New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-12-18
From New Work.
N.itd spirits In Postry.

isFi Nl'sNN anu gray
Mincle, mnclc, mingle,
You that mingle nav"
The igccmrrchoDsiblc charm that fingers
around the imagined presence Of supernatural
spirits becomes invested with n certain gro
tcs.Uancss when the airy phantoms assume
the GUSc Of those ncanny beings that
round about the cauldrnn go.' Unlike the
m,>t.c elves Of fairy romance, dancing on the
swagd. bathcd in the sheen Of moonlight. or
those Ialc srectrcs who inspire dign fled
ave, these beings present an aspect not al
;o-ethcr Unminglcd with a something lnli-
dous.
What could he more grotcsquc than the
w..cheS in Macbeth" those three weird Sis
tass. uttcriDs iil-omcnc,! prophecies in which
tie real meaning is so stuliouSlv con-
cealcd:
How masically thcy vanish into air, ana
BOW dizzjly they perform the "antquc
round!'
There is even something remarkable in the
difference between the sound Of the thunder
that hcraids their approach and the dreamy
music in the air that bids them disappear like
mist.
80 weird are :hey that, while seeking their
al IN The execution Of terrible deeds, the
!mportumate Macbeth almost fears their
Strange Vaccinations. They are unreal
>hadowN, lat without The grace of loneliness,
and in their presence The charm of Illusion
has vanished.
The drama Of .Macbc,h' is especially
notable FOR its portrayal Of these uncarthly
beings. Net omly do the witches haun: the
heath, bat the ghost Of Eanquo sits unbdden
al the board, and causes the guilty host to
break Il? the feast in "most admired dis
order"
The ghcstly apparition in Hamlet that dis
appeared as the cock crew, needs but to be
mentioned to stalk before us with all the ac-
knowlcdged fascination of a restless spIit
intent on justice and vengeance.
shakespeare, in his manifold Interpretation
Of human nature and the various agencies
affecting it, embodics much ingenuity, artifce,
and admirable intelligence in those weird
spirits that hover around the forms Of men
TO all their devices.
In 1.-The Tempest" and midsummer
Nights Dream" the supernatural beings are
of a miller order than those already men
toned.
Like smiling mnistcring angel is Ariel,
or rather grateful spirit released from giiev-
ous rangs, but working ont its perfect free
dom with many longings.
We have this quaint spite singing that
suggestive song, beginning
Full fathom five thy father lies" which
brought to Ferdinand vision Of his drowned
relative-wc see him riding on the "curltd
clouds" or diving into the deep.
The ieats he performs belong to the super
natural, vet, wthal, there is delicate grace
peryading his every movement, an underlying
desire for freedom actuating his devotion,
which, although he is unqucstionably weird
spirit, lift him out Of the region inhabited by
grim witches into those serial realms where
the Clancy often Grcamily wanders.) Music,
soft music, is the wand of his cnchaDtmcnt.
How charming are the spirits hc summons TO
celebrate the happiness of the lovers dainty
Iris, with her rainbow-tintcd wingS-Ccrcs,
the welcome bearer of golden gram, and
majestic Juno pronouncing her potent bcnc-
dction amid a band Of spor!Ne Maids and
swarthy reapcrs.
\ train of mysterious creatures dance be-
fore us in the midsummer Nights Dream,
among whom the genius is supreme in Puck,
the cunning, fantastic, trickstcr. What
pleasing, yet what mad sprite he is.
'Swiitcr than arrow from the Tartar's bow
he flew on his crafty mission and brought to
Obcron the mystic herbs by means OF which
the Titania's nature was transformed. Unique
among creations Of the fancy, this fleci-ioolcd
messenger will cyef attract admiration
Among the weird poems Of English litera-
ture, there can scarcely be anything more
weird than Mrs. Brownng's LAY OF the
Brown Rosary"
In the ruins of an old convent, deserted Of
ivy and haunted by owls, a nun, who Knocked
the priest when he called her TO offer her
confession, was buried alive.
There, a soft-voiced, calm-eyed maiden,
called Onora, was won't to sit in the early
morning and at night, holding communion
with the ghostly nun, so unrepentant and
uub!est, who wore ''the brown rosario never
used for prayer y younger brother,
possessing marvellous penetration, perceived
the danger Of this intercourse, and IN a
graphic manner told the story to his mother,
pronouncing the stem Judgment ofan offended
devotec upon the loved but misguided
sister.
How touching is the scene in which the
GOOD angels talk impassionately Of Onora,
how fearful the visit of the evil spirit in nun ;
garb, who bids her forbear her heavenly
dreams, and how infinitely pathetic are the
maidcn's confessions TO this phantom, in
which she means to her dead father, and ac-
knowledges her remuneration Of Heavens
bliss for the sake of love of earth.
But the interest deepcus until it becomss
excitement, when Onora, at the chapel door
50 soon TO be united TO the one for whose
love she has sacrificed eternal peace-hcars
her youthful but vigilant brother cry out
"Oh father, thou sccst for dead eyes can
see
How she wears on her bosom a brown
rosario -