The Portland daily press., 1896-04-08

IiHooSS, LII mouuOfldlIi, MAUI hHA Oohol
Poems; Idylls of the King, Enoch Ar
den, The Dramas, Ballads and Other
Poems and A Critical Essay, form the
contents of the volume and this table,
together with full use Of dates and the
photography, serves the purpose of an in
dex Iennyson's first recorded verse was
when, at five years of age, blown by the
wind down the garden walk, he cried, II
hear voice that's speaking in the wind. -
In mid career, few personal letters
give US pleasant insight into nature
very reserved and jealous of interruption.
prompted such poems as ''The Charge of
the Light Brigade" The Peoples
Voice was never more distinctly heard
than in the poetry of Tennyson written
in times of grave national anxiety. His
sympathy with popular feeling, as here,
aroused by the war in the Crimea, was
closer and deeper, aristooratio poet though
he was, than that of any poet of the
democracy that England has yet seen.''
Our author holds that especially in his
earlier poems, Tennyson was melodist
rather than a metrist. Also that ne was
Sin fuller sympathy with the ethics and
ideals of Greek philosophy than with the
self-effacing spirit Of the Middle Ages. :"
Professor Dixon thinks Fitzgerald right
in his objection to Tennyson in playful
mood. But to us the illustration is not
made by quoting derisively "The Skipp-
ing Rope which is in our opinion a
bright bit of dancing mockery, and good
of its kind. We are given to understand
that Tennyson's protest against charges
ofsplagiarism was the very cause of re-
doubled attack, for in reality Tennyson
was always original in the use, often I'M
conscious, which he made of material
past and present. shakespeare certainly
rif1ed innumerable orchards in his search
for fruit. The verdict of this analysis is
that Tennyson was not successful as a
dranatist though there is much in Queen
Mary, Harold and Beckett TO praise. The
Foresters is a charming "idyllic
masque." "Tennyson, then, was the
spokesman of the English race in an era
of art-ren.issance; the cardinal notes of
his art assimilative power and unwearied
devotion In Tennyson the artist rarely
outran the man. He had sincerity, liter
airy integrity and wholesomeness in his
art. His guiding angels were love and
duty and allegiance. If the Office of poet
were to be a minister of sweet pleasure
only, Tennyson might perhaps be rightly
judged the first of moderns. He won the
peoples garland of affection. With him
the idea of law is paramount. We must,
however, refer the reader to Professor
Dixon's essay entire for it is pity TO
produce it by shreds and patches We
can find but two tiny flaws in the text
-one technical where Chapter "VI" ap
pear as "VII;" the other the use of
"from WHENCE redundancy we never
liked. (New York: Dodd, Mead &
Company; Portland: Loring, Short &
Harmon. Price $3.50
The Wrong Man, A Novel. by Dorothea
Gerard, author Of ga Queen of Curds
and Cream, etc., is very good story,
we'll told. Throughout 1t has foreign
tone, the local color Is finely kept, and
the little romance seems to us quite un-
like the authors other stories. 1t opens
with a duel between Austrian army officers
from feature of which encounter the
title is obtained. The aggressive party
sets about trying to win the affection of
his injured comrade. The scene now
moves on in Poland AM in the midst Of
o singularly primitive, almost peasant
group of kinsfolk, remarkably described
with yet condensed portrayal of type and
character. That true generosity and
loyeableness Of nature should triumph
where it sought another's happiness but
found its own, must have it's sad side,
though quite in the bounds of justice.
(Appleton's Town and Country Library,
No. 1856. Cloth, $1.O0. Loring, Short &
HARMONY