New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-05-23
A shape or shadow joined her there,

weigh upon his soul, as II longing loI uuIoA"n'''
he rather courts and waits for its approach, wheh
the favored time for speech shall dawn upon the IN
patient spirit. He himself lets us SO far into the
secret as to say
Birds are singing round my window,
Tunes the sweetest ever heard
And hang my cage there daily,
But never catch "a bird
So with thoughts my brain is peopled,
And they sing there all day long.
But they will not fold their pinl0ns
In the little cage Of song.
He feels the presence of the awful JoVe, anu
strives to give fitting words to the oracle; but they
come only by toll and conscious thought, and the
noet shovs no sign that he has "bulded betterthan
he knew"
The original power deep sentiment. tragic pathos,
and admirable artistic execution Of Mr.. Stoddards
poems give them the assurance of long date in the
higher literature of his country. He may claim
recognition among the supreme poets Of the land
without challenge or doubt. His progress from the
beginning has been as conspicuous as his genius IS
exquisite and rare His fame reposes on true excel
ence in the poetic art which is the most certain
passport to perennial renOwn. The collection
of his works in the present appropriate and
beautiful form is but just tribute to his high posi-
tion and will tend to enhance the brightness of his
fame. If the early recognition in our columns OF
Mr.. Stoddard's youthful efforts and its application
TO his later achievements during long series OF
years. has contributed aught to his reputation in the
world of letters, it affords grateful consciousness
of Just appreciation which fully confirmed by the
examination of the collective edition Of his poems
RowLANDsON. THE CARICATURIsT with about
four hundred Illustrations. In 2 vols NeW'1oiK :
j. W. BOutOn
In these two handsome volumes Mr.. Joseph GRECO
has done very much the same service for Thomas
Rowlandson that he did short time since for James
Gilray. lie has here collected out ol the immense
number of publications by Rowlandson some four
hundred which show his excellent talent all but
one of its Sides and he adds a running commentary
which leaves little TO desire in the way of anccdote,
explanation Of illusions, and whatever may be
needed to put us in understanding sympathy with
this versatile clever and rOllicking representative
of tho hearty 1csh-and-blood school of humorists
of the time of George ILL., But while Gilray OK
crted his talent largely In the field of politics. Row
landson shows us rather the social side of his time,
and being far more of an artist than was his dis
tinguished contemporary, he appeals even IN his
political sqmbs to O much moro cultivated circle
than Gilray had It in his power to interest. Indeed
Rowlandson was one of the most delightful of tho
group of artists who have made the England of the
late eighteenth and early nineteenth century IA.
NOUS There Is a charming ease, freshness OF feel
ing an innocent school-boy delight In life
and living that is most refreshing to
contemplate in these dusty times We are
naturally not shown here any specimens
of ROwandson's indecency, but though he Is re-
ported by those who know to have gone all lengths
We should not be much surprised to find it simply
of the coarse grain Of the time he lived in, a time
when people moved, acted, and talked as if it were
a conceded fact that they were all naked under
their clothes and that under the circumstances
prudishness was quite unnecessary. The immense
popularity and success 10y ROwlandson shows that
he ted the appetite Of his day with dishes that it
liked An age that could delight in n COARSE rOmp-
ing novel like " Eyelina," with never q lady
nor O gentleman In It, not to be
worried over Rowlandson's plainspeakng. Although
Fielding died two years before Rowlandson WAS
born the age seems TO have changed but little from
tho hey-day of the one to the heyday of the other
for in looking through these books, we fud our
selves living "TOm Jones" over again. and meet
Squire Western, and Lady BellastOn, and Sophia
Sophia the oyeliest of womanknd born since
Shakespeare sOwed the heavens with women's eyes
and all the good bad, indifferent folk Of that
devil.take-the- hhdmost time (See the illustra-
lions from p. 3l3 to p. 3l7, vol. 2 Racing" p.
$50; "The Miseries Of London" p. 232; 1.-THE
IIuntsman Rising" p. 200; "a Dog Fight" p. 2O7 f;
all these In vol. p We have artists as clever as
ROwlandsOn nowadays, moro learned perhaps, bnt
no one who can enter with such unaffected untaught
case into a situation, or give such delightful zest
of sensu0us enjoyment to pictures of life its bee
eating side RoWlandsons talent was wonderfully
varied and though his way of looking at the land
scape was conventional he dealt with IL with large
ness and simplicity. though always with the appre
citation of citizen, never with that Of poet Out
side the field Of figure subjects his best things are
his wharf and riverside sketches since his time no
hat hooo ola tbo
is very different he idcazed everything he touched
and removed it a little out of the range of expert
encc ROwandsOn IL true to the genius Of the place
and yet we feel in looking these cuts that magi-
nation has had somewhat to do with their fresh de-
lightful charm. We cannot enough praise these
books. They have given us many n delightful
hour. And though anybody with healthy happy
taste may enjoy them, yet no who knows best his
Fielding his Boswell, and his Vicar" will enjoy
them most. II must be frankly confessed however,
they are not always for schoolg girls, nor for men,
either, who have taken Mr.. Comstock for guide.
THE ETCIER Magazine Of tho Etched work Of Artists.
New.YOrk 81. w. BOutOn
The March number Of this magazine con-
talns etchings by S. ChatOck G. o. Murray and the
Baron Won Glcichen- Russwurm. or the three plates
Mr. Chatocks is by far the best but the others are Of
such Indifferent quality that this can hardly be reckoned
praise. Mr.. G. o. Murrays Tiger" looks tnme enough
alongside Blake's vigorous verses. more palpably
stuffed animal never seem As for the Baron
Gcichen usswurm, should Judge that his title must
have gone for something in coucedng him the right
to appear n contributor TO n magazine devoted TO
the work OF those who both artists and etchers This
gentleman Sec neither Aud the editor
the page Of text which precedes the plate The skat
ers contributed by the Baron, what violently over
passes tho duties OF hospitality in saying that his work
might pass for a sketch by lsank van ostade good
many bad pictures attributed Isaak van Ostadc
but the thing may be OverdOne In this plate the two
skaters who In the middle distance very little IN
advance Of the end of the cottage shore but
they too tall, the house IA so much too