ponkapog papers-第11章
按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
This is the course of action usually pursued by sailors during a gale。 The first or second mate goes around and tucks them up comfort… ably； each in his hammock； and serves them out an extra ration of grog after the storm is over。 Barry Cornwall must have had an exception… ally winning personality； for he drew to him the friendship of men as differently constituted as Thackeray； Carlyle； Browning； and Forster。 He was liked by the best of his time； from Charles Lamb down to Algernon Swinburne； who caught a glimpse of the aged poet in his vanishing。 The personal magnetism of an au… thor does not extend far beyond the orbit of his contemporaries。 It is of the lyrist and not of the man I am speaking here。 One could wish he had written more prose like his admirable 〃Recollections of Elia。〃 Barry Cornwall seldom sounds a natural note； but when he does it is extremely sweet。 That little ballad in the minor key beginning；
Touch us gently； Time！ Let us glide adown thy stream；
was written in one of his rare moments。 Leigh Hunt； though not without questionable manner… isms； was rich in the inspiration that came but infrequently to his friend。 Hunt's verse is full of natural felicities。 He also was a bookman； but； unlike Barry Cornwall； he generally knew how to mint his gathered gold； and to stamp the coinage with his own head。 In 〃Hero and Lean… der〃 there is one line which； at my valuing； is worth any twenty stanzas that Barry Cornwall has written：
So might they now have lived； and so have died； The story's heart； to me； still beats against its side。
Hunt's fortunate verse about the kiss Jane Carlyle gave him lingers on everybody's lip。 That and the rhyme of 〃Abou Ben Adhem and the Angel〃 are spice enough to embalm a man's memory。 After all； it takes only a handful。
DECORATION DAY
HOW quickly Nature takes possession of a deserted battlefield； and goes to work repairing the ravages of man！ With invisible magic hand she smooths the rough earthworks； fills the rifle…pits with delicate flowers； and wraps the splintered tree…trunks with her fluent drapery of tendrils。 Soon the whole sharp out… line of the spot is lost in unremembering grass。 Where the deadly rifle…ball whistled through the foliage； the robin or the thrush pipes its tremu… lous note； and where the menacing shell de… scribed its curve through the air； a harmless crow flies in circles。 Season after season the gentle work goes on； healing the wounds and rents made by the merciless enginery of war； until at last the once hotly contested battle… ground differs from none of its quiet surround… ings； except； perhaps； that here the flowers take a richer tint and the grasses a deeper emerald。 It is thus the battle lines may be obliterated by Time； but there are left other and more last… ing relics of the struggle。 That dinted army sabre； with a bit of faded crepe knotted at its hilt； which hangs over the mantel…piece of the 〃best room〃 of many a town and country house in these States； is one； and the graven headstone of the fallen hero is another。 The old swords will be treasured and handed down from gener… ation to generation as priceless heirlooms； and with them； let us trust； will be cherished the custom of dressing with annual flowers the rest… ing…places of those who fell during the Civil War。
With the tears a Land hath shed Their graves should ever be green。
Ever their fair； true glory Fondly should fame rehearse Light of legend and story； Flower of marble and verse。
The impulse which led us to set apart a day for decorating the graves of our soldiers sprung from the grieved heart of the nation； and in our own time there is little chance of the rite being neglected。 But the generations that come after us should not allow the observance to fall into disuse。 What with us is an expression of fresh love and sorrow； should be with them an ac… knowledgment of an incalculable debt。 Decoration Day is the most beautiful of our national holidays。 How different from those sul… len batteries which used to go rumbling through our streets are the crowds of light carriages； laden with flowers and greenery； wending their way to the neighboring cemeteries！ The grim cannon have turned into palm branches； and the shell and shrapnel into peach blooms。 There is no hint of war in these gay baggage trains； ex… cept the presence of men in undress uniform； and perhaps here and there an empty sleeve to remind one of what has been。 Year by year that empty sleeve is less in evidence。 The observance of Decoration Day is un… marked by that disorder and confusion common enough with our people in their holiday moods。 The earlier sorrow has faded out of the hour； leaving a softened solemnity。 It quickly ceased to be simply a local commemoration。 While the sequestered country churchyards and burial… places near our great northern cities were being hung with May garlands； the thought could not but come to us that there were graves lying southward above which bent a grief as tender and sacred as our own。 Invisibly we dropped unseen flowers upon those mounds。 There is a beautiful significance in the fact that； two years after the close of the war； the women of Colum… bus； Mississippi； laid their offerings alike on Northern and Southern graves。 When all is said； the great Nation has but one heart。
WRITERS AND TALKERS
AS a class； literary men do not shine in con… versation。 The scintillating and playful essayist whom you pictured to yourself as the most genial and entertaining of companions； turns out to be a shy and untalkable individual； who chills you with his reticence when you chance to meet him。 The poet whose fascinating volume you always drop into your gripsack on your summer vacationthe poet whom you have so long desired to know personallyis a moody and abstracted middle…aged gentleman； who fails to catch your name on introduction； and seems the avatar of the commonplace。 The witty and ferocious critic whom your fancy had painted as a literary cannibal with a morbid appetite for tender young poetsthe writer of those caustic and scholarly reviews which you never neglect to readdestroys the un…lifelike portrait you had drawn by appearing before you as a personage of slender limb and deprecat… ing glance； who stammers and makes a painful spectacle of himself when you ask him his opinion of 〃The Glees of the Gulches；〃 by Popo… catepetl Jones。 The slender； dark…haired novel… ist of your imagination； with epigrammatic points to his mustache； suddenly takes the shape of a short； smoothly…shaven blond man； whose conversation does not sparkle at all； and you were on the lookout for the most brilliant of verbal fireworks。 Perhaps it is a dramatist you have idealized。 Fresh from witnessing his de… lightful comedy of manners； you meet him face to face only to discover that his own manners are anything but delightful。 The play and the playwright are two very distinct entities。 You grow skeptical touching the truth of Buffon's assertion that the style is the man himself。 Who that has encountered his favorite author in the flesh has not sometimes been a little； if not wholly； disappointed？ After all； is it not expecting too much to expect a novelist to talk as cleverly as the clever characters in his novels？ Must a dramatist necessarily go about armed to the teeth with crisp dialogue？ May not a poet be allowed to lay aside his singing…robes and put on a con… ventional dress…suit when he dines out？ Why is it not permissible in him to be as prosaic and tiresome as the rest of the company？ He usually is。
ON EARLY RISING
A CERTAIN scientific gentleman of my acquaintance； who has devoted years to investigating the subject； states that he has never come across a case of remarkable longevity un… accompanied by the habit of early rising； from which testimony it might be inferred that they die early who lie abed late。 But this would be getting out at the wrong station。 That the majority of elderly persons are early risers is due to the simple fact that they cannot sleep morn… ings。 After a man passes his fiftieth milestone he usually awakens
