The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1848-01-01


celebrated verse in which he is supposed to imi-
tate the movement of gallOPing horse
Quadrupedante putrem soniiu quatit unguia
campum.
This in Smithic hexamsters gallops as follows
We hope our readers will observe that ii has the
merit Of alliteration-sz
"Clickety cut, see how he clips It; for going ne
goes in gallop."
A few years ago Longiellow published trans
Iation of tine ''Children of the Lords Supper"
from the Swedish Of Bishop Tegner. In the
preface, the translation says: 81 have preserved
even the measure-that memorable hexameter,
in which, 1t must be confessed, the motions Of
the English Muse are not unlike those Of a
prisoner dancing to the music Of his own
chains; and perhaps, as DR.. Johnson said Of the
dancing dog, 'ths wonder is not that she should
do it SO well, but that she should do il ALL"
Mr.. LongfelIow seems to have become better
pleased with the hexameter on farther acquain-
lance. He has lately published long poem in
hexameter verse, the title Of which is Evange-
line. The book has not reached the West, but
judging from the extracts we have seen, the
poem must be one of remarkable beauty. We
present few extracts:
Evangeline, separated from her lover at the
moment of marriage, is after a time urged to
forget him and to select new husband.
" Then would Evangeline answer, sersnely but
sadly,-'I cannot.
Whittier my heart has gone, there follows my
hand, and not elsewhere.
For when the heart goes before like lamp, and
ilumines the pathway, ---
Many things are made clear, that else lie hid
den in darkness
And thsreupon the priest, her friend and father
confessor,
Said, with a smile,--'O daughter! thy God thus
speakest within thee!
Talk not of wasted affection, affection never was
wasted;
II il enrich not the heart of another, its waters
returning
Back to their springs, like the rain, shall fill
them full Of refreshment;
That which the fountain sends forth returns
again TO the fountain.
Patience; accomplish thy labor; accomplish thy
work of affection!
Sorrow and silence are strong, and patient en-
durance is godlike.
Therefore accomplish thy labor oflove, till the
heart is made gOdlike,
Purified strengthened, perfected, and rendered
more worthy Of heaven"
Still further on the Catholic priest says to
Evangeline-
T" Patience" the priest would say; 'have faith
and thy prayer will be answered.
Look at this delicate flower that lifts its head
from the meadow,
See how its leaves all point to the north, as true
as the magnet;
Ii is the compass-fower, that the finger Of God
has suspended
Here on its fragile stalk, to direct the travellers
journey
Over the sealike, painless, limitess waste of the
desert.
Such in the soul of man is faith. The blossoms
Of passion,
Gay and luxuriant flowers, are brighter and
fuller Of fragrance.
But they beguile us, and lead US astray, and
their Odor is deadly.
Only this humble plant can guide US here, and
hereafter
Crown us with asPhOdsl flowers, that are wet
with the dews of nePenthe."
Here is a description of Indian Summer.
''Such was the advent of autumn. Then fol-
lowed that beautiful season,
Called by the Pious Acadian peasants the Sum-
mer Of All saints
Filled was the air with dreamy and magical
lights and thelandscape
Lay as if new-created In all the freshness Of
childhood.
Peace seemed to reign upon earth, and the rest
less heart Of the ocean
Was for a moment cOnsoled. AL sounds were
in harmony blended,
Voices Of children at play, the Growing Of cocks
in the farm-yards,
Whir Of wings in the drowsy air, and the COO
ing Of pigeons,
All were subiued and low as the murmurs Of
love, and the great sun
Looked with the eve Of love through the golden
vaPors around him;
While arrayed in its robes Of russell and scarlet
and yellow,
Bright with the sheen Of the dew, each glitter
ing tree of the forest
Flashed like the plane tree the Persian adorned
with nantes and jewels"
We cannot refrain from giving another extract:
Like phantom she came, and passed away
unremembered
Fair was she and young, when in hope began
the long journey;
Faded was she and old, when in disappointment
it ended.
Each succeeding year stole something away
from her beauty,
Leaving behind it, broader and deeper, the gloom
and the shadow.
Then there appeared and spread faint streaks Of
gray Ger her forehead.
Dawn Of another life, that broke Ger her earth
ly horizon,
As in the eastern sky the first faint streaks Of
the morning"
If this is not poetry, what isl We can hard
ly say anything about the external form-the
body, when it is only transparent medium for
the soul to shine through. The sparkling of
the gem hides the setting from our eyes; or If
we do turn our attention to it, it seems that in
no other setting would the jewel be so brilliant.
While reading the description of Indian Sum-
mer-though we are now surrounded by the
SHOWS Of December, and the sun scarcely VEN
lures to peep through the clOuds-we feel the
drowsy Peacefulness of the air, and see the
sun looking 'with the eye of love through the
golden vapors around him" The figure at the
close Of the last extract seems to us one Of the
most beautiful in the English language.
But We set out to speak Of the form, and must
finish our task. We must bear in mind that
these are English hexametsrs; they have the
English rhythm. When the beauty of the idea
does not make us forget the form Of the verse,
they seem to have pert, rOmPing air about
them. A Roman would be almost as much sur
prised at English hexameters, as if he were to
see the stately Juno change herself to an Eng
lish fairy, and 90 to dancing on the green
We think of them as we do Of Gothic cottages,
which We like to look at occasionally, but should
be sorry to see whole town composed of moth