The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1849-05-23
q. .sUMTERVILLE, s. y. MAY 2s,Has 5. -
came from his bed or dressing.room,E /. 3

came from his bed or dressing.room !,
pleasure.
d He told the Duchess Of st. Alban,
that he could come into this room 81
this jmivate door, and work and rijts swrriite
as much as he plcased, without 81, arly
oness being the wiser for It's sThat..
she replied, SIS impossible;t certainly 3
most graceful compliment, and .appre,
ciated by Sir Walter. The room has
double window, to prevent both cold
and noise. This apartment is full 81
interesting associations. Every body,
the guide says, aits down in Sir Wal.
ter's chair; as if, perhaps, in some ,,,i ,way,
they might catch some Of his inspiration.
There is melancholy qualification in
sitting where he sat, and in contempla.
ting the books he handled, and the,
desk on which he penned many of his
immortal works. .,l .ii5.. .5s..
The amount of manual labor par.,
formed by this great man seems gigan.
tic, and almost to have surpassed the
powers of an individual, and especially
one who discharged tho duties Of some
public Offices, and gave, of necessity, SO
much time to his family and to general
society 27..J5, &,
Large numbers of persons were flock
ing 70 the house when we were leaving
it, and so for years, perhaps for centur.
ries to come, it must continue to be vi.
sited by pilgrims to the shrine of that
rare genius, which has achieved for it.
selfa earthly Immortality.
Scott was o most eminent benefacter.
not to the world at large merely, in the
amount of pleasure which he diffused,
and the curiosity which he grati6ed,
but to Scotland, especially, in more
humble and pecuniary sense. He NAV
be said to have Illuminated every place
which he touched, and to have thrown
an interest around, in a word, to have
made alive, every object which he de-
scribed. Interesting and delightful as
sociations are now connected with in
Vulnerable places and spots, lochs and
glens, crags and caves, castles and
ruins, churches and abbeys, before
scarcely known, but now eagerly sought
after by the admirers Of his works; and
now Scotland actually swarms with
tourists, attracted by his descriptions,
beautiful and enchanting as they are,
with all the eagcrness and enthusiasm
OF the most inpatient curiosity. Their
disbursements in the country must a.
mount to a very large sum. It is sta
ted that Cadell, the bookseller and pub
Usher of his works in Edinburgh, has
realized from them no less sum than
G179,000 sterling.
AT one time the autograph mann.
scripts Of Sir Walter we're to be seen at
this person's place of ofbusiness. He has
since removed them all to his house in
the country, it is said, to avoid the
tronble Of showing them. He is de-
serving of severe censure, if for no bet
ter reason than this, after making 80
splendid fortune from them, he denies
the public reasonable qualification of
seeing them, though it might have cost
the entire attention of o man devoted to
exhibiting them, whose services the pub.
lie would have most chcerfully and Ii.
berally compensated.
Ben johnson was born in Westminis-
ter, England, in 1874, and was des.
cendcd from q Scottish family. His
father died before he was born, and Ben
was educated at Westminster School
while the great Camden was head mas.
ter there. His mother marrying again,
he was taken from school to work at his
step-tather's trade, which was that Of a
bricklayer. Not being captivated with
this employment, he ran away and
went to the Low Countries, where he
distinguished himself in military ca
pacity. On his return to England. he
entered St. JOINTS College, Cambridge,
and is said to have narrowly execution
for having killed person in o duel.
He afterwards became on actor, and in
this connection was intimate with Shak-
speare. His "Alchynist" gained him
such reputation that ho was, in 1919,
made poetlaureat to king James r., and
Master of Arts at Oxford. On the
death Of James, he became poor, and
he died in August, 1857, aged 68
years, with the reputation of being one
of the greatest dramatic poets of the
time. He was buried in Westminster
Abbey with many honors. i