Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 71, No. 436, February 1852Various
History
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 71, No. 436, February 1852
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
Full of brighter anticipations than ever, I went up stairs that
evening to consult with Mr Tooks. He entered most warmly into the
scheme; undertook to get us permission to give a taste of our
quality at a theatre a few miles from town, to act as leader of the
band; and, in short, was the very best man I could have applied to
on the subject. In return, however, he insisted on my accompanying
him to his musical engagements, where he felt sure my flute would be
as popular as it had proved on the last occasion. He added, also,
that he could not allow me to be so useful without being paid; and,
in short, I saw the good fellow's design was to be useful to me, at
the same time that he put it entirely on the awkward position it put
him into if I declined all compensation. I told him he might arrange
about that entirely as he pleased, and we shook hands half-a-dozen
times in satisfaction of the new agreement.
"Consider, my dear fellow," he said, as he made me my fourth
tumbler, "consider what respectability it brings to the profession
that we have the heir of the De Bohuns first flute in the orchestra.
I feel as the tailors must have felt when the King of Prussia and
Alexander of Russia used to cut out the soldiers' jackets. It isn't
the profession that makes the gentleman, it's the gentleman that
makes the profession."
LONGFELLOW'S GOLDEN LEGEND.
There must, after all, be some occult but irresistible charm in the
leading idea of old Goethe's _Faust_. We say this, not on account
of the numerous translations of that poem which have appeared in
our language--though the names of Shelley, Gower, Anstey, Hayward,
Blackie, Syme, and perhaps two dozen more, testify that it has been
selected by a large section of German scholars, as a master-piece
every way worthy of being converted into our native tongue--but from
the numerous efforts which have been made to produce imitations of
it. From Byron to Festus Bailey--a sad declension, we admit--poets
and poetasters have thought it their privilege to make free with
the Satanic character, and to introduce the author of evil, or at
least one of his subordinate imps, in the capacity of a tempter.
Leaving Byron altogether out of the question, we must say that
most of the imitators of Goethe have represented their fiends as
taking a great deal of unnecessary trouble. In perusing their
grand dramatic efforts, the question ever and anon occurs to us,
what temptation the tempter could have in besetting such pitiable
milksops and nincompoops as the gentlemen who are selected for
seduction? Astaroth may assault Saint Anthony, Apollyon wrestle
with Bunyan, or Sathanas disturb Martin Luther at his meditations
with perfect propriety--there is at least some measure of equality
between the two contending parties. But why Lucifer, fallen angel
though he be, should stoop so low as to attach himself personally
to a hazy maunderer like Festus, when he might be doing an infinite
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