CARLYLE'S REMINISCENCES.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3105, 10 June 1881, Page 4

CARLYLE'S REMINISCENCES.

The following are a fow characteristic sketches from, the pen of the lato philosopher of Chelsea, and contained in the volume recently issued by Mr J. A. Froude :— HABEIET MAUTINEATJ. "To admire Harriet Martineau's literary genius, or even her solidity of common sense, was never possible for either of us ; but she had a sharp eye, an imperturbable self-possession, and in all things a swiftness of positive decision which, joined to her evident loyalty of intention and her frank, guileless, easy ways, we both liked. Her talent, which in that sense was very considerable, I used to think would havo made her a quite shining matron of some big female establishment, mistress of some immense dress shop, for instance, if she had a dressing faculty, which perhaps she had not; but was totally inadequate to grapple with deep spiritual and social questions, into which she launched at all times, nothing doubting." JOHN STUART MILL AND THE BURNT MSS. " Mill was very useful about ' French Revolution.' His evenings were sensibly agreeable, for the most part talk rather wintry ('saw-dnstish,' as old Sterling once called it), but always well-informed and sincere. How well do I still remember that night when he came to tell us, pale as Hector s G-host, that my unfortunate first volume was burnt. It was like half-sen-tence of death to us both, and we had to pretend; to take it lightly—so dismal and ghastly was this hoivor—and try to talk of other matters. He stayed three mortal hours or so ; his departure quite a relief to us. _ Oh, the burst of st mpathy my poor darling then gave me, flinging her arms round my neck, and openly lamenting, condoling, and encouraging, like a nobler, better self! Under heaven is nothing beautif uller. _ We sat talking till late. 'Shall be written again,' my fixed word and resolution to her. Which proved to be such a task a9l never tried before or since. I wrote out' Feast of Pikes,' and then went at it. Found it fairly impossible for about a fortnight ; passed three weeks reading Marryat's novels, tried cautions cautiously, as on ice paper-thin, once more ; and, in short, had a, job more like breaking my heart than any other in my experience. Jeannie (Mr» Carlyle), alone of beings, burnt like a " J lamp before me. I forget how*" we still had—j think f1 - _iuch money something like „ acre wa3 a t first London with perhaps £280, to front jnem .. —nor can I in the least rewhere we had gathered such a sum, except that it was our own, no part borrowed or given us by anybody. ' Fit to fast till French Revolution is ready'—and she had no misgivings at all. Mill was penitently liberal ; sent me £200 in a day or two, of which I kept £100, actual cost of house while I had written burnt volume ; upon whicli he bought ' Biographic TJniverselle,' which I got bound and still have. Wish I could find a way of getting the now much macerated, changed, and fanaticised John Stuart Mill to take that £100 back ; but I fear there is no way." LORD JEFFREY. "A delicate, attractive, dainty, little . figure, as he merely walked about, much more if he were speaking; uncommonly bright black eyes, instinct with vivacity, intelligence and kindly fire ; roundish brow, delicate oval face full of rapid expression ; figure light, nimble, pretty though so small, perhaps hardly 5 feet in height. He had his gown, almost never any wig, wore his black hair rather closely cropped: I have seen the back part of it jerk suddenly out in some of the rapid expressions of his face, and knew, even if behind him, that his brow was then puckered, and his eye 3 looking archly, half contemptuously out in conformity to some conclusive little cut his tongue was giving. His voice, clear, harmonious and sonorous, had something of metallic in it, something almost plangent; never rose irto alt, into any dissonance or shrillness, nor carried much the character of humour, though a fine feeling of the ludicrous always dwelt in him —as you would notice best when he got into Scotch dialect, and gave you, with admirable truth of mimicry, old Edinburgh incidents and experiences of his —very great upon old 'Judge Braxie,' 'Peter Peebles,' and the like. For tho rest, his laugh was small, and by no means Homeric ; he never laughed loud (could not do it, I should think), and, indeed, oftener sniggered slightly than laughed in any way." DE. CHALMERS. "He was a man of much natural dignity, ingenuity, honesty and kind affection, as well as sound intellect and imagination. A very eminent vivacity lay in him which could rise to complete impetuosity— glowing conviction, passionate eloquence, fiery play of heart and head —all in a kind of rustic type, one might say, though wonderfully true and tender. He had a burst of genuine fun, too, I have heard, of the same honest but most plebeian, broadly natural character. His laugh was ever a hearty, loud guffaw, and his tones in preaching would rise to the piercingly pathetic. No preacher ever went so into one's heart. He was a man essentially of little culture, of narrow sphere, all his life. Such an intellect, ignorant in all that lay beyond the horizon in place or in time, I havo almost nowhere met with—a man capable of so mush soaking indolence, lazy, brooding, do-nothing-ness, as a first stage of his life well indicated ; a man thought to be timid almost to the verge of cowardice, yet capable of impetuous activity and blazing audacity, as his latter years showed. I suppose there will never again be such a preacher in any Christian church."