Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-02-08
msMoIRs Or THOMAS cAsLYLE.

time, first appeared in the English Cyclope-
dia;" and we select it from the Editors Pre-
face to q small volume recently published by
Dellisser & Proctor. sos, Broadway, New York.
entitled Life of Robert Burns, mostly by
Thomas Carlyle"
As a Life of Burns, the book contains a very
uishy-washy contribution to the Encyclopedia
Britannica" styled Life Of Burns" This
constitutes the part first" and Carlyies
Burns" selected from his ''miscellanies, Is
part second so that so far as Burns Life
is concerned, there is very little that the owner
Of Carlyle's Misccllanies does not already pos
Sess. The sketch Of Carlyle will be found 10
possess some interest, and is very nearly the
identical sketch of the life Of Carlyle recently
published by the Appletons, in their new
american Cyclopedia.'
Everything relating to Mr.. Carlyle has, at
this time, a more than ordinary interest. His
Life of Frederick the Great" having just ap'
pearcd, is now being read by the thousands
who delight in every subject touched upon BY
his extraordinary thought. We, therefore
transfer this sketch Of Mr.. Carlyle to our CO.
lumns, not that it possesses any MORT OF Its
own, but because Of the Fictitious interest
gwen to it by the subject Of which it treats:
Carlyle. CThomas) a thinker and writer. eonie.sedly
anons the most original and influential that D'itaIh has
| produced, was born In the parish OF Miidl.1ie, nes, ,me
village Of Ecclcfechan, In Dunfies-shire, Scotland on .ne
4h u December, l7o5. Ills father, o man Of remarkable
force Of character, WAS u small farmer In coihIor'aoie cit
cum.tances; his mother was also no ordinary person: nne
eldest son VI a considerable family, he received an eduea
tisn the hest In It's kind that Scotland could Ihen auora-
the education Of a plous and industrious nome, supple
mented by that OF school and college. (inothrrs ION OF Inc
f,nily, Dr.. John 4. Carlyle, a younger brother OF inomss'
was educated in n similar manner, aud, ATE. Ptaeus,ng !or
many years rs a physician In GernSni and hone mas re.
Gently become known In British literature as the author OF
the les, nrosr translation Of Dants) After = few years
spent In the ordinary parish school, Thomas was sem, IN
his thirteenth or fourteenth year, 70 the grammar school OF
The neIphborng town OF AMMAN; aud here Il was that he
arst BECAME acquainted Tlth a man destined, IKE himself,
al living" SrI,e, Mr.. Carlyle In 1885, twas sixand.
TIVE ~ wears ago. 10 his native town, AMMAN. lie was
fresh from Ell nburgh, with college p ises; high character,
| and promise: he had come TO See our sehcol.naiter, who
| had Also been his. W. heard OF famed professors of high
| matters, classical, mathematical-a whole Wonderland Of
kowlrdge: nothing hut y, health, hopefalness without erd
looked out from the blooming young man. Irving was
then sixteen years Of age, Carlyle fourteen; anu from that
tine till iiyinss sad and premature death, me Two were
iyie followed Irving to that "wonderlsnd Of knowledge"
| Inc University Of Edinburgh. Of which, and Its famed pro
1 fcSSOr3,' he hau received tuIhb9. ~ ~ "
OF the narneless German university, however, In "Sartor
! Resartus, is 10 be supposed as abusive also to Mr.. Car
lyle's own "Reminiscences Of nus I1innsa huinnorgn, ne
| part Of that training In no very high respect. what vain
jaryon OF controversial metaphysic, e'ymoiogy, and me.
chanlcal manipulation. falsely named science, was current
Their" saws T.ufelsdrockh; 81 indeed learned better per.
haps than most At Edinburgh, the professor OF "coniro.
yer,Iai metapbysic" In Cariyie's day, was DR.. Thomas
Brown. pucaid Stewart having then jus, retired; physical
science and mathematics were represented oy PlayiAir and
Sir John Leslie, and classical studies oy men iess knoHn.o
fu. tIltia az ,oli.re narlvlrs eDeClAl bent. SO flr ul tn3
work OF the classes was concerned, seems 10 have been 10
mathematics aud natural philosophy. But IL Is rather by
his voluntary studies and readings, apart from the work OF
The cllsses, that MIR. Carlyle, In his youth. laid the founda-
lion OF his vast and varied knowledge. The college session
in Edinburgh extends over about hall the year, from 40
yembert TO April and during these months, the college IL
hr.rv AMI other such libraries as were accessible, were
laid under contribution by him TO an extent till then hardly,
par.llrlrd by any Scottish student. Works on science and
Mathematics. works TN philosophy, histories OF all ages, and
the great elias les Of British literature, were real by MIN
miscellaneously or In orderly succession; and Il was At this
period also. If we are no, mistaken, he commenced his
stuiie,-not very usual then IN ScotLind-ih the !ore'gh
languages OF modern Europe. With the same dlhsenee'
and in very much the same way, we're the summer vaca'
lions employed, during which he generally returned TO his
| fathers house in Dum'ries shire, or rsmbled among the hills
aud moors OF that ncighborhood
Mr. CARLYLE Ia begun his studies with a view 10 entering
the scottish Church. Abou; the time. however, when these
stuiies were nearly ended, aud when, according 10 the or.
binary routine, he might have become "a preacher, . change
Of views In 1uced him to abandon the intended Profession.
