The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-03-10

daintiness. He viii find that some OF
the quatrains fill the page much pelter
than sometin es the poems OF qulte Ia
nous poets which crowd its length and
breadth. Just as little picture sometimes
needs a whole wall space 10 Itseii, %
is 1t here. Only we would ha an df1 hysn
lions upon the generous page fa,neI
than such prodigality at the bottom anu
such perjury at the top. -, ,he
However secular the appearance OF Ihe
,,,Io book II has a cover OF unique de-
Ui1n- attractive. too-the picture OF my
friends face IS not such. nor inc naois
of his life. IT IS evldentiyr I'M ny nro.
@asreor devoted TO his work in 81. CharieS
f'olleee MARYLAND. He dedlcates hi,
hook TO Sidney Lanier, with TINS ave.
Ere Times horizon-line was set
Somewhere in space our spirits me"
Then DER the starry parapel
Came wandering mere.
And now that thou are gone again
Beyond the verge,
I haste amain
dost echo Of a loftier strain
10 greet thee there
And hereby hangs another tale, which
is That our poet was not only friend
Of Laner. but his compa nion-ln-
and shared with him the hospltaliSy OF
Great Rebellion. There are two other
poems TO Lanier, one of them the
trumpet of prophecy OF more courage
ous sound than has been justified by the
event. If hearlded Forthcoming volume
of Laniers poems:
snowl Snow! Snow!
DO inv worst, Winter; but know, but
That, when the spring cometh. blossom
From The the heart of the poet that sleeps
neiow. 49, oou.,,
shall go,
In spite of the snow.
Those poems are remarkable for their
individuality. Sometimes, IN me praSetS
Of their conceits, they make us thlhk OF
Fmily Dickinson; but always mere the
fancy. however hyperbolicaL describes
dts curves within the limits OF a perfect
form OF auain az fSour ehfre and ilmstra-
zion. a playing upon words anu upon
ideas that is most ingenious bVGly-
where her nature is Sacranentaf' 1T eNiStS
To svmboIjze some spiritual thing; ana
1o,i6t occurs whether Father Tabb IS a
close observer OF natural things, except
i'm that sphere-the meteoroIoglcaI-ln
which Shelley was prominently at nome.
And IN this connection IL is notlceaple
thaf Shelley is a faVorite with our poet,
and is honOred by him with a poem Whicn
is. perhaps. as good an example az any
of the intricate ingenuity with when ne
works. as il he were one OF those artlstS
Of Japan who work In ivory, making
cf Tas''i that stir up kings and connois-
seurs to rivalry:
At Shelley's birth
The Lark, dawn-spirit. with an anthem
Rose from the dusky earth
TO tell ii to the CLOUD, l., IT,
That. like a flower night-folded In the
gloom.
Burst into morning bloom.
| AT Shelley's death
The Sea, that deemed him an immortal,
A gods extinguishing breath,
And landward, as in awe,
! JTpbore him to the altar whence he came,
And the reminding flame.
OF poems innocently paltering In
| double sense the two upon Father Damien
| are notable examples:
FATHER DAMIEN.
O God! The cleanest offspring
or tainted earth below,
Unblushing to thy feet we bring.
"a leper white as snow"
THE sNowDRoP.
A nun of Winters Sisterhood,
A snowdrop i'm the garden stood
Alone amid the solitude
That round her lay.
No sister blossom near was seen.
No memory of what had been,
No promise of returning green
| Or scented spray
| But she alone was bold to bear
The banner of the spring, and dare,
In Winters stern despite, declare
| gentle sway.
SO didst thou, Damien. when the glow,
| OF faith and hope was waning low.
For souls bewintercd. dare the snow,
| And lead the way.
| Many Of these poems linger in a dim
| half-light. They haunt the moments
between night and morning. sleep and
| Weakening. life and death, with a cuTlos-
ity that is more pleased in being baflled
| than i'm learning all. Take for example,
| "a Winter Twilight" and at the same
! time let it witness TO the fact that a
delightful and ingenious fancy does not
exhaust our poets gift; II has its re-
| serves of strong Imagination, which finds
| its best expressions in the sonnets which
| are, with two or three exceptions, the
1 longest poems in the book:
Blood-shotten. through the bleak, gigantic
| trees,
Startles the woltish winds that wilder
| As hunger mocks their bowling miserles.
In every sulking shadow Fancy sees
The menace of an undiscovered foe
a sullen footstep treacheroGs and slow.
That comes, or into deeper darkness fees.
Nor Day nor Night, in Times eternal
| round,
Whereof the tides are telling. e'er hath
| passed
This Isthmus-hour-this dim, mysterl-
Gus land
That sets these lives asunder-where up
cast
Their earliest and their latest waves
| fesOund.
As each alternate. near or leaves the
| strand
Another poem Of strong imagination is
that in which the Indian of San Salvador
Columbus, and also what their coming
means FOR his dusky race. There is more
| real poetry in this than in all the
other poems of the Columbian year that
we have seen so far. Insomnia has had
many poets. but few have touched the
Height of my friends on that subject.
one called. Homeless" breathes the
sweet pity of soul for its deserted
tenement There are several poems that
imply the special religious point of view
or The author; but let the reader sym
pathetlcally adjust himself to hat. and
ne viii find them among the 'oveliest in
the book. But here Is one. ITO the
Christ that has no sectarian implica-
| ton:
| Thyself, my fellow-man, and me-
When one with him, then one with Thee;
Nor, save together, Thine are we.
And here is wee bit of a Christmas
| poem. the dubious theology OF which is
| c0ndoned 10 very great extent by the
daring homliness OF the idea. 1t is called
"Out of Bounds"
A little boy OF heavenly BIRTH
But far from home to-day