The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-01-01

LITE AT UR E.
Critioisms Of New Bools.
MACARoNIc POETRY: collected. with an introduce
ton. by James Appleton Morgan. A. M. New
800.
"Vire Ia bogdtee ~ should have been the motto
for this book-we had almost said booking-it IL 90
little ana so ngeniously dev0.ed TO the celebration
Of tribes. Not that the author failed either to
amuse or TO instruct the reader who will, perhaps.
learn for the first ttme from these pages, how ex-
tenslve those piebald compositions known as Maca-
ronics have been in literature both medt@-
val and modern. From the days Of the
Italian Folengo, calling himself Merlin Coccaie.
whose "Opus P0st@ MantuanI Macaronicorum"
was printed ~ Venice in 1917. down to Hans Brett
mann and oliver wendell Holmes, the number OF
literary men VINO have INDUCED In this species OF
literary diversion has been very considerable. Mr..
Morgan (who is q busy lawyer OF this city, has
added himself to the number, and We recognize our
old friends Lydia Green'' and "Malum opus"
which have been floating as newspaper wallis for
several years, as the productions OF our author,
who has now made 1t a labor OF love to Gull an
anthology OF macaronic tours desprft from she
literature OF several languages. Hn
The long preface Of Mr. Morgan Is devoted, not 10
macaroncs but to those products Of laborious idle
ness, alteratve compositions, acrostcs, anaGrams,
centOs and palindromes. Specimens Of these are
given, numerous and long even unto WEAKNESS,
which, In book devoted pr0fessedly to wholly
distinct species Of literature, wo think, migh have
been spared. Why man, having nothing better to
DO should torture his ingenuity TO produce thou
sand lines OF Latin hexameters, each word beginning
with q, - certainly applicable, II not cxcusable.
However great waste Of valuable leisure
Con apn m
such exercitarions, as tending to sharpen the
eclectic faculty and to cultivate q close acquaint.
ance with the lexicon. But why MI. Morgan, whose
theme Ia macar Onic3 should be so infatuated with
verbal monsrosities as 10 spend hundred pages
Of his book upon these cructa ueroOruim, while no
Ieayes untouched great many OF the most fehct
tous specimens or pure macarOuic verse, Is to US
incomprehensibe. This style OF fantastical trlnng,
where "apt ateration's artful aid' Is invoked to
render interesting what has in Itself no interest," a.
ways reminds US or Alexanders appreciation OF
the nimble fellow VINO sought reward from
the Emperor for his skill and dexterity In
shooting peas 81 mark Alexander sent
him basket Of peas Puns have been defined %
the lowest form OF wit, out punning is noble d.
version, compared with the acr0stic the anagran,
and the palindrome. The inspiration oil poets
must be run far down to the lees 10 produce SUCH
painful and pitfful verbal gymnastics as I'LL tho
prefaces and part first OF Mr.. Morgans Otherwise
attractive volume
The second part OF his book, or that which Ii
honestly devoted to his subject Is much more salts
factory. "Somebody once asked NJ. Victor HUGO"
writes Mr.. Morgan elf he could write English
poetry.n "Cer,d,ement," replied the infallible
and, sitting down. delivered himself Of the follow
ing
Pour chaser lie spleen
J'cnral dams IN inn,
., mais 10 bus lie gin,
God save the queen W
which is nacaronic English certainly.
Among English writer's OF macaroncs Dean Swift
and Dr. Maginn were among the most fruitful
The earlier volumes OF Fraser's Magazine furnish
numerous specimens OF the latter writer's vein,
from which Mr.. Morgan has drawn. Here 10
specimen from the learned satlrist, Dr. Porson:-
LINGO DRAWN FOR THE MILITIA
Ego nunquam undlvi such terrible news,
At this present tempus my senses confuse;
Pm drawn for a mile, must go cum marte
And cOnctnus euse, engage bonaparte.
Such Temporal nun guam videoant majores,
For then their opponents had different mores:
But we will soon prove to the Corscan vaunter,
Tho times may have changed, Britons never mu
tantur.
But allow that this Doaster In Britain could land,
Multts cum aiis at his command,
Here are lads who Will meet aye, and properly WORE
And speedily send them, nj fallor, in orcum.
Mark Twain furnishes the following bit Of maca-
ronic prose correspondence In vote from one Of
"Ihe Democrats Abroad" to Partisan landlord
who furnished no soap to the American traveller
PARIS, lie Juliet. :
SISMpour'r,o, don't You mettez some sauon in
your bedchambers2 Eat ce Qate r0us pensez Will
steal itP La nun pass6e you charged me pour des41
C1ldndeues when i only mad one: her Uous dues
charged me aurc glnce when had none at all: tout
les jO,ys you are coming some fresh game or other
on me; mats ro,is p0uuez pas, play this sau0n
dodge on me twice. Saxon Is q necessary de IA ne
TO ANYBODY but Frenchman, 90 il Pdurdt h0rS %
cette hotel, or make trouble. You hear me- Anons.
Our author draws but one specimen, and that by
no means his best. from the queer and unique
Deutsche English macaronc poems Of Hans Brett
manu-
"Adsum Dominic Breitmanul
Herr Capiain-Eere pei
SO tel me right honestt,
Quare inquletAste me2
Tic vide0 inter sp0onibus
Ell argis glasses, too
Cerevsla reDletis,
Sicut percussuS t0nitru ~
DEM Breitmann answer Schnitzerl:
'COact0r ntInis--see
SiQudem PhllStlim
Pugnat adversum me-"
Den der shpirlt In Latenish
Saidt, "Benc-dats lie dalkl
Non habes In hoe shanty
A ehiIVle ct some cnalk2
Non vlde0 nikum ct calam0s
Il shbose some hummer shdoie 'emj,
L0Vatc Ocui03 tu03, sou
Ell asplce al hnteolum ~
Here isa witty French couplet, not macaronic IN
form, but conveying an cpgrammatc meaning very
exquisite and uutranslatable. ON window pane
Of the hotel Sans Souci, a. the great gambling
resort OF Baden. Baden, some one wrote: -
veucz lei. sans souci, vous
PartireZ d'lci sans six sous.
AMI here is an anonymous valentine compounded
OF three languages f1
A VALENTINE.
Geist una sim mich beutZen uber
Vous Zu dire das lch SAC lcb2
Das herr que vous so lightly spurn
10 yOl und sic ALIEN will turn.