The native Virginian. [volume] (Orange Court House, Va.) 1867-187?, 1869-04-30

be the most difficult of all poems. =
Wordsworth has good word to say fol
them, and.if we remembe: rightly, tells
us that "with this key Shakespeare un.
locked the human heart y or words to
that eifect-yide anec' Cess II. VS. c.
Chisselum May. Said Shakespeariau
sonnets unlocked our heart years agone
when we had not as yet recovered from
the infantlle illress of copying verses.
Here, In this old book, we find,
"Full many glorious morning have Iseen
| flatter the mo ntain tops with sovereign
eye"
&c. You remember the sonnet. A liz
tie further OH we find q sonnet or tive
from Mrs Browning.
| lift my heavy heart up soIemnly,
| AS once Elsctfa her SOLEMN urn
And, looking in thine eyes, oYerturn
| The ashes at thy feet. behold and see
What great heap ofgrlefl lay hid in I"
And, antedating this letter by several
years, we discover,
There was boy; ye knew him well, ye
| cliffs
And islands of winanderl- l-''
and so on, some fifty good lines from
"The Excursion"
| Now, while we own frankly our ig-
| norance ofpoetry, our poor taste and
ali that, we contend that a boy who
makes selections for his own delight
from Shakespeare, Wordsworth and
Browning in preference to Byron and
Tofn Moore, is something above, below,
or outside of the common run of boys.
But what shall be said of boy, reared
| in the hog-rounu, bar-iron and tobac-
co box atmosphere ofLynchburg, who,
instead OF copying FROM the great poets,
writes sonnets 1.-THE most difficult, re-
member of all forms of poetical com
posiLion,) which, for elevation of senti-
ment, accuracy of construction, digni-
ty and beauty of imagery, compare ia
vorabiy with the best modelsY What
shall be said of himy We say that
boy, barely 20 years old, who can COM
pose such verses, and compose them
under all the disadvantages OF camp lite,
is an extraordinary boy and that his
name is Ed. S. Greg ry. son of a wor-
thy man, Mr.. ames 6 Gregory (how well
we remember him) who was the part
ner of DR.. Royal in the hardware firm
of Gregory q Royal, Main St., Lynch
burg, Va. The sign of the firm you
will see no more ON the main street OF
the City of Hills, but James Gregory's
son you will find in the office Of the
Lynchburg Republican newspaper hoss-
kyarting it with an industry, fidelity
and success worthy OF the most heavi-
ly -fetlocked quadruped that ever drew
dray out OF Barclay & perkins's brew
cry.
We say it is a pity; or rather we would
say it, did we not know that in these
evil days and in this unhappy land of
the Sodth, Ned Gregory tWill Shakes
peare too were he living) may loudly
nOt III tsah colf h.,t n 10
only to earn his bread and butter. but
back into the household exchequer,
winning thereby the best of all rewards
-subrideo Mdterculde.
Of the merit of his verse you shall |
Judge for yourself from the sonnets
given below-7not the best, perhaps |
not the two he himself would wish to |
be judged by--but plenty good enough
ler you, . reader. We are not poet |
enough to point out all their beauties,
but this we do aver-that since poor
Mietiard turned for the last time on his |
couch of pain, no sonnets comparable
to these have appeared in Virginia, or
to the best OF our knowledge and belief,
in the United States.
"ELEcT PRECIOUS"
All that my heart hath of the best and rar-
Nr est,
/ offer at her feet, and give as free
As bind and poets utter minstrelsy.
SO, shining, river, on thy breast thou bear
est
Rich freight of wine and merchandise; and
wearest
These burthens as if gems-yet not for thee
Thyself and'them thou yieldest to the sea,
Which takes unthanl-ingly thy best and
l dearest.
So, Love, do you. accept iny hearts emo
ton
The songs / sing, the tender words / say
The Pasts true record. proofs of pure devo-
tion,
And all sweet vows and frequent prayers I
pray,
As the sfream's wealthis swallow'd by the
ocean,
Without one smile my bounty to repay.
BY A CONFEDERATE WATCH FIRE.
Cold stars abovet--sround O cherries world,
Save where the campfire sheds its ruddy
light $50 iiI't
A little sparkle in the space of night.
AS lightly as o tinsel flag unfurl'd.
Upon its folds curiousy trace
A glancing surface, as n shell mpearld-
Quick-shiiting pictures other fairy face,
Whose ev'ry motion shows some newer
grace
OF tender beauty, glorious and alluring--
vague, wierd shadow in an airy space,
Whose splendor is too bright to be endur-
For when grasp, no sight rewards my love,
Save only cheerless earth, and the chill stars
above.
PETERSBURG, 1864.