New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-08
A DEVOTIONAL POET.


A DEVOTIONAL POET.
To nre,ace an account Of the New Poems w
r,hr,st,ra Rossetti" (Macmillan q w.
some criticism Of the editor "hi"' h.s
Rossetti. Is unfortunate but necessary c.r,s-
done much TO provoke adverse coHne"' ..
t,na.s memory, he says. rs one Vi ~, .,,o,r
.uoasures and her works ana '"e''
repute are proportionately dear u nv .,,,,h
49,, 10, hesitate 20 take obvious lpertes WV"
that memory, exceeding what wouIu "rI g.,
he the reasonable sphere or MS .na
ragard 20 the fortunes OF his SISTER ,.,o,.
assuming altogether too much III ms 49, tho
&c 70 the steps required &c De tan" .,,,.a
preservation Of her repute' ne nos ,,oud
70 saw which OF her unpuDhs"eu 49, ar he
80 en- "sustain her poetical repu'a'io"'
~ .,a, ,,tarost as showing the grown
80 ,,rd" That last clause Is comp
v,,.o ono and under lis protection " H""N
.,.., hoe made volume OF nearly '
1891 roees which. in difference 10 MS s'
.ors high standard, ought 10 nave .,,,a
a,ood IN half the size. she "ouiu "o -,
,,,,shed ALL the immature ana eApe'
.oar,s IN this collection. and IL Is eve"
o., ,s 70 whether she would have pri"''"
q, which the reader must deheh'
II Ys a. testimony TO the worm % -,
10 ,oo.r,, that no editorial clumsihess Va
her bro,her'- could mar the beauty u ~
raes,o, which her best poems leaNe' ""N ~
..ra,v nass,onate to any strenuous des'ee'
rover sttrs the blood with trumpet oi"''
.,a never wanted TO do this her Supp
enc three emotional poems when her pro.
chosen to reprint from the edition u io'-
d,catiye OF the mood TO which sne ~ .,o
he
give expression. Why dld she iesio' IA
seemed to regret, the bitterness anu p'o~ .ho
arce Of. .,Sister Mastae." because "' = o..
defiance nor the bitterness was ha'"f". ~ p
snr,tual and profoundly pietisuc "i"u'
.,,rrre.s,on or II not that then keen sense Oh
tho eyanescence Of mortal Things "ai'eu "r
her noet,cal fusion Of familiar experience with
imaginative feeling; and she no more caieu "
do violence TO the serene measure OF hei u""'
10. than she did to the high musings OF hei re-
,,,,,,. mind She knew the power OF nerce pas
-, and someti,nes she was swept OF her iee''
,.,,couv nv It's impetus. Then. as IN some ho'
-. ~ storuy feeling she could write sister
Ss.,aa" or the poignant lines entitled LOOK on
T,h,s Picture and On This IL was from '.'''
acquaintance with headstrong human inpu'',
and aching human wounds. partly nh@'.e' -
Individual genius, partly morbid streah "a '''
,.r.usnt which she shared with Dante Rossett'
that e1de drew some of her power. But 'he uuS'
and futility Of such rebellous phases OF lie Us
she now and then was moved 70 ceieoia'e ''
80 ond vivid verse she more often recognized
at their exact value, and she hAeu ne' SCI
.,eadfastly upon the principle embodied In the
conclusion TO a long poem written IN 1885, 40
What Purpose Is This Waste?'
o earth. earth. earth, thou yet shet Do"
Who art so fair and lifted up
Thou vet shalt drain the bitter cup.
Mems eyes that wait upon thee now;
All eyes shall see thee lost ana rneai
Exposed and valued at thy worth,
While thou shalt stand ashamed ana ouiio-
All. when the Son OF Man shall come,
Shall He find faith upon the earth!i
The strain of mournful meditation which
resounds through these lines was the choSei'
strain Of Christina Rossetti all her HE long
She was devoted to an austere MUSE Iiei
venius was really ascetic, and the nun-like
serenity of her feeling breathes Of constant
humility, constant abnegation. Yet, with this
Temperament alone she might never nave
written The works which give her fame. The
poet in her could not resist the buoyant cali
of nature. could not withstand the JOY OF sing
ing. and from her resigned but courageous
lps there fell some Of the tenderest Of modern
iyrics songs which have not the bell-like music
Of the great poets at their tuneIuAes'' pu'
songs which have a haunting cadence. charm
half-melanchcly, half-happy. which Is peculiar
TO herself Many such songs have been "a
mil,ar to the readers OF her previous books, but
many more of them are included In the present
collection and inspire a gratitude to Mr. W. III.
Rosset.I which his shortcomings as an editor
cannot invaIdate The dirge Beginning "She
was az sweet as vioIets In the spring. the
song called Listening" the ballad Of Illus
band and Wife," the exquisite poems In the
section OF the book given to purely devotional
understandings like Now They Desire" and
For Under a Crucifx"-al these productions
have the spontaneity and the deep. unn,istak-
able feeling which make Christina Rossetti one
of the most persuasive Of modern claimants
for poetical Immortality. The Importance Of
this new collection OF poems by her is due to
the genuineness Of her gifts She owed her
power to her inspiration and not to the as
sidious cultivation Of artificial tastes She
had not the inspiration OF a great writer. and.
like Dante Rossetti, who even more un-
Numerically developed. she cannot escape a
certain limitation Of sweep which gives the i'm
preesion that she sees some things In the world
and not others The universally OF the great
meets she almost invariably misses. But II she
has not their large. impersonal vision she has
at least a wonderful intuition In dealing with
those things that touch her own heart. Nc
writer of her time exerts so delicate fascina-
ton lust through the attractiveness OF MARKED
personality.
H.
ARTFUL AND ARTLESS VERSE
There Is personality in The Poetry OF Pathos
and Delight &C. p. Putnam's Sons) slender