The Yazoo Democrat., 1854-08-30
from he ~, r. Courier and Enqu;rer.)
A VISIT TO SIR WIN. HAMILTON.

America, but Of few men who have dstin-
guished themselves in the world of letters is
there 50 little personally known. The great
master Of critique, as Mr. Cousin once called
HIM in conversation with us, has lived quiet
| life whose even tenor has not been broken by
adventures that attract the attention and
charm the imagination of the crowd The
man who is regarded in Europe as the most.
erudite philosophic scholar Of our times,-as
the head Of the great Scotch school Of meta
physicians, has spent his days thus far in the
midst Of his BOOKS fulfilling sweet and social
duties, stunning rather than courting the
gaze Of tie world. Those who run after
noisy orators and are charmed BY the exploits
of a military hero. Fnay never ha4e heard OF
his name, or II, perehanoe, it has oeen pro-
nounced in their ears, to ii no significance is
attached and with it is associated no idea Of
influence and power. The thinker, however,
whether we observe him or not, rules the
world. An abstraction, naked truth, a
pure thought, eternal fact, that something
which reason conceives but does not create,
is the most potent and practical Of things
Above all" says the most penetrating critic
of our times, cit is ever to be kept in mind,
that not by material, but by moral power,
are men and their actions governed How
noiseless is thought No rolling of drums,
no tramp of baggage wagons attend its
movements; in what obscure and sequestra-
ted places may the head be meditating which
is one dayFto be crowned with more than i'm
perial authority, for kings and enperors will
be among its ministering servants it will
not rule over but in. all heads, and with those
its solitary combinations of IDEAS as with
magic formulas, bend the world to its WILL"
Sir VIM. Hamilton distinguished himself
when youth at Glasgow University, receiv-
ed there bursary,. studied at Oxford. became
an advocate at Edinburgh, read Aristotlea and
the scholastics, instead of hunting after briefs,
wrote a metaphysical article for the Edin-
burgh Review, which attracted attention, and
was the means, in fact, of his being appoint
ed to the chair of logic and metaphysics in
the University of Edinburgh "a chair which
he has filed with honor in the capital of a
country justly proud of the names of Hutch
eson, Smith, Reid, Stewart and others. He
is now apparently about sixty five years Of
age, and although his body has been para
USED on one side, his mind retains all lis
freshness and vigor. Few men have laboFed
so hard as he The whole field Of metaphy-
sical literature has been explored, from the
dawn of philosophy to the present hour
With incredible patience and tireless energy
he has waded through whole seas of dusty
tones in many different lanauages. Carlyle
once remarked to us that when he was stu
dent at Edinburgh, he was accustomed to
stand for hours on certain corner, looking
in at HamiIton's window, worshipping him
as he sat reading his huge folios. And Car
/ lyle's admiratian was well returned, after an
interval Of many years, by the great Scotch
metaphysician, who read the French Reyolu-
ton through at a single sitting. Surely the
race of giants has not wholly disappeared
+ from the world
arrived IN Elinbnrghstoo late to find Sir
William 1t IS Great King street, his town
is4sidence, and therefore was obliged to make
Il journey tosLargo, whittier he goes on the
Ebreaking up Of the elasses in the Universi Y
Largo is on the coast, about eleven miles
from St. Andrews. towards Edinburgh. The
place was reached after three hours ride on
wretched coasting steamer, which afforded
no shelter from the wind and rain. The
Firth was very rough, and a roily stomach, 9
wet back, and 4 dali head, were not very
good preparatives for the difficulties that pre-.
: sented themselves on landing. Nobody on
i the whaIf had ever heard Of such a man q:
! Sir William Hamilton. Thought that in !
: respectable looking hotel, not far distant
a some information would surely be gained
Walters and landlord, however, were SURE
6 Ethat there was no such laird in Scotland
& still less in Largo. Various shop keepers
. were inquired Of with like i'll success. III
nally I gave up all hope Of finding the objec
e Of nv visit, and was inclined to believe tha
: I had been laboring under some hallucina
e ton, and in i yexed mystic state Of minC
& half doubted even my own existence. Whil'
waiting for the steamer to return, for th'
J, want of something else to do ! wanderes
along the hard sand beach nearly mile, lis
t lteninc to the breaking Of the waves, repeat
s ing to myself a thousand times, as if my We
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