Thi, appear; 10 have been about the year lsl9 or ls2V,
when he was twenty four years Of age. For some time, he
,e.m. to have been UNCERTAIN a, to his future course. Alons
with Irving. he employed himself Tor a year or Two asa
teacher in fifes.ir-; bu. gradually u became clear ." MN
that his true vocation was that OF literature. Accordingly,
parting from I.vin., about the year l52, the younger Scot
Of Annandale, deliberately embraced the alternative open
10 him. and became a general man OF letters. Probably
few have ever embraced tha; profession with qualhcauons
so vide. or with aims 50 high and severe. Apart altogether
from BIZ, diligence in learning. and from the e1!raoraina,y
amour, Of ACQUIRED knowledge OF all kinds, which was the
fruit OF Il, there had been remarked In him, from the nrst,
q strong originality Of character. q noble earnestness ana
fervor in all that he said or did, and a vein Of inherent
CON Institutional contempt for the mean and the frivolous, In
cnnins him, In some degree, to n lie oil ISOLATION anu soh'
tuie. Add TO this, that his acgnaintanee .tn uelasn ute.
Of ,hinlln. :, and types Of literary character, not then gene
r,Iiy known in ,li. country, and yet. In his opinion. more
deserving Of hsing known than much OF . corretpon"hns
lild that was occupying and r fling British thought.
The frs, period Of Mr.. Carlyle, literary life may be said
thirty second year. 1t was during this period that he pro-
ducrd (besidrs q translation OF Lrgendres Geometry. 10
which he preaxed an Essay on propo',.on, - ms snd nlso 81.
Life OF Schiller" The Latter aud a consiuer PIE proper
ton OF the former. were written by him during me Leisure
Afforded him by an enlargement he had Formed IN 1873. n
tutor 10 harles Duller. whose subsequent brilliant though
brief career in the polite, OF Britain, gives interei, to this
connection. The first par; OF the Life Of Schiller" ap'
peared originally in the "Lonhon MagIrne," OF which John
Scott was editor, anl Hizli:t, Charles Lamb, Allan Gun
~ninsham, De Quincy, aud Hood, were the best sn9En sup
porters: aud the second and third parts were puhlshehin
the same magazine In 1874. In this year appeared aisotne
translation OF G6the's "WiIhelm Meister," wblch Was pub
the tran,la,or's name. Thi. translation. the frst realln'ro.
duction VI Gothic TO the reading world OF Great britain, A.
tracted much notice. THE translator SAID a eriiie N
"Rlackwooi," lis. We understand, n young gentleman IN
this city, who now for the hrsi time appears oetorethe pub
lie. We congratulate him on his very. promising debut;
and would fin hope 20 receive a series OF really good trans
la,lons from his hand. lie has evidently q perieci KNOW
ledge OF German: ne alrelly writes English het'er man Is
a, all common, even at ,ls time; and We know Of no exer-
else more likely 10 produce effects Of permanent advantage
upon n young mind Of Intellectual ambition. The advice
here given TO Mr. Carlyle By his critic, was followed by him
In 90 far that. In 1927, he published 10 E~dlnburgh, his "SPe.
eImens Of German Romancr." In tour volumes; one Of
these continuing 'wilhelm Meis.ers wanleri.hre," as a
fresh specimen Of Gorhe: the others containing tales from
Jean Paul. Tieck, Mussus. and Hoffman. Meanwhile. in
1925, NJ. carlyle hid revised and enlarged his Life Of
Schiller. aud given i to the , World I'M IN a s ,spar4, 10. 'T nro.
rri-tors OF the "London Magazine" In the same year,
qui ting his tutorship Of Charles Butler, he had married =
lady fitted 10 a pre-eininen, degree 70 be the vile Of such a
man. III is Interesting TO know that Mrs. Carlyle, original.
ly Miss welch, u n lineal descendant OF the Scottish Re.
former. Knnx) For some time after the marriage. Nr:
tarIyIe continued TO reside In Edinburgh: hut before 1877
he renov 10 Or Iigcnputtoch, u small property In the most
solitary part Of notwithstanding.
Ing from 1921 to 1884, or from his thirty .econdt TO his thirty
nin,h year. Was the period Of the inst decided manfe;ta-
lions OF his extraordinary originality as n thinker, Prooa'
Div the very seclusion In which he lived helped'o develope,
In stronger proportions, his native and peculiar tendencies.
Tim. vas sent by him. In ISIS, to Gothic. with whom he was
then 10 correspondence, aud was puoinheh by He great
German In the preface 10 4 German translation OF the Lie
Of Schiller" executed under his Immediate care: "Dum.
fries Ia n pleasant town, containing about fifteen thousand
inhubi, ,nts, and 10 he considered the centre OF the trade
and judicial ~ stem Of a district which possesses some I'm
portsn,e In the sphere OF Scottish activity. Our residence
Is not In the town Itself. but fifteen miles TO the northwest
OF It. among the granite hills and the black moras,es which
stretch westward through Galloway almost TO the Irish Sea.
In this wilderness OF heath and rock, our estate stands forth
u green oasis, a tract of ~pioushed, partly enclosed and
planted ground, where corn ripens and trees AFFORD a shade,
although surrounded hy sea- NEWS and rough-woolled sheep.
Here. with no small effort, have we built and furnished =
neat. subst 4ntiafdwelling; here, In the absence OF a profess
,Ional or other Office. we live 10 cultivate literature accord.
ing to our strength, and in our own peculiar way. We wish
u Joyful growth to the roses and flowers Of on, garden; we
hone for health and peaceful thoughts 10 further our aims.
The roses, indeed, are still in part TO be planted, but they