Page:A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields.djvu/396

Rh

Sonnet.—La Laitière. We may give here an extract from an article on M. Joséphin Soulary by M. Léon De Wailly which was translated by us for the 'Bengal Magazine.'—

'There is no need to be of the trade, to appreciate all that there is of sentiment, of grace, and of delicacy in these compositions. We use with a purpose the last word, bandied about too lavishly and inconsiderately now-a-days, for M. Soulary does compose, which is a very rare thing with modern poets,—and does compose exceedingly well. He is wholly bound in the condition of his art, ut pictura poesis. Each of his ideas has passed through and submitted to the operation which transforms prose to poetry. It has been clothed with a body. The Word—we say it not in any irreverence—has become flesh. The greater part of his sonnets form a little picture, or a little drama, and this with a measure perfect, without ever falling into the theatrical, or verging on the falsely romantic and sentimental.

'M. Soulary has two merits in our eyes—two great merits, albeit they be negative. He is not eloquent, and he is not abundant. People have complained under these heads of old, in reference to advocates in politics. How much more had they and have they reason to complain of the poets! Praised be the heavens, M. Soulary's verses do not flow as from a fountain. That which flows, flows, flows as from a fountain is only clear water, whereas his verses are impregnated with thought. There is not a word which has not its value,—and which has not been carefully and curiously searched until happily it has almost always been found. M. Soulary is a delicate carver. He is the Benvenuto Cellini of the sonnet. Is there in a carver or chaser the stuff to make a sculptor? Why not? But after all, what does it matter? He does admirably what he does. What has the Perseus added to the glory of Cellini? Let people say if they will, that M. Soulary makes nothing but statuettes. We guarantee that these statuettes will fairly survive many statues that we know. Moreover, he appears to us to have too much sense to let himself be tempted out of his way. If he comes out of it, it will be in good earnest, and with every advantage, and we shall stand security for his success....

'As to a certain obscurity that one may be tempted to reproach in some of M. Soulary's sonnets, it has for us rather a charm. His idea, even then, is always just, and to find it out quite clearly, only a little closer inspection is required. Now, Poesy is a pleasure refined, and we do not dislike to see her, like a goddess as she is, enveloped sometimes in a slight cloud to escape the eyes of the profane vulgar.'

Béranger to the Academy. In reference to the expressions 'fiddler' and 'low-born' in the first stanza of this poem, it is necessary to remember that Béranger claimed them himself,—'ménétrier,' and 'vilain et très-vilain.' About the first, the words of Lamartine are worthy to be quoted,—'le ménétrier, dont chaque coup d'archet avait pour cordes les cœurs de trente-six millions d'hommes exaltés ou attendris,'—'the fiddler whose fiddle-stick had