The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-01-07
TUESDAY, JANUARY 7th, 1902.



fortunate drinking habits and was
bounded and deprecated. just as Lord
Byron was by some contemporaries,
and by many Of his countrymen since
who are distinguished by reason of
their pens. AS we have mentioned
more than once, among scholars and the
literati abroad he is now generally re-
garded as the foremost poet and great
est genius of America. This began to
appear distinctly some fifteen years
ago. both in Britain and in France. In
the northern states he was so under
rated and condemned that we thought
and said long e that it was the in
spiration of malice, sectionalism and
retaliatory spite. Poe in his prose
works-his criticisms of northern au-
thors-was severe on some. and partic-
ularly so as to a sweet, popular and
pleasing poet, who by the way, has
steadily lost ground during the last de-
cade in Englond among the best critics.
He is not ranked as he was at one
time. Pee made a severe criticism OF
Longfellow nearly sixty years ago. Poe
died in 1S49. He charged openly and
squarely that the then highest ranking
poet of New England was a deliberate
plagiarist- 1t is quite forty years or
more since we read Poe's criticism, bug
have a distinct recollection OF its Sc
verify and boldness of accusation. II
was charged by Poe, and others Joined
in, that Longfellow was guilty of pla-
giarism in "Hiawatha," he having ap-
propriated no little. both plot and mi
tire. from "Kaelvala," the Finnish epic
of originality and much merit. This
charge LongfelIow completely ignored
no defence or explanation was made.
We do not know what his many ad-
mi-ers have said Of it among the men
of letters. Some decade or two ago a
translation of "Kaelvala" was made.
and it was stated in a Richmond (Va.)
newspaper that 1.-The use of the parallel
shows parts OF Hiawatha' to be metri-
cally and almost literally the same as
parts Of the Finnish poem. What the
merits Of this case are we do not know
but from the few facts here given it
looks very much like it is an instance
of plagiarism.
We have not followed up the case.
We do not NOW how much or how
little Longfellow was indebted to the
Finnish poem for story or copy. He had
a graceful, refined genius, and did some
excellent literary work 10Th In prose
and verse. He enriched literature no
little and many of his poems Will sur
'y1ve for ages we believe. Some of his
translations were excellent. We would
suppose hat he had too much genius
to steal outright. He may have used
the finnish masterpiece as Milton is
charged with using the great epic by
vondel, so finely translated by Van
Noppen, a native of North Carolina, in
his immortal and sublimest of all
poems, Paradise Lost" or as Shake
speare used ad libitum the
place stories and productions before
his time. taking the poor ore or the
heavy lead of the originals and making
immortal what he used by the trans
fusing and Transforming and divinely
Illuminating power Of his supreme and
~unexampled genius. Tennyson has
been accused of using some of Catullus
hut he caught an idea or a word at
most. He was far too artistic and rich
in resources to depend upon a Roman
or any other poet for the material OF
his exquisite, noble, consummate mas
terpieces. We are unwilling to believe
that the most charming of New Eng
land poets was so immoral and beggar-
~ and unfair as to purloin from the
rich mental treasures OF either living
or dead poet of any land because they
readers.
a new. much admired and much
praised English volume OF literary crit
icism is Brownelrs victorian Prose
Masters" The author is said to be
catholic. fair, appreciative and yet in
dependent and candid. He devotes some
fifty pages in length to Thackeray. Car.
lyle. George Eliot MARY Ann Evans)
Matthew Arnold. Ruskin and George
Meredith-all very notable and highly
gifted authors. The Era for December
said:
1T can not be said that Mr.. Brown
ell is unfair to n one, as his stand.
ard is high,- though not unreasonably
so. The inability of his subjects to con-
form to it cannot be charged to him.
He demands that every. writer, how.
ever perfect his style. shall also be en-
tireiy truthful. natural and earnest
consequently he most admires Thack-
cray and Matthew Arnold. But he has
much praise for all the others. relent-
less though he is in defining their lfmi-
tstions. Like most books of which
criticism is an element, Victorian Prose
Masters is often didactic; quite fire.
9sently, too, it is epigrammatic, n
fnrTse Of the epigrams are gems"
We are glad to learn that he admires
T~heckeray, one of the greatest masters
in he hctive realm. OF his style he
waisss- ard of novel writer's in English.
II he best: Like his art n the
wasid of his imagination, it is an out
$3.50 Il o. perhaps the most interesting
sonality that has expressed itself In