XXVI 
A FEW MEMOIRS OF 
of it is a fine specimen of his doubly-gifted power of 
description and condensation. 
Another of the articles sent to Graham in 1841, was 
“The Marriage of Achilles,” which attracted general 
attention, for it showed the immense wealth of classic lore 
in the author’s mind, and his ability to concentrate and 
reweave the charming fruits of previous ages of study 
into the small scope of a magazine article. It astonished 
some of our oldest and best-read collegians with its abun¬ 
dance of historical detail, and it delighted the most super¬ 
ficial readers with its easily intelligible gorgeousness of 
description, partaking of both the voluptuous and heroic. 
The article read as if the old spirit of Grecian mythology 
had taken up a new abode among the brightness of the 
American continent, to keep alive our love of the beau¬ 
tiful, while showing the ancient sword of military warfare 
crowned with a wreath of orange-blossoms and myrtle 
leaves, surrounded by a halo of poetic glory, “ lambent 
and imitative of the lights that stud the empyrean.” 
However, our purpose at present requires us to pass 
on without stopping to indulge in a consideration of Her¬ 
bert’s writings, except so far as they give some outline of 
his life and character. Suffice it to say, that public favor 
induced him to gradually make his choice of subjects more 
familiar; for, with all his faults, he was true to his great 
patron—the American people. His “ Marmaduke Wyvil; 
or, the Maid’s Revenge,” published in 1843, was uncom¬ 
monly well received, but he wrote more and more sport¬ 
ing matter as he found “Frank Forester” was a more 
potent name than even that of H. W. Herbert. His con¬ 
nection with the “Spirit of the Times,” and its then 
editor, Vm. T. Porter, was Herbert’s most magnetic 
link of communication with popular favor, and many a 
“ spicy article ” has been concocted among the frequent¬ 
ers near the “ old Spirit ” office, when it was in Barclay 
