New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-12-24
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
crRAIn MASSEY.

q certain humane significance IN the publication Oh
this compact volume of pleasing and passionate nus
cal and earnest verse; because it embOdies singular
triumph over social disadvantages rare instance
of vantage ground seized in the face OF prodlslouS
obstacles In that Kingdom of Mind, which it Is the
istinctIon Of our age 20 honor and enlarge SIDE ny
side with Lowels Cathedral the offspring Oh nIsn
.nlture and prosperous literary leisure comes iorth
The Dream of Eternity and Other Poems" by an
English peasant who. to use his Own paIneN0
language. had no childhood; Dorh III
howell set to work in mandatory at the age VI
eight his earliest festal memory Is the burning Vi
the mill whereby scores of infants with hmseli en-
loved provdentia holiday. The hopeless future Oh
the English poor lay hideously before that young
soul: but his proved an exceptional destlny-the se
,ret whereof lies in the fact that he had brave
tender freesprited and intelligent mother frOmher
ne inherited the gift and grace of poet-soul which,
CARLYLE declares, is Natures master piece. From
factory-slaye he became an errand-bOy-a vocation
not less humble but of wider scope and more salu-
brious and suggestive moreover his mother sent him
to penny-schOOl; he learned to read; and thence
forth. his mind worked on in sympathy with kno"l-
edge. bis heart expanded in the spheres OF love
and beauty 1t is the old, the sacred, the beauuful
story aspiration and patience learned at mothers
knee-Genius Drawing Poverty, Life redeemed Oy
Thought. Bhe three first books when lnnnenceu
the boys development were Robinson Crusoe' III
qrim,s Progress. and Cobbett's Essays Like Frank
lin he was self taught, but, instead OF an econoin
cal and scientific. his was poetical and pohtical
tendency. The wrongs of his class fred his muse;
the Injustice of social mOnopolies haunted his mind;
all wrong cruelty oppression and bafied aspirations
appesled to his sensibility. Like Burns, he knew
intimately the divine possibilities and the terrible
limitations of INDECENT and ignorant but capable ana
loving humanity; like Crabbe he knew how 10 paint
with graphic emphasis the trials and traits OF
humble and toilsome life; and like Elliot, he
protested, with the eloquence born OF experience
against the inhumanities of modern CIVILIZATION III
his native land. In The Leader, edited by mormon
Hunt and in The Christina Socialist, conducted by
clergymen of the Church of England, Gerald Mas
sew poems found a welcome place and became at
once popular We once heard one Of our most veneer
able poets and editors advise a young man, who
wished TO test his muse with the public by the issue
of volume of verses to try first the ordeal OF perl
odcal literature as the suTest criterion. In Gerad
Masseys case this test established his claim to the
name of poet. The sincerity of bis muse the VIVID
ness of his fancy, the grace and fervOr OF ms
Language, and the generous sympathes OF
his soul as expressed in his poems, graz
ually won him large and eminent circle OF
friends The Continental Revolution OF lS4S exclted
his mind TO more broad and distinct speculations,
Progress and the advancement of the Worklngmen'
Tho newt wear he established cheap journal, whose
contributors we're exclusively drawn from that class
The Shirt of Freedom was bold experiment ana
remarkable success Meantime, Gerald Massey con-
tinued to send forth bis Lyrics OF Love ana songs
of Progress"-tles which justly designate both the
soope and spirit of his muse. critic may easily
find defects in Massey's poems; but these are rev
and far between, compared to the prevalent beauty
of the language, and the power and pathos OF ms
protests and pleas drawn from the heart laie
of Eternity" is written in that kind OF howlne anu
easy heroic verse wherein Keats and Leigh Hunt
excelled. An idea of its style may be tormed Holn
the following brief extract: -..rr.f.r.rr -r..Ey
But almost ere could have time to fear.
saw what seemed an Angel standtng near 9. h
I'm whose dear person very Love came down
Aud on his face smile for my relief;
A dream Of glory In my night OF grief
shedding an infuent mildness through the ave.
Pleasant to feel, the smile saw
Indeed, methOught he breathed fragrance rant
That overcame some rottng tomhy faint
He wore purple vesture thin as mist ,,s
No A9mc.GnSd fame,siaped, Golden Holly tree
AZ hsT tS SlEGSf the head With lifted
A-wave IN many fiery scimitar. ,.,.
We photograph the other world in white,
Tuat will not paint its unts upon our sight
Bnf there are COlOrs Of the Eternal light ...
Aud this was OF them pulsng such live giows
AsBeyer Redeemed blood or ripened rose
No Mist from The past life as We haze deemed
The Dead 10 be; no palid shadow dreamed
By Greeks Of old, but Life Itself this seemed.
And such light WAS IN the Angels lace
1t made glory round about the place .....
M To see by as you mark in the gold ray
b The Notes that dance inyislhly IN the gray,
But, deep in shadow of his inner might,
The Dark Shape stood ana slnned against the lASbt
As men have felt when earth rockt underfOOt,
Their trust in il was wreneht mp by the root;
The tirm foundations of all things had given,
And any instant they might DC IN heaven
AS one midway wide, White road,
in Winter when all night the skies have showed
ia d earth but frozen gtIedtn beneath,
Aud he is leaning on the arms OF Death:
so did feel TO find our earthly bound
OF Substance was longer safe or sound:
That sprtsprugs make qnicksand Of firm ground
That spritlIands withdraw our curtains round;
That spirit between PARTICLES can pass
Surely aud ysoly as hght through ,gr iaSs' ,oor
Dense To the eye, outlined against the gloom.
As an Illustration of his lyrical moods, and
Appropriate to the seaSOn-cOmmending this hand
some and charming volume 10 all lovers of brave
and true miustresy-we quote:
AN ORPHAN FANrY's CHpsTMAs. I..
blithe old earle Is Christmas;
You cannot nud his fellow
Match me the hale red rose IN his cheek.
Or the heart 20 mild aud mellow;
The glitter Of glory In his eyes. |'..
Or the humOr that twihkles about his wrinkles
As helplessly lac laughs
or all High.Tfdes It's Christmas
Most richly crowns the year; $500.
Right through the land there nipples and rune
It's food OF merry good cheer
Troops of friends come sailing down,
Making pleasant an = ... ,..-,.,
Christmas is coming ia.
happy time IS Christmas. .s
We gather all at home,
Aud ike the Christina. fairies,
With their pranks our darlngs come
And gentle sylvan spirits md
la holly .bOughs they 6r1ug.
To grow INTO good Angels,
Aud bless our iaiTy-ring!
jolly time Is Christmas,
For Pienty's horn ~ poured;
Their flows the honey OF the sun