New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-09-12


oxoont;on of FroissaE and the HindOo mytholog'I
he read no stories or novels. Plato and Montai enc
and Goethe were too slow for him. HIS hob
HES dealt with realities, not shadows He
believed and lived in his senses and. meta
physics was his aversion. Books OF adven-
ture, travel OF fact, he perused eagerly. lie
never could frame dearer wish than. to spend the
Winter at the North pole, and could eat fired rat
with RELISH" if opportunity commanded. lie was
anxious to acquire the art of whiting good Engilsh
style. 1t the fault of rlany excellent writer's
he thought, to express themselves with too great
fullness and detail. They lack concentration ana
sententiousness. They bave no reserve oil meanlns'
Their sentences are not compact and nutty, suggest
ing far more than they say. His own written GA
perience was the fruit of his imagination Ills eS-
says, even upon the commonest topics, sour apPo'
an Autumn leaf, contain his very hfe-blood ne
makes us a photograph of style, which toucnes
some of his chief strength. There is sort OF
homely truth and naturaness in some books winch
is very rare to find and yet looks cheap enough
| HomelnesS is almost as great merit IN oook Us
| in house. if the reader would abide there AZ ]"
next to beauty, and o very high art some nave
this merit only. Very few men can speak Oh NaOure'
! for instance, with any truth. They oVerstep her
| modesty. somehow OF other, and confer no favor.
| They 90 not speak good word for her. The sur
illness with which the wood-chopper speaks OF MS
woods handling them as indifferenty as his ak, Is
better than the mealy-mouthed enthusiasm OIL the
| lover Of nature"
Mr. Channings sketch of the physical traits OF
| Thoreau presents the picture of remarkable per-
| sonality. In hight he was about the average His
buid was snare with more than the usual length OF
| limb Once SEEM no one could forget bis face His
| features were strongly marked The nose was very
Roman like one of the portraits of Cesar, more IKE
| a beak His large, overhanging brow TepoSed ABOVE
the deepestsot blue eyes that could be seen, III GER
tain lights, in others gray, but always expressive
| of every shade of feeling. His forehead,
not unusually broad OF high, was full OF
| energy and purpose The lips were prominent,
firm with thought when silent, and giving out when
| open q stream of golden speech. His hair was
dark brown, very abundant, fine, and SOFT FOR
several wears be wore comely beard. His whole
| figure had an active earnestness as If he had no
| moment to waste In walking, he made "a short
cut if he could and when sitting in the shade OF by
the wall-side seemed merely the clearer to look
forward into the next piece Of activity. Even IN
the boat he had wary, transtOry air. his eyes on
the outlook,-perhaps there might be ducks, OF
the Blondin turtle, or an otter, or sparrow
| His personal tastes were of an equally original
stamp. He used to say, IL do not know how 10 en-
| terrain those who can't take long walks" night
| and forenoon in the house were as much CONNIE
ment as he could stand. He had no sympathy with
age ''How earthly" said he "old people become
moldy as the grave Their wisdom smacks OF the
| earth; there is no foretaste OF immortality In H.
They remind one of earth-worms and mole-crickets"
He seldom noticed any one in the street. His men,
tai appearance at times betrayed almost irritabiity
His words were like porcupInes' quilts. He had
a strong aversion to .the ScTibes and Pharisees'
Such cracked potsherds served him as
butts. whose massive hollowness echoed with
the arrows of his wit. He enjoyed COM
mon people. He relished strong acrid characters.
when with temperaments radically opposed TO his,
he drew III the head of his pugnacity like that por
ton of one of his beloved turtles and could hiss and
snap with any ancient of them all The measured,
conservative Glass; dried-up Puritan families, who
fancy the Almighty Giver of all good things has
fitted their exquisite brain precisely to his evangeic
nightcap; prosers with their universe Of meahness
and eonceit to change square with you against gold
and diamonds; folks of easy manners, polished and
oiled TO run sharply the track of lies and compl-
ments-of such he was no great admirer. Neither
did he 20 with Goethe, that other people are wig
blocks on which must fit our own false heads of
hair to fetch them out. Like cat, he would curl
up his spine and spit at fOp OF monkey, and des-
psed those who were running well down hill to
damnation."
Thoreau was ardently attached to life. His head
gwar1ned with plans which he hoped 20 complete.
His anticipatlons were singularly rich More read
ing was to be done over Shakespeare and the Bible.
More choice apple trees were to be set In uncounted
Springs New lists of birds and flowers were pro-
jected, and new details to be gathered from the
river and the woods. He loved hard manual work,
and did not mean to move every year, like certain
literary brethren. His chief principle faith in
all things thoughts, and times, and he expected as
he said to live for forty years." He had now more
than attained the middle age, and his health TO all
appearance, was perfectly sound But IN the Au-
tumn of 1860, he took severe cold while count
ing the rings of trees, when there was snow
upon the ground. This brought bronchial
affection, which at length terminated in pull
monary consumption. He bravey passed down
the inclined plane of that terrible malady, working
steadily at the completion of his papers TO his last
hours so long he could hold the pencil III bis
trembling fingers The last sentence he ineop.
pletely spoke contained but two distinct words,
moose and Indians showing how fixed in his
mind was that relation. Then the world be had so
long sung and asyishtsd ip taSsa TRANQUILITY away
from his eyes and hearing, till on that beautiful
Spring morning of May 6, 1862. it closed on him."
The final impression of Thoreau's character is
summed up, with pregnant brevity, by Mr. Chan
ming in the closing words of the volume. Truth,
audaeity, force. were among Thoreau's mental char
acteristics, devoted to humble rses. His thoughts
burned like fame, so earnest was his conviction.
He was transported infinitely beyond the regions of
self when pursuing his objects, singe-hearted, do
ing one thing at time and doing that in the best
way! Self-relance shall serve for his motto
His cold eye truth and conduct scanned
His faith in wildDess was intrinsic. Whatever
sport it was of nature this child of an old cviza-