The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 4, November 1, 1851Various
History
The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 4, November 1, 1851
Various
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- History -- Periodicals
Leonard's eyes sparkled through their sudden moisture. He brought out his
portfolio, placed it on the bench beside Harley, and then went softly to
the further part of the garden. Nero looked after him, and then rose and
followed him slowly. The boy seated himself on the turf, and Nero rested
his dull head on the loud heart of the poet.
Harley took up the various papers before him and read them through
leisurely. Certainly he was no critic. He was not accustomed to analyse
what pleased or displeased him; but his perceptions were quick, and his
taste exquisite. As he read, his countenance, always so genuinely
expressive, exhibited now doubt and now admiration. He was soon struck by
the contrast in the boy's writings; between the pieces that sported with
fancy, and those that grappled with thought. In the first, the young poet
seemed so unconscious of his own individuality. His imagination, afar and
aloft from the scenes of his suffering, ran riot amidst a paradise of happy
golden creations. But in the last, the THINKER stood out alone and
mournful, questioning, in troubled sorrow, the hard world on which he
gazed. All in the thought was unsettled, tumultuous; all in the fancy,
serene, and peaceful. The genius seemed divided into twain shapes; the one
bathing its wings amidst the starry dews of heaven; the other wandering
"melancholy, slow," amidst desolate and boundless sands. Harley gently laid
down the paper and mused a little while. Then he rose and walked to
Leonard, gazing on his countenance as he neared the boy, with a new and
deeper interest.
"I have read your papers," he said, "and recognize in them two men,
belonging to two worlds, essentially distinct."
Leonard started, and murmured, "True, true!"
"I apprehend," resumed Harley, "that one of these men must either destroy
the other, or that the two must become fused and harmonized into a single
existence. Get your hat, mount my groom's horse, and come with me to
London; we will converse by the way. Look you, I believe you and I agree in
this, that the first object of every noble spirit is independence. It is
towards this independence that I alone presume to assist you; and this is a
service which the proudest man can receive without a blush."
Leonard lifted his eyes towards Harley's, and those eyes swam with grateful
tears; but his heart was too full to answer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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