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    DAVID HOLT ' S POEMS . A Lay of Hero Worship , and other Poems . By David Holt . W . Picnering . " Shakspeare ' s Birthday " would be the more accurate title ; but modern writers delight in affixing titles which do not indicate the contents , and Mr . Holt has perfect liberty to sin with the vulgar in this respect if the fancy seize him . In two other

    respects he sins with them whtre the sin is less venial : we mean in laxity of versification and complacency of commonplace . He is a writer worthy of the compliment of criticism , for he has undeniable faculty , which ( we assume his youth ) , well-trained , may achieve distinguished success . On these two points we will make a few remarks . .

    Versification : Strange it is to observe the increase in quantity of those who possess ** the accomplishment of verse " with tue diminution in quality of the verse . In no age of the world was more verse written , in no age so carelessly written . The principles of versification are mysteries except to a select few . Hazard or instinct presides over this most delicate process of art . The consequence is , that the verse , when not in open violation of rhythmic law ; is but too often the vulgar street tune played

    on every organ . Seldom do our poets assort their forms of verse to the subject , still seldomer do they keep within the limits of the form they choose . Macaulay and Tennyson have made certain tunes popular ; and these tunes our versifiers set to any sentiments they please . In what has just been said we leave out of view the profound harmonies dependent upon variation of the vowels and subtle distribution of pauses , and confine ourselves to what may be called the simple melody of the stanza . Thus , when Mr . Holt writes : —

    " Whose intense glory baffles mortal sight , " he means us to read " whose intense glory , " if we are to preserve the rhythm ; but , as this reading is purely arbitrary and made to cover his defect , it is only discovered when too late . Again , he chooses this stanza : — " In the night season I beheld a vision , A pure creation of most sweet delight ; A dream of beauty from the world Elysian , An emanation bright . "

    Now , it is obvious that a retardation like that of the fourth line requires a certain vigour and precision in its rhythmic construction in order to produce the effect , and such we observe in the stanza above ; but the second stanza following it ends thus : —

    " Such peace that ye might deem she ne ' er had been Anywhere but in Jleaven . " Observe , for an iambic opening Is substituted the feeble " anywhere , " and the whole nuuic of the stanza is destroyed . We need cite no more inetances . Perhaps we have already incurred the charge of pedantry from those who , unaccustomed to analyze woiks of art , are unaware of the various necessary conditions ; but Mr . Molt is too enamoured of poetry to misconceive the drift of our criticism ; so that we will further suggest for his benefit how modern poets have misused blank verse—he among the numberby not distinguishing between the verse which is

    adapted to drWnatic purposes , and the verse adapted to meditative oX descriptive purposes . Blank verse , seemingly the eftrieBt , is from that very cause the most difficult to w ^ ite musically ; the ear has no accompaniment , as it welk in the absolute structure of the verse , but takes advantages of the licences- ^ -to be licentious . Milton and ShakspeSf ^ are p erhaps the only great writers of blank verse V e bave had ' Nothing can be more striking than , fch « . contrast of their management of it : the one ,., ii ?*>^ s ** ined grandeur , the other in varying dramatic impulse . The accelerations -whereby Shakspeare ' s ^ vettesN " twelve , thirteen , and even fifteen syllables , and theVy retardations whereby verses of nine syllables are made musical and effective , belong to dramatic recitation , but would not be admissible in a narrative or didactic

    poem . Such a line as : — " Tott ' ring ' neath great and unimaginable grief , " Mr . Holt must know requires at least the hurry of speech to become a proper verse , and is out of place in a calm reverie . But this subject is too vast to be entered upon here . We merely wished to call his attention to his own lax blank verse . He may quote the example of Wordsworth , who wrote a nondescript blank verse , and if the authority contents him , well and good . What we say is , that blank verse to be musical and artistic demands a closer attention to the principles of its structure than he appears to have bestowed on it .

