New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-12-14
BOOKS FOR LEISURE HOURS.
POETS PAINTERS. AND TRAVELLERS.

FRoM IANDsEER" - JULIAN HAwTHoRNEs
"sAxoN sTUDIEs.'
tYRom A REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRiBuNh'i
Boston, Dec. III. r. OsgoOd d co. nave
nearly ready "songs of Three Centuries" selected py
John G. Whittier with Introductory essay ny 'ne
mat OF all recent volumes Of selections ind this most
pleasng "Parnassus" interesting as the express
sion OF Mr. Emersons poetcal preferences; Dut was"
collection by catholic or SO entertaining DC
ths one by Whittier. There were too many very long
poems In Parnassus an avoided in the present
volume Songs of Three Centuries If uNluea mo
three portions - From Shakespeare to Mll'on
~From Dryden TO Burns" and FROM "oe
worth to IOngfeow" Mr. Whittier himself says 'na' mo
design was TO gather up in comparatively si"an W,
umc easily accessible TO all classes Of readers, - he
vteest thoughts rarest fanees, and devoutes' nshs "
the metrcal authors Of the last three centuries ne
plan OF his work compelled him TO confne hlmse cehy
10 the lyrical productions Of the authors quoted anu W
the briefer poems Of the old draatists ana Oh sucn '
luminous writer's spenser, Milton Dryden 0o"per'
Pope Byron, Scott, Wordsworth, and the Brownngs'
what may seem like undue prominence accorded 10
The poetry of the period beginning with Cowper ana eA
tending TO TennysOn and his living eotemporares MI
Whittier thus explains
II must be considered that the last century mas peen
prolific in song and, II Shakespeare ana Milton Bull SUI
keen their unapproachable position souls nhe s,ie
that dwell apart there can ne little a9uVu @ arre ad
nee upon hu t ~ Worsworth Coeridge shelley Keats,
Browning Tennyson, ana Emerson ..., .r,,
n viii he seen that the middle of the sixteenth century
ance~ does moi appear; and OF the best OF the
early ballad poetry England aud Scotland has Dceh re-
iuctantly omitted James l.. whose Qucehs Qaar WdI
hidden his ngly under the poets g2rlanu, W." III
liam Dunbar, and Sackvle Earl OF dorset may Men
Thought worthy of place in any collection oil EngIsh
verse but language and rhy thin OF these writers rem
der them wclngh unntellgibe TO the ordinary Ic"uei'
The compiler believes that the considerable space he
has given TO American authors will find its justification
In his citations their writings. The poetca h'era
tre of our country scarcely be said to have longer
date than that of a single generation AS matter OF
fact the very fathers of 1t still living; since IL COM
menced with Bryants "Thanatopsis" and Danas
"BuccaneeT."
Tho grave philoophc tone. chaste simplicity OF lam
euage freedom Of versifeatOn and freshness anu run
OF Illustration. which marked the FORMER pocn anu NC
terse realism Of the Buccaneer with ITS stern pictures
Of life aud nature drawn with few strokes shai anu
vioorous As those of Rczsc's outlines, LETT the Weh
mitatOrs of an artificial school without an audience. All
further attempts to eoonze inc n 1e ana our
bows and girls longer figured IN lnpOsslDe phet
ancss of Canaan we have at truth aud nature wit
and wisdom ~ Bryan, Koperl 81 LA " Tho One IIoss
"Hulable1ee," LoweiPs " Courun, ana lhe oho-iioSS
Shay" of Holmes.
One extract more from the introduction viii show Mr.
whi,tieT's comparative estimate OF some OF Ills Ieno"
NAV be observed that the three divisions of the book
do moi strictly correspond to the headings which indicate
them-tbe first for instance, beginning before shak,
snCare ana ending somewhat after Milton 1t is difficult
to quite III such casscauons ana as IL sgeined
desirable 10 make their number as small as possible
trust the few leading names mentioned may serve 10
characterize the periods they ACCOMPANY win suneie ,
degree of accuracy Pope was uouDuesS tv tte ~
master of what is sometimes spoken OF as aTtiHeia a
own OWE and the succeeding, generations but "a; as
Dryden stands In G@nt t E . .e ncricd IF E1eeS
song, has been chosen as representative OF tue
second, in connection and contrast win Bufns who ~
his vigorous rebound from the measured pOn OF rylned
the surdest and homelies Scottish smpnci
s@e the nnsicsi mich of true and tender emotion de
ededly Wordsworth has touched LOT u the KEY oe vi
the thoughtful harmonies of natural and intellectual
beauy Tennyson undoubtedly stands at the head OF al
living singers and his name might wei serve as tne
bighwater mark of modern verse; Dut as our soiue
gives liberal space to American nave ven
tured 10 let the name of the author OF " LVahgeine
represent 1t well may, TIE present poctIc Sl'"o Vi
our Englishspeaking people AT home and abroad.
Turning TO the poems themselves. one is struck with
the perfect taste which has determined their selection
They are alone such poems poets love- but they
are such poems as all appreeiatve readers must love
They have, almost all Of them the element OF readable
Dess-he touch OF nature that insuIes general popular
iy Until TO the poets OF our own time IL wOmd
be scarcely possible to suggest an Improvement Inc
affections from Words worth just what his most ap
preciaye admirers would desire and Scott and Cole
ride and Lamb are treated with similarly delicate dis
elimination when get TO Bryant we regret the
omission of /" The Future Lfe" 1.-THE Bells" does not
seem to me Justly represent Edgar A. Poe; "The Door
Step" charming that is and Pan in Wall street
do not give us stedman at his best and would have
chosen differently from Bret Harte than Concha and
~Dckens Camp" But of all these selections those that
least satisfy the Mr. Whittier mas maze from
himself He has displayed his own rches very lnodesIy
and the poems he likes best do not always seem TO me the
ones most beloved Of his readers. l miss 1.-The swan
Song OF Parson Avery" "John Underhil," The Play
mate" and that lovely poem whose title forget IN an
Atlantic Monthly of years ago, where the stranger
sings a soug beside the Some OF MI winters re-
leous poems Also which not included here seem 10
me among the deepest and given by
poet perpetual cutlery OF the human soul Tor more
Light and larger vision. 1t would be useless to encroach
upon your space with we-known selections from we'll
known authors hut here is anonymous little gem
which may suggest how careful has been Mr. Whittiers
cleaning even among the unclaimed wealth OF our fugi'
tive poetry:
UNTIL DEATH.
Make me no VOWS Of e9Esa9sy' dear fe Ken nor
Aud love no other till thy days shall end,-
Nay. 1t were rash and wrong.
n thou canst love another be it so,
To bind Thy heart, If it should choose TO go -
Love should not be a slave.
Ny placid ghost, trust, will walk serene
In clearer light than gds those earthly morns,
Above the jeaousies and envies keen
Which SOW this life with thorns
Thou wouldst not feel my shadowy caress,
II. after death, my soul should lnger here;
Mems hearts tangible, close tenderness,
Loves presence, warm and near.
1t would not make me sleep more peacefully
That thou vert wasting al my iiie M Voc
Bestow ii ere 60
Carve not upon a stone when am dead
The praises which rclnorseiul moufncrs give
To wOmens graves-a tardy recompcnse-
But speak them while l live.
Heap not the heavy marble my head
To shut away the sunshine ana inc uc"
Let small blooms grow there. and LET grasses wave,
And ran-drOgs filter through.
Thou wilt meet many fairer and more gay
Than l. but, trust Inc, thou cansl never ma
One who will love and serve thee night and day
With more single mind
FORGET me when die! The yiolets
Above my rest will blossom just as blue,
No