The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1895-07-12
80 ME NEW BOOKS.
Brief Reviews of I'm ortant and In
tero ting New publications.

IL 10 ndI'i w COY PcO'aJ
The defui,ions Of it that have been
attempted from time TO time are
VIGOROUSLY unsatisfactory. OF
course it is not necessary that it
should have rhyme, many prscti-
TONERS have illustrated the principle
that it may dispense with measure,
and whether it is essential that it
should have reason is as one may
think. 1t is to be noticed in regard
to "The Black Riders and Other
Lines" by Stephen Crane Cope
land g. Day, Boston,, that the title
does not speak of the contents OF
the little book as poetry or as verse.
1t merely speaks of ''lines," which
seems to us to be sufficiently eau
ton and accurate specification, as
it would be indeed If the book were
dictionary, or list OF summer re-
sorts, or catalogue of garden i'm
plements. At the SINE time the i'm
presslon that is conveyed is the i'm
preston of the presentation OF "a
poet, and we have no doubt that
kMr Crane would contend for the
idea that "Black Riders and Other
Lines" is poetry, surprising that a
question in regard to its nature
should ever arise. There are sixty
eight sets Of lines in the book, and
Notwithstanding they are printed
entirely in the capital letters, and
with an uncontrolled generosity in
the matter OF margins, they are con-
tanned easily in seventy-s pages.
We may quote the sixty-sixth exam
pie, which presents rather melan-
choly appearance standing all by
itself in a corner OF the white ex-
panse OF the seventy-third page:
If / should cast off this tattered
coat,
Aud go free into the mighty sky;
II should fnd nothing there
But y vast blue,
Erholess, ignorant
What then2
What, indeed7 The sixty second
example has also excited our interest
and curiosity:
There was man who lived a life
OF fire.
Even upon the fabric OF time,
Where purple becomes orange
And orange purple,
This life glowed,
A dire red stain, indelible;
Yet when le was dead,
He saw tina. he had not lived.
We will also venture to quote the
lines on page GA, mainly because
they raise an interesting question of
grammar;
The sage lectured brilliantly.
fore him, two images:
Now this one is devil,
And this one is me-"
He turned away.
Then cunning pupil
Changed the positions.
Turned the sage again:
Nov this one is a devil,
Aud this one is me"
The pupils sat, all grinning,
And IT joi ,ed in the game.
But the sage was sage.
We have long thought that the
well known disposition of the gene
raj people was bound in time to
overcome the fnal scruples of the
grammarians and to establish such
a phrase as "This one is me-" as an
accepted and proper form; but the
time is not yet, and Mr.. Cranes
sage is to be esteemed for his unset
fish spirit of prophecy rather than
his accuracy under existing gram
NAUTICAL conditions. Whether or not
the inspirations of Mr.. Crane have
in this book taken on the quality of
poetry is something that we feel in
clined to leave to the reader to
determine. There can be no uues-
ton, however, that they have taken
on the form Of lines.
Address all communication to the,
Editorial Department OF the INDIE
PENDENT to Edmund Norrie. Bust
ness letters should be addressed IN