The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-03-04

commentaries he mover throws the plane OF
his own d.sappointments or miscarria2es on
the mlstakcs OF his sdbordInates. and whom he
tns to narrate thoir failures. as In tho case OF
tho freh;iul disaster experienced BY tho forces
under Sabinus md Gotta. he excuses them as
far as possible. without asserting or implying
that thore Is fault TO excuse.
The vienr OF NJ orwsustsw.
It appears that fourth American edition
has been published Of the lilo OF the Rev. &. g.
HAwHGR. better known as the eccentric Wear
~ Mor,1eesto'o. in Devonshre. The bioGrapher.
Mr.. y. DARrEo GouLp. was personally &c
nuainted with the extraordinary man who Is
the subject OF his narrative. and he has given
us a book more interesting and even enter
tanning than the general reader ldsuppose
the memoir Of a clergyman could be made. II
Is Of course unnecessary to accept Mr.. Gould's
too favorable judgment OF \ probler,atic char
arter for even from tho evidence submitted in
this volume the reader will have no difTiculty
in drawing conclusions for himself. He will
probably form the opinion that tho much
talked-of Vicar Of Morwenstow was IN eness-
Ing but unstable and ENTHUSIASTICALLY person;
that tho intellectual and imaginative sides Of
his nature wcro developed out Of all proportion
to his powers oil selt-con.r,l: that no was in
short a genius without a balance wheel. and
thero is somo ground for adding. without a
conscience.
Robert Stephen Hawker WAS born In rlv.
mouth. in Devonshiro. in 1904 and died dur
ing visit to tho same place In 1878. His
father had begun life us n physician. but sub
scquently became a clergyman. and his grand
father. the well-known Dr.. Hawker. by whom
the boy Robert was brought up. was the In
cumbent Of Christ Church In Plymouth. The
future Vicar OF Norwenstow wos tho most in
oorricibo Of schoolboys. and II Is significant OF
the propensity to self-indugcnco which was
the keynote Of his character. that he became
specially notorious for his practical Jokes. a
kind OF fun in which the pleasure o; the one
party is sought without tho slightest heed to the
enjoyment or even tho comfort. OF the other.
His flrst marriage. indeed. was u practical joke
perpetrated Mt the EXPENSE of an estimable
woman. 1t seems that the boy Robert vac sont
to Oxford. but after the end OF his first year
was informed by his grandfather that the funds
for his support at the University were no longer
nttainable. Robert. now some twenty years
old declared that nothing should prevent him
from taking his degree. and. seeing no other
means OF procuring the necessary money. ran
without his hat II distance OF some miles
from his fathers house to farm &C.
cupied by some maiden ladies'. each old
had reached tho ripo ago OF Al 10 he his wife.
Strange to say. or sad to say. the mature
virgin consented and the two were married.
and not long after went up to Oxford.
where in due course the young man took his
degree and was presently ordained Nor had
he many years 10 wait before tho Bishop Of
Exeter. Or. Phillpotts. who had been cartivated
by his bright talk and winning ways. presented
him to the living Of Morwenstow. on the Cor
nish coast, amid whose rugged scenery. fas-
mating to both tho poet and the antiquarian
and Hawker was something Of each-he lived
for forty years.
Mr. Hawker was one OF those men who ac-
au.re among their friends and intimates u
large reputation for ability upon relatively
slender capital Of performance. He was many
sided. but no ono side OF his mind had BEEN
very Enormously cultivated. He knew little
about u great many things. and he had the
knack OF making his limited stock OF infornha-
ton go a long way. He talked so we'll that
people supposed he could write better: and
when he would sit down and dash of some
thing c!ever-an eplsram or n ballad. or per-
haps the frasmen. OF an epic-he was Willingly
credited by his friendly auditors with the
capacity OF sustained production. He was
sineuarly fertile in ideas, but seldom had per-
sIstency enough to hestow on them artistic
emboiimen.. and LEFT others to reap In
the field which he had planted. Thus he
had q keen aud loving eye for the beauties OF
nature and when he chose, could paint land
scnpe wildly with tongue or pen; yet he rele-
I gated to Charles Kingsley. whom he had in
troduced TO tho scenery Of Dcvonshire. the
pleasant Office oi making II rightly known TO
the world. Again he was apparently the arst
10 appreciate the poetic capabilities Of the
Artaurian legends and suggested them TO
Tennyson but he allowed tho rick thenle TO DO
virtually monopcized by his contemporary.
although fragment Of his own. The
Sangre WIS published some years before
/ Tennyson's poem on the same subject. In a
word Mr.. Hawkor belonged to the typo OF
which Coleridge and De Quincy were much
more conspicuous illustrations. II is note
worthy that he. Ike them. WAC addicted to
opium. IA fact which accounts in some measure
/ for his repugnance to prolonged eXer.ion.
! Ii the brilliant Vicar o. Morwonstow had a
; specific talent Tor anything 1t was tor verse
muhins lie ha,! given proof OF this faculty be-
1 fore no went up 10 oxford. and at the univer-
sity lie had obtained tho Newdegato prize for a
poer, on Pompei All his life he WAS given TO
rhym!ns:. and tho Arthurian fragment To which
We have referred indicates that a good deal
- might have been accomplished in this direction
had he possessed The power Of stead!ast con
ccntratlon. AS 1t is. his best work 10 to ba
found among tho Cornish ballads which no
! published under tho name OF Records Of tho
Western Shore" We quote one Of them. both
: because it wei exempiiiles tho authors mas
terry o! This kind OF verse. ard because II Is in
its waya literary curiosity having boon mis-
taken By SCOT and Macauhy for II genuine old
English ballad
rur .osG o. rGE WESTERN Srs.
A good sword aud a tru.ty hand
: nierrV hs,gt lrd iri,-
KIM IAN men IN - understand
What CORNISH No. I'm 10.
And lHtS thsN 1850 ~, whers and when
And shall l;aiawurs d.ct
Thou tweut, thptrlut cornish men
WIN knn" the f-,."H why
What will they sCnrn lr. FOL, and Pen
AMI snlii fgrlueN"v det
Then twenty Thousand underground
VAL snow the reason why
Out snHke the Captain brave and hold
i merry wight was no
"Though Lnudols Tower we're Mtcheers hold.
Wei! set irrlawuev irec.
Wei Cross IA. famrf hand 10 hand,
The ENe SINH he ne stnr;
y ~ l-t,l. to- Ia. f.l sta