The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-07-13

Quxote ls OF the first class his intention being al
ways 10 DO good, and his deluson only as to the
moee OF accomplishing his object" 1t said of
Ooierldge by one who knew him intimately and
was indeed one of his most active friends that che
was good man, but whenever ANYTHING present.
ed itself to him in the shape of a moral dutv no
was utterly incapable of performing it" He had
no doubt great faults and weaknesses but this was
unquestlenably sweeping exaggeration uttered
perhaps In moment of irritation. At Salt Hill,
and on some other occasions, ] witnessed his per-
iormance OF the duties of friendship in manner
which few men of his constitutional Incidence could
nave reused themselves to equal. =
NAG frequent opportunities of seeing and hear
ing Coeridge. He delivered course of lectures
on Shakespeare, to which he gave me tickets, but
was sorry to see his London audiences mucb
smaller than those at Bristol. The following mole
from him marks the date of these lectures: . = =
''t. "Highgate.
"MY DEAR LESLIE, or .-s.n -.
"Mr. Colburn has entrea.ed my influence with
you 10 nave intrusted to him for week or ten DAYS
your last drawing of my phiz to have it engraved
ior ms Magazine replied that had no obiec.
ton, and thought it probable that YOU would ba q
none, ana have in consequence given him this note
ou see alas! by my scanty audiences that there
cannot be the least objection to YOUR taking with
you hall dozen friends to my lectures, who are
IKE ourselves, with more in our brains than in our
pockets Why, my dear Leslie, do you so wholly
neGect US at Hlghgate? Are we not always de-
lighted to see you? Now, too, more than ever.
of Allston 500 GiS ~ CotpntnCI "a >, {
"lst March, 1919" NJ 49,
On looking back to the time when this note wa
written, greve to think that should hara alIo
60 nv natural Incidence, the distance and occupa-
tiohs, often trifing in comparison with the priv
lege of enjoying Coleridges society," to give ground
ioT +. the charge in the latter part oft.
1t Is not the lot of any one twice in his life IN
meet with so extraordinary a man. | now read
over ana over again what his nephew has recorded
o' MS cohversatlon, and can vouch for the exact
ness with which his manner i preserved in those
precious little volumes. The remarks there given,
on Otheiio ana Hamlet formed part of his lectures
on Shakespeare
The clue to the inconsistencies of Hamlet MIGHT
be found, he said, sin the undue predominance OF
the inner over the outer man. - -
Coleridge did not consider that the noss;or =,
jealousy was the subject of the tragedy of OtbaIo
but that Shakespeare had DISPLAYED Il fullv and
truly in Winters Tale" "Othello is ANYTHING but
jealous In his nature, and made so ONLY by the ma
chinatlons OF lago, while Leontes requires nc
prompter but his own suspicious mind He oh
served, that the difficulty was great in imagining
an expression adequate to the feelings of Othell6
| When ne 1rst sees Iago, after having discovered
MS villainy, and he thought it master stroke o.
Shakespeare to surmOunt it as he has done:
Il look down towards his feet but that's a fable
| If that thou beest devil cannot kill thee''
| He pointed out the great dramatic beauty of the
opening scenes of Hamlet, and the admirable skill
win winch the ghost is introduced. Although
ance, and Horatio has joined their watch with the
same expectation, and they are ever talking about
IT, It's entrance is startling, and every succeeding
asppearahce aiike thrilling In reading passages
from the hrst scenes of this play, Coleridge noticed
Shakespeare's respect even for the superstitions
connected with the mysteries of Christianity, n
beautiful instance OF which occurs in these lines
at faded on the growing of the cock .-.--s. .--
Some say, that ever 'gainst that season comes f.
Wherein our Savior's birth is celebrated
ms Drd OF dawning singeth all night long,
A Ahu then they say, no spirit dares stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike
NO fairy takes, Nor witch hath power to charm:
so hallow'd and so gracious is the time"
lie said the reply of Horatio was, he believed
exactly that which Shakespeare himself would have
made: ...- ..r. ? -, '', wv
$50 have heard, and do in part believeit,
He could never read, he said, any of those scene.
in which children are introduced i'without layine
the book down and loving Shakespeare over
again" He said the anachronisms noticed BY
ohakespeares critics would not, perhaps, have
given the poet himself any great uneasiness had
they been pointed out to him, as possibly they
were; and this may have given rise to that curious
intentional anachronism in the third act of Clear
where the fool, after fourteen lines of burlesque
prediction, says: 5'r.
time" ~ ''''e "'
wish could recollect what Coleridge said O
the character of Falstaif. | only remember, with
certainty, his opinion that Shakespeare, in the
original conception of tie character, and that the
Falstaffin that play, though very amusing wa,
much below the Falstaff of the two parts of Henry
the Fourth. am not sure whether it was Cole
ridge who remarked, that in the scene in the frs
part of Henry the Fourth in which Falstaff brag.
