xt7hmg7frf7c https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7hmg7frf7c/data/mets.xml Griffin, Gildroy W., b. 1840. 1870 books b92-227-31183527 English H.C. Turnbull, Jr., : Baltimore : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 Criticism and interpretation. Studies in literature / by G.W. Griffin. text Studies in literature / by G.W. Griffin. 1870 2002 true xt7hmg7frf7c section xt7hmg7frf7c

STUDIES IN LITERATURE

G. W. GRIFFIN

BALTIMORE:
HENRY C. TURNBULL, JR.
x870.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by
HENRY C. TURNBULL, JR.

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Maryland.

VIRf(ILINE,

OUR SWEETEST JOY AND BRIGHTEST HOPE,

TIlS VOLUME

AFFECTIONATELY I NSCRIBED.

This page in the original text is blank.

CONTENTS.

rAGE

GEORGE D. PRENTICE, - .
VICTOR HUGO,
MA1IM()ONTEL'S BELISAUIUS,
VATIHEK, -
TIlE TEMPEST,
TIHE SCARLET LETTEM, -
EI)WIN BOOTH'S MACBETH, - -
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY, -
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, -
CY11BELINE,-

25
. -- 30
39
- 47
- 52
. 58
- 69
- - 7
. . . - 83

HAMLET, . . . . . . -
DAVID GARHICK,
TUACKERHAY,
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL,
DREAMING,
DANTE,-
TIlE GYPSIES,
AUTOGRAPHS,
JANAAUSCIIEK, - - - - - -
A PHILOLOGICAL STUDY, - - -

97
104
- I19
119
- 121

. 132
144
. 152

This page in the original text is blank.

STUDIES IN LITERATURE.

GEORGE D. PRENTICE.

THE life of this distinguished poet and journalist has
been a crown of glory to the world; but only those who
have been brought within the charmed circle of his ac-
quaintance, and enjoyed his confidence and friendship, can
form the least idea of the peerless grace and lofty beauty
of his soul. He seemed to belong to a higher order of
beings than those of this earth; and I can but feel, in ap-
proaching the subject of his memory, that I am treading upon
sacred ground. He was my best and truest friend. I con-
sulted him upon nearly every duty and obligation that I
owed to society and to the world, and I always found him
the wisest and gentlest teacher, and the safest and surest
guide. His heart was so eloquent in the deep pathos and
purity of its affections, that I was never in his presence with-
I

STUDIES ZN LZTERA 'UPE.

out feeling wiser and better. I had known him so long and
well, and had been the recipient of so many acts of love
and kindness from his hands, that I began to look upon his
existence as necessary for my happiness upon earth. There
was nothing that he could do for me that he did not do cheer-
fully. In no instance did he endeavor to make me sensible
of the obligation I owed him, but ever appeared more like
the receiver than the giver. There has scarcely been a day
during the past five years that I did not see him, or
receive some message from him. It was his custom to
spend at least two evenings in every week at my house. A
chair was placed for him regularly at our table, and no one
was allowed to occupy it during his absence. This little
mark of respect seemed always to please him exceedingly,
for even trivial kindnesses were never passed unnoticed by
him, and those who conferred them were always wvell
paid by some pleasant word or acknowledgment. There
was a mildness, a dignity, a love and a patience about him
that seemned peculiarly his own; and now that he is dead
I feel half ashamed of the little that I can add to his
memory.
GEORGE DENNISON PRENTICE was born at Griswold,
Connecticut, on the i8th of December, i802. He dis-
played very early in life talents of no common order. He
excited the admiration of every one who knew him by the
marvellous facility with which he acquired the most diffi-
cult and complicated branches of knowledge. He was
able to read fluently when only four years of age. He was
a fine Greek and Latin scholar, and at the age of fifteen
could translate and parse any sentence in Homer or Vir-
gil. At this time he was prepared to enter the Sophomore
class at college, but was compelled to teach a district school
in order to defray the expense of a collegiate education.
In i820 he entered Brown University, at Providence,

