The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-04-18

Igefnlesr this year, but ola final sri
/ umph. hence the feeling is general TO
| make bold fight. and to vote the ia I
strength of the party UNION. s
THE TENT ON THE BEACH and other
Poems by JOHN GREEHLEAF- " HIF1afits,
Boston IINCKOR & FIELDS. ra@f
This is the last installment of Whit
tiers genius. Although getting along
in years, it bears good evidence that
this inward light, of our Quaker
poet, still CLOVIS warm and bright as
ever.
| 1t is not uncommon in literature
for the first essays of an author to be
the best. At single flight he touches
the summit of his power; and all after
attempts are descents to lower atti-
tudes, until at last he but beats the
dust, and futters on the ground. Not
so OF Whittier. There has been a
steady ripenipg Of his powers.
A constant ascent to, his reputation
his best books are his last. Thefei is
nothing that he has written better
than Snow Bound" or THE Tent on
the Beach, risdt ssIew -ex :.
There are in them the same purity
and deyotedness of feeling;rthe same,
sweet and gentle enthusiasm; the
same ever recurring pictures of the
imagination; the same smooth and
mellow flow. of words that character,
lied his early productions, but with
vigor aud strength
The Y Tent;on the Beach pztakes its
title from an incident in that custom,
so common of late years in New Eng
land known as camping out,p aud Is
thus described IN the opening pages
of the book. 3dt u srsI0v bna EH0f
,.When heats as Of a tropic cline -biA3s
burned all oar inland valleys through,
There frdie9ds, the guests ofsummsr time.
Behind them mashes, scanned and crossed,
with narrow creeks, and flower emboss-
stretched to the dark lakewood, whose
& screened from the stormy East the
8aia pleasant inland farms. f4si4
At full of tide their boldershore .3is|
OF sun-bleaehed sand the waters beat;
At ebb, q smooth and listening hoor 4
They touched with ligBs, recedlng ieet.
Northward green blnt brokae the chain
2 OF sand hills; southwark ssFetcneo
OF salt grass with river .sri winding down.,
salt-whitened, and beyond Il tsa sfeeples
Of the town. aotin'sxno9 ssh .,.he j
= Whence sometimes, when the wind was
- And na aail the thunder ofthe beach, ~"
they heari;tn bells of,morn and night
Above low scarp and turf-grown wall Dsiosl
5 They saw the fort-f1ag rise and fall;
A The ca. eamp- sh elimmers down rom the
fth tall lighthouse tower. ISL sri
From cares that wear the life away.
10 fling their loads q of cast ON
Ii Like sro a55fs7weed'O on me san sand-si0pes
The Poet then fayors us in few
touches of his art, with portraitures of
the guests of Summer time, so strik-
ing as to be recognized at once. Our
American Moxon, Fields, the; Poets
publisher, is represented as one who
With his beard scarce silyered bore eIYe
a ready credence in his looks 4n94hl
A lettered magnate, lOrding DER 4as-f. A
An ever widening realm of books,
In him brain-currents, near and far,
Conveyed as In q Leyden jar
He knew each living pundit WELL,
Could weigh the gifts Of him or her.
And wen the market value tell
OF poet and philosopher. 19
Buff he lost, the scenes behind.nef San
Somewhat of reyerance, vague and
Finding the actors hamansat the best. y
Z No reader lips than his the good he saw
confessed. IL ,t
His boyhood fancies not outgrown, aulj
He loved himself the singers arti 40 &
n He knew and judged an authors heart >,
e We shall not need to guess twice to
discover that when the poet speaks
of silent, shy, peace loving man"
he refers to himself 5@l
"And one there was, a dreamer born,
Who, with a mission to fulfill,
= Had left the Muses. haunts to turn 81
4ns The crank of an opinion-mill,
q A WEAPON in the war with wrong,
That Sseam-deep turned the sol for truth Il
TO spring and grow" Il,
The other member of this illus
trious trio. Bayard Taylor, is drawn
as follows: $50 Is 6ass 1sl14
"And one, whose Arab face was tanned
+ By tropie sun and boreal frost, fs
So Travelled there was scarce land
Or people left him to exhaust;
In idling mood had from him hurled
And ia the teptrshade, as beneath a palm.
Smoked. roso,legged like a Turk, IN
oriental calm"
A very pleasant time of it, we can
readily believe, these three friends
and kindred spirits, must have had
in those Summer days; under their
canvass, breathing the salt-sea air.
and listening to the low murmdr Of
the waves, their break and gargle