OF his feats at Gadsh he begins with the intention
OF imposing on the Prince and Poins, but quickly
perceiving that they do not believe him, he goe
on buti0oning, and adds to the men in buckran
until they amount to eleven, merely to make the
Prince laugh.
most interesting portion of Coleridges lecture:
consisted in his pointing out the truth and refine
ment OF Shakespeare's women, beyond those of al
other dramatsts; and how purified his Imagination
was from everything gross, in comparison with
those of his contemporaries.
Coeridge's lectures were, unfortunately, extern
poraneous. He now and then took up scraps O
paper on which he had noted the leading points q
his subject, and he had books about him for quota
ton On turning to one of these "a work of hi
own he sad GAS this is secret which | con
hded to the public year or two ago, and which
to do the public justice, has been very faithful
| kept, may be permitted to read YOU passage
| from it." -
His voice deep and musical, and his word
| from monotony. There was indeed a peculia
charm In his utterance. His pronunciation wa
! remarkably correct; in some respects pedantcalI,
so. He gave the full sound of the in talk, should
could.
Sir James Macintosh attended the whole cours
OF these lectures, and listened with the creates
interest This was heaping Goals of fire on the beat
OF Coleridge, who had lampooned him with great
severity for his political aposacy, it was consid
| cred. remember many years afterwards when
had frequent opportunities of seeing Sir James
hearing him say that the best thing ever said o
| ghosts was by Coeridge, who, when asked BY !
| lady II he believed in them, replied, ono, Madam
have seen too many to believe in them.
| Among the fragments of his conversation thai
remember, the following:
=. "How natural is the exaggeraton in the accoun
ehe woman OF Samarla carries to her friends of oul
| Savior Come, see man which told me all thinq
| mar erer dtd; when, in reality, our Lord haC
| only told her that she had had five husbands. ana
| That he, whom she now had was not her husband ;
| He said he did not doubt but Ethat in the 12tt
| chapter of ST. Matthew, the 10th verse was {
gloss:
"For as Jonas was three DAYS and three nigbt
| in the whales belly; shall the Son of Man BE-
| three days and three nights in the heart of the
| EARTH N
Now, as our Savior was crucified on Friday. anf
rose again on Sunday morning, he was but one en-
tire day and two nights in the tomb; besides which
the following verse shows sufficiently what wal
py the refusal to give any other sign thar
the sign of the prophet Jonas. .. -.
THE men of Nineveh shall rise up in Judgment
with this generation and condemn it, because the,
repented at the preaching of Jonas, and behold {
greater than Jonas is here" .-..
Speaking of the utitarians, Coleridpe said s.ths
penny saped penny got utiliarians forget or do no
comprehend, high moral utilty-the utility of poe
try and of painting, and of all that refines anC
exalts our nature" He thought Lord Bvron.
misanthropy was affected, or partly so, and that il
would wear off as he grew older. He said thai
| byron perpetual quarrel with the world was A.
ABSURD as If the spoke of wheel should auarre
with the movement of which it must eff necessit,
partake. .. ..... -..,.- 49,. - = >
once found Coleridge driving the balls on :
bagatelle board for kitten to run after them. II,
noticed that, as soon the little thing turned il
back to the balls it seemed to forget all about them
and played with its tail. 81 am amused, he said
"wth their little short memories
Coleridge's want of success in all worldly mat
tiers may be attributed to the mastery possessed
over him by his own wonderful mind. Common
men as often succeed by the qualities they want a:
great men fail by those they have. Coleridge could
not oirect his extraordinary powers to the immed
ateiy useful occupations of life or to those exer
eises OF them likely to procure him bread, unless
| ne was perpetually urged on by some kind friend
Ihe tragedy of "Remorse'' was written whilst h.
| ilved with Mr.. Morgan, and / believe weuld neye,
nave been completed but for the importnn;tio. ~
MIS- Mrs Morgan. A few days after the appearance OF
ms piece, he was sitting in the coffee.room of q
hotel, and heard his name coupled with coroner,'
inquest, by gentleman who was reading news
paper TO friend. He asked to see the paper which
was handed to him with the remark that ait wa,
very extraordinary that Coleridge, the poet sboud
have hanged himself just after the success of hi.
| play; but he was always strange mad fellow %
Indeed, sill" said Colerdge, cit is most ertroor
binary thing that he should have hanged himself
De the subject OF an inquest and yet that be should
| at this moment be speaking to you.' The aston.
ished stranger hoped he had 'said nothing to bnr,
his feelings" and was made easy on that point
The newspaper related that a gentleman in black
had been cut down from a tree in HYDE Park with
out money or papers in his pockets his shirt being