The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1882-1884, 1883-02-15


Until her bosom must have made
The bar she leaned on warm.
And the lilies lay as If asleep
Along her bended arm.''
In 1860 Rossetti married at the
age of thirty-two; and this brief
period of welded bliss s the most
pathe ,ic and the most melancholy
episode in the drama of his secluded
life. The beauty of his chosen part
ner to the nuptial game inspired
many of his early works, both before
and after the marriage SO delicate
and Madonna like was she that he
made her his model for many of his
most exquisite paintings. She, too,
used pencil and brush with delicacy
Of touch and that little home was a
kind of Edenic studio from whic h
went out beauty and richness of art
to gladden. the hearts Of tho world.
itossetti loved his tender bride with
all the fervor of his poetic soul, and
received in turn wuat the tulineSs OF
wOman's heart can give. In the
midst of such an air of inspiration
how nobly must Love have wrought
in rythm and color! But such ex
cessive joy was too Intense to bs.
other than short-lived, and after only
TWO wears his wife was removed by
hath From this sudden shock his
nervous and sensitive uature per-
1aps never wholly recovered With
er death life seemed berei't of all
nope and purpose. At this untimelN
close of her days, he felt that his
ork. too, was over. " lth her he
uried his dreams. his love, and his
opes OF fame. He placed i'll her
OIL. the only manuscript Of all his
poems, yet unpublished. Fortuns te
| ly .or the world, Mr. Rossetti's per
mission was obtained for their re
covery some years aiterward. He
nas u sonnet so fitting to the memory
Of his lost love that cannot refrain
from quoting a part OF it here:
This is her picture as she was;
1t seems thing TO wonder on,
As tho mine image Ill the glass
| Should tarry wnen myself am gone.
| | gaze until she seems to stIr.-
Until mine eyes almost aver
| That now, even now. the mute lips par
To breathe the words OF the sWee
heart
| And vet tue earth is over herr
| Rossetti belongs to that class O
painters and poets who are pure ar
lists, as distinguished from thinkers
prophets, and revealers of the secret
laws of nature and ethics. He is tC
the artistic brotherhood what Keats
and Shelly were in their day. AS {
painter, he is at the head Of cOlorists
us poet, he belongs to the.asthetit
school U use the word with the ide;
1t carried with it befor. we heard oi
oscar Wilde's gospel; a school I"
workers who love beauty for its owl
sake and regard the expression ot
this the true mission l art. l do no
pretend here anv attempt TO decide
what claim ethics has upon art o.
what art owes to ethics but do say
that kossetti has admirably fulfilled
mis- mission in the line he cnose. Hi:
paintings are pronounced worthy 0
his creative genius, and his sonnets
we know, are among the sweetest IL
the language.
Taking to the pen at the time wher
Mr.. Tennyson and Mrs. Browning
were the most popular writer's OF En-
glish poetry, Rossetti came befor,
the world as an entirely new singer
pouring out his first notes with the
precision and independence of til,
new -hedged thrush in the WOODLAND
chorus If his listeners were few
they were certainly more select. l
they possessed no wide range 0
music themselves, they beard hin
, with no less Appreciation. And wha
Rossetti actually did himself is per
haps surpassed 10y what he inspired
others to do. The man po ,sessed IN
: equaled magnetrziny properties thai
rendered active all the genius which
} came under his influence. He ha,
: in unu> ual measure the power of fe-
t cundatin. thou yht in other minds
5 he was always full Of suggestion t.
: others. so that he was fitted in Al
/ eminent degree to be the founder o
/ a new school of art | should hardl
call new, however, the prerahaelit
movement, OF which Dante ROssett
+ was the originator and the rulln
c spirit. when its object was to 90 bac
! 20 the old and seek to pro luce agai
Il tile simplicity OF the early masters
o Tie Pre-Raphaltite Brotherhood ha
t no desire to splash as no one splasi
Y Ell before but sought realistic eff
' fects in art. 1t would paint tiowe
Or Il lake as it is, without any effor
a to improve on nature. The schot
t itself, as such, may have soon com
e TO naught but Rossetti has left hi
J. impress on the younger poets {
i England, of whom we may regar
MIR. Swinburne and Mr.. Morris th
# chief representatives..
: w. H. OSBORNE.