Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1874-10-17

/ And yainly search departed years
Such unmiXed Joy to find.
ChoTus.-"SO let mirth,n sc.
--a------- a4oe
verses of her own;
Here now we greei vur early friend,
! With proud and grateful Joy;
| A remnant OF the loving band
/ That gathered round the boy.
Chorns-" So let Il Eth, +" &c.
| Near this wide vale which by his pen
Has since been classic made;
In years gone by these voices rang
Throughout the rocky glade.
Chorus" Let mirth and pleasure, So
However rich the wreath OF fame,
That circles round the brow;
The pearl of greater price is still,
The warm hearts generous glow.
Chorusi-" Let mirth and pleasure, sc.
Mr.. Chandler Darlington now added
the following
SENTIMENT;
Standing as we do, on or near the
bridge-waY of Ezra Mendinhlll's barn,
offer this sentiment
"May love continue TO rule Lars, he to
preach and our poet to write and sing,
until the world shall be filed with love,
goodness and music" Applause.l
This closed the greetings to the guest,
who arose and spoke as follows:
BAYARD TAYLoR's ADDRESS.
OLD FRIENDS AND NEIaHBoRs; l fee
that have very great deal to say to you
aud yet | also feel as If scarcely could
say anything. When | first heard Of this
welcome and accepted TN nvitation,
thought Of nothing else tn tha. II was
to be one Of the simple informal pic-nics OIL
old days, when we sat among the rocks
under the trees, and talked and sang
together. Daring the past week | have
been very busy, and not, Indeed, until
this morning did it occur to me, on my
way here from New York, that / might
be called on to make some reponse, think
ing, under the circumstances, ii would bG
a small return for the welcome offered
me. l turned over in my
mind what was proper to say
Nothing of 1t will anwer at all
When l reached Wilmington and saw so
many old friends and acquaintance
when saw new light upon every face
and felt new warmth in every hand
and a new music in all voices, had q
presentment of what was coming, and on
reaching here and seeing the loving paint
you have taken, ! was bewildered and
and the expression of recognition which
is the proudest and most precous in my
experience as an author.
When I say 10 yos one and all how
deeply grateful l am for your congratu-
latlons, It means little TO what have fell
since cOmiug here. For this is the really
highest form OF recognition which any
author can Teceive-a welcome from ole
! Ha hat r4ar
} fand WHO Know us JtlLer than any Other
} In the world who know our weaknesses
= and short comlngs, which no indiyidua
. can escape, and therefore might mos
4 easily overlook the aims and aspirations
{ which work silently and secretly in {
{ mans nature, is the highest honor al
q author can recelye,-a the rarest.
: 1t is impossible for inc to attach a
S formal character TO this occasion. lt ha
; not been so to me. All that has been sal
= belongs to those things which we say 81
G readily when we sit down and talk 10
3 gelher as confidential friends, not to th
T. colder and formal utteTances which W
5 make in public. ] am impeiled to answe
t you in the same spirit | may here spea
] to you, as In intimate confidence, OF m
: own hopes and labors. And let ne assuI
you, first, that this honor does not come
Z me too late. If you feel that have dG
= served 1t now, l knoR that 1 have not d
J served 1t sooner. Il is thirty years last Jul
, since ] first left home for my pedosiTia
trip through Europe, and in three montl
more | shall be fifty years ole. | am NJ
too old to forget the enthusiasm Of you'll
yet old enough TO look backward, seeir
my work and judge II with some impa
TALLY. About ten years ago, or more
> became dissatisfied with all l had dol
up TO that time. 1 saw clearly th
j narratives Of travel being mainly Il
e result of observation, and the faculty
+ describing Wnat 10 observed, 10 not b
} long 10 the permanent literature Of
| country. They only stand, when mo
successful, until replaced by later wol
of the same kind. They caunot emboC
! the creative element, which is the hlghe
f in literature. The conditions of my II
4 had not allowed me to give my who
/ time and strength to what believe to
p my best work but now resolved on
d course which was like changing front
# the midst of the battle, which, as O
i military men know, is the most diiticr
o and hazardous of tactics. knew that
q risked losing the audience l alrea'
g possessed, before gaining that which
hoped for. But l determined up'
d my course, and followed Il, su
y tained by the recognition and encou
sr agement Of the friends who stood neart
- TO me, aud most Of all by the faithi
ie companion OF my life, who, In my lite
lg ary labors, has always been good CO
ID science to me-neyer contented with a.
IN work which seemed 10 her hasty anc Il
le perfect, and never Withholding the hei
TO liest encouragement when she saw tha
ig had labored honestly and to the full
er tent OF my powers. | take this weleol
as a sign that | have succeeded In !
&C endeavors. II is not possible for the ms
G. who constantly aspires, to measure h
a much he has -s.h is..sa hut know Il
It. have labored unremittingly, and ne'
he more so than during the last two years
nd nv absence in Europe. To be so
ed ceiyed on my return is to me an omen
le. good for the future, no less than T
eh Compensation for disappointment In
past. e.
by ! sec that my poem of "Lars" has
he Its share in prompting this welcome,
In let me tell you-slill in conddeuce-t
he 1t came to be written. My first C
in ceplion Of the poem was some &c
ch years before its publication. The 81
Is my own Invention. | had always b
OFT interested m the Swedish setIlem'
ers along the Delaware, aad desired to
eir in this unusually picturesque element
,ur American history something 70 be pu
>" poetic use. My acquaintance '
to Sweden and Norway and the SweS
len and Danish languages increased
nal desire. Then later Game into my n
the idea of combining the scandinal
len with the later Quaker element. / lear
fell that there was small eommunity
'er. Friends at Arendal, in the southern
ing of Norway, and on this basis | Sic
yer invented the story, which Is wh
the imaginary. 1t was necessary to b
lin the two opposite principles into con
Quaker peace and Berserker fu
his and 20 accomplish the vic
his of moral and spiritual pc
ell, over brute force. This / could oull
no by the aid OF the moral reaction W
our follows crime, ard the duel between
and Per, although 1t may repel s
iere readers as being 100 bloody and vic
her a scene, became q necessity. l wrotS
the poem in Germany, Just two years
the after every scene in il had grown
the cleaIness aud cohersnce IN my own n
zer- As wrote ! saw the "level Isle of
due eam," Wilmington and the Old Swl
, in Church, and finally these valleys Of Il
ater cssin, as clearly SIS I sec them now.
tful owe inc no special thanks for The des
li0n. 1 have always known the see
llu- and felt the indehnahle charm OF
sek, deep, rich valleys, its fair, undull
ope, up lands, with the quiet old home
at their sunny sides. Moreover, when
in the story wandered down the
Elth ware, his yagTant feet carried him