We do not say, however, that he was remarkable for the want
of either, far from it; he could form a resolution, and work it out as
well as his brother, provided his course was left unobstructed: nay,
more, he could overcome difficulties many and varied, provided only that
he was left unassailed by, one solitary temptation--that of an easy
and good-humored vanity. He was conscious of his talents, and of his
excellent qualities, and being exceedingly vain, nothing gave him
greater gratification than to hear himself praised for possessing
them--for it is a fact, that every man who is vain of any particular
gift, forgets that he did not bestow that gift upon himself, and that
instead of priding himself upon the possession of it, he should only be
humbly thankful to the Being who endowed him with it.
Art was social, communicative, and, although possessing what might be
considered internal resources more numerous, and of a far higher order
than did his brother, yet, somehow, it was clear that he had not the
same self-dependence that marked the other. He always wanted, as it.
were, something to lean upon, although in truth he did not at all
require it, had he properly understood himself. The truth is, like
thousands, he did not begin to perceive, or check in time, those early
tendencies that lead a heart naturally indolent, but warm and generous,
to the habit of relying first, in small things, upon external sources
and objects, instead of seeking and finding within itself those
materials for manly independence, with which every heart is supplied,
were its possessor only aware of the fact, and properly instructed how
to use them.
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