New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-02-25
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
RECENT MINOR POETRY.

~, THE GARDEN OF DREAMS; LYRICS AND SON
10. Boston: Roberts Brothers.
A NEW PILGRIMAGE. AND OTHER POEMS. ou,,, by
WiIfrid Scawcn Blunt. fGmo, PIP. 49, ocrioher
a. Wexford.
THE FALLEN PILLAR SAINT, AND OTHER POEMS POEMS
Nv susie NJ Best. 12mo, PIP. 100. o. W. DAius-
ham.
uopnswopru,s GRAVE, AND OTHER POEMS. by
William Watson. 16mO, PIP 10 Lohooh l. flSnoi
Irwin.
SPRING; AND SUMNER. OR BLUsHING HOURS. BY
William I. Washbur. 1Gmo, PIP 4O9' q. T. fu0-
MANS Sons.
JnYiIS Etc Nv Howard Worcester Gilbert
Emo o''I PIP. 1866 Philadelphia
pR1FrwoOD. by William W. Pfrmmer. 16mo, PIP
81. Buffalo Charles Wells Moulton
LINES AND RHYMES, GRAVE AND GAY. BY
lanes Clarence Harvey. l6mo, PIP. 81 FRANK f.
Lowell & co.
This fresh pOstlmmous publication OF Rowland Sill ;
mems can but deepen the regret caused by his uIl'
timely death, for there qualities In "The ller-
mitage"-one of his longest and most ambitious poems
which Justify the highest expectations had inc pow
lived The beauties of this fine composition are Doh
sensueus and spiritual The machinery is slight but
sufficient TO furnish opportunity for much feeling anu
charming description of nature, and much seml-pmlo
sophie reflection upon the great problems OF existence
Mr. Sill united really passionate love OF nature WIFI
somewhat sober, but by no means pessimsuo Wei" "a
sneculation A genuine religious feeling ana an ar
lists eye for beauty of form and color, maintained ia
him a healthy optimism which, however was cA
messed with restraint and perhaps oftenest rather
limited than expressed. The poems in this volume are
among his best and there is one peculiarly touchns
and tender entitled a Foolish WISH in which the
poet faces his recognized fate and gently isments INC
limitations of his usefulness There Is always Viriie
tboight in Mr. Sls verses and they are characterized
by rare perfection of mechanism and rennemehl Vi
taste He represented the best culture oil 'he cen
tnry. welded to that purely modern scnslbiity and
keenness of intellectual perception when are ule
special notes of the present period HIS poems are
the expression Of a sane and pure mind, capase OF
breathing freely al very great attitudes and OF pene
trating the veil of Isis perhaps far as mental VISION
ever can.
Mrs Louise Chandler Moulton has long been recog
nised as sweet singer, and in her latest volume OF
verses ain the Garden of Dreams the melody OF her
poetry shows no deterioration. There IS, however,
certain change of tone which, while il may be even
an improvement in the eyes of many readers, Is at
least too marked TO escape notice. We refer to tho
increasing melancholy and seeming depression which
characterize these poems. Mrs. Mouiton Writes
naturally Of Love, and her earlier love poems were
charming We will not say that these later ones are
loss merltorious from the purely artistic point OF
view but they are decidedly less cheerful At
present il the seamy side of Love which is chiefly in
Love simulated, furnish the poet with her themes
and communion with the departed is another favore
subject contemplation with her. There IS plenty Oh
pathos and tenderness in these verses, and they
are relieved by several distinctly light hearted anu
cheerful strains; nevertheless the dominant note
is that Of sadness and disluSionment We are sorry
for this because the world contains and produces
such a superabundance of real that poor hu-
manity needs all the bracing it obtain from the
nguinc spirit Of poetry. Dependency, moreover
is at bottom not a true reflection Of the freud OF
things The progress of all lne-One might almost
say the progress Of the universerests ultimately upon
the sovereignty OF Hope all depressing and dis
couraging influences 1t is this which has given man
religion courage to live, patience, contentment the
family virtues and all which makes life worth living
Remove this essential factor, and the denial OF The
will to live would bring chaos and old night
again. Give us, therefore. Mrs Moultop, your
familiar sunshiny again. and eschew the prac
tce Of looking the dark side Of things.
Mr.. wifrid scaWen Blunt has given, in "A New
Pilgrimage specimens of a now sonnet FORM which
he prefers the Petrarchan We cannot peceive that
he has demonstrated the superiority Of his method.
but may readily grant that he has produced series
OF nervous, thoughtful and impressive s0nnets, which
are not the less worthy Of praise because the senu-
ment is occasionally somewhat surprising. lie mas
some limitations from the Arabic, too, which are
marked by wild originality and force altogether re-
in the sefsame pattern, and only recognizing the de
mand for something in the sembance Of passion and
feeling by gUshes of assonant verbiage Mr.. Blunt
has something TO saw and he says il In verse which,
while often rough and sometimes harsh, is instinct
with power and natII aIaeSS, and brings with 1t the
free air the desert and the free thought OF sooner
of conventions. As for the metre Of Sed Nos QuL
Vivinus,D We do not like it, nor do we think II an
Improvement upon any extant measure, unless might
be Walt Whitman's. The sonnet form which suited
Shakes peare is indeed likely prove good and con-
venient enough for all the thought that will seek ex-
preston through il for good many generations to
come. For occasional use Mr.. Bunts innovations
may commend themselves but proposed equal
alternative TO the form sanctioned by centuries Of
experiment they have serious claims 10 oOnsidera-
ton.
Susie VI. Best appears, from her portrait, to be a
decidedly pretty young woman, but whether she be
spinster cannot be determined from any in
dicatiOn given in her work. There are indeed sew
eral poems on babies. maternal bereavement and 50
forth, but IL might be dangerous TO make any per
sonal differences from these verses any more than
from those other poems in the volume which
breathe a somewhat Swinburnian sensuousncss. The
lady indeed appears to lean toward warmth OF de-
scrptlon and expression, and perhaps that tendency
NAV be safely regarded belonging rather to Mouth
than TO maturity. The Fallen Pillar Saint is an un
fortunate who yields to the seductOns Of wicked and
designing woman. but who. from physiological
point OF view never could have been
caught by the wiles Of this enchantress.
The author has vivid fancy and her descriptions
are full Of light and color Her mechanism is not bad
but what she most stands in need Of is restraint
The roses and raptures Of passion" at present count
ior rather too much in her Inspiration though she
can sometimes utter very true and tender notes, as
in the verses the mothers loss.
Mr. watsons poems here reprinted from magazines
are chiefly noticeable as appearing in Fisher Unwn's
dainty little Cameo series The poems themselves
sincere. vigorous and polished That which gives
title to the volume however strikes being open
TO the charge Of Extravaganza fault into which the
Wordsworth wOrshippers seem almost liable to fall
were the admirers OF General BOulanger the Other
day. The sonnets under OF Tcnc
brosum," too dstinctively political the most
part and those Mhch rotate 10 Egynt and the SOndar