The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1858-12-15
MISCELLANEOUS.
For the North owa Times,

Dana's Household Book of Poetry.
Editor Of the Times Il send you en-.
closed a slip cut from the N. Y. Jour
nal of Commerce, which speaks j.
warmly, very eloquently for ITSELF
Whatever political feeling may have in,
cited its earnes!ness, to a great extent,
the justice of its structures, is apparen,
to unprejudiced minds. Mr.. Dana IS
Hou soholl Book of Poetry, was looked
for with interest by all lovers Of itera-
ture and national honor. 1t seems TO
have been received with disappointment
and already to have been the subject OF
criticism. Mary of our finest and
nldaSt writer's havn rAna;.-~l - ieco5ni
ton III It's pages. Among these, are
s1,..is. AIS. saisournsy, -Dr. betnuns.
Curry, Gutter, Robert Conrad, John
Neal, William D. Gallagher and Thos.
Dunn English. If Morris is not a
household poet, who is Certainly, it
is not Pierpont, or Whittier or Burleigh
who, although having written many fine
things, are not poets whose works will
entitle them to national reputation. The
true poet, like the Chris ian, must be
conservative to have full development
of inspiration. The muse that trots in
a ring gets one sided award, but the
Pegasus shat considers the Universe as
his field, receives in the end the accla-
nation of the world. If il be true that
this is partisan book, and that none of
the poets whose political tendencies are
averse to the compilers have been per-
mitted a place in it, is it properly
household book of poetry, in the sense
that Mr.. Dana means doubtless to use
the word ? 1t may be Mr.. Dana house
hold, but we much doubt whether it
will be generally received as the Amer
lean Household Book of Poetry. Every
compilation heretofore. both English
and American, have awarded to Mrs.
Sigourney. place of distinction among
the worlds benefactors. No woman
living has done as much for the cause of
female literature, for the cultivation of
a correct taste. for the chastity of its
morals as she. She has not written
verses about negroes, but she has fed
and clothed them and rendered to their
unfortunate race aids as essential to
their comfort as this. Now We believe
that this factional spirit has no business
to drag its hateful exorcism into literary
criticism. No compiler of such work
as Mr.. Dana's, should suffer his parti-
san prejudices to influence him to such
an extent as to deny justice to any indi-
vidual. especially to woman. The
last ten years have furnished bright
illustration Of wha. becomes of women
who once commit themselves to fanati-
cal cliques and shibboleths OF party
strife. The step from an Abolition lee.
ture room to the platform of Rutland
Conventions, has been short one. No
toriety has marked with her finger,
Mrs. Stone Blackwell and Mrs. Lucre-
tia Mott and Mrs. Branch. the pretty
advocate OF that pretty doctrine. Free
Love. These women are not yet poets,
but in some of their peculiar principles
are members Of Mr.. Dana's household.
and by submitting to the influences"
may be sufficiently developed" to
figure ip the next edition of his work in
place OF Mrs. Sigouruey and Alice
Carey. tho most delicate and imagina.
tive poet of her sex. Forty years of
service III literary labors should have
deserved some mention in every record
OF American names, if in those forty
years but few things had been written
worthy to be rescued from obscurity.
But Mrs. Sigourney has been. and is
with a large circle Of readers. a popular