Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-01-16
THE WEEKLY STAR
HABITS OF GREAT STUDENTS

hHclne composed his verses while walking
soout, lrecltlng them In a loud voice. One
dates, in the Tuilleries Gardens a crowd =.
S. workmen gathered around him, attracted bv
as a gestures; they took him TO be a madman
aoOut 70 throw himself into the basin On his
.uIn s nome from such walks, he would write
- cene oy scene, at 6rst in prose, and
~ M NJ ne naa written it out, be would reclaim.
aseuy Is done. considering the dress
affair 'e'Se as very small
Magila6eeehi, the learned librarian "a the
puke oil tuscany, on the contrary. never STIR
ed abroad, but lived amidst books ana ,po,,
BOOKS; They were his bed. board and us.b-
ing de passed eight and forty years in their
midst, only twice in the course Of his life ven.
turing beyond the walls Of Florence; once 10
go Two leagues of, and the other time three
and-a-half leagues, by order of the Grand
Duke. de was an extremely frugal man
IlVlng upon eggs, bread and water, in great
moderation
Luther, when studying, always had bis dog
lying at his feet, a dog he had brought from
martourg, and Of which he was very fond.
An IVORY crucifx stood at the table before him.
ana the walls Of his study were struck round
with caricatures Of the Pope He worked nj
MS desk for days together without going out
put when fatigued, and the ideas began 10
stagnate In his guitar with him into the porch
ana there execute some musical fantasy. flor
ne was skillful musician when the IDEAS
would noW upon him as fresh as flowers after
summers rain. Music was his invariable SOL
ace at such times. Indeed, Luther did not
hesitate TO say that, after theology, muse was
the first of arts Music" said he, lis the
art OF the prophets; it is the only other art,
Hnlch, ike theology, can calm the agitation
Oh the soul, and put the Devil 10 flight
Next TO music, If not before il, Luther loved
children and flowers. That great gnsrled
man had heart as tender as a woman's
Calvin studied In his bed. Every morning.
at nve or six O'Clock, he had books, manu-.
scripts and papers carried TO him there and be
worked on for hours together. If he had occa-
sion to 90 out, on his return be undressed ana
went to bed again to continue his studies In
his later years he dictated his writings to sec
reta ries. lie rarely corrected anything. The
entences issued complete from his mouth Ii
ne ieit facility Of composition leaving him he
forthwith, quilted his bed, gave up writing
ana composing and went about his outdoor
duties for days, weeks and months together
ID put as soon as be felt the inspiration fall upon
MIN again, he went back TO his bed and his
secretary set to werk forthwith
Aristotle was tremendous worker be took
Ittle sleep, and was constantly retrenching il
lie mad cOntriyance by which he awoke
early, and TO awake was with him 10 com
months in cavern by the seaside, laboring
10 overcome the defects Of his voice There be
read studied and declaimed.
hosseau wrote his works earlyin the morn
ing; LIE Sege at midday; Byron at mid night.
HardOnin rose ct four in the morning and
wrote till late at night.
Rabeias composed his life Of Gargautua at
Belly, in the company Of Roman cardinals
and under the eyes Of the Bishop of Paris La
Fontaiene wrote his fables chiefly under the
shade Of a tree, and sometimes by the eide Of
Racine aud Boileau.
Pascal wrote most Of his Thoughts on little
scraps of paper, at his by moments Fenelou
wrote his Telemachus in the palace of Yer
sailles at the court Of the Grand Monaroue,
when discharglng the duties Of tutor to the
Dauphin. That Book so throughly demo-
cratic should have issued from such a source,
and be writtenlby priest, may seem surpris-
ing.
DeQuincey first promulgated his notions of
universal freedom Of person and trade, and Of
( throwing all taxes on the land-the germ, per-
haps, Of the French Revolution-in the bou-
dOir of Madame de Pompadour
Bacon knelt down before composing his
great work, and prayed for light and inspira-
ton from heaven. Pope never could compose
well without frst declaiming for some time at
the top Of his voice and thus rousing his ner-
vous system TO its fullest activity.
The life Of LiehuitE was one of reading,
writing and meditation. That was the secret
Of his prOdigious knowledge, after an attack
of the gout he confned himself to a diet Of
bread and milk. Often he slept in chair, and
rarely went to bed till after midnight. Some
times he was months without quitting his seat,
where he slept by night sn wrote by day
He had an ulcer in his right leg which pre-
vented his walking about, even had be wished
to do so