Jr., 21 January 1840
Give my best love to Herman — I sometimes send him papers — Does he ever call at the Greenbush Post Office? — Tell him, to enquire at the aforesaid place on or before the 1st prox, as I hereby promise him a letter — I know no other reason for his remissness but laziness — not general laziness by any means — but that laziness which consists in an unwillingness to exert oneself in doing at a particular time, that which ought then to be done — or, — to illustrate — that disinclination to perform the special duty of the hour which so constantly beset one of the most industrious men of the age — Sir Walter Scott.
Maria Melville to Peter Gansevoort, 16 May 1840
Hermans School is to be discontinued next week for want of funds untill the winter — he thinks of going far-west, as nothing offers for him here — Oh that the Lord may strengthen me to bear all my troubles, & be pleased to sustain me under them.
Gansevoort Melville to Allan Melville Jr., 3 April 1840 [in a letter headed 30 March]
I hope to be able to leave the city for Lansingburgh about the 15th or 20th inst & look forward with great pleasure to my departure. I shall let you know when I arrive so that you may come up on the following Saturday. Herman has not yet written me — Helen informs me in her last letter that he has not yet received any money for his services during the past winter — This is very singular conduct on the part of the Trustees of the institution — They surely cannot expect that any person will devote his time & attention to their interests, without at least receiving at the regularly appointed times, at least sufficient money to enable him to pay his daily expenses, particularly his board — The amount too is constantly increasing & becoming larger & consequently more difficult to provide for, with every ensuing week — & vice versa. Herman is becoming more & more indebted for his board, & should he in the end be disappointed in receiving the sum that is due him for his winter services, will be so much the more difficult to pay.
Gansevoort Melville to Allan Melville Jr., 26 November 1840
Herman is still here — He has been & is a source of great anxiety to me — He has not obt[aine]d a situation — Fly is still on the lookout — He has so far been entirely unsuccessful. ... They are both in good health & tolerable spirits — & are living at a cheap rate $2.50 per week, exclusive of dinner — They dine with me every day at Sweeny's & are blessed with good appetites — as my exchequer can vouch — Herman has had his hair sheared & whiskers shaved & looks more like a Christian than usual.
Gansevoort-Lansing Collection, 1650–1919, Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library (letters of 2 August 1819, 17 September 1827, 23 February 1828, 26 September 1829, 20 May 1830, 25 September 1837, 1 June 1839, and 16 May 1840); Houghton Library, Harvard University (letters of 29 December 1824, 10 August 1826, and 12 September 1826); Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield, Massachusetts (letters of 25 September 1839, 7 December 1839, 21 January 1840, 3 April 1840, and 26 November 1840).
CHAPTER 2[Remarks in the Albany Microscope, with Melville's Replies, 1837 and 1838]
[CHARLES VAN LOON, HERMAN MELVILLE, AND UNIDENTIFIED CONTRIBUTORS]
* * *
The Albany Microscope was a publication in newspaper format devoted, in the words of its masthead, to "popular tales, history, legends and adventures, anecdotes, poetry, satire, humour, sporting, and the drama." It also served as a printed venue for local gossip, public exposés, and score settling. Testimonials related to Melville in 1837 and 1838 (when he was aged seventeen and eighteen) involve his membership in the Philo Logos Society, an arm of the Albany Young Men's Association devoted to the cultivation of skills in "composition, elocution and debate," according to the earliest communication about Melville in the Microscope of 15 April 1837. There is no known contextual information to shed light on the content of that letter, where the writer "R" blames Melville for the demise of an earlier debating group and warns of the danger his character and behavior pose for the Philo Logos Society if he is not soon reformed or dismissed. The appellative "Ciceronian Baboon" used by R and again later by Melville's principal antagonist in the society, Charles Van Loon (in the latter's communication of 10 March 1838), suggests by its combined associations that Melville was not above flippant and clownish behavior during debates and other society business, to the chagrin of members committed to a more formal routine. R's comment on Melville's appearance suggests an indifference to personal grooming that appears to have been habitual in Melville's youth and still commented on from time to time in his adulthood. But the contempt voiced by R might just as likely have been provoked by qualities of self-confidence and assertiveness that appeared out of proportion — from the point of view of more privileged young men — to Melville's incomplete schooling and wardrobe.
Ten months after R's unanswered communication, a notice in the 13 February 1838 Albany Evening Journal listing Melville as president among the Philo Logos Society's newly elected officers prompted a caustic exchange launched by "Sandle Wood" (whose identity is not established) in the 17 February issue of the Microscope. The dispute was subsequently carried out from 24 February to 14 April between Melville, signing himself "Philologian" (alternatively "Philologean"), and the society's former president Charles Van Loon, signing himself "Ex-President," whom Melville seems mistakenly to have identified with "Sandle Wood" in his opening retort to the communication of 17 February. In the words of William H. Gilman, who undertook the first close analysis of the dispute following Jay Leyda's discovery of the documents,
It is framed in false rhetoric, self-righteousness, and unilateral claims to monopoly of the truth. In lame imitations of Swift, Junius, Churchill, and Peter Porcupine, Melville and Charles Van Loon fought out their quarrel with what each of them clearly believed to be saeva indignatio. They were the same age, and both had entered Albany Academy at about the same time, Van Loon to become a druggist's apprentice, though he was now studying to be a Baptist minister. The warriors were equally matched.
In the 7 April issue yet another member of the society, signing himself "Americus," appealed for a reconciliation. That writer's allusion to a former state of friendship between the disputants seems supported by Van Loon's 31 March communication, where he quotes from a personal letter Melville had sent to him the previous year. Testimony by William J. Moses about the Philo Logos Society and its two overshadowing personalities (newly discovered by Hershel Parker) indicates Melville and Van Loon took part in the resumption of normal society functions (if they had ever actually stalled to begin with) before it finally did expire sometime later in 1838, perhaps partly as a result of Melville's relocation with his mother and siblings to the village of Lansingburgh, New York. Later ordained as a Baptist minister, Van Loon would die suddenly from heart failure in 1847.
Surviving files of the Albany Microscope are fragmentary. The following transcription is based on the sole surviving copy of the Philo Logos exchange in the New York State Library's division of Special Collections. In most respects, the transcription follows emendations of typographical errors in the Microscope made for the Northwestern-Newberry edition of Melville's Correspondence, but it observes typographical and layout errors made by the editor of the Microscope to Van Loon's letter of 31 March and 7 April (where the corrupt attribution "Sotus Niles" was printed out of place) and referred to by Van Loon in his printed "Correction" of 14 April.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Melville in His Own Time by Steven Olsen-Smith. Copyright © 2015 University of Iowa Press. Excerpted by permission of University of Iowa Press.
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