Tales of A Wayside Inn

Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1863. First American Edition; first printing; second issue publisher’s catalogue. Original cloth; some wear; hinges weak; a good copy with a nineteenth-century photo of the Inn mounted onto the front free endpaper. A three page holograph letter, signed by Longfellow has been tipped in between the text and the advertisements: “Cambridge, Mass. 1863...I am much obliged to you for your kindness in sending me the Portuguese translation of Excelsior. It is beautifully and skillfully done and if you ever have an opportunity, I wish you would convey my compliments and thanks to Mr. Cabral for the pleasure he has given me. I am happy to say that my son is doing well and is as comfortable as a man can be with a rifle shot through both shoulders. The wound is serious, but not dangerous unless the spine has suffered, which we are not quite sure of yet...” The abolitionist Longfellow’s son enlisted in the Union Army against his father’s wishes. Although Charles recovered fully from this wound, it was initially feared to be fatal. This volume contains Longfellow’s most enduring poem, “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” So far as his compliment is concerned, Longfellow, a professor of language, especially Romance languages, was in a position to genuinely appreciate the quality of a translation of his work.