The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-07-02
SOME VIEW BOOKS.
M. Lepsfel,ov'. Collected Poem..


welcomed by the Ensiish- speaking race. Neither
hss any Eoefishman since byron approached SO
pssriy TO q worldwide reputation, for there Is
scarcely any country Of Europe where some sc-
susintsnce with Lonafellow's writings Ia not sc-
pounted an essential element OF culture. II he
kad never written line Of original verse, his
reproduction Of the Divine Comedy would have
won respect for its author and his country,
since perhaps no man has more nearly salts
Sod Dryden's well-kpown definition OF right
Translation, " true TO the sense bat truer to the
Dsme." For these reasons and because col
hsotive edition Of his poems has recently APP
peared Complete Poettcdi Works Of Henry Wdds-
worth Longfelo,o james r.. oseood b Co.J-the
present seems anttine occasion to examine the
SCOPE and worth OF his achievements.
II Is obvious that the favor of contemporaries
constitutes a letter of credit whion posterity
may decline to accept at its face value. Circum-
Stances, IN fact may foster. well AZ depress,
euthor and II Is conceivable that the consum-
mate adjustment Of his work to the taste and
sentiment dominant In mis- age and country
might assure to a given poet such ardent SYM
Dsthy that the task of cold and rigorous analysis
would be gladly RENTED to another generation.
How inhexbly that function Is then executed,
md how vainly isolated gems appeal to the
piegard hand which is necessarily wedding the
roll OF honor, Is demonstrated bv the permanent
sclpse OF Pope's reputation and the preclpitate
aecline Of Moore's, no less than by the crescent
fame OF Wordsworth.
IL Ia probable that Mr.. Longfellow has received
10 his lifetime az much praise as he may fairly
claim. and there seems to De a tacit agreement
sn.the part Of Journalists and other arbiters Of
spinion to postpone the estimate Of his merits
70 later day. Even by English reviewers he
has for many years been treated with peculiar
sentences, while at home, II we except the as
sault by Edgar Poe, which was discredited by its
excessive aoerbity, he can hardly be said to nave
been criticised at all. And yet the precise APP
DraisemeDt OF Mr.. Longfelow VS. perform ances, 90
we'll ss the inquiry into the ground and nature
Of the popularity which he unqusstionably en-
Joys, cannot well be neglected by one who would
comprehend the historical developm ent and the
hctual status Of our native literature.
II would be dinicult to guess the characters
No stamp and natural scope OF Longfeilow's
genius from catalogus OF his works, for he has
MED bis wing In many directions. Nor Is 1t
Btranee to md the conscious possession OF artis-
No power unaocompanied by any clear percep-
Mon OF Its specific quality and compass. Painters,
% Is true, seem willing enough to conane their
labors within a particular province; but poets
nre slow to recognize limitations. which, never
bsss are inexorably demonstrated by the very
pRorts made to evade them. What was effect
ID, for instance, by Byrons reiterated essays In
dramatic verse beyond the exposure OF his curl.
Gus weakness In characterization; and how in
uredibly ponderous aud dat 10 Millions attempt
70 portray, with lyrical grace and lghtness, the
domestic Joys Of Eden. The t-usn IL thar the
old division Of the poetic field by the river Lore
vent deeper than distinctions Of race and
language. and the speci l qualities OF the story.
lsliing Trourere, who touched something like
spic grandeur In the Roland, and half forestalied
In the Roman dc IA Rose the social photography
Of the modern novel, we're resumed for English
men In Cbauoer, while Burns continued the
vsry different traditions OF those Provencnl Trou-
bsdours, whose ntful lays seldom interpreted
any broader theme than the captures and dis
quietudes Of love. To whichever of these
schools man belongs, in whichever province,
whether narrative or lyric, his poetic talent more
willingly exerts itself is possible that his work
hes there, and that ne will gain no substantial
sredit by exclusive experiments. Thus IL might
not be difhcut to show that Mr.. Longfeilow's
forte Is lyric verse that whenever he "a signaiiy
fslioitous It Is in this direction that in the ratio
Of his divergence from II his failures are more
or less decisive: and that the compulsory en-
ployment Of his energies in wholly uncongenial
tasks Ia charReable with some productions Ly no
The nrst volumes published by Longfellow
were largely made up Of translate ons, and his
selection Of subjects for reproduction revealed
The bent and quality OF his mind. 1t
was plain that he was instinctively at
kracted by the Spanish and German song
writers. and especially by utterances OF
their more serious and pehsive moods. With
INLAND In particular he discovered a sympathy
20 intm ate, and assimilsted so thoroughly the
delicate aroma of the latter's verse, that poems
like T" The BeIeagured CITY" Nuremberg" the
Belfrv Of Bruges," and walter Won der vo-
gslweide." can scarcely be discrimin ated from
the work Of the German balladlst. Indeed, the
attitude OF Uhland's mind, and the strange,
haunting charm OF his melody, were curiously
sonsenial to the temper OF cultivated New Eng
land people at the tie of Long fellows DEBUT.
The anti-slavery movement bad not yet shock
ID men into earnestness and compelled their
energies to the business Of the hour. And
again, while social and political questions
awakened but u languid interest. what scope
was there for scholastic or aesthetic EXPANSION
within the contracted bounds of a provincial
sivilizatlon, where books were not abundant and
travelled men were few, where not a single fine
picture or statue, nor a vestige Of noble archi-
lecture, could be found2 Upland, too, though
for somewhat different reasons, was profoundly
dissatisfied with his surroun dngs. He had a
ksen eve for the shortcomng OF the present,
and beholdlng tho past through a mist which
~s0nined outlines and obscured blemishes, he
vas half persuaded that Germany had retro
GRADED since the days OF the Mnnesingers. OF
sourse an accurate knowledge OF medieval life
would be positive nuisance to those who love
70 dwell among the legends and romantic lore
Of chivalry; and accordingly ballad makers OF
Uhland's school prefer to veracious Illumlna-
tion the light that never was on or Shore"
and are accustomed to steep their work In SEN
ument which would be pleasing enough, were
b not an anachronism. Regarded as rejecting
10 any sort the texture and colors OF actual life
IN bygone times, such poetry is the mere cloud
work OF dream, the beautiful but pre-
posterous mirage conjured up by weary and
ysarning eyes.
Had Mr.. LonRfellow oontented himself with
mirroring the fantastic predictions and tenta-
uve dlettanteism OF a particular class, his au-
fisnce might have been as esoterlc as Matthew
Arnold's. But In the collection entitled,
hvoices Of the Might" were two or three short
poems, and notably the Psalm OF Life" pitch
I'd IN key manifestly alien to the writer's pre-
sailing mood, but we'll calculated to win the ear
md engage the sunrages of plain people. We
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