New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-20

peep in where old Henry Clapp regularly sat In COM
placent egotism tinged with personal dislkes, ad-
ministering a very little and very seedy world,
and swearing he would shut 1t against this one and
that.
CLAPP.
He was ALWAYS running out of real Bohe-
mians. and drawing on their parasites III Ousi-
ness or friendship to sit and hear him, and so ne
dropped into actual want and pauperhood' when
I always regarded as the deserved result OF
his running so many bright men. on whom, whlle
protesting to be the patron he had generally Deen
The sponQe What comparison ever existed between
old Clapp and Fitz-James OBrien; the one blowing
buge-notes of clear English poetry or fsnces from
sprite-,nhabied heart, the other chiefly dirty pipe
smoke and phppici
In literature. however humble. the right Of way
beones TO the creative spirit not to the small critic
and old CLAIMS notion of Bohemiansm was some
thing in which others should support him. Like
another coincident humbuR, who was going to re-
organize society without any tyranny" he pro-
posed to be the centre and drone OF the hive but 70
impregnate everything and he generally deDauched
the graceful and the weak. Mr. Winter will
not be able to lift up the ruins Of that
old edfce in the cellar and make them pure, though
he has ceansed the intellect Of Arnold and Brien'
who had, like him, the sense OF conscience and OF
good and it broke forth even in remorse. Had they
assembled in some purer temple and drawn strength
and counsel from each other, and confidence from
broad intercourse with American gentlemen and
homes, these fragments OF wasted hre might nave
started some engines of creative literature among u.s.
Necessity is no injury to literary production, but
tbe necessity for drink and idle communication is
ALWAYS So and next to drink nothing was ever
seen so dissipating to serious creative labor
az talk, and this was the great prescription
of old .Clapp. He drew men of convivial
fancies and glimmerng fame together and
GRATED and glorified himself, and incidentally
them. No man he would abide who was not his
listener and flatterer. He might have been OBrien's
character OF Herr Hippo the Wondersmith, who
pave all the Christmas toys souls out Of bottle,
"bitter as hemlock or scorchng as the lightning"
FITz-JAMEs o'BRIEN.
Tho writings of OBrien, like those of Poe, are in
great part presentations of his remorse and sense OF
a better wish. l observe that Rufus Griswod,
literary parasite of Poes day, says Of him: Prob
ably there is not another instance in literature in
which 30 much has been accomplished without
recognition or a manifestation Of conscience" but
the short story of william Wilson take to be
a depletion of Poe's own consolence-bOrn the same
day aud hour named the same name. detected ut the
same school, the monitor aud reprover of all his
earlier self, and then trampled out by vice
till at one moment of supreme disgrace IL stalks in
again and laws its cloak upon him and at last stab
bed by the castaway IL baunts dies in the presence
of himself saying: Henceforward art thou also
dead-dead to the world. to Heaven and to Hopel
In me thou didst existand in my death, SEQ by this
image which is thine own how utterly thou hast
murdered myself" Poes writings are eloquent OF
remorse which is the CRY Of cOnscence that he was
unprincpled is true, but that was deterioration Of
selfshness, not the absence Of moral sense
/ took Fitz-Janes OBrien's works and read them
yesterday, lying down. coincldenty with Poes tales,
of which have the edition he saw them in first
that Of 1910. The poetry of O'Brien is his best
work; it has little OF the effeminacy Of magazine
poetry now, when the printed tile and
the fan, and few words Of botany or society are
strung along rhythm and made to jingle once and
be jinRed no second time The manly. strident,
element in O'Bren's verse is one which no refine
ment of new words can supplant. as where he de-
scribes Doctor Kane gone to Cuba to die Of con-
sumption after piercing nearly to the pole.
Like to some shattered berg that, pale and lone.
Drifts from The white North to tropc zone,
Aud In the burning day
Wastes peak by peak away,
Till on some rosy even
i dies NTH sunlight s6 Slsssag II SO he
Aud melted into heavenl
This Is an instance of noble theme awakening
noble mental powers suppose 1t had been glass
of beer or a mistress at her beer.
General Halpine drew his chord from
O'Bren's Tyre. or. the same Celtic
temperament produced nearly tho same
tOnee Halpne wrote half dozen good things and
then drowned himself in pleasure and sum politics
This man O Brien was builder. and do not gather
from Mr.. Winters sketch that any OF these more en-
during models were ever published IN ClRpPs pa
per- but almost all of them were sent TO solvent
publication conducted on business principles.
Surely spirit like this was worth leasing and lift
ing out Of the beer parlor, and sent into healthy
solitudes somewhere to browse aud neigh diyinely.
JOHNNY BOUQUET.
The Conservatory. Feb. 10. 1881.