The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-11-05
DAILY PRESS.
Thursday Morning, November S, 1863.
snsbbery of English Literary Men
PORI'LAND

thursday MofHlnSi NoVeI1Der b, 1863
snsbbery of English Literary Wen.
A noticeable and painful feature of the lit
erary life of England at the present time, is
the almost entire want, among men of the
highest literary culture, of all sympathy with
the political needs, aspirations and efforts of
the people. Men of letters hold themselves
aoof from everything in which "the mob
take an interest. There seems to be sort OF
fashion in the thing. A spirit of fmkeyism
iniests the class, and impels every literary
maa who desires the consideration of ..soci-
ETY." to affect profound contempt for the
people, for politics, and especially for every
thing which savors of radicalsm. There are
plenty of instances of this which will occur
to every one,-Caryle, and his imitator Rus
kin, and Kingsley, who once wrote "Aton
Locke" but who has since been so much
ashamed of the unaristocratic earnestness of
that youthful work. But perhaps the most
conspicuous example of all is the poet-Iaure-
ate, Alfred Tennyson. An English cores
pondent of the New York Independent, in a
recent communication to that paper. com
ments on the course Of Mr.. Tennyson in the
following severe terms:
Mr.. Tennyson lives a life of absolute seclu-
sion from public affairs. In his delightful lit
tie demesne in the Isle of Wight, shut in SO
far as he can be from all disturbing sights and
sounds that tell OF the reality of human strug-
gle, he lounges, and smokes, and versiAes.
a Upi and rVs1 L. IL
go by. do not so much complain of that.
Perhaps man does enough for the world
when he is poet; and ought not to be ex-
pected to care whether his countrymen are
polltlcally right or politically wrong, are free
or eLslayed, going forward or going back
ward. Perhaps man ought to be free to
commute his civic obligations for q yearly
song; perhaps poet is all the better Tor not
being citizen. | only say perhaps. Some
great poets were patriots and citizens and |
do not think their poems suffered. / think
Dante, and Milton, and Schiller are not had
examples; and, in our own day, 1 know of no
poet entitled to rank higher than Victor HUI
go. Yet one might accept, perhaps, without
much demur, the theory that the poet should
be poet and nothing else; and that for the
sake of writing Il stood on a tower in the
wet" man should be encouraged in with
drawing all care, or share, or interest from
the political destiny of his people. But Ten
nyson has sometimes lifted up his head from
poetic dreaming, and spoken out clearly on
political questions and on every such occa-
sion that l can remember it has been to sneer.
at or denounce the cause of political liberty,
to Willy some great Liberal, or to defend
some instrument of oppression and cruelty.
Iennyson went out of his way in his poem OF
Maud to fling some words of coarse and
foollsh contempt at so pure patriot, so great
citizen as John Bright; for which heard
Bright, at public meeting, censure him in
language so calm. stern, and just that even
court poet might have felt ashamed OF having
provoked such a rebuke from such a man.
More lately we have known of Teanyson, po-
litically, as champion and admirer of Mr.
Eyre, under whose reign of terror in Jamaica
men and women, as innocent of any dream
OF rebellion as you or /, were flogged and
hanged, without trial and without offense, by
scores and hundreds. l am writing only the
literal truth. The blue books of evidence re-
cord the deeds; the government repudiated
and Condemned them; the lord chiefjustice
of England denounced them in thrilling Ian
guage, the echo of which has not yet died
away. Governor Eye is Tennyson's hero. /
never heard OF Tennyson having emerged
from his seclusiOn to compliment, or defend,
or sustain any English political man whatev-
er. save Governor Eyre alone.
Now, do not believe that Tennyson goes
wrong from bad feeling, or from any deib-
crate sympathy with political despotism in
England and her colonies. / take it that
living as he does, permitting himself to be in
different tC all our political realities, grading
himself in a POLITICALLY sensuous and Circean
atmosphere, he is as ignorant of politics as a
school girl, and only speaks word on such
subjects when some fond patron or friend, in
whom he has confidence, bids him or begs
him; and then he writes or speaks as he is
enjoined. But think the thing is no less
lamentable and pitiable, and its influence over
English literature is widely demoralizing. OF
late, we all open the eyes of amazement when
poet, or indeed a literary man of any kind,
in England ut,ers a word which shows that
he either knows or cares one straw about the
political objects and efforts OF his country
men. ! ook at the case OF Mr.. Swinburne !;
who with all his youthful faults, is a tire
poet and man OF generous sympathies.
do not believe any amount of erratic nom
sense would ever have injured his fashion,
able reputation in England so mach as it
was injured by his passionate, powerful, futile
appeal to the People of England" on be-
half of some condemned Fenians, and his al
lusion to the magnificent example given by
the people of the United States:
''Lo how fair from afar,
Taintless of tyranny, stands
Thy mighty daughter; for years
Al