Page:Doom of the Great City - Hay - 1880.djvu/61



“The folk who know and appreciate the writings of one of our noblest poets, and can sympathize with lofty sentiments expressed in verse which might, with out hyberbole, be almost called faultless The story is such as must at once appeal to all lovers of true freedom, as opposed to so-called ‘liberty;’ it deals with the lives and deaths of the noble men who sorrowed and suffered under the evil rule of the most notorious of modern kings—the last crowned monarch but one who ruled the two Sicilies The dying speech of Laura, which closes the play, is one of the most powerful that has been written for years.”—Graphic.

“Some years have passed since Mr. Horne published his striking poem ‘Orion,’ which Edgar Allan Poe praised so enthusiastically. Others have also greatly admired this poem, and others by the same author, who, before quitting England, made many friends amongst the highest literary men of the time, Douglas Jerrold, Robert Browning, Talfourd, Lord Lytton, and a host of others. The reader of the present poem will make acquaintance with a work of sterling merit, depicting with tragic intensity one of the worst periods of Neapolitan history, when that romantic city was the hotbed of vices and crimes such as the world has rarely known before or since.”—Era.

“This noble and powerful tragedy derives a terrible interest from the fact that in it, as the author says, ‘there is nothing set down which the history of the Neapolitan Government of that period does not fully and literally declare and corroborate, whether in atrocious cruelties, or heroic fortitude of resistance;’ and also that several of the characters are portraits, the faithfulness of which will easily be recognised by those readers who are conversant with the history of Naples during the time in question As a poem alone, it is an achievement of which not only its distinguished author, but all to whom the literary fame of the age is precious, have good cause to feel proud.”—Life.

“This book was written chiefly for public readings, and it has in place of preface a species of credential from Mrs. Stirling, by whom the poems have been recited. Whether published with or without such distinguished sponsorship would, we imagine, make but little difference in the success of the work, which can well afford to stand upon its merits. The readings are in prose and verse, the latter being by far the better of the two. All of them relate to homely subjects; just such as would go quickest to the hearts of an audience and command their sympathies; and doing that with an audience, it probably will have the same effect with the reading public. The best piece in the book is ‘The Convict’s Escape,’ which is intensely dramatic, and ought, we imagine, to make a good ‘reading’ since it reads so well, The story of the ‘Old Professor,’ who ‘had to take to teaching’ and ‘grind as the miller grinds,’ is very touching, especially when it is remembered how many fine intellects are being worn out by the routine work of Necessity. [sic] Another meritorious poem, of the vers de société order, is ‘Died of Fever in Bengal,’ wherein is related the story of one Charlie Brandon, who, ‘having but ninety pounds a year,’ ‘whispered in the