New-York tribune., 1879-06-07
TENNYSON'S "LOVER'S TALE"

AN EARLY POEM NOW FIRST PUBLISHED.
WHAT THE LAUREATE COULD DO WHEN EIGHTEEN
YEARS oP AGE-ARTHUR HALLAHs PART IN
PRESERVING THE PoEM-A FEW EXTRACTS
PROM 1T.
"The Lovers Tale" that early poem by
Alfred Tennyson OF which mention has frequently been
made in this paper OF late published in London
week ago. and the next steamer will probably bring
copies of 20 this country II will be remembered that
Tennyson wrote this poem in 1925 when only eighteen
years age and that five years later he set out to pun
hsh two parte but before the book offered TO
The public withdrew it altogether He was then known
the author OF Poems. Chiefly Lyrical" QS3ol ana
soint author with his brother Charles who recently
died, Of Poems by Two Brothers" " uS20. ABOUT
that time 1889 he published a volume OF poems com
prsing reprints OF former pieces with alterations ana
some productions.
The Lovers Tale"in spite Of its withdrawal found
Its way into tho hands of few of his associates 1t has,
Of course. become extremely rare and readers VIII re-
member that single copy of IL sold In London rev
weeks ago for S205. That edition contains only two OF
the three parts that the entire poem oomprised-as Ten
pyson says in the following to his volume:
"Two only of the three parts then written were printed
when seeing the imperfectous OF the poem, withdrew
It from the press. Ono Of my friends however, who
bOyke admired the boys work. distributed among our
associates OF that hour copies OF these
two parts, without knowledge, without the omis-
sions and amendments which had in contemplation,
and marred by many misprnts of the conpostor See
ing that these two parts have Of late been merciessy
prated end that wha, have deemed scarce worthy to
live Is not allowed 10 die, may not he pardoned i'll
suffer the whole poem last to come into the light &C
cOmpanied with n reprint Of the scquel-a work OF my
mature life-'The Golden supper" II was the gifted
young Arthur Hsllsm who distributed those copies.
Tennyson had then known Hallam FIVE years, having
in tre who no wo
allam by singular coincidence. died in September OF
the year in which It printed. In MomOriam" did
not appear until tweny-seven years afterwnrd. As
already stated in this paper "The Lovers Tale" is
founded story in Boccacco, and 1.-The Golden SUP
por" published by Tcuuyson in 1869 is sequel to IT.
persons familiar with that poem viii remember its
abrupt beginning That Tcnnyson's genius was pre-
eocious beyond poets is evident from the following
passage extracted nom advance copy of this produc
ton of his early life:
To what our people call "Tnc Hi Of Woe
A bridge Is there. that. loo'd NJ from beneath
Seems but q cObweb hameut to link
The yawnng of an earthquaBe-covcn chasm.
And thence night when all the winds were loud'
a woefu man TOR so the story wcnU
Had thrust his wife and child. and dashd himself
Into the dzzv depth below. Below
Fierce IN the strength Of FAR descent, a stream
Flins with shatter'd foam along the chasm.
The path was perilous loosely strown with crags:
We mounted slowly; vet to both there came
The iOy Of life in stcepness overcome.
And victories of ascent. and looking down
In breathing nearer heaven; and ioy to mt,
High over all the azure-circed earth
And more than iov that TO her became
Her guardian ard her angel. raising her
Still higher past an peril, until she saw
Beneath her feet the region far away,
Beyond the nearest mountains boSky biows,
Burst in open prOspcct-heath and lIin.
Ana hollow lined aud wooded 10 the iips
And steepdowu walls Of battiementcd rock
Gilde1 with broom, or shatterd into spires,
And glory of broad waters interfuscd.
Whence rose asit were breath and stream Of gold
And all the great wood rIOiiug
And climbing, streakd or Ntarr,d at intervals
With falling brook or bloSsom'd husband last
Framing the mighty landscape 10 the west
a purple range of mountan-coues between
Whose interspaccs Cust'd in binding bursts
The incorporate blaze Of sun and sea.
Probably the striking passage in the whole poem
is the following. in which Camilla confdes to Julian her
iove-not for him but for his friend:
Hithcr we came,
And sitting down upon the rolicn moss.
Held converse sweet and low-low converse sweet,
In which our voices bore least part The wind
Told lOvctale beside us, how hc wood
To kisses Of the wind. that, sick with love,
Painted at intervals and grew again
To utterancc Of passion. Ye cannot share
Fancy so fair as Is this memory
Methought all excellence that ever was
And all the separate Edens of this earth,
To centre in this place and time. listend.
And her words stole with most prevailing sweetness
Into my heart, as tbronging fancies come
To boys and girls when summer days are new
What marvel nv Camilla told me ana
It was 80 happy an hour so sweet place,
And by that name moved upon her breath.
Dear namc, which had too much Of nearncss in it
And heralded the distance Of this time!
At first her voice very sweet ana low.
As n she afraid OF utterance;
CAS- echoes OF the hollow banked brooks
Are fashon'd by the channel which they keep,
Her words did of their meaning borrow sound
Her check did catch the color Of her words.
Iheard and trembled, vet could but hear;
NV heart naused-my raised cyellds would not fol-,
But still kent my ewes upon the sky.
/ seem'd the only part OF Time stood still,
h,ts axVf1 f1p Df fgl ot tlCrf
While her words syllable by syllable,
Ike @ w2teT snS aTqP Y ve eiSP Ig9 my S ear to sneak,
But size spake on. for I did name 10 wish.
What marvel my Camilla told me al
Her maiden d'gnitics OF Hope and Love
'Perchance she said, returnd" Even then tho stars
Dd trembe IN thelT i stations as gazedj
No wish-nO hope Hone was not wholly dead
But breathing hard at the approach of DEATH
Camilla, my Camilla who was mine
No longer in the dearest sense of mine
For all the secret Of her inmost heart,
And all the maiden empire of her mind,
Lay like a map before me, ana saw
There, where that day j crowud myself as Lina
There in my realm and even NV throne,
or sOme tght chain within my inmosj frame
Was Tiven in twain: that life needed not
FlOw'd from me. and the darkness Of the grave,
The darkness OF the grave and utter night,
Did swallow my vision; at her feet,
Even the feet of her loved, fcl.
6mit with exceeding sorrow unto Death.
one other passage from the poem may be noted here
70 Illustrate what the Poet Laureate could do when he
was eighteen years odthe age OF Bryant when he pro
duced Thauatopsis" -:
Even as the al-enduring camel driven
Far from the diamond fountain by the palms.
Tolls onward tiro' the middle mOont nights
Shadow "a aud crimsou'd with the drifting dust;
or when the white neats Of the binding moons
Beat from the cOncaye sands yet IN him keeps
A draught Of that sweet fountain that he loves,
10 stay his feet from falling, and his spirit
FROM bitterness Of death.
Tennyson's remark that his poem has been " merci-
lessy pirated VIII probably convince most people who
read 1t tha pirates have seldom done literature better
feIyice-;h0ugh perhaps unconscious one-than
when they Opened the way for letting this poem
hight The volume will he considerable in size. IL the
two parts printed 1893 there LOO lines making
e;vtv A. hers Wi add he Iov