Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-05-20
Charles Lamb and Leigh Hunt.

Charles Lamb and his sister came
daily once or oftener; very sorry pair
of phenomena. Insuperable proclivity
to gin ia poor old Lamb. His talk
contemptibly small, Indicating won.
drous ignorance and shallowness, even
when it was serious and good.mannered.
which it seldom was, usually ill man
nered Ito degree), screwed into frosty
artiticialities, CHASTITY make believe OF
wit, in fact, more like diluted insanity"
(ns defined ~ than anything of real
jocosity, humor or geniality. A NEST
slender fiber Of actual worth in that
poor Charles, abundantly recognizable
to me as to others, in his better times
and moods; but he WAS cockney to the
marrow, and cockneydom, shouting
GLORIOUS. marvellous, unparalleled in
nature!" all his days, had quite Devil.
.ered his poor heat and churned nearly
all the sense out of the poor man. He
WAS the leanest of mankind, tiny black
breeches buttoned to the knee. cap and
no farther, surrounding spindle-legs
also in black, face and head fneish
black. bonyAlean and Of a Jew type
rather; in the eyes kind of smoky
brightness or confused sharpness; spoke
with a stutter; in walking tottered and
shuill ed; emblem of imbeciiity bodily
and spiritual (something of real insan-
! ity, l have understood), and yet some
| thing. too, of human ingenious, pa.
thetic, sportfully. much enduring.
Our cOmmonest evening sitter for a
good while was Leigh Hunt, who lived
close by. and delighted to sit talking
with us free. CHEEKY, idly melodious as
bird on bought, or listening with real
| feeling to her old Scotch tunes on the
piano, and winding up with frugal
morsel of Scotch pprridge (ondlessly
admirable to HuLO. Hunt was
always accurately dressed these even
ings and had fine chivalrons gentle.
manly carriage, polite, atf&ctionate,
respectful Especially to herr, and yet
so free and natural. Her brilliancy
ana faculty he at once recogniz I'd, none
better, but there rose gradually in it,
to his astonished eye, something OF
positive. of practically steadfast, which
scared him off u good deal; the like in
my own case too, still more, which he
would call SCOTCH" Presbyterian, y
who knows what; and which gradually
repealed him, i'll sorrow, not in anger,
quite away from us. with rare excep-
tions, which, in his last years. was
almost pathetic to us both. Long
before this he had gone to live in Ken
sington, and We scarcely saw him
except by acci lent. His household
while i'm Upper Cheyne Row." within
few steps of us here, almost at once
disclosed itself to be huggermugger,
unthrift aud sordi,l collapsed, once for
all; aud had to be associated with on
cautious terms; while he himself
emerged out OF it in the chivalrous
figure l describe. Dark complexion
Ia trace of the African, / believe) ,
copious, clean, strong black hair,
beautifully shaped head, fine beaming
serious hazel eyes; seriousness and in
tellect the main expression of the face
Ito our surprise 1t tirsD; he would lean
on his elbow against the mantel-piece
fine clean, elastic figure, too, he had,
tive feet ten or more), and look around
hiM nearly in silence, bsfore taking
leave for the night, "as if we're a
Lar" said he once. cor permanent
household god here!" (such his polite
aerial-like way. Another time. rising
from this Lar attitude, he repeated
Voice very fine) as if in sport or
parody, yet with something of very sad
perceptible, "While 1 to sulphurous
and penal fire" as the last
thing before vanishing. Poor HINT!
no more Of him. Csrlyle's Reminis-
ceuccS