The Yazoo Democrat. [volume] (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1858-18??, 1858-11-27
THE LAST wILLISIsM.

THE LAST WILLISISM.
Willis is nothing az writer outside Of
the sensual. His fancy pales and flicker out,
withdrawn from the delicate pink-colored
haze of sensuaIism in which its little wings
made Of fine gauze by a milner's girl, no
bt-delight TO futter. Whether it is
Jeprha's daughter or Absalom, an imaginary
heroine or living prma donna be describes,
the same dominion Of sense and sensuous
sensibiHty, to the exclusion of lofty ideality,
is an inevitable presence. Herein is Wills's
strength, and herein his weakness Herein
is the inspiration that imparts lie like
reality, 4 noIabe relie0o, TO many o. bis
word paintings, and a characteristic tone to
all his descriptous and herein is the pru.
rent imagination--so foreign in true mauli-
ness, which does not even imagine an indeli-
cate thought OF true womanliness-that
hovers upon the verge of indelicacy when
woman is the topic, if 1t does not often pass
beyond that boundary. This weakness aud
this strength are displayed in about an equal
degree in an IdIewld thinning Of PiccoIomini
Having first related how be accidental, ran
against carpet-big in hand, "the princess OF
the MiIlenial drama how the dumpy little
angel in some way got the obuusive baggage
in her chubby arms, and how the leather Of
the same became thereby consecrated, and
the smallest bit worthy to be set in Pcco.
lomini breast pin by his man Friday, Morris :;
and rexf, having described some OF the inno-
cent artistic wies Of the little wonder, he
thus accompIishes the climax with her mouth:
''l}ut how can describe what is Picco-
lomini's great pecuIianty Her mouth,
while she sings, plays the most delicious
pantomime possible to conceived The eye
of the spectator is SO peted with kisses, ex~
quisilely represented in a sort OF alto relieve,
that it is absolutely bewIdering The nstu-
raj action of the lips seems positively that,
and nothing ese-kiSSeS, caught and put into
harness, and made to do duty Ike sung
words. Il is most difficult to realize, as one
looks and lis ems when she leans over the
,ot-ghts-with anything Of habit OF
kisses seen done that is to say--that the
Pest Of the audience has not mysteriously
disappeared, leaving the matter entirely be-
tween ones self and her And then the
absolutely limo ent cou6di1gness The whole
play and pout of those pnlpy li'tIe red lips
looking so as il they implicitly trusted and
believed in you, while they tried tc reach
you-makes it still more absolutely personal
and private. | do not think there was ever
before such an actress on the stage-one
who was unequivocally stamped with the
innocence of child, while she left upon
every auditor the mysterious memory of a
kiss As the ballad says:
Such two lips to sigh for
by heraldrys test,)
Should make tulips the cypher
Engraved on her crest,
though | doubt not that the helmet and
shield Of the chivaric Piccolomnis had a
bIazon much more warlike, won by their
swords, in those Middle Ages when they
were so famous. With the two other
charming evidences that the operate stage
is to be lady's vocation Madame de Will
horst and Miss Juliana May-we may look
upon the Princess, | repeat, as the ayalar Of
the new epoch. She is certainly one of the
very sweetest and most endearing of intro
ductresses, and from hands so pure we may
safely receive anything.
81 heard incidentally, while in New York,
that our distinguished countrywomau. Mad
anne lie Vert, had shown her usual tact and
knowledge Of the world by taking the Prime
ess to see the one thing she would never see
in foreign counTies-an American sized hotel
She led the fair Italian all over the St. Mich
olas, showing her the immense kitchens
laurdries. vast drawing-rooms and wilder
nes,es Of bedrooms, exciting thereby the
utmost establishment that the gifted stran-
gers sweet lips aud eyes could possibly ex-
press.
go and see the Piccolomini, when you
are next in town, my dear Morris, remem'
berlng, as a song writer, that her dislin-
gushing fea ure is the one which the lover
gol ia the classic pastoral chose to bestow
his homage upon
The honey -suckles would he often strip,
And lay their sweetness on her sweeter lip
in accordance with which, am very sure
you will strip the honey .suckes Of youi
brain for sgng, to lay as An Offering on th,
same exquisitely elliptic altar. Now, won
you l-and let il be FLIP to her fame from
you and Mp. W."
OF course nobody but n P. Willis could
have perpetrated the above. There is all BIZ
rich coloring all his life size relief; all BIZ
cultivated indelicaey all his elaborate verb,
al inaniiies-but most Of all, that egregious
absorbing, MaIvolio-lIke vanity that thrust
N. 7. Willis into the foreground of the pic
ture, when the room be occupies is mucl
more desirable.