Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-03-03

the quickening impulse of this seer whose
doctrine was the doctrine of plain living
and high thinking" Emerson's style is
clear. transparent mirror. 1t has been
sometimes said that the extreme conden-
sation of his thought results in obscurity
of expression. But this can trouble only
needless readers, for his phraseology it
self is as simple as Bunyan's or De Foes.
says Lowell of Emerson, "A diction At
once so rich and SO homely as his, know
not where to match in these days of writ
Ing by the page; it is like homespun cloth
of gold. The many cannot miss its mean
ing and only the few can find it,
No class of writer's exercises 40 COM
plete control over their readers as novel
lists do. This control reaches to their
opinions and prejudces. If it does not in
sensibly control and reshape their entire
philosophy of duty of life. A favorite
novelist becomes, for the time being, Of
ten more to his euamored and enchanted
reader, than preacher, teacher, or friend
casting spell over his judgments, mould
ing his principles. forming his associa-
tions and recasting his prejudices. And
under this head comes the rarest genius
America has given to literature, man
who lately sojourned in this busy world of
ours, but during many years of his life
Wandered lonely as Il cloud
man who had, so to speak a physical
affinity with solitude. Such a man was
Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne is es-
teemed as the foremost writer OF prose
among Americans. and it would not be
very easy TO select name from the crowd.
more closely or honorably associated with
the marriage Of fine thoughts to fine Ian
guage- The rarest creative lmag na,ion
OF the century, the rarest in some respects
since Shakespeare is Nathaniel Haw-
thorne.
The reading Of fiction furnishes kind
Of amusement aud relaxation, which no
other reading can give and from Wash
ington lrying's writings one cannot fail 10
obtain the highest sense Of humor His
immortal stories, RIP Van Wrinkle" and
Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" are the most
original of all his creations There is no
lack Of individuality in the humor Of Irv-
Ing. That hnmor was always delicate aud
kindly and his sentiment never degenerat-
oh irsn i,a
has everywhere made Irving famous i
his History of New York, a burle>que
chronicle. making fun of the old Dutch
settlers OF New Amsterdam. That work
holds the highest place in the literary
world for genuine humor, original and Vi
tai. lrvings diction was graceful and ee
giant and in his mode-ty he attributed the
success Of his books In England to the as
tonishment of Engllshmeu that an Ameri-
can could write good English.
What English book, would like 10 ask
nv worthy English friends, has moved
the people to such a degree aud had the
same popular and uurivalled success as has
Harriet Beecher Stoves Uncle Toms
Cabln:" And il is particularly fresh in
thor, who in deranged state, Is again liv
ing over those scenes, and writing chsp-
ter after chapter of that book.
No luxury OF literature Is 50 exquisite
a. ,hst which comes OF really superior
poems, such as are produced by our Amer
lean poets, four OF whom stand almost
unrivalled in the worlds literature, Long
fellow, Whittier. Bryant and Holmes, the
known that il seems almost unnecessary
for me to speak of them. Henry Wads
worth Longfellow Is without doubt the
most widely read and loved of all Ameri
can poets or indeed of all contemporary
poets In England aud America. Ii would
be hard to overestimate the influence for
good, exerted by the tender feeling and
the pure and sweet morality which the
hundreds of thousands of copies of Long
fellows writings, that have been circulated
among readers of all classes in America
and England, have brought with them.
If such thing be possible Longfellow re-
ceives a far more wholesale and enthusi-
astic admiration in England than in this
country. His Psalm of Life, Excelsior
and Village Blacksmith, as his most pop
ular short poems, are as household words
and they. with many others, have been
translated into all languages. Hiawatha
Is designated as his most aboriginal and
as to Longfellow's inventive powers, as
q creator OF characters, or an interpreter Of
American life. his originality AS an artist
is manifested by his successful domestica-
ton in EYangeline of the dactylic hexsme-
ter, which no English author had yet
used with effect. His sense of humor
found especial pleasure in the inappro-
pirate words that were sometimes said 10
him by persons whose design it was to
be mplimentary and he would relate with
a keen relish of their pleasantly anec-
dotes against himself to illustrate this
form of social blunder. At Newport opce
a gentleman was introduced to him who
straightway said with enthusiastic fervor,
"Mr. Lonsfellow, have long desired the
honor of knowing you; sir. l am one of
the few men who have read your Evange-
line 1t has been well said of Longfel-
low that he delivers 1.-The gospel of good
will set to music"
John &. Whittier is pre-eminently the
poet of humanity and is the most thor
oushly American of all our native poets.
He has given US some of the most graphic
and gracious descriptions of American ma
ture in the language. From sweet, lyrical
pictures of autumn, spring sea shore and
mountains, to solemn hymns of battle or
burial, consecrating the faithful martyrs
of liberty, Whittier wins and warns US
with faith and the freedom of a true Amer
ican poet If | wished TO give au intelli-
gent foreigner an idea of Mr.. Whittier's
genius and at the same time an idea of tie
characteristics of American poetry should
ask him to read Snow Bound" That ex-
quisite poem has no prototype in English
literature and it will be long, | fear, be-
fore it has a companion piece.
But it is In our newspapers and serial lit
erature that We so much go ahead of Eng
land. America Is said to be The paradise
of newspapers. The Century and Harper S
| have no contemporary in the world. And
| English literature fails to furnish the chill
drens literature, which America so admir-
| ably produces in the Wide A,eake, Hdrpers
| Young PeOple and st. Nicholas In iilns-