    Commonplaces : These are of two kinds , some v £ ry patent , as when he talks of " draining the bitter cup of woe , " a cup which has surely been already drained to the dregs ! and when ** world " insists upon being followed by some " banner unfurled ; " some less obvious in the shape of similes , phrases , and reflections , which one has met so often in poetry that their faces have lost all charm from familiarity with them . Mr . Holt is too well contented with the first

    thought that presents itself , and that thought is apt to be one already well worn in the service of poetry . This absence of originality—of that freshnees which is a * if a new mind were opening to us new vistas into the loveliness of nature and the mysteries of emotion—may arise lrom youth or from defective power , we know not which in this case ; but it takes the volume fivm the category of poetry to place it in that of verse .

    Having said so much in the way of abatement of Mr . Holt ' s present claims , let us now praise him for the merits he exhibits . In spite of what has been said respecting his sins in versification , he has a musical ear and a mastery over the forms of verse which , with a little study , would satisfy severest exigencies . Fancy he has , too , both aiiy and tender ; a delicate feeling for Nature , and an exuberance of imagery which argues facility and fecundity . We will give a sample : —

    « THE WOODLANDS . " O 'tis sweet , ' tis sweet to wander in the greensward-paven alleys , With the laden boughs above us , and the moss-clad trunks around ; Or to lie and dream with Nature mid the fern-clad hills and valleys , In a harmony of silence far surpassing sweetest sound .. " O the woodlands , O the woodlands , O the sweet and shady places , Lone romantic hollows haunted by the wild bird and the bee , Ye may gaze for hours together on the sweet upturned faces ¦' ¦ Of the flowers , whose gentle smiling it is almost heaven to see .

    " And they smile upon you ever with the pure and holy smiling : Of their lovely human sisterhood ; and ever , as ye pass , Look up to you beseechingly as though they were beguiling You to take your seat beside them on the warm and sunny grass . " And think you they will answer if with gentle words ye woo them 1 O , believe me ! they have voices sweet as any singing bird ; But they speak to those who love them and who lean their souls unto them ; And by such , and by such only , are their gentle voices heard .

    " They will tell you tales of fairy bands that come and dance around them . And sing them songs of joyance through the livelong summer night , Tracing circles in th « greensward When the quiet moon hath bound them In the mystery of beauty with a veil of silver light . " And the merry , merry streamlet , as it plays amid the pebbles . Chiming in with happy chorus to the wild bird ' s tunny song , . with its softly murmured tenor and its liquid-trilling trebles , Makes the woodlands ring with music as its light waves dance along :

    " Ye may almost dare to fancy that ye will behold the is « ue Of Home Naiarl from the waters with hor eyos of liquid blue , With louritlud form of bounty and with lips of vermeil tissue , Sent expressly by the Muaes to hold converse sweet with jou . " Or , if graver mood be on you , from the antique trunks all hoary Ye may list for Dryad-voices , with their sad and solemn strain ;

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    Sedgwick , have a right to publish my Geological speculations , though the bigoted assail them , and my metaphysical speculations , though , thinkers laugh at them , because I have a right to my own convictions ; but you , audacious scribbler , and rank materialist , have no right to publish , your Vestiges % the mere turbid whirlpool of a fantastic brain , because you come into collision with my opinions , and my opinions are those of all sober men . That our translation is true

    to the spirit , the entire book assures us ; but in one of his notes he has given unmistakeable evidence of it . He complains of the attacks made by the bigoted upon his discourse , and we select this passage for its exquisite conclusion : — " In illustration of this point , I will give two more extracts from this rash and intolerant author . On his own literal explanation of the opening verses of the Mosaic records , he tells us that they are ' simple , plain , divinely majestic , and self-explanatory . ' * And yet ( he adds ) it is in this fair , pure , luminous , holy field of everlasting truth , that the impious progeny of infidelity has ever

    delighted to deposit their accursed spawn ! It is beneath this self-evident surface of heavenly verity that infernal policy has ever exulted in sinking its hell-deep pitfalls of satanic interrogation ! ' ' Abhorrent mortal impiety has ever reasoned and interrogated thus—Well ! but if this world only began at the first day of Creation , where was God , and what was he doing , all the eternity before ?' But what is the answer to this most profane and idle question ? The author gives it in the form of a quotation , which he tells us is bold , true , and comprehensive—• God was decreeing from everlasting a hell for all infidel enquirers . * "

