The San Francisco call., 1901-12-08
Lionel JOsephare.

of a foreigner who understands not
one word of the language, but wishes 1t
read to him for its melodious sound; but
to those who seek their pleasure in the
metrical expression of beautiful thought
the thought must be there and it must be
evident and clear to the reader.
In his simpler verses Mr.. Josephare is
ofttimes peculiarly happy in his writing
but in lofty flights his ideas seem so
hazy that the reader is given to grave
suspicious that the young man has lost
all thread of reason and is attempting
to make up with mere words and
rhythm what is lacking in meaning.
At times his case reminds one
very much of the old lady who de-
cover, but finally gave it up, with the re-
mark that the language was very fine,
but the plot was most confusing.
Mr.. Josephares work is uneven. Take,
for example. his poem 'The Statue" IN
that you find some of his best efforts
ruined by the outrageous abuse of words
and figures of speech that are worse than
mixed. Follow closely the picture that
the following lines bring to your mental
vision:
The room and l. with her own voice propelled.
Through earth and air extended;
And like a boat, with onward prov unquelled
Glided when she had ended.
In the first line the word propel gives
the idea of motion and you expect both
the room and the man to move at any
moment, but you are not prepared for
the most remarkable phenomenon indi-
Gated in the second line You can hardly
believe that even the brain of magic
working poet can accomplish the feat of
extending" the room and the man
through both earth and air Think of the
stretching involved in continuing the
length of that man and his room through
the earth to say nothing of continuing
the elastic figure of speech to take In an
infnity of miles of air.
The third line brings them back with
snap and starts them out like a boat
with onward prov unquelled' Boat
goes very we'll with the "propeT' of the
first line, and it is not beyond compre-
hension forgetting the extended" to
imagine the man and his room sailing
away; but there again we have the prov
unquelled." You can quell an insurrec-
ton, or tumult of your soul, or fire;
but 'quelling' the prov of a boat is a
new one in the generally accepted sense
of the word. 1t rhymes beautifully with
propelled and is fine reading, but "the
plot is most confusing"
The last line changes the figure in the
twinkling of an eye and tells US that after
all possibly the man and his room were
not extended" and the PROV of the boat
did not even need to be 'unduelled,' but
merely 'glided" safely into port.
1t is hardly fair in this review of Mr..
Josephare's book to bring in a verse from
the master pen Of Shelley, but some lines
occur to me from "Prometheus Unbound
that are quite apropos-lines that express
beautifully that thought which Mr.. JOS
ephare mangles:
My soul Is enchanted boat
Which like sleeping swan doth float
Upon the silver of thy sweet singing;
And thine doth like angel sit
Beside the helm conducting it,
Whilst all the winds with melody are ringing,
1t seems to float ever. for ever.
Upon that many winding river,
Between mountains. woods. abysses.
paradise of wildernessesl
TILL like one in slumber bound
Borne to the ocean l float down, around,
Into sea profound of ever-spreading sound.
Here is another bit from the same poem:
Or. no-she said. she who had lately sung