GEORGE o). PA'EA'IZCE. 3

Rhode Island, where he was graduated in 1823. A few
years later he studied law, and was soon admitted to the
bar. He did not find the law congenial to his tastes, and
he devoted himself to the profession of literature. In 1828
lhe started the v-eczv-Elz -1nf d '. This paper was a
success from the beginning. The editor at once distin-
guished himself by his bold and incisive style of writing.
In i830 he left the New-E nglandRe.icw in charge of the
poet Whittier, and accepted an invitation to go to Ken
tucky for the purpose of writing the biography of Henry
Clay. As soon as he reached Lexington, the home of Mr.
Clay, he went to work at once upon the biography. It was
completed in a very short time. It met with a most enthusi-
astic reception, not only from the people of Kentucky, but
from the entire Whig party of the nation. It contains by far
the most correct account ever given to the public, of the life
of that distinguished statesman, as well as the most anima-
ted and eloquent exposition of the political principles of his
party. Mr. Clay cherished for his biographer the warmest
feelings of affection, and often said that he owed the greater
part of his fame to him. It is almost useless to speak of the
services Mr. PREN-rICE rendered Mr. Clay, for they are so
manifold and varied that the names of the great statesman
and journalist are inseparably associated.
Mr. PRENTICE removed to Louisville in the month of
September, 1830, and on the 24th day of the following
November he published the first number of the Louisville
7oz/ouzal. The politics of the country were at tWat time
exciting in the extreme. 'Ihe Democratic party determined,
if possible, to defeat Mr. Clay in his own State. The lead-
ing Democratic organ in Kentucky was a paper called the
Louisville Advetlrtiscr. It was under the editorial manage-
ment of Shadrack Penn, one of the most eloquent and ef-
fective writers in the State. MNr. Penn's friends had the

S TUDIES IN L ITRA ',TE

most unbounded confidence in him. They predicted that
he would demolish Mr. PRENTICE at a single blow.
Those who remember the warfare waged between these
two knights of the quill, have no difficulty in realising that
there were giants in those days. Each of the editors was
recognised as a champion with whom ordinary mortals
must not interfere. In their respective fields of force they
possessed powers rarely rivalled. Mr. Penn had a great ad-
vantage in a well and widely established reputation in the
venue where the case was to be tried, while Mr. PRENTICE
was comparatively a stranger, and apparently weak. Mr.
Penn had rarely met an editor able to cope with him.
After he had vanquished the redoubtable Amos Kendall,
on the Old and New Court issues which convulsed the
State, Mr. Penn was the recognised champion of the
party that had triumphed in the great contest in which
those issues were tried. In this condition of things, it is
not likely that Mr. Penn dreaded any contemporary writer
on politics. The comparatively young Connecticut writer
had fully surveyed the ground before consenting to link
himself with the enterprise of a new daily paper in Louis-
ville. He had measured the powers of the veteran Penn,
but he had unbounded confidence in his own powers.
When the emeile began to brew in the Adver/iser, Mr.
PRENTICE gave an admonitory warning, announcing that
without desiring strife he was ready for it. He stated that
his editorial quiver was armed with quills of all sizes, from
those of the humming-bird to those of the eagle. The war
began, and was waged with activity and vigor for the
space of eleven years. Each of the combatants possessed
great powers, and up to the end of the war each had hosts
of friends. Mr. PRENTICE became famous throughout the
Union. The remarkable purity of his diction - a purity in
which he had few equals and no superior his wonderful

GEORGE D. PRENTICE.

