He manages them with wonderful
dexterity, never making too much of them, nor dwelling upon them too
long; but with his masterly skill in language he handles his words as a
painter his colors, and now we have a bold royal sketch, cloudy outlines
of gigantic proportions, shadowy scenes of indefinite grandeur, done
with a few strong, words and magnificent adjectives; and now a little
paragraph, charming in its exquisite daintiness, like a miniature rarely
done upon the face of a costly gem. It is in this word-painting that he
is surpassingly admirable. Delineation, description, portraiture are his
forte. The same quality of mind which gives dreams of princely men and
divine women seems to have brought also a generous endowment of warm,
rich words, wherewith to do justice to the imaginings. All the beauty,
dignity, and glory of English logography seem to be his: he marshals an
array of adjectives and phrases which seem all of the blood royal of our
munificent mother tongue. Oftentimes his page sounds like the
deep-rolling anthem of a mighty cathedral organ. Might and music are in
his syllables; and without sifting his sentences for a noble thought or
a beautiful idea, we may be pleased by the stately tread of their
succession, and their rich harmonious cadences.
The scenes are apt to be rather melodramatic. Wonderful passions work
wonderfully. Eyes flash, lips are set, cheeks grow pale, quite often.
Great coolness, vast powers, are continually displayed; yet they are
well displayed, after the fashion of gentlemen, not of bravoes or
villains or highwaymen.
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