MT used this signature often, especially in letters and notes to male friends and acquaintances. "J.H." was Joseph Hopkins Twichell, pastor of the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford. Rev. Twichell presided over both MT's marriage and his funeral, and kept in MT's good graces for over 40 years, a rare achievement. In this letter from the Fall of 1868 MT is writing to share his joy at having persuaded Olivia Langdon to marry him, and her parents to accept him -- conditionally. MT's prose mixes metaphors pretty drastically: while military ones predominate (he has forced the wealthy and respectable Langdons to surrender to his seige of their daughter), it's most interesting to notice how he associates his wooing of Livy with a performance for an audience, complete with applause.
TRANSCRIPT OF LETTER |
|
){kind=link}
){kind=link}