Litchfield enquirer., 1860-05-31

: only himself wherever he goes; and when h, i, arrives at place he gives himself not the slightest trouble about heaven or earth, ani
 nal or vegetable. He beholds nothing but his own sayings and doings; even at Tobolsh
 he is perfectly certain that all the people are occupied either in translating his plays, stady ing, acting, or at the very least rehearsine themw
 There was something remarkable in the
 appearance of this young man, and I could not keep from looking at him as he lay ex.
 tended on the grass, his fine head resting on
 his hand. His countenance was both hand.
 some and intelligent, his nose and mouth
 beautifully formed, his forehead high, and
 his eyes brilliant black, like those of af
 Italian. Yet it was scarcely so much the
 actual features. as the noble character and expression of his physiognomy, that most impressed me; and listened to his impetu- ous and earnest speaking with an interest for
 which was puzzled to account.
 Kotzebue," said the plain lady, who was now seated next to me, lis the delineator of manners rather than of men,"
 Say the delineator of crime, Madame!" exclaimed the other. ''The corruption and prohigacy of the higher classes is tue line in which kotzcbue excels True beauty of character possesses no charm for him: and man as he ought not to be held up before us, in preference to man as he should be. Kotze- bue cannot appreciate the true grandeur of the mission of the human being upon earth. Man was the first dialogue that nature held with God"
 It would be impossible for me to describe the impressive tone in which these last words were uttered. They thrilled through my frame like the vibration of string, and observed that the rest were all listening res pectfuy, and looked similarly affected.
 Wol:gang requires every writer to DOS scss so much originality" said the gentle man, "that nothing pcases him. 1 often congratulate myself that never attempted to manufacture play or-a poem, for know he would have criticized it without mercyw
 Originality is but word," said the ex- citable Wolfgaug who seemed to delight in startling paradoXes. There is no original. ty. The greatest genius will never be worth much, if he pretends to draw entirely from his own resources. There are some philoso- phcrs who fancy, that by remaining shut up in their study for thirty years without once looking into the world, and exclusively occu- pied in sitting their own poor brains, they shall find all cxhaustless spring of original, grand, and useful conceptions! Do you know what comes out? Clouds; nothiug but cloudsw
 "For all that" said the lady, whom they called Madame, "there can be no genius without some of that originality which you affect to despise." i
 " Pray then, Madame, can you tell me what genius is, if it Je not the faculty of seizing and turning to account everything that strikes us; of co-ordinating and breath iug life into all the, materials that present themselves; and of taking here marble, there brass, and building q lasting monument with them? A work of geniu, puts into requisi- tion the works of nature and of man, and is supplied by a thousand different persons, thousand different things. The learned the ignorant, the wise, and the foolish, bring to it unconsciously the offering of their thoughts and their experience. They SOW the harvest which is reapcd by the poet, the philosopher, the historian, and great literary chef d'Gurre is an aggregation of beings taken from the whole of nature, and bearing the name of Plato or Shakespeare. Believe me, to be great we must be social. Hercules needs to be fed; and it is only by mingling with astronomers botanists, chemists, mathe- maticans, builders-whom you will-that the author can collect his raw materials. It is for this reason we find the most truly great characters surrounded by their fellow. men. Plato and Socrates were no hermits; and Bacon, Camoons, Boccaccio, Dante, were dwellers in cities"
 "There believe you to be in the right" said Madame smiling. For myself, con. fess am only vulnerable OH the side of Par is, and tbiuk owe much to that weak ness"
 Much nay, Madame, go cue step fur. ther and say--all. It were impossible to say where, or in what object, or trade, or science, ideas the most foreign and opposite to that object, trade or science may not be derived. l have seen minerals, mosses and fishes, even, that have afforded me the most psychological and physiological hints. These things are the Signatures of Nature, and he wEo can decipher them, may we'll afford to dispense with the Written and the Spoken"
 "It is true," observed the other young man, who seemed to listen rather than con- verse" it is true that yet undefincd chain of relationship appears to run from art to art, from science to science, by which the one illustrates and mysterously interprets the other. Thus l have seen a painting that affected ne like a poem; and have heard music that reminded me of places seen in youth, and. until then, forgotten"
 Architecture is frozen music, said Mad ame vivaciously.
 He whom they styled Wolfgang, looked up in delighted appreciation. |" A charming image, indeed !" he exclaimed "and one 1 have sometimes felt, but have never been able to express. For instance, when I vis- ited Strasburg Cathedral, was utterly overwhelmed by the solemnity and grace of its proportions. Conceptions of infinite or der ard harmony presented themselves to me, and found them embodied in the rela. tion of countless beautifully executed parts to one great, consistent, systematic Whole I recognized there new revelation of the simple, eternal, universal laws of nature. It was as if I were listening to some noble psalm-tune or chorale by Bach or Palestri- ma, with all its harmonies built up one above the other in one sublime nnity-or as if were observing the demonstration of math- ematical problem" ulop Snn&.,r oe kI,> Il A