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

England period of effervescence, which dates from
his youth and early boyhOod. He could have been
born at no other time and in no other place IL was
the epoch of rare mental activity, often crude anu
purposeless sometimes unduly vehement, Dut al
ways generous in its aim and lofty IN aus ie"0"'
The young reformers of that day felt tnas uie IA
must be laid at the root of the tree, ana many
ancient growths, in their view, were ht ohV 70 10
Ont down and cast into tho fire. ne" poeuS'
new philosophy new religion, new social oioer
take the place of the old traditions NO'nlns
escaped the prasp of the ideal innovators freienU
age and travel were TO DO conuocleu "i'"0u'
the aid OF animal force. Farms were "
he cultivated without the application OF tartilzng
agents The insect tribes were TO be ieit 10 their
own sweet will in the garden and orcharu' sa,o III
the protection of an all-embracing sympathy, Inc
flesh of beasts and the juices of fruits we've 10 oe eA
oluded from the transcendental table A better
I,roaa than could be made of wheat, both in the
spiritual and the material order, was craved and
proyided for. A purely sylvan life was noeler than
that of the herdsman and shepherd and tent In
the woods snperor to the ceiled dwellings of the
city OF such ideas. Thoresu was the incarnation.
In the throne of the nineteenth century, he revived
the vision Of the primItife man. Of stern and
lonely nature he had little need of social blandish
ments Proud and cold in temperament he could
rarely saw that man delighted him, woman either
and next to that his choicest society was the
fish in Walden pond and the squirrels and partridges
of Concord woods.
Mr. Elery Claiming appears to have cherished the
deepest sympathes with this modern anchOrite. The
pictures in the volume Of his isolated WAYS are col
ored with the soft prismatic light of personal afec-
ton Many Of his memorial verses to his
friend are singulaTly tender and pathetic
1t would be an ungraeiOus task to strip
s4,rra and IN
show that the shaggy Berserkr of Walden could not
stand for the genius of Apollo We prefer to gather
ND the traits which his partiaty has set forth, and
combine them in a bas-relief, which must be re-
garSed as an ideal image rather than a reflection OF
the reality.
Henry David Thoreau was bonn in Concord on the
twelfth of july 1917. The old-fashiOned house in
which be first saw the light the residence of his
grandmother and with its gray, Imprinted boards,
and its grassy. unfeneed door-yard, presented
aperfect specimen of the New England style of
building. About the house are pleasant, sunny
meadows, with their deep beds Of peat of homely,
bearthlike fragrance and in front murmurs
living brook of fresh water. 1t lovely" says
his biographer that he should draw his first breath
In pure country air, out of crowded towns amid
the pleasant, russet fields" He drove his COW to
pasture barefoot and was known among the village
boys as one who did not fear mud water. nor
paused to lift his companions over the ditch.
He entered Harvard College at the age of sixteen,
where he devoted himself chiefly to the study of
English poetry, and made some proficiency, we
believe, IN the Greek and Latin classics He led a
quiet and reserved life while in Cambridge making
few acquaintance and no friends. year or two
after leaving college. he built the famous cabin by
the shore of Walden Pond which served for shelter
sleep, and meditation. 1t had no lock to the door,
no curtain to the window, and belonged TO nature
nearly much as to man.
Thoreau was a natural mechanic. He could use
the broad-ax and handsaw as well as the pen. He
would sometimes pick upa scanty waif Of drft-wood
from Concord River. and make bookcases chests, |
and cabinets for his study. He bound his own
books, and measured the farmers fields in the
village by chain and compass. He thus came to
see the inside of almost every farmers house
and head, his pot Of beans and mug of hard |
cider" Though so unsocial in his disposition he
was fond of gossip, was alive from top to toe with
curiosity" and could sit out the Oldest frequenter
Of the bar-rOom He was true Stole. He made no
complaint. He even enjoyed what sadness he could
find. He voyaged about his river in December, the
drops freezing on the oar, with a cheering song.
The blaze of July and the of January came to
him as wholesome experiences, and each &C
eepted as gifts of Nature His interest in swamps
and bOgs never failed. 1t grew out of his love for
the wild. His great blessing in the landscape was
the river the sluggish artery Of the Concord"
as he names it. The study of the river plants |
floating forever with the sweet waves never
ended The birds and insects tempted to the shores
The fish and musquash, sun and wind, were always |
interesting. More than once Thoreau visited the |
principal mountains in bis prospect. They were TO
him like series of old homes. " He went in the |
choice August OF September days, and picked ber-
ries on Monsdnock's stony plateau, took his |
xoomy walk over the Mason Hills, explored the |
great Wachusett pasture-the fairest sight eye ever
saw"
1t was his habit to go abroad every day to the |
Aelds or woods or to the river. 81 go out to see
what have caught IN my traps. which have set |
for facts" He loved the world and could not pass
n berry without question. Men. who had seen the |
partridge drum, caught the largest pickerel, ana
eaten the most swamp apples ysys the men fQr bin,
The farmer who could find him hawks egg, or give
bin fishers foot, he would wear in his heart of |
hearts he admired the toil-worn workers seasoned |
like granite and pine, slow and silent the years.
like the sweetness Of a nut like the tOughness Of
hickory 1.-THE farmer spoke to me, clear, cold, |
moderate as the snow when he treads. Yet what |
faint impression that encounter may make ON me |
after all see men like frogs; their peepiRg par
tally understand" 1
Cities were his aversion. He felt toward them |
like the eamels and Arab cameldrivers who accom- |
pany caravans across the desert In Cambridge he |
saw only the books in the college library and the |
librarian Boston was theend Of Long Wharf where |
he went to snuff the The rest as he phrssed it.
"was barrels" HE had gauges for the river con-
stantly consulted; he noted the temperatures Of |
springs and ponds set down each novel sky; the |
Towering of plants their blossom and fruits the fall