New-York tribune., 1895-01-27

,mnu,sn developed Thus he is found 10 oe VI.
narent at once Of the modern detec''se So
the brief rhapsody OF fsuper-psycno'os'c'
the leading representative In mour'" "r
49,. ,,,,.v,osoua romance which borrows It's mys-
,or,ons coors from r,idnigh, and the grave ana
-. ,ou,dor NJ tho racabre school in every one
n, its special ramiflcations-sav.ns tha' u
physiological dry rot TO phase OF tempera-
nspt anv production Of Poe's can be traced anu
,hera were many phases. Running through 'he"'
ALI End giving his work TIE distinctive quarry ''
which his genius s recognized IL the ,mas'Na'Ne
insnirat,on to which a.!uson has been maze. !"
revert TO that Ia 10 see at once that WINE roc
,ors.t,Ii,v was remarkable and much to be con-
sider.d In any estimate OF him, II is NOT one v.
h,s nrs-em,nent traits In the fine Towering OF
his individuality there is suotler secret 10 oe
onrrchrnded. Mr.. stedman touches 1t happily
T., his reference TO Poe as THE nympnolept SEEK
ing an evasive being OF whom he has glimpses
bv moonlight" II Is the impalpaole, inV'sio'
ideal broodng over his fancies. far more than
apy Of his constructive ~ decorative charac'cF-
is,ics which gives the key 20 his fascination
r,,s fact may be developed into an interesting
proof of his originality
None of Poe's predecessors in the province OF
fantastic, and grewsome literature ever reached
the point Of verisimtude t. wnicn ne atta'heu
udtbout sny effort: In the forbdding taie3 Oh
revenge which foreshadow The Cask OF ANON
tilIado" In Boccacc!o Bandello and even lesser
noyelis.s OF the Italian Renaissance there are
horrors on which TO sup and other fru'ttui hte'-
arv properties: but there !s mucn more III roe
there Is great and enduring charn. anu IL IL
there because as Mr.. St"dman points OUT WIN
shelley he vowed he would dedicate his powers
% beauty" In other words the poet In Poe
walked side by side with the designer the IN
vsn,or OF mental puzzles the dreamer In gnasty
.olitudcs and the lover OF romantic incident
Sometimes the poet may seem to be quiescsnt oe-
fire the imper1us will az Poes Mathematical
instinct or hi, ineradIcnba fondncss Tor throwing
dust I'm the eyes OF his reader; but both MS turn
for the geometry in human affairs and his love
Of hoax in the l,ig run coioreh D! MS
mare spiritual emotions II IL as a poetic genius
certainly that Poe separates himself from HON.
mann. whose Weird Tales" are so often
hracketed with the masterpieces OF the American
author Compared with the early Italian writer's
,vo have mentioned Poe enforces thn distinction
he,veen passion subllmated by poetic fire and the
raw material ~ human adventure IN moments OF
dramatic suspsnsc and fury. \ siniilar dis
,,rctiou Is a,parent when ne is considered IN
.l,,ion ., the romantlc!sts Of Germany. with
rormaun al their head. lie rises superior to the
upholstery on which they lay so mueh stress
r,yeuious as ne was III the fabrication oi pot
sn,moured as he was ~ color. quaintness ana
T. c,or,ai enbell.shnent. he has rareiy the trans
na;cnt rneoIrara of the Germans ard no'Aing al
az Of their frank reliance upon furniture upon
,tagc csuiriyarces. 80 10 speak THESE are ou,
subsidiary motives In his conception, "nicn Is
above al metaphysl al. imaginative ana con-
ccrned with tho mystery. tan remote suggestions
81, his .hen1o II he lavished as much fancy as ne
di up0n ihc scenic elements In his tales IL was
,sieHY In obci.cn,e t. the scrsulus. a:istc IN
s.l-.t in MIN. which gravl,ated to wha. wls gro
tesluc. bizarre and strange
rnls mu,h pc shared with TN" r)manue
..hoos %, Gcrtsary and France. tas,e for DIS
t,a.c AMI uncertainty in The hor,Z ~. II" hah
NOR. faan iha;. IL not merely ero'.c ne
was adivrr ring VITA d.Naa,ons % such scenes ana
souls a. could not be found anywhere upon the
actual earth. Hc rad the Gothic scope Of imasi-
nation tho Gothic audacity when heongs 10
medieval art. the hys:sri, Impetus which iornet
tho srca; European catnedrsls with the sarsoylrs
,, he Middle Ages ard produced the implsh i'm
proyisatIons of German and NetheTlandisn paih,-
rs At once n Jew. a Grccan. ana Goth, n
Nr S,edman's words. ne was most ~ all n Com
and while he was incapable OF producing In his
D
Ism Of horror as "Frankanstcin.' he was always
svmuathctically moved b. tho contemplation OF an
in,rlns,caliv abnormal idea or situation. There IS
a curious resemblance between him and the only
Fr.rcaman after Beaudela!Fe with whom IL Is
fair 10 mention his name. Charles Meryon. lie
mas tho inherent taste for wha; s grim and ran
astlc that gives that poetic ctchcs his distinction
Inc, A. Merry ~ moved with enthusiasm ana feei-
ing among tho gargoyles OF NJ;r" Dame ana
dwelt Imaginatvely upon the Morgue behind mat
ollnce, 50 Poe wandered through 'ne hon'e o'
I'sher or cOnjufed up The Masque oil 'he hsu
Death" revelling IN the sense of uncartniincSs
and phantom beauty which he could invoke.
Mr. Stelman objects that P1c's TASTE was not
r,,o" and adds that the element ~ atranSc-
ness on which he laid so much stress. Is no' es-
genital 20 the highes, ART. and the g7ot"sque anu
the blzarre are at most bu secondary resources
This lust observation gains In strength when rel
crence Is had 10 a story o. Poes Ike. for exam
nIr The Black Cat" one feels. In the prescnc"
az that grlsly nightmare that Ossa has been piled
upon Pelion with something ~ the dsxterity o'
/ mggler and a little OF his so'icltude Tor Inc ap-
/ plnusc OF the gallery" Yet II you appeal To The
! pcscen, into the Maelstrom" TO The Fall OF the
! Uous, Of Usher" Ia "IIop-Frog.' or to any OF the
numerous ta;cs which stand on the same plane
With these, 1t Is perceived at once that the gro
tesoue vas an essential ingredient Of Poe's art.
whatever abs,rac, principles may have to say;
and one ~ the irunphs OF Poe. one OF the vlnd-
cations Of his genius. s that hc proves. as every
great poe: proves. that he is right. In this re-
spcc he and Rudyari Klpllng are alike The I'M
preston received from The jungle Book is that
animals mast live the li.es and speak the speech
therein dcscribed-it could not hc other wise-and
| II there never was white seal discovered before.
Il has been because the hunters hadn't tho wit to
| run him down. This conviction carried by Mr..
Kipllng is the result Of inspiration hrst. OF artistic
v.rIsimtude aftcrward In both respects Poe
has unsurpassed mastery, and It Is becauoe para
doxcally, his ghostly figures have such tremen-
dous vitality that they are irresistible and raise
the authors blzarrerIe Into the region OF great