versatility of expression, by which he was able to use the
same thing many times, and never twice alike ; the Attic
salt of his wit, the torturing power of his irony, his satire
and sarcasm, the terse epigrammatic force which enabled
him often to overwhelm an antagonist in a single sentence,
made him the most popular and renowned journalist in the
country. These qualities made Mr. PRENTICE a power in
the land ; a power which he never abused. He was at all
times placable, even with those who had most abused him.
This is beautifully portrayed in his reconciliation with Mr.
Penn. I am indebted to Dr. T. S. Bell, of Louisville, for
an account of this noble feature in the lives of the two
renowned journalists. Dr. Bell was the intimate friend of
each of the editors; and on the eve of the departure of Mr.
Penn for St. Louis, Dr. Bell proposed to both gentlemen
the project of an interview. Each assented to the propo-
sal, and each of them gave Dr. Bell full power to act for
him. The interview took place at Dr. Bell's office, and
commenced and ended most happily. Mr. PRENTICE
began by expressing the hope that the necessity of Mr.
Penn's departure was not absolute, and begged to know of
Mr. Penn whether he, Mr. PRENTICE, could be of any ser-
vice in aiding him to remain. He eloquently alluded to
the long series of Kentucky enterprises, and the numerous
recognised schemes for the prosperity of Louisville, that
endeared Mr. Penn to the principles of Kentucky, and Mr.
PRENTICE deplored the departure of Mr. Penn from the
State as a public calamity. Towards the close of the in-
terview, Mr. PRENTICE assured Mr. I'enn of his earnest
purpose to give him all the aid in his power towards
making Mr. Penn's career in Missouri a success. This
pledge he fulfilled. It is difficult to conceive of anything
more beautiful of its kind than Mr. PRENTICE'S tribute to
Mr. Penn upon the departure of the latter for St. Louis.

STUDIES IN LITERA 7URE.

Mr. PRENTICE read the article, before publishing it, to Dr.
Bell, as the common friend of Mr. Penn and of him-
self, and asked for any suggestions for elaborating this
magnanimous editorial. I need not add that Mr. Penn
was much gratified with it.
Mr. PRENTICE was one of the most industrious men that
ever edited a daily paper. He wrote with great facility,
but kept himself well posted in all political matters, not
only those that were contemporary with him, but with those
of the pasi. Until within a few years he never left the office
until the editorial page was imposed as he desired it to
be, and locked up in the chase.
In 1840 he was attacked with a disease called Chorca
Scriptorum, caused by excessive writing. This disease
shows itself only when the hand attempts to write.
Mr. PRENTICE, could handle other things than a writing in-
strument without any trouble. Indeed, for a long time
after the appearance of the disease, he was able to write
many words until the thumb was pressed towards the index
finger, when the pen would fly from him as though some
one had struck it. One morning while suffering in this
way, he composed a beautiful song for his friend, Dr. T. S.
Bell. Mr. PRENTICE'S amanuensis was not in, and he step-
ped over to the Doctor's office, and asked him to write
something for him, saying "It is for you and your wife." Mr.
PRENTICE then dictated the following beautiful lines, which
were afterwards'set to music by a distinguished artist of
Poland:
" We've shared each other's smiles and tears
Through years of wedded life;
And love has bless'd those fleetingg years,
My own, my cherished wife.
And if, at times, the storm's dark shroud
Has rested in the air,
Love's beaming'sun has kissed the cloud,
And left the rainbow there.

Gi'ORGE D. PRENTICE.

" T.I all orlr hopes, in all our dreams,
Love is forever nigh,
A blossom in our path it secms,
A sunbeam in our sky.

" For all our joys of brightest hue
Grow brighter in love's smile,
And there's no grief our hearts e'er knew
That love could not beguile."

Those who were not acquainted with Mr. PRENTICE'S for-
giving nature, have been surprised that his enemies should
so often display a readiness to forget and forgive the many
severe things he said about them.
At one time, Mike Walsh, a prominent Democratic politi-
cian of New York, provoked a quarrel with him, and was
severely punished for his temerity. Mr. PRENTICE handled
him without gloves, and let fall a perfect torrent of wit and
sarcasm and satire against him. At the time of the contro-
versy Mr. PRENTICE and Mir. Walsh were personally strangers
to each other, and as may naturally be supposed the latter
did not care to alter the relation. They met, however,
some time afterward, at a dinner-party in Washington city.
Walsh was a splendid-looking man. He was tall and
commanding, and everything about him denoted dignity
and elegance of demeanor. As Mr. PRENTICE advanced,
Walsh fixed his piercing eyes upon him without offering his
hand, and exclaimed: "You are GEORGE D. PRENTICE, are
you " Mr. PRENTICE bowed an assent, and Walsh said:
" You must know, sir, that I like you; although you have
skinned me from the crown of my head to the soles of my
feet, your instrument was so sharp and so skilfully used
that the operation was rather pleasant than otherwise."'
During Mr. PRENTICE'S long and eventful life he was
engaged in many controversies, and, strange to say, he
invariably came out triumphant. Some of his controversies

