Romance of Idealism BY CHARLES GRISSEN. PREFACE. Being past that period of life when youthful ardor and mistaken pjSbn might lead one into temptation to appear in print, one is prepared to take in full measure all the blame and adverse criticism without apology safe, inasmuch as matters personal are concerned, which are no part of the story nor of the public. Suffice it to say that, whilst the author believes in the cul tivation of our highest moral and intellectual faculties, he believes no less in doing our duty in the every-day, common affairs of life for, what soever one s duty and work may be, quotAct well quot thy part, therein all the honor lies. Hence ours is a double duty the one to society, the other obedience to the promptings of our inner nature and if performed in the spirit as expressed by quot Seneca There is not any man, either so great or so little, but is yet capable of giving and receiving benefits. So it is in the spheres of thought the loftiest and most brilliant thoughts, unless conveyed to others either for instruction or enjoyment, would be as the quotflower upon the desert air.quot This, therefore, is the object of quotA Romance of Ideal ism.quot As to its imperfections, the author is sadly aware of its crude and faulty habiliments, but in extenuation would say that, in the first place, the language is an acquired one, and sec ondly, the exacting duties of a busy life left but little leisure, the brief intervals of composition being snatched from the precious time of many years. The author, however, does lay claim to an original production. This rightly may be termed an age of utilita rianism and individualism of opposing forces, one arrayed against the other of self for self in the struggle for existence and condition, to a degree never before known. Religiously this is another era of formation and reformation. People lose faith in and question old creeds while mistrusting the new, except the mathematical demonstrations of science. In the face of these things a production of this kind would certainly seem out of joint, but there still remains the sen timental the ideal in human nature. What satisfaction are mathematical calculations to these As we advance in life we find our ideals shattered one after another, and yet we fain would hope and believe in an ultimate realization of our fondest dreams. If, in the language of Jonn Stuart Mill, we find that a realization of all that we had hoped for, would not be productive of happiness, then must we seek that happiness in the very attain ment of our ideals. All this evolution of inchoate forces, material and spiritual, must eventually result in the acceptance of a more universal creed, broad enough and high enough to embrace all the vari ous elements of human aspiration. The object of the author, therefore, is a suggestion in that direction let the kind reader make the interpre tation to suit himself. , Oregon, 1892. C. G. CONTENTS. PAGE IDEALA, . 4 WAIJ,UI,A, 153 YELLEPT, . 1 59 AMORIS MEMORIA, 163 SUNSET ix OREGON, . .165 MOUNT HOOD, . 165 WHITMAN, WHITTIER, TENNYSON, . DIE HEIMKEHR, . 166 168 IDEALA. 1 IDEALA. INTRODUCTION. On fancy s pinions rise with me Beyond the far off southern sea Unto the wind your wings expand, Above the sea, above the land Eolus, king of upper air, Will bid Boreas guide you there, Across earth s rugged central line, Beyond the southmost cape s confine Beyond the deep, mysterious sea The dreamland of sweet poesy...