New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-26
BAYARD TAYLOR.
NEW LIFE OF THE POET AND TRAVEL
LER
BAYARD TAYLOR. BY Albert +; sm{Et nneb SvS
NiGlin G. Co American Men Of Letters series

The nlan of this volume is itself an eloquent
tribute TO its theme Written for series ue
voted to American men OF letters, II might easily
have been conceived In spirit OF pure cri'ic's'''
and biographical narration might 1ustinapi! "aNc
given place TO elaborate analysis OF speoine
works Through the ardent dedication oil his
genius and energy to literary IDEAL bisaru
ravlor might seem 10 have Invited and even to
bove demanded a more scholarly than intimate
atmosphere in the description OF MS place III ''e
history OF American letters But Mr.. Sm!'h mas
been compelled to draw within these pages MS.
and last the portrait Of n man, the p'r''"i' %
one whose literary achievements were eSse"''."'
tho exnression Of his nature and not the produc-
tions of an impersonal mental force Reaueis VI
his noetrv have found him persistertly intellec-
tuaI AMI his prose writings arc objective enough
But both verse and prose were the fruits OF MS
temperamcrt the spontaneous celebration OF
what he saw and did. As Mr. SIN. TN states IT,
"TavIor's intellect was Of that activity that IL
oavc him trouble not to work." and In survey
NJ his career II Is impossible to detach his per-
sonality from his labors to weigh the latter
without reference to the passion OF enjoyment
which drove him 10 their accomplishment Thus
the present volume Is a biography In the truest
sense of the word. marked on every page with
the evidences Of Taylors incessant toll. out DIM
ming over also with the magnetism OF the man.
with his buoyancy and the strong temper whir'
sustained him through heroic tasks.
Mr. AIdrich has said of Taylor, In monody
whose familiar lines mingle poetic glamour with
accurate description that
Ever his own land
Fettered his heart and brought him back again
from foreign shores to his home scenes III
America: and his patriotism had that line hpre
and constancy which were typiied also IN WHIT
tier and Lowell. Yet the impression Taylor
leaves Ia that Of cosmopotc lie fuhied
the destinies Of that character in the nobest
way not merely assimilating from each race
with which he came in contact certain meas
ure Of its quality. but carrying with him wher-
ever he went the charm OF a spiritual fellow
ship There Is nothing more gratifying In Mr..
smyth.s memoir than Its ceaseiess Implication
OF Taylors escape from what might be called
the moral abrasion OF travel. But Il Is obvious
from these pages that he was never more at
home than when three thousand miles or more
distant from It. When he delighted a company
OF German Journalists with the invention Of a
new Notwithstanding hkeit-he really gave
them a concise description OF his own most
salient characteristic. and the cosmical expcr-
fence Of which he was fond Of speaking was
for him no merely philosophical fancy. lie felt
the energy Of the cosmos tingling In his veins.
stirring the very core Of his being. he felt II
and he passed II on to his innumerable comrades
In food OF sympathy which made him truly
citizen Of the world. His sympathy was his
gift. Therein resided his genius and his fascina-
ton. 1t took captive all who knew him. IT re-
mairs among their warmest recollections. and
1t keeps alive his books.
Taylor sought the substance OF his work at the
III.
dissatisfied with knowledge or sensation at Sec
ond hand. They did not indeed. exist for him
until he had found them at their sources. md in
reaching them there he guided by an en-
thusasm which was inexhaustible. Most men
Of the poetic temperament would have eschewed
the exacting labors OF journalism. and fought to
the bitter end against what Taylor himself some
times called the drudgery Of an editors chair.
There were times. especially toward the close OF
| his career and during the years Of his planning
for a life OF Goethe which was 10 be the fitting
sequel to his translation Of Faust" when he
sighed for release from the burdens entailed by
his journalistic affiliations. But when. only five
years before his death. the opportunity arose for
him to 20 TO Iceland and report the mlllennIal
celebration there. he started forthwith and Mr..
Smyth quotes him as saying: ITO the few who
have never known any other Alma Mater than
The New-York Tribune her Tor lts) call is like
that OF tho trumpet unto the warhorse' Tay-
Tor responded TO that trumpet through many
years, and the fact is revealed not alone by the
records in this volume but In the texture Of his
prose work. The great bulk Of that work was
produced for The Tribune. and while much OF
| II was written under the more less lelsurcly
conditions Of foreign travel there great
deal that sprang from the stress OF affairs close
IL. 80
1t all has the freshness. the vigor. the actually
which belong to the best journalism.
The author OF this book calls Taylor's prose
work reportorlal and such II undoubtedly
was, but the enormous facility upon which II
was largely based was not Of the fatal sort and
the articles which he produced in haste and with
copiousness that was extraordinary are Of a
quality which the passage of years has not in
validated. 1t is less their value however Of
which 1t is Intended to speak at this point than
their illustration Of Taylors peculiar nature They
occupy important place In his history and
they present him In Of his nest typical
phases. the journalist In excelsis. Taylor
wrote with such rapidity." says Mr.. Smyth
| that he could complete q duodccmo volume IN
| a fortnight. In q night and a day he
read Victor Hugo's voluminOus La Ltgendcs
des Siecles,' and wrote for The Tribune a re-
| view OF 1t which fills eighteen pages OF his
Essays and Literary Notes. and contains five
considerable poems which TRANSACTIONS IN
the metre Of the original" The rapidly H.
Illustrated by this episode Is interesting not
merely as an element in literary craftsmanship
1t reveals the behind the work. 1t paints
Taylor as the omnivorous dcvourer Of expert.
ences, as the ardent temperament 1rging itself
into each succeeding task and d.sposlng of II
In a perfect fury Of toll and enjoyment. Taylor
revaed in his work because he revelled In life
and life was in the grain OF everything he
touched. His European correspondence was
never pedantc, archaeological. There was
nothing Of the dilettante about him. He triv-
eled with prodigous delight in every new
scene and he had allied to a remarkable MON,