The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-08-26
A GRAND POEM.

"Byzantium" is an historical poem,
written in the early years Of the present
century-by whom was never known.
But that the writer was OF that order OF
genius before whose intellectual fires
the ordinary lights Of mind pale into
unregard is sufficiently attested.
The author was Of the school of Byron,
and his peer In the grander elements OF
poetry, without his faults. The electri-
cal currents OF Byronic verse have
ceased to fow. This age is not enrap-
tured with Byron. The true Helicon is
not gin; and Parnassus is accessible to
sober, sensible and healthy thinkers,
whose surest celebrity. two generations
ago. would have come of finding a place
in English Bards." Think of Robert
Browning quarrying his poetical gran
ite, and building, on the highway of the
muses., his odd looking structures, with
hardly any openings for access or light,
and no satirist to give the world an un-
Outstanding OF what he is about. And,
indeed, it is a question. to-day, whether
Browning does not rank the famous
bard OF Newstead Abbey, with all his
brilliancy and power. Thus the world
moves, and every age, in its turn, re-
vises and corrects the judgments and
opinions Of its predecessors.
It does not seem a long time to one
passing down the declivity Of life, and
verging toward its shadows, since Byron
first burst upon the world. filling the
heavens with his splendor-the most
brilliant meteor Of his time, when,
at the same time, bright stars in
whole consultations covered the en-
pyrean. The tide of open shirt col
lars, the inspiring gin, q dreary
consciousness Of utter misery, domestic
infelicities and literary Don Juanism;
and sentimental affectations OF every
sort set in, flooding, as by deluge, the
young minds of the period. The poetry
Of Byron constituted large element in
the extra-scho lastic education Of youths.
The late Willis Gaylord Clarke in his
boy days recited whole cantos Of Childe
Harold; and the lighter lyrical poems
of the Bard of Newstead Abbey, the
Bride of Abydos, Parisina, ETC., sang
themselves into impassioned control Of
half the young minds that were bud
ding into power a generation and a
half ago. These waters covered the
earth during many days and years,
till society sickened of such mockeries,
and at last considerably put away the
poisoned chalices Of Byronism.
La the flush of the Byronic era "By-
zantium' was written. Its author has
taken his place, for all time to come.
with the shades of Junius and the
writer Of vestiges Of the creation. and
will never be known in the annals OF
that literature he has 50 honored and
adorned. He was, beyond all question,
an admirer and close student Of the
author of Childe Harold; and obviously
drew deep drafts from the waters OF
the Pierian Spring through the channel
of the great Bard. But there is no
servility in the like hood Of this magni.
ficent poem to the highest grandeur OF
its model, while it is as sincere. as pas
sionate and sublime, as the best ana
Hottest Efforts of the great master.
We regret that "Byzsntium quite
too long a poem to admit OF its repro
duction in the columns Of the DEMO
Graf. 1t has, we think, long been out
Of print, but those who admire genius,
and appreciate the powers of the human
soul in its most impassioned bursts OF
song will thank us for even the briefest
mention Of a production SO grand. OF a