"*
If to this be added the words of Dr. Gilman as to the impression
he produced on people, the picture may be complete: "The appearance of Lanier
was striking. There was nothing eccentric or odd about him,
but his words, manners, ways of speech, were distinguished.
I have heard a lady say that if he took his place in a crowded horse-car,
an exhilarating atmosphere seemed to be introduced by his breezy ways."**
--
* `Independent', November 18, 1897.
** `South Atlantic Quarterly', April, 1905.
--
He was mindful of the conventionalities of life. He had nothing
of the Bohemian in his looks, his manners, or his temperament.
Poor though he was, he was scrupulous with regard to dress.
He was a hard worker, but when his health permitted, he was thoroughly
mindful of duties that devolved upon him as a member of society.
He wrote to Charlotte Cushman: "For I am surely going to find you,
at one place or t' other, -- provided heaven shall send me so much fortune
in the selling of a poem or two as will make the price of a new dress coat.
Alas, with what unspeakable tender care I would have brushed
this present garment of mine in days gone by, if I had dreamed
that the time would come when so great a thing as a visit to YOU
might hang upon the little length of its nap! Behold, it is not only
in man's breast that pathos lies, and the very coat lapel that covers it
may be a tragedy." Professor Gildersleeve gives a characteristic incident:
"I remember he came to a dinner given in his honor, fresh from a lecture
at the Peabody, in a morning suit and with chalk on his fingers.
Pages:
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270