The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-09-18
OUR LITERARY BUDGET.
nxrE oEonoE william CURTIS
An Ideal OF Clear Intellect, Pure Taste'
Moral Purpose, Chivalrv Of FEELING,
Personal Refinement and Grace.

Z Among American men OF letters no
man of this generation has completely
filled as Mr.. Curtis did the ideal Of clear
intellect, pure taste, moral purpose, chi
vaIry of feeling and personal refinement
and grace. From the moment OF MS
entrance into public life, as speaker
now nearly forty years ago-he has en-
tirely satisfied, especially for the mnd
of sensitive and generous youth, the hlgh-
or conception of purity, dignity ana
sweetness. His noble presence ana Sc
rious demeanor, the repose and sweep
and sway of his eloquence, and the
crystal clearness of his literary style were
ali felt to be naturally and spontaneous
ly representative of an exalted personal
ity. ljpOn all public occasions the treh-
uious sensibility of his feelings anu 1ne
inhexible reticence of his mind were hO'
less remarkable than the absolute pro
priety and perfect symmetry OF MS IAN ian.
guage. In the element OF iehcliy ""
orators have eoualed him, aud no orator
has gurpassed him. lie was, OF course,
an artist; but the soul Of his art was
the yirtuous and wise sincerity OF hoDle
nature. The work was hne, but tue
man was finer than the work; ana Oh
all the charms that he exerted none was
so great as that of his pure ana gehue
spirit His manners, indeed, were 80
undemonstratiye and so polished as 10
seem cold; but all who knew num- az
who ever listened to his speech, teit anu
owned in him the spell OF inherent, genu-
inc nobility.
Perhaps the best grafton he ever de-
lvered was his Grafton upon hODert
Burns-in which every word thrills with
the pulsatiOn OF human Kindness, ana
of which the spirit is love for every Vlr-
tue and pity for every weakness OF the
human race. But his theory OF equallty
was not degradation. lie desired ana ne
labored TO equaize the race, not by drag
ging people down, but by raising them
up IF be was fastidiouS and reticent,
he did not deny TO others the r@ht 10
be fastdiOus and reticent also. In TINS
he was of the kindred of bryant ana
Washington Irving and LOn-fellOw and
Emerson-with whom ne had much IN
common, and the spOtless standard OF
whose art and life he Loyalty and bril-
liantly sustained and has transmitted IN
light and beauty TO all the younger men
OF letters who succeed him. In all that
the word implies he was gentleman;
there is no wOrthier or more expressive
tribute that can be brought to any man
coffin than the tear that viii not De re-
pressed for lifelong devotion to duty,
for goodness that never faltered and kind
ness that never failed.
He was master of a style as pure as
that of Addison and as flexible as that
of Lamb. In its Characteristic quality.
however. it does not resemble either of
those models. The influences that were
most intimately concerned in forming his
mind were Emerson and Thackeray. lie
had the broad vision and the fresh. brave,
aspiring spirit Of the one, and be com
bined with those the eltircal playful
ness, the cordial detestati0n of slams,
and the subtle cOmmingling Of raillery
and tender sentiment that are character
istc of the other. His habitual mood
was pensive, not passionate, and he was
essentially more a cOntempatiye phil
osopher than either an advocate, par
tsan, a reformer or a pOlitlcian-a1 OF
which parts be sometimes was cOnsEraln-
ed to assume. He was bern for the
vocation of letters and his best success
was gained in the literary art. His
'Howadji in Syria" his Nile Notes,
and his 'Prue and / will survive in
the affectiOlate admiration OF his coun-
trymen long after his political papers are
forgotten. "Prue and T. is one of the
most delicate. dreamiike books in eur
language, and the spirit that 1t discloses
is full of romance and tenderness and
beauty. The affectiOnate heart, the lively
fancy and the subtle literary instinct of
Goldsmith could not have made it finer.
AS an orator he had all The grace and
fifty times the emotion of Everett. whose
tradition he has perpetuated. His rhet-
eric was not merely a sheen of words,
but it burned and shimmered with the
vital splendor of sincere heart. He
was in earnest in all that he said and did.
He has had long and good life aud his
name Is robe foreyer.-New York Tri-
buno.