New-York tribune., 1909-04-11
NHINRI RNE.

,-, Ito ,fcarncn charles Swnbune pub
Hsbed his first book in 1861, when he was sun
in his twenties Five years afterWard he WIS
tbp talk of the town. His early fame was hot
without certain adyentitious elements Whlch ne
had later to live down The pagan fefVors ol
the Poems and Ballads made far greater SUI
IN +hn world than had been made by the pure
beauty of '.Atalanta in Calydon," though th;'t
masterpiece had not by any means passed ui-
noticed Thcnceforth SwinhurRe was hgure
with whom the critics had to reckon. IN lSi'
Mr. Stedman hailed him rs the foremost OF the
vounrpr school Of British poets" and, as tlhe
went on witnessing the disappearance from
the scene of Tennyson and Arnold and MOTIFS
if became customary to speak OF nm as ti!e
.rre9teSt living poet. This view OF lie Aa'ie'
gradually crystallizcd into Il tradition heA
Alfred Austin was made laureate haif the as
content raised by the appointment was ujt'e-
able to Il widespread conviction Ihit uheNN
Sv.inburnf filled the office il were better left
vacant. Yet beneath the steady stream ol
euIocv on which this poet has been borne Tor Il
.o,,ora+iop there have been slowly gathering
tho forces OF reaction ana these have so far
s,rvad +beiy. pllrnose that it is doubtful II the
laurel 81 freely vreathed about his brow when
no was in his prime. goes with him unchj9Ilel%eu
TO the grave.
t1a took rhe world bv storm because he was "
born singer. and the woTd Will long cherish
many Of his songs But never was there il
more uneven singer. never was there one VINO
81 Frequently opened his lips because ne was
anano11red of the sound of his own voice ana.
while seeming to pour his soul abroad. really
inflicted upon his hearers mere sound ana fuI|.
In his last years. both i'll verse and prose, ne
cave himself up to a kind Of querulou& yer
hositv which disgusted friend and foe alike
and made men marvel at the lessons when
could be given in the art Of sinking ny writer
who once had scared The truth Is that IL
Sv-inburnp had scared. it had rarely Deen on ne
,,inions of . meet Of the noblest inspiration We
say that with full sense OF the caSSicI eA
aIrarfon to be found in "Atalanta IN Calydoh,
with \ full sense Of the note OF rhythmic Spleh
do, which he struck in the choruses Of that re
markabIp work If he had, in his most charac
+2r;s,ic writings adhered to the lofty spirit
tbaro disclosed. he might perhaps, have taken
rank with the highest-but he would not have
1,aa, Sv-fnhlIrnp He had ideas he had learn
i,,.r ond he had dramatic force His plays are
there 10 show that with these resources ne
stroye to satisfy high ambition. Yet not al
the brilliant passages that can be extracted
from them weigh for moment III the balalte
against his lyrics, and those, while all com
nact in many instances. Of exquisite music. too
offen Iacl, the spiritual fire which is the marx
Of the SUpremeSt poet.
It would be idle to underestimate their magic,
Swfnburne at his best is melody married 10 the
perfume Of the roses. TO the flash of sunshine or
the cieam Of moonlight on the sea. For thaf
Gift the world is grateful But as We detach
ourselves from contemplation of the SerSuouS
bpautv of his verse. and. seeing him IN the long
1ersnpctive of the Victorian era, remember
his immediate predecessors, Wordsworth ana
| BYRON and Keats and Shelley. and remember
also contemporaries Of his like Arnold, we can
moi but feel how far he was from touching the
/ doeps those writer's all explored. That is why
he seems to us less the crowned master gong
10 his long rest and to an assured immortality
| than the exuherant minstrel who has had his
! hour upon the stage and may or may not he
! held in honor forever.