wonder and admiration

"To be frank (though, perhaps, rather foolish), notwithstanding what I wrote yesterday of these Mosses, I had not then culled them all; but had, nevertheless, been sufficiently sensible of the subtle essence, in them, as to write as I did. To what infinite height of loving wonder and admiration I may yet be borne, when by repeatedly banqueting on these Mosses, I shall have thoroughly incorporated their whole stuff into my being,—that, I can not tell. But already I feel that this Hawthorne has dropped germinous seeds into my soul. He expands and deepens down, the more I contemplate him; and further, and further, shoots his strong New-England roots into the hot soil of my Southern soul."

--Herman Melville on "Hawthorne and His Mosses" in the NY Literary World, August 24, 1850. 

 

My Friend [named "Frank" in the original magazine series] and I rode together, and had much wonder and admiration to express upon our night adventure,—our happy fortune to witness so much beauty and sublimity. I remembered then, his omission of "the light of a dark eye in woman," in the only quotation of poetry I had ever heard him make. He said it was introduced with beautiful expression, but all the poet's audacity, to illustrate an Alpine storm. 

--Scenes and Adventures in the Army; "wonder and admiration" added with other revisions to the May 1853 installment of Scenes Beyond the Western Border in the Southern Literary Messenger.

Regarding the prairie dialogue on eye-color and Byronic mountain storms, see also previous Dragooned posts on blue eyes or dark? and a poet's audacity.