New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-26
DEAN STANLEY.
A VOLUME OF HIS POEMS AND LETTERS.
LETTERS AND VERSES OF ARTHUR PEN N.ea y ia \
STANIEY d. ID. Between the years lo., anu
issi Edited by Rowland L. Prothero. NJ. A.

stanley, the charming ease with which Stanley
won his way He prizeman from Doy"oo'
The first letter given in these pages "i'''e"
fore the birthday of his fourteenth year. con
long ode on the birth Of little COUSIN INC ''.N'
are as smooth. the rhymes as accui" ave, w
thought as mature and as well eXpreSseu as j. '''7
poet had been ten years older. IAere 10 'e"'.
niscence In It OF classical translation anu "a '"
ing in English poetry but boys OF thiT'ee"' '''
among those destined t. be poets rarely wv ~
vou The t,venlle touch is reserved for couple
of footnotes perhaps have made 'ne u"S wv
stormy" writes the little lyrst. but never
mind" and again. not sure that MS oeSci ip''o"
81 the babe-"Rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes -
q, ,c.r-ate he saws: perhaps have made the
child too beautiful. II his checks are not rosy
Won NAV call them laughing and. II that won
Go nut cherry lips II you don't Ike spa'h""s
eyes' call them sweet blue. If they are OF u"'
black II they are. But If theZ/nTc-2iiy o.nei
color, I cannot remedy 1t excepYrolling& Thus
he he.ravs knowledge already OF all the tricks
of composition. He was sure II prizes later with
this skill in adapting hislDNrary efforts to the
purnose OF the mon<nt Nor was ne deceived az
to the real merits%t studied task as compared
with work that Mad in It fire and spontaheny
On the eve IF winning the Newdisa'e ff'%e AZ
Oxford in 1871. he wrote to his mother that the
poem by CD. Brodie was superior TO MS own. pu'
ESQ unuxe a prize poem that think 1t more than
doubtful whether II will succeed his criticism
on his own work and that OF his friend ana ri'ai
q, roode, IN ,ts way showing as il does that cool,
renective temper which made him always so GER
tain Of success He saw that he had no one loea
en- noet,cal as that which pervaded Brodie poeIh'
but on the other hand his work was the Oe''er
arranged It's expression was clear, his verses hau
sntIthesis and point and If they never rose ~
equal Brodies best. they never Tell 10 'he ieN'o'
Brodie's worst mine is the best poem anu HIS
the hest poetry" WAS Stanley's epigrammatic con-
c,us,on. The verdict OF the judges showed now
correctly he had estimated the chances.
7, was co IN other matters. though he was IN
c,in.d 70 consider 1t mere good fortune wheh
ne succeeded where othens failed. Arthur hug"
Coush was monument of Ill luck "hl'"
really praiseworthy genius could ho' re'e's'
His failure TO obtain fellowship at bai'ioi ia
,sa2 was great disappointment to him and to
h,s friends 1t was as much Of a blow TO Slahiey
ms TO any one He could not help lamen'ins'
though he was only distant admirer OF CIous"
as 1.-The profoundest man Of his years that Rugby
.ver sent forth" Cloughs eccentrcites came
In for discussion at the time and there may
baye haao something eaid Of mental failure Al
least Stanley found comfort IN the fact tha'
some Of Clough's papers were splendidly done
"Not that I ever thought that the genius was
gone" he added; but feared that the power
of expressing It 10 the world was gone Cioueh
very misfortunes invested him In Stanieys eyes
with kind OF sacredness. Tor acaoeHicdnS
speaking, who ever was 50 unfortunate-so aD'e,
20 laborious. and yet so unaccountaoly raining
How singular the contrast. thought Stanley, with
his own fortunate career
Yet Stanley himself had his troubles about
fellowship. though he managed to put them IN
such light that failure would nave seeNieu
a sacrifice to principle. Newman's influence was
IN 1897 strong in oxford. and the rumor had
gone forth that Stanley and all the other young
Low Churchrnen Of Balol College had been
converted 70 the new way of thinking. This was
obnoxious to Stanley, then and always a dis
c,nle Of DR. Arnold but he remarked naively In
a letter TO his mother that the existence OF the
r,noor showed how discreet he had been. lie
looked for trouble and this came hrst IN the
refusal Of a starch Newmanist In authority 10
sign his testimonials for deacon's orders Then
his prospects Of fellowship in Ballio! Vanlshed.
He looked first to Oriel. but was later elected
at University College The whole controversy
while It merely delayed his ordination, con-
tributed to make him known to the scholarly
and religious public. Thus he was fortunate
even In the little strokes Of adversely mat perez
m
when Newman turned TO Rome and DR.. Arnold
became Regus Professor Of Modern History at
oxford, Stanley had his full share Of the bene-
fits that accrued from being on the winning
aide He even cherished for a moment at Dr.
Arnold's death the hope Of succeeding to the
professorship
County, genial. tolerant. never in any doubt
as to his own position. Stanley found no DIM
Guilty In admiring others. His letters intro
duce the reader to many OF the most note
worthy men Of thought and action in the
Europe Of his day. to Quiet. Grote. the eccen-
trio Church historian Neander, and others too
many 10 name His lifelong friendship With
Jowett is evinced by number of letters Jow-
ett's as well as his own Jowetts letters are
particularly interesting, since they show that
acrid and penetrating genius In light some
what different from that in which he appeared
70 those who merely got near enough TO pro-
woke or enjoy his sarcasm. With Stanley
Jowett took on the air of recluse Stanley
called him "Melchizedek" and reckoned 1t one
Of his foibles that he proposed corrections In the
music Of Beethoven. Jowett canddy confessed
in one Of his letters that discussions in theology
had lost their freshness for him. His mind
seemed al times quite dried up. partly, he
thought. from being strained out OF proper
ton to the physical powers" Conversations
between the two had been too intellectual and
cver-curious he thought, and with all this
there is one sentence of self-accusation: Had
always done rightly my life would doubtless
have been happier and my mind clearer" His
letters Of consolation upon the death Of Stan
aey's father. and many years later upon the
death of Mrs. Stanley. display the most tender
friendship His own great loss came In the
death OF George Eliot. "a friend never to be re-
placed" He added a line Of criticism which
has all the weight Of his own character She
was one Of the few persons eminent In htera-
ture whose conversation was equal, or even
superior TO her writings" The book Is replete
rnersnnalifieS Moi the least