The Ancestral Footstep

That Hawthorne recognized the worth of his notebooks is clear. Looking over what he had written since beginning them, he wrote Ticknor: "I keep a journal of all my travels and adventures, and I could easily make up a couple of nice volumes for you; but, unluckily, they would be much too good and true to bear publication. It would bring a terrible hornet's nest about my ears." Instead of capitalizing on his talents as a travel writer, he wanted to resume his role as a romancer, to which he returned after reaching Italy. He resumed work on "The Ancestral Footstep" but put it aside when a fresh idea struck him during a visit to an art collection.