New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-18
CURRENT VERSE.
GOOD. BAD AND INDIFFERENT.

At Sundown the little book privately printed for
Mr.. Whittier by the Riverside Pres. contains h,S re-
cent verse and arranged by the poet a. gii'
10 his friends the occasion Of his eighty lri birth
day. \ noble. loving and trustfnl spirit hdda'e'
these verses rs with the warm serenity Of III" sunset
lights There j, no sadness in these strains. but
rather the ,onorous fnc,s and sweetness Of song
Of praise" ard expectation.
The beautiful little volume Is thus dedicated to the
poet and friend Of posts Edmund Clarence sted
man:
Poet and friend Of poets, II tiny glass
Defects flower IN winters tnft Of grass.
Let thu, slight token Of the debt owe
Outllye for thee December, frozen dag.
And like the arbutu, budding under SNOW.
Take bloom and fragrance from some morn Of Nav
When he who gives it shall have gone the way
Where faith shall and rvercnt trust shall know
Mr. Richard Henry -toddard's last contribution to
American poetry j, married. by the :cristos which
have bec0mc familiar 10 his readers. We find the oid
aiuencc, delicate fancy. independence OF manner aud
rich Imagination The volume . which B" The Lions
Cub Charles ScIbners sons gives title l' however
while exhibiting verse IN many key, more Oriental 30
tone than Western. II contain, a hrre number Of
paraphrasc, from the Persian aud Indian poet and
may be said % reflect that attraction for orcniaSm
which has during the past decade been special note
in Western literature and thought. The ballads
(scrbnsr) Of Robert Louis stevenson are the
fruit OF his sojourn In tropical They breathe OF
the opulent life Of the coral ISLANDS ana OF the
picturesque savarery Of primitive life IN that romantic
region Mr.. stevenson is too devoted lover OF action
however 10 LEI his verse sink 10 the anguor 0f the
troplcs and al times the velcmencc Of his imagination
impart 10 thee lyric, feeling pcrhap, more acooria
with the old Morse batte-lust than with the lmpulsive
bni not enduring heat OF the Oceanic races Tho
melody and swing OF the ballads are. however.
delightful Mr.. Watson. who recently edited a
~ MpFd. tnpfh has
now done the same for Alfred Austin, whose
English Lyrics Macmillan) deserve TO occupy
place by themselves dS pOctlcal expressions
Of what may be termed phllO,Ophic patriotism. Those
who are not fond Of the gir ihl" have nothing 10
ssy 20 this volume however for II Is peryadcd through
out by a sentiment VI love for tile authors native
land which finds vent in thousand wais. Alfred
Au,in'S lyrics, nevertheless. reasoned arguments
rather than rhapsodles digniled aud lofty in tone
and full Of graceful fancy in the poets lighter moods.
new edition Of Nora Peys poems has been brought ont
Ly IToughtOn il Miinin. with extensive additions The
new verse begins with the poem The Lovers Friend
and represents the work of recent years Nora Perry
continues show the old facility and nicely Of ear for
melody If her verses somewhat light they are
always smooth. music,l and pleasing. and the latcr
lyric, no less than the earlier ones take hold upon
the reader by their grace and swcene-~.
Edmund Go,,e has written memoir for
the two volume pretty little edition u Thomas
Lowell Beddoes's poems I'm the Temple Library tMac.
MILAN. BcddOes not popular poet, nor
ever can be. lie what is sometimes called a
poets poet and in fact whatever he served but
as an unfualled earnest Of what hs should or might
have beer had lie lived and been There must
lave been a strong tnge Of eccentricty in him from
the first, and It probable that toward the last
he was quite mad. His most important work was
DEATHS Jest Book: or the FOOLS Tragedy and this
Is not the easiest reading There are in truth desert
wastes in his writings broken by sparkling Gases, aud
perhaps his more serious pieces will serve mainly as
magazines from which writers OF less brilliant magma
ton may draw images, phrases and cunningly wrought
snatches OF description or OF Characterization.
The present edition is very dantily made. We
have before Us two independent volumes treating
OF the American sonnet: one edited by Mr. Charles
Crandall: the other by Colonel r. W. IIiggn-on and
MR., r. II. Blgelow. These two srlc ton, serve 10
show how ample Is the store Of American sonncts To
lie drawn upon aud also what "A remarkable quantity
of good American work there IS in this line. Good
work but not the best of work and that fact deserves
70 be nOtsd. 1t Is indeed strange phenomenon
that 80 many excellent second class sonnets should
have been written, and so few frstclasS sonnets or
the two selections here offered perhaps the moro
tudcisus is that Of Colonel Hgginson. though either