Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-04-28
Habits and Fancies Of Authors.

"
Strange have been the habits and fancies
OF authors. Carneades, the philosopher,
seldom wrote without dosing himself with
hellebore. Alschylus, Eupolis, Graft
nus and Ennius are said never to have
sat down to compose till they were in
toSicated. Dryden often had himself
bled, and, like Fuseli, ute raw meat to
assist, so he said, his imagination.
Shadwell, De Quincy, Psalmanaazsr,
Dean Milner, Coleridge, and Bishop
Horsley stimulated themselves with
opium, as De Mussot was helpless with
out absinthe. Gray seldom sat down TO
compose without first reading through
some cantos Of the "Faery Queen"
Corneillc fired himself with the
perusal Of Lucan." Blackstone
never wrote without bottle of port
wine on his desk, nor Schiller without
flask OF Rhcnish within call When his
imagination was sluggish ho would
sit with his feet in hot water, drinking
coffee "to thaw tho frost on his Wits"
Montaigne was never happy without his
cat, and with tho pen in his right hand
while the left was smoothing the glossy
back OF his fayorite tabby, meditatcd
his "Essays." Boxhornc, the great
Dutch scholar, could never write a word
without pipe in his mouth, and as he
preferred long pipe and yet required
the usc OF both hands, he bethought
him Of a very ingenious device. He
had n hat with an enormous brim,
which imponded in front Of his face;
through this he made a hole TO sup
port his pipe, thus securing the double
advantage Of shading his eyes and On
joying without Inconvenience his favor
ite luxury, and in this way he produced
his yoluminou8 and valuable writings
Hobbies had tho same weakness, ten or
twelve pipes, with candle being his
inyariablc concomitants at tho dc,k, aud
DR.. Parr was not less dependent on to
hacco. Southcy could never write a
line except at his desk, with his books
round him, and with familiar objects bv.
Milton could, he said, never compose
anything TO his satisfaction except be
tween tho vernal and autumnal equinox.
At those seasons his poetry came like
an inspiration, At other times, in spite
Of the most strenuous efforts, he would
be unable TO bring to the birth a single
verse. Thomson, Collins and Gray had
the same superstition about themselves.
Johnson, with his usual bluff common
sense, ridicnlcs such fancies. and
calls them unworthy Of any sensible
man n-thc good Doctors theory being
that man who had the power
Of writing always could write
"if he set himself doggedly TO it."
Cmhho's ,fancies about himself are so
curious that We will quote the passage
in his soma biography Of him which
bears on the same subject "He fancicd
that autumn Wa, 'ou tho whole, the most
favorable season for him in the compo-
sition Of poetry, but there was some
thing in the effect Of a sudden fall Of
snow that appeared to stimulate him in
very extraordinary manner. 1t was
during great snow-storm that, shut mp
in his room, he wrote almost curreute
calamo his Sir Eustacc Grcy' Lattcrly
he worked chiefly at night after all the
family had retired" Even q robust and
practical scholar like Bishop War.
burton tells US that he could only write
Gin hand-to-mouth style" and that
the blowing of an east wind, fit Of the
spleen, or the fact that he had not his
books round him, completely destroyed
his power Of composition. - Temple Bar