The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-07-29

WHO HAS ONLY BECOME KNOWN RECENTLY IN
LONDON.

!
national distinction, for until very re-
conf wears HIS name was all but unknown
In London. and even now the readers In
that centre OF literary activity who are IN
mi,;ar with his writings belong to the
number Of those whose reading Is curious
rather than general, or prescribed by the
fashion Of the hour. Nevertheless, IN
Edinburgh. and indeed throughout SCOT
land, (his poems are published IN uf,s-
! cow by the enterprising publishers 70
| the University his popularity Is very
! great. BY the Journals that represent the
body of Scotch opinion in matters o'
taste In men and books Or. Smith ~ con-
stantly spoken OF as writer whose pace Is
at once important and unique. Quite recent
| ". for example, that latest addition 10 tie
critical organs of Scotland, the SCoHiSm
Rep,e,o, claimed for the author OF "Hllda
the distinction OF having produced the
most tragic conception OF actual lie tila'
had vet been fashioned into verse. NO
modern poet, it was said, had plunged so
deeply into the innermost heart OF llving
men and women, and none had used sucp
remarkable materials for his drama. Ipose
materials were not OF the vulgar sort-no
blood-stained fatality, no tyrannous iiist,
no archaic Nemesis" only the terrible
conflict OF faith and want OF faith" " Hill
d.. - in the critics judgment, was not only
the authors masterpiece, but 1t opened out
"a new region of poetry" in which modern
humanity, with all its dreams, doubts, ana
speculations, would be "transflgured ana
idcalized by the power OF genius true 10
| its mission" Language like this reminds
one OF the encomiastic outbursts where
with the early disciples OF wan w whitman
were wont TO herald the event OF thc
prophet OF Democracy; but II has IN u, be-
sides, a tone that is peculiarly Scotch. "A
disposition to rebel against the "tyrannous
lustv and "archaic Nemesis" that have
constituted the backbone OF all great poetry,
from the poetry of Homer to that OF their
own land the worlds OWN Robert Burns,
has been from the beginning OF Scotch critl-
cal literature a dominant characteristic.
"These kirkmen," said Keats, "haye done
Scotland harm; they have banished puDs,
love, and laughing" Perhaps Keats
knew but little about Scotland and the
Scotch, and perhaps there was touch OF
conscious uncharitableness, possibly OF
malice, in his words when he said " These
kirkmen have done Scotland good; they
have made all men, all women, all young
children careful-a perfect phalanx OF
savers and gamers" Here, OF course, the
English poet was hitting out at what he
considered the essential imposSibility OF
such a national temperament rs the Scotch
ever producing true or great poet.
.|Thnk of Burns. poor fellow" he says,
.shis temperament is wholly southern .;
and then the young author OF "Endy-
mion" proceeds TO show that what Burns
was struggling with all his life long
was Just that horror Of "tyran-
nous lust" and ''archaic Meme
sis " which DR.. Smiths critic finds worth
lest OF praise. TO touch upon the large
question OF whether or not the old human
PASSIONS OF love and hate, the old human
sorrows of sin and death, are or are not the
sole materials out Of which the poetic mon
odrama can properly be framed, is beyond
our purpose here. Byron said he thought
that love was not the only nor highest
theme i'm poetry. but he certainty wrote
throughout life from the opposite stand
point of opinion. The question that
touches us most closely in this connection
is the question Of how wide or how mar
row is the literary influence OF Edin-
burgh-that is, OF Edinburgh rs represen
tativc of Scotland. That il is possible for
man to attain TO great distinction in the
northern metropolis without laying serious
siege so public sympathics in all other places
where good books and good men are OBJ
jectS OF interest was fact that was pretty
well established before DR.. Smiths phenO-
mcnal reputation arose To ratify 1t. Many
and vigorous have been the efforts made 10
break the supremacy of London rs a rally
ing point Of all highest intellectual life, and
at no other place has the rebellion against
literary Capitalization so frequently aud so
earnestly broken out rs at Edinburg. The
most notable of the efforts made TO estab-
lish for Edinburgh the character OF a centre
OF great intellectual activity was signaliZed
by the publication i'm the first years Of this
century OF the Edinburgh ReUier. For
few years thenceiOrward it was certainly
true that Edinburgh had its voice
in literature. 1t was not only that great
organ Of public opinion came TO us from
that city, but that the young men by whom
it was written, and the opinions 10 which
it gave expression, were distinctly and Pc
culiarly Scotch. IL does not concern lis to
inquire what was the value Of the influence
exercised; it is enough that il was new
influence, or at least an influence brought
to bear in a new way and from new place.
Then followed in a few years second
journal of opposite opinions but similar
aims; BtdcklCOOfS Edinburgh Maya
zine bore witness TO the increasing
activity of Edinburgh rs literary
centre. But what in the end did
this squirt result inY II resulted in col
lapse-comparative, il not absolute. col
lapse. The very men (Brougham, Jeffrey.
and Sidney Smith on the one hand, Chris
TOPPER North on the other.) who had set
out with the ayowed object Of breaking
the supremacy of London, We're found,
one by one, to bend the knee to her. and
to fly of for London triumphs and Lon
don rewards as speedily as London evinc d
disposition to receive them. Nor was
this all. Upon the critical organs of the
North crept gradually the influence OF
London and the English provinces, and
for time DIR. Magec became the voice
OF BldckicOOd aud IIazlett the voice OF the
Edin6urqh. The rigid PuritaniSm which
had been the governing characteristic of
Scotch criticism subsidized, and then the
conquest OF the cOnquer0rs was complete.
London dominated Edinburgh. The mag
azines remained, but the Ediib,Tgh was
no more Scotch than the Examiner, or
Btdckipo0d than the Quarterly. Their
place OF publication was only rs an acct
dent, and therefore was not calculated TO
affect their function or tone. Well, what
is the ultimate outcome Of all thisY 1t is |
that Edinburgh has lost its hold on the lite
rary world. Good books come from that |
city as they come from obscurer places, but
the brand OF Edinburgh and OF popular
acceptance there does nothing for them
nothing, at least, that may contribute |
to establish in advance their position in |
that greater centre where regulations are
finally won and lost. DR.. Smiths peculiar |
position as poet is easily explained by the |
light OF these facts. The reception given |
to the books in Edinburgh, where his per-
sonal influence is considerable, savors, |