New-York tribune., 1869-05-28

tremely slight but 1t is entirely wanting In INTEREST,"
unless Lisa herself be an exception, there are no
characters portrayed, and even the heroine is
sketched in watercOlors. The poem. too Is singu-
larly wanting in movement although 1t is 100 snort
TO be accused of dragging; 1T suffers from lack
of incident, and from the want OF descfiPtlFe
nossoces while. of passion there is almost none.
The seven hundred so lines of which u ls coln-
poscd run in an even strain, never reaching any
great hight of expression for which indeed there Is
never any OCCASION and keeping for the most part,
the steady level of the common place The scene OF
the poem is laid lin Palermo. Immediately after the
famous massacre Of the Yespers and when Pedro
Of Aragon had come to take possession OF Slchy'
Lisa is the daughter of Bernardo,
"a rich Florentine
Who from his merchant city hilhcr cane
10 trade in drugs yet kept an honest name,
And had the virtue not to try and sell
Drugs that had none"
His daughter is betrothed to Perdicone, but she
neither knows nor for her unfortunate suitoT'
Her mind is of a romantic turn:
she had but dreamed how heavenly II would DO
10 love some hero noble, bcauteous' gieal'
Who would live stories worthy TO nariato
Like Roland, or The warriors OF Troy
The Cid, or Amads, or that fair BOY
Who conquered everything beneath me sun
And somehow, sometime, died at Babylon
Fighting the MoOrS"
She finds this hero of her imagination, not in
Perdicone, but in King Pedro, Charmed by his noble
beauty his bravery, his knightly skill in arms and
horsemanship she loves him, and theucefoIth knows
no tranquil hour
Through the hours Of rest.
The darkness alight for her with sheen
oiorns, and plumed helm =.
"-he clanccs Of the King
Flashed on her soul and walked vibrations there
OfkuOWn delights lOye-miXed 10 new ana rare
But this intense love preys upon her lifc and she
slowly sinks beneath the load of her secret and the
&C b.fD hy fhp L i'm
Her parents watch with dismay the fading away Of
their treasure:
what wish we're left If Lisa were to die
Through her they care for summers still to come
Else they would be as ghosts without "a home
They call in all the aid that physicians can give
ransack the earth for delicacies,
OF seeking what win soothe her promising
That aught she longcd for, though IL were thing
Hard TO be come al as the Indian snow,
Tr soa5 T0ss 'haf c bcT S Ago e I w low voice
She longs for death alone-death is her choice,
Death Is the King who never did think scorn
But TescuCs every meanest soul TO sorrow born
At length, however, the sick girl slowly reyiving
asks her father to bring Minuccio tho great singer
to her bedside and to him she conhdes the secret of
her love for the King, and her earnest desire TO ac
quaint him with that love:
She said, MinucciO, the grave were rest,
II were sure, that, lying cold and lone.
Ny love- my best Of lifc, has safely flown
See, It's a small weak bird with unfedged wing;
But you will carry II for inc secretly
And bear 10 TO the King; then come 20 mo
And tell me II is sale, ana sLai 80 go
Content knowing that lie love my love doth know
Minuccio does Lsas bidding and having told her
story over again TO poct-fIcnd, Mico, persuades
him to put il into verse that shall suggest than
il actually tells and then he sings the song after the
banquet to the king We do not quote Mico's
derng OF Lisa's simple story because it would be
unfair to give the principal thing in small book.
II is mclOdousy written but Is strongly suggestive
of Tennyscns manner IN those songs which he is so
fond of inserting in hislOnger poems. Indeed we ina
gne that this is directly modelled upon those almost
faultess strains OF music; but George Eots gift is
not the Laureate's she cannot surrender herself so
completely as he can TO the nero concord of sweet
sounds. The intellectual element III her nature is
far stronger than the sensuous, and keeps it down.
1t is scarcely necessary TO say that Pedro Is moved
by Mnuccios song, and that his curiosity is pqued
to know the full meaning of his enigmatic words. lie
calls the singer apart and questions him, and having
heard the plaintiye story, he sends Mnucco to say
"the king
To-day will surely visit her when Yespers ring"
The interview takes place and such grace comes TO
Lisa with the unexpected fulfllment of her brightest
dream that she 10 longer wishes fordeath, but con-
sents 10 live, and marry Pcrdicone after ALL And the
story ends with the happest disposition of all the
parties in this little drama Perdicone being endowed
with lands and money and advanced from post to
post about the Kings person while:
'Throug ghout his life. the King still took delight
10 call himself fair Lisa's faithful knight;
Aud never wore IN field or tournament
a scarf on emblem, save by Lisa sent"
It will be seen that the little poem IS a tre which
borrows its interest more from its association with
a famous name than from anything strkngly poetic
either in its conception or treatment. In judging
the poem, however, il must be remembered that it
was not originally published in book FORM but was
first printed in Biaclcoods Magazine. 1t would in
decd hardly have been considered by the author as
worth making book Of It's proper place is that in
which she first placed it, in the collection, which
we hope she will one day make, Of her minor poems
In such bouquet it will show pretty enough single
flower with mild perfume of its own, like that of
the white wood-yiolet or of mignonette.
Leypoldt g. Holt send us Mental Photographs;
an Album for Confessions Of Tastes Habits, and Comic
Hos edited by Robert sa1ton 1t is designed for
fashionable amusement which has already been described
in CHE TRIBUNE.
Appleton's popular edition of The WaUerley
EOreS has been completed by the publication OF The
Surgeons Daughter" and Count Robert OF Paris" and
the series may be obtained either In %
parts, IN six shapely and wellbound volumes. The
type Is small but clear Tho paper thin and the illus
aons are no ornaments; but the price very cheap.
The Overland Monthly for May is almost evenly
divided between California aud Europe Sketches OF
travel scenery, and local history topics OF nearly
all the principal articles. and very few OF them dun