New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-07-25
latch him SHINING as Shakespeare ignobiy


For he lacks wisdom who with mad msrue
vexes his lake Of life with Loves wild Ills.
Mr.. Miff,in is nothing II not owlishly wise.
Poets should sit raised such blasts above.
Throned in that fine air OF tranqulhty'
he declares No doubt they should but TINS
austere bard needs to be warned that he must
get little more human feeling into his verse
II he expects to make an impression. AT pres
ent even In this country-gven over as 1t Is
TO mammonization"- that may mean
there is left some appreciation Of poetry. and
we doubt II his pompous. empty lines will be &C
cepted.
In The Chords OF Life" Mr.. Charles H. Gran
dali shows that he has love OF nature, some
faculty Of observation. and pretty sentiment.
He writes out OF the possession OF these some
simple. unassumng rhymes Mr.. Madison
Cawen. in Shapes and Shadows" cultivates
more florid vocabulary. We have found merit
In some of his numerous poems. upon other &C.
casions but he Is too copious and this latest vol
ume Is rather thin. His facility lends supple
ness to his work which would be more allurins
II 1t were accompanied by fresher thought ana
a more truly poetic fancy. The authors Oh
Under the Stars and Other verses. lnscriDe
II grandiloquently ITO the Wider Patriotism.
and by so doing they give the reader pause
He expects pretty bad verse. after that inflated
phrase But these battle rhymes are not I'M
skilfully put together. and deserve to be ranked
with some OF the best Of the ephemeral verse
which strays into the lighter columns Of the
daily press.
The works Of Chaucer have at last been added
TO the Globe" series. 1t is good to see them
there. Mr. Pollard. the principal editor. has al
ready supervised the publication OF an admi-
rable edition Of the Canterbury Tales and, OF
course there are Professor Skeats monumental
volumes his oxford Chaucer" and his STU
dents Chaucer"-but there is still place for
this popular edition. first contemplated as far
back as 1864. and only delayed through causes
beyond the control Of the publishers. This book
brings the Works into compact. convenient
form, the text is authoritative and at the same
time has not been pedanticay handled. 1T has
seemed advisable to conciliate the eye OF
modern reader" says Mr.. Pollard and this con-
citation has been achieved without doing vio-
ience to the integrity OF the poet useful
| glossary is included The book Is printed with
the thoroughness and taste characteristic OF the
| publishers, who may congratulate themselves
on having added an important volume to an In
| dispensable series OF classics.
Not every one can possess. cares to pos
| sess. Masson's great edition OF Milton. For
school purposes II is, besides, cumorous and 100
| profound. The edition OF Paradise Lost
| edited by Professor Hines answers excellently
| the needs OF the ordinary student. So also does
Professor Georges edition of the shorter poems
| Both editors allow themselves little license in
the introduction Of their author but both have
| held as their chief object the providing Of a
useful critical machinery for young workers.
| Their notes are concise, opposite. and without
eccentricity Both volumes are we'll printed
and are handy in FORM
Mr.. Gamers translation Of some Of the Ru-
bayat of Omar Khayyam was first published at
Milwaukee in 1855. He repubshes IT now in
/ much more artistic shape bound between dark
green limp covers There is a place for the vol
ume the shelves OF every Omar collector. be-
cause 1t is a work Of serious scholarship. and In
places. Of poetic aptitude OF course, the trans
| lation is inferior to FitzGeralds. Every trans
| lation Of Omar Is bound to be inferior to that
| immortal work and Mr. Garner would be among
the first to recognize this. But II Is interesting
to compare the versions made by various writ
ers except Of course. when they resemble the
| impertinence recently perpetrated by a smart
| London poetaster.
It is not likely that the children, to whom
|
works of DR.. Isaac Watts is addressed. will read
many of that pious individuals extremely moral
songs. beyond the first one in the collection,
How Doth the Little Busy Bee?" but they Will
pore over the illustrations. These are in ap-
proved nursery picture book style. and without
any verses at all they would amuse the young
sters.
steyenson's "Lowden Sabbath Morn" is one
| of his numerous experiments. and not one OF
the most successful OF them The picture 1t
! draws Of Scottish life is doubtless accurate
enough. but like the pictures which Mr. Boyd
has drawn for this edition. it is literal with
out being eloquent 1t is artificial. and therefore
lacks the true note Of poetry. The sophisticated
flavor of the work goes i'll with the grabbed
dialect One feels that Stevenson set out de-
Uberately to write a poem In the manner OF
| Burns a manner which must be instructive.
spontaneous If 1t is to charm. and that his art
| could not supply the music and truth which
come from inspiration. Mr. Boyd Is hardly 10
be blamed for matching prosaic text with pro-
sale pictures
II has been JOAQUIN Miller's gift to see clearly
and to set down with vigor and picturesque
ness what he has seen. Hence 1t Is agreeapie
| to turn the pages Of the new. complete eoltioh
of his poems. and to note here and there por-
trait or an episode effectively sketched what
he has felt on the other hand he has sung with
more loquacity than power, and except for the
sense Of outdoor freshness and freedom Of spirit
which he sometimes conveys his work inspires
little sympathy to-day. The present edition OF
his works is interesting principally for It's au-
TYPOGRAPHICAL footnotes, especially where they
relate to his experiences in London years ago.
Lord Houghton always on the lookout FOR So
cial novelties. took Miller up with avdity ana
soon introduced him to his friends He met
| Browning. Dean Stanley. Rossetti' and many