Mr. Dwight was an admirer of Swedenborg's poetic fancies. He thought
many of them more than fancies. He believed that he gained through
unknown sources some glimpses of a higher life; and some of his
doctrines, as that of "correspondences" bore so strong a resemblance to
Fourier's "universal analogy" that it was quite striking; but his
claims to special theological inspiration, he did not admit. I speak of
this because some one might accuse him of plagiarism, the phrase of Mr.
Dwight's sentiment being similar to Swedenborg's words. Pardon this
digression, and we will return to our party.
Mr. Ripley followed in his free and graceful style, and brought things
slowly down to our own door with pleasant word and wit (Ripley was a
punster with the rest; one of our wags one day called him a Pumpkin--
Pun-King--a paraphrase on New England pronunciation of the word), and
in conclusion gave us a sentiment: "The Hive! May it be a hive, full of
working bees, who make a little noise, a great deal of honey, and sting
not at all."
Mr. Dana, the youngest of the four, then followed with a glowing
speech, in earnest, clear and chosen words. Not as fluent as either of
the other speakers, he yet commanded full attention, and we all knew he
meant what he said; there was no doubt about it--the frank manner, the
natural gesture, the glowing face, proved it.
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