Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-08-03
r&HE supreme desire Of the world

N be ayowed. but It exists and
IA has persisted through the ages.
Modlocrity may mock, the en-
vious cayii, the ignorant ignore, but at
the birth OF genius an manklnd-at
least all the better portion Of mankind
rejolces
While the world may have long since
ceased to look for another Shakespeare,
Milton, Homer, a Goethe or even a
Dryden or a Pope, Il has not given up
the expectation Of another Wordsworth,
a Tennyson, a Longlellow or a BuIna.
Indeed, It entertains a hope Of having
found two OF the latter group In the
English poets who are the subjects Of
this article. William Watson aud Rud-
yard Kipling They are stin young
though both have passed tho age Of
Byron when he died, and their literary
work has been In evidence less than a
score OF years, yet has been passed
upon and approved by the seyerest
critics OF our time
William Watson the elder OF the two,
who was born at Wharf1ale. Yorkshire,
England In 1886, inherited nothing Of
the literary tendency from his ances-
tors, His health being delicate as a
boy. he was privately taught and spent
great deal Of his time roaming the
fields and woods In the oountry OF
Wordsworth. avowcdly his master and
HIS model. Nine years ago he passed
through severe mental allllction
which gave rise to 4 report that he was
crazy, but he rallied and has siuce done
some Of his best work.
II may be, as an English writer has
said, that poets Of grea, strength are
rare today, bur he Is ranked as one Of
the strongest Of recent writer's, and his
advent has been hailed az an omen az
poetical renaissance by his passionate
and high souled poetry, Il Is said and |
by his grip on the realities OF life, he
has established for himself an enyiable
emlnence In literature ana proved a |
popular aspirant for niche In tho han
OF fame. While an admirer of Keats |
and Shelley, who exercised a great in |
fuencc during the formative years Of
his youth, he has always been true TO
Wordsworth, whose pre-eminence he |
has Acknowledged aud characterized in
the following lines.
The frst voice, then ia, second, in their turns,
Had sung me captive. This vote set me free.
II was his WORD worth's Grave and |
Other Poems in fact that nrst set
upon him the seal OF popular approval
This work was issued In 1890, but he
had already appeared in print as poet,
first in 1850 In THE Princes Quest
aud again in 1854 with his Epigrams
OF Art, Life and Nature" In the latter
he showed the poets true faculty for
crystallizng much in single sentences
and IN directness but his Words
worth" gave him immediate recognition
as u great nature poet. There were in
this work. IL was declared both good
Workmanship and literary accomplish
ment, felicitous simile and metaphors
with frequent notes that recall the
greater masters, as well as ohaste, lucid
and dignihed expression and the true
poetic command OF eplthet and Inn
agery' In truth, he gave promise Of
still greater performance, and the
reading public awaited his forthcoming
work With pleasureble anticipation. II
is In the olegiac and the sonnet form
that Watson has proved himself a mas.
ter. and after his Wordsworth, as a
threnodlc memorial, ranks his "Lachry-
me Musarum," tribute to Tennyson.
a stately and beautiful lyric the imme-
date result Of which was his securing
the government pension Of 5000 attach
ed to the position made vacant by the
death of Tennyson, The Tennysonian
lyric appeared In 1892 the same year IN
which his Lyric Love" came out, and