    This is a gem of malignant theology ! What an exalted idea of God that clergyman must have ! A God occupying eternity with devising a Hell for infidel enquirers I We must do Professor Sedgwick the justice to say that nothing of that spirit is manifest in his attacks ; arrogant and intemperate he may be , he is never malignant . The attack on the Vestiges will be read with great interest , for there are here marshalled together hosts of curious facts in natural history , all lucidly and adroitly stated . To lovers of facts little used to the severe

    processes of logical induction , to those who come prepared to agree with him , we can safely say this preface will be read with unmingled delight . The philosopher will smile at its inconclusiveness . We are not disposed to regard the Vestiges as more than a plausible hypothesis , convenient as all hypotheses are when used as such , but far from being an established truth ; nevertheless , Professor Sedgwick has altogether failed to make the slightest impression on it , because he strikes the air . We can imagine his opponent sitting in receipt of all this * ' demonstration " with the serenist possible air ; for all that the Professor ' s facts

    establish—granting them their full force—is , that the development hypothesis has not explained a variety of anomalies in the creation : a position which , we presume , the Vestiges would very readily accept . It would exceed our limits to examine any portion of this argument , but we unhesitatingly say that , as an example of inconclusive reasoning , it surpasses what we are accustomed to expect from men of such pretensions . The truth is , Professor Sedgwick ' s mind is that of a naturalist , not of a philosopher : he delights in science , and can do good service in his own speciality , but that speciality is limited , and he only quits it to betray weakness . In philosophy we know not whether to marvel most at his shamelessness in

    uttering platitudes , or his ignorance of what has been written on the subject . As a sample of the former we will quote but one passage , though , twenty solicit us , and it is sufficiently long not to look garbled ; the phrases in italics are strongly recommended : — " Ignorance ever has been the parent of much mischief , and there seems no safer way of putting down the father of lies than by sotting up the empire of truth and reason . But how is this to be brought about ? By the diffusion of sound knowledge . On this point there seems to be little difference of opinion in the world . There is , however , in the human breast that which , on social and moral

    questions , too often gives the apostles of mischief a mighty advantage over the honest and sober teachers of truth : and if that appetency for knowledge which our Creator has made a part of ourselves , must and ought to have its fruition through a good training brought within he reach of every member of the state , whether high or low , iti 8 also true and certain that knowledge , like everything else , may be turned to moral evil and social mischief : and it is no mere allegory , but a truth of religion , confirmed by historical experience , that the miseries of the human famity first sprang from a search after knowledge by unlawful means , and by overleaping the fences set round it Oy the God of nature . "

    Respecting the Discourse itself , as this is the fifth edition , we must presume thnt some readers at Cambridge regard it as philosophical and instructive : there is no saying what some mind * can convert to

    pabulum ; but , as far as we have any acquaintance with philosophy , such a Discourse seems far from an honour to the University . We are fortunately not forced to identify Cambridge with this Discourse ; and if a number of the pupils look up to it with that reverence usual in pupils regarding the productions of their masters , we are quite sure that no inconsiderable portion of the students are ab ! e to appreciate it at its just value . The worst is , that the book comes forth to the world with an University authority , which will , have its weight with the public , and authority which the strong array of facts and opinions on matters of science will greatly aid .

    One more extract and we have done . Speaking of the Royal Commission , he says : — " May Providence forbid that any rude hand , should break these historical links , and , within our ancient walls , disconnect the present and the past ! I would deprecate any great organic change , or any radical change in our principles of teaching , aR pregnant with revolution , irreligion , and a decay of sound . learning ; and , therefore , a grievous loss to the manners and state of Enaland . "

    Ever the old story ! Touch my sinecure and the world crumbles ; reform my Institution , and Religion perishes ; touch my old carcase and the next day the streets will be riotous with barricades !

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    Sept . 7 , 1850 . ] W $ t Q , tntltt . . 6 e 7

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 7, 1850, page 567, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1852/page/15/