STUrDIES IN LITERA TURE.

led to violent personal encounters; but I have his own
testimony, and that of many of the oldest and best citizens
of Louisville, that he was not the aggressor in a single
instance.
Some years ago, George James Trotter, editor of the
Kentucky Gazelle, fired at him on Market street, in Louis-
ville, without the slightest warning, and wounded him
near the heart. Mr. PRENTICE, with knife in hand, instantly
threw him to the ground, and held him irresistibly in his
grasp.- A large crowd gathered around the scene, and
nearly every one present cried out, "Kill him ! kill him ! "
Mr. PRENTICE instantly let go his hold, and exclaimed:
"I cannot kill a disarmed and helpless man! "
Mr. PRENTICE'S forgiving nature was so widely known
that those who had wronged him most did not hesitate to
accost him in terms of apparent friendship.
On one occasion, Thos. Jefferson Pew, without the
slightest provocation, said some very scandalous things
about him. Pew was so unworthy of PRENTICE'S notice
that I do not believe he ever replied to him; but one
morning, several years afterward, he had the audacity to
enter PRENTICE'S office. Pew was in a wretched and filthy
condition; his clothes were worn and seedy, and with un-
combed hair and unshaved face, he presented a most disgust-
ing and loathsome appearance. He called PRENTICE aside,
and after some conversation left the office. Fortunatus
Cosby, the distinguished poet, was in the room at the time,
and asked Mr. PRENTICE the name of his unsightly visitor.
Mr. PRENTICE replied: " He is Thos. Jefferson Pewv. He
told me that he was in distress, and that he wanted two
dollars and a half for the purpose of going to see his
mother." "Yes," said Cosby, "and I suppose you were
silly enough to give it to him" " No," replied PRENTICE,
"I recollected that I had a mother, and asked myself the

GEORGE D. PRENTZICE. 9

question what she would have thought of me had I ap-
peared before her in such a filthy condition, and I gave
him fwivmtj/y-'fe dollars, and told him to go to see his mother
in the garb of a gentleman."
In 1835 Mr. PRENTICE was married to Miss Harriet
Benham, the daughter of Col. Joseph Benham, a distin-
guished lawyer of Kentucky.
The LZouisville .7ournal, under the guidance of Mr. PREN-
TICE, for a period of thirty years probably exercised more
political power and influence than any other paper in
America. It has been said, and said truly, that "among
the newspaper-press it was a monocrat." It exercised as
much influence in the field of literature as in the field of
politics. It made and unmade poets and essayists as well
as politicians and statesmen. A writer whose contributions
appeared in its columns considered his reputation as an
author established. Fortunatus Cosby, John J. Piatt, Ame-
lia Welby, Sallie Al. Bryan and many others equally distin-
guished, owe their first public introduction to it.
Its editor became daily more and more popular. He
was known almost as well in Europe as in America. He
scorned to be subservient to any clique or party. There
was no mortgage on his brain. Everything that was mean,
or little, or false, or meretricious, was foreign to him. He
never courted popular applause. It seemed that there was
nothing outside of the range of his genius. No such word
as fai/lure was written in his lexicon. He accomplished
everything he undertook. His learningwasvaried, thorough,
and profound. What he did not know he never affected to
possess. He imitated no one. He created models rather
than followed them. He had no especial fondness for
quotations. Whenever he availed himself of the writings
of others, they were so refined in the crucible of his genius
that they became his own. His memory was not only
I

S TUD)ZE S ZI LJ ITERA TUMICE.

