The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-04-28
No. CAB.

confidence (Or assurance, call 1t what you like
than she had formerly known me to display,
and l ratified on with her in very pleasant
style. l was not without my enviers on this
occasion, and no efforts were spared by the
young men present to share with me her pleas
ant talk, but she flung them off with charm
ing petulance, and told them she wanted to talk
with me alone, assigning therefor various rea-
sons more complimentary than true. Taking
my arm she made the circuit of the hall with
me, could not venture to say how many times,
and L cannot pretend to recount our various
talk. know that half the money had about
me went in the purchase of bouquet for her,
which she accepted with grace that would
have made it cheap at ten times the cost |
know that VIXEN the time came for her to go,
wrapped her shawl and furs about her, helped
her into her carriage, tucked the robes about
her feet, promised to comply with her request
to pay her visit soon, shook hands with her
as she drove of, and then walked homewards
with the stride of young Roscius on his first
stage, swapping my fingers, and whistling the
merriest quiek-step | could twist up lips to.
Then, once N my room with my pipe at my
lips, my thoughts all in whirl, and her voice
and laugh ringing IN my ears-that voice, 80
like the carol of little dame Wren, when, hav-
ing fed her darlings, she poises herself on a
stem of the hedge near by, and pours forth her
happiness in praises of the bliss of living-then
L wrote my poem, about how
Like dainty joyous fairy,
Dances Lettuce TO my side "
until, having exhausted my stock of ready
rhymes, | fang the pen away, and sat there
dreaming helf the night, utterly forgetting to
prepare my usual cup of tea.
From the specimen give, you can Judge how
| shyy approached my theme in this poem,
styling her Lettuce throughout the whole, and
in the end, seeking to disguise the real flesh
and life of it under the thin veil of an ale.
gorical dream. You do not need to be told
why did this, for doubt not you know, from
your own experience, how the young man feels
when this new emotion invades him-what a
rare, neverk efore-heard-of jewel he thinks he
has found how he treasures it and hides it
away in the secret places of his heart, as some
thing more than precious, something sacred,
divine. UnIer the influence of this new sense,
next day wrote in my dairy, bv way of corol.
larry to nay poem, what follows
yesterday put down in rough verse such
a thought as is frequently born to us of dreams
that have Been impregned by an experience
measurably similar. The sight of beauty. an
hours talk with one of those Peris we some.
times encounter, is--to me at least-amply
| sufficient to set in motion trains of thought
leading to such emotional states of mind a. inn
peratively require to be expressed in the rhyth-
mic throbbidgs of verse" What clear. def.
mite, and comprehensive specimen of the art of
generalization Hearing a touching melody,
being present at the proper representation of a
grand opera, or being brought in contact with
such influences as | have indicated above. al
most always awakens and renders active the
aesthetic soul, and then follows the need of ex-
pressing o,eself according to the dictates of
tnSa artIu
| rhyme"
| Minor Eemiss, of course, " Pbeta sumn
Napem1er 90h.-My new story remains in
stata quo. l have lost my interest in it in a
great measure. What a glorious
poem is Shelley's Ode to a Skylark, partiou.
larly this verse:
Ehat thou art we know not
Sha' is mos, like dee!
FT.R rainbow clouds there how not
Lrops so bright 70 zee
As froIa my pressD": showers a rain of melody,
"lf could write such poetv rs that how
soon woulc l carry out my wish of alIegorizing
my Impressions of sweet j. E., under the sym.
Dol OF a Peri. She is very much such n |be-
observation-disclosures being
sutertI but very short time to elapse be-
fore redeemed my promise to Miss Estmere,
by paying aer visit. Her family lived in an
old mansion of rather venerable aspect, which
had once been a country seat, but was now
quite withsn the suburbs of the city, though still
secluded, reason of the three or four acres of
garden an. lawn still retained about it. JOS
clan rece;3ed me cordially, and was evidently
glad to sss me. The family usually removed
into the city during winter, but had been pre-
vented from doing so this season by the i'll
health of one of the members and the house
was too remote from the business part of town
| Tor Joscian to have many visitors. Hence |
was doubly welcome, and proportionately en-
Joyed myself; the young lady treated me as an
old friend, and we chatted away for several
hours In quiet intimate fashion, like cousins
who had been long separated, and had a world
of thinga to tell each other. She played and
sang for me, gave me laughing pictures of her
everyday life, and made herself very compan-
ionable IN every respect. Miss Estmere was
neither brilliant" nor intense. She had no
grand passions, no alterations nor dotings, and
do not think she was by any means proficient
In the --ologies, This one of her chief
charms--a naive, natural girl, full of life, limo
cent and warm hearted, generous of soul, and
possessed of reasonably clear perceptions-a
Miranda endowed with sufficient drawing-room
accomplishments to succeed in society; and
wanted nothing more, nor anything less. |
sought in her a woman | would not have had
dolt, and did not fancy mistress of black
letter, Our women should be skilled in the art
OF cradlesongs, but there is no need they should
confne themselves to Mother Goose, as there is
likewise no need they should aspire to express
their choral strains in the language and meas
ures used at the Bacchic festivals.
My journal hints Of frequently renewed visits
and of many chance meetings, but the words
proceed in such Iambc dance, that shall re-
frain from quoting much. The following is
sufficiently characteristic Of my mood:
Sunday, December 9M.-Expected TO have
that pleasure TO meet her, and drink in her
smiles at church to-day, and consequently filled
up my thoughts with store of most elaborate
expectation. But cold, rainy morning rudely
interposed its cruel veto. Did not CO. for
knew she would not be there; she is too deli.
cate to venture out in such weather, poor
child. wonder why It's that people are
so fretful when trifing matters disappoint them ?
is it not because their very littleness makes us
too sure of attaining our end in regard to them,
and we thus miss the balance-weight Of uncer- |
tainty? And it is provoking to see our strength |
and resources prove impotent to arrest the |
feather that the wind plucks from our fingers. |
will venture to assert that the famed hero of
six failures and seven attempts, Robert Bruce,
swore roundly enough if his breakfast did not |
happen to be served at the appointed hour. At
any rate-philosophy apart am very griev-
ously put out, and my tea does not taste at all
nice tonight, This tobacco is full of stems,
too, How horribly stiff George Herberts metres
are - Pshaw! Why play the pole-cat, my
friend, diffusing thy own i'll odors so as to faint
all around theel Cheer up, cheer up, there are
plenty more chances. One day does not en-
gross all the sunshine"
Monday, lOM.-I said SOL The prettiest |
smile and the most gracious courtesy, this morn
ing Pabulum to some moonstruck Inamora-