Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1859-04-07
For the Yorkville Enquirer.
LEISURE SKETCHES.
NUMBER I.
THE PHYs1oaNoMY OF PLACES.
BY ]. WOOD DAVIDSON

THE PHYsIoGNoMY OF PLACES.
Every one readily admits that the prcsences OF
different men affect US differently; that VIC feel
casy with one, embarrassed with another, and in
different with third. 1t is the power OF pres
ence. The child feels it, and only the fool denies
its existence. But the fact that places have
similar power of presence is not so universally
recognized. 1 maintain, and experience Is my
informant, that places have physiognomy rs
we'll as men. The thought occurred to me while
in the midst of large anl active city-in New
York, and on Broadway: I have noted 1t else
where and everywhere; and in the living solltudes
of populous cities have mused upon the coun-
teuance of places, and have recognized Soc'ety
of which the throng around me seemed uncon-
scous. Byron says there is society where none IN
trudes There can, really, be no place without 1t.
On Broadway first recognized the spirit Of place.
have traced it in the reckless hustle of Memphis;
have bowed to it in the primness of Ph'ladeiphia ;
have mused upon it in Baltimore; have hurried
from it in Charleston; and have blessed it in Co.
lumba. 1 have courted that spirit in scenes afar
from men but not lonely-have bowed me humoly
before it on Caesars Head have knelt to it ut the
base of Table Rock; have adored it upon the sum-
nit of the Look Out have mused upon its mys'
teries while. gliding up the Hudson; have yielded
to q silent awe upon the bank Of the Mississippi !;
and, here and there, have never failed to ind
mountain top and valley shade-the jam of cities
and the hush of prairies-all, like the faces my
fellow men, expressive Of some character. At
every spot of earth we know there fingers pow
er-the ancients named these gods-whose realm
is apart from local associations Of the past, and
whose influence touches the spirit when first We
know the place. There is kindness in one spe-
cies of tree, for example, that soothes and charms
us: but another is lonely and repulsre. The
former evokes the better feelings, and the latter
attunes US to gloom or to bitterness. The feeling
derived from contemplating full oak grove, ear.
nest. steady, and bold, is wholly different from
that which we imbibe from pine forest, rigid,
barren of fruits, lonely, md murmuring. have
gazed upon wintry pine forest until my heart
achcd with an ndefnabe gloom-a dread, a desc
late loneliness that pressed down my soul like
bereavement Artificial scenes, on the same prirl
ciple, become expressive in the same way. Stand
on Broadway the most living street in the world,
and you will feel its power. There isa grandeur
in the extent of splendid sights and buildings that
elevatcs the mind at once. There is variety
that confuses at first blush, but, then astonishes
and elevates the conception, as we contemplate 1t
leisurely There is haste, so constant, so ear
nest, so eager, that ones thoughts catch the tone
and rush rapidly and almost dizzily to the matu-
rest conclusions There is q massive power in the
whole moving, struggling, and conquering mass
that brings ones heel down upon the pavement
with stamp-that quickens the gait, contracts
the muscles of the legs with unwonted energy and
decision, erects the figure, sends the blood bound
ing through the frame, and sets the entire ma
chinery of life and thought and hope and ""'
most manfully to work. One cannot walk lazlIy
on Broadway unless, indeed, he be poet, low
er, or some such creature, that is pining to "hee
the busy haunts Of men," or is leaning daily on
s'the dagger of unrequited love-" or pulling over
split milk of some kind But a rcal live man
thinking, acting, and 1irng true and carnesraife
will unconsciously catch the spirit Of that noble
scene will acknowledge the presence of the
place; and will recognize what l mean by the
physiognomy Of places.
have other scenes and other places to speak
of, there and elsewhere but Of those if you like,
some other time.