Page:The Poets and Poetry of the West.djvu/185

 1830-40.] SALMON P. CHASE. 169 While a student of law, and during the first years of his practice at the bar, history, biography, mechanics, politics and general literature, each received a due share of Mr. Chase's attention. And during the period embraced within the first three or four years after attaining to his majority, few men of his years in the country had better stored minds, or exhibited more striking marks of good mental discipline. Though his education had been several times interrupted, and was at best, more or less, piece- meal in its nature, yet, through a mind comprehensive, discriminating, and sufficiently retentive, he brought to whatever task he undertook the graces of learning and the force of logic, and when he left it, whether complete or incomplete, the evidences were abundant of keenness of insight, extent of view, thoroughness of reflection, and strength of reasoning. The same breadth of premise, exactness of statement, logical sequence, completeness of consideration, and power of conclusion, that have since, in a more remarkable degree, characterized his career as a jurist and a statesman, marked all his better efforts during the period under view. In public discourses, newspaper writings, occasional lectures, and contributions to periodical literature — in each of which departments he did a few things carefully, and not many things "hastily and with a bad pen" — these traits are observable. During his student-life, Mr. Chase often wooed the muses successfully; and from among the poems written by him at this period, we make some extracts. Later in life, as a recreation, and from early love, he has indulged in similar pastimes ; and amid the turbulence of politics, he often now flies for peaceful enjoyment to the quiet of a library stored with the master songs of the world, ancient and modern. Among recent literary recreations, in which we have known him to engage, is the translation of various specimens of the Latin poets into an English form, which present with strik- ing excellence the wit and beauty of the original. Though our plan does not include such performances among the selections for this volume, yet there is no reason why we should not embrace in these preliminary sketches an occasional translation, such as that of the eleventh Epigram of the Sixth Book of Martial, with which we conclude this notice. " IN MARCCM." " No real friendships now-n-days," you say : "Pylades and Orestes, where are they?'-' Alike Pylades and Orestes fared ; The bread and thrush of each the other shared ; Both drank from the same bottle ; both partook The self-same supper from the self-same cook. You feast on Lucrlnes ; me Peloris feeds ; In daintiness your taste not mine exceeds. Cadmean Tyre clothes you ; coarse Gallia me ; How loved by sackcloth can rich purples be ? Who wants in me Pylades, Mark ! must prove To me Orestes : — who wants love, must love. Note. — Lucrlnes; the finest oysters were taken from the Lucrine Lake. Peloris; a Sicilian promontory near which shell-fish of inferior quality but large size were taken. Cadmean Tyre ; Tyre, named from Cadmus a Phoeni- cian, celebrated for purples. Gallia; whence were brought coarse woolen cloth for servants' wear, by a permissible license, perhaps, called sackcloth.