New-York tribune., 1911-03-05
PSYCHE IN CHARON'S BOAT.

Several modern poets whom he is
mot alone in admiring"; from these, he
tells us, he has had letters giving some
indication of the connection between
certain poems and certain facts in eX-
perienco" We can but wonder as we
read. where is his sense Of humor:
one sends me a chain of love songs and
eonnets where the wild flames flicker stlll
above the calm glow of the verse. None OF
these. he says. represents elhouon ItuieiIl-
bercd in tranquility They were written
"out of emotion as white hot as his nature
was capable Of" Some were composed IN
the very presence of the inaccessible be-
J nverIasting farewell Another. whom |
should like to reveal. that | might by quo
tation add some TO the too ieW VINO Know
his work saws that one OF ms lovely poI
traits OF women was based on BeaTdsie!
/ Illustration of one Of Chopins BahadeS'
i fourth writes to me Of his love-poems.
/ II never write q love-poem. ne says oul
what / have some real woman in my mlhd,
either one | have met in the past or one
meet now and whose looks IKE Iel
hans the woman that has a1ected me hOst
was one ! met on the Thames finuank,
/ Int v-hom | had never met before ana
have not seen since. | followed her ,anout
for n considerable time, ana hotlceu uta' va.
. every one, no matter OF WHAT d5T, vi -, -
| lion in Hfe stared hard at her. Her own
/ o,,'aront Indifference gave them "A eood
! chance 10 do this. II was with much us
/ cunointmept that I at last came To the con-
! ciusion that she had nothing 10 90 WIN
/ me and LET her pass out OF slght. was
/ thinking Of that woman when wrote -
Thus does the modern poet pipe his
little Law When Mr.. Thomas approaches
the poets who really count in EnSlish
literature he is more gossipping than
I ,riticol-if. indeed, he may be called
| critical at al. Much space has he de-
/ ,.otod IN shelley. about whose domestic
uro = great deal Of nonsense has beeh
r,blishcd. The story in detail is TIRE
como The loveliness of Shelley's verse
and his aspirations for mankind are
,loasantcr To contemplate than the re-
/ ,,or,tcd gossip concerning his marriages.
his nirtations and his erratlc' occasion
auv vulgar. ways one need not admire
Ills DELIGHTFUL gifts less for acknowI-
cdeinc that he had il i'm him to be what
IN these DAYS is called "bounder'
,rbero &c little profit in Mr.. Thomas $
expcrlment in defining the feminine III
nuenccs cxerted upon this poet. ana as
,;,,Io urodt i'm his dealings with Byron
ord Keats AS for Walter Savage Lam
dor ne shows a really curious incapacity
to apprcciate the mans beautiful work
and something withal that actually
sooms 10 breathe Of personal enmity
no talks about Iandor's cold frivolity.
and declares that his defect was one oi
s,,la"-ar extraordinary criticism. If
there ever was one.
The singers Of the older day fare No
hotter at the hands of the author than
do their successors. The passages on
Shakespeare are so inadequate ms To be
orotesoilc. and their inadequacy is not
coudoncd by Mr.. Thomas's belief that e
complete silence on the subject might
nov be- held until full consideration has
l,cen given 10 Mr. Frank Harris's methods
and results" Mr.. Harriss methods are
not Of importance and their results ar
moi convincing. Nor is Jonson quite
iustly treated. though the author thinks
that his verses in honor Of Ncnetia stan
lIev. Lady Digby. are perhaps the fines
written by poet strictly TO and abou
his patron" That beautiful and WIS.,
creature was Jonson's Muse and If eve
woman might worthily act as patron o
poet 1t was this Neaeta' wife OF tn
eccentric Sir Kenelm.
In nothing is Mr.. Thomass book NOR
5 unsatisfactory than In It's quotations
There arc a few. but only a few, tina
[ Justly represent the great hgures