The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-07-20

mirable writer, true poet, delightful
essayist, capital critic, Rev. Dr.. Henry
van Dyke, in 1889, in his preface to his
fine work OF Tennyson, writes:
I'm the future, when men call the roll
OF poets who have given splendor to
the name of England, they will begin
with Shakespeare and Milton,-and
shall have the third place, IL 1t
be not Tennyson?"
While the versilcation OF our poet is
SO perfect, the harmony Of numbers SO
complete. the technique so unique and
almost Of unrivalled excellence, 1t is
not possible for all Of Tennyson's read
ers to rise to the height Of proper in
sight and Enjoyment. The man, for in
stance, who reads Pope with most
pleasure and satisfaction would hardly
relish and appreciate at their highest
the dozens of most artistic, thoughtful,
poetical, melodious compositions of the
illustrious poet Of the Victorian Era.
There have been in all probability
upon him by men OF literary %pretention
and skill. We know many ourselves.
We are quite sure that a score or more
of volumes have been published con-
corning him. We know Of many and
have read several. The following list
will give a good idea of what has been
written both as to quality and excel
lence, for many Of the writer's are men
of parts and reputation-sOme very dis
tinguished as the well read reader will
see at a glance. We begin with 1.-THE
London Athenaeum and Westminster
Review that led off in Tennyson's early
manhood. Then essays Or reviews were
written by the once famous Leigh
Hunt, Arthur H. Hallam, (the hero of
the great elegy above referred to- Pro-
fessor John Wilson, of Edinburgh uni
versity and editor Of Blackwood, the
delightfully."- original "Chrislopher
North" Of the immortal "Noctes Am
b~rosianae, J. G. Lockhart, SCOTS very
gifted son-in-law who wrote his biogra-
phy,t the second est in the language, and
editor of h great London Quarterly
Review, (but we have not space to
characterize as we name them), w. J.
Fox, John Stuart Mill, Edinburgh Re-
view, Richard Monckton Mines, John
Sterling, Tait's Edinburgh Magazine,
london University Magazine, James
Russell Lowell, William Hewitt; Pro-
fessor James Hadley, of Yale, still an
other writer in the Edinburgh Review,
still another in the Westminster,
Charles Kingsley, Blackwood, North
American Review, George Brimley, DR..
r. J. Mann, Rev. Alfred Gatty, w. G..
Roscoe, Rev. F. w. Robertson, Walter
per's Magazine, H. A. Taine, Alex. H.
Japp, John K. Ingram, w. S. in Bel
gravia, Professor r. c.. Jepp, J. H. Ster-
ling, Temple Bar, Professor Edward
Dowden, Dean Afford, r. H. Hutton,
Robert Buchanan, J. Hutchinson, Wal
ter Irving, Rev. D.. Bawnsley, E. G.
Stedman, Bayard Taylor, Henry Els
dale, R.. H. Shepherd, j.. c. Collins,
British Quarterly, Walter E. WAGE,
Sidney Colvin, A. c. Swinburne, r. H.
Stoddard, S. E. Dawson, Mrs. A. T.
Richie, (Thackeray's gifted daughter),
H. J. Jennings, John F. Genung, Hon.
Roden Noel, C. B. Pallen, Augustin FL
lon,Arthur Cation, w. E. Gladstone,
Walt Whitman, Alfred Mutt, Elizabeth
r. Mutt, l.. H. Grindon, Gardeners
Magazine, A. ". Dorsey, r. w. Doodle,
Thomas Davidson, Nineteenth Century,
.-:...,s NEo-o1;na Conf1rv MoOo.
zine, Rev. George Lester, London Spec
tator, Edmund Gosse, F.. L.. Burr, The
odore Watts, and dozens OF other
writer's, magazines, reviews and news
PAPERS. No other poet of our century
has been probably so much written
about. If Tennyson is not great"
then the worlds number Of great poets
can be counted on the fingers of W %
hands, We ave read him over and
over for nearly thirty years., and our
rule is no to permit if possible more
than three years to pass without read
ing every line he has whitehall Of his
900 double column pages. We are glad
to see it stated that his son biogra-
ply of him is nearly ready n will be
published in the fall, and will contain
some poems not hitherto published.
The greatest poetry the world has pas
session of written by a man between
20 and 80, is nat produced by Tenny-
son. No little of great poetry was the
inspiration of his later years after he
had passed his three score and ten.
$780, --~@ o-vo or1 hoo 1fvy VYQ
written after he attained to 20 and &c.
Paul H. Hayne, one of the south's three
or four best poets preferred Tennyson
to all other poets as he once wrote US.