A Chapter on Autography and An Appendix of Autographs — Poe, 1841–1842 — reading text

The letters now before us vary remarkably in appearance ; and those of late date are not nearly so well written as the more an- tique. Mr. Irving has travelled much, has seen many vicissitudes, and has been so thoroughly satiated with may look with especial certainty for such token. We see, accordingly, in Professor Anthon’s autography, each and all of the known idiosyncrasies of his taste and intellect. We recognise at once the scrupulous precision and finish of his scholarship and of his’ style—the love of elegance which prompts him to surround himself, in his private study, with gems of sculptural art, and beautifully bound volumes, all arranged with elaborate attention to form, and in the very pedantry of neatness. We perceive, too, the disdain of superfluous embellishment which distin- guishes his compilations, and which gives to their exterior appearance so marked an air of Quakerism. We must not forget to observe that the ‘want of force” is a want as perceptible in the whole charac. ter of the man, as in that of the MS. fame as to grow slovenly in the performance of his literary tasks. This slovenliness has affected his hand-writing. But even from his earlier MSS. there is little to be gleaned, except the ideas of simplicity and precision. It must be admitted, however, that this fact, in itself, is characteristic of the literary manner, which, however excellent, has no prominent or very remarkable features. For the last six or seven years, few men have oc- cupied a more desirable position among us than Mr. Bensamin. As the editor of the American Monthly Magazine, of the New Yorker, and more lately of the Signal, and New World, he has exerted an influ- ence scarcely second to that of any editor in the country. This influence Mr. B. owes to no single cause, but to his combined ability, activity, causti- city, fearlessness, and independence. We use the latter term, however, with some mental reservation. The editor of the World is independent so far as the word implies unshaken resolution to follow the bent of one’s own will, let the consequences be what they may. He is no respecter of persons, and his vitupe- ration as often assails the powerful as the power- less — indeed the latter fall rarely under his censure. But we cannot call his independence, at all times, that of principle. We can never be sure that he will defend a cause merely because it is the cause of truth — or even because he regards it as such. He is too frequently biassed by personal feelings — feelings now of friendship, and.again of vindictiveness. He is a warm friend, and a bitter, but not implacable enemy. His judgment in literary matters should not be questioned, but there 4s some difficulty in getting at his real opinion. As a prose writer, his style is lucid, terse, and pungent. He is often witty, often cuttingly sarcastic, but seldom humorous. He fre- quently injures the force of his fiercest attacks by an indulgence in merely vituperative epithets. As a poet, he is entitled to far higher consideration than that in which he is ordinarily held. He is skilful and passionate, as wellas imaginative. His sonnets have not been surpassed. In short, it is as a poet that his better genius is evinced—it is in poetry that his noble spirit breaks forth, showing what the man is, and what, but for unhappy circumstances, he would invariably appear. | Mr. Benjamin’s MS. is not very dissimilar to Mr. Irving’s, and, like his, it has no doubt been ereatly modified by the excitements of life, and by the necessity of writing much and hastily; so that we can predicate but little respecting it. It speaks of his exquisite sensibility and passion. These be- tray themselves in the nervous variation of the MS. as the subject is diversified. When the theme is an or- dinary one, the writing is legible and has force ; but when it verges upon any thing which may be sup- posed to excite, we see the characters falter as they proceed. In the MSS. of some of his best poems this peculiarity is very remarkable. The signature conveys the idea of his usual chirography. 3 ta % ¥ yor x 4 i? yt bs 4 : i | | | | i | ¥ | | j i x [Source scan page 37] AUTOGRAF HY. 227 Mr. Kennepy is well known as the author of ‘‘ Swallow Barn,””* Horse-Shoe Robinson,” and ‘‘ Rob of the Bowl,” three works whose features are strongly and decidedly marked. These features are boldness and force of thought, (disdaining ordinary embel- lishment, and depending for its effect upon masses rather than upon details) with a predominant sense of the picturesque pervading and giving color to the whole. His ‘Swallow Barn,” in especial (and it is by the first effort of an author that we form the truest idea of his mental bias), is but a rich succession of picturesque still-life pieces. Mr. Kennedy is well to do in the world, and has always taken the world easily. We may therefore expect to find in his chi- rography, if ever in any, a full indication of the chief feature of his literary style— especially as this chief feature is so remarkably prominent. A glance at his signature will convince any one that the indication is to be found. A painter called upon to designate The hand-writing of GRENVILLE MELLEN is some- what peculiar, and partakes largely of the character of his signature as seen above. The whole is highly indi- cative of the poet's flighty, hyper-fanciful character, with his unsettled and often erroneous ideas of the MM oer Leley No correct notion of Mr. Pautprne’s literary pe- culiarities can be obtained from an inspection of his MS., which, no doubt, has been strongly modified by adventitious circumstances. His small as, ts, and cs are all alike, and the style of the characters gene- Mrs. SicouRNEY seems to take much pains with her MSS. Apparently she employs black lines. Every t is crossed, and every i dotted, with precision, while the punctuation is faultless. Yet the whole has no- thing of effeminacy or formality. The