New-York daily tribune., 1844-05-04
wALTER SAVAGE LANDoR.
trRoM "a NEW SPIRIT OF rue AGE BY R. H. no

in none OF his writings does their pecullariy oc-
cur so continuously as IN series OF Letters, en-
titled Z" High and Low Life in Italy" Every
sarcasm, irony, Jest, or touch of humor, is Sc
creted beneath the skin of each tInghng member
Of his sentences. His wit and his humor are
alike covered up amidst various things, apparent
" intended to lead the reader astray as certain
birds arc wont TO do when you approach the
nests that contain their bfoods. Or. tho man
tests and knotty points Of q paragraph are pianed
down to the smooth level OF the rest oi Tie sen
tepces. so that the reader may walk over thcfn
without knowing anything OF the matter -"
this NAV be natural TO his genius; 1t may aso
result from pride, or pervers!iy. 80 iaP if'i"
seeking the public, his genius has displayed
sort OF apathy, if not ant'pa;hy, 10 poPuia'lty
therefore, the public must court 1t, II thcy Wouo
enioy it to possess yourself OF his wit you must
scrutinize to be let into the secret ol MS huiho
vou nnst advance "pointing the toe Such are
Tho impressions derivabe from Mr. Landors
writings. In private social intercourse nothing
of the kind is apparent, and there are few man
whose conversation is more unaffected, manly,
pleasing, and instructive.
The imagination of 3ir. Landor is richly
graphic. classic, and subtly refined. In portray
with the mentality and the emotions Of ITS inner
being, and all those idosyncrasies which may oe
said to exist between a man and himself, bli
with which few. if ANYBODY else, have any husl
ness. In other respects most OF ms characters
especially those OF his own lnyentlon-n1ight
live. think. move, and have their being II space,
,o little does their author trouble himself with
their corporeal conditions. Whether 1t be that
their sutbor feels his own phySiqpe SO strongly
that il does not occur to him that any one else
can need such = thing-he will find all that for
them-or that il is the habit of his genius 10 ah-
stract itself from corporeal realities, (partiy frSm
the nerverse love a man continually has OF beng
his own oppnsite,') and ascend into a more
snbtIe element of exstence,-certain 1t is that
many of his characters are totally without ma,
terial or definite form appear TO live no Whefc.
and upon nothing, and 10 be very independent
aoents. to whom practical action seldom or never
occurs. "They think, therefore they arc" They
feel. and know (they arc apt too often 10 hho"
as much as their author therefore they are char
acters. But they are usually without bodily SUB
stance: and such form as they seem to nave IS
an abstraction which playground them, but 'nigh'
90 off in air at any time, and the loss be scarcely
apparent. The designs of his larger works as
wholes are also deficient IN compactness oil iofhi'
precison of outline, and condensation. hey
eften seem wild, not at all intellectually but IRON
ungoyerned will. it is difficult not to arrive at
conclusions of tbs kind-though different mines
will. of course, see diiierentiy-aitc careful
studv of the dramas OF " Andrea OF hungary,
"Gioyanni of Naples and " Fra rupert The
"Perices and Aspasia," the Pentaneron ano
Pentalogia," &c. The very title of the lima
giuary Conversations gives strong 1oretaste
of Mr.. Landor's predominating idcaliy, and dis
missal of moral bonds and conditions. The eX-
traordinarv productions last named are as though
their author had been ranfed while listening I"
the conversation, or the double solIloquies, ol
auuust Shades; all Of which he had carefully
written down on rcsuming his co1'orealliy' ana
where his memory failed hun he had supplied lhe
deficiency with some sterling stuff o his own
The Landorcan "peeps" seen through these
ETHEREAL dialogues and solloqn'es OF the mighty
dead. are seldom to be mistaken and though
hardly at times in accordance with their cothp'-
nv, arc seldom unworthy of the highest
As a partial exception to some oil the foregoing
remarks, should be mentioned the " t'Xamiiia'i'i
of William Shakespeare before Sir Thomas Lucy,
Knit. touching Devastating" Of all the thou
sands of books that have issued from the press
about Shakespeare, this one OF Mr. Landor's is by
far the most admirable. 1t IS worth lhein an
There is tho hieh.watcr mark of genius upon
every page, lit by as true sun Ms ever th' ocean
mirrorcd. Perfect and inim!tab'c rom beginning
70 end. that it has not become the most popular
of all the books relating to Shakespeare Is only 10
be accounted for by some pervcrslty or d"ihesS
NJ the pubc. The book is, certainly, not read
There is great love and reading bestowed upon
every cant about Shakespeare, and much interest
has been in all the hoaxes. Perhaps the puplc
thought this book was authentic
In nm ace of criticism like this, when TO take
a position over man and his work, Is supposed
to include proportionally superior powers oi ludg-
ment. though not ono discovery, argument or
searchinu remark he adduccd In proof when
ANALYSIS is publicly understood TO mean every
thing that can be done for the attainment OF
correct estimate, and the very term, alone, oi
synthesis looks pcdanuc and 0utre; ana when
any anonymous young man may gravely sea-
himself in the fancy OF hls unknowing readers
far above an author who may have published
works-of genus, learning, or knowledge ana ex-
perinece, at The very period that his we Judge
was perhaps learning TO write at school-lt only
becoming in an attempt like that ot the present
paper. to dsclam all assumption of tinality OF
Judgment upon NOBLE veteran OF established
genius, concerning whom there has never yet
been one phiosophicaily elaborated cnticlsn'-
To be the first to break ground" upon the broad
lands of the authors OF characters and scenes
from real life, is often rather perllous under
taking for any known critic who values MS rePu-
tation: but to unlock the secret chambers OF an
ETHEREAL inycntivenoss and pronounce at once
upon its contents, would only manifest the most
shortsighted presumption. Simply to have un-
locked such chambers for the entrance OF others,
were task enough for ono contemporary.
ANY sincere and mature opinions of the master
of an art are always valuable, and not the less
so when commenting upon established rcputa-
tions, or those about which contest still exists
We may thus be shaken in our faith, or confirmed
in it. MIR. Landors mode OF expressing his oPin-
ion often amounts to appealing TO an inner sense
for a corroboration of the truth. lie says, IN a
letter to a friend g found the Faesy Queen,
the most delightful book IN the world to fall
asleep upon by the seaside. Geotifey Chaucer
always kept mo wide awake, and bea, at a dis,
tance all other English poets but Shakespeare and
Milton. In many places Keats approaches ;:lm.
l.. .