New-York tribune., 1896-01-19

cent memory. but lle men 10 WnOHl t!ie ptiiou-
ical was really godsend, to whose mental activ-
ity the new invention was exactly itted-Macau-
lay. Colerdge. Sidney Smith, De Quincy. Car
lyle-were all. in their own way. great takers.
And they were ALL when they talked essay fash
ion liable 10 the same charge which recent crlti-
cism persistently urges against Macaulay not
only as a talker, but writer. They asserted
things boldly meagre evidence. In fact. an as
sertion was just as likely to be strong with them
upon the ground Of proba bty upon that OF
evidence colated from all sources. Macaulay
and Carlyle. historians, are Just as cocksure
upon inference as they are when they can cite
authorities. AS contrasted with these two i'm
perious men. De Quincy, though sometimes
equally hasty, had several advantages. His di-
minutive size and his physical weakness would
have prevented him from acquiring the habit of
dominating conversation with the tyranny that
Macaulay welded. His conciliatory temper
would have produced the same effect. Whatever
the cause. this book is full OF testimony to the
Willingness with which he listened as well as
spoke He could enjoy without any personal an
noyance the epitaph OF a talker which began
not with hic jacet but with hc facet.
But when he was let alone his ak was as un-
ceasing in its flow as that Of Macaulay. No mat
ter how sordid the theme at the beginning, he
with which he was familiar. His low voice was
very distinct The deaf Miss Martneau Won
dored at it, so different from the noise made by
those who bawled at her. Doubtless the very
childishness of his appearance, which Is noticed
by most of the writer's represented In this vol
ume helped to make his words Impressive, for
when people looked more closely they might well
imagine with Carlyle that this child carried
in his face the evidence OF having been in deeper
misery than this earth knows. But, after all
the uncomfortable feeling cannot be put away
that the most persistent impression made by De
Quincy was that Of a phenomenon To many
as to his landlady in Glasgow, he must have
seemed mentally deficient. There maun surely
be somethin' raaly wrang WI my lodger He
doesn'a eat as muckle in a week as my
grandson eats in day. Dye think he's in his
richt mind?" Her deluson was not surprising
perhaps il was not a delusion; sanity is largely
a matter Of point of v!ew-for De Quincy was at
that moment stretched out before his fire in the
oblivion of opium slumber To that poor. linz
itary creature for whom De Quincy expressed
contempt man Of the world. everything about
the essayist must have seemed to indicate
mental defect. His indifference to dress.
rather his eagerness to deck himself out from the
ragbag: his long walks at night in shoes that
Goodfellow; his invincble habit of sleeping wher-
ever the drowsy fit came upon him. alongside the
highway If no more retired spot was to be found
his readiness to ma <e new friends. especially
among those who were despsed by others. and
then his frequent disappearances when his
friends became too familiar; his shrewdness as
nm adviser and his useessness In his own prac-
tical affairs were all matters to disturb the ordi-
nary judgment
The profound Indifference which he showed
everywhere except in his writings or In his elo-
auent conversation his sensa tior al use OF opium
was also calculated to shake either those who be-
ueved in his sanity or those who believed in the
harmfulness Of the drug. There is something
frightfully graphic for the too supersutious In
James Payn's account OF his visit to De Quincy.
He was asked what wine he would have al the
o.nner-table and not caring what ne drank put
out his nand TO the nearest decanter You must
not take that" whispered Miss De Quincy. III Is
not port wine as you think" But le Quincy
helped himself cOolly to the contents, which
proved to be laudanum. Mr.. Payn looked AT him
in trepida;on. But this was needless. DE gum
cey could hardly have lived longer than ne dld II
he had been free from his habl: He could not
have died more devoutly than he did, II he had
been the most perfec, of church-goers Mean,
number Of small Ills. for example, from colds. 1t
| stimulated, if it did not originate, his dream
faculty. 50 that it was profitable to him in fame
md otherwise and 1t gave him endless theme
for noralizing on his own pains and miser!es.
The only difficulty is that the opium renders scru
| tiny of his learning necessary FOR one who must
refer to It, The drug merely stirred him TO actlv-
| ity as a taker and writer 1t did not lessen
his discretion in sharing his gift OF conversation
with others. He was willing. as neither Macau-
lay nor Coerdge were, TO have others talk But
! the opium may have been 10 blame for what he
observed in Coleridge. that it was sometimes diff
| hcut to get him to begin to talk and always SO
! to get him to stop. OF himself 1t is said by
| friends in this book that it was difficult 10 get
| him to make visit and more than difficult to
make him take his leave There is a famous in
! stance on record where he stopped at friendly
house because Of a storm and never left 1t for six
| months afterward.
IL may be that opium was responsible for all
| De Ouinceys responsibility. People have a
| way Of fastening on some obvious fancy ana
making that account for all the mysteries Of an
individual life and those who have this habit Will
always say, "De Quincy the Opium Eater as
If that was the solution Of very complicated
personality But surely those who have dipped
| into the anecdotal literature OF psychology, and
| particularly those who have read the neglected
| but entertaining, and, what Is better. trust
worthy essays of Macnish who was never 50
| famous that he needed to be sensational VIII not
have to be told that all narcotics and all stimu-
| lants and all vices aside, English life has always
| been full Of curiosties. Absence OF mind Is the
very least of the causes Of absurd conduct. bu;
this figures largely in many lives and 1t must
have been a potent factor in the case of man
who forgot his money and who cut pages out OF
| hooks that were priced by others simply to get
MARGINS to write upon. But al sent-mindedness
| is not confined to the victims Of any drug. De
Ouinceys indecison about all practical matters