The Express.
London, England, 1868-08-12 00:00:00

HISS MENNEN AND HER POEMS.

The sudden death of Miss Ada Isaacs Menken in
Paris has been chronicled in most of the English journals,
and those only who have known her as the wife of several
American prize-fighters, and one or two journalists, and
an actress who had outstripped the moat audacious of her
contemporaries, may be astonished to learn that she has a
volume of semi-religious poems in the press, which will be
published in a few day, under the title of " 'Welk*" and
dedicated by special permission to Mr. Charles Dickens.
Miss Menken was favoured in no common degree with the
correspondence of many of our saost distinguished literary
men, and it is not improbable that some of these letters
will be eventually given to the world ; in the meantime it
may not be uninteresting to quote the letter from Mr.
Dickens which is prefixed to the volume of poems we have
just alluded to :
"Oath Hill-place, Higham-by-Rochester, Kent.
Monday, October 21, 1867.
"Data Mres Maitxxis,—l shall have great pleasure in
accepting your dedication. I thank you for your portrait
as a highly remarkable specimen of photography. I also
thank you for the verses enclosed in your note. Many
such enclosures come to me, but few so pathetically
written, and fewer still to modestly sent. Faithfully
Pura, "CHARLES Incurs."
The poems to which a fee thnik copy of this letter acts
" •kin
d of preface, are about thirty in number, many of
them written under an inspiration which can be clearly
traced to Walt Whitman. The first poem in the book is
called " Resurgam," and it may not be inappropriate at
the present time to quote the following passage
Why did I die
O love! I waited—l waited years and years ago.
Once the blaze of a far-off edge of living Love crept up my
horizon, and promised a new moon of poesy.
A teal full life !
A soul's full love!
And promised that my voioe should ring tranchig shivers
o/ rapt melody down the groove. of this dumb earth.
And promised that echoes should vibrate along the purple
of unfathomable seas, to the soundless folds of
the clouds.
And inomised that I should know the sweet sisterhood of
tea stars.
Premised that I should live with the crooked moon In her
eternal beauty.
But a midnight swooped down to bridegroom the day.
The blazing aphynx of that far off, echoelese promise,
shrankinto a drowsy shroud that mocked the crying
eters of my soul's unuttered song.
And so I died.
Died this =alined and unburied death,
Died alone in the young May night.
Died with my fingers grasping the white throat of many
a prayer.
There I. much more of this rhapsody, and little in it
to make us believe that a gushing impulsive creature, such
as Menken is represented to have been, could not have
written the volume without the aid of some of those
poets whom she took into her confidence. One poem,
called "Judith," with a quotation from " Revelations '
under its title, has the following passages :
Stand back, ye Philistine'
Practise what ye preach to me
I heed ye not, for know ye all.
Ye are living binning Um, and profanation to the gar-
ments which with stately steps ye sweep your marble

.• • •
Cat "hack !
I am no Magdalene waiting to kir the hem of your gar-
ment.
Another poem is an avowed imitation of Ossian ; moat
of the titles are Bad or biblical, and two or three prose
"fragments" form part of the volume.

MARLBOROUGH-ROM, AUGUST 10.—ThePrince
of Wales has been pleased to appoint Oscar Clayton, Esq.,
M.D., airs !wren in ordinary to his royal harer.—•
(forgsf.

-

FOREIGN NEWS,

(rills DAY.)

POLITICAL DEISIONSTRAT:ON•
STUDENTh IN PAIIIS.

