Project Gutenberg 2005-11-01 Public domain in the USA. 215 Hawthorne, Nathaniel 1804 1864 The Intelligence Office (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosses_from_an_Old_Manse David Widger and Al Haines Updated: 2022-11-09. "The Intelligence Office (From 'Mosses from an Old Manse')" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story written during the 19th century, specifically in the Romantic period. This work can be classified as a fictional narrative that explores themes of human desire and the search for one's place in the world. The setting is an Intelligence Office, which serves as a public space where various characters come seeking assistance for their needs, wishes, and existential queries. In the story, a range of individuals enter the Intelligence Office, each expressing their unique desires and losses, from searching for love or lost items to seeking a sense of purpose in life. The central figure, the Intelligencer, listens patiently but often cannot fulfill the deeper emotional needs of his visitors; he can only record their wishes. This leads to poignant reflections on the nature of desire, identity, and the complexities of human experience. Hawthorne masterfully captures the essence of human longing, illustrating how many people are "out of place" in their pursuits, often leading to discontent. The story concludes with the Intelligencer revealing that he is merely the Recording Spirit, hinting at the futility of seeking external validation for internal struggles. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 62.6 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Short stories New England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction PS Text Browsing: Culture/Civilization/Society Browsing: Literature Browsing: Fiction 56837 2025-06-04T08:59:09.588189 text/html 56459 2022-11-09T04:27:44 text/html 115073 2025-06-04T08:59:15.791196 application/epub+zip 113963 2025-06-04T08:59:13.313202 application/epub+zip 79844 2025-06-04T08:59:12.020189 application/epub+zip 306577 2025-06-04T08:59:17.518171 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 300111 2025-06-04T08:59:14.984217 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 241272 2022-09-05T03:33:31.727456 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 50422 2025-06-04T08:59:09.290209 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 50065 2022-11-09T04:28:25 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18854 2025-06-04T08:59:17.653157 application/rdf+xml 23304 2025-06-04T08:59:12.582174 image/jpeg 4760 2025-06-04T08:59:12.295196 image/jpeg 19824 2022-11-09T04:29:00 application/octet-stream application/zip 21108 2022-11-09T04:29:22 application/octet-stream application/zip 114659 2025-06-04T08:59:09.596204 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia