The Portland daily press., 1879-02-04
Boston Advertiser.l
Richard Henry Dana.


his generation, has passed away at the age of
ninety-one years. His literary labor ended
long ago, before those who are now in middle
life came upon the stage of action. But his
name has continued to be one of the cherished
names in this community, and has had ac-
corded to it high and sure place in the litera-
ture of the country. More fortunate than
many of the guild to which he belonged, he
lived through peaceful and serene old age,
surrounded by friends, and enjoying the respect
and veneration of the whols community. or
late he had grown 50 feeble in body that it was
thought he could not live many weeks, bat
not until three days ago was his life considered
to be in immediate danger. He had no special
disease; taking slight cold, his enfsebled con.
stitution could not shake it off, and he fingered
till yesterday, when his spirit passed quietly
away. His intellect vas clear aud unclouded
to the end.
The first Of the name who came to America
was Richard Dana, in 1910, who settled in
Cambridge, where six generations of the fami-
~ have since resided. The poets father, Fran
els Dana, was minister to Russia during the
Revolution, chief-justice of the supreme court
of Massachusetts,, aud one of the eminent men
of his time. He married daughter of Will
l,am Ellery of Rhode Island, signer of tina
Declaration of Independence, by which union
mis- son and the celebrated DR.. Claiming be-,
came cousins Richard Henry Daus, son or
Francis, was born in Cambridge Nov. Is, 1887.
His early youth was passed in Newport He
entered Harvard College, and graduated there
in 1907. He studied law in the office of his
cousin, Francis Dana Charming. After admis-
sion to the bar in this city he spent about three
mouths in Baltimore. He returned home in
1911, and was elected to the Legislature. His
first public appearance was as as an orator on
the 4th of July, 1914. Four years later he was
in the editorship of the North American Re-
view. He had been for several years mf mber
of the Anthology club, out of which the North
American grew; and during bis brief counec
ton with the Review he established his reputa-
ton as an acute, brilliant and independent
critic. One of these was review of Hazlitt's
lectures on the English poets, of which Mr..
Whpple, in his review of "a Century of
American Literature said:
..Is EXHIBITS a comprehensiveness of tastes a
depth and delicacy of critical perception, and a
grasp Of the spiritual elements which enter in
10 the highest efforts of creative minds, unex-
ampled in any previous American contribution
to the philosophy of criticism. He interpreted
showed, in old George Chapmsn's phrase,
that he possessed the fit key, that IT, the deep
and tressurous heart,
"With poesy to open poesy."
His celebrated paper on Edmund Ksan was
characterized by the same high authority as
''the best piece of theatrical criticism In Amer
can literature" In 1924 he began the pubica-
tion of the "Idle Mau"-a periodical for tales
and essays; but it did not pay, and only six
numbers were issued. In the United States
Review Of 1S267 Mr.. Dana published articles
on Mrs. Radcliffe and the novels of Brocton
ko1 L-a s-gL f..
papers to the Spirit Of the Pilgrims. An essay
on the Past and Present. in the American
Quarterly Observer for 1888, and another on
Law as Suited to Man" iu the Biblical Reposi-
tory, conclude the list of his contributions to
periodical literature.
The first Volume of his poems, containing
"Tbe Buccaneer. was published in 1927. In
1888 he published volume of Poems and
Prose Writings" reprintlng his first volume
with additions. and including his papers in the
course of eight lectures on Shakespeare
in Boston and New York, and subsequent
ly be repeated them in Philadelphia
and elsewhere. In 1850 published in two
volumes, and edition of his writings,
adding several essays and his review
articles, with ths exception Of a notice of the
historical romance of Yorktown, in the United
States Review, and paper on Religious Con-
troversy' in The Spirit of the Pilgrims, These
are the last public incidents in Mr.. Dans's lit
6Idry CdLScA.
Contemporary criticism does not always give
the true order of the value of literary work.
But although Mr.. Dana's books were never
popular in the sense that the works of later
poets and novelist have become, the critics
almost uniformly placed high value on his
contributions to the intellectual wealth of the
country. Christopher North, when "The
Buccaneer' appeared In Scotland, compared it
with the 30 Grimes of Crsbbe, the "Peter
Beli'' of Wordsworth, and "The Ancient
Mariner" OF Colerdge, "ae is no servils fol
lower of these great masters, but his genius
has been inspired by theirs, aud he almost
places himself on level With them in this ex-
traordiDary story" And Samuel G.. Brown,
writing of his collected works in $780, said with
a warmth of expression which sttested his Gin
certy: "No one can rise from even rapid
perusal without fresh impulse toward the
noolest objects of life; no one can become
familiar without being uuconsciously led to a
habit of serious thought, and finding his best
aft, ctlons most cherished, aud his 81 mpathies
with the beautiful, the good and the true en-
| larged and strenethened.