Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1854-08-25
oYrRIDAY EVENING, AUG. %,
siIns on the Crirnca.

L
made that statement. Shakespeare could write
plays. but couldn't enact them Milton could
write epics, but could not sell them; Fulton
conld build steamboats,, but could not write
plavs and Webster could make speeches, but
could neither write plays nor build boats
Each of these iliustyious men was genius in
his way, but that was all; he was not genius
in ANYBODY else's or everybody's way. Be-
sides the singularly limited scope of their ge-
MUS, they were severally, uncertain IN action.
The ocean after being exhausted by one
sublime contest with the ruffan winds, sinks
into calm repose, to gather strength till the
next time the angry tempests blow. The vol
cano after throwing up all the fire and fury
it has been feeding on for six months, sinks
down again to recruit its yacuous Wis
cera, and takes long time to do it. So it is
with ordinary geniuses so it was with the
common geniuses whom we have specified
Each was great in one particular role. Each
could do one thing better than anybody else
could; but that was only when the divine
impulse Of genius filled him with Its inspir-
alton They did not know everything, and
they were not ready always to explain every
thing.
Unlike 'rour Silas, who is a universal ge-
nins, they were ordinary geniuses. They
were specimens of a class; he is the sublime
type Of an order. Like the sun, he never
tarries to takearest. but round the Cosmos he
shines, all the time, sublime" He futters
like graceful bird OF Paradise in the garden
Of his imagination, and scatters abroad with
his wings the incense Of empyreal poety. lie
looks, with his penetrating eye into the mys-
teries Of science, and they are mysteries no
longer. lie walks in the garden of DR.. Hey
wood and beholds, in the affection Of cat for
chicken, the subtle elements of new moral
philosophy. And then he goes up above
Parthenium, over there to Seyastopol, and
discourses Of ancient mythology, modern pol
tics, and life in the Crimea.
Much as we have admired the other pro-
ductions Of Silas, we think that of Wednes-
day, on the g Crimea and Sevastopol," is
equal to the best of them. There is fne
bold sweep in the style, which g sends you to
sea " all al once. Then there is a beautiful
familiarity displayed with Greek literature,
with physical and political geography, topog-
raphy, and the philosophy Of history. That
article takes hold of you, and 'eager fancy
unconfned, in voyage of the mind, sweeps
to the Crimea like the wind.
Silas tells us that the Crimea is the laurie
Chersonesus of the ancients; we would pre-
fer. for the sake of classical unity, to say the
Chersonesus Taurica; but we suppose the
general reader will be satisfied with either way;
the one being as Ineligible to him as the 9TH
er. The position of the Crimea is of more i'm
portance, however, than its classical name,
and that, Silas tells us. is
Halfway between Isnail and Azof, the
Eastern and Western limits of the Black Sea
coast Of Southern Russia, it stretches boldly
out, reaching almost halfway to Asia
We admire the ease with which our geog-
rapher fixes the distance Of the Crimea from
Asia. 1t is almost halt way to it. This, to
our mind, is as precise as the arithmeticaI
question which was proposed by the Hoosier
to his sehoolInaster-'' If chickens are five for
dime, what viii load of hay come to y
After we know where the Crimea is Silas
presents us with neurological and historical
olio, in which the laurie DIANA" Iphige-
MIA, the cruel King" and Orestes, (not st.
Orestes Brownson,) appear. They are royal
examples of the learning, research, and inn
agination Of the illustrious individual who
daily, transfuses himself into the Transcript
but what they have to do down at Seyasto.
pol just now is not SO very apparent.
Silas gracefully glides from classical allu-
sion to Oriental word painting; and he pic
lures the Crimea as perfect garden Of Para
disc.
There all trees sled their delicious sAaa4
and fragrance, and yield their fruits abundant
and tropical
Now, we doubt if all trees shed their deli
cious s8a7e in the Crimea, and we are also
doubtful about the fruits of that singular nose
of land being tropical. It is true that "Pa-
las gentleman who travelled in Southern
Europe more than half century ago. gives
a glowing account of the Southern part of
the Crimea; but, gentlemen who have been
there more recently, say that there is consid-
cradle Imagination in the rapturous sentences
of Pallas, bat not much truth. Lazy Tartars,
degenerate Greeks, greasy Russians, cringing
Jews, cheating Armenians, and wandering
gipsiee compose the population of this s'terres-
trial paradse;' and even in the valley of
Bladder, about the delights of which DR..
Clarke goes into raptures, centipedes, taran-
tulas, and scorpions shove their stinss into
mems legs and heels, while locusts devour
their corn. Besides, how can the Crimea be
tropical, when it lies between Al and 46 de-
grees Of North latitude? But genius like un-
to that Of Sins can bring even the poles to-
Gether' and reconcile the Victoria Regia to
the arid desert Of Sahara. Hear what he saws
about the social aspect Of the Crimea:
"Ihe rich mobiles build splendid villas and
expend fabulous wealth in beautifving ana
adjoining them. The copecks and TnbIes
wrung by tyrannical oyerseers from miserable
and abject seris, are here transmitted INTO in
laid gold and silver, and mother of pearl. and
delicate arabesque work, and all the annI-
ances Of eastern luxury
Now, as Samuel Weller says, this is deei-
dedly po-wetical. Copper haf-cent pieces,
called eopecks, and half-dollar silver pieces.