The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-01-25
Recent Publications.

A new era has dawned for Literature.
Poetry and Science have met on the misty
mountain-tops, and their sisterly salute sounds
loud as the crack of doom. Let the elements
do their worst, and the universe 60 to pieces
but one, a Hylton Of Palmyra New Jersey, has
written a poem. 1t is entitled The Bride
of Gettysburg, but it is, also, all about every
thing else. Nothing but the authors preface
can give any idea of the work-and thus 1t
runs
AS this book fs only written for the persual Of
true admirers of genuine poetry-those who can ap-
preciate lofty Imagination, grand CONCEPTION and
Combination of ifeas-graceful, fluent, flowing Dum-
bers-cnoicess harmony Of cadence and rhyme,
treighted with high and noble aspirations lied vita
feeling and pathos, adorned with siuile and meta
phOr-wny knows that it is not enough for sent
iments to be natural, graceful and proper in order
tina poet may acquire any high degree of poetical
merit but that he must also be sublime and Iaihe-
tc For such persons OF exquisite ia to and feeling
of heart Ihis poem is written So, from those of an
opposite bias of mind the author hears praise with
out being elated, and ribadry without being I'D the
least depressed. he has SO equently seen The first
too lavishy aud preciptately bestowed and the lat
ter cowardly aau fathess to its purpose, that he
deems it is oiteo the only index to real merit in the
present age. He is not SO arrogant to declare this
finest poetical production OF the ury but II it
will thank any one who will be SO kind as to chow
it to him. If some parts OF this poem are found to
be inferior in action to obes was so meant to be by
the author No scenery grand beautiful aud sublime,
without undula ions and breaks: Us valleys ano
hills, ITS rivers, It's torrents, its rils, its towering
shine and storm. This will be seen, as the numbers
OF this story appear. The AUTHOR.
Every contingency is here provided for. If
the reader likes the poem he probably is the
many-sided paragon so fully but incoherently
described. From critics on the bias the author
declares himself unruflsd by puffs; yet if he
be blamed he considers that his work has re-
ceived its patent of nobility. Severe letting
alone is the only course left to the reviewer who
would not be interpreted as praising the vol
ume; yet it seems unfair that the public should
be deprived Of innocent sport. In one instance
only has the author failed in self-appreciation.
1t may be averred with entire truth that no
part of this extraordinary poem is inferior to
any other part. Its valleys are as high as its
hills and uice versa; its rils roar you as gently
as its rivers; its grass towers to its treetops,
and the critic will bs blessed if he can tell
its sunshine from its storm when he meets
them on the street. The spelling is eccentric,
and is not of kind to be credited to the intel
lgent compostor. The metres are varied,
though unintentionally, and the impossibility
of reading any two consecutive lines without
vocal hops and skips will be evident to the
elocutionist who may essay the feat. Rhyme
Is clung to with relentless grasp, and what
ever perils Of prosody and accent the line un-
dergoes, it always comes up smiling at the end
with its rhyme. The language of the poem
stretches the dictionary to cracking; its ideas
are enough to give brain-fever to an apple
dumping, and the general tone OF initiation,
cOnceit, preposterous bombast and Ignorance Is
actually imposing in its loud and wordy pro-
gresa. A few examples of the authors verse
will crafty our readers, who have enjoyed his
prose Of the preface. These specimens are
taken at random-neither for better nor worse,
nor richer nor poorer than the average of MIR.
Hylton's Inspirations Describing one of the
heroines, who exerted q moral and intellectual
influence over her young man, the poet writes:
OFT have her dark eyes sparkle with glory all
tneir own,
Her long raven tresses on the Sabbath morning
breezeS strown.
The reader is glad to know she did not use
belladonua to dilate her orbs-bat is panied to
leara that her hair was left on the breezes OIL
the last Sabbath day; while she, presumably
reveed in the middle of next week.
While Rock of Ages Cleft for mel or some other
sacred hymn -
She taught her huge unlettered lover, like holy
seIaphim
| whether the unlettered lover was like the sera-
phim, and if so why he was plural, is left for
the reader to settle as it likes him.
( Anon the poet describes the local Justice OF
the Peace-and the portrait is drawn with such
| activity of disspprovsl that it would seem that
| at some time the law and the poet had collided,
to the discontinue of the bard
High on his seat behind the bar the justice-deaIing
despot sat,
( His long ruddy nose projected from between two
rolls of fat
Grave as the very law he seemed, solemn, stern and
fixed as fate