retentive, but trustworthy in the fullest sense of the word.
His command over language was extraordinary. It was
tyrannous. He could think of a thousand words at once,
and select the one best suited to his purpose. He was a
natural grammarian. I have heard him say that he under-
stood every principle of English grammar as if by intui-
tion, and that when a child he astonished his teacher by
finishing the study of Lindley Murray in less than a week.
His style of writing was quick, subtle, powerful, and massive.
There was nothing dull or commonplace about it. He
wrote wvith marvellous facility, and often dashed off from
six to ten columns of printed matter a day. His wit was
keen, sparkling, and original. His humor was rich and
racy, and like that of Lamb and Fielding, at once broad
and fine. He was always willing to fight an up-hill battle,
for he was as skilful in attack as in defence. His anger
was slow to arouse, but when aroused, it was like the
lightning's flash, brief and quick, but sure.
The affluence of Mr. PRENTICE in genius and in equip-
ments of education seemed to be well-nigh endless. He
was as generous in the beneficent use of his intellectual
wealth as he was great in the magnitude of its possession.
Those who knew hirn intimately during his editorial career
in Louisville, can easily call up from the storehouse of
memory hundreds of examples of his judicious, unstinted
and benevolent kindness to young aspirants for fame. The
term judicious kindness is illustrated in the case of that
lovely songbird, Amelia. Many persons who saw her
charming poems in the columns of the ,ouzisvi//e _7ournal,
and who knew of her limited education, were unable to
conceive that she was capable of writing the beautiful poe-
try that appeared in her name. The surmise was quite
common among this class of persons that Mr. PRENTICE
either wrote the poems or corrected and dressed them up

GEORGE D. PRENTICE.

for her. A distinguished gentleman of Louisville who was
quite intimate with Amelia, and had often seen her write her
poems, mentioned the current story on one occasion to Mr.
PRENTICE, who said: " I recognised the priceless beauty o
her genius too well to spoil it in that way. I never correc
ted a word in any of her writings. On the few occasions
when she had used a word which I would not have used, I
sent her manuscript back to her with the defective word
marked, and she immediately corrected the diction herself.
Beyond that I never aided, nor had occasion to aid her."
Amelia loved music, and played instrumental music beau-
tifully without any education in it. She sang as sweetly,
and as melodiously, as she wrote. She had an intense
love for flowers, and possessed a husband whose gifts as a
floriculturist gave him power to abundantly gratify her
floral desires. Some of her beautiful tributes to music, birds,
and flowers, adorn the tasteful column erected to her
memory in Cavehill cemetery.
Nothing in the career of Mr. PRENTICE was more
astonishing than the ease and naturalness with which
he at all times called his gifts of education into duty,
when an occasion called for their exercise. He never
used Greek or Latin words in his compositions, yet such
was his intimacy with those languages that upon the spur
of the moment he often gave criticisms of as profound
a character as though he devoted himself exclusively to
the study of the classics. Dr. Bell was his physician for
thirty-severl years, and was one of his most intimate friends
through that long period, yet he was not even aware that
Mr. PRENTICE was almost a perfect master of mathemat-
ics until Dr. S. G. Howe, the renowned philanthropist,
visited Kentucky at the invitation of a number of her
citizens, to aid in the establishment of a State institution
for the education of the blind. Dr. Howe brought with

I I

STUDIES K LITERAT'URE.

him a pupil of the " Perkins Institute for the Blind," and
a pupil also of Harvard College. This pupil, Mr. Smith,
possessed a remarkable education as a musician, classical
scholar, linguist, and mathematician. Dr. Howe, who was
a student of Brown University with Mr. PRENTICE, requested
Mr. PRENTICE to attend the public meeting of the citizens
of Louisville where Mr. Smith was to show that blindness
was not a barrier to the acquisition of a varied and exten-
sive and profound education. Mr. PRENTICE was called
upon at the meeting to make important problems for solu-
tion by Mr. Smith. The first problems were not remarkably
recondite, but as soon as Mr. PRENTICE discovered Mr.
Smith's proficiency, he rose into the highest departments
of mathematics, and made problems that might have found
an appropriate place in Hutton's Mathematical Recreations,
which could not be called recreations to any one but a
profound mathematician.
In i86o Mr. PRENTICE published a volume of his witti-
cisms under the title of "Prenticeana." This book con-
sists principally of paragraphs from the Louisville 7ozurna/,
and a few written for the 2New York Ledger. Mr. PRENTICE
had for years been repeatedly solicited to allow the publi-
cation of such a volume, but uniformly declined because
there were serious objections to many of his wittiest para-
graphs on account of partisan bitterness expressed in them.
He finally consented to publish the book, from a knowledge
of the fact that if he did not collect his own paragraphs
others would, and make the selection with far less regard
to the feelings of many who were his friends.
Prenticeana contains about three hundred pages. There
is not a single paragraph in it that is not characterised by the
most piercing keenness and the most exquisite aptness. It
does not, however, contain by any means the best specimens
of PRENTICE'S wit and humor, but there is probably no similar

