The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-22 00:00:00

THE QUARTERLIES.

The Edinburgh Review. No. COXII.—The
most attractive and interesting among the ten
contributions making up the contents of the newly
published number of the Edinburgh is beyond all
doubt (to ourselves at least) a most genial,
thougk occasionally caustic, criticism on the "New
Poets "—nine in number—whose verses the old
Whig Quarterly recognises as " the latest poetical
growth of English Literature." In testimony, of
the genial and appreciative tone of the review,
(rather in particulars than as a whole), we may
briefly specify the agreeable and encouraging com-
ments of the Edinburgh critic upoa each of the
nine " New Poets" (one a piece to the Muses),
whose writings are here analysed. The Edinburgh
reviewer says, then, of SYDNEY DOBELL, for exam-
ple, that in Balder "he proves himself to be not
only a rhetorician in his verse, but by nature a true
poet." He says, in regard to ALEXANDER SMITH,
that his Life Drama " abounds with remarkable
verbal beauties," "true thoughts," "piquant
touches of description," " brilliant phrases, and
passages "displaying a certain largeness of hand-
ling," &c. He says, in reference to PHILIP
BAILEY, that his Festus " contains enough poetry
to have set up a dozen minor poets." He says of
GEORGE MEREDITH (most truly!) that in his
verses called Love in the Valley, he has pro-
duced "a • little poem of singular sweetness,
truth, and originality." He says of "Owrav
MEREDITH " (nom, de plume, not de guerre,
as our critic, by a common vulgarism, bath it), that
" in the Earl's Return, and Queen Guenevre he has
given us two admirably descriptive pieces." He
says of Wrws..m ALLINGHAM that in his idyl of
the lil usic Master he has "produced a love•story
in which singular tenderness, simplicity, and purity
of feeling are combined with a peculiar national
colouring." He says of MATTHEW ARNOLD that
he has "no living superior for combined culture
and fine natural feeling in the matter of versifica-
tion." He says of "V " (another nom de plume,
meaning, as the reviewer here explains, Mrs. Clive,
authoress of " Paul Ferroll") that she displays
" the co-existence of the synthetic and analytic
modes of looking at things," S-c. Finally, he says
of GERALD MASSEY that " the most fastidious tastes
will be the most charmed with such verses.as those
(of his) called That merry, merry May," &c. ;
and that while his lyrics " have already gone
through several editions, some of them deserve their
popularity." As things go in the world of letters--
crowns of bay (such words as these !) for the nine
young poets whose volumes are thus particularised
by the grand old authoritative Edinburgh. Some
few of them are treated at the same time rather
severely :—" Our" purpose here having been rather
to excerpt the good things said of them than those
words of harsh depreciation which abound only
too largely for young poets struggling upwards
in search of a reputation. In some particulars,
for example Mr. Dobell is frowned down, Mr.
Smith is ridiculed, and Mr. Bailey sneered at.
While in reference to some of their yet more youth-
ful contemporaries, less is said in commendation
than their writings, to our thinking, are entitled
to—all things considered. We cannot but regret,
for instance, that the exclusive character
in which the nine " New Poets" are here
regarded, namely, as " Poets " precluded
the reviewer from making any mention whatever
of that Arabian Entertainment (in prose) by George
Meredith, called "The Shaving of Shagpat,"
through which that young author revealed such
remarkable powers as a humorist, and as a writer
of most affluent imagination. While as to the
last upon this list of "the tuneful nine"—Mr.
Gerald Massey—it happens very unfortunately that
the criticism in the Edinburgh Review appears
(as ill luck would have it) just before the publica-
tion of Mr. Massey's new volume of poetry, " Canis-
crook Castle," a volume in which we have already
had time to note lines of exquisite beauty and
feeling, such as those relating to the death of a little
child—dearly beloved—dead and gone in her "babe
virginity !" Agreeable, however, with all its short-
coming, and genial (as we have proved) with
all its causticity, is this criticism upon ' New
Poets" in the new number of the Edin-
burgh. As for the remaining articles iu that cur-
rent number of the Whig Quarterly, we have left
ourselves no room for their minute analysis. The
first is a comprehensive, though at the same time
rather superficial biographic criticism upoAn.
"Theother
Life and Writings of Francis Arago."
n over
carries us in a single sweep,
were,Another ove,r, " Sinai, Nubia, and Palestine.'a's
the Courts of " Prussia, Saxony/ .aint and Bavaria."
tThh e former of theseh
h.contributionsbteder
StanleyD eu t
sahnao
dvb teßnaguurr
teoaffi
je.rei
enecelattotetth. etotrtaveels of Messrs.
onfotDicre. Vofehps ee. 0
aTnhdeor
lei
ei,sB a,,paareotiaglrlaypTinicaTßoe:Adtaaln:::
and a wholly condemnatory notice of ~...8
~ perversion," A gossipingelvcpiheaawppetsreuronfidnaryrineloartieodnefito.
,TM, il t'oaenv telßl
kindelras: :' eaa; ngedl : weighs tnh a passesniacldanontic.ae between the merits
and demerits of " Beaumarchais." Besides all
which we have a review of M. De Tocqueville's
g g France before the Revolution :' the closing, and
yet, he it said, too, in another Sense the leading
article of the Edinburgh this quarter, being one
in re " The Political Crisis of the United States,"
a paper, "to say the least of it, very seasonable.

EMIGRATIOIT TO AUSTRALIA.--LIVERPOOL, Tuesday.—
The ownerA of the White Star line of Australian Packets
(Messrs. Pilkington and Wilson) despatched their fine
new clipper ..11errie England, Captain Kelly, to Mel-
bourne. Yesterday afternoon, xiLir 280 passengers, and
about 900 tons of valuable cargo on board. and to dal
the splendid clipper Star of tne East, under the com•
mend of Captain Gaggs, sails for the same port this
afternoon, also under the White Star flag, with,abnve
300 passengers and about 1,000 tons of cargo. •
Oat.
on CRYsTAL PALACE.-000 DAY.--"T
•OZOs Total visitors, 3,07.
payment, 2,911 ; ditto by beaEOLI
tie