The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-12-27

tween his modesty and his desire to be |
obliging. After q ments pause, he |
said: would rather read ANYTHING !
than my own writings; but II it will be |
OF any pleasure to you l will do as you |
say" Taking the book, he advanced |
to the middle OF the room, looked up
at the chandelier and then looked at |
the book. "Take my spectacles," said
Mr.. Tupper. "No, no." said Mr..
Bryant, II do not need spectacles."
The type Of the book was rather email,
but he made no hesitation. There he
stood, at 81 years Of age, about to read
without spectscles a'poem he had pub
lished In the North American Review
In 1916, when he was lS years of age
He turner round and said: You will
understand that do not recite this
from memory, for l am not familiar
with 1t. l only re d it," With calm,
slow accent he read on.
1t was o scene never to be forgotten.
1t was 1915 reading to 1876. He did
not hold the book away of as octoge-
narians are wont to do when they read
without glasses, but jnst as man Of
80 would hold book. His long white
beard showed upon the page. AS he
came to the last nine lines his voice
became feeble, not with physical
weakness, but with suppressed emo-
tion. l had read 1t, and reread 1t, as
everybody else has, until l thought
closing lines Of Thanatopsis," but h
gave 1t new translation that me NOR.
| able night. Could IT be that had ever
| heard it before The white. over
hanging eyebrows, the deep-sunken
| eyes, the great dome OF forehead
above thin body, the realization that
it must be the closing hours of the
strong winter winds that swept round
the house while he was reading, were
commentary upon the immortal past
age, until write them here under tho
half.delusiOn that no one has ever seen
or heard them before:
So live that when thy summons
comes to join
The lnnnmerable caravan that moves
10 that mysterious realm where each
| shall take
His chamber In the silent halls of
death,
Thou 60 not, like the quarry-slave at
night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained
BY an unfaltering trust, approach thy
Like % one that draws the drapery OF his
About him, and lies down to pleasant
dreams.
We never saw him again. We said
Good night" till under other skies we
shall say Good morning" could not
that night help thinking OF the first
time [ saw Mr.. Bryant. It was in the
days OF my boyhood, at Tripler Hall,
at the meeting In oOmmemoration of
Fenimore Cooper, who had just died.
Washington Irving came forward to
call the meeting to order. He was en-
barrassed as | never before or since
saw speaker embarrassed. He had
his hat in one hand and his gloves In
the other. His chief perp]exity seemed
to be how to change his hat and gloves
to the other hand. He hemmed and
hawed and suffered, and blushed and
bowed and half broke down while pre-
senting Daniel Webster as the chair
man of the meeting. Daniel Webster
IL C speech introduced William Cullen
Bryant as the orator OF the evening.
For moro than an hour MIR. Bryant dis
coursed OF his friend, the author Of
Wing.and- Wing" " Red Rover" and
in Tripler Hall that was Was there
ever such group on one platform ?
Washington Irving calling to the chair
Daniel Webster to introduce William
Cullen Bryant!
But which most affected me cannot
easily tell-Bryant, in 1851, applauded
Of the multitude in Tripler Hall, or
Bryant in my parlors in 1876. The
one was "Noontide ~ The other was
"Sunset :"
Il. DE WITT TALMAGE.
| -NirnrInia 10 L.