New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-02-20

aE Eosh ny W' william watson Duodecmo. PIP
= q John Lane.
rvs By stephen Phillips. Duodecimo. PIP. vii
~ John Lane
porrRY OF SAMUEL TAYLOR COLE
saeeT;E. Edited BY Richard Garrett {; r.
~ n The Muses. Liorary) Duodecifno' PIP
\ IL re Charles Scribners Sons.
LYRIC POEMS or JOHN Si kE ats Fitted hnei
49, LII m xii. ls The Macmillan Company.
,oa4-n poet is a rare stcker for his
\ .~s,, He is willing 20 be acclaimed a master
l :. 70. he,ide the luckless wight who compares
! - ,os carefully with the masters. What
-, Won? Is the cameo of the jeweller TO be
| - against the Elgin marbles? Is IT not
l Ne, 70 be appraised by itself? Avaunt' Com
SONS are odiOus" The plant is old. emil
- respectacle, and pre-eminently absurd
,-,a-son Is a; the basis Of all reasonable
IAN. il Is as the breath Of life 10 what would
.,.rr1se be mere ranciful and arbitrary specu-
"a, The masterpiece is a touchstone whereby
- NAY know US peers-and its interiors
&C. We make no apology for having read
| ...bsr two new poets and two old ones-Cole-
| a.. ard Keats Mr. Watson and Mr.. stephen
| nrr,. The experiment has been only facil-
-,,A3 not invited by the appearance simulta-
| ..~,sv ~ new editions Of the former and en-
-,v new books by the two minor poets most
| .,spjcuous in England to-day.
~. v.ts,r's merits as indeed. all his quail
| =. liz m he surface He is not difficult
-. ~. one toward whom il is easy to be
-m-. No contemporary writer is more readily
~ Characterized Beginning with foNiness
=, nature such az every sensitive man
sc IN
.<se~ with a care for public affairs such as
,,7 -igbt-nindrd citizen would be ashamed to
revte from lis armory Of everyday virtues
"a with delight IN literary expression similar
., hat Of which most educated men would be
,or 10 confess themselves innocent, Mr.. Wat
NJ ends by convincing himself that with such
a, equipment as We have indicated he can fuse
=. thoughts into lines that shall burn. THIS
svDo,hesis is based on a general consideration
=, h,s work and on the submission Of il to shat
general test which have no hight 10 call
arbitrary and speciOus because, bearing the
,,-s NJ TASTE II sometimes deserves 10 be called
caprice Now let US put the expression OF MI
vsson's poetical nature. as We venture to state
Y 10 the test Of comparison with master. In
b. Jubilee Night be describes the lighting OF
n beacons on he Westmoreland hills, thus:
r,sr The piled timber blaZed against the clouds,
Rrarng. and ~ monstrous madcap shook
Hilarious sides and showered ephemeral gold.
Ard one BY one the mountain peaks forswore
Their vowed mpaSsiveness the mountain peaks
Confessed emotion. and ! saw these kings
Dong perferyid homage 10 a queen
Vt. will turn 70 the issues 10 which Keats
At himself touched In the presence Of the ever
Esiing hills.
Read me a lesson. Muse. and speak 1t loud
Upon the TOY o, Nevis, blind In mist
! 'ook into the chasms. and shroud
0orous doth hide them,-just so much visit
y nd Do know Of hell, look o'erhead,
And there Is sullen mist,-even so much
Mankind do know Of heaven; mist is spread
Before the earth. beneath me,-eVen such
Even so vague is mans sight Of himself,
Here are the craggy stones beneath my feet
nus much know that a poor witiess eli.
tread OF them.-that all my eye doth meet
Z mist and crag not only this height
Bu, in The world OF thought and mental
might
In the frs, Instance you have a writer draw
tg upon Nature not to point moral, but 70
Eo-n a tale forcing into spectacle, which
makes pretty picture upon the page, an ldea
Ar-fetched and unconvincing. In the poem OF
Keats you have an Imagination stirred 10 It's
tepihs looking into the heart OF things. and
ss.herng from the vision a fruitful thought on
human life But the two writers had different
Urls." the retorr comes. Precisely, and therein
u il seems u US lies the proof Of our first by
poihesis In Keats you have the born poet
Eeaking shen the inspiration has forced MN
e speak and then content 70 utter only what
Ae Lord has put into his mouth. In Ny Wat
81 you have the literary man who says 10
himself GO TO- I shall write poem on the
jubilee OF the Queen. those bonfires are not 50
bad with their help I shall persuade the noun
tain peaks 70 sbjure their vowed impassiVeness
and confess emotions" II may be said that we