The Portland daily press., 1871-02-17

The conception in the italicised passage b
that of man of genius. 1t is only one of
thousand beauties scattered through the
charming work now completed. (For sale by
Bailey & Noyes.)
Renan, who has won such Ienown as the
ologian in the world Of French letters, has of
late been favorabiy known as political writ
er. His recent correspondence with Strauss
touching the war now going on, we have re-
ferred to ia this paper. He is liberal, but un-
fortunately not republican. His political
doctrines are fully explained IN little vol
ume just brought out by Roberts Brothers,
Boston, entitled Constitutional Monarchy in
France. This of course will be eagerly
sought for just at this time. (For sale by
Bailey & Noyes.)
1t is strange revelation to most people
that an author Of Lowells standing must SUBJ
init to the dctations of his publishers In 50
important matter as the title of his books.
1t appears that My Study Windows Is a
name for his last volume that excited his
violent prejudice, but the publishers were in
exorable as the fates. We should think it as
antecedently probable that the poet and critic
would defer to Messrs. James R. Osgood &
Co. in matter of "a couplet or a literary judg.
ment But all this has nothing to do with
what we set out to say OF The contents of the
book. In the last North American Review
was an article on Pope ito whom public at
tention seems turned once more) that was re-
markable for the business of its criticism and
the thoroughness of its appreciation. We
have never seen anywhere else Pops's rank,
not as poet. but q wonderful verse maker,
SO clearly defined as in that charming essay,
which had a peculiar interest just after hear
ing of Thackeray's different but not so sat
isfactory estimate of the same author iu Mr..
Fields "reminiscences in the January Atlantic.
This study Of Pope is appropriately placed at
the end of the volume. But the most brilliant
paper is that on Carlyle, written, we believe,
when American indignation was at white
heat on account OF that authors fierce anti
democratic, anti-American TRADES entitled
"The American Iliad in Nutshell" and "Af-
Ter Niagara, What" Here our polished es.
sayist for once exhibits in prose the vigor and
dash of his "Bigelow Papers," No man writes
more enjoyable prose than Mr.. Lowell, but 10
this species of composition his cautious ele.
ganee is perhaps too conspicuous, and usually
when by chance he admits choice colloquial
ism or phrase that does not always keep the
very best company into his text, he does 1t
with a comical air of iperfect recklessness and
OF having made up his mind to take the con.
sequences and brave the world. Under these
circumstances he seems like pious minister
who gets frisky in vacation and openly smokes
cigar and perhaps goes to a reputable thea
tire. But iu this discourse of Carlyle the pa
triot and the democrat fairly gets the upper
hands of the author, and there is no reserve
and no prudishness in the cudgeing OF the
old Scotch Titan. The method he adopts
against the hero-worshipppg reviler Of the
great masses OF his kind is very effective. For
instance:
1t is odd to conceive the fate of Mr.. Carlyle
under any of his heroes,-how Cromwell
would have scorned him as a babbler more
long winded than Prynne, but less clear and
practical-how Friedrich would have scof1ed
at his TRADES as dummies Zeug, not to be COM
pared with the romances OF Crebillon fills, or
possibly clapped him in marching regiment
as fit subject for the cane of the sergeant.
Here are some pregnant sentences on Car
lye's despair, or affected despair, of the great
mass of mankind:
A wiser temper would have found some-
thing more consoling than disheartening in
the continual failure of men eminently en-
dowed to reach the standard of this spiritual re-
quirement, would perhaps have found In 1t an
inspiring hint that it is mankind, and not spe-
cial men, that sre to be shaped atlast into the
image of God, and that the endless life OF the
generations may hope to come nearer that
goal OF which the short-breathed three-score
years and ten fall too unbappily short. But
Mr. Carlyle has inverted the Herocure, and
those who see any other method, or see any
hope of healing elsewhere, are either quacks
and charlatans or their victims.
As definition of cant the following is ad.
mirable:
II there be not something very like caut in
Mr.. Carlyles later writings, then cant is not
the reflection of a creed after it has become q
phrase by the cooling of that white-hot con-
Vlction which once made it both the light and
warmth OF the soul.
And If the following Is not calculated to
make even tue pachydermatous author of the
Life of Frederick" writhe nothing can be,
while of its perfect business there can be no
doubt:
Shall we hint to Mr.. Carlyle that man
may look on an heroic age, as well as on an
heroic master, with the eyes of valet?
Yet Mr.. Lowell is by no means unappreca-
tive of the honest motives of the author OF
"Sartor Resartus," and Of the unequalied pic
turesqueness and rugged strength of his style,
| the viyidness OF his Imagination and his uni
form veracity. He even goes the extreme
length of saving that he "has every quality OF
great noet except the supreme one OF
~v,Im. and that "wiA the gift Of song ne
,ooaId hare been one Of ne greatest Q, Of epic epss
since assSes of SHs hnn Sn s9s nal well
nia'I ;ob, he The other essays in this volume
are too numerous to receive our particular
notice, but each has charm of its own
Published by James r. Osgood & Co., Bos-
ion, and for sale by Hall l.. Davis