The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-10-30


turning to work with which he has become familiar
The usual embarkation services held, Dr. Blagden
officiating.
The Lecture Season.
DIR. o. ". HOLMES ON THE LATE POET LAUREATE.
The first lecture of the before the Mercantile
Library Association delivered at Hope Chapel
Friday evening The lecturer was Dr. o. W. Holmes, OF
Massachusetts, The subject Of the Btsh Poet
Of the Nineteenth Century, the subject of this lecture
The Poetry of Wordsworth" There very full at
tendance The lecturer by introduction to
show he said how it that he there to lee
ture upon such topic Some time since he had been in
ved to deliver of lectures before the 10 veil In
stitute at Boston; and having been informed that the
people had become somewhat bored With science he had
passed into the fields of poesy, and had gathered
handful Of vioets daisies passion flowers and the like
which he ould scatter among his friends; and, in
doing, would make his language simple as possible.
With this brief grace said he 'let square or and be-
gin with the champion of the heavy weights among the
British poets of the nineteenth century All that is
necessary for to know of Words worth be briefly
tole His life commenced in 1870, and ended in the last
part of the first half OF the nineteenth century. He
therefore just entering life when the French
luten commenced; he imbiocd of the practical
principles Of that era but in the latter part of his life he
became supporter of the Church and the cons;i.
tuition. In poetical life he may be said have trod
upon the warm ashes of Cowper He the originator
of school of poetry. He had been preceded by 81
masters Thons son, Collins, Aikenside, Young and
Dyer. During wordswortb's life a generation of poets
arose, hourished and passel away. Scott Byron Cole
ridge Shelley and Keats found him in the world when
they entered it, and left him in II when they de
parted With comfortable income he was enabled to
live the pleasant vallies of Westmoreand where for
he did nothing but write utter poetry He
was of good constitution mild snd placid tempera
ment and not liable TO those faults for which have
been remarkable He loved Nature. and lived with her
He love few old poets, and one modern onehimself
He simple and egotstical at the same time He in
troduced theory OF poetry to write in the poetry
in the style of proe as far figures The best proof
that this failure found in the fact that he dis
carded it. This is shown in the poem Of 'The Blind
Highland Boy" when first written he sent the boy to
sea in household tub This was too much for
his most enthusiastic admirers and it changed to
90 turtle shell,
Which he, poor child had studied WELL
A shell of ample size, ard light
AS the pearly car Of Amphitrite,
That sportive dolphns drew"
Wordsworth better poems distinguished for classi
cal diction and severity of ornament The lecturer
thought that he would not alter word in this true
love poem. IL had been said that Wordsworth having
been democratic ami being always republican had
endeavored elevate lower classes by choosing his
subjects from among Them Wordsworth's first and
greatest fau' was proxity 1t may be doubted whether
any English poet had more power to many ideas
in few words than he; but he used this power
and it is very evident that he required longer time 10
tell story than any person since the days of Dame
Quickly In the Excursion he takes five lines to tell
that the old took his staff-a proceeding which is
not to be particularly described There is nothing
dangerous TO poets prolyty The prolix writer nsy
be read by his contemporaries but the next generation
win be likely to throw him overheard. Peurility and
weatne Of thou ht may frequently be found in Words
worth and in coloquy he frequently drops Gown TO
plain homey prose without any attempt at ornament.
The lecturer CONTESTED this with the sustained grandeur
OF that great lyric the iad Wordsworth careless
that in ore poem oe saws Name slipped from re-
membrgnce.' He would do better to tell US where we
could en- the name. "ASrays Guide Book might be
mentioned in noe The lecturer could not agree with
ana Jeffrey to the obscurity'' of Wordsworth
True you WERE oblgsl 70 search for his meaning
sionaily but with - you would always ind it.
could select for thsmsex aad were not Obliged to read
the long poems The youth Of eighteen would pre- the
bloodred saddle of Msrmion" the dashing Lochin
war; TO the !" dull which would not mend hi pace
with beating" but the sedate might prefer the
quetness of the last named animal The lecturer said
that the many attacks which had ie Words
worth had injured his fame but they had all
bounded pom those from whom they had eanated; and
nstapced it proof the true genius woul
always receive full tice later. The poen of
Wordsworth display character of feeling which Cole
ridge calls medatiye rathos he has great deal of
pathos but it of the dry kind and his elaborate poems
too full of thought to produce tears The So
Of Margaret and the Mad Mother intended to be
childrens poems than At these. Wordsworth hardly
ever ATTEMPTED passion In Vaudracour and Julia he
appoximates it; tut here this unsexual man, Shell
ley called him. destroys the effect by long, dras giny
drawing smile as follows
ssHave you beheld tut of winged seed,
That from the dapdelion's naked stalk,
Mounted aloit Il suffered not to
It's natural gifts for purposes OF rest,
Driven by the u.umna1 whirlwind to and fro
Through the vide element?
by such aid you may conceive
The perturbation Of each mind
The desperation Of youthful couple madls in love-
the gIl separated from him she adored-he murderer
and in prisonall depicted by struggling bit OF dande
lion seed blown about by the autumn wnd. HIS poems
OF fancy generally failures, and in only two
we ind beautiful fantastic images Wit could hardly be
found in his poetry disposition; he occasionally dis
played sort of wild hunor The great power of Words
worth genius was his imagination. Colerdge in this
respect places i'm next to Shakespeare Milton This
is hardly true, because he has dramatic power His
great feature is his power OF assmlating himself with
inaniu ate things Shakespeare passes by sort of mental
metempsychoss into the hearts of all CLASSES and cond
tons Of mep--he then made thsm speak through him
Milton raised himself higher than men, and inter
never passed beyond his own personality. and he
merely described men and things hs found
adds quality to pre- existent objects and creates nothing
To describe the workings Of the human heart Ia the
ter class OF aborng people his religion wilson, who
his sincere admirer takes him to for his lack OF
attention 10 revealed religion, and his bographer has
deemed necessary TO say that thirty six years before
his death he wrote religious poem. He says 10 one
penn
by grace divine nature
Not otherwise thper
There be doubt that he believer In revelation
and nothing be found to prove that he scepc
IL very certain however that in the poems upon which
his name and fame founded there is nothing Of
ation He says, but in the mountains did he feel his
faith Bstthats the word The poet turned from re.
veston to nature. His faith exha listed in his love
of nature, and drank up everything else with it. Iris
was time when he muse c. 5ron glowing With natural
beauty, and adorned with magnificent ewery sat by The
vsysde, singing her song Of shame sweetly that
innocence bowed at her feet TO listen Wordsyorth's
language remarkable Tor ness than richness
and his sonnets Are better than any Milton. In
there are one hundred and fifteen Words out If these all
but thirty six are rnonosyables. He says that his
des Chaucer and Spenser and the lecturer could
see no resemblance between him and Cowley. He had
too much love Of Lature and too little for the God ma
n cal M nf fhria ff.n r.ada
The lecturer closed by recng original poetry upon
American scenery The lecture vas listened to with ear
nest attention by very large and IA honabe audience
including large number Of ladies' Mr.. Holmes style
Is graceful, and his delivery rapid and distinct.
Aid for Yale College.
Wednesday night meeting Of alumni and others .snds
Of Yale College, hell in the vestry CT Dr. Chee