Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-07-24
THE NEER.DO.WEELS.
MEN OF GENIUS WHO WERE At
FIRST UNDERRATep.

FIRST UNOERRATED.
Authors Whose Now Famous Works Were
Once Laughed At-story OF the ugly
! Duckling''-Poe at West Point-scott's
Unfinished Manuscript
The opinions of friends and neighbors
IS to a mans powers are rarely Of any
value. Sometimes they ridiculously over
rate him and push some donkey forward
into conspicuous position where the
length Of his ears, as defined against the
background of the horizon. may be &C.
curately and publicly ascertained- But
more frequently-and especially In the
case of a man Of real genius-they are
inclined to undervalue one whom they
have come to regard as one Of themselves
Montsigne tells us In his ''Essays'
that his attempt to become an author
was laughed at in his own presence, snd.
even after he had won his fame. he found
that ''at home he was Obliged to puf.
chase printers, while at distance print
ers purchased him" Bslzsc's family were
sarcastically indignant at his presuming
to believe that he could write. and visited
three failures with the usual exasperat-
ing Il told you So" When Swift intro
duced Parnen to Lord Bolingbroke and to
the world he made this entry In the jour
nal: ''lt is pleasant to see one who hardly
passes for anything in Ireland make his
way here with little friendly forward
ing" Daniel Webster in the very height
Of his fame. Just after his famous Bunker
village, which he had not visited In SO
many years that ne was not recognized
by his former cronies. Accosting an old
friend Of the Websters. he gradually.
after due discussion Of the weather and
the crops, turned the conversation upon
his own family. Thereupon his compan-
ion burst out into enthusiastic encomiums
upon the virtues and abilities Of Daniels
elder brother, Ebenezer. who had died
young. and whose early death he tittingly
deplored- Daniel slipped in a modest
query as to whether there was not q
brother named Dan. He never was
much account. said the old gentleman.
with shake of his head. 81 believe he
went to Boston and became some kind Of
lawyer or mother.
Andersen has allegorized his own for
lorn and unappreciated youth in the story
of the ugly Duckling" which turned out
to be swan. This story is favorite
with Bismarck. Il was an ugly duckling
myself" he once told friend: my poor
old mother never would believe that there
was any good in me-" Isaac Barrow's
parents conceived SO mean an opinion Of
his temper and parts when he was q boy
at the Charter House school that his
father used TO say II 1t pleased God to
take away from him any Of his children
it might be Isaac. the least promising
Adam Clarke's father was equally uncom-
plimentary to his own flesh and blood
when he proclaimed his son to be "a
grievous Ounce" Sheridans mother pre-
sentea him to new tutor as IAN incor.
rigible Ounce"
Poe at West Point was laughing stock
to his schoolmates- Byron at Harrow
was In no wise distinguished above his
fellows. Napoleon and Wellington in their
school days were distinguished only for
dullness. The mother of the latter must
be added to our list Of complimentary
parents. Arthur was good for nothing.
she thought. save as food for powder.
Robert Gives family were thoroughly
disgusted with him by the time he was
IL years old. his reputation for stupidity
tion for general wickedness, and, gladly
accepting an Indian clerkship for him.
they shipped him off to Madras, Ito make
a fortune or die of q yellow fever" Gold
smith, up to the time Of the publication
Of The Traveller. was looked upon as an
idiot by almost all who knew him. After
ward he was dubbed an inspired idiot.
Burns was duh boy. good only at sth-
letic exercises. Sir Humphrey Davy
was by no means esteemed bril-
liant boy. while he was with me.
says his teacher. David Gilbert, Il
could not discern the faculties by which
he was SO much distinguished And b
sure that the good burghers of Stratford-
on-Avon saw nothing in Will Shakespeare,
the butchers boy, but q wild. harum-
scarum scatter brain. whose only chances
of future elevation lay in the chance open
to all rogues on the gallows. Indeed. the
Rev. MIR. -, who was pastor In the
poets birthplace in 134S. says there was
another butchers boy in the same town
who was deemed more than an equal Of
Master Shakespeare in parts. This prod
ICY won the love of the gods, and died
young.
Scott tells us in his DIARY" that for q
time he was moderated by most of his
though subsequently getting
forward and held a bold and clever fel
low, contrary to the opinion of all who
him a mere dreamer. Ounce he
Is and Ounce he will remain" was the
sentence passed upon him by Professor
Dalzell at the Edinburgh university. The
coldness of his critical friends at the out
set of life had almost deferred him from
poetical composition. as it afterward
of "Waverley" to molder
away for eight years in his desk. The
first sketch Of his maiden effort at origi.
nal verse, The Lay Of the Last Min
strel." he read over neevening after din
ner to his friends Erskine and Crouneston.
They listened with Just as much apparent
attention as the laws of courtesy abso-
lutely demanded, smoked their cigars.
passed the claret, hemmed, drew a sigh
Of relief at the end of the first canto. and
without O word of comment to
the thread of conversation which Scott
had broken into with his cold dash of po-
stry. He interpreted their silence as un.
uttered condemnation. and threw the
,tanzas aside in disgust; nor was 1t until
ong after that they again saw the light
When Heine read his two stanzas, 1.-The
Pine and the Palm" to coterie which
numbered such men as Fouque. Schlegel,
chamisso, etc. they all burst into peals
If finextinguishable laughter which well
nigh put him out of conceit with q poem
whose fame is now world wide Addison
ldvised Pope not to introduce his fairy
into The Rape of the Lock-
friends all besought him
% leave out Of his volume of Lyrical
Ballads" the poem I'VE are Seven, as
'uring him that 1t would bring down
lpon him the laughter of all Britain.
Pope had the pleasure of informing q