The Portland daily press., 1896-05-16

long as David Hume was engaged on mis-
history of England. Hume finished up
at just fifty and lived sixteen years long
er.
Hume. Carlyle, Emerson and Tom
Moore entered upon long period OF rest
fifteen or sixteen years before death. A
little in the wny of contributions TO peri
odicals was done after this, but nothing
serious. 1t seems unnatural that man
of Emerson's habits should lose his fine
powers at so early an age as sixty seven.
he could then not work more than two
hours together, and that not oftener than
every other day, and sometimes not to
exceed once a Week. His last book, "Par-
nassus," a collection of poems, was pub.
lished when he was seventy, though they
were written long before that. Tom
Moore's mental weakness, which ended
in softening Of the brain and imbecility,
was manifest at little earlier age than
Emerson's. Moore quit writing at fifty
six, with the largest work of his life,
''The History of Ireland" in four vol
umes. His most brilliant period was
the early two years from thirty five to
thirty seven. This was the time of
"Lalla Rookh," when he was striving
for money and name. Hugo, in France
was then writing novels against S oott,
and Moore undertook "Lalla Kookh" in
competition with his poem ''Rokeby."
Scott seemed to be tho standard of the
world. Nearly thirty years earlier than
Emerson and Moore, Tasso's mental
malay set in. He had just then finished
"Gerusalemme Liber ata." at thirty-tWo.
Hazlitt, Coleridge, he Quincy, and
De Maupassant show us the penalty men
pay who stimulate their energies to ex-
cess. Coleridge in his closing years pro-
duced nothing. He had recovered some
what from his opium habit, though not
entirely. The power of brilliant CONVEX
sation, however, he retained to the last,
though his talks were much interrupted,
says Leigh Hunt, and in feebler voice
than formerly. De Quincy seems to
have borne UP under opium and lauda-
mum better than Coleridge, and the long
series of articles which he contributed to
Blackwood's shortly before his death are
about as GOOD as anything he did at an
earlier date. These ARTICLES were written
after long absence from work, ant
though there was no gradual decline in
De Quincey's powers or sudden falling off
toward the c. ise. while this period of idle
ness lasted he appears to have lost his
mental grip and then suddenly to have
od n
what similar weakness just prior to his
last revival. Hazlitt was little beyond
fifty when he wrote his Life of Napo-
leon," and was then going swiftly down
hill. He made some spurts that recalled
his old.time splendor, but the book was
had done their work. De Maupassant
gave way little earlier than Hazlitt
and very suddenly, at forty-one, but up
to this time there was no indication of
weakness. He lived two years more. and
died not long ago, All imbecile in an in
sane asylum.
Shakespeare is thought to have been
on his highest level from forty to forty
two, when he wrote ''Othello," clear, !"
and Macbeth "Hamlet" introduced
this period and Julius Caesar" followed
it. The ''Tempest" was done at forty
eight. Moliere is also most efficient just
about this time. sic Tartuffe'' having
been written between the middle Of his
forty first and that of his forty-second
year. Sohiller's "Wallenstein, which
is conceded to place him nearer Shakes
peare than either of his other dramas,
was done little before forty, about the
age W hen Shakespeare was engaged Oh
trouble developed Mt this time and killed
him six years later. In the shadow of
death his mind YVES clear and strong
likely more SO than at any other Uime.
"Many things" he said then, "are grow
ing plain and clear to my understand
ing" Ohauoer began late and made an
almost unbroken' ascent from forty-tive
to sixty three, when he finished the
Canterbury Tales Before seventy
there was perceptible decline. The
labor expended on Canterbury" seems
to ha We broken his health, as on it's COM
pletion he became physically weak and
remained so to the end. But it is worth
noting that on his deathbed Chaucer s
mind gathered new strength, ana while
in his last sickness at seventy two, some
of his best verses were written. Fourteen
years beyond this Humbold is putting
the finishing strokes to- his " Cosmos. 8
He conceived the plan of this book way
along In the seventies and finished it not
very far short of ninety. Humboldt was
possibly most vigorous at fifty-eight. 1t
was at that age he gave his celebrated
lecture in Berlin, lasting six months, on
the physical description of the world. At
fifty eight Cervantes finished up the first
part Of "Don Quixote" and did nothing
SO good attsrwsrd. He lived nine years
longer. Humboldt goes twenty-seven
years beyond this, which is preciseI they
whole length of Cauoer's poetic life.
No one has outdone Michael Angelo in
old age. Humboldt ceased at eighty-five,
but we find Angelo reaching fou years
further on and touching the verge of
ninety. At seventy-one he drew the de-
sign for the rebuilding of ST. PETERS and
superintendent that work until he was
eighty mine years old, when he died. And
during the first four years that he gave
to this design, which has been a revela-
ton of genius to all who have seen it,
he painted his masterpiece, "The CONVEX
sion Of st. Paul" In the ten years pre-