New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-11-08
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
AMERICAN LITERATURE NETWORK CON
SpIRATORS.

Company
The new issue Of the Westminster is n number OF
more than usual interest to readers in this country
One Of the principal articles presents eomprehen-
sive survey of American Literature" giving nloe
OF less accurate estimate of several of the leadne
ahtbogs and on The whole, friendly in IFS Tone IL
not always ngdly critical in its Judgments LIE s
fellow is pronounced the chief of American -
Not one of his contemporaries in England h"S ",,a
wider OF longer supremacy III that o"""". 81
may DC accounted for by the very "i""''' hin,
his ccnius and his near assimilation W 49, -
English. His sight is neither feeble ho' :s
-; tn, the splendor of the East to the MIG
snigb, SHOWS and frosts Of the northern "oios'
theyo is fbe limpid glide of virtue serene anu 'e"
r., ar,b here manifest. He digniics and adorhs
-, aud both ~ poe, and scholar he is supreme
-; L;s,nodesty Next to LOngfollOw, the most popu-
Ia, poct in England, according to the reviewer, Is
The Giraffe and Inflated Virginian' Edgar Allen
Poe His life was not reflected in his poetry, else
few but readers OF morbidly sensational works wonld
read il. There is nothing in his works which might
not have been written in England, or anywhere
He belongs to no constellation of song lie was
a comet and il will be long ere his fellow appear
The writer draws a curious parallel-and TO those
who know the utterly antipodal position of the two
poets one almost ludicrous-between n. T. Willis
and r. H. Dana The former takes note of the world
around him. and reports progress in melodious ana
finished verse The latter has more of dldactc turn
of mind albeit he deals and then IN ibe terIlOle
and unreal The descriptions IN Nlillss poems are
exact and finely touched. His mood is hearty, and
his sympathies are broad and lively. In Dana. there
are the makings of great poet, but the elements
have been carelesSly strewn. He is endowed with
some of the very highest qualities, but there Is want
ing the spark which kindles all into blaze of true
genius In their local poems both Dana and Wills
are essentially American. These reflect the very
peat-smOke of the log huts.
But the most American Of all the poets is Bryant.
lie is national in the fullest of the word and
seems TO have grown from childhood with the growth
of the nation. His works mirror its feelings pas
SONS and desires. His poems mere thinkingS
aloud in praise of the enchanting beauties OF char
acter and scenery around him But he is not strong
ly passionate and with pensive melancholy, loves
To commune solitude with the spirits Of the forest
His fancy, at times appears to hover over the glor
fed departed laid 10 rest in some shaded metropolis.
He is emphaticaly the man of the woods, and mani
tests he dridical spirit of poetry Yet if he were
less austere if he shook off the melancholy which is
really oppressive he would at once become greater
than he is. In Lowell, the youthful fun and fresh
ness Of American life seem typifed. Holmes is the
most cultivated wit, if not the chief humorSt, the
nation has produced. AS an American lyrist, Whit
tier has no rivals, but many followers. lie feels
deeply keenly and strongly, and his utteIancc is
aglow with the passion Of which il is the form and
embodiment. He is truly national nthe most COM
prehcnsiye sense. being violently Swayed by every
passing gust of Now-England prejudice. Many of
his poems smack of bitterness, and too many of them
are sort of vcrsifed needless rhetoric. He is the
laureate Of crafts and craftsmen Els tender sym
patty and myarying kind0ess in all that concerns
the labors and distIesses of mankind attract onr
approval more than it is repealed 10y his frowaId and
valucless pariisauship in verse. Walt Whitman is
endowed with the qualities essential TO the achieve
ment Of original masterpiece. In all likelihood,
the verdict Of the future will he in his favor. At
present lac il literary Ishmael, although rich IN the
praise aud good opinion of Emerson, who has said
that Leaves of Grass is " the most extraordinary
piece Of wit and wisdom that America has yet pro-
duced." Several other American authors are com
meDted on NV the reviewer but his judgments geneT-
ally of special value, and often as wide OF
the mark as when he compares Dana, the stern,
solitary. interpretive man of contemplation with
Willis the gay, frivolous, sparkling man of society.
The method Of the article is incoherent and ram
bling and commonplace phrases often stand in the
stead of critical thought.
Another paper in this number is devoted to an ac-
count of the "New-York Gold Conspiracy and in
the course of his historical exposition, the writer
takes occasion TO sketch the kenesses of several ct
zens Of New-York who now prominent in its high
places OF finance and politics. We submit 10 our
readers a few of the portraits from this remarkable
gallorv
Jay GOULD.
Mr. Jaw Gould was partner in the hrm or smith,
Gould ana Martin. brokers' in Walst He had been DC
fore now engaged in rail way enterprises and his opera
fOns had been OF nature hkey ~ encourage puDnc
confidence in his ideas OF hduciary relations ne was
broker aud broker Is almost ny nature gambler per
hans the very last profess suitable FOR railway man
artr In character he was strongly marked 10y Ills dis
position fOr silent intrigue He pre- fered a. rule to
operate hs own account, without admitting cther per-
into confidence, and he seemed never 10 be salts
fled except whe dccciving every one as 10 his nten-
lions. There a Renaissance oi tbe spider IN his
nature spun huge webs IN corners and IN the dark
which were seldom strong enough 20 resist serious
critical moment. His disposition to this
subety and elaboration Of intrigue was Irresistible IL
scarcely necessary that he had not conception
of a moral principle In speaking ~ this class Of
IL. ..t.u. H. L.Iln .l