The weekly American banner. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1855-18??, 1856-06-27

New edition, with Poetical Proem, and Annotations
illustrative, critical and exegetcal BY PETER
PUNDIr, FIG, X.QZ, etc., etc., etc. LoNDE
Nessimo Como Co. 1856.
Next to the pride of parents heart when he
contemplates the genius and high literary attain
ments Of his son, is the pride of the preceptor |
who has developed that genius, pruning away re-
dundancies, composing irrigating, training it
into full luxuriance and vigor. And next to the
origination and execution of great poetic con-
cepion praise is due to the clear elucidation of
passages which the burning haste of Genius have
eft obscure, and the illustration of eauties
which Inspiration has but time to scatter from
her wings, leaving to patient Toll the humber,
and more onerous task of exploring the forid
fields of erudition and collating the kindred
and congruent beauties. Such praise, by no
means small in measure, though secondary in
degree, is due to the learned Peter Pundit, who
has undertaken and most felicitiously executed
the laborous and responsible task of editing the
great American epic, "The song of Hiaw atha.''
1t is not our purpose to review the poem itself,
the merits of which have been so abundantly
discussed in the literary periodicals and hebdom.
adaries of Europe and America, and are doubt
less familiar to all "who love the moonshine,"
and other objects of nature which the poet him.
selfhas SO charmingly enumerated. Our object
is merely to call the attention of the reading
public to the services Of the learned Peter Pun
, dit whose edition of Hiawatha, we trust will
soon be found upon the table of all the before
mentioned lovers of moonshine. To this des
. rable result we cannot conduce better than by
giving such extracts from his annotations as our
d limited space will permit, with as few remarks
as possible of our own.
The task which the erudite Pundit has as
r sumed is evidently ga labor of love- and qutl
/ as evidently it is,not Loves Labor Lost" In
his enthusiasm he has even caught somewhat
of the inspiration of his author, and prefaces his
edition with laudtory ode, in which he has EN-
:; ployed tie measure, and even, in part the yer,
language of the Song of Hiawatha. He ha'
!; however, thought proper to borrow the adorn
r; ment of rhyme, concluding, propably, that the
n brevity of his ode rendered the sill recurring
chime at once more necessary and more easy o
attainment; and deeming no doubt, with undu
modesty, that such pinions were indispensable
to his'mo humble genius. This beautiful an
I'd we'll merited eulogy commences thus:
IN Honor be unto the author
s. Of the legends and traditions
IS; OF the prophet, Hiawatha,
cd And the Arrow makers daughter
'Minnehala, Laughing Water
no OF the legends and traditions
Legends old, and wild traditions
n. With their wondrous transmigrations'
is. with their frequent repetitons
And their wild reverberations,'
Sweet as song of Chetowak,
Of the plover, Chetowaic,
nt Writ in measure not iambic,
O. But in measure cleped trochaic,
BY 'the best of all muscians;'
= Wild and strange, and dithyrambic,
In the style which rhetorcians
ew Designate the namby 'pambic.
Ted Honor be unto the author,
To his fingers and his noddle,
For sthe Song of Hiawatha;
n For this epopee Of twaddle!
Thus the eulogy continues, rising gradual
into the very sublime Of panegyric, and the la
.eIs M daton is carried even - far that, in glowi
eel, apostrophe. our eulogist exel6imss
!, Fare thee well; o motluer Hubbard!
Mother Goose, thy course il finished!
ad vaa Shut thy book up-lock thy cupboard!
S s;,h Ye must hide your heads diminished!
zcp; I'VE cannot leave this predatory ode withc
hg an extract which shows that Mr.. Pun
q is rot less powerful in denunciation than fell
ade tous in eulogy. We take it from that part
var which the poetic iwor vents itself, with dera
ther haung iorce' upon tne swarm oi " y
lpuny efforts to tarnish the literary reputat
,nM anS or rufae the calm serenity Of the author
cans Hiawatha, he iikens to the malesolent ess
w. tof usa ssAs asssssa,. -