New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-12-10

PeculaifJ adapted 10 he genius. Ine mere eA-
adjunct Of quaity-tte childke repetition Of ideas
the implicit cep oa OF wonders not DOLLY opposed TO
natural philosophy but % n,tu'a posi- ility-.nd
meter which approaches 70 HOMOGENEOUS c1ant-sre
all appropriate 10 Indian tales aud myths We know
this quaint and curious sin pliciy c6asc,erzes such
osir go lee as We have resd and il has the effect
tfpuh l. is sko fitted 70 the limited range of kuowl-
edge, the simple life ard MANNER the hopes aud fears
OF u people, an6 their anuored mind in reference
70 the origin Of things the operation OF Nature the
exist. nee and sctors OF the spirits OF Good and Evil
and the mysteries OF the unseen world.
"In our opipiop Mr.. Longfellow has truthfaly re-
prod uced the ph of his various Indisn authorities;
that Hiaws hs may be taken as an accurate repreeen
taton Of Indian msnne-s and su?ersGlons a'sically
treated and POLITICALLY adorned.
The Examiner is even more laudstery in its criti-
cism tboush it condemns the excessive use Of Iodisn
names by The poet. We quote from that journals
"Mr Lor efellow has here done his best 10 COM
psb for The Indian border lar Of America what years
aso Wsr Scott did for eur own Scottish oorder-and.
He has given II poeca interest and sought 70 iak
with Il enduring oeiasions Nor will sucn service
be slight one. All future sai derers scross t1Jee
prairies ell who m.y penetrate the pine soress OF the
North Western Siatee track the course OF the PIPER
Mississippi explore the shore OF the Great Lake,
viii have reason to be grateful to the poet Something
10 complete the charm absent until nov. No ira
oiiion lr ked the present with the past No rich in
a. u stior 10 srmth or wealth Of fancy, bad lighted
M TIE scene Travellers tourists 10 America mere
after will owe deb, of hoLest gratitude to tue Song OF
Hiawaths.
And here a. home we have reason TO be grs'eful.
In giving new life to the lar West Mr.. Longseiow
has s,o brought the spirit of II TO our tresdes we
get ali that worth preserving OF the Red MAO and
msy gladly and eratefu ly conssn the resi- OF mm 10
exnpation and silence.
" The Song of Hiawata IL tale of Indian mythol-
eey Us her, Is one who lived prayed; toed t ana
at once ruler and seer the first OF all the stery
men, who taught the maize to row aud the ~eeds
yeld their healing viz ues who Invented the canoe
race and WHO n last bis mission ended and his WORK
performed, underwent human loss ana sorow, and
faded away In the h.ht of dagning Christianity:
With II is main story are interviewer tradition and
legend descriptions of scenery and sketches of life,
pathetic, humorous fapcitu playful all very fresh
and new end s tinted with the rich co.orIng OF an
Indian Sumner
Inc meter OF the poem has been boldly chosen
but we ere no. disposed 10 think un@isey. Its uu,
rhymed tochees appear st first monotonous ana
straps G; but as we resd see their meaning asd
intention better, and sL ss we advance iheJ speak "
II more and more clearly OF
the rushius of great rivers
Tiroush their pairs sde, of pine trees,
Whose innumersble echoes
Flap like esrles in ih.ir eyreI'
These pnumerabe ecroes are one OF the most mar
ked feature in the song Like the Hebrew poets whose
verses reply to each other In measured cadence the
liz dian FOL sD. fails to repeat the more en-
pbac closing lines OF every section, varying IN words,
the same in substance lbe result Is PosuSr anu
9 The IL, however, another pecuuarlty 10 the
poem, which is also as certaiLly original but no.
Effective at ALL This is too abundant use OF lnoian
words SO fer is this carried, that if MIR. LongeloT
had wished in bis protes sionsl capacity to give
course of Ojibway, h, could hardly have done MORE
Nor might We gracefully have declined such co to
the duties of chair be has discharged 30 long with so
much honor. But es English readers and not Ameri-
can students, we must pro'est against an Introduction
of such quantities OF miserable, harsh. unpleasing,
useless woros into an F. glsh poem. Proper names
ave admissible Mipnehsbs so called after the most
sparkling of WATERFALL, Nosomis, lisSatha himself
az d oihers-to these we cannot reasonably o6ject.
But 10 be bored with tie Obvay for blue heron, or
scrawfsb or sea guile Is quite unnecessary. They
add no real local truth to tie picture. They weary
lines Ise these serve unless il be 70 remind us how
Adam named the g. in ais
Saw the Wild rec. H,tnOpore..
And The strs sberfy. Odshnin,
And the sOO.bsrry shshb imin,
Ard he grape vine, the Bsmshga-
All ksveen" SAID Muojskeew''
"Mr. Lopgfellow ust really be persuaded 10 Danish
from his fifth, his fitch edition, such specimens OF
unknown tongues
Small bemishes ave they, however, in a volume of
60 much beauty and tender grace Every page shows
us something would gladly transfer 70 colu ms
particularly that section OF it which seems 10 fullest
Of fancy ard choice exaressioa-the Hunting of Pau
MIR. LoDgfelow's raputa lion will, we thiok, be
raised by the Song Of Hiawara it is by far, in our
ludgm Mt, the most Oris oal OF all bis productions
though We do not expect il TO be Immediately popular.
rs pecuiaIiiies Of subject, OF treatment, particularly
Of meter, may forbid this. But when these &c!
fsniliarized TO the taste and the ear its beauties will
oye1 ont AID display thea selves more freely, and it
will appear ger orally whas il really s-a charming
poem, ard an undoubtedly high work of art I"
We slso hsve lac lumber of The Liverpool A.
JiOa, which devots two columns TO review OF this
poem, beginning in he following strain:
America is sometimes tsuoted with not having
produced gre at poet The oTi les who say this give
her credit for having given birth to myriat of sweet
Singers but they point 20 our own bright list OF names
az being far superior 20 that OF our Transatlantic
cousins. We believe otherwise. Give the poetry Of
the West fair plsy-test il by the British stsodard of
our own times ard j. viii Dot fare badly by The COM
psrisop. The floating poetry Of the United States to
be found in the nsgozIe and newspapers, a, least
equal if not superior, % the bulk of diluted wish
wsih Of our periodic press VII lie a9ony The men
WHO leave their footprints thu sands OF time,
America may Justly claim her proportion OF the most
prominent. Foremost in the rank OF this class OF
writers star Dc Lopgfeow, whose uua.csl rhythm lin
gers on tie memory like the souod of sweet song fro
some my eiious fairy land. Equal With own
poets in the saerce OF his imagery, and 10 the power
Of CONVERTS to the purposes Of song the slabsorb
il legend the achievements Of history, and the still
small bus meet potent Voice with which nature sp
peals to the Children OF msn, LongfeLow hes proved
in bic early works that he has command OF those
subtle elements of suc,-ss which make both hems-
lhers CAD to listen wner ne sings. But TO gTes err
extern. than he majority OF his cosm an, hiss be
exhibited qualities Of s-fat poet inasmuch as each
succee ding effort instead OF diminishing, tends TO give
breadth and solIdity 70 his fame.
@ Ha ~stha' brings him before in an entirely
new light; and TO read The poem 10 an spprec alive