New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-08-06
TEyyYSoY'S EfGHTTETH BIRTHDAY.

The anniversary which is celebrated To-Day -
not fraught with political signiiicatoh' NOT eih-
bellished with royal pageantry. nevertheless ~
IL one which will arouse sympathetic 'hought'
tbrouehout all the English-speaking world III
i the eightieth birthday Of Alfred lennyson. Inc
child that was born in a Lincolnshire village OH
August Il. 1909, was weak and scEN. ana gre"
mn TO BIZ a pale and slender lad, not promising
lang life. But sound constitutional Inheritance,
right living and care Of sell have made MN fnggeu
and robust and carried his vital forces almost
,nimnoircd 10 an age reached only by one other
British poet Of compa rabe rank. That one was
his PREDECESSOR in the Iauleateship, William
Wordsworth. who outlived his eiehtieth year by
only "a few days. Chaucer died at sevenV-t"o'
DRYDEN at siXty-nIne Neither Shakespeare nor
Spenser lived to old age. Byron, Keats Burns
and Shelley all died young Among the lesser
singers were some who endured to eighty years
or more-old Cover, Chapman. Waller, derrck,
Young, Rogers, Lander. Carainhl Newman Is
uearlv ninety: Robert Browning only seventy
eight. Among Americans, Bryant was eighty-1our'
Iongr.,low seventy-fve. Lowell is seventy;
Whittier is eighty -two; and Holmes Is only
few weeks younger than the hero OF to-day
These figures show Lord Ienhysohs Vcherdoe
rank in point OF years alone.
1t would he difficult to express in single word
or phrase the subtle quality that has given Lord
rennySon his literary sovereignty Mr. Stejman
has perhaps best expressed it, where he says that
ct" in technical excellence. as an artist
in verse. Alfred Tennyson is the greatest
Of modern poets Other masters have
surpassed him in special instances; but
he is the one who rarely mods, and who al
ways finishes his verse to the extreme When
1ennyson began 10 be known as writer the
poetry,of pure romance and the poetry OF pure ma
ture were both losing their hold upon the popular
heart An age Of unprecedented industrial activity
and invention had dawEed. "a utilitdrau age: and
Wordsworth and Southey, Scott and Moore. alike
r.alizel that the ear of the world was listening
for other songs than theirs. The voice OF Jenny
son was new and fresh and clear Ii spoke to
men the workers. ever reaPng something new
II smoke of the Vision Of the world and all the
wonder that w0nld be" II commanded instant
attention: attention that steadily grew to admira-
lion Unlike most OF his predecessors he realized
that poeiry is one of the chief of the line arts de-
manding toll as we'll as inspiration. The pains
taking finish of his verses commended them TO the
practical, deail-working age, as his subtle fancies
and graceful imagery delighted all true artists
In almost every variety Of pocticll cOnltosltl
ile has won complete success He has given more
happy phrases and apt quotation to the treasury
OF current speech than any OF his contemporaries
He has portrayed innumePsble scenes and char
ac,prs so rs 10 place them forever rs lmpershable
treasures in the art galleries of universal thought
In early life his popularity increased more swiftly
than his years and later his fame has rEened
into frGitage surpassed in English poetry by
that CT Shakespeare alone.
Beyond all other considerations. however.
Alfred Tennyson commands reverence aud
love for his innate nobility and utter manliness.
Born " one of the people" yet descended from
the proudest royal blood, lie has strillingly com
bined in one attractive personality those traits
which best in all ranks Of English life. He is
the most ardent of patriots perhaps the most earn
estly English OF all English poets. lie is
Christian OF purest faith; u humanitarian OF
broadcast charity. He is stanch upholder OF
the dignity OF che Crown and of all The noble
traditions OF his race; yet he is equally tbs
spokesman and the advocate Of the lowliest
commonerS. IN one OF his earliest poems he struck
the keynote Of universal brotherhood, with
Kind hearts than corOneis
And simple faith than Norman bl0od";
and in one of his latest he sounded the same
strain even with greater stress:
PloWmen shepherds, ! have found them-more
than once, and still could find
Kings of men aud sons of God In utter nobenesS
Of mind
Here and there Golfers babe is royal born by
right Divine.
Here and there my lord is lower than his oxen
/ or his swine
III his private, home and family life Teunyson
has set example TO the age and given the
lie 10 the mischievous notion that men of genius
are not subject to the moral code OF more comm on
place mOrtalS Such is the poet and thr man
whom the world to-day delights to honor the
crowned laureate Of England and the uncrowned
laureate Of English song the world over.