Daily Republican., 1879-03-28
BAYARD TAYLOR.
By JAMES PARTON.

BYJAMEs PARTON.
The recent death of Bayard Taylor
recalls to mind the great number OF
literary men of the last fifty years who
died before they had lived out their
lives.-Since James Gordon Bennett
founded the New York Herald in 1885,
suppose fifty New York Journalists
have either died in their prime or be
fore reaching their prime. A similar
mortality has been remarked on the
other side Of the Atlantic. Charles
Dickens died at forty eight, and Mr..
Thackery at fifty two. A great NUN
Der of lesser lights have been extin-
guished that promised to burn with
long increasing brightness.
What Is the matter' Is there any
thing in mental labor hostile to life /!
Was it overwork that shortened the
lives of these valuable and interesting
men, think not. / think most Of
them died before their time because
they did not know hew to live.
The last time saw Bayard Taylor
about six pontlrs before he sailed for
Prussia, he looked the picture of bloom.
ing health. Hts form, which in early
life had been extremely elegant and
somewh at slender, had attained ample
proportions. He had the shape and
the mplexion of thriving Pennsyl-
vania farmer, who rides good horse,
and has stone barn as big as a church
cramn,ed with produce. He was then
full of'desire to commence his Life Of
Geethe which had occupied his thoughts
for many years, but which he was pre-
vented from completing Ivy the nec"s,
sitips of daily life. He told me E,at he
had given way to the folly $50 seduc'
tive to a poeD Of building an expen-
sive house before he conquered steady
income adequate to keep it. Hewis!ed
then he had some of the money thus
expended to put into lis darling pro-
ect of book.
"But," said he, "though it cost me
forty. i've thousand, cannot get an Of
fer of fifteen thousand for it; and there
1t is an elephant on my hands,
told him there was only one way
for A married man in limited circuu-
stances, in this country, to accomplish
an arduous and expensive literary
task, and that was TO remove to a good,
solid country tswn, with a library,
with plenty OF intelligent people. with
good old country roads; say like old
Newburyport, for example, at the
mouth of the Merrimac river. There
he would find the best people in the
world, who understand the beautiful
and noble art Of economy, and could
live a good deal better on thousand
dollars year than people in New York
can live on thousand dollars n month
Nay, better in some respects than Ne"
Workers can live on a million dollars 8
year. He approved the scheme, and
said he had serious thoTghts of at
tempting it. He made many inquiries
as to the cost and ways of living in
such places, and | derived the impress
SIGN that when he had gathered all tn,
materials for his work, lie would be
very likely to settle down in some quiz"
place beyond the range of New lorl
responsiveness and New York dinners
and execute his task.
He talked much of his illustriou,
subject, the great German poet, whose
mortal career he had undertaken to re-
late. Like most of US who have reaC
much of Gpthe, he believed that l'
was the greatest sum of mind and feel
ing which the world has known since
Shakespeare. Bat what he chiefly
valued in the great GT!he was thu
richness and depth Of his moral nature
He looked upon him as a kind of savior
of the modern world, and he repeated
with great fergor the famous saying o
GTthe:
"The spirit in which we act is th'
highest matter
He maintained, that the account:
previously published Of GGthe's life a
Wrimar, where he spent most OF hi
mature years, had conveyed an errone
Gus impression, which he hoped to cor
rect. Mr.. Taylor had himself lived a
Weimar, where he had met the family
of the poet, and conversed with many
persons who had known him. HI
thought he should be able to presen
{ his life there in a far more pleasing
and satisfactory manner .han had beer
done by the previous biographer, MIR
Lewes.
"Lewes," said he, did not remain a
Weimar long enough, and did not con
verse much with the people who knew
Goethe best"
Nevertheless, | gather from MIR. Tay
lor that this imm nse Goethe was no
acquainted with some of the most OBJ
- vious laws of our phys cal welfare
: Bayard Taylor was always laughing a
ule for two articles that wrote for tn
Atlantic Monthly once. called, "Does
: Pay to Smoke ?" aud the other, owl
4 the Coming Man DRINK" had ventu.
( ed 10 answer both these questions in tn
!. negative. lie, on the contrary, not onl
i drank wine in moderation, but smoke
!. freely, and he was accustomed to poir
= to his ne proportions and rosy cheek
b comparing them with my own MOI
neagre form, as an argument for tn
uSa of ki,oae stimulQntS