Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1843-05-06
REMLNLSCENCES or MEN & THINGS.
~ oNE VINO mas A coon NKNoRY.
nE TINE rHE ERENrH POET

Iamaris 70, he hd returned from hs travels in the last,
oppressed by gref. and weighed down with domestic ca
lamity. lie had lost his oSLy daughter. Far, far away
from the scenes of her infancy aud childhood, from her
fathers own beautiful dwelling. from the trees and the moss,
the vineyards and the fields, she loved - well: beneath u.
mother sky. and surrounded with many faces unfamiliar to
her heart. she breathed her last SIGH in the arms OF her pa
rents In the Holy Land. and her soul winged its happy fight
90 the heaven of her Saviour and her God. At the Chateau
de ST. Point, near, Macon. in the centre OF France,
she had received her earliest and dearest impressions
and IL solitary and romantic scenery was not forgot
ten by her, even when her light foot pressed the sward
OF bohcf and lovolicr lands. ala tcre natalie" was beau.
tiuly sung by her father. in one of his delicious "harmo-
nic-." and her young heart expanded under the genial
influence Of the kindly and noble sentiments which he
possessed. With n passion for all tina, was bcanii.
iul, good, just, and wise, that father had hnpregnaied
her character: and she was the reflected image OF
himself. But Julia died, She had tuveScd with him
the regions Of Io East. She had behcld his fine heart
bound with JOY 1.-The pious traditions Of the scenes OF our
salvation. She had visited the shores of Malta, the coasts
OF Greece, the ruins of Athens, the plains and the noun
tsins of Syria. and TINT Palestine so dear In the heart OF
every Christian. But Gothsemano was doubly halowcd To
his soul,-for death snntchcd from HIM the being in whose
exiyenco and happiness the dearest hopes oi himself and
his wife were centored.
DE Iamarunc had returned Ia PARIS, but hs travels had
preceded him. His gref had excited the love and the SYM
pathy Of muutudes ct beings in all quarters OF the globe.
Ills tale OF woe had been told, If not in every cottage, at
least IN many a dwelling OF the poor, as well n Of the rich;
and the fac. that he was n royaisi, and opposed to the new
order Of things established ia France, was wholly lost sight
Of, aud he was regarded Us the travelled Thane and the
Christian poet. Ills fine active mind had been subdued
by the loss he had sustained To a degree OF humility and
submission which was truly sublime. and those who are not
wellacquainted with the power OF a cultivated and moral ma
turc 10 throw off it, grief, and to grid itself with strength
and decision, would have imagined that De lamartine could
never ngnin sing OF beauty, Of nature. and OF love, but
would become in principle n recuse. His wife an English
lady ol good family, Of benevOlentand gentle disposition, and
of well Uniformed and highly cultivated mind. had shared
with hun in the East all his sorruws, as well a. all his ENJOY.
monu, and had returned To Paris bereit ofthe idol of their
hearts affection. To Them the world had no charms
Tears aud signs, remembrances clad IN mourning, and gucf
which knew OF no mitigation, were their constant compa-
mons; and their friends looked on them rs we arr wont To
do ON objects blasted by lightning, and on trees nvcn by the
storm. The sun appeared To shine IN vain for thcm--iOr
she who loved the first golden rays OF the morning now
slept in the grave. True, her remains had been brought 70
France, but they were only the nmains-the body without
the spirit. The moon, that iairest companion OF the night,
disclosed in vain her charms for them; since she who de-
lighted 10 wander in sylvan scenery, or on the bare and cold
mountain, with her father as her guide and her teacher,
could no longer ask his aid, or his counsels, and no longer
applaud with her smiles or her tears the sweetest efforts Of
his muse. The landscape, with lis varied scenery and null
tLhed attractions; society, with its excitement and its dis
fractions; solitude, with its pensive thoughts and its sclfeN-
animation; all appeared before Them monotonous and sad
for she was no longer the admirer Of the landscape, the
charm Of society, or the companion OF the lonely hour
Books had no delights for them. Pictures, he representa-
tons OF the past, the present and the future, Were without
beauty in their eyeS;statues and marbles were butdull and life
less blocks to them, since she who admired and appreciated
them all, was now silent and cold as the marbles them
selves. Public affairs they would not OF could not converse
about. They had scarcely n tear To spare for others
they had so many TO shed for themselves; and though dy-
nastes had been changed, old institutions of the first revolu-
ton revived, and n new state of things both moral, political
~0 SASNuo, hu Npht W mt D' HluIA uIu Ills uu-
mirablc wife were evidently unaffected by the changes,
and viewed them all rs events with which they had nothing
To do-nnd to which they were indeed bound to remain
strangers. He had still in his absence been elected a depu.
~, and he hoped TO perform the duties OF his Office, bU, with
sorrow and with tears.
How unearthly is the human mind, how pure its breath.
ings, and how bright, or, rather, spiritual, are its soarings,
when thus brought by calamity, disappointment. and the
ravages which death has made on those the soul loves, 10
view TINS world as a mere soJonn, life as a rapid journey,
a huul dream, and a day of sunshine and of cloud toospeedy
in its flight TO be remembered; and when God alone seems
capable Of filling the vast desires Of the soul, and the de.
mands of a care-worn, a bereayed, and an empty heart.
