504 



MELVILLE, HERMAN. 



for Liverpool as cabin boy in 1837. Return- 

 ing, he devoted some time to teaching at Lans- 

 ingburg. N. Y., and Pittsfield, Mass., and re- 

 ceived at one period, as his records show, a sal- 

 ary of " six dollars a quarter and board." Not 

 long afterward he was again seized with the 

 roving spirit, induced this time, perhaps, by the 

 reading of Dana's " Two Years before the Mast," 

 which appeared in 1840. On Jan. 1, 1841, the 

 whaler " Acushnet " sailed from New Bedford, 



HEKMAN MELVILLE. 



bound for the Pacific sperm - fishery, and Mel- 

 ville began the voyage that was responsible for 

 his chief romance. The " Acushnet " had cruised 

 for eighteen months when it reached the island 

 of Nukuheva, in the Marquesas group. To that 

 island in the summer of 1842, being wearied with 

 harsh fare and hard treatment, the young sailor 

 escaped from the whaler, with a single compan- 

 ion, familiarly known as "Toby." The latter's 

 real name was Richard T. Greene. The com- 

 rades entered the hostile Typee valley by mis- 

 take, but through a fortunate accident made 

 friends with the gentle but man - devouring 

 savages. Their sojourn in the " happy valley " is 

 the basis of Melville's first book, "Typee," and 

 it may justly be said that in romantic descrip- 

 tions of the South Sea islanders, their surround- 

 ings, and their ways of life, this book has never 

 been excelled. "Toby" mysteriously disap- 

 peared, to find Melville in New York some 

 months after the appearance of the first edition 

 of " Typee." Melville himself remained for four 

 months in the valley, and was finally rescued 

 from his friendly captivity by an Australian 

 whaler after a fight on the island's beach be- 

 tween two factions of the natives. From Nuku- 

 heva he sailed to the Society Islands in this 

 vessel, and thence to the Hawaiian group, re- 

 maining long enough at both places to take 

 observations of the countries and their people. 

 At Honolulu he joined the crew of the frig- 

 ate " United States," then on its return voyage, 

 and, after a sojourn at one of the Peruvian 

 ports, reached Boston in the autumn of 1844, 

 where he was discharged. The following 

 months were passed at Lansingburg, in the 

 writing of his first book, " Typee." About the 

 time it was finished an old friendship between 

 his father's family and that of the late Chief- 

 Justice Lemuel Shaw, of Massachusetts, was re- 

 newed, and this led to his engagement with Jus- 

 tice Shaw's daughter. Their marriage followed 

 on Aug. 4, 1847, in Boston. Mr. and Mrs. Mel- 



ville resided in New York city until 1850, when 

 they purchased a farm-house at Pittsfield, JMass. 

 The house was situated so as to command an un- 

 interrupted view of Greylock Mountain and the 

 adjoining hills, and was named Arrow Head, 

 from the numerous Indian antiquities found in 

 the neighborhood. Here he remained for thir- 

 teen years, occupied with his writing and with 

 managing his farm. He had many literary 

 neighbors in the surrounding towns, but was 

 more intimate with Hawthorne than with any 

 others during the latter's residence at the " red 

 cottage " in Lenox. While at Pittsfield he was 

 induced to enter the lecture field, and from 1857 

 to 1800 he filled many engagements in lyceums, 

 chiefly speaking of his adventures in the South 

 Seas. He lectured in cities as widely apart as 

 Montreal, Chicago, Baltimore, and San Francisco, 

 visiting the last-named place in 1860, by the 

 Isthmus route, for the benefit of his health. Be- 

 sides this voyage, he journeyed to England and 

 the Continent in 1849 and 1856, partly to super- 

 intend the publication of English editions of his 

 works and partly for recreation. At Pittsfield, 

 besides his own family, Mr. Melville's mother 

 and sisters were with him. As his children grew 

 up, he found it necessary to obtain for them bet- 

 ter facilities for study than .the village school 

 afforded; and so, in the autumn of 1863, the 

 household was broken up and he removed with 

 his wife and children to the New York house 

 that was afterward his home, No. 104 East 26th 

 Street. In December, 1866, he was appointed 

 by II. A. Smyth, a former traveling companion 

 iii Europe, a* district officer in the New York 

 Custom House. This place he held until 1885, 

 preferring it to indoor clerical work, and then 

 resigned when the duties became too arduous 

 for his failing strength. 



Melville from early manhood indulged deeply 

 in philosophical studies. Hawthorne has de- 

 scribed in the " English Note-Books " his fond- 

 ness for discussing such matters. This habit 

 grew as he advanced in years, until his conversa- 

 tion with friends became chiefly a philosophical 

 monologue. He was also much interested in all 

 matters relating to the fine arts, and devoted 

 most of his leisure hours to the two subjects. 

 A notable collection of etchings and engravings 

 from the old masters was gradually made by him, 

 those from Claude's paintings being a specialty. 

 After he retired from the Custom House, his tall, 

 stalwart figure could be seen almost daily tramp- 

 ing through the Fort George district or Cen- 

 tral Park, his roving inclination leading him to 

 obtain as much out-door life as possible. His 

 evenings were spent at home with his books, his 

 pictures and his family, and usually with thorn 

 alone; for, in spite of the melodramatic decla- 

 rations of various English gentlemen, Melville's 

 seclusion in his later years, and in fact through- 

 out his life, was a matter of personal choice. 

 More and more, as he grew older, he avoided 

 every action on his own part and on the part of 

 his family that might tend to keep his name and 

 writings before the public. A few friends felt 

 at liberty to visit him ; he himself sought no 

 one. Various efforts were made by the New 

 York literary colony to draw him from his re- 

 tirement, but without success. It has been sug- 

 gested that he might have accepted a magazine 



