The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-12-24

"hASA s~"f> 4lOm ulIh
Justice the highest expedlenoy. 1hese
poems, though SO striking were Out
the prelude to an imperial theme. lhey
were followed by volumes OF Verse WHICH
reached their highest marx IN 'haG ex-
quisite New England layi onow
Bound," and which will live as long as
the ears of men are attuned to English
song. From the time these hants OF
freedom began to beat the All Voloe
never faltered. 1t depened ana h"elIeo
to organ tones, and found It's spieholo
maturity IN the heroic days or the civil
war, and in the flush OF VICTORY which
followed the restoration OF One Union anu
the downfall Of slavery.
Whittier's poetic genius was iate IL
coming to fruition, ana apparently
needed some sharp stimulus ike tue
wrongs of the slave; for MS youthlui
poems give absolutely no promise Oh MS
future excellence. His judlclous prog
rapher calls them "mere exercises III
rhetoric and versification, and his own
mature taste rejected them In lateI years.
His poetical impulse was ouloKenea ny
the perusal of Burns; ana lully uiu
he discharge the debt IN la'er uay ny
the noble lines on receiving sprlg Vi
heather in blossom:
Not his the song whose numerous cniihe
Eternal echoes render,
The mournful Tuscan's haunteo rnS"e.
And Millions starry splenuor!
Give lettered pomp to teeth OF Time,
So "Bonnie Doom" but tarry'
Blot out the Epics stately rhy me,
But spare his Highland Mary
Not a few of his earlier poems trlpped
TO the Scotch, PEASANTS measures, and
some were written in an imitation. 1alrly
successful, of the Scotch Lowiano oia-
lect-the "Doric" of the reviewers But
after he found his own voice no man was
farther from imitation than ne, no one
more individual in theme or treatmen1'
and no American poet sounoeo
loftier note.
1t is not our purpose to pursue the de-
velopment of Whittier's astonishing poetie
off. nor indeed to further traverse Mr.
Pickard's interesting WORK. In ~ 'he
curious reader will find, told with a.
rectness, with refreshing and admirable
simplicity, with tact and literary TASTE
all that is known and worth knowing
about man who stands among the fore
most of New England's authors ana
WORTHLESS, and vino is, perhaps, nearest TO
the heart of Ter people of all her poets
-one who, in all time to come, Will De
regarded as star of the first magnitude
in that bright constellation which reach
ed it's meridian with the century. Inc
temptation to follow Mr.. Plckaro
through the later and better known
wears of Whittier's life, the days OF
success and assured fame, OF the con-
nection with that nursery OF American
letters, the Atlantic Monthly; through
the time when "Snow Bound" and The
Tent on the Beach," and among the
Hillsn ravished the ears of men; and to
the later period, when honor, love,
obedience, troops of friends" gathered
about him in the calm hours OF his
age;-the temptation to follow this
course is great; and though we, perforce,
resist it on this occasion, others into
whose hands these entloing volumes may
fall. need put no restraint upon inclina-
ton. For them great pleasure is in
store.
AS for Mists, novel, by Fletcher Bat
tershall. author of A Daughter of this
World there is but one word for it
STACEY; the footlights are never turned
off. The story centers at Bar Harbor: its
people have wealth and fashionable
amusments in lavish abundance. They
are grouped into .melodramatic happen
ings-divorce, iswindling. accident,
thwarted love, with final CLEAN of
light at the close. Most of the plot,
and it is both varied and complicated,
is disclosed by means of conversations
overheard where there was supposed to
be no listener at hand. The story is
written with f1ency and shows an album
dance of material and an ease in con-
struction which might produce better
things. New York: Dodd, Mead &
Company; Portland: Loring. Short &
Harmon. Price Sl.25.)