Then 1t is TINT lie's chequered day is viewed in its true
colourng; that the cavils and the reproaches, the calumnies
aud the misrepresentation OF the world, excite only pity,
and commisseranon-no amounting to scon or TO anger;
aud the pursuits oflile are estmatedby their real, not by their
imagined worth. Then II is that the high destinies Of our
future being press themselves upon US IN all their vastness
and grandeur; and that weteela all the ruthiulness of the decln-
ration, $50 God created man in his own image in the image
of God created he him, male and female created he them
This rs not the period false s~ensibilny, Of fe tedsen,imen
of artificial or Of feigned emotion. But such moments as
those | have thus referred TO in the life Of De Lamartinc,
when no. INDUCED in TO such an extent as to become preiu.
dicial To our minds vigour, usefulness. aud fumre effort, foI
the good OF society, the great halhng places IN our lives;
The SUBMITS from which we take Il large and expansive
view Of the world about and around us; and they are the
ep0chs most favourable 10 our moral, intellectual, and reli-
gious Improvement. IL ~ undoubtedly true thatSome thought
the gnef Of DE Lamartine excessive, whilst the vulgar and
the worldly minded sugmatse it as affected. But his friends
only feared that It's sincerity aud intensity might have such
an effect on his future efforts, as to render his poetry NOR.
bid or iretiul, his character repinng and DISCONTINUED, and
tus 10 NllnuTaW MN rom NOSE busy scenes t daily lie
where the force of ms eloquence, the strength OF his iudg-
meni, and the excellence OF his example, might improve and
bless mankind.
The publication Of the Travels of DR.. Lamarine in the
East wasa sort Of epoch ia French modern literature. II
seemed like the restoration Of Christianity after years Of re.
proach, calumny, and persecution. For the Revolution OF
1880 proclaimed 80 war against the priests :" and that also
meant Z" war against the altar at which they ninisicred.--
The palace OF the Archbishop had been pllaged the
literature OF centuries was thrown into the waters OF the
Seine as too bad TO he preserved, because 1t was the lt. !
efatlfe ui the church. 1multnudes OF priests had been nj. !
tackled, insulted, aud beaten. The remnant of the
old republican party Of the last century now hoped ~
wreak It's vengeance on the men and the clergy of the res.
ioraiOn. And, m one word, the goddess of Reason was
again spoken OF by the followers Of Voltaire and Rousseau.
But the book OF DE Lamartine came as a voice from the
tomb; IKE fresh waters rushing TO an arid desert; like the
OVERLOOKING of the Nile; like flowers on graves; and beau.
~, fertility, and yerdure, where rnnkness, poison and death
had prevailed. Some read his book from a love for the
wonderful, some for its poetry, others for is apparent 70.
nance, and multtudes became enamoured once more with
"A religion, with which were connected the glowing recol.
lecuons Of the Holy Land.
know 1t will be replied that these were not the stern aud
strong characteristics Of a truly religious state OF public
mind and feeling, and that there was much Of poetry and
Imagination bound mp with these emotions. This GRANT
very readily; but II was surely something To give a new dt.
recnon TO minds which were unoccupiod with good. and
which were busily set on doing evil. 1t was surely some.
thing to assist IN checking the blind and mad fury of many
for attacking churches, for destroying the ornaments and
paintings Of the cathcdras, and for razing to tue ground OH
that remained Of Pious rcconecuons Of past ages. feel
certain that al the dragons Of Louis Philippe, and all the /
national guards Of Lafayette, and all the active police force ]
Of CasimIr Perer or VI. Theirs, and al the reproaches
ct enlightened foreigners against the noing and pillaging
propen-iuesOf the modern ~plunderers Of the Romish churches
~ France, would never even c~omLinedly have effected 81,
much OF restraining and beneficial influence asdid tho ,yo,k
Of De Lanarine on the East. The clergy once moro
showed themselves IN the streets. The churches
were re-opencd, many OF which had been closed the
Christian temples were, as 1t we're, re.adorned and
ro-consccnted; and every one said, "Why we. also. are be-.
levers IN this same Jesus, and we know and love those
scenes Of Bethany and jerusalem"
But DE Lnmnrune was a DEPUTY! A small though for.
utcd town, named BERsUEs, quite in the north Of France.
had, during his absence IN the Holy Land. elected him
their representative. IL was az the period that oil men
were mad ~ Fmnco respecting what was uuainty called
"EtirroEAL CAPACITIES" Talent, not property: mind. not
wealth, rank, or influence, were 20 take the lead in the new
chamber oi Deputies; and actors, physicians. ppets. hi.,g.
mans, newspaper Editors, aud Fsuilsf0aisfs." zoo. were
10 contribute Of their intellectual riches, 10 the repository Of
national TALENT and of popular defamation. The electors
at borgucs we're determined not % be outdone: and igno.
rant that though DE Lamauino was a poet and on author.