o biographical,
and 'Moby Dick' is partially so; while the less important 'Redburn' is
between the two classes in this respect. Melville's other prose works,
as will be shown, were, with some exceptions, unsuccessful efforts at
creative romance.

Whether our author entered on his whaling adventures in the South Seas
with a determination to make them available for literary purposes, may
never be certainly known. There was no such elaborate announcement or
advance preparation as in some later cases. I am inclined to believe
that the literary prospect was an after-thought, and that this insured
a freshness and enthusiasm of style not otherwise to be attained.
Returning to his mother's home at Lansingburg, Melville soon began the
writing of 'Typee,' which was completed by the autumn of 1845. Shortly
after this his older brother, Gansevoort Melville, sailed for England
as secretary of legation to Ambassador McLane, and the manuscript was
intrusted to Gansevoort for submission to John Murray. Its immediate
acceptance and publication followed in 1846. 'Typee' was dedicated to
Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw of Massachusetts, an old friendship between
the author's family and that of Justice Shaw having been renewed about
this time. Mr. Melville became engaged to Miss Elizabeth Shaw, the only
daughter of the Chief Justice, and their marriage followed on August 4,
1847, in Boston.

The wanderings of our nautical Othello were thus brought to a
conclusion. Mr. and Mrs. Melville resided in New York City until 1850,
when they purchased a farmhouse at Pittsfield, their farm adjoining that
formerly owned by Mr. Melville's uncle, which had been inherited by the
latter's son. The new place was named 'Arrow Head,' from the numerous
Indian antiquities found in the neighbourhood. The house was so situated
as to command an uninterrupted view of Greylock Mountain and the
adjacent hills. Here Melville remained for thirteen years, occupied
with his writing, and managing his farm. An article in Putnam's Monthly
entitled 'I and My Chimney,' another called 'October Mountain,' and the
introduction to the 'Piazza Tales,' present faithful pictures of Arrow
Head and its surroundings. In a letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne, given
in 'Nathaniel Hawthorne and His Wife,' his daily life is set forth. The
letter is dated June 1, 1851.

'Since you have been here I have been building some shanties of houses
(connected with the old one), and likewise some shanties of