Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1861-01-10
Bsysrd Taylor's Interview with Tennyson.

We take from the Independent the following
interesting description of poet whoae personal
appearances and traits are as little known as
his writings are widely loved and potent
in their influence on the new era of Eng.
lish song. Bayard Taylor thus narrates the
story of delicious afternoon passed on the Isle
of Wight: .rc.
The servant ushered me into the drawing
room and took my card to Tennyson. In few
minutes the poet entered, and with an utter
absence Of formality, which at once made me
feel entirely at home, walked up to me and
shook hands in the most cordial manner. Al
though knowing that IL must be he, yet so dit
ferent was he in appearance from all the pic.
lures had seen or heard of him, could
scarcely believe that l actually stood In his
presence. Lawrence's head does not give you
the slightest idea of the man. 1t is altogether
fainter, weaker, and quite misses the charsc.
teristic fetaure Of his face-a nose of royal
acquiline curve, as fine as that of Dante or an
Arab sheik. The engraving from Wooluer's
medallion in Moxon's illustrated edition Of his
poems (Which had not then seem Is much more
crrrect.
In form and voice, Tennyson is thorough
Engishman; In features, complexion and hair,
medieval Italian. His presence impresses
you with singular mixture of northern force
and southern fire. He is fully six feet high,
broad-shouldered and large limbed, yet with
black hair and eyes, pale olive complexion,
full lips and O black beard and mustache.
Power is expressed in every feature. His voice
ls remarkably full aud grand in tone, with a
little Of that monotony which betrays mind
| Withdrawaand absorbed in-its 6Sf specuIations,
| should judge him to be one of the least
demonstrative Of men, yet you would pick him
out of crowd of ten thousand as the wisest
man among them, before he opened his lips.
After l had made the acquaintance of bis
wife, and two lovely boys Of about five and
three yeara old, he promisd to walk along the
cliffs. We climed the steep down and wander
ed westward along the sunny heights, while a
balmy wind blew directly from the Azores, and
the blue waves broke lazily hundreds of feet
below. Tennyson described to me the geology
OF the Island; spoke of the great river which,
before the Atlantic ocean existed, flowed
Thousand miles from the west, and emptied
here; described the fossils of the chalk forma-
ton; picked up thyme, and daises and century,
and gave me botanical information, touching |
now and then an art, and poetry and law, and |
religion, with quiet earnestness that showed |
that he was no superficial thinker. There are
few brighter afternoons in my memory. The |
air was full of light, and the chalky headands
cleaned like snow in the sunshine, and when,
at last, we reached the extreme head points of |
the Needles, Alum Bay, on our right, opened |
its crescent pink, and red, and orange, and vi !
olet tints-the delight of artists,
Returning, toward evening, from walk of |
some seven or eight miles, he took me Into his |
garden which was musky with the breath of
roses. A large, trailing fg-tree, which, he
said, the artists compared to bleaking wave,
stood In the midst. We we're presently sum
moned to dinner, where met his aged mother,
his brother, Mr., Horatio Tennyson, and his sis.
ter with her husband, Professor Lushngton-
Afterward we retired to pipes in his attic study,
where the words Of poets Of the past genera.
tions were mingled with the smoke ringlets of
the fragrant herb. An after dinner conyersa.
tlon is sacred, but will tell you little incl
dent which then related to the poet. He had
been speaking Of DR.. Kane, and regretting that
he had not seen him during his last brief visit
to England. 81 regret II too, !" said I, "because
Kane had little story for you which had from
him, and will give you 10 his stead. During
that terrible second Winter In the ice, when he
was obliged to invest all kinds Of diversions to
keep up the spirits of his survived and famished
crew, he gave them the use Of his library. One
day he found the hardest and toughest of his
Of the most sturdy old salts who
never finch at anything over book.
He took the book out Of the map's hand, and
looked at the open page upon which his tears
we're dropping. TWAS your
Break, break, break
At the foot Of the crags. o seat
:. During the conversation, Teunyson referred
to statement then in circulation il the news
papers, that bis poems were written under the
influence of opium. He was naturally indig-
uant at tho story. "l never tasted opium but
once" said he, "snd that was at Cambridge, ia
company with some College friends, after read
ing Do Quincey's book"
lrsturned to Freshwater at midnight, but
joined the family at breakfast the,next morning,
and passed the forenoon on the lawn, beside the
cedars Of Lebanon In company with Tennyson,
and his brother 10 law. In the depth aud rich.
-..L l. - y II