The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1852-05-22
MARGARET FULLER ON CARLYLE.

MARGARET FULLER ON CARLYLE.
"Of the people | saw in London, you
will wish me first to speak of the Car
lyles. Mr.. G. came to see me at once,
and appointed an evening to be passed
at Their house. That first time | was
delighted with him. He was in very
sweet humor-full of wit and pathos,
without being overbearing or oppressive.
| was quite carried away with the rich
flow of his discourse; and the hearty,
noble earnestness of his personal being
brought back to the charm which once
was upon his writing, before | weared
ofit. | admired his Scotch, his way of
singing his great full sentences, so that
each one was like the stanza of nara
tive ballad. He let me talk, now and
then, enoughto free my lungs and change
my position, so that did not get tired.
That evening, he talked of the present
state OF things in England; giving light,
witty sketches of the men of the dav,
fanatics and Others, and some sweet,
homely stories he told of things he had
known Of the Scotch peasantry.
81 left him that night, intending to 90
out very often to their house. assure
you there never was anything SO witty
as Carlyle's description Off -.
It was enough to kill one with laugh
ing. |, on my side, contributed story
to his fund of anecdote on this subject,
and it was fully appreciated. Carlyle
Is not ashamed to laugh when he Is
amused, but goes on in cordial human
fashion.
"The second time, Mr.. c. had din
ner-partv. For couple of hours he
was talking about poetry, and the whole
harangue was one eloquent proclama.
ton of the defects in his own mind
Iennyson wrote in verse because the
schoolmastrls had taught him that it was
great to do so, and had thus, unfortu-
nately, been turned from the true path
for man. Burns had in like manner,
been turned from his vocation. Shaks-
peare had not had the good sense to see
that it would have been better to write
straight on IN prose; and such nonsense,
which, though amusing enough at first,
he ran to death after a while.-The most
amusing part is always when he comes
back TO some refrain, as in the French
Revolution of the seo-green. In this
instance, it was Petrarch and Laura, the
last word pronounced with his inelFable
sarcasm Of drawl. Although he said
this over fifty times, | could not ever
help laughing when Laura would come.
Carlyle running his chin out, when he
spoke it, and his eyes glancing till they
looked like the eyes and beak of bird
of prey. Poor Laura! Lucky for her
that her poet had already got her safely
canonlzed beyond the reach of this
Teufelsdrockh vulture.
"The worst of hearing Carlyle is, that
you cannot interrupt him. understand
the habit and power Of haranguing have
increased very much upon him, so that
you are perfect prisoner when he has
once got hold of you. TO interrupt him
is physical impossibility. II you get
a chance to demonstrate for a moment,
he raises his voice and bears you down.
True, he does you no injustice, and,
with his admirable penetration, sees the
disclaimer in your mind, so that you are
not morally delinquent; but it is not
pleasant to be unable to utter it. The
latter part of the evening, however, he
paid us for this, by series of sketches,
in his finest style of railing and rallery,
of modern French literature, not one of
them, perhaps perfectly just, but all
drawn with the finest, boldest strokes,
and, from his point of view, masterly.
All were d"preciating, except that of
Beranger. OF him he spoke with per-
feet justice, because with hearty sym
pathy.
81 had afterwards some talk with Mrs.
c., whom hitherto had only seen, for
who can speak while her husband is
there! like her very much; she Is
full OF grace, sweetness, and talent. Her
eyes are sad and charming.
CATER this, they went to stay at Lord
Ashburton's. and | only saw them once