The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-11-22
Recent Publications.

Bayard Taylor Poems. hOuSeuold Eulton
Boston: Houghton & Osgood; Portland: Lor-
ing, Short & Harmony. 1t is with proud
sorrow, a grief gorifed By remembrance OF the
poets life, SO fully and generously lived-that
one looks upon this volume Of poems. In it
the face and the soul of Bayardl Taylor are re-
Elected with perfect clearness and truth-for
there is nothing to be concealed or softened;
no stain is upon the memory of this man who,
having set Poetry before him as the means
and end of his life, honored equally his art and
himself His natural speech was song; the
passion, purity and spontaneous flow Of his
verse are alike extraordinary. The superb
physical strength-so to say-of his genius re-
ceived from his earliest literary beginnings,
severe and continual training. At one time,
indeed, it would seem that he repressed his
naturally luxuriant rhetoric and mis- rich va
ried music somewhat too much for the perfec-
ton of his verse, and for his own comfort and
freedom. But however that may be-and II
error, it was a noble and self-denying one--his
genius received only fresh vigor and growth
from its pruning; and in the latter years OF his
life it bore the fruit of poems amazing in their
scope, nobility, and the music of their verse.
The volume just published contains his poetic
works, with the exception of the Masque of
the Gods, Prince Deukalion, and the transla-
ton of Faust OF these first two poems, it is
not now needful to speaker of the wonderful
humanity of the winged victorious soul that
sang until it touched heavens gate. His
Faust, in every way model of translation. is
also well known and appreciated. AT the
time when his work ended on earth-ended
only with his last day-he had collected the
materials for a Life of Goethe, to which lie
looked as one of his largest tasks. Great as
would have been the value of such comment as
his upon Goethe, there is consolation far out
weighing the literary loss, that his last word
to the world was the inspired utterance, as
manly as heavenly, of his own Deukalion-a
poem as far above Faust as faith is higher than
the dreams of our philosophy. The poems in the
vol line now under consideration are grouped
under several general headings, following the
titles of the books in which they were at first
published; and, collected, they afford very
complete picture of the luminous path of Mr..
Taylors genius. Born under the quiet skies
of his peaceful town in Pennsylvania, the
poets heart was jewel of living fire that found
its home in the sun-lands. The austerity,
the restraint of his early life made the fame
of his genius steady i'll its pure burning; and
it is in the subsection as IN the action of his
magnificent talent that one sees the strength
Of the poet. In the Enyo to his Poems of the
Orient he strikes the keynote of all his song:
found, among those children of the Sun
The cipher of my nature-the release
OF bataed powers, which else had never won
That free fulhlment whose reward is peace.
For not to any race or any cline
Is the completed sphere OF life revealed;
He who would make his own that round sublime,
Must pitch his tent on many distant field.
Upon his home dawning lustre beams,
But through the world he walks in open day,
Gathering from every land the primal CLEANS,
Which, when united, form the perfect ray.
A very tender, appreciative and just tribute
to Mr.. Taylor forms the preface to this volume
of his poems, aud is written by his lifelong
friend, Mr.. George II. Boxer.
Euripides, by J. P. Mahaffy, Fellow OF
Trinity College and Professor of Ancient His
tory in the University of Dublin (New York:
D. Appleton s. Co.. Portland: Dresser & Nc
Lellan) is volume belonging to the Classical
Writers Series, edited by Mr.. John Richard
Green. 1t gives a very clear and comprehen-
sive view of the great tragic poet and his
times; and is happily for the non-classical
reader, notably free from pedantry and dispu-
tatious scholarship. 1t is an exceedingly at
tractive volume commenting simply and with
bright, lively modern thought upon the writ
ngs of Eutipides, as one might upon Shaks-
peare's. The importance of the musical ele-
ment in Greek tragedy strikes the reader.
Euripides approached the question OF dra-
matte art from the literary side, with more
truth and moderation than does Wagner from
the musical standpoint, but with general re-
suits somewhat similar. The accents and
quantity of Greek verse, Professor Mahaffy
believes, would be made moro impressive to
us now, could the harmonic system and the
melodies which accompanied them be traced.
But whatever was the style of music that pre-
vailed among the Greeks, it is evident thai
they understood the intimate relations of mu
sic and poetry, and saw that poetry is to prose
as song is to speech. The individuality of the
personages in the plays Of Euripides is anoth-
er point very finely brought out in Professor
Mahaffy's volume. We are used to thinking
of the men and women of Greek drama as alb
stract playthings made for the handling of
Fate and for the commendation of the chorus;
but this volume shows us the spirit and beauty
of some characters, the faults and absurdities
of others very effectively. 1t is precisely such
books as this that interest and suffice the gen.
eral reader who wishes, without special course
of classic study, to understand and feel the
worth of the ancient writers Such clear and
practical comment is as attractive as it is val
liable, and creates a genuine interest in the
treasures that the dead languages hold in
their keeping.
A volume of memoirs of Famous French
Authors. (a. Worthington: New York; Port
land Loring, Short s. HARMONY is collected
from the writings of NJ. Theophile Gautier,
Eugene de Mirecourt, Sainte-Beuve and 9TH
ers; and it is, as may be imagined, fascinating
reading. An eminent Frenchman has always
at least two interesting traits-his talent and
his alfectations. The talent and affectations
of one Frenchman recorded by the exercise of
an effect, little confusing, but very interest
ing. The sketch of the career of NJ. Gauter,
by the great critic Saintc- Beuve, forms the
first and one of the best chapters of the vol
ume. 1t is written with the, justice and TACT
the briliance and del'cacy of the eminent re-
viewer. Here, however, may be as good a
place as another to protest against the care
lessness, and the comicaly Gallo style of the
translation, which is literal to fault. and by
this very trait often obscures the intention of
the writer And the title of NJ Theophile