The record-union., 1893-08-05
VANITY OF GREAT NEN.
1t Has Been Exhibited in All
Walks of Life.
Authors, Painters, Sculptors and Mu-
sicians Have Frequently Shown Ev-
idence of Well-DeveIoped SeIf-Con-
fidence-Some Notable Exceptions.

idence of Wen-DeveIoped Self Con-
fidence-Some Notable Exceptions.
The candor with which Salvini in his
autobiography handles the subject of his
own talent has provoked comment, but
after all there is some truth in what
Schopenhauer says: "With people with
only moderate ability modesty is mere
honesty, but with those who possess
great talent it is hypocrisy" A man pos
sessing genius can hardly fail to be con-
scious of it, and the New Orleans Times
Democrat thinks it only natural that he
should take pleasure in such Of his works
as best display his power. Keats, who
'hated mawkish popularity" was
merely within his right when he said:
Il think l shall be among the English
poets after my death" Superfcially con-
sidered, there may seem a SAVIOR of con-
celt in Balzac's famous remark: Let US
talk of real people," but if Eugene Gran
Diet, and Gobseck, and Lucien de Ru-
bempre and the rest are not real, where
shall We lind actualities? When Michael
Angelo, having heard his "Pieta" as
cribed to a Milanese sculptor by group
OF slghtSeers, straightWay shut himself
up in his church that night and chiseled
his name upon tillet of the drapery, he
was not moved by wounded vanity, but
by the proper self-respect of the artist
VINO knows that his works are worthy to
be acknowledged.
Liszts proud motto, "Genie obIige."
commits those VINO adopt it to many
trials and efforts. As Francois Millet
said, speaking out of his own expert
ence, "In art you must give your skin. ~
ct even he, whose aim was to paint
for eternity" had moments of dark
dependency in that time when neglect
disheartened and ridicule assaiied him.
IF l were not firm in my own IDEAS"
he wrote once, ''if l had not some friends
if l were alone, in tact-I should ask
myself if l were not the duDe OF my inn
agination, ii | were not a dreamer
MendelssOhn also acknowledged that there
were days when 'all things looked at
him askance," and he felt that he would
prefer being carpenter or joiner to
following his own high vocation.
Sir Walter Scott's biOgraphers tell us
that he never introduced his own books
as a topic of conversation, but if thew
were referred to by others he joined sim
ply and naturally in the talk, not show
ing himself tatuously eager for adulation.
or mock mOdesty deprecating the praise
which was his due. Lamb was not less
adverse to an affected attitude on the part
of literators. A sworn enemy of cock
t-the-walk-ism," nothing pleased him
more than to trip up pompous gravity
and send it sprawling. Thackeray, when
1T was necessary, spoke candidly of his
writings, and on several occasions speci-
fed certain passages which he considered
his best work: but he did not call himself
THE inimitable' or suggest that his do
meStic virtues would form good material
for his biography. But there are and
have been many men of genius marked
by an Overweening conceit. 1t is re-
corded that Degas once said to Whistler,
aprOpOs OF the latter's mania for posing:
"Aly dear friend, you conduct yourself
Just as If you had no ia ent at al. -
The musicians feminine love of appre-
ciaS(On has been playiully explained by
saying that "Music is a woman" but au-
thors, as body, have not shown them
selves more tree from this falling. HaZ-
lit classed Byron as a Sublime cox
comb" and Leigh Hunt as "a delightful
one" Vanity OF the latter kind, which is
like that of a child proud of its new trock
or its useless little treasures, is rather
winning than otherwise, through its mai
vete, but there is another sort which de-
mands tribute OF all passers, and is liable
to provoke a spirit OF opposition. The
Sb4I-tSbG5iil u 11dLlllL llllllSGll w dS 6NC6S-
sively irritable and of unstable balance
He would even fancy that the waters
in the cOifee-house were pointing him
out to the other guests as the gentleman
who was so abused last month in BLuck-
lrOOPS MGgdzige." Garrick was another
gifted one whose talent gave him no feel
ing of surety. He was unfortunately
sensitive to omment-living, as it were
lin Il whispering gallery, always listen
ing and always anxious abous HIMSELF
The vanity of Gustave Dore, that ''gamin
de genie,' as Gautier called him, took the
form OF jealousy of his contemporaries
lie flew into transport of rage upon
hearing that MeiSsonier had received
1000 francs for a painting; and he al
ways fancied that unfavcrable criticism
OF his pictures must have been inspired
by personal enmity.
1t may be said tnat Wordsworth so far
as the exhibition of selt-sutficiency is
concerned, was the equal of any author,
French or English. He spoke OF Milton's
"LyciGas" and his own "Laodamia' as
twin immortals," and his contempora-
ries commented freely npon his absolute
absorption III his own writings. 1t is re-
lated of him that once in large COM
pany he called out, lin his most epic
tones," from the top to the bottom of the
table:
"Davyr Davy was all attention. as
the poet pursued: "DO you know the
reason why L published The White Doe
i'll quarto?"
mo, what was it?"
.'To show the world my own opinion of
it." replied Wordsworth solemnlX.
Still more characteristic is Hoggs story
Of the meteor seen by the party at Mount
Rydal. Miss Wordsworth feared it might
be an i'll portent; but Hogg reassured her:
"Hout, mem! it is neither mair nor les
than a treeumphal arch raised in honor
of the meeting of the poets" De Quincy
informed Hogg subsequently, that Words
worth muttered, Poets? Poets? What
does the fellow mean? Where are they?''
and though the Ettrick Shepherd ex-
pressed the charitable hope that De Quin-
cey might have been '1eeing," the anec-
dote is quite in character.
MRS. Logan,s "Hot1,e Magazine aud the