The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1881-03-31
Moods Of Authors.

With the best advantages, with per-
feet seclIsion and every facility for the
concentration and marshalling of
thought, authors, says the London
Globe, are VIGOROUSLY subject to strange
freaks Of humor, which render them in
tellectually PROSTATE and utterly unable
to command their known and tried
powers. The muse of poetry is the fick-
lest OF jades, as everybody knows, but
the muse (f there be one) of prose is
scarcely whit more staunch or trust
worthy. Perhaps Thackeray is the best
modern example of the yagaries of mood
in writers. For weeks together he could
not put pen to paner to do anything like
Justice TO himself, and for this misfort-
une Mr.. Anthony Trollope rather I'M
fairly attacks him on the score of in
dustry. "Unsteadfast, idle, changeable
of purpose" are epithets which the less
or throws at the greater novelist. mere
ly because as he says, Thackeray ''could
not bring himself 10 do an allotted task
day after day "Idlen seems vulgar
accusation 10 huI at a man of Thack-
eray's genius and achievements. The
writing of books like "Pendennisn and
1.-The Newcomes' can scarcely be looked
upon as "day-work' in the sense in
which blacksmiths labor would be
so considered
Ii such an author was idle, so was
Dickens, who frequently had to give up
his work in despair, in spite of the
strongest determination to master u
hostile mood, II am utterly lost in
misery" he writes, at a time when his
strength was the most vigorous, land
can do nothing, have been reading
Oliver, 'Pickwick,' and 'Nickleby' to
get my thoughts together for the new
effort, but all in vain Over and over
again he eXclaimS in his brief notes to
Mr.. Foster that 1.-THE fit is not on him, y
and he must go for a ride or walk,
From Italy he writes one autumn, Just
a. he was about TO start on the Christ
mas book; Il have got my paper and
inkstand and figures now and can think
/ have begun to do so every morning
with a business-like air of the Christ
mas book Again, later: u am sadly
strange and can not settle, You will
have lots of haSty notes from me while
am at work; hut You know your man. ~
Dickens was always nervously exact in
the arrangement OF his writing room,
and in one of his letters from strange
place he relates how he had to 'alter the
disposition of the furniture before he
could write line.
Even Milton is said to have admitted
that his faculties were much stronger
ut some times than at others, and Dry
den used to diet himself for task in
poetry, eating raw meat to inspire vivid
dreams. 1t Is unfortunately true that
he resorted to even less cxcusible Stimu-
lants, though Il long list of other inn
mortalS were wont 10 overcome the shy
ness of their genius by similar means.
| Byron wrote some Of his looser poems
under the influence Of gin. Coieridge,
De Quincy, and Shadweil prodded the
muse with opium Sheridan, having a
good deal of the Charles Surface in him,
did good work with aid of brandy; Ben
johnson was assisted by canary" and
EschyluS is said TO have been invariably
intoxicated when he wrote The great
achievements which some authors have
produced at single sitting show that
moods have played an important part
in literature.