The New York herald., 1874-07-23
Mr.. Swinburne's "BOthwell"-The
Story of Mary Queen of Scots
alexander the Great" by
Aubrey de We're.
THE WORK OF THE lCRIT1cs.
Personal Letters and Books Of
Travel and War.

lcng expected dramatic poem, 'Bothwel." He
mas been credited With the design OF eXhausting
the history or the legend as IL has become by
lapse OF time and dint OF controversy OF Mary
Queen OF Scots Just the poet laureate has eek
hausted" the ArtAurlan myths. "Chastelard," IN
the opinion OF most critics Mr.. Swinournes best
poem, has long been understood TO bear the same
relative proportion to the contemplated whole as
that borne by the Mort d'Arthur'' to the
"Idylls of the King" and 1t Is at length succeeded
by Boutwell, (aso in dramatic lorm) in which
the story OF the queen is continued up 10 the eve
Of her embarkation Tor England. The volume
Is so bulky that 1t discourages the gen.
eral reader, but it is well worth an atten-
tive perusal, for 1t abounds in passages OF great
force and exquisite beauty and it shows that Mr..
SwtnDurne has thoroughly mastered every detail
vi his subject in all its POLITICAL social and per-
Bonalcomplicatious. The way in which he handles
the opposing factions aud the Individual antagon-
Ism OF the Scottish lords his rendering Of the
character and mission OF John Knox and OF the
Regent Murray, are all OF the utmost merit and
the highest finish. But the queen, Darnley and
Boutwell, are naturally the chief points of interest,
and 1t would be difficult to accord too much
praise to Mr.. Swinburne's treatment OF the Queen
and Darnley. His delineation OF Mary is IN per-
iect harmony with that in his ''Chastelard;" as
fierce and full OF strife, passion, hate, caoiery.
shrewdness and obstinate folly. She Is no purer,
but she is less coarse, and therein-though the
poem doeslack plain speaking-there Is a great
Improvement IN IL. Mr.. Swnburne will
be. TO some extent, rehabillta ted by this
achievement Where he Is coarse and shame
less in this instance he is coarse and
shameless according to the truth OF the circum.
stances and the time. Ii is not an ingeniously
manufactured and revolving prurience, like that
winch has for SO long incurred for him just dis
grace. The portraiture OF Darnley is altogether
mastery. To read this poem, with the remem-
brance or the picture OF the Queens husband in
the Versailles gallery well in one's mind, is to
realize truly wonderful feat OF Interpretation.
There is q scene in which Mary, Boutwell, by her
side, contemplates Henry Darnley's corpse, which
ought to live as long the language IN which 1t is
written.
"BDthwell' Is not SO successful, 1t seems to us;
but 1t may oe that we remember Aytoun's Earl OF
Orkney toovividly and that dreary imprisonment
IN Norway. Many samples OF typical beauty are
,nterspersed throughout the lengthy poem, and one
song, sung by David RiZZio. while his murderers
are making their way ts the Queens chamber. is
altogether exquisite Boutwell," is sonnet,
dedicated to Victor Hugo, written in such perfect
French verse as no Frenchman, to our knowledge,
except Victor Hugo himself writes nowadays. The
use ofvers ia the sense OF poetry, in the lines
y'apporre auleu d'on lie vers tonne ct luir
Mon drame epique ct plein de tumute ct de
namme,
90 whore IN steele eteint on notte un ioie qui fuit
is proof OF the mastery OF the writer over idiom.
Not one English writer In a thousand would nave
tentured upon 1t without misgvng that verse
and poetry might be confounded in idea by his
doing so; but Mr.. Swinburne's perfect knowledge
of the. accuracy of form in the French language
guides him Alright.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT.r
Mr. Aubrey de We're, whose previous works,
though OF considerable beauty and merit, and all
instinct with the subtle refinement OF scholar
deeply versed in classical and medieval literature,
did not lead the reading world to expect from him
q great dramatic poem, has taken that world by
surprise by his alexander the Great.n THIS Is a
NOBLE poem. IN which the author reveals the Greek
spirit as ably as he brings the great conqueror and
his one beloved iriend-Dut ior whom his lite had
ached more than any other human being, In the
agony OF Isolated mlght-forcbly. vsibly in
bodily presence before the reader The Persian,
the Hebrew and the Greek civilizations and phtos-
ophers breathe their several and contrasting
meanings in these pages, each embodied In q
human interest," rresistiby strong and attractive.
Alexander, so grand, Dut with his one all pervad-
ing nfrmity, pride, which tempts him onward, as
his conquests grow in number and in splendor, to
reject the clew to the truth just dawning upon the
that which leads to half persuasion OF his own
divinity; so touching, with his infinite love for
Hephastion, whose weight or duties seemed but
weight OF wings" is wonderfully real HIS terri.
Die, harsh, silent hopeless anguish when Hephgs-
tion is poisoned by Phylax evidenced In every SEN
tence the conqueror speaks, though he never
names his lost friend but once indirectly; the
steady closing Of the grip OF despair upon the
Kings heart; the slight cause OF his mortal SICK
ness; 1.-The ieverish schemes; the lar-reaching COM
mands issued from the pallet where he lies, sur
rounded by his generals the chiefs OF the pha-
lanx and his silver shields; the lethargy and the
silence; the attempt OF Ptolemy to learn the dying
monarch's wishes as to mis- successor; the oues-
ion
"slre, 1t Ia come The king is king In death:
speak the kings ordinance. Who shall wear his
crownw
And the famous answer-'The worthiest head,p
that It is great pity there is actor to play Mr..
Aubrey de vere's Alexander.
His Heph9stion Is great achievement In the
person on whom the conqueror OF the world con-
centrated his one human affection, the grandest
qualities combine with a contemplative mind and
a superb isinterestedness and power OF sef-sacri-
1ce, which, by their innate loitiness and the alb
sence OF Alexander's own defects far above him
self, raise the friend whom he loved so profoundly
loved TO height which renders the imperial mas
ter's homage as reasonable as 1t is ardent. He
phestion realizes the sublime OF the Greek ideal OF
nobility and worth, and the poet shows the mea-
sure OF his skill In the liie-lKe and sympathetic
reality with which he invests him, while he never
slips for moment into modernism never betiays
that he is looking backward through the ages to
tnat Giving Greece which he portrays with @
masters hand which might have held the stylus
beside Abydos.
CRITICISM.
rhe literature OF criticism is assuming such por-
tentous dimensions that the commentaries upon
books are frequently enough for the appetite OF
ordinary readers, and are rapidly superscding the
works themselves; so that as the educational
movement progresses In one direction 1t is ingtd.
iousy counteracted In another by the publication
Nf vvh IN