New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-01-31
NEW PUs,Efo1noMs
GFORG-, <pNOT,D,s POEMS.

GEORGE ARNOLD'S POEMS.
POEMS GRAVE AND GAY. BY S GEORGE ARNOLD
ONO pD 2A. TioSnor " Flelds
srbe .ss4iooI merits of this volume, though by no
,reaF. uncomfortable, viii probably cal forth less
ltro. tban the Illustration which it affords Of the
.bo,ootor Of the writer. lie was young man OF
tors enaoWments Of head and heart; without claim
4obea naragon of precOcOus excellence possessed
- sincnlarly attractive qualities with nature Of
Vavward tendencies, not free from the faint OF
orieinsl SIM from occasional faults OF practice
no drew around him devoted circle of friends, oil
whose attachment the touching Introductory note by
the editor of this collection may be regarded as the
expression.
According to this hgh-colored though evidently
not extravagant portraituTe, George Arnold was
lifted with disposition Of true nobloness, blending
certain simplicity and gentleness Of manner with
treat strength of passion and vein of tender sad
hAss which had been quickened by his experience of
hh. His presence was always welcomed in every
circle Of society. He mingled with many classes of
persons, and had admirers among them all. He was
favorite with men of letters whose acquaintance he
souQht, and his gay and kindly courtesy, his good
natured tolerance of error and impeection and the
vest with which he threw himself into the pleasures of
ihe passing hour made him the idol of his comrades.
Even when the current of his life flowed in dark
channel it sparked with gTaces that revealed soul
of goodness
While his biographer mOdestly diselaims for his
friend title to the highest poeical imagination or
even 20 the exercise of controlling intellectual
purpose he places him in an honorable rank among
American poets. In his view, young Arnold was not
pnly Worshiper Of the beautiful, but its accredited
interpreter. He had poetic insight into the heart
ef man and the sanctity of Nature. The tragedy OF
human life had stirred his feelings to their nneost
reeesses He widely sympathized with every aspira-
T. Hal fba
poetic art as the cearcst expression OF the ideal for
which he lOnged. Underhappier conditions he might
have enriched the literature of his country with nper
aDd more massive productions.
The estimate of George Arn0lds poetry presented
BY the editor, we think, win be confirmed by the
perusal of the volume. 1t evinces lively and ten
der fancy facility Of quaint conceptions, and gen.
nine sympathy with nature nOuTished by exact OBJ
uerVatOn but without any lofty exercise OF the I'M
apinatiyo faculty His poems are evidently the trut
Of personal experience. They are genuine IN Their
kind though the kind may not be the highest With
out doubt he has felt and the grefs which
be paints so wildly lie does not oOthe himself in
sorrows for the sake of artistic effect He is not one
of Ethe persuasion" of Byron worshpers who set
che fashion some years ago of trying how gracefully
they could let tears fall and with what melOdious
aud morbid vehemence they could ehaunt their fan
sastie woes to the melancholy moon. The joyousness
81 his nature usually flashes forth with his most
pensive strains Ills gayety is as unaffected as his
Bo0m. "a ss&s9' III
J. Among our younger poets, Arnold was certainly re-
bnarkable for the knowledge of Nature on which bis
hove Of it was founded. lie had seen trees and fair
meadows with his own eyes, lie could tel an oak
Nom An apple tree or daisy from rose, gitAQpt
thanking anybody fer the Information. His des6l1p'
SOns ef @ateEial bSsdty were r0t aEa7yp fTOp tae
Ssges 81 the poets which be had mastered BY study
1nd which cl16g to bis @smQtyi sltbQagh they had
hever met his eye OF Touched his heart He did not
epr6duce the landscape from the depths Of his In
ber Consciousness but watched it's features and
taaght sight of its gores, as no walked in the felds
md the woods, OF by the shore Of the solemn sea-
ss gives air of reality, aeertain domestic sense
b we may so express it, 80 his pictufes OF natpre
which more than makes mp for the want of high aff
30 their delineation. The very first. poem IN this
eOlumo shows the correctness Of his eyesght in the
observation of Nature.