Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-05-03

-
Monthly. gives a just and appreciative
tribute to the poet George Crabbe.
which l am sure will do something
toward the revival of his poetry, if it is
FIN need of reviving. The writer in the
Atlantic wonders why Crabbe is not
now read. Permit me to answer that
he is read. Let no one draw the in
ference that because standard books
are not advertised and bruited in the
critical and personal columns of news
Iapers and magazines. therefore they
| are not read. They do not need such
exploitation; they have PASSED that
unhappy experimental. stage, and have
come finally to their own. They rest
from the dread ordeal which a novel
venture must undergo. The crowd goes
| to see new invention put in opera
ton; when it is a success thew stay at
home and reap and enjoy the benefits
of it.
Crabbe and many other good old au
thors like him are still read bv those
to whom newspaper advertising and
uncritical puffery of books have be-
come a nuisance and a stencil in the
degradation of literature had arrived
when quantity rather than quality is
the criterion. But let us take courage;
It is only noise. biuster superlatives,
large type and monotonous adjectives
that make us feel for the moment that
all discrimination is submerged, all
real distinction no longer possible
Far away, in more quiet seats. the wise
| InVnrc oc tr,r,1
are sull reading good books, the good
Old ones, and sometimes the good new
| ones which are equals of the old and
by some miracle creep in between the
rushing and blatant hundred thousand
editions of phenomenal and soon to be
forgotten works.
What, in general, is a new book? 1t
is one you do not care to read again
only another, newer one. Such books
are printed to sell; they do not endure,
!, and never do they depose the old.
They may be kept on the surface of Il
shallow and rapid stream, but sink
when they come to deeper and wider
| Waters-Waters navigated by eX-
rerienced pilots, sailing by the sun and
stars. All the while these monstrous
. editions of popular books are being
L
and reading of those to which the seal
of time and fame has been set, and
f1om which the accidents Of chance
have been eliminated The fact that
certain writer's are relegated to the
: rear in catalogues, and then no more
mentioned by reviewers, is no index to
| their real place in literature or to their
permanent sale. ts}r
A recent critic, in a publication de-
voted incidentally to the review of
t books and chiefly to miscellaneous lit
erary news and gossip, had the temeri-
/ ty to state, in effect, that there was no
icnger any sale for Emerson's writings.
He had his ready figures-for these
critics are mathematical in their dis
} tribution OF honors to authors, and
settle their position by the formula,
> How many copies does he sell in d
. week." They forget to inquire in re-
> gard to the steadiness of the demand
: or the class of readers-which latter
, point is the most important of all for
any just estimate of the ultimate fate
of q book.
AS for Crabbe, repeat that he is
read. l am very obscure person, liv-
ing in one of the most remote corners
of New England; yet l still read
Crabbe with admiration, and l know of
others who do. l cannot believe that
we are exceptional; nor can l doubt
that among those of larger opportuni-
ties, and with an ambition to know the
best in English literature, there must
still be numerous readers of Crabbe's
Tales But whether there are or not
makes no difference to us. We stand
up boldly, and are not ashamed to de-
clare that we read and admire these
works, and that they ought to be read
and admired. If we need an ally and
defender, there is Edward FitzGerald, a
man whose instincts were infallible in
poetry. 7ssl. -4--=s s4se---'. s.ssss,f.- --4q-
was very glad to see that the writer
in The Atlantic laid much emphasis
lupon the "atmosphere" of the Tales.
This is true insight. To be sure, ''at-
mosphere is rather u large and a vague
word; but there is none nearer the
thing meant, and after reading Crabbe
one may feel the force of the term and
need not try to analyze it, Let him
enjoy it, and give the poet his due
measure of praise. This atmosphere
is, believe, the distinguishing charac-
teristic which Crabbe would claim for
his work; for, contrasting his own
style-in the preface to the second
series of Tales-with that of Pope, he
says that the poems of Pope are with
out atmosphere Stl
The style of Crabbe is simple
| enough; it has no conceits and little
embroidery; the plots are rather bare
and loose jointed. When he paints
''men, manners, and things which he
| SAWS is his chief ain, biS roy, is. t,r,,tx,
his own, and inimitable. This is why
| believe he is still read-such is my
faith in the living strength and con-
| tiruance of the attraction which real
literature possesses.
| Many ancient documents have been