The New York herald., 1875-07-12
The Latest Productions of London
Authors and Publishers.
HARRAN; Or, THE STORY OF TIE SWORD"
What Browning, Ouida and Miss
Thackeray Are Doing.


read as well as marked, aud within certain limits
inwardly diRested IL the course OF last week.
"ARRAN; OR, THE STORY OF THE SWORD"
Il the name or this literary phenomenon, and itg
author reJoices Ia the prosalc name OF Todd.
must confess myself unable. certainly, to state
what Is the DRIFT OF the composition whence It's
materials have been euled, whether 1t IS Is not
Rllegorical in It's purport, or whether 1t Is de-
signed as purely ana literally historical in
Its scoDe. The hero, the above mentioned
Arran, Is hardy Norseman. ana at nrst 1t would
seem as II Mr. Todd, like DR.. Dascent had gone
To the Scandinavian Lorgas Tor his inspiration
and his facts. But when one finds illusions TO
events ana TO nationalites with whom Harold
Hal faRar and his comrades cannot even by remote
hearsay have been acquainted, wHen one IL told
or the development OF communities aud or COM
plete political systems when ia the twnkIng Of
eye the scene Is shifted rom the exiremIties
OF the Old World 10 the neart OF the New, aud in
a moment time transported RON the
Baltic 10 Mexico, naturally begins 20 think
tnat the bard must have designed to frame
species or universal history OF civilization In
poetic setting, ana that In the "Story OF the
SwOro" we may discover reelected Il glass
darkly, ana in the guise OF an exclusively Morse
snronice. the events and episodes, or selection
rom them, wLlca have marked the progress or
nauKlnd IN every quarter OF The globe since the
Intldeluvian For all | tell Arran may
be Attiia, the Princess may be Cleopatra, King
Emetn may be Cnarlemagne, Lygrul may be King
Arthur, Mawrawn may be Guinevere, and Cnzva
Elaine. II Is quite possible that the ecclesiastical
establishment 70 wnIcn Mr.. Todd introduces us
may be a satire upon the Vatican. Oae feels by
no means sure that the dsturber OF the unity OF
tnat establishment Is not Mr.. Gladstone l AN
not prepared to say that the ingenious Urban or
Mr. Todd's poem may not have his lssh and blood
original In Mr.. Dsraeii.
In plain English 'Arran"
Is MYSTERY
and if such was the character which its author
desired 1t should bear he has succeeded
maryellousIy well. The odd thing 49, tnat notwith-
standing the heterogeneous jumole which car
ran" is-tne cnaos OF images, ideas and scenes
II s really full OF passages which reacn the poetic
and which narrowly the sublime. II Mr..
Todd is as he pretends TO be, only q translator,
ae has come across a genuine UouvatIle II he 10
original al all points It Is not 10 be denied that he
apoet Anyhow venture 10 predict that both
ol "Arran" and or Mr.. Todd you Will hear more.
The question wntcn one naturally asks ones SELF
alter having glanced through this extraordinary
production, whether has here another in
st@nce OF an imaginary literary importance ike
MncpaerSon's' ''Osslan Rawey Balladsn and Horace
Walpoe's ''castle OF otranto" or whether In some
archives OF which ne mas oeen allowed TO run, Mr..
TODD may possibly have discovered some frag-
ments whica he has trsnsated-irom wnat Ian
guage Will not attempt 10 coujecture-and now
pieced together. "Arran" may be a hoax or a
genuine work. but that It will be sensation /
SONGS OF TWO WORLDS.
II II be possible Tor any English poet In the
present day. except MR. iennyscn aud perhaps
Mr. Browning and Mr. Swlnourne-I meutOn
am informed on the best authority that Tor all
the poems which nc has ever writl en- MI. SWIM
ourne mas received less than 1000, and nave
Lree
works nave been a dead luss TO their puDIsher-to
achieve u commercial success as well A. merely a
success d'eStiiHe. snouid fancy that lhs fact had
b en- accomplished Dy the anonymous author Ol
'SOngs vi Two WORLDS" o: whicn the Thu d series
mas Just appeared. series one and two are out OF
print and unprocuraDls at any price, aud that
though three editions OF each have appeared. rne
present volume Is an immense Improvement on
sfther oil II predecessors. Tne tue OF the poem
may serve as an accurate description OF tnelr
side by side with what may almost be
described as rerS &c s0cf6t6 oaIntily drawn pic
lures OF some aspect OF everyday lite, are cOnpo-
Itions which speak TO rom the hidden
tephs OF. he unlverse-lrum hat unseen land OF
those position no one knows, an waIch cOnfains
VINO he may, Is not merely sympathetic student
human nature, patient and penetrative. qucK
10 observe ana prompt TO discern he HIDDEN
anal, SIS oil tnings; ne mas considerable power OF
argument and uncommon cuiture. strength and
.ucldity OF dctlon. HIS Imagination Is VIVID; MS
nmplciy charms lrreslstUly; MS melody II lam
EIage never falls; he nas warmth IN colorlnR.
aud, above all things, cearness or outline. Tne
themes winch he seiec.s are those when must at
rome mOiuentS or OtAcr occur TO all tntnklug men
ana wOmeu-the signlncancc ~ human hopes ana
sorrOws; the relation IN winch they stand 10 tnAt
world where there Is no longer anticipation. but
where all Is rultOI: tue struggles OF tue spirit OF
nal IN les attempts 70 find sure resting place OF
belei Inc triumph OF the heart over the agitation
OF The intellect.
"cHuLDREN OF THE sTREEr''-
speak exclusively OF the tnrd series Just Issued
the writer Of tue 'Songs OF TWO Worlds" gives an
animated sketcn Ia musical daedytIcs Of
Bright boys vocerous
Diri chiidren clamorous,
Down the long street
1t may be Fleet street, or oxford street, or the
sIrand-the contents Of the bill Of the evening
. Newspapers. Thus
Terrible accident
krshtnl e&plosion srl
News from America,
ony one haltpenny
Ecbo, SIR echo
Compare with this
''EvENsoEG,r
poem or between 400 and 500 lines in which the
author discusses with himself the chiri me taphys-
lcal and theological problems which perFieX Tue
intellect OF man-tne origin and the destiny OF tue
human race; wnetner we are or are not the de-
BceBdants OF the Aboriginal; whether a JOyiess or
a Dlissiul iuture awaits mankind, or whether. as
the ages sweep on we, VINO now i've, shall Oe al
unconscious OF their progress. There is partlcu-
larlY pleasing little piece IN the collection, ''lhe
Youth OF Thought" 1t begins mus
ON S. SsRgE sas Sa SgSqs nnd was young
Ard 70 a golden dow Of rhyme
Lille like melody sung.
But now the world has grown old, and It's denl-
Zeas as they have the knowledge have also the
sorrows OF ages. They are haunted by the sense OF
falures past, and OF terrible catastrophe shortly
TO come.
great hope traversing the earth
has taken all the young worlds Oloom
Aud Tor the 10y aud he IN OF birth.
las left the solemn thought OF doom.
But though the retrospect and the present may
70 sad. the iuture wnicl tue poet bids US to con-
emplate Is full Of hope:-
FOR In the annoOd OF Gods days
We live, and not in careless youth;
The essence more tlan form praise,
And beauty moves US less than truth.
FROM youth to age. till cvcies hence,
Another and ligner spring,
Ana with truer innOcence
Again the world snail think and sing
Altogether these songs OF Two worlds
pleasing as q collection oil yricai poetry nave a
historical value IS Illustrating certain phases Of
English nineteenth century thought
10 pass 10 literary themes VI more stirring
character.
outDA's NEW NOVEL,