The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-09-24
Selerf 2flisrellang.


The choicest morses from The excellen
rcpast before us;
There are poets who never willingly
wroloaareless line. Crabbe might have
been thought one Of these-so careful, Sc
measured, 70 little egotisiicali Dut We
once find him indulging in the repinlloI
ofsome verses which he acknowledge
we're not of the most brilliant description
but fayorites, because they had amused
the irksome restraint Of life as chaplain
in great house:
"Ohl had but little hut
That might hide my head In;
Where never guest might dare molest
Unwelcome or forbidden
ia rake the Iokes Of other folks,
And mine should he succeed en-;
Nor would chlde htlle pride,
Nor heed a iitile freedom"
With Wordsworth every verse was a
brick In TIC temple h.g ,.t1 was building
he would have thought it PROCLAMATION to
despatch an epemeral iingling joke by
post and keep no record. Consequently
we have no example of verse from him
inspired by the humor Of the moment,
written on a subject. not pOetical. But
sake Sir Walter ScOtte correspondence
with James Ballantyne as specimen OF
what we mean; he suits as an early ex-
ample, for very rarely are rhymes strung
together as he strung them, literally for
only one ear, or indeed only for his own;
20 heartily careless Of his pOehcal credit.
Though not poetry, what q great deal
these iingling lines tell US Of poet how
shey let us into the character and feeling
~ the mani How much there is that
be would not, and perhaps could not,
have unveiled in prosel II is through
such etfuaions that We learn something
n him as author, about which he was 80
pednCt After finishing 'Paul's letters to
his Kinsfolk," !" on whose name he plays
somewhat carelessty, VIC 500 the ANTI
quaYy" in his minds eye:
'rOeaT ysnes-rm done, thank God. with the long
ysIns
Oftbe most prosY Of fspogues-Paul
And now advance, sweet heather Of Monkbsrns,
sispOuL old ovlz as fast a. l can Scrawl."
In simple prose he would never have
BETRAYED this confidence and fOndness for
any creature of his imagination. He
thus reioicos Overthe completion of "Rob
BOY" nnI..tt
"wilh,grCasloy
send you Roy;
TWasyR tough job.
But we'ro done with Roo
the tough job" referring TO the agonies
of CTamp and tho lassitube Of opium un-
der which the novel was written. He
was the most patient of men under inter-
uptiOn only in verse does he indulge in
q murmur, his temper really worn to a
hairs breadth;
-Oh James. oh James, two Irlsh DANES.
oppreN me VEN sore:
Igroaning send one sheet I've pennd,
For, hang them, there's no more"
In momentary encouragement, when
Quentin DurWard" did not go off at the
rate anticipated, "he did not sink under
the short-lived frown," but consoled him
self with couplot:
''rhe mouse who only trusts to one poor hole,
Can never be q mouse ofany soul"
When overwhelmed with books, prepa-
ratory TO his life of Buonaparte, he thus
condenses his experience, and bless
es himself in prospect Of his gigantic
task: :
When with poetry dealing,
Room enough In Smelling.
Neither cabin nor hoVel
Too small for novel;
Though my back should r1b
On Diogenes tub.
How my fancy could prsnce
IN dance Of romance;
But my house must swap
With some BrobdingnRg chap.
EreIgrspple, ,Godbless me, with Emperor Nap"
When adversity came, the slip-shod
Touse was his cOnfdant, the depository
Of his resolutions, cheering him onward
IN the untried stony path Of authorship
under mpulsiOn-the inexorable de-
mand of duty. After soliloquies which
would have done credit, both in matter
and manner, to Shakespeare's fallen
kings' we find him writing
II have finished my task this morning
at half-past eleven, easily, early, and |
think not amiss. I hope j. B. will make
some notes Of admiration =! otherwise
shall be disappointed. Ifthis work an
sWers-ifit bta answers, it must set us on
our legs; ! am sure worse trumpery of
mine has had great run. ] remember
with what great difficulty was brought
TO think myself anything better than
common, and now l will not in mere
fdntness Of heart give up hope. So hey
for Swiftianism-
loll In my chair
And around me stare.
Wlh critical air.
Like calfin fair;
And, say /, Ms Duty,
GoOd-morow 10 your beauty.
1 kiss your sweet shoe-tie,
And hopeI can suit ye.
Fair words butter no parsnips, says
Daty; don't keep talking then, but 90 to
yeur work again there's days task be-
fore you-the Eiege of Toulon. Call you
0FNe . sN@oA Aahb hACt II HAAbS ~ 40 mot
20 BOny carried It on
AndiOng ere dinner time havO
Full eighty CLOSE pages Wrote
What, Duty has thou now to crayel
Wen. done, Sir Walter Scott
These Dialogues with his conscience
could hardly have been recorded without
the playful veil Of verse to hide their
deep seriousness of self-sacrifce and
atonement. Who can grudge him his
escape to the country from the uncon-
genial scene Of them celebrated in these
yaIedictory lines2--
80 goodbye, Mrs Brown.
] an going out OF town,
over dale, oyer down,
Where bugs bite not
Where dodgers fight not,
Where below your chalrmen drink not,
IA