Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1873-05-03


Nights Dream, or The dwell
ers in ProspeTo's enchanted isle, would
We dearly welcome instead. Among
sssayists, any so deeply philosophical
and moral as Bacon, and Browne, and
Fuller, must respectfully be bowed ont of
The rauks, 10 give place to more airy and
pleasantly gossiping di2eourses. His
Iorians ofspecial profundlty and research,
devoted TO deep theories or TO dry facts,-I
GuiEot, and Hallam, and Sa-
hara.llke hollin, and many others
must follow suit and science will have
10 sport her very prettiest clothes and
liveliest manners TO obtain admittance
under any name whatever.
History, in general, like science, en-
numbered aud chained down by facts "a
she is, mas II difficult TO deserve the
epithet pleasant" Not all Aaeapley's
splendour of diction has been able TO Sc
cure as much for those political special
pleadings of his which he calls history
of England. Yet some histories there are
which deserves 9 prominent place In the
catalogue Of pleasant books. Prescotl's
works Will be welcome there chief of
all his Conquest Of Mexico and Conquest
OF Pera, These are exceptional In the
romance, the splsndoly, and the pictures
que contrasts which their suhjeGt-Iaat.
ter offered ready-made 10 the historian.
In Mexico, especially, our interest IL en-
chained by our admiration for the hero
Of the enterprise that eagle-eyed Cor
tee whose brilliant qualities often won
bis conquered enemies TO be his frenls
and allies who, In spite OF all those
faults, inseparsble from his age and race,
Of ambition and intolerance and greed,
StaRds out on thai background Of bar
barrie glitter and romantic enterprise, a
splendid knig ht-errant, heroic and allur-
lug image.
Among historians who have written of
tlmos Of less strange and string adven-
ture, FrOude has, PERHAPS, most thor
oughly succeeded In making the dry bones
Of historic fAet live and move In dramatic
life. His chronicles Of
THE spacious times of great Elizabeth y
all circling round the two contrasting
figures Of the virgin Queen and that other
more beautiful, more unfortunate, but,
alas, much pole wicked Sister Sovereign
Mary Of Scotland, haye updog btedly
many Of the qualities essential to pleas
ant reading yet the tragic features Of
those times OF transition and conflict for
bid its being admitted freely to our list
eyep by those who have no quarrel will
the trutu OF Freude's facts and the fair
ness OF his deductions and there are
few histories 10 which the same, OF
stronger objections might not apply.
Books of travel may be readily admit
ted TO our catalogue, so that they are no
too deeply scientific, geological, ethnolog
lcal, and all that. Humbolt's "Cosmos'
for instance, no one would 0e 90 lresum
ing US 10 Gull pleasant book" though /
may deserve ever so many more mefitor-
ions epithets aud all the anecdotes II
Darwin's Tourney round the world ar
not sat enough W save i from rejection
but a good, lively, gossipping book o
travels, whose descriptions Introduce tn
reader pleasantly 10 strange places ant
strange people, is about as enjoyable read
| ing ab cue gap have. Nearly all the Afr
can explorers have wriitCa pleasant mar
rations Of their journeyings. THAT lam
Of tropical luxuriance and teemlne anl
NAL life, of long-hidden secrets, aud o
future possibilities has so fresh an inter
est In itself, that u nceds little litcrar,
merit to make the narrative OF al Airieaj
traveller pleasant reading.
80 one traveller has written more uni
forunly agreeable books than Bayard Tay
Tor. Ms style Il so easy and unaffected
be passes 30 lightly over all unptasunt
nese, Dwelling most on the most cheerfH
Incidents, thst or spirits rise to NEE
those Of SO cheerful a companion. I'll
earliest books are the pleasantest Of an
when the high spirits Of youth tinie
everything he saw with rose color. iii
"Views A-foot" have tempted many
you'll, snd some maidens too. with long
lngs TO lake knapsalk and staff and
Jog on, jog on the footpath wAti
A. he did, and even stirred some of tn
sterner sex to really attempt il. If sue
| Fdventurers have generally ended by pre-
5aically taking 20 railroads, and the ord
nary routes of tourists, that lame an
impotent conclusion Is not to be charge
upon their enthusiastic predecessor.
At the head OF pleasant books O
Essays nearly every one will unite Il
placing those OF Charles Lamb, th
"gentle Ella" Their delicate slbtl
humor and quaint phraseology plsc
them quite APART from other books Q
their Kind. Who has not not laughed
over and enjoyed the /" Dissertation upo
Roest Pig" or smiled in grsyer but no
lees enjoying mood over the wit an
philosophy, dashed with pathos, of th
essays upon sod China and upo
Popular Fallacles 7" Our tender Inter
est, too, in what Charles Lamb wa
heightens that which We feel for what b
wrols.
Leigh Hunts short essays aud crit
eisms ara charmiugly pleasant reading
De has q cosy sgmpgthetlC way Of az
pealing to, rather than instrncLlng HI
reader which gives one warm sense q
friendllness toward the writer himself
The profuse italics and little notes {
admiration with which he naively adorn
bis poetieal quotations show at once hl
own enthusiasm and his dependence upO
that Of BILE reader In = TsTy pleasAr
fashion,
Among American essaylsts OF the lightc
class now under dl,eussion, (of course no
body ID 80 presuming a. 10 mention En-
erson In connection with anything Q
frivolous as plsasure) Howells probab
bears away the palm OF popularity. II
writings are assuredlJ finished, graceful !
and genlally pleasant, yet, to use wore
by no means In bis own style, q litt
tAhAN ehNR Ahu = AiAklN iuoFg pANhuohL ~
desirable to remove a slight suspicion I
dulluess which sometimes fingers abot
them, In these respects one Of Beechst
vigorous animated essays would mas
thfer Of the polished Bostohlan's kls
the beam
What poetry shat come Into the cat
CORY Of Pleasant Reading The true
and best poetry goes too deep, and graz
pies too hrmly with our emotions 10 d
serve or bear the epithel. Wordsworl
ID deep and true poet, but he anrel
cannot be said 10 have written pieasai
book nor can Shelley nor Browning
hardly Mira. Bsowning, 10 spite of HI
qualities as a popular poet. Each T.
true, have written short delicious poem
In which tue tnuslc Is an echo to Il
sense, rs Pleasant, nay az delightful 8
beautiful as witness shelley's perfel
"skylark," aud Wordsworth's "she va
} Phantom Of Delight" and Mrs, Brow
! lng's Lost Bower.n Still Il Ia 10 narrati'
! poems we must look for the chief cont
buttons Of the singers to eur list.
them we have fair chOicei Among Il
plessRntest Of the pleasant are Morris
Earthly Faradisen and "Jason," swe
silver notes Of peace and leisufe, sOundif
through the toll and turmoil OF this sire
nous life Of ours, Teunyson's "fdylls
the king" at very least ENID" al
! Elaine" are dear and welcome amor
! our chosen ones. SCOTS LADY of Il
Lake" and "Marmlon,n scaling no lof