American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-02-15
Tennyson as q Pompous Prig.

Those who have heard James 7
Fields lecture on Tennyson have, proba
bly,, been struck with the enthusiastic ad.
miration which the lecturer evidently feel!
for his subject. There is something of the
Boswell In Fields, who may believe, with
Vauvenargue, that measured praise is
q sure sign of mediocrity. Tennyson, il
will be generally conceded, is a very clev.
er poet; but that he is q great man, few
who have met him will be willing to adj
NIT. Nearly all accounts of Americans
agree in pronouncing him an ill-mannered
egotist and pompous prig.
The late Thomas Buchanan Read was
| introduced to him in London, one evening,
at the house of frienJ, and as Read was
| the only one of our cOuntrymen present,
the pcet-laureate singled him out, and adj
dressed him In this wise: ''Mr. Read,
have heretofore had considerable respect
for your country this was just after the
brought on your own ruin; and must
say sir, that l have not a particle Of sym
pathy with the North, which has acted
very badly, sir, very badly, and altogeth-
er forfeited my esteem"
Read responded: ssDon't trouble your
self, Mr.. Tennyson, about our country.
1t is a very ungrateful land, no doubt /;
but it doesn't care a fig what you or any
other Englishman thinks of it, 1t doesn't
expect to win its battles by European
sympathies, but by unflinching cour age
and hard blows. So beg of you, Mr..
Tennyson, not to give yourself any more
uneasiness on that subject. We can get
along quite as well without your esteem
rs with it.'
ed, exclaimed 'sUmph!' and stalked
away, with his nose In the air.
During Charles Summers recent visit
abroad he was in TennysOn's own house,
and happened to speak of American
affairs. The poet grew evidently restless
AZ he is wont to do when the theme is
anything but himself. Sumner, perceiv-
nyson, at once going to the library, re-
turned with an open book in his hand,
presented it to Sumner, and said dramat-
ically and imperatively, ssRead that ~
Sumner, looked at the open page, saw
that it was The Princess" and re-
marked, "Oh, yes, Mr.. Tennyson, l am
very familiar with this, and consider it
one of the best Of your POEMS"
ssRead it aloud,'' exclaimed the con-
ceited author, whereupon the statesman,
though feeling the extreme delicacy of
his position, began to interpret it as he
Thought it should be. He had hardly got
ten through with page before Tennyson
almost snatched the volume from his
hand, remarking, ssThis is the way it
SuOulu NC Icdu, SIT duu lc ICCltCu ACs>A ~
the whole of the poem in the drawling,
monotonous, artificial manner for which
he is famous conveying the impression
that he was giving divine delight and be-
slowing divine favor.
Sumner bore the infection with outward
resignation; but his friends say he will be
very wary of calling on Tennyson again.
What an immense bore Tennyson must
be! doubt, now that that old artesian
Wordsworth is dead, whether any other
sane man of the century would be foolish
enough to read his own productions by the
hour to his visitors. wonder if Tenny-
son ever heard the story of Dionysius, the
tyrant of Syracuse, who, having pardoned
q certain literary critic for some political
offense, invited him from prison to his
palace, and began reading to him one of
his own tragedies. The tyrant had
reached the end of the first scene, when
the critic yawned tremendously, and said:
'Pardon me, your Majesty, but 1 would
much rather 60 back to prison. IN Y.
Letter.