Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1829-05-07

$50
seventh year; and then ask if il be strange that his
poems are imperfect, und Of small extent or that his
genius attained mo- mastery in its art! Alas his Sun
snone os through tropical tornado: and the pale
shadow OF Death eclipsed it at noon! Shrouded in
such baiefui vapoE, the genius Of Burns wus never
seen IN clear serene splcndor, enlightenn world.
But some beams from it did, by fits, pierce through;
anu It tinted those clouds with ronbow and orient
Soioss into gory and stem grandeur, which men ST.
cntiy ga5ed on, with wonder and teurs.
we are anxious not To exaggcratc; for il is OK
position rather than admiration that readers
quire Oh US here; and yet to avoid tendency to
that sue, Is no easy matter. We love Burns, and
we pity hini and love and pity prone to magnify.
Cri.icism 1t Is sometimes thought should be cold
business; we urenot this; but ut nj events,
our concern with Burns is not exclusively that Of
critics. Irtc and genial as his poetry must appear
It Is not Chiefly poet, but man, that he inter-
ests ana Affects us.-fle often advised to write
tragedy: time and means were not lent him for this;
out through life he enacted tragedy and one of the
deepest. We question whether the world has since
witnessed so utterly sad scene; whether Napoleon
himself !est to bawl with Sir Hudson Love- and per-
ish on his rock, amid the melancholy main,' presen-
ted to the rejecting mind such 'spectacle of pity
and fear, as did this ntrnsicay nobler gcntcr and
perhaps greater soul, wasting itself away in hope
less struggle with base entangcmcnts, which coilcd
closer and closer around him. till only death opened
hum aa outlet. Conquerors arc u race with whom
the world could well dispense; nor Gun the hard intel
cct the unsympathizng holiness, and high but SCI
oil Such persons,
Ttn any affection; at best it may excite omazement
~ their iail like that ola pyramid, will be behed with
CERTAIN sadness and awe. But a true Poet, u mau
10 whose heart resides some cfiluencc of wisdom,
some tone OF the Eternal Melodies is the pre-
cious giit that can be bestowed n generation: we
sec IN iin trecr purer development of whatever is
nobcst III ourselves his life s rich lesson to u.s. and
we mourn his death, that Of beneicor who loved
and taught us.
Such gift had nature in her bounty bestowed ON
in,iif
She cast 1t from her hands, like thing of No moment
and 1t was defaced and torn suuder as anlide bau
Ole, before we recognized it. TO the ill-sarrcd
Burns was given the power TO make man Is life more
venerable, bsttha of wisely guiding his own was not
gwen Destiny-for so in ignorance we must
speak-his faults the faults of others proved too hard
Tor INN; and that spirit, which might have SCARED
could IL but have walked soon sunk to the dust i,s
glorious faculties rcdden under foot in the blossom 81
died; we may almost say without ever having lived
And SO kind and warm a soul; so full of inborne
riches, of love to all living and lfeess things. How
his heart flows out in sympathy over universal ma
ture andln her bleakcst provinces discerns beau
~ and a meaning. The daisy" falls not unhoeded
under his poughsbare; the ruined nest of that
wec covering, tiorous beastie FORTH utter all
IFS provdent pains, 'thoe the sleety dribble and
craurench cauld." The "hoar visage," of Winter
delights him. he dwells with q sad and oft returning
fondness in these scenes of solemn desoaton; but
the voice Of the tempest becomes On anthem 10 his
cars: he loves to walk in the sounding woods, for
lit raises his thoughts to Him that ,ralkefh on the
rings IF the tcind" 4 true Poet-soul for il needs
but to be struck, aud the sound it yulds will he mu
sic! But observe him chiefly as he minge< with his
brother men. What warm all-coinprehcndpg fellow
feeling, what trustiui, bondless love, what pener
Gus eXaggeraton of the object loved, Ills rustic
friend, nutbrown maiden, longer mean and
iomely, but hero and L queen, whom he praises as
the paragons ofearth.
The rough scenes of Scottish life not seen bv him
in any Arcadian Illusion but in the rude contradiction
in the smoke and soil of too harsh reality are still
lovely to him: Poverty is indeed his companion, but
Love also, and courage; the simple feelings the worth
the noblencss that dwell under the straw roof are
dear and venerable TO his heart and thus over tho
lowest provinces of mans existence he pours the gio
ny Of his soul; and they rise in shadow and sun
SHINE, sotened aud frightened into q beauty which
other eyes discern not in the highest. He has n
Just self consciousness, which too often depcneratcs
nto PRIDE yet IT is noble PRIDE for defence not for
offence; no cold, suspicious feeling, but frank and
social one. The Peasant Poet bears himself We
Nigh. say like king in exile; he is cast among the
low, and feels himself equal to the highest;--yet he
claims no rank, that mono may be disputed TO him.
The forward he can ropcl, the supcrcious he can
subduc; prctcnsions Of wealth ancestry arc OF 10
avail with him. there is fire in that dark eve I'M
der which the ''insolcnce of condescension' cannot
thrive. In his abaseInent, in his extrcmc need, he
orgets not for moment the majesty ofPoetrv and
noEhood And yet far ne he feels himself above COM
mon nien,he wanders not apart from them bu mixes
warmly with their interest," nay, th rows himself into
their arms; and, IL ntrcats them 10 love him
1t is moving to how, in The darkest dcspondencv
thus proud being still seeks rccffrom friendship; un
0osnms himself often TO the unvortby and amid
tears strains to his glowing heart hcnrt that knows
only the name of Friendship. And yet ho was quick
to lcarn' a man of keen vision, before whom com,
non DISCUSSES afforded no conceament. His under
standing saw through the holowncss even Of accom-
PhShcd dcccivcrf; but there generous srcdultv
III ms heart And so did our Peasant show himself
among ms; 80 soul like A3olion harp whose strings
INC vulgar wind, as it passed through them changed
user INTO articulatc melody And this was he for
whom the world found no filter business than ounr
reI'ing with smuggcrs and winners, computing ex.
clse dues upon tnlow, and guaging alebarrels In
such tolls was that mighty Spirit sorrowfully was
crsuch isgvcn Us to woste."'
from the Horrible details ola murder pcrpetrated
at Portsmouth, England, by Young man named SIN
c"y'--n"t yet t~enty- one-and his father we make
ne following brief abFtract. The victims we're Mr..
1nng'rcy and his housekecpcr and the inducenent
10 tic crime the desire Of money. which ms
known to be in the possession of MIR. Ldngtrev,