New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1858-11-01
8eo 0rltans 1aiIp Crescent.
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The COrRTsHTP or MIKES STANDraH and other
Poems. By Henry Wadsworth Longfelow Boston:
Ticknor & Fields.
small book, which is making large noise in
literary circles, because it IS Longfeows latest The
principal poem from which the book takes its title
dresses up the first romantic whte love affair sup
posed to have ever taken place in New England. an
the characters came over in the mayhower the bluff
fighting captain Miles Standish who had seen service
in Flanders his wife the maiden Priscilla, belle Of
the Mayfover party, and John Alden, the youngest
man Of the party real nice young man, who il he
were alive here and now, would most probably be a
clerk or booa-keeper in some Camp or Canal street
store. This is the poets story
Capt. Standish, the death-defying and ire.eating
defenderof Plymouth with his brass cannon mounted
on the church, loses his wife soon after coming over
He is the first to think OF marrying the beautiful
maiden Priscilla but, though he can spit at cannon
ball, and laugh the Indians tomahawk and arrow TO
scorn he quails almost faints at the idea of asking
nice young girl to be the wife of such rough, hairy
old customer as himself In his trouble, he asks his
nice young friend. John Alden, to go and ak the
gal . if she won't be his'nn The nice young man
has sneaking notion that way himself; but loving
and fearing the cid 'un," undertakes the Grand,
and does it so bungngly though honestly, that the
"gal pittes him, and axes him why he don't
speak for himself.
Brokenhearted he goes back to the old 'un,'
and tells him honestly what the gal said. The
"old 'un" goes wild, and comes nifty nigh - run
ming his whinger through the young ;uns giz-
zard."
Next morning, hearing that the Injnns' are
sassy" andreceving a visit from zone of EN-, y with
lot Of arrows wrapped in rattesnake hide, he
sends back the hide stuffed with cold lead and salt.
petre; and, calling the "b'hoysr of Plymouth to-
gether, goes a-hunting He falls in with the "copper"
heads = "chaws EN- up catawampoualy - and scar
'em into ciyility everywhere all because the "gal
preferred John Alden to him. He seeks perpetual
consolation in eating up the redskins. Meantime the
nice young man and Priscilla can't keep apart their
"ainities," and her spinning, draw them together
and both are miserable in their fear of the bloody old
Indian killer.
AT last the news comes that the "old un" is dead
pierced with poisoned arrow. The "young 'uns''
are properly sorry; and in order to make common
stock Of their grief, get "htched" without delay.
Whilst the knot is being tied, phantom in steel ar
NOR stands in the door and "skeers" the whole party
"oriuli just as Alonzo the Brave did the false Imo-
gene. But it proves to be no ghost only the sold
un, alive and kicking, and in full possession of his
senses. He introduces himself, lakes" the young
un's'' pardon, blesses the wedding, and there is a
grand "fresac' all round, and fine times generally.
We may be pardoued for speaking in this style Of
q poem which is said to be good thing, from the
great Longsllow. We cannot cali it poem Ii is in
the style of Eyangelne," interspersed with good
deal of the unmeaning eccentricty Of Hiawatha p
that is, cumbrOus prose, with uncommon adiectives
leading very common nouns, and chopped off into
long lines Of 50 many syllables each. We admit that
tits pretty story embelIshed with some fine poetic
SMILES, here and there but is no more piece of
poetry than our description of the story given above
In the latter part of the book are a number of
small poetic pieces of the author contributed to diff
ferent magazines, and now collected and booked forth
for the first time. In these we find something like
poery-something to remind US of Longellow, before
he set up his school Of socaled poetry of which
d" Evangeline." Hiawatha" and Miles S.andish's
Conrtshp are the precious specimens-a rafting
out of highly polished prose, so many words in a
row, and put on paper like pins by Yankee pin
machine