New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-06-16
POETRY.
NEW BOOKS AND REPRINTS.

The Muse who presides over modern printing
offices Is to be praised for her importantly al
least She gives us the minor poet Of to-day;
she gives us also his major predecessor, ana
survey Of the most recent publications. 81 poe"-
cal nature is rendered the more entertaining De-
cause it embraces Sir Walter at one end an"
Monsieur Verlaine At the other. !" compare
those two would be an impcrtinence u the oh''
an honor unmcrited To the other. were compaH-
son aimed at the discovery OF more llsht as 10
either individual. But both may be taken as
representative men, what scott preferred was
preferred by his time. that by which Vera'ne is
moved moves many of his contemporarics-he Is
himself indeed. an inspiration to a large num-
Der of the atter-and it is Interesting 10 glance
., tho two poles Of poetry which are thus
brought before us. Consideration OF them smut
taneously is given point by the belief which
sooms more and more 10 be justified that the re-
vival of the old will ultimately react upon the
now and purge it Of error The people who APP
prcclate Scott cannot much longer tolerate Yer
,aine And we would not have the new edition
Of Scott which Mr. Lang has edited for thr
Hacks I'm Edinburgh and the Macmillans In
Ncw-York in two admirable octave volumes il
there were not "A public for it-that imperlous.
iufalhlc public OF poetry which soon or late
qo,s what if wants II wants Scott. there can
he no doubt # that for To turn these turbulent
napes with their ring OF arms in chivalrous hSht'
with their fragrance Of lake and hillside. Is 10
be aware Of poetic vitality which ony slug
gish Imagination could withstand. -" we want
Robert Southey also. in the volume ~ Poems
,>,a.,riuan A. GO, which Mr. Edward Dowdcn
hos edited for the handy little Golden Treasury
Series? II is true that .outhey. In spite of Sir
Walters declaration that he had read "Madoc
",hreo or four times with ever Increasing aimira-
ton" was the poet II a brief period. tried by
SCOTS own standard But when Mr. Do"den
GAYS Of Southcy's poetry that II Is "i interest,"
to-day because II Is "a portion OF ne romantic
revival II his time n gives Ms that point "f
dcparture from which S0uthey. equally with
SCOTT becomes \ man Of whom We have need.
Romance one 90 the most poetic elements OF
noo,rv. II is that for which the reader turns
with heightened expectations 10 certain new
odi,iors # older poets and for the moment he
quite. forgets the younger choir. Even Southoy
then has compelling charm He had ht'c If
any lyric inspiration. he moved correctly but
not with the supple grace OF nature. within the
limits Of those various rhythmic forms which ne
ompoycd. and his mctrcal narratives are often
mosaic In STYLE despite their metre But
southey had gllmpscs Il imagination. there was
which saved him from mediocriiy. and. above
all no had the saving virtue ~ romantic
taste he knew the picturesque value ~ old
heroic themes and he handled them with 'ncr-
eetic mower Thus Southcy's exotic tales max"
sn,rl,.d reading even AT this late day. ana no
lover Of romantic scenes wildly portrayed and
colored with hearty feelinr can fail t. b" In
debred 10 Mr. Dowden 10. his judleious rchaoili-
,ation of the poet. obligation - Mr.. Lang is ~
q different sort In some rcsuccts-Scou needs no
rehabilitation and only tn" thanks due g. 4"
conscientious editor are prov kcd by The arrange
-nont Of the poems and by the notrs-hui the IN
PRODUCTION has been written with more than ed
torial feeling and the volumes viii be- valued
chiefly because In their completeness they add
one more Invitation t. rlder appreciation 81
Scott and promise one more force for tn" spread
Of his poetic fame Reading the lay IN thes"
times Of drab introspcctipn IL hk" turning from
the city streets into the virgin forest The tran
sitIon is as bewtchng a. stimulating. 'oni'm-
porary versfcrs might assert that they sought
the same transition. but tire rcjpindcr ~ FORM
coming without delay. Scott peoplcd his wood
land with figures Of immortal vig'r. ana b"
never lost the dramatic spell. the interest 81 "N-
citing action Nowadays the poet goes forth
into the fields to ruminatc. not 10 paint pictures
~ stirring deeds or oven episodes u moderately
celebrating movement Occasionally. however.
# must be admitted that he thinks Of these
things. and We hasten 10 Do justice t. such re-
cent volumes as illustrate an attempt in the d.
rcction at which We have glanced in the COM
pany If Scott and S1uthcy.
Colonel g. H. Trevor. for example. has produced
an excellent hook in his Rhymes Of Rajputana"
,AIacmllan q con collection Of old historical
legends and tales get in fairly animated form
Perhaps Colonel Trevor would arouse more enthu-
sasrn had not the thing which he has tried To Do
been done to perfection. without trying. by Mr..
Kipnng But the latter cannot rob him ~ his bold
rints OF fierce adventure and tragic surprise.
These rhymes rchcarse dusty legends 81 revenge
strange stories Of racial hate. seeming the more
strargc T. us in their Oriental garb ana since the
authors style Is compact. direct and simple. there
are many poems in his volume. like "Snakc-I,ite'
and "A Raia's Dying Request" which de-
cidedly worth reading. His subjects have not
been worn threadbarc and he has risen adequate
w. II not with distinction. - the treatment oi
them one American writer comes before as FOR
tho first time ian book form. and lays claim /
something OF the same racy swing. some hing Of
the same human interest; but we must confess
that the author OF Songs OF the Soil" %. Apple
ton a. Coz. Mr.. Frank L. stanton, strikes as
having been much overrated. Mr.. joel Chandler
Harris writes a Mandatory preface To the book and
we have heard high praise OF Mr.. Stanton before
But his homcspun fragments Of rural sentiment
and domestic pathos are neither strikingly orgi
nal nor essentially poetic. They borrow thcli
ophemeral captivaton from a mcritorous but un-
re remarkable sympathy for everyday joys and sor.
rows. and. on the whole, they belong rather fan
down in that category of verse to which Mr.. Riley
is possibly the most copious and accomplished
contributor. Even Mr.. Riley. who has true poctl
cal streaks in him. finds it impossible to maintain
his genre on a uniform level; and Mr.. Stanton
pleasant as he Is to meet from time 10 time In tn,
poets corner Of his newspaper. is somewhat de-
pressing through 200 pages. Mr.. Fred Emerson
Brooks in his "Old Ace and Other Poems 9Th,
Casscll Publishing Company following IA similar
muse and with even less poetic agility. is equal,