Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1845-08-07
MISCELLANEOUS.
From the n. Y, Tribune,
THO NJ "A S HOO D.

of the bright galaxy that made me hrs'
thirty years of this age so bright WORDS
worth and Moore alone remain. And
the dynasty that now reigns over the
world of wit and poetry Is poor ana Pa'e
indeed, III comparison. we are anxious
to pour due IIbaions to the departed we
need not ecOnomizc oar wine; it will not
be needed now.
Hood has closed the most fatiguing Ca
reer in the world, that Of protessed wit
and we may say with deeper feeling than
of others who shuttle off the lund of care,
may he rest in peace! The iatigues of Il
coegncrer, missionary preacher, even
of an active philanthropist like Howard,
are nothing to those ofproiessed wit. Bad
enough when he is only a man OF society,
by whom every one expects to be enIVen-
ed and relieved, who can never talk
gravely in a corner without those around
observing that he must lave heard some
bad news to- be so ONT of splrIts--who can
never make simple remark while eating
peaceful dinner wihot the table being
set in roar of laughter, as when Sheri-
dan, on such an occasion, opened his lips
for the first time to say that che liked cur
rant jelIcy." For these unhappy men
there are no intervals of social repose, no
long siIences fed by the mere feeling of
sympathy or gently entertained by observ-
alton, no warm quictudc in the mild live
ries of green or brown, for the world has
made upits mind that motley is their on
ly wear and tcazes them to jingle their
bells forever.
But far worse is it when the professcd
wit is also by profession a writer, and
finds himself obliged to coin for bFcld
those Jokes which in the frolic exuberance
ofyouth, he so easily coined for fun. We
can conceive of no existence more cruel,
so tormentinr, and, at the same time, So
dull We hear that Hood was forever be-
hind hand with his promises to publishers;
no wonder! But when we hear that he,
in consequence, lost great part of the gains
Of his hard life, and was, in consequence,
harrassed by other cares, we cannot mourn
to lose him if
CATER LIES fitrul fever he sleeps well, )"
or if, as our deeper knowledge leads us to
hope, ne IS now engaged IN better LIE,
where his tncles take their natural place
aud flicker like light on the surface OF a
profound and full stream flowing betwixt
rich and peaceful shores, such as, no less
than the drawbacks upon his earthly cx-
stenGe, are indicated in the following
SONNET.
Tho curse or Adam the o,d curso orou
rrhonoh | inheri, in this ravorish I;ro
OF worldly toll. vain wishes. and hard sr;(a.
And CtpltIpss thouoht in cares eternal ,hroIl
Vet more sweet honey Than If hitter anil -
,nsre through Thee. NV Eva, nv syno, wife
Then what was Mans LOST Paradise how riff,
or bliss. since love is with him in his fall,
Such as our own pure pa ssion still might frame
vi ,,S ' c EARN .n ana ' It's t h bowers
70 tr" it's ,s venom ~r the '1y swraos G G"
But OH as many and such tears are ours
As only should be shed for guilt and shome'
In Hood, as all true wits, the smile
lightens on the verge OF tear. True wit
aud humor show that exquisite senshlIity
to the relations Of life, that fine perception
as to slight tokens OF its fearful, hopeful
mysteries, which imply palhos to still
higher degree than mirh Hood knew
and welcomed the dover which gave him
at his pirth when he wrote thus:
can things are touched with Melancholy
Boln Of the scare, souls misrus,
-, !! o, le e, her lar e'hGrenI wings
S"n ,% %oT h'r %, n" "rs,%"c" o"S'
Bring on conclusions of DISGUST,
Like the sweet blossoms of the May,
Whose fragrance ends in must.
ua, Eno mgi n ,na", no5 Ut ou,F JUST
There j. no music in the ' Ijl4s "''''
That sounds with idiot laughter solely;
d. mere n' MOI ,-ni sung 1'uGea to ninth
=, "',' 10 '"''' :" "',1''"O'''
'1""" was ''Ue ~ ''''s w" o. accept |
""oe' ie n""eu 10 accept "'iIlhgIy the
pans as wen as JOYS OF ''Ie Tor what they
con'u 'c'c"' "e'e'oie years cApaNaed
ana en'aF2rd MS SympatN'es, and gave to
HIS I'3'''eS' ,NtS al OBVIOUS harmony with |
a great moral Design Not obviously OBJ
VlouS' On' enough SO to give a sweetness
ana permanent comp'acency to our laugh
ter indeed what is writer IN his gaycr
mood mas aliected us more, as spontaneous