Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-06-11


ed ''The War" Perhaps they are likewise equal
lyaware orthe fact that Alfred Tennyson is 'poet
laureate" of England-whch means much the
same as that DR.. Hare is "PhySciau cxtraor'
dnary" to the Queen; that is, that he has good
fat birth, with nothing to do but draw pen
sion. Tennyson's poem has gone the rounds OF
the press, first starting out in the columns OF
the London Times 1t has been ridiculed, ira
vested and burlesqued probably moro than
any poem of the-last twenty five years. We
say more, not us term indicating Success in
the ridiculous efforts which have been made at
ridicule, but simply more in the sense of guam
tity. We have read pretty much all these bur-
lesques, and have to say that, in our opinion
they have failed-entrcly failed to write the
poem down, however much, just now, they may
have put 1T under the literary frown of the diet
tamil. The much laughed at poem will come to
the surface yet and ere long, too we prcdlct,"lth
winsome features for the public eye. We say,and
in the full knowledge, too ofall the cuffs and jeers
which it has received, that the poem is true
one-judged by any true standard of poetry
and has merit almost in every line, certainly in
every verse We leave out of our account the
refrain, or chorus as being we'll enough for the
touch Of captaudum, for which it was designed,
and look to the poem as it stands in its four
verses of four lines each.
AS then, heroic and patriotic appeal, terse,
full of sort of a wild looming up of appre
hension. we call these lines very fne
There is a sound thunder afar,
Storm IN the south that ,Arks sc the day.
Well, IL 1t do not roll our way.
The verbiage Of those lines taken ont Of their
poetic measure, would be about such as Macau-
lay, or some historian of his wonirous power of
investing crisis with its train of dread portentS,
would employ. To one read in the last years his
tory of Europe, the lines are unsteady grand as
we'll as historically brilliant
The next four lines are striking, especially the
last two:
BE deaf to the sound that warns!
BE not guild by despot's plea
Are figs OF thisles, grapes OF thorns?
How should a despot set free?
The first two could just as well have been
said in prose which indeed they areas in
their present arrangement. 1t was necessary,
we opine in Mr. Tennyson's opinion, for him to
have line for that fine epigram,
care figs of tl,istles, grapes Of thorns:"
even at the risk of employing common place
ism of the hustings. Two lines or even one line
so meritorious, has redeemed whole poem be-
fore now
Let your Reforms for moment so,
Look to your butts and take good aims.
Better rotten borough so,
Than rotten hect ora city in flames!
Those who have been attentive readers Of the
speeches of John Bright, DIsracli, and Palmer
ston, and have seen the riss and flow of the
great volume of feeling, that is but stayed in
England, even to the extent of eXacting from
Derby, the "lntensest conservative" of the
realm, half way concession, will see in those
lines political meaning, rich and peculiar
and most happy antithesis They are as
alive as ever were four lines before. They arc
right abreast of the great reform wave FOR the
moment, and verify have kissed the people with
the shrewdness of AbSalom in the gates.
This whole eiFusion of Tennyson'swas manifest
Iy not intended to be long poem, but rather just
what it is an awakening little cento, to fill niche
in the columns of the '"Thunderer," and to give
pungency, and indeed power, too, to that mag
efficiently wrought "alarum" of the ''fhun-
der's' headed "Storm, storm,-RIfemen form!"
inquiring what meant those Spanish gun boats
and Russian coryettes building in the Thames,
il they we're not munimentS of war for enemy
in disguise. Hence we arc not surprised that
it ends in nm abrupt swoop down to the level of
popular distrust of England towards the Gallo
schetner To be popular the poem had to be
close as it does with an exhotartion and caveat
too.
Form, be ready o 6ie
Form in Freedoms name and the Queens!
True that have a faithful ally,
But only the Devil knows what he means