Page:The Poets and Poetry of the West.djvu/108

 92 OT WAY CURRY. [1830 -10. In 1853 he purchased the Scioto Gazette — a daily published in Chillicothe — which he edited with charactei'istic ability for about a year, when, his wife's health failing, he sold out, and returning to Marysville, resumed his legal practice. In January, 1854, Mr. Curry was President of the Ohio Editorial Convention at Cincinnati, and by the urbanity and dignity of his deportment enhanced largely the respect entertained for him by many Ohio editors, who had long known his poetry, but had never before met him personally, In 1842, when in attendance as a member of the Legislature, he suffered an attack of bilious pneumonia, which had such an effect upon his mind, that on recovering he made a profession of faith in that Gospel which had guided his steps and comforted his heart, by uniting with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in whose fellowship he continued till he died. Mr. Curry had an open countenance, impaired, however, by strabismus, a broad and lofty brow, a noble form, tall and well proportioned, which might have borne "with ease the armor of a knight of the middle ages. His spirit was that of southern chivalry mingled with the Puritan. He was a man of fine taste. This he exhibited in his dress, his language, his reading, in fine, in every thing. Though he never wore any thing gaudy or extravagant, he had none of Dr. Johnson's indifference to fine linen ; satisfied with garments neat, good, and clean, he was unhappy if they were soiled, badly fitted, or of unsuitable material. Under such circumstances, he felt depreciated, and could not be enticed into company. In selecting cloth for his own use, he has been known to examine the same piece ten times before he could make up his mind concerning it. When I first visited him he dwelt in a humble cottage, but it bore, both outside and inside, the marks of neatness and delicacy ; flowers bordered the walks, and vines climbed the trellis ; modest carpets covered the floors, and choice books, with elegant bindings, spread the table. Later in life, he occupied a house moi'e spacious, but it bore the indications of neatness, free from ostentation. Upon his porch a magnificent weeping willow threw its shade and beautifully symbolized the owner's mind. His words, whether written or spoken, were few and well chosen. This is the more remarkable, considering that his early education was so limited. He would allow no thought of his to go abroad in an unsuitable garment, however protracted might be the process of fitting it. When he wrote for the press his first drafts were scanned, laid aside, examined again, altered, and re-written, sometimes often, before they were published. Every word was scrutinized. Hence, his poems bear criticism, and will be best appreciated by those who most closely examine them. Of his opinions he was as careful as of his words. Cautious and skeptical to a fault, he never expressed or formed an opinion without revolving the matter in his mind, long and carefully, and reviewing it in all its bearings. Mr. Curry's reading was remarkably tacteful and impressive. Of this Mr. Galla- gher uses the following terms: "Mr. Curry's voice and manner of reading gave to his poems a peculiar charm. And when this was heightened, as it often was, at that period, by the quiet of night, the rustling of leaves, the fitful echoes of far-oflF sounds.