, 1873-03-30

exercising bis own mature Judgment npon it,
should first be sure Of the original strength snd
duration OF the work; otherwise on vith&
drawing it from tho crypt, he m.y find that 1ika
some small wine, it has lost what favor it once
had, and, when opened, s only tasteless, Again.
it mrst be admitted that even to be unpleaaantla
hurried is not always and purely an evil in
Writing TOR the press. Hundreds Of persous can
testify that hurry and severe compression f,on,
An instant summons that brooks no dclay hare .
tendency to furnish tho flint and steel IN,
eliciting sudden scintillations Of originslitv.-
Originality displayed at one time in the pic.
tureseue felicity Of the phrase, at another in thu
| thought or its Illustrations. Who does 10,
kno" that to lmprovlse is, sometimes, in effect,
10 DO 1ofced into consciousness Of c1eatira
energies that would else have Blumbored through
| ufe' Such was tho case with the "Tizard OF
the horth,' Sir Walter Scott. II cannot
puu well in long traces, he used to aay, "when
the draught is far behind mo. I love to he.1
! tue press humping, Gathering, and banging
| IN my ear; it creates the necessit7 which
almost always makes me work bost" Dc Quir.
| coy remarks that tho same stimulation to tha
creative faculty occurs oven more notoriously in
musical appropriations aud all g.a,t e1ocutants
| on the organ have had reason to bemoan theiz
| ability to arrest those sudden fcGcites Of in
pessioned combinations, and those flying ara
besques OF loVoliest melody, which the magnetic
inspiration Of the moment has ayaied to excite
But, while some Writer'S dash OF their best thincs
at heat, aud others, like Campbell, the poet,
dascdle too much oyar their compositions, and
only weaken them By the excessive use Of tho
i!e FOR most men the rule is absolute, that grea,
labor is the price Of excellence. The prompt
mesa OF conception and quick master-touch Of the
fuo writer aro acquired only after years Of
toll; it is the experience of the veteran, &C.
compGshing with ease what seemed impossible
to the RI" recruit. By years OF inccseAnt prac-
tice and painstakng, the delicate instruments OF
the mind become at last 80 lubricatad, and so
fitted to their work that, whom the steam is up,
it performs its task with the promptnees and pro-
cision Of q machine. As Pope says:
True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
As they move easiest who hsye learned to dance
shenstoae has finely said that fno writing ia
the result Of spontaneous thoughts and 1abo1cd
composition. II We look at the 6rst draughts Of
the great works that have imnortalized their
authors We shall find tha. they are often CON-
paratively slight and imperfect, like the ruGa
chalking for . mastery picture. Ten long yea-E
elapsed between the first sketch Of Qoldf1ith'a
Trare'er and its final completion. Twenty lines
in a day he thought Il brilliant feat, and E:ahop
Percy tells US that not line in all his poems
stands az ke first vrots it. Young, rid;cllins
haaty composition, counsels authors to ''wri:a
and rewritc, blot out, and write again," adding;
Time only can mature the lab'r!ng brain.
Time ia the father, Ind the nlidwifs r,ia:
The Fame good scnse that makes man cIcsl,
Still makes him doubt be neez has written well.
Downright t1npossibilities they rsok:
What man be immortal in week?
Cowper, vigorous but most painstnkiug poet,
declares that 70 touch and re.ouch is the secre:
Of almost all good writing, especially IN rerBo."
Burns vas another hard worker with the brain.
Easily rs biR verse seems to have dropped from
his Pen, it WAS really the product Of much toll.
He was fastidious to fault in perfectiEg hia
phrase and rhythm. "Essy composition, but Ia
borious correction" " is his own Characterization
Of his mode Of writing. Even the poe: Moore,
whose verse is singularly mell!fuous,
liquid, and facile, has remarked that
u labor is tho parent Of Ill
the lasting wonders OF the world, whether in
verse or stone, whether poetry OF pyramids"
OF Shelley, Medvin, his biographer, tells us
that he practised tho eeverest set-criticism. and
that his manuscripts, like those Of Tasso at Fer
1ara, wore full Of blots and inter}ineationa as
to be scarcely decipherable. Campbell was 60
Bcrupalously fastidious as to nicoty Of express
aior, that. in ridiculo Of tha 1areness and diff
Guilty Of his literary partu1ition, especially when
The offspring OF his throes 7as poetical, one OF
his waggish friends used grave1y to assert that.
on passing his residence when he was writing
Theodore, he observed that the knocker was
tied up, and the street in front OF tho house
coverad with straw. Alarmed at these appear
ances, he gently rang the bell, and inquired
an1iously after the poets health, "T1ank you,
Sir" was the servants reply, ''master is doing
well as can be expected" ''Good heavens!
as well as can be expected! What has happened
to him2" "Why, sir, he Was this morning ds-
ivered OF couplet!"
Bur4e had all his principal works printed once
or twice ut private press before hauding them
to his publisher. Sheridan not only watched
long and anxiously for q fine idea, but turned it
over and over on the literary anvil, and rewarded
himself for the toll By glass OF generous port.
Gray wrote slowly and fastidiously; 60 did Pope,
and Akinside and Addison. Charles Lambs
most sportive essays were the result Of intense
brain~labor; he used to spend week at times
in elaborating q single humorous letter to q
friend. It is curious, considering the mercuria}
character Of the French, with what wesr14
some care and elowness many Of thei1
authors lave written. Ma1herbe, the father
Of Fronch poetry, composed with prodistoua
caro- and tardiness; and racked his brain
increasingly to correct what he had produced.
Moliars passed whole days in fixing upon
proper ep1thet for rhyme. Rousseau's worke,
which SO charm Us by their simplicity and ease,
were ntten with almost incrodlb1o pains. Ea
eat in full dress always, like Handel at the
organ, and wrote on the finest gilt-edged paper,
with extreme fastdousness and caro-. On the
other hand, DR.. Johnsons Rambler papers, the
atylo OF WHICH is so elephantine cumbrons, and
labo:ed, we're thrown OF with the utmost rapidi-
r.. and sent in ho. haste to tho presa. Button
wa another spruce and trim author. who, from
title-page to colophon, wrote in bag-wig and
rufaes, and has left tho well-known saying that
genius is patieuco" Eyon Berancer'a lirht