The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-03-19

Faust's passionate craving was awakened. not
by any daughter OF the burgrdUes. not by any
beauty Of the Saxon or Bavarian courts, but by
a humble working girl. who snatches away her
hand in confusion from his burning lips pro.
testing with touching meekness. "Sie ja so
gdrstiO nnd so rduh." Nc less unmisakably Is
Zon's brutal and offensiv. realism an ex-
agecrpted reflex Of tho revolt Of repub-
lean France from tho Garish spendor. the
etuasculated dalnLiness and the subtle son
suality Of the second empire. whereof the Due
de Morny was the consunmate type. and OF
which such writers as Octave Fcuiot consent
ed to act as the interpreters. And 1t was Bnnlly
IN n like bracing aud chest-cxpanding mood.
and with a like aim Of calling home our vaGrant
sympathes tn the elemental grace and nobility
which human nature can exhibit amid the low
Hest and most arduous surroundings. that
Clough wrote his Dothie' and that the au-
thor Of Dorothy" has been prompted to por-
tray for our worshippers Of tho reconcile and
the ideal for our dwcllers on tho heights of
spiritual luminosity and sweetness. the wholly
unnsthctic loves OF q Gamekeeper and his rus
tic swoetheart-the clownish yet enchanting
the horny-handed yet heart-haunting, beauty
Of maid of all work on an English farm.
The reader will be reminded OF Cough's
poem. not only by the motive Of Dorothy" but
are certainly tho rudcst. most Jagged. and most
jolting that have been constructed In English
by any writer whose work has deserved. on
other grounds respectful consideration. The
reproduction OF tho hcXametcr however is
childs play compared with the attempt made
| in Dorothy" to naturalzc the olcgiac couplct
for 1t is especially in the alternative pentAm-
eters that the workman feels most acutely
the lack in English Of tho Greek particles and
monosyllabic words. We are constrained.
moreover. to except to the fundamental
postulate assumed in this and like ex-
periments. viz. that in the effort to assim-
tlatc Greek meters accent IL a fit substitute for
quantity So long as such words as wrench"
breadth" or the last syllable of languish" and
relinluish clog our mouths with consonants.
1t cannot be said that our English tongue has
not a quantitativc as we'll as an accented Sig
nihcance for the purposes of metre. In the
well-known elegiac distich Englished by Cole
ridge. and in other felicitous examples which
might be cited from Tennyson and Swinburne.
1t Is precisely because the authors ear is so
sensitive to quantity as well as accent that
such notable results are reached. We believe
however. that the process of elimination and
selection. to which the authors OF those
successful tours de force were obliged to
have recourse. could not fail to seriously
cripple the wing OF fancy and cramp
the field OF intellectual vision. and 1t fol-
lows. we submit that such experiments are
not suited to extended composition or what
the French aptly call a long -winded effort" We
had marked several lines on Dorothy" which
certainly appear to us clumsy and the reverse
Of musical, and others which we will venture to
aver the readerwho himself can write Greek ele-
giacs would be unable to pronounce metrically
on the first or even on the second trial. But we
prefer to content ourselves with cursory
mark. and we are not sure that even with this
meek caviat we have not laid ourselves open 70
the charge OF ungraciousy looking gift horse
in the mouth. 1t is certain that a poem like
Dorothy" ought TO be greeted with delight and
that the dominant feeling in the readers mind
will be one OF gratitude TO the utterer OF these
refreshing accents from the heart OF nature.
But let US see who the heroine of this poem
was and how she looked as she went about her
daily tasks:
Whit 81 only Ant Of
Under the sandstone elf where martins build In the
Hard by The level mesds hard by the stream, of
Oh, What notable lass is Dolly the prid. of tn.
stelwar, and tall man heller to work:
Built tor beauty, indeed but certainly built Tor labor
wiRs;, her muscular arm witness the grip OF her
1t iva, her hand. do you know, that lost her and
Here; in the heryt;t tins. only twelvemon,h sso
Want Before her ~ ""''e N'' "o'He' was ser
Lon !. ioas sScs-iet me see; yes +. I, here she WAS
rwentyonc years have passd since Betsy. the stout
Lay in eesrrs. nsTs dead leaving her baby behind
Such concessions as these to prejudice
or, II you like to the science OF heredity
we cannot help regrettinG hut tho poet goes
on To show how. The years flowed on and
Dorothy grew M into n Woodworking servant
more 81 her mother appeared and her fathers
traits could scarcely be recognized anywhere
save in her handsome face:
Rough her broad brown hands. and within ah me
Roush were 'cr dick rudy arms shspely and round
Rough TO her flowing check. and her sunburnt FAC.
and Tor, h'hd ,
Yet ',w4s handsome face, the beautiful regular
Labor could never spoll ignorance could not degrade
Ani N hor clear ue cIes fright CLEANS OF ptehgrnce
And on lor warm red mouth Love might nave lighted
Never Az uuknd word nor a rude uusecnly expires.
Game from that soft red mouth nor in those sunny
Lived tNrr look that se!et the rankness of innocent
F-sle.' "'canss it's pure gracious, and gentle and
Have m not seen such a face among rural hariwork.
Born hnt Of peasant stock free from our Dorothy,
Ofcourse with the life Of rustic servant as
our poet has,ens to acknowledge thought has
but little to do; her sphcro is action:
Action And what she do' Must E YOU our
Set h.r accomp lstiuents DOWN merely after your
Merely let you perceive that she do anything
Cam rhrr play nor sing cannot speak German nor
Cannot converse-not she--on matters away from her
Cnnt fnr the life Of her tell what vour aesthetics may