Passages from the English Note-Books

The 'English Note-Books' were the result of Hawthorne's residence abroad, on being appointed Consul at Liverpool, by President Pierce. Although the 'English Note-Books' are not so abundant in imaginative hints as the American, their range of topic and observation is wider, and they show how readily the author, who had lived as a recluse at home, adapted himself to society, to the obligations which his public position and his fame brought upon him.