I 2

GEORGE D. PA'EN7TICE. 13

collection in any language that will begin to compare with
it.
At the beginning of the late war Mr. PRENTICE espoused
the cause. of the Union. He put on his armor and went to
work in earnest. He infused into the columns of his paper
all the ardor and enthusiasm of his nature. His old
friends, many of whom had periled their lives for him,
remonstrated with him, warned him, and threatened him.
Even his two sons, whom he loved with a devotion almost
unequalled, had entered the Southern army to battle for
what they deemed a sacred duty; but undaunted, he called
the people to arms and to consolidate a mighty phalanx
against an unrighteous rebellion. He did more. He used
all the power and eloquence of his genius to persuade the
Southern people to put an end to hostilities and to pursue
a hopeless struggle no longer.
I need not dwell further upon this theme. The part he
enacted has passed into history. Had he adopted a differ-
ent course, the most fearful consequences to the Govern-
ment might have been the result.
In person Mr. PRENTICE was above the medium height.
His head was finely shaped ; his figure was erect, but his
exceedingly sloping shoulders gave him rather a drooping
appearance. He was dignified and elegant in his bearing,
and graceful and natural in all his movements and actions.
His hands and feet were unusually small ; his face was
round and full; his features were irregular but not homely.
His forehead was broad and high, and awed the beholder
by its expression of intellectual vigor. His eyes were his
finest feature; they were of a dark brown color, rather
small, but lustrous and full of strange intelligence-

"Deep searchinig seen, and seeing from afar."

His voice was low-toned and persuasive, but, free as a foun-
tain, it took the form of the conduit thought.

S TTUDIES IN LITERA TURE.

He was one of the finest conversationists I ever heard. He
illumined every subject upon which he touched. He knew
exactly when to begin and when to stop. He had no set
speeches. Hle delivered no monologues. He never wearied
his listeners or insulted them by presuming upon their ignor-
ance. His favorite poets were Virgil, Byron, and Shelley.
He placed Virgil even above Homer. He said there was a
freshness, a naturalness and a stately grandeur about the
verses of Virgil that were unequalled. HIe talked more of
Shelley than of Byron, and I believe saw more to love and
admire in him both as a man and a poet. Mr. PRENTICE,
I believe, thought more of Rousseau than of any other
French author. IHe once asked me to read the N0ouvelles
f1eioise: "but for heaven's sake," said he, "read it in the
original text. There is a fineness about Rousseau that
cannot be translated."
Mr. PRENTICE'S favorite German author was Jean Paul
Richter. Had read everything from his pen. I heard
him once advise a young writer to adopt Richter's style as
a model, " that is," said he, " if you must have a model."
Mr. PRENTICE was one of the best judges of character I
ever knew. It was almost impossible to hide truth from
him. He could see at a glance through the most guarded
meanness and hypocrisy. He never doubted the constancy
of a friend. Whenever he formed an attachment, it was
almost sure to last through life. There was not a particle
of selfishness in his nature. He was kind and gentle
and charitable to a fault, and felt no enmity towards his
rivals. He never allowed his political feelings to alter his
personal relations. I have often heard him speak in the kind-
est and most affectionate terms of Mr. Greeley. These two
great journalists were for many years the most bitter politi-
cal opponents, and although engaged in a countless num-
ber of polemic duels, neither of them at any time enter-

GEORGE D. PRENTICE.

