426 MEMOIR OF JOHN WILSON. 



not afraid, yet somewhat trembling in the awe of our new delight, 

 into the heart of the habitations of all the world's most imperial, 

 most servile, most tyrannous, and most slavish passions ! All that 

 was most elevating and most degrading, most startling and most 

 subduing too ; most trying by temptation of pleasure, and by repul- 

 sion of pain; into the heart of all joy and all grief; all calm and 

 all storm ; all dangerous trouble and more dangerous rest ; all rap- 

 ture and all agony — crime, guilt, misery, madness, despair." This 

 fragment is part of one of those prose poems which he has so often 

 composed, and which many of his imaginative essays may be called. 

 What visions foreign shores would have brought to his mind, can 

 from such morsels as this be imagined. But the plans of his youth, 

 sketched out no doubt during a period of mental disquietude, and 

 broken up forever, were not likely to be again suggested to one 

 who had found in domestic life so much happiness. Thus, all 

 thoughts of travel were dissipated from his mind when excitement 

 ceased to be necessary for the preservation of his peace. So time 

 passed away, and no new place rose up to tempt him from home. 

 I believe, however, if his health had continued unbroken, or even 

 been partially restored, he would have crossed the Atlantic. 



There is no literary man of our land more highly prized or bet- 

 ter appreciated in America than Professor Wilson. In that country 

 his name is respected, and his writings are well known. It is doubt- 

 ful if in England he has so large a circle of admirers. I have often 

 heard him speak of Americans in terms of admiration. He knew 

 many, and received all who came to see him with much interest and 

 kindness ; loving to talk with them on the literary interests of their 

 country ; giving his opinion freely on the merits and demerits of its 

 writers, for they were well known to him. Of one of them he 

 always spoke with profound respect, as a man whose spiritual life 

 and great accomplishments, pure philosophical inquiries and critical 

 taste, had given him a lofty position among his countrymen — Dr. 

 Channing, the piety of whose character made his life upon earth one 

 of singular beauty. Of his peculiar religious tenets I never heard 

 my father speak. Nobility of nature, and aspirations directed to 

 high aims in exercising influence for good over bis fellow-creatures, 

 were virtues of a kind, taken in combination with intellectual power, 

 sufficient to win favor from him. 



The autobiographical nature of my father's writings permits me, 



