New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1842-12-22

the ashes of her who bore him, he had written
Rasselas.t Hungry and faint, he had paced the
streets of London, had broken the bread OF Want,
and shared the suferings of Humanity. AND YET
when the question of Popular Freedom came up,
when American Liberty was proposed, he doubled
his fist in the face of the Genius OF Reform ike a
bravo-and professed himself for small pay, ready
to de- the bidding of his master. How he SCOTS at
the jewellers in Anerica-who multiply, as ne
saws, with the fecundity of their Own rattle
snakes And with what hateful rnallgnity does
he advise Government 70 crush their hesdstrong
obduracy before it should become still more obdu-
rate Did Chatham, in behalf OF the injured and
oppressed, proclaim that il Britain waged upen
them relentless war, they would defy her power
and retreat to the woods and to liberty the con-
sequence would be- said Johnson, 9" that good
houses would be left for wiser men Did the
Americans menace resistance2 Strange as it uIay
appear, he compared the British, in relation te
America, to The Scythians, who, in returning
from their bloody excursions found themselves ex-
clnded from their OWE houses by their slaves. The
Spirit of the Age frowned on him he wrote, and
thrust MIN from her side for ever. His doom was
pronounced, and now behold him upon his death
bed-cowering in fear of dissolution as il II were
his enemy Lying in the arms of Death, demand
ing aid which he cannot find, be seizes knife to
scarify his limbs-hoping thus to keep his foe at
BAY few hours longer. Vain attempt! You
must go to the narrow vault your name shall
be no watchword to the Nations. The age dis
owns you, Humanity disowns you, and you shall
share the fate of that Conservatism of which your
death-bed was the emblem
But if the Spirits of the Age shall never perish,
can there be property in them by moral right
prior to conventional agreement | speak not OF
Copyright established BY law Authors are
men, and must live by bread-though, like other
men, not by bread alone speak not of the laws
which guard their works They are reasonable
and expedlent; and may need more di.tnctness
and wider extension. On all this there is room
for discussion for considering what expediency
demands. But there is another claim preferred
that Genius has a property in its productions,
reaching throughout the globe AID extending over
the centuries-embracng both space and time.
Has the humble individual, through when the
Spirit of the Age breathes its oracles, thus a
property in them? The mocking-bird from my
neighbours wall sings for his enjoyment, and
how can fail to hear his song? The flower in
nv neighbor's garden blooms and blossome-and
how can | be Indifferent to its perfumes The
nightingale pours forth its notes to win mate !;
yet naidens and young men listen, as the evening
falls 10 refresh their souls and drink in It's golden
harmonies. How can | shut out the sunlight
which streams from the heavens above! lhe
thoughts that are of eternity cannot be aPpro-
priated te personal use. Observe the inference 10
which we are conducted if this moral right be
recognized. Every ray of light must be checked
in its way, till we levy tax upon it, and Thought
must go about like almoner, stand like n
toll-gatherer at all the gates may build over
the Worlds highway. Soon we should find some
one claiming descent from the bard of Chios, start
M among the Ionan Isles and claim damages
from those who have been refreshed and fed from
the song OF Homer; and the Wandering Jew
would soon present himself in our Courts of Law
to prove his title to some of the lofty burdens OF
the prophet Isaiah. The World has had its a1is-
tocracies of Priestcraft and of the Sword. Shall
it now establish an aristocracy of Men OF Letters
And where are the chosen haunts OF genius
They are found where the mind Of mans most active
Over the stagnant pool of Despotism hurries the
Spirit of the Age with outspread wings: 1t seeks
IT'S home where the fires of freedom burn the
brightest 1t speaks through the mouth OF De-
mosthenes, sweeps the Tyre of -Eschylus and ami
mates the creations Of Phidias. la our own coun-
try Humanity is destined to produce great results
rhe Spirit of the Age has touched some men oil
letters among u.s. alude only to the dead
dare allude no farther to the living. There was
something of a formative effort visible in Dwight
and Barlow and Humphrey: though in them the
Spirit of the Age not fully expressed. But
i,s better expression was at hand. Of this we
have evidence in the career of CLAIMING. BY
birth an Islander the infancy of William tlery
Claiming was rocked TO sumber by the heavy
ocean surf The ocean was the sharer oil his SOL
itude, and from early life he evinced strong de-
sire after communion with that eternity of which
ocean is the symbol. Free inquiry was the RUE
he ever inculcated for he knew that freedom OF
thought, far from leading to in6delily, always
strives for certainty of conviction. AS the needle
left to itself turns always to the pole 50 the iad
in freedom turns unto God. Charming could be
classed with no party for he always stro-e to 1s-
Germ those eternal principles which sway all hui
man events The great truths which have thcir
home ia the eternal mind and which claim the
| homage of every man, he sought TO apply TO his
daily life Though fastened strongly on what was
| fixed he was never blinded to abstract right by
possessions; and vet he not like the mariner
who leaves his anchorage and spreading his sail
to the winds embarks upon the ocean of expert
| nent. He resemblcd rather the Seer who stands
| upon the towering cliff and gazes afar to see what
! winds are rising ard gives his prayer and benc-
dic,ion TO the most adventurous among those who
attempt the voyage; and sometimes, too he called
back the reformer to warn him of peril and
counsel moderation. Though from his delicate
frame and his extreme sensitiveness he mi sht APP
pear to be timid. yet there lack OF frmness
or decision in bis heart. Like the towers of Mel
rose Abbey. seen by moonlight as described by
Scott, which seemed as if
Some fary's hand
'Twixt popars straight The osier wand,
10 many prankish knot had twined;
Then framed a spell when the work was done
And changed The WILLOW wrealhs TO stone,'
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