The Portland daily press., 1879-05-30
Recent Publications.


With clear recognition of the superb work
which Mr.. Morris has given the world in his
Earthly Paradise; the almost peerless technical
perfection of his Love is Enough, and the
novel treatment by which he, setting Virgil
under English skies, changed even the spirit
of him into kinship with the early singers of
our speech-with understanding of all this, it
may yet well be thought that in some manner
this story of the Volsungs and the Niblungs is
the authors greatest work. 1t is a complete
epic, founded of course upon the ancient
Nibelungen Lied, and is treated with the large
designing, the strong and direct picturing of
passion, the powerful imagery of master
singer; the lively delineation that is the
essence of epic verse. No poet of these days
so utterly loses himself and all modern thought
and surroundings for sake of the people and
the time which are the theme of his song, as
does Mr.. Morris. The result is, that no poet is
SO entirely irreproachable in every detail of
language and decoration. You may read
from titlepage to end of any work of his, and
easily and diffusely as he writes you shall find
no line, no word that is not in harmony with
the time and the scene of his story His
familiarity with every detail of homely or
courtly manners, with the household wares
the dress, the speech OF every period of history
which he chooses for poetic purposes, is so COM
plete and definite that in no case he appears
like the keeper of museum or the property
man of the theatre-but he is, for the time,
very Greek or Goth, who comes forth unafraid
through the dusky ages, bearing his household
goods and his arms, and with his mouth stirred
by the breath of his ancient speech. Such
direct and dramatic treatment as this of Mr.
Morris is a protest against the vague theories
of the mythologists; it is a good seawall set up
against the endless tapping of these dull waves
OF unfaith, of denial of the very ghosts of the
old glad gods of Greece and Rome. These
surely prepared the way for stronger light of
latter belief-why not leave them then love-
ly half-lit world where they shall have, not
worship any more, but kindly thought and
thanks of men-even as in the high noon we
do not wholly forget how the birds sang when
the sky was growing clear gray with the dawn.
1t is not the least charm of Mr.. Morris's work
that he can lead us far away from our time,
and that no word of his ever breaks the spell
until his story is told To be brief-Mr Nor
ris's poetic gift is largely composed of an imagi-
nation singularly vivid by nature, and made
more so by a complete, minute and practi-
cal study of technique than which none, of
any poet, has been more honest, thorough and
artistic. A poet more notably equi pped, more
apt in his workmanship, more perfect
in his sense of the music and worth
of words, has not been born since
the latter days of English speech. The legend
of the Volsungs and Niblungs is we'll fitted for
epic purposes. 1t does not require the brilliant
and elegant touch that made the familiar sto-
ries of the Earthly Paradise better than new;
still less does it demand the curious, exquisite
fitting of assonance and ALTERATION, the deli
cate balance of song and speech that makes
Love is Enough marvel to the student of the
technique of verse; and the poet is not at all
hindered by the exigencies of translation into
alien voice and nature-which somewhat
marred the success, while it added to the in
terest as fine literary experiment, of the
Eneid. Sigurd the Volsung is divided into
four books Sgmund, Regin, Brynhild, and
Gudrun; but these divisions make only vague
break in the story 1t is not easy to point out
especial beauties in work which is so even in
its movement and SO united in treatment.
There are no lyric passages in it; though the
fine harmonies of accent give quality to some
of the dialogues, which reminds one little of
Mr.. Tennyson's marvellous unrhymed songs.
The use of the alliterative measure is occasional
but is,properly not SO strict or formulated as in
Love is Enough-and the reader who compares
the theories and spirit of the Morse sagas with,
for instance, Piers Ploughman, will precisely
understand the delicate fitness of Mr.. Morris's
workmanship. With the Morse singers, ALTER
alton was des ired grace; with the early Eng
lish poets, canon, which once adopted in a
poem must be adhered to, even to the hurt of
the song. How superbly Mr.. Morris bore these
restrictions, and into what exquisite harmo-
nies he modulated his verse, needs no setting
forth to the reader of his alliterative poem.
To return to Sigurd the Volsung-the under
standing of which requires, indeed, frequent
turning to Mr.. Morris's other works-the reader
will perceive at once the true Northern ring of
every line; one would say that the poet had
never known any gods of the Greeks, had nev-
er seen any sunlands and as for King Arthur
and his knights-why, they were not yet. But
the poem is not cold and far apart from any
human touch-its music takes wide range
and runs through many keys, sweet and pow
erful. The beauty of Mr.. Morris's verse needs
no setting forth by quotations here; it is well
known, the pure sweet Saxon speech, used with
skill which makes it more musical than ever
were man tongues; the perfect ease
with which the poet manages his sub
ject, the vigor and nobility of his man
ner, have already proved themselves. The
great variety of handling of the metre-which is
the same throughout the work; the unsurpassi-
BILE beauty of balance of accent, rhyme and as
sonance; the splendor of the movement, will
not fail to greatly impress the reader in degree
as he may be more or less critical of the art of
poetry. 1t is no new trait or unlooked-for
development of Mr.. Morris's genius that we
find in Sigurd the Volsung, but an extraordi-
nary feat of strength in the sustaining the epic
for so long at such an even height of poetic per-
lection.
The Secret of Success. By w. H. Davenport
Adams. (American Edition. Edited by P. G. H
New York: G. P. Putnams Sons; Portland: Lor
ing, Short & Harmony A book which advises
young men how to get on in the world, has
always been popular demand with corre-
spending supply, since the days of Poor Rich
ard, or perhaps Solomon. The conditions of
success do not greatly vary from century to
century, and so such volumes contain little
that is strictly original. To place trite things
in fresh manner is the best that writer in
this department can do-and word of old
wisdom newly and well said, goes far. In
this, Mr.. Adams has succeeded particularly
well; the tone of his book is dignifed, and its
style is refined and solid. Its instructions are
practical, and illustrated by anecdote and BIZ
ographical sketches. The aim ard execution
are fine, and it is a work to be recommended
cordially to business men, as possessing worth,
attractiveness and much useful suggestion.
Buckeye Cookery is the title of a very full
manual of housekeeping, published by the
Buckeye Publishing Company, Minneapolis,
Mimi. 1t contains very great variety of
recipes for cooking, and many useful sugges-
tions in the several departments of housekeep-