The students in l'aris ye..terd.sy
roliti"al demonstration at the r0.n...41
tion of pri/os at Sorbor.ne• The Jr',:a
prrial cam' c p frcan Font 41.41:-14; •t o 4„
side at the j4..yous ecremony, Nici M. I;
the Minister of l'ubiic Instruction, s 1.4; I.:
The young prince was coldly rweivi.d.
Latin addross was rcarl, the word N 44-4.4 •
very distinctly Tl..' t k • .
Prince was to diAtribsato tho ..f .
many wcre light4.-d to re.,
hard. As ti s of Cs. I,ri•e:
calk(' over demon-Ai :,tion, of . •
vcr) u•tird, %. 4.4 c crel.• is tl. I, ,
when an> f•c.4,4;iit,.. 4.,.;•
from family 44 44•. C. :•t: . • .
name of Perto...!), the on of t:
mho Lid 41 • 1 :.n , •
fr,rcii,lll,le .' •
r.arow c,t C •,, ' .
fl.• ••t. 7,,1tr•v:1,•• •

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i::•• (;.•:1:111 ;W
I.od.
IPI 1.1121, l• 2. •.• •
Cavaigilac:ll:zrir.l.• • ;
Nr,,l •1 12p0:1 ;

•
F..l)' 1:11. Tir• s_';(i:-td I
v th.•ll
stir, mtvi ILc•

inn,t i•

11( i• :1•1(• i.o •
thf• of Dzu•uy, 1, .!
made up hi.: mina 11:::t
pf the man of Dec,•n:l.• r. A.
nh,,idc-d M. Du: fl, m-ith • ,
calit'l upon the I.l—t(T 1,1
Irizc.4 for thr young. Or:Nip:lvo "
tU• pro:, 'ding, woro over
lo Prince," iii :d t.,
tho thoro Wo•rt, f •
"ViVt. La I..intel-li," A 21.• .1 u
:it (••.tj• in th,• 1:,
Th.- 1.•
later. on :I,joct :

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~ ~;

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I lice•de, ,ir, yen will p:. b!: .11 the t:1 - • •
journal. Yet Hay timing the dI :1••••• •. •
Sorl-oune, the menie,ry of a life ••f :nt• ••
caused the name of Cas•tiiiin•- to 1: • .
',tally. The young heir of ti:i itai;l•• •:--I I • •
ought to go up to receive the enilino
had hie father seized in the r:ght
Fri •01). car lik-• a inalefaett•:•, fr del - • • • ' -
P.m. Each one will anal dat• t 1.:• 1•• • .
thinks proper. But by the .tide ••F r, ! •
one of his eompaiii•llls who was .•, ! •
Lion of applause. lie was ordered to re tI;.-. • .
by saying that he hid a right ti
threatened to be hurled out by foie, •• 1 ••.-
the reply, for be felt that to saLilit • •
without protest was to autliori, it.
fog the Lyceum the Censor iridre•,lnt - • •.
of young Gent tti said, " Yon t r:• f:•11
at the success of your son in • • ,r!-•.•
He has changed this day of joy into ore of ,oci:•tr. r 1.
is banished from the school. Let him nut c•met••••tuvr
to the distribution of prizete," Ac.
This letter is signed V. Lesueto . T 1 • .1-•
remarks that it is only too true GA 111.- youi
student was dismissed, and asks ‘‘ll.-11,-: it
equally true that four colleagues were urre.,l-1
leaving the Sorbomie for crying
sac."

THE DECLARATION AT TROYE4.
The journal L- Unitlois thus comment.; •
declaration of the Emperor at Troyes :
Everywhere reviews. camps ou all sidr
bayonets, and plumes: Would not monarch. d..
to go to watering places than to be practising
war, if real war is not at hand r •• Nothing
menaces the peace of Europe.•• Dnes Oct n
"Everything menaces it to-morrow•'

ennwroa BZ JTEIeB Aasscr
SPAIN.
PROTEST OF THE DUKE AND Dl't
OF MONTPENSIER.

MADRID, Ar-t*,; iii

The Queen of Spain has received a lot. r
Lisbon, signed by the Duke and Ducho, e-
pensier, energetically protesting against :r4:
for their exile.

HUNGARY.
PESTH, Anocar H. Errol.
At yesterday's sitting the L'pper of tL
Hungarian Diet passed the Army Bill unani-
mously. The Lower House has tcruan..t.al
sittings, and will re-assemble on Septeiulkr 16.
It is thought highly probable that the l'Arn
Tribunal of Pesth will find I'rinee liztrag,nttn -
witch guilty of complicity in Prince Michat-1,
murder.