The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-11-13


THE ENGLISH POETS OF TINE NINETEENTH CENTURY
BYRON AND MOORE.
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes delivered the third lecture Of
his the above subject Friday evening" at Hope
Chapel The house was crowded to excess, and the lee
turers remarks received with applause by highly
ntelgs ut audience. He commenced by observing that
he names G. Byron ana Moore should net separated
for other poets familiar TO the CT readers
and the of both household words in every
home He had grouped them together not only because
they contemporaries and friends but because they
the true poets Of passion Lord Byron productions
had been o shining work for crticihm. Iierati sub
lerat and laTatid, had all, in turn added something
to the fund Of information respecting him. We know
htw he eat and drank, swan, and shot, and loved His
friends sketched him his interior life saints have
for bm-sil have copied ha vices. His position
pcet is settled Chide Harold tells all want to
know Of his early life and trials N this Identification Of
the man with his works, he resemble Rousseau. Chade
Harold hac which has been attainsd by
other book but Its elact electric His fame
seemed 70 spiing up in night like Aladn's palace in
the Arabian tale, without exerton and as II by the
charm Of eHchanter His character is correctly de-
lineated in his works. In early youth he loves and
aspres and he Hours Of Idleness correctly interpret
these aspirations. With manhood came safety and
dependency, and in Childe Harold" Manfred and
ssrdanaI Ialus, We hear their voice. Then comes his
Nanhood with All its miseries and with tao deeriora
ton OF his moral cha acter follows " Don Juan but i'm
mediatey after the redeemng even. Of his life
his noble efforts in behalf of the Greeks The lecturer
referred IN paant Neore's life of the poet and his
published poudence Byrons letters, ne thought,
exhibited the noble bard in most unfayorable light.
He granted that they full OF wit and brilliant,
piercing sarcasm, but they full of oaths and more
over, exhibited spirit o-he hardly dared to atter the
weTd--vulyarity. But who was this man whose works
now formed part of universal erature His character
formed very early, and urder very different intu
ences. As boy he was subject to extraordinary and
premature attachments which brought nothing but dis
appointments with them Dangerous he proved to the
hea rts of in after life he object Of rdicule
ia his boy hood Byron born for the tropics He had
hose Itu
ms de glorious TurSish bashsw and yet the perysrse
fates had cast os lot in cold and foggy En- land None
however, deny that he possessed with all his fsuls
some high and noble virtues He was generous, not
withsandng that he pretended sometimes to be ava
ri ous. and his heart full of kindly synpatbies He
could respect religion in Others and was not destitute OF
the sentiment himself His great intensity OF feeling Is
shown in such passages as "Could | but wreak my
thoughts upon expression" Love, despair, revenge,
but the vassals of that powerful lima aation But
ii his imagination was great there IS an nsncerity
about all porratures He at the very tear Of
sympathy into which his exquisite art has betrayed
you Whatever may have been the effect OF his works,
he has eft no has form ed no school The
| 9, ryis,s Of Wordsworth Shelley. Keats, and Cole
iidge become assimsted to them; but the noble poet
stands aloIe One thing however, Byron accomplished
He showed the world that may be poet without
inhabng garte, in Grub street. He has demo nsrated
that great poet may be peer of the realm, one Of the
prout est ornaments of society ana dandy me isctI
abused class the respect and esteem OF the c0mm
nifty. He thought it was demonstrab'e that man OF
| talent might be at the sane time consummate ex1u
site Such DOfsay and Byron gave dignity 10 the
ranks The Duke OF wellington used to say that the
bravest Officers in his army fops The lecturer
st of distinguished individuals all Of whom he accused
fdsndyism Byron alo possessed of no small bus-
talent his letters to Murray abundantly prsve
Upon the whole he thought that the noble poet the
gsaest who had appeared since Mil on. Many might be
Disposed TO favor the claims of the bard of Ryda Mount
aid might claim that Shelley the true prophet;
Eyrons Iostcn could not be altered The nineteenth
century had made its work with Napoleon in empire
Byron In soDg
lecturer then proceeded to the second branch Of bis
briefly commented upon tho genius and life OF
Moore The melodies which he poured forth with much
his best passports to fame and fingered In
the memories of all who admired genuine sentiment Moore
empha,ically the poet Of fancy. Like Daphne one
could not look at his muse without seeing blushing
shower cf ATTIC thought This excess Of metaphor
in the lecturers opinion the chief fault OF the poet
II was the real Atasnlas apple The poet always ne.
elected his tue aim turning aside TO catch the glitter
his characters The most powerful he ever drew was
Moksnna, in "Ialla Rookh," and he kind OF an
cen ice Smith, with any nifty Of wives and hand
kerchef over his face. On the melodies the most un
qualified nendation bestowed. They reminc ed
one Of the voices which had breathed them-now
silent forever Mothers and sstersthe early loved and
Dead had perhi taught those melodies to and they
enshrined In the hearts OF thousands Moore was
the poet of young people, Their passions and vir
tuous feelings found echo in his verse he was the
last Of that glorious band which had she'd lustre on the
nineteenth century. Old age had extngush I'd his pas
sons but to the laat be his social affections
death he tang OF his favorts airs and the love
| music never left him but with life.
Dr. Holmes concluded his lecture By the recitation
| An ORIGINAL poem guQ0ested by the subject