The Cornhill Magazine, February, 1860 (Vol. I, No. 2)Various
General
The Cornhill Magazine, February, 1860 (Vol. I, No. 2)
Various
England -- Periodicals; English literature -- Periodicals; Short stories, English -- Periodicals
As for the other writer, whose departure many friends, some few most
dearly-loved relatives, and multitudes of admiring readers deplore, our
republic has already decreed his statue, and he must have known that he
had earned this posthumous honour. He is not a poet and man of letters
merely, but citizen, statesman, a great British worthy. Almost from the
first moment when he appears, amongst boys, amongst college students,
amongst men, he is marked, and takes rank as a great Englishman. All
sorts of successes are easy to him: as a lad he goes down into the
arena with others, and wins all the prizes to which he has a mind. A
place in the senate is straightway offered to the young man. He takes
his seat there; he speaks, when so minded, without party anger or
intrigue, but not without party faith and a sort of heroic enthusiasm
for his cause. Still he is poet and philosopher even more than orator.
That he may have leisure and means to pursue his darling studies, he
absents himself for a while, and accepts a richly-remunerated post
in the East. As learned a man may live in a cottage or a college
common-room; but it always seemed to me that ample means and recognized
rank were Macaulay’s as of right. Years ago there was a wretched outcry
raised because Mr. Macaulay dated a letter from Windsor Castle, where
he was staying. Immortal gods! Was this man not a fit guest for any
palace in the world? or a fit companion for any man or woman in it? I
daresay, after Austerlitz, the old K. K. court officials and footmen
sneered at Napoleon for dating from Schönbrunn. But that miserable
“Windsor Castle” outcry is an echo out of fast-retreating old-world
remembrances. The place of such a natural chief was amongst the first
of the land; and that country is best, according to our British notion,
at least, where the man of eminence has the best chance of investing
his genius and intellect.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account