The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1885-10-10

We will glance over what Phneas
! Owens has written and see whether he
was of such as the above. Benny Brown
knew him first when he made his pri-
NAL essay in the Metropolitan traffic,
after shaking the dust of meadows and
village streets from his feet. And, like
Benny, so was | drawn towards him by
the sweet simplicity that marked his
ways, by the wonderfully subdued and
kindly flashes Of humor continually
darling from him, by the marvellous
tales he SO eloquently told of boyish
adventure in land of bountiful nature,
and in later years by the miraculous
power he attained of drinking in knowl-
edge of everything and holding us eager
listeners for hours to the delightful rev.
Citations he gave us here in my little
office of the convictions and theories
that disturbed his sleep at night, and
SO completely possesedhi mind through
the day as to greatly damage his bust
ness capacities.
His life from day to day before we
knew him was too commonplace for a
moments consideration, and yet | am
willing to respect it as the genesic per-
iod of his intellectual formation. His
| glowing descriptions of his Southern
home in the beautiful valley of the
Chesapeake Benny and | have listened
to with enviable ears and watering
mouths. The quaint characters he has
described, first in their nude character
istics and then IN garb of his own
word-building, account to me now for
the peculiar philosophy of humanity that
surrounded and prevailed his mentality.
1t must have been a lovely home
Benny and | will see it to- morrow when
we carry him down there to his dark
bed among the clover and grasses, but
l would rather see him alive and well
and sit here IMAGINING it than to have
it actually revealed to my eyes without
him to point out such and such place
and tell of such and such person.
A plain and simple little house, a
plain and simple little village, nesting
on the banks of river at the feet of
several hills, with meadows and orchards
clover fields and copses, to fill in the
picture and round it up into healthy,
glowing scene, inspiring, satisfying con-
tenting, and even holy.
His associates down there, too, were
homilies like his parents and family
relatives, but without the northern SUBJ
civilization, lacking the utter GOODNESS
and indifference to all else but great
ness and riches, up this way. Arrayed
in their simple, self-made virtues, hon
est, jovial, kind and loving; and, far
more than all these, -human.
From among such he came, and
thank God, one of such he remained,
though the people here tried hard to
break down those bulwarks that sur
rounded him and enter byruse or STRAIT
ely into his innermost nature. But the
innermost nature itself simply assembled
a few shelves higher to look down in
pity on them and look up in supplica-
ton for them at their unmerciful tasks
| have catalogued before, not very
fully known, but lucidly and praphi-
cally, perhaps abstractly, his gradual
evolution from birth to death Now my
first cuttings from his papers must be
pasted down here, to me seeming to
pulsate and culver still with the feel
inss and movements of Phneas HIM
self.
As | have said, his career was dull
before literature assumed the power of
a pro, erbial hobbie over him. l have
searched and rooted among these Gre
mains to find his first efforts or his
first thoughts upon the matter, and
finally discover the latter comprised IN
his private correspondence. His career
as a thinker and writer, as a Poet faster
rather, began at his desk by the WIN
dow of Perseverance, Pliewell & Co.'S,
Office. 1t is strange that when the
spirit of that high ambition first seized
him and his grumblngs and discomfort
ment first began he should bring that
very window in as consolinS, healing
balm for his wounded spirits
PHINEAs OWENS TO A FRIEND.
*** 81 am heart sick sitting here this
| beautiful free morning. A veritable
slave to toll. Am hardly competent to
fill my new position, and never want to
be, and the ieers Of my fellow clerks at
some slight mistakes of mine wound
me deeply. How much smoother and
sweeter this little work aday life would
run if these heartless companions were
less selfish and more sympathetic am
placed by a window where | can see
bit of ivy on an old wall, and the clear,
cool sky Thank God for this privi-
lege, of seeing his infinite home, and
the consolation that comes with the
sunlight from behind its portals"
From the moment the above bit was
written his correspondence with Beny
and | and his other friends contains
nothing else, with the exception of the
fervent lovingly and sincerely yours"
with which he always closed his epistles
to US, but desultry, jerky, nervous, feel
ing illusions to his future aims and am
billions:
PHINEAS OWENS TO BENNY.
*:';* "Still achieving, still pursuing,
| la,r, 70 I,1,pr and tC u-,;t ;c n Iaeco,,