New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-12-20
POETRY.
MEDIEVAL ROMANCE AND MODERN AM

Love Story. Edited and Trans Second Edition
Ma Text Coated with the mus RIP
at,r parls Rewritten Duodecimo, PIP Mxii
22s The Macmillan Company
ONE WAY TO THE WOODS BY Eya'eSenp sSf'"
Duodecimo PIP e. Boston; oopeian+ or.,,s
THE Earth n BSEATH pa 3N D. JOIN Lane
suADoWs BY NJ A. De Wolfe Howe Duooe''
imo PIP. A. Boston: Copeland q Day
THE CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT TIT, Con no1 Duo o.
Poems. BY Edwin Aringbto; Gha E9o e. Badger &
BALLADS OF YANKEE LAND. BY William Williams h q
ward Penney. Duodecimo PIP SVA'
Crowell & Co -
1,-pr1,EE GREETING AT sPITHEAJD. TO ThS
j. WEN OF GREATER BRITAIN BY BE l Tene
Watts Dunton. Pamphlet PIP. o. jun" '''
Thor. arc two versions Of "Aucassfn anu
>,,oo,s,,e" with which English readers are Id
ro,,iar Both were first published IN 1904 ny w
Andrew Lang and Mr.. Francis w boui u'"
spectively Both have since ueco"ie "'
that the second edition of each pro'eo'eu .o
.ha rresent wear has something Of the character
Of a totally new work. MI Bourono'l 10
,r Tho eeld now as he was In 1887 Students
who remember the charm OF MI Lang 'eia.'"
H.. delicate ouaintness. It's truly poetic Guai'y
will rejoice when the new EDITION aPPe"'' ~
month or next In the mean time however
chance that they will forget their
q
,ora,v 70 Mr.. Lang for Mr.. Bourdiiion gives
80 oo-,n,ote and satisfactory a Transcription anu
translation Of the old poem
Nv Rourdillon finds 1t hard to de1ne 'he
charm, ~ "Aucassin and Nicolette where he
sos otber commentators may well pro-
aooa with caution The observation may De
or,rred however that this medley OF prose
ad verse Is enchanting by virtue or quai'te'
ouite unlike any of those familiar III si"'''a'
nroductions OF the same or any other pei
The dIction Is not in Itself bewltChhs ~"
,oetrical fashion of the verse is curious Du'
not extraordinary. OF the felicitles lot ""'0"
the modern reader would naturally loon '"i'
are fewer than seems credible IN we" "a '
nosition which this relic Of the tweH'h ce'''ui'
holds But the story is In the last degree Pot''0
and beguiling the style is lrreslsupI! "ai'V
ora encore. and. Furthermore. there Is an IN
descrihable glamour flung over me entire "'iN
Which holds the reader captive in manner
M less imperative than mysterious. sweetness
&c the dominant element in this glamour a
sweetness that is Of the very essence OF golden
tonsued romance" All other love tales that pass
,bronrh such developments belong to the
scben,e Of "Aucassin and Nicoette are In
variabIv mawkish and uninspiring. This love
,a,a is for all its tenderness, thing OF sur
rassing freshness and power. Addressing the
hero and heroine in a set Of predatory verses
Mr. Bourdillor touches upon their prooable
feelings on learning that their history has been
uncovered to modern eyes and he concludes
thus:
What care We though the world discovers
Your flowers of love. flower Of lovers.
The couplet is especially felicitous in its last
four words Aucassin and Nicoette are truly
the very archetypes of love, in medieval litera-
ture at least: one has TO go back to the cupid
and Psyche Of Apulieus for anything Ike their
enrayishing charm; and the simple record OF
their happiness-one of the simplest pieces Of
writing extant-is as Mr.. Bourdillon aptly hints.
a thing Of pure gold. He has set 1t before the
world in faultess form. the original racing the
translation, and the latter has been executed
with an art that cannot be too highly praised
On the side of pure scholarship. too. the book
is perfect placing within our reach everything
essential TO a knowledge OF origins. manuscripts,
editions and language. glossary terminates
the volume. Ten years too long to wait for
this new edition. Now that it Is here there is
certain to be a demand for it which will soon
set the presses at work upon more reprints.
Miss STEMS tiny volume is we'll named. She /.
qualified TO show the reader the way TO the
woods. She is a clear-eyed ccerone. the poem.
tment in the work is always appropriate anC
sometimes peculiarly happy. We quote one o.
Miss STEMS dantiest achievements
n THE MARCH FROSTS
j. The little leaves that tip the trees
With palest greenery everywhere,
O. bitter nights, that blight and freeze.
And huI For5sa Tind For a@S icy air.
Have you no tenderness for these.
Nor any care?
No pity for the buds that break
And fringe the naples. rosy red
The starting apple-sprays that make
silver fretwork overhead?
When these are dead
How shall the April for their sake
Be comforted?
Oh, all my heart is full of pain,
The hurt they feel is hurt TO me,
The helpless little leaves! fain
Would cherish them so tenderly.
II might not be
Such cruel grief should fall egan
on any tree!
would that could gently fold
Against my breast. for sheterny,
Each tniest bud the peach-boughs hold
And every gracious burgeoning
So fondling them through frost and cold
Until the spring
The anonymous author Of The Earth Breat
and other Poems" might proftably take a lea
from Miss STEMS book emuating her common
sense, her Willingness to report the plain fact
of nature in terms neither precious nor too i'm
posing, but Straightforward and natural. Thes
verses are dedicated TO a tangible inspiration
but they lose their meaning often in a weller G
fine language. A. E.. must call the au
thor has an interesting pictorial sense see
poetry in the colors Of the skies and woods, an
can wax more or less poetical over them. bu
the descriptions in the book are not blended cur
ningly enough with the emotions. Obscurty
a constantly recurring characteristic whe
pure nature themes are abandoned. howeve
and the human element Is approached. the r.
suit is sometimes conciliating. Witness the 70
lowing verses:
WDMAN'S VOICE