A dark, low, brawny man was he; His law,' It is my way!' Beneath his thickset brows a sharp light broke From small grey eyes: his laugh a triumph spoke." This is a bold Roman kind of verse, which at once tells upon the reader. It somewhere or other strongly reminds us of Wordsworth's opening stanza of "Rob Roy :" "The good old rule, the simple plan, That they shall take who have the power, And they shall keep who can." These coincidences are, however, unavoidable in poetry when they partake of the same peculiar nature, and many of Dana's simple, manly productions, remind us of the poet-laureate's. The American writer dashes off with a few vigorous touches a graphic picture of the old Buccaneer. "Cruel of heart, and strong of arm; Loud in his sport, and keen for spoil, Fierce both in mirth and toil. Yet like a dog could fawn, if need there were ; Of another order in poetry, we quote some verses which show the old poet's strength of hand in painting the sea; it is very suggestive to remark how the nature of the writer comes out in describing the same object. Byron, Cooper, and Dana, of moderns, have been successful in interesting the reader in the glorious old ocean. How differently, yet the same! The quiet simplicity of Dana is shown in these lines: "But when the light winds lie at rest, And on the glassy heaving sea, The black duck, with her glossy breast, Sits swinging silently. How beautiful! no ripples break the reach, And strong waves go noiseless up the beach.” Observe how little the subjective part of imagination is called into play here; only one incidental allusion of a remote kind in the ejaculation, "how beautiful!" All is pure outside description, simply and faithfully rendered. ""T is fearful! on the broad-backed waves, Beneath, unsounded, dreadful caves, Around, no cheerful shore. Yet 'mid this solemn world what deeds are done! The ship works hard; the sea runs high; Their white tops flashing through the night, Give to the eager straining eye, A wild and shifting light. On pale dead men, on burning cheek, On quick, fierce eyes, brows hot and damp, On hands that with the warm blood reek, Shines the dim cabin lamp! With savage roar, then pause and gather strength, All this is literal, external painting. The two last lines are powerful; for, although the word "tumbling" is not very heroic, yet it is to a certain extent appropriately used in describing the mammoth rolling of the billows; nevertheless, there is a clumsiness about the word we do not like in connexion with the mighty ocean. There is a Titan march in the sea's movements which demands a word for itself. "A sound is in the Pyrenees! Whirling and dark comes roaring down A tide as of a thousand seas, Sweeping both cowl and crown: A field and vineyard, thick and red it stood, There is a sternness about this poem, indeed about all his poetry, which deducts materially from the delights we generally feel in reading strong bold verse. To a certain extent, Dana reminds us of Crabbe. He, however, as certainly excels the English poet in dignity of treatment, as he falls below him in those minute descriptions which so frequently give to Crabbe's poems the air of condensed prose placed in lines of equal length, the two last syllables of which are rhyme. forced to Occasionally there are touches of great beauty and tenderwhich show that the poet can bring the tear as well as move respect. ness, "Too late for thee, thou young fair bride, The lips are cold, the brow is pale, He cannot hear thy wail, Whom thou didst lull with fondly murmured sound, "He fell for Spain-her Spain no more, And wait amid her sorrows till the day His voice of love should call her thence away." The Buccaneer persuades her to embark on board his vessel. "With wealth and servants she is soon aboard, And that white steed she rode beside her lord. "The sun goes down upon the sea, The shadows gather round her home; My home how like a tomb! O blow, ye flowers of Spain, above his head, We are perpetually reminded, by every quotation, how ill-adapted for a sustained narrative is the stanza employed by Dana for this, the longest of his poems. A similar error in judgment has been shown by Halleck in his "Fanny." "Sleep-sleep, thou sad one of the sea! The wash of waters tells thee now His arm will no more pillow thee, Thy fingers on his brow. He is not near to hush thee or to save, The ground is his, the sea must be thy grave." The author thus violates the great rule of narrative composition, by here anticipating her fate. The pirates' intention of murdering the helpless lady is graphically portrayed. "Mourn for the living; mourn our sins, The wrath of man more fierce than thine; The crew glide down like shadows, eye and hand The fate of the fair lady is told admirably. A rapid sketch, and the whole is palpably presented, as a lightning flash bares the scenery for an instant, and then all is dark again. "A crash! they force the door, and then One long-long shrill and piercing scream "Tis hers! O God, redeem From worse than death thy suffering helpless child! "It ceased, with speed o' th' lightning's flash, A loose robed form, with streaming hair, |