The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1851-03-20

and painful vagdries fingered around his mind and
haunted his fancy, such as that he had living
hpropotamss in his stomach, and that his body,
tDe Quincy 50 was likely to turn out to have been
manufactured for loftier purpose than to furnish
lodgings to this strange animal, who was fed and
taken care Of with every species of socitude lest
his feelings might be offended in some slight re-
with his friend, Kit North, The polar star Of Black
Doods Magazine; and, as dinner time was ap-
preaching, DE Quincy had begun to indulge in a
dolorous disseI !alion upon his "animal," rs he
the animal some soup, then" The bell rang, and
they went TO dinner. De Quincy. they say,
is offended If any OF his friends doubt the existence
and hinis precious little Of any body who does not
regard the hppopOtamus as q real essere and living
monster, devourlng the poor opium eater, hip and
thigh. At another time we read about De @ uincy
the following st0ry:-Before this celebrated author
can get sleep at night, he is obliged to walk ten
miles during the days and if it rains, he goes into
rope walk, or some other convenient shelter, and
carries cart load of stones from one end Of the
walk to the other, aud back again. Well, we
have heard OF stranger things than this, and we
have no sort OF objection to the fances Of Mr.. De
Quincy, not even his hippopotsmus. He is welcome
wheel OF his genius such sparks Of fire. People
will have their fancies, and il man will eat opium
the first part of his life he may expect something
worse than hPpcpotamuses al the other end OF it.
How strange 1t is that the most brilliant things
in the universe see IN To be begottOn by spirit Of
madness. coAtortion, chaos, and desolation. The
pearl divers tell us, and naturaists, too that the
oriental pearl is never found except in diseased
oysters, and that they only expect very brilliant
pearl when they fish up an 0yster that is scraggy,
distorted, and malformed. Byron had q clump foot,
and hated all the world on that account, bat he
wrote "Childe Harold" and "Don Juan.' Pope,
who, take him all in all, was, perhaps, the master
genius OF his age, was dwelling, snariish, puppy
looking fellow. Dr. Watts was mean and insig-
nlhcant In stature; and even his gentle and chas-
tened spirit rebelled against the man who heard a
friend that approached the great poet cay, "There
goes DR.. Watts" "Wha1," rejoined he, "that
insignificant looking little fellows that DR..
Watts ~ And Watts turned round, in the indig-
nation OF his soul, and uttered those memorable
Were 80 tall as reach the pole,
Or grasp the ocean with span
gtin I'd be measured by my eoul-
The minds the standard Of the man.
Dean Swift eciipsed every body when he took up
a pen, and yet his last days justified what Pope
And Swift dsscends driv.llsr and show.
So it Is with men Of wonderful genius some
times although we are not disposed TO encourage
the idea that man must eat opium, or have a clump
foot, or die mad, or be OF very small stature, or
look mean, snvelliDg, or Insignificant, in order to
be genius. Newton was man of genius. and
magnificent looking man he was, too. So was
Gailileo; DO Is Humbolt; so is Arago so is Lamar
tine. We are satisfied with such pearls as are got
from commendable looking oysters; and. on a
any pearl. Young men and young women very
frequently start upon the world with false ideas
about genius. DR.. Charming says that genius is
the consciousress of the mistaken power OF self
control In his case, this is true but it is almost
as hard to dt fine genius as it is wit.
At all events, De Quincy is man OF genius.
COMMON SENSE VIEW OF THE CAUSES OF SHIP FEVER
AND AsIATIc CHOLERA.
The recent arrival of the Shannon, with the
IF Eov Ii kav
passage, and some forty sent to the Hospital;
end the arrival of the packet ship Dewitt
Clinton, reporting the death of thirty-one passen-
gers during her voyage, and forty-one on board
still afflicted with the disease; well as the
numerous other arrivals, within the last two years,
of ships laden with pestilenhal disease and human
misery with your permission, will expose the re.
mote and exciting causes ofthese terrible vistatons
IL wiltbe borne in mind with many exceptions how
even, that the great mass of Storage passengers
or emgrants, 10 composed of the poores, and worst
FED of the various European peasantry, and hapless
worn down artizans OF manufacturing districts,
who, by some inexplicable problem, manage, from
their daily earnings, TO save portion to pay for
their passage, and TO purchase food sufficient for
Atlantic voyage. The German emigrant procures
dried or smoked sausage meats, prepared from
tell; the Irish emigrant procures few potatoes, a
little salt, and net TO boil them in; the English,
Scotch, and others, procure cheap pilot bread,
damaged generality dried cod fish, smoked her
rngs, and such like Injuries, par ercciiencs, as a
ham or some bacon, warranted to endure a sea
voyage TO any part of the world These execrable
raj functions digest
Ia, i. 49, L..
cious nefarious promises, and wicked false hoods
many of these wretched people are lured from their
homes, induced, or entrapped, on board ship, and
consigned to this " land Of PROMISE" by the nu.
merous unprincipled runnere,' who receive
per centage upon every head" (oassengeD that
they procure for shipment-of course do not al
lude to the many honorable exceptions. In this
manner, with the voluntary emgranls, who advis
eddy make their arrangements for emigration, some
three TO six hundred human beings are crammed
away In narrow space between two air tight decks,
in hunks, made up temporarily for the voyage, from
old lumber. Each bunk or berth.-heayen save
the mark-on an average, accommodates TWO per.
sons, in space Of about feet in length, by three
feet in width, end two and halt feet in height.
These hunks answer for sitting apartments, sleep
ink dito store-room, kitchen, &c. &c. Nc., for a
voyege of indefinite duration across the turbulent
Atlantic, which, with the narrow passages between
the hunks, from end of the vessel TO the other,
filed with boxes, uuaks, bags, bundles, and mys
terious looking vessels, often answering the multi
tudinous offices and purposes Of culinary, chamber,
and parlor utensils, make up the grand tout ensen,
bic. Some stow away their provisions under their
bedding, such il Is, to secure them from marau-
ders, and others lock them away amongst their
clothing and rags; and others ornament the insdes
Of ;heir berth with numerous ancient-like hierogy
phic-looking tongues, hams, and chains Of sau
sage meats, and some, cunningy, make pillows Of
their provisions.
Five times out Of ten an " emigraRt ship" leaves
port, with The Evenings tide" either enveloped
in a misty damp atmosphere, or in a mlzzlag'
rain. The poor passengers are kept upon deck,