Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-11-28
Ilnpressiveness or Charsc te,

There is 4 class of men whom We all
know, Of the utmost delicacy and puri-
ty Of nature, Of quick sympathy and
admirable accomplishment, who intlu-
ence US like exquisite music, and who,
without marked originality or COM
force, are remembered only
like music when they are gone. In
decd ,, the fineness Of nature which is
most attractive, the conscientious intel
lect, co to speak, to which partisanship
is impossible, and which pensively sees
the equal reason Of the other view, is
incompatible with the quality which
makes leadership, and which most in,-
presses mankind. spray continue to
be ornamental" said an accomplished
woman of the world to young man
who began to feel a desire 10 take his
share Of the worlds work. She forgot
that the most exquisitely wrought COL
umn is yet Of stone, and helps support
tho architrase. The Chevalier Bayard
Or Sir Philip Sidney carries guitar
upon 4 ribbon, but his sword is hung
upon leather beneath it. He kneels in
graceful compliment to the queen, but
he knccls also in prayer to his Maker.
The charm Of such q character is re.
sistless. How little Sidney did, yet
how much he is the darling Of the his
tory Of his time, as he was of his con-
temporaries Horace Walpole, who
called Goldsmith an inspired idiot, is
the only Englishuan who sneers ut Sid
ney. lilo was kind of flower of men,
and, like other tlowers,hc neither toi!ed
nor spun. A cumbrous and stately
novel in the affected style OF his time,
= noble essay upon pontry, and few
memorable sonncts, with his letter to
Elizabeth against the French marriage,
arc all that remain t. US Of what he
did. Nobody reads his Arcadia; =
few know his sonnets; his letter to the
queen is forgotten. But Sidney sur
wives. His name is the synonym OF
courtesy and grace, of accomplishment
and valor. And he names Tor us q
whole class Of men, gentle and spirited
us he was, men of the trdcst temper,
Of rare gi!ts.of subtle fascination, whose
coming is bright as daylisht,and whose
refining influence is permanent bene-
diction.
Some Of our readers may have sect,
the name Of u young man OF this kind
who died not long ago in England-Ju-
Illus Fame. A memoir Of him by his
friend Robert lyttoa, better known,
perhaps, by his authors name, Owen
Meredith: was lately published,in which
the simple tale Of the wholly uncvcnt
fal life Of Mr.. Fame is so we'll told that
the character Of the man himself is
clearly conveyed. with the beautiful
impression Of his purity and grace, and
some conception Of that personal influ.
enc which MIR. Lytton truly calls " in.
communicable" "Yet," he adds, "the
influence Of these men upon the socic-
ty they adorn is too bene6cent to be al.
together evancs cent. Their presence
animatcs aud sustains whatever is love.
lest in social lite. Tho worlds dim
and dusty atmosphere grows golden IN
the light Of it. Their mere look re.
Dukes vulgarity. Their conversation
elevates the lowest and brightens the
dullest theme. Their intellectual sym.
patty is often the unacknowledged be-
getter Of other mems intellectual la.
Dor; and in the charm of their com
panionship We are conscious Of those
benignant influences which the Greeks
call Graces, but which Christianity has
converted into Charities. "-Hurpcr'I
Magazine for December.