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    8 Hd T : l& xiAPEK . [ No . 296 , Saturday .

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    ' TlWe tie « s * fe * W » ll J * 9 te fo " st the P ° iafxetie of * l » je , poem . In this li ^ eS «^ xbytbm , this singing , which seems so eyeless , and is , in truth , so ftSSuTthewhole Ppem is written ; and , although a language like ours , which has tonic accent , and not quanti ty only , to determine inetre , must necessarily lapse rinto occasional lines of prose , when such freedom exists as in these ifaraBeletia measures , it ia astonishing how seldom Longfellow thus lapses , and h 0 W , su ^ aiae 4 and varied is the music of this long poem . But we warn vounK poets , not yet thorough masters of " the accomplishment of verse /* against trying so easy a metre . Its facility will be fatal , as in art all facility is except to masters . 'S econdly , the reader will notice in the extract the charming effect produced by the Indian names ; and this charm goes through the poem . The names never perplex you , because the meaning always accompanies them . ! Tb » rdly , the thoroughly Homeric painting , Homeric in spirit , which describes the sturgeon in his armour" Painted was he with his war-paints ;" an . audacity few moderns would have ventured , This Indian imagery runs through the poem . Here is another sample : — On the shores of Gitche Gumee , Of the Bhining Big-Sea-Water , Stood Nokomis , the old woman , Pointing with her finger westward , O ' er the water pointing westward , To the purple clouds of sunset . . Fiercely the red sun descending Burned bis wny along the heavens , Set the sky on fire behind him , J ± & war-parties , when retreating , Burn the prairies on their war-trail ; And the moon , the Night-Sun , eastward , Suddenly " starting from his ambush , Followed fast tbose bloody footprints , Followed in that fiery war-trail , With its glare upon his features . Still finer this : — Never stoops tbe soaring vulture On . his quarry in tbe desert , On tbe sick or wounded bison , But another vulture , -watching From his high , aerial look-out , Sees the downward plunge , and follows ; And a third pursues the second , Coining from tbe invisible ether , First a speck , and then a vulture , Till tbe air ia dark with pinions . So disasters come not singly ; But as if they watched and waited , Scanning one another ' s motions , 1 When the first descends , tbe others Follow , follow , gathering flock-wise Hound their victim , sick and wounded , First a shadow + ^ ° ^ ° « orrr >* " « Till the air is dark with anguish . , 1 "Very beautiful are the myths which Longfellow has here immortalised , because he has reproduced them in the true mythical spirit . From one of them— -the most modern , by the wajr , or rather the only one which has any of the modern tone—we will extract a passage or two . " Winter has set in : — Through the forest , wide and wailing , Roamed the "hunter on bis snow-shoes ; In tbe village worked tbe women , Pounded maize , or dressed the deer-Bkin ; And tbe young men played together On tbe ice tbe noisy ball-play , On tbe plain the dance of snow-sboes . One dark evening , after sundown , In her wigwam Laughing Water Sat with old Nokomia , waiting For tbe steps of Hiawatha Homeward from the hunt returning . On their faces gleamed tbe fire-light , Painting them , with streaks of crimson , In tbe eyes of old Nokomia Glimmered like the watery moonlight , In the eyes of Laughing Water Glistened like tbe sun in water ; And behind them crouched their shadows In the corners of tbe wigwam , ,.. ¦¦ And the smoko in the wreaths above them Climbed and crowded through , tbe smoke-flue . Then tbe curtain of tbe doorway From without was Blowly lifted ; Brighter glowed tho fire a moment , And a moment swerved the scuoke-wreatb , As two women entered softly , Passed . the doorway uninvited , Without work of salutation , Without sign of recognition , "Sat down ja the farthest corner . Crouching low among the shadows . From their aspect and their garments , Strangers seemed they in tho village ; Very pale and haggard wore they , As they sat there oad and silent , Trembling , cowering with the shadows . Was it tb . « wind above the amoko-iluo , ' Muttering down into tho wigwam t Was it the owl the Koko-kobo . Hooting from the dismal forost ? Sure a voioe said in the eilenoo : "These aro corpses olad in garanente , Those aro ghosts that coma to haunt you ,

    From the kingdom of Ponemah , From the land of tbe Hereafter ?" Homeward now came Hiawatha From his bunting in tbe forest , With , the snow upon his tresses , And the red deer on bis shoulders . At the feet of Laughing Water Down he threw Thia lifeless burden ; 2 fobler , handsomer she thought him , Than when first be came to woo her , First threw down tbe deer before her , As a token of his wishes , As a promise of the future . Then be turned and saw tne strangers , Cowering , crouching with tbe shadows ; Said within himself , "Who are tbey ? What strange guests has Minnehaha ?" But he questioned not tbe strangers , Only spake to bid them "welcome To bis lodge , bis food , bis fireside . When tbe evening meal was ready , And the deer had been divided , Both the ^ -pallid guests , the strangers , Springing from among tbe shadows , Seized upon tbe choicest portions , Seized the white fat of the roebuck , Set apart for Laughing Water , For tbe wife of Hiawatha ; Without asking , without thanking , Eagerly devoured tbe morsels , Flitted back among tbe shadows In the corner of the wigwam . Not a word spoke Hiawatha , Not a motion made Nokomis , Not a gesture Laughing Water ; Not a change came o'er their features ; Only Minnehaha softly % Whispered , saying , "They are famished ; Let them do what best delights them ; Let them eat for they are famished . " Many days pass : — Never once bad Hiawatha By a word or look reproved them ; INever once had old Nokomis Made a gesture of impatience : . Never once had Laughing Water . Shown resentment at tbe outrage . AH bad they endured in silence , That tbe rights of guest and stranger , That the virtue of free-giving , By a look might not be lessened , By a word might not be broken . Once at mi ^ TnVht . TTi- > -r .- ~ + » - " TSver wakeful , ever watchful , In the wigwam dimly lighted By tbe brands tbat still were burning , Sy tbe glimmering , nickering fire-light , Heard a sighing , oft-repeated , Heard a sobbing as of sorrow . From his couch rose Hiawatha , From his shaggy bides of bison , Pushed aside the deer-skin curtain , Saw the pallid guests , the shadows , Sitting upright on their couches , Weeping in the silent midnight . And be said , " O , guests ! why is it That your hearts are so afflicted , That you sob ko in tbe midnight ? Has perchance the old Nokoims , Has my wife , my Minnehaha , Wronged or grieved you by unkindness , Failed in hospitable duties ?" Then the shadows ceased from weeping , Oeased from sobbing and lamenting , And they said , with gentle voices , " We are ghosts of the departed , Souls of those who once were with you . From the realms of Chibiabou . Hither have we come to try you , Hither have we come to -warn you . " Cries of grief and lamentation Reach us in tbe Blessed Islands ; Cries of anguish from tho living , Calling l > aok their friends departed , Sudden , as with useless sorrow . Therefore have we como to try you ; No one known vis , no one heeds ue . We are but a burden to you , And we see tbat the departed Have no place among tho living . " Think of this , O Hiawatha I Speak of it to all tbe people , "That henceforward and for over TTboy no moro with lamentations Sadden tho "Souls of the departed In tho Islands of tho Blessed . * ' Do not lay such heavy burdouo In the graves of thoao you bury , Not buoU weight of furs and wampum , Not euoiv weight of pots and kettles , For their ( spirits faint beneath thorn . Only give them food to carry , Only give them , fire to light thorn .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 24, 1855, page 1134, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2116/page/18/