tained the slightest doubt of the honesty and sincerity of
the other's convictions. When Mr. Greeley came to Louis-
ville for the purpose of delivering one of his famous lectures,
Mr. PRENTICE urged me to go to hear him, saying, " I regard
him as the ablest as well as the most conscientious journal-
ist in the North; he has outlived the ordinary period of
life, but his mind is in the fullness of its power. It is
something for the people of the rising generation to look
upon the form and features of such a brave and daring
chieftain. When he shall depart from among us he will
probably not leave a single peer behind."
On the evening of Mir. Greeley's lecture Mr. PRENTICE
occupied a chair near the speaker's stand, and listened atten-
tively to every word that fell from his lips. A few weeks
after the lecture Mr. PRENTICE wrote the following beauti-
ful poem to him, entitled "To a Political Opponent":-

"I send thee, Greeley, words of cheer,
Thou bravest, truest, best of men;
For I have marked thy strong career,
As traced by thy own sturdy pen.
I've seen thy struggles with the foes
That dared thee to the desperate fight,
And loved to watch thy goodly blows,
Dealt for the cause thou deem'st the right.
"Thou'st dared to stand against the wrong
When many faltered by thy side;
In thy own strength hast dared be strong,
Nor on another's arm relied.
Thy own bold thoughts thou'st dared to think,
Thy own great purposes avowed;
And none have ever seen thee shrink
From the fierce surges of the crowd.
"Thou, all unaided and alone,
Didst take thy way in life's young years,
With no kinid hand clasped in thy own,
No gentle voice to soothe thy tears.

STUDIES IN LITERA TURE.

But thy high heart no power could tame,
And thou hast never ceased to feel
Within thy veins a sacred flame
that turned thy iron nerves to steel.
"I know that thou art not exempt
From all the weaknesses of earth
For passion comes to rouse and tempt
The truest souls of mortal birth.
But thou hast well fulfilled thy trust,
In spite of love and hope and fear;
And e'en the tempest's thunder-gust
But clears thy spirit's atmosphere.
"Thou still art in thy manhood's prime,
Still foremost 'mid thy fellow-men,
Though in each year of all thy time
Thou hast compressed threescore and ten.
Oh, may each blessed sympathy,
Breathed on thee with a tear and sigh,
A sweet flower in thy pathway be,
A bright star in thy clear blue sky."

I regret that the limits prescribed for this article will not
admit of an extended notice of Mr. PRENTICE'S poetry. It
has been said that " he wrote verses simply as a recreation,"
and that " he estimated lightly his poetic gift." There is
no truth whatever in such a conclusion. A more silly
thought never took possession of a critic's brain.
Mr. PRENTICE wrote poetry because he loved it, because
he could not help it, and because it was one of the elements
in which he lived, and moved, and breathed, and had his
being. It was so deeply interwoven in his nature that it
became an integral part of it, and ever clung around and
about him as the tendrils of the ivy to the oak. It was to
his existence what the dew and sunshine are to the flowers.
In the stillness of night, when alone in his room, "a
time for memory and tears," his great soul loved to com-
mune with itself and the spirit of the universe. I have

GE ORGE D. PRENTIC-E.

I 7

heard him say that at such moments, if it had not been for
his paralysed hand, he could have expressed thoughts such
as only the truly inspired feel.
His poems entitled "My Mother's Grave," and a little
poem called " Violets " (published in the Ledger a few weeks
before his death. but written last summer), "The Closing
Year," "The Stars," "To a Poetess on her Birth-day,"
"The River in the Mammoth Cave," are among his best
pieces.
The last poem he ever wrote was inscribed to my wife.
It is so very beautiful that I hope I shall be pardoned for
inserting it here.

"TO MY POETESS-A. M. G.

" Dear Alice, for two happy hours
I've sat within this little nook,
To muse upon the sweet soul-flowers
That blossom in thy gentle book.
They lift their white and spotless bells,
Untouched by frost, unchanged by time;
For they are blessed immortelles
Transplanted from the Eden clime.

" With pure and deep idolatry
Upon each lovely page I've dwelt,
Till to thy spirit's sorcery