The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1857-05-13
From the Syracuse Daily Journal
John Godfrey SAKE.

Tho world is not disposed to givc
man credit for more than ono ching al a
,ime-BRyAHr ia known as the Poet
rather .hsn the Publisher. There are
plenty Of people who are not aware that
LoNGrELLow was, for years one Of the
most popular and successful Professors
Of lIorvcrd College De- HlTcHcocK
writes and pr9aches excellent c;rmons,
but fame has covered them with geolog.
ical strata-and when PLacIvAL died the
world mourped tho Poet and not the ga
oioglsL
JoHS G. SAKE supports, in the motley
ranks of life, the tito Of ''the witty
Pcet'-a titlo which wos long sine,
awarded him by acclamation, ana q title
which-u unlike hosts Of olhers-is richly
deserved. He is, indeed, occasionally
spoken of as the editor of The Burlipe.
ton Sentinel" but he might have edited
that bebdomadel for century without
baving been suspected, by nine people ou.
Ct ten, of having a frger in iia pi,n or
its leaders. SAxE is knovn to the pub.
lie as the witty poet, and tho title is
barnaclc that will cling to his anatomical
;imbers" uutil they arc shiycred by the
bomb Of death, a. ssilo that makes no
noise when it o%plodes. But like every
other son Of genius, SAKE lives an inner
life Of which tho world knows but little.
and which we beg lea7a to uncurtain, so
that those who love and admire the Poet
may be constrained to admire and love
the Man.
SAKE is "a conversationalist- word
that carries its own superla,ive with it.
AS such we have rarely me. his peer
never his superior Ho brings to bear
upon his jortc Of conversation the power
ful artillery Of comprehensive intelli
gence, an opulent fancy, the keenest wit,
the rcadiest reportee and possesses that
faculty Of successfully adapting himself
to trivial or wrestling with lofty sub
iect, the envy Of which is as common ss
its lack. Ills language is ever fresh ami
piquant-neYer stale and uuproiitable."
He talks as easy a. brook fows-and,
like the brook, the wide margins of his
conversations are beautifed by the VIC.
lets and clover.blossoms of simple and
elegant rhetoric. Ore of the secrets of
his power in this respect exists in the
fact that SAKE is a thorough scholar
The classics are his play things lie
remembers what he has studied, and can
quote the knottiest Greek sentences with
no more trouble than he expenls in the
act of frespiTatiun. He knows every spear
Of grass in the field of bellies le,tefs.-
Metaphysics are never dose to bin
and his love for the Natural Sciences is
almost unnatural. He is we'll inform.
ed man--to adopt q conventional phrase
which really means more than it seems
to mean--able to scope with the profes.
sor, the divine, the savan, and sure to
hold his own" with the best of them
His power is an educated pow0r-allied
TO genius of no ordinary character, and
controlled by tho strongest good sense,
the most refined taste and the incest
sense Of ptoprieiy. He makes no show
Of his learning ho never attempts to
air his vocabulary J" but it is imposs-
bic for him to converse at all without
eyinciDg the qualities which We have here
set down to his credit.
SAKE possesses the attribute OF genial.
ity to a remarkable extent The secret
of this possession lies in his own heart.
That heart is a gushing fountain and not
an Artesian we'll It's emotions flow
forth spontaneously-because thev must
they are not drawn up in buckets
lie is not soured by care or suffsring-
Through them all-ard he has had his
full share-he has preserved an amiabil.
ity a feeling of fraternity that beams
from his honest face like morning SUI.
He loves and hates most cordially; loves
the good, the beautiful and true-snd
hates their opposi.es. He is perfectly
familiar with the acids of sarcasm, but he
never employs them-upou tho vitriol.
thrower's principle-,o crafty any pri-