Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1859-08-03

musers notion. The idle Poet idly roams
through green fields and poisoning groves,
engrossed with the varying charms of an al
ways charming green-Nature. His gaze
turns to the far blue Of the arching heavens,
and he compares it to the eyes of the Sover-
eign of his hearts the rosy flowers remind
him Of her cheeks, and the sable folds of
night causes him TO weary his readers with
an elaborate description Of her hair to hear
him talk, one would think he believed that
the stars were made solely to crown her brow,
that twilight stole over earth with silent and
gentle tread so that she might have a fitting
season TO indulge in thoughts pensive, softly
ay.tinted and beautifully melancholy that
sunset left his rosy smiles adjoining the nuc-
tuating west, 10 please the lady's eye refined;
that the harps of nature were attuned for her
ear alone.
What can be more idle and selfdeceiving
than a Poets dream? Deluded mortals, who
'live and strive, and die" How often is
death the end Of a life spent in idleness and
selfdeceptionl The Poet dies, the man Of
noble heart and great soul the man whose
nature is Of such exquisite workmanship that
the iarripgs and discordant opinion Of the
world Is no suitable casket; and he perishes
from want Of protection-fTom want Of sym
pathy-from want Of lore for in that respect
the man Is as dependent as a child. The
Poet has an eye and expression peculiarly
his own, be he never so commonplace and
prosy outwardly, we can detect him almost
instantly. There is a something about the
Poet which betrays him, despite any and all
DISCUSSES. Careless and Indifferent he may
pretend TO be, but o word of irony and sar-
casm will blast, as one Of kindness and en-
couragernent will inspire him.
Out IL The walks Of life we have met with
sr- -.
toll on perseyeringly, trampling down the OBJ
staclcs thrown in their way by an adverse
fate others, they of the finest web and wool,
passing on alone, with aching heart and
~throbbing brain, seeking a place of rest and
finding none; passing on, pale and silent, the
breath Of the world was poisonous to them.
Earih's greatest strains were harsh sounds
they sickened, turned from them and died.
Other there are whose songs are ever yelling
out over the land they Of the ever sounding
Tyre, whose spirits are too restless for quie-
tude-who must do or die-whose fountain
Of sonl will bear no seed the waters must
gush freely, or it will burst from ~fullness.
Some in desperation rush on impetuousiy /;
they Si & naoly, wildly their imaginations
arc cal able Of the Hottest fights; their sensi-
bil;tics are Of the finest order. Opposition
incites them try to beat them down, and
AlNFy VII y hEEIb w llG ldFL anu llldlIN IISc
conqucrers from the conflict. Probe them
with the weapon Of malice, treat them un.
justly, strive to crush their lofty aspirations
with taunts and ridiculc, and, so to speak,
you have made their fortunes, for they will
rise ~suletior TO every obstacle, they will ca
gerly snatch up the gauntlet and battle on as
long as there is an enemy to be the recipient
Of their fury and desperate blows. Nations
will thrill at the sound of their heroics.-
Kings, queens, chief magistrates, and great
men will be numbered among their admirers;
private citizens will read and extol, nor dream
the while that the bitter taunt, the sneer of
contempt, is the small, threadlike source of
n widespread fame. Ambitions dreams of
fame md glory hang like clouds over the
heads Of Others indeed to some they are the
cloud by day and the fiery pillar by night,
leading them on through tho wilderness oil
life. Some have pershed in early youth from
being neglected the uncultivated mind be-
came n prey unto itself; the fire Of genius
being confined within, the brain consumed
1t; the emotional tide Of the heart finding no
outlet, burst the fTail barrier, and a life that
might have turned with greatness and good
ness, is lest to the world.
PERHAPS no class Of individuals is called up
on to contend with as many trials and diff
cultics as those who possess the fatal Qo their
happintss) gift Of Genius. What an ordina.
~ mind would pass over as a mere trihe, not
dcigning to give scarcely a thought, will har
rass the mind of the Poet, assume an aspect
of vital importance, and totally disperse the
equanimity of his mind. Upon the whole
we bold the opinion, that the gifted ones, up
on Nh average, suffer ten heart-throes in III,
time that ii takes those Of other mould to fee
one very slightly. Then the Poet is compel
cd 10 lead, comparatively, a solitary life; hi
very nature leads him away to the fair walk
OF nature 80 he goes out into society with hi
great heart and tender sensibilities, but tn
cold breeze Of fashionable Indifference an,
convcptionalsm drives him back within him
self again. lie seeks fellowship with his fel
low man, and finds that, alas they hav
nothing in common; and thus he is force
into the lonely ways and by-paths of lif,
when the critic, vulture-like, circles aroun
and over him and finally descends and plant
his talons in his heart. Envy seeks him i
the silent places, and malice lashes him wit
public opinion.
The Poet dies And, strange to say, pos
terity is delighted with his beautifully-sou
ded sentences-his exquisite style-his i
comparable never-yet.surpassed manner
expressing sentiment, his extreme delicaC
and heightened and finely wrought conceits
all these and a thousand and one other bea
ties are discovered in the minstrel who ''slee
the sleep that knows not waking" The We
Bard who, while living, was mentally disse
ted. and perhaps died from dislocation
his finest mental fibres, having been
orally pulled TO pieces by that mercil'
exectaioner Of Poets-he ,Critie-who Ii
Envy eve sometimes suspect them Of
ing .llied) 'loves a shining mark N
when dead-aye, dedd-whCn the power
torture, to humiliate, is no more, then
fancy il is that remorse, or something !
rem, rise, or IL that has been murdered W
the point Of the pen charged with sarca
and expelled, the ghost of it returns a
hau.ls the dim and deserted halls Of
critics heart with its warning voices and |
low tread, until he would fain make a CO
promise with the unsightly phantom; 81
denly the Critic has examined the W,
moie infinitely, discovered undreamed of be
ties a few slight corrections and the wor
incomparable-takes great pleasure in recC
merding tito the publicl A great metan
phoSiS has taken place; quick as thought
petty Eoetaster CD is submere ed into the b
genius; the odd style is now the elegant
original the sickly sentimt ntalism has
mented into pure, deep, strong feeling 70
bly, expressed, handled in a most super
manner is most intensely interesting;
ry the reader along with il, and away to
lar islands of great thoughts and bri
d~reains-across the sea Of imagination.