individual characters are large, well and freely formed, and preserve a perfect uniformity throughout. Some- thing in her hand-writing puts us in mind of Mr. Paul- ding’s. In both MSS. perfect regularity exists, and Mr. Watsn’s MS. is peculiar, from its large, sprawl- ing and irregular appearance —rather rotund than! written. The t’s are crossed with a sweeping scratch * Since this article was prepared for the press, we have been grieved to hear of the death of Mr. Mellen. ha Ll the main peculiarity of this MS. would speak at once — of the picturesque. This character is given it by the absence of hair-strokes, and by the abrupt termina- tion of every letter without tapering; also in great measure by varying the size and slope of the letters. Great uniformity is preserved in the whole air of the MS., with great variety in the constituent parts. Every character has the clearness, boldness and pre- cision of a wood-cut. The long letters do not rise or fall in an undue degree above the others. Upon the whole, this is a hand which pleases us much, although its bizarrerie is rather too piquant for the general taste. Should its writer devote himself more exclu- sively to light letters, we predict his future eminence. The paper on which our epistles are written is very fine, clear, and white, with gilt edges. The seal is neat, and just sufficient wax has been used for the impression. All this betokens a love of the elegant’ without effeminacy. beautiful. His straining after effect is well paral- leled in the formation of the preposterous G in the signature, with the two dots by its side. Mr. Mel. len has genius unquestionably, but there is something in his temperament which obscures it. * rally is French, although the entire MS. has much the appearance of Greek text, The paper which he ordinarily uses is of a very fine glossy texture, and of a blue tint, with gilt edges. His signature is a good specimen of his general hand. in both the style is formed or decided. Both are beautiful; yet Mrs. Sigourney’s is the most legible, and Mr. Paulding’s nearly the most illegible in the world. From that of Mrs. 8. we might easily form a true estimate of her compositions. Freedom, dig- nity, precision, and grace, without originality, may be properly attributed to her. She has fine taste, without genius. Her paper is usually good — the seal smail, of green and gold wax, and without impression. angular. It always seems to have been hurriedly ST — [Source scan page 38] AUTOGRAPH Y. “ 4 4 a Mr. Walsh cannot be denied talent; but his repu- tation, which has been bolstered into being by a clique, is not a thing to live. A blustering self-con. ceit betrays itself in his chirography, which upon the whole, is not very dissimilar to that of Mr. E. Everett, of whom we shall speak hereafter. aes Mr. IncrRAHAM, or Ingrahame, (for he writes his > LE name sometimes with, and sometimes without the e,) ; is one of our most popular novelists, if not one of our of the pen, which gives to his epistles a somewhat droll appearance. A dictatorial air pervades the whole. His paper is of ordinary quality. His seal is commonly of brown wax mingled with gold, and bears a Latin motto, of which only the words trans and mortuus are legible. the charge of a certain cut-and-thrust, blue-fire, melo. dramaticism. Still, he is capable of better things. His chirography is very unequal ; at times, sufficiently q 4 best. He appeals always to the taste of the ultra-| clear and flowing, at others, shockingly scratchy and she / vag romanticists, (asa matter, we believe, rather of pecu- | uncouth. From it nothing whatever can be predicated, niary policy than of choice) and thus is obnoxious io! except an uneasy vacillation of temper and of purpose. Mr. Bryant’s MS. puts us entirely at fault. It is] abominable one. Among its regular up and down one of the most common-place clerk’s hands which | strokes, waving lines and hair-lines, systematic ta- we ever encountered, and has no character about it beyond that of the day-book and ledger. He writes. in short, what mercantile men and professional] pen- men call a fair hand, but what artists would term an * Mr. HAtLeck’s hand is strikingly indicative of his genius. We see in it some force, more grace, and little of the picturesque. There is a great deal of freedom about it, and his MSS. seem to be written perings and flourishes, we look in vain for the force, polish, and decision of the poet. The picturesque, to be sure, is equally deficient in his chirography and in his poetical productions. | currente calamo, but without hurry. His flourishes, which are not many, look as if thoughtfully planned, and deliberately, yet firmly executed. His paper is very good, and of a blueish tint — his seal of red wax. teria 3 Mr, Wi11 Is, when writing carefully, would write a | hand nearly resembling that of Mr. Halleck ; although no similarity is perceptible in the signatures. His usual chirography is dashing, free, and not ungrace- fy), but is sadly deficient in force and picturesqueness. It has been the fate of this gentleman to be alter- nately condemned ad infinitum, and lauded ad nau- seam —a fact which speaks much in his praise. We know of no American writer who has evinced greater versatility of talent ; that is to say, of high talent, often amounting to genius ; and we know of none who has more narrowly missed placing himself at the head of our letters. | | | The paper of Mr. Willis’ epistles is always fine and glossy. At present, he employs a somewhat large seal, with a dove, or carrier-pigeon, at the top, the word ‘*Glenmary ” at bottom, and the initials “ N. P. W.” in the middle. | Mr. Dawes has been long known as i poet ; but his claims are scarcely yet settled — his friends giving him rank with Bryant and Halleck, while his oppo- nents treat his pretensions with contempt. The truth is, that the author of “ Geraldine” and ‘‘ Athenia of Damascus” has written occasional verses very well — $4 ‘ > 4 Z : Vay > : i j i 4 $3 a | + N by | 4% 4 4 i Py [Source