Year: 1871

- ,oyrNTy BALLADS AND OTTER PlECES By
PM lhhd.,S nay l6no PIP. l67. James X Osgood q TO-


~ favor of this new poetry, OF when the
-.a.;mens that have already appeared in fugitive
T., have touched deep chord of popular sympa-
-. .onbines the aromatic freshness of the Western
So with the dainty refnements of European
onltrre Several Of the pieces of which 1t is COM
osd are the fruits of a residence in foreign capitals
srd have been suggested by personal "reminiscences
bieev of historical character, and illustrative OF
tbo great secular struggle between freedom ana
arbitrary rule


The 81 Pike County Ballads" are placed in the front
ranks ot the volume prominence to which they
snd A inst title in the singular cordiahty with
which they have been received into a mgh
place in the heart Of the public. These
snecin,ens of Western dialect which have recently
eDdeared the name of the author to the lovers OF
natural sentiment though couched IN the boldest
forms Of the sylvan vernacuar leave no impression
Of coarscness or vulgarity on the pure mind. They
ARE inspired by 10 true sense OF the manifold con-
dtiops of life they present such faithful pictures of
,ctnal human experience that the primeval strength
ofancuage in which they attain their ct expression,
apnesrs no less inevitable and innocuous than the
rude parb Of the backwoodsman, OF the hOmely sin
ceritJ of his manners. Though they" don't go
much on religion" they true to the supreme in
stncts Of the Ideal striving to penetrate beneath
the crust of c0nvontionasm 10 the depth of reality
raising the spirit above the letter while the shans
and pretenses Of artificial life fall 10 the ground IN
the middln tight grip on the handful OF Things
about Which there is no mistake. We need NOT sup
pose that the poet had distinct consciousness OF any
special vocation in inditng these pleasant humors'
but they are to be taken the spontaneous express
son # the spirit of the age which, In It's yesty eer
yescence is<hrowing off all falsies in order to fill
the cup Of refreshment with the pure elixir Of life


The simple of the dialect poems is one of
their strongest features giving them the transparent
expression which marks the genuine from the coun-
terfeit They show no trace Of the forlorn habit of
making fun from sense of duty, or in fulhllment of
a contract. The humor comes unbidden if 1t comes
at all like oil from the rock. Hence it does not pail
upon the taste leaving of safety and adesire
for relief. which even more irksome than the
mumblngs of stupidity and commonplace.


But the few dialect poems in this volume oc-
eupy but a small space in its contents, and are not
to be regarded a. the complete eXp0nents of the po-
etica nature Of the writer Most of the other pieces
modulae in a graver key, and often cOlored with
shade Of sadness though they never indulge in the
utterance of morbid sentimentalism. They are too
virle and healthy in their spirit for the expression
of effeminate plants and if they sometimes deal
with the element of sorrow as among the materials
of poetry their prevailing tone Is that OF cheerful
earnestues and manly resolve. The following lines
which were evidently written several years since
present striking pOrtrature of the imperial usurper
and are remarkable for the prophetic strain IN which
they announce his fate, although the fulhlment
has come in different form from that which haunted
the mind of the writer when he composed the poem