The Press.
London, England, 1855-07-14 00:00:00

Nittraturt.

The Sanctuary. A Companion in Verse for the
English Prayer-book. By Robert Mont-
gomery, M.A. London: Chapman and Hall.
FROX philosophical treatises written profes-
sedly in the interest of Christianity, yet which
have, we fear, a tendency, from their specula-
tive license, to darken knowledge and perplex
faith, we willingly turn to direct attention to
this little manual of devotion, which is prac-
tical in the best sense, as it raises the soul
to communion with God in Christ. Mr.
Montgomery has not sought to paraphrase the
Prayer-book—which would have been futile—
but to reflect in short poems the spiritual
sentiment, and the holy ardour, which the
several parts of our Church services are
calculated to excite in the mind. He has
happily seized for his texts on the most
striking passages in the Prayer-hook, and has
illustrated them in his verse with a fervour
which never tires and never falls below his
themes His starting-point is earth, and his
goal is heaven. Whatever mood his verse
reflects, whether it be meditative or descrip-
tive, whether it throb with prayer or ring
with praise, this is common to it at all times—
that it soars on a wing of earnest piety, and
it seems to us impossible for a mind of
ordinary sensibility to remain unaffected by
its impassioned expression.
It is this quality which, as it appears to us,
renders Mr. Montgomery's poetry so pecu
liarly suitable for the young, whose natures
are yet in course of formation, and likely to
be attracted and influenced by compositions
which combine religious fervour with poetic
impulse and accomplishment. The critic
accustomed to favorite models of poetry, and
used by profession to scan closely whatever
falls beneath his eye, may detect in Mr
Montgomery's verse phrases which offend his
fastidious ear; but tho young, svho read less
with the eye than the heart, who cannot help
sympathisinr* with strong feeling of every
kind, and who aro fascinated by enthusiasm,
will find in this volume, " The Sanctuary,"
exactly that kind of composition best calcu-
lated to light or to fun the fire of Christian
devotion iu their breasts.
Mr. Montgomery has had some reason in
his time to complain of harsh eritiscism. His
first poem, the "Omnipresence," was published
when he was not more than nineteen, we
believe ; and though youth is no excuse for
bad poetry, yet it may fairly he pleaded in
extenuation of minor blemishes and imper-
fections. Like most men of original talent,
Mr. Montgomery has a manner of his own,
end nothing is easier than for an ill-natured
critic to represent certain peculiarities of that
manner as the substance of the author's
genius, when in truth they are but its crust,
or rather its scales, which, though obnoxious
to some persons, render it more sparkling in
the eyes of others.
There are phrases even in this volume, at once
the most polished and fervid Mr. Montgomery
has over produced, which do not please our
ear. We do not like such compounds as
" myriad-chorded soul," or " priosted-God-
Man," nor such phrases as the " golden elo-
quence of Heaven." It seems to us very
Puestionable in point of taste to term the
salmist the " Laureate of the Holy Ghost,"
and to speak of St. Thomas as a " laurelled
memory." There is an image in the poem on
" Nana Dimittis" which seems to us singu-
larly inappropriate :
Brimin'a liko a wine•cup, full and flowing,
The gladilenecl-spirit, brightly-glowing,
In " Nunc Dimittis" over-ran.

Occasionally there seems to us obscurity in
the sentiment, as in the closing stanzas of his
prefatory poem, and we could often wish that
the author's expression were less ornate and
unusual than it is. We indicate blemishes of
this kind, as they appear to us, in no un-
friendly spirit, but with the view of inducing
the author to extend to this volume the
thorough revision which he has bestowed on
lAis other works.
Ridigious poetry .pan never, like religious
umlaut 109 too chaste and severe in its tone. In