The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-14

You must love wordsworth, ere he will seem
worthy OF your love. As a boy / was enor- |
mously in love with Byron, so much 40 that I
got a surfeit Of him.. and now l cannot read him
as I should like to do. wns IA when [ heard of
his death. 1t seemed an awful calamity; I re-
member 1 rushed out OF doors. sat down by
myself, shouted aloud, and wrote on the
sandstone Byron 10 deadH" IIc went on
to say that, as q boy. no had delighted
in Popo's Honor" but ho added that. although
Pope il q ~consummate artist in the lower sense
OF tho term" he could not now read him. His
son supposes him to have meant lower" rs
compared with the supreme power and sublime
music of paradise Lost" Touching Milton's
greatest work he used to quote the words from
Tho Winters Tale" This is an art which
does mcnd nature" or Shelley, the poet
said: Nobody admires him more than l once
did; and l still admire him. l think l like his
'Epipsychidion' as much as anything by him."
He thought. indeed, that there was a great
wind Of words in a good dealo Shelley, but
conceded that. as a writer OF blank verse, he
was. perhaps, the " most skilful fthe moderns,"
that is TO say, OF the successors OF Milton. To
Wordsworth he often recurrod, but by no means
with indiscrlmlnate laudation. To Locker
Lampson he said, on one occasion: " You must
not think. because I speak plainly Of Words
worth's defects as a poet, that I have not u very
high admiration OF him. I shall never forget
my deep emotion the first time i had speech
with him.. l have q profound admiration for
'Tintern Abbey" Yet, even In that compost.
ton. he considered that the old poet had shown
a want OF literary instinct. He thought it too
long. He pointed out that tho word again
occurs four times in the first fourteen lines, and
that the sixth and seventh lines might have
been more terse. On the other hand, he greatly
praised the famous line, Whose dwelling is
the light OF setting suns" and ended by saying
that, putting aside a great deal that Words.
worth had written which was not. by any
means. first ratio. he thought that Words.
worth's very best is the best, in its way. that
has been sent out by the moderns." Again. by
"moderns" he meant those since Milton.
On his friend expressing admiration Of tho
poets Ulysses" Tennyson said: Yes, there is
an echo OF Dante in it." To "Tithonus" no as.
signed the same position as to Ulysses" or
1.-THE Princess no spoke with something Of
regret. of its fine blank verse and the many
good things in it; "but, said he, though truly
original, it is, after nll, only a medley He
added: 1T Is very difficult in blank verso to
give descriptions and at the same time to main
tain p~oetical elevation" Tcnnyson insisted
that the employment Of rhyme would have
made descriptions much easier. He pointed
out that Wordsworth had attempted tho
ShUlC hOTC Cl tnluR III IL EACuTslOn, DuL
not successfully. For instance. And, sit
ting on tho grass. partook The fragrant
beverage drawn from China's herb" "Why,"
asked Tcnnyson. could he not have said,
And. sitting on the grass, bad tear" He
went on to say that Wordsworth injured
fine passages by the introduction Of fiat and es-
s%entially prosaic phrases. such as "for several
hours" which occurs in his prelude in the de-
s%cription of the Simplon. Locker-Lampson hav-
ing mentioned that he had seen Tom Moore,
whose name. by the way, was pronounced by
his contemporaries More. Tennyson remarked
that he had first met Moore at Rogers's, and
that "he had q George the Fourth look
Locker ampson hazarded the remark that
Rogers's best short poems were as good as
Moore's. No. said Tennyson, Rogers is not
ns good rs Moore. Moore had a wilder fancy.
but still hardly anything that Moore wrote is
altogether what it should be-" He quoted, with
mingled merriment and contempt, n passage or
two of "Little's" poems. and. said. "How fat
that isl" meaning how fieshly. On the other
hand, he exceedingly admired loft in the
| Stily Night With regard to Rogers. Tennyson
thought that some of his shorter poems would
last longer than the ambitious efforts o. more
important writer's. Rogers used often. it seems,
to read to him passages from his compositions,
and to consult him about the notes on his
Italy "He liked me" Tennyson said, land
thought that. perhaps, might be the coming
poet, and might help to hand his name down tc
future ages. Ono day, we were walking arm in
arm, and I spoke Of what is called Immortality
and remarked how few writer's could be sure Of
1t. Upon this Rogers squeezed my arm and
said. I am sure of i..'"' Tennyson related this
with no unamiable intention; on tho contrary
he would often end his references to Rogers with
tho avcrment that "He was a kindly old man
excepting when he was bilious"
Tennyson admired Samuel Johnson's grave
earnestness, and said that certain of his couplets
for this quality and for their high moral tone
were not surpassed in English satire. However
he vcntured to make merry over the lines:
Let observation. with extensive view,
Survey mankind from China to Peru.
why asked Tennyson, did he not say
Lot observation. with extended observation
observe extensively 4" Speaking of Ruskin and
the so-called pathetic fallacy." he expressed
the belief that Wordsworth was justified in say
ing that 1.-The moon looked rounder with de
! ght when the heavens were bare" hui
that Alexander Smith went too far when hi
spoke of the wave. a bride wooinG the shore.
He said. also. that Kingsley's "Cruel, crawling
wave" WINS too much like n live creature. Ten
nyson likod Ben Jonson's "It Is not growing
like a tree" and Marvell's lines ITO C. Prude.'
Dut added that no Coulu not rcad ben J0nS0ni
comedies. "To mo he appears to move in {
wide sea of glue" His friend inquiring whether
he liked Goldsmith's when lovely woman
stoops to folly" he replied 81 love IT,"
VIII.
In September. 1888. Tennsson made a voyage
with Mr.. Gladstone on the Pembroke Castle. ant
there was q great deal Of talk between then
about poets and literary men. The poets son
who accompanied them, kept a journal. ant
reproduces from 1t some of his fathers criti
cisms. especially his sayings about poets
who" as he declared. enrich the bloot
of the world" To Tennyson Chaucer wa
q kindred spirit. as being at once {
lover of nature and q word painter of charac
ter. He enjoyed reading Chaucer aloud NOR,
than any poot. except Shakespeare and Milton
When he talked of the grand style of poeti'
diction he would emphasize his opinion that h,
considered that Of Milton oven finer than tina
~ Virri1 sttha 1nna - --,. - . nuyn