The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 87, January, 1865: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and PoliticsVarious
General
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 87, January, 1865: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
American periodicals
I recall him at this moment,--his small form and intellectual face, rich
in expression, and that expression the sweetest, the most gentle, and
the kindliest. He had still in age the same bright and clear eye, the
same gracious smile, the same suave and winning manner I had noticed as
the attributes of his comparative youth; a forehead not remarkably broad
or high, but singularly impressive, firm, and full,--with the organ of
gayety large, and those of benevolence and veneration greatly
preponderating. Ternerani, when making his bust, praised the form of his
ears. The nose, as observed in all his portraits, was somewhat upturned.
Standing or sitting, his head was invariably upraised, owing, perhaps,
mainly to his shortness of stature, with so much bodily activity as to
give him the character of restlessness; and no doubt that usual
accompaniment of genius was eminently his. His hair, at the time I speak
of, was thin and very gray; and he wore his hat with the jaunty air that
has been often remarked as a peculiarity of the Irish. In dress,
although far from slovenly, he was by no means particular. Leigh Hunt,
speaking of him in the prime of life, says,--"His forehead is bony and
full of character, with 'bumps' of wit large and radiant enough to
transport a phrenologist. His eyes are as dark and fine as you would
wish to see under a set of vine-leaves; his mouth generous and
good-humored, with dimples." He adds,--"He was lively, polite, bustling,
full of amenities and acquiescences, into which he contrived to throw a
sort of roughening cordiality, like the crust of old Port. It seemed a
happiness to him to say 'Yes.'" Jeffrey, in one of his letters, says of
him,--"He is the sweetest-blooded, warmest-hearted, happiest,
hopefullest creature that ever set Fortune at defiance"; he speaks also
of "the buoyancy of his spirits and the inward light of his mind"; and
adds,--"There is nothing gloomy or bitter in his ordinary talk, but,
rather, a wild, rough, boyish pleasantry, much more like Nature than his
poetry."
"The light that surrounds him is all from within."
He had but little voice; yet he sang with a depth of sweetness that
charmed all hearers: it was true melody, and told upon the heart as well
as the ear. No doubt much of this charm was derived from association;
for it was only his own "Melodies" he sang. It would be difficult to
describe the effect of his singing. I remember some one saying to me, it
conveyed an idea of what a mermaid's song might be. Thrice I heard him
sing, "As a beam o'er the face of the waters may glow,"--once in 1822,
once at Lady Blessington's, and once in my own house. Those who can
recall the touching words of that song, and unite them with the deep,
yet tender pathos of the music, will be at no loss to conceive the
intense delight of his auditors.
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