New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-08-29
SWinburue.

It. of Claus veneris' These poems we're wr
y tan many years age, and are tiled With q
+ the wildness and passion OF his boy hoo
le larg. major ty Of people, of course, n,
B. .tadeLt' OF bis. poe y. have an idea tn,
Ssi.6urne is name ~ non nous with di
have carefully t,hed his career kno
that this ia untrue. 1t is nc ticeable thu
the foremost British journals, such as I'll
% Saturday kcrie,c.. tie Spectator. the EO,
nightly. to, slways tre.t Swinburne W.T.
. the 0ign tg and respect only awarded a
author OF high cltsrdAt r. as we'll as I
genius nn and ca't IRE. Algernon Charlie
, born in London April S. 1887, and eutsre
Oxford in 1857. He lett tia university
.. however, before Rrsdus ton. The fathe
of the poet Admiral Swinbutne,
} the -sOn Of Sir John Swinburne,
person whose life is we'll worth reading
Swinburne's N, Their lie the daugl tor .
the late Earl Of Ashburnaw, whose family
though one Of them = a, the closest followe
OF Charles L. to his death, afterwaid hell
sensibly aloof from the cause of the late
Stuarte, and increased in wealth and titles
Swinbnrne was five yeaS at school, four
OF which were passed it Elton. He never
cared tor any pursuit, sport or study as
yonngster. except poetry, riding and swim
ming. aud though as boy his verses may
have been bad enough, no was far from bad
at the two latter. Being bred by the sea,
day Of having scaled q well known Cliff on
the south coast, ever before and ever since
reputed to be Inaccessible. All of which re-
pudiates the charge of physical debility and
/ puny proportions laid 1t his door. Several
years ago the Reform League r. body Of
extreme refOrmers not nov extant, De-
lieve, but Of some note and power for a
nG onts tad Ii, ,ask -, u liz 4
fering to insure bis seat aud pay all ex-
penses, a. representative of more advanced
democratic OF republican opiniOns than
than were represented there. He never in
his life felt any ambition for any work or
fame but p poets Except. indeed, while vet
a boy for y sOdie''s: buta his father reso-
lOtely stamped th; "ut) He appealed to
tae man he mo loved and r-v-red on
earth-Mazztul bciuy l-n luckily in Lon.
don-if he thought it his dat. t toreso bis
own llkIngs gu he chanc- vt being Of use
t. tne cause. Mazzini IOld him he need not
He never was more relieved in his life tlan
when he felt that he could dismiss the ap-
plicat on with wholly clear conscience.
As his anti-theism has been so much bah
bled about. perhaps may here say what
he really does think on religious matt .rs.
Having been IS child and boy br6ughr nm
a quasi Catholic. of course he went in for
that as passionately as for other thugs
Il, e., we'll nigh to unaffect ID and unre
81 AIMED ecet .cies Of alteration when re-
celving the sacrameLt); then when his was
materially stark dead and buried, it left /!
nothing but a turbld nihilism, for q ,heist
Ne never was; He always felt by INSTINCT
conceive of a personal God except by
natural revelation; that a natural tpl
God was the absurdest of all hu-
man fgment', because no man could |
BY other than apocalypt'c means~i e., by |
other means than o violation OF the laws
and order o: II ,ture-conceIve OF any other |
wo-k OF Divine 20 wer than man with dit. |
fert nee; lubn with some quail ties int ii .ified
ahd some suppressed; man VITA the 200 in
him exsgg nated and the evil excised.
Therefore Swlnburne might call himself. if
he wished, a kin Of Christ en Of the church
'f Blake and Shelley, but assuredly in no
y nse a thelst; that is, taking the semi
legendary Christ as type Of human aspira-
ons ana perfet on, snd surprising. if you
IKE, that Jesus may have been the highest
'ma Purest sample OF man on record. Swim
'urne's friends all know anu joke him abo It |
rs NE ong fOn0 ess (which be has always
odnd recip ocaI ed) 10. very little childr' n
nd very persons. OF the latter he has
noWn two grand examples in his gran4.
ather and Walt r Savage Lanfor, and last |
ummer he made. the acqusint lpce OF Mr..
'relaWney 1.-THE friend o. Shelley. of Byron,
nd OF Greece triad of Tit m. of whom
ne was giant o. genius. The present ~ {
atical old hero calls Swinburne the la of t
10 poet. Woo he tho 'gHt al died with By s
IN. Swlnourne's penmanship is OF a most q
,ugh and ragged style. but it is more legi- (
10 IMAM that Ut many literary men, for the t
sas0n that every stroke means a letter.
40 ne never fails to dot his is and cross
e is. or all be has done, Swinburne C
:tes "Hertba' highest as single piece. o
mere .s csrsalnly ls good deal compressed
ID concentrated into that fine lyrical il
'em. Ne is now writing, in the form of a
essay, sort OF history Of the style of b
lakespeare, and its progress through yari-
IS stages of growth. This he Will un. e.
'ubtedly do we'll, as he has been stud wing Ii
lakespeare ever since he was six years a
d. Some biogpaphers have had Swim Il
lrne born in France, yet he never was in Il
'ance or Italy for more than few weeks "
gether, aud that not more than three or ii
nr times in his life, and never was out of II
1gland at all until he was eighteen. This pl
Ter will have been written in vain if it d.
es not give its readers clearer and more to
Vorable view OF Algernon Charles Swim ia
rne's life. The larger portion of his tt
ne is passed at his residence, Holm CT
'od, Henly-On Thames, where he is OF
oe9 stodOuy OCcuplnu WIN nlS I'M Hi
ing pen, turning out his lyrical verse th
d glowing critical prose with equal faci!i-
and vigor. At times he runs up to Lon. D,
for few days communiDg with his Al
ends; among whom Rossetri and Morris | to
perhaps the most distinguished When dr.
seems to be the most at leisure, an 1 care RI,
OF literary reputation, he often is en-. 40
geo uLoa some laborious production, as W,
3 the case during the com ostivn of his sc
cal drama Boutwell," the longest and or
some respects the most significant of ne
dern dramatic poems. There is no doubt
t Swinburne has been careless, and even an
ant Of public opinion, and often unjust tn
the satire and scorn with which he has 70
aliated upon the meaner class of his CEN IN
:. The wonder is, considering the attacks di,
de upon him, and the gross miscompre n
sion to which he has been subjected. that nm
has not been confirmed in . Wild and ~,
kless career: His poetic genius ardent Wa
oiarship. and generous aspirations have Ia,
ed him FROM becoming either . misan- col
ope or protiigate But be has long passed ses
errors and bewilderment of youth, end an
ONE in his own country man of recop- 70
I'd leadership Boston Gazette. tn,
me
he insurance agent never daspairs at co,
Afu1 naANo Esnsta hsr~ -. | 0nI