The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1855-02-16
MISCELLANE EOUS.
FROM MY NOTE BOOK.

MISC LIAM E0US.
GLEANlNGs FROM MY NOTE BOOK.
GOLDsMI
When Goldsmith thought of entering the
Church, he is said to have been rejected in
consequence Of his having presented himself
before the Bishop in pair Of scarlet brcech-
cs. He once announ ced the determination
of opening school in Holland for the pur,
pose Of teaching the English language, tho
ignorant himself Of the Dutch. lie also
proposed going to'decypher the inscriptions
on the written Mountains, forgetting, in his
enthusiasm, that an important sine qua non
in this undertaking, was knowledge of the
Arabic language, OF which he was wholly
ignorant. His guilelessness, ,houghtlessness
and innocence are the most prominent and
amiable traits Of his character. He is said
never to have been in love. He possessed
wisdom rs an observer of mankind. but was
deficient in that practical sagacity which
alone can, render the lessons acquired by
observation, Of value to their possessor.
His feelings w,re as impressive and impul.
sive rs a child's, but his nature was too
difusive, and his affections too comprehen-
sive, to be limited to passion that ulti-
mately resorts to, and centers in the one
all.absorbing point, SELF This constituted
the beauty Of his life, and kept it pure
Few writers, Of any age, enjoyed larger
share Of critical veneration, Notwithstanding
his heart was shy and weak in its selfreli-
ance. "No themes Of poetry are noblcr
than those of Goldsmith, and no genius ever
poured out, on such themes, richer or more
polished strains" His Hermit is q pro.
ductioa which will live us long as poetry
- true poetry has o sanctuary in the hu.
man heart.
SMILES.
The most ordinary and formal exhibition
of poetical fancy, or rather its embodiment,
exists in simllc, or comparison. Shakespeare
is celebrated for tho beauty and truthiulness
OF his SMILES go, also, ara tho ancicns
poets, Homer and Virgil. In no department
of his divine art, is Shakspearc's power more
conspicuously displayed, than in this. The
number, variety and wonderful felicity Of
his similes, constitute the most remarkable
feature of his otherwise unparalleled works,
for he not unfrequently creates the action
or object with which to compare that which
he has previously invented. Troilus, in his
despair, exclaims - ..
aI am weaker than a romdns tear,
Tanner than sleep; fonder than ignorance
Less valiant than the virgin in the night;
And skilless as unpracticed infancy"
Again, when attempting to disguise his slghs
beneath the semblance Of a smile -
at have. as when the sun doth light storm,
Buried this sigh In wrinkle Of a tear"
or the hand OF his mistress, he says:-
"To Its soft seizure
The Cygntfs d0un Is Adysh."
When called upon to pledge his troth, he
gives ready uttprsnce to the following: =
uAs true as steel as planets to their moons
As sun to day I as turtle TO her mater
As iron to adamantj as earth to the center"
Il is said that Thales Of Mieus one Of
the soven sages, or wise men of Greece,
while occupied in gazing at the stars, had
the misfortune to stumble over stool placed
in his path, and break his shins. The same
misfortune, in literary sense, has not un.
frequently beialon those who have attempt.
cd to apo Shakespeare in the beauty, aptness
and frequency of his SMILES. A simie de-
rives its entity and vitality from the quality
Of reri-similitudc all far.fstched compari.
sons, serving to obfuscatc and peplex, rather
than to illustrate. The oldOr writers Of
tragedy are often ameuable to censure on
this score. In Addison's Cato Porteus,
after receiving the farewell of Lucia, cx-
claims
"Thus DER the dying lamp, the unsteady flame
Hangs quivering point, leaps OF by fits,
And falls again. rs 10th TO quit It's hold.
Thou must not go; my soul still hovers DER thee,
And ca MT get loose"
This is mere trivialty, that would be wholly
objectionable In much less poet than Ad.
dison. DR.. Blair remarks that the language
Of simile lies in the middle region between
the highly pathetic, and the very humble
style; and it is in this region that the genius
Of Shakespeare peculiarly displays its powers.
However divergent and erratic may be his
course in other respects, ho seldom over
leaps the cauous Of the {" creed poetical" in
this. He is simple, easy and perfectly nat
ural; graceful without effort, and correct
from that oycraowing fullness which CON.
s,ituted the yeritable Holicon OF his Muse.
Burke is said to have reasoned in the figures
and fights OF poetry, rather than in mathe.
matical formula, and the same may, with
equal correctness, be asserted Of Shakespeare.
II. d. W.
sUFF0cATIoN BY SMOKE.