Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1859-02-10

douOtlesS nave become iedrDSd JurisI, dUo
perhaps, an eloquent advocate; but woult
have remained unknown to the world as ths
historian, who shares the henors of Robert
son and Thierry. 4r -a-s. s7..a
With the hope of gaining relief for bis
misfortune, he deyo.ed two years to foreign
: travel, visiting England, France, and Italy
consulting the most eminent oculists oi
London aud Paris, and struggling, to the
best of his abiiitv, with the trouble which
had brought such dark cloud over his early
youth. All means, however, proved ineffec-
tual, and at length he was relnctsntiy- led
to abandon the hope Of restoration 10 per-
feet sight But he suffered no diminution
of courage The afflictioD, which would
have prosirated the energy of so many
others, only served to give him fresh
strength. Returning home, with the pros
pect of partial, or perhaps. even total b lind
ness before him, he at once began to ascer-
tain what course was yet open to his youth
| full ambition. After careful deliberation, he
decided to enter upon the career of a his
torisn. With this intent, he Immediately
commenced elaborate course OF study, devo-
ting himself, to the thorough perusaI of the
ancient classics, and of the masterpieces OF
! English, French, Italian, and Spanish lite-s-
ture. In this severe process of intelle ctual
discipline, he was, of course, obliged to de-
pend on the eyes Of others, rather than his
own; but his spirit never grew weary, and
for the space Of ten years be pursued his
self-imposed task with unfalter ing energy,
and persistent courage :ha: no difficulties
could shake.
Having thus laid broad and deep founda-
ton for future success, he selected the
reign of Ferdinand and Isabella as the
theme, which, from lis position in the his
tory of Europe, and its comparative neglect
by previous writers, promised the widest
scope to his industry, and the most con-
genial field for the illustration of his pow
ers. 1t was during period of total inab j,
ity to use his eyes, that he received from
Madrid the materials for this great work.
They consisted of large mass of au.hori--I
ties, in various languages. the contents Of
which were to be carefully collated, trans
ferred TO his own manuscripts, and verified
by minute reference. Most writers would |
have shruns from the task, as burden too
formidable for human strength. But the
heart and hope. which were inborn in his
nature, did not forsake him al this crisis |
He procured the assistance OF reader, who |
to add to the difficulty of the experiment,
was acquainted with no modern language
but his mother tongue, and thus worked his
way through several old Castilan quartos,
until he was satisfied of the practicabiiity
of making the ear do the work of the eve. |
He soon became so familiar with the sound
Of the different foreign languages that he |
was able to comprehend the reading with
out much difficulty. Subsequently employ
ing secretary more competent to aid him
in pursuing his historical inquiries, he per-
severed in this course for several years.
cansoling himself by the thought that his
path, for the most part, stretched across
dreary wastes, where no besuty lurked to
charm the eve of the traveller, instead Of
leading him blindfo!d through the pleasant
walks o. literature. As the reader proceed |
ed, he dictated copious notes. These, as
they accumulated. were read to him repeat
edly, until he was sufficiently master OF their
contents to use them for the purposes of
composition. A new difficulty occurred in
the mechanical lab r of writing, which he
found still more severe trial than reading
print. This was remedied by writing
case, such as is used by the blind, which
enabled him to commit his thoughts to
paper without the aid Of sight, and equally
well IN the dark as in the light. His secre-
tary soon learned to decipher the hero:
glyphics thus produced, and fair copy was
transcribed by him for the use ofthe printer
Before the publication of "Ferdinand and .
Isabella" however, Mr. Prescott SO far re-
co cred his sight that he could read for sev-
eral hours in the day. and to enable him to
revise the composition more carefully. he
had C mp!ete copy of the his ory printed
for his own inspection be!ore il Was finally |
given to The press. But this Immunity from
suffering was only temporary, and in the in
terval between the publication OF the Con
quest ef N xico''in 1913, and that of the ,
Conquest OF Peru" in 1917, the sight of
the eye became so dim, and The sensibility
OF the nerve 50 much increased, that for !
many weeks he was unable to open a yo,-
ume, and, during the whole time, he could
scarcely use it on ar average for more than
an hour a day.
After the labor oft years, the "His-
tory of Ferdinand aud Isabella" @ vols |
Svo.) made its appearance in 1888, and at
once established the reputation of the
author, both in this country, and in Europe,
as historian Of truly classical spirit, and
with singular elegance and grace ofexpres-
sion. The work has since passed through
numerous editions in the United States, in
England, and in France, and has been
translated into Spanish, Italian, and Ger
Il an.
This vas followed, as stated above, by
the Conquest OF Mrxco'' (3 vo's. svo } in
IS43, aud the Conquest o: Peru" @ vols
Svo in l847, bo.h written largely from
manuscript materials obtained in Spain, and
exhibiting the brilliant style cf the author
to great advantage. They immediAely OBJ
taincd the most fatterng success and were
translated on both sides of the Atlantic, es-
pecially in Mexico. The first two volumes
Of the "History of Philip H." appeared in
| 1855, and were followed by third toward
the close of the past year. In 1857, Mr..
Prescott prepared an addition of Robert
sons "Charles "" with an account of the
Emperor's life after his abdication, which is
justly reckoned one Of the most graceful
ard pleasing productions of his pen. In