Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1855-03-15

them. 1t is easier for a camel to pas!
through needles eye, than for "dis
tinguished" man to catch Percival BY
the button hole. 1t has never beer
achieved, though often attempted.
His favored haunts, however, are ths
woods and fields, and sandy wastes
which stretch away from the rear of the
City Elms, over which he frequently
wanders for days, and at all times O
night like a lonely wizard upon the
heath. His silent form, stealing acros:
those barren expanses, seems the very
spirit of the desolation that surround:
1.-THE stalking genius of the moor
But these solitary rambles, so much his
passion, are not solitary to him, for his
familiarity with the entire circle of the
sciences, and especially his perfect
knowledge of botany and geology, rem
ders every flower that springs up in
his path mute companion, and every
rock charming volume. Indeed, it is
well known that when desired some
years since by the government of Con-
necticut to make geographical survey
of that State, he had little else to do
than to record the notices gathered up
and treasured from these idle excursions
of his bitter moments. How lofty must
be the intellect whose very pastime thus
extends the luminous domains of sci
ence.
1t is no mere antithesis to say that
Percival is the learned of the poets and
the most poetic of all learned men. In
addition to his immense and varied
sciences his attainments in philology, in
polite literature, in history, in specula-
tive philosophy, and in every depart
ment of speculative philosophy, and in
every department of intellectual activity,
are absolutely marvellous in the apti-
tude and richness. He has published
numerous poetieal translations from the
Polish, Russian. Servian, Bohemian,
German, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, and
Portuguese languages, all of which be
reads and writes with the utmost fluen-
cy, and with whose literature he is as
familiar as the most accomplished native.
His knowledge of the poetical art, and
his facile command Of what may be
termed the resources of poetry, are per-
haps unequaled and unapproached by
any living poet. His last volume of
poems published in 1843, embraces
more than one hundred and fifty varie-
ties of measures; and it is said that he
has devoted years to the study of music
in its subtle relation to poetry, with the
view of perfecting his power over the
secrets of rhytbmical beauty.
We have said that Percival is the
most poetical of learned men. He is
more. In our judgment he is the most
poetical of the poets. His genius has
never been measured. 1t is a wilder I
ness of unknown beauties, such as Tasso
would have loved to describe, but we
can only conjecture from the radiant
clippings he has flung out upon world
he most bitterly despises. A poem is a
work of art. of which genius is simply |
the material-the poet who would live
hereafter as such must patiently chisel
his marble into forms of beauty. None
knew better how to do this than Per-
cival, if he cared to.do it-but he has
never risen to the last infirmity of noble
minds and fame will probably resent
his contempt for her by striking his
name from her muster roll. Having
sought for intellectual power, he is con-
tent with its mere possession, and forgets
and derides in his gloomy reveries of
misanthropy, the purpose for which on
ly it is worth possessing. He is upon
the whole a magnificent paradox,
which the ladies may unravel at their
eisure, by the aid of the simple fact,
IF which we are assured, that he loved
,arly, loved deeply, and was J1LrED.