New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-01-02
THE POETS LAUREATE.
From The Queen.

of court favor-pOlitics and religion have
usually been allowed to weigh more on behalf of
the candidate than either imagination or popularity
and thus II happens that the Poets Laureate of
tile past have, until after the commencement of
the present century ry P Pee WIN rev EXCEPTIONS
than from those of the poets. The origin OF tina
Office is enveloped in much obscurity. Chsucer held
It, but we do not quite know upon what terms;
John Cover" the moral Cover" as CHANGER him
self calls him: Cover wrote IL French and in Latin
as well as in English. Indeed, in our own language
we must allow that be is not untrequently ex:
tremely dull. In the following century the laurel
was granted 10 John SHELTON, who, though no great
poet did good service as satIrist, and was so
honest IN his denuEciatIOns of clerical folly and
extravaganza that he was persecuted even by
Cardinal WOsey. He Is best known as the author
of Colin Cl0ut' production as coarse as 1t 10
clever.
After him, though not Immediately, came Edmund
Spense-. from whose time until our OWI the success
sion Of Poet Laureate has been as regular of SOW
ereigns. He Is the greatest of them ALL Upon his
death IN 1899 he was succeeded by Samuel Daniel
the author If Z" A History of the War between the
Houses of York and Lancaster and of Mnsoph.
illus" dialogue in defence of learning He is known
ss the well-ldnguaged Daniel y; but this cbarac-
terstic appears think. in his short poems rather
than ~ his more ambitious attempts. After him
came Ben JOnson, the friend of Shakespeare. Hods-
man, soldier, actor, dramatlst and poet he is per-
haDs the most interesting OF all the laureates for
his life, as Collier says. was hard and rugged he
had the misfortune 10 kill brother actor due
be revelled at the Mermaid he got drunk be re-
his umOr" still holds possession OF the stage, and
q he same nav IN qualified sense. be sad of Cat
iline," "Stjanus and the The Alchemst." Like
his namesake OF the dictionary-f0r Ben sometimes
spelt his name johnson "-he had an intense hat
red 81 Scochmen. and although he paid three
weeks visit to Drummond of Ha wthornden. and was
himself Of scotch descent that hatred often leaks
ont. In fact. III 1908 he underwent Imprisonment
for his share in " Eastward Hoe,n comedy directed
against the presence OF the ScoGch m LONDON. His
finest work Is ~ be found IN the soDgs which are
met with IN ais plays. In 1887 he died, and was
succeeded by Sir William Davenant. who loved to
call himself u natural son of Shakespeare: Goud-
cal production. bur he wrote largely for the stage
lie died IN 1868, soon after which the laurel was
gwen to John DRYDEN, Of whom, referring to Eng
Ish poetry, DIR. johnson said that he had found it
BRICK and left 1t marble The criticism is exaRger-
ated aud unjust; yet Dryden. as a writer Of pure
English, Is undenably great master. Ho iamenied
the death of Cromwell he celebrated the return OF
Charles H. indeed. he seems 10 have thought that.
as he had ouly inherited very small estate, it was
necessary Tor him to sail with the wind, and the
laureateship was in 1870 one of his rewards. The
post was worth El0O year and fierce Of wine,
the latter beng. now compounded for but court
favor 1rldled his genius, and caused HIM TO faw11
where he ought TO have sat,rized. His creed had
rendered It impossible for him TO retain tho laure
ateship after the flight of King james and upon
the accession of William and Mary the vacant DIS
tinctiOn WAS conferred upon Thomas Shadwel. o
thlId-rate poet, whom Dryden himself had fercely
well was an execrable writer. but brilliant talker;
aud Rochester said of him: Ii he had burnt all LIE
wrote, and printed all he spoke, no would have had
more wit and hunor than any other poet" Roobes-
ter; however, was, we know, indecent, II brilliant;
and Shadwell was much the same. He died in 1892,
and his funeral sermon ION Was preached by no
OF tue authors OF the well-knOwn and terri
bly, unpoetical version of the Psalms. Curiously
70 the
able for cast-dOwn look. and had seldom much to
say los hImself !" says one who knew hun. Another
remarks that " he was free. good-Datured but ill.,
temperate; and he may. In general terms, be de-
scribed as the most utterly contemplate of all the
laureates. Nicholas Rowe, far better poet, took
years later, was succeeded by Lawrence Eusden, an
individual Of whom probably but few living per-
sons have ever heard. lie gained the patronage OF
Lord Halifax by tranSlatlng that nobleman's poem
on the battle of the BOyne into Latin and OF the
Duke of Newcastle by writing an epIthalamium
upon his Grace's marriage with Lady HENRIETTA
GOdOlphin. The duke was Lord Chamberlain, and
he Used his influence 10 procure Eusden's appoint.
nent to the laureateship. he was clergyman, aud
in later lite besottcd drunkard. We may believe
Gray's account OF him; and when he died in 1850,
even Coey Clbber. who took his place appeared. by
the comparison. a frst-rate peel. He ID his turn
n757 's5J, and aiierward by Thomas Wharton
(1765'90 The former was q respectable but
stupid mediOcn;y; the latter was no great poet.
though in other respects great man.
And then came Pye, the very duest poet who has
ever written odes. His Christian names
were Henry James; be came n.S OF iona in,o
England with the ConquerOr" and he entered
gentleman commOner OF Magdasn College, Oxford
He was q mup,strate member of Parliament and
mighty hunter but no poet; aud the reader Will
probably under these circumstances. be surprised 70
hear that the amount of verse he produced was extra
ordinary. Chalmers gives the titles OF nearly thirty
volumes People who care to search wilihni Eleat
deal OF Mr. Pye's polished vera ficalCn" IN those
volumes of The5nRadt RC3ister tor the years l79o-
1918. for he was wonderfully ready with bis cdes
for the new year, tor Royal birthdays, and FOR all
kinds of nnspicious or important events. Robert
Southey reigned in las stead, and Sonthey waseyea
a grea: or Improvement upon Pye than Cibbcr fsh
been upou Eusden. Scotf had declined the laureate
ship and lie who hnd been wild a. sIdent hepmo
lcsn with Loveii and ColeIidgr. tack 20 wnuns
hattering verses 10 the king. He cannot % ea e.
great poets hut his tenure OF the ofhcs o. s. e
was gradual preparation for the advent % ss.,d
star 10 the person of Wordsworth, VINO 81 se....,J
him In ls43 The great Lakepoet was men Ss.se
erably over seventy. Hs productive a.s -. d'.J
past but be glorihed al once Mh,su ,a .'nssllto
IN 1860, no left